Garden

So, a couple years ago, I decided to start a garden and see how we could do growing some of our own veggies. Since we are limited on space (and still in a rental house), we went with raised beds and employed the square foot gardening technique.

The first spring, we just did a few boxes on the side of the house. After seeing our results and a little convincing of the house owner, we decided to get things out more in the main part of the yard for more sun. We tried a couple boxes on our south fence in the fall, and even that didn't work too well.

Our final spot was more in the middle of the yard against the west fence. I also wanted to be able to keep some critters and the dogs out, along with some natural trellis and the ability to cover for bad weather. I did grow melons in the spots on the south fence and that did fairly well. The pictures show the layout from last year and some of the results.

This year, I'll do about the same, except I built one more box along the south fence for squash. The layout will be a bit different and hopefully yields will be a little better. Last year our tomatoes seemed to grow slow and really took off in September. We ended up having to pick them all before they were done because of an impending freeze.

We're enjoying the process, so far, and learning as we go. We are combining the gardening with some canning and freezing to make the best of our results.

Anyway, here are a bunch of pictures.

Last year's layout and preparation of the boxes...

IMG]http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa335/CAOKIE/IMG_20130301_182501_629_zpse389e6d5.jpg[/IMG]

I'll post some more later.

Be careful handling those suckers.

Some more random pics...you can see a praying mantis in one of them. We actually got a couple mantid pods to see if we could hatch some.

Your garden looks amazing. I am surprised at how thoughtful you were about each square foot and what to plant. It looks like an enormous amount of dirt that you brought in. Are each of the raised beds filled with dirt or is there some type of filler below the topsoil?

We have threatened to do a garden for the last two years and never seemed to get past a couple of tomato plants. You are encouraging me to get in gear. I grew up about three acres of traditionally plowed garden. My dad loved his garden and you can imagine how much we canned over the years. Three acres can feed a whole bunch of folks.

More preparation and some planting is already underway. The potatoes are planted, and also have the horseradish in the ground. Onions and garlic are looking good, having been planted in the fall.

I built two new boxes for the melons, rather than just a dirt pile for them to grow in. I also built a new box for the squash, so they could be away from the more compressed garden space. I needed to finish filling the new boxes and wanted to top off the rest. Rather than getting some bulk garden soil or compost, I bought bagged soil/soil amendment to mix together.

All the boxes are full and ready to go. I'm hoping to plant the cool season items this weekend if the weather cooperates.

We had a garden for a few years...then we bought a ski boat and now I barely find time to cut the lawn.   

It is a good hobby though but I already have too many hobbies so something had to go.

That's what happens when you don't use pre-emergent.

Okie Boarder wrote: 81 Nautique, I'm trying to do this as more than just a hobby. I want it to expand into a variety of activities that help us be a little more self sufficient.

Ha, No ill intent meant with the hobby comment, that is serious work you're doing there. Good thing you're not my neighbor, my wife is a vegetarian. You'd have more than rabbits to worry about.

Andy,
You sure am ambitious! Good luck with the yield considering all the work you have been doing.

I'm again going for my hot pepper garden this year. 8 varieties (and 2 tomatoes) I've got 144 peat pots (288 seeds) started, Under the grow light they are sprouting. I'm just hoping spring will come soon up here!

Regarding the pests, 3 years ago I have a problem with deer and rabbits. Problem solved with the electric fence I put up last spring. You put strips of aluminum foil with peanut butter on them and the deer learn REAL quick! The only human casualty I had was when My wife forgot to unplug the fence charger and went to unhook it!!

BTW the hottest I've canned are Scotch Bonnets and just behind them are the Mustard Habanero.

nice the gardens look good i see more and more raised beds in new england, a couple of questions, are the boxes doug fir? and do you use all natural mulch? here some mulch has coal dust added or iron oxide if my info is correct , a lot of the mulch is ground up construction, with coloring added, be careful near your food if it isnt natural hemlock

Okie Boarder wrote: So, what do you do with all the peppers and the tomatoes you grow?

Some are used fresh, some frozen but most are canned/pickled. Then I've been giving lots to friends who enjoy hot peppers as much as I do. I've got a Mexican co-worker who eats them with every meal. I took him some canned Scotch Bonnets and even he said care is needed with using them. They brought tears to his eyes!! The real hot ones are best used in something like chili. My favorite are the Anchos I grew for chili relanos.

Got the cool season stuff planted over the last couple days.

If you get any bulbs for the house over the winter save them and throw them in the ground in the fall and add to the collection. I used to hit the nursery's after Christmas and buy up the amarylis and bulbs they couldn't sell and plant them outside. They multiply and in a few years you'll be giving them away because you have too many.

Got the warm season veggies planted and finalized my layout as far as herbs and flowers as companion plants. Everything is growing good.