Garden
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Category: General Correct Craft Discussion
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URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=32984
Printed Date: January-22-2025 at 3:43am
Topic: Garden
Posted By: Okie Boarder
Subject: Garden
Date Posted: March-07-2014 at 3:19pm
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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]    
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Replies:
Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: March-07-2014 at 3:29pm
Some early season results...     The structure...   Taters  Several random pictures of progress...          
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Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: March-07-2014 at 3:31pm
| I'll post some more later. |
Posted By: JPASS
Date Posted: March-07-2014 at 4:16pm
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Cool. We just started a small garden last year. I think the one thing we are most excited for is our ghost peppers. They are green at the moment. Just waiting for them to turn red so we can try them out. ------------- '92 Correctcraft Ski Nautique |
Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: March-07-2014 at 5:02pm
| Be careful handling those suckers. |
Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: March-07-2014 at 5:08pm
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Melons. Unfortunately we only got a few small cantaloupe...had some issues with the rabbits. If we have problems with them this year, I have a couple ideas on how we're going to handle them.           
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Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: March-07-2014 at 5:15pm
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.              
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Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: March-07-2014 at 5:22pm
The final harvest that I was talking about earlier. We ended up canning 22 pints of chopped tomatoes. I love that we are able to go to our shelf, rather than the grocery store, when we need maters.   This is the plan for this year...I still haven't decided where I'm going to locate many of the herbs I put around the garden last year. I've been trying to place them throughout the garden, in strategic places, following a companion planting concept.  Here is what the garden looks like right now. I planted onion and garlic in the fall and let them grow over winter. Supposedly, this will give us a better yield.   |
Posted By: JMurph
Date Posted: March-07-2014 at 7:57pm
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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. |
Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: March-07-2014 at 8:38pm
| They are all filled with dirt. The first spring I got a truck bed full of a horse manure compost from a local horse farm. Last year I got a truck bed full of garden ready soil from a local materials place. I'll probably go get some more this year. Not too much dirt, but definitely needed some. |
Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: March-12-2014 at 3:00pm
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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.       
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Posted By: TX Foilhead
Date Posted: March-12-2014 at 4:33pm
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That stuff up high is taking the light from the stuff below it, spread it around a little more and you should have some better yields. I have a friend in San Antonio who only grows peppers. He said the Ghost pepper is very temperamental a bout how it's watered. If they have plenty if water then they may not be much hotter than a jalepeno, when they don't quite have enough they get hotter. I think most peppers do that to some degree but they don't have the range that the ghost pepper does. |
Posted By: 81nautique
Date Posted: March-12-2014 at 5:15pm
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. ------------- You can’t change the wind but you can adjust your sails |
Posted By: quinner
Date Posted: March-12-2014 at 5:50pm
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The last time I planted a seed in a box (that took) the planter started drinking too much and it cost me a fortune to remove it and now the seedling is still growing and eats more and more all the time, continually needs to be moved from one place to the next and that whole thing about talking to your plants, I just don't think mine can hear a word I'm saying??? Oh well, thinking my gardening days are over as well, lol |
Posted By: TX Foilhead
Date Posted: March-12-2014 at 6:19pm
That's what happens when you don't use pre-emergent. 
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Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: March-12-2014 at 6:45pm
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LOL! TX Foilhead, I did change the layout a little, but will probably have that issue, regardless. 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. |
Posted By: 81nautique
Date Posted: March-12-2014 at 7:36pm
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. ------------- You can’t change the wind but you can adjust your sails |
Okie Boarder wrote:Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: March-12-2014 at 8:03pm
| No worries...didn't take it that way. Just adding in a point of clarification. |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: March-12-2014 at 9:40pm
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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. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: March-12-2014 at 11:58pm
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Thanks...we're interested to see how our yields are this year. One thing that we're enjoying is that we are learning lots of great techniques for organic methods of gardening. We're looking forward to taking this to a larger scale when we buy a place in the country. So, what do you do with all the peppers and the tomatoes you grow? |
Posted By: peter1234
Date Posted: March-13-2014 at 8:01pm
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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 ------------- former skylark owner now a formula but I cant let this place go |
Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: March-13-2014 at 8:27pm
| I made the boxes of standard lumber, so they can be spruce, pine or fir correct? Yes, I use natural mulches. |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: March-13-2014 at 9:04pm
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. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: March-14-2014 at 1:48am
| Very cool. Yes, scotch bonnets are hot for sure. |
Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: March-16-2014 at 8:49pm
Got the cool season stuff planted over the last couple days.   
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Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: April-11-2014 at 5:57pm
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Here are some updated pics...things are coming along nicely and it will be time to plant warm season veggies soon. This first pic is rather interesting. I had grown horseradish last year, starting in a pot, then in the potato box, then in just a couple feet of extra dirt near one of my compost boxes. I removed all the dirt and even cleared the ground a bit and now have some rogue horseradish growing in that spot. LOL  Strawberries and horseradish in the new whiskey barrel.  Seeds have sprouted and seedlings are growing nicely.      I thought I might throw these in here, as well. We decided to add some bulbs to our front planters to help fill in a bit more. They seem to have filled in nicely and should continue to fill in even more over the years.    
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Posted By: TX Foilhead
Date Posted: April-12-2014 at 1:21am
| 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. |
Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: April-16-2014 at 3:55pm
| Good idea. |
Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: April-20-2014 at 4:09pm
Got the warm season veggies planted and finalized my layout as far as herbs and flowers as companion plants. Everything is growing good.          
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Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: April-20-2014 at 5:35pm
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Andy, You're making my planned garden looking sick!!! My seeds are doing great under the grow light and heat lamps. They will go outside in a couple weeks. Some of the tomatoes I've had to stake already! ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: April-21-2014 at 8:08pm
| LOL! I imagine y'all are a month or so behind us due to your growing zone. |
Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: May-14-2014 at 5:34pm
Things are growing nicely. We got a burst of hot weather very early this year, so some of the cool season veggies are thinking they're supposed to be done. The broccoli decided to start bolting and I've had a couple of the spinach do the same. Other than that, everything is doing good. Turnips are close to harvest time and I've already trimmed some of the leaves for turnip greens. Here are the latest pictures:          
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Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: May-21-2014 at 8:52pm
Harvested some broccoli, spinach and lettuce the other night.   
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Posted By: Okie Boarder
Date Posted: May-29-2014 at 1:49pm
Everything is growing well. Harvested more turnips, as well and lettuce and spinach. The spinach is done and was starting to bolt. It looks like the broccoli is about done, too. I'm thinking about letting the final florets actually just go to seed before I pull them and see what happens.         
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