"when I eats me spinnach" oh yeah!

The only thing I like better than getting home and picking half my dinner and searing the other half on the grill: Getting those pesky teen-agers to pick it...and do it right! At least they know that food comes from the dirt, or subsisted on something that came out of the dirt. I had a cold frame one of these drought years, had fresh spinnach and lettuce 'till temps went up. I just turned the grass clippings under this week. My little dog loves rooting through them, and then comes in to give me kisses.

Don't have big plans yet, other than salad stuff, sweet corn, melons. It's those spring storms that throw everything out of whack, shorten the growing season by an extra planting.
One year I staked them on tomato cages. Those things kept growing 'till they hit the ground...at least the ones I didn't eat first.

 

It's actually too HOT here for 'maters in the summer. They won't set fruit unless it drops below 68 degrees at night, and that doesn't happen from June through October here. Usually a Fall or Spring crop in FL, they'll make it through the winter if there's no frost. Our yard here is really too small for much gardening, but in a couple years, we're moving to 7 acres in SC. THEN we'll have a garden!

 

no garden here.. hell i cant even grow refrigerator mold

 

All of my gardens are raised beds. My, What I call the vine box is 2'Wx20"Hx40'L it gets half sun. This works well for cukes,zucs,squash,watermelon, basically anything that doesn't like the hot afternoon sun. My full sun box is 10'x10'x1'H. This one is everything else that likes the afternoon sun. The best part about raised beds are many. They require less work,less weeds. You can plant earlier and grow later. I designed these gardens with old age in mind. Later in life when it is not so easy to bend down you don't have too. Each box has a equal mixture of sand,topsoil, and vermiculite. If you plan on going this way. Do not buy vermiculite from the garden center. Buy it from a pool supply house. You can save up to 90% of the cost.
The major plus with this system is, the soil never gets compacted because you don't walk on it. Our local refuse site lets you take as much compost as you want for free.
I refill the boxes with compost, fork it in, and cover with a black tarp for about a week. Depending on how much sun we get. This raise the ground temp and kills off all the weed seeds from the compost. Bottom line. There isn't much I can't grow.
Happy gardening!

 

Never heard of the stuff......What is it and what does it do?.......I'm guessing since you're basically "manufacturing" a garden in a box.....It's a soil type......

Sand for drainage?.......

Regarding "comfort" while gardening.......I would recommend one of those little grasshopper garden buggies for working along rows, picking, weeding, whatever.........

Good idea on the plastic......That's what a buddy of mine does......Covers the plot (10'X10') with a piece of black plastic and cuts out holes just big enough to put in the plants.....Works great against weeds and as you said, it warms the soil........

 

I can show you how to do that......

Anyone can grow a small vegetable garden........If you want to learn, I and others here can give you a step-by-step. You're in upstate NY, so you've got plenty of time to get ready if you wish........

 

Couple of pointers on tomatos..........

1. Bury them DEEP! If you get a 6" plant.......Bury that sucker 'til only a couple of inches are showing.......Believe you me, they'll sprout up like crazy, and they'll have a better, deeper root system......

2. Don't over-feed.........I'm a big believer in miracle grow tomato/vegetable plant food (1 tblsp/gallon), but you only need to hit the plants about once every week or two......If you give them too much.....You'll have big, green, beautiful plants about 8' tall and little or no fruit........Plenty of sunshine and decent water is the key......Don't over-water either......You'll know......

Constantly pick the "suckers" off of the tomato plants.......Go along the plants every couple of days while checking for weeds.....The "suckers" are appendages that grow out of the "armpits" of the plant......(the juncture between the main stalk and the several main branches.....)......They'll also grow in the "armpits" of the main branches and their secondary branches....You'll know them when you see them.....They snap off easily.....They will NEVER do anything but steal nutrients from the main plant (they do not bear tomatos), so get rid of them as soon as you see them.......You'll be doing this throughout the season.......

Did I miss anything, Tewforford?.......Some of you guys might have been doing this stuff longer than me........

 

Vermiculite is added to keep the soil light and fluffy. If you notice after a good rain the soil will pack down. By adding vermiculite it helps the water to drain through the soil and inturn keeps the roots from losing much needed oxygen. Perlite is another one people use.

 

Aaaaaah....I see.....

On a 10'X10' box, you STILL have to get in there a little, don't you?.....Walk around inside?.....

Still....a good box system is a handsome setup.......

 

Good advice. The only thing I do different is, when I plant tomatoes. I lay them on there side with a small portion of the top above ground. The reason being, it's warmer up there and they will root much quicker.

 

No I do not walk on the soil at all. It is sectioned off in 2x2 squares. I don't know if you ever heard of Mel Barthalmew. He is the one who came up with the square foot garden idea. I just tweaked it to suit my needs. I have small walkways between each section. With this system you can plant twice as much than you could with a conventional garden.

 

I've heard of people doing that....Or they "slant" them.....Good advice though.....Particularly in cooler climes......

 

Haven't heard of the gentleman.....Sounds almost like you're laying tile...(haha).....How much space between the squares?....Just enough to walk through?.......Just enough to get a weed-eater in there to knock down the grass?......

I do mine the old fashioned way........Create high rows by hand (square shovel).....Some mounds (I'll give each eggplant an individual mound).....Longer rows for the tomatoes......Smaller rows dedicated to pepper types (bell, anaheim, etc.).........I leave enough space to run a tiller between the rows if grass keeps popping up between the rows......I lay down pretty thick pine-bark mulch on the rows and mounds around the plants to aid in the water seeping in instead of pouring in and washing off in rainstorms......and to prevent weeds around the plants.........Adds good organic matter too when it decomposes.........

Nothing looks better than a well-laid-out garden....Freshly mulched, weeded, and with plants reaching for the sky!.......

We'll have to add pics as we go.....Maybe this thread can "awaken" now and again during the season...........

Kinda hoping some newbies (to gardening) will pop in with questions.....Want to start some amateur gardeners here.....

Steve

 

It is setup like a deck with squares cut out to plant your crops. You can put five tomatoe plants in one square foot with this system.

 

My sister used to live just outside of Winchester Virginia. Every where you looked there was asparagus growing along side the road. You know I grab a bunch before I left.

Well Steve; Time to go the wife just brought out some junk food. It's Miller time!!!!!!!