My large semi-raised bed garden - Page 2

pinballlooking · 05-31-16, 09:43 PM

Congrats on the new addition to your family!

natethebrown · 06-01-16, 02:06 PM

My green beans and cucumber vines (the small green patches between the green bean rows) are coming in pretty well.

jeff5may · 06-02-16, 07:32 AM

Congratulations on the new arrival. Prepare to lose way too much sleep for the indefinite future.

The tourists didn't show up to work on the garden, Noone wanted to pitch in to have farmer brown till up the plot, and everyone says they're too broke to buy plants. So it likes we will be having a weed garden this year. My dad just had shoulder surgery, so he is down for a month or two. Looks like I will be giving away some seedlings and growing a few of this and that in containers.

natethebrown · 06-08-16, 10:44 AM

The garden is doing quite well. We got a ton of rain over the weekend, so the plants are exploding! I am going to prune my tomatoes today or tomorrow. Since I have a few of each variety, and they are all indeterminate types, I am going to try pruning some to a single vine and others to two or three main vines.
Tomatoes, lettuce, and carrots:

Green beans and cucumbers with an A-frame trellis made from concrete remesh (I need to stake it down a bit better):

pinballlooking · 06-08-16, 10:49 AM

Plants are looking good.

Higgy · 06-15-16, 03:28 PM

Oh hey, that A frame for the cuc's might work in my garden. Mine always go crazy with the vines. I like that.

natethebrown · 06-16-16, 08:24 AM

We had a pretty windy storm last night. From what I was able to figure out, we had at least 40 MPH wind gusts. It blew everything around but it appears nothing was broken. Here is my 2' diam squash plants turned over:

My tomato cages held just fine!

Here is a better look at my anchors (just two sticks of 2.5' rebar zip tied to each cage):

Quote:

Originally Posted by Higgy

Oh hey, that A frame for the cuc's might work in my garden. Mine always go crazy with the vines. I like that.

The A-frame held up, even in the wind. My cucumbers are starting to grow up it, so I am hopeful!

Higgy · 06-17-16, 02:56 PM

That wind is just evil sometimes. I had some bad wind last weekend and stuck some plywood in front of the tomatoes just to stop the wind a bit.

natethebrown · 06-29-16, 09:31 AM

So, due to El Nino, the South is starting to experience drought conditions. While they may not be as bad as California has previously experienced, only time will tell. We have had a few thunderstorms, but they have all been pretty small and localized. The last couple of thunderstorms have completely missed my house, ugh! Here is the precipitation we have gotten in my area:

So, with such low rain numbers, how is the garden doing? Quite well actually. I haven't watered the garden once, until last night! I have been picking plenty of squash, green beans, and cucumbers. I haven't gotten any ripe tomatoes yet, but I have tons of green ones ready to start ripening up. I am now a firm believer in light colored mulch, it really helps reflect the heat and keep the moisture in the soil. Here is pictures of my garden last night, right before I watered everything.

I didn't have a chance to check the garden out this morning, but I think the 2 hours of drip hose irrigation should have helped. I may water again tonight or tomorrow night depending on how everything looks. Yes, I need to do something with all the grass and weeds growing. I am starting to lay some cardboard down to suppress the weeds. I will cover the cardboard up with some more wood chips and just leave it there to decompose and help keep the weeds at bay.

pinballlooking · 06-29-16, 10:51 AM

You are doing good only watering that much.
When I have a exposed garden I was watering $75 - $100 a month.

05-31-16, 09:43 PM	#11
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	Congrats on the new addition to your family! __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-08-16, 10:49 AM	#15
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	Plants are looking good. __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-29-16, 09:31 AM	#19
natethebrown Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: North Alabama Posts: 167 Thanks: 0 Thanked 40 Times in 20 Posts	End of June Status So, due to El Nino, the South is starting to experience drought conditions. While they may not be as bad as California has previously experienced, only time will tell. We have had a few thunderstorms, but they have all been pretty small and localized. The last couple of thunderstorms have completely missed my house, ugh! Here is the precipitation we have gotten in my area: So, with such low rain numbers, how is the garden doing? Quite well actually. I haven't watered the garden once, until last night! I have been picking plenty of squash, green beans, and cucumbers. I haven't gotten any ripe tomatoes yet, but I have tons of green ones ready to start ripening up. I am now a firm believer in light colored mulch, it really helps reflect the heat and keep the moisture in the soil. Here is pictures of my garden last night, right before I watered everything. I didn't have a chance to check the garden out this morning, but I think the 2 hours of drip hose irrigation should have helped. I may water again tonight or tomorrow night depending on how everything looks. Yes, I need to do something with all the grass and weeds growing. I am starting to lay some cardboard down to suppress the weeds. I will cover the cardboard up with some more wood chips and just leave it there to decompose and help keep the weeds at bay. Last edited by natethebrown; 06-29-16 at 01:14 PM..

06-29-16, 10:51 AM	#20
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	You are doing good only watering that much. When I have a exposed garden I was watering $75 - $100 a month. __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-01-16, 02:06 PM	#12
natethebrown Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: North Alabama Posts: 167 Thanks: 0 Thanked 40 Times in 20 Posts	My green beans and cucumber vines (the small green patches between the green bean rows) are coming in pretty well.

06-02-16, 07:32 AM	#13
jeff5may Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: elizabethtown, ky, USA Posts: 2,431 Thanks: 431 Thanked 619 Times in 517 Posts	Congratulations on the new arrival. Prepare to lose way too much sleep for the indefinite future. The tourists didn't show up to work on the garden, Noone wanted to pitch in to have farmer brown till up the plot, and everyone says they're too broke to buy plants. So it likes we will be having a weed garden this year. My dad just had shoulder surgery, so he is down for a month or two. Looks like I will be giving away some seedlings and growing a few of this and that in containers.

06-08-16, 10:44 AM	#14
natethebrown Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: North Alabama Posts: 167 Thanks: 0 Thanked 40 Times in 20 Posts	The garden is doing quite well. We got a ton of rain over the weekend, so the plants are exploding! I am going to prune my tomatoes today or tomorrow. Since I have a few of each variety, and they are all indeterminate types, I am going to try pruning some to a single vine and others to two or three main vines. Tomatoes, lettuce, and carrots: Green beans and cucumbers with an A-frame trellis made from concrete remesh (I need to stake it down a bit better):

06-15-16, 03:28 PM	#16
Higgy The Gardener Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Manitoba - Canada Posts: 492 Thanks: 17 Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts	Oh hey, that A frame for the cuc's might work in my garden. Mine always go crazy with the vines. I like that.

06-17-16, 02:56 PM	#18
Higgy The Gardener Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Manitoba - Canada Posts: 492 Thanks: 17 Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts	That wind is just evil sometimes. I had some bad wind last weekend and stuck some plywood in front of the tomatoes just to stop the wind a bit.