OT -- Any gardeners out there?

Chubbs

I am starting my third year of growing our vegetables. My garden gets bigger every year and it is really rewarding. Anyone else share the hobby? I am starting my seeds tomorrow.

Biggreenpharmacist

I do but we have enough farmers around I just buy the plants from them. I keep saying I'm downsizing but it seems to grow every year. I think I'm gonna downsize this year.............

theyolksonyou

I'm gonna give it a go this year, but I don't have a decent spot so it will be containers. Thinking peppers, tomatoes and herbs. I live in a bowl so all the water comes to my yard.

Hey_Bulldog

Yes Sir!  I built some raised beds a few years back and my wife and I love having a bounty of veggies right outside our back door.  Here is a pic from a few years ago (I followed the same design for all the beds - this was my BETA release ).  I've almost doubled this size since (4 raised beds and a mound for eggplant / summer squash).

I am not going to lie though - I don't do the seed thing, I just pickup some sprouts from the local farm market in the spring.

Chubbs

I have (3) raised beds that are 4x8. I am adding a 4x10 bed this year for tomatoes only. Really rewarding to pick your tomatoes you grew from seed and make your own pizza sauce or salsa. Or, go home for lunch and make a salad with fresh stuff from garden. I am hooked and part of the reason why I fell off the forum for a while. Ready for this year. Seeds into the grow boxes tomorrow

Mattman3969

I always had a big garden and really enjoyed until our last move about 5yrs ago and have no spot for one now. I really miss it but the local farmers market benefit from my love of fresh veggies. We still grow our own herbs but it is no where near the same.

SkinnyV

Not really but we've had success in Seattle. Great red leaf lettuce, tomatoes and green beans. Cucumbers were hit and miss. I would expand and locate better spots but there is work to be done.

Chubbs

SkinnyV said:

Not really but we've had success in Seattle. Great red leaf lettuce, tomatoes and green beans. Cucumbers were hit and miss. I would expand and locate better spots but there is work to be done.

Green beans and okra killed it for us last year. Both were really fun to grow and pick. Working on planning a nice herb garden right now.

Chubbs

Hey_Bulldog said:

Yes Sir!  I built some raised beds a few years back and my wife and I love having a bounty of veggies right outside our back door.  Here is a pic from a few years ago (I followed the same design for all the beds - this was my BETA release ).  I've almost doubled this size since (4 raised beds and a mound for eggplant / summer squash).

I am not going to lie though - I don't do the seed thing, I just pickup some sprouts from the local farm market in the spring.

Looks great. I will post a pic of mine

Chubbs

Here are two of the beds early on last year. This was beans, tomatoes, peppers, okra, and you can see a cucumber creeping in on the right

bboulier

I have three raised beds for vegetables - 2 in the front yard and 1 in the back.  Too early here to start seeds.  I envy your early SC start.  Some pictures from last July are attached.  We also grow raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries,  two types of Asian pears, Bartlett pears, Asian persimmons, pomegranates, and figs.  Not bad for a suburban lot of 1/3 acre.   Truth be told, I am living in the wrong place.  I need more land.

Fred19Flintstone

I was thinking about trying my hand at it. What kind of wood is good for making raised beds? The soil sucks in the area I want to use. Our pool was there and it got filled in with crappy soil. So I figure raised beds is worth a shot.

Chubbs

@Hey_Bulldog you should try doing a small grow box. It is really easy and saves a lot of money going from seed. Let me know if interested and I will send you the YouTube video I followed for my boxes

bboulier

I should have added that I am a firm believer in the square foot gardening system pioneered by Mel Bartholomew.  By marking out your garden in squares, it is easy to keep track of what you are growing, multi-crop (replant squares with new crops when the old ones are done), inter-crop, etc.  Gives you very high yield per square foot.

Chubbs

Fred19Flintstone said:

I was thinking about trying my hand at it. What kind of wood is good for making raised beds? The soil sucks in the area I want to use. Our pool was there and it got filled in with crappy soil. So I figure raised beds is worth a shot.

Definitely go raised beds. If you have a source of compost you will have success as long as you get 6+ hours of sun. Cedar is preferred but expensive. I actually called Clemson university agriculture department and asked if I could use treated lumber and they said it would be fine. So that is what I used.

Firemanyz

@chubbs this will be my third year growing. And as you said each year it seams to get bigger. Last year it was about 30x40. I did have a row and a half that I never got anything in. My biggest problem is WEEDS. Once they take over its hard to catch up. My neighbor behind me has 3 large gardens and I get all of my plants from him. He starts them from seed, he uses fedco seeds. He refuses to take any money from me and also last year hooked me up with a drip tape setup to water everything. Since it is going to be nice in Maryland tomorrow and Sunday I plan to try to cover what will be the garden this year with some black plastic to kill some weeds. Also may try to get a load of horse or cow manure to put down before the plastic then cover so it will beat up and break down before tilling.

UrbanForestTurnings

I did it for years. Now I just grow in pots. Had a great asparagus bed you could watch them grow in a day. They are a must try.

Firemanyz

How many years did it take before you got a good crop? I was thinking about trying to grow some.

Chubbs

Firemanyz said:

@chubbs this will be my third year growing. And as you said each year it seams to get bigger. Last year it was about 30x40. I did have a row and a half that I never got anything in. My biggest problem is WEEDS. Once they take over its hard to catch up. My neighbor behind me has 3 large gardens and I get all of my plants from him. He starts them from seed, he uses fedco seeds. He refuses to take any money from me and also last year hooked me up with a drip tape setup to water everything. Since it is going to be nice in Maryland tomorrow and Sunday I plan to try to cover what will be the garden this year with some black plastic to kill some weeds. Also may try to get a load of horse or cow manure to put down before the plastic then cover so it will beat up and break down before tilling.

Nice man. Yeah I have fully automatic drip irrigation with valves in each bed. Raised beds help with the weed problem. The one bed on the other side of my house was in ground. It had smaller plants, less fruit, and more weeds. Raised beds are a must IMO

MadcapMagician

I do the square foot gardening method. I have 4 3 foot by 8 foot boxes made of Trex. It is corded out with mason twine in one foot squares. I have 2 8 foot trellises for my dukes and tomatoes .

YEMTrey

We've done this the past couple of years.  The wife and I absolutely love it.  It started off with me building a raised bed and planting some tomato plants.  Now it's gotten bigger, and we're already planning a much larger spot.
We mostly grow different varietals of tomato plants, some different pepper plants, cucumbers, celery and a watermelon last year.  We also started a herb garden in our patio which is just as nice and picked up a composter.  In a few months I'll be picking up one, maybe two rain barrels for the backyard as well.  
We absolutely love making homemade salsa, it's outstanding.  I would do this just for that alone.  My wife got into canning this past year so we have fresh salsa year round.  Wish we had more prime spots in the yard for more beds, but a couple of mature trees shade a good portion of the property.

UrbanForestTurnings

Firemanyz said:

How many years did it take before you got a good crop? I was thinking about trying to grow some.

If you start with crowns. You can start to harvest after two years . You need to let a few spears go to fern and send. My bed lasted about 18 years. Nothing better then eating as u pick. I wouldn't cook a few just ate them raw.

paqman

I grow herbs, peppers, tomatoes and bananas.

Sardonicus

I'm with you, @Paqman.

We've found container gardening to be far easier and just as productive as in-ground gardening.  At least for our needs.

Pest-control and weed-control is a zillion times easier.  Another plus: our dog's too small to pee on potted plants - no need for a garden fence.

Each season, we grow tomatoes, cukes, various peppers, and herbs.  Never bananas, though. :-?    How care-intensive is growing bananas in a container?

BTW, I accidently came across some material that suggested "air-pruning".  I might give that a try - if winter ever ends.  :-<

If you've ever tried "air-pruning", I'd appreciate feedback. 

Scottborasjr

Just bought a house at the end of August last year and reaped the benefits of the former owners garden. Going to try to keep it going but I'm a novice at best and a idiot at worst. There's still 8 inches of snow on the ground so no time to think about it now. 

UrbanForestTurnings

Scottborasjr said:

Just bought a house at the end of August last year and reaped the benefits of the former owners garden. Going to try to keep it going but I'm a novice at best and a idiot at worst. There's still 8 inches of snow on the ground so no time to think about it now. 

That's the best time to think and plan it out. Spring will come and you won't be ready

Scottborasjr

True, but I literally don't know when to plant, I've seen snow in May around here. Just trying to minimize my loss versus gain potential. Probably won't plant til Mother's day. Till, fertilize and get soil ready before weather permitting. 

UrbanForestTurnings

What zone are you in. Sounds like 6 if your waiting until Mother's Day

Eggcelsior

Since I'm in a townhouse I use Lechuza pots. They are fantastic. I need to setup a drip system this year. I did herbs, peppers, and tomatoes last year. My San Marzanos did poorly due to what I think is limited sun since my backyard faces North. It's pretty sweet to walk out back and grab everything needed for sauce/salsa.

Scottborasjr

See @UrbanForestTurnings you are talking zones and I have no idea what you are talking about. I'm in Eastern Nebraska. Would love to plant earlier, but we don't have a very long season for your typical garden fare. Tomatoes, Peppers and Cucumbers are the usual suspects and planting too early means losing your plants. 

Eggcelsior

@scottborasjr you could get a small greenhouse to jumpstart everything. Plant seeds and once the outside temp is "planting weather" stick the young plants in the ground. You can shave a few weeks off of the growing part and have more production time.