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Seed sewing, gardening

Wife and I are gonna try our hands at gardening. Bought this little burpee seed starter and some squash, spaghetti squash, tomatoes, Lima beans, and sunflower seeds. Well they are sewed and we will see what happens. Making a raised bed this weekend. Would love any thoughts from those of you that do this. So far I'm less than $10 in so if I'm doing something wrong no biggie! This was kind of an impulse buy while at lowes tonight getting weed&feed.

Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos


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XLBGE 
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Comments

  • SteveWPBFL
    SteveWPBFL Posts: 1,327
    You need some peppers!
  • canegger
    canegger Posts: 540
    Ha you need something else in there and then you could get the xxl with the extra money ha ha
  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,727
    Good luck. When we lived in Iowa, SWBO grew all kinds of stuff in 2 garden boxes i built in the backyard. We barely went to the store for veggies. Oh yeah - grow some peppers if you like hot stuff!

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • GrannyX4
    GrannyX4 Posts: 1,491
    Cucumbers or anything else you might like pickled. I see canning in your future. ;;)
    Every day is a bonus day and every meal is a banquet in Winter Springs, Fl !
  • MrCookingNurse
    MrCookingNurse Posts: 4,665
    I've got pepper plants I'm use. There weren't seeds for the peppers I wanted.


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    XLBGE 
  • Bullibe
    Bullibe Posts: 132
    edited April 2013
    I loosely used this site to plan mine. Mine is 5'x8'x 12".
    http://www.vegetable-gardening-online.com/
    I used the Yella wood from Home Depot, because supposedly it doesn't contain arsenic.
    Redneck Riviera, Gulf Shores, Alabama
  • GA_Dawgs
    GA_Dawgs Posts: 273
    Hope you guys enjoy it. It's great to be able to go to your garden and pick your veggies for dinner. Like Granny said, do some pickles and I suggest you make some hot sauce with your peppers.
  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
    edited April 2013
    I've had a raised bed garden for several years.  I used concrete blocks for the raised sides, then filled with garden soil from Lowes.  Works well.  These were taken about 3 weeks ago.

    image


    image


    I also have an herb garden near the kitchen door.

    image
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • SmokinDAWG82
    SmokinDAWG82 Posts: 1,705
    We always do tomatoes and peppers, going to try some herbs this year. We also have a few blueberry bushes that did great last year.
    LBGE
    Go Dawgs! - Marietta, GA
  • Anybody ever do a raised bed on a concrete slab?
    LBGE 2013, SBGE 2014, Mini 2015
    Columbus IN
  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,429
    Good luck!  (and beautiful garden, VI!)
     
    I've got a black thumb, can't even grow tomatoes.  I do manage to keep some herbs growing in pots for a few months, but then they die too.  
    :(
    _____________

    "I mean, I don't just kill guys, I'm notorious for doing in houseplants."  - Maggie, Northern Exposure


  • +1 for peppers and cukes.  As for tomatoes, I really like the cherry tomatoes best.  I also started an asparagus bed last year, already have some shoots up this year, but I know they won't be edible until next year.  Also planted cherry, apple, peach, pear and almond trees last year.  Gonna be a few years until any of them bear fruit.  We figure we'll always have something to eat when we retire.

    Damascus, VA.  Friendliest town on the Appalachian Trail.

    LBGE Aug 2012, SBGE Feb 2014

  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
     Also planted cherry, apple, peach, pear and almond trees last year.  Gonna be a few years until any of them bear fruit.  
    I don't know about the apple, cherry or pear trees, but I planted a peach tree last year, and I've got tons of peaches coming on.

    image
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • VI, they look good.  The previous Christmas we got a Gurney's gift card and went crazy buying fruit trees.  The only problem is they are "baby" trees, not like you'd get at a garden center or Lowes so we knew going in it would be a few years.  We're in no hurry (and no, I have no affiliation with Gurney's).

    Damascus, VA.  Friendliest town on the Appalachian Trail.

    LBGE Aug 2012, SBGE Feb 2014

  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
    Oh, I see SWVA.  We got ours at Costco.  It was probably 6 ft. high, but it's grown  like a weed since we planted it.
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • Mama Roneck
    Mama Roneck Posts: 386
    Spring just arrived here in NY, so our garden is currently in two pieces.  Hope to bring them together in the next few weeks!


    Mamaroneck
  • MrCookingNurse
    MrCookingNurse Posts: 4,665
    Spring just arrived here in NY, so our garden is currently in two pieces.  Hope to bring them together in the next few weeks!


    I really like what you have going on there!! I was just gonna make a big rectangle, but I love the skinny lanes and walk through for easy maintenance and picking.  I might do something like this now. 


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    XLBGE 
  • MrCookingNurse
    MrCookingNurse Posts: 4,665
    @bullibe

    That is what I am struggling with now, picking out wood. PT wood is so cheap and easy to find, but I don't really wanna grow my veggies in a bed of poison.. I've read some people say it isn't enough to matter, and some say run from it.  


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    XLBGE 
  • robnybbq
    robnybbq Posts: 1,911
    We got the same seed kit.  We planted seeds 2 weeks ago and all the seeds are growing.  Can't move the plants outdoors for another 3+ weeks

    We planted
    Green beans (These plants are a foot tall already in 2 weeks)
    Roma Tomatos
    Big Boy Tomatos
    Basil
    Green Bell Peppers
    Red bell Peppers
    Jalepenos

    Planning on putting them into pots on the deck once it stays warm out.  Hope they come out good.


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    LBGE, Adjustable Rig, Spider, High-Que grate, maverick ET-732, Thermapen,


    Garnerville, NY
  • MrCookingNurse
    MrCookingNurse Posts: 4,665
    @robnybbq

    Good to hear! Yea, I'm work on getting beds ready, but I have pots I will move seedlings into on the porch before they go in the ground.


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    XLBGE 
  • Mama Roneck
    Mama Roneck Posts: 386
    Spring just arrived here in NY, so our garden is currently in two pieces.  Hope to bring them together in the next few weeks!


    I really like what you have going on there!! I was just gonna make a big rectangle, but I love the skinny lanes and walk through for easy maintenance and picking.  I might do something like this now. 
    I followed simple instructions on Sunset's website for building raised beds with 4x4 posts and 2x6 stacked sides.

    http://www.sunset.com/garden/backyard-projects/ultimate-raised-bed-how-to-00400000011938/

    It's really simple to do rectangles, but we quickly realized we could make it any shape we wanted in our 15' x 15' space, so came up with what you see in the picture. I may have a Sketchup stored somewhere and will forward it if I can find it.

    After a lot of research, I decided to use PT lumber even though everything in the garden is organic.  Arsenic hasn't been used to pressure treat lumber since 2003, and the main ingredient now is copper, which is antibiotic and anti-fungal.  Most PT lumber you'd get today is ACQ:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaline_copper_quaternary

    I encourage you to research it as I did.  There's lots of back and forth on use of PT in raised beds, but I learned that even when arsenic was used, the amount that actually migrated into plants was trace or negligible - similar to amounts that occurred naturally in a lot of foods. If you don't use PT lumber, plan on rebuilding every 7-10 years.  If you do use PT lumber, make sure you buy quality fasteners!
    Mamaroneck
  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025

    Anybody ever do a raised bed on a concrete slab?

    I can't imagine that working. gardens or any plants like to be watered deep... not often and shallow

    nurse, my neighbor went to a sawmill and bought 2x12 rough cut cedar. also, I've had better luck buying tomatoe plants than sowing seeds. usually at a nursery or co-op instead of large chain stores... keep us posted. I miss having a garden.
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
  • MrCookingNurse
    MrCookingNurse Posts: 4,665
    @henapple

    We have a nice nursery here that I can more than likely get most plants at.  Over the next two weeks I hope to make the beds, and if the seedlings don't take, I can quickly re-route to plants.

    I'll post some update shots.  We don't eat a ton of veggies, but I think this would be a fun way to start.


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    XLBGE 
  • MrCookingNurse
    MrCookingNurse Posts: 4,665
    @village idiot

    thanks man for all the info, your post on your garden is a nice set up!


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    XLBGE 
  • MrCookingNurse
    MrCookingNurse Posts: 4,665
    Do most of y'all build a bird or animal screen? I don't have a fenced in yard so rabbits and deer could have a field day. Rabbits might have trouble getting up in the bed tho


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    XLBGE 
  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
    Mr.CN,

    I bought Mr. McGregor's Garden fence when I first made mine.


    I had a real problem with squirrels.  It is an electric fence and it worked for me. My dogs tested it once, then left it alone.  I suppose the squirrels learned, because I haven't had to turn it on in a year.
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
    one thing about plants is you'll get tomatoes earlier... we usually plant mid April...I use 5 gallon buckets to protect in case of frost.
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
  • SmokinDAWG82
    SmokinDAWG82 Posts: 1,705
    @bullibe

    That is what I am struggling with now, picking out wood. PT wood is so cheap and easy to find, but I don't really wanna grow my veggies in a bed of poison.. I've read some people say it isn't enough to matter, and some say run from it.  
    I saw in a Family Handyman or something to staple Roofing felt to the inside of the PT before you put your dirt in. I'd probably still worry about it though
    LBGE
    Go Dawgs! - Marietta, GA
  • MrCookingNurse
    MrCookingNurse Posts: 4,665
    We should be done with frost by now. I went to a nursery and they had a large selection of veggies and peppers already started :)

    Working on the plans for the beds, I know what I want, but SWMBO has veto'd the first sketch.


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    XLBGE 
  • SteveWPBFL
    SteveWPBFL Posts: 1,327
    I did what you're doing a few months ago with peppers . I suspect they have a reluctance to root out from the dirt pod to our Florida sand so make sure you plant them in some good garden soil.