OT - Raised Bed Garden

tarheelmatt · April 2015

Just finished planting. Roma, German Johnson, and Cherokee tomatoes, pickling and slicing cucumbers, bell, sweet banana, and jalepeno peppers.

Herbs are cilantro, chives, parsley, thyme, and oregano.

theyolksonyou · April 2015

Bought some of my plants today. Going in containers instead of bed. No place in the yard for a bed.

Jalepeno, Anaheim, Cayenne, sweet banana peppers. Cilantro, chives, basil. Squash, Zuchini and slicing cucumbers.

Still need some some tomatoes and more herbs.

tarheelmatt · April 2015

theyolksonyou said:

Bought some of my plants today. Going in containers instead of bed. No place in the yard for a bed.

Jalepeno, Anaheim, Cayenne, sweet banana peppers. Cilantro, chives, basil. Squash, Zuchini and slicing cucumbers.

Still need some some tomatoes and more herbs.

I really want some squash and zucchini, but they get so big and take up a lot of room.

theyolksonyou · April 2015

This is our first try. We'll see how it goes. My dad always had a garden and we got stuff from him, but his health has gotten to the point he can't do it anymore.

tarheelmatt · April 2015

theyolksonyou said:

This is our first try. We'll see how it goes. My dad always had a garden and we got stuff from him, but his health has gotten to the point he can't do it anymore.

Hate to hear that buddy. Maybe you'll have plenty to give him this year.

The squash and zucchini I planted last year were humongous aND shaded my peppers. Didn't get many peppers as usual and the only thing different was the squash and zucchini.

4Runner · April 2015

Do you have deer problems? Garden looks nice. My cilantro bit the dust.

tarheelmatt · April 2015

4Runner said:

Do you have deer problems? Garden looks nice. My cilantro bit the dust.

No, not that I know of. Cilantro is tough, you have to harvest before it blows.

Botch · April 2015

4Runner said:

Do you have deer problems?

I'm guessing rabbits; that fence wouldn't hold back deer, or coons.
I built a nice, raised bed garden when I lived in Beavercreek OH, next to a wooded area like that, and the coons ate every bit of food I grew. Gah.

Chubbs · April 2015

tarheelmatt said:

theyolksonyou said:

This is our first try. We'll see how it goes. My dad always had a garden and we got stuff from him, but his health has gotten to the point he can't do it anymore.

Hate to hear that buddy. Maybe you'll have plenty to give him this year.

The squash and zucchini I planted last year were humongous aND shaded my peppers. Didn't get many peppers as usual and the only thing different was the squash and zucchini.

If you "top" your peppers you get higher yield. Not sure if you knew or not

Botch · April 2015

Chubbs said:
If you "top" your peppers you get higher yield. Not sure if you knew or not

I took a "Container Gardening" course with the Weber Basin Conservation folks just this morning, and I now know what "topping" is!

Last summer I finally "broke the code" and realized I wasn't watering my containers near enough, actually kept about 3/4 of my herbs alive thru August! This morning, I learned I need to fertilize MUCH more often, and to start mixing coconut fiber into my potting soil (about 25%) for additional water retention.
Because my containers are spread all around my patio/pergola, I also need to look into an automatic drip system for watering; its so hot and dry on the west side of my place, I only have to miss one daily watering and severely injure my herbs.

tarheelmatt · April 2015

Botch said:

4Runner said:

Do you have deer problems?

I'm guessing rabbits; that fence wouldn't hold back deer, or coons.
I built a nice, raised bed garden when I lived in Beavercreek OH, next to a wooded area like that, and the coons ate every bit of food I grew. Gah.

Ahh.. the fence. .. The fence is there to prevent the dog from trampling the plants. It was placed there for my previous dog, but our current dog has plant issues too.

tarheelmatt · April 2015

Chubbs said:

tarheelmatt said:

theyolksonyou said:

This is our first try. We'll see how it goes. My dad always had a garden and we got stuff from him, but his health has gotten to the point he can't do it anymore.

Hate to hear that buddy. Maybe you'll have plenty to give him this year.

The squash and zucchini I planted last year were humongous aND shaded my peppers. Didn't get many peppers as usual and the only thing different was the squash and zucchini.

If you "top" your peppers you get higher yield. Not sure if you knew or not

Tell me more about this technique @Chubbs and @Hotch. Several have asked me that and I don't know what they're talking about. I get many peppers but would love to get more.

Chubbs · April 2015

@tarheelmatt it is basically cutting the top of the plants off. It makes a Y in the stem creating two main stems. This means more nodes, which is more flowers which is more peppers. It also helps make a sturdier stem.

YouTube has some good videos to show you where to cut

tarheelmatt · April 2015

Chubbs said:

@tarheelmatt it is basically cutting the top of the plants off. It makes a Y in the stem creating two main stems. This means more nodes, which is more flowers which is more peppers. It also helps make a sturdier stem.

YouTube has some good videos to show you where to cut

I'll check that out. People also ask if I "sucker" my tomatoes too, but don't do that either. I just let them grow. Lol.

Chubbs · April 2015

tarheelmatt said:

Chubbs said:

@tarheelmatt it is basically cutting the top of the plants off. It makes a Y in the stem creating two main stems. This means more nodes, which is more flowers which is more peppers. It also helps make a sturdier stem.

YouTube has some good videos to show you where to cut

I'll check that out. People also ask if I "sucker" my tomatoes too, but don't do that either. I just let them grow. Lol.

Removing suckers from tomatoes are for indeterminate only. Imagine a stem coming out of your armpit. Those suckers are essentially a separate tomato. When you let them go without pruning they suck the energy that should go into growing fruit and instead use it to continue to produce foliage. If you sucker indeterminate tomatoes your yield will go way up, there will be more airflow which is healthier plants, and you will have more room for additional veggies. Just my .02

tarheelmatt · April 2015

Chubbs said:

tarheelmatt said:

Chubbs said:

@tarheelmatt it is basically cutting the top of the plants off. It makes a Y in the stem creating two main stems. This means more nodes, which is more flowers which is more peppers. It also helps make a sturdier stem.

YouTube has some good videos to show you where to cut

I'll check that out. People also ask if I "sucker" my tomatoes too, but don't do that either. I just let them grow. Lol.

Removing suckers from tomatoes are for indeterminate only. Imagine a stem coming out of your armpit. Those suckers are essentially a separate tomato. When you let them go without pruning they suck the energy that should go into growing fruit and instead use it to continue to produce foliage. If you sucker indeterminate tomatoes your yield will go way up, there will be more airflow which is healthier plants, and you will have more room for additional veggies. Just my .02

So when do you stop suckering them?

Chubbs · April 2015

@tarheelmatt I do it pretty much all season. It is a lot of work but helps the production. I usually grab a beer when I get off of work and check out the tomatoes. You can also remove suckers and plant them and they will grow to a full sized tomato. A nice little bumper crop for end of season when others are stopping their production. What kind did you plant?

Botch · April 2015

Chubbs said:
Removing suckers from tomatoes are for indeterminate only. Imagine a stem coming out of your armpit. Those suckers are essentially a separate tomato. When you let them go without pruning they suck the energy that should go into growing fruit and instead use it to continue to produce foliage.

That's another term I heard for the first time this morning. "Indeterminate" means tomatoes that can grow to any height, depending on their support, correct?
I know I'm going to have nightmares tonight of tomato plants growing out of my armpits; if I have ketchup stains anywhere when I wake up tomorrow I'll probably freak out.

tarheelmatt · April 2015

Chubbs said:

@tarheelmatt I do it pretty much all season. It is a lot of work but helps the production. I usually grab a beer when I get off of work and check out the tomatoes. You can also remove suckers and plant them and they will grow to a full sized tomato. A nice little bumper crop for end of season when others are stopping their production. What kind did you plant?

Just watched some videos on topping the pepper plants. Makes sense and I believe I will do that this year.

Need to read up on suckering tomatoes now.

This year I planted roma, German Johnson, and Cherokee tomatoes. The GJ's and Cherokee for sandwiches and just eating, and the Romas for pico, salsa, and some tomato sauce.

NPHuskerFL · April 2015

Very cool Matt. We'll probably just do the planter thing for herbs etc. Once upon a time we had a decent size garden. For us this is more manageable.

Chubbs · April 2015

Botch said:

Chubbs said:
Removing suckers from tomatoes are for indeterminate only. Imagine a stem coming out of your armpit. Those suckers are essentially a separate tomato. When you let them go without pruning they suck the energy that should go into growing fruit and instead use it to continue to produce foliage.

That's another term I heard for the first time this morning. "Indeterminate" means tomatoes that can grow to any height, depending on their support, correct?
I know I'm going to have nightmares tonight of tomato plants growing out of my armpits; if I have ketchup stains anywhere when I wake up tomorrow I'll probably freak out.

Indeterminate tomatoes produce tomatoes throughout The entire season. Determinate tomatoes produce most if not all of the fruit at the same time.

Biggreenpharmacist · April 2015

Determinant are also more compact ( bush tomatoes). Indeterminant are vining tomatoes and need support.

Chubbs · April 2015

Biggreenpharmacist said:

Determinant are also more compact ( bush tomatoes). Indeterminant are vining tomatoes and need support.

This is correct but I think all tomatoes need support. If you remove the suckers from indeterminate like we were discussing above and "single stem" them then they are nowhere near the jungle as if you leave them alone.

johnmitchell · April 2015

Looks like a great mix of herbs and veggies you planted..They should get a good watering today...Have a great Sunday.

fence0407 · April 2015

Looking good Matt!

tarheelmatt · April 2015

Thanks @johnmitchell and @fence0407 !

I am going to try topping my peppers (maybe half, I am a little skeered) and suckering the tomatoes this year. Last year, my tomatoes got to tall and didn't yield much. Didn't yield many peppers either.

fence0407 · April 2015

tarheelmatt said:

Thanks @johnmitchell and @fence0407 !

I am going to try topping my peppers (maybe half, I am a little skeered) and suckering the tomatoes this year. Last year, my tomatoes got to tall and didn't yield much. Didn't yield many peppers either.

I've never tried either of those methods. Interested to see how they work for you this year. I haven't attempted a garden this big before, so I'll be happy to just keep everything alive!

theyolksonyou · April 2015

I watched a pepper topping video, I think I'll give it a shot on some of mine. I assume you just do it the one time?

tarheelmatt · April 2015

theyolksonyou said:

I watched a pepper topping video, I think I'll give it a shot on some of mine. I assume you just do it the one time?

From what I gather, Jason, yes just the one time.

Here is the garden last year...

Some issues:

1 - Tomatoes got to tall. They're in the back. They got so tall they ended up draping over each other. My T posts were not tall enough. I think suckering them will not make them that tall.

2 - Not planting the squash and zucchini this year as I feel they shaded and choked the cucumbers and peppers (in the front bed). I need to find somewhere for some squash and zucchini though. I love that stuff and so does my little girl.

3 - I plan to water and fertilize a little more this year. Key word is "plan". I normally start out gun-ho, but fizzle.

Last year was difficult, especially being new parents and all. Hopefully this year I'll be able to work a little more out there.

Image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wV_AwFVjdlw/U6DUglo4LbI/AAAAAAAAEDY/FUBDq8wxc_c/w684-h513-no/20140617_195029.jpg

Botch · April 2015

tarheelmatt said:
I need to find somewhere for some squash and zucchini though. I love that stuff and so does my little girl.

I get mine from coworkers, neighbors, and some damn sneak who leaves shopping-bag-fuls on my doorstep in the middle of the night.

Dobie · April 2015

OK dumb question from a complete noob on this subject. I have squirrels and birds I feed, if I were to try a small herb and veggie garden would they just eat it to the ground? No rabbits or anything like that.

OT - Raised Bed Garden

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