Don't forget to take a before picture of your garden soon.

[wildeyed]

Then we can post them with the after shots later in the season :)

[K8-EEE]

1. OK!!! hey I love your avatar.....

I read a giant biog about her once...interesting life to say the LEAST!

[wildeyed]

5. Thanks!

I picked it out of the DU list, it seemed to fit my mood these days. I think I read the book about her, too, but ages ago. I guess I should review if I am going to use the avie :blush:

[NMDemDist2]

2. I was the picture taking QUEEN in AZ

what has happened to me?? :cry:

oh yeah, I moved to 'laid back land of enchantment'

sigh

[Lisa0825]

3. Here's my empty Square Foot box! LOL

I'll be planting manana!



If it looks like it is not full enough, it is because I got a deal on the 2 x 10s but only planned for the volume of a 2 x 8. I decided to go 2 inches deeper than the standard dimensions to plant the short carrots I found, as opposed to planting them in a separate container.

[NMDemDist2]

4. you'll end up gaining your height as you add compost (you have a compost pile Right??)

to help with successive plantings

:hi:

[Lisa0825]

6. Yes, I started a compost pile last month.

I had leaves to rake, so I went ahead and built a pen to load them into.

[NMDemDist2]

7. that's a great start! just a coffee can under the sink for all the eggshells

coffee grinds, tea bags and veggie waste and you're on your way!!

My compost is ready to sift and add to the big plot after taking care of it for a couple months, I was pretty lazy this winter, but as the weather got better I started turning it and watering it as I added the kitchen scraps and it's gorgeous. but since I've continued adding new stuff to the old pile, I have to strain that out. I can just throw the chicken wire I've got protecting the tub garden over the wheelbarrow to strain out the big stuff and start over

:bounce:

[sazemisery]

8. I got the coolest trashcan at Lowe's

I wanted a small trashcan for putting all the kitchen scraps so I didn't have to make a trip to the pile every night. It is made by simplehuman. What I really like about is NO SMELLS ESCAPE. I have left it to fill up for over a week and it doesn't get funky. The dog and cat don't mess with it either. Here's a pic:


It has a 6 liter capacity. It cost me $15.00 on sale. Here's the link (They are $19.98 on the website):
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=4442-29177-CW1113&lpage=none

[plantwomyn]

9. My auntie got me a set 2 years ago

and the greatest thing is that my beagle still can't figure out how to open it.:bounce:

[plantwomyn]

10. A question from Northern Indiana

What is that green stuff all around your planting box?
I have a vague memory of stuff like that in my yard, but it's been so long.

[Lisa0825]

12. Believe it or not, I have already had to mow TWICE this year!

The long growing season down here has it's good points but also it's bad! LOL

[hippywife]

11. Good job, Lisa!

We have ours all built and we're taking Friday off to fill them and plant. We have five boxes we put in our old garden area over weed barrier and surrounded the boxes with cedar mulch.

I can't wait! Wishing us all good weather to plant this weekend! :bounce:

And this is my compost container:

http://kitchenamerican.com/storage-510136-B000XLZNNU-Oggi_Stainless_Steel_Step_On_Trash_Can_20_Liter

I used to have four coffee cans on the counter but it got a little messy. This has a pail inside with a handle. We fill it inside of a week so smells haven't been a problem here yet, either.

[Lisa0825]

13. Does surrounding it with mulch help in some way,

or is it for cosmetic purposes?

It may look like a good job in the pic, but it is not perfect. Those little boards I bought for the dividers all SPLIT when I was nailing them down. I will probably have to replace them, but I wanted to just get on with it this time, so I did the best I could with what I had.

As far as kitchen waste goes, I usually keep things in a baggie in a drawer in my fridge until I fell like going out to dump. I don't know if this is a bad thing or not, but it keeps it from breaking down so fast that it will stink.

[hippywife]

14. Both!

I'm hoping it will add to the deterrent effect of the weed barrier. Plus since we covered the entire garden with the weed barrier, it does look better than leaving it uncovered. I got the idea of using mulch from sazemisery. Hers looked pretty nice with it around the boxes.

Those thin pieces of wood are a bear to nail. I'm just going to use twine. It's cheap enough so when it does eventually rot, it's easily replaceable.

Are you excited? :bounce:

[sazemisery]

31. Here is the pic of one of my SF gardens

This was from 2 years ago but it shows the mulch. We have a chipper/shredder and when the ice storm of 01/2007 hit we had more of our share of debris. Living in the county meant that we would have to rid ourselves of it without any help from the government. Since it doesn't come in contact with any of the plants I don't worry about what kind of mulch it is so it is a free resource even though I miss the trees.

As you can see, I don't use the grid 'cause I hadn't read the SF book when I started using this method. I just marked the squares with twine like hippywife. Next time you attach the grid, drill holes in the boards to prevent splitting.

[hippywife]

40. The pics you send me

of your garden are what inspired me to go with the cedar mulch in ours. I do not want a single weed in this garden this year. Bermuda grass! Argghhh!

And you've also inspired me to build a neat scarecrow this year. :hi:

[sazemisery]

47. I inspired someone!

I feel special. Thanks.:hi:

For those who are curious about the scarecrow here is the link to the slideshow that has a pic of her:
http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b160/sazemisery/?action=view¤t=Garden.flv

[Lisa0825]

15. First plants planted!

The only seedlings I bought were 4 varieties of tomatoes (Have I mentioned my deep love of tomatoes? I must taste test several types because i couldn't choose!), bell peppers (red and green) and jalapenos, with a few marigolds thrown in. I will be starting some seeds in a mini-greenhouse this weekend. I bought a bunch and need to decide what to plant first. After my current plants prove to be doing well, I will plant the next batch, and then if I feel confident, I will build a second box for more. For now, I'll be happy to watch my 7 seedlings grow, rather than invest a lot of effort right away only to run into trouble.

[K8-EEE]

17. I'm putting lots of marigolds in mine too!

But just the seeds, so they don't look as pretty as yours -- not yet anyhow! I love veggies and marigolds together, great combination....

[Lisa0825]

20. I read that marigolds keep bugs away. nt

[NMDemDist2]

21. and Zinnias too n/t

[hippywife]

24. Try planting some

borage next to your tomatoes. It seemed to keep the horn worms away last year, that and moving them to the opposite end of the garden.

[K8-EEE]

16. I bought one of those snap-together raised beds....

OK I admit it.....I'm hammer challenged! If I had to "build" a raised bed I can guarantee you I would have ended up with a trash can full of mangled lumber, LOL, so anyhow here's the plasticky- thing from Gardener's Supply:



It's mostly planted -- it's actually a rectangle, the other side is 6" deep this is 12" deep. Those are pepper plants and the rest are various veggie & flower seeds. The grid is done with stakes and string, did I mention I'm hammer challenged??

[NMDemDist2]

19. that looks great! but why are there pots in the planter?

I'm so confused....

[K8-EEE]

27. LOL! No, it's confusing!

Actually those two squares, they are seeds that are a little hard to grow (eggplant) and I'm experimenting with three different varieties so this way I can see what is the easiest and what is no cigar....

Those are just little biodegradable starter pots....if I have any luck with the seedlings, I'll justust bury the whole pot, if not I'll take them out and stick something else in there.

Anybody have any luck growing eggplant from seed?? I sure haven't!

[K8-EEE]

30. Oh wait, you mean the "Plant Savers" on the peppers?

They've from Gardener's Supply -- I have read ones for the tomatoes, they're awesome.

I have the tomatoes in the ground and if you mulch around these things, there's NO WEEDING AT ALL....plus they sort of direct the water & food to the roots.

http://www.gardeners.com/Grow%20Plant%20Savers/VegetableGardening_TerrificTomatoes,33-915,default,cp.html

[hippywife]

41. That looks good.

What did you use to fill it? Looks like regular dirt but could just be hard to tell from the photo.

Luckily, the husband is good with a hammer so I didn't have to worry about that part! LOL

:hi:

[NMDemDist2]

18. OK, you asked for it (Dial Up Warning)

The infamous bathtub hereafter to be known as the 'kitchen garden' (and at some point this spring will get a nice lattice skirt) Note the lovely tumbleweed stuck under the deck. They are such a usual sight around here I didn't even notice it until I looked at the pics :blush: and if you wonder why the chicken wire. Two words:

Feral cats (and my housecat too, she'd think she found toilet heaven LOL)



we have lettuce (two day old sprouts) starting from the 6 o'clock position



Broccoli (a couple weeks old now)



Carrots (did you notice I didn't quite get the square foot garden concept of 'scatter' the seeds LOL)



Tomato (same problem as the carrots, but not as big as I am only letting two survive)



Radish -- we have LOTS of radish, some are three weeks old, the rest popped up a couple days ago



Overview, with the tomato in the 12 o'clock, and the two 'real plants' are parsley and marajam from my Chia Herb Xmas gift



and finally the "big plot" which will get tilled again this week and planted with corn, melons, squash, sunflowers and whatever else I think to stick in there. Peas on the fence this fall for sure. Note the grassy mess that is my asparagus bed in the rear corner where the fences meet. Yes I will spent the whole summer getting it slowly weeded out and feed them well this fall. Next spring look out! those aspergras will put your eye out!! :rofl:

[wildeyed]

22. Great recycling idea, using th old tub as a planter.

:toast:

I covet your established asparagus bed. I thought about planting one this year, but I am afraid that it is not going to happen, too busy. Oh well, I will put it on the list for next year.

I actually took some shots of my garden, but I haven't downloaded them yet. Tomorrow, I am too beat today.

[NMDemDist2]

23. It really does work well as a planter as for the aspergras

I looked today and they are getting the fern growth so it will make it easier to see them to weed around them. I hadn't started the weeding for fear of damaging the plants. but with the big ferns growing up I should be ok.

can't wait to see yours, did you figure out the trellis??

[wildeyed]

25. Not really.

I may just let the melon sprawl. I have two really nice trellis made out of pipe for the cukes and pole beans. I have sturdy tomato ladders for the mater. I will have one ladder left over, so I might try to train a melon vine up that, see how it goes. Since I haven't grown melons before, I don't want to spend money or time until I get it figured out.

[NMDemDist2]

26. if you are doing corn, let the cukes and beans climb the corn stalks

or plant some sunflowers for your cukes and use your trellis for the melons?? :shrug:

[wildeyed]

33. No corn.

My beds are pretty tight, no room for corn this year. Mebbe next.

I have awhile until it is time for melons. I will contemplate and see what comes to me.

[K8-EEE]

28. I have a recycled trellis -- bedsprings!

This is from an old trundle bed -- my husband made the frame for it. I planted some zucchini seeds under it where the stakes are, so by summer hopefully you will not be able to see the bedsprings!

[NMDemDist2]

29. what a smart idea!!

and so much better than taking it to a landfill

:yourock:

[wildeyed]

32. You must take a pic of that, too!

What an interesting idea.

I made a patio tomato planter out of an old utility sink. We shall see if it actually works.

[K8-EEE]

34. Oh OK, here you go! It will look prettier with the zukes on it....

Egads excuse the quick & dirty shot here, but you get the drift LOL! Those are tomatoes & cilantro in front of them....

[NMDemDist2]

35. that's beautiful!

and interesting too :bounce:

[hippywife]

38. What a great idea!

And really great reuse of something that won't end up in the landfill!

[hippywife]

36. Here's our first shot.

Just getting ready to fill our boxes today. Was too windy yesterday.



We have a fifth box over to the right out of sight of the back of the frame. The front that's just out of sight of the frame is the chicken pen. Gotta get more stuff to fill it and then I'm thinking of attempting raspberry bushes in it.

We used salvaged cedar for the boxes. The whole garden has weed barrier fabric with cedar mulch over top of it except inside the boxes. They have weed barrier fabric, too, but just to be safe, we're going to line the bottoms with paper grocery sacks and cardboard.

[NMDemDist2]

37. nice! good varmit fence around there too

I need to still figure out the varmit fence, between the jack rabbits, the feral cats and heaven only knows what else......

[hippywife]

39. We're hoping.

We've had a garden in this spot for the last two years and only once had a rabbit get in it. We put the new puppy in the chicken pen (no chickens yet) twice and both times she was able to get out even tho it has a higher fence completely around it inside the garden fence. Gotta figure out how she did that before we can put chickens in it. If she could get out, critters will be able to get in.

[NMDemDist2]

42. i scoped out the choices at the Lumber Store today

they had 3'and 4' high cheapie posts and decent wire fairly reasonable.

since it's really my only expense (other than seed) I guess I can spring for some. I've really tried to do this garden on a dime and have been doing pretty good. but I don't want to lose my corn to the rabbits.

[hippywife]

43. I don't know how far out you are

but you might want to check for a salvage yard next time you plan a trip into town or check around for folks tearing out and replacing fencing. It's cheaper and it keeps lumber that can't be sold for any other purpose from being dumped. That's where we got the cedar boards for our boxes.

[Puglover]

44. To put some hope in our Winter weary hearts......

I'm gonna post some before and after the other way around.



after Winter...



before




after




I can't wait to get started folks....

[hippywife]

45. Wonderful garden, Pug!

The transformation is truly amazing!

[hippywife]

46. Got a few things planted today

but the only ones you can see are the Candy Onions. The rest was all seed: Valencia onions, purple top turnips, chioggia beets, dukat dill, chives, lettuce, mesclun, spinach, Oxheart and Scarlett Keeper carrots. Tons more to plant when the time comes.

Didn't feel like spending anymore money on these boxes so just used twine for now.

[wildeyed]

48. Finally, here are some photos of my garden.

I have two 3x6 boxes, two 3x3's, a small herb/flower circle and a row of raspberry bushes in the back. There is a baby fig there, too, but it got scorched in the drought last year. I saw a tiny leaf, so hopefully it will make a comeback.



Close up, two 'wall o' waters' protecting tomato and eggplant, some kale and leeks, lettuce and broccoli in the rear beds.

Next year I plan to add two more 3x6 beds in the front, a row of blueberries on the back property line and an asparagus bed. I figure that should keep us fully supplied with produce for most of the growing season.

[noamnety]

49. Here's my before shots:

The craigslist veggie garden (lots of free wood to make the boxes), mulch from craigslist. The greenhouse pup tents are 6 mil plastic over pvc set on rebar. I originally put together just the 6 boxes and had the authorized full 3 feet of walking space inbetween, but then the other boxes were there waiting to be adopted, and there was still more stuff I wanted to grow, and the husband won't let me expand the garden, so I had to tuck them into the intersections where I could:



My green potato box was intact at a place giving away a bunch of scrap wood for burning, and the beat up support in front to keep the asparagus tidy was a dumpster diving find. Asparagus and rhubarb are up already, along with a small row of peas in the back. I had to replant the other peas. They were a different kind, and after getting impatient I went back and looked at the seed packages. 1993. Ooops. There's little corn sprouts, too, but too small to show up here.



This is my news compost barrel, and some other barrels for invasives (horseradish, jerusalem artichokes) and for sweet potatoes and yacon:



cherries, red pears, apples, peaches, persimmons, pawpaws:



currants and gooseberries:


irises, daylilies, parsley, sage, chives, and weeds:

[hippywife]

50. Wow!

Very nice! Lots of little spots of interest. Good job! :hi: