Vegetable Garden

[Azone]

Applying black plastic “mulch” over the growing area with drip tape underneath it will eliminate a lot of labor when it comes to weeding and watering. It’s big rolls of heavy duty plastic, it comes in assorted widths depending on the distributor. Cut a hole in it where your plant will be and kiss weeding good bye. Besides keeping weeds suppressed, the plastic will keep the ground warmer which will benefit plant growth. Sweet corn, Anaheim peppers, heirloom tomatoes and lemon cucumbers are some of my favorite to grow at home. A hectic work schedule has kept me from growing one the past couple years, but one will be making a comeback eventually. @Panhandler80 If you get rid of your chickens you would probably get pretty good rent on that coop from some urban yuppies. Nice job on the build.

 

[180splitg3]

I was going to post a picture of our garden but after looking at some of these I think I'll just admire the serious gardens! Looking great!

 

[Conrad101st]

o

So I made my beds two foot tall b/c it’s so much easier on your back to work in the beds.

Two in front are 4x8 and have a 3 foot gap all the way around each bed.

The two in the back are 30 inches by 8 feet. I put them end to end and right up against the fence. I plan to let the green beans vine out all over the back fence.

I used rough cedar and it was expensive. $375 per box on average.

We put cardboard down in the bottom and then three inches of grade A limestone gravel to both deflect grass and gophers. Also helps with drainage.

We used two full pallets of organic soil that marijuana growers use. Mixed in couple bags of some gardening charcoal.

The beds all have food grade soaker hose.

After the seedlings got big enough we covered the beds with organic seedless Bermuda cuttings as mulch that a local marijuana supply store has.

Have put in a couple bags of some hippie organic fertility too.

We used the whiskey barrels for mint, Egyptian walking onions and some other herbs.

Wish we could have gone bigger but it’s enough for two people.

 

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

View attachment 197402oView attachment 197403

So I made my beds two foot tall b/c it’s so much easier on your back to work in the beds.

Two in front are 4x8 and have a 3 foot gap all the way around each bed.

The two in the back are 30 inches by 8 feet. I put them end to end and right up against the fence. I plan to let the green beans vine out all over the back fence.

I used rough cedar and it was expensive. $375 per box on average.

We put cardboard down in the bottom and then three inches of grade A limestone gravel to both deflect grass and gophers. Also helps with drainage.

We used two full pallets of organic soil that marijuana growers use. Mixed in couple bags of some gardening charcoal.

The beds all have food grade soaker hose.

After the seedlings got big enough we covered the beds with organic seedless Bermuda cuttings as mulch that a local marijuana supply store has.

Have put in a couple bags of some hippie organic fertility too.

We used the whiskey barrels for mint, Egyptian walking onions and some other herbs.

Wish we could have gone bigger but it’s enough for two people.

Those things will last forever!

Ever consider making coffins?

 

[Drenalin]

4. Materials... I'm all about doing things right the first time and being as hassle free as possible going forward. Would modern day ground contact treated pine last quite a while? Or are organic folks going to claim that this isn't safe / healthy? I want it to be nice, but framing with cedar seems a bit silly. I think with the new stuff I'd just risk it. I'm thinking that and then t-posts with cattle panels for trellises.

Cypress is another option that performs well, typically at a much lower cost than cedar. Probably won't find it in a big box store though; I buy it through a millwork shop and have him saw and plane to the dimensions I need. Don't know how hard it would be to get right now; lumber shortages are becoming a problem in my area and hurricane season is right around the corner.

 

[orspeedgoat]

Does anyone have any tips on dealing with earwigs? They are doing a number on my plants.

 

[Bsd0323]

A few thoughts on your queries:

1. I always put a weed barrier down (low grade non-woven landscape cloth) but it likely does nothing at those depths, just cheap insurance that makes me feel better!

2. I have 2' high beds and run the same soil top to bottom. Preference would be one foot of fill soil and one foot of amended soil but with the qty of beds I build the second delivery cost outweighed the benefit of the slightly cheaper fill soil. A note on soil: Do by the highest quality soil amended with compost available. Your success will likely hinge on soil quality and watering program.

3. Bed Orientation: I do think about this but location relative to shade on your property is critical. Also important to think about the vegetation in your beds: 6' tomatoes and climbing peas will shade everything behind them.

4. Materials: I always roll with cedar, its more money but worth it IMO. PT has gotten better with no arsenic but still nasty stuff with the copper

5. Watering system: Low pressure drip is the best. not expensive to set-up but does need a regulator. I run 1/4" line with 6" drip spacing, 3 lines per 4x8' bed.

Our Beds: AKA Veggie prison camp

View attachment 197336

Would love a setup like this. Looks great.

 

[Bsd0323]

I have 2 gardens. One has potatoes and onions and the other has tomatoes and jalapeno / Anaheim peppers

Everything I need to can up some elk stew.

Are potatoes hard to grow? Always wanted to try

 

[2britts]

No pics, but we plant two. Main garden has all the stuff you have to maintain regularly: peas, beans, cukes, etc. and root veggies like beets and carrots. The other one is just stuff that takes room but you don't fuss with as much; corn, pumpkin, watermelon and potatoes. Can't beat the satisfaction of a meal that didn't come from a store. The best thing we did was to buy a lawn sweeper a few years ago. We mow about 3 acres so there's plenty of mulch to lay out early on in spring.Cuts down on probably 90% of the weeding. Any weed seed you add in seems to compost out, End of the season everything gets tilled back in.

 

[BeaverHunter]

Are potatoes hard to grow? Always wanted to try

No very easy. I live in southeast idaho(potato Capital of the world) and always told myself I would never plant potatoes. I’m glad I finally did. So much fun digging them up at the end of the season and having fresh potatoes. My 3 year old daughter thinks it’s the funnest thing in the world. Plus you can do whatever variety you like. I really like Yukon golds.

 

[MuleyFever]

Would it be in bad taste to show off a guys herbs?

 

[Fatcamp]

First harvest tonight. My wife has wanted a garden and this summer made it happen.

 

[DenverCountryBoy]

Are potatoes hard to grow? Always wanted to try

No very easy. I live in southeast idaho(potato Capital of the world) and always told myself I would never plant potatoes. I’m glad I finally did. So much fun digging them up at the end of the season and having fresh potatoes. My 3 year old daughter thinks it’s the funnest thing in the world. Plus you can do whatever variety you like. I really like Yukon golds.

We've been growing potatoes for a few years. Just like everything else in the garden, they are so much better fresh. We grow purple Viking, Adirondack Blue, and Rosiland.

They are easy to pretty easy to grow, but there are a few tips that can help. Use a balanced fertilizer or slightly heavy on the P and K. Bone meal is good. Try to keep the soil moisture even. Straw mulch helps. Pinch off the blossoms so the energy goes into producing tubers instead of toxic fruits and seeds. Plant them in the bottom of a trench. As they grow, fill in the trench. Fresh manure/compost can cause scabs to form. Try to mix in fertilizer in next years bed in the fall so it has time to mellow.

You can reach in and start harvesting new potatoes a few weeks after the blossoms form or leave them to keep growing until frost kills off the above ground portion.

 

[DenverCountryBoy]

First harvest tonight. My wife has wanted a garden and this summer made it happen.

Nice. I struggle growing onions.

 

[NMframed]

This thread is awesome, great seeing all the gardens and getting new ideas on how to do things different. I’ve always wanted to build raised beds with walk ways in between but never made the time to do it.

I fertilize every year with horse manure that I pile up from cleaning stalls and let it age at least a year, then spread it early in the spring and disc in it with my tractor. Everything we planted this year has done great except for our corn. Only about half of the corn sprouted, maybe got a batch of bad seed.

I just got back late last night from a 4 day backpacking trip through the South San Juan Wilderness so will probably have a big harvest today. I’ll post some fresh veggie pics later this evening.

 

[NMframed]

Another bountiful harvest! Put a pretty good dent in our green bean crop but potatoes, onions, carrots, and beets we just took what we would use in a week. Green chile, bell peppers, eggplants, and okra are just starting to get ripe. Lots of green tomatoes but none turning red yet. Still getting a few squash and zucchini every other day. Two cabbages were more than ready and about six more that aren’t far behind. Watermelon, honey dew, and cantaloupe are about softball size and hopefully will be ready in a couple weeks. Corn is chest high and looking good. I always enjoy harvesting fresh home grown produce!

 

[NMframed]

It’s that time!! We always buy a couple bushels of roasted green chile from one of the local growers but I love roasting some of our own too to compare taste and nothing better than a fresh homemade green chile elk burger with cheese. I’ll post pics of the finished product in an hour or so!!

 

[NMframed]

Everything homemade and homegrown except for the cheese on the burgers and the condiments. All veggies came from our garden, the wife made the hamburger buns, and the elk burgers were from a unit 16A cow that my son shot last year. 100% New Mexico grown!

When you learn to embrace and enjoy the simple things in life it is amazing how much more enjoyable life really is

 

[NMframed]

Forgot the picture

 

[Elkero]

Peas, radishes, and onions have done good so far. Squash and jalapeños have done so so. Lots of tomatoes, corn and green chile coming in nicely. About to harvest the potatoes and you never know what you will get until you get them out.