Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I too am using the mels mix. I have 3 beds with it now and 3 more to go. I will send pix when more is done. One is double high for the root crops. I would like to make the trellises with the conduit but have spent so much already this year so that may be for next year. I have an old laundry organizer that I took apart and strung the lower half for the peas and will do the other half for something else. I also thought that I would turn my tomato cages upside down for my pole beans. Are there any thoughts on that one?? I hope it will work. My neighbors handyman gave me some wire fencing and I might use that or I may make just one of the trellises but haven't made up my mind yet. I am going to lay chicken wire or the larger holed wire fencing on top of the soil to keep the neighbors cats from thinking these are large litter boxes. I think the plants should grow through it. Tomorrow we will go over to Las Cruces to get another large bag of vermiculite (6 Cubic foot) at the nursery. I have used most of one already. All that they have in Alamogordo is Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, and K-mart and all they carry are very small bags. Lowes does carry organic compost in one cubic foot bags. The organic peat is in 3.8 cubic foot bags. I know that this is a one time expense. I will have my own compost and now I know not to put the mustard weed in the compost tumbler. I will use the compost I've made already around the trees but not on the beds because of the curly top virus.
Also I read something about planting onions with the cabbage to keep loopers away in my latest Mother Earth News. I think I will try it.
Last edited by Phawk57; 04-01-2010 at 09:54 PM..
Reason: just to add something.
This year I want to plant flowers with my veggies because they are supposed to help each other. Any ideas?
What is everyone using to stake their pole beans?
Marigolds! They do well with everything! I have two squares (is that the right term?) set aside for them in the middle of my garden. I've read that Geraniums do well with peppers so I may plant a few just outside my raised bed (don't want to lose more space to silly flowers) and will also plant zinnias nearby. I have a 6 year old who loves flowers and I have to have some she can pick for her bouquets.
Chives are also good with some veggies and help ward of some pests (supposedly) and they technically have flowers.
I got the bean cage from Gardners.com to try this year. It is 14x14 so it encroaches in nearby squares but I am planting lettuce next to it so I'll just plant one less row of lettuce in that square.
FWIW, I'm using a strip of wire fencing for the peas, vinyl covered, so that hopefully it doesn't get as hot in the sun. It's the fencing with squares in it. Some people call it "turkey" fence. I don't have a name for it, but you probably know what I'm talking about. I just replanted the peas that sprouted in a pot, and grew to 3-4" in a week! Didn't have any luck with peas last year, but maybe this year will be different. Haven't done vine type veggies before, so I may be doing something wrong.
I took some pics of the garden I have so far. I still have two more beds to make. Look closely at the lettuce one. There are 3 hard to see seedlings there. I have two single high and one double high bed done. If you can see them I counted 9 pea shoots. They are in the 3rd and 4th images.
You have a huge garden compared to me Lisa. I just have a big 4 x 2 box that I will plant a few herbs in, and a whole lot of containers, some of which will be vegetables and herbs but will mostly be flowers. I have about 8 pots of flowers right now, but if I keep doing 3-5 every weekend I will soon have a fine mess..
My soil is so heavy and clayey and it gets so hot in the summer here that I let the front and back lawn just be grass. It's easier than fighting with the soil.
You have a huge garden compared to me Lisa. I just have a big 4 x 2 box that I will plant a few herbs in, and a whole lot of containers, some of which will be vegetables and herbs but will mostly be flowers. I have about 8 pots of flowers right now, but if I keep doing 3-5 every weekend I will soon have a fine mess..
My soil is so heavy and clayey and it gets so hot in the summer here that I let the front and back lawn just be grass. It's easier than fighting with the soil.
I have the same soil. We must be neighbors! I also have a space for herbs, about 5'x5'. They have to share that space with lettuce, though.
I started dill and tomatoes from seed this year. Never did that before, but the seedlings now have two or more leaves, so I can plant the peat pots directly in the garden. There are 10 ittybitty tomato plants, and about 15 dill seedlings. That means lots of home made pickles this year!
I'm also pleased to see some flowers (gaillardia) and gourds come up. This is my first time trying gourds. I'd like to dry them and decorate them for hanging outdoors (like birdhouses, though I don't think any birds will use them -- or do they?)
Rhubarb, which is said not to grow well here, is doing great! Strawberry season is here, and I love that combination in desserts. Yummmmm.
Debsi, I know what you mean about having a "fine mess". I had that last year, hopefully I won't let it get away from me again. Hubby doesn't help with weeding. He's smart. So smart that he claims he can't tell a weed from a plant. And he thinks I believe him. When I ask him to go get some cherry tomatoes from the garden for salad, he takes forever, comes back empty handed, and says, "I had my salad already". (He loves those cherry tomatoes!)
Really, there's nothing like your own veggies from your own garden. You know what you put on them, and you know they're clean and safe.
You have a huge garden compared to me Lisa. I just have a big 4 x 2 box that I will plant a few herbs in, and a whole lot of containers, some of which will be vegetables and herbs but will mostly be flowers. I have about 8 pots of flowers right now, but if I keep doing 3-5 every weekend I will soon have a fine mess..
My soil is so heavy and clayey and it gets so hot in the summer here that I let the front and back lawn just be grass. It's easier than fighting with the soil.
I think we all have that horrible soil or bad soil of some kind, but the hardest to grow a garden we ever had was in Lewisville, just about the same as you. We did have luck with the herbs and a few squash, other than that it was pretty much just flowers. We tried potting veggies, we tried a raised plot, you name it, we tried it. When we could get something to look like it would grow it was mid summer and so hot we couldn't get enough water to keep it going.
You have a huge garden compared to me Lisa. I just have a big 4 x 2 box that I will plant a few herbs in, and a whole lot of containers, some of which will be vegetables and herbs but will mostly be flowers. I have about 8 pots of flowers right now, but if I keep doing 3-5 every weekend I will soon have a fine mess..
My soil is so heavy and clayey and it gets so hot in the summer here that I let the front and back lawn just be grass. It's easier than fighting with the soil.
We have great soil on the "outside" of our compound. The cows have been fertilizing it for generations, lol. My soil is on the inside and it isn't very nice. Lots of rocks.
BTW, I have 96 squares I have no idea what to plant in all of those squares. I think I might spread some things around this year. Last year the veggies were too tight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by southward bound
I have the same soil. We must be neighbors! I also have a space for herbs, about 5'x5'. They have to share that space with lettuce, though.
What herbs are you growing? How do you dry and use them?
Lucky you that you can start tomatoes from seed. My last frost date is May 10 so my season isn't long enough.
Gourds should be cool. Have you tried Luffa seeds? I am dying for someone to try those since I can't.
I am in the planing stages. I went to the Farm supply and I have to wait for tomorrow's delivery for my Vermiculite. I want to get started...I hate waiting. You should see me after I plant my seeds and plants. You mean I have to wait 50, 60, 70 days or more? I am so impatient, lol but it is well worth it when the veggies finally come.
We have great soil on the "outside" of our compound. The cows have been fertilizing it for generations, lol. My soil is on the inside and it isn't very nice. Lots of rocks.
BTW, I have 96 squares I have no idea what to plant in all of those squares. I think I might spread some things around this year. Last year the veggies were too tight.
What herbs are you growing? How do you dry and use them?
Lucky you that you can start tomatoes from seed. My last frost date is May 10 so my season isn't long enough.
Gourds should be cool. Have you tried Luffa seeds? I am dying for someone to try those since I can't.
I am in the planing stages. I went to the Farm supply and I have to wait for tomorrow's delivery for my Vermiculite. I want to get started...I hate waiting. You should see me after I plant my seeds and plants. You mean I have to wait 50, 60, 70 days or more? I am so impatient, lol but it is well worth it when the veggies finally come.
Lisa, I envy you your place, but I sure don't envy the 96 squares! That, my dear is WORK! And, last year your veggies were too tight? Did you use all 96 squares?
I grow dill, and two types of sorrel. One is called French sorrel and is used in cooking. I like to add a leaf or two to salads. I use the dill fresh in salads, on baked potato w/sour cream (yummmm), and on fish. The seedheads and stems make great dill pickles. I can never find enough dill to buy for that purpose and now maybe I'll have my own. Oh, yes. I also grow basil and couple varieties of parsley and thyme. Tried Thai basil last year. It was wonderful.
Lisa, I envy you your place, but I sure don't envy the 96 squares! That, my dear is WORK! And, last year your veggies were too tight? Did you use all 96 squares?
I grow dill, and two types of sorrel. One is called French sorrel and is used in cooking. I like to add a leaf or two to salads. I use the dill fresh in salads, on baked potato w/sour cream (yummmm), and on fish. The seedheads and stems make great dill pickles. I can never find enough dill to buy for that purpose and now maybe I'll have my own. Oh, yes. I also grow basil and couple varieties of parsley and thyme. Tried Thai basil last year. It was wonderful.
What are Luffa seeds?
Good morning.
Last year I had 49 squares so I have almost double this year. Plenty of roo to spread out. I think I might try a couple of squares for corn and do one eggplant plant. I also want to try a few squares with onion sets.
Ooh....I love herbs and spices. I tried some last year but they weren't "in" my garden. Needless to say they didn't do well.
Luffa seeds is what luffa sponges come from. My stepdaughter told me about them. She makes her own health and beauty supplies and she wanted me to grow some. They grow pods and inside the pods are the sponges. They need a longer and warmer growing period than I have here.
I am supposed to go to the farm supply to pick p my vermiculite today but it's supposed to rain. Not sure when I will get my beds done.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I also have a space for herbs, about 5'x5'. They have to share that space with lettuce, though.
