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I had to pick the first three Goliath tomatoes yesterday. One had started splitting and was an open door to bugs. It was ripe enough to eat and I did just that. It did have a unique sweet taste and a different texture that was fine. Very juicy. I was happy with it. The other two were about the same ripeness but would like to have left them a couple more days on the vine but with a weather pattern moving in calling for sporadic thunderstorms I didn't chance them splitting too as they were already well colored. The one tomato that is of a large size is turning but not enough to suit my taste to pick. The August planting of summer squash is giving birth.
All the boards for the raised beds that will comprise the first 4x24' of plantings has been cut and painted for assembly today. If weather will cooperate they will be in place and filled next week. I got a reprieve of a week to get them filled before digging the strawberry plants from the field. 63 Flavorfest plants should provide us with all of the berries we can eat. I've never eaten on but know the man that is giving me the plants from his field and his opinion carries weight. His description of them is large to very large, red to the center, good for fresh, jam, freezing, disease resistant, and they make the best strawberry ice cream.
I'd like to find out where to get the seed that the pumpkin growers have for the upcoming giant pumpkin festival. They will have some come in on flat bed trucks. Some may top a 1,000 lbs. I would plant one hill in the garden and see just how big I could get the to grow. Normally I only plant the little sugar pie pumpkins for the quality of they have for pies and pie squares. I bet Mr. "L" was a happy camper today.
Finally the raised bed for strawberries has been completed and ready to fill with the needed layers. 7 Photos to show the way it went together. It is 4' wide x 24' long. Constructed of 2x10x8' common grade lumber that was primed with exterior house paint on all sides. The bottom or foundation layer is made of PT 2x12x12' lumber which is well below the root zone of the berries. The inside will be lined with 12 mil black plastic to help make the wood last years longer and one more layer to keep any pressure treating chemical away from the plant roots.
3 rows of berries for a total of 63 plants of a variety that can produce up to 2lbs a plant of the best looking and tasting multipurpose berries.
looks great to me. I bet your strawberries will be in 7th heaven next summer.
I am about to say goodbye to much of my garden this year and start the clean up process. I still have lots of tomatoes and some okra, but not a lot. My squash, well total lost cause. This is the end of my attempt at growing it. Then, of course my peppers: they are fine but coming to the end as well. Only my herbs are still producing big time. I think I am about to pick a bunch more basil and make pesto.
Took some more photos of the dirt being dumped in today. Top root zone layer goes in tomorrow and plants get dug from a local field Saturday morning. Planting in the afternoon. Lots of hard work but it gets real easy to maintain and harvest. Easy to cover with bird netting too.
The work on the strawberry bed continues. I am working smarter here and letting the younger generation use the shovel and even better a power shovel. The time has come for me to always work smarter and not harder. These two photos show the black plastic liner on the inside between the wood and the dirt. Bottom is open all the way to the natural soil. First it was filled with the cheap fill and then some native topsoil. We added water to settle the dirt down before the final fill of a mix of mushroom dirt and topsoil goes in. Not so much of that so the trusty shovel will get a workout while I sit in the shade and use the camera.
The filling made easy.
Hand finishing and the liner shown.
The big power shovel.
Dirt Soup.
Last edited by Nomadicus; 09-07-2018 at 09:37 AM..
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Raised Strawberry bed continued
The time has come for me to always work smarter and not harder. These two photos show the black plastic liner on the inside between the wood and the dirt. Bottom is open all the way to the natural soil. First it was filled with the cheap fill and then some native topsoil. We added water to settle the dirt down before the final fill of a mix of mushroom dirt and topsoil goes in. Not so much of that so the trusty shovel will get a workout while I sit in the shade and use the camera. 
