Vegetable gardening this growing season?

[BigBoxaJunk]

This is at our house in Indy. I took these in 2007, the first year I tried this technique so there have been some minor changes which I will list. The bed is also longer, deeper, bigger etc and every year the plants grew over the top of the 6' fence and I would cut them back. We also had good luck with oregano, basil and peppers in front of them. Eventually I moved peppers to their own bed and just grew herbs in this bed with the tomatoes. Then we created beds just for herb plants and included them in the landscaping as well. Plants like sage, purple basil and oregano look pretty good on their own.

I used the Florida Weave Technique combined with my idea of attaching it to the fence posts. I used large stainless eyebolts with threads for wood and 8' lengths of rebar. I put two eyebolts into each post and the posts are 8' apart. One change was to add a third eyebolt in the middle. Near the end of the season there was enough pull on the rebar that it flexed a bit in the center. At the end of the season, you cut down the plants and strings, pull the rebar and put it away. Eventually I just left the rebar in year round.

I put 4 plants in each 8' run. Starting at the first rebar I put a plant at 1', 3', 5' and 7'. Frankly its better to use 3 plants in an 8' run. I tried a few different varieties and this fence runs East/West so plants face South. Open space behind the house to the east so they got sun from 6am to 4pm-5pm easy. It was very efficient. Do not use some weak string. Use a hay bale twine with a pound test that is fairly high. These days I use a large orange spool of the bale twine and keep it in an empty cat sand bucket with the twine coming out a hole in the bucket lid. I just leave the bucket out in the garden with a knife in it to cut the twine. I should have put the hole in the side of the bucket, not the lid, because I have to leave the bucket on it side to keep water out of it. You probably don't need that much twine but it has multiple uses and others with larger gardens who try this will want more. Now I use metal fence posts in a larger garden.

Twine
View attachment 36893

That set up looks really nice. I tie my tomatoes in the same way, in addition to caging some.

I use lots of baler twine as well as the smaller rolls of brown jute twine to tie stuff up in the garden. I tie my half-runner beans on 7' tall trellised rows using twine.

 

[dusty88]

I take a different approach than raised beds, partly because I want flexibility to expand or contract (and even to "mow down" if it's a busy year or I'm not happy with a crop). I try to use few outside inputs, though I do sometimes pick up free manure.

I tilled the garden only once, to get it started. It takes about the same (or less) time to put paper or a good mulch layer down for weeds, and it doesn't disrupt the soil microorganisms like tilling does. The last 2 years, I've used a lasagna method. I lay builder's paper over the whole garden. I hold it down with some free clay bricks that were on our property; some people use rocks or logs. Then I use whatever compost, manure, straw, shredded paper, coffeegrounds, etc I have to start the mulch layer. Some years I'll buy a couple of bales of straw. With good mulching, you automatically manage either dry or wet periods with little to no watering.

The paper holds the undesirable plants back until your own plants get going. You just poke a hole through to dig for a plant. or use a stick or pointed stake to make a hold for seeds. The paper decomposes and becomes part of next year's soil.

If you keep sprinkling mulch on throughout the season, there isn't much weeding to do.

 

[Zoub]

I lay builder's paper over the whole garden.

I just looked up the cost of builders paper, I found it as low as $15 a roll at Home depot with just a quick search. That's not a bad idea for the cost.

 

[dusty88]

I just looked up the cost of builders paper, I found it as low as $15 a roll at Home depot with just a quick search. That's not a bad idea for the cost.

Rhosen paper is similar and sometimes even cheaper.

I've also heard some people are able to pick up newspaper rolls for almost nothing; I haven't tried.

I have used cardboard. It's better if you have really thick weeds underneath, but it takes a lot more time to get it to sit in one place. Today's cardboards seem to be coated so they don't deteriorate quickly. Thus just when you think they are wet enough to start sticking to the soil, they dry out again and blow away. It takes a lot more bricks, rocks, whatever to keep the various pieces of cardboard in place.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I'm on a poorly drained clay soil, so I built raised beds, but I also have a fairly big spot that drains well enough to plant for the stuff that takes up a lot of space, beans, potatoes, squash, okra, and corn.

I've also started to try to avoid tilling as much as I can. I have a few raised beds that for the past few years, I've only scratched up the dirt enough to put in plants or seeds and I think there's something to be said for building soil structure. That builders paper sounds like a good idea, I'm going to get a roll and try it out this year.

 

[Zoub]

Wind is always a factor for us here in Wisconsin. Anything I put down will need help to stay put. I am looking into options for covering the garden. Last year I had a 10 day run where I kept getting small injuries and a few were almost major, then we tilled the garden..................next day I had a pinched nerve in my back. First ever back injury. Going no-till this year.

I am also repurposing one of my collapsible shipping crates to be a cold frame to help harden off plants in. Then after spring I will plant salad type stuff in it so I can cover in Fall and see how far I can extend the growing season with this. Our garden is one giant "raised bed" in the middle of a forest bog and we live on the tail end of zone 3. Being the low ground by the river we can easily be 5-10 degrees colder then the nearest town and last year we were wet all year. I think the water tables are up and a nearby spring was seeping almost constantly.

More pics since the internet is a visual medium.

hold on....




.

 

[dusty88]

Great ideas on the cold frame, etc Zoob.

By wind, you mean blowing away any paper cover etc? Yes it will if uncovered and especially if completely dry. That's why the cardboard was such a pain. It took it so much longer to get to the point where it wouldn't blow away.

We have a lot of those old clay bricks on our property from an old building. I've also used logs and then I pull them up later in the season and put them back on the woodpile (drives my husband nuts as it's not good for wood curing but.... we have more). There are also various stakes I use for gardening that contribute to holding the paper down: I use inexpensive fiberglass stakes to mark rows; tomato cages and similar smaller cages for peppers; And I have super-cheap flags on wire that I use to mark certain plants.

When I can get free manure I put that over the paper and then I don't need the bricks, etc for long.Of course, shoveling manure can be a backbreaker.

I also use my compost but that's just not very much as far as volume goes. Even straw will help once the straw gets a little wet. If you still have leaves around in the woods, you can easily rake those up. Their current consistency (starting to break down and damp) holds the paper down plus adds nicely to organic debris for next year's fertilizer. I usually also keep adding my lawn clippings.

One thing I have always intended to try is to cover crop the whole garden with something that doesn't grow too tall, then plant between it. I just haven't read up enough on what I want to use so I've never really gotten around to it.

There's a woman named Ruth Stout who lived somewhere in New England who wrote about lazy gardening. The summary of her books is basically just keep throwing everything biodegradable on the garden so that you have constant weed control and mulch layer. I think that works probably if you keep it deep enough.

Another unconventional idea is to put down wood chips, especially if you can get those cheap or free somewhere. Yes, they will grab some nitrogen from your soil but only during a certain phase of their decomposition and then they add back. So overall, it seems to work well.

If you or your neighbor have poultry, fence the poultry in the garden prior to planting. They'll eat weeds, bugs, scratch up some of the soil for you, and leave fertilizer behind.

 

[CindyE]

i just saw an asparagus spear peeking thru the soil!

 

[skulhedface]

One thing I have always intended to try is to cover crop the whole garden with something that doesn't grow too tall, then plant between it. I just haven't read up enough on what I want to use so I've never really gotten around to it.

We tried clover last year. No real results yet, went with it for its nitrogen fixing and attracting pollinators

Edit: If you're looking for a lot of wood chips and luck is on your side try calling a local tree service. They won't go too far out of their way and want to drop the whole load at once (10-15 yards)

 

[Zoub]

In Racine we use to get truck loads of free mulch at two pick up sites in the city and one at the local
power company. Here in the wilderness it's a different story and wood products are money. The logging trucks are already running the past few weeks with our early spring. I thought about renting a chipper and just feeding it saplings from a spot I want to clear for a food plot.

I am probably going to plant a cover crop this fall. It won't be anything deer like but it is about the easiest way I have seen to get plant material exactly where you need it and cheap.

For us deer food equals deer. Deer in winter draw the wolves in close because the plowed roads are natural intercept areas at night when deer cross to get to your feeders. Then the wolves go out of their way to try to kill your dogs.

 

[PistolBob]

We till in April, first chance we get. I usually till in manure, some peat, and some lime. Then we plant a few weeks later and mulch everything with newspaper...then i just dump my grass clippings on top of the newspaper all summer....spread them out....the worms compost the paper, the ink is all soy based, and the grass clippings are just absorbed by the garden. This works well for us. We raise tomatoes, peppers, and a few cucumbers...if I feel like it I put in a few rows of bush beans.

 

[Zoub]

Since this place is mostly Dudes, we need pictures. Guys are visual animals.

Black box

On the cart

UNfolded and deployed

Built in ventilation

Old crock pots can be recycled too

 

[miguel]

I just started my plants today. Peppers, Tomatoes, and for the first time, Tobacco.

I decided to start plants this year, because I've not been happy with any of the pepper plants that I've gotten from garden centers or any place else in the past. The last time I had a great year with peppers was the last year I started my own.

And yes, the Tobacco is a prepping-influenced crop. I do like to try something new each year and I've about run out of things I've never grown. Tobacco would be one of the best barter items I could think of, post SHTF.

Did you get tobacco plants or start from seed? In either case, where'd you acquire it from?

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Did you get tobacco plants or start from seed? In either case, where'd you acquire it from?

I did a google search and checked out several sites, then I ordered some seeds from sustainable seed company.

Heirloom Seeds & Organic Seeds | Sustainable Seed Co

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

I got mine here.

The came from the UK in an envelope. I'll be starting mine from seed.

My first time too, Miguel.

 

[BigMatt]

Just got my 40,000 sweet corn seeds, 1/2 lb of blue lake bush beans and 250 pumpkin seeds in yesterday.

Now all I need is for the rain to stop for a couple of weeks so my field can dry out.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Had our first meal of fresh Asparagus yesterday.

 

[skulhedface]

Had our first meal of fresh Asparagus yesterday.

I'm so jealous right now. Our asparagus survived it's first winter, yay! Maybe if it pops up a few more spears we can sample a little.

 

[mom45]

Mine isn't growing yet!

 

[dusty88]

Fresh asparagus just up here also! I expect to have a lot this year, both regular and purple. I'm going to try covering 1 area and go for some white as well.

Wanted some mushrooms with it, but came back with an empty bag