OK people, it's time for my semiannual blog post!
We (well, it was mostly my hubby, but I am a very good supervisor) completely redid the garden this spring. We built more boxes, moved the pre-existing ones and mixed, mixed & mixed Mel's mix. A friend from church brought me a large dump truck full of mushroom compost for $350, which should last for as long as I am able to garden (I turned the ripe old age of 65 this year & am proud of it.)
The initial investment is a bit costly, but after the boxes are built & filled, you only need to replenish the compost after each harvest. When something is through producing, just pull it out, add a scoop of compost & plant something else. Remember, with Square Foot Gardening you don't use garden soil - a mix of 1/3 each compost, vermiculite and peat moss. The mix doesn't pack down, you can plant in it right after a rain and NO WEEDS.
My previous beds were 4x8, which were too big. I could never quite reach the center of them. I also use a lot of trellises for cukes, delicata squash & Tromboncino squash at the end of most beds, so we changed the sizes to 3x6 and 1x6. So far I am really liking the new design. I'm especially pleased with the tomatoes in the 1' wide boxes. Plenty of air circulation.
You can click any picture for a larger view.
I have eight 1x6 boxes, each of which has 6 tomato plants. And no, I don't know why I thought I had to have that many tomatoes. Actually I do have a good idea as to why - I start my own seed & in the dead of winter I get a little carried away sowing seeds.
It is very important to sucker the plants or you will have a major jungle on your hands.
Each tomato is supported with a length of heavy nylon fishing line that is looped over the top of the PVC pipe, extends to the ground with a couple of extra inches. As the plant grows, I just loosely wrap the nylon around the plant. Every few days I wrap loosely til the plants are at the top of the pipe. Nylon carpet yarn is actually better, but I couldn't find any this year.
As large as these plants are, the one strand of nylon is all that is needed & doesn't cut into or through the plant.
PVC frames are removable - just slip them out of the pipe clamps. This will help with crop rotation. My husband is really brilliant figuring out stuff like this. I give him a general idea of what I want & he makes it.
And now the ugly: My grandmother always said the Japanese beetles arrive after the first rain in June and unfortunately this has been my observation too. I hate that they are so reliable.
Stay tuned - I actually have plans for another show & tell post.
We (well, it was mostly my hubby, but I am a very good supervisor) completely redid the garden this spring. We built more boxes, moved the pre-existing ones and mixed, mixed & mixed Mel's mix. A friend from church brought me a large dump truck full of mushroom compost for $350, which should last for as long as I am able to garden (I turned the ripe old age of 65 this year & am proud of it.)
The initial investment is a bit costly, but after the boxes are built & filled, you only need to replenish the compost after each harvest. When something is through producing, just pull it out, add a scoop of compost & plant something else. Remember, with Square Foot Gardening you don't use garden soil - a mix of 1/3 each compost, vermiculite and peat moss. The mix doesn't pack down, you can plant in it right after a rain and NO WEEDS.
My previous beds were 4x8, which were too big. I could never quite reach the center of them. I also use a lot of trellises for cukes, delicata squash & Tromboncino squash at the end of most beds, so we changed the sizes to 3x6 and 1x6. So far I am really liking the new design. I'm especially pleased with the tomatoes in the 1' wide boxes. Plenty of air circulation.
You can click any picture for a larger view.
I have eight 1x6 boxes, each of which has 6 tomato plants. And no, I don't know why I thought I had to have that many tomatoes. Actually I do have a good idea as to why - I start my own seed & in the dead of winter I get a little carried away sowing seeds.
It is very important to sucker the plants or you will have a major jungle on your hands.
Each tomato is supported with a length of heavy nylon fishing line that is looped over the top of the PVC pipe, extends to the ground with a couple of extra inches. As the plant grows, I just loosely wrap the nylon around the plant. Every few days I wrap loosely til the plants are at the top of the pipe. Nylon carpet yarn is actually better, but I couldn't find any this year.
As large as these plants are, the one strand of nylon is all that is needed & doesn't cut into or through the plant.
PVC frames are removable - just slip them out of the pipe clamps. This will help with crop rotation. My husband is really brilliant figuring out stuff like this. I give him a general idea of what I want & he makes it.
Huge German Pink tomatoes
Rumi Banjan tomato
Rumi Banjan is a new variety I got from Winter Sown; they have been the earliest ones. It is a medium sized, somewhat
ribbed tomato that was brought to the U.S. in 1937 from Afghanistan and is thin skinned & very juicy. Rumi Banjan is bright yellow with a pinkish blush on the bottom. The taste was pretty good, especially for the first tomato of the
season, but a little too tart for me. (That doesn't mean I had any
trouble eating them!) .
Stay tuned - I actually have plans for another show & tell post.
1 comment:
Dixie, your garden is looking great. The tomatoes look tasty. Ours are only just now blooming! We have yet to see the JBs It seems there have been less each year lately. One is still too many. LOL
Post a Comment