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.
