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Vegetable Gardens

Looks good Les.

Other than some tomatoes we won't have much else. Not many tomatoes either, the wife threw out over 300 pounds last year, they were rotting from the inside before they ripened. It wasn't bottom end rot. Some of her aquaintances canned some only to throw their canning out.

One wonders what they are spraying in the air.
 
@NVW , @Diesel princess and I had a similar problem last year... We did manage to get a pretty decent harvest for our modest garden area. We build some raised bed boxes in the backyard and our building more of them this year as we speak ,to be able to grow more. Also in the process of putting up a greenhouse.. for anybody interested in a decent greenhouse design thats relatively cheap to build, we bought a portable carport from harbor freight one of the ones that have the interlocking pipes for a frame and canvas cover.. I believe it was either 200 or $250... Then we ordered some 6 mm I believe plastic 100 ft by 40 ft from home Depot which I believe cost $100 if I remember right.. with lumber prices what they are it was a lot cheaper and can take it apart and take it with us if we move. (Just an idea for anybody that might also be interested in doing such)
Anyhow last year we grew a lot of tomatoes and multiple kinds of peppers... And the celery... We did some of the tomatoes in the boxes and others in the Topsy turvy bags that you hang up... So I know the problem was not with ground contact causing rot.. I truly believe it's something to do with the rain and possibly the gov spraying...???
We planted some tomato plants the other day and they started turning yellow... It could be either from the fact that we got a ton of rain right after we planted them or also could be because we had just trucked in a bunch of garden bed soil from a local company that we have not used before.. but because of them yellowing we went and bought some miracle grow raised bed soil and mixed it in pretty heavy to hopefully give them a boost... Was also told recently to do what my grandpa used to do and break up a bunch of old drywall and mix that in ..the gypsum is supposed to be good for them..
Diesel princess is going to post pictures see how I can see some of the beautiful stuff she got last year.. with prices the way they are I pray we get a good crop
 
My wife and I do a veggie garden every year. Nothing better than home grown food. I had to build a fence around ours to keep the rabbits out. I will snap some pictures when we get it in the ground this weekend. We both have a green thumb, I've been growing "vegetables" in my indoor garden for years 😉 And my wife has a HUGE flower garden in front of our house. Then next house we move to I want to build a greenhouse.
 
I've been gardening ever since 3 years old. Our farm here that we've been on for over 35 years is full of my flower beds and we also have a 40x40 ft vegetable garden that, itself also includes flower bed accents all around. I'd venture to say there is close to 1/2 acre total in gardens. It's sort of a sickness/passion with me. Here are some random pictures from the past 5 years or so. We full mulch our vegetables with hay and straw. Ironically, my son is coming to help plant Tomatoes, peppers, onions and potatoes today. Been picking many pounds of asparagus the last few weeks.

20170522_122718.jpg20170715_094229.jpg20210724_092545.jpg20210701_101309.jpg20210617_135731.jpg20210701_085416.jpg
 
Wow Mike your place is beautiful!
We're trying something new this year Called companion planting. Basically plant 2 things in same area. Example is planting carrots under your tomatoes. Celery around peppers, onions and potatoes in the same bed... It's supposed to help maximize small garden areas. We're also going to do a lot of planting in pots and Topsy turvys in the greenhouse. Tomatoes peppers and green beans all seem to do good in them and good part is no ground contact. We're trying to maximize growing capacity with a small area because our backyard is only about 40 ft by 60 ft.
 
Stoney said:
Wow Mike your place is beautiful!
We're trying something new this year Called companion planting. Basically plant 2 things in same area. Example is planting carrots under your tomatoes. Celery around peppers, onions and potatoes in the same bed... It's supposed to help maximize small garden areas. We're also going to do a lot of planting in pots and Topsy turvys in the greenhouse. Tomatoes peppers and green beans all seem to do good in them and good part is no ground contact. We're trying to maximize growing capacity with a small area because our backyard is only about 40 ft by 60 ft.
Click to expand...
Seems like I read to plant radishes around the tomatoes.

We use tomato cages made from 10 ga wire mesh.
 
That is awesome. Reminds me of how Mom had the backyard.
I just have some little bitty raised beds around my pool area I want to start with. But that will be after the house quits giving me fits and the hummer is back together.
I did our front yard 99% for looks and just added in a single grapefruit tree and a lemon tree. Learned afterwards there is tree that they graft grapefruit, lemon, and orange. Wishing I had know that I would have done them instead.

I Don’t have the knowledge to grow enough to survive by any stretch. The two little trees haven’t paid for themselves, probably won’t. But fun to go grab my own grapefruit in the morning.

In the desert pretty much anything growing looks nice. So if it looks cool and has a snack for me- all the better.
 
Hi everyone... so sorry for the delayed post here are pictures of my gardening so far I think I have duplicated pics the caged plats and 4 behind it are tomatoes the second pic is jalapeno peppers the hanging baskets are tomatoes the 6th picture down the 6 plants in the bed are bell peppers and the one with 5 are banana peppers I also have some corn already popping up but my phone camera sucks so @Stoney will have to post some pics of them I also grew and dry my own sweet basil for seasoning last year and I grew sage as well last your and I am trying to do them again this year.20220524_141137.jpg20220524_141209.jpg20220524_141137.jpg20220524_141148.jpg20220524_141209.jpg20220524_141240.jpg20220524_141248.jpg
 
I used to be a commercial organic vegetable farmer so I have a bit of knowledge to share if anyone has specific questions about crops or growing practices

Soil tests are cheap and a really good way to know what's going on with your soil. Most plants like to grow in a PH just under neutral (7) so 6.6-6.8 is ideal. Lime does increase PH but it ties up nutrients in the process of being absorbed into the ground, so it is best to apply lime in the fall.

Gypsum (found in drywall) is also high in calcium but unlike lime it won't raise the pH of soil. So if your pH is good but you're lacking in available calcium gypsum is a good amendment. It also helps loosen heavy clay soils.

Most plants are heavy feeders, but too much nutrition at once and they will have adverse reactions. I used to put down 1.5 tons/ acre of 5-4-3 (NPK) composted pelletized chicken manure at the start of each season. Or about 15-20 pounds per 100' x 30" wide row.

Greenhouses/ high tunnels are fantastic and after getting late blight in the field for several years I will only grow tomatoes in a greenhouse. If folks are looking to build one be sure to get the plastic that is UV- resistant. Regular 6 mil from the store will get cloudy quickly and deteriorate in less than 2 years. My 20'x96' high tunnel went up in the fall of 2016 and the original plastic is still going strong.

Crops like tomatoes, peppers, and other flowering crops generally like more nitrogen fertilizers during the growth stage, and then more potassium and phosphorous during the fruiting phase (tomatoes for example).

When possible, source fertilizers that are organically based and not chemically based. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers destroy the natural nitrogen and carbon cycles in the soil and leave salts behind. Salt buildup is not a good thing for growing plants.

the composted pelletized chicken manure that I use is absolute magic. Chicken manure is also 5x as fertile as cow manure, so when sourcing compost adjust needs and application rates accordingly.
 
DieselAmateur said:
I used to be a commercial organic vegetable farmer so I have a bit of knowledge to share if anyone has specific questions about crops or growing practices

Soil tests are cheap and a really good way to know what's going on with your soil. Most plants like to grow in a PH just under neutral (7) so 6.6-6.8 is ideal. Lime does increase PH but it ties up nutrients in the process of being absorbed into the ground, so it is best to apply lime in the fall.

Gypsum (found in drywall) is also high in calcium but unlike lime it won't raise the pH of soil. So if your pH is good but you're lacking in available calcium gypsum is a good amendment. It also helps loosen heavy clay soils.

Most plants are heavy feeders, but too much nutrition at once and they will have adverse reactions. I used to put down 1.5 tons/ acre of 5-4-3 (NPK) composted pelletized chicken manure at the start of each season. Or about 15-20 pounds per 100' x 30" wide row.

Greenhouses/ high tunnels are fantastic and after getting late blight in the field for several years I will only grow tomatoes in a greenhouse. If folks are looking to build one be sure to get the plastic that is UV- resistant. Regular 6 mil from the store will get cloudy quickly and deteriorate in less than 2 years. My 20'x96' high tunnel went up in the fall of 2016 and the original plastic is still going strong.

Crops like tomatoes, peppers, and other flowering crops generally like more nitrogen fertilizers during the growth stage, and then more potassium and phosphorous during the fruiting phase (tomatoes for example).

When possible, source fertilizers that are organically based and not chemically based. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers destroy the natural nitrogen and carbon cycles in the soil and leave salts behind. Salt buildup is not a good thing for growing plants.

the composted pelletized chicken manure that I use is absolute magic. Chicken manure is also 5x as fertile as cow manure, so when sourcing compost adjust needs and application rates accordingly.
Click to expand...
Yes but I don't know what area you live in but the chicken fertilizer is not very easy to find here but my plants produced nice last year... I'll post pics now if I can find them.
 
Stoney said:
Wow Mike your place is beautiful!
We're trying something new this year Called companion planting. Basically plant 2 things in same area. Example is planting carrots under your tomatoes. Celery around peppers, onions and potatoes in the same bed... It's supposed to help maximize small garden areas. We're also going to do a lot of planting in pots and Topsy turvys in the greenhouse. Tomatoes peppers and green beans all seem to do good in them and good part is no ground contact. We're trying to maximize growing capacity with a small area because our backyard is only about 40 ft by 60 ft.
Click to expand...
Part of the reason for doing that is pest control
 
ak diesel driver said:
Thought I'd start a thread on gardens since it looks like we're going to be relying more on ourselves for food nowadays. Got ours rototilled today. Lot's of lime and some 8-32-16 with some 22-4-4 for the above ground plants.View attachment 74866
Click to expand...
Rolly, over near Wasilla, He had a tall fence around his garden and an electrified wire on the very top.
He said that keeps the mooses out. 😹😹😹😹
 
I tried gardenin for three seasons. Some of the items was excellent and some not so good.
The tuhmaters started out the first year doing great, then the second year not quite so good and the third year they pretty much rotted on the plant.
I figured it had something to do with nutrients. That was the last year for gardening for Me.
I was raised up on gardening, I never really enjoyed doing that when I was young, I tried it again and I think I enjoyed it even less in My older age.
I thought about taking another run at it this spring but just could not bring myself to hauling over the tiller then bustin sod to get it conditioned to making the garden easier.
 
@MrMarty51 you probably had problems the second and third year because you were not rotating your crop or recomposting the soil... Tomatoes are heavy for years and suck a lot out of the soil so if you're going to plant them in the same place again you have to add compost into it.. as a kid my Grandpa would rotate his crops every year where he planted tomatoes this year next year he would grow a different crop and so on and so forth. He always said that some plans take out of the ground while putting something else in and another plan does the opposite with a different nutrient... Considering how high quality is vegetables always were I figured he must have known what he was doing LOL. When diesel princess and I first started this last year it was more of a hobby to make a little extra money and have a little bit of our own stuff... But now with food shortages and sky high prices were more concerned with feeding ourselves and if we sell a little bit of the extra and make some money that's great too. But with the quality of her canning stuff last year hopefully she'll be able to make a decent profit.
 
MrMarty51 said:
I tried gardenin for three seasons. Some of the items was excellent and some not so good.
The tuhmaters started out the first year doing great, then the second year not quite so good and the third year they pretty much rotted on the plant.
I figured it had something to do with nutrients. That was the last year for gardening for Me.
I was raised up on gardening, I never really enjoyed doing that when I was young, I tried it again and I think I enjoyed it even less in My older age.
I thought about taking another run at it this spring but just could not bring myself to hauling over the tiller then bustin sod to get it conditioned to making the garden easier.
Click to expand...
I always loved doing it since I was little... I always did it with my grandma and had one lonely cherry tomato plant every year in her backyard then last year I got all my plants going in my garden beds my husband @Stoney made me and he has made me more garden beds this year... It is something I really love doing I keep imagining myself with a little garden cart in front of my house.
 
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