We set up a whole system of plastic piping and T-tape, but we are not very happy with it. We have tried leaving it on overnight so that the cold well water doesn't make the tape crack in the hot sun, but it really doesn't irrigate much more than the area directly under the tape. Maybe if we turned the pressure up slightly... right now we have it down very low. So we've been using the sprinklers instead, and of course they're less efficient but at least we're sure that the garden gets a good soaking.
Show Us Your Vegetable Garden Long Views
I am a newbie vegetable gardener and I am completely hooked, and loving it. Dave's Garden has been such a help and inspiration to me, and I've especially loved seeing everyrone's gardens. I have never posted before, but I decided to give it a try. I have a challenge because I live and garden on a steep slope, so I've created terraces. The first picture shows a long view from the side.
The next picture is from the top.
And the last picture is from the bottom.
A great job slopesower. That took a LOT of work and I hope you're richly rewarded.
How nice, Slopesower! And is that your house in the background of the middle picture? What all are you growing in those terraces?
jozeeben - thanks for the link to your photos on the Gourds forum. It seems that excess weight is the prime consideration. I was thinking along the lines of plastic water pipes. My pathways are 4' wide and I was considering an arch from the beds - up-and-over the walkway, allowing the cucumbers/melons to grow over my head.
You know, everything works on paper (giggle) but in practice not so much :)
slopesower - nice job you have done with your terracing - that was a lot of work. I'm fortunate in that I have a gentle East to West slope away from my house.
greenhouse-That is my neighbor's house to the north. My house is in this picture, below the garden.
The garden is a work in progress. I started four years ago with only two terraces, and have added to it each year. Hard work, but rewarding. I've been retired from teaching for two years and I am having the time of my life. All of you here have been the frosting on the cake.
I'm growing almost every vegee you can think of. (No okra or brussels sprouts.) I've made some mistakes like I do every year, but I'm learning. I started everything from seeds under lights. We get snow and aren't safe to plant out until Mother's Day. I've learned so much here about improving my soil, mulching, and feeding and it is making the difference. One of the beds I'm most excited about is the potato bed. I used the straw method and it worked! I have four different varieties and I am starting to steal a few cause I can't wait. Yummy.
I forgot to mention that I started this garden because I wanted a couple tomato and pepper plants! This year, I have 70 tomato plants, with 35 different varieties and 25 peppers. Yikes.
Gardens are like boats - you keep wanting larger and larger ones until IT owns YOU! We've been trying to cut back a little and I only planted 36 tomatoes this year, of six different varieties, but I'm also branching out into things like leeks, fennel, chard and so forth, so it doesn't save me much in maintenance!
We're both retired school psychologists, and we are definitely enjoying all the free time! What did you teach?
Leslie
Slopesower--I once lived on a steep slope, so I know how hard your gardening is---However, I did not even attempt veggies. Just rhodys and azeleas, dogwood and groundcovers. It was in our next house that I fell in love with veggie gardening. Now, I have lovely raised beds on a very slight slope and even they are beginning to get too hard. I do love it though---especially this time of year. Here are some of mine. Nice beets this year. We have been enjoying them baked and pickled.
I should explain further that we have had several moves since the first veggie garden experiences.
As you can see, we have to net everything. Deer and my own dear hens raise havoc from time to time.
We ate this one tonight.
These were taken 10 days or so ago. The corn is now nicely tasseled. It is a short variety which is supposed to have two nice ears each. Great for raised beds, I think. Also, we have plenty of wind here.
I interplanted a small head broccoli with onions and the onions better get ready soon as the broc it starting to overtake it.
Most of the lettuce has been picked now.
This artichoke is ready to eat now. Several more behind it to enjoy.
More corn and the end.
Leslie, I taught elementary school, all grades, but spent most of my years 4th thru 6th. I live in a small mountain community and loved my 25 career years, but retirement is great. How about you guys? What ages did you work with?
beebonnet, Your veggies look so healthy. I did beets for the first time. They had a slow start, but are looking good now. And I have one artichoke, so far. I have lots of green tomatoes. I'm so anxious.
We don't have a problem with deer, even though we live in the mountains. But...we have so many gophers and ground squirrels! It's a constant battle.
Slopesower, I was in a very small, rural preschool-through-8 district where I got to do a lot of counseling; DH was mostly in a middle school in a small city nearby. Better pay but more hassles!
Beebonnet, what a lovely garden! It looks so neat, and also productive!
Hey Beebonnet, love your artichoke! I have some cardoon that produced two "flowers" but it was a plant when I got it. I did some artichoke from seed and they are recognizable as artichoke leaves but I have no expectation of any yield this year. Did you start yours from seed, how old are they, when did you get them in the ground. Supposedly they are a tender perennial here in zoneB.
After seeing all your wonderful gardens I'm a bit hesitant to post pics of mine but here goes.
In this shot you can get a pretty good idea of what I have done. I am gardening in what used to be the flowerbed. I have been able to get a good bit out of the small space. I have harvested some things and put others in their places. So far this season I have grown or am growing radish, kohlrabi, turnips, beets, mustard, leaf lettuce, carrots, rhubarb, pak choi, cukes, watermelon, broccoli, tomatoes, red onions, green onions, argula, peppers, garlic and zuchini in that bed. I also have yard peas, cukes, tomatoes, swiss chard, watermelons and banana melons in containers. I have another raised bed I raised beans in and now I have squash and blueberries in it. I have a new raised bed I made this year for my tomatoes. In all I have 63 plants and 33 varieties. I tried potatoes in straw but the slugs did me in.
Forgot to mention I have strawberries in a half wooden barrel. The plants look great but the fruit is scant and mushy. May be the type or it may be that they are "down" in the barrel rather than up on top. I'll save the baby plants and try something different with them in the spring. I have a strawberry jar but have had no success with it for 2 years.
This message was edited Jul 23, 2009 4:21 PM
Sujo---I have raised artichoke from seed, long time ago, and they were fine, but I can't remember what happened to them. I am quite sure i bought this one. It has divided itself now and is several years old. The young one now has little artichokes coming. They love our foggy mornings and sometimes evenings. They take a surprising amount of water. They love compost and/or chicken manure. And, sometimes, they are better in the fall than spring and summer, so don't give up. Keep the water and rich soil coming. Then, if you get one or two, don't cook them nearly as long as store bought ones. Yours will be much more tender and take less time. At least, mine are that way.
Here is my bean bed with the blue berries along the back side.
Here is a better shot of the bean bed with the squash on one side and the bluberries in a small bed off the back. The blueberry bed is new this year.
This is my tomato bed. It has grown into a jungle. The plants are taller than me. They got so heavy they were pulling the cages over so DH drove some roof bolts here and there and we wired the cages to them. It's a mess but I have tons of tomatoes in there. Just don't know how I am going to get in there to pick them.
It looked innocent enough in the beginning.
Cajun, everything looks great! I like how you're growing so many different veggies and fruits, too.
My tomatoes look the same. And I discovered that I get an itchy rash when I come into contact with them, so I'll have to wear gloves and long sleeves to dig in there and pick them.
I'd read about pruning tomatoes, but time got away from me. And I was still a little unsure of what I was doing. And I was afraid to mess with them because they were struggling for a while from too much rain. I think I'll have a better handle on the pruning next year, though.
I was not diligent enough in suckering mine. But I'm not sure it would have made that much of a difference. It's incredible how tall and thick they have gotten. I've never had it happen before. They are planted in 100% composted sawdust and horse manure so that may be the culprit. Everything else has done well in it too but it was only added to existing beds for everything else. Come to think of it, the blueberries are in the straight compost and those bushes are about 4' high. That has to be the answer.
I know the feeling, CajuninKy, about being hesitant to post!!
Over on the NorthEast Forum, we have been getting a ton of rain all over the region, but here where I am. You are looking great over there, CajuninKy!
I don't want to post all my great crops and seem like I am rubbing it their faces ..... I wouldn't want to appear that way, at all.
So, here, for my "global neighbors" I will share my luck in having an awesome growing season, so far. There has been a lot of rain, but it will rain for a little bit, then the sun will come out and dry things out a bit.
Here's how the veggie garden (picture view I opened the thread with) is looking today. Things are HUGE!
I have already pulled about 11 zucchini out of the patch, and they are just starting to produce.
Everything is loaded and ready to go, but I have only gotten swiss chard and basil, so far (along with the zucchini .... er .... courgettes!!)
This one I let go way too long, it was the first one, and I didn't notice it sneak in and start growing.
Must be a good three pounds! Make zucchini bread outta this one, I guess.
I had so many seedlings started this year, and wasn't able to get them all given away, so I had to make a new veggie area.
Though, I planted this one much later, it has taken off, as well.
In this corner I have PACKED in .... 1 zucchini, 3 or 4 yellow straight gooseneck summer squash, 4 sungold cherry tomatoes, 6 Sweet 100s cherry tomatoes, 1 Special Turkish (large) tomato, 2 beefmaster tomatoes, 2 early girl tomatoes, 4 piccante calabrese (aka Satan's Kiss) hot peppers, 3 bhut jolokia hot peppers, 6 cantaloupe vines, 5 sunflower Mammoth, and 4 or 5 basil Violette.
Your garden is something else, Willie. You'll eat good out of there. Looks like you have made the most out of less space.
Willie, nice to see how well your garden is coming along! I've got hide-and-seek zucchinis and cucumbers, too. Kind of an embarrassment of riches! What do we do with all that produce? I've got a bunch of cucumbers and zucchini sitting on the stool in my kitchen waiting for me to figure out what to do with them. I've already frozen a lot of squash so I don't need more for the winter.
My tomatoes are just beginning to give me a nice harvest.
Here's what mine looks like now:
Thanks, folks! It is just as nice to see how everyone else's gardens have been coming along.
We have been getting a ton of rain, all the time, but it seems there is enough time between rains for things to dry out a little and get some sun.
I have been pawning off all the surplus, so far, to the neighbors and business customers.
I am planning to take most of the surplus to the local soup kitchens to help those who are hungrier than I.
That's AFTER I make all my salsa, tabasco sauce, tomato paste, tomato sauce, relish, zucchini bread, and anything else I can figure out how to make that cans, freezes, or stores well.
I hear zucchini bread freezes well.
My tomatoes are just starting to show some color, so I haven't harvested any of those, yet. Odd thing is: I started mine all from seed, gave a ton of seedlings away, and am hearing from EVERYone how loaded their plants all are and that they have already harvested TONS of tomatoes!!! But, me ..... nada! Loaded, but all still green.
Don't even talk to me about green beans or peas .... nothing! Only 2 peas came up, and of the 7 green bush beans, only 2 look like they will make it (I think something is munching them as they emerge). I will plant some more this weekend in starter cells, and then transplant them once they are past that tender seedling stage.
Thank you all for joining in on this thread and keeping it alive!! I have been getting a lot of great ideas, and wonderful new acquaintances!! Keep 'em coming!!
Look at all this leaf lettuce! Anyone for a salad?!!?
My garden grew like gangbusters, and I'm wondering whether the two or three applications of Spray N Grow made a difference. I stopped using it because everything was huge. Of course, I also had help preparing my garden this year and every row got a nice layer of compost before I planted, so that's a second variable.
Isn't that weird about your tomatoes! Did they handle theirs differently - pruning vs. not pruning, staking vs. not staking, different fertilizers?
I wish I knew! I think it is just an issue of hours per day of direct sunlight.
Another interesting thing to note has been that those to whom I gave seedlings have said they have lost things, or that nothing is doing well, except for the seedlings I gave them which have been going gang busters.
Maybe because I started the seeds on March 1st?
Who knows!
Not to rub salt in a wound, but my beans did great. I picked 4 huge "messes" of my little 6'X8' patch. They were still blooming when they got ahead of me so I let them go for seed. I finished hulling the last of them today and I will let them dry good before I pack them away. My problem with the beans is that they got all mixed up so I don't know what came off of which row. Guess I'll have a "bush bean assortment" to trade come spring. LOL
No rub, at all, CajuninKy! I am glad to hear someone is having success!
I think they were just too tasty for the insects to pass up, here. I have planted a fresh crop, but this time I didn't directly sow them in the soil. I will grow these in flats until they are big enough to hold their own against the insects.
I haven't given up, just yet!!
If anyone is interested, I have posted close-ups of the various things I am growing over in the NorthEast Forum's Edibles Thread.
Come get a close-up of what I am growing here (latest pics at end of thread):
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1011160/