I just pulled all my beets & carrots from my pyramid garden. I won't grow beets again because I always fight leafminers. Yaya carrots did great in my deep soft soil. I already planted another batch- not sure how they will do, but I am a gambler! Mors photos below-
Here are some Yaya carrots- They are the best tasting I have ever grown. I got my seeds from Park's, but several others have them.
And here's my fall crop of Caraflex cabbage in cinderblocks.
And Baby Bok Choi-4 in each block.
I just love your cinder block garden! I'm going to try that.
Thanks, Mary- I have them about 50' along my raised garden that runs in front of my cedar fence. I have been working it now for 3 seasons, and still figuring out solutions to problems! My worst is the winds we have here, and my soil is so rocky I can't just drive stakes in- But the cinder blocks are very useful and productive. I grow herbs and small veggies in them. If you search my name for posts you can see many photos I have posted.
Those are pretty Carrots JoParrot.
Curious about those Caraflex Cabbage------are they regular cabbage plants? or some type of loose head cabbage?
Assuming loose head or something cause I cannot imagine a head of cabbage having enough space in the block holes.
I have cinder block beds.
I just sowed some lettuce in some of block holes. It is a square foot garden.
The beds use to be in my front yard and I have just moved them to my back door= yard.
So---all of my cinder block holes have not been filled up yet. Just the Covered Wagon shaded Salad Garden.
I will be looking for your other post with pictures of your cinder block beds.
meanwhile.
I have these beds made out of cinder blocks for square foot gardening.
not including the inches
4x12 = 2 blocks high
4x12 = 2 blocks high
4x10 = 3 blocks high
4x10 = 3 blocks high
4x10 = 2 blocks high
4x8 = 2 blocks high
4x4 = 2 blocks high
4x4 =2 blocks high
4x4 = 2 blocks high
4x5 =2 blocks high
4x5 = 2 blocks high
4x5 = three tier strawberry pyramid
Just looking at your cabbages. I've grown red cabbages in cinderblocks and mine are leggy. It's the first time I've grown them that way. I'm also growing them in my raised garden beds and they are far superior. Do you make a special soil mix?
The cabbage I grow is Caraflex- it is a conical shape- very good and tasty. I just remove the big outer leaves as they grow, and there's plenty of space for them. This photo is the only one I can find- I grew about 15 heads this spring, and have more going now for fall.No special soil at all, just good organic materials and compost.
Love your garden Jo! Nice!
McP - I think we would fry whatever we planted in those cinderblocks unless you plan to use them as a winter garden only - lol...
Yeah, Kelly, waitin' waitin' waitin' for cooler temps. My cinder blocks are all lined up and ready to go.
As an aside, DH had to go for jury duty today so I have taken the opportunity to spray fish emulsion everywhere. hah hah! Off to the shower. Wheewwweeeee.
Oh you're bad - very very bad! Poor Butch - lol. Hopefully the aroma has dissapated a bit before he returns;o)
Hopefully he does not get sent home early! Otherwise, it'll be okay. That sun will burn it off in a few hours.
Another point of view...Notice the cinder blocks are only one high. That should allow the roots to go down where it is cooler. And, if it was my garden I would orient the blocks so that the afternoon sun only hits on one side, hopefully a short side. Then, I would insulate that particular side if it appeared problematic. There are myriad ways to accomplish that. But by the time it heats up in the summer here anything you would grow in those small spaces should be done in the garden. You could bury kitchen scraps and whatever in the block holes during the heat months getting them ready for the next fall planting.
Oh yeah, that last part is an especially good idea. Thanks Jayne.
Yeah Jayne - good idea;o)
you could paint the blocks with Elastomeric---it is a white rubbery roof coating. Sun can shine on it all day and it is still cool to touch.
This message was edited Sep 30, 2010 5:17 PM
Ohhhhh, thanks for that Cricket. My DH might have thought of that if this was his project. Another good idea from Dave's peeps.
I've only grown cabbages in 5-gallon eBuckets. From my observation, the roots only go down about 11-14" deep in the bucket and spread from there. I think if the concrete blocks are placed on a bed of loose planting medium, and the cabbages were started down inside, the roots would have room to go down and spread. The cabbage will grow up through the hole and balance on the block. Also, I've experimented with deep rooting the brassicas, and the hole could be filled as the cabbage grows up, like with a tomato. Roots will develop along that stem inside the block...
Linda
Great idea Cricket...an idea I hadn't thought of. And Mary, planting in those brick holes is not much different than the Biointensive method Jeavons writes about. Dont forget those mycorrhizae dudes. They really help create a deep and robust root systems. Remember though Brassicaceae (cabbages, mustards, and broccoli) do not form mycorrhizal associations nor do Chenopodiacea (spinach, beets, lambs's quarters) so don't waste your microbes on them. I can't wait to see what you do with this.
Ho boy.....I got that Jayne, I got all that. Whew. Mycorrhizae dudes and all.....I'd never waste a microbe. Nope. Never. Not me. :~}
Okay - here's an update: Yesterday I painted 22 cinder blocks with 2 coats of the Elastomeric compound. I had a news flash as I was painting the final batch of 4 - will any harmful by-products of the Elastomeric stuff leach from the cinder block to the root zone? If rtl850nomore is on-board I'm guessing it's okay but wanted to put the question out there. It may be the next weekend before I get around to placing the blocks where I want them and by then out temps should have dropped for the next season. I'll send some pics when there's more to see.
I was told that elastomeric was not toxic. But not by an expert.
http://azhomegrownsolutions.ning.com/photo/winter-herb-garden?context=featured
Another brick garden somewhere in Phoenix
Nice!
Will broccoli do well in these blocks? I got some nice broccoli starts yesterday from Singh Farms and was thinking of placing them in the blocks.
As long as the roots have room to grow down and into the soil they should do fine - they have pretty deep root systems in my experience...
Great. Thanks Kelly. Now to annihilate the grasshopper population in my gardens. Those mosters eat EVERYTHING. yes...i'm yelling about it......the little......well....buggers I'll call them - considering my public posture.
Does Bt lose it's potency after several months? Sometimes it has been in the sun. I've had the bottle at least a year.
We went to the rendezvous at Dan's yesterday and he is having a problem with those buggers eating his newly emerging seedlings. All except the beets - guess they don't like beets;o) He is going to try DE though I have read that it will harm earthworms, so what to do?!?!
Good link on Bt...
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05556.html
From the article... Bt-based products tend to have a shorter shelf life than other insecticides. Manufacturers generally indicate reduced effectiveness after two to three years of storage. Liquid formulations are more perishable than dry formulations. Shelf life is greatest when storage conditions are cool, dry and out of direct sunlight.
Also says it is ineffective on grasshoppers...
Oh. Somewhere I thought I read it worked on grasshoppers. DE is not particularly effective on anything that jumps. I have some DE, maybe I'll spread it around. Thickly. They gotta land someplace at the end of the jump!!! Right?
Hoppers are the hardest things to get rid of. Fortunately they do no like chile pepper plants either. Row covers?
Row covers would work - Dan has little clear plastic cups over his seedlings to try and protect them until they are large enough to recover from some munching - lol.
That's a good idea. Maybe 1/2 gallon water/milk jugs.
I like most of these:
Barriers
Plant the herb horehound (Marrubium vulgare) which is known to repel grasshoppers.
Grasshoppers do not like cilantro which is used by many organic gardeners as a barrier crop.
Plant calendula as a barrier deterrent.
Spray a heavy infusion of garlic oil as a repellent.
Grasshoppers are attracted to monocultures and do not like nitrogen-fixing crops like peas and sweet clover.
Row covers, like Reemay, or screens can be effectively used to keep them from your crops.
Garlic Oil Spray
To make: Combine 3 ounces of minced garlic cloves with 1 ounce of mineral oil. Let soak for 24 hours or longer. Strain.
Next mix 1 teaspoon of fish emulsion with 16 ounces of water. Add 1 tablespoon of castile soap to this.
Now slowly combine the fish emulsion water with the garlic oil. Kept in a sealed glass container this mixture will stay viable for several months. To use: Mix 2 tablespoons of garlic oil with 1 pint of water and spray.
Jo, Here's my cubes - all ready for dirt, seeds and broccoli transplants. I'll post again with pics when there's some greenery.
Could not get it all in one picture. Here's the rest. I think there's about two dozen blocks. In this pic, the netting is protecting the chiltepin peppers from being devoured by the birds.....the nuts.
I need to bury the red brick thingies to keep the water from flooding. It's on the To Do List.........with lots of other stuff. DH just placed them there to 'remind me'. Whatta guy!
This message was edited Oct 17, 2010 3:26 PM
Lookin good McP! I like the garlic spray idea. I love garlic so would probably be sittin' out in the garden smelling the aroma - lol... and watching the hoppers flee!
Thanks LocaChica. Most of the blocks are filled with a mix of potting and native soil. Wheelbarrow ran dry with about 6 or 8 left. Whew. What a day. also moved one of the wattle gardens to make room for a walkway. Love the exercise and the gratification of seeing the garden take shape.
Just out of the shower with an adult drink. Dinner is leftover stir-fry so I'm good to relax for the remainer of the day.
Happy gardening to all.......
Mary, your blocks look great! I know you will have good luck with them-
We had a freeze last night, so I have to start cleaning up tomorrow. I had harvested most of the cukes & peppers, and covered tomatoes. I'm ready to surrender anyway! It has been a good year in spite of the problems. On to next year!
The broccoli is going great. Each cinder block section with soil received one or two garlic cloves, they were first up. Also seeing some radish and Chinese cabbage sprouting.
Thanks for the fun idea Jo.
