Some pics (mid April)....

You misunderstand me Jay. I was gonna come there and debug your garden. Cross patch.

As that guy on TV used to say..........COME ON DOWN!!! I have got these critters down to just a few now. Maybe I am making headway.

Some more pics from today...

Go tomatoes Go!

12 Bush beans finally engulfed the whole EB.

Lots of beans forming! Woohoo! Too soon to pick but there's a ton this size :)

This message was edited Apr 22, 2009 6:55 PM

More...

Potatoes exploded after I fertilized and added more soil. I need to add more tomorrow. Surprised no bugs have bothered them yet. Last year the bugs loved them more than anything else.

Wow--everything looks great! Are your potatoes in the grow bags from Gardener's Supply? How many seed potatoes did you put in each container? I'm trying them for the first time this year, so welcome any advice.

Yup, that's them. The Potato Bins from Gardeners.com are actually smart pots. Go to smartpots.com and buy 15 gallon ones. They sell them for $3 cheaper. I made that mistake. Live and learn.

I planted 3 whole seed potatoes(they were very small) but they are growing up everywhere. Thinking I should have gone with 2. But we shall see. I'm not half way up the bag yet...I hope they aren't too crowded but that's growing veggies. You learn as you go :)

Ray: Beautiful vegetables there Ray. You sure have been busy.
joy

What was N-P-K and how much fertilizer did you use?

Jerry

Everything's gorgeous. I'm having container envy 'cause everybody seems to have a yard full of stuff growing already, and I keep trying to figure out when to plant down here. I think I'm being much too cautious. Standing on the deep end after all those lessons and won't just jump in! aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhh.

I have 4 empty EBs left. 5 already have tomatoes growing, so I don't feel so bad. I bought a coupla bell pepper plants last weekend, so I may as well put them into the EBs. I'm gonna sow the cowpeas and okra tomorrow.

And build a better trellis over the tomatoes vines which are falling down everywhere....

Ggirl, Here is my trellis, some pvc and baling twine. The tommys on the fence are just getting started here, I have more on another fence. My peppers are at the foot of the raised bed and since the photo I have loaded my EBs with bush beans. All this is in a 10 1/2 by 10 1/2 space. I have potoatoes under straw against another fence and in another sunny area I have sugar snaps, beets and carrots in EBs. Wooohooo. It is warm here at last.

Thank you all. Other than 2 diseased tomato plants and the "Leprechaun Lumberjacks" trying to chop down a few of my Jalapeno plants, its been an early and decent year so far.

Hey Jerry, I had always wondered what kind of fert I should use for potatoes. Then I stumbled upon this. http://gurneys.com/product.asp?pn=15381&bhcd2=1240583468 I didn't buy it but it gave me a understanding of what I should be using for taters. I went to the nursery and bought some generic 8-16-16 fert and used 3/4 of their recommendation. They seemed to really like it so I will do that every month for now. I was recently told that the P & K should be higher than the N for potatoes since they are a root vegetable.




Make a splash....jump on in! I started at least a month earlier than I should have(January). Many of my tomatoes have already outgrown their 56" cages so it's time to start tying them up.

I put together my last EB yesterday(10 total). I added 3 Sure Thing Squash plants to it. I needed to get some all female squash plants going since last year was a bummer for squash. No pollination and hated going out every day with a Q-tip hoping to find a male and female flower open. I still will be doing that with my Cukes and melons :(

Next year I'm build a trellis like Devota's. That looks perfect!

Looks like 2 or 3 blossoms fused together on one of my Cherokee Purples. Gonna be interesting to see the outcome of this one.

Ok, D, let's see your trellis....

Back up the thread my pal.

Devota dear your set up looks great!!! Everything is so pretty

You are making good use of that 100 sq ft area, Devota, but looks to me like you could use about ten more grow poles to fill in the "extra" space.

Ok I saw it. Was planning on putting up a trellis over the maters tomorrow but terrible rainstorm going on right now. No satellite so no TV OR computer. Aaaaaarrrrghhh! I'm communicating by cellphone.

This message was edited Apr 24, 2009 8:17 PM

Jay...you are so right. I need more gro poles but alas, they might shade out the lower stuff.
Karen, you are so kind. I think it is pretty too.
And you Miz G...huh? Oh you are on line with your cel. How cool is that?

Ray, I'd be interested in the varieties you're growing. I'm still hunting for Sungold, my favorite, but no sign of it yet. I definitely want to try those smart pots, we have some of the Japanese maples growing in them, where I work-they look like they're perfect for potatoes! You are going to have quite a harvest....

Devota, I love your garden space, you've truly maximized every inch-when it comes time for watering, it's SO helpful to have everything close together, I can't wait to see what you start to produce there...

Thanks thistle. I will update later, and yes it's good when time to water but also that is all the space have that is sunny and available..["No we cant dig up the Lawn!!]

OMG, my DH is the same, we only have 1 tiny sunny patch in the back yard (lots of mature trees), maybe 10' x10', but every time I talk about putting veggies there, he says, "but that's the only place we can grow grass" Arghh!-who cares? So, I have to put my beds & EBs around the edges of the sunny spot...

That is what EBs are made for...those of us with Lawnboy DHs.

Hey thistle,

I have some Sungold seeds left, if you want. But I'm sure you are looking for seedlings, since it's a bit late to start from seed. As far as tomatoes I'm growing here's the list. (I may add a one or 2 more varieties soon)....

Hybrids---

8 - Big Beefs
2 - Sungold
2 - Better Boy
1- Sweet 100


Heirloom---

4 - Hillbilly
2 - Cherokee Purple
2 - Paul Robeson
2 - Black Krim
2 - San Marzano
2 - Purple Calabash
2- Beefsteaks
2 - Abe Lincolns
3 - Unnamed Yellow Tomato plants from a friend in Tenn.(I'll post a pic below of the size he grew last year)
1 - Kellogg's Breakfast
1- Mortgage Lifter
1 - Green Zebra
1- Legend

I think that's all of them so far. I'm gonna plant 2 Black Cherry toms this weekend. They're finally ready to transplant.

Here's the "Big Yelleren" as my friend calls it. He shipped me this bad boy last year. It had to be heavier than 2lbs. It was a monster. Apparently, he had many the size of this one. They were very good tasting too.

One of the Potato Bins(Smart Pot) is almost filled. Never knew potatoes grew so fast.

Ray, I wondered about the smart pots. Those look great. I have mine on the ground under straw this year. Is the pot filled with soil or mix?
What are you planning to do with your tomatoes besides eating them?

The Gardeners Supply pot is 15 gallons deep (potato bin) and the largest size I could find on the Smart Pots site was 10.....is that what your using?

I'm using this http://www.ebstone.org/13_ednas.php and leaves I rake up in the yard.

Tomatoes will be eaten, canned(sauce) and given away to co-workers and neighbors. I hope I have the problem of being over run with tomatoes.




Actually Karen, smart pots go up to 200 gallons. I'm using the 15 gallon ones. Here's the link http://www.smartpots.com/products-2 and here's for the really big ones http://www.smartpots.com/products-3

Thanks! 200 gallon? WHOA! What would you use that for?

to bury the bodies.....

HAHAHA somebody had to say that. Get to work Ggirl!

ROTF, you girls!

Luv Ya'll! By!

Bodies make good fertilizer, bet you could grow some good tomatoes on top...Thanks for the offer of the Sungold seeds, but this year I'm being lazy & buying seedlings. Next year, I'll ramp up seed start-starting.

The tomato varieties I've got so far (1 of each)-Black Krim, Country Taste, Golden Jubilee, Orange Oxheart, Pineapple, Super Marzano, Sweet 100 & 2 plants of Big Beef-wow, I just realized how many yellowish tomatoes I have, probably too many.

This message was edited Apr 30, 2009 5:10 PM

HI,
I'm about to start my first EB. What do you do with plants that vine like the watermelons you showed above? Do the plants form on the ground?

Thanks,
Leslie

Leslie....I'm not growing any Melons in an EB. I do have 4 in a few 12 gallon containers. I think most people trellis their melons that are grown in EBs. If you do have the room, I'd let them sprawl on the ground. What you saw above was probably my cucumbers in a EB. I'm just gonna let them take over the table they're on and have them dangle off of it. I may eventually tie them up with some string if it gets to be too much. Hopefully somebody here with more melon experience could help you out.

Thistle....Looks like you have a good mix of color. Only 2 true Yellows. Pineapple is a Bi-Color....they're cool looking. Hope it taste as good as it looks. Kinda what I'm hoping for with the Hillbilly's I'm growing.

Speaking of buying seedlings. I'm kinda pissed at myself. I went to the nursery today to pick up some more potting soil. I must've got too close to the veggies....cuz next thing I know I was making a right(towards the tomato smell) instead of a left(to the soil smell). I saw a nice looking Box Car Willie and a Thessaloniki seedling. I grabbed them. Told myself...THAT'S IT, NO MORE! Then as I was walking towards the soil area...I passed the peppers. UGH! There was a few nice looking ones so I grabbed a Pequin, Tabasco and a few Jalapenos. I needed a few more hots apparently (Well, that's how I justified it). Anyways, $150 later(soil, plants, fert and yellow sticky cards).....I realize I need to leave the Credit card at home when I visit nurseries. I made it clear to myself $50 at the most, then out the door. I do that all the time lol

Bodies for fertilizer? Where's Richard Ramirez when you need him? But only a 50" base(for the 200 gallon pot)....we may need to hirer some "Good Fellas" to do some trimming and pruning so the bodies can fit :-) Shoot, I bet the Leprechaun Lumberjacks that hacked at my Jalapeno plants would be up for the job. I hear they work for free and are almost never caught.




This message was edited May 1, 2009 5:45 PM