2017 Gardening thread!
- Thread starter EatenByLimestone
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when you tend to go as big as Ashful, she's probably right... I keep just slipping projects in and hope they go unnoticed....
semipro
Minister of Fire
I hear that a lot.
Also an option is a farm share program (aka CSA). We joined one last winter and were pleased with what we got. We also got to try some things we haven't tried before.
I made a new frame for a raised bed that was rotting out and filled it with manure. I'll let it rain Friday, then sink tomatoes in it. I've read that tomatoes don't like a bed of manure, but thankfully, nobody told the tomatoes that. They produce like mad in it.
I need too replace another bed that rotted out. I'd love to find a replacement for the lowly 2x frame, but fear of chemicals, or price keeps me using them.
I need too replace another bed that rotted out. I'd love to find a replacement for the lowly 2x frame, but fear of chemicals, or price keeps me using them.
I finally gave up on rotting wood frames for raised beds. We put in these cement beds for less than it would have cost for cedar boards. No rot for us anymore.
Oh, I like that! Were they poured in place? Is that EPDM on the ground? I've been heaping mulch, but need a better solution.
Montanalocal
Minister of Fire
We have been using Douglas Fir (not hem-fir) in our community gardens. Very rot resistant at a much lower cost than cedar.
The ground cover is heavy commercial landscape fabric. It's is the kind that nurseries use. The concrete beds are modular L-shaped 16" blocks put together to form the sides and there are 2 sided L shaped blocks for the corners. The design is originally German but these were made by a local contractor.
Not quite, they were made at the local contractor's property and then brought to our site where I assembled them into beds, then lined with landscape fabric and filled with soil.
They are not, just set side by side. The landscape fabric acts as soil barrier between blocks. Here are a couple shots of them going into the greenhouse before soil was added. In this location the corner block is radiused and I opted for some decorative faces on a few of them.
What holds the weight of the soil from tipping the blocks over?
I finally found my San Marzano tomato plantlets. They have proven hard to find this year. They'll be going in as soon as I'm sure they are hardened off. Were supposed to hit almost 90 this week!
I finally found my San Marzano tomato plantlets. They have proven hard to find this year. They'll be going in as soon as I'm sure they are hardened off. Were supposed to hit almost 90 this week!
Finally got most things in the ground over the weekend... I ended up doing window boxes for the herbs, which allowed me to have a bit more growing room for the veggies. I convinced the wife that I need to build a few more raised beds for the beets and radishes, and probably one more for the lettuces...
I love raised beds. I had to play a bit to figure out the right size for them though. For me, I like them 2 feet wide. 3 feet wide is doable, but can be a pain reaching in for stuff like bush beans. It doesn't make as much of a difference for larger plants like eggplant or tomatoes.
The blocks are L shaped. The weight of the soil on the block's foot keeps them firmly in place. The only downside so far has been frost heaving of the ground beneath the outdoor beds. It looks like I am going to have to reset one corner this spring. Frost moved it 2"! Fortunately this is only one corner of one bed. First time in 7 yrs. that this has happened.
I'm trying Jersey Devil tomatoes this year in addition to San Marzanos. We'll see which works better this season.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
semipro
Minister of Fire
It's amazing watching the process unfold, isn't it? Walks through the woods with a child is fun too. Especially if you can get them to flip over rocks and logs.
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