STARTING OUR 2012 FALL/WINTER VEGGIE GARDENS - PT. 2

We came from here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1263349/ (Part 1)

Gymgirl wrote:
Although it seems a bit premature, if you haven't perused (or started) the seed catalogs, placed your orders, ripped the dying, raggedy plants out, started topping off your ferts and sprays, started collecting more compost and amendments, turned, tilled and toiled, you are BURNING daylight on the fall/winter VEGGIE growing season!

Whew!

Seems like we just planted tomatoes, and already it's time to start seedlings for MORE tomatoes for a possible fall/wtr garden, and decide what else we're planting for the fall crop. We're making our gardening lists and checking them twice! So, jump on board here, and let's get started on the NEXT go-round.

Start with the veggie variety lists you're planning for the fall/winter gardens!

Let the games begin (again!!!)

I'm off for the rest of the week, and can FINALLY fill RB #2, and start my seeds!

Cousin coming from Georgia to visit me AND help work on my veggie garden, so hoping to accomplish much toward the fall/wtr garden!

Linda

Linda, great job! Your new raised bed is a work of art.

Thank you Rita!

KevCarr57 was a total lifesaver on this project.

Much as I hate it, there are still projects that require brute strength. Then, I have to wait on the Cavalry.

As I tackle these projects, I'm appreciating the Brutes more and more!

This message was edited Jul 23, 2012 12:50 PM

I have a very hilly yard here and I just could not get in gardenbeds in a lot of areas unless I terraced. Mine are stone but I could never have done it myself. Had to hire out to get it done. At 65 I know my limits, ha-ha. I do love to do almost everything in my garden. Well, who loves to weed, but otherwise I just love to be doing something in the garden. But besides just not knowing how to build terraced walls, hauling all those pavers and rocks and stuff would be too much.

For instance, I am planning on extending the length of one of my tomato bed areas. That would be easy enough to get done but there is a tree in the way. Not a very big one but it needs to come out. I was looking at it yesterday and wondering how in the world I will be able to dig up this tree, even if it is only about 8 foot high and scraunny. I will be having to get help on that. Then I can do the rest myself.

Linda......wow a visit from GA all the way to TX. What a trip! Your new grow bed looks great! Nice and deep.

I have materials to make beds but I am undecided on how , size, and which materials I really want to use.
I have 300 12inch long cinder blocks. They were given to me and all I had to do was go get them and I paid somebody $100 to do that.
I am not crazy about the cinder holes and I can either live with it or make wood frames to go on top so I don't have to deal with the holes. I like growing by the square foot and those cinder holes interfere with my square fts.

I have hundreds of plants that have germinated and I have at least 4 weeks to get my beds ready.

Cricket,
If it's in your budget, there are capstones that sit on top of the "holes". You could double up on the sides, maybe, and have walled seating for your garden guests with your raised beds.

That was the original plan for my raised beds, but I was in a hurry, and getting someone in to build all those cinder block beds wasn't in my budget. Plus, I decided if I go with stone, it'll be pavers that match the existing beds.

What's the white stuff under it? Sorry I tried to figure it out but I can't see it well enough.

My delivery of supplies for my garden extension came this morning; I ordered it last night. A huge truck plus forklift that drives into my back yard and puts it exactly where I want it is soooo much easier than hauling the stuff around myself. The delivery fee is worth it. But apparently I messed up and didn't order pressure treated wood, so I guess I need to go buy some linseed oil and a couple of throw-away paint brushes and go through that mess again to treat it.

LOL, the "white stuff" underneath is a layer of excelsior from my office.

The pad had been covered all last year with a heavy sheet of dark plastic, after we took down the storage building, to keep the grass/weeds from filling it in. Since I was getting close to filling this 2nd bed, I had put a thick layer of cardboard, a bucketful of coffee grinds, and a layer of shredder paper down on the pad last week, to try to draw earthworms to the soil underneath.

The cardboard has broken down beautifully with all the rain we had, and the coffee juice has percolated down into the soil. Just a matter of time before the worms show up.

Now that the bed's ready, I just have to dig the post holes to set and level it, then throw all the filling I have into it. I'll need to cover the soil over so the grass and weed seeds don't blow in. It'll sit and rest for about the next 6 weeks while the seedlings grow and get ready to jump in! Hopefully, the worms will have arrived by then, too.

Later, when the weather cools off, I'll install a tomato frame over the end, just like you see in RB #1. Those drop lines are the bomb! Soooooooooo easy to anchor the tomato vines! Thank you again, Cricket!

I'm reposting the pic here, so folks won't think we're all hallucinating about a raised bed!

Linda

This message was edited Jul 23, 2012 1:53 PM

you did a great job on that box, and I hear ya on the after effects of up and down....LOL

Jan

THANK YOU, ALL MY FRIENDS, FOR SHARING MY JOY AND EXCITEMENT OVER A BOX!

ONLY ANOTHER GARDENER COULD UNDERSTAND!

HUGS!

^^_^^^^_^^_^^^^_^^_^^^^_^^_^^^^_^^_^^^^_^^_^^^^_^^

More garden space for planting. Always a good thing ha-ha!

yep, only another gardener knows the pride from a well done project that provides more space to plant in....LOL

Jan

Happy Gardening!

GG your new raised bed is lovely! I too have added a new gardening bed. I am going to be setting out my fall Three Sisters garden this week! Or at least the first round of transplants. Hooray!

I started the first round of seeds for the corn and squash indoors on July 5th. The second round on July 17th. They grew very quickly. Almost all of the seeds germinated within three days and then shot up like weeds.I have not decide if I want to transplant them out at the same time, or wait a week to see how the first round does. I plan to direct sow the beans.

Does anyone else grow a fall crop of corn? This will be my first attempt.

Oh and for those of you interested in variety I am using:

Sweet Corn-Trinity Hybrid
Kentucky Wonder Green Beans

The squash variety is a little up in the air. My two year old received a mini gardening set from his grandmother. It came with a wheelbarrow and a bunch of oversized "seed packets". He knew right away his seeds were fake so I poured the corn,bean, and squash seeds I was planning on using in a bowl and let him separate them based on shape. Later he found my other squash seeds, recognized the shape and did a little mixing of his own.

So my squash could be

Fordhooks Zucchini
Golden Crookneck
Sugar Pie Pumpkin
Triple Treat Pumpkin
Table Queen Winter Squash

We Shall See! At least I hope we do!

I agree, I get so excited looking a new gardening areas, whether they are mine or not :0)
Looking wonderful, Linda!

Soo, I have a question regarding seedlings. How leggy is too leggy? I asked the hubby to find me an extension cord for my lights and didn't realized he plugged them in with the light too far above the seedlings. Within a day they shot up! My gut tells me to start over, but I'm wondering if anyone has salvaged legging seedlings?

I would never dare try to grow corn. The racoons would have a feast ha-ha! I have them here every night. You can hear them trilling and often fighting. They love to play in the ponds at night. After dark all I usually have to do is look out my kitchen door to see some.

The only wild creatures we have in my neighborhood have scales, feathers, or exoskeletons. I am trying to imagine looking out my kitchen window and seeing a furry creature (other than my dog). I don't even think we have any roaming neighborhood cats.


This message was edited Jul 24, 2012 10:02 PM

GG: I sure like your 'box' that you built. I know what you mean about needing some 'brute' strength for some of the projects on "the list". I'm NOT used to having to ask a guy for help on my projects but I'm having to get-over-it because I just can't do it all anymore. I blame it on this TEXAS HEAT... ugh... makes even the simple tasks hard. The only thing about needing a guy's help is having to WAIT on their schedule. ugh. Oh well... it-is-what-it-is.

Jann,
You hit the nail on the head! Having to wait is the biggest issue, yes!

Cocoa,
You can salvage the leggy seedlings! Just keep em close tothe light. Even if they don't beef up, you can plant the on a curve when you transplant them and theybeef up then.

Linda

Yay my seedlings are starting to look better...I hate whatever seed starter I used (I think it was Scott's) still have a bit of yellow and some crispy tips but we have new growth. These things are going to be huge by the time I put them out.

Thank you, Linda. Just the encouragement I needed :0)

Linda, your beds look great!!

We got our black eyed peas planted today. I'm using old seed (from 2010), so I planted A LOT of seeds in 3 rows down my bed. Watch every single stinkin' one will sprout and I'll be thinning seedlings for weeks! LOL We planted them close together hoping that they'll help support each other.

I'm thinking your going to have good germination, those BEP are pretty tuff and long storing, just saying..get ready for good crop :0)
I've used short stakes and made a simple raised 'box outline' with string to hold up bush types. Not necessary, but if you have the supplies on hand it can keep them out of your path and take up less space.
Your a brave lady, Stephanie. This heat is getting to me!

Lynea, we do have the stuff on hand. I'll have to mention that to Mark. We last grew black-eyed peas in 2010 and had a very good crop. We grew them next to some bush beans. The BEP did okay staying upright, but those beans were all over the place! LOL Someone here on DG mentioned planting the peas close together helps them to stay upright better. We shall see! If they start flopping in the walkway, we'll prop them up.

Mine stay fairly upright until a strong wind or rain, then they're down for good.

I need my path cleared to keep an an eye open for snakes!
I'm probably at my most vulnerable and easy to scare while picking southern peas.lol

Cleaned out the "warm" seedling room yesterday, and ready to start sowing seeds this evening.

I have three of the Gardener's Supply 15-cell Deep Root APS trays (45 seedlings), and enough 6 oz. yogurt cups to end up with a total of 110 seedlings. Of course, there'll be many more cause when I thin them out, I can't bear to just toss a seedling. So, all the multiples will get to live, too.

No matter. I've got lots of friends waiting in the wings.

Starting cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and onion seeds.

The 2nd RB is in place and I've started layering shredder paper, and coffee grinds on the bottom. Will start tossing in some bags of the Moo-Nure and more layering of shredder and grinds, then top off with my RB mix (5 pts. pine bark fines, 2 parts peat, 2 parts sharp sand, 1 part vermiculite, 1 part compost, with a lime and fertilizer chaser!

What're ya'll up to?

Linda

Lookie! I've got black eyed pea seedlings!

Hurray for seedlings!

Linda and Stephanie, your beds look great. I'm 1800 miles away from home right now so no planting (shores of the Gulf of Mexico to the shores of Lake Superior). I was tempted to bring salad mix seeds with just so I could plant something but I forgot them at home. I will live vicariously thru everyone here in the meantime!

We planted sweet potatoes as cover crop in every bed that didn't have okra or cucumbers growing in them, 2 beds of zucchini, 3 beds of yellow squash, about 10 beds of assorted cucumbers, 10 beds of okra, 2 beds of Arkansas Traveler tomatoes, 2 salad mix and 1 arugula bed before we left just so we would have something to harvest when we get home in
September.I left two beds of Italian eggplant, 2 beds of bell peppers and 2 beds of hot peppers growing. I grow Centennial and Georgia Jet sweeties and had planted some White Triumph and a dark skinned orange from Whole Foods but the WT didn't grow. The company replaced them with a red skinned white Japanese variety which I planted right before we left. Hope they do well. Whole farm is on automatic water this year so nothing will die of thirst.

I pulled every weed before leaving but I know it will be a jungle when I get back! Bud turned the compost pile the day we left.

wow!

No kidding! Wow! The whole place! :) Good job Callalily!

Amazing! I hope you enjoy your trip, Calalily.

I was planning on starting my lesson plans for the upcoming school year today, but it we had rain clouds outside (again!).
I was so excited to see the clouds I went outside and seeded some Swiss chard instead!

Linda you need to check out Funkymonkeyfarms.com

Peas are up; an inevitable harbinger of fall... and spring.

My boyfriend was helping me in the hot sun last weekend to extend the garden. First, he says, "I thought we weren't going to do this until fall!" It's gardening fall, honey. Then, he insisted I didn't need any more garden space -- until I reminded him how annoyed he gets that I don't grow enough peas or radishes.

He wasn't really complaining, tho; he's a good egg even if I do have to keep him away from the power tools. :D

Wow, Calla!! Lots of work for you to get done before your annual pilgrimage!

Already on the pilgrimage! Lots of work to do when I get back and today I started getting emails from people wanting tours. No rest! Looks like a tropical depression is in the Gulf but we took covers off greenhouses before leaving and rolled the sides up and put hurricane shutters on all windows. Can't head home, have a wedding to attend this Tuesday.

Cala, they are forecasting the TD to make landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula, but it is a tropical depression and you know how wobbly they are!

That would be great, except sometimes they hit the peninsula and head for TX. We sure could use the rain, but don't need wind. My okra was 5-6 ft tall when I left and the fig and citrus trees were loaded with fruit.

You know how they can be with the steering winds. It could get past Cuba and Haiti and turn north, then go east, missing this part of the Gulf altogether.