My first raised bed garden for vegtables

some more pictures!

This is a cantaloupe cut open in the first picture, the 2nd picture is where my cantaloupe grew up over the fence, and combined itself with my morning glory's, the 3rd pic is of my egg plants, I need to take precent picture's, as they are ready to be harvested, and the last is of my strawberry plants, no luck this 1st year, but looking for results next year!

I seem to miss some great picture's as I'm new to this, but will get better as time goes on! I hope you enjoy what I can present to you! Next year will be better, with better details!

Thank you all!!!!! You've been great!!!!

Did you know you can just wash & freeze tomatoes? When they thaw the skins come right off. I toss the entire frozen tom into a pot of soup then just remove the skin as I stir the pot.

My toms were all plants. I didn't have time to do seeds. The ones that have done best were just marked "heirloom". They are not "pretty" and not bright red but have produced nicely.

Have you looked at the straw bale thread? I want to try some of that for the fall.

Thats fascinating about the frozen tomatoes Q. We're going to try it! I have been wanting to experiment with that straw bale concept for a while, and am believing now, that I am going to experiment with 1 bale this Fall for sure...
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Jami,

Your 5 month developments in your new home eerily remind me of our own here on this property. In 5 years you won't recognize your space! You guys have done everything incredibly well, and don't be disheartened at all about the veggies going down now. It is that time of Summer in Central Florida. Fungus' will happen on some things with the daily rains and humidity for instance.

In only 2 or three weeks we need to start seedings and cuttings for Fall. We Central Florida gardeners are so fortunate in that way!

I have learned and plan to get all Bell Peppers off my bushes which are looking tired now and also remove all new flower buds, and/or tip all the branches including flowers. Then I will add some mushroom compost around them (or your fertilizer of choice including Miracle gro, which I will use to jumpstart the process personally) and Let them rest and regrow. By October they likely will return to robust bushes and be bountiful again for Fall.

Besides starting new tomato seeds, I am also going to take top cuttings off my fading favorite Tomato plants, spray them for fungus and bugs (Spinosad for bugs) and root them. Then I will cut back a few of the old tomato plants to 6 inches and do the same. They usually regrow for the second season for me beautifully and again are bountiful...

You are honest, sharing, and I love your gardens. Keep up the good works! I very much appreciate your many pictures. It really makes things more fun.....

Thanks for sharing!

David

David - thanks for the info on starting new tomato plants. I'd love to have another of the "monster" plant I have out there.

Happy Birthday America! We love you !!!

To everyone, have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Jami and Frankie

Ok everyone, Time to get the fall gardens ready, I have been so happy with my first raised garden, coming from nothing but pots, and here I am, ready to share some pictures of tonight's garden update picture's. I still have lot's of questions, but since the spring garden turned out so well, I'm anxious to get the fall garden going!!!!!!!

Please ask questions, if you have any, and I can't answer, I know plenty of folks who can, as this is how I got to where I'm at!!

#1 & # 2 Tilled my side garden, added, all the nutrients needed, will top dress my plants as I add them with compost! ( * nutrients, potash, bone meal, blood meal, and phosphorous! )
#3 looking down on the right side of the far garden, my cantaloupe's, and watermelon ar growing there, with my morning glories!
#4 & #5 are picture's of my melons in development! I just love seeing the babie's pop up!!!!

Sorry, Picture #3, is a picture of the roots I have to dig under, keep clear of all weeds, as this is the where the water runs out of the garden. When the water gets to this point, it clogs up, I need to find a way for the water to keep going! Any suggestions? Thanks, there are more than a few roots to go under! And NO, I don't want to destroy the tree!

Next, I have my raised bed garden, In the middle bed I planted beans and sugar peas, they're coming up, the bed to the left of the middle bed has existing tom's, and than I planted some egg plants, and brussel sprouts! The far right bed has peppers in it, with toms! Everything seems to be going along good. I put straw in as a foot path!

Jami - why not start a new thread for "Fall". So many pics in here it is taking quite awhile to load.

I still have green tomatoes & blossoms on my monsterous tomto plants. I was out yesterday attempting to get the branches up off the ground. These are out front & the armadillo seems to like tomatoes!!!! Since the monster out back seems to be "done" think I'll cut him back so I have more supports for the plants out front.

I need to figure out where to put my Fall garden - beans & pees sound wonderful & I'd like some cukes out there also. I'm thinking I may use my 55 gal tubs and put the garden in the side yard. 1 sprinkler will hit it and I can run a soaker hose off the outlet over there. But, will have to wait till I'm back from vacation.

DH has told me he thinks we need raised beds for next year. My neighbor also wants some. Luckily her DH is handy so we will have a guy to help us with our projects.

Looking good Jami. Getting a great jumpstart for Fall going there!

Jami, I envy the room you have for your gardens. I appreciate the time you took to give the individual detailed report how everything did in your spring/summer garden, the good, and the bad.

Best wishes with the fall garden, I'm only doing tomatoes, and guess I need to think about starting my seeds soon. I'm surprised that I'm getting some blossoms and fruit on some of my spring tomatoes that I thought were dying out.

Jami, have been reading this thread off and on for awhile now, and your gardens are reflecting the love you have for them.

My husband is growing a veggie garden and is putting his entire self into it, tending to it every day.

I live in Palm Coast, which is not too far from you. We would love to come and visit with you sometime.

Hi All, I've been busy, early morning, and during the evening, mid day, is terrible, too hot and humid! Not spending too much time on here, trying to get my mosaics table started, cutting glass, too long being on the back shelf.

I have cleared out the middle raised bed, and planted bush beans, and took a chance on sugar snap peas! They were so tasty right off the vine, so I figured I'd try them now, by the time they're harvested, should be late August, early Sept. Remember, this will be my 1st year yet, just different time of the season. I know what the books tell us, but after reading whats available, for this time of the year, getting a specific name of a vegetable, like for instance, beans, "bush blue lake" and looking through my catalog(Johnny's) I couldn't find a seed named that, so I just picked one, and planted it, even though the book says, next planting, Sept. I wing it, actually, and so far so good. I hate schedule's, lol! And we live in Florida!

Thanks all for the compliments! Grakay, your more than welcome to swing by and visit! Everyone is invited if your over my way! DM me, and I'll give you my address, and ph#. I would love to show off! LOL! It's been a long hard road getting to where we're at, a lot of it learned on here by many, David of Deland for one, I named quite a few above in one of my post! He sticks in my mind more because he seems to be the one everyone turns too for help, he has beautiful gardens, post a lot of picture's, and explains a lot of things in detail. If you want to learn, follow him!! ( plugging you David, you deserve it) LOL !

Any way, here are some picture's I took in the last several days! I'll explain each
as I go!

The first is a before it was tilled, a mess, the next all done, all nutrients added, I'm not sure what I'm putting in here this time, Thinking more squash, maybe trying sweet corn again, I see where I can still get by if I plant it, but I'm just not sure about the soil yet. I have it built up, but.....
The third picture is of my 3 raised beds, I put straw on the ground, tired of mowing in between the beds, saw this guess where, David of Deland☺, hope it works, and my little babys are spouting, planted the bush bean seeds last week, their the first to show their heads, behind them are the sugar snaps, just starting to poke up through the mulch, not enough to be seen with the camera eye!

now you have to go to the next post!

Again, Thanks all!!! I couldn't have done it without " ALL" of your advise!!! This is a great site, and Florida gardening is the best, hehehe, because we live here!♥♥♥

I was just looking at the last picture's I posted, the first of the picture's is where I need to try to make a drain field for all the water that lays in this garden. But it was tilled, so should make it easy to do something to help drain the water.
And in the other picture's, you can see I still have things growing! Yes, Peppers, egg plants, and I have some indeterminate tom's, they're holding there own, but not producing! I made some cuttings, no picture's yet, will get them on here, but they're doing great too. I have them on my covered patio, away from the direct sunlight, and am hoping for plenty more tom's towards Sept. The one's in the garden should start producing again than too, I feed them, it's just too hot for production!

Here are some of my flowers I planted from seed, I planted morning glory's to hide the crappy look of my fence, and they have grown way to much for my liking, but I love them, ( only in the morning) They're taking fence space from my cantaloupes, and watermelons, I have to decide if I'm taking them out or not, and the 4th picture is of my garden in the front yard, My mosaic sphere I made is the center attraction, and than the last picture is Part of my butterfly garden in the back yard. When I put this together it looked so bare, now it's so full, it's awesome! I love it!

I don't know if I have any more new picture's to put up at this time, I'll check, but will get more together as the new things grow, and as I pull other plants to make room for new stuff. I just love being outside, in the garden. I see a lot of butterfly's, bees, and lizards, lol! I have to learn how to ID them, have no clue!

I hope we all escape Chantea( spelling) we can use a little rain, but not the abuse a hurricane can dish out! If everyone huffs and puffs, we can blow her out to sea, instead of our houses being blown to smithereens! You all have a great day/evening! And Thanks for following along here on my "first raised bed garden"

Jami

Why is all the right side of this thread missing, seems to be out of whack! Too many changes, and I'm not likening them, I'm not computer savoy, and if this continue's, I may not be back, I don't know how to fix this, some sites seem to be OK when I look at them, and than, some like mine, are screwed up! Help, anyone know how I can get this right???

Start a new thread & see what happens. Might be because this 1 is so long.

I have started a new thread, for some reason I'm missing the whole right side of the page, can't read it! Q suggested to start a new thread, so I'm trying to do just that. I hope this works, as I'm a little computer illiterate! If not, I'm at a lost, and maybe someone can help me get back on track! This is weird, I can read everyone's post, on all thread's except for my thread and the other thread I like! The "David of Deland Thread", can't remember the entire name for his thread, but those who know me, know where I mean! Sorry for sounding so frustrated, only because I am!!! Here is where we go from here! http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1326574/, I hope this works!!!! Thanks jami

It worked, so follow me to the next part of raised gardens!!
Click on the address in my last reply, and you will find me!

Thanks all, Jami!

Great pictures on you and your husbands hard work. Just incredible.

Thanks for sharing.

me I'm still trying to figure out how to grow some thing other than Bamboo in FL. LOL

Jan

What a wonderful shed! (and what a wonderful husband for sure). You will love gardening with the raised beds. Down here in southern florida where I live, it is a necessity for vegetables and ornamentals as the soil is so sandy and nutrient depleted. but I also did it for years up in New Jersey where food grows quite well -- it protects the plants from the dogs that run right into and over a non-raised garden. (small dogs) I does not stop the various other wildlife that feast upon just about everything, but there is always netting for the beginning of the growing season when the plants are so tiny and are still weak. Have a great planting season and keep the pictures coming. Julie