Hi ya all,
Here is where my garden is right now.
A couple of these peppers are ready to pick
Early April Pictures
A young cucumber plant in a 5 gallon grow bag with coconut coir (everything I grow is in coconut coir)
These two cuke plants are already producing. the one on the left is 9 feet tall
two different types of seedless self pollinating cukes
Bob DW says you just like to torment us northerners...LOL
We know better..Looking good.
Here I fooled around and planted some purple bush beans in my seed starting kit (in net pots) and will transplant them into vertical planters (next picture)
There they are
Tubby,
I love showing my stuff
Bob
Here is some Romaine lettuce. The view is from in the pool (it's finally warm enough to swim in it (ok, enough torment)
Grandbaby Ava went swimming today too
These pepper plants I planted in August and are still producing
Strawberry plants in stackers are still kicking out berries (since December)
Here's that crazy 100 bush bean stacker experiment I'm doing. 100 plants in 7 NJ 12 inch planters on a stob (Jay)
5 stack top- watermelon and cantaloupe, 2nd 2 summer squash and cow peas, 3rd -5th all cow peas
this 24 inch NJ Stacker top tomatoes 2nd peppers 3rd lettuce
Romaine planted from seed
Engish peas in a 15 inch NJ stacker
Tomatoes busting out all over
Here's another (I have 50 tomato plants going right now)
Here's a row in 5 gallon grow bags
Here's a bunch of pole beans in uncovered Earthboxes
My one and only eggplant bush
Three pepper plants in a 20 gallon tub
Carrots in a stacker
Granex Onions (Vadilla)
Beautiful, healthy tomato plants in 5 gallon grow bags with coconut coir. (my pride and joy) And 5 gallon grow bags are just fine and big enough (see Crickets garden thread )
Great pictures and veggies, Bob! I am not as jealous as usual because tonight we had salad made with Little Gem, Devil's Ears, De Morges Braun Lettuce with a baby bok choy chopped up in it for good measure. Still about 20 more salads waiting out there, too. All grown in coconut coir with liquid fertilizer in the grow bags. They are gorgeous except for a few spots where the aphids got ahead of me, but not bad, the stylet oil is working great for those, just have to keep after them because the reproduce so darned fast!
Anyway, since using your products, (and since I didn't plant 2 or 3 months too late) I feel like I am actually going to have a decent garden this year.
I am jealous of your fruiting tomatoes, though. But, my tomatoes are all in grow bags, too and I am getting bloom clusters galore. So it won't be long now.
Thanks so much for all the help, advice and products that have made it possible for me to succeed at growing food this year. If I hadn't found those growbags, I'd not have been able to do a fraction of what I'm doing now, pots are just too much money all at once, you know?
Anyway, I probably sound like an infomercial, but this is a genuine heartfelt thanks to you for what you are doing and making possible for growers like me who have NO room to grow much without these products you have.
Question for you Bob, on the way you are supporting the tomato plants. You drop the line down and use your clips, but is the line secured to anything at the bottom? The base of the plant?
When the tomato plant (or cuke or pepper) gets ready to topple from its own weight, I place the 1st vine clip to the stem under a leaf. So the answer is no. Then the plant is free to grow up with gentle support. Then I place a clip about every 6 to 8 inches up the stem. It's a great system if you have above support to work with.
Two questions, Bob. How does it seem to be going for the pole beans in the uncovered boxes? I ask because I am doing that with snap peas. {I planted too many and then didn't dare smother them with a cover.}
Also where do you get the clips? Thanks. Devota
I just finished growing one Earthbox with pole beans with great success, so I planted 4
Check your D-mail
Bob
I just purchased 2 EB and plan to make a couple of copycats. Where did you get your clips? Do you have the optional stake kit? Or did you make your own? Also, is it better for me (WA state) to buy coconut coir locally, or is yours better? I am asking because I feel like I can trust you for an honest answer. Thanks
LynnWeidman
I got my clips from Bob and am very pleased with how easy they are to attach to the string and tomato vine. I just finished my setup about 30 minutes ago. The wind this morning snapped one of my tomato plants off about an inch from the ground. So I decided to get the support system in place.
This picture is my support wire (17 ga. electric fence wire) strung between two trees over my straw bale row of determinate tomatoes.
Notice the turnbuckle that will be used to keep the support wire taught. Also you can see the yellow poly hay baler's twine hanging from the support wire to the tomatoes.
Jerry
This picture shows a clip in place beneath a leaf branch.
Jerry
Well!
Beautiful Jerry !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, Jerry, now that I've seen those vine clips in action on your picture, I must have some of those. Nice picture!
I didn't realize how great they are until I saw that.
That is a nice looking place, Jerry. You have a lot of interesting stuff going on too. Your scattered "shinny" oaks and cedar trees throw some nice filtered sunshine in your yard like mine do. I always figure if they get to throwing too much shade, I can get someone to just trim out a few of the upper limbs.
Well now that I already put my order in for Bob's coir, I have to go back and order the clips.
Jerry,
How high up on the tree did you put the cable wire?
I dont have the trees, so I would like to attach them to conduit pipes on both ends of the garden. It will only leave me about 8' above ground.
Not sure if thats high enough or if I have to figure out how to go higher.
chris
chris,
I'll go measure for you......The cable wire is 68" above ground and 51" from the base of the plants or the tops of the bales.
If need be or when necessary I can add another support wire above, but I am not anticipating that since these are determinants.
Jerry