starting another garden

[beerftw]

I have been starting another garden, I have had numerous in the past with mixed success, often either shallow raised bed or in pots, but am going a little bigger this year.

I have been growing sage, thyme and rosemary just one herb short of a song, but am going to throw jalapenos and cayennes into the mix after the frost ends. I am also thinking about doing tomatoes again and maybe expanding it further.

This year I have been focusing on herbs more than anything, with the whole empty shelves biden thing and about to turn into empty shelves putin at this rate, I figured a few months ago if panick happens and food becomes short I can atleast be creative, if it comes down to hunting squirrels as a main source of protein atleast i can add some flavor.


But I have started with a 4x8 section of a semi raised bed, in an old dog kennel I do not use because my dog does not belong in a cage! The 4x8 section is filled with top soil, as well as some sand mixed in, as well as red limestone clay soil naturally underneath that was tilled. From what I know red and black clay soils are the most nutrient rich there is but also the hardest to work, as it tends to clump together meaning plants that need lots of drainage and breathing do not thrive unless it is tilled well.

 

[HIP56948]

I wish you lots of luck and food. My wife and I tried a garden (here in Florida) The male part of that equation thought "Aw..can't be that hard"
Also, the male let the bugs feast their butts off. Wife thought it was a riot. "You might want to keep your skills on the stars"
I figured out that the few tomatoes I grew were a real bargain...about $27.00 a pound

 

[Chomsky]

I have been starting another garden, I have had numerous in the past with mixed success, often either shallow raised bed or in pots, but am going a little bigger this year.

I have been growing sage, thyme and rosemary just one herb short of a song, but am going to throw jalapenos and cayennes into the mix after the frost ends. I am also thinking about doing tomatoes again and maybe expanding it further.

This year I have been focusing on herbs more than anything, with the whole empty shelves biden thing and about to turn into empty shelves putin at this rate, I figured a few months ago if panick happens and food becomes short I can atleast be creative, if it comes down to hunting squirrels as a main source of protein atleast i can add some flavor.


But I have started with a 4x8 section of a semi raised bed, in an old dog kennel I do not use because my dog does not belong in a cage! The 4x8 section is filled with top soil, as well as some sand mixed in, as well as red limestone clay soil naturally underneath that was tilled. From what I know red and black clay soils are the most nutrient rich there is but also the hardest to work, as it tends to clump together meaning plants that need lots of drainage and breathing do not thrive unless it is tilled well.

Not sure what's a 'raised' or 'semi-raised' bed, but when I gardened I simply cleared some sod off to get to the soil underneath, and carved-out and turned over the soil left to form a garden. But I must admit there were a lot of weeds that came up over the season, and my disgust with constant weeding is what got me out of gardening!

I'm with you on tomatoes, though! As long as you stake them, and water them, they are ridiculously easy to grow; your neighbors will love you when you give them away during the ripening season. When they come, they come! My parents & grandparents canned, but that isn't for me either.

If it sounds like I'm a bit lazy, well, when when it comes to gardening you are right. I don't like doing it, but I love the results. There's nothing like strolling through one's backyard garden in the late afternoon as the the sun recedes & shadows lengthen, to see what's coming ripe, and putting it on the dinner table. But it's so much work to get that point, not the least of which is constant weeding! Argh!

However I must admit, there's nothing like some garden fresh, crisp, cucumber slices, with some thickly sliced ripe, red, sweet, succulent Beefsteak tomato slices, dusted with a little sea salt and some freshly cracked black pepper, and dribbled with a little vinaigrette! Delicious! And, you're not going to get it that good at the grocery store!

 

[Chomsky]

I wish you lots of luck and food. My wife and I tried a garden (here in Florida) The male part of that equation thought "Aw..can't be that hard"
Also, the male let the bugs feast their butts off. Wife thought it was a riot. "You might want to keep your skills on the stars"
I figured out that the few tomatoes I grew were a real bargain...about $27.00 a pound

What???

How did it come to that?

Around here, they're ridiculously easy to grow, and flourish like weeds!

Did you stake them? Water them adequately? They have to be staked; that's critical. And you've got to continuously adjust the tethers, and add tethers up the stake, as they grow. But grow - they will! (IME)

 

[beerftw]

Not sure what's a 'raised' or 'semi-raised' bed, but when I gardened I simply cleared some sod off to get to the soil underneath, and carved-out and turned over the soil left to form a garden. But I must admit there were a lot of weeds that came up over the season, and my disgust with constant weeding is what got me out of gardening!

I'm with you on tomatoes, though! As long as you stake them, and water them, they are ridiculously easy to grow; your neighbors will love you when you give them away during the ripening season. When they come, they come! My parents & grandparents canned, but that isn't for me either.

If it sounds like I'm a bit lazy, well, when when it comes to gardening you are right. I don't like doing it, but I love the results. There's nothing like strolling through one's backyard garden in the late afternoon as the the sun recedes & shadows lengthen, to see what's coming ripe, and putting it on the dinner table. But it's so much work to get that point, not the least of which is constant weeding!

However I must admit, there's nothing like some garden fresh, crisp, cucumber slices, with some thickly sliced ripe, red, sweet, succulent Beefsteak tomato slices, dusted with a little sea salt and some freshly cracked black pepper, and dribbled with a little vinaigrette! Delicious! And, you're not going to get it that good at the grocery store!

Raised bed means a trough where it is not in the actual ground but rather in a very oversized container, it allows garden sized crops without being in the actual ground, often preferred when the actual ground where someone may live is unsuited for growing.

A semi raised bed is simply a partial raised bed, where it combines above ground soil and a container but allows root growth into the actual ground below it, there is probably a more legit term for what I asm describing, but basically a hybrid between planting in the ground and a raised bed garden.

 

[beerftw]

What???

How did it come to that?

Around here, they're ridiculously easy to grow, and flourish like weeds!

Did you stake them? Water them adequately? They have to be staked; that's critical. And you've got to continuously adjust the tethers, and add tethers up the stake, as they grow. But grow - they will! (IME)

Tomatoes need a few ingredients to grow, like for example I do not buy high dollar fertilizers, I buy the cheap expert gardener stuff from walmart, it works better for me than name brand and does not burn roots and plants.

However outside the standard fertilizer tomatoes need magnesium, some places are rich in it naturally and some have almost none. Pepper plants also being nightshade are the same way. The easiest way people found is to test soil or without testing just watch the plants, if they show signs of magnesium deficiency or test for such in the soil, many use dirt cheap epsom salt to supply the plants with it.

The other thing about tomatoes is they hate over and under watering, and are also easy prey to squirrels and hornworms.

 

[Chomsky]

Raised bed means a trough where it is not in the actual ground but rather in a very oversized container, it allows garden sized crops without being in the actual ground, often preferred when the actual ground where someone may live is unsuited for growing.

That's what I assumed it was. Thanks!

A semi raised bed is simply a partial raised bed, where it combines above ground soil and a container but allows root growth into the actual ground below it, there is probably a more legit term for what I asm describing, but basically a hybrid between planting in the ground and a raised bed garden.

So you're doing this due to believing your topsoil may be inadequate, so you're starting your crops out in purchased topsoil, to get your crops started, but allowing them to fully root as they mature?

BTW - Don't know if you have the RFD-TV, the "Rural Farming Channel"? It's pretty decent if you like this kind of stuff. I watch it purely for entertainment and the 'old-school' TV vibes. It takes me back to my childhood . . .

 

[beerftw]

That's what I assumed it was. Thanks!



So you're doing this due to believing your topsoil may be inadequate, so you're starting your crops out in purchased topsoil, to get your crops started, but allowing them to fully root as they mature?

BTW - Don't know if you have the RFD-TV, the "Rural Farming Channel"? It's pretty decent if you like this kind of stuff. I watch it purely for entertainment and the 'old-school' TV vibes. It takes me back to my childhood . . .

My topsoil is actually among the richest on earth, but is also very dense and likes to hold moisture too well. The semi raised bed is to try and mix the properties of very rich soil with very well drained soil, and create an environment to grow plants that normally would not thrive here, without ripping out large chunks of ground and paying for a total fill.

Texas has 3 main types of soil, red limestone clay, black clay, and sand. The red limestone clay is high quality, the black clay is even better, and the sand is kinda garbage. Black clay east of me is actually good to grow everything if tilled right, but it get's labor intensive to maintain it to keep proper drainage.

 

[Argent]

We redesigned our backyard 4 yrs ago adding a 10' x 12' greenhouse and a raised outdoor planter. I've got a Meyer Lemon tree and a lime tree in the greenhouse and grow our tomatoes in there. We have lovely tomatoes through the winter and up until March when I pull the old plants and plant new ones. It's been a lot of fun trying various veggies and herbs. One of my neighbors turned his entire front and back yards into raised planters and grow all all the family's veggies and herbs.

 

[Chomsky]

Tomatoes need a few ingredients to grow, like for example I do not buy high dollar fertilizers, I buy the cheap expert gardener stuff from walmart, it works better for me than name brand and does not burn roots and plants.

However outside the standard fertilizer tomatoes need magnesium, some places are rich in it naturally and some have almost none. Pepper plants also being nightshade are the same way. The easiest way people found is to test soil or without testing just watch the plants, if they show signs of magnesium deficiency or test for such in the soil, many use dirt cheap epsom salt to supply the plants with it.

It sounds like I'm preaching to the choir, because you appear far more knowledgeable in this than I.

I suspect my area might just have good soil for tomatoes, then. My parents & grandparents gardened constantly, and their tomatoes (and peppers) simply flourished! both in my old neighborhood and my new neighborhood. And there's a fair amount of gardens in both neighborhood, and in most it seems tomatoes are the number one staple.

My grandparents on both sides were rural farmers in Europe, and when they came here, with my parents in tow, they basically turned every spare inch of their city lot into a garden. My parents did the same, putting us kids in charge of weeding.

The other thing about tomatoes is they hate over and under watering, and are also easy prey to squirrels and hornworms.

Agreed. I'm no fan of pesticides, but with tomatoes it's almost mandatory. As to squirrels, if the area's fenced in - just leave the dog out - whenever you can. The squirrels learn to stay away! Of course my kid brother wanted credit to him & his BB gun, but truth be told the dog was the hero!

 

[Chomsky]

My topsoil is actually among the richest on earth, but is also very dense and likes to hold moisture too well. The semi raised bed is to try and mix the properties of very rich soil with very well drained soil, and create an environment to grow plants that normally would not thrive here, without ripping out large chunks of ground and paying for a total fill.

Ah, that's interesting.

I think you've got some farmer in you!

Besides my grandparents' farming heritage, when I was a kid from 8-9 until 14 or so, I spent part of my summers on farms. Two were relatives' places, and another one was a neighborhood family's that blew-off city life - to give a go at living off the land. They were great experiences, for a kid.

Texas has 3 main types of soil, red limestone clay, black clay, and sand. The red limestone clay is high quality, the black clay is even better, and the sand is kinda garbage. Black clay east of me is actually good to grow everything if tilled right, but it get's labor intensive to maintain it to keep proper drainage.

No idea of how much of your private life you like to share, but I bet if you started a blog here on your gardening experience, it would be pretty popular. Especially if you added pictures!

Anyway, best of luck in this. Keep us updated! Who knows? Following you, I might get interested enough to give it a go again, instead of living vicariously through RFD-TV!

 

[Chomsky]

We redesigned our backyard 4 yrs ago adding a 10' x 12' greenhouse and a raised outdoor planter. I've got a Meyer Lemon tree and a lime tree in the greenhouse and grow our tomatoes in there. We have lovely tomatoes through the winter and up until March when I pull the old plants and plant new ones. It's been a lot of fun trying various veggies and herbs. One of my neighbors turned his entire front and back yards into raised planters and grow all all the family's veggies and herbs.

This is interesting with these 'raised boxes' that you guys in this thread seem to be doing. Around here, everything goes straight into the ground! Maybe, because it's 'farm country'?

I've had neighbors doing corn! How do you get something that big in a box? Even the tomatoes around here strike me as kinda' big to put in a raised box, but maybe you guys are doing some really big boxes?

 

[Argent]

This is interesting with these 'raised boxes' that you guys in this thread seem to be doing.

I do the raised boxes because they are easier to maintain when one has back problems. My beds are at waist height making planting and harvesting very easy and I don't have to bend or get on my knees to maintain the bed. Typical boxes are 3 ft wide and you can make them to any size that suits your needs but typically enough so you are able to reach across. Then plant each one tightly. It's easy to get a fairly large harvest from a couple of boxes.

 

[HIP56948]

What???

How did it come to that?

Around here, they're ridiculously easy to grow, and flourish like weeds!

Did you stake them? Water them adequately? They have to be staked; that's critical. And you've got to continuously adjust the tethers, and add tethers up the stake, as they grow. But grow - they will! (IME)

I put the wire cages around them. So you have to tether them?...and adjust them? I thought they would just grow up the cage. I bought some fertilizer
but probably used the same fertilizer that I used on the other vegetables. Dear God, I feel like I murdered my little friends.
The poor bastards didn't stand a chance. Plus I watered them a lot (I drowned them) I did notice the squirrels during that time were fat and happy.
Hey..Thanks. I'll research some before I plan to annihilate any other innocent plants this spring. On Edit: I had about 20 plants but wound up with a few pounds of something that looked like distant cousins of tomatoes.

 

[Individual]

We mulch our tree leaves and bamboo leaves for planting, and if ever necessary we could live entirely off our land as we also have a couple of fish ponds with several types of fish, shrimp, snails, crabs, ducks, and chickens, not to mention many different fruit trees providing us with fruit year round.

 

[MamboDervish]

I have been starting another garden, I have had numerous in the past with mixed success, often either shallow raised bed or in pots, but am going a little bigger this year.

I have been growing sage, thyme and rosemary just one herb short of a song, but am going to throw jalapenos and cayennes into the mix after the frost ends. I am also thinking about doing tomatoes again and maybe expanding it further.

This year I have been focusing on herbs more than anything, with the whole empty shelves biden thing and about to turn into empty shelves putin at this rate, I figured a few months ago if panick happens and food becomes short I can atleast be creative, if it comes down to hunting squirrels as a main source of protein atleast i can add some flavor.

But I have started with a 4x8 section of a semi raised bed, in an old dog kennel I do not use because my dog does not belong in a cage! The 4x8 section is filled with top soil, as well as some sand mixed in, as well as red limestone clay soil naturally underneath that was tilled. From what I know red and black clay soils are the most nutrient rich there is but also the hardest to work, as it tends to clump together meaning plants that need lots of drainage and breathing do not thrive unless it is tilled well.

Consider making some room for Basil. Easy to grow, productive plant you can pick for months. Great on tomatoes with Mozzarella, added to sauces, salads, sandwiches, and the ever popular home made pesto.

 

[americanwoman]

I have been starting another garden, I have had numerous in the past with mixed success, often either shallow raised bed or in pots, but am going a little bigger this year.

I have been growing sage, thyme and rosemary just one herb short of a song, but am going to throw jalapenos and cayennes into the mix after the frost ends. I am also thinking about doing tomatoes again and maybe expanding it further.

This year I have been focusing on herbs more than anything, with the whole empty shelves biden thing and about to turn into empty shelves putin at this rate, I figured a few months ago if panick happens and food becomes short I can atleast be creative, if it comes down to hunting squirrels as a main source of protein atleast i can add some flavor.


But I have started with a 4x8 section of a semi raised bed, in an old dog kennel I do not use because my dog does not belong in a cage! The 4x8 section is filled with top soil, as well as some sand mixed in, as well as red limestone clay soil naturally underneath that was tilled. From what I know red and black clay soils are the most nutrient rich there is but also the hardest to work, as it tends to clump together meaning plants that need lots of drainage and breathing do not thrive unless it is tilled well.

If you are also throwing in jalapenos and thinking of tomatoes why not also go with some cilantro? Just need the onion and you got some very fresh pico de gallo.

 

[Superfly]

We're doing the same thing. I started growing herbs in my AeroGarden, and we're going to start planting veg in containers. We hope to be out of this rental by late summer, so if we container-plant, we can take everything with us.

Once we get into our new place, I plan on transplanting everything into raised boxes. Easier on our knees, and keeps the rabbits away.

 

[Chomsky]

Consider making some room for Basil. Easy to grow, productive plant you can pick for months. Great on tomatoes with Mozzarella, added to sauces, salads, sandwiches, and the ever popular home made pesto.

My mother's favorite!

She always called it, 'Basilico'!

And back then, nobody called it 'Salad Caprese'. It was called, 'tomatoes'! And, along with the tomatoes and vinaigrette, she always added raw red onion rings! Delicious!

 

[Chomsky]

If you are also throwing in jalapenos and thinking of tomatoes why not also go with some cilantro? Just need the onion and you got some very fresh pico de gallo.

Cilantro is on my list of things to try to grow, if I ever garden again. My experience with Jalapenos & other hot peppers is they grow like weeds! And they're a lot hotter than the current supermarket varieties.

I greatly lament most Jalapenos today seem to be so much milder, than those of when I was in my teens & twenties! What happened? And not just in the 'American' joints! Even the ones in the small family run Supermercados, where little English is spoken, seem to be milder these days. Unless, my memory deceives me?

 

[Lord of Planar]

I wish you lots of luck and food. My wife and I tried a garden (here in Florida) The male part of that equation thought "Aw..can't be that hard"
Also, the male let the bugs feast their butts off. Wife thought it was a riot. "You might want to keep your skills on the stars"
I figured out that the few tomatoes I grew were a real bargain...about $27.00 a pound

Wow. All I do is buy a bag of composted manure and small tomato plants, put the manure deeper in the hole and the plants above it, in a place with mostly sun.

You will not buy a store bought tomato that tastes as good.

 

[americanwoman]

Cilantro is on my list of things to try to grow, if I ever garden again. My experience with Jalapenos & other hot peppers is they grow like weeds! And they're a lot hotter than the current supermarket varieties.

I greatly lament most Jalapenos today are so much milder than those of when I was in my teens & twenties! What happened? and not just in the 'American' joints! Even the ones in the small family run Supermercados, where little English is spoken, seem to be milder these days. Unless, my memory deceives me?

I have to agree, just last week I ended up with 5 pounds of jalapenos after mistakenly thinking I was getting just 5 jalapenos from my pickup order. What's a girl to do - make some stuffed jalapenos with my stuffed anaheim peppers. Crazy but the anaheims were spicier than the jalapenos!

 

[Lord of Planar]

I have to agree, just last week I ended up with 5 pounds of jalapenos after mistakenly thinking I was getting just 5 jalapenos from my pickup order. What's a girl to do - make some stuffed jalapenos with my stuffed anaheim peppers. Crazy but the anaheims were spicier than the jalapenos!

That's quite a bit of cream cheese to buy for those poppers.

 

[americanwoman]

That's quite a bit of cream cheese to buy for those poppers.

Luckily I had also bought a new cream cheese and I had a couple blocks of mozzarella on hand which I usually use for my stuffed anaheims.

 

[Chomsky]

I have to agree, just last week I ended up with 5 pounds of jalapenos after mistakenly thinking I was getting just 5 jalapenos from my pickup order. What's a girl to do - make some stuffed jalapenos with my stuffed anaheim peppers. Crazy but the anaheims were spicier than the jalapenos!

Yeah, I just can't figure it out. And it's been going-on a long time. I originally thought they might be toned-down for American tastes and the American markets, right? Unlike decades ago, today everyone in America eats Jalapenos! But, even the Jalapenos in the tiny Mexican stores where no English is spoken, and the customers are predominately immigrants, have the same milder Jalapenos! What gives?

So now, I add Habanero or those tiny Asian Thai 'finger peppers' for my heat. Which is a shame, because Jalapeno works so beautifully with beef, with their bitter green flavor. But you know what? Even that 'bitter flavor' seems to be lacking, these days. Some Jalapenos are now so mild, they taste closer to sweet green pepper in flavor, rather than that bitter, green, 'Jalapenos-ness' I like!

--

BTW - Not many Taquerias have fresh Jalapenos as a 'topping' option these days, either. There often used to be a bin with chopped & diced fresh Jalapeno, alongside the cilantro and chopped onion bins, to spoon onto the tacos before wrapping them & putting them in the bag. Fresh Jalapeno on a steak taco kicks but! Insiide a steak burrito, too! Way better than the marinated in vinegar commercial stuff, IMO.

Anyway, I fear the old-school Mexican culture and ways is becoming Americanized, just as with all the other immigrant groups I grew-up with - including my own! And that means the food authenticity slides-off, over the decades of assimilation, and we - sadly - loose that!