Raised Bed Gardening

[WDH]

Looks great!  I wish my garden was mulched so nicely 8). 

Swampdonkey's peanuts won't be ready for the pigroast, so we may have to procure some from local sources ;D

[Dodgy Loner]

Thanks, Danny. Mulching the garden was a big job, but totally worth it. I've done very little weeding since putting it down, and I haven't had to water even during the dry spells.

I talked to Nathan and he said that if any peanuts are big enough to pick, he'll bring up a load the weekend before the pig roast .

[Norm]

That is a beautiful garden DL!

I've never had the pleasure of traveling to your part of the country but by the pictures of the countryside I'm going to have to make sure I do.

[WDH]

The mountains around Clayton, GA are beautiful.  Much cooler there too!  Within 15 miles, there is some of the best trout fishing in the Eastern US. 

The heat here is rough on a garden, but mine is doing pretty well all things considering.  The tomatoes are prolific and tasty.  Good cucumbers and eggplant.  The green beans have not done so well, and the squash is middling.  Okra is doing OK.  Having fresh tomatoes, squash, okra, and cucumbers with supper tonight.

[Dodgy Loner]

Let me know when you're planning a trip, Norm. I'll be happy to show you around ;). The scenery is the reason I took my job here ;D.

I've been eating so much fresh produce lately, I've just been craving a greasy burger and fries (although I hate to admit it :). Last night we had a potluck with the members of the community garden, and I had squash prepared two different ways, roasted Italian potatoes, green beans cooked with carrots and potatoes seasoned with garlic and fresh Italian herbs (that's what I brought), boiled sweet corn, and fresh cantaloupe and blackberries (the cantaloupe was mine, too). I've had green beans almost every day for the last month.  I only cooked them to get rid of them :D.  I planned my gardens so I would have fresh produce throughout the summer, but that means that I've hardly had enough at one time to put up any for winter, save for 6 quarts of green beans!

[Norm]

Thanks DL I appreciate the offer.

We eat pretty healthy for the most part but our dirty little secret is to pig out at McDonalds. I know most will laugh but I love their hamburgers and fries.  :D

[Don K]

Dodgy,  that is some beautiful countryside. I know the real reason you mulched is so you can spend your time looking up at those mountains and not down at a hoe. ;D I am always very envious of people's mountain views. My part of the country is so unimpressive to me.

Nice garden, well laid out. It is good for the county agent to have a good looking garden.

Don

[SwampDonkey]

Mine sure ain't much to look at. The peanuts burnt up along with most everything that ain't a root crop. Got too liberal with the Borax.  :-[

[Dodgy Loner]

It is good for the county agent to have a good looking garden.

My dad was skeptical when I told him I was going to have a plot at a community garden this year. "Most county agents hide their gardens back where no one can see it, in case they don't have time to take care of it," he said. I've been really careful to manage it well so people will actually take me seriously when I offer gardening advice :D. I've been offering gardening classes to the public at the community garden every other week this summer, and they've been pretty popular, with anywhere from 15 to 35 people attending. I think there's been a resurgence in interest in gardening the last couple of years.

Donk: As you've found out, you must be really careful with the borax in your garden. We recommend adding one to two tablespoons per 100 feet of row, and adding it only to the crops that need it: broccoli, cabbage, turnips, rutabagas, mustard, kale, brussels sprouts, and other cole crops. It can be evenly distributed by mixing in a gallon or two of water and pouring it out when you will be planting these crops. Borax is not considered nutritive to most garden plants.

[SwampDonkey]

I only used it for root maggot.  :-[

Kept most weeds away to. :D

[DanG]

To kill subterrainian insects like your maggots or mole crickets and nematodes, sow a whole bunch of mustard greens in your garden.  Before you're ready to plant, till the greens into the soil as deep as you can.  As the mustard leaves rot, they emit traces of cyanide, which dissipates in a few days and the leaves just compost in the soil.

[Dodgy Loner]

I only used it for root maggot.  :-[

Oh. I'm not sure what the environmental regs are in Canada, but it would be a violation of federal law to use boric acid for that purpose in the U.S ;). DanG's suggestion to cover crop with mustard to reduce soil pests is well-founded. Mustard and related crops contain significant levels of glucosinolates, which, when broken down enzymatically in the soil, release isothiocyanates (compounds related to cyanide) and nitriles. IdaGold Mustard is a commercially available variety that was selectively bred to contain high levels of glucosinolates. Although there has been much research that proves the efficacy of a mustard cover crop for control of nematodes, I'm not aware of any that has been done to investigate its use to control soil maggots. That's not to say it won't work though - I suspect it would be pretty effective.

I use bifenthrin, a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide available at any farm & garden store, to control soil pests.

[DanG]

Oh. I'm not sure what the environmental regs are in Canada, but it would be a violation of federal law to use boric acid for that purpose in the U.S

That may be technically true, but they sell it as a plant food supplement around here.  Remember when we were talking about using Solubor for treating wood, rather than Timbor?  Well, that's what the Solubor is sold for, and Barber Fertilizer Co. in Bainbridge sells it by the truckload.  The label does state that it is only to be used as a plant food supplement, and is not to be used as a pesticide, but it does whatever it does once you put it out. ;)

[Dodgy Loner]

I'm sure the chances of a homeowner being prosecuted for improper use of a boron supplement in a garden are infintismally small, but boron is applied to cole crops and fruit trees at a rate at of about 1/2 to 1 lb. per acre. That rate is far too small to be effective against insect pests. If applied at a rate high enough to kill insects, boron becomes toxic to plants. That is why it is not used as an agricultural insecticide. Works well for lumber and pests in the home, though!

[SwampDonkey]

Actually, you could always buy boron based powder for Water-Core or Brown Heart in rutabaga, added with fertilizer. That's even on the PEI government web site. I remember one product that said it controlled the root maggot and wire worms. Always got it at the hardware or nursery with application instructions. This time just got the borax and added it a bit too liberally. I know it killed the wire worms, they pop to the surface of the soil and expire. :D

[fishpharmer]

Dodgy, are you mulching with just hay?  If so, how thick?

You got me thinking about planting a few things in a spot covered with a good layer of hay after the cows broke thru a fence and ate the majority of ten old round bales.   Is it too late for watermelons?  Or maybe pumpkins.


DanG, you teeched me sumtin new agin, about them musturds.  One of these days I am gonna try that.

Zopi, watcha gonna do with all them plants?

[zopi]

Gonna Watch 'em grow.....

[fishpharmer]

Gonna Watch 'em grow.....

Ok, I asked for that.

Did you get any plants you normally would grow?  Like okra? Or something. 

[thecfarm]

fishpfarmer,I use to put down newspaper,4-6 layers,than put the hay to it.The way I was told to do it,is to wet the ground,don't make it real muddy,put down newspaper,wet it a little,than the hay and give it a real good soaking.Before I lived here,with no running water,I did it with no water.Blew around some.Water seems to hold it all together.Than just till it all in at the end of the season.But be warned to do a good sized garden takes A LOT of time.I did id 3 years,but it is time consuming.But it does keep the deer out of the garden.Must be the noise of the newspaper the deer don't  like.

[zopi]

Gonna Watch 'em grow.....

Ok, I asked for that.

Did you get any plants you normally would grow?  Like okra? Or something. 

Been good like that all week...boss asked me where he could get a digital camera....uhh.."Best Buy."

Tomatos and peepers are cool...got some cukes as well, plus all the other stuff already growing..no okra..i'm the only one to eat it.

[zopi]

Gonna Watch 'em grow.....

Ok, I asked for that.

Did you get any plants you normally would grow?  Like okra? Or something. 

Been good like that all week...boss asked me where he could get a digital camera....uhh.."Best Buy."

Tomatos and peepers are cool...got some cukes as well, plus all the other stuff already growing..no okra..i'm the only one to eat it.

[bd354]

  Tried to load some pics but evidently I don't have the hang of it yet.

[Don K]

354, there is a photo tutorial in the Behind the Forum section that is pretty easy to follow step by step. It is the one that got me started. second thread from the top when you open the board. Don't give up, we like pictures too much. Would love to see what you've got.

Don

[Dodgy Loner]

Dodgy, are you mulching with just hay?  If so, how thick?

It's some very poor quality hay. I wouldn't even feed it to goats. But it's perfect for mulch! I also put newspaper underneath the hay. The newspaper really helps keep the weeds down. Anything that germinates under it won't get any light and will die a deserved death . Be sure to till the newspaper and hay into the soil in the fall, though. If you wait until spring, the decomposition process will rob the soil of free nitrogen and you'll have some sorry-looking plants. If you till it in the fall, it should already be well-decomposed by spring.

It's definitely too late for watermelons and pumpkins in my area.  Both take 100-110 days to mature, and we're only 85 days or so from the first frost.

[fishpharmer]

Thanks DL.  I may try a few if i can find some big started plants.  I think our first frost averages Oct. 19