Raised Bed Gardening

Don K · August 20, 2009, 10:16:31 PM

My melons made despite the flood and then the drought. Here is the first truckload.

My grandson Jay loves watermelon. 8)

I still have about a truckload left to gather.

Don

Radar67 · August 20, 2009, 10:33:10 PM

Ole farmer Jay is growing fast. I see the old dozier retriever is still pulling it's own weight.

Mooseherder · August 20, 2009, 10:38:15 PM

Great Pictures Don. 8)
I'll bet Jay loves coming over to Grandpa's House.

SwampDonkey · August 21, 2009, 05:15:49 AM

We eat again. 8) This is about the time when visiting relatives used to arrive and stay all season to eat. ;D :D Not so much this day in age, but my grandfather had relatives who came every summer and too lazy to pick anything or wash dishes. He was always mad about that. :D :D

Norm · August 21, 2009, 07:30:35 AM

Wow yours turned out great! Can you tell me what varieties you grew and which was your favorite for eating?

WDH · August 21, 2009, 07:32:33 AM

There will be plenty of cold watermelon in the K household. Really nice, Don.

Dodgy Loner · August 21, 2009, 10:31:17 AM

Looking great, Don! I just picked my second, third and fourth watermelons of the season yesterday afternoon. I planted about 1/6 of an acre, but most of them are about a month from ripening. I planted 5 varieties: Jubilee (long, striped, red-fleshed), Sugar Baby (miniature, red-fleshed), Moon & Stars (red-fleshed heirloom with yellow spots on the rind), Gold Flower (long, yellow-fleshed, very thin rind), and Sorbet Swirl (medium-sized, round, multi-colored pink and yellow flesh).

I would be interested to hear which varieties you planted, Don! I can see that one of them is Moon & Stars.

Don K · August 21, 2009, 10:43:56 AM

I have Kolb's Gem (red flesh, greenstriped) Best by far,heavy and sweet all the way to the rind. Will be planting mucho bunches next yr. Round Moon and Stars (red) very sweet also, Long Moon and Stars (red), Yellow Moon and Stars (yellow), Black Diamond ( yellow with dark green rind) and a yellow flesh with a light green rind that I got last year from my wife's grandfather. Don't know the variety. I have Charleston Greys coming on for fall.

Kolb's first, Moon and Stars second, Black Diamond third.

Don

Mooseherder · August 23, 2009, 08:09:24 PM

Our first Red Pepper popped out and there are a lot of flowers on the other plants.

It is the first one from the seeds harvested from Store bought peppers.
I guess it'll get red later. :D ???

SwampDonkey · August 24, 2009, 03:55:35 AM

Hopefully before Christmas. ;D ;)

Mooseherder · September 18, 2009, 09:23:49 PM

I don't know if my Red Peppers are gonna turn red but one appears to be turning yeller.

Here is a smaller one.

The Jalapenos are out of control. ;)

And I have some scary red ones that are hot to the touch. :D

WDH · September 18, 2009, 09:34:30 PM

Those are about the most juicy looking jalapenos that I have ever seen.

SwampDonkey · September 19, 2009, 05:53:48 AM

I'm sweating just looking at them.

Don K · November 08, 2009, 08:52:13 PM

Does anybody have a fall garden going? I got a late start, about a month. I should be eating lettuce and greens by now, but it won't be long. ;D

I have about 6 varieties of lettuce and 3 different mixes as well as collards, cabbage, broccoli, and turnips and mustard. I am trying carrots for the first time.

Okra in the background is still producing. First frost will nip it though.

My lantana is covered with these orange butterflies.

We have had some beautiful weather this week, but it clouded up this afternoon as the hurricane Ida gets closer and a front comes in from the west.

Don

Mooseherder · November 08, 2009, 09:01:20 PM

I've had intentions and bought the seed but was waiting for it to cool down a bit.
Now that it has I'm finding plenty other things to do.
My Jalapenos are still producing all though they aren't as pretty and I had a couple Tomato plants from the spring that produced a few Tomatoes. Got some serious weeding to do. :D
Don your garden looks fantastic.

Radar67 · November 08, 2009, 11:58:38 PM

Those beds have done some growing since I was over last. They're looking good.

fishpharmer · November 09, 2009, 12:40:33 AM

DonK, very nice.

Paul_H · November 09, 2009, 01:09:21 AM

Don,
I appreciate seeing a garden like that this time of year.The only thing still growing in ours now is Brussel sprouts and the few frosts we've had have sweetened them up well.
We had a feed of them tonight along with spuds we grew this year and some of the last tomatoes in the roothouse,served with one of the chickens we butchered yesterday.
I also picked the last of the apples from the trees today and put them up in the roothouse alongside the spuds.

SwampDonkey · November 09, 2009, 03:49:45 AM

Well, we are having a bout of Indian summer this week. Up to the mid fifties during the day. It still ain't growing weather. One thing I noticed though it's been dry since the potato harvest is over. The road up to the woodlot is dry and hard even with previous morning frosts on it. The trail leading off that road is dried up to, when there is usually 6" of water on it by now until you go back a few feet to a rise. The only thing we winter in the ground here is parsnip and garlic. I don't grow garlic, but my few parsnip I have are still in the ground. Not to grow, but to sweeten up for spring harvest. They have a lot better taste and texture in the spring time. They sure are expensive in the stores right now. About $3 for a handful.

Norm · November 09, 2009, 07:41:24 AM

Boy once again I'm humbled by your gardens Don.

The last thing I have going is a raised bed off our east patio. I've got some greens and turnips that refuse to die from the frosts we've had. Problem is that last week I looked out just at dark and there was a doe feeding on them. :D

If she'd moved just a little slower we'd be having venison. ;D

Jeff · November 09, 2009, 08:33:09 AM

I wish I had some croutons, a bottle of thousand Island dressing and a plane ticket.

Mooseherder · November 09, 2009, 05:10:51 PM

:D :D

SwampDonkey · November 09, 2009, 05:17:16 PM

You'd think he'd want a rest sometime in the year. That's what winter is for up here, to hibernate like a bar. Don't wake me 'til sometime in May. :D

Don K · November 09, 2009, 07:27:53 PM

That's what happens when you live down south. When you don't have snow piled up to the trapdoor on your Union suit, you don't get much of a chance to hibernate. :D I haven't grown a garden in 4 yrs so I am catching up. I am getting ready for retirement in about 20 yrs. ;)

Actually the beds are very little work. I might just take down one side of the fence and keep expanding.

I should have taken a picture of my supper tonight, but I didn't want to be responsible for anyone biting their screen. ;D I picked some of the young mustard greens, rutabuga and radish tops and cooked them down in a pot where I had fried some salt meat, added some cut green onions and one of my dried cayenne peppers and cooked real slow today after the rain set in. Layed that next to a fried pork steak and some buttermilk cornbread. It was fittin to eat.

Don