Raised Bed Gardening

WDH · May 06, 2009, 08:32:22 AM

bd,

I am a champion at growing nutgrass as well :D.

bd354 · May 06, 2009, 09:51:49 PM

An oldtimer once told me the only way to get rid of nutgrass is to move off and leave it. Trouble is I brought the nutgrass in with some so called good soil I thought would help the garden. Oh well, at least I don't have sandspurs................... yet.

bd354 · May 06, 2009, 10:03:28 PM

My apologies for the hijack Moose, I hope my raised beds turn out to look as good as yours. What zone are you in?

Don K · May 06, 2009, 10:23:49 PM

Here are a couple of my beds.

I put in 3 more beds today with various tomatoes and peppers and herbs I grew from seed. I have a few more beds to plant yet.

Don

Mooseherder · May 06, 2009, 10:26:19 PM

Our grow zone is listed as 10b.
I hope you have good luck with your beds also.
Seems my Root crops are the healthiest.
I haven't done enough to control the Fire Ants and my problems with them are growing.
Would have to list the score at Mooseherder=6 points. Peppers, Peas, Tomatoes, Onions, Carrots, Lima Beans.
In the Fire Ant Camp=5, Zucchini, Butternut Squash, Cucumbers, Green Beans and Watermellon. I may be able to slavage some but it sure looks like they are leaning on the Ant side.
Cantaloupes are undecided. :D
I'll trade ya some Ants for nutgrass. ;D

Mooseherder · May 06, 2009, 10:30:52 PM

Nice beds Don.

I started another bed also. It is half full of dirt right now. Gonna get some more dirt for the weekend.

bd354 · May 06, 2009, 10:38:44 PM

OK on the trade but I'm sending skeeters too. Worst I've seen in a long time. But this is the first spring we've had a decent amount of rain in a while too. Ants bored my potatos two years ago and ruined about half. I heard they would do that in real dry weather. My wife's grandfather used to sprinkle his seed potatoes with a little sulphur before planting. He swore it kept the ants at bay but of course she didn't tell me that until after I'd planted.

Radar67 · May 06, 2009, 11:43:04 PM

Those are some nice beds Don. Are you using pine for your edging? I pulled three cherry tomatos day before yesterday...they didn't make it in the house though. ;)

SwampDonkey · May 07, 2009, 05:13:54 AM

Quote from: Mooseherder on May 06, 2009, 10:26:19 PM

I haven't done enough to control the Fire Ants and my problems with them are growing.
Would have to list the score at Mooseherder=6 points.

Get the wife's 10 Mule Team Borax out and some sugar, mix 1:1 and set in the shade of the plants on a jar lid out of the hot sun. ;D

http://www.fireant.net/Control

SwampDonkey · May 07, 2009, 05:16:53 AM

Don, you have a green thumb for sure. Your beds look real nice. Are those onion or garlic in the first bed?

WDH · May 07, 2009, 08:06:30 AM

Don,

Those beds are very beautiful. Makes me want to go out and build some ;D.

Don K · May 07, 2009, 09:47:19 AM

Those are yellow onions. I haven't had a garden for the last four years due to deer issues and general lack of time. I am a hungrier man now and will be keeping some lead poisoning close by for the deer. I have a good garden helper now that is off all summer. I have more pics in my garden gallery that is testimony to how far I stepped off into gardening this year.

This field is planted with colored butterbeans and melons.

This field has 10 rows each of pinkeyes, creme peas and green butterbeans.

The closer plot has indian popcorn and okra and the plot on the other side of the fence has green butterbeans and yellow meated melons and taters. I have more beds to finish inside the fence as well as finish the fence.

I will need my helper if I can keep her out of the shade. She had already bushogged the field and was helping me lay out some rows.

We don't plant garlic until later in the summer for winter harvest and the first beds are red cedar but I switched to pine as they are more abundant and easy to replace. I hope all this stuff makes. Gardening can be a frustrating venture but worth the effort if you succeed.

Don

Norm · May 07, 2009, 09:51:31 AM

Wow! Beautiful place and some very nice gardens.

WDH · May 07, 2009, 10:23:45 AM

Don, that is a fine garden. Hopefully, it will continue to rain this summer. We have had a wonderful wet spring, the first in many years, so if we are lucky, the summer will be too.

Many people do not realize how much work keeping up a large garden can be. I raised up with a large garden, so I know!! I guess I have gotten used to it

.

Burlkraft · May 07, 2009, 11:23:04 AM

Yup Don, Them are some beautiful gardens 8) 8) 8)

You guy's got the jump on us. We're just startin' to see some leaves on the trees.

My gardens look good now and they ain't much work yet. Just planted some stuff and the weeds haven't started to grow yet ;D ;D

Don K · May 07, 2009, 06:00:28 PM

The bad thing about a early start is that I am already sweating in it.

Don

Dan_Shade · May 07, 2009, 06:25:06 PM

what type of material are you guys using for the beds?

SwampDonkey · May 07, 2009, 06:37:47 PM

Well, everyone knows what I did. ;D

That Don, sure likes a lot of work. So I suppose he'll be working up his appetite for a while and be stuff'n himself like an angora rabbit before next spring. :D I'm just exhausted thinking about all that work. ;)

Don K · May 07, 2009, 08:37:52 PM

The big fields are hard work picking but I am hoping to fill my parents freezer as well as my brothers and sister. They will have to pick of course except for my parents. We will do most of that. I just supplied the tractor and the manual labor.

We are getting a abundance of rain this week. i need it to stop a few days as I need to run the cultivator down the rows to get the first run of grass and weeds that came with the rain. I hate picking in grassy fields also Mr. Belltail loves to hide in there hunting mice.

Don

Norm · May 09, 2009, 02:13:45 PM

Brought the master gardener in for some help with our raised beds.

SwampDonkey · May 09, 2009, 07:08:45 PM

Start'm early Norm. ;D

I see my peas, beets, and spinach are now up. The spinach sure grows fast, they are up 2" now in a couple days.

Waiting on my parsnip, they are always slow.

Don K · May 09, 2009, 07:17:10 PM

Norm, ya'll are starting him out right. He'll make do in this crazy world. I recently gave a friend a dozen fresh eggs as well as her daughter . I found out today that her husband did not know that yard eggs came in the color brown. :D :D He was raised in the big city and has had a tough time adjusting to the country life. He is willing just ain't got no skills.

Don

zopi · May 09, 2009, 09:58:09 PM

All this rain has drowned a couple of my tomatoes it looks like...but the corn beans and potatoes will poke you in the eye if you stand too close.

our little ones ate the first radish to come off a couple days ago...they were all excited about it despite the fact that they both hate radishes... :D

Mooseherder · May 12, 2009, 11:25:50 PM

The Mule Team Borax and sugar treatment is in progress but I figured I'd better show the Watermellon now just in case it doesn't make it. There are three of these Watermellons now. They're about the size of a quarter. I'm hoping for mercy from the fire ant gods. :