• Register  |
  • LoginLogin
Close
Login
 
 
Register
 Advanced search
  • Search
  • Register
  • Login
  • JOIN!
  • View unanswered posts
  • View active topics
  • Gardening
Gardening Forum   VEGETABLE GARDENING  Vegetable Gardening Forum

Picking dinner.....




Post a new topic
Post a reply
20 posts • Page 1 of 2 • 1, 2

Picking dinner.....

Wed May 22, 2013 11:39 pm

Okay, got to admit I was a tad skeptical about this system at first, but I think I am going to do it again next year. Not really a fan of the soil I used so I want to use another potting soil next year but overall I got to admit this is kind of awesome. It did overcrowd a little bit (mostly because the crappy soil and some drainage issues and the seed ended up crowding), but overall worked pretty well.

Image

Pros:
- you don't have to bend over to get your food
- keeps the pesky critters out of your food

What I've learned:
- I had some drainage issues - mostly due to the potting soil I used. It would only wet down a millimeter or so and then just dribble out. I noticed this didn't happen with the one I used miracle grow potting soil in (I used some organic potting soil in most but had 2 pockets I didn't have enough so I borrowed some and it was miracle grow). I remedied this by poking tons of drainage holes both front and back and all of a sudden my issues were pretty much solved. This also created a nice drip effect.
- plant something "icky" to the animals on the bottom (I did arugula) and they won't bother it.
- strawberries seem to LOVE this system.
User avatar
RogueRose
Green Thumb
 
Posts: 558
Joined: May 18 '11
Location: NJ
Top

Re: Picking dinner.....

Thu May 23, 2013 1:00 am

what were you able to plant in them?? i am thinking of trying it in next year for space consideration...my four ten gal pots are taking up more space than i anticipated..thus i was thinking of doing that and hanging it by the wall or somewhere sunny..would lettuce do ok in it or is it too small??
amylong
Cool Member
 
Posts: 74
Joined: May 1 '13
Location: new york
Top

Re: Picking dinner.....

Thu May 23, 2013 1:08 am

In mine I planted herbs - basil, cilantro, thyme and a bunch of different kinds of lettuces, arugula, and strawberries. I have four different panels. I put arugula all along the bottom row to deter critters since they don't like arugula.
User avatar
RogueRose
Green Thumb
 
Posts: 558
Joined: May 18 '11
Location: NJ
Top

Re: Picking dinner.....

Thu May 23, 2013 1:36 am

Thanks..maybe I will try it next year..before i am doing more than I can handle, but I love the way it can save space and plant so much..it would be nice if it can be done in doors too haha..but the dripping from the bottom might be a problem...unless a drip tray??how big was each slot?
amylong
Cool Member
 
Posts: 74
Joined: May 1 '13
Location: new york
Top

Re: Picking dinner.....

Thu May 23, 2013 4:57 am

Are those compartments in a hanging shoe organizer, you used to plant in?
~~Ramona mother of fur babies~~
User avatar
RamonaGS
Green Thumb
 
Posts: 310
Joined: May 17 '13
Location: Solvang, Ca
Top

Re: Picking dinner.....

Thu May 23, 2013 9:11 am

Looks great! now is this the shady side you were talking about?
What did you plant on the sunny side?
(We need to find your other thread and post the link.)
Learning never ends because we can share what we've learned. And in sharing our collective experiences, we gain deeper understanding of what we learned.
User avatar
applestar
Mod
 
Posts: 26060
Joined: May 1 '08
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M
Top

Re: Picking dinner.....

Thu May 23, 2013 9:47 am

I was also wondering if your set up is indoors or out doors? If your set up is not a shoe organizer, do you think a shoe organizer could be used instead?

I know...I'm a dork, LOL! :hehe:
~~Ramona mother of fur babies~~
User avatar
RamonaGS
Green Thumb
 
Posts: 310
Joined: May 17 '13
Location: Solvang, Ca
Top

Re: Picking dinner.....

Thu May 23, 2013 1:30 pm

viewtopic.php?p=291368 (is this the thread applestar??)

I really wonder if it can be done indoors:( I am tempted to go to like our value depot store and get a shoe organizer to try for winter..from the linked thread, if i hang it indoors, i may have to put plastic behind it to keep the wall dry..and a tray..i am thinking of putting lettuce..and green onion, and my strawberry (see if they survive the winter) in it..(our green onion is in the yard and it survives the winter, but i don't want to go out in the cold to harvest it :roll: I may tell my coworker about this, since she loves herbs and lives in an apartment and doesn't have an outdoor space to plant. what other vegetables would do well in them while being indoors for the winter??
amylong
Cool Member
 
Posts: 74
Joined: May 1 '13
Location: new york
Top

Re: Picking dinner.....

Thu May 23, 2013 3:23 pm

I have four shoe organizers but pictured are only two. Here's the plan I did up so I remembered which lettuce was where and such:

Image

Ignore the bottom, those are long planters.

These are on the sunny side. I couldn't move them after they were up - they were too heavy. I bought 4 bags of potting soil and it took about all of those to fill up the shoe hangers. I did use some of those bags for the planters too though. The fence gets sun from about 10:40am til evening. I am watering it about every other day....sometimes every day. It depends on the rain. It got a little wilty when it hit 80s but it other than that its been fine and happy.

I have two shoe organizers per fence panel...and I probably could fit a whole lot more...so I can plant a whole lot more. Its amazing how much space this saves. I think next year in one panel I might try planting some store-bought lettuce directly into the organizer instead of starting it and see how that goes. The strawberries really love the organizer. The lettuce is starting to love it too now that I fixed the issues (going to the front). I think using a better potting soil mix definitely will help it though.

I gotta admit I was skeptical at first....and wasn't going to do it again next year but right now that its actually working and such, definitely planning on doing at again next year. Its awesome.
User avatar
RogueRose
Green Thumb
 
Posts: 558
Joined: May 18 '11
Location: NJ
Top

Re: Picking dinner.....

Thu May 23, 2013 3:44 pm

I like to keep things simple, but I gotta say...that's one sweet setup!
mattie g
Green Thumb
 
Posts: 583
Joined: Jul 7 '10
Location: Northern VA, USA -- Zone 7a
Top

Re: Picking dinner.....

Thu May 23, 2013 7:26 pm

I'm thinking I might use your shoe organizer set up to grow cucumbers. Maybe not this year, but next year? Looks like a great way to grow strawberries too, but I don't bother growing them here where we live. We live next to a city that's famous for strawberries, so it's easy to get good ones for cheap. I am going to concentrate on other more expensive berries, lol
~~Ramona mother of fur babies~~
User avatar
RamonaGS
Green Thumb
 
Posts: 310
Joined: May 17 '13
Location: Solvang, Ca
Top

Re: Picking dinner.....

Mon May 27, 2013 9:54 pm

Well fiddlesticks! Two of the panels came down today. The last two days we have had crazy wind. It was too much for the canvas which just ripped at the eye holes and crumbled to the ground. I am going to definitely salvage the strawberries and put them in the strawberry patch. And going to see if I can put the lettuce anywhere in the garden. Maybe between the tomato plants and such. Still have 2 panels up...but don't have much hope for that. Maybe there's a stronger one out there than the $10 ones. :>
User avatar
RogueRose
Green Thumb
 
Posts: 558
Joined: May 18 '11
Location: NJ
Top

Re: Picking dinner.....

Mon May 27, 2013 10:04 pm

RogueRose wrote:Well fiddlesticks! Two of the panels came down today. The last two days we have had crazy wind. It was too much for the canvas which just ripped at the eye holes and crumbled to the ground. I am going to definitely salvage the strawberries and put them in the strawberry patch. And going to see if I can put the lettuce anywhere in the garden. Maybe between the tomato plants and such. Still have 2 panels up...but don't have much hope for that. Maybe there's a stronger one out there than the $10 ones. :>


Maybe they'll last the season if you reinforce the areas where they're tearing with duct tape or gorilla tape. Gorilla tape is pretty darn strong. Or wrap some cardboard with duct tape and then duct tape it to the areas where the shoe racks are weakest. I just don't want you to lose your sweet set up there. :(
~~Ramona mother of fur babies~~
User avatar
RamonaGS
Green Thumb
 
Posts: 310
Joined: May 17 '13
Location: Solvang, Ca
Top

Re: Picking dinner.....

Mon May 27, 2013 10:36 pm

RamonaGS wrote:
RogueRose wrote:Well fiddlesticks! Two of the panels came down today. The last two days we have had crazy wind. It was too much for the canvas which just ripped at the eye holes and crumbled to the ground. I am going to definitely salvage the strawberries and put them in the strawberry patch. And going to see if I can put the lettuce anywhere in the garden. Maybe between the tomato plants and such. Still have 2 panels up...but don't have much hope for that. Maybe there's a stronger one out there than the $10 ones. :>


Maybe they'll last the season if you reinforce the areas where they're tearing with duct tape or gorilla tape. Gorilla tape is pretty darn strong. Or wrap some cardboard with duct tape and then duct tape it to the areas where the shoe racks are weakest. I just don't want you to lose your sweet set up there. :(


Thanks. I started to replant some of the ones that had fallen. The strawberries I meant to replant into the patch anyway, just not YET so that's no big deal. The lettuce is a pain as I didn't expect to replant that. I have tons of planters so I can put the lettuce in those. I will have to figure out a way to reinforce the last two panels. The canvas is pretty weak though. I think its a combination of the wind, the planted goods, and the potting soil - then the sun weakining the canvas as it hits it. These things aren't made to be outdoors - nor hold the weight of potting soil that they're holding.
User avatar
RogueRose
Green Thumb
 
Posts: 558
Joined: May 18 '11
Location: NJ
Top

Re: Picking dinner.....

Tue May 28, 2013 12:30 am

It must have been disappointing. :(

I'm thinking sandwich the canvas between two strips of wood screwed or nut-and-bolted together (put the screw in from the back with countersunk holes? ...canvas might still rip though :?
Learning never ends because we can share what we've learned. And in sharing our collective experiences, we gain deeper understanding of what we learned.
User avatar
applestar
Mod
 
Posts: 26060
Joined: May 1 '08
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M
Top

Please Share. Thank you!

 
 
Top

Next

Post a reply
20 posts • Page 1 of 2 • 1, 2

 

 

  •   Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post
  • Dinner From the Garden Attachment(s)
    in Vegetable Gardening Forum
    7
    840
    by Northernfox View the latest post
  • What did you eat from the garden for dinner today.
    1 ... 16, 17, 18 in Vegetable Gardening Forum
    262
    31602
    by tedln View the latest post
  • Taters and carrots for dinner
    in Vegetable Gardening Forum
    10
    970
    by digitS' View the latest post
  • Picked from the garden for dinner!
    in Vegetable Gardening Forum
    12
    1925
    by Joyfirst View the latest post
Return to Vegetable Gardening Forum
  • Delete all board cookies • All times are UTC
Privacy Policy | Contact Us
Copyright HelpfulGardener.com 2003-2018 all rights reserved.
All trademarks and copyrights held by respective owners.