my garden ** Pictures **

[produce pete]

my first garden.


[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02662.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02660.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02657.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02656.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02639.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02655.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02654.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02653.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02652.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02651.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02650.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02649.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02648.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02643.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02641.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02640.jpg[/img]

https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02650.jpg

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02638.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02637.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk257/shoalnervo/DSC02636.jpg[/img]

[cheshirekat]

Looking very good. Are the limbs working to keep critters out?

[produce pete]

Looking very good. Are the limbs working to keep critters out?

yes, the chickens have been enjoying the corn patch until I covered it with the limbs....but I cant get rid of the moles/gophers

[doccat5]

Looks just great, but may I suggest you put some mulch on your beds. Dried grass clippings, leaves, etc to a depth of about 2 inches. It will hold down the weeds and conserve the moisture. You can lay down several thicknesses of wetted black and white newspaper first. That will act as a good weed barrier and bring the worms.

[produce pete]

Looks just great, but may I suggest you put some mulch on your beds. Dried grass clippings, leaves, etc to a depth of about 2 inches. It will hold down the weeds and conserve the moisture. You can lay down several thicknesses of wetted black and white newspaper first. That will act as a good weed barrier and bring the worms.

thnx for the tip. I will do that.

[produce pete]

Looks just great, but may I suggest you put some mulch on your beds. Dried grass clippings, leaves, etc to a depth of about 2 inches. It will hold down the weeds and conserve the moisture. You can lay down several thicknesses of wetted black and white newspaper first. That will act as a good weed barrier and bring the worms.

actually I did put some dead leaves/weeds down around the plants. I didn't want to put it everywhere b/c then I would be blind the to gophers/moles destruction. I also found that these ground critters LOVE the damp soil!(my father cant even watter his grass bocce court with out attracting all the moles/gophers in the surrounding area............. most all of the plants are now in 3.5 gallon pots halfway under the ground so the ground critters cant get at them......... Its amazing how unremitting thats critters are! as soon as I move a plant to a pot the gopher or mole moves on the the next one thats not protected. (remember the movie caddy shack and how frustrated the golf course grounds keeper was? well that me))............I'll post a question about using 3.5 gallons pots and if my plants can mature in them (I'm afraid that artichokes wont reach there full potential in a 3.5 pot
....oh yeah and about mulching/newspapering my whole garden, ill do that after all the plants are potted why news paper????/

[doccat5]

Didn't realize you were going to container gardening. You don't need the newspapers or mulch for that. I was thinking you were going to utilize the veggies you have in the ground.

The newspapers help block out young weed seedlings and draw in the earthworms which will over time greatly improve your soil

Mulch acts as a holder of moisture and also another barrier for weeds.

Moles and voles are a real pain. I would suggest you think about using either Milky Spore or an organic nematode killer. They are mainly looking for grubs when they disturb your plants. If you remove the grubs that should help.

Try gardensalive.com for info on various nematode killers and they may have some other things to help get rid of the little pests.

[Cuke]

We had a terrible mole/vole problem several years ago so we called a local exterminator due to the fact we had several other critter problems too.It's not a very humane way to go about getting rid of them but it worked.Instead of having the 6 or so ground squirrels tearing apart our yard we only have 1 or 2 which get stuck in the gutters a lot and it's down to less holes.

Also,I read online on a few websites that you could trap moles by looking for their runways and dig a small hole,place a live trap and check it each day.Or you could even put a deep enough container for them to fall into.

Your garden looks great,it's very green and healthy looking.

A few sites on mole trapping in case you want to be humane and relocate it somewhere else,but be careful where you relocate it depending on laws in your area and not placing unwanted moles in someone else's yard.

https://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/wildlife/420-201/420-201.html

https://landscaping.about.com/cs/pests/a/mole_control_2.htm

Best of luck with the moles.

[opabinia51]

Looks like a fairly dry area. Something that you can do to reduce the amount of watering that you have to do is

a) Deep mulching

Dig trenches in your garden areas and fill them with leaves or other browns (High C:N elements) along with a green (manure, used coffee grinds (free from coffee shops), grass clippings, vegetable scraps, etc.). Cover with soil

b) Sheet composting.

Same thing but, atop the soil. Vary your browns (I like to use leaves but many different kinds of leaves. Don't use Walnut leaves)

C) Dig swales

perpendicular to the slope of your land to collect water in the soil.

d) Plant cover crops and green manures

like clover, Rye, vetch, buckwheat and son on. They will shade the soil. Also, if you mow them (leave the clippings on the ground) into the soil they'll also build your soil.

e) Use deep watering

by watering for at least an hour about once a week. Twice if needed.