Applestar's 2015 Garden

[imafan26]

Love it. My garlic doesn't look so happy but at least my onions are starting to bulb up.

[sweetiepie]

Yes your garlic does look great. We are still cool here, but I see no life in my garlic I planted last fall. But then the trees are not budding out either, Guess I am just in a hurry. I have had terrible luck with garlic, so if this doesn't make it. I will be asking for advice.

[applestar]

Thanks for your comments @vaporizer, @imafan26, and @sweetiepie

I've been trying different things with garlic every year. Couple of mistakes I've made in the previous years are (1) planting them where even though the area gets FULL SUN in the summer, the low angle of the winter sun and rising and setting a little south of true east and west results in FULL SHADE during the winter (garlic is frost hardy and will grow until hard freeze and resume growing as soon as it starts to thaw, (2) being complacent and planting garlic too late in the fall.

I planted these at the beginning of the window of planting timeframe for my area, and they were able to grow just enough (about 4 inches of green top) before the hard freeze. If I wait too long to plant, they don't get the chance to grow any or hardly any tops -- if I plant too early then the tops that grow over 6" are susceptible to freez burn (I did that the first year and have been trying to avoid the mistake by planting later, but I think too late)

(BTW -- I understand where it doesn't freeze, garlic should be planted as early as you can get them to sprout after the summer heat is over.)

Another possible reason for their success this year is that these are now third or fourth generation garlic in my garden. They say garlic adapts/acclimates to your garden in successive generations if you save from previous year,s harvest and plant the biggest and the best.

[applestar]

Sooo excited!

In addition to all these (eight 55- gal bags ) clean Douglas fir shavings at a very reasonable price...

...which I've already started making use of:

I was able to get all these other materials for various projects around the garden:

Whenever I could get them on super sale, I've been buying wire hanging baskets with coconut/coir lining for the hanging basket type sprawling tomato varieties that I'm growing this year. I was really lucky and recently picked up a few more --

-- this is the biggest one with 26" diameter. I also got a couple of 11" and three 14" all for $20

I also got these freebies -- some DIY self watering containers and several nice pallets (all HT=heat treated) that I'm going to make raise beds out of (not the taking apart and rebuilding type, but just cutting them up into strategicly sized sections).

...with the big one, I'm hoping to cut off the platform intact and use it to close up the open section which will then become the back of the bed. I like the idea of using "something" (typically landscape fabric but maybe cardboard) to line the sides of the bottom half and utilizing the upper half as a fence.

I also brought home 30+ decorative faced cement blocks today. I got them from a gallant man who told me to look over all the different blocks in huge piles and pick what I want. "You just point them out and I'll load them [in your car] for you." He wouldn't accept any extra $ and he was even extra careful to not put them on the carpeted tailgate of my SUV -- which meant lifting way up into the cardboard-lined cargo area.

... no pictures yet. I barely got 10 (and a 1/2 ...he refused to count the 1/2 block in the tally ) of them out and used a hand truck to roll them 2 at a time up the driveway. I'll have to get the rest out tomorrow even though I'm concerned for the shocks of my car.... At least taking the 10 blocks out got the rear tires to stop looking squished on the sloped driveway.

[applestar]

I haven't used any chemical products in/around my garden for 20+ years, though there are external pressures from the neighbors that I can't avoid. So most of my garden beds are located somewhat inside of the property line, and I try to maintain at least a small amount of buffer zones although they might be only for my peace of mind.

I encourage and rely on beneficial insects (Garden Patrols) and try my best to identify them as they are observed in my garden. For necessary fungal disease control and pest control, I only use minimum and mild household mixtures as necessary and ONLY after identifying the problem.

I avoid using even soapy water sprays because typically pest infestations are already being worked on by my Garden Patrol, and prefer to catch and drop into a container of soapy water for most larger bugs. I even let the pest population build up and sacrifice some of the crop in hopes of attracting the appropriate Garden Patrol members.

So far, I've avoided Neem oil though I hear a lot of praise for the product. I also don't use other oil sprays because they are also indiscriminating against insects as well as microbes and fungi. I avoid also general spectrum peroxide and baking soda sprays.

I strive to create bio-diversity in my garden down to the microbial level to try to establish natural balance and equilibrium. For fungal disease, I use milk sprays alternating with AACT (actively aerated compost tea) as preventative and early remedy.

I worry about using single organism biological control even though they are "organic" because I worry about upsetting the bacterial and fungal diversity and balance.... And so far have avoided them. My AACT should contain the beneficial organism. In case my own garden and household ingredients are insufficient or lacking, I try to add small amounts of commercial compost and organic potting mixes and as well as other biologically active supplements like bokashi compost and outsourced live earthworms and nightcrawlers (DH's leftover fish bait) to my compost piles.

I prefer not to general spray Bt because I maintain my entire garden as butterfly garden and grow as many larval host plants as I can. I have had to resort to Bt injection against SVB (squash vine borers) however.

I buy organic or at least untreated seeds when they are available, and don't get any that are specifically treated or if only treated seeds are available. I have been enticed into trading for tomato variety seeds which have evolved into tomato and pepper and, and.... But I like the idea of self-sustaining so I mostly only grow heirloom and OP (open pollinated) varieties and save my own seeds, including biennials that require a second year to mature and produce seeds.

Heh -- ask a simple question or two.... I think that about covers it all.

[applestar]

I think I got everything I need to fill these DIY sub irrigated • self watering planters now. I just need to find the time!

As much as I wanted to get started, I had to finish planting the potatoes and pre-germinated/sprouted corn and peas. (...realized AFTER I came inside and was looking down at the garden from the window that I forgot to take pictures. I also forgot to plant the pre-germinated and sprouted squash.... )

I have three varieties of potatoes planted now -- Adirondak Red, Gold Rush, and Sangre. I also planted some TPS minitubers and I have TPS seedlings that can be planted in the next couple of weeks.

I think today's was the last pre-germinated peas -- KNIGHT. Already sowed CAROUBY DE MOUSSANE, GREEN ARROW, GOLDEN SWEET, SUGAR SPRINT, OREGON SUGAR POD, MAMMOTH MELTING SUGAR, BLAUSCHOKKER BLUE.

[sweetiepie]

I really like the Green Arrow Peas, though I have never tried the other kinds. Can't wait to see pictures of the differences.

[applestar]

My garden beds are starting to take shape. (Lots to do still... But I think I'm going to start planting the biggest tomato seedlings, so the remaining spaces will fill up fast.

Mostly just Marrowfat Peas are evident in this garden ("Sunflower House" (SFH) and "Sunflower House Extension" (SFHX). You can't see the Green Arrow that haven't sprouted yet, and I just planted sprouted Kakai hulless seed squash here, but I mulched with some grass to keep them shaded and protected.

I've been migrating this Compost Pile from the far end of the bed to the near end every time I turned the pile. A.K.A. My "Earthworm Tractor" -- It's my solution to not being able to keep chickens and have a chicken tractor

The Spiral Garden has the Golden Sweet and Mammoth Melting Sugar snowpeas, Green Arrow and Knight shelling green peas.

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[applestar]

Slow going, and so many neglected chores! But here is an update picture. 6 kinds of Peas, 4 kinds of Onions, Cabbage, 3 kinds of Corn (pushing it a little but hopefully will work due to staggered planting and DTM), 3 kinds of Winter Squash, seed Potatoes and TPS minitubers, 2 kinds of Summer Squash are planted in various parts of these beds -- "Spiral Garden", "Sunflower House", "Sunflower House Extension", and "Haybale" Row.

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Tomatoes and Peppers will be planted in the yet to be cleared segments of the Spiral Garden, and I need to rescue the existing strawberries. Watermelon and Melon as well as Cucumber and Cuccuza (type of gourd eaten young like summer squash) will fill the remaining parts of the Sunflower House after the compost pile is moved out.

The "Espalier Fence Row" and The "Raspberry Row" are overdue to be weeded, fertilized and mulched.

[applestar]

Just finished building this new bed

...all the weeds and sod are piled up under the wood shavings. I'm going to let them settle down a bit, then cardboard and fill with weed-free mix to plant in.

I pulled out and separated a whole bunch of neglected strawberry plants from this former strawberry bed. I plan to put potting mix in the cement block holes and plant them in there.

[applestar]

VGA bed -- I think all the seeds that were sown here have sprouted to some degree now. I will need to thin, etc.

[4/21] sown in rows from left to right
(1r) lunar white ^5/3/radish china white ^5/1
-- turnip purple top white globe ^5/1 --
(1r) lunar white ^5/3
-- radish china white ^5/1 --
(1r) sunrise red ^5/1
-- White rib chard ^5/1 --
(1r) Nantes ^5/7
-- cilantro ^5/7 --
(1r) Daikon ^4/27
-- parsnip Swiss ^5/9 --
(1r) beet albino ^5/7
-- lettuce Silvia ^5/1 --
(2sq) turnip shogoin ^4/29 • celeriac large smooth Prague ^5/7, (1sq)Turnip scarlet? ^4/29
-- lettuce flame ^5/9 --

I took a triptych of the bed and used autostitch app to render them into one. Which looks/works better?

TRIPTYCH

RENDERED

[applestar]

Planted the strawberries. They are a bit wilty because they hardly have any roots. I suppose ideally, I should clip off all blossoms and fruits, maybe even halve some of the bigger leaves, but I compromised by leaving only a couple of berries blossoms per plant and covering with floating cover. I also planted two seed grown Alpine strawberry plants in the small holes and a micro tomato called Mohamed.

Also weeded, fertilized, and mulched the Kids' Garden strawberries with their help

...and cut down and piled all the weeds under the persimmon, apple and pear trees along the Espalier Fence Row, papered, added composted mulch, and covered with Douglas fir shavings. The weeding and mulching really needed to get done, but I should have put down some compost too -- just didn't have the energy for it -- I plan on side dressing with compost a little later.

...I really need to work on training these more...

Broccoli is starting to head up

[applestar]

...I know, I know.... But I planted the corn in the new bed so I wanted to show you all.

-- I'll be the first to admit this will be really iffy. Brand-new seedling sheet mulched bed with only a tiny pocket of potting mix for the overgrown pre-germinated-in-water bareroot corn seedlings to start in (the roots were WAY shorter than they should have been for the size of the top shoot). The green mulch under the paper hasn't had time to die (barely paled and yellowed) let alone break down.

-- but this was the only available space to plant the Trucker's Favorite White corn I wanted to grow as part of the White Sauce Garden which is just to the left of the pictures.

-- I know I'm going to have to really pour on the nitrogen until the mulch breaks down if I want these corn to succeed. I did put fertilizer in the potting mix used in the pockets and mixed in some AACT, BumperCrop, alfalfa and bran in the 2nd formula potting mix used to cover the remainder of the bed.

[applestar]

Yay! I finally got the Spiral Garden ready to plant tomatoes

Tall yellow flowers in the garden are overwintered Red Russian Kale and this spring's Tatsoi that already bolted.

...ones off to the right are Golden Alexanders in the Miniature Wildflower Meadow.

I built my version of hugelkultur bed along the fence to the right

...I may not actually "plant" in it this season, but put container dwarf tomatoes in 3 gal square containers and 5 gal buckets. They can go ahead and grow roots into the mound

[applestar]

Another picture from late this afternoon. Maybe you can see the spiral better....

[applestar]

I got these cut up "skids" thinking I would cut them down more and use them as sides for raised beds, then realized they were perfect solution to putting up some kind of a barrier against my neighbor's lawn service. I have spoken with the workers as well as their sales rep that comes around looking for business a number of times, but I know they don't really "...don't spray anywhere near your fence" or "only use granular product on windy days" or that their products/service is "100% safe because they are inspected by the EPA every month...."

But I've had the skids leaning on the fence for a while -- over a week now I think -- and had not sprung into action because I wasn't satisfied with their height -- it was satisfyingly high enough to completely block anything they are spraying on the grass, but it seemed clunky, out of place, and too much "in-your-face" plus I only had two of these panels and it was obvious I needed one more.

Then a couple of days ago, the light bulb finally lit up and I realized if I cut the top board off so they are three boards high, then I have a THIRD three board high piece that the guy tossed in for free. I wanted to cut them down yesterday but couldn't get to it until the end of the day and I really had to argue myself out of trying to cut anything -- and I had intended to use a cordless reciprocating saw -- when I was already feeling exhausted.

So this morning I waited until decent time -- 8AM, then began. ...it turned out that it was far EASIER to use a regular manual saw, but I was really pleased with the result:

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I'm going to cut up a few pallets and make surrounds for raised beds that will support these against the fence -- these lowered panels are 24"H so slightly lower height beds (2 boards or 16" high/deep) should be perfect.

[pepperhead212]

@applestar - with all this work on this pallet lumber you do, sounds like you should think about setting up a workshop like I have! LOL Maybe not everything, but a bandsaw would be good for cutting that rough-sawn lumber to width, and a miter saw would be good for setting up repetitive cut lengths.

How's that pea eggplant doing? Mine is the largest plant in my garden, but then, it was also started earliest. They just take a long time to get growing, though once they do, there's no stopping them!

[applestar]

The pea eggplant is monstrous! I uppotted it to a 2 L bottle SIP for the time being but it's starting to grow roots down into the reservoir and I HAVE to give it a permanent home. I'm thinking after this freak low dip in the temp.

I took a sculpture course one semester in college and was introduced to all the big power tools. I have to admit to the ease of use when everything is set up, but I did find them a bit intimidating. I was much more of a chisel-and-mallet sculptor.... They are also BUILT for bigger people than me in terms of height and particularly REACH.... My face is MUCH closer to the whirling blades and drills.

It was surprisingly easy to use the manual saw for this cutting at least since I was cutting between boards and they provided the cutting guides, and I was able to maneuver the heavy skids this way and that to present convenient cutting angles and, when necessary, I just squat or cut with the saw held upside down... or supported the skid with one hand while sawing with the other.

...and I got some sawdust on the garden without even having to collect them first

[skiingjeff]

Really nice looking garden You always have some great ideas and utilize every inch of space. Great pics!

[pepperhead212]

Applestar,

I can relate to you about the machines not being built for your height, except for me, the other way! LOL I had to make cabinets and benches higher than average, so I wouldn't be hunched over for hours, and I laid a small, 3" thick concrete pad for my bandsaw to sit on, so imagine what this place would be like! And speaking of handsaws, was that a Japanese handaw you were using? Those are incredibly easy to use, being thinner, and cutting on the pull. They do know a thing about hand tools!

Good luck with that pea eggplant, and everything else out there! Hopefully this brief cold won't bother our plants.

[applestar]

...work shop of the giant...

Thanks for the encouragement @pepperhead212 ...and for the compliments @skiingjeff

I think right now it's the lack of rain that's hurting the most. I watered today... But that meant I didn't have time to weed and boy some of those beds need to be weeded but the corn is growing well

Glass Gem corn in the foreground inter planted with fava beans. -- this worked well a couple of years ago.

Long rows of Bantam Gold and Kandy Korn in the background with potatoes in a trench row in front of them. This idea I'm trying out is to hill the corn and potatoes at the same time. Potatoes won't be dug until the corn are finished and harvested a sweet corn.

[imafan26]

I am still wading through my weeds. I just managed to pull the three foot tall weeds in the front yard and that nearly filled my green can. I have worse in the back.

I admire you for doing so much of this yourself. It took me hours to build a pull out drawer for my cabinet and I couldn't even build that square. I am much better building with concrete pavers but it still takes time to make sure the first level is actually level. I have a 1/2 inch drill, a skill saw, miter box, hand saw, post hole digger and pole pruner.

It takes me about 45 minutes to cut down one McArthur palm with a hand saw and cut it into 1 foot pieces. The garbage collector still doesn't like it when I put it in the green can because it is so heavy. One tree will fill a green can.

We get a few sprinklers from the afternoon convection clouds but everything is pretty dry. I had to turn my sprinklers back on last month so my water bill also went up. It still isn't enough since the soil is so parched. Only the weeds are happy since they don't need a lot of rain to take off.

[applestar]

Tomato Spiral Garden is taking shape. I think I should be able to finish planting the rest of the plants today....

[applestar]

...almost... Not quite -- it's SO HOT today I had to give up and go inside.

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THE MAP

[applestar]

My pallet raised bed project is up to this point. I just need to figure out how to secure them to each other, whether I want to be able to easily take them apart, etc.

...I have to hurry because the sunflowers I was going to plant along the fence have sprouted and need to be planted out.

[vaporizer]

I love your pallet re-purposing. is looking great

[skiingjeff]

That's a lot of tomatoes! Do you can most of them or give them away?

[applestar]

Freeze, can, give away....

I want to get a pressure canner so I can expand my repertoire of canned goods since I don't entirely trust most freezer containers....

[applestar]

I'm pre-germinating like I did last year.

I can combine easily recognizable seeds that germinate in about the same amount of time. Here are TenderStar runner beans, Baby Butterpea Lima beans and Charleston Gray and Sugar Baby watermelon seeds I started on Monday 5/25. (Uh oh, one of the roots broke and is floating in the rinse water.... )

[applestar]

Update photos from the backyard --

Seedlings on the picnic table under the mulberry tree

NKG and SF&H

Highlights from the SF&H (Sunflower & House)

...and the NKG (New Kitchen Garden)

The section with paper egg carton has TPS minituber shoots that are just starting to come up -- these were the tiny ones -- about size of a marble or jellybean with mostly just one eye starting to grow. The larger minitubers were planted at the end of the HBR a (Haybale Row) where I planted a long row of seed potatoes alongside a row of sweet corn in a companion planting experiment.

I planted the usual seed potatoes in several beds, but here are two Adirondak Red in a wooden tub on the patio and I think about a dozen Gold Rush planted in a new bed at the end of the SF&H

[sweetiepie]

I love the pallet re-purposing too! I am going to have to throw some down in the orchard and plant the rest of my peppers and tomatos. I just got to crazy planting seeds and have to many transplants. It looks great! I can't wait for mine to start growing.

[applestar]

Thanks! Even though it's a lot of work, I love spring planting time, too. I just cannot get over how tiny seeds grow into these wonderful plants and we can eat them!

These are actually same pictures as above, but I made a collage of just these cabbages -- Early Jersey Wakefield and Late Flat Dutch. (I also have Old Serbian Cabbge growing elsewhere)

(I just love these frosty blue green colors)

...also a close up of the broccoli -- these are Solstice broccoli that I started in January and had been growing in KFC buckets. I think I SHOULD start them in January even though they took up a lot of space. The main broccoli planting of Limba and Solstice are just starting to grow tiny heads.

(I harvested the looser looking ones -- the kids gobbled them up and left me the stems and leaves -- though they were quite delicious so I didn't mind....)

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[applestar]

I took update pics of the corn and forgot to post them

"Haybale Row" on top with Golden Bantam and Kandy Korn, along with peas and summer squash, and {hill together with corn experiment} row of potatoes

"Sunflowe House Extension" on bottom with Glass Gem Corn, along with interplanted Fava beans (there is a volunteer watermelon and borage in there, too) I also just sowed some pre-germinated Dixie Butterpea lima beans to see if they are good corn companions. I'm told Glass Gem is a tall growing/sturdy type of corn so hopefully it can provide support.

You can see the sad Marrowfat peas in the pics and the larger squash in front of them in the "Sunflower House" bed is a mini hill of Kakai Hulless seed squash which I'm hoping will produce ahead of SVB infestation.

[applestar]

This morning, I sowed a little over a dozen pre-germinated seeds each of "Red and Purple Dwarf Okra" (saved seeds received in trade) and "Burgundy" -- no red in the name... But last time I bought seedlings from my favorite herb lady and their names had red in it -- from a commercial Burpee seed packet that I found myself holding out to the cashier last time I went to the garden center (NO CLUE how I came to be holding it either ).

It was only 54°F -- 57°F now, but they germinated so quickly under the lights inside (I put them in water to soak for 8 hrs on 6/3 which was... only TWO DAYS AGO). Louisiana Green Velvet okra seeds from another trade is taking the expected amount of time and are just starting to germinate. So they should be ready to sow tomorrow as intended when it's supposed to get to 80°F.

[applestar]

Finally, FINALLY, finished planting the Sunflower House and Extension
Sowed Pre-germinated melon seeds (didn't wait for them to sprout their seed leaves) and planted SIL's melon seedlings started from store or farmers market bought melon in the "melon" section, and sowed pre-germinated Narcissus F1 gourd which is supposed to be edible like summer squash when picked young. Armenian cucumbers which is actually a melon also went in the melon section.

...all that's left to do is to take down the winter compost pile and use it to mulch and hill the potatoes and corn in the Haybale Row. I may sow some more bush wax beans in the still available/reserved spots where the squash and watermelons will be filling in as they grow.

[applestar]

This is the second morning I noticed my Kakai squash has started to bloom from the upstair's window. Yesterday, I didn't get around to going in that part of the garden. Today, by the time I got to them around 10:30AM, the blossoms were already closing,

They are very early risers and seem to be opening by dawn. All males so far, but today I think all the vines had opened blossoms. There should be female blossoms opening within a week or so. I planted them early but in the open (not protected under insect barrier tunnel like last year). I was hoping they will produce before the SVB get here, but we're having 90°F days for the next week, which may mean all the hot summer pests will be arriving....

I did notice yesterday that the okra have sprouted and so did the melons.

Still harvesting wild strawberries and mulberries, and more of the shelling peas are coming in. There's one red raspberry in there somewhere, too, though we had about four yesterday. So just ones and twos so far, but slowly increasing -- probably a 1/2 doz tomorrow.

[lakngulf]

Isn't this a great time of the year? Watching the plants do their thing, and enjoying the results.

[applestar]

Yep! I'm almost done planting, then I can REALLY kick back and enjoy.

THIS part of my garden is basically done. It's mostly maintenance now -- corn need to be fed and hilled for the last time. Marrowfat peas under the CRW trellis is starting to dry up and will be harvested, and the sprouted melons will take their place. Squash need to be redirected as necessary so they don't run amok. ...and weed, weed, weed... And water.

[sweetiepie]

Applestar, I can't remember what thread it was in, but you recommended using a curry comb for horses for weeding. I wanted to tell, thank you. I would of never of thought to use something like that in the garden. I don't have horses at the moment, (though my daughter keeps wanting to bring hers for visits) so it is being re-used in the garden and works great.

[applestar]

You're welcome, @sweetiepie
It really does work very well, I love using mine -- very satisfying.