bri80
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Posts: 282
Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:12 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Before I start my 2017 garden, pictures of OLD gardens

Just wanted to share some old pictures from old gardens I've grown. I'm still 2-3 weeks away from starting my first seeds for 2017, so I'm scratching my gardening itch by looking at old photos. :D

So to start out, here was my first vegetable garden. I was so very naive about how much the weeds/grass would eventually take over.
1garden_1.jpg
1garden_2.jpg
Same garden, 2nd year (more of an effort to keep the paths free of grass/weeds):
2garden_1.jpg
I live in an urban environment, so to maximize space I gardened the parking strip:
2garden_2.jpg
Got over 100lbs of potatoes from this:
2garden_potatoes.jpg
(more photos to follow in replies)

bri80
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Posts: 282
Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:12 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Then I bought a house, and started fresh...
3garden_1.jpg
3garden_2.jpg
You can see potatoes and tomatoes around the corner:
3garden_4.jpg
3garden_5.jpg
Every year, late summer, I grow a large bed of kale/collards and let them go dormant when the weather turns cold. Then I eat off them all winter long, and they start producing new leaves again in the spring:
3garden_6.jpg

bri80
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Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:12 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Garden evolving in the 2nd year at the new place. Planted some bamboo on the fence line for a natural screen, once it fills in.
4garden_2.jpg
4garden_3.jpg
4garden_4.jpg
4garden_5.jpg
Some massive plants and good harvests this year:
4garden_sunflowers.jpg
4garden_broc.jpg
4garden_carrots.jpg

bri80
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Posts: 282
Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:12 pm
Location: Portland, OR

And finally, last year's garden. I put in the planter boxes on all the beds now, some of the pictures are before they were all done. The bamboo is doing great, although it cost me the two beds around the corner there as I had to make room. Worth it though, for privacy. I got an awesome new irrigation system put in, which has saved me tons of time and even money on my water bill.
5garden_1.jpg
5garden_2.jpg
5garden_3.jpg
5garden_4.jpg
This year's kale...
5garden_kale.jpg
The garden is still evolving. Outside the vegetable garden, I'm planting more natives and incorporating more landscape thought, whereas before I was more about just growing everything anywhere I could as big as I could.

Overall, I'm happy with the progress, and I think after another year or two of evolving I'll have this yard/garden (yarden??) dialed in to where I'm not changing as much year to year.

Firsttimegardener
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Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2017 9:09 pm
Location: SE Michigan

Very nice pictures of your gardens, looking yummy. What are you planning to grow this year?

Taiji
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Location: Gardening in western U.P. of MI. 46+ N. lat. elev 1540. zone 3; state bird: mosquito

That looks great Bri for a relatively small space. Nice that no one objects to planting vegetables along the city street. It should be that way everywhere.

Was wondering, what is the variety of potato in the patch from which you got 100 lbs? I'm a best bang for my buck kind of a guy!

I would love to plant some bamboo here but everyone discourages it. They say it will invade the neighbor's yards and can hardly be removed except with a backhoe. In this arid environment it seems unlikely to me, but that's what they say. Is yours a non invasive type?

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Very nice. I wish I could have a garden anywhere I want it. The HOA does not allow vegetables in the front yard. They even tell you to remove your landscaping if they don't like it. They would not allow it on the curbside. The people in non HOA communities that do plant anything near the public street usually have losses from theft.

You have to be in a cooler place to plant some of what you grow. Bamboo is invasive over time. Clumpers don't run but they get to be 100 ft tall and you still have to keep the clump from slowly spreading. Miniatures are usually runners but apparently there are some bamboo that are less invasive. Even the slower growing ones still need to have the clumps reduced regularly.

You make very good use of your space and you are getting great harvests so you must already have a green thumb. I haven't tried potatoes, ,just sweet potatoes. Your carrots are really nice, you have to be in a cooler zone than I am since carrots only have a short season here and they usually don't get that big. Where is your garden located?

Guessing by the pitch of the roof, short eaves, and small windows it is probably around zones 6-8

Asica
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Location: California (Los Angeles)

Love the pictures. You have a lovely garden.

bri80
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Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:12 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Taiji wrote:That looks great Bri for a relatively small space. Nice that no one objects to planting vegetables along the city street. It should be that way everywhere.
Some people do, but they're a minority around here, and city code doesn't prevent it, so those who do object can take a hike. :D Lots of people in Portland garden the parking strips in some fashion, which I think is awesome.
Taiji wrote:Was wondering, what is the variety of potato in the patch from which you got 100 lbs? I'm a best bang for my buck kind of a guy!
I think I had 3 varieties that year, I know one was yukon gold because I always plant yukon gold. 1 was a waxy, "banana" type, and the other was a purple type. It was many years ago, sorry I can't be more specific.
Taiji wrote:I would love to plant some bamboo here but everyone discourages it. They say it will invade the neighbor's yards and can hardly be removed except with a backhoe. In this arid environment it seems unlikely to me, but that's what they say. Is yours a non invasive type?
There are two main types, running and clumping. Running bamboo is incredibly invasive and has to be contained with a rhizome barrier, installed at least 30" deep, to prevent it from spreading. I have some of this on the other side of the house, actually. As long as you maintain the barrier annually, you shouldn't run into any problems with it spreading - it's the lazy people who let the barrier degrade or don't notice when it jumps over it and let it escape that run into problems. You may need to replace the barrier after several (5-10) years.

Clumping is what you see pictured and is non-invasive, and doesn't require a rhizome barrier, although you could use one if you wanted to spend more money/work up front to make maintenance easier over the long term. Clumping bamboo spreads a couple inches a year in a circle, thus the name. It's easy to trim the root ball in the direction you want growth and prevent it from spreading where you don't.
Last edited by bri80 on Sat Feb 04, 2017 12:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

bri80
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Posts: 282
Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:12 pm
Location: Portland, OR

imafan26 wrote:Very nice. I wish I could have a garden anywhere I want it. The HOA does not allow vegetables in the front yard. They even tell you to remove your landscaping if they don't like it. They would not allow it on the curbside. The people in non HOA communities that do plant anything near the public street usually have losses from theft.
Yes, HOAs are a pain that way... I don't think I could ever live in a community that had an HOA. I've gardened in the front yard/curbside for many years now and never had theft problems. Besides, I figure if someone is so hungry for fresh, nutritious food that they feel the need to steal something from my garden, then they probably need it more than me and I don't see the problem. I always have plenty of fresh veggies to eat.
imafan26 wrote: You make very good use of your space and you are getting great harvests so you must already have a green thumb. I haven't tried potatoes, ,just sweet potatoes. Your carrots are really nice, you have to be in a cooler zone than I am since carrots only have a short season here and they usually don't get that big. Where is your garden located?

Guessing by the pitch of the roof, short eaves, and small windows it is probably around zones 6-8
I'm in Portland, OR. Zone 8. "Mediterranean" climate... mild summers, mild winters.

bri80
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Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:12 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Asica wrote:Love the pictures. You have a lovely garden.
Thank you!

Taiji
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Location: Gardening in western U.P. of MI. 46+ N. lat. elev 1540. zone 3; state bird: mosquito

Just curious, you say you are still 2 or 3 wks. away from seed starting, but you are a little warmer than I am here. Would that be because you are waiting for more sunlight as the sun goes to a higher angle? I've started my onion, cabbage and broccoli seeds indoors already.

I noticed your walkways became narrower in your later gardens. This year, I had more space than before, and so, thought I would be smart and create 3 foot wide walkways to be able to walk thru and do stuff more comfortably. Now, I'm thinking I made a mistake, because those walkways are more conducive to weeds and need more maintenance! I wish I was back to a foot or 18 inches between beds, but, I have 4 foot wide beds. So, I either have to widen them more to lessen the walkway width which makes it hard to reach across, or start over and create all new beds. Ugh. My "beds" are free standing, not boxed in.

bri80
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Posts: 282
Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:12 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Yeah, it has more to do with light than temp. The suns just not strong enough to get much growth till march, especially with our local climate favoring weeks and weeks of overcast days.

As for the paths, my paths are very narrow and it can be a pain. I have a wider path at either end to get bigger things through but if I had more space, I'd make bigger paths. Maintaining them isn't a big deal for me I just hoe out weeds as I walk around doing my normal maintenance.



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