Gixx's Little Shack Progress 2013

[gixxerific]

Well I hooked up with my buddy who runs a produce stand with large garden behind it finally today. He is a retired flatworker, this is his parents land willed to him and has been farmed for about 45- 50 years.

The plants here will be tortured a bit but hopefully will do well. There is a creek that borders the property where we get water from, so that is nice. We shall see how this goes, many of you know how a satellite garden is, I am sure it is not easy.

I will keep this separate from my home garden's progress just to keep things easier to keep track of.

[applestar]

Wow that's a lot of space for your toms. What varieties?
Will you be using Fl. Weave?

[gixxerific]

That is a good question?

[gixxerific]

Sorry to not keep up with this but it was basically a failure. Next year things will be different. I was in a rush with plants that were WAY OVERGROWN for their containers. Not too mention when I went to plant there was a real nasty thunderstorm barking at my heels. The ground was hard and I should have mixed it up a bit and another thing I failed on was not amending the soil.

Live and learn, though I had enough to do with my own garden to really worry about it. I am about to pull the plug on that site for this season. Though I do have some promising melons there.

No biggie better luck next season.

[rainbowgardener]

As you said, a satellite garden is hard. I have a little bed (just a 10 x5 raised bed) in a community garden just about 6 blocks from my house. It is the one that I have been posting about in the plant and forget it garden thread. I have only managed to spend any time working on it twice this summer, even though it's close and isn't a huge overwhelming task to deal with. It hasn't been a total loss, because of having such a rainy spring and early summer. But like yours, the soil is much less fertile than my garden beds that I have been working and amending for over a decade.

For next year invest some good time in the beginning getting the soil well amended and everything started well. Think hard about what things do best with little maintenance (probably not tomatoes, which it seems like you have plenty of any way! ). Herbs are what has done best in my neglected bed, but onions and garlic have done well that way too. If you get it well started and mulched, it can coast a lot.

[applestar]

Bummer! But I'm sure you'll figure it out.
...plant Kleopatra and Coyote, Matt's Wild Cherry, ... Maybe Zluta Kylice (all varieties that are reputed to swallow up the garden they get so big) there and you'll be set.

[imafan26]

It is totally hard to manage separate plots, it also means managing your time as well. My community garden is 4 miles away. It takes about 10 minutes to get there, but I have to schedule days for each of the gardens I take care of. I do as you do Rainbow, I have tangerines, calamondin, a pet bartlett pear, beets, daikon, peanuts, jicama, and greens that can be harvested all at once like the Asian greens and spinach. I have asparagus and sometimes beans, but it can be hard to harvest them in time as I only get there a couple of times a week.

Gix, while it is great to have all that land, and I too am jealous, it is harder to establish a new garden than to maintain one. I give you a lot of credit for doing it all.

[gixxerific]

Thanks all for the thoughts and advice. Oh Apple I do have Kleopatra there it is, well growing and putting on fruit but taking over it is not. These were planted even later than the first wave, albeit with a little amended soil in hole. They are doing better than the first group but nothing worth talking about. I just have been ignoring it way too much.

The poor compacted soil and the 4 inches of rain we got starting about an hour after planting didn't help. Everything was against me but I went with it. I am actually surprised anything lived a few weeks after planting I though they were all dead. I did lose around 10 or so.

I have a better plan for next year. Not screw up so bad. I hope it works.

[digitS']

Dono, I have distant gardens - one is nearly 20 miles away.

Here in the backyard, there are only a couple of beds, the greenhouse and a couple of hoop houses . . . this is a city size residential lot! I couldn't have a very big garden even without the protected growing shelters.

The big veggie garden is the most distant. I am still calling it that even tho' it has a "flower corner." It take so much of my time! And yes, I am there mostly because of the $ from farmers' market sales. It is true of the less distant, little veggie garden (with its companion "dahlia garden" ). I'll tell you what, Exxon gets a BIG share of the income these generate, doggoneit!

Steve

[gixxerific]

I put in my stuff an than helped him put in over 400 tomatoes. Than came home and planted some for my neighbor. I am taking it easy tonight we are making smores for the neighborhood kids.

Here is the beginning of my area, I just got back from planting a bunch of peas, beans, melons, and a few other various squash. Jim wants me to plant even more just to fill up the spot, so I will see what I can muster up.



Here is the tomatoes we planted for him there is much more now Peppers radishes etc this was a week ago.



And the "Lil Shack" itself, they opened it up today, already quite a few customers.

[McKinney88]

Now that is a garden!

[digitS']

I'm back in the big veggie garden again, also.

This will be the 9th year for me at that location. It was not the first "off-site" garden for me. That kinda began when I cleaned up a vacant lot across the alley at a previous home.

Good Luck to both of us!

Steve

[Cola82]

Impressive! I can't wait to see it covered in green.