Applestar's 2015 Garden

[applestar]

I'm starting so many seeds and taking so many pictures that I thought I'd start my garden photo gallery for this year

Cold weather stuff (50°F or colder and down to mid-20's) in the garage:

GARAGE V8 NURSERY UPPER SHELF

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GARAGE V8 NURSERY LOWER SHELF

Warm weather stuff (mid-60°s or warmer and preferably 70's to low 80's) inside the Winter Paradise covered "greenhouse" shelves:

Warm weather stuff (low 60's to low 70's) in room temperature:

TOMATOES AND TRUE POTATO SEEDS ABOVE and to the side of the Winter Paradise --

(I might come back and add some captions later)

[McKinney88]

Looks good!

[applestar]

The ground is still thawing and wet -- last night it went downt 28°F and froze again.
But all of these have been hardening off and are ready to be planted any time. I did plant some of the cabbage in the patio window boxes. I have to be careful digging around in those boxes because I sowed some pansy seeds and I do see a few tiny seedlings.

[applestar]

...AAAANNND... 21°F on the patio this morning
I had put most of them in a clear tub with lock on lid, but not all. I went out, lifted the lid, and sprinkled the frozen leaves with water before the sun came up, and brought the unprotected tray into the garage and thoroughly misted all the leaves. Not sure if that will help.

According to this, they should have survived, but these numbers are for established plants in the ground....
https://www.southernexposure.com/growing ... -guide.pdf

[rainbowgardener]

I came out yesterday AM and the potting mix in the little pots with the broccoli and cabbage that it out hardening up was frozen solid. Not good! But I watered with lukewarm water and the sun came out and they were ok. Continue to hang in there through delayed spring, but they aren't looking quite as happy as they were for awhile.

[applestar]

Thanks! I hope mine recover, too.

[applestar]

These are maps of some upblocked microblocks of salad greens and additional new seeds sown in microblocks replacing the opened up available spots, as well as reseeded microblocks that didn't germinate the first time around:

I'll take pictures of the actual soilblocks tomorrow.

[applestar]

Half of the New Kitchen Garden by the back patio and 2/3 of the SF&H are planted!

NEW KITCHEN GARDEN

Broccoli, cabbage, Sugar Sprint snap peas, red pak choi, spinach, Walla Walla onions

SF&H

LEFT: Broccoli, cabbage, sugar snap peas, Alisa Craig onions... RIGHT: Overwintered leeks, winter indoor garden broccoli, more broccoli seedlIngs, Blauschokker Blue (can be harvest as snow peas or soup peas), Red Zeppelin onions...
This bed used to have a path through it with a 2nd gate on the other side when I first built it as a Sunflower and Corn House, but since it's being used strictly as a garden bed now, I'm going to close off the gate and fill/raise the back 1/3 into another planting area.

[applestar]

The peas I started inside back in March are ready to plant.

These are Mammoth Melting Sugar and Golden Sweet snow peas. You can see they are at just the right growth stage to transplant, with the roots having reached the outside of the soilblocks but not so far that they would be burrowing into each other.

I have two more trays that are slightly less developed so I think I have a window of a few more days to plant them.

[applestar]

It's been CRAZY around here -- when the weather is nice enough to leave tomato seedlings outside day and night, it takes a lot of attention to make sure they don't get too cold, too hot, too wet. Occasional days when peppers could go out were sometimes sacrificed because it would have been too much work to bring them back inside at the end of the day on top of everything else. More tomato and pepper seedlings sprouted in the seed bags and were planted in soil blocks. Some of those soilblocks need to be upblocked but I don't have deep enough trays in the right size -- either smaller trays or one giant tray... Either option requires more space than now.

I was getting ready to make those changes when the weather forecast turned completely IFFY -- we are talking down to mid-30's ...I have to conserve space until this passes.

All the rest of the cool weather stuff have been needing to be planted though. I got the cauliflower and Tatsoi planted, cabbage, almost all of the purchased onion plants, most of the peas where I wanted them. Carrots, radish and daikon, celeriac, beets, turnips.... At least one bed has been finished but there are still some beds that need to be cleared for planting.

I startd Glass Gem and Bantam corn -- pre-germinating now, to be sown and sprouted and uniform seedlings will be planted in precise patterns for maximum pollination coverage.

I missed the opportunity to plant seed potatoes this weekend -- I was running unavoidable errands and seeing that ALL THE PHENOLOGICAL SIGNS FOR PLANTING POTATOES WERE PRESENT. But I had to prioritize and get the onions and peas planted, then it rained... And Rained... And RAINED.

But I did find two spots where I could plant about 1 lb of seed potatoes each, so at least some Sangre and Gold Rush have hit the ground. Some of the intended beds are waterlogged, which probably means they are NOT the ideal locations for potatoes unless I can go vertical... But my two chickenwire potato silos are currently holding compost material.

...it might be time to go buy more wire fencing... And, you know, other "stuff"

I also started pre-germinating some of the late maturing pumpkins and squash. First to germinate as of today was a single, surprise gift seed marked "78# Big Max" -- set to soak on 4/18 then placed in a seed zip on a soup spoon to germinate.

[sweetiepie]

You are always so busy. I love the report. You make me want to take a chance and throw something in the garden. It is so dry here and I have my garden tilled once and the manure/compost already applied. So I could so easily but our frost date isn't until May 25th. I better wait.

[lakngulf]

It's been CRAZY around here -- when the weather is nice enough to leave tomato seedlings outside day and night, it takes a lot of attention to make sure they don't get too cold, too hot, too wet.

That is a tricky task. Always want to get the plants to the sunny spots as soon as possible, without cooking them, letting them freeze, or dry out. Or, if I leave them out overnight to be sure the animals don't get them

Now I am about to be gone a week and I have to get the tender plants to an area where the irrigation system will help them out a bit, hopefully without destroying them

I looked at my greenhouse yesterday thinking "I wonder if I could fix the roof to open up when it is good weather for the seedlings to be outside"

[applestar]

I looked at my greenhouse yesterday thinking "I wonder if I could fix the roof to open up when it is good weather for the seedlings to be outside"

"Lakngulf Superdome"
That would be super cool

I thought I'd post a picture of my garlic -- these are Music and Elephant, and they were planted around mid-October last fall:

...and next to them are cauliflowers and Fun Gen Nappa cabbages with small planting of Marrowfat Peas and overwintered Red Russian Kale and carrot under the insect barrier tunnel.


I'll need to exclude the peas later but baby bunnies can get in this area between the fence pickets right now, so I put the tunnel over them until I can address the problem.

[applestar]

...and here is a 4x4 raised bed of Lunar White carrot, Albino beet, Daikon (which of course is white), White icicle radish, White ribbed chard, Shogoin turnip, Parsnip, Celeriac, ... Yep this bed <VGA> along with the garlic <VGC> and cauliflower/nappa <VGC> beds posted above are part of my VG raised beds designated A-D that will be my White Sauce Garden project this year

Just for fun, I also sowed Sunrise Red carrot, Scarlet Ohno Revival turnip, Flame lettuce and Silvia lettuce in VGA as well as planted some tasoi and cabbage, some kind of kale (maybe Purple Peacock... Oh wait that's a sprouting broccoli), arugula, Golden Sweet and Mammoth Melting Sugar snow peas.

There's an early growing herb that grows here every year (perennial? self sowed?) -- drawing a blank on what it's called but it's one of the classic Herbes de Provence mixture -- GOT IT! Chervil. And there is a seed grown Purple Passion asparagus in the near right corner which I really should have moved.

--- yes I'm a charter member of PETA (Plant Everything Too Close)

[vaporizer]

I love what you have going on so far. I am a first time gardener and think I will follow yours and pick up n a few things. happy growing.

[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.