News: Summer Garden Getting Started!

So after a hot end of spring and an early dose of 90 degrees the cucumbers all dried up, eggplants didn't make it, corn all bit the dust, and the peas died.  We have a bunch of empty beds except for the watermelons that aren't making it too great a bunch of tomatoes that are all starting to not look so good and a bunch of hot peppers.  Today we will be going to the local nursery to get some black eyed pea seeds, some summer squash plants, possibly some zucchini , and sweet potatoes! Also I will be using the new large sandy bed for my hot peppers! Ive got like 4 types of Habaneros growing some ghost chillies, a couple Trinidad scorpions, and a couple other hybrid extremely hot habaneros. Needless to say I like growing hot peppers! It may not look too pretty for the summer but as long as we get through it, it should look beautiful come fall! Keep posted for updates!

News: So Much Goin On!

Oh man we got so much stuff growing!!! Sweet corn 2 good sized rows!! cucumbers, green beans, snow peas, sugar snap peas, little finger eggplant, habaneros, cayenne's, hungarian yellows, malabar spinach, 2 types of turnips, 2 types of carrots, arugula, onions, red potatoes and edamame!!!! promise i will get some pics up tomorrow and hopefully a video!!!!!

News: Started Planting!

So we've got the beds started!  We have a row of Sugar Snap Peas, 2 rows of Little Finger Eggplants, 1 row of Hot Peppers (Cayenne, Habanero & Hungarian Wax), 3 rows of Swiss Chard (Bright Lights), and a nice little corn section in the big bed!  Then a whole 12 ft bed of Sweet Corn about 9 rows of 6 plants! We got 2 types of carrots growing in the Super Raised Bed Short and Sweet and Big Top, and finally some arugula and the almost done florida sweet Onions. We finally got our 10 gallon growbags and planted some red pontiac potatoe set which have all burst through and are growing greens! I will get some pictures up soon! Were planning on doing a full long bed of Edamame and some more pole beans, probably Kentucky Wonders, then a bed of 2 types of turnips and some malabar Spinich! Still will have a bed or 2 open for suggestions!

News: Rain Storm Epic Fail...

So after that downpour we had the other day my new beds got pretty much washed away.... So I built 3 small 4 inch tall boxes as a small barrier for them and installed them today. I have to get the levels right tomorrow because I got to tired and frustrated today, they are all jacked up because the backyard got washed away basically.  Tomorrow the plan is to fix the large bed, and plant a block or corn that I have ready, then build a trellis for the sugar snap peas to go on the other side of the box! pics up tomorrow!

News: Spring Project Starting!

So we cleared out the yard hardcore and moved the 2 beds on the north side to the south.  We are renting a tiller on thursday and will then till the rest of the yard! Were going to turn half the yard into the container/square foot garden and the other half into a simple regular plot garden. We will be putting in 2 large 5x20 ft raised rows for sweet corn then another 2 4x15 ft raised rows for our potatoes and eggplant.  one bed will be dedicated to 2 types of watermelon, another dedicated to cucumbers probably 2 or 3 different types, another full of tomatoes again, a few cherries and a few large types ALL DETERMINATE, and the small tall box dedicated to carrots we got a short and sweet variety which only grow to about 4-6 inches but about 3 inches around, and the other bed were not sure about and up for suggestions.  Its the partial shade bed, so we have to figure out something that will work tomorrow I will get some pictures up and possibly a video! stay tuned for updates!!!

EDIT***

Check out the new video on the bar to the left! its the video from all the work we did for the Spring Season! should be the on on the bottom!
 <<<<<<-----------------------
                          

News: Planning For Spring!

 We were hit hare by all the frost we have been having, however we got a bunch of broccoli and a bunch of cauliflower, also picking carrots and radishes right now. Our lettuce got huge and is ready to eat as well. We got all the Beds ripped out and cleaned up, unfortunately we lost all the tomatoes, and pretty much everything else as well from the 3 or 4 frosts we have had. Its all good though because were currently re-nourishing our beds with compost and manure! getting ready for our spring garden! Hopefully we will be moving the big ugly boat from the other side of the yard because were going to have our own little corn field in that spot! Ive got 2 types of Sweet Corn planted in the house in transplant packs in hopes to get them germinated and able to move out to our 25 by 15ft spot! Were hoping to get 2 nice sized squares of about 4-6 rows each! however were not doing beds for the corn but instead going to mound the rows with new soil compost and chicken manure! we have get a little chicken wire fence as well to put around it to keep any animals out.  Were super excited and will get some pictures up soon of the empty beds and our progress!

News: Cold Front Stakes!

So that cold front came through yesterday and blew like crazy. We luckily staked all the tomato vines up the day before and they all survived with no wind or rain damage! New video coming tomorrow!

News: Update 11/28

So were starting to get a bunch of grape and cherry tomatoes as well as cucumbers! We have picked 3 off already and have about 3 more nice sized ones to get! the broccoli is starting to come! Cauliflower not so much yet.  The Bok Choy is big and beautiful, the pumpkin seed I planted is growing huge and is trained up a trellis, however its getting eaten alive.  We lost the Zucchinis we first planted to powdery mildew that was starting to spread to the cucumbers and I didn't want that to happen so we just composted them.  Also the Romas we haven't had much luck with, I think the plants are diseased because the stalks started to turn black... and the leaves just dried up and fell off... also the blossoms didn't develop correctly on the one plant so I topped them off and I'm letting the fruit that are on them ripen so I can get them out of the ground before they spread to the other tomatoes in the bed.  My radishes are almost ready to harvest we tried about 15 seeds with them and they all took and grow so next time we will dedicate a larger spot for them so we can grow a bunch! The onions are doing pretty good I guess, the green pepper plants are looking beautiful but will not fruit, also they got kinda bent of the other day from this cold front due to all the wind so were gonna have to figure out what to do with them. We built an earth box out of a large Tupperware container and PVC for about 8 dollars and planted 2 pickling cucumbers and 2 yellow pear tomato plants in, in hope that when we get some frost we can just pull it in the garage. Were also working on cold covers for all the tomatoes so that when the frost does come we can protect them.  I will get some pics up later or maybe just a video!

Experiment: Tomato Cloning

So the branch of the Big Boy that broke off and I soaked in water for a few days I stuck in a small little transplant pot with some potting soil and a little vermiculite and its rooted!!!! It looks great and I think is even growing! However the Cherry isn't doing so hot, Its starting to root but nothing like the Big Boy did. We will get some pictures up later!

News: Jalapenos

Well so far so good, we had to deal with some pests the last couple days but we think they are under control now and everything seems to be going well. I picked a couple jalapenos the other day that were ready and put a few slices on a turkey sandwich.... Holy Sh%$ were they Hott!  I just picked 2 more yesterday if anyone wants any I don't think I will be using all of them so let me know.

News: Fu%$ing Pickle Worms!

We were out looking at the cucumbers last night and found 3 or 4 damn pickle worms! also some nice chunks out of some of the foliage. I guess it's time to spray some insect killer I don't want to lose my Cucs! Organic < Healthy Plants.

News: New Tall Bed!

We made a new box today for the sole purpose to grow some underground veggies like carrots, turnips, radishes, garlic and possibly some onions. We constructed two 4' by 2' boxes that were 8 inches tall, and placed them on top or each other.  We then secured them together and filled with some really good soil, chicken manure, and a big bag of potting soil to help with moisture control and proper drainage.  We will now let this bed sit for a couple days turning over the soil a couple times then will start to plant!

The Right side is full of 6 rows of carrots! The left side are bush beans, and in the middle is a Zucchini-Squash!

Thats where all the Carrot seeds are planted hopefully the sprout!

News: New Additions!

Okay so the Bok Choy didn't end up doing very well after a couple weeks and died off except for one plant, so we removed them from the first cement bed and added some really nice little Zucchini-Squash to the front, if all goes well they should get huge! We also pulled the snow peas up because we reconfigured the trellis situation, and planted them in a small circle where we placed a small tomato cage around them in hopes that they will climb away!  I didn't have enough room for the other two Zucchini-Squash plants because they get so big, however I planted them in 2 separate pots if anyone is interested in growing them I would be happy to hand them over just leave a comment on this post.  We also planted some Cucumber seeds in some trays, I believe they are Market more 76's to see what happens.  Janelle and mom also got some new herbs gong on, they planted some in some baskets we had laying around the house. Will have pics up later!

News: New Fall/Winter Bed Update!!!

So the new Fall/Winter bed has been in the ground about 3 weeks now and all the plants are getting fat and happy! 

This was the bed 2 days after we planted it. 

This is only 2 and a half weeks later! Everything is growing great with the exception of the cucumbers, their taking a little longer but still getting greener!

Collards after a week...

Now after 4 weeks!

Zucchini. 

More Zucchini.

Giant Black Beauty Eggplant!

The Green Onions!

Cauliflower!

Broccoli. 

Green Pepper #1.

Green Pepper #2.

Jalapenos.

The only surviving Bok Choy of the 4 we planted. 

More pics to come! Keep Checking Back!

News: Tomato Bed #1 Update!!!

So they have been planted now for about 2 and a half weeks, and they have all grown about a foot and started really blossoming! I got 2 big Romas so far a bunch of Cherries and about 10 Moby Grapes all growing! Take a look!

Thats the bed now only 2 weeks later!

Those are the Romas.

Moby Grapes.

And the cherries.

Their all coming very well and we will keep posting new pics as they continue to grow!

News: Project Save The New Tomatoes!

So we had to build a new box yesterday to plant the new tomatoes that we took out of the buckets, and we decided to go with a smaller one this time.  We made a 7 by 3 foot box 8 inches tall instead of our normal 10 inches, and it turned out very nice.  It should be really interesting to see whether this box grows better than the first tomato box.  This new one has great soil and a lot of organic material also a lot of peat moss (which were trying for the first time) mixed in for good water retention and drainage.  We have a few different types of tomatoes in the new one including a hybrid yellow cherry, a heirloom variety called Mr. Stripey which looks kinda like a pumpkin, a couple big boys, a celebrity, a Phoenix and a better boy. We also added some marigolds to keep the root eating bugs away! check out the pics!

One Half.

Bad Picture I will get a better one tomorrow. 

Our first celebrities.

Better boys.

Hybrid Yellow Cherries.

The Mr. Stripey you can kinda see what they are gonna look like, pretty awesome!

We will be back with pics next week!

News: New Beds!!!

Cement Beds.

We made two more beds yesterday out of some old cement pavers we found laying around the yard!  They are about 4 feet wide by 3 feet long.  We built them right up against the fence that leads to our garden so we could plant some vine veggies that will climb! We've got some lima bean seeds planted right on the fence and some other bush beans growing in the other, along with some colorful  Bok Choy and a big beautiful Jalapeno I got for 4 bucks!!! It already has fruits growing and was neglected by the local nursery (it was growing 3 inches off the ground across a packed table about 3 feet across) I staked him up and he's already looking better!

The Jalapenos.

Two of the Bok Choy.

Bed 1, Were waiting to mulch the back until the row of bush beans sprout along the fence!

 Bed 2, one row of Lima Beans along the fence and 4 rows of bush beans between them and the Bok Choy.  Again waiting for them to sprout.

News: Early Fall Veggies!

Fall Planting
It's October and finally time to plant some new fall vegetables!  We added a new 9' by 3' raised bed for some extra space to our ever expanding garden!  We now have 3 wood beds and I'm currently working on 2 more made from some cement pavers I found laying around the yard.  The new bed contains a bunch of transplants we purchased from our favorite local nursery including Broccoli, Cauliflower, Zucchini, Green Onions, and some Super Slicer Cucumbers.

I made the trellis out of some old pieces of wood I found at work and some safety wire I had laying around the garage.  I only could get my hands on 4 little transplants so its all I could plant.  We originally wanted to to a whole bed of different varieties of cucs but I think we planted a little late, so we planted what we could find.   

    

These are some Zucchini we planted way too close together, I will be transferring the one in the middle to the new bed when its done later today. 

In the other bed we have some tomatoes going that we got from a local flea market for 2 bucks a piece! nice big beautiful transplants that I couldn't help but picking up, I got 2 nice Celebrities, 2 Romas, 2 Super-sweets, a Moby grape (which I had never heard of) and a Big Beauty Eggplant. 

Heres another homemade trellis I made out of some recycled PVC and some nylon crab line I had in my tackle box.  These are the Super-Sweets and the Moby's. As you can see they are beautiful and starting to blossom. 

Heres the Big Beauty Eggplant! hopefully we will get a few big Eggplants from this little guy!

Then in the first bed we have some real nice Okra growing, along with some Georgia Collards I picked up last week. This bed was just cleared of about 15 Black Eyed Pea plants who produced like crazy!

Here are a few of the Collards.

We will add some new pics when we get the other 2 beds finished!