Instead of rearranging our furniture, gardeners love rearranging our gardens. Is there ever a time we will be satisfied with the way everything is growing just like we want?With all the heat, the cold, the sun, the shade, the tree roots, no rain, too much rain, etc., it's hard from one season to the next to decide what;s best for our plants.
I planted intensively this year in my small yard. Next year, will plant fewer plants, but I know now what I like and what produces best. I have refined my list and know what grows best in what places. This was my first successful year for peppers and I'm overwintering them in the garage. This was also the first year I planted a fall garden. Writing all this in my garden journal. The days are getting shorter, but in December, the days will start to get longer and soon we will be starting our seedlings and looking forward to lilacs blooming.
I filled a cardboard shipping box with dirt with green grass clippings & chopped brown leaves 3 inches deep in the bottom in a dead but sunnier late season area of my yard. It`s an old rocky parking area where grass won`t grow. I added about a cup of rich compost to the center of the box and the soil I used was silty sand from a wash. I planted a tomato cutting in it and it did great. I mulched the box with thick grass clippings on top and all around it to reduce evaporation. Then I began making a "raised bed" row of boxes there, two boxes wide and about 20 feet long and planted carrots, beets, radishes, a few cucumbers and winter greens and put fresh pine logs about 4 inches in diameter against the side to help hold the soil in place. The area gets the most sun in winter and early spring. I put three fig trees there too behind the boxes using a similar method and planted Red Ripper Peas and have been getting a huge harvest. Everything is growing great. This area was totally useless but I`m reclaiming it as a great garden space one box at a time.
Jeff here. One thing I noticed about my garden is that shade don’t matter as much as I thought. My garden has more shade on one end. I planted peppers and tomatoes in some of this shaded area. The tomatoes did about the same across the whole garden. Now the peppers put out better in the shaded area during the hot part of summer. And they did just as good to the end of summer. Next year, I can use this shaded area more for peppers. Opens up more full sun areas for something else. It just makes gardening more interesting to change things up a bit. Thanks!!
Dutch cabbage was a fail for me this year. I believe it was fusarium wilt (from infected seedlings) that killed them (two sets of transplants). Next season (January), I will be growing cabbage from seed, and planting in a different location (just in case it is my soil). I'll still get one, maybe two heads of dutch cabbage. However, I have six heads of red cabbage, seven heads of Napa cabbage, eight heads of Pak Choi, and a bunch of winter choy growing, so no shortage of cabbage. In the spring, I am going to experiment with yellow zucchini. gray zucchini, and round zucchini. I'll also be growing Jolene tomatos which are replacing the Grand Marshall. I'm going back to growing the interntional pickling cucumber, and expanding the number of Arrow/Lincoln peas four fold. Sweet potatoes will be replacing Russet potatoes, and I'll be moving some crops to a new growing location. Not the raised beds though. Moving three was enough for me. I'll also be cutting the number of peppers I grow by half. I'll probably keep my tomato crop at twelve plants, and only grow a single crop of them. I have enough spearmint, peppermint, comfrey, chickory, oregano, and parsley growing. I'll reseed basil, dill and cilantro next year, and I may try growing stevia again. Catnip can't take the heat of Alabama summers, and chives have been a problem every time I've tried growing them. Other than that, I haven't made my plans. I am still looking to grow something new that has a wow factor to it. Armenian Yard-Long cucumbers? I'll always have space in my garden for experimenting, but I've reached a stage where I am moving more towards production while having ample variety. To do it, timing (and pure stubborness) is everything! I'm totally shocked. This is the first year that I've seen other people with a fall garden in my area, and the big box stores sold fall transplants for the first time. I'm afraid I've been a bad influence to the people in my community. Now, what are they going to do next year? I start gardening in early January. If it wasn't for the holidays, I might start in mid December. I still might?
sorry to hear about the disease thats no fun. I have threatend every year to plant napa cabbage and I always forget. Its one of the first I will plant this spring. (FEB)
I have learned that putting my early fall brassicas too soon before they got several sets of leaves. That's asking for all sorts of pest pressure. I will not put them out so early the coming season..impatience.....
I don't think trellises are used in garden beds. Trellises serve a different purpose when growing food in comparison to garden beds. The last time I was on a farm I was harvesting raspberries that was on a trellis, and there was no garden beds. If I ever use a trellis then what I would do is just put it in the ground, and hope whatever I would choose to grow intertwines with the trellis. I can think of other ways to grow food with a trellis without having to use a garden bed.
CORN IS A HEAVY NITROGEN FEEDER !!!😂 ZONES matter when one gets frost by Oct 1. Im in my 70s..growing since i was 7/8. Ive learndt..."do what works at your garden no matter where it is".... 😁😃😀😆💖
I`m fighting Mother Nature this year with 8 new lightweight tarps to prevent frost damage and prolong the summer vegetable harvest. I got tomatoes last year until after Christmas by covering plants in zone 8b.
Instead of rearranging our furniture, gardeners love rearranging our gardens. Is there ever a time we will be satisfied with the way everything is growing just like we want?With all the heat, the cold, the sun, the shade, the tree roots, no rain, too much rain, etc., it's hard from one season to the next to decide what;s best for our plants.
thats the truth lol
I planted intensively this year in my small yard. Next year, will plant fewer plants, but I know now what I like and what produces best. I have refined my list and know what grows best in what places. This was my first successful year for peppers and I'm overwintering them in the garage. This was also the first year I planted a fall garden. Writing all this in my garden journal. The days are getting shorter, but in December, the days will start to get longer and soon we will be starting our seedlings and looking forward to lilacs blooming.
I filled a cardboard shipping box with dirt with green grass clippings & chopped brown leaves 3 inches deep in the bottom in a dead but sunnier late season area of my yard. It`s an old rocky parking area where grass won`t grow. I added about a cup of rich compost to the center of the box and the soil I used was silty sand from a wash. I planted a tomato cutting in it and it did great. I mulched the box with thick grass clippings on top and all around it to reduce evaporation.
Then I began making a "raised bed" row of boxes there, two boxes wide and about 20 feet long and planted carrots, beets, radishes, a few cucumbers and winter greens and put fresh pine logs about 4 inches in diameter against the side to help hold the soil in place. The area gets the most sun in winter and early spring. I put three fig trees there too behind the boxes using a similar method and planted Red Ripper Peas and have been getting a huge harvest. Everything is growing great. This area was totally useless but I`m reclaiming it as a great garden space one box at a time.
That good that you are making better. Unfortunately it just takes time.
Garden looks great! Always an improvement every year, grow and learn!
Thank you
Jeff here. One thing I noticed about my garden is that shade don’t matter as much as I thought. My garden has more shade on one end. I planted peppers and tomatoes in some of this shaded area. The tomatoes did about the same across the whole garden. Now the peppers put out better in the shaded area during the hot part of summer. And they did just as good to the end of summer. Next year, I can use this shaded area more for peppers. Opens up more full sun areas for something else. It just makes gardening more interesting to change things up a bit. Thanks!!
The shade in my garden only seems to matter in late fall. Otherwise it seems to do well
Lots of valuable advice, I appreciate it ! 🙂
Thank you for watching
Dutch cabbage was a fail for me this year. I believe it was fusarium wilt (from infected seedlings) that killed them (two sets of transplants). Next season (January), I will be growing cabbage from seed, and planting in a different location (just in case it is my soil). I'll still get one, maybe two heads of dutch cabbage. However, I have six heads of red cabbage, seven heads of Napa cabbage, eight heads of Pak Choi, and a bunch of winter choy growing, so no shortage of cabbage.
In the spring, I am going to experiment with yellow zucchini. gray zucchini, and round zucchini. I'll also be growing Jolene tomatos which are replacing the Grand Marshall. I'm going back to growing the interntional pickling cucumber, and expanding the number of Arrow/Lincoln peas four fold. Sweet potatoes will be replacing Russet potatoes, and I'll be moving some crops to a new growing location. Not the raised beds though. Moving three was enough for me. I'll also be cutting the number of peppers I grow by half. I'll probably keep my tomato crop at twelve plants, and only grow a single crop of them.
I have enough spearmint, peppermint, comfrey, chickory, oregano, and parsley growing. I'll reseed basil, dill and cilantro next year, and I may try growing stevia again. Catnip can't take the heat of Alabama summers, and chives have been a problem every time I've tried growing them. Other than that, I haven't made my plans. I am still looking to grow something new that has a wow factor to it. Armenian Yard-Long cucumbers? I'll always have space in my garden for experimenting, but I've reached a stage where I am moving more towards production while having ample variety. To do it, timing (and pure stubborness) is everything!
I'm totally shocked. This is the first year that I've seen other people with a fall garden in my area, and the big box stores sold fall transplants for the first time. I'm afraid I've been a bad influence to the people in my community. Now, what are they going to do next year? I start gardening in early January. If it wasn't for the holidays, I might start in mid December. I still might?
sorry to hear about the disease thats no fun. I have threatend every year to plant napa cabbage and I always forget. Its one of the first I will plant this spring. (FEB)
Add a note to your future mid-Spring self that corn plants are Heavy feeders. For 32 plants, you will want to feed those puppies on a strict schedule.
Yup I had to stop cause of the racoons. But we fixed that hopefully
I have learned that putting my early fall brassicas too soon before they got several sets of leaves. That's asking for all sorts of pest pressure. I will not put them out so early the coming season..impatience.....
I don't think trellises are used in garden beds. Trellises serve a different purpose when growing food in comparison to garden beds.
The last time I was on a farm I was harvesting raspberries that was on a trellis, and there was no garden beds.
If I ever use a trellis then what I would do is just put it in the ground, and hope whatever I would choose to grow intertwines with the trellis. I can think of other ways to grow food with a trellis without having to use a garden bed.
The point of a trellis is to save space inside of a garden bed
CORN IS A HEAVY NITROGEN FEEDER !!!😂
ZONES matter when one gets frost by Oct 1.
Im in my 70s..growing since i was 7/8.
Ive learndt..."do what works at your garden no matter where it is"....
😁😃😀😆💖
Nope zone still doesn't matter then. That's your first frost date 2 totally different things
I`m fighting Mother Nature this year with 8 new lightweight tarps to prevent frost damage and prolong the summer vegetable harvest. I got tomatoes last year until after Christmas by covering plants in zone 8b.
The greens of my turnips and radishes look really good but they are not producing turnips or radishes. Why would this be happening?
To much nitrogen and they may not be old enough