Square Foot Gardening Thread

[danib]

Awesome. Thanks

 

[Life is Good!]

Subscribing!

We've been SFGing since 1993, when I created a mini-SFG on our apartment balcony (2, 1'x4'x2' deep beds - grew our own maters!). Since then, we've bought acreage with the mandatory old house with it....if it wasn't for SFGing, I don't think we'd have as much on the table as we do....the house tends to take all of the time and budget! Thank you Lord!

I'll include photos tomorrow, as it's currently getting dark and raining to boot! We're in zone 5b - northeastern Illinois.

There's 7, 8'x8' beds and an old swingset that's a bed of 11'x12'. An old bathtub found on the site got buried and houses the permanent rhubarb! There's a section that's 2'x8' for permanent asparagus. And two new grapevines for table grapes up the swingset.

We've also got 50+ yr old concord grape vines which have been rehabbed to produce LOTS of grapes. The grapevines must be about 85' long. I've hacked them back onto their former arbor, so they might be shorter than that now...but none the less, LOTS of grapes!

This year's garden project has been to install a fence - 125' perimeter - along with 1/2" hardware cloth to stop my harvests from going to the critters. The fence is nearly done, so I can finally focus on getting all the plants in! So, I'm sore, exhausted and giddy from getting seeds in the ground!

Photos forthcoming....

 

[Cherterr]

We've also got 50+ yr old concord grape vines which have been rehabbed to produce LOTS of grapes. The grapevines must be about 85' long. I've hacked them back onto their former arbor, so they might be shorter than that now...but none the less, LOTS of grapes!

Cool... Your place sound lovely (except for the old house rehabbing part.. Been there done that! lol Best wishes on THAT project!

I, too have some REALLY old grapevines all around my new prop.'s fences. Only a couple have started to come back (the previous owner were ?? I dunno..? Idiots!?.. and hacked down everything that wasn't fence, except for ONE cedar tree.) ANYWAY..

I was interested in finding out how you rehabbed those grape vines. I've got a couple growing by the garden fence...but.. I dunnno.. the others look totally dead. The one that's growing good and all over the fence is under a shade tree (one they assured me was dead @ the closing.. lol)

THANKS in advance. I also don't know what KIND of grape it is. I've looked around online, but not satisfied with comparison pics. Got a good link for grape identification?

 

[Life is Good!]

I was interested in finding out how you rehabbed those grape vines. I've got a couple growing by the garden fence...but.. I dunnno.. the others look totally dead. The one that's growing good and all over the fence is under a shade tree (one they assured me was dead @ the closing.. lol)

THANKS in advance. I also don't know what KIND of grape it is. I've looked around online, but not satisfied with comparison pics. Got a good link for grape identification?

In the fall, I placed compost around the base of the vine and spread as far as the compost would go. So the compost covered where I thought the roots would be. This also helped to suppress weeds, which were abundant underneath the vines.

Then, in the middle of February, our dormant season (winter), I cut the vines back to just a few nodes (i.e. leaflets) on each long 'branch' or cane. I ended up with quite a harvest of tangled up old grapevines to discard. I did make a wreath out of some of the younger ones, but found it too much work and effort to do any more with! (especially when you can buy them at Michael's for a few $$).

This revitalized the vine to produce new branches (or canes). The year I trimmed, the harvest was nearly nothing.

The second year however, was gangbusters! Literally more grapes than I could give away, make jelly with and eat.

The third year, I trimmed lightly the new growth, as our grapes grow on the 2nd year's growth.

I did find good directions on-line, I want to say from a New York university's extension office? I think I googled, 'trimming grapevine' and found some good stuff that way.

As for an identification guide, I knew once I tasted one! There's nothing like a concord for tangy, sweet, but puckering! If you still don't know after you get some grapes from the vine, call a local extension Master Gardner or State Fair representative. You'll likely find someone who knows....or ask a neighbor or two....

Good luck!

 

[Cherterr]

THANK YOU for a great, detailed answer!!

One more question... (Stupid, but I don't KNOW grapes! lol):
Only plants w/green growth will come back, right? The others ARE dead?

 

[Life is Good!]

Only plants w/green growth will come back, right? The others ARE dead?

Nope, I wouldn't count a vine section as dead just because it's brown. As the vine ages, the 'bark' layer sort of accumulates and starts to 'peel'. It's the green vine growth that will produce grapes for you. The bark type vine is supplying the green vine. Know how a Red Twig Dogwood looks all pretty and bright red? Those are new canes. The older canes (while very much alive) are gray to dark brown. Nothing wrong with 'em, they're just older canes. If you want to keep a red dogwood pretty, you cut out the gray canes to force the plant to produce new shoots (bright red ones) - but then the plant creeps away from where you want it to be! (Sends out new cane shoots along roots, away from 'parent' plant).

A good way to test if something is 'live' or 'dead' - take the edge of your fingernail (or a pocketknife), and scrape the outer layer of the section you wish to test. If it's green inside, it's live. If it's brown or cracks in your hand, it's dead.

If I can get a photo of our grapevine, I'll post it here tomorrow.....a picture might be worth more than written descriptions.

 

[Cherterr]

Well.. some Aholes (oops.. they're actually nice.. LOL) just came thru here and chopped EVERYTHING!! What I have along the fence about every ten feet is 3 inch diameter sawed off 'vines'. Small tree trunks. (I'm just livid.. but hey.. )

Should I water the others in the hopes they may come back? The two that have, are over in the shaded garden area. The others are in the sun... but I hate to just leave them to die. (They also whacked a few trees they SAID were 'dead' but funny thing.. the stumps are growing leaves and shoots.. grrr. )

 

[cokerAL]

Great information for an ameatur Gardner like myself

 

[cokerAL]

Great information for an ameatur Gardner like myself

 

[cokerAL]

Great jon, looking top notch