BYC gardening thread!!

[NotAFarm]

I've subscribed...or I guess I should say, I'm now "watching" this thread.
I'm Mary and I live in North Central Illinois, with the emphasis on North. USDA Zone 5...but try to stick with plants that are rated Zone 4.
I have gardened on and off in varying amounts since I became an adult and had a place that I could. We've lived at our current home, on 4 acres, for 16 years.
I have quite a few flower/shrub/native plant gardens and try to grow a few vegetables each year. I've never gotten into trying to grow enough to preserve for long time use. I freeze some things but that is a shorter term method.
We have some fruit trees, grape vines, sunchokes, hazelnut bushes and blueberry bushes.
This year, I read up on rain gutter gardening, thanks to a post by @chickadoodles , and am working on getting a small system set-up as a test. It is raining, but I'll get some pics later to show what we've done so far.
I look forward to reading this thread from the beginning to see what everyone has been up to.

 

[chickadoodles]

Hi Mary nice to see you on the garden thread. I look forward to seeing your progress.
Sounds like you have a nice variety of things growing.

I planted a Mars grape this year, we added blueberries last year. My blueberries are in a 1/2 barrel due to the fact they won't grow in our black belt soil.

 

[chickadoodles]

Today we added a trellis to the garden for tomatoes and an old wrought iron bakers rack to the grape vine for a trellis.

I found a small cluster of what had been grapes and only three tiny ones left. Those darn squirrels!

 

[NotAFarm]

Great re-purpose on the old baker's rack!

 

[lazy gardener]

Love the repurposing.

 

[chickadoodles]

Thanks my husband saves everything to repurpose. Saves a lot of time.

 

[NotAFarm]

Pictures of our start on the hybrid* rain gutter garden.
*PVC pipe replaces the gutter in the system.
We chose not to hook it up to a hose but to use a barrel as a water source.

Next step is to get the plants into their containers and place on the system.

 

[lazy gardener]

??? Is there a drain cycle for the PVC, or does it stay full of water all the time? What keeps the water from draining out of the pipe, since it appears to be lower than the bucket? Inquiring minds want to know. What do you plan to plant, what are you using for planting containers, and what is in the containers to support the root systems? Can't wait to see it up and running and producing. What are you using as fertilizer?

 

[chickadoodles]

Mary your RGGS is looking great! Congrats! I love the fact your using a rain barrel.
And like lg said what are you going to grow in it?

I just bought some Azomite this evening to add a bit to each of my grow bags. I idid not get it earlier. I actually forgot about it. So I will just sprinkle a bit on top and water it in.
Larry mentions it in his video but I just spaced it. I did not use it last year.

 

[NotAFarm]

??? Is there a drain cycle for the PVC, or does it stay full of water all the time? What keeps the water from draining out of the pipe, since it appears to be lower than the bucket? Inquiring minds want to know. What do you plan to plant, what are you using for planting containers, and what is in the containers to support the root systems? Can't wait to see it up and running and producing. What are you using as fertilizer?

This is our first time trying this system. There are many videos on youtube that can explain it, but here are the basics...
There is a float (just after the hose leading from the barrel) that keeps the level of the water in the pipe at the correct height. Height of the water is critical because if it is too low, the plants will not get water.
The soil must be a peat based mix because it needs to wick water up into the container.
The plants will be placed in $1 baskets lined with landscape fabric to keep the soil in.
The baskets with fabric are used because a solid container prevents the roots from "air pruning" (think of how roots run around the inside of a plastic container when they "out grow" it-with a container that allows air, the root stops growing lengthwise when it hits "air" and becomes "bushy" instead. This allows the plant to have the ability to absorb sufficient nutrients within a smaller space.
The water will wick up through a "net cup" (used in hydroponics and pond applications) that is placed in the bottom of the baskets/containers.
I just took a couple of pictures of one of the baskets.

A potting mix will be added, filling the cup and basket. The plant will be added and the basket/net cup placed into one of the holes on the pipe.
Any type of water soluble fertilizer can be added to the water reservoir or a dry fertilizer can be added to the mix.
We are going to try tomatoes, peppers, squash and some herbs. Got some plants but was sick this week so are a bit behind...May 15 is our last average frost date.