- Thread starter
- #21
Hubby did suggest a green house LOL! May not be a bad idea!
Garden failed this year?
- Thread starter EweSheep
- Start date
Oh dear. This was my first year of doing a big garden. Tomatoes went out the last week of April, freeze came May 1-2. Tomatoes came back but were very bushy. Several storms blew the cages over and I gave up on trying to get the stand any longer. Farmers Almanac said this was a very bad year for tomatoes... ya think!! Cucumbers and zucchini did very well. Beans were so-so with something eating a lot of the leaves. Potatoes were good early, then when the rains stopped the ground was too hard for me to get the fork in to dig them up. Corn was looking great, til the raccoons came. Squash, pumpkins, watermelons and gourds were doing awesom, til the beetles came. The sunflowers were fabulous, so the birds were happy. Still got hopes for late planted sweet potatoes. I didn't water much because I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg for that..... I guess there's always next year!!
Quote:
Consider that your "seasons" disappear for one. I never worry about how late or early to plant something, and most of my tomatoes, being heirloom indeterminant vines, will grow as old as can be and still produce plenty.
Oh and there's this - We live in the coolest climate in the US, but with a greenhouse. . . . I get to grow bananas.
I've got 6 babies who are growing incredibly fast, about 2 feet per month.
Oh, and your greenhouse will pay for itself over and over and over.
Ours is HUGE and costed quite a bit but was worth it, and in just a few months already pumps out a LOT of food. There isn't much we can grow out here, but in the greenhouse, the sky is the limit. (Well, 13 feet up and 60 feet across is
)
Consider that your "seasons" disappear for one. I never worry about how late or early to plant something, and most of my tomatoes, being heirloom indeterminant vines, will grow as old as can be and still produce plenty.
Oh and there's this - We live in the coolest climate in the US, but with a greenhouse. . . . I get to grow bananas.
I've got 6 babies who are growing incredibly fast, about 2 feet per month.
Oh, and your greenhouse will pay for itself over and over and over.
- Jul 6, 2010
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I'm not complaining except that the garden now looks like this:
.
That is winter squash--acorn, sweet dumpling and delicata--plus pumpkins that have taken over two-thirds of it. If you look at the back you'll see where they have climbed over the fence and are covering some old blueberry bushes beyond it. I have squash and pumpkins hanging in the fence and down from the bushes. I'm also picking cucumbers hanging from the tomato cages. The tomatoes, on the other hand, have been slow to develop--aside from the grape variety--and redden. My garden gets a liberal dose of leaves and chicken manure in the fall and winter which is rototilled under in the spring, I then cover the whole thing with heavy black plastic--between the plastic and the humus I never have to water. Likewise weeding is minimal. Below are my sweet potatoes that were started through black plastic and under row cover back in early May.
Instead of a greenhouse consider a hoop house. I make them quite reasonably using 1/2 - inch pvc pipe for the hoop with 3/4-inch pipe between. They can be covered with plastic sheeting or row cover which is clamped on with pipe clamps. Not only are these cheaper but can be taken down and moved. I just planted chard, lettuce, spinach and carrots in an area that will be covered in this way and expect I'll have these veggies until the ground freezes under the hoops after Thanksgiving.
To make each hoops start with a 10 and 5-foot pieces of 1/2 inch pipe, a 3/4" slip-type cross piece and two 1/2" slip joints. Cut the 5-foot piece in half--I use a radial arm saw. Place the 3/4" cross piece on the 10-foot piece--it'll slide up and down. Using two 1/2" slip joints, fasten each 2.5-foot piece to either end of the 10' piece. Stick one end of the hoop in the ground, bend it and stick the other end in about 4.5 to 5 feet away. Use a stake of some kind--I happen to have a bunch of old t-posts--which is tied or duct taped on to the hoop to steady it. Make a second hoop but before you stick it in the ground join the two 3/4" cross pieces with a 5' piece of 3/4" pipe. When you stick the second hoop in the ground you will have your first section of hoop house 5 feet long. You can either fasten the cross piece in the middle or wait until you clamp the cover on the 1/2' hoop to center it. You can add as many of these hoops as you have room for. I just steady each end. The clamps for both the 1/2 and 3/4 pipe can be purchased from http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/ , www.johnnyseeds.com or http://www.simplifiedbuilding.com/index.php. Simplified Building also sells ground stakes that go on to the end of 1/2" pipe that I prefer for anchoring them in the ground. If you want wider rows, you can place the ends of the hoops further apart but I have found the 4 to 5 -foot width gives me plenty of room to stand and work right to the edges.
BTW--in the sweet potato picture you can see just the end of a couple of the hoop houses--note the slip joint on the near picture. I've take the covers off once the weather warms.
That is winter squash--acorn, sweet dumpling and delicata--plus pumpkins that have taken over two-thirds of it. If you look at the back you'll see where they have climbed over the fence and are covering some old blueberry bushes beyond it. I have squash and pumpkins hanging in the fence and down from the bushes. I'm also picking cucumbers hanging from the tomato cages. The tomatoes, on the other hand, have been slow to develop--aside from the grape variety--and redden. My garden gets a liberal dose of leaves and chicken manure in the fall and winter which is rototilled under in the spring, I then cover the whole thing with heavy black plastic--between the plastic and the humus I never have to water. Likewise weeding is minimal. Below are my sweet potatoes that were started through black plastic and under row cover back in early May.
Instead of a greenhouse consider a hoop house. I make them quite reasonably using 1/2 - inch pvc pipe for the hoop with 3/4-inch pipe between. They can be covered with plastic sheeting or row cover which is clamped on with pipe clamps. Not only are these cheaper but can be taken down and moved. I just planted chard, lettuce, spinach and carrots in an area that will be covered in this way and expect I'll have these veggies until the ground freezes under the hoops after Thanksgiving.
To make each hoops start with a 10 and 5-foot pieces of 1/2 inch pipe, a 3/4" slip-type cross piece and two 1/2" slip joints. Cut the 5-foot piece in half--I use a radial arm saw. Place the 3/4" cross piece on the 10-foot piece--it'll slide up and down. Using two 1/2" slip joints, fasten each 2.5-foot piece to either end of the 10' piece. Stick one end of the hoop in the ground, bend it and stick the other end in about 4.5 to 5 feet away. Use a stake of some kind--I happen to have a bunch of old t-posts--which is tied or duct taped on to the hoop to steady it. Make a second hoop but before you stick it in the ground join the two 3/4" cross pieces with a 5' piece of 3/4" pipe. When you stick the second hoop in the ground you will have your first section of hoop house 5 feet long. You can either fasten the cross piece in the middle or wait until you clamp the cover on the 1/2' hoop to center it. You can add as many of these hoops as you have room for. I just steady each end. The clamps for both the 1/2 and 3/4 pipe can be purchased from http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/ , www.johnnyseeds.com or http://www.simplifiedbuilding.com/index.php. Simplified Building also sells ground stakes that go on to the end of 1/2" pipe that I prefer for anchoring them in the ground. If you want wider rows, you can place the ends of the hoops further apart but I have found the 4 to 5 -foot width gives me plenty of room to stand and work right to the edges.
BTW--in the sweet potato picture you can see just the end of a couple of the hoop houses--note the slip joint on the near picture. I've take the covers off once the weather warms.
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This spring was my first garden in THIS house. I've gardened for years and the past couple have been challenging to say the least. This year I planted an early variety of green beans and hoped for the best. I only managed to get enough beans for 4 individual servings and 8 pints to jar up. The cucumber plants and yellow squash (I only planted 2 of each) yielded a total of 5 quash and 2 cucumbers. The Roma tomatoes (I wanted to can those) never got very big, then rotted before ripeneing. The ones I did pick were red on the outside and had a lot of white veining inside and not a good tomato texture.
My pepper plants whithered in the heat and the ears of corn never did fully develope. THEY were attacked by beetles as well.
It got too hot too early and the drought started early as well. It didn't seem to matter how much I watered. When I dug the garden area, I added goat manure and compost and tilled it in. Then for each plant I added Miracle Grow garden soil to each hole. Our temperatures in early May were already at 100*. The weather reports on TV didn't state that, but both thermometers in my yard did. And they can't BOTH be wrong.
I think next spring I'll just give the beans another shot and plant a couple seedless watermelons. The rest I'll go to the market for. As someone else said, the cost this year compared to what I actually got out of it just wasn't worth it for me. Of course by the time next Spring comes around, I'll be ready to plant all of it again.
My pepper plants whithered in the heat and the ears of corn never did fully develope. THEY were attacked by beetles as well.
It got too hot too early and the drought started early as well. It didn't seem to matter how much I watered. When I dug the garden area, I added goat manure and compost and tilled it in. Then for each plant I added Miracle Grow garden soil to each hole. Our temperatures in early May were already at 100*. The weather reports on TV didn't state that, but both thermometers in my yard did. And they can't BOTH be wrong.
I think next spring I'll just give the beans another shot and plant a couple seedless watermelons. The rest I'll go to the market for. As someone else said, the cost this year compared to what I actually got out of it just wasn't worth it for me. Of course by the time next Spring comes around, I'll be ready to plant all of it again.
I wish we had a solid local market that was resonably priced. I would infact support them and only grow a small garden. Usually we grow enough to just about handle our family of 4 for an entire year. With just being diagnosed with Diabetes, we will have to make every dollar count as well as target foods that I can eat, so it looks like the planning for next year started today!
I think I can join this club. A late freeze took care of most of my fruit. A raccoon got THE apple just before it got ripe. I did get the raccoon. An extremely wet spring washed away the early stuff. No rain for months and temps above 100 took away the summer stuff. I used so much water the water department came out to check my meter. Today, I finally got the groundhog that has been taking care of any corn that might have made something. Yeah, it has been an expensive failure.
I planted the first of my fall garden today. Some of us never learn.
I planted the first of my fall garden today. Some of us never learn.
Quote:
Consider that your "seasons" disappear for one. I never worry about how late or early to plant something, and most of my tomatoes, being heirloom indeterminant vines, will grow as old as can be and still produce plenty.
Oh and there's this - We live in the coolest climate in the US, but with a greenhouse. . . . I get to grow bananas.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6210/6063120694_86f84a222d_z.jpg
I've got 6 babies who are growing incredibly fast, about 2 feet per month.
Oh, and your greenhouse will pay for itself over and over and over.
Ours is HUGE and costed quite a bit but was worth it, and in just a few months already pumps out a LOT of food. There isn't much we can grow out here, but in the greenhouse, the sky is the limit. (Well, 13 feet up and 60 feet across is
)
This sold me again on a greenhouse when we go live in the North. Then I can have bananas without feeling guilty about buying bananas that have to be shipped from a land far away.
Consider that your "seasons" disappear for one. I never worry about how late or early to plant something, and most of my tomatoes, being heirloom indeterminant vines, will grow as old as can be and still produce plenty.
Oh and there's this - We live in the coolest climate in the US, but with a greenhouse. . . . I get to grow bananas.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6210/6063120694_86f84a222d_z.jpg
I've got 6 babies who are growing incredibly fast, about 2 feet per month.
Oh, and your greenhouse will pay for itself over and over and over.
This sold me again on a greenhouse when we go live in the North. Then I can have bananas without feeling guilty about buying bananas that have to be shipped from a land far away.
Same here in OK long hot dry summer starting in spring and still here. Still hoping for fall tomatoes since I haven't harvested any yet. No corn after 3 plantings, cukes did well and are still going, squash are still going, and did okay (not great) but every squash harvested was wrestled out of the grimey, greedy, claws of squash bugs, almost literally. No beans after several plantings, going to try for fall beans. Okra plants are beautiful, seriously, not an okra pod in sight, and only one or two flowers. Spinach mustard did awesome highly recomend it to hot climates, only problem is we don't like the taste, not as strong as mustard, but definately more then spinach, we've been feeding it to the chickens instead.
I too am going to attempt a fall garden. Some of it is already planted, and some I'm still waiting for our temps to get below 100, maybe next week
It's been since early June since our temps have been lower then 100, and except for a few weeks ago we had 2/10 inch of rain during all that.
I too am going to attempt a fall garden. Some of it is already planted, and some I'm still waiting for our temps to get below 100, maybe next week
OH MAN!!! !MINE DID TO early in the year i was doing great then.... POOOOP alll went POOP
so waiting for winter to wait for spring then another planting year.
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