Lemon-Drop's Gardening Adventure

[Lemon-Drop]

Yesterday I finished the raised garden bed. It is 2' by 4', 16" tall. I set it down, then laid a little bit of straw, then layered manure mix and raised bed soil. Also put 2, 10' PVC pipes in a round-ish frame above to put some bird netting on top to protect the plants. I still need to zip tie the netting on though.

Yesterday I also bought a strawberry pot and planted some strawberry plants in it. It is made of terracotta, so I will have to water it often.

I will try and post pictures sometime in the next few days!

 

[Sally PB]

Just a word of warning... Nobody talks about garden math. It can become a "thing" too.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Just a word of warning... Nobody talks about garden math. It can become a "thing" too.

Oh, so true! Every year I tell myself that I do NOT need 3 rows of turnips, and yet... I end up with too many turnips (and then out of necessity, I have "turnip week(s)" where all the meals include turnips in some fashion). They're too easy to grow so I go overboard.

... I have 2 half-rows already planted this year, sigh.

Previous years I went too crazy with carrots (harvested 11 lbs the previous December right before snow came), wax and green beans (7 lbs in the freezer), collards (who is going to eat 12 large collard plants!?) If I had a large family then it'd be no problem, but it's just 2 adults here.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Just a word of warning... Nobody talks about garden math. It can become a "thing" too.

Thank you for the warning. I'll start clearing out some overgrown blackberry bushes for more room...

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Well, nothing much today.... however, the cucumber seeds finally sprouted! I was outside most of the day (this morning I had checked on them, nothing) and now there are at least 7 little sprouts have poked out of the little pots! It's to bad I won't be able to post the time-lapse... I don't have YouTube or any other social media networks besides BYC, and I don't really feel like creating an account. But I will post pictures in about 3 days!

On another note, I am going on a trip for a while, and I was wondering if a water drip irrigation system would be worth investing in. I found one on Amazon that's about 30$, with 5 stars. Also thinking about a automatic timer.

 

[Mellowmalt]

Oh, so true! Every year I tell myself that I do NOT need 3 rows of turnips, and yet... I end up with too many turnips (and then out of necessity, I have "turnip week(s)" where all the meals include turnips in some fashion). They're too easy to grow so I go overboard.

... I have 2 half-rows already planted this year, sigh.

Previous years I went too crazy with carrots (harvested 11 lbs the previous December right before snow came), wax and green beans (7 lbs in the freezer), collards (who is going to eat 12 large collard plants!?) If I had a large family then it'd be no problem, but it's just 2 adults here.

Hmm believe it or not I still have some redcurrants from last year in the freezer. Been meaning to turn them into a crumble but just never found the time but they need to go before this years harvest. Some might say they've probably gone off by now but fruit lasts for a long timein the freezer, might be on the verge but will be lovely in a crumble.

 

[Sally PB]

I used a timer for lights when I started seeds in the house. The window faced south, but didn't get much direct sun because of trees and roof overhang. What's interesting is that even though the grow lights looked brighter to me, the seedlings still leaned toward the window.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Ok, finally time for a few pictures! First, the main garden bed.

And a few of the plants

The smaller garden bed I built by myself. It’s covered in bird netting to keep chickens and other animals out. There is an opening held together by a bungee cord. It’s not very precise of even... someone told me it looked like a covered wagon.

The potato bags. There are 5 total, 4 green ones and 1 burlap sack. (Don’t mind the tarp.

The little seedlings

And the strawberry pot

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Oh, and a picture of the 2 garden beds next to each other. The chicken coop and shed are in the background.

 

[Mellowmalt]

I like your wagon look. But it seems to be in a lot of direct light which is fine for some plants but vegetables like some shade or they fry too much. Luckily veg is plentiful and cheap in shops because they can be a burden to grow. I prefer cherry trees and blueberry bushes which regrow every year and are very low maintenance.
Strawberries are great too but they like a bit of shade like the left plot is getting. I find it challenging to grow things in full sun, strawberries and fruit bushes/trees are what work for me, veg goes on the shady borders if I can be bothered for a few carrots. I think I will go with growing some sunflower seeds this year, they are easy and sunflower seeds are expensive. I find I need to pay attention to what survives long term at mine, like strawberries in pots are nice but long term they only survive in the ground cause I forget to water them