Texas BYC Cafe

[henless]

LOL sounds like a lot of good stuff for supper when our gardens are ready. I have about 6 tomatoes, 2 tomatillos, 4 hot japalenos plants, 4 yellow squash, 3 zucchini, an egg plant and onions. I still have to plant cucumbers and cantaloupe.

On your okra, it really likes hot weather so if it doesn't do really well right now replant it later next month and see how it does. I'm planting mine when my onions are done. I love gardening!!
I should get my worms this week to start my worm farm. Lol such the farm girl am I! Lol

I haven't had a garden in 2 years. I had surgery last year and the year before, so we never bothered putting one in. Three years ago, we put in a regular garden in the horse corral area. It went crazy!! It got to be a bit much, and with my RD, I decided to go with a raised bed. Make it easier for me to work.

I picked up some okra that was already started. Heirloom clemsine spineless I got at our local feed store. I had planned on ordering heirloom seeds, but kept putting it off since I didn't know for sure when the chicken coop would be finished. I put my garden right in front of the coop fence. Thought it would help keep critters from trying to dig in.

Wow! Everyone has been busy. The coop is looking great Kimberly.

My garden is doing ok. I think it did better last year though. Something is eating the leaves on my beans already this year. I guess they remember it from last year? I sprayed Neem Oil and will keep spraying weekly now. I hate to spray, but at least this is organic and won't harm the bees.

I picked up some Hot and Spicy oregano. I need to find some recipes for it. I think Thai maybe....

I met a new person to cycle with and a friend I cycled with last summer is in training for a tri right now so I can ride with him more now too. I like to ride with people rather than alone.

I'm working on scraping the house.

This is my progress after 6 (long) hours. I need help. Like professional help!



Here you can see all the colours the house has been. My brick is terra cotta orange. What were people thinking?! I'm painting it a whitish color by Behr called Silver Sky.

Silly me thought I could scrape the porch in one weekend and paint the next!!

I haven't planted my beans yet. I need to put something up for them to climb, or let them climb my okra if it takes off. I had some good ones in my garden couple years ago, and the rabbits came in and ate them all. I'm hoping the cinder blocks will help keep them out, and Jack too.

Scraping is a pain in the butt!!! Do you have access to a pressure washer? If you do, try that. Make it go a bit faster. But then you have to let it dry before painting.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I haven't had a garden in 2 years. I had surgery last year and the year before, so we never bothered putting one in. Three years ago, we put in a regular garden in the horse corral area. It went crazy!! It got to be a bit much, and with my RD, I decided to go with a raised bed. Make it easier for me to work.

I picked up some okra that was already started. Heirloom clemsine spineless I got at our local feed store. I had planned on ordering heirloom seeds, but kept putting it off since I didn't know for sure when the chicken coop would be finished. I put my garden right in front of the coop fence. Thought it would help keep critters from trying to dig in.

I haven't planted my beans yet. I need to put something up for them to climb, or let them climb my okra if it takes off. I had some good ones in my garden couple years ago, and the rabbits came in and ate them all. I'm hoping the cinder blocks will help keep them out, and Jack too.

Scraping is a pain in the butt!!! Do you have access to a pressure washer? If you do, try that. Make it go a bit faster. But then you have to let it dry before painting.

I planted bush beans. I got mine from Baker Creek Seeds. Dragon Tongue, purple and wax beans. I had them last year too. Very yummy. The purple beans turn green when cooked.

I am going to power wash too. The porch is really bad and needs to be scraped though. This house is almost 50 years old and has only been painted 3 times! I guess that is a good thing, less to scrape off.

 

[lovingmyhens]

Lovinghens, hating drama-I'm here!!!
Melanie

 

[lovingmyhens]

I do not garden. Don't like veggies much-only a few. Like carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, yeah not too many. Tomatoes are such high
maintenance at least here-bugs, gotta be watered just so, bugs.
Maybe tomatoes next yr. but def not a garden for me. Lol

 

[henless]

I won't be growing a lot this year. I only have the one bed up, so that limits what I can plant. I did plant 2 of my tomatoes in big pots on the back porch. I planted them there last year and they grew over 5 feet tall.

Here is my bed now. I still need a few more blocks to finish out the front, but Lowe's didn't have enough to finish it this weekend.



I have okra along the back with a tomato plant on the right. Both front corners are my yellow squash and then onions all along the front. Still have room to plant in the middle.

I didn't fill it totally up with planting mix. I plan on putting my coop compost in it when I clean it out next spring. I did find some organic compost at Lowe's for only $3 which I thought was a good deal. I put the compost (4 bags) and a bag of peat moss in there. We'll see how it does.

I also plan on filling up the block holes with compost and planting in there. Herbs, strawberries and such. All in due time.

@Loving ~ I started eating Primal about 6 months ago to see if it would help with my Rheumatoid Disease. I only eat meat, veggies and fruit. I do put creme in my coffee, and eat cheese occasionally, but not much. I only plant what we actually like. No sense in working for something that will be wasted, LOL.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I do not garden. Don't like veggies much-only a few. Like carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, yeah not too many. Tomatoes are such high
maintenance at least here-bugs, gotta be watered just so, bugs.
Maybe tomatoes next yr. but def not a garden for me. Lol

I didn't have enough room for a garden at my old house so I got an Earth Box (you can make your own pretty easily) and grew tomatoes. They do really well in them. I bought too many tomatoes for my garden this year (oops!) so I have two in my Earth Box on the patio. I plant what I will eat. What is easy too. I don't want to have to spend hours tending my garden.

I won't be growing a lot this year. I only have the one bed up, so that limits what I can plant. I did plant 2 of my tomatoes in big pots on the back porch. I planted them there last year and they grew over 5 feet tall.

Here is my bed now. I still need a few more blocks to finish out the front, but Lowe's didn't have enough to finish it this weekend.



I have okra along the back with a tomato plant on the right. Both front corners are my yellow squash and then onions all along the front. Still have room to plant in the middle.

I didn't fill it totally up with planting mix. I plan on putting my coop compost in it when I clean it out next spring. I did find some organic compost at Lowe's for only $3 which I thought was a good deal. I put the compost (4 bags) and a bag of peat moss in there. We'll see how it does.

I also plan on filling up the block holes with compost and planting in there. Herbs, strawberries and such. All in due time.

@Loving ~ I started eating Primal about 6 months ago to see if it would help with my Rheumatoid Disease. I only eat meat, veggies and fruit. I do put creme in my coffee, and eat cheese occasionally, but not much. I only plant what we actually like. No sense in working for something that will be wasted, LOL.

That is a nice looking bed. I used cinder blocks to make a raised bed on the back side of the house. They work great and it is fairly easy to set them. Mine were left by the previous owners and I have enough left over to use for the footings of my chicken coop when I build it.



Here is my garden. Yes I know the chicken wire doesn't look so good. Looks pretty bad actually. lol! I need to put a new frame around it so I didn't attach it at the bottom. The fence it there to keep Sasha out more than anything so I'm not worried about anything getting in there. I have my handy panel up for the squash. I've been wanting to do an arch like that for years now. I can't wait to see it covered with my squash. I want to raise my garden bed even more and then fence the whole area around it so the birds can't get at. Maybe I can do that this fall.

 

[A1momof3]

I planted bush beans. I got mine from Baker Creek Seeds. Dragon Tongue, purple and wax beans. I had them last year too. Very yummy. The purple beans turn green when cooked.

I am going to power wash too. The porch is really bad and needs to be scraped though. This house is almost 50 years old and has only been painted 3 times! I guess that is a good thing, less to scrape off.

We use to have to scrap my grandparents house and it WAS a pain. My house is also very old, part of it was build back in the 40's but thankfully the people that owned it had added on to it and then covered it in hardy board so I don't think we will have to do any scraping. I maybe wrong but it looks good for now. Just a little bleach every now and again to get the mold off.

Lovinghens, hating drama-I'm here!!!
Melanie

YES. I am a drama free person. I don't have a big group of friends and when I did most of them were guys because of all the drama that comes with females. lol So I just hung out with my hubby and his buddies. I do have a small group of girl friends that I go and do things with but then the Queens rise up, I am out of there until they die down. Life it to short!

We had a small backyard garden when we lived in Deer Park. It did really well but I only had it for one year.

I won't be growing a lot this year. I only have the one bed up, so that limits what I can plant. I did plant 2 of my tomatoes in big pots on the back porch. I planted them there last year and they grew over 5 feet tall.

Here is my bed now. I still need a few more blocks to finish out the front, but Lowe's didn't have enough to finish it this weekend.



I have okra along the back with a tomato plant on the right. Both front corners are my yellow squash and then onions all along the front. Still have room to plant in the middle.

I didn't fill it totally up with planting mix. I plan on putting my coop compost in it when I clean it out next spring. I did find some organic compost at Lowe's for only $3 which I thought was a good deal. I put the compost (4 bags) and a bag of peat moss in there. We'll see how it does.

I also plan on filling up the block holes with compost and planting in there. Herbs, strawberries and such. All in due time.

@Loving ~ I started eating Primal about 6 months ago to see if it would help with my Rheumatoid Disease. I only eat meat, veggies and fruit. I do put creme in my coffee, and eat cheese occasionally, but not much. I only plant what we actually like. No sense in working for something that will be wasted, LOL.

that is a great idea on the holes of the blocks! LOVE IT>

You know you can take a basket or pot... some kind of container and put a layer of soil and plant potatoes.... as they grow up you add more dirt around the plant.... when it grows from that point you again add more dirt.... as you add the dirt it will grow more potatoes and when it done you just dump out the basket and there are all your potatoes. That is if you eat potatoes. We are big meat and potato people. I planted a salsa area in my garden to have everything I need to make can salsa. I will have to get some pictures today. I wanted to have a BIG garden but I will need a water well to do that. Our city water is like buying gold. I could water my corner lot all summer in Deer Park and never have as high of a bill as I do here in Quitman just in the winter. It is crazy!!

 

[Ms Jellybean]

You know you can take a basket or pot... some kind of container and put a layer of soil and plant potatoes.... as they grow up you add more dirt around the plant.... when it grows from that point you again add more dirt.... as you add the dirt it will grow more potatoes and when it done you just dump out the basket and there are all your potatoes. That is if you eat potatoes. We are big meat and potato people. I planted a salsa area in my garden to have everything I need to make can salsa. I will have to get some pictures today. I wanted to have a BIG garden but I will need a water well to do that. Our city water is like buying gold. I could water my corner lot all summer in Deer Park and never have as high of a bill as I do here in Quitman just in the winter. It is crazy!!

That is a neat idea. I'm going to try that next year. I think potatoes like cooler weather...I'll check my book. I've never tried them before. Would this work with sweet potatoes too?

My water is expensive here too. I was just given a new water meter by the city a few months ago. I'm hoping the old one was off and was registering too much so my bills will go down now. I can't compare last year to this year since we dripped the faucets a ton this past winter and hardly at all the winter before.

 

[A1momof3]

I didn't have enough room for a garden at my old house so I got an Earth Box (you can make your own pretty easily) and grew tomatoes. They do really well in them. I bought too many tomatoes for my garden this year (oops!) so I have two in my Earth Box on the patio. I plant what I will eat. What is easy too. I don't want to have to spend hours tending my garden.

That is a nice looking bed. I used cinder blocks to make a raised bed on the back side of the house. They work great and it is fairly easy to set them. Mine were left by the previous owners and I have enough left over to use for the footings of my chicken coop when I build it.



Here is my garden. Yes I know the chicken wire doesn't look so good. Looks pretty bad actually. lol! I need to put a new frame around it so I didn't attach it at the bottom. The fence it there to keep Sasha out more than anything so I'm not worried about anything getting in there. I have my handy panel up for the squash. I've been wanting to do an arch like that for years now. I can't wait to see it covered with my squash. I want to raise my garden bed even more and then fence the whole area around it so the birds can't get at. Maybe I can do that this fall.

It looks great girl!! Hey anything we do with a "garden" is good. Things have gotten so expensive these days. I am just trying to do what I can to help our family. So if I can provide for my parents, Warren's mom, aunt and uncle, my sister and her family then I am doing what I feel I need to do..... eggs, vegies and hopefully.....future dream... beef. We want to have some cows and I want to put a calf on our couple of acres to raise for beef. The rest of them will be on our family farm land. One day!!

 

[A1momof3]

That is a neat idea. I'm going to try that next year. I think potatoes like cooler weather...I'll check my book. I've never tried them before. Would this work with sweet potatoes too?

My water is expensive here too. I was just given a new water meter by the city a few months ago. I'm hoping the old one was off and was registering too much so my bills will go down now. I can't compare last year to this year since we dripped the faucets a ton this past winter and hardly at all the winter before.

Not use..... I would think they grow like regular potatoes so I don't see why not. But I really don't know. I bet I can find out. I live in sweet potato heaven, they grown them all over the place around here.

This is the article I found it from... that web page was acting funny so I just copy and pasted the info here....
~~I bought the laundry baskets at a local dollar store (I have 2 baskets). I filled the baskets with about 2" of soil & compost, then put a seed potato into each basket (each potato was cut into about 3 pieces with 2-3 eyes each). I then covered the potato with soil, and have been gradually filling the baskets with soil as the potatoes grow, simulating "hilling" the potatoes in a garden. The garden center that recommended this method to me said each basket should yield 8-10 lbs of potatoes. So far, so good! It's been fun with our kids too, because the potatoes are growing out of the holes in the sides of the baskets. Be sure to keep the baskets watered well - it takes some patience (ie - slow watering) to not have all the water run out the sides of the basket.