What did you do in the garden today?

[Antiocheggers]

Weeded, mowed, fertilized and planted Japanese plum seeds. And moved some rose brushes to a sunnier area. DONE!

 

[gtaus]

Because next you line the inside of the bed with visqueen or pool liner, whatever you have. I used 6 mil plastic sheeting from Lowe's.

I live in northern Minnesota. I did not think 6 mil plastic sheeting would survive our winters without cracking. I checked out the cost of heavy duty pond liner, and it was rather expensive. That's how I ended up going the hügelkultur raised bed method.

FWIW, I have hugelkultur beds too. I really like them too... I use them for my flowers and shallow root veggies.

Yep, I mainly use them for shallow root veggies as well. Works great for me.

Recently I saw someone post a great idea on building a small frame above the soil in a raised bed for planting long root vegetables in the hügelkultur raised bed. Makes a lot of sense to me to increase the height of just a section of the raised bed instead of making an entire deep raised bed.

Well, I have to buy my topsoil, so it makes economic sense to add an extender frame on a raised bed just for any plants that might need more soil depth than my standard topsoil 8 inches in the hügelkultur raised beds.

I chose to create the self-watering beds above for my potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes, mostly...

I think a water reservoir underneath the heavy drinkers like tomatoes would be a great setup.

Thanks for posting your pictures and walking through your build. Much appreciated.

 

[cj2024]

I mentioned a while ago that I was going to grow everglade tomatoes and I managed to do so, but I don't like the taste, so I stopped growing them. A year later, I have them growing wild all over the place and these vines are monsters. I think this variety is invasive.

 

[Sally PB]

Nettles are wonderful! Probably the most beneficial plant on earth.

Yes on the nettles, I make nettle tea for relief from allergies.

I usually puree fresh young leaves with garlic , olive oil and a pinch of salt/lemon, put it on my bread

I have a patch of nettles. I'll try some tea or something with them when they grow. If anyone has any other nettle recipes or uses, I'd love to hear them!

I saved the links too. Thanks.

 

[Sally PB]

I planted a few chard in the garlic bed, in the spaces that ended up bigger-ish. I don't lay out my rows with string, I eyeball it with my 62 year old eyes.

I then started digging brome grass out of the blueberry bed. I found some of the flower buds are starting to break open. This makes me very nervous. We can get frost/freeze for another 6 weeks.

 

[lagrange chicks]

I have a patch of nettles. I'll try some tea or something with them when they grow. If anyone has any other nettle recipes or uses, I'd love to hear them!

I saved the links too. Thanks.

Before the nettle seeds I clip the top of each stem to include 3 sets of leaves and dry on a window screen. There is lots of info out there on nettles, said to be the most nutritious plant on earth.

 

[fuzzi]

Plants that hate me -

Chives
Bee balm
Wildflower seeds (Echinecea, daisies, etc)
Sage
Swiss Chard
Pineapple Sage
Pansies

Despite years of trying, this stuff never grows for me. I am FINALLY taking Lavender off this list since I have ONE plant (bought as an established plant) that has finally taken root and become robust.

I can get Bee balm, chard, and pansies to grow. I can't get beets to grow, ever. And I love them.

 

[fuzzi]

Put out some more wildflower seeds... I also fertilized my apple and hazelnut trees since we are in for a good soaking over the next few days.

BTW, I also captured a picture of the really weird shadows from the trees due to the eclipse. This is called the pinhole effect.
View attachment 3795895View attachment 3795896

Looks familiar!

 

[Sally PB]

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=795715889277814&set=a.449961563853250&type=3

That is one of the coolest pictures I've ever seen.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I live in northern Minnesota. I did not think 6 mil plastic sheeting would survive our winters without cracking. I checked out the cost of heavy duty pond liner, and it was rather expensive. That's how I ended up going the hügelkultur raised bed method.



Yep, I mainly use them for shallow root veggies as well. Works great for me.

Recently I saw someone post a great idea on building a small frame above the soil in a raised bed for planting long root vegetables in the hügelkultur raised bed. Makes a lot of sense to me to increase the height of just a section of the raised bed instead of making an entire deep raised bed.

Well, I have to buy my topsoil, so it makes economic sense to add an extender frame on a raised bed just for any plants that might need more soil depth than my standard topsoil 8 inches in the hügelkultur raised beds.



I think a water reservoir underneath the heavy drinkers like tomatoes would be a great setup.

Thanks for posting your pictures and walking through your build. Much appreciated.

Billboard companies around here throw away tons of thick vinyl. I thought about asking for some as a way to recycle and/or have a free option on the liner. The only question or concern I'd have is whether that vinyl is food safe or would cause any leaching concerns. I think the billboard company could answer that question but I've never gotten around to asking.