What does/will your 2015 garden look like?

[NEChickenNoob]

Unless I can get time to actually work on something our garden will look the same this year as it did last year.... like nothing.

We do plan to go with an AP system and have already set one tank in the ground and have purchased all the lumber I need to build our first two grow beds. I'm hoping tomorrow that I will be able to finish the grow beds and get the second tank sealed at filled along with running at least one of the pumps so see if things like the waterfall work as planned.


Tomorrow..... tomorrow....

Have you looked into square foot gardening? From what I gather, it's smaller scale than my plan but easier and less work. I am moving in about a year, and if I get a place with a small yard, I will probably go down that route.

 

[RichnSteph]

Have you looked into square foot gardening?  From what I gather, it's smaller scale than my plan but easier and less work.  I am moving in about a year, and if I get a place with a small yard, I will probably go down that route.

We have and had initially planned to go that route but we have 99.9% sand out here and .01% top soil.

 

[lazy gardener]

Ooh, I like the mulch idea for taters! SixSpouse will like the idea of fresh new potatoes all summer, too - SixSpouse /adores/ potatoes.

The ground is half frozen and half bog. I don't get to plant for another couple of months, but... I have itchy fingers!

I wanna go dig. Tear down the fence and put it up again bigger, start placing rows and getting the hose patterns figured out...

Sadly, I stepped on a nail this weekend while deconstructing the shed that will furnish wood for a future chicken-coop, so I will be digging no holes for a while. *sigh*

A deep mulch is a perfect way to grow your garden. You can plant your potatoes directly on top of the sod, and cover them with a 6" layer of mulch. I like spoiled hay, leaves, lawn clippings. By the time you're ready to harvest, the sod will be gone, and the soil will be soft and friable, ready for next year's crop.


Originally Posted by RichnSteph

Unless I can get time to actually work on something our garden will look the same this year as it did last year.... like nothing.

We do plan to go with an AP system and have already set one tank in the ground and have purchased all the lumber I need to build our first two grow beds. I'm hoping tomorrow that I will be able to finish the grow beds and get the second tank sealed at filled along with running at least one of the pumps so see if things like the waterfall work as planned.


Tomorrow..... tomorrow....
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RichnSteph: Understandable that your time is limited with a young family and work schedules. Perfect opportunity to investigate hay bale/straw bale gardening. Or any deep mulch/lasagna gardening. This will allow you to plant some crops this season (in addition to your AP) and get a head start on building some wonderful soil for next season. A life time of tomorrows!

 

[redsixwing]

A deep mulch is a perfect way to grow your garden. You can plant your potatoes directly on top of the sod, and cover them with a 6" layer of mulch. I like spoiled hay, leaves, lawn clippings. By the time you're ready to harvest, the sod will be gone, and the soil will be soft and friable, ready for next year's crop.

Wow! Am I reading it right, that potatoes can be sort of a leader to convert not-garden into garden? This is a thing I need to do.

I have a big chunk of lawn that needs to quit being lawn so I can garden in it, and also a gross weedy area that is probably where the potatoes will end up.
That's right next to where the sunchokes are trying to take over the world, so I'm probably just going to end up giving the whole section over to tubers.

 

[NEChickenNoob]

Onions and Peppers are sprouted doing well under the lights, over the heat mats. Eggplants will be started sometime this week. Tomatoes in two weeks. Looking to work the soil in about a month, if it ever thaws. It's 5F now, getting down to -8F. Winter, winter go away, come again another...year....or something.

 

[redsixwing]

16 inches of snow yesterday, and more on the way. My garden looks like a nice spot for a snowman. (I can still see the fence posts, and that's worth something.)

The garlic that sprouted early is doing well enough in its pot, but it's not getting enough light, and I can't put it out in the living room where the light is better; the cat will eat it. (This cat lives by the motto "Chew All The Plants." She will not desist for bitter-tasting specimens, and I've removed everything I know to be toxic just in case. I've been slowly moving all my plants into places she's not permitted into unsupervised.)

 

[lazy gardener]

16 inches of snow yesterday, and more on the way. My garden looks like a nice spot for a snowman. (I can still see the fence posts, and that's worth something.)

The garlic that sprouted early is doing well enough in its pot, but it's not getting enough light, and I can't put it out in the living room where the light is better; the cat will eat it. (This cat lives by the motto "Chew All The Plants." She will not desist for bitter-tasting specimens, and I've removed everything I know to be toxic just in case. I've been slowly moving all my plants into places she's not permitted into unsupervised.)

My cat was eating all of my plants, then puking them up on the carpet. i love my cat. I planted a pot full of barley and wheat, and so far, he's leaving the plants alone. It's been a long winter for him too.

 

[NEChickenNoob]

Hot pepper spray may deter it in the future. 16"...been there done that. Good Luck! I can still see my garden posts too, we had a warm day last week and our 2 or 3 feet on the ground reduced to about 16 to 18 with a nice almost walk on crust.

 

[redsixwing]

I'll try the barley and wheat, thanks!

Does anyone have experience with onions? SixSpouse wants to try them, and I've never grown them.

NEChickenNoob, I love it when the crust is thick enough to walk on! So convenient.

 

[NEChickenNoob]

I've done onions for several years. There is many things to know about them, so just dig around the web, learn the difference between long and short day types and what that means to you. They are heavy feeders. They require good weeding as they do not compete well with weeds. They need consistent watering. They are not hard once you do your homework. Expect the first year to be a learning year and not be wildly successful. Go into it as a learning experience and no expectations and you'll be fine.