Gosh darnit I'm starting a garden!!

The last couple years I've tried to motivate myself, unsuccessfully, to start a veggie garden. This is the year I change that. I scoped out my yard this past year and have found the ideal place to locate it. My drainage and soil are probably terrible so I'm going to do a raised bed. I collapsed a root cellar that was located on my property and I'll be using the beautiful red sandstone I reclaimed to make my border. Not sure on the exact dimensions yet but somewhere in the vicinity of 12x20ft is what I think I have to work with. Tips, hints and hellos are always welcome. Stay tuned, I'll be breaking ground within the week.

Tip: zuccini (sp) and squash produce waaaaay more than is needed, so dont use up too much space with a bunch of them. If you are in a cold state, try making a giant reflector out of permaflect and pvc to up the light intensity making your produce sweeter. Also....worm castings and worms are a.veggy gardeners best friend. Enjoy

Filthy Phil said:

Tip: zuccini (sp) and squash produce waaaaay more than is needed, so dont use up too much space with a bunch of them. If you are in a cold state, try making a giant reflector out of permaflect and pvc to up the light intensity making your produce sweeter. Also....worm castings and worms are a.veggy gardeners best friend. Enjoy

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Nice! The one thing I wasn't lazy about was starting a compost pile where the root cellar ruins are. I threw in 200 red wigglers acouple years back. So hopefully I got some nice rich compost waiting for me.

yaaaaay, neo in the garden section~

according to the long range forecast (i know i know.... ), after a dip into the low 30s next week, the spring thaw seems to be on..... i've been picking and choosing bulbs online already

Awsome man there is nothing more rewarding than being self sufficient. Welcome to the garden and best of luck. Tip...tomato plants make good Lst training plants. I had six foot wide tomato plants last year

mellokitty said:

yaaaaay, neo in the garden section~

according to the long range forecast (i know i know.... ), after a dip into the low 30s next week, the spring thaw seems to be on..... i've been picking and choosing bulbs online already

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Yippie!! Unfortunately I never really even got a winter here. Reeked havoc with my hvac . Anyway I hope to get some photos up of the construction process sometime in the next week. Still brainstorming a bit. Alittle early yet, but I need to start because I have a weird way of putting things off until... never!

neosapien said:

I never really even got a winter here.

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Lucky you - I'll not see dirt for another 3 months here.

Focus on creating a good soil and picking a decent spot for your garden to get sun in.

I'm watching.

GreatwhiteNorth said:

Lucky you - I'll not see dirt for another 3 months here.

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Hehe touche', after looking at some of your pics tho, sometimes I'd trade it for not seeing another soul for 3 months!

jeeba said:

Focus on creating a good soil and picking a decent spot for your garden to get sun in.

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Thanks for the tips, the spot I picked does get solid sun all day.

PIPBoy2000 said:

I'm watching.

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Thanks bro, I'll try not to let ya down!

Ohhh yeah....plant some giant sunflowers. Its cool to see a 12 foot flower thats like a foot wide. Any neighbors you have will also appreciate it, and they can help distract focus from other things which you might not want to be seen that grow next to your tomatos (i mean weed in case you arent following me)

Also, take the time to grab a few heirloom tomato strains instead of all beefsteak or better boys. Try plum tomatos.
Also, chard(swiss, yellow, rainbow, red) are very nutritious greens that can be cut every few days and will continue growing through fall into winter....the greens that keep on giving.
Plant marigolds throughout your garden as they will seriously deter bugs and take little room or attention.
plant a section(a small one) of alfalfa to till back into the soil in the fall. Next years soil will be bad ass
Strawberries are expensive, but the plants are easy to grow and productive. You will have a lovely summer if you have all the fresh strawberries you can eat

I love gardening....

OOooo, more veggies ! can't wait , i think ya got to try some sweet peppers (also chilli if ya like em) . 3 month wait , but nothing like fresh peppers .

mugan said:

OOooo, more veggies ! can't wait , i think ya got to try some sweet peppers (also chilli if ya like em) . 3 month wait , but nothing like fresh peppers .

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Mad peppers!! The wife and I both like SPICY food so peppers are a must. Peppers, tomatoes, beans and teas are what we consume the most of, so thats what I'm going to focus my energies on. But I am certainly open to suggestions on um er' noobie-friendly crops.

Subbed. I have some tips on planting in my gardening thread that might come in handy.

If you're looking for good compost for cheap check with your local highway dept, they usually have some really good stuff you can buy by the truckload.

I have so many cayenne, jalepeno, and thai chili pepper I don't know what to do with them.

Actually I do... I dry them and give my friends a ziplock bag full of them.

In what I like to refer to as my "Pepper phase" I had so many that I was drying them & running them through a food processor and into spice jars labeled Pepper Medley.
They make great Christmas presents !

You're probably going to wish you kept the root cellar now.

neosapien said:

The last couple years I've tried to motivate myself, unsuccessfully, to start a veggie garden. This is the year I change that. I scoped out my yard this past year and have found the ideal place to locate it. My drainage and soil are probably terrible so I'm going to do a raised bed. I collapsed a root cellar that was located on my property and I'll be using the beautiful red sandstone I reclaimed to make my border. Not sure on the exact dimensions yet but somewhere in the vicinity of 12x20ft is what I think I have to work with. Tips, hints and hellos are always welcome. Stay tuned, I'll be breaking ground within the week.

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Raised beds are wonderful. I can't think of any tips. Mb just take a lot of pix. We are very visual here.

420God said:

You're probably going to wish you kept the root cellar now.

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lol! Unfortunately the roof began caving in, so me and my digging bar helped it. I felt like Indiana Jones digging all the ancient stone out. THIS BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!

dannyboy602 said:

Raised beds are wonderful. I can't think of any tips. Mb just take a lot of pix. We are very visual here.

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Well it just so happens photography is another hobby of mine!

Make sure to put screens down under the beds to discourage gophers. They really like veggies also. Water food and sun. It's all good