I know it will be good when it's done. Just dread doing it. Hope our young helper is a good worker!!!
Our new location gets TONS of sun, so it will be awesome for my veggie garden. Hate having to re-establish the rabbit fencing, etc. but know it needs to be done.

Week 8:
I have pulled up all my onions, and they are drying on a cart so I can cover them when it rains



My 5 types of beans are not looking good this year. Don't know if they need more compost, or less rain



I think I'll let these garden peas go to seed where they're on the fence, full sun. Curious if they will reseed next year.

TK, great use of that multi-level cart for drying the onions... I do mine on a wooden-framed screen laid across a couple of sawhorses.

I think your peas will come back if you let the seeds mature and drop; they do even in my northern garden.

I have some peas that self seeded themselves also. But I want them to grow on the trellis section, not two feet away.

I managed to get my new veggie area relocated and got fencing, etc. re-established. It was a big job, but the young man who we hired to help us did an OK job. At least he was strong!!!! But, I was tired at the end of the day.

I should have spent today prepping/planting my earthboxes, but I took advantage of the day to go car shopping (which I've also been putting of for several months). After test driving the 3 cars I was interested in, it's going to be a tough decision. I should have stayed home and played in the garden

Newyorkrita said:I have some peas that self seeded themselves also. But I want them to grow on the trellis section, not two feet away.

You could either move the plants as they come up -- or collect the seeds as the pods dry and put them where you want them

Weedwhacker said:

You could either move the plants as they come up -- or collect the seeds as the pods dry and put them where you want them

Not worth the effort to move those few plants. I guess I just mostly ignored them.

I want to collect some pods for seed. So I will let them stay on the vine till really mature before picking. I am thinking my fall crop of fancy purple flowered peas will be from seed I collected myself.

I never do as well with the fall crop as I do with the spring crop and these people flowered pea seeds are expensive. So going to try my own for that second planting. At least that is the plan right now.

That seems like a good plan -- timing for fall crops always seems pretty tricky to me, too.

Weedwhacker said:That seems like a good plan -- timing for fall crops always seems pretty tricky to me, too.

That's the thing. Getting the timing exactly right. Much easier for the spring peas. But I do like to do a fall crop. I just don't want to pay for those expensive seeds.

Save extras and you won't have to buy them for the spring, either

Weedwhacker said:Save extras and you won't have to buy them for the spring, either

Yes, I will have to see how the seed saving goes.

Weedwhacker said:Yardenman, what do you mean by "staked water bottles" ?

I use "aqua cones" that attach to 2-L soda bottles and poke down into the ground to water the plants at the roots.

I've also used 3" pots placed down in the ground near the plants for watering.

I'm trying 2 kinds of them this year. Some are designed to fit large plastic containers like V8 or apple juice comes in, and some are the ones the screw into large soda containers.

The soda ones drain too slow and I've drilled the holes a bit larger but both seem to work. The idea isn't the slow drip but getting water to the root zone without wetting the tomato leaves.

I have my tomatoes in cages in a row, so I put the spikes in between each cage and on the outer edge. I think that encourages root spread.

But practically speaking, I think just jamming 3' long 2" pvc pipes 6" deep between the tomatoes would work just as well. Fill it up with the hose once a week (without rain) and they would be good.


I also use red reflective plastic.

I agree, the idea is to water the plants without getting water ON the plants. I've seen an idea for using PVC pipe with holes drilled in the lower part as a stake for the tomato plant -- you can support the plant by tying it to the pipe, and water it by pouring water in the top of the pipe. I've never tried it, but it might work

If you make the PVC-plant-support-stake larger in diameter than it needs to be, you can fill it with compost-makings or unfinished compost and let it continue to compost inside the pope.

Each time you water through it, you'll be watering with compost tea.

As it breaks down, re-fill the pipe with more leaves, coffee grounds, paper or compost.

I am afraid that method might clog the pipe.

Newyorkrita said:I am afraid that method might clog the pipe.

I agree -- it seems like the water wouldn't be able to drain through the pipe very well (unless we're talking a REALLY large pipe).

Something I haven't done for quite a few years but did work well for me in the past was to use plastic pots (often the ones the plants came out of) buried nearly up to their rim near the plants -- just water the plants by filling the pots.

Week 9:
So. This week I've been converting my onion garden to a sweet potato garden. Whew! Its a lot of work. I always try to think of some use for our hundreds of feed sacks. Even if it doesn't work, (potatoes), it makes me happy. So, now I'm trying to make a border with them, and weeds. First. I had to dig a ditch all around the area I wanted;





Insert feed sacks sideways and overlapping;



Throw weeds on the outside;



When they're dry, fold sacks over them, add more weeds to hold them down;



And, I moved the pots of s.p. into the middle.




My winter squash doesn't stay behind the appropriate sign. So, these are butternut;


Acorn?



Blue Hubbard;



And, since I put black plastic in my tomato garden, I put a melon with each one, and they are making a nice cool cover.

I know how had it is to move gardens. I just recently moved my veggie garden, which consisted of 14 earthboxes, to a sunnier location in my garden. I had to remove and replant a ton of perennials before I could move the earthboxes, and had to hire help to do it (my DH has 3 broken vertabrae in his back), but it is done.
Got the earthboxes prepped and mostly planted today. Will set up the watering system and tomato stakes tomorrow.

mom2goldens said:I know how had it is to move gardens. I just recently moved my veggie garden, which consisted of 14 earthboxes, to a sunnier location in my garden. I had to remove and replant a ton of perennials before I could move the earthboxes, and had to hire help to do it (my DH has 3 broken vertabrae in his back), but it is done.
Got the earthboxes prepped and mostly planted today. Will set up the watering system and tomato stakes tomorrow.

But now it is done, you don't have to deal with it plus you have more sun. All good things!!

texaskitty111 said:Week 9:
So. This week I've been converting my onion garden to a sweet potato garden. Whew! Its a lot of work. I always try to think of some use for our hundreds of feed sacks. Even if it doesn't work, (potatoes), it makes me happy. So, now I'm trying to make a border with them, and weeds. First. I had to dig a ditch all around the area I wanted;





Insert feed sacks sideways and overlapping;



Throw weeds on the outside;



When they're dry, fold sacks over them, add more weeds to hold them down;



And, I moved the pots of s.p. into the middle.




My winter squash doesn't stay behind the appropriate sign. So, these are butternut;


Acorn?



Blue Hubbard;



And, since I put black plastic in my tomato garden, I put a melon with each one, and they are making a nice cool cover.

Very innovative!!!