forgeblast
Elite Member
A very good book too is "gardening when it counts" it talks about making your own fert, using blood, bone and a seed meal mixed with lime. It works very nice.
Raised bed veggie garden
- Thread starter NS Gearhead
- Start date
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OP
NS Gearhead
Veteran Member
Looked this up wanting to show some friends, and it seems I didn't update it!
Had a heck of a time with soil. First load was 50% topsoil, 50% organic. So, I assumed it was manure. Nope, it was green bin compost. As in, eveything organic people throw away. Could be anything. Medication, cats, etc. I first noticed lots of shredded plasic bags in it, then plastic utensils... but I had my boxes filled.... so I contacted them, and they gave me another load of topsoil only for cheap. I used the first load to fill low spots on the lawn. The worst part was digging the boxes back out.
Lined with landscape fabric
Load #2
27 bags of manure, 4 of peatmoss
Filled for the 2nd time
Timer
Some things did well, like the tomatoes, peas, and beans... some things did poorly like onions, garlic and carrots, and some things did nothing at all like the lettuce and brocolli. Strawberries didn't do very well either. One I pinched off the flowers to promote root growth for this year, the other I let it go. The one that I did let go didn't produce much and what did grow looked all cracked. I showed my local seed store and they said I had mites of something. Gave me some sticky tape to put around the bottom to try and stop them this year. I guess commercial growers spray for them.
Had a heck of a time with soil. First load was 50% topsoil, 50% organic. So, I assumed it was manure. Nope, it was green bin compost. As in, eveything organic people throw away. Could be anything. Medication, cats, etc. I first noticed lots of shredded plasic bags in it, then plastic utensils... but I had my boxes filled.... so I contacted them, and they gave me another load of topsoil only for cheap. I used the first load to fill low spots on the lawn. The worst part was digging the boxes back out.
Lined with landscape fabric
Load #2
27 bags of manure, 4 of peatmoss
Filled for the 2nd time
Timer
Some things did well, like the tomatoes, peas, and beans... some things did poorly like onions, garlic and carrots, and some things did nothing at all like the lettuce and brocolli. Strawberries didn't do very well either. One I pinched off the flowers to promote root growth for this year, the other I let it go. The one that I did let go didn't produce much and what did grow looked all cracked. I showed my local seed store and they said I had mites of something. Gave me some sticky tape to put around the bottom to try and stop them this year. I guess commercial growers spray for them.
OP
NS Gearhead
Veteran Member
Got a little carried away expanding the garden this year;
Built a small greenhouse
Two new strawberry barrels
25 plants each
Last year I started a new row on the far corner of my lot with topsoil. It flattened out much more then I thought it would, so I built it up with 330lbs of manure, 50lbs or peatmoss, and a bunch more topsoil (got another tandem load in)
Around 1,500lbs of manure total. LOL
Bed #1 with Raspberries
2nd bed with blackberries
4 early variety high bush bluberries. More to come later, but they were a little pricey, so only 4 this year.
Two weeks later;
Raspberry
Blackberry
Both rows are 30' long and will be getting trellis'.
Near to far; mint in the pots, white onion, garlic, and green onion
kale near, and peas far.
silantro and rosemary top right, two maple transplants bottom right, and three tomatoes bottom left & middle.
I'm experimenting with tomatoes; two in the hot house, two in 5 gal pails all drilled out with 2" holes and lined with landscape fabric, couple singles, one double, one triple and one quadruple all in same size pots. Let's see what does best! All sun sugar cherry tomatoes, and all in the same topsoil/ compost/ peat moss mix. The idea behind the holey buckets is that the roots need oxygen.... so more oxygen= more root growth = healthier plants and more production. The multiple plants/ pot; well, I'm thinking that if they do just as well as singles, it would be a more efficient use of space. I also wonder if they would support themselves instead of needing a trellis. At under $1/ plant, I though what the ****. May as well experiment. I had 6 tomatoes last year and none made it inside. I just ate them as I picked. This year I've got 16.
Built a small greenhouse
Two new strawberry barrels
25 plants each
Last year I started a new row on the far corner of my lot with topsoil. It flattened out much more then I thought it would, so I built it up with 330lbs of manure, 50lbs or peatmoss, and a bunch more topsoil (got another tandem load in)
Around 1,500lbs of manure total. LOL
Bed #1 with Raspberries
2nd bed with blackberries
4 early variety high bush bluberries. More to come later, but they were a little pricey, so only 4 this year.
Two weeks later;
Raspberry
Blackberry
Both rows are 30' long and will be getting trellis'.
Near to far; mint in the pots, white onion, garlic, and green onion
kale near, and peas far.
silantro and rosemary top right, two maple transplants bottom right, and three tomatoes bottom left & middle.
I'm experimenting with tomatoes; two in the hot house, two in 5 gal pails all drilled out with 2" holes and lined with landscape fabric, couple singles, one double, one triple and one quadruple all in same size pots. Let's see what does best! All sun sugar cherry tomatoes, and all in the same topsoil/ compost/ peat moss mix. The idea behind the holey buckets is that the roots need oxygen.... so more oxygen= more root growth = healthier plants and more production. The multiple plants/ pot; well, I'm thinking that if they do just as well as singles, it would be a more efficient use of space. I also wonder if they would support themselves instead of needing a trellis. At under $1/ plant, I though what the ****. May as well experiment. I had 6 tomatoes last year and none made it inside. I just ate them as I picked. This year I've got 16.
OP
NS Gearhead
Veteran Member
I think I'll be renting a gas powered jack hammer next weekend to bust up the rock outcrops at the berry patch. (that's what I call it) Make room for future beds, and make it easier on the atv to manuver around.
dan ny escarpment
Bronze Member
Very nice setup, what variety of blackberries and raspberries did you choose? How long is your growing season up in NS? Thanks for sharing
TnAndy
Veteran Member
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You can get a lot more strawberry plants in your barrels....our have 48 'pockets' + 4 in the top.
OP
NS Gearhead
Veteran Member
Raspberries are Heritage, and the blackberries are Tripple Crown.
The grow season... well I think we're considered zone 5. We usually stop getting frost at the end of may... but this year I planted mid-may. With a smaller garden it's easy to just throw a tarp over if we get a frost warning.
OP
NS Gearhead
Veteran Member
You can get a lot more strawberry plants in your barrels....our have 48 'pockets' + 4 in the top.
Wow that's alot of strawberry! I actually did go from 15 with last year's barrels (which are now flowering) to 25 in these. I did lose some plants in last years'... so I'm not 100% sure these are the way to go. Either the sun doesn't get to some enough, or I over watered them. Do you pinch the flowers off the first year?
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
I like the raised log beds!!! It looks like you are expanding your garden to every spot you can find!!!