garden news-new garden revisited

GARDEN NEWS-NEW GARDEN REVISITED

this is the picture of my new garden space as of yesterday
on the left side i added a new bed that is 3x7 ft 
gopher wire was laid down then a border of old banana trunks were used as a border
mulch plus old garden dirt plus unfinished compost was added 
on top of that was placed a deep layer of raised bed soil purchased at the nursery

this new bed is barely visible and is close to the wire fence in the first row of beds
this bed will be planted with green beans called french cut or emerite green beans

a trellis will be built along the bed using tposts and eventually wire fencing
for now i will just use twine tied across the tposts so it looks like netting
you only get one season out of this twine netting so later in the year i will add my fencing
next fall i will plant sweet shelling peas or snap peas in this bed

at the back of the second row is another new bed using the banana trunks as a border
the ingredients are the same
i will plant christmas lima beans in this bed
these are one my favorite beans to eat

down the middle of my plots i put a row of 30 gallon grow bags spaced 1 foot apart
in the bags i put mulch plus dirt plus unfinished compost plus raised bed soil
these bags were set over a wide layer of gopher wire
i transplanted from my old plots into these grow bags lettuce kale broccoli cabbage swiss chard strawberries
the back grow bag will have my malabar spinach planted in it
a tomato wire cage is added for it to grow up on
each pot has its own dripper to keep them watered

compare it to the picture below from my blog linked here from 2-9-23
this blog has a good description of my new plot and what i did to it up to that date




in the first bed on the left i transplanted my 60 leeks from my old garden plot
i will later plant egg plant and okra in this bed

in the second is celery and cilantro
later i will plant 2 peppers in that bed probably bell and jalapeno

in the third bed is several red and green cabbages
later i will plant two peppers there probably banana pepper and shishito pepper

in the fourth bed is my two curly leaf kales 
these will grow until next fall or winter when i plant new kale



this is my right side plot 
i added my garden top soil from my old plot since i had just added it to that old plot a month or so ago
these 3x7 ft frames sit on a plastic covering the soil to keep the bermuda and mint from growing
for this season i will grow my veggies above ground in these raised beds
the bed is made of mulch plus dirt plus unfinished compost plus raised bed soil plus my old garden top soil
the soil depth will be about 1 foot deep

i transferred my onions from my old garden plots to this first bed this week
i will plant two tomatoes in this bed in early spring
since there are no gopher wire under these 3x7 framed beds i will use gopher cages for each tomato

the other 3 3x7 framed beds above this one will also have two tomatoes planted in them

my tomatoes will be celebrity early girl sungold cherokee purple black krim and if i can get them to grow a grafted sungold early girl and cherokee purple
the root stock for the graft provides disease résistance to viruses and fungi

to the right along the wooden fence are 3 new beds

a 3x3 ft bed with gopher wire on the bottom
banana trunks are used as the border
mulch plus dirt plus unfinished compost plus raised bed soil is used 
in this bed asparagus will be planted

the next bed is a 3x7 foot bed using the banana trucks as a border and gopher wire underneath
the soil is made the same as the other beds
in this bed i will plant zucchini squash and tatume squash
the tatume squash will run up a large tomato cage

the last bed closer to the bottom of the picture is a 2x2 ft bed using gopher wire and banana trunks
the soil prep is the same
in this bed i will plant a collard tree or walking stick kale or walking stick collard 
it produces a large collard leaf and that grows all year round

i also am in the process of setting up my drip system to all the beds
i also need to add more mulch now that i have finished all my beds

later i will add my 7 worm composter 5 gallon buckets to my walkways so i can make my worm compost

next year i will probably remove the plastic from my walkways and dig a trench and fill it up with mulch 
this trench also acts to hold water when it rains
this mulch eventually turns into to compost and i add it to my beds
every plant has to be protected from gophers either with gopher wire under the beds or each veggie has to have its own gopher basket

i also will be add to two of my beds my 3 in pvc with holes drilled on one side and a sleeve over it to water that bed underground

these two pvc pipes will be added to my two bean beds

each young plant also has to be protected with a wire cage until it gets bigger
voles gophers rats birds like the tender growth of the new veggies

the biggest insect pest i have is aphids
i treat them first with a strong spray of water 
if that doesnt work i use insecticidal soap
then if that doesnt work i use neem oil

this garden will produce a lot more veggies than my last plot did
it will be more than my wife she can consume ourselves
so we will
freeze a lot
give some away 
donate the veggies to those groups our community garden donates to

a lot of work goes into all of this
but
its all worth it

my reward is a hand size juicy ripe tomato this summer

it also provides aerobic and a gym like work out
it provides me with meditation as i work in the garden
it provides us with good organic veggies
it provides me with one on one with nature

yep
its all worth it for sure

the organicgreen doctor