Home Vegetable Gardens

[Boone]

If you're going gravel for between look for crusher run, pour it 4 inches deep , and hit it with a compactor. It'll resist plant growth pretty well.

I’m going to go natural - no weed block, gravel, or mulch between beds - just grass

 

[pwyl]

I like that approach too, only downside in my beds is having to edge them.

 

[Mickalino]

I live in the Piedmont Triad area of NC. I live in a small neighborhood tucked into a lot of woods.

My gut tells me that if there was a trail cam set up in your backyard at night, there would be some wild shots of some wild wildlife.
And there would be audio sounds that would be difficult for the average person to explain

 

[Boone]

Definitely Mickalino.

Progress report. I have 7 of my 10 raised beds built (6 installed). I have two rows of grow bags currently with vegetable plants sitting where my final two rows of beds will be installed. One is cucumbers growing on a trellis. As I have already harvested a ton of cucumbers and am not going to be doing any canning/pickling beyond refrigerator pickles this summer, I will probably pull those up and install. The other row are squash and tomatoes in grow bags that are staked. I will probably carefully move those as well if I can do it without doing too much damage. I expect to have all the raised beds in place by the end of the week.

The next project will be installing arches in each of the five rows. I don't think this will be too labor intensive but I have never tried to create arches with cattle panels before, so we will see. I am going to place each end of the arch about a foot deep inside the two beds I am connecting so I can plant on both sides of the arch. My wife will be my 'helper' as I try to bend these so that should be an interesting dynamic, lol...

Once I have the beds in place, and the arches built, I will fill my beds. I had planned on doing the Hugelkultur methode of filling them about halfway with logs, branches, leaves, etc... but the more I have read about that, I think the benefits are not worth the amount of work it would take.

After filling all my raised beds, I will put together another long raised bed along a 40' section of chain link fence where I will grow pole beans. That will be the last project of this summer.

I am making progress but I have a long way to go. Moving all of the dirt is going to be an ass-kicker. I'm going to pay my neighbors teenager to help me.

 

[RedWolf]

Boone

There are certain plants that work very well together and assist with insects etc. Something for you to consider when planting. Also don't forget about rabbits moles and whatever else that can get into your beds and really cause havoc

 

[Boone]

Boone

There are certain plants that work very well together and assist with insects etc. Something for you to consider when planting. Also don't forget about rabbits moles and whatever else that can get into your beds and really cause havoc

I have wire mesh installed under them so good on that front

 

[Izzy]

Many years ago someone who was very knowledgeable in vegetable gardening convinced me to try fish fertilizer. Two days later my one garden bed was completely dug up plants torn out tossed everywhere. First I thought raccoons, but I caught the culprit his name was Blaze, my boxer mix at the time.

 

[Boone]

Here is my progress over the past month.

New Rabbiteye blueberry patch

Built and installed ten 4' x 8' raised beds with weed barrier and rodent screens underneath.
Added 5 arches between each row of beds. Massive amounts of dirt still need to be moved.

Installed 3 cedar strawberry beds, will plant in the Fall.

Added a little flower/clematis/butterfly bush garden to corner of house.

Enjoying a cold one after a hard day's work.

 

[pwyl]

That's all great work!

 

[Izzy]

Jealous of all that space, but not all that work, you might need to plan for your own farmers market next year. Great job.

 

[Miles Monroe]

Man, the amount of labor you're putting in makes me want to build you a vintage garden tractor with attachments and a trailer.

 

[Mickalino]

Enjoying a cold one after a hard day's work.

View attachment 15174

When you deserve and earned a nice cold one so much, that you grab it before washing off the garden soil
Reminds me of a beer commercial when we were young. I wonder if anyone else remembers :

A guy is workin on his greasy car all day, and it's time to grab a cold one. But no time to wash his hands.
Grabs the beer. And a donut. You see specks and streaks of grease that got all over the donut.
And the narrator says at the end "And all that motor grease on the donut ? It just adds extra flavoring. "

 

[Mickalino]

Four different greens from my garden then straight into my dinner.
Kale sprouts, Shiso, Basil, & Radish leaves.
Looks like a salad but it's the perfect topping mix for a Wrap

 

[Mickalino]

We'll see how the pumpkins go this year. I got two good ones last year, and this year I have a volunteer in addition to the ones I planted.

I tried to grow pumpkins. This year I had about 10 of them looking great at the start

Beforehand, I read there's a pest that will eat through the base of the stem til they chop it down,
and the way to prevent that is to wrap the base with tin foil. And I did that on about half of them, from the start.

But every single pumpkin plant fell victim to that "pest", whether it had the tin foil or not.
You ever battle those critters ?

 

[Boone]

Squash vine borers… there are biological controls you can spray the soils with (I would have to look up the name)

 

[Ashburn Dave]

I had to look that one up but Boone nailed it.

"The primary pest that eats through and bores inside the base of pumpkin stems is the Squash Vine Borer (Melittia cucurbitae). The adult wasp-like moth lays eggs at the base of stems, and the hatching larvae bore inside to feed, causing the vine to suddenly wilt. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Key Identification & Management

• • Signs to Look For: Small, pin-head-sized reddish eggs near the soil line, wilting leaves, and a pulpy, sawdust-like debris called "frass" (often accompanied by an orange/frothy goo) pushing out of holes at the stem base. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  • Physical Removal: Inspect the base of the stems daily during early summer. Use a sharp, sterilized knife to make a vertical slit where frass is visible, pull out the white caterpillar, and bury the slit section in moist soil so the plant can re-root. [1]
  • Organic Treatment: Inject 1 ml of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis)—a safe, organic caterpillar insecticide—directly into the stem to kill the larvae inside. [1]
  • Prevention: Wrap the bottom 2-3 inches of the stem with aluminum foil to block egg-laying, or cover the young patch with floating row covers (remove when plants start to flower so bees can pollinate). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

 

[Mickalino]

Thanks a lot, you all.
The name "Squash Borer" really makes sense, because I've seen them bore through this entire veggie "family" of Squash, Zucchini, and Pumpkin

 

[Boone]

I used to buy BT powder from Gardens Alive online but some garden outlets may carry it

 

[Boone]

Mickalino Here are a couple of brands available in garden centers: You can buy Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)—specifically the kurstaki strain (Btk)—at most local garden centers and major home improvement stores across North Carolina. Look for popular organic brands like Bonide (Thuricide / Captain Jack’s) or Monterey B.t.. [1, 2, 3].

You can get the first brand on Amazon.

 

[Mickalino]

I think I found it at Lowe's. Looks like the same thing.
It says...

• contains Spinosad, a product first isolated from a naturally occurring soil dwelling bacterium
• Kills bag worms, borers,

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www.lowes.com

Thanks again !