Raised Gardens

[CLTPanther]

Anyone on here have raised gardens? I got a kit from the link below, very nice actually, so I can start one this year. I've read on a few pages about vertically stacking them. If you do that, what are the veggies you are doing it for? The only things I can really think of that would require verticle stacking is deep rooted plants, perhaps such as zuchinni and such.

http://greenlandgardener.com/

[PanthaSan]

Interesting.

This spring, MamaSan wanted me to make her some garden boxes and put them on casters so she can move them around the patio area...

[CharlotteBeer.com]

I build three 4'x8' boxes last year, and in them I planted cayenne peppers, jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, zucchini, squash, tomatoes and magnolias.

To be honest, ours didn't turn out that well, but it was a very hot summer and maybe I could have watered them more. We also had problems with hornworms getting our tomatoes. We did still get some out of the garden, though.

I'm going to get the garden ready to do it all again soon, and I hope to have better results this year. I also want to grow some hops and grapes to make beer and wine.

[CLTPanther]

I just saw grape vines ready to grow inside Lowes for 7.99 each. I considered getting one, but I need to do some research on how much they sprawl, don't want one taking over my whole back yard. Pantha, you should check out that website, don't buy on there though, you can get the double sized one, 42x84x8 from samsclubonline for 49.99.

[Darth Urious]

I'll be building my own raised garden at some point in the next couple weeks... I plan on having tomatoes, various beans, peppers, leafy greens, onions, turnips, radishes, cucumbers, and maybe some watermelons... I also plan on starting a small fruit orchard this year with a couple apple trees, a pear tree, a peach tree, some cherry trees, some blueberry bushes, some blackberry bushes, and some bullace vines... I'll also by trying my hand at growing some strawberries indoors...

[charlotte49er]

I just saw grape vines ready to grow inside Lowes for 7.99 each. I considered getting one, but I need to do some research on how much they sprawl, don't want one taking over my whole back yard. Pantha, you should check out that website, don't buy on there though, you can get the double sized one, 42x84x8 from samsclubonline for 49.99.

I thought that grape vines took several/many years to actually produce grapes. I'm not sure, but I thought I read that somewhere.

[Johnny Rockets]

I'll be building my own raised garden at some point in the next couple weeks... I plan on having tomatoes, various beans, peppers, leafy greens, onions, turnips, radishes, cucumbers, and maybe some watermelons... I also plan on starting a small fruit orchard this year with a couple apple trees, a pear tree, a peach tree, some cherry trees, some blueberry bushes, some blackberry bushes, and some bullace vines... I'll also by trying my hand at growing some strawberries indoors...

If you live in the NC area shouldn't onions, radishes, lettuce, etc. ideally be in the ground already? I know they don't like the heat and I always try to put mine in around V-Day each year. I was a bit late this year and didn't get the sugar snap peas and radishes in the ground until last weekend.

[CLTPanther]

Lettuce will grow year round here I believe. I know you can replant certain types of lettuce in sept/oct and harvest in dec. I'm thinking of putting some trees between my house and my neighbor who I wish would die. Maybe some apple trees

[Johnny Rockets]

Lettuce will grow year round here I believe. I know you can replant certain types of lettuce in sept/oct and harvest in dec. I'm thinking of putting some trees between my house and my neighbor who I wish would die. Maybe some apple trees

I planted lettuce last year with the normal cucs, tomatoes, peppers, etc and they turned out ok but the problem I had were slugs. Apparently they love sliding around on lettuce leaves. Tried all the tricks to get rid of them but nothing worked 100%. Slugs on the lettuce is not a visual I can overcome so that ended my lettuce experiment.

[CLTPanther]

I haven't grown lettuce before, but I am planning on planting roughly 8-10 plants this year. Guess I need to see how to keep slugs off.

[Johnny Rockets]

I haven't grown lettuce before, but I am planning on planting roughly 8-10 plants this year. Guess I need to see how to keep slugs off.

The thing that worked the best for me is to bury a couple of plastic cups or something similar near the garden and pour some beer in them. Slugs love beer and will slide and die.

Problem is that you have to maintain it and constantly pour in more beer (because it will evaporate) and something about pouring beer into anything but my mouth seemed inapproriate and wasteful. So I decided to let the slugs have the lettuce, and I kept my beer. It was a win/win if you ask me. beer > lettuce.

[Darth Urious]

I should have been more specific... Most of my stuff in my garden will be in shade slightly more than it is in the sun... The way my back yard is, the ground stays moist even in dry spells, and the trees/shade keep it cool enough that I could wait until as late as mid April to get a lot of things going...

[ThPantherFan]

Raised gardens look pretty, but are a waste of time and money unless you live on, or want to plant on a steep slope. The money you spend in making a box big enough to plant and raise anything, and the money spent on bags of topsoil, mulch, manure, rocks for drainage, etc. can be spent on a small tiller (maybe even rent one). Find an area in your yard that is relatively flat and spade and till it. You can mix amendments (mulch, manure, etc.) into the ground as you till. You will have a nice area to work with and you don't have to trip over boxes and spend a fortune trying to put soil on top of soil to grow something.

Now, what do you want to grow? Carrots, garlic, onion, potatoes, radishes, beets and other under the ground plants (root vegetables) need at least 12 inches of loose soil. If you have a 10 foot by 10 foot box you will need several bags of expensive store bought soil to put that much on the ground to grow common root vegetables. If you want lettuce or salad greens you can get by with 6 inches. If you want corn, beans or other heavy crops you will need at least 10 inches. For squash (all kinds including pumpkins) you will need 8 to 10 inches of loose soil. Remember, when you buy a bag of soil and spread it out, it will reduce in depth from settling. A 10X10 box will not grow a lot of produce. You will also need to keep a close check on water as the box will cause evaporation more than if you till down in the yard. Make sure you pick a spot that gets plenty of sun. No less than 6 hours, but 8 to 10 is better.

Gardening is a great hobby, stress reliever number one in my book. A family of two or three can enjoy some good eating and maybe even freeze some vegetables out of a 1000 square foot space. Take a shovel and spade the ground up about 12 inches (shovel head) deep. Rent or buy a tiller and till the ground up to a fine loam. Add organic matter such as leaves, torn up newspaper, paper bags, shredded papers, mulch, manure or what else you may find as you till. Till it in good. The extra time now will save time later. You probably have a place in town where leaves or chips are dropped off by waste management that you can get for free.

Check the soil PH and make sure you add lime, bone meal, or what ever is needed for the proper ph of what you are growing. Most vegetables like an acid soil and NC virgin soil usually has the right ph. Your ph problem will likely be caused by too much lime on the yard. Everyone thinks they need to put lime on the yard every year. That is another discussion. You can buy a ph meter for cheap or get the chemicals as I do to make an overall soil analysis.

Plan it out where and what you plant. Rotate the vegetables through the season. Right now you can be putting in spinach, Chinese cabbages (bok choy) kale, lettuce and other salad greens in a quarter of the space. Get another quarter ready for root vegetables and cauliflower/broccoli when the ground stabilizes at about 50 degrees. Get the remaining half ready for beans and corn. When the lettuce and greens start to bolt, pull them up and plant squash (all kinds including pumpkin). When the cauliflower/broccoli or other vegetables have been picked put in something else such as okra, etc. Beans and corn take a lot of time. Plant some bush beans that mature in about 50 days. You can start eating them before pole beans (more prolific) start maturing. Plant your corn so it will mature about 2 weeks apart. In other words put 2 half rows (side by side for cross pollination) and then 2 weeks later plant the rest of the row. This will keep you in corn longer. Now about those pole beans; after the corn gets up a few inches plant 2 pole bean seeds (state or white half runner) (one on each side) of the corn. Your corn will make a place for the beans to run and you will not have to add poles. Of course you can if you desire, but why take up the space. Notice I haven't mentioned peoples most favorite thing to grown, tomatoes. Don't waste your 1000 foot garden space on tomatoes. Get 5 gallon buckets, put some drain holes in the bottom, put about an inch of gravel in the bottom for drainage and fill it up with some of the garden soil, or you can go buy a bag or two per bucket of top soil (yes it will probably take 2 bags per 5 gallon bucket. I told you it settled.). Put the buckets on the deck or elsewhere you have a lot of sun and enjoy their growing and maturing. Get what you like in the line of tomatoes. Heirlooms are the best tasting, but most people want a perfectly shaped tomato. Those people have never tasted a good heirloom tomato or they could care less about the shape.

Don't forget to mulch around your plants when growing in a small space. You need to utilize every inch you can. If you till the soil as I mentioned, you do not need to work the soil except to pluck a weed or two. I put down landscape cloth in my field (yes it is expensive but it cuts my work down tremendously). If you put a drip irrigation under the cloth you can put the cloth up to the plant. If you water by hose or sprinkler or mother nature, you need to leave a space about 6 inches around the plant so it will get the proper amount of water. You will need to keep the weeds away from the plant. You can also use straw, newspapers (cheap and don't look bad) or mulch with leaves or chips.

I hope this helps. Anyone care to PM me on gardening tips, please feel free. Of course anyone that would like to work in the field at my place and get your feet and hands dirty, sweat like a pig and cuss the dry or wet weather and bugs, let me know. I don't pay anyone for teaching them how to farm. Ha! You have to love it to do it.

[Carolina Husker]

If I want to grow tomatoes, cucumbers and jalapenos, when is the best time to plant?