What's in your Garden?

[Sombeech]

I'm trying out the Topsy Turvy, got some Bonnie Grape tomatoes in there. I love the small sweet tomatoes, but they're such a pain to pick off of the vine down low, so I'm hoping this will turn out pretty good.

[Ih8grvty]

I had that topsy crap 2 years ago. I hated it.
Let me tell you a few things about it.
First and most important, its as ugly as my ex wife in the morning, and only slightly better looking than she fares these days at any given time.
That bag takes in tons of heat, grows the roots, does a good job, but it does it so much so that you can not keep them wet enough. Tomatoes like sun, if you put that in the sun and soak it 3 hours later is dry.
The plants were always wilted and looked like hell and the fruit, less than desirable.

Just what I think of it, maybe you can do well with it but I suggest you figure out a timer based water system to water it several times a day and atleast once over night after it cools down and several hours before the sun comes up to bake the bag again.
I do have some plans to build 'earth boxes' for about 20 bucks each. You can buy the original for about 100. The original work fantastic! had them for about 4 years now and everything I ever put in it has been fantastic. Always been flowers, but this year I am building a couple of home made ones to try out some veggies in.
instead of twine or cages I am working on a PVC pipe frame stuck over some re-bar pounded in the ground to hold it.
So long as its not glued and just fitted together its easy to take apart and takes up little room to store.
Once I get that far, Ill take some pics to give you a better idea.
The raised beds? ONLY way to go!
Since we moved I have NOTHING, but have been working on it all, beds first then the lawn replacement. At the old house Id fill the beds in spring whit compost, peralite and some vermiculite and mix in some 0-0-1 fertilizer. plant in that and stand back. The next year Id empty half the bed out, and spread it on the lawn or in the flower beds and replace it in the raised beds with new for the veggies.
On the lawn Id mix it half and half with some sand and use that to fill in low spots to get it nice and level.

BTW, with lawns you find alot of problems with dead grass if you have a female dog.
mix 2 cups sugar with 4 cups water and pour it over those areas in the morning and water it in that night after the sun is down when you shoudl be watering your lawn anyways.
Add a teaspoon of brewers yeast to your dogs diet daily and new dead spots from dog pee with stop cropping up.

BTW, if you use compost every year and replace it in the garden, you end up with NO WEEDS in the garden.
In teh fall if your preparing flower beds for the next spring put in 1 inch of compost then a layer of cardboard, then an inch of compost and a layer of newspaper, and a couple more inches of compost.
next spring rake it smooth, and start planting.
The paper breaks down fast in the first 6 inches of tops soil and compost and adds alot to the plants nutrients the next year and encourages worms that provide natural aeration. I sprinkle coffee grounds around the roses and hydrangea and water it in. THe more acid in the soil the better roses do and it changes the hydrangea flowers from pink to blue. If you have blue ones already, you have enough acid in the soil naturally. if you want pink, lower the soil PH.
For all flowers, but not veggies, add about half a cup of epsom salt per Sq yard, and work it in with a spading fork or if its an empty area with a rototiller.
Watch your blooms and see how much they improve.
Utah soil is poor in Iron, you want your lawn green? use fertilizer with iron.
Some companies screw with info on the labels so if you do not see iron listed look for ferrous or FE, it all means the same thing when it comes to this.
I shall tell you one more secret as well.
cal-Ranch sells it, no idea where else you can find it.
LD-400.
its like 30 bucks for a bottle (biggest they sell in Tooele atleast)
Mix it one way and it kills brush, and has even done a number on the nasty Chinese elms I have to fight here.
Mix it another and it wreaks havoc (spring or fall, not so much mid summer) on that bindweed (Morning glory) and lawn weeds. Applied it once 2 years ago in spring, and again in fall, I had very little bind weed in my yard the summer and nearly none the following spring and summer.
Incase anyone doubts this, I once did this for a living and was at that time, licensed through the agricultural department of utah and worked for Lawn Life as ornamental and pest control tech.
The pay sucked, but was better than unemployment, and the stuff I learned I use all the time. I liked the work, but the pay sucketh big time!
Consider this free knowledge I am passing out.
I may not know everything about it, but I do know alot.

[Scott Card]

I was at Thanksgiving Point several years ago and met a guy named Paul Farber. He did vertical gardening in tires where the side walls were cut out and then the tire flipped inside out. I have several of these in my garden for my tomatoes, peppers and other similar plants purchased from the green house. It really works unless you are in a windy area. Check it out.

http://www.tirecrafting.com/

Some of the stuff is super ugly but I love the tires in the garden for planting. Makes weeding easy and I can control the water in little areas rather than sprinkling the whole garden. It saves me a lot of water and time. Also, I put all my lawn clippings between the tires as weed control and to till into the soil in the fall. I will finally be planting my stuff this weekend. I don't think (knock on wood) that there will be any more snow and the temps are finally going to 70 on a fairly regular basis.

Oh, I got all my tires for free from local tire shops. Most were glad to give me what ever they had since my hunch was they had collected a disposal fee and would not have to pay it for that tire when they themselves had to dispose of the tire.

[accadacca]

My wife planted so I forget everything. Here is what I can remember and pictures.

Onions
Tomatos (roma & beefsteak)
Tomatillo
Jalape

[jfeiro]

Well, it's not my garden, that'll be next year. This year we're raising these. I've got 2 more Rhode Island Reds that aren't quite ready for the coop. Still need to make the nesting boxes and insulate.

[Sombeech]

I almost forgot about the radishes.

[accadacca]

The garden is crankin' along here at the acca crib. :cool: