A Beginner's Garden

messn'n'gommin' · Apr 8, 2009

This will be my first garden and I thought I would document it to help keep me motivated. Also, I have a brother-in-law who has had a garden for about the last 50 years and he has agreed to mentor me, so I am in good hands.

My garden is about 12'x25' and I turned it by hand in about six hours time (lol...I think gardening will suit me as I am not a hurry up and wait kind of guy!). I'm getting a bit of a late start, as I live in sort of a transitional area between zones 6 and 7, but I don't think it will matter all that much in the long run and I hope it will be a long run! A soil sample has been sent off to the county extension office and I am waiting for the results to determine what amendments I will need to apply. It has the potential for being a good loamy soil as it is mostly a mix of clay and sand as of right now. I know it is better to make any amendments in the fall, but I didn't really get bit by the gardening bug until I started growing an "illegal" garden.

My neighbor has dogs, so I put up a few "posts" to mark my territory with raw urine in a spray bottle to keep them from dumping in the garden. I don't know if it will really work to that effect, but I don't have anything to lose. You can see one of the posts in the second pic though.

I can't wait!

Comments and/or advice is most welcome!

Namaste, mess

messn'n'gommin' · Apr 14, 2009

I have been reading until my eyes are crossed. But, lol...I quickly found out what the word "loam" means. Still, it will be another week or so before I get the soil analysis back from the extension office and I will make any amendments then.

I wanted to go as organic as possible, but the reality is that it may have to be something of a compromise between that and the use of some chemical fertilizers. I will be adding some peat and I am guesstimating I'll need about 15-16 cf (2" for 300sqft?), so I am thinking that means even more dolomitic lime than what the soil analysis calls for.

Bought some corn (Silver Queen), green bean (Kentucky Wonder), pepper (California Wonder), tomato (Beefmaster), and jalapeno seeds today, as well as some cilantro/coriander and sweet basil seeds. So, I will have to find a spot for a small herb garden. I know it would have been easier to buy some of them as plants ready for transplant, but I wanted to start them from seed (lol...yeah, I know...I'm a hard head!). I have a spot already picked out that I will need to setup with a 4' shop light for germination. Other than that, it is something to do until the soil test results get here.

Namaste, mess

TroubleGuy · Apr 15, 2009

Looks good man, my buddy's just getting his garden started too. Be nice to see what you do with it.

messn'n'gommin' · Apr 15, 2009

Thanks! But, to be honest, I'm interested in what I'm going to do with it, too! Don't know if it his first garden or not, but I wish your buddy good luck! lol...I am finding that the more I learn, the more I am scratching my head wondering just what to do!

The neighbor's dogs seem to be respecting my territory, because I haven't seen any new droppings yet. Time will tell.

Been pricing bulk peat because it is almost bare of any thing to keep the soil loose. But, I don't know if I want to apply it, till it, then turn it, apply again and till again (for about a total of 12" depth of organic matter) or just one application and tilling.

Beginners just have too many questions!

Namaste, mess

TroubleGuy · Apr 15, 2009

It's his first too, I think he tilled up his plot for it on Sunday. Pretty sure he's doing it so he can reuse his grow soil and also grow his own fruits veggies and peppers :joint:

messn'n'gommin' · Apr 17, 2009

Sounds like a plan! I have about 8 or 10 gallons of used soil to make a leaf lettuce and green onion bed with, but the ground isn't dried out enough to work yet. Maybe Sunday, since I need to get the onion sets out soon, even though it's supposed to start raining here Sunday evening, Monday, and into Tuesday. We'll see.

Namaste, mess

messn'n'gommin' · Apr 22, 2009

Got my lettuce and onion bed started Saturday evening, which was a good thing because it started raining early Sunday morning and didn't quit until yesterday afternoon.

Ya, I know, it's pitiful looking and isn't layed out very well, but, I am as proud of it as most anything I've ever done!

Oh, yeah! Got my soil test report back the other day, too. Low P and K, high Mg, and a pH of 6.0 and a buffer of 6.8. They recommended 2-3 lb of N, 3-5 lb P, 3-5 lb of K, (or 42 lbs of 6-12-12) and 30 lb of lime per 1000 sq ft. Taking a third of that (for 300 sq ft of garden) and doubling it, I put down about 20 lb of triple 12 and about 10 lb of dolomitic lime (I will be adding about 16 cf of peat by the time I till the soil) and I don't think the additional N will hurt anything by the time it is all said and done.

Not a very organic way of growing, but I am one of those who needs to do it before they can learn it. I'll get there!

Namaste, mess

TroubleGuy · Apr 23, 2009

Nice dude, I'll still be watching, cause I plan on doing the same thing on my next move. What a great way to reuse soil and keep yourself busy

messn'n'gommin' · Apr 29, 2009

Thanks TroubleGuy, I appreciate the kind words!

My brother-in-law came by Monday morning and tilled my garden and he suggested that I might want to plant the rest of the strip with the leaf lettuce and onions with a few green bean seeds and take the chance that the frost won't get them. I had exchanged the Silver Queen corn for some Peaches and Cream (SE) seed. So, over-doing it, I planted two rows of corn and two rows of green beans. My reasoning was that the lows weren't expected get below the mid-50's for the next several days and the 15th is the last expected frost date.

The corn is on the left and the green beans are on the right. I left a space to plant a couple more rows of corn, a couple more rows of gr. beans and tomatoes come mid-May.

I also sprouted some basil, jalapeno, and bell pepper seeds in some MG MC soil and peat pots. Like a total beginner, I forgot to label the peppers, so if you can identify them from the pics It would help me a bit. But they are going to get planted anyway about the 15th of May.

The basil. The aluminum foil is just to catch any run-off.

Which pepper is which?

This is coming along better than I expected! Still, I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Namaste, mess

iGro4Me · May 1, 2009

Hey Messn'....growing up, we ALWAYS had a veggie garden......nice to see you getting those seeds in the ground my friend.

Your Bell Peppers are on the right in that top pic

messn'n'gommin' · May 1, 2009

Thanks! They have been marked!

I tried to sprout 6 tomato seeds at the same time I started the others, but they never came up. Such is life!

Namaste, mess

stealthcabber · May 1, 2009

Nice posts man looks like alotta work you have done so far.. ill be watching. I was gonna say dont bother w/ tom and pepper seeds unless you can start them inside but it looks like you have it under control. Nice job..

messn'n'gommin' · May 9, 2009

Thanks for the encouragement, SC and I apologize for taking so long to reply (life and such)! What's the old saying? "Find something you love to do and you will never work a day in your life." So, I hadn't really considered it a lot of work.

Still, you're right, I should have started the seeds a month earlier, but it was mostly to gain the experience of sprouting my own seeds and after I harden them off, they will be planted some time late next week or early the following week, regardless of how small they will be.

I split them up and planted them, one to a peat pot, so I have 16 jalapeno and 16 bell pepper seedlings to transplant and no time too soon either! As they are starting to drop a few leaves.

Also, I have 16 basil plants and I will be sharing half of those with a couple of my sisters. But, I am still scratching my head on just where to plant them.

The leaf lettuce and green onions are coming along well enough, but I learned a lot by being in too big of a hurry to get them out and not using very good planning. What was it that Will Rogers said? "Good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement."
:laughing:

Oh, yeah! The corn has sprouted and is about an inch or two high! We have had a lot of rain the past several days and I must not have planted the green beans deep enough, because I found a few of them that were laying on open ground, so I replanted them. So, we shall see if they take or not. But, I will be planting a couple more rows of each in another week or so anyway.

This is becoming more and more fun!

Namaste, mess

messn'n'gommin' · May 23, 2009

It has been consistently wet the last couple of weeks and for the last few days it's dried out enough so I could get my transplants and tomatoes planted.

I bought the tomato plants at wally world. They had spider mites! I bought a flat with some pots that had two plants in one pot so could divide and make twelve plantings. I was getting Beefmaster and found a double plant of Big Boy. So, that worked out well (if they survive). So, I doused them pretty good with two TBS/gal of Malathion and will keep a watchful eye. Also, I planted the basil amongst the tomatoes.

I didn't see any evidence of them on the pepper plants (bell peppers in the bottom half of the right two rows, and jalapeno on the top half) so, I didn't spray them. I didn't see any reason to use any more chemicals than necessary.

The upper left is three short rows of cilantro.

The corn and second planting of beans are doing well. But, the first two rows of beans are a bit beat up. Some didn't come up and some of the others were pretty well eaten up. The ones still surviving and have some size to them got a dusting of Sevin. A few had the seed pod come up and open, then (from the tips of the pod) started to shrivel and turn black and harden until it got to the stem. Then fell off, leaving a bare stem. A disease, maybe? Or some kind of fungus?

With a new job (and a day off) I splurged and got the wife and me a couple of ribeyes to grill. Picked some of the lettuce and onions, nuked a tater and ate myself stupid!

Namaste, mess

messn'n'gommin' · Jun 8, 2009

The cilantro last weekend and yesterday.

The jalapeno's. (The bell peppers are about the same size.)

The tomatoes and basil plants.

The green beans.

The corn

I wanted to plant something other than beans in the bare sections of the first planting, but didn't really want anything other than peas. But, I quickly found out the they are fairly heat sensitive, so I will plant some this August for a fall crop.

We have had numerous thunderstorms for the last two weeks and and you can tell that the accompanying high winds pushed the corn over a bit, but are otherwise, ok.

I am in serious need of some stakes/cages for the tomatoes and for the beans as well. They are a bush bean, but I want to give them plenty of area to grow. Maybe, in the next day or two.

All praise to Gaia!

Namaste, mess

barnyard · Jun 9, 2009

Amen! All praise to Gaia!

Nice work mess. I also plant my basil and tomatoes and basil together.

You're not stepping on your soil are you? I'm not seeing any paths in your garden. I use small concrete pavers strategically placed about two feet apart so that I can access all parts of the garden. I hand water which causes more weed growth (as compared to a drip irrigation system), but I enjoy the process hand watering.

Between the balancing and stretching trying to stay on the pavers while weeding and harvesting one gets a great workout.

Best of luck with your garden!

Happy Cultivating!

messn'n'gommin' · Jun 10, 2009

barnyard said:
Amen! All praise to Gaia!

Nice work mess. I also plant my basil and tomatoes and basil together.

You're not stepping on your soil are you? I'm not seeing any paths in your garden. I use small concrete pavers strategically placed about two feet apart so that I can access all parts of the garden. I hand water which causes more weed growth (as compared to a drip irrigation system), but I enjoy the process hand watering.

Between the balancing and stretching trying to stay on the pavers while weeding and harvesting one gets a great workout.

Best of luck with your garden!

Happy Cultivating!

Thank you, Barnyard! I appreciate the kind words! No, no path. I stay between the rows and in the lower right hand of the pic of the whole garden, is a sidewalk that leads to the carport. Coming back to the viewer are steps that lead up a short bank and to the backporch. So, there isn't any place for a path to take hold.

It has rained a lot here the past month and you can tell by the algae between the rows, so no need to water yet. Also, I think the soil is a bit overworked, because it has a slight crust to it. So, there are few weeds I have had to hoe.

I finally got the tomato cages out earlier this evening and while I was getting them at Blowes, I spotted some 32" X 10' decorative fence edging. I think they would serve me well by giving some support for the beans. I also transplanted four of the bean plants from the first row of the first planting to the second row. So, now i have a whole empty row to fill. I want to plant some peas later this summer so I haven't decided on what to do with the empty row just yet. Maybe another stab at the green beans. Maybe something leafy. We shall see.

Would love to plant 3 or 4 females there! But, that's life!

Namaste, mess

messn'n'gommin' · Jun 15, 2009

We have had 1 or 2 thunderstorms at least every other day for the past month, so the corn is a bit beat down, but none the worse for wear. So, I am glad I got the cages in place for the tomatoes.

In an earlier post, I called it "decorative" fencing, but it is really border fencing that I put out for the beans. They are bush beans so, I didn't really have to put them out, but the beans seem to have appreciated getting the lower leaves off the ground and are thriving. There are some flowers and a few little bean pods showing! The following pic shows the fencing/support for the beans, the row devoid of any plants (lol...other than weeds), and some of the seconding planting of corn that has weathered the storms well enough.

The pepper plants are doing well, but I don't expect any harvesting to happen until August or September. I will start seeds earlier next year though!

The tomato plants are doing a lot better than I expected and are starting to flower! Salsa, anyone?

Next year I think I will exchange the placement of the beans and tomatoes. As the tomatoes are a lot bigger than the beans and are blocking some of the morning light. Ya live and ya learn!

Namaste, mess

sero! · Jun 18, 2009

looking great man! tagged it for reading it later, and see how this turns in the future, nice show!

messn'n'gommin' · Jun 19, 2009

Thanks, Sero! I appreciate the encouragement of those who have raised gardens. Still, it is a learning experience for me and I hope I am able to keep it up and grow some "dank" vegetables.

I think the beans like my little border fence trellis. I found three green beans about 4-5 inches long, picked them, rinsed them off, and ate them. I can hardly wait for them to start coming in! I thinned them a bit too much so I expect yield will suffer a bit. Also, the placement of the tomato plants and bean plants will be reversed come next year!

I couldn't decide just what to plant the empty row, so, I went to a local feed store and bought 1/4 lb (enough for next year, too) of some sugar enhanced corn. I had mixed in about 10ish gallons of spent MG MC into the row and fertilized it a bit, so we shall see what happens. I thinned the second planting of corn a bit to much, as well.

The first planting of corn hasn't shown any ears yet, but are doing well and are just shy of 4' tall.

The tomatoes are just starting to flower and I am getting anxious to grab a salt shaker and lay waste to the fruits!

I have learned a valuable lesson with the tomatoes, though. They are planted a bit close together and I probably would have been better off planting just 5 plants to a row instead of 6, as the basil is a bit covered up and stretching to beat the band!

The peppers and cilantro are doing well, but growing slooowly. the peppers are showing some itty-bitty pods though.

All-in-all I am pleased with my efforts (despite my beginner mistakes)and hope the earth mother finds it in her heart to allow me to harvest some of her bounty!

Namaste, mess

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