Where the gardens are today(Part1)

I have been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to assist two other gardeners in my area with setting up new garden areas for them.  I say fortunate because it is a compliment of sorts to have people ask you for advice let alone trust you to plan and implement their gardens.  It has been quite busy time maintaining my garden while working with these folks on their gardens all the while holding down a job too.  But it is very rewarding too.
My gardens' activity has been pretty hectic to date.  I expanded the garden area and made several decisions to make the garden more productive with food we enjoy eating and also to allow for foods that can be put up in the fall.
Last year I planted 4 paste tomatoes thinking I'd get enough from them to put up a few jars worth in the fall.  Just to try it out.  It was, to say the least, a huge disappointment.  I have spoken to several gardeners who all related that their tomatoes were off last year.  So this year, I bought 20 paste plants thinking an area of 81 sq. ft would be enough.  Not quite as it turned out.  Given last years crop issues, I did some research and found out that I have actually been crowding my tomatoes.  Seems the ideal spacing is 2 ft. between plants in a row and 3ft. between each row of caged plants.  So, I spaced mine so that I could get 15 plants in the isolated area where they wouldn't be impacted by any other plants issues.  Here's a picture of the plot so far.

The large boards on either end of the rows are set up so that I can tie them up in what is called the Florida weave method.  I have never used it before but decided it lookd easier (in the long run that is) than staking and/or caging the plants.  I do not like the cages that are sold everywhere as they are much too low height wise to handle plants that can grow to 6-8 ft. tall.  I never really understood why they were always manufactured to such small heights.  May have to do with the thin wire they use to construct them.  

The Florida weave method entails running a string alternately around the plants at 10 - 12 inches from the soil line and then every 10-12 inches upwards to give them the support they need.  Here is a picture of my first attempt at it.

You start at one end and weave the string on opposite sides of the plants as you go down the row and then loop back and weave the string to the other side of each plant.  This kind of cradles the plant as can be seen in the picture. When they get to 2 ft height, I will then do the weave at that height.  This will continue until they reach full height.  I am by no means an expert so this will be an experiment. We have had some windy weather and the plants seem to have had no issues yet.  

On another tomato note, I have 10 plants of various hybrid and heirloom plants in the ground that all seem to be doing very well too.  After researching why I had so few tomatoes last year, I learned thateither the hybrid tomatoes or heirlooms seem to do well each year but one always outperforms the other type.  As I had predominately heirlooms last year, that may have been the source of my issue. So, this year, I have it almost split down the middle.        

The two plants in the bowls are for my father in law for Father's day.  He used to have a garden but has given it up for various reasons.  I will put a cage around them for additional support.  I will use a mix of the cages I have and poles for support once they overgrow the cages.   All he has to do is water them at this point.

Speaking of experiments.  Last fall I grew out lettuce and carrots in a covered mini greenhouse.  The carrots are still growing and I have replanted the lettuce to see if I could continue to grow using the structure.  Here is where it is at as of now. 

I have two rows of leaf lettuce that are growing quite well.  I continue to water the plants and need to pull some of the carrots to see if progress is being made or we are at a standstill.  But, to have leaf lettuce this far into the season is a bonus.  

I planted a row of Buttercrunch lettuce about a month ago and covered it under woven vegetable fabric.  As can be seen below, it also is doing very well given the lateness of the season.

There are 7 heads of the lettuce in the row and they seem to all be growing very strong.  We're going to be having some nice salads soon enough.  

I also have a bed of 16 Bell Pepper plants that are doing ok given our decidely cooler weather we have been experiencing.  They are all healthy as can be seen in the picture below.  I love peppers but I really do think I over grew yet again this year.  I will probably end up giving some (alot actually) if they come in like last year.  We shall see how that turns out.  

I've also planted 6 cucumber plants.  I have them trellised on my DIY structures.  A local garden center closed about 2 years ago and I bought their onion set displays.  Here is how they ended up looking in place after I painted them and added screening.

They are really sturdy, wind resistant and somewhat compact.  When I bought them, my wife was skeptical as was I.  But, the cucumbers are starting to grow to a point where they are climbiming unto the screening.  I will see how they fare as they climb.
In the backround of the same picture are three interconnected wire "ladders" that I have converted to yet more cucumber trellises.  These were repurposed from being protective coverings for plate glass windows that were being delivered to the company where I work.  I wired them together and then attached them to rebar I pounded into the ground. they held up 5 cucumber plants - cucumbers and all through some windy storms.  These were being thrown out so I asked for them and was told if I can get them in my car - they were mine.  And they were.
With the weather turning much warmer in the next week, the various plants should begin to become more robust.  I will have to naturally watch them as the higher temps can cause issues.  You may leave in the morning and come home to plants wilting right before your eyes.  Don't stress!  This is natural as the plants wilt to preserve moisture to survive.  Just give them a good drink of water and watch them rebound.  It doesn't appear to cause any long term damage.  But if this happens repeatedly, that's mother nature telling you that you need to step up your watering game.
So, there you have the latest, greatest from my backyard.  In part 2, I will recap what has been happening in one of the gardens that I am assisting the people into becoming full on gardeners.  I will give all the details in the next week or earlier.  Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!!!!   

2016

Simple enough of a heading, eh?  2016 - a new year and a new garden.  I usually make this long list of plants I want to grow and come up with plans on how I want to grow them and where I will place them in my three beds.  This year - not so much.  Veggie gardening is actually quite simple so I have no idea why I have complicated it so much.
See, you as the gardener have to master the basics.  The vegetables have to do all the hard work. After all, they are the ones out in the elements that must endure pests, fungus's and good old mother nature and all she brings to bear.  So. you have to really be great at the basics.  And the most basic of all items is your soil.  A good soil will bear good plants and a great soil will bear great plants.  I believe a plant derives much of it's strength and resiliency from the soil it resides in.  That's why two neighbors can and often do, get widely different results.
Soil can be tricky for sure.  I'm not sure I have the best soil I can get but I do believe I am moving in the right direction.  Last year was the third year I planted a cover crop.  I can't say enough about cover crops.  My plants last year were much more vibrant and certainly more productive.  I never gave away so many tomatoes as I did last year.  I am going to have to rethink how many of them I am going to grow this year.
My soil is the result of several organic practices that I have adhered to over the last 5 years.  It takes time to develop an organic based soil.  It's been a long time since I used any types of chemicals on my plants.  That was my first step and it had pain associated with it.  When I first started, I lost some plants to wilt and other diseases.  Painful as that was, I can now say that I haven't seen that type of loss in my gardens for the last 3 or so years.
Having gone through that, the goal now is to enrich the soil with the nutrients and structure that will support the plants through almost anything that can be thrown at it.  It sounds like a scary proposition but, in reality, it isn't.  One of the many gifts of doing a cover crop is that when you cut the plants down, you are leaving the root structure of the Rye in place in the soil.  Those roots add a certain framework for the plants to burrow around and establish deep and firm roots themselves.  They also retain existing Nitrogen that is in the soil, meaning that the nitrogen will be available in the spring to your crops.  Without the rye, nitrogen will leach to varying degrees from the soil over winter.  As the roots of the cover crop roots decay over the summer, they slowly release nutrients to the soil and thereby the roots of the new plants resulting in more vibrant and productive plants.  It has been very noticeable over the last two years to both me and my neighbors.
It's mid January now and the cold of winter has taken hold in the mid-Atlantic region.  I have done my seed inventory and determined what seeds I definitely don't need to buy to augment my gardening this year.  There are some I need but I can wait for the time being.  One thing I will do in the next week is seek a source of organic manure.  While I don't use a significant amount of it, I feel that it is a good augmentation of my compost and peat moss that I use throughout the summer season.
There really isn't a abundance of things you can do in the garden if you aren't growing winter vegetables now.  I need to prepare my tools and I also need to clear the area where I start and grow my seeds. My wife and I went to a well known garden supply store here in Baltimore yesterday that is curtailing their garden operations.  I was able to get some structures from them that I intend to use in my garden  although I haven't quite worked out how yet.  We shall see.
Well, that's all for now.  Until next time, happy gardening everyone!