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Gardening Thread

Update on my garden - the plant that I thought was a watermelon turns out to be a pumpkin. So far it has taken over 1/4 of my garden and part of my driveway but still has only grown one actual pumpkin. Pretty lame, but the kids are excited about growing their own jack o' lantern.

My cukes are going crazy and my tomato plants are all starting to fruit so I'm pretty stoked. Hope this nice, not too hot weather holds out.
 
how many years would you need to have a garden (raised beds, maybe 3 of them) for it to be worth it? deachoopstoy and i are entertaining the idea of a few raised beds, but we'll probably only be in the house for 3-4 years. wondering if it is worth it to go ahead and put in some raised beds, or if it makes more sense to wait for a more permanent house.
 
They're really not that expensive to make it you use lumber. The biggest expense for many people is the soil. Will you recoup your investment in a few years, probably not, but I wouldnt let that stop you its something you really want to do. You cant beat home grown fruits and vegetables.
 
Update on my garden - the plant that I thought was a watermelon turns out to be a pumpkin. So far it has taken over 1/4 of my garden and part of my driveway but still has only grown one actual pumpkin. Pretty lame, but the kids are excited about growing their own jack o' lantern.

My cukes are going crazy and my tomato plants are all starting to fruit so I'm pretty stoked. Hope this nice, not too hot weather holds out.

A pumpkin plant will get huge. Watch closely for worms on the pumpkin.
 
They're really not that expensive to make it you use lumber. The biggest expense for many people is the soil. Will you recoup your investment in a few years, probably not, but I wouldnt let that stop you its something you really want to do. You cant beat home grown fruits and vegetables.

yea, the cost/time you throw into a garden will almost certainly not save you much, short or long term. But I can't overstate how awesome picking your own lunch/dinner/snacks is.
 
i don't necessarily think that we'd ever save any money by doing it ourselves. it's definitely more of a "doing it for the sake of doing it" thing. but i guess i just don't want to spend $500 on building a single bed that we only use for a year. we know it'll be more than a year, and likely 3-4 at least. just not sure if that's long enough to justify all of the initial investment and time.
 
They're really not that expensive to make if you use lumber. The biggest expense for many people is the soil. Will you recoup your investment in a few years, probably not, but I wouldnt let that stop you if its something you really want to do. You cant beat home grown fruits and vegetables.

Wow, I really should have proofread that before submitting.
 
i don't necessarily think that we'd ever save any money by doing it ourselves. it's definitely more of a "doing it for the sake of doing it" thing. but i guess i just don't want to spend $500 on building a single bed that we only use for a year. we know it'll be more than a year, and likely 3-4 at least. just not sure if that's long enough to justify all of the initial investment and time.

$500 for a single bed is way too much. What kind of plans are you using? Our 4 beds didn't cost that much. 4 beds, a ton of seeds, topsoil, trellises, tools, a rain barrel, compost turner, nets to keep the birds off the blueberries, and assorted small items didn't cost that much altogether.
 
$500 for a single bed is way too much. What kind of plans are you using? Our 4 beds didn't cost that much. 4 beds, a ton of seeds, topsoil, trellises, tools, a rain barrel, compost turner, nets to keep the birds off the blueberries, and assorted small items didn't cost that much altogether.

oh, sorry. i was just throwing out random numbers. i have no idea how much stuff costs. my point is just that i wouldn't want to spend a ton of money if we weren't going to have it for several years. that wasn't an actual estimate, just a big number.
 
Depending on how they're made, you could probably take them back apart and move them with you to your next house. You could then just spread the soil out in your yard, and bring in new soil at your new house.
 
yea, the cost/time you throw into a garden will almost certainly not save you much, short or long term. But I can't overstate how awesome picking your own lunch/dinner/snacks is.

Consider that your home garden will probably be fresh, locally grown, and more or less organic (certainly you will use a lot less chemicals than the average Monsanto-sponsored agribusiness). Now consider how much you would spend to buy fresh, locally grown, organic produce at a place like Whole Foods (not the tasteless tomatoes on special at Harris Teeter). You're talking significant dollars. You won't recoup the cost of the raised beds in a year but in 3 or 4, definitely.
 
Consider that your home garden will probably be fresh, locally grown, and more or less organic (certainly you will use a lot less chemicals than the average Monsanto-sponsored agribusiness). Now consider how much you would spend to buy fresh, locally grown, organic produce at a place like Whole Foods (not the tasteless tomatoes on special at Harris Teeter). You're talking significant dollars. You won't recoup the cost of the raised beds in a year but in 3 or 4, definitely.

i am absolutely on a crusade to get chemicals out of my life. i started with household cleaners, but honestly haven't made the leap to all organic vegetables yet, because of the cost consideration. so thanks for your post. that's a really important aspect to me.
 
i am absolutely on a crusade to get chemicals out of my life. i started with household cleaners, but honestly haven't made the leap to all organic vegetables yet, because of the cost consideration. so thanks for your post. that's a really important aspect to me.

This + local sourcing is huge for me. We've coupled our own garden with joining a local farm share for meats and veggies, and it's really not as cost prohibitive as you think to source local, organic, chemical free. It's not for everyone, but if it means something to you, it's worth a little more. You'll be eating healthier, supporting local business, and doing the Earth a favor.
 
DAMN DEER!

Deer have attacked my tomato plants. I am so pissed I could hardly seep last night. We have zucchini and cucumbers coming out of our ears and they are good but we were really excited about our tomatoes. They were shaping up well and it looked like in a few weeks we would have more homegrown tomatoes than we would know what to do with. We come home last night to find not only do we not have power but deer have ravished our tomato plants.

Two questions

1- Do I need to replant? We have one Roma, one German Johnson and two type of Heirloom. They have basically been picked clean. Will they produce more tomatoes or do I need to start from scratch?

2- What is the best way to keep the deer away? I was thinking about putting up netting around the outside of my box to keep them away.
 
Pepper seeds are notoriously hard to sprout. I tried this year for the first time, and out of two flats, I only got two plants.

Good news, I planted two flats of cayenne and jalapeno, and most of those are now coming up. I'll hopefully be transferring them over to the ground in a week or so.

DAMN DEER!

Deer have attacked my tomato plants. I am so pissed I could hardly seep last night. We have zucchini and cucumbers coming out of our ears and they are good but we were really excited about our tomatoes. They were shaping up well and it looked like in a few weeks we would have more homegrown tomatoes than we would know what to do with. We come home last night to find not only do we not have power but deer have ravished our tomato plants.

Two questions

1- Do I need to replant? We have one Roma, one German Johnson and two type of Heirloom. They have basically been picked clean. Will they produce more tomatoes or do I need to start from scratch?

2- What is the best way to keep the deer away? I was thinking about putting up netting around the outside of my box to keep them away.

Did they eat just the fruit, or the leaves/stems as well? If they just ate the fruit, the plants should still flower and produce fruit. WRT keeping deer away, a cheap and simple way is to tie an aluminum pie pan to a tall stake near the garden. The reflection of light of the pan and the movement in the lightest of winds will usually spook the deer. You can put up fences and ropes all day long, but remember that deer can leap over them. If they arent scared off, a fence doesnt really do much good.
 
Did they eat just the fruit, or the leaves/stems as well? If they just ate the fruit, the plants should still flower and produce fruit. WRT keeping deer away, a cheap and simple way is to tie an aluminum pie pan to a tall stake near the garden. The reflection of light of the pan and the movement in the lightest of winds will usually spook the deer. You can put up fences and ropes all day long, but remember that deer can leap over them. If they aren't scared off, a fence doesn't really do much good.

It looks like they just picked the fruit. My plants are very bushy and had a ton of maturing tomatoes before the deer attack. Just to be clear, the plants should still produce a good amount of tomatoes? Asking because our main reason for starting a garden this year is for tomatoes. The Zuch and Cucumbers have been nice but my wife and I both love tomatoes.

Here is an old picture of my tomato box (closest)

269213_3715712384120_640286399_n.jpg


I was thinking about staking posts about 1 foot around the perimeter and running netting around the box. Do you think that would work? I guess I could also tie aluminum pie tins to the netting for double protection.

Do I need to worry about my zucchini and cucumbers (in the back ground)? So far they seem to be undisturbed. Do deer not like them?
 
Have the other plots in the background that are surrounded by the fence been eaten, or is it just yours? I've never had my zucchini or cukes eaten by deer before. As bushy as they are, you should be fine. In a few days, if you dont see any new flowers, then it might be time to look into getting some more plants.
 
I don't know if the other plots have had deer problems or not. I was only there for a little while yesterday...I will check today.
 
Picked 2/3 of my green beans earlier this week, and came out with a 5 gallon bucket full. I'm planning on freezing them tonight. I just pulled up the entire plant and picked them off in the comfort of air conditioning. They were already starting to turn and wilt due to the dry and the heat, and IMO 5 gallons was enough.
 
Pit, I have a major squirrel problem. The little shits are eating all my green tomatoes. Back on the farm the solution would have involved a .22 and a stew pot, but in one of the denser neighborhoods in Greensboro I have to be a bit more discrete. So far, the only thing that comes to mind is putting varmint net over the whole garden (which would be a pain in the ass for harvesting and pruning, but better than getting no tomatoes at all). Anybody have a better non-lethal solution?
 
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