re: The 2021 Garden Thread

Thanks man. Yep that’s a Cherokee purple. My Cherokee purple plants stayed pretty small this year but made a bunch of big tomatoes.

I’ve been using a combo of the fabric and the cardboard. Friend got me started doing the fabric and no till. But soil next to hole is still mostly clay. So plants are sitting in a cylinder of water with these rains. So my plan now is to eventually redo each row using the Hügelkultur method. Hopefully I get the rows high enough with the logs that I keep the roots from rotting in ground. But in the build up process I basically flipped all the materials between the adjacent rows onto the hill.

It’s a project. I’ve only done 2 thus far. Might get Home Depot parking lot labor to dig the next row up.

Couple first time garden questions.

number one. are these ready to be picked? also what should i do with them until i have enough to pickle a jar full. how many peppers does it usually take to make a full jar?


Also, I know this is a pretty big rookie mistake but i found out soon after i planted that i planted everything WAY too close together. it's turning into a cluster but those eggplant plants don't seem to mind. they are thriving. also, i don't need that many eggplants. should i sacrifice a couple plants or just let it ride?

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How many sq feet is everyone gardening?

I’m at 32 right now! Haha. Next time I move, I’m hoping to add a few more 4x8 raised beds. My current backyard doesn’t have enough sun coverage to plant any more. Some of you guys make me jealous with your huge harvests.

My main garden is 16’ x 24’. I also have two 4’ x 8’ boxes and one 2’ x 8’ box.

Grand total of 464 sqft. But I plan on adding more. And a greenhouse. At some point I’ll have to stop.

quote:

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My main garden is 16’ x 24’. I also have two 4’ x 8’ boxes and one 2’ x 8’ box.

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Several years back I planted my first garden. Just tilled out an area at the back of the yard, dealt with a ton of vines/weeds in the ground, and after a year or two got it under control.

Couple of years ago, I sort of boxed it in. Everything is on a slope here, so I was trying to combat some washout when we got big rains. I laid a 2"x10"x12' along the side, and a 2"x10'x8' across the back, and have them screwed into posts. The ground in front is slightly level, so my space to garden is roughly 10'x12'. I filled it in with garden soil and tilled all that in. Seems to work well holding in moisture without anything washing down and out. I drilled several holes along the back using a half inch bit, about every foot or so, so it won't get soupy.

A couple of weeks ago I added some 30"x30" boxes on the back for tomatoes. My wife did all of our seeds this year, and everything took off. We got a late start, but that's fine since we have long hot summers. On either side of the tomato boxes, I planted one blackberry bush. Currently in the garden I have a row of 6 Okra plants, two rows each of 6 cucumbers and squash.

I’ve got 3 boxes 4x12 at home, and just started a 24x24 one at my camp. Although in year 1 it’s a bit of a mess and nothings growing very well - I’ve also kinda abandoned it the last few months though.

I like gardening a lot. But it will NEVER replace football.