Through The Garden Gate forum: Cajun's Garden of 2012
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| I have my 2012 garden underway now! It feels good to be getting a jump on the season. I worked in the wine berry thicket first. It won't be as productive this year as it was ravaged by a well meaning excavator operator. Two years ago a coal company needed to cross our property to get to two abandoned mines behind us so they could seal them up. In exchange for being allowed to bring heavy equipment through our property, they put two big culverts in our creek to widen our drive. It really helped us as it gave us some more flat ground to use. I asked the operator if he would dig me a ford into the creek so I could walk easily down to the edge to dip water for the dog and chickens. He did that for me and he crossed the creek and made a "road" up the hill where I had kept the goats. Problem is, he moved a bunch of BIG boulders and dropped them in my berry patch. It killed a lot of my brambles so I had to clean those out. I also raked the underbrush out because the boys like to pick the berries in summer and I don't want them to get on a snake. I got my planting bed reconfigured. I finished one bed. It's now 2ft wide and about 15 feet long. It will be easier for me to harvest with it not being quite as wide. I had enough pavers left and soil left over to make a small bed about 1 ft wide and 2 1/2 ft long. I have bricks to make the bed longer but I need to get more soil. I planted 7 green sprouting broccoli plants in this bed. I weeded the containers I used last year and I planted carrots and green onions in 2 of them. I transplanted 4 larger garlic plants that had come up in the old bed into another of the containers. I already had 3 containers planted with yellow onions and garlic. I weeded and cultivated my herb containers but I plan to move them before planting them. I want to get more sun for them. I had already weeded and cultivated my small bed next to the well box where I grew my peppers last year. So I went ahead and planted buttercrunch lettuce in it. Looking forward to some tasty salads before long. I just wish tomatoes came in as early as lettuce. LOL I saved the best news for last. I finally built myself a hoop house!!! I built it over the longer bed I reconfigured. My neighbor was cleaning up the place his sister used to live on. She went in "the home" years ago and passed away last year. Her place was abandoned and covered with trash and all grown up. There was some lengths of black water pipe and I asked him if he'd put it aside for me if he was going to toss it. He told me I was welcome to it and to a partial roll that was by the pump house. It was quite a feat to get to it and get it out but I managed it and brought my prize home. I measured and cut 4 hoops from it. I drove my rebar into the ground down both sides of the planting bed with my post driver. I slipped the ends of the pipe sections over the rebar. DH brought home plastic sheeting from town and I covered the hoops from end to end. Then I attached some wire from end to end down the middle and one both sides. That is to keep the plastic on if a big wind comes up. I weighted the edges and ends down with pavers and I was in business. I am very proud of being able to build it myself. I didn't waste any time. I planted carrots, green onions and broccoli raab in the hoop house. I am not heating it as of now because everything I have in it is cold hearty. Getting down to business.  Hoops are up.  Plastic is on.  Containers.  Broccoli bed.  Lettuce bed.  |
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| Those plastic fences are to keep the cat out of the beds. I took the big tom cat to the barn because he was digging things up. The "prozac cat" will be the next to leave if she doesn't stay out of the garden. |
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| Wow, you've been busy! Porkpal |
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| But still have a long way to go. The next project is to get the rows plowed up in the old horse lot, get the posts up and the chicken wire attached to them for my trellis. It's the wire off the old chicken pen. Waste not, want not! |
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| You've been busy! Wish I was able to do that! |
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| I feel like it is going so slow. I think I will go ahead and start a few things in the house. Gotta get the light up from the basement. |
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| We have had 2 days of very hard freeze. I imagine I will have to replant the green sprouting broccoli and the lettuce as the ground froze hard. I do not know if it froze under the hoops. The 2 nearly 2" of snow overnight threatened to weigh down my hoop house on one end. I had to clear it off yesterday morning and it popped right back up. There was very little snow last night but the wind blew pretty hard and it was a bitter 12 degrees. |
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| Brrrrrrr! Porkpal |
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| I have no patience so I went to town and bought 9 broccoli plants and 9 buttercrunch lettuce plants and planted in my beds. The broccoli is a hybrid so I won't be able to save seed from it but we can still enjoy the produce. They were all quite wilted when I got them and I was afraid a few of them might not make it. They had not been watered and it was a hot day. I soaked them when I got them home and planted them at dark. Next morning they were as perky as could be. It is so good to walk to the van each morning and look at my lettuce bed. The only thing that came up of all I planted was the bunching onions in the hoop house. I got my fences drove in the ground and got my wire attached for my trellis. Still waiting to get the rows plowed. I tied the goats out there a couple days to keep the weeds down. They really enjoyed that. I planted a 20 gallon tub with 10 strawberry plants. I have another 20 gallon tub I will plant 10 more strawberries in. I still need to get my herb urns moved to get them into more sunlight. I hope to be able to get that done in another week. I started a couple trays of seeds. The tomatoes came up and I let them dry out so they wilted and some even died. I replanted them this morning. I also planted some herbs but only the lemon basil and lemon mint sprouted. I also let them get too dry anf the basil died. The drought didn't bother the mint at all. I will replant them tomorrow. |
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| Things are moving slowly with my garden but I am making progress. The spinach seeds I planted did not come up so I bought 9 spinach plants and planted them in the hoop house bed. I took the plastic covering off the hoop house as it has been quite warm here. I still just have cold hardy stuff out right now. I got 2, 20 gallon tubs planted with 10 strawberry plants each. They are looking good. I have another one planted that I need to move. I planted some peas in my wooden halfbarrel. I know it is a bit late but I wanted to try anyway. I planted Sugar Ann peas. I love them in stir fry and I love to snack on them raw while I am working in the garden. I planted them around the outside of the barrel and I made a teepee like trellis in the middle from some poles I cut off the hillside. I will tie them to the poles as they grow. My lettuce and broccoli are looking nice. So are the carrots, onion and garlic. The carrots are small yet but I got a good stand of them in the 2 big nursery pots. I got my stand made for my grow light. I bought a 12' 2x4 at Lowes and they cut it for free. All I had to do was knock it together when I got home and screw in the hooks. I have my seedlings sitting on a variety of props but it is working for now. I also made myself a couple pans with bottom heat for sprouting my seedlings. I used diposable aluminum roasters with clear plastic lids, christmas lights, cat litter and plastic grocery bags. It worked well. I am trying a different kind of seed container this year. I saw on the net where a guy sprouted his seeds in empty egg shells like his grandma always did so I gave it a try. Steve eats 3 eggs every morning so collecting the shells was easy enough. I cracked the eggs on the small end and broke away enough shell to pour the egg out without breaking the yolk. Then I put a small hole in the bottom of each empty shell after rinsing it out and cut a drainage hole in the bottom of each cup in the egg carton. I cut the top off the carton and used it for a drip tray. When I transplant them I will just crush the shells a bit in my hand and that will give the plants some extra calcium as they grow. I don't know if it will make much of a difference but we shall see. I am always glad to learn something new. I seeded all melons in the shells so it will be easy to keep track of. Here are a few pics of my garden and projects.             |
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| I'm not able to do a garden, but I soaked some Moonvine seeds all night and day, and planted them in a large container on the back (small) deck today. I love them! I might try some vegies that way, too. |
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| There are lots of container friendly hybrids you can grow. I am not a fan of hybrids but I do grow a few. I enjoy the produce but I know going in I can't save the seeds. You can easily grow a nice salad in containers. There are even cucumbers that are bred for containers or you can grow the smaller fruited varieties in a hanging pot. And leaf lettuces are very easy to grow in a window box. |
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| I picked a few lettuce leaves for our lunch today. It was tasty and very satisfying to eat what I have grown myself. I got the other tub of strawberries moved but they did not do well. They were planted in the top half of a white plastic barrel. The barrel had once been used as a dog house so half the top was missing. When I first put the plants in the barrel I lined the bottom with plastic lined paper feed sacks. It worked very well as long as it stayed in one place. I was hoping the mat of roots would hold it all together as I moved it. It worked for half the trip but it was coming apart by the time I got it to it's new location. In fact I stopped short of where I actually wanted it because it would never have made it all the way. I repaired as much of the damage as possible but I may have to replant the whole thing. |
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| The garden's looking good! You've been busy. Porkpal |
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I have nearly worked myself to death these last few days trying to catch up but it feels like I am steadily falling farther behind.  |
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| I know the feeling well! Porkpal |
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| I am the human counterpart to the old saying "The faster I go, the behinder I get". |
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| Your plants look fantastic. I remember planting seeds in egg shells back in the dark ages when I first started gardening. Those brought back lots of good memories. I am having the same problem lately. I just can't seem to catch up. I am also cleaning a lot of cubby holes around here preparing for a plant/ yard sale the first Sat. of next month. I am potting up my extra plants and it has turned into quite a job. I must be out of my ever lovin' mind!!!! If I am not now, I will be for sure after it is all over. Please join me at the following Websites: Friendship Corner ~ The Gathering Place ~ Dogs - Everything You Ever Wanted to Know |
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You can get therapy with the money you make.  |
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| WHAT! You mean I can't buy more plants???????????? Please join me at the following Websites: Friendship Corner ~ The Gathering Place ~ Dogs - Everything You Ever Wanted to Know |
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