What might help here is a small drainage ditch to the rear of the chain link, and make a raised bed with some scavenged 2 X 6 lumber from old pallets. This would keep the rain water from flooding your veggies, and divert it to the rear of the house.
Just something simple as big as you want. But it would make your area workable in serious rain, and it looks like you get the kind of rain we do. It frigg'in pours for 1/2 an hour the nothing for a day or two.
@guohua, we got basically the entire month's worth of rain in 28 or so hours. As far as I'm concerned, California can HAVE my "lake", it's going to be mosquito heaven soon enough!
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@marlingrace, what I'm thinking of doing for water control is leaving it sloped instead of leveling it. I'd still have to move dirt around, but not as much. I'd leave it higher on the outer edges, gradually sloping down to a channel in the center I'd line with all the rocks I dug up to make it a walk path when it's not funneling water away. Think that would work? The plot I've done behind the garage is up a hill from the lake, which is at the bottom. The plot drains really well, I'm not worried about anything being in standing water, but I'd like to funnel any extra water away using gravity if I can.
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@guohua, we got basically the entire month's worth of rain in 28 or so hours. As far as I'm concerned, California can HAVE my "lake", it's going to be mosquito heaven soon enough!
Mosquito's are a dirty word here in VA. I don't hate much in life, but I seriously hate skeeters. We are actually considering the fog spray this year so your not eaten alive just getting to the car.
@marlingrace, what I'm thinking of doing for water control is leaving it sloped instead of leveling it. I'd still have to move dirt around, but not as much. I'd leave it higher on the outer edges, gradually sloping down to a channel in the center I'd line with all the rocks I dug up to make it a walk path when it's not funneling water away. Think that would work? The plot I've done behind the garage is up a hill from the lake, which is at the bottom. The plot drains really well, I'm not worried about anything being in standing water, but I'd like to funnel any extra water away using gravity if I can.
Yeah that sounds good, I was thinking the raised bed would act like a wall to divert water as well. but if you're moving it up hill then it would matter, and that would be better anyway. Just offering some of my stink'in think'in standing water is miserable here. If I could find a use for mosquito's I would be rich beyond pale. They are the number killer of people worldwide with the spread of malaria, and other diseases. THe little bastards.
Due to the tree roots, the garden plot had to be sized down to 12x9 when I hammered in the posts. That's ok. What isn't ok is that I got screwed on the fence length. I THOUGHT I was getting a 50 foot long roll of fencing. It was mislabeled, it was about 30 feet long in reality. Dammit, it's been over a month, I can't take it back & exchange it now
So I have a half-fenced garden. Even if I butted it up against the garage to wall off that side, I'd still have a 9 foot section wide open. We put one batch of pea seedlings in anyway, and we'll see what happens the next few days with the rabbits & squirrels. I took a good look at all the shoots coming up, nothing's gnawed on them (yet) That COULD be a good sign, maybe the rabbits don't hang around for munching.
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So far, so good. 3 days later & nothing's nibbled on the peas. If that keeps up, I may be able to just take the fence down & reuse the fencing as support for tomatoes next month. I went ahead & put the rest of the peas in, which totals at least 20 in-ground now. I lost count L_L I also put the beets in. I re-purposed the top of an old bird cage as a protective cage over top of them, it's probably not necessary but I keep reading critters LOVE beet seedlings. Not taking any chances, those were a bitch to germinate. Out of the 24 I put in ground, 2 have kicked the bucket (less than I expect, actually) Even if the roots are a total bust, I'll be thrilled to have an abundance of beet greens to eat (seriously, they're that good)
The spinach in the pot outside is still hanging on, amazingly. I don't expect them to be huge or anything, they're pretty pitiful to behold. I sprouted more seeds I'll put outside in a week or two to make up for that. I've started the leeks & carrots inside, probably won't see them break the surface for another week at least. I figure the habaneros will go out in May, probably mid-May at the earliest. They're doing well, though they could be bigger (that's what I get for crowding the pot, I suppose)
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Post by Night Star on Apr 21, 2015 18:54:52 GMT -6
Yay, I got to buy some plants today. Started with some herbs...Lavender, rosemary, spearmint, and chocolate mint. Then I bought maybe 4 flowering pink plants and a couple of yellow ones. Gorgeous! Next week I'll get more.
Doug, My Niece's husband usually does the veggies. He doesn't do very well though. LOL
Have bok choi ..pandan.. aloe vera.. thai chilli's .. ginger .. tomato .. wasabi .. long beans .. lettuce ..cabbage .. also banana .. starfruit .. coconut.. mango ..dragonfruit trees just planted fuji apple tree .. out here things grow fast year round .. also several different medicinal herbs growing .. even have couple jasmine trees .. and couple rose bushes .. with chickens and geese running round freerange garden gets fertilized .. (too many chickens at present even with giving bunch to the local villagers so hoping tiger grabs few for lunch .. )
@expat888, I'm officially jealous. Can I come live at your house??
Looks like the critters aren't going to bother the seedlings much. Since I last posted, we've had the usual various birds, rabbits & squirrels wander through the garden, but they've yet to disturb anything. We've also had beavers & skunks nose around in there, but I don't think we have anything going that interests them (I'm just waiting for the deer & bears to show up even though we're urban. Wildlife in abundance here)
I'm going to have to dedicate a day to serious weeding. We don't have much in the way of larger or sprawling weeds popping up, but we have them tiny ass little weeds that stay at an inch or two. They're EVERYWHERE. I may weed them out of the veggie patches & just leave them elsewhere because they're a royal bitch to keep up with & I'll be damned before I put weed killer down around what I'm going to eat. They may end up providing a pretty ground cover to look at on the walking areas.
The beets have slowly started to prove their worth, they're churning out bigger leaves & more sets finally (working on true set #3) I'm still not entirely sure I'll even have beet roots this try, but I'll be happy if I get a lot of beet greens (I love beet greens!) I just put in all the pre-sprouted carrots a few days ago, they look happy. I didn't place them as thinned as I should have, but I'll take whatever grows happily & pluck out what doesn't do well. Maybe I'll just direct sow next time for better spacing. The peas are starting to bush up & branch out. I'm trying to encourage them to wind their tendrils on each other for self-support around the ladder-like trellis I'm using. I don't want to have to augment it with anything like nails for the tendrils to grab if I can help it, trying to go as little hands on as I can just to see things grow naturally.
Unless I get surprise rain tomorrow, I'm putting in cucumber seedlings tomorrow. I think I went overboard on the pre-sprouts. I have 15 of them O.O We'll be in cuke heaven if they all take! I also am probably going to put in the romaine seedlings tomorrow, too, they look plenty big enough now.
I sprouted a half dozen tomato seeds, and have to find or make containers for them. I highly doubt they'll like the clay any, so I figure they'll be in containers of some kind in airy potting soil.
My habaneros went outside & have EXPLODED in leafy size & a little in height. I have a dozen sharing a small pot, so I need to thin them out soon, too. And they smell sooooo spicy, I hope the fruit packs a punch (sometimes the first crop off hot pepper plants yields nil on the heat factor)
I gave up trying to sprout lavender from seeds, 2 different brands of seeds yielded not one single plant. Since it was for Big Kid, I ended up buying a lavender plant for her, we re-potted it tonight. Little Kid has two-tone sunflowers going, red & orange dwarf ones. They'll need to be put in something else soon. We also bought her pink Asiatic Lilies, which was also re-potted tonight. Talk about beautiful flowers on that plant 113
The leeks still need to get a bit bigger before they can go outside, I figure probably another 3 or 4 weeks to reach transplant size.
The only other thing going is a thyme plant Spyder bought. It almost died a few times, but I gave it one hell of a haircut & trimmed it's root ball down considerably. It bounced back extremely well, I re-potted that tonight also.
Oh yes, and the spinach! The ones in the container are still around, slowly growing. I put a dozen more in the ground in the garden, but they're not as well-off. They were knocked over inside & damaged, only 4 of that dozen survived transplanting. They ones still alive are trying, but I'm not sure if they'll make it. Just have to wait & see.
The next things to get going are a second variety of tomato, and zucchini. And probably the winter squash. Later this month, probably the pumpkins for Halloween in another spot in the yard if need be it.
Now don't laugh my first garden I have kale sprouted, Spanish peppers, bell peppers, strawberries, blueberry, bananas, pineapple, watermelon, carrots and sweet potatoes...
I think I might start learning a green thumb myself, as I've been thinking of this more. My wife is hot to have a small veggie garden to see some food we don't buy processed. I'm hot on something else....while I await changes in law to be able to grow it. lol.... The more I've looked into that as a medical, not recreational thing? The more I'm really getting interested. (Oils and Creams aren't half as hard to make as I'd imagined they would be)
Anyway.. growing is growing, and apparently the LED grow lights running under $100 from New Egg and even Walmart.com are plenty for indoor growing of whatever plants. Veggie or anything else. The one in particular I've been considering is a square LED light with settings to run through different light ranges, depending on the phase of the plant.
I really DID kill a cactus once...so I have my work cut out for learning this. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions for indoor growing? (We're in the city..and this soil SUCKS...so this is honestly about ANY plants for growing indoors, and not a cute way to ask about just one).
Post by rickymouse on May 24, 2015 10:44:52 GMT -6
We have cherry tomato and regular tomatoes every year. We have potatoes and cukes every year too. We have traveler onions that come up every year.
This year we are putting in green beans and lettuces and carrots again, not doing that last year. Some stuff is planted and the rest goes in today and tomorrow, the tomatoes and peppers can go into the big pots and stay outside too.
Now don't laugh my first garden I have kale sprouted, Spanish peppers, bell peppers, strawberries, blueberry, bananas, pineapple, watermelon, carrots and sweet potatoes...
Whats to laugh at? I coming over for some good eats. Very nice.