2019 Garden

We plant beans along 60’ of fence. They do quite well. Wife is planting her new raised bed.
I installed helper springs on pickup as Toyota leafs have always bottomed out under minimal weight, springs too soft right off the shelf IMO
What's your wife putting in the beds. I wanted to do that for beets, carrots, & onions.
 
We finally got some good weather along with the almanac to plant above ground crops. We got our tomatoes, bell peppers, banana peppers, hot jalapenos, zucchini, bush beans, pole beans, cucumbers & a few rows of corn. I put a separate potatoe patch out this year with three 30' rows a couple of weeks ago. I really want to put a lot of corn out over from the potatoes. Most folks around here say the deer were will have it...not sure yet. Tomorrow we're going to put out some beets, onions, & sweet potatoes since that's the above ground almanac sign. I don't like waiting on the almanac but my wife takes it seriously. The sweet potatoes will go in the potato patch. I got 18 plants & will give them plenty of room this year. Last year we put out 6 plants & they took over a 24x12 area of the garden. I was told to cut the vines back about three from the plant so I'll try that.
 
I alwas planted the Sweet Potato's in a hilled row. Never let the vines get over 2' long as you want the energy to go into the tubers and not the vines.
 
I alwas planted the Sweet Potato's in a hilled row. Never let the vines get over 2' long as you want the energy to go into the tubers and not the vines.
Last year was our first time growing sweet potatoes. They were so good. I have a 6x30 area designated just for them. I remember last year you & some others mentioned cutting them back. That's what I plan on doing. Thanks Chieffan
 
Got some of the garden planted between the rain showers today. 2 double rows of Early Frosty peas.
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We tried something different this year, we didn't till. We broke up the hard ground with a cultivater and loosened the top with a disc. Definitely not as deeply worked as a tiller would. But if you are planting an inch or two deep, do you need 8" worked? Time will tell I guess.
We're doing that now & it's working good. Where we use to live I could bury a tiller & it would still be rich black soil. Now we have clay & rocks. This is our 4th year here adding leaves, grass clippings, chicken manure & compost from our three bins. It's gotten a lot better. I have about 6" of good top soil & after that is solid clay. The area between the top & sub soil is critical. If you google no till gardening especially if you have clay this area should not be disturbed. That area is breaking down the clay & when disturbed stops the process. I mainly just disc or till a few inches deep to break up the top for planting.
 
One place we lived the only place for a garden was in clay. Added sand a buch of leaves to it, plowed it up and tilled heck out of it. took a copuple years to get it loosened up but it work out OK.
 
I got my sweet potatoes planted today. I had tilled it last week but ran the little mini cultavator through the row so I could hill it easier. I hauled almost the last of my compost & worked it in before planting. I have 18 plants in a 40' row 6' wide. Once they start running like suggested I'm going to cut them back 2-3 feet back to the plant. There's 3 rows of potatoes in the pic too. I'm a little concerned it's been three weeks & only a few are popping up. I'm worried it might have been too wet when we put them out.
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I saved some compost for the rest of the plants we haven't put out yet. I'm starting two new bins for next year already. I always leave about 8" of the old compost in the bottom of the bins to start the new on top. This keeps the worms active too.
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What's your wife putting in the beds. I wanted to do that for beets, carrots, & onions.

Swiss Chard in half. The other half will be various herbs. We have two smaller gardens at back of lot for root vegetables and pumpkins
 
We used old tractor tires for our strawberry beds. Have 8 of them and just started new plants this spring. Painted the top white oil base primer before we planted. Will paint the rest of the exposed tire when the weather cooperates. Should take a lot less watering with the white rather than black rubber.
 
Thanks much. Starting to get a little green now with all the rain. May have to cover the rings in that open area dn spray it to get rid of the weeds. Way to wet to use anything else.
 
Put the sprinkler on my sweet corn planting tonight for an hour or so. Pretty dry here now and the corn will never come up till it's watered. A good bunch of rain was headed right for me this afternoon, but faded away not 10 miles from me! Tomorrow I'll move the sprinkler to my garden plants.
 
Lot more work but when we have to water I carry a wattering can with the sprinkler head on. I tape the two side off so the holes are down the center so I can keep the water on the row. When onions etc. get taller I turn the head 1/4 turn and water in from the side. Like I said, little more work but using less water and and not watering the weeds as much.
 
Lot more work but when we have to water I carry a wattering can with the sprinkler head on. I tape the two side off so the holes are down the center so I can keep the water on the row. When onions etc. get taller I turn the head 1/4 turn and water in from the side. Like I said, little more work but using less water and and not watering the weeds as much.
I would hand water, but it's too large an area. I hate watering the weeds too though. Moved my sprinkler this morning. One more move later today and the entire garden will have had a drink.
 
Garden is looking better each week. Peas are just starting to blossom.
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Taters are healthy looking plants.
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JR knocking down weeds in the unplanned section. 0601191747a.jpg
The sweet taters don't seem to be growing too much. Tried some peanuts, but only 3 plants came up.
 
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