The Endzone Garden Thread

#2,028
#2,028
First garden work of the year! and first itty-bitty blister.

We live on a corner, and on the side road, I'm turning a 25'x8'(200 sq.ft.) patch of ratty lawn into a pollinator bed. I laid out plastic last fall to (slightly) knock down the grass, and Hubs took it up and went to work with the weedeater yesterday. Today I "perforated" the Soil from Hell with a garden fork just to aerate it a bit and allow water, compost and whatnot to get down in there and help worms get established.

I hadn't thought about it, but there had been a sidewalk over nearly half of the 200 sq. ft., and although the city pulled up the actual concrete, the gravel base layer(?) remains, so poking holes in that was super-fun. It was the difference between stabbing in holes 3" deep vs barely piercing the surface. I didn't dig up/ turn over the soil. I'm building a raised unframed bed, so no point in disrupting whatever mycorrhizae might have actually managed to establish themselves.

I spread composted cow manure, bone meal, Pete’s Planting Mix (composted pine fines and more composted cow manure), and the dried grass clippings over the dirt (can’t really call it soil), and then laid overlapping sheets of contractor paper over the patch. After I do the rest, I’ll let it be for a few weeks then lay out cardboard and dump a lot more Fancy Dirt on top. Maybe another layer above that (lasagna bed gardening.)

Due to the unexpected pleasure of the hidden sidewalk base, I only got a third of it done today, but here it is. Here's some pics of what looks like a whole lot of nuthin'. lol @ the pictures of the perforations - you can't see much, I know. But I'm calling it muy "proof of concept" day, and now I'm chillin' with naproxen, cyclobenzaprine, and a glass of wine. (I know, I shouldn't do that. But I am.)

Ok, trouble with the photos. Off to fix that…
 
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#2,033
#2,033
Tin Man said:
With the warming climate of Asheville, star jasmine climbing over a small coil of razor wire at the back corner of your property should discourage trespassers. 😉
Click to expand...
Eh, it’s just people used to walking in certain patterns. Tearing up the sidewalk doesn’t change where their feet want to go.
 
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#2,034
#2,034
spent some time tonight getting my seeds figured out--what I have and what else I need...ordered from Burpee and Amazon already
left things in chaos the end of last summer...covid, sinus infections, flu, then health crisis
hoping to get outside a lot more this year and get more exercise
jonquils are up about two inches and are already budding....so weird
 
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#2,035
#2,035
GordonC said:
spent some time tonight getting my seeds figured out--what I have and what else I need...ordered from Burpee and Amazon already
left things in chaos the end of last summer...covid, sinus infections, flu, then health crisis
hoping to get outside a lot more this year and get more exercise
jonquils are up about two inches and are already budding....so weird
Click to expand...
Rohrer seed company has some good things.
 
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#2,043
#2,043
VolNExile said:
First garden work of the year! and first itty-bitty blister.

We live on a corner, and on the side road, I'm turning a 25'x8'(200 sq.ft.) patch of ratty lawn into a pollinator bed. I laid out plastic last fall to (slightly) knock down the grass, and Hubs took it up and went to work with the weedeater yesterday. Today I "perforated" the Soil from Hell with a garden fork just to aerate it a bit and allow water, compost and whatnot to get down in there and help worms get established.

I hadn't thought about it, but there had been a sidewalk over nearly half of the 200 sq. ft., and although the city pulled up the actual concrete, the gravel base layer(?) remains, so poking holes in that was super-fun. It was the difference between stabbing in holes 3" deep vs barely piercing the surface. I didn't dig up/ turn over the soil. I'm building a raised unframed bed, so no point in disrupting whatever mycorrhizae might have actually managed to establish themselves.

I spread composted cow manure, bone meal, Pete’s Planting Mix (composted pine fines and more composted cow manure), and the dried grass clippings over the dirt (can’t really call it soil), and then laid overlapping sheets of contractor paper over the patch. After I do the rest, I’ll let it be for a few weeks then lay out cardboard and dump a lot more Fancy Dirt on top. Maybe another layer above that (lasagna bed gardening.)

Due to the unexpected pleasure of the hidden sidewalk base, I only got a third of it done today, but here it is. Here's some pics of what looks like a whole lot of nuthin'. lol @ the pictures of the perforations - you can't see much, I know. But I'm calling it muy "proof of concept" day, and now I'm chillin' with naproxen, cyclobenzaprine, and a glass of wine. (I know, I shouldn't do that. But I am.)

Ok, trouble with the photos. Off to fix that…
Click to expand...

So, by pollinator bed, you just mean a flower bed ? lol. Don't go getting all fancy word on us Exie. Looks like you did a fine job of prepping the space.
 
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#2,044
#2,044
Got some seeds in the trays last night. Three Okra plants. Three different sweet pepper. I'm excited about the sweet peppers I picked. Hope they go ballistic. Common Bell peppers just don't grow well for me. Califonia Wonder was mostly meh last year. So, I'm changing up my sweet pepper plantings. Now Cubanelles, and hot peppers always produce heavy. And 9 tomatoes maybe. I might throw in a drying tomato if I get read up on how to do it. My seed starters:

Sweet Peppers:
Ajvarski (Macedonian)
Lesya (Ukrainian)
Txorixero (Basque)

Maters:
Hungarian Heart
Santiago
Dad's Sunset
Carbon
Dwarf Purple Reign (Possibly the most insane flavored tomato I've eaten)
Dwarf Beryl Beauty
Dwarf Sweet Scarlet
San Marzano Redorta
Riesentraube Cherry

Burmese Okra
And since may ancient 90+ year old pear tree actually bore fruit thru to ripe last year for the first time in God knows how many years, I saved some seed, and gonna try to get a new tree seeded and on it's journey.

Everything else I'm planning to put in the garden will direct sow. Take that back, the Brussel Sprouts may do better if I seed start them.

Admittedly, my tomatoes may put out a larger overall harvest if I just picked maybe 3 and did multiple plants of just those. But, I like doing heirloom tomato pies and such, and you need flavor variety to make good ones. Plus I'm an Heirloom tomato addict, and have collected enough seed packs to prob grow 25 varieties currently. I just rotate each year and try news ones. Some I may not plant again. Now, if what I try this year cranks it out, will prob go back with most of them again. But, the Dwarf Purple Reign is here to stay. I highly recommend ordering that seed. The balance of sweet/tart to the sweet side, and the presence of insane flavor is a true winner. My wife actually liked that one. She's not a huge fresh tomato eater, mostly on salads and such, but she ate that one.
 
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#2,045
#2,045
GVF said:
So, by pollinator bed, you just mean a flower bed ? lol. Don't go getting all fancy word on us Exie. Looks like you did a fine job of prepping the space.
Click to expand...
lol, to feed and support (nesting areas etc) native pollinators and other wildlife rather than solely “for pretty.”

I think native pollinator plants are pretty anyway (well, most), but some people call them weedy. Many HOAs are particularly obnoxious about them, demanding that they be replaced with a monoculture of chemicalled-to-death perfectly uniform lawn with A Tree plunked in the middle.

It’s been a minute since I looked at my roughed-out plant list, but things like milkweed, Joe Pye weed, hyssop, borage, coneflower, goldenrod, shrubs with small berries, blah blah (guess I’d better go work on that list lol)
 
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#2,046
#2,046
GVF said:
Got some seeds in the trays last night. Three Okra plants. Three different sweet pepper. I'm excited about the sweet peppers I picked. Hope they go ballistic. Common Bell peppers just don't grow well for me. Califonia Wonder was mostly meh last year. So, I'm changing up my sweet pepper plantings. Now Cubanelles, and hot peppers always produce heavy. And 9 tomatoes maybe. I might throw in a drying tomato if I get read up on how to do it. My seed starters:

Sweet Peppers:
Ajvarski (Macedonian)
Lesya (Ukrainian)
Txorixero (Basque)

Maters:
Hungarian Heart
Santiago
Dad's Sunset
Carbon
Dwarf Purple Reign (Possibly the most insane flavored tomato I've eaten)
Dwarf Beryl Beauty
Dwarf Sweet Scarlet
San Marzano Redorta
Riesentraube Cherry

Burmese Okra
And since may ancient 90+ year old pear tree actually bore fruit thru to ripe last year for the first time in God knows how many years, I saved some seed, and gonna try to get a new tree seeded and on it's journey.

Everything else I'm planning to put in the garden will direct sow. Take that back, the Brussel Sprouts may do better if I seed start them.

Admittedly, my tomatoes may put out a larger overall harvest if I just picked maybe 3 and did multiple plants of just those. But, I like doing heirloom tomato pies and such, and you need flavor variety to make good ones. Plus I'm an Heirloom tomato addict, and have collected enough seed packs to prob grow 25 varieties currently. I just rotate each year and try news ones. Some I may not plant again. Now, if what I try this year cranks it out, will prob go back with most of them again. But, the Dwarf Purple Reign is here to stay. I highly recommend ordering that seed. The balance of sweet/tart to the sweet side, and the presence of insane flavor is a true winner. My wife actually liked that one. She's not a huge fresh tomato eater, mostly on salads and such, but she ate that one.
Click to expand...
I’m re-reading this when I have time, but a friend grew several of my Principe Borghese tomatoes for drying. She actually dried them (I dropped the ball there) and raved about them. I started seeds from either Baker Creek or Botanical Interests, don’t remember. I can check when I get home.
 
#2,047
#2,047
VolNExile said:
I’m re-reading this when I have time, but a friend grew several of my Principe Borghese tomatoes for drying. She actually dried them (I dropped the ball there) and raved about them. I started seeds from either Baker Creek or Botanical Interests, don’t remember. I can check when I get home.
Click to expand...

That's the drying mater I have seeds for. Haven't grown them yet.
 
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#2,048
#2,048
VolNExile said:
lol, to feed and support (nesting areas etc) native pollinators and other wildlife rather than solely “for pretty.”

I think native pollinator plants are pretty anyway (well, most), but some people call them weedy. Many HOAs are particularly obnoxious about them, demanding that they be replaced with a monoculture of chemicalled-to-death perfectly uniform lawn with A Tree plunked in the middle.

It’s been a minute since I looked at my roughed-out plant list, but things like milkweed, Joe Pye weed, hyssop, borage, coneflower, goldenrod, shrubs with small berries, blah blah (guess I’d better go work on that list lol)
Click to expand...

I try to accomplsih that with perennials in my house beds. Had it going pretty good in GA, but behind schedule here. Keeps me from having to plant many flowers each year. Borage is medicanal and edible as well. Make tea with the leaves. I've got some seeds now of other edible florals that make nice teas from the flowers. Borage is posionous to small animals though. Make sure that fat cat don't take a liking to it.
 
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#2,049
#2,049
GVF said:
I try to accomplsih that with perennials in my house beds. Had it going pretty good in GA, but behind schedule here. Keeps me from having to plant many flowers each year. Borage is medicanal and edible as well. Make tea with the leaves. I've got some seeds now of other edible florals that make nice teas from the flowers. Borage is posionous to small animals though. Make sure that fat cat don't take a liking to it.
Click to expand...
Nah, she’s got her kitty weed!
 
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