Doug's Garden - A RL Dynasty... of sorts

[Doug5984]

A little back story here... We had a tree fall on our house right at a year ago. Anyway- long story short we bought a new house in July. It has always been a dream of mine to have a lot of edible food in the back yard. I figured I'd start easy. Hopefully over time the plants will grow, as well as I'll be building beds / hopefully a self watering system, other various things I think I need.

This rl dynasty is more just to follow my own progress, watch the progress of the plants, and keep track of notes / thoughts / ideas. If anyone has advice, words of encouragement or anything feel free to post them. I'm pretty much a complete noob when it comes to gardening so we'll see how it goes.

16 blackberry bushes - for the black berry bushes I took an old swing set left by the previous owner, put some lattice on it so the vines will climb it, and I put some cross boards to be able to hang a hammock inside of it. It turned out pretty awesome, can't wait to relax on the hammock and pick blackberries right off the bush.

I ordered 4 of each of the following plants:
Product: Tupi Thorny 1 gal. Size
Product: Prime Ark 45 1 gal. Size
Product: Kiowa Thorny 1 gal. Size
Product: Brazo Thorny

Finished product:
http://i.imgur.com/7DEmxVp.jpg

This is one of the types of blackberries planted:
http://i.imgur.com/B4MtraH.jpg

I planted these all on Feb 16. So it has been almost a month, all plants are showing signs of growth except 1 Kiowa, I'll give it another week or so as the weather has still been pretty cold. If no sign of life after this warm weekend I'll go ahead and order a replacement.

I planted 6 Blueberry bushes:
Product: Ochlocknee ( Rabbiteye): Zone 7-10 late season 1 gal. Size
Product: Biloxi ( southern high bush): Zone 8-10 mid season 1 gal. Size
Product: Jewel (southern high bush): Zone 7-10 early-mid season 1 gal. Size
Product: Misty (southern highbush): Zone 5-10 early season 4 inch Size
Product: Windsor ( southern high bush): Zone 7-9 early season 1 gal. Size
Product: Sunshine Blue (southern highbush): Zone 5-10 mid season 1 gal. Size

The beds (were left by previous owner):
http://i.imgur.com/VL5Xhbe.jpg
As you can see to the far right, I replanted a Satsuma the previous owners had- it was in bad shape where it was located, and doesn't appear to making the transition well. I'll most likely pull it up in the coming weeks and plant a new satsuma in its place.

One type of the blueberries I planted:
http://i.imgur.com/v8bHLAL.jpg

I also planted 6 pepper plants, I did 2 to each pot (rather large pots)
2 Jalepeano
http://i.imgur.com/RK6aSwl.jpg

2 Bell Pepper
http://i.imgur.com/mEMdsCv.jpg

1 Cajun Belle - Bell Pepper
http://i.imgur.com/0QYzRUj.jpg

1 Banana Pepper:
http://i.imgur.com/73SSm3k.jpg

The cajun belle & banana pepper were actually mistake purchases- someone had put them in the wrong spot in the store, but when I got home and noticed I decided to just keep them. All the peppers were planted this past weekend, March 9th


I don't have many pictures of the plants yet, if I get home at a decent time tonight I will try to take a picture of each so I can follow the progress starting from today.

[Doug5984]

Pictures of my actual peppers, planted 3/9
http://i.imgur.com/p83j10V.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/IBCmTIy.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/COwh8iz.jpg

Hopefully I get off of work in time to get some good pictures of the actual plants, for all the different types.

[Doug5984]

Just wanted to get these uploaded, I'll come back later and identify each...

Product: Brazo Thorny

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-13_12-15-36_393.jpg

Product: Tupi Thorny 1 gal. Size

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-13_12-15-45_159.jpg

Product: Prime Ark 45 1 gal. Size

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-13_12-15-52_347.jpg

Product: Kiowa Thorny 1 gal. Size

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-13_12-16-04_761.jpg

Jalepeano

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-13_12-16-41_216.jpg

Green Bell Pepper

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-13_12-16-48_921.jpg

Sweet Banana & Cajun Belle

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-13_12-16-52_82.jpg

Product: Windsor ( southern high bush): Zone 7-9 early season 1 gal. Size

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-13_12-17-16_520.jpg

Product: Ochlocknee ( Rabbiteye): Zone 7-10 late season 1 gal. Size

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-13_12-17-24_372.jpg

Product: Jewel (southern high bush): Zone 7-10 early-mid season 1 gal. Size

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-13_12-17-33_153.jpg

Product: Biloxi ( southern high bush): Zone 8-10 mid season 1 gal. Size

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-13_12-17-39_977.jpg

Product: Sunshine Blue (southern highbush): Zone 5-10 mid season 1 gal. Size

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-13_12-17-51_127.jpg

Product: Misty (southern highbush): Zone 5-10 early season 4 inch Size

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-13_12-17-57_864.jpg

R.I.P. Satsuma
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-13_12-18-05_269.jpg

[Izulde]

Very cool.

My parents have a blackberry bush in their backyard that has basically taken over. The blackberries not only killed off my roses, they put a good dent in my mom's ferns, which I didn't think would ever happen.

Great eating once they're ripe, though.

Have you thought about planting tomatoes at all? My folks did that, too, and had great success with it until they stopped growing them after a few years.

[Doug5984]

Very cool.

My parents have a blackberry bush in their backyard that has basically taken over. The blackberries not only killed off my roses, they put a good dent in my mom's ferns, which I didn't think would ever happen.

Great eating once they're ripe, though.

Have you thought about planting tomatoes at all? My folks did that, too, and had great success with it until they stopped growing them after a few years.

I have a lot of wild blackberries at my hunting camp and I love them, only problem is that they don't get very big and are a pain to pick.

Have thought about tomatoes, but I don't eat them, so wouldn't do me much good. I still may though, could get some to mix with my peppers and make a good salsa

[Doug5984]

Added the plant names to each picture.

Also wanted to post this just as a reminder to myself down the road

http://i.imgur.com/S9SRdr6.png

That is the Oasis Complete Gardening System- they are going for around $600 online. Which I couldn't see paying, I'm thinking I could build something similar, for cheaper. This would be a next year at earliest project, if at all.

[Doug5984]

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-17_16-09-20_933.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-17_16-17-26_349.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-17_16-17-34_443.jpg

Added a couple more things today- the stawberry pot, was able to plant 8 stawberry plants in it.

Garlic Chive? and a few onions.

[Doug5984]

Would like to build one of these in the future... looks pretty simple

http://i.imgur.com/eQKiBGg.jpg
http://www.chesapeakecrafts.com/STRAWBERRY_TOWER.php

[chesapeake]

Cool idea for a dynasty.

What is your plan for the self-watering system? I'm currently planning one out for my house in NoVA and am not above stealing ideas that sound good.

[Doug5984]

Something I've just thought about briefly right now, I'm a tax accountant so busy as can be this time of year- but some type of watering system is a must before the summer really gets going- it gets very hot down here in south Louisisna and a month without rain isn't uncommon.

Easiest would be simply bury PVC pipe in the yard to each plant area, then set up a nozzle at each area with a short hose into a spinkler- then connect that to my hose line, when I get home every day turn it on for 15 minutes or whatever is needed, and then turn it off- or hook up to a timer if there is one that would work for what I need.

The other is simply just the little hoses that lowes sells, my yard isn't that big so digging to each area wouldn't be that big of a deal. The only hard part would be digging from each bed to the other and burrying the line so it doesn't get damaged when doing yard work...
Basically would be one of these timers to hit the 3 areas in my yard

Amazon.com: Orbit 56233D 3-Outlet Digital Watering Timer: Patio, Lawn & Garden (http://www.amazon.com/Orbit-56233D-3-Outlet-Digital-Watering/dp/B004PVK4GK/ref=pd_sim_lg_2)

And then this hose system...

Amazon.com: Nelson 50180 Simple Soaker Flower Watering Sprinkler with 50-Foot Tubing, Five Nozzles with Plastic Spikes, Risers, End Plug Set, and Deflectors: Patio, Lawn & Garden (http://www.amazon.com/Nelson-50180-Watering-Sprinkler-Deflectors/dp/B0015AV3NW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2F66PGRR1L0YG&coliid=I192134VKTU80H)

Can buy 100 foot line for $10, so that would cover me... I haven't actually touched one of these to know the exact set up, but it looks pretty simple.

Amazon.com: Rain Bird Landscape Dripline System 1/4-Inch Tubing - 100-Foot Roll T22-100: Patio, Lawn & Garden (http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Bird-Landscape-Dripline-System/dp/B0019THNCE/ref=pd_sbs_lg_19)

[Doug5984]

I told my wife I was done with planting, but I think one more bed won't hurt...
I'm thinking of a two-tiered bed like this...

________________________________
l l
l_______________________________l
l l
l_______________________________l

I haven't decided if I would double up on 2x4s (could maybe use 1x's if they have them treated) to make the front bed 8 inches high, the back 16 inches high, or 2x6s (a lot less work... again 1x's if they have them) but a lot closer to the ground...

I think I will do a 12 foot bed, just to make it easy and less cuts.

Will probably cut a scrap 2x4 I have laying around into stakes to put into each corner to be able to sink it into place a little bit and give it some good support.

[Doug5984]

Ok, I looked into my sprinkler system a little.
I'm thinking a timer will run me $25-$35.

PVC I will probably do one pipe out to the middle of my yard and do a 3 way split there, going to my 3 areas. Then I will come out of the ground in an area I don't hit with the mower (not sure how I want to do that...then come out of the ground and I think it's just a matter of simply putting a sprinkler head on it. I may look into the kind that pop up, and go back down if possible, would make my life easier- not sure how they connect, or work exactly though)

[Doug5984]

To save on dirt cost and not lose any planting space I came up with a little better design for my bed.

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-21_14-09-19_553.jpg

I'll probably make the 2nd bed separate, 3 1x4s high, attached to a 2x4, or 4x4 (imagine the bottom piece missing) then simply set it into place and use a scrap 1x4 to attach it to the other bed and hold it in place.

The reason for the two tiered is it'll be sitting up against a fence so I think it would look better, be easier to work in.

[Doug5984]

Ok- went ahead and got my bed built, and filled

23 landscape timbers, few pieces of re-bar...a lot of dirt, and a few plants.

Total to build was $100 in materials, probably close to another $100 in dirt, and around $50 in plants. Dirt was so much because I wanted to mix some good potting soil in with just cheap top soil. Could maybe save money here, but I'd rather put in a little extra and help them get started right.

Laying the foundation
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-22_18-02-54_636.jpg

Going together pretty easy...
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-22_18-39-06_541.jpg

Friend showed up, helped out- finished it up really quick
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-22_19-11-06_565.jpg

Took only an hour or so to build- really went together quick
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/2013-03-22_19-11-13_101.jpg

Will get a close up, and pics of each plant to follow tomorrow... been raining all afternoon...

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130323_183249_029.jpg

[sterlingice]

I don't think we've had a dynasty like this before. Good idea :)

I have three plants out on the balcony and that's it: oregano, parsley, and sweet basil. Such is apartment life, I guess.

SI

[chesapeake]

Nicely done. The bed looks great!

[Doug5984]

Thanks guys- I got a little sun this morning so was able to take some quick pictures of everything to track the progress. I'm going to move to 1 or 2 pictures per post to keep the thread from getting too image heavy and loading slow.

The finished product
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101056_093.jpg

Very happy with how it all turned out
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101100_895.jpg

I had a little bit excess dirt... just used it to sort of level the ground in front of the bed.

[Doug5984]

I've already ate 4 strawberries- they were really good

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101129_749.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101120_687.jpg

[Doug5984]

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101113_014.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101105_778.jpg

You'll notice I'm one pot short- I took those peppers and moved them to the bed, put the pot on my patio and am going to try to find a "Mosquito Plant" aka- citranella.

[Doug5984]

Satsuma hasn't been replaced yet, it's dead

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101224_311.jpg

Misty Southern Highbush
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101219_525.jpg

Sunshine Blue?
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101214_073.jpg

[Doug5984]

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101205_333.jpg
Jewel

[Doug5984]

Biloxi
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101200_785.jpg

[Doug5984]

Windsor
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101154_779.jpg

I really need to get in there and weed the beds soon. Tax season is almost over then I'll be able to put in some more work on everything

[Doug5984]

Ochlocknee?
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101148_411.jpg

[Doug5984]

Brazo

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100749_987.jpg

Tupi

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100800_945.jpg

[Doug5984]

Prime Ark 45
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100808_369.jpg

Kiowa
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100827_213.jpg

[Doug5984]

Lines a bed I had with onions just to see how it would work..

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100732_129.jpg

[Doug5984]

Onion Chives

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100854_780.jpg

[Doug5984]

Cayenne Pepper

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100845_160.jpg

[Doug5984]

No Tag = Cantalope

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100908_139.jpg

[Doug5984]

Watermelon - absolutely no idea how these grow, or how they will turn out. If they start vining too much and take over I'll just trim them back or rip them out

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100900_897.jpg

[Doug5984]

Can't read the tags, pretty sure it's basil

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100920_193.jpg

[Doug5984]

Squash
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100913_428.jpg

[Doug5984]

Parsley

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100937_155.jpg

[Doug5984]

Oregano maybe?
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100925_602.jpg

[Doug5984]

Pretty sure it's a Yellow Bell
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100959_850.jpg

[Doug5984]

Tabasco Pepper

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100947_311.jpg

[Doug5984]

Red Bell Pepper
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101015_922.jpg

[Doug5984]

Not sure, a "sweet" pepper though
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101009_908.jpg

[Doug5984]

Think they called it an orange delicious snack pepper?
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101024_374.jpg

[Doug5984]

Another red
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101021_395.jpg

[Doug5984]

No clue... some type of pepper
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101028_456.jpg

[Doug5984]

Cajun Belle
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101037_375.jpg

[Doug5984]

Banana Pepper
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_101045_203.jpg

[Doug5984]

And with that I'm done planting for the year- with the exception of my mosquito plant, and my replacement satsuma.

[kingfc22]

Very cool dynasty. I'm feeling inspired!

[sterlingice]

So, uh- did you just pick plants at random? How did you not know what you were planting :D

SI

[sterlingice]

Can't read the tags, pretty sure it's basil

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100920_193.jpg

That's sweet basil, looking at the big leaves.

Oregano maybe?
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130324_100925_602.jpg

Yeah, looks like oregano

SI

[Doug5984]

So, uh- did you just pick plants at random? How did you not know what you were planting :D

SI

Heh, I knew when I bought them. It was raining when I was planting so I had a general idea of how I wanted to group them- but wasn't sure exactly where each plant ended up where. I'm pretty sure I had them all labeled right except the peppers- that was more of a random lets plant a bunch of different types and see how they turn out.

[MacroGuru]

This is awesome. I want to plant some small herb pots for indoors, but since my girlfriend is anti gardening I will be the one planting her flower beds this year...she spends, I plant. We will see how that pans out for me.

[Doug5984]

A catastrophe has struck the garden. ;)

The past 2 nights it has gotten really cold, I covered my plants but it does look like the cold had an effect, about half the leaves on my newly planted plants are shriveled. I'm going to do some research to see what I need to do, my guess is just to trim the dead leaves and roll with it. We'll see. If need be I'll pull them all up, throw them away and buy some more- they really weren't that much.

My big dumb boxer also decided that my new bed was a good place to lay down, that probably didn't help. (My guess is that dirt was very warm baking in the sun and he was hanging out in there to warm up)

[Doug5984]

My big dumb boxer also decided that my new bed was a good place to lay down, that probably didn't help. (My guess is that dirt was very warm baking in the sun and he was hanging out in there to warm up)

He decided his favorite sleeping spot is on top of the peppers- I'll have to replant a few plants, and put up a little fence around it for the time being. It's been cool for a few days, hopefully the sun comes out and the plants are able to regroup from the cold damage they suffered

[sterlingice]

"A catastrophe has struck the garden": this just sounded like if you made a game called SimGarden (no not farm) and you had 6 disasters to choose from.

SI

[Doug5984]

Finished through tax day yesterday so hopefully I'll be able to get an update here shortly. I replanted the plants that my dog slept on / ate.

Everything seems to be going great- my strawberry plant is putting out quite a few strawberries every few days. I used some of my onion chives in a red beans and rice last week.

Blue berries and black berries really seem to be doing well, although I need to build a bed around the blackberries and put mulch in there as the grass in that area is taking off as well and I dont want to get in there with a weedeater yet

[Doug5984]

4/23/13 Update:

Everything is well in the garden / back yard. Last night I used some of the green onion tops, and onion chives in a tilapia dish and they were very good.

I've eaten 2-3 strawberries just about every day and they are all very good.

Pepper plants seem to be taking off, I'll need to stake them before long.

Pictures coming soon, hopefully we get some sun in the next few days

[Doug5984]

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130425_183844_095.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130425_183844_095.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130425_183741_212.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130425_183741_212.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130425_183750_995.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130425_183750_995.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130425_183804_746.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130425_183804_746.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130425_183817_806.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130425_183817_806.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130425_183831_873.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130425_183831_873.jpg.html)

[chesapeake]

Looking good!

[Doug5984]

An update to the garden- everything looking very good, pics from yesterday 5/19

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_110614_615.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_110614_615.jpg.html)

Added 2 tomato plants
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135106_521.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135106_521.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135121_952.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135121_952.jpg.html)

Replaced my old satsuma
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135135_657.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135135_657.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135144_075.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135144_075.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135153_864.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135153_864.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135215_202.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135215_202.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135224_862.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135224_862.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135235_948.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135235_948.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135246_662.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135246_662.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135302_281.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135302_281.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135317_610.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135317_610.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135502_519.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135502_519.jpg.html)

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135414_240.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135414_240.jpg.html)

Added a citronella
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135430_322.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135430_322.jpg.html)

Something for the wife
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135436_149.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135436_149.jpg.html)

Finally made a bed around the blackberries
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130519_135513_384.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130519_135513_384.jpg.html)

[Doug5984]

The garden is kicking on all cylinders right now- I'll have to get some updated pics in the next few days.

Last night I picked 2 bell peppers, 1 sweet banana pepper and 2 regular bananna peppers as well as a few jalapeños, and a handful of blackberries.

[Doug5984]

Again, I'm just amazed at how great everything is doing. I'll try to get some updated pictures tonight.

I've been picking a few blackberries per day, all are great. I've picked a few banana peppers, jalepeaons, bell peppers, countlress onion tops, onion chives. All my other pepper plants are starting to produce, and will be ready before long. I have a few squash that are close to being ready.

All the herbs are doing great as well except the lavender which is being choked out by the squash and chocolate mint.

The blackberries have really taken to climbing my swing set.

I'm already starting to think of ideas for covering them next winter to make sure everything survives.

[law90026]

Sounds awesome!

[Doug5984]

Blue Berries / Satsuma

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130617_121551_802.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130617_121551_802.jpg.html)

Bushes aren't growing that much, but they have produced... I know these will take time

[Doug5984]

The late addition of tomatoes
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130617_121733_986.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130617_121733_986.jpg.html)

[Doug5984]

The main raised bed- producing like crazy... I'm amazed at the progress with this one.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130617_121503_819.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130617_121503_819.jpg.html)

I have a yellow bell (still green) that is larger than a baseball, it's pretty great

[Doug5984]

Where it all began, the potted peppers / strawberries
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130617_121530_765.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130617_121530_765.jpg.html)

[Doug5984]

The blackberries
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130617_121412_725.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130617_121412_725.jpg.html)

[Doug5984]

Backside blackberries- I've been using garden twine to tie them up, train them to climb
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130617_121424_076.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130617_121424_076.jpg.html)

[sterlingice]

How are the raised gardens do for you, maintenance-wise? We're looking at buying a house in the next few months and it's something that's kindof on my radar when I'm looking at backyards but not all that much.

Growing up, my parents had a pretty big garden in the ground but I don't have the patience for that. And, as my dad said, Houston pretty much has the worst of everything except cold. You have brutal and long lasting heat and humidity, summer is a combination of torrential rains followed by multi-week droughts, and the wet times mean that fungus and bugs all proliferate well in our clay soil.

SI

[Doug5984]

How are the raised gardens do for you, maintenance-wise? We're looking at buying a house in the next few months and it's something that's kindof on my radar when I'm looking at backyards but not all that much.

Growing up, my parents had a pretty big garden in the ground but I don't have the patience for that. And, as my dad said, Houston pretty much has the worst of everything except cold. You have brutal and long lasting heat and humidity, summer is a combination of torrential rains followed by multi-week droughts, and the wet times mean that fungus and bugs all proliferate well in our clay soil.

SI

The main raised bed- producing like crazy... I'm amazed at the progress with this one.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130617_121503_819.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130617_121503_819.jpg.html)

I have a yellow bell (still green) that is larger than a baseball, it's pretty great



This raised bed seems to be working very well, I put down news paper instead of that weed blocking stuff they sell. Seems to be working well, I'll pull a couple weeds every week- but nothing major, and I can do it while watering. If you are building from scratch I'd say go with that system, as opposed to the ones my blueberries are in- as they are full of weeds very often...and really a pain in the ass to deal with.

I water pretty much everyday as we get a lot of heat, and they get full sun as well. I've talked about it in here, and plan on doing some type of automated watering system at some point- just haven't gotten around to it.

I couldn't be happier with the raised bed. The ease of working in it at the height, weed-eating around it, the lack of weeds, and I think it looks better

[Dodgerchick]

What a great dynasty! Your garden looks great, true labor of love.

[chesapeake]

summer is a combination of torrential rains followed by multi-week droughts

Rain barrels, possibly more than one hitched together, will help you get through this. I ran a couple of soaker hoses back and forth through my 6x18 vegetable garden. I've only had to water a couple of times so far this year in Northern VA, but all I have to do is hook up the hose to the spigot on one of my 2 chained rain barrels and open the valve. Gravity does the rest.

[Doug5984]

Rain barrels, possibly more than one hitched together, will help you get through this. I ran a couple of soaker hoses back and forth through my 6x18 vegetable garden. I've only had to water a couple of times so far this year in Northern VA, but all I have to do is hook up the hose to the spigot on one of my 2 chained rain barrels and open the valve. Gravity does the rest.

I've been thinking about this as well, with a soaker hose- how much water does it use, how long do you keep it on? On a dry day- I'd hate to get it all set up and only be able to use it a couple times a year because no rain / it runs dry quick?

[Doug5984]

Not a bad little harvest for a Sunday afternoon

http://i.imgur.com/oPr3b0g.jpg

[Doug5984]

Need some help from those with more experience, it seems a lot of my bell peppers are getting these soft spots on them...

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x275/doug5984/IMG_20130625_181815_645.jpg (http://s186.photobucket.com/user/doug5984/media/IMG_20130625_181815_645.jpg.html)

I assume it's some kind of disease, it's strange they are only affecting the different type of bell peppers, as all my banana, jalapeños, cayenne, tabasco, and even my "Cajun Belle" are doing fine.

Normally as soon as I see they are getting this spot I cut them off and throw them away. I've missed some for a few days and it ends up turning the entire pepper soft. Very strange.


The small red peppers at the top in the previous picture are the Cajun Belle's, I really recommend these to anyone who likes a little heat and good flavor, I grilled some up with some mushrooms last night for a baked potato- and they were great. Just enough kick. However- be sure to wash your hands after cutting them, I didn't and my face was burning for a couple hours.

[Doug5984]

I love looking back at the early pictures and seeing how much progress was made, it's really incredible to think in just that short time how much it has changed, and filled out. At this rate I'll be cutting the blackberries back quite a bit before the end of summer.

[sterlingice]

A cursory Google search points towards Blossom End Rot but I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night

SI

[Doug5984]

A cursory Google search points towards Blossom End Rot but I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night

SI

Yeah I had looked around at a few things, guess I should also mention that it's plants in 2 different soil sources (a couple potted, and some in my raised bed)...also everything else in that bed is doing fine which was just sort of confusing me. Looks like I'll need to do a soil check just to be sure that's not the problem.

[chesapeake]

I've been thinking about this as well, with a soaker hose- how much water does it use, how long do you keep it on? On a dry day- I'd hate to get it all set up and only be able to use it a couple times a year because no rain / it runs dry quick?

It appears to use about 1/3 of one barrel in about an hour based on my very limited experience with it. The soaker hose I bought from the Home Depot said how much water it would use in an hour. Doing the math in my head, I think that comes out to about 1/2 gal per hour per foot of hose. I expect seepage will vary based on hose length (I have two hoses, linked), how much water is in your barrel and how much you can bring gravity into play.

[wade moore]

Hadn't seen this dynasty before.

A note on strawberries.

If you have the patience, it's best to "pinch off" the first batch of flowers that come in on your plants. It will make the following strawberries sweeter.

[sterlingice]

We demand updates! :D

SI