Day Dreamin'

As I wondered in my front yard, reminiscing on the day, I happened to look up and saw the setting sun shining down through the Japanese maple tree in our front yard. It reminded me of a forest of Bloodgood Japanese Maples that Judy and I fell in love with several years ago at a Greenville nursery. As we stood under a canopy of red leaves, the sun lit them up like sparkling crystal.  There's nothing random about the Lord's creation — He is an awesome God.

Week #2

It's incredible how much the garden has grown in two short weeks — everything has doubled in size.  Every day, after I come home from work, I water each plant with my sprinkler can.  I immediately refill the sprinkler can so it can sit for 24 hours to reach ambient temperature and allow the dissolved chlorine to escape (mother nature doesn't like chlorine).  Last weekend, I mowed the grass and saved the clippings.  Two weeks of sunshine has warmed up the 'soil' and it was time to add mulch.  After sitting around for a week to dry out I tucked the clippings/chopped leaves in and around the plants to a depth of 2 - 3 inches.  This will help hold the moisture and keep the 'soil' cool.



Already, I have had to pull the cucumbers up to the grid with twine, and the little tendrils have already attached themselves to the rusty wire.  The rust on the steel mesh is good for two reasons:  one (believe it or not) the rust slows down the oxidation process (rusting) and, two, it roughens the surface making it easier for the tendrils to grab and hold onto the wire.  Galvanized wire won't rust and remains slippery.







Today, I saw the first flower on the cucumber — it won't be long now...

Lattice Construction

Since my 4x4 garden is small I need the plants to grow vertically, especially the vine-like tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini.  For them to stay vertical they need to hang onto something.  At the garden center I found a 6 inch square steel grid made of stiff wire about 1/16" in diameter.  The "sheet" cost about $7 and measured 4 feet by 7 feet.  This grid needed something to hold it upright.  This becomes critical later on in the growing season when it is covered with vegetation and weighed down with fruit.  In a strong wind this grid with vegetation can act like a sail and get pushed around without proper support.  At first I thought about using 1/2 inch steel pipe, often called 'black pipe', but the cost was ridiculous.  I settled on 3/4 inch PVC pipe which cost less than $2 for a 10 foot length.  It wasn't quite as stiff as I wanted, but the price was right.


Next, I cut the 10 foot pipe to a length of about 6 feet (you need two 6 foot lengths of pipe).  Then, I attached a 6 foot piece to one side of the grid right next to a vertical wire and, using 8 inch nylon cable ties from Wal*Mart, I secured the pipe to the wire.  Starting at the bottom of the grid I came up about 1 foot to clear the 2x10 wood frame and cinched the cable tie around the PVC pipe and the vertical wire in the grid.  Going on up I did the same thing about every 2 feet making sure that the wire grid was firmly attached to the PVC pipe at the top.

After attaching the second 6-foot length of pipe to the opposite side of the grid I stood the grid upright and set it along one side of the 4x4 frame.  To hold the grid in place be sure to sandwich the grid between the PVC pipe and the 2x10 wood frame.  Using 3/4-inch pipe straps and 1 - 5/8 inch deck screws I attached the pipe/grid combo to the frame.  I just let the pipe/grid sit on the ground while I screwed the pipe clamps in.  Be sure to move the pipe clamps as far away from each other as possible to provide the greatest amount of support to the pipe/grid.  In other words, place one pipe clamp near the bottom of the 2x10 frame and the other near the top of the frame.  Tighten the deck screws all the way until the pipe clamp pulls the pipe/grid tightly against the wood frame.  You may need a helper to initially hold the pipe/grid vertical until you get one side clamped down.  Securely clamp the opposite side.  Now you have a framework for your tomatoes or other vine-like veggy to climb on.  As the plant grows, use sisal twine and gently pull the plant over to the grid and tie it off.  Do not allow the twine to cinch around the plant — it should be loose.  All you want to do is train the plant to travel up the grid.  Last year, as the tomatoes grew, I wove the new growth in and out of the grid.  By the end of the season, none of the twine tie-offs were holding the plant — it naturally hung on the grid and supported itself.  In the case of cucumbers and zucchini, the small tendrils that extend from the main stem find and wrap themselves around the grid and support the vine.


Happy gardening...

4x4 Construction

For those who may be tempted to build their own raised bed I thought I would post this in the hopes it would encourage you to give it a go.  The lumber can be cut to size at any Home Depot or Lowes store.  I just bought two 2"x10" eight feet long and had them cut in half.

On the inside corners I screwed two right-angle brackets (one at the top and one at the bottom) using 1 - 5/8" deck screws.  You will need eight angle-brackets and sixteen deck screws.

I leveled an area slightly larger than a four foot square in my back yard and placed the wood frame on the ground.  They say to not use treated wood because it is may contain arsenic and you don't want your plants to absorb any of that.  I then placed several layers of newspaper inside the frame on top of the sod to kill it and to prevent weeds from coming up through the "soil."

As I mentioned earlier, rather than try to amend the awful soil we have in our back yard (mostly clay and rock) I used Mel Bartholomew's recommendation in his book titled Square Foot Gardening.  In his book Mel suggests using equal parts of peat moss, vermiculite and compost.  Actually, I am an avid organic gardener and believe you can never have enough organic matter in the soil, so I use two parts compost, one part peat moss and one part vermiculite.  I was fortunate to have a vermiculite manufacturer about 40 miles away in Woodruff, SC, so I bought it there in 2 cubic foot bags ($12 each).  If you Google "vermiculite" you should find local sources that will sell in larger quantities than what is offered in your local gardening center (way too expensive).  If you don't make or have access to compost, you can use mushroom compost or composted cow manure from the garden center.  I suggest you purchase a section of what's called hardware cloth (heavy-duty screen) to sift the peat moss and compost.  I purchased 1/2" square hardware cloth at a hardware store big enough to sit on top of my wheel barrow.  Peat moss and compost usually have clumps and other debris (I've seen large clods of clay and big chunks of wood) and you don't want that in your "soil."  I use a small shovel and turn/mix the ingredients inside my wheel barrel.  Just before mixing I add about a cup full of organic fertilizer, a handful of dried blood meal (good organic nitrogen source) and a small handful of pelletized lime (all can be purchased at a garden center).

Fill the 4x4 frame full with this "soil."  After each dump of "soil" from my wheel barrow I leveled it out and then wet it down with a hose.  The "soil" is fairly light and fluffy and over time it will settle down so you may need to add more as time goes on.

After your plants are up you should mulch the entire surface of the 4x4 with organic material such as shredded leaves or grass clippings - about 3" deep.  This will keep the soil cool during the hot summer months and it will help conserve moisture.  In the fall, after the growing season has ended, you can take a spade and fork the mulch into the "soil" so it will add organic material.  Before turning the mulch under sprinkle the surface with organic fertilizer and dried blood meal.  For the first year it's a good idea to introduce some good soil from the flower bed or other area to the 4x4 as this will introduce needed bacteria that will help break down the mulch over the winter and early spring (sift it through the hardware cloth).  This inoculation needs to happen only once as the bacteria are self-sustaining as long as there is organic material available.


Happy gardening...

What Real Men Eat for Breakfast

Ah yes, a little .38 Special and some 10W-40 QuakerState and we're good to go.

Breakfast of Champions

My Raised Bed Garden

For the second year in a row I have started a raised bed garden in my back yard. The soil is basically hard clay and gravel here in the upstate of South Carolina, and it is unsuitable (without a LOT of hard work) for growing vegetables.  So, a couple of 8' long 2x10's cut in half and screwed together forms the sides of my raised bed.  Two 3/4" PVC pipes are clamped to the side to hold up a 6" square steel grid (used to reinforce concrete) measuring 4' wide by 6' tall. This is what I train the tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini onto. Here's a view of the bed in my back yard (with Blaze climbing rose on my split-rail fence).  The location is in the southeast corner to maximize the amount of daily sun.

The soil is made of 2 parts mushroom compost (composted cow manure will do), 1 part peat moss and 1 part vermiculite. This was a huge success last year as it was weed free, drained readily and held moisture well. Best of all it didn't clump up or become hard like clay does and it wass super easy to work with.

In this small garden I have planted:

• Four Brandywine Heirloom Tomatoes (from seed)
• Two Rutger Tomatoes (from seed)
• Four California Wonder Sweet Peppers (from seed)
• 18 Texas Sweet Onions (from sets)
• Two Cross Country Hybrid Cucumbers (from seed)
• Four Burpee’s Burpless Cucumber (plants from Wal*Mart)
• Two Black Beauty Zuchinni (plants from Wal*Mart)
• Six Yellow Marigolds (plants from Wal*Mart)

I can't wait for the first juicy red tomato. My favorite treat is to cut a thick slice and bury it between two slices of toast with some Miracle Whip. Sooo good.