Gardening By The Squre Foot April Update

The strange weather has had its way with my garden this year. But I am not giving up! And the Cucumber aren't either. Sorry about the photo's, It was early AM and the Sun hadn't hit the spot yet.

We had a great crop of leaf lettuce, but with the hotter days it is starting to bolt. Alex went lettuce crazy and filled up his block pockets with the yummy leaves.

The beets seem to be coming along just fine. We lost a few in the cold-hot snaps. But they seem to be filling in. We will be planting more once the lettuce is spent...we like our beets.

Believe it or not this is the best looking tomato plant of the bunch (Black Cherry) A few other varieties were planted in the kids beds as well as some patio pots. We will see how they do. Pitiful things.

The peppers, leeks, basil and eggplant seem to have made it through all right. We had to replant the beans, something bit the heads off. Here I put my neat little toilet paper rings around them and then something go's and bites their heads off. UGH!

Peppers with Leeks in background

Here are my lovely Cucumbers....Ya for the cucumbers...I am very proud of the yellow flower here that will be a yummy pickle in a few weeks. All of them did very well, even the ones in the pots on the patio.

Here is my patio pots, they were full of weeds and yucky dirt, so we cleaned them out and washed them down and tucked in some veg and flowers.

Has anyone else been having trouble with the crazy weather? If so what type of troubles are you having? Let me know so I won't feel like a complete failure. Well, I can always blame it on the kids.

Don't forget to stop by on the weekends and share your gardening greatness.

Plant Review - Phlox David

PHLOX PANICULATA DAVID

A Plant worth sharing

Flower Review

David is one good looking perennial and he smells really good too. Yes, I have the hots for him.

I mean really just look how he glows, he seems to have some sort of inner light.

David stands about 4 feet tall just right for the back or middle of the border.

I have him in full sun on the south side in the Georgia heat.

I know not very nice treatment for your average guy but David really likes it HOT.

I start seeing Davids blooms a little after the 4th of July and it go's on until my birthday in September. Three months of flowers!

The scent is deep and warm and just gives me goose pimples.

He will produce enough flowers to cut and to just leave and enjoy in the garden.

Needless to say I highly recommend David.

He is easy to find many online stores carry him.

White Flower Farm

American Meadows

Bluestone Perennials

North Creek Nurseries

Please note I am not trying to sell anything just showing options to those who are looking to add David to your home and enjoy him as much as I have.

How to make a pot tower

 

What you will need

1 - 12 or 14 inch clay pot
3 - 10 inch clay pots
1 - 6 foot re-bar
1- Hammer
Potting soil
12 plants (Sun or Shade depending on location
Newspaper

Instructions
1) Place your newspaper on the ground in your chosen location...this will keep the weeds from growing up.

2) Set your largest pot on top of newspaper.

3) Take the re-bar and put it in the center of the drainage hole and hammer it in 12 inches.

4) Fill your pot with soil.

5) Thread your first 10" pot by putting the re-bar thru the drainage hole and rest it on the soil in a tilted manner.

6) Finish threading the rest of the pots.

Note: If your re-bar is sticking out the top too far you can hammer it down further.

7) Fill the pots with soil and plant.

Water well, be sure to gently water your plants as the dirt wants to run over the lip. Once your plants grow up they will fill in and hold the dirt better.

Square Foot Gardening

Well I have been just so busy! Starting Seeds, building beds, hauling manure, building trellises and buying plants.
I know it sounds like I'm complaining but the kids and I are having a blast.


In one of the many books I borrow from the library I discovered Square Foot Gardening.  So the kids and I thought we would give it a shot.

We first bought cinder blocks 12 for each bed $15.00 per bed ($1.25 each)
I bought some planting soil about $5.00 per bed
We went to a horse farm and got a truck load of horse manure FREE

Trinitys dirty hands from stirring the top soil and compost together

We filled each of our beds with manure and topped it off (4 inches) with the top soil mixture.  When I say we I mean Alex and I...Trinity was making sure the dirt was stirred REALLY well.

Trinity's break, telling me how hard she is working.  I believe her don't you?

Once the beds were full Alex drove rebar into the north side corners of the bed.
Rebar 1/2 X 24 $1.52 each. $3.04 per bed.

We then laid out the grid each space is 1 foot square...Almost.
For the grid I used an old blind.  The blind was just under four feet wide and already had holes in it PERFECT! Alex used the wooden food sticks from the kitchen to hold down the grid.

This was a great math lesson for Alex

But wait we are not finished yet.  We built a trellis out of  PVC
9 five foot lengths of PVC $1.64  each - 3 per bed $4.92
6 PVC elbow $.34 each - 2 per bed $.68
2 trellis netting 4.97 each - $3.31 per bed

The netting wanted to slide up the PVC so we cut metal coat hangers and my hard working boy hammered them into the ground.
Our total cost per bed $37.35
We have already planted leaf lettuce, peas and sweet peas in our beds.  We decided to inter plant flower vines with our veg vines just because we think it looks pretty.

The next project for the beds is to make a frame that we can cover with plastic (to protect from freeze) and cheese cloth (to protect from egg laying insects)

Starting Seeds

 We started several seedling in trays. To get an early start this year on our garden. January 22, 2012

We have a full tray of Leeks (American Flag) Ferry-Morse $1.25
In the other tray: Organic Cilantro - Burpee $1.88
                          Mint (Spearmint) Burpee $1.00
                          Organic Parsley (Single Italian Plain-Leaf) Burpee $1.88
                          Catnip - Burpee $1.57
These seeds and the trays were purchased at Low's

The trays came two to a pack offering 72 cells for $7.99 The soil pellets have no netting around them so the roots wont get bound up (Like that) The cell tray fits down into another tray to catch all the water and it also has a clear lid to keep in moisture.  We used food spears to make holes to put the seeds in.

Composting

My kids saw this bowl full of veg and thought it was so pretty...they gasped when they heard it was going to the compost pile.  Who knew? Compost can be so lovely...OK to a gardener a big steamy heap its a work of art...seeing the brown dirt when you turn it can bring tears to ones eyes.

 This is my Compost pot...it sits in the pantry till its full and then gets taken down to the pile.  Don't let anyone make you think you have to buy an expensive compost pot with filters.  This is a container that was sitting around and I put a plate over it.  It doesn't smell, the only way compost smells rotten is if you put something you shouldn't in it.

 Here is the beginning of my lovely heap now.  I need to get to the Hardware store and get a fork so I can turn it...No not a dinner fork a pitch fork...silly readers.

Now I just need to find a manure supply and I will be in gardening heaven.

Seed Catalogs and Cheap Thrills

My New Bedspread

Oh I just get all goose pimply when the seed catalogs start coming in. I am trying not to over do it but its so hard to hold myself back.

I also made it by the library and picked up a few books to keep me up at night