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Old April 3, 2018   #31
taboule
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This one is part-time incubator, and has my first batch of tomatoes. Lights on full-time for the first couple of weeks.

small-shelf.jpg

My first babies, ~16 days after seeding. Off to the races.

babies.jpg
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Old April 3, 2018   #32
Nan_PA_6b
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Great setups!

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Old April 16, 2018   #33
taboule
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Greetings, we had freezing rain and sleet the past 24hrs, but finally managed to get started. Took friday off and went to buy some lumber -loaded up the suburban with as much as I could carry. Then started assembly on Saturday, and finished the below in the rain yesterday.
Garden_L.jpg
I admit it was more work than I anticipated, at least for starters and the "boundary conditions" --the edges. Ground was very uneven, especially up close to the fence, I had to level and remove tufts of grass, just to get it close -or at least close enough- wan't building a piano.

Construction is 2x10 douglas fir, long stretches assembled with Simpson framing plates, screwed with Deckmates. At the corners, hefty 5/16" GRK "Uber"screws. To maintain straight and long lines, I attached both sides inside with transversal 2x4. Had to shim a couple places. Again this is not finish carpentry, once filled up with compost, it will be all good.

Garden-long.jpg

Size is 24ft x 56ft, ~19" inside (nice prime number). I wanted to keep it narrow enough so my petite DW could easily reach over to pick from the fence, without stepping in the bed. This will be used for climbers -peas, beans, cukes... Closer to the inside, i'll plant greens (lettuce, baby cabbage...) and herbs.

Next will be a call to my landscaper to fill it with compost, then immediately followed by the first plantings. I am running behind this year with my seedlings. Had poor germination all around, may not have been careful with a variety of things. Also used coco choir for the first time(instead of peat), not sure I used it right, was rushing and didn't have enough time to do proper research. If anyone has experience with this material and any thoughts please tell me -I know I haven't provided much info. As always I used heat mats, so temp is not an issue.

Lastly, glad to be outside again and playing in the garden. New hobby this year, I fire up the Weber SM bullet early in the day, leave it alone and enjoy the prize at day's end.
prize.jpg
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Old April 16, 2018   #34
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Nice meat! Won't be long before you can drizzle mater juice all over it! Very nice looking garden!!!
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Old April 16, 2018   #35
Nan_PA_6b
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Great work!

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Old April 18, 2018   #36
tvoneicken
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> Also used coco choir for the first time(instead of peat)

Hmmm, I used choir the past 2 years and had lots of trouble with seedlings in soil blocks. They just didn't move forward. I switched back to peat this year and avoided all coco products and the plants are sooo much better. It's like night and day. I've also had problems with coco in citrus pots and am switching away. Something's not right with that stuff, maybe not in principle but at least in practice for me. I suspect salinity issues, among other problems.
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Old April 18, 2018   #37
taboule
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Thanks Nan and Spartanburg for your nice words.

I'll be building additional boxes as I can manage over the next couple weeks, it's still fairly cold around here. But that didn't stop the big box stores from starting to carry veggie plants. I was shocked to see this past weekend, including peppers and tomatoes. It saddened me to see them outside, and we still get freezing temps at night.

Last edited by taboule; April 18, 2018 at 03:07 PM.
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Old April 18, 2018   #38
bower
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Nice work, Taboule! Including the outdoor cooking.
When spring really arrives, you'll be ready!
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Old May 6, 2018   #39
taboule
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I finally made a good push the past couple days, here's a little update. But first, I just noticed this from tvoneicken. Must have missed it in my last post.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tvoneicken View Post
> Also used coco choir for the first time(instead of peat)

Hmmm, I used choir the past 2 years and had lots of trouble with seedlings in soil blocks. They just didn't move forward. I switched back to peat this year and avoided all coco products and the plants are sooo much better. It's like night and day. I've also had problems with coco in citrus pots and am switching away. Something's not right with that stuff, maybe not in principle but at least in practice for me. I suspect salinity issues, among other problems.
Thanks a lot for sharing. I was rushing this year and didn't do my usual research about coco, and was eager to try something new. I hoped for a quick fix from my past germination issues -ended up making things worst. Live and learn, will go back to tried and true practices.

So, most of my plants have been outside hardening for the past 2-3 weeks. Even planted some. Then yesterday morning during my usual garden check I found this.
massacre.jpg

The horror, I was shocked. The plants were cleanly decapitated, all at the same height. The ones in the tray were all together as found, the other ones were next to others that were left unmolested. I quickly looked for clues to determine the culprit - concluded it must have been a deer.

1) There were no traces of any chewed up leaves. A smaller animal would leave tiny bits around you'd think. I've seen rabbits chew on my lettuce and they leave evidence. Only an animal with a bigger mouth could swallow so many tomato tops without a trace.

2) I've never seen a rabbit around the property, not that we dont have any. Besides, I dont think they care for tomatoes, especially that I had lots of other, tastier greens around. Also, a smaller animal would not have been able to reach into some of the pots without tipping or disturbing others that were in the way.

3) For once we forgot one of the gates to the fenced area open. A smaller animal could have been inside before due to gaps/small openings in the fence.

Any thoughts or possibilities I haven't thought of?

More to follow soon.
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Old May 6, 2018   #40
Nan_PA_6b
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A ground hog/woodchuck. Some are very large. I never see them leave a crumb behind. They'll eat anything, and I've had them reach through cage bars to grab & pull tomato plant parts outside. I'd think a deer would knock over the cups, but a ground hog has more surgical precision.

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Old May 6, 2018   #41
taboule
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Thanks Bower.

Here's how things looked this morning (shot through a window mesh screen)

5-boxes.jpg

After seeing the first couple of boxes, SWMBO asked me to reduce size of the project now, with option to add next year. So I went along and also opted for larger and fewer beds, to decrease effort. I still have large space at the older property.

Here's another shot.

long-row.jpg

So far I have various lettuces, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, various peas, various herbs... and the first few tomatoes (18x). If it stops raining this afternoon I'll plant a few more things in the little space I have left (at the end of the long row) and get the landscaping guys to come back ASAP and finish filling the last three boxes with compost.

And to stay in Mrs Taboule's good graces, I built her a bonus small bed for flowers and clematis.

Veta's.jpg

Last edited by taboule; May 7, 2018 at 06:56 AM.
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Old May 6, 2018   #42
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Looks fantastic coming along nicely.

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Old May 6, 2018   #43
Nan_PA_6b
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So nice & neat!

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Old May 6, 2018   #44
Spartanburg123
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Fantastic!!! I would be thrilled to have a project like that! Sorry about your plants!!
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Old May 6, 2018   #45
ChristinaJo
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Looking good!
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