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[Updated] Gardeners? Daughter wants daddy to help her start a garden. (2 Viewers)

lombardi

lombardi

Footballguy
Update w/ some pics 5/19/15

https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?/topic/726685-gardeners-daughter-wants-daddy-to-help-her-start-a-gardenoh-oh/?p=18055594

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Original Post:

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My daughter (9) wants to start a garden. We rent so instead of digging up my landlords yard I built her two of these last night

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r192/ltgrady/gbox_zpsviwdfdfz.jpg (it's actually not nearly as crooked as my sloping garage and bad angle make it appear to be)

I know she wants tomatoes so I'll have to bolt a trellis or something on the back of it when they start growing.

However, I know nothing about gardening. We're supposed to "plant" something this weekend. I know the boxes are supposed to get some kind of mix in them, I was doing some googling and "Mel's mix" is

1/3 Vermiculite

1/3 Peat Moss

1/3 Compost (from as many sources as possible, whatever that means)

So any advice on what to plant? The idea is I add the soil, put some wood furring strips across the top creating 16 small boxes of area in each of my garden boxes. This gives me 32 spots to plant stuff.

She wants to eat what we grow so looks like vegetables and not flowers. So besides tomatoes, what else is easy to grow? I don't think I can pop a water melon out of that little table :)

Also, should I use plants that sprouted or seeds? I really am in trouble here, I have no idea about any of this and she has grand plans. Any help would be appreciated.

 
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Peppers and cucumbers will grow just about anywhere, and you'll have something to pick every couple of days when it comes to harvesting time.

 
Buy a deeper half wine barrel type box from Home Depot if you want tomatoes; they need more soil than you're having on that table. With that table I'd stick to peppers and herbs. I'd do both seed and seedlings so your daughter can have the immediate gratification along with the experience of getting and seeing seeds grow.

 
So if I make a hole do I drop one cucumber seed in there? A few seeds? the whole bag of seeds?

And will that one spot give a single cucumber or several?

 
tonydead said:
Buy a deeper half wine barrel type box from Home Depot if you want tomatoes; they need more soil than you're having on that table. With that table I'd stick to peppers and herbs. I'd do both seed and seedlings so your daughter can have the immediate gratification along with the experience of getting and seeing seeds grow.
Click to expand...
So 6 inches isn't enough for tomatoes? I reading the site that had the box plans and they had it layed out, with 6 foot sides, with tomatoes in a couple of the boxes. Will they not grow or will they just be too small or something?

I'm looking at this as our trial garden. I want her to enjoy it and be able to eat some stuff but this is the cheap garden we build to see if she actually maintains interest. If so I'll invest more and we'll build it out next year or whatever.

Trying to keep this simple but have it work for her.

 
The trip to the nursery is a good part of the fun. Make that an adventure for the two of you but I'd talk about thinks you want to have before hand.

Those would be nice for spinach and radishes. Herbs make most dishes taste like instant gourmet so id go basil, tyme and oregano for sure. I'd think about a couple of pots for tomatos because those look pretty shallow for bigger plants.

 
lombardi said:
So if I make a hole do I drop one cucumber seed in there? A few seeds? the whole bag of seeds?

And will that one spot give a single cucumber or several?
Click to expand...
A few seeds. Cucumber plants get pretty spacious.

Many many cucumbers per plant.

 
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Jackstraw said:
The trip to the nursery is a good part of the fun. Make that an adventure for the two of you but I'd talk about thinks you want to have before hand.

Those would be nice for spinach and radishes. Herbs make most dishes taste like instant gourmet so id go basil, tyme and oregano for sure. I'd think about a couple of pots for tomatos because those look pretty shallow for bigger plants.
Click to expand...
We're going to the nursery tomorrow, she is VERY excited.

Should I go to the garden/landscape place or to the garden center at Home Depot, Lowes, or Walmart?

 
lombardi said:
tonydead said:
Buy a deeper half wine barrel type box from Home Depot if you want tomatoes; they need more soil than you're having on that table. With that table I'd stick to peppers and herbs. I'd do both seed and seedlings so your daughter can have the immediate gratification along with the experience of getting and seeing seeds grow.
Click to expand...
So 6 inches isn't enough for tomatoes? I reading the site that had the box plans and they had it layed out, with 6 foot sides, with tomatoes in a couple of the boxes. Will they not grow or will they just be too small or something?

I'm looking at this as our trial garden. I want her to enjoy it and be able to eat some stuff but this is the cheap garden we build to see if she actually maintains interest. If so I'll invest more and we'll build it out next year or whatever.

Trying to keep this simple but have it work for her.
Click to expand...
I would think you'd have to get cherry type tomatoes or a small plant strain of tomatoes. Some people will bury 75% of a foot tall seedling just to start tomato plants. I used to grow tomatoes in one of these when I rented. You can drag them in and out of the sun too depending on where you live.

 
We started this last year and our two kids loved it. They are 4&5 but really enjoyed watering and see everything grow. We had tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, lettuce and a few kinds of squash. Expanding the garden this year and hopefully learning from what went well and what went bad.

 
lombardi said:
Jackstraw said:
The trip to the nursery is a good part of the fun. Make that an adventure for the two of you but I'd talk about thinks you want to have before hand.

Those would be nice for spinach and radishes. Herbs make most dishes taste like instant gourmet so id go basil, tyme and oregano for sure. I'd think about a couple of pots for tomatos because those look pretty shallow for bigger plants.
Click to expand...
We're going to the nursery tomorrow, she is VERY excited.

Should I go to the garden/landscape place or to the garden center at Home Depot, Lowes, or Walmart?
Click to expand...
I like the garden places because they tend to have more varieties of peppers and such. But if you are price sensitive I think Lowes would be much cheaper and there's nothing wrong with their plants. If they look hardy/healthy at the store they should be fine.

 
Get a medium to large sized pot and a bag of potting soil, fill 3/4 with soil and sprinkle a bag of basil seeds on it then cover with a bit of soil. Basil grows like gang busters and can be used all summer.

 
Not sure how much dirt is needed but zucchini grew in my back yard like crazy...monstrous sized.

 
tonydead said:
Buy a deeper half wine barrel type box from Home Depot if you want tomatoes; they need more soil than you're having on that table. With that table I'd stick to peppers and herbs. I'd do both seed and seedlings so your daughter can have the immediate gratification along with the experience of getting and seeing seeds grow.
Click to expand...
Same thing I was gonna say,perfect.

 
Did you grow it back there or was it there when you moved in?

We're going to put some zucchini out there

 
lombardi said:
Did you grow it back there or was it there when you moved in?

We're going to put some zucchini out there
Click to expand...
Grew it...just churned up the dirt a bit and tossed in some seeds. Watered it every now and then...then put in a drip hose.
 
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Here's my organic soil recipe for vegetables. Makes 4 cu. ft. of soil. Note that a bucket = 5 gallon bucket. You are correct that a diverse mix of organic matter is best, but you can just use 2 buckets of whatever quality compost you can source locally.

2 buckets peat moss

2 buckets perlite

1 bucket worm castings

1 bucket compost

Lime -- 4 cups

Glacial rock dust -- 8 cups

Kelp meal -- 4 cups

Neem seed meal -- 2 cups

Tomato Tone -- 2 cups

Crab shell -- 2 cups

Alfalfa meal -- 2 cups

Fish Bone Meal -- 2 cups

Gypsum -- 4 cups

 
Good lord...I'm so unlearned about gardening.

I look at McGarnicle's list and think it's some impossible quest they give you in one of those MMORP games. Takes like a week to complete and you get some gardening quest cape at the end.

If it were left to me...we'd all starve like the Mayans.

#Apolcalypto

 
tdoss said:
Good lord...I'm so unlearned about gardening.

I look at McGarnicle's list and think it's some impossible quest they give you in one of those MMORP games. Takes like a week to complete and you get some gardening quest cape at the end.

If it were left to me...we'd all starve like the Mayans.

#Apolcalypto
Click to expand...
You want tomatoes the size of basketballs? Nice thick, meaty zucchini? You need a quality soil.
 
I've been gardening for years and love it. For years I was using a raised bed garden and using the square foot method you say you are using. After looking at your picture here's what I would recommend.

I don't believe I see any drainage holes in the box. You'll need to do that. On your trip to the store I would pick up some landscape fabric or something similar you could line the bottom of the box with so the soil won't go through the drainage holes.

I wouldn't plant any kind of squash-type thing in it. Those things become gargantuan and they will dominate the whole setup. But if you do want to plant squash there plant them on the very edges of the box so you can drape them over the sides.

Plant only 2-3 seeds per hole. If they are new seeds they should all come up, then after a while thin the group so there is now only one plant per hole.

Just a thought: When I made my squares I just measured each foot on the sides of the box, banged in small nails on the top at each foot and used twine to go around the nails creating a grid on top. Something you may already have.

While Mel's Mix is good you could save some time and hassle by just buying potting mix. There are many organic types if you want to stay organic.

There are many books about raised bed gardening but this book has always been my go-to book. It will also show you how to build a trellis on the back which is really easy. I bought some electrical conduit pipes and some pvc brackets. They are light and easy to install. Planting pole beans would be a good option to go up the trellis on the back of your garden. They are really easy to grow, fun to pick and look really nice. Adding some trellis netting onto the trellis makes it real easy for the beans to grow up it. Here's the link to the book: http://www.amazon.com/Raised-Bed-Vegetable-Gardening-Made-Simple/dp/1581571887/ref=sr_1_17?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1429967124&sr=1-17&keywords=raised+bed+gardening

Even though you want to eat what's coming out of the garden you should also plant some flowers like marigolds in 2 of the squares. You both will appreciate how they look in the garden, they are a good defense against bad bugs and you can always pluck a few for your table when you enjoy eating what you just harvested.

There are finger carrot varieties that might be better suited for the depth of your garden as it is now. I would actually add another 6 inches to the sides if I were you and fill it so the soil is about 2 inches from the top.

Everyone loves to plan tomatoes. And even though I had a 8x4 garden I still found the real estate necessary to grow tomatoes too much to make the most out of the garden. So I built separate containers for the tomatoes. Building a self-watering container would be ideal for your situation. I sued 15 gallon rubbermaid containers but you can also do it by buying 2 paint buckets at Lowes, placing one inside the other. Here is a link of how to do it. You'll want potting mix, not potting soil for this btw. And you can move them around if you find the spot you picked for your garden isn't quite sunny enough. Here's a guide of how to build them: http://extension.umd.edu/sites/default/files/_docs/locations/frederick_county/MG%20Self-Watering%20Bucket%20handout10-12.pdf

Good luck and have fun!

 
Cunk said:
I've been gardening for years and love it. For years I was using a raised bed garden and using the square foot method you say you are using. After looking at your picture here's what I would recommend.

I don't believe I see any drainage holes in the box. You'll need to do that. On your trip to the store I would pick up some landscape fabric or something similar you could line the bottom of the box with so the soil won't go through the drainage holes.

I wouldn't plant any kind of squash-type thing in it. Those things become gargantuan and they will dominate the whole setup. But if you do want to plant squash there plant them on the very edges of the box so you can drape them over the sides.

Plant only 2-3 seeds per hole. If they are new seeds they should all come up, then after a while thin the group so there is now only one plant per hole.

Just a thought: When I made my squares I just measured each foot on the sides of the box, banged in small nails on the top at each foot and used twine to go around the nails creating a grid on top. Something you may already have.

While Mel's Mix is good you could save some time and hassle by just buying potting mix. There are many organic types if you want to stay organic.

There are many books about raised bed gardening but this book has always been my go-to book. It will also show you how to build a trellis on the back which is really easy. I bought some electrical conduit pipes and some pvc brackets. They are light and easy to install. Planting pole beans would be a good option to go up the trellis on the back of your garden. They are really easy to grow, fun to pick and look really nice. Adding some trellis netting onto the trellis makes it real easy for the beans to grow up it. Here's the link to the book: http://www.amazon.com/Raised-Bed-Vegetable-Gardening-Made-Simple/dp/1581571887/ref=sr_1_17?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1429967124&sr=1-17&keywords=raised+bed+gardening

Even though you want to eat what's coming out of the garden you should also plant some flowers like marigolds in 2 of the squares. You both will appreciate how they look in the garden, they are a good defense against bad bugs and you can always pluck a few for your table when you enjoy eating what you just harvested.

There are finger carrot varieties that might be better suited for the depth of your garden as it is now. I would actually add another 6 inches to the sides if I were you and fill it so the soil is about 2 inches from the top.

Everyone loves to plan tomatoes. And even though I had a 8x4 garden I still found the real estate necessary to grow tomatoes too much to make the most out of the garden. So I built separate containers for the tomatoes. Building a self-watering container would be ideal for your situation. I sued 15 gallon rubbermaid containers but you can also do it by buying 2 paint buckets at Lowes, placing one inside the other. Here is a link of how to do it. You'll want potting mix, not potting soil for this btw. And you can move them around if you find the spot you picked for your garden isn't quite sunny enough. Here's a guide of how to build them: http://extension.umd.edu/sites/default/files/_docs/locations/frederick_county/MG%20Self-Watering%20Bucket%20handout10-12.pdf

Good luck and have fun!
Click to expand...
Hey Cunk, thanks for the tips. Sadly I'm reading this now after finishing our planting today.

I did end up putting drainage holes in the box after the pics were taken. A single 1/4" hole per square foot and then 1 extra in each corner. I did not put any kind of landscape fabric, that would have been a good idea. Wish I saw that before I loaded it up.

No squash. If I can remember the list of stuff is: Lettuce, onions, green onion, hot peppers, sweet peppers, beets, 2 types of tomatoes, peas, cilantro, parsley, basil, sage, rosemary, swiss chard, kale, eggplant, broccoli, cucumber, and carrots. I put the peas and tomatoes on back row and we're going to build some kind of trellis or something when they start coming up, or maybe I'll just stick some kind of cage in there or something.

I put in 2-3 seeds per hole but quite a few times a few more than that dropped into the hold accidentally. Not sure if that's a problem. What happens if multiple seeds germinate in the same spot?

We didn't do twice, we nailed furring strips down. Also, didn't use Mel's Mix. Couldn't find vermiculite and when I did it was really expensive to get 1/3 or 16 cubic feet. I was talking to the guy at the garden center and then reading some and decided to buy a few different soils/composts and mix it all together. For the 16cu/ft we put in 8cf of miracle grow garden soil, 4cf of Nature's care Raised Bed soil, 2cf of Nature's care Really Good Compost, and 2cf of a white baq of mushroom compost. I don't know if I'm going to have to fertilize or something or even when I know if I have to do that. Mel had mentioned the more sources the better and the guy at the center said mixing everything is good.

Will definitely check out hte book. Didn't plant any flowers. I thought about it but my daughter was so excited picking out the vegetable seeds and wanting to eat different stuff I decided maybe I'll do a couple of pots or something with bag of left over soil mix I have.

I think I put regular carrots in there. Too late for modification for this season. This is our first time doing ANY kind of gardening so we talked about how this is trial and error and we may not have a great harvest and that just building it and making it will be fun. Whatever comes up we'll be gravy (and if nothing does you can bet I'll be out there burying a few veggies from the super market to lessen some of the disappointment :) )

I actually thought about doing the tomatoes in pots instead. I ended up sticking them in because I just didn't know what to do. It's so new and the guy in the book says they're fine. I was thinking of putting the extra soil in a big pot or two and trying a couple of tomato plants. We just used seeds in the raised bed but they had a ton of different tomato types in the garden center that were already little plants. I may try this, that bucket setup looks great, I think I'm going to do that. Thanks.

 
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Did have a couple of questions.

Like I said, in a few holes I accidentally dumped 5-6 seeds instead of 2-3, is that going to be a problem?

I have no idea how much water or how moist soil should have been when I planted and it wasn't very specific in the book. The soil in the bags was already pretty damp so I put some water, maybe a cup or two in each square, we watered as we planted. Then after putting seed in hole we put a tiny bit right in there to make sure seed was wet then covered. What should I have done? Also, how often do you water or how wet should I keep it?

Also, what happens if we get a really heavy rain, can my garden get flooded it out? Definitely some rain in our forecast, was supposed to get some today but it held off. Thankfully the frost has passed us by now.

Finally, I just planted everything we had. Does it make a lot of difference in garden this small? Should I have staggered it? Are all four squares of lettuce going to be ready the same couple days?

 
For your drainage holes, cut some screen in small squares and push them in from underneath if you can or just tack them to the bottom. Not optimal, but it will help.

Planting everything at once isn't a crime, just know that you'll be getting your yields at different times with different plants.

I would cage the tomatoes instead of staking or running them up a trellis. You get a more consistent bush.

Avoid the temptation to over-Miracle Gro, especially the tomatoes. Once a week with that stuff is plenty. Otherwise, your plants will grow too fast and won't be as strong as they need to be.

Don't worry that you dropped too many seeds in some of your hills. As someone above said, you can thin them later.

For watering, do it enough so the soil is moist most of the time.

Keep a journal. What you planted when (that part should be easy this year!), when they yield, etc.... That'll help your planning next year. Also, log how your drainage works ("1 inch of rain flooded it", etc...). That way you can modify next year.

Most of all, have fun. Something will go wrong - that's ok. Gardening with your kids is a great hobby. It's a learning process and changes year to year.

 
Couple more suggestions:

I'd consider doubling the depth of your planter box next year. Your root veggies will do better.

Think about regionalizing your soils to match the plant. Carrots, for instance, love sandier soils (so does asparagus, but that's a multi-year plant). Tomatoes will grow in anything once they get rooted, but the best is straight black, manured-filled dirt.

Next year, make your self a starter box. 4 2x12s made into a rectangle with a hinged, plexiglass top. Then you can start seeds early instead of buying plants, if you or your daughter really want to go from scratch.

I'd skip the running vine plants - cukes, squash, melons - if you're using these boxes. They'll run and re-root all over the place. For this year, just pull the re-root attempts free as you see them trying to take hold..

 
this is pretty cool brohan just wanted to drop in and say aces amigo take that to the bank

 
I wrote down all of the steps and what we planted, journal is a good idea. That way I'll know what did or did not work next year.

When the year is over, after everything has been grown and picked, do you keep the soil for the next year or do you start all over again?

I didn't plant any melons or squash, I did plant one square of cucumber. How will I know when it needs to be pulled?

Also, is thinning mean just remove multilple plants from the same hole and make sure it's just 1 per planting spot?

 
lombardi said:
I wrote down all of the steps and what we planted, journal is a good idea. That way I'll know what did or did not work next year.

When the year is over, after everything has been grown and picked, do you keep the soil for the next year or do you start all over again?

I didn't plant any melons or squash, I did plant one square of cucumber. How will I know when it needs to be pulled?

Also, is thinning mean just remove multilple plants from the same hole and make sure it's just 1 per planting spot?
Click to expand...
On a raised bed, I'd replace the soil. Put it in a compost pile/barrel for reuse next season. Seriously, get a barrel. I dump everything organic into it to make next season's compost.

The vines will run out and you'll notice them trying to root along the run. It's ok if they do, but you don't want then taking over your garden.

You'll just know. One will look stronger than the others. Pluck the weaker plants. Post pics here if you're not sure. Again, not doing so isn't a calamity.

 
Don't worry about over-watering the plants. That's one of the beauties of raised beds, they drain so well it's tough to over-water them. This also means raised beds dry out fairly quickly. Just make sure it's damp. If you see water pooling up, it's time to stop watering.

It doesn't matter how many seeds you dropped in the hole. Just pluck the extra plants that sprout.

One thing that got me through the cold New England winters was starting seeds under florescent lights in the basement. I bet your daughter would get a kick out of that. You can start onions as early as February. Tomatoes in March. Also another suggestion (sorry about the amount of suggestions but I'm excited to help anyone starting out on this great hobby), I really enjoyed getting the FedCo seed catalog every winter. I bet you and your daughter would have a fun time going through it, choosing what you want to plant. The FedCo seed catalog is a fun read, it's not just a listing of seeds. "Armchair gardening" is what we call it. Here is a link to the catalog request page. They also have pdfs you can view but getting the catalog in the mail is more fun. http://www.fedcoseeds.com/requests.htm

For the tomatoes, I think a traditional cage may not work with your setup. I don't think 6 inches of soil will support the cage and the tomato plants once they are large. Since you planted the tomatoes in the back I think stringing them up a might work best for you. I had trouble keeping my cages upright in a foot of soil. But I found bending the bottom of the cages so the legs spread outright helps provide more support. Also, you'll want to cage them sooner than later so you don't cause any root disruption for the tomatoes or surrounding plants. Here is a link I sent to my mother-in-law who is just starting her own garden regarding pruning and stringing up tomatoes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJgA4n-sCE8

I never replaced my soil (aside from the tomato buckets which I did every 2 years). I always just amended it with fresh compost which we made. I tested my soil (sent to a university in the mail) after 4 years of gardening in the same box with the same soil (amended yearly with compost) and the test came back with flying colors. I sent the soil out because I wasn't having luck with some plants. Turns out I just wasn't getting enough sun. Doesn't look like you'll have that problem.

One thing I would stress is just don't worry too much about it. When I started I found myself over-flooded with different opinions on what to plant where, how to do it, blah, blah, blah. Just plant the seeds, observe, sit back and enjoy. Nature knows how to take care of itself.

BTW, where are you located?

 
for those of you using the raised garden things like the op made( not sure what theyre called) do you have trouble with wind knocking them over

 
Uruk-Hai said:
lombardi said:
I wrote down all of the steps and what we planted, journal is a good idea. That way I'll know what did or did not work next year.

When the year is over, after everything has been grown and picked, do you keep the soil for the next year or do you start all over again?

I didn't plant any melons or squash, I did plant one square of cucumber. How will I know when it needs to be pulled?

Also, is thinning mean just remove multilple plants from the same hole and make sure it's just 1 per planting spot?
Click to expand...
On a raised bed, I'd replace the soil. Put it in a compost pile/barrel for reuse next season. Seriously, get a barrel. I dump everything organic into it to make next season's compost.

The vines will run out and you'll notice them trying to root along the run. It's ok if they do, but you don't want then taking over your garden.

You'll just know. One will look stronger than the others. Pluck the weaker plants. Post pics here if you're not sure. Again, not doing so isn't a calamity.
Click to expand...
For compost does that just mean anything that would normally go down the garbage disposal you store in a bucket of dirt and let it all break down? Veggie skins & ends, trimmed meat fat, egg shells, leftover food, etc., etc..? Can I just use a big plastic trash can or something? Doesn't it really smell after a while?

 
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Cunk said:
Don't worry about over-watering the plants. That's one of the beauties of raised beds, they drain so well it's tough to over-water them. This also means raised beds dry out fairly quickly. Just make sure it's damp. If you see water pooling up, it's time to stop watering.

It doesn't matter how many seeds you dropped in the hole. Just pluck the extra plants that sprout.

One thing that got me through the cold New England winters was starting seeds under florescent lights in the basement. I bet your daughter would get a kick out of that. You can start onions as early as February. Tomatoes in March. Also another suggestion (sorry about the amount of suggestions but I'm excited to help anyone starting out on this great hobby), I really enjoyed getting the FedCo seed catalog every winter. I bet you and your daughter would have a fun time going through it, choosing what you want to plant. The FedCo seed catalog is a fun read, it's not just a listing of seeds. "Armchair gardening" is what we call it. Here is a link to the catalog request page. They also have pdfs you can view but getting the catalog in the mail is more fun. http://www.fedcoseeds.com/requests.htm

For the tomatoes, I think a traditional cage may not work with your setup. I don't think 6 inches of soil will support the cage and the tomato plants once they are large. Since you planted the tomatoes in the back I think stringing them up a might work best for you. I had trouble keeping my cages upright in a foot of soil. But I found bending the bottom of the cages so the legs spread outright helps provide more support. Also, you'll want to cage them sooner than later so you don't cause any root disruption for the tomatoes or surrounding plants. Here is a link I sent to my mother-in-law who is just starting her own garden regarding pruning and stringing up tomatoes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJgA4n-sCE8

I never replaced my soil (aside from the tomato buckets which I did every 2 years). I always just amended it with fresh compost which we made. I tested my soil (sent to a university in the mail) after 4 years of gardening in the same box with the same soil (amended yearly with compost) and the test came back with flying colors. I sent the soil out because I wasn't having luck with some plants. Turns out I just wasn't getting enough sun. Doesn't look like you'll have that problem.

One thing I would stress is just don't worry too much about it. When I started I found myself over-flooded with different opinions on what to plant where, how to do it, blah, blah, blah. Just plant the seeds, observe, sit back and enjoy. Nature knows how to take care of itself.

BTW, where are you located?
Click to expand...
Just ordered my seed catalog.

We live in North Carolina about a half hour south of Asheville (almost in South Carolina). We're at about 2k feet elevation.

I wasn't sure whether to build a trellis up the back of the box or do a cage. I was thinking we probably need to build some kind of removable protection on top to protect from critters, some chicken wire on a frame that I can remove. So whatever that is, my trellis/cage will need to fit under it.

 
lombardi said:
Uruk-Hai said:
lombardi said:
I wrote down all of the steps and what we planted, journal is a good idea. That way I'll know what did or did not work next year.

When the year is over, after everything has been grown and picked, do you keep the soil for the next year or do you start all over again?

I didn't plant any melons or squash, I did plant one square of cucumber. How will I know when it needs to be pulled?

Also, is thinning mean just remove multilple plants from the same hole and make sure it's just 1 per planting spot?
Click to expand...
On a raised bed, I'd replace the soil. Put it in a compost pile/barrel for reuse next season. Seriously, get a barrel. I dump everything organic into it to make next season's compost.

The vines will run out and you'll notice them trying to root along the run. It's ok if they do, but you don't want then taking over your garden.

You'll just know. One will look stronger than the others. Pluck the weaker plants. Post pics here if you're not sure. Again, not doing so isn't a calamity.
Click to expand...
For compost does that just mean anything that would normally go down the garbage disposal you store in a bucket of dirt and let it all break down? Veggie skins & ends, trimmed meat fat, egg shells, leftover food, etc., etc..? Can I just use a big plastic trash can or something? Doesn't it really smell after a while?
Click to expand...
No meat. Veggie parts, egg shells, and coffee grounds are fine, as are grass clippings.

 
lombardi said:
Cunk said:
Don't worry about over-watering the plants. That's one of the beauties of raised beds, they drain so well it's tough to over-water them. This also means raised beds dry out fairly quickly. Just make sure it's damp. If you see water pooling up, it's time to stop watering.

It doesn't matter how many seeds you dropped in the hole. Just pluck the extra plants that sprout.

One thing that got me through the cold New England winters was starting seeds under florescent lights in the basement. I bet your daughter would get a kick out of that. You can start onions as early as February. Tomatoes in March. Also another suggestion (sorry about the amount of suggestions but I'm excited to help anyone starting out on this great hobby), I really enjoyed getting the FedCo seed catalog every winter. I bet you and your daughter would have a fun time going through it, choosing what you want to plant. The FedCo seed catalog is a fun read, it's not just a listing of seeds. "Armchair gardening" is what we call it. Here is a link to the catalog request page. They also have pdfs you can view but getting the catalog in the mail is more fun. http://www.fedcoseeds.com/requests.htm

For the tomatoes, I think a traditional cage may not work with your setup. I don't think 6 inches of soil will support the cage and the tomato plants once they are large. Since you planted the tomatoes in the back I think stringing them up a might work best for you. I had trouble keeping my cages upright in a foot of soil. But I found bending the bottom of the cages so the legs spread outright helps provide more support. Also, you'll want to cage them sooner than later so you don't cause any root disruption for the tomatoes or surrounding plants. Here is a link I sent to my mother-in-law who is just starting her own garden regarding pruning and stringing up tomatoes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJgA4n-sCE8

I never replaced my soil (aside from the tomato buckets which I did every 2 years). I always just amended it with fresh compost which we made. I tested my soil (sent to a university in the mail) after 4 years of gardening in the same box with the same soil (amended yearly with compost) and the test came back with flying colors. I sent the soil out because I wasn't having luck with some plants. Turns out I just wasn't getting enough sun. Doesn't look like you'll have that problem.

One thing I would stress is just don't worry too much about it. When I started I found myself over-flooded with different opinions on what to plant where, how to do it, blah, blah, blah. Just plant the seeds, observe, sit back and enjoy. Nature knows how to take care of itself.

BTW, where are you located?
Click to expand...
Just ordered my seed catalog.

We live in North Carolina about a half hour south of Asheville (almost in South Carolina). We're at about 2k feet elevation.

I wasn't sure whether to build a trellis up the back of the box or do a cage. I was thinking we probably need to build some kind of removable protection on top to protect from critters, some chicken wire on a frame that I can remove. So whatever that is, my trellis/cage will need to fit under it.
Click to expand...
That book I recommended shows how to build removable protection. Basically it's what you said, make 6 wooden frames (4 for the sides, 2 for the top. All the same size). I built a trellis on the back so the protection frames didn't have to fit under it. Once the plants got started hitting the top frames, I just removed them. Here's a photo of my raised bed with the tops (and back) off. The tops just rested on top. http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w365/richardwscanlon/IMG_2763_zpsojmqh4b0.jpg

 
Last edited by a moderator:
WhatDoIKnow said:
VA703 said:
for those of you using the raised garden things like the op made( not sure what theyre called) do you have trouble with wind knocking them over
Click to expand...
Should be pretty heavy after being loaded with dirt. I wouldn't want to try to move a large one after it was loaded.
Click to expand...
This thing is REALLY heavy. I don't think I could move it. I actually wish I had put a few more screws into the legs now that I have it up. OR some cross beams underneath. I used 3 inch, coarse, galvanized screws but I only screwed 2 each into the 4x4's holding it up. Probalby should have put 3 or 4 in there and some other kind of support beam. Didn't realize after soil and water how heavy it was actually going to be.

 
Cunk said:
lombardi said:
Cunk said:
Don't worry about over-watering the plants. That's one of the beauties of raised beds, they drain so well it's tough to over-water them. This also means raised beds dry out fairly quickly. Just make sure it's damp. If you see water pooling up, it's time to stop watering.

It doesn't matter how many seeds you dropped in the hole. Just pluck the extra plants that sprout.

One thing that got me through the cold New England winters was starting seeds under florescent lights in the basement. I bet your daughter would get a kick out of that. You can start onions as early as February. Tomatoes in March. Also another suggestion (sorry about the amount of suggestions but I'm excited to help anyone starting out on this great hobby), I really enjoyed getting the FedCo seed catalog every winter. I bet you and your daughter would have a fun time going through it, choosing what you want to plant. The FedCo seed catalog is a fun read, it's not just a listing of seeds. "Armchair gardening" is what we call it. Here is a link to the catalog request page. They also have pdfs you can view but getting the catalog in the mail is more fun. http://www.fedcoseeds.com/requests.htm

For the tomatoes, I think a traditional cage may not work with your setup. I don't think 6 inches of soil will support the cage and the tomato plants once they are large. Since you planted the tomatoes in the back I think stringing them up a might work best for you. I had trouble keeping my cages upright in a foot of soil. But I found bending the bottom of the cages so the legs spread outright helps provide more support. Also, you'll want to cage them sooner than later so you don't cause any root disruption for the tomatoes or surrounding plants. Here is a link I sent to my mother-in-law who is just starting her own garden regarding pruning and stringing up tomatoes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJgA4n-sCE8

I never replaced my soil (aside from the tomato buckets which I did every 2 years). I always just amended it with fresh compost which we made. I tested my soil (sent to a university in the mail) after 4 years of gardening in the same box with the same soil (amended yearly with compost) and the test came back with flying colors. I sent the soil out because I wasn't having luck with some plants. Turns out I just wasn't getting enough sun. Doesn't look like you'll have that problem.

One thing I would stress is just don't worry too much about it. When I started I found myself over-flooded with different opinions on what to plant where, how to do it, blah, blah, blah. Just plant the seeds, observe, sit back and enjoy. Nature knows how to take care of itself.

BTW, where are you located?
Click to expand...
Just ordered my seed catalog.

We live in North Carolina about a half hour south of Asheville (almost in South Carolina). We're at about 2k feet elevation.

I wasn't sure whether to build a trellis up the back of the box or do a cage. I was thinking we probably need to build some kind of removable protection on top to protect from critters, some chicken wire on a frame that I can remove. So whatever that is, my trellis/cage will need to fit under it.
Click to expand...
That book I recommended shows how to build removable protection. Basically it's what you said, make 6 wooden frames (4 for the sides, 2 for the top. All the same size). I built a trellis on the back so the protection frames didn't have to fit under it. Once the plants got started hitting the top frames, I just removed them. Here's a photo of my raised bed with the tops (and back) off. The tops just rested on top. http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w365/richardwscanlon/IMG_2763_zpsojmqh4b0.jpg
Click to expand...
Cool setup. How old is your box and what kind of wood? I didn't want to use treated wood because I'm eating what grows in there so I ended up using regular untreated pine. I'm guessing it is going to rot out in a season or two. I could have used cedar but it was going to cost 3X as much. I figure since it's my first one I would start inexpensively and if I have success and want to build something better I'll spend some money then.

I had looked at something like this but would have problems with a trellis.

http://www.bigredkitchen.com/2009/04/victory-garden-for-school/

 
Don't put anything with a fat in there. Nothing that butter or milk or animal fat has touched. Egg shells, vegetable skins/cores, grass clippings, coffee grounds, etc. You can buy a plastic garbage can with a locking lid and drill nickel sized holes all over it for ventilation. Then accumulate the stuff mentioned, adding grass clippings to help bind some of the "muck". Wet it down when you're watering your garden and turn it over from time to time to stimulate the decomposition. Pure gold.

 
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