Onions and Potatoes are in...

[JamesBe1 82]

What are you using to plant verticle? Old tires? I thought about it but dont like the idea of what may leach out of the tires and into the soil. We have been lucky this year with very little pesticides, mostly organic Neem Oil to ward off the bugs and lots of frogs introduced to the garden. Everywhere I go to weed a frog jumps out and takes off to another part of the garden.

No tires. I too am concerned about the possibility of stuff leaching out of the tires.

I got some fine mesh screen at the local HD (I think 4cm square holes). One roll made a planter about 2 - 3' across. The first one I made was out of two rolls, and is larger around than I really want. I'll post some pics later today. Last year, I used metal fencing with 2x4 holes. I figured I would use that cloth stuff that they put down to keep the weeds down, to wrap around the planter. That way, it would let water out but keep the dirt in. Sadly, it did not have enough strength to hold the weight of the dirt, and started to rip about halfway up. Oh well, it was just an experiment/learning experience.

This year, it seems to be working very well so far. I have a large pile of horse manure nearby, and every day I throw a couple of shovel-fulls in each one. The potatoes plants love it! At least that is what I can see from the way they are growing. But the proof is going to be in the yield.

Oh yea, I put a couple of pieces of cardboard in the bottom of the planters before I started to kill the grass and weeds.

James

P.S. You can see the larger of the planters in the background of my icon (the big pic is in my gallery). I used t-bar fence posts as I was concerned with it being knocked over. I skipped using them on the smaller planters. It was probably overkill anyway. When the time comes to harvest the smaller planters, all I should have to do is knock them over. That's the theory anyway. We'll see how it goes in a few months.

[JamesBe1 82]

Wow, what a fantastic garden. I wish mine were half as large. I love the idea of using the pony tiller to weed in between the rows. I think I'm going to try that next year.

BTW, have you ever tried planting the potatoes in a vertical planter? This is my second year doing so. The first year was more of an experiment to see if it works. It did! It makes harvesting pretty easy. The first year was only one planter, this year is three. Next year will probably be at least five.

Has anybody else here ever tried it? I'd love to hear your results.

PICS?

As requested:

I used T-Posts on the large one, but I think it was unnecessary. Notice the potato plants growing out the side.

Here's the large one made from two rolls of screen. The potatoes are really liking the horse manure.

I started this one about a week later. No vertical supports. I can just tip it over when harvest time comes. If you notice the dents in the side of it, it was because I backed into it with my D-180 while fooling around.

I started this one another week later (I tend to procrastinate on things). Once the potatoes sprouted, then took off like rockets

Group photo:

It happened that the screening was wrapped with a galvanized wire that was just perfect for tying the ends together to make it a cylinder. It was a bit of a pain (I stabbed myself several times with the sharp ends of the fencing), but worth it as I will use them again next year. If I get a good yield, I will make a couple more.

My only concern was something that I suspect might have caused me problems last year. Piling the dirt vertically, resulted in a lot of pressure towards the bottom of the planter. I don't know how difficult that makes it for potatoes to grow. Last year, I went to the trouble of sifting the dirt that I got from the edge of my property. It was fine, and probably compacted very well. This year, I am using the stuff from the manure pile. Still, I am worried about the pressure on the bottom of the planter. I think I will be throwing some old hay in there to create a less dense matrix for the potatoes to grow in. I kinda like the irony of that. I am using the stuff that both goes into and out of the horse! I wonder if I can get the horse to eat potatoes? That would make for an interesting convolusion :)

[Rooster 191]

SO basically it is a form of raised bed gardening?

Not criticizing, just trying to learn...I don't get it, whats the point?

Seems to me you've constricted the area they have to grow?

Apparently I am missing the whole concept, lol!

I have heard of vertical planting and considered it as I have limited space.

[JamesBe1 82]

SO basically it is a form of raised bed gardening?

Not criticizing, just trying to learn...I don't get it, whats the point?

Seems to me you've constricted the area they have to grow?

Apparently I am missing the whole concept, lol!

I have heard of vertical planting and considered it as I have limited space.

Yeah, that's a good way to look at it, a radical raised bed gardening approach.

I think the point is that it doesn't take up a lot of square footage, and from a square footage point of view, the yield is much greater. Instead of the plants growing out horizontally, they are forced to grow up vertically. You are supposed to keep adding soil as the plants grow vertically, and this causes them to grow more roots and more tubers (potatoes). Also, harvesting is theoretically easier as you don't have to dig much.

Quick note on harvesting. Last year when I did it, I pulled away the fencing that I was using and the dirt just sat there like a big lump. I still had to get a shovel and do a little digging. But I attribute a lot of that problem to the very fine compacted dirt I was using, and the distorted shape from the torn fabric stuff that I was using to keep the dirt in. The yield was rather poor.

This year, I have several options for harvesting. I will probably knock over the smaller ones and scoop them up with the FEL, and place them in the back of the dump cart. I think the agitation should probably break up the dirt, and after pulling out the potatoes, I can take the dirt over to the manure pile and dump it out of the cart. Also, I was thinking about just tipping them over and rolling them around a bit to break up the dirt. Not sure yet, maybe both. For the large one, I haven't figured that out yet. Probably dismantle it manually and end up digging.

BTW, I don't take your comments as a criticism. I'm just learning too. I got sick and tired of reading and trying to figure out the best way to go about it before actually doing it (procrastinating again). I figured that I would just burn a year or two to find out what works best for me, and then start to ramp things up. This is only year two, but I learned a lot last year.

If you have any ideas or suggestions to improve on the concept, please feel free to share.

Steve - sorry if I sorta hijacked your thread. Say the word, and I will start a new one.

[Prater 75]

No problem here, hijack away...LOL

I like the idea of less digging myself. With a bum leg and back it gets me down after a day of gardening.

[Rooster 191]

Ahh, so yes I was missing the concept, lol.

What I have seen before was several stacked planters.

The adding dirt as it grows makes sense now!

[JamesBe1 82]

Ahh, so yes I was missing the concept, lol.

What I have seen before was several stacked planters.

The adding dirt as it grows makes sense now!

Yeah, the adding dirt as it grows part somehow gets glossed over in most of the online stuff that I have seen. I think you are supposed to keep the dirt up to within several inches of the tops of the plants, although that point varies depending on where the information is coming from. I think as long as the plants are healthy and happy, you have enough sticking out of the top. In my case, I am a little behind in the adding the dirt part. I have to add dirt every day, but I could probably do well with twice a day. Too much dirt and it harms the plants, not enough and it defeats the purpose.

As a matter of fact, I think I am going out now and throw some old hay in to try to keep it compacting too much.

[Prater 75]

I have a few tomatoes that have leaf curl, no disese found and the stems are bright green. I just installed a drip irrigation system so I hope that will bring them out of it with a constant water schedule. Just a litte bit of water each morning to produce about 2 gallons of water a week to each plant. I need to mulch around them also. I noticed that wheat straw is now available in my area, anyone use this straw for mulch?

[Prater 75]

Took some pics this morning, Tomatoes are still a bit iffy but everything else looks good...

[Prater 75]

Ended up freezing some zucchini last night. After blanching and draining we vacuum sealed 5 cups of shredded zucchini and 12 cups of sliced zucchini. We made 3 pints of pickled Sweet Banana Peppers and dried a good amount of bell peppers. We pulled all 4 rows of onions this morning, we have a bunch to process this weekend. Too bad they were too deep and did not get very large, next year we have a new plan for keeping the onions shallow.

[JamesBe1 82]

Wow! That is one heck of a garden. I love the drip irrigation system. How much work was that to put in?

[Prater 75]

Not too hard. Its a bit expensive the first time around though. I think I have close to 100 drip emitters at $5 a 10 pack, 500 foot of hose cost around $35 and the fittings and ends were probably another $30 or so. The timer is $50 but I already had that and some of the parts. The big thing is to have an assisted punch for the line, I borrowed that from Daddy Don but will look for one later to have my own. The effects of the drip system were noticible the next day. It looked like everything had perked up and was back to growing after the devestation the hail created. I also have 6 fifty foot soaker hoses running, Sams Club 2 pack for $12. The timer has three zones, tomatoes and peppers for 10 minutes at 5am, then it runs the soaker hoses on the squash/Zucchini/cucumbers and okra rows for 30 minutes, and the last zone is all the mellons and cantelope for 10 minutes. It took a good afternoon of getting it installed in the heat...

[Prater 75]

Here is a small amount of the Yellow Pear Tomato fruit. My kiddo loves these things. It does seem to loose more green tomatoes off the vine but they rippen up if left in the sun after a week or so. My son will eat every one of these he finds. It is a cherry tomato variety and is the most prolific producer of all my tomato plants.

[Prater 75]

I started mulching this evening, I just have a few rows left to weed and then mulch...

[312Hydro 474]

That's a great garden Steve! Where did you get your zone timer? Any pics of the setup? Thanks for sharing your garden experiences. I'm going to try the drip system too. Do you add a liquid fertilizer in the line? How's the mulch working ? Sorry for the all the questions.

[Prater 75]

I use one of the Orbit battery timers on the well water, I dont have a pic of my setup but I have a link to it. I dont have the fertilizer in the drip just using osmocoat time release when planting. I have been looking at the inline systems but they seem to just hold a small amount of fertilizer and not worth messing with.

Here is the timer I have. It is simple and works great.

http://www.amazon.co...rbit zone timer

[Prater 75]

The Okra is growing too fast. Picked this batch last night. There are quite a few that are pretty large, I dont want to throw them out. Mom suggesting using them for soup or cooking. What do you do with your okra that is tough?

[edur1710 0]

i got red tomatoes onions are ready, potatoes are ready to dig, peppers squash are ready to eat also corn will be ready in about 2 weeks i love it

[Prater 75]

I have been freezing Okra like crazy. Bugs took all but one squash plant, they got all the zucchini and cucumbers. I just picked up a trailer full of horse manure that was green so I spread it on the bare garden spot and tilled it in. I dont have a good area for a compost pile yet and figured it would be broken down by the time anything gets planted in that spot.

I am going to plant some squash seeds in a small area of the established garden and see if i can get a good fall crop. I think most of the squash bugs have moved on...that may be wishful thinking though...

[Prater 75]

Here are a few post heat pictures of the garden. The heat took its toll but everything seems to be coming back out. The tomatoes are pretty brown on bottom but a lot of new growth is starting on the tops.

New planting of squash

Tomatoes recovering

Bell Peppers starting to grow again

Some small Jalapeno Plants and Okra

[Prater 75]

I worked on the garden after work yesterday. I tilled up the old squash/zucchini/Cucumber row since they were all dead and planted a row of Sugar Snap Peas. I plan to add trellis as soon as the funds are there to get some...I may do as my friend does and just hang twine from a top bar suspended between the t-posts for the vine to grab ahold and climb. Not much in the picture but i will take some progression shots. I also cleaned the grass thats in the picture that was choking out what little green beans are left. We had a lot of dry pods with seeds so I replanted that row with what we found. It will probably need a trellis if the beans start to grow again.

I have a few mellons that are starting to produce again.

[Prater 75]

The garden is starting to produce pretty good again.

I was able to get a couple of Ghost Chilli Peppers this morning, the first harvest all dried up in the heat...

Not the bucket loads I was getting before the heat of summer, but this bowl is filled with Peppers and Okra

[312Hydro 474]

Lookin' good Steve! I'm finally getting ripe Tomatoes and the squash and zucchini have been producing about a month now. Are those purple peppers California Wonders?

[Prater 75]

Not sure what variety, we forgot to write down the names of our varieties before we threw out the containers.

[Prater 75]

I still have not had any bees in the garden. I am trying to make some flower beds to attract them for next year. I have started the first flower bed with some plants we purchased on clearance at Lowes. Here is some Blue Butterfly Bush and some Lavender to start. We have seeds that we will get started in this garden also, they are what we are collecting from friends and parents. I have red hibiscus, white marigold, touch me nots, yellow daisy, and a few others to start. I plan a Crape Myrtle or rose of sharon for the center of this flower garden. We also seeded red clover around the outside of the bed that is just starting to come up.

Just a random morning pic of a pumkin bloom

I also harvested 5 pounds of okra last night and this morning...