Hopefully sometime this summer, I'm going to construct a raised bed area for the garden. I have a question about gophers. Can they bite through hardware cloth or chicken wire? Will the wire corrode and fall apart under the soil?

quote Originally posted by blackrams: The wife has been pot gardening for years

Be careful, thats not legal in your state. Wouldn't want any flyovers by police helicoptors getting you guys in trouble. Oh wait.. gardening IN pots.. not what I thought you were talking about.

quote Originally posted by fierobear: Hopefully sometime this summer, I'm going to construct a raised bed area for the garden. I have a question about gophers. Can they bite through hardware cloth or chicken wire? Will the wire corrode and fall apart under the soil?

Well, I can't really help ya with gophers, I know nothing about them, and to be honest, I can't recall ever seeing one my entire life--but I wouldn't think they could easily chew thru chicken wire.

Chicken wire is galvanized, but because it is such small gauge wire, it won't last forever underground especially under damp soil conditions.

Some reading material for ya:
http://www.ehow.com/how_444...roof-garden-bed.html

http://santacruzwire.com/in...roof-garden-bed.html

I believe this should answer your question re hardware cloth:

http://www.northcoastgarden...er-proof-raised-bed/

Now, if I could just figure a way to easily and economically make individual cages to keep crows off my watermelons.

Just saw this morning before getting in my car to go to work that a woodchuck ate ALL of our cabbage, cauliflower & brussell plants. 18 in total.
I have a special dessert all loaded up & waiting for him!

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86 GT
87 coupe restoration project.

Well it's almost July but it is finally warm enough for the living green things to get to growing nicely again. I didn't get my veggie garden in until June 2nd when you southern folks were already picking your crops. That is just getting started as it was mostly from seed. Here's some other stuff in the yard:

My raspberries are just starting to ripen and I got the netting over them today to keep the birds away from my future wine.


Marquis green seedless grapevines:


And now PIP is asking for the username and password again. Will post more pics later when PIP allows it.

Questions, questions...

We planted some "winter squash", but I was wondering what variety this is?





Any idea what is wrong with these plants? (note the brown leaves)

The squash looks like a zuchinni on steroids. The last picture looks like peas. My snow peas are doing the same thing. I think it's because they prefer cooler weather to grow in and it's just too hot for them now.

quote Originally posted by Larryh86GT: The squash looks like a zuchinni on steroids. The last picture looks like peas. My snow peas are doing the same thing. I think it's because they prefer cooler weather to grow in and it's just too hot for them now.

I'm thinking it might be spaghetti squash, but picked too early. I can't find anything like it with a google search.

Yes, the other pic is of a snow pea plant. Leaves are turning brown. It has been hot lately, so that might be it. We aren't necessarily planting everything in season. The artichokes are surprising me, doing well so far. They like the cooler conditions near the coast.

My bell peppers are doing pretty good (no pics for now, I'll post em later). But I have a question: How long do I wait for them to change color? I really want any other color besides green. I just don't want to wait too long and they go bad. Some are getting very large like what you see in the stores.

Edit - here's the plants... don't have pics of the peppers themselves cause I'm at work...



"Hurry up and take the picture, honey... it's hot out here!"

[This message has been edited by Cheever3000 (edited 07-06-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Cheever3000: My bell peppers are doing pretty good (no pics for now, I'll post em later). But I have a question: How long do I wait for them to change color? I really want any other color besides green. I just don't want to wait too long and they go bad. Some are getting very large like what you see in the stores. Edit - here's the plants... don't have pics of the peppers themselves cause I'm at work... "Hurry up and take the picture, honey... it's hot out here!"

Wow, those plants are huge. Nice job.

Larry

quote Originally posted by fierobear: I'm thinking it might be spaghetti squash, but picked too early. I can't find anything like it with a google search. Yes, the other pic is of a snow pea plant. Leaves are turning brown. It has been hot lately, so that might be it. We aren't necessarily planting everything in season. The artichokes are surprising me, doing well so far. They like the cooler conditions near the coast.

I couldn't plant until June 2nd with all the rain we had this year. Even then my soil really was too wet to rotitile but I had to get the garden in before the snow came back. The snow peas I planted usually grew about 6' tall but they only got about a foot tall before fading and dying out. Next year if we want snow peas they will have to be planted a lot earlier.

quote Originally posted by Larryh86GT: I couldn't plant until June 2nd with all the rain we had this year. Even then my soil really was too wet to rotitile but I had to get the garden in before the snow came back. The snow peas I planted usually grew about 6' tall but they only got about a foot tall before fading and dying out. Next year if we want snow peas they will have to be planted a lot earlier.

Yeah, maybe it is too hot for the snow peas. We got a few off the of plant so far, and they are tasty!

No pics but, I am now convinced that I've created a monster. I obviously planted the maters way to close together, inaddition my wife keeps throwing Miracle Grow out there (according to the instructions I'm told). Most of the maters are at least 7 feet tall and spreading rapidly. As I type this, I think NASA is photo-mapping the new jungle in KY. I swear, it looks like something Don flew over in Viet Nam, triple canopy or worse.

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Ron

quote Originally posted by blackrams: No pics but, I am now convinced that I've created a monster. I obviously planted the maters way to close together, inaddition my wife keeps throwing Miracle Grow out there (according to the instructions I'm told). Most of the maters are at least 7 feet tall and spreading rapidly. As I type this, I think NASA is photo-mapping the new jungle in KY. I swear, it looks like something Don flew over in Viet Nam, triple canopy or worse.

I know what you mean. I started with 3 potted "early girl" tomato plants from a local store. Less than 2 months later, they've merged into a surprisingly large "tomato bush". Obviously, I planted them too close together!

That's why I use 5' & 6' concrete reinforcement wire to make my tomato cages. A 150' roll is less than $100 and will make about 20 cages. If you think that's expensive, try buying cages and see what a sorry. flimsy uselss piece of crap you end up with and you'l be lucky if the store bought ones last a single season and they are SHORT!!
Take the roll, unroll it a bit, count off 10 squares and cut it leaving 10 full squares on the cutoff piece. Roll that piece into a circle and tie it with hog rings or good baling wire, and you have a nice lifetime, reusable, virtually indestructable cage. Place the rolled cage over the young plant, pile some dirt around the bottom, or stake it down with cheap tent stakes, and all you need to do is walk by it and occassionally push the wandering limbs back inside the cage.

Maters are self pollinating--they don't need another plant as a pollinator so there's no need to plant them close together. I kept mine about 3' apart--maybe more.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 07-06-2011).]

Do the tomato plants live from year to year? Does it depend on the local climate?

quote Originally posted by maryjane: That's why I use 5' & 6' concrete reinforcement wire to make my tomato cages. A 150' roll is less than $100 and will make about 20 cages. If you think that's expensive, try buying cages and see what a sorry. flimsy uselss piece of crap you end up with and you'l be lucky if the store bought ones last a single season and they are SHORT!! Take the roll, unroll it a bit, count off 10 squares and cut it leaving 10 full squares on the cutoff piece. Roll that piece into a circle and tie it with hog rings or good baling wire, and you have a nice lifetime, reusable, virtually indestructable cage. Place the rolled cage over the young plant, pile some dirt around the bottom, or stake it down with cheap tent stakes, and all you need to do is walk by it and occassionally push the wandering limbs back inside the cage.

Oh, we have cages, ones that have lasted several years worth of pot gardening. But, for some reason, this years maters are taking over. I keep thinking about that movie Little Shop of Horrors. I watched several birds fly in and around these things and if they actually go in, they don't come out.

quote Originally posted by maryjane: Maters are self pollinating--they don't need another plant as a pollinator so there's no need to plant them close together. I kept mine about 3' apart--maybe more.

I knew a guy from Texas that was like that once. Always trying to self pollinate. At least I think that's what he was up to. I was afraid to get close enough to see.

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Ron

[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 07-06-2011).]

Here’s a couple of pictures of this year’s garden. It’s been a real battle this year; the Weather (to cold & to wet, to dry & to hot), the Critters (aphids, caterpillars, Japanese beetles, rabbits, squirrels, ground hog, club-footed dogs, moles, grubs, and wal-mart bugs {A.K.A. stinkbugs}).

Finally have our first pickings of beets and green beans from the garden today:

I've got CROPS!!!
By George, I'm a farmer now!

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Check your PM's here.
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Wow. You guys have some great gardens going! Nice work!

This spider between the snow pea fence and the swiss chard is about 2" accross. I'm not messing with him.

Well, thanks to Irene our garden is a total loss this season.
All that we had left that the deer hadn't yet feasted on was the corn. Corn doesn't hold up to 40- 50 mph winds all that well.
We'll try again next year. I'll have to replace the 6' fence with a 8' fence!

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86 GT
87 coupe restoration project.

quote Originally posted by nmw75: Well, thanks to Irene our garden is a total loss this season. All that we had left that the deer hadn't yet feasted on was the corn. Corn doesn't hold up to 40- 50 mph winds all that well. We'll try again next year. I'll have to replace the 6' fence with a 8' fence!

Ooops.

Depending how far along in growth it was (is) you can--if the ground is still wet--stand it back up and it will do pretty good, as long as the stalks aren't completely broken. I had to stand mine back up several times last year and still made a lot of corn for the freezer, but we weren't subjected to that kind of wind for a long period of time. I have heard, but never tried it, of using that bright orange plastic netting along a fence--the kind of netting you see at construction sites. Supposedly deters deer and keeps crows away. You can buy it at Lowes and other major building supply stores pretty cheaply.

My B-I-L planted his corn in very short 4' rows, 10" apart, making small 4' square "plots" of corn. Planting it that densly, according to one of the big Ag Universities, helps it to pollinate, and gives the crop wind resistance. Only the outer stalks in each square suffered any wind damage and even those weren't bent completely over--and he did get excellent ear to stalk ratios using this method.

FWIW, I don't think those plastic owls with the rotating heads do much good if any at all. b-i-l and I each have one "perched" above our gardens and still suffered heavy bird damage. Birds pooped all over his and pecked the plastic eyes out of it as well.

quote Originally posted by maryjane: FWIW, I don't think those plastic owls with the rotating heads do much good if any at all. b-i-l and I each have one "perched" above our gardens and still suffered heavy bird damage. Birds pooped all over his and pecked the plastic eyes out of it as well.

I think those are known as Rodney Dangerfield Owls, they don't get much respect.

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Ron

After a couple of months of relentless heat, most of the vegetables are done for.
Savoy cabbage was good, I'll plant that again. Here's the last one:


The last of the tomatoes with some butter beans:



I still have some lima beans, bell peppers, and a little arugala left, and we started planting the fall gardens this week.
We have plenty of fruit, though:



I almost cut this tree down, but it finally produced some fruit. The buttery flavor of avocodo pairs well with the peppery arugala in a salad.




Bannanna:.




Papayas:


Oranges:

They'll be ripe around Thanksgiving.

SWMBO has already picked the pears and made preserves.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This time next year, the thornless blackberries will begin to produce, and maybe the grapes.
I have a tree full of margarita fruit limes, too.
And a grapefruit and a tangerine tree.

[This message has been edited by NEPTUNE (edited 09-14-2011).]

OMG - Tomato sauce!

My wife made our first attempt at making sauce from fresh tomatoes. We need to learn more, because it isn't as thick as we'd like, but...OMG...the FLAVOR blew me away. It was tangy, spicy...tasty like no sauce I'd ever tasted. I want to perfect the process and try to replace all my use of tomato sauce from our garden.

For folks in the more "temperate" climates (like where it doesn't snow), do your tomato plants live through the winter and live, or do they produce and die?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
They usually produce fruit through December and most of January here, unless we get an unusually long cold spell like we did last winter.
Farther south they'll produce nonstop through June.
We have some 3' tall plants now, though most are only a few inches.

At least the pests are a lot less active in the cooler months.

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Drive safely!

But the plants tend to survive from season to season?

I'm thinking of building a greenhouse so I can grow tomatoes all year round. My wife and I made fresh tomato sauce again today for pasta, and we're addicted to sauce from fresh.

No, the tomato plants don't live forever, or even for a year.
After they fruit, they'll decline.
Then you start over.
Sorry I wasn't clearer.

[This message has been edited by NEPTUNE (edited 10-02-2011).]

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: No, the tomato plants don't live forever, or even for a year. After they fruit, they'll decline. Then you start over. Sorry I wasn't clearer.

No worries, that's the info I was looking for.

The local feed store has small potted tomato plants that went crazy in our garden. I'll just go buy a half dozen and start over. God, I love fresh tomatoes for sauce.

I planted a couple patio tomato plants in my veggie garden this year. I liked them a lot. The plants don't get overly large and the tomatoes are on the smallish size but they were perfect for just the 2 of us. Unlike the cherry tomatoes that I usually plant that are like jungle plants and become a chore to keep picked at this time of the year.

So My tomatoe and pepper plants started dying off after they produced bushels of veggies around the second week of August. So I just let them die off. About a month and a half ago we got an epic amount of rain, and of course it is still hot out. I was looking out of my bedroom window and what did I see? Peppers growing from the "dead" stems on the peppers. I went out to look closer and found that the tomotoes were starting to sprout new leaves and flowers, and the peppers were going crazy. So I started watering them again, and recently picked another basket of peppers. The tomatoes have another couple of weeks to ripen up, but what a suprise.

quote Originally posted by fierobear: For folks in the more "temperate" climates (like where it doesn't snow), do your tomato plants live through the winter and live, or do they produce and die?

Todays harvest, some Italian beets and some good sized carrots.

At the moment I am already looking forward to spring because I love gardening. I will plant many different plants and flowers in my garden. I will plant tomatoes, sweet corn, broccoli, cucumbers and watermelons and besides this I will plant many other flowers and plants. There are so many different and beautiful flowers in London and I want all of them in my garden.