I am having to visit the  garden about 3 times daily just to keep up with the produce that is ripening. This includes pounds of tomatoes daily, okra, summer squash,  zucchini,  cucumber, corn, beans, peppers, broccoli, and even several watermelon (not planted in the raised bed, but on the far side).

Since this picture, my squash have succumbed to a bad case of powdery mildew – which I have only partly been able to control by eliminating infected leaves and spraying with baking soda. My corn unfortunately got ravaged by hungry raccoons, so I will probably need to install an electric fence for deterrence in the future.  Otherwise the garden is doing very well, and will probably last until the real heat of  July and August.

What a thrill it is to have more than enough to eat ourselves, and plenty to continually share with friends and family.  Even after giving away many tomatoes, I still had to dry several bags by using a food dehydrator.  If more people would go through the initial planning (and planting) stages of a garden area, they would be as hooked as I am on growing their own foods. BTW, I have several people hooked on the delicious ‘Sun Gold’ tomatoes. Pictured on the left is one day’s harvest. In this picture, I have sungold, Juliet, and a Cherokee purple. I also have other varieties, including Kellogg’s breakfast heirloom.

I am having equal success growing zucchini, and I have been lucky so far this year in not having the squash vine borers that have plagued me in years past. These can quickly turn healthy cucurbit plants like squash and zucchini into mush! I am also fortunate that I have finally had sufficient pollination from bees and insects such that I have not had to pollinate by hand (see hand pollination of squash and zucchini – cucurbits). As the season first started off,  I did have to do some hand pollination, but as the weather warmed, the pollinators fortunately moved in.

I have also been enjoying eating fresh squash and zucchini flowers (from the male flowers of course).  I place them in my salads and also cook them with a little oil on the stove top. They are loaded with carotenoids and antioxidants. Finally, my goal in writing many of these articles is to show that with a little work and perseverance, you can truly achieve a magnificent production of edibles from a small space – and do it in a way which is environmentally sound and sustainable (I did not use many commercial fertilizers at all in this growing process). I will be posting similar articles on the many other vegetables that I am growing in these beds – I just started getting some fine watermelons that have ripened!

Here is a slightly different approach using re-bar, and here I have simply pulled a tie-wrap tightly and inserted an ‘S’ hook which I made from some 9 gauge wire.  I make  ‘string ladders’ whereby I can easily adjust the hanging distance from the support.  I first cut some string about 20″ long and wrap it around something like a shovel handle (pulling each end evenly).  I then start by tying a square knot around the handle. Afterward, the first tied loop is removed, and then the adjoining section of string is looped around the handle, and another knot is tied. This is done until a few sections are produced as seen in the image.

Also not pictured, are some some long stakes that I made by ripping 3/4″ pressure treated wood into 1″ widths.  I cut a point on the end and then drove these into the ground about 18″ deep and then simply drove finishing nails through to hang the supports (as in the conduit method).

This method of staking and supporting large tomato plants works like a charm, and is especially helpful when those huge tomatoes start weighing the plants down! I can reuse the stakes, string supports, and hangers year after year. The advantage to the hangers over traditional tying methods, is that you can support a lot of branches in one hanger without them being bunched together and constricted etc.

The plants which I have in these three 16′  x 4′ raised beds are:  1) tomatoes – sun gold, Cherokee Purple,  Kellogg’s Breakfast, Early Girl, and Juliet.  2) Cucurbits:  Squash,  zucchini, and cucumber.  3) Peppers:  Bell, Anaheim, Habanero. 4) Beans:  Kentucky Wonder, Purple hull, and Roma.  5) Broccoli and brussel sprouts. 6) Okra, radishes,  and eggplant.

If you click the picture, you can see that I have planted corn in the very back, and also have watermelon on the left side.  I eventually plan on installing more of these raise beds in this area. And the best part: I have not added any synthetic fertilizers, but am using all compost and other natural ingredients!

This is the first time that I have attempted to have such an intense concentrated planting using a square foot approach – especially considering that my indeterminate tomatoes will probably end up at 6 foot! I have another post coming soon on a new approach that I am using to protect my cucurbits from those nasty vine borers.

1. Take inventory of suitable spots on your property to grow your edibles. Consider the amount of sunlight, the orientation of the sun, the quality of the soil, the trees nearby (root intrusion), the proximity to pets and animals which could be detrimental etc. When you are done, decide how many square feet you have to work with (of course, containers can be considered as part of your equation)
2. Find out which things do best in your climate and soil (unless you are going to amend it etc).
3. Consider what you would like to plant and the quantity;  What do you and your family enjoy eating the most? Which things are most expensive at the store (sometimes, I will opt to grow things which are not as readily available, and/or not of good quality). How large is your family? Do you wish to grow for friends and/or have extra to barter? Would you like to grow extra to sell at market etc?
4. Now come up with a list of everything that you wish to grow and the approximate quantities of each plant. Do some research as to the spacing for each of these (square foot gardening in raised beds can greatly simplify this for most edibles).

Now that you have this list of things (and quantities) that you wish to plant, you need to decide whether you are going to have a row garden, raised bed garden, container garden, ‘or’ a hybrid of the above.  You are now at a point where you can truly plan the layout of your garden.

One of the easiest ways to visualize and design your planting area is with grid paper, and then mark off one foot grids. However, there are now gardening design programs which can greatly simplify the process, and they can be fun and educational to use – Some of these are even free! In the top picture, I have a screen shot from one which I am using this year to plan my new 1200 sq ft plot.  This particular program is fairly easy to use, and is available online at the Gardener’s Supply Company Garden Planner. They also have a neat planting guide for each plant which will help in your planning.

Anyhow, that is it for now, and just remember the hardest part of any venture is to simply take the first step. If you answer the questions above, you will have taken the first step to plan your edible’s garden. There is more to come on other steps along the way, as I will be video documenting the layout and progression of my own new plot – but at least we have ‘scratched the surface’ for now

Turning a Suburban Yard into an Organic Farm (Video)

I have more beds to start wherein I will be planting broccoli, spinach and other cool season vegetables and herbs. It’s  normally a little late to start planting, but I got way behind having just moved in – we are also expecting a warmer than normal winter with La-nina. We are in a bad drought in Northeast Fl – as evidenced by the dead grass around the planters (sigh).  I have a huge area of about 3000 square feet that I am prepping for a spring garden. I still need to till and solarize it to sterilize the soil from pathogens and weed seeds. Currently, it is overgrown with weeds and I have only recently mowed it.

When I put the finishing touches on these beds, I will be planting greens, lettuces, and herbs in them. Raised beds can offer the advantage of weed control and helping to warm the soil in the winter months (they also look cool).  However, if you have to buy the lumber and all the soil involved, the price can be expensive.  As I mentioned previously, I have a challenge dodging the shadows from some large oak trees, but placing these just off my patio gets them about 5 hours of sun daily, and also the convenience of being close to the kitchen. They are also right next to a bird feeder and bird bath which might help with insect control!

Stay tuned as I am going to be featuring all the fruit trees which I have acquired and have/will be planting on my property.  Geez, I need to clone a few of me to get all this work done.

There was a lot of scrap wood in my back yard, so I used what was available (in this case, lots of 2x4s and posts) and built this compost bin to get me started.  I have it about 1/3 full with leaves, grass clippings, and starbucks grounds. Notice I attached spacer 2×4′s in the front so I can add containment as it fills up. I also have constructed a worm pit and some raised garden areas so I can at least get some winter greens going. Stay tuned as I have a lot of pics and plans coming!