Western Mountain High Plains What are you doing in your gardens today?

"Those covers look great, but how are you making them and how do you get in and out of them to do daily tending?"

Turan, the pvc pipes are 10ft long and actually flex fairly well. We were able to just insert them into one of the openings in the cinderblocks and they stay there by themselves. In the SFG book it suggests using rebar lengths and drive them into the ground and place your pvc pipes over them.

As to the plastic, I just bought a dual pack of heavy duty painters plastic and cut it to cover the domes. I looked for the widest plastic I could find and bought it at Home Depot for $20. I initially used large rocks to hold the plastic down but with our wind here I knew I needed to get something stronger. I found some strong plastic clamps that would fit around the 1/2" pvc pipes. I only had to use 4 for each dome. And they were only a dollar each. So, for another $20 I can hold the plastic onto the domes very well!

It is easy to slide the plastic up the pvc pipes when I want to work in each garden area. The clamps will hold them in place. I can also just raise one side to provide more shading as needed or to vent out too much heat. I have been pleasantly surprised how easy it is!

Once we warm up enough for me to remove the plastic permanently I have wedding veil mesh to go over the domes to keep the bugs and birds out. I will have to figure out what to do once I put up some trellises.

Its all a learning curve for me but the SFG book and people here have given me the ideas. Happy gardening!

Wow, I leave for one day and look at all this action! Nice pics everyone, I am in Kansas City now and my parents are worried to death about my garden (they tend to be a bit dramatic) so I have no idea what to expect when I get home, sigh. The wedding is tomorrow and I should be home Sunday night can't wait.

Cheyenne, I hope all is well when you get back, and if not, well it is early in the season. Enjoy your wedding

Tricia, thanks for the description. I was wowed by your picture of the domes with the plastic so neat and well fitted. It did not seem to have the ungainly foldings my efforts have. I am wondering if because it is a dome the excess is more evenly distriputed and thus easier to manage? Or had you trimmed the plastic and then maybe taped it to be so fitted (maybe greenhouse tape I wondered)

I have 2 efforts right now (besides the greenhouse and cold frame). One is a hog panel held into a bow by the frame of the 3X8 bed with poly pipe covered with 6 mil plastic. It is difficult trying to keep the arched part plastic gathered neatly (or at all). The other is smaller, only 3X4, made with arched poly pipe into hoops, covered with 3 mil plastic. That one is easier because the film is easy to fold and tie into a bunch for one end and then a weight on the other. I made a lot of the clips and they work well. We had a big wind storm today while I was at work. The ends blew out on the big hoop but the rest held.

Planting:


and a six pack of marigolds.

Looks like fun Rooster, I planted some corn and suflowers before I left on Tuesday I just got home this afternoon and got to go out and pick some radishes!

This year I have a 5 x 5 ft raised bed - will change it out next year. This bed has chard, leeks, spinich, lettuce. Have been eating the chard, spinach and lettuce for a while now. Have potatoes in 3 square plastic tubs, have 3 rubbermaid bins for my cukes. Have some tomatoes also in bins. Today I'm getting ready to plant both bush and pole green beans. I love this Mel's mix. This is 1st year for me as we moved into a house with small yard from a townhouse last August. I already have better ideas about next year. Don't have a ton of space for garden. I used pvc and plastic in early spring to make a greenhouse effect - now I've replaced the plastic with shade cloth for the greens. Gotta get back to the green bean planting now.
Donna in Colo

Donna! Sounds like you are doing great, I love the Mel's mix too! That is the great thing about square foot gardening, you can grow so much in such small places! Keep us posted on your progress!

Sounds like everyone is busy gardening now! I do have a few squares that haven't sprouted well so am thinking I need to do a little replanting. Got the trellis frames put up too. Just have to get netting on them.

Happy gardening everyone!

Evelyn in zone 4 WY

We have been busting our butts all morning getting the cattle panel arches put up, had to dig out part of a hillside and level them and make them een with the house. They are on the south side of the house, just took a lunch break then we are going to finish putting them up and I need to do some replanting as well I think I planted some lettuce too deep

I got a bunch of new MM mixed today and filled a bunch of smaller boxes, I will post pictures tomorrow! I have been keeping tabs on the weather (thunderstorming right now ) Nightly temps in the next 10 day forecast are averaging at 50+ degrees, yes!!! Tomorrow I will be planting some tomatoes in the garden!!! And picking some spinach and lettuce, it was my goal to have a birthday garden salad, 3 days to spare, achieved!

I took the wall o waters off the tomatoes in the greenhouse. My goodness they have doubled or more in size since I planted them and the cherry has green fruits. I have planted out all the eggplants and peppers and tomatillos and melons and cukes and corn. Seeded bush and pole beans, more cilantro, multi colored carrots, more radishes and summer squash. The yard long beans are up in the greenhouse.

I planted carrots with the corn, not sure that will work,,,, and carrots with the bush beans, I have better hopes for that. The pole beans are growing with chamomile.

Tomorrow I should plant the winter squash and okra. I hope to get enough lettuce for a salad. Or a lot of greens, the bok choi is ready to start harvesting too.

The pansies are blooming and so is a Peruvian daffodil! That is a bulb that followed me home. They smell good and are pretty too.

June is so nice and green and lilac filled.

I got the last of my tomatoes in and cages up for my peppers. I've got my neon chard planted and actually starting to see a few sprouts. My patty pan squash is planted and I think I saw a couple of little sprouts last night there too! My cucumber seeds are sown in pots, and my second round of radish and third round of spinach and carrots are sown as well. I've got little transplants of lettuce all over the place My first plantings of spinach are bolting and I've got turnips and kohlrabi about ready. My baby bok choy is still being enjoyed by me and the flea beetles
My tomatoes look like they are finally starting to perk up a bit too. They've been a lot of brutal winds that have taken a toll on them, but they seem to be bouncing back...fingers crossed!
Hopefully sometime today and can get in the bohemoth sunflowers...







Sometime this summer...hopefully...I would like to finish up all the walkways and future box layout and get all the weed barrier down and either shredded bark mulch or crushed gravel. Right now I'm leaning more towards the gravel. With our winds, I've found myself constantly replacing bark mulch. Someday, I'd like to meet the guy down the road who collects everyone's mulch...

RoOsTeR wrote:Someday, I'd like to meet the guy down the road who collects everyone's mulch...

He's probably bagging and reselling it to all of you!

Seriously, lookin' great RoOsTeR!

GG

Here are some updated garden pics!



This is the pyramid, everything is doing great except for the nasturtiums, I think It was Plantiod that said these are wimpy flowers and I have to say I agree, since they like poor soil I think I will just find a place in the yard for the rest of them.



Some onions, spinach, lettuce, kohlrabi, turnips, strawberries... I had my zoom lens on so I didn't get close ups.



The new cattle panel arches!



On the right are some tiny tim dwarf maters, the tall one on the left is a lemon boy.



More tomatoes, with petunias behind them, the rest of the squares I will move peppers to in a few weeks. I just planted the tomatoes today and need to get the pattle panel up for the trellis, On the other side of the trellis I will have malibar spinach!

O! I especially like the tunnel of vegys headed to the play area

Lookin good Cheyanne

Yesterday I FINALLY got all my peppers, eggplant and basil transplanted. Not long after I got everything done, we got hammered by wind, rain. The wind was long, the rain was brief. Like very brief. Some areas all around us had tornadoes and golf ball size hail, so I will consider myself lucky. Unfortunately, the weather forecast sounds the same for today

Same here Rooster, I transplanted some tomatoes, peppers and squash then had the most windy day of the year, we did get quite a a bit of rain though, so far today is seeming a bit gloomy out.

Turan, I love it, Tunnel of veggies

The week started with freaking hard winds blowing high heat from the eastern plains. I had to fight hard to keep the melon hoop house plastic. Then the wind did an about face and blew fierce hard from the west and the temperature dropped. It frosted last night and hit singed the potatos and corn. I don't know if hte corn will make it. O wellllll..... Maybe I can double layer stuff some more potats in there. Or quinoa. or even corn.

Turan, sorry to hear, I also had a little doom in the garden today, lots and lots of hail. I managed to cover most of the peppers and tomatoes (is this why I plant them so late usually, lol) but everything else took a hard hard hit, we will see what happens in a few days. Have you ever grown quinoa?

This is a terrible day for gardens, sigh, sooo sorry to my flowers, peas, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, radishes, carrots, brussel sprouts, onions, beets, potatoes, and lettuce. Felt like I had to pick my favorite children out there today and tomatoes and pepper won.

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Poor taters. there was still ping pong sized hail left even after being away for a few hours.

Oooo Cheyenne, your poor garden.... So sorry.
I sure hope we don't have these storms all summer.

Some things will regrow from the tatters it is rather amazing.

Well today is a new day! I got some new "dirt" material to mix up and fill the boxes for my tunnel of veggies, then I am going to plant some canteloupe (earlisweet, 70 days), wish me luck to prove the FIL wrong. Also going to plant a few more tomatoes. I found a great new nursery yesterday and the had the biggest selection of tomatoes I have ever seen at a nursery. So I picked up a brandywine and a black krim because everyone keeps raving about it! Going to get cukes, more cukes, spaghetti squash, watemelon, and malibar spinach (I am running behind GG). So I better get off here and get to work!

Got a bunch more planted a few days ago (watermelons, canteloupes, cukes, and squash) still witing on hubby getting the cattle panel so I can get the rest of the tomatoes and malibar spinach planted, I am thinking I will just plant them tomorrow and deal with the cattle panel later (even though the way we are set up the panel will go it the bed)!

Today I planted two more beds with more lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, strawberry spinach, radishes, turnips, beets, and brussel spouts. I have three boxes that Are dedicated to cool weather crops all summer as they are in the shade a bunch.

Anybody have any more suggestions for more shade/cool veggies? I still have one 3x3 box for them!