August 2013 garden update from bnoles

It has been a little while since I last did an update and I thought I would share a few quick pictures for those interested.

This has been a great year of learning for me of what worked and what did not.  I decided that the straw bale experiment was not my cup of tea and plans to replace it with a 10'X2'X8" bed have been in the making.  I also wanted to expand with another traditional SFG bed on the ground and had an 8'X4'X8" model in mind.  Since most crops have played down and some even played out for this time of year where I live, I thought it would be a good time to rearrange, add to and upgrade everything to meet my future needs.  I wanted to get this all done in time to plant my Fall crops, but as with many good intentions, my medical issues decided to pay a visit in a BIG way.  Running on only 10% capacity, I was fighting the calendar/clock for completion in time to meet my goals.  

I had all my materials purchased and sitting under the back carport ready to go.  A full cubic yard of homemade compost just waiting to blend into Mel's mix.  Lumber to build the new boxes.  Peat and vermiculite..... EVERYTHING!  Everything except my "strength" that is.  I was able to get the boxes built over a 2 day period, but that is where I simply played out.  Yesterday the guy that keeps our yard looking so fantastic came by early in the morning to cut the grass.  I went out and visited him a few minutes as I always try to do and he was curious what I had going on.  After I explained everything, he told me that he was caught up and had the whole day free and would enjoy giving me a hand to get back on schedule.  I only gave it a "3 second" thought before accepting his offer.  He set my boxes level and dug out the sod where needed and replanted it to another spot my wife wanted some extra.  He mixed my MM to perfection and loaded my boxes to the brim and raked it level to the tops.  He rearranged my Earth Boxes on the patio to make more room.  All of this took him only 2 hours and would have taken me who knows how many days in my condition.  Of course I paid him his normal hourly rate, but it was so well worth it and took a lot of stress off of me getting back on schedule.  I have always shared some of my harvest with him and yesterday was no exception including a jar of my fresh canned fig jam.

Here is where I'm at currently.

2 new beds ready to plant with Fall Southern peas, Purple Hull in the 8X4 right front bed and Texas Cream peas in the 10X2 far back left.


Same from the back angle.


A shot of the patio gardens as rearranged and the SFG TT as my center piece.  Still have some tweaking to do and will be getting rid of the orange buckets and replacing them with Earth Boxes for my tomatoes.  I plan to move one of the trellises to one of the ground beds for cucumbers next year.


Of course no tour of mine is complete without a shot of my girls  


Sorry for the lack of plant life, but as I explained, it is that time of year for change over in crops.

You've got a beautiful place there Bob! Maybe I need a yard guy  
I love all your sfg beds  

Thank you for those kind words Rooster. I wish I could do it all myself, but such is life.

Bob, it's beautiful. I know your frustration with pain and not being able to do "stuff". I've had ongoing issues, and it's NO FUN. What a sweet guy to jump in and help like that. Now, you can sit and stare at your beautiful landscape, and plan what you want to do next. Hoping you heal up nicely

Bob, I love your garden area.  Just lovely.  I'm so glad your yardman was able to help you get it in top shape.
Love your girls.  They are very photogenic.
What's that contraption one of your girls has her head stuck into?   Looks like a drain pipe.  
Good luck and I hope you get back some of your energy soon.

Really nice Bob. Everything is neat and tidy. Just Wonderful.  Your little girls are totally adorable, you have a lot to be proud of and I am so happy for you!

Thank you all so very much for the kind compliments. As limited as I am at times, I still try to take pride in what I do. I have a wonderful and supportive wife who certainly helps with the harvesting and cooking part and allows me the "hobby funds" to enjoy what I do. I have had so much fun my first year at this and I am really looking forward to Fall crops and next Spring as well. I have learned much and feel better armed for future gardening thanks to all the helpful people on this forum, you have taught me well  

quiltbea.... the drain tube is a 4" PVC pipe feeder I made. It holds over a weeks worth of feed and has "ZERO" waste/spillage. I had it inside the run at first, but moved it to the outside for easier filling.

Beautiful yard and sfg beds Bob!  It is all amazing!  As I was reading your post I was so thrilled for you that your gardening guy was able to help you, and so quickly!  I know there are a lot of us on this forum who have a hard time with gardening.  SFGing is sure a great way to garden!  I agree with Rooster about needing a yardman, but I want one as good as you have!  I hope you get your strength back soon!  Your chickens are beautiful!

Bob, This is just redundant of what everyone else has posted. Beautiful yard. Beautiful "girls." Beautiful boxes. Everything looks so peaceful. Supportive wife. Helpful gardener. You must be a good person to be surrounded by all this. We just want you to get better so you can play! Sanderson

bnoles wrote:
2 new beds ready to plant with Fall Southern peas, Purple Hull in the 8X4 right front bed and Texas Cream peas in the 10X2 far back left.

 Bob, your gardens look beautiful.  I have a question about your Southern peas.  I assume your Purple Hull peas are actually Pink Eye Purple Hull peas.  I love them.  I planted 8 squares on 6/15 and they are just about ready to start havesting.  That makes it about 60 days to the first picking.  The rest will probably all be harvested in the next 15-20 days.  I made a 2nd planting on 7/19. 

Do you think we have time for them to mature if we plant more now.  My package says 85 days to harvest.  That puts harvest at about 11/05 if 85 days is accuarate (because of the cooler weather coming I think they will take longer than my summer planted peas).  I think my first frost date is about 10/28.

I do not know if you have ever grown these but I better warn you that they get real tall.  The package doesn't say that they need a trellis.  Mine are planted on an 6 foot trellis and have reached the top and bent over to another trellis in the back row that is 8 feet tall.  The vines reached the top of the 8 foot trellis and are falling over the top of that trellis.  So beware.

Thanks again everyone.

yolos: according to the GA planting guide that I am looking at, it says you can plant these up until Aug 15 so I am going by that and hoping for the best. We too love the purple hulls and are looking forward to a good harvest. I had no idea about the vines like you have and have not provided a trellis. All the ones I have ever seen grow on the ground, but that does not mean they were not vines I guess. We will have to see how this goes and it will be a good lesson for next year. I am prepared to cover my pea bed with some plastic if we get a frost before my harvest id completed. Please keep me posted if you plant a 2nd crop and how it does for you.

bnoles wrote:We too love the purple hulls and are looking forward to a good harvest.  I had no idea about the vines like you have and have not provided a trellis.  All the ones I have ever seen grow on the ground, but that does not mean they were not vines I guess.  We will have to see how this goes and it will be a good lesson for next year.

Bob, I was doing some googling concerning fall planted shelling peas and I found a good article about the growth characteristics of southern peas.  To summarize, the Purple Hull Peas have two distinct growth habits.  There are vining type and bush type.  The recommended vining types (in this article) were Pink Eye Purple Hull variety (this is the one I am growing) and Mississippi Pinkeye Purple.  The bush types recommended were Texas Pinkeye, Quick Pic, and Top Pick Pinkeye.  There is a big difference in the height of the different varieties.  Here is the article.

http://text.lsuagcenter.com/en/our_offices/parishes/Livingston/Features/ANR/News_Articles/Plant-Peas-For-Summer.htm

Also, there is a you tube station www.thebayougardener.com that has a few videos on the Purple Hull.  This guy grows the Top Pick Pinkeye.  He harvests them by driving a golf cart down the row and picking the peas.  He has a number of videos showing a couple of different shelling machines and also a recipe for cooking them.

What variety are your Purple Hull Peas.

Also, are you planting any shelling peas (green sweet peas) this fall.  If you are, what are the variety and when are you planting them.  I have three different varieties of bush type but I am looking for a vining type.  Any suggestions.

yolos wrote:

bnoles wrote:We too love the purple hulls and are looking forward to a good harvest.  I had no idea about the vines like you have and have not provided a trellis.  All the ones I have ever seen grow on the ground, but that does not mean they were not vines I guess.  We will have to see how this goes and it will be a good lesson for next year.

Bob, I was doing some googling concerning fall planted shelling peas and I found a good article about the growth characteristics of southern peas.  To summarize, the Purple Hull Peas have two distinct growth habits.  There are vining type and bush type.  The recommended vining types (in this article) were Pink Eye Purple Hull variety (this is the one I am growing) and Mississippi Pinkeye Purple.  The bush types recommended were Texas Pinkeye, Quick Pic, and Top Pick Pinkeye.  There is a big difference in the height of the different varieties.  Here is the article.

http://text.lsuagcenter.com/en/our_offices/parishes/Livingston/Features/ANR/News_Articles/Plant-Peas-For-Summer.htm

Also, there is a you tube station www.thebayougardener.com that has a few videos on the Purple Hull.  This guy grows the Top Pick Pinkeye.  He harvests them by driving a golf cart down the row and picking the peas.  He has a number of videos showing a couple of different shelling machines and also a recipe for cooking them.

What variety are your Purple Hull Peas.

Also, are you planting any shelling peas (green sweet peas) this fall.  If you are, what are the variety and when are you planting them.  I have three different varieties of bush type but I am looking for a vining type.  Any suggestions.

Hi yolos,

Here is a link to the purple hull pea that I ordered and planted last week.  They are already out of the ground and growing like crazy with this weather we are having.
http://stores.homestead.com/hstrial-Dabbott3/-strse-1182/Purple-Hulled-Pea-dsh-1-fdsh-2-Pound/Detail.bok

I also planted a green sweet pea in 6 of my 5 gallon buckets with 5 plants in each one.  I only put them in 3 days ago, so they have not broken ground just yet.  I put some bamboo sticks in the buckets to help support them.  Here is the link to where I got the seeds.  This will be my first real experience with sweet peas other than just a few plants I had this Spring that did quite well.
http://stores.homestead.com/hstrial-Dabbott3/-strse-314/Aaska-Pea/Detail.bok

I watched that youtube video and must say that the fellow had a great idea with that golf cart.  Brought a smile to my face on this rainy gloomy day.

Keep us posted on your pea adventures and we can compare notes on how they do.