Garden pics from S/W Illinois

This year, as usual, I almost jumped the gun by planting a little to early. Luckily I had my hoop houses on standby.
I need to change the date on my camera. These pics were taken yesterday, the 6th.

This is a cross I made for my Rose bed. My DW bought me the smiley face.


My roses are doing well after they almost drowned last week.


9 tomato plants steaked and caged.


This is what I call my compost "Factory"...  lol   Last year I did the Berkely method and it worked but the Reagonite71's "Drunken compost" method seems to work faster for me. I started these two piles exactly 17 days ago and I now have usable compost. Not finished but usable.



Salad bed.


Peppers in Hoop house.


Tomato plants under hoops.


Lettuce


Beets in hoop house.



I built this contraption to string my tomato's up.


This was a huge pile of leaves I started 7 months ago. Now, it's about 50% smaller than when I started. I'm using it for my browns in the compost.


Smunions OR... Some unions.


Peppers uncovered.


Some of this and some of that... 

MrBooker wrote:
Salad bed.


Tomato plants under hoops.

Is that mizuna at the middle of the salad bed? - or part of a mustard blend?

The tomato hoop house looks very cozy! Like you could just crawl in there with them in the warmth and dappled sun and take a nap...

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:The tomato hoop house looks very cozy! Like you could just crawl in there with them in the warmth and dappled sun and take a nap...

It really does....LOL!

Nice garden, Mr. B!  Everything looks healthy and happy.  Isn't lettuce beautiful?  It truly is a lovely group of plants, those leaves!

Do your whirligigs help with the birds?

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:

MrBooker wrote:
Salad bed.


Tomato plants under hoops.

Is that mizuna at the middle of the salad bed? - or part of a mustard blend?

The tomato hoop house looks very cozy! Like you could just crawl in there with them in the warmth and dappled sun and take a nap...

Not really if thats Mizuna or not. It was a blend of lettuce.

Scorpio Rising wrote:

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:The tomato hoop house looks very cozy! Like you could just crawl in there with them in the warmth and dappled sun and take a nap...

It really does....LOL!

Nice garden, Mr. B!  Everything looks healthy and happy.  Isn't lettuce beautiful?  It truly is a lovely group of plants, those leaves!

Do your whirligigs help with the birds?

Not birds..  CATS.  They like to dig and poop in my garden. I've had to replant lettuce a few times.

Ewwwww!  Not good....need a dog.

MrBooker wrote:
Not birds..  CATS.  They like to dig and poop in my garden. I've had to replant lettuce a few times.

We are a sanctuary for homeless cats and we also have free-range chickens, so I get where you're coming from, Scorpio. My answer is twiggy mulch or rocks. It has to be thick and dense, too. We have lava rock in our front yard and a pebble path in the back. They dig right through both. Grrr!

Beautiful garden, MrB. Love the lettuce.

countrynaturals wrote:

MrBooker wrote:
Not birds..  CATS.  They like to dig and poop in my garden. I've had to replant lettuce a few times.

We are a sanctuary for homeless cats and we also have free-range chickens, so I get where you're coming from, Scorpio.  My answer is twiggy mulch or rocks. It has to be thick and dense, too. We have lava rock in our front yard and a pebble path in the back. They dig right through both. Grrr!

Oh wow, we have a couple neighborhood cats but they have not bothered my SFG as to date...my dog is fenced.  And EVERYBODY knows it!  They kinda thumb their noses at him sometimes.

On occasion, I let him out just to keep their tiny nervous systems, umm, nervous. Squirrels, birds, cats, whatever.  ON YOUR TOES ALL!  They have plenty of cover....

Mr. Booker, Beautiful garden. I can see how you raised the beds, though you previously described them. Are the neighbors across the street starting to weed the row garden? Have they seen how easy your garden is?

sanderson wrote:Mr. Booker,  Beautiful garden.  I can see how you raised the beds, though you previously described them.  Are the neighbors across the street starting to weed the row garden?  Have they seen how easy your garden is?

The garden across the street is under water and they're just as surprised this year as they were last year and the year before that....  

They bragged about having planted 93 peppers, which they planted on the NORTH end of a huge corn patch. We had a total of 15 inches of rain within a few weeks and my SFG had some water standing for awhile but it's all gone and I'm back to normal now.

I'll post pics this summer of the garden across the street. The weeds actually get 6 to 8 feet tall by the end of the summer and they do it EVERY year. They till, they plant, they're done for the summer.

Mr. B that's a fine looking garden You have there! That structure you have for your tomatoes looks interesting.

newbeone wrote:Mr. B that's a fine looking garden You have there! That structure you have for your tomatoes looks interesting.

I've never ran my tomato's up a string before but been watching a lot of videos.  I usually just let my maters sprawl on the ground on straw and they do pretty well.

MrBooker wrote:

newbeone wrote:Mr. B that's a fine looking garden You have there! That structure you have for your tomatoes looks interesting.

I've never ran my tomato's up a string before but been watching a lot of videos.  I usually just let my maters sprawl on the ground on straw and they do pretty well.

Hmm, velly intellesting! I have more tomato plants than cages this year. Maybe I'll try piling up twigs and branches for some of them to lean on and see how they do. It works for cukes and melons, so why not?

countrynaturals wrote:

MrBooker wrote:

newbeone wrote:Mr. B that's a fine looking garden You have there! That structure you have for your tomatoes looks interesting.

I've never ran my tomato's up a string before but been watching a lot of videos.  I usually just let my maters sprawl on the ground on straw and they do pretty well.

Hmm, velly intellesting! I have more tomato plants than cages this year. Maybe I'll try piling up twigs and branches for some of them to lean on and see how they do. It works for cukes and melons, so why not?

Ihave 9 indeterminant tomato's in cages so we'll see which does the best.

MrBooker wrote:

sanderson wrote:Mr. Booker,  Beautiful garden.  I can see how you raised the beds, though you previously described them.  Are the neighbors across the street starting to weed the row garden?  Have they seen how easy your garden is?

The garden across the street is under water and they're just as surprised this year as they were last year and the year before that....  

They bragged about having planted 93 peppers, which they planted on the NORTH end of a huge corn patch. We had a total of 15 inches of rain within a few weeks and my SFG had some water standing for awhile but it's all gone and I'm back to normal now.

I'll post pics this summer of the garden across the street. The weeds actually get 6 to 8 feet tall by the end of the summer and they do it EVERY year. They till, they plant, they're done for the summer.

You would think they would get tired of the same failures.

sanderson wrote:

MrBooker wrote:

sanderson wrote:Mr. Booker,  Beautiful garden.  I can see how you raised the beds, though you previously described them.  Are the neighbors across the street starting to weed the row garden?  Have they seen how easy your garden is?

The garden across the street is under water and they're just as surprised this year as they were last year and the year before that....  

They bragged about having planted 93 peppers, which they planted on the NORTH end of a huge corn patch. We had a total of 15 inches of rain within a few weeks and my SFG had some water standing for awhile but it's all gone and I'm back to normal now.

I'll post pics this summer of the garden across the street. The weeds actually get 6 to 8 feet tall by the end of the summer and they do it EVERY year. They till, they plant, they're done for the summer.

You would think they would get tired of the same failures.

Starting later today, I will post month by month pics of that garden. It was funny last year, someone put a sign at the edge of the garden that said.. "Three stooges garden" and NO, it wasn't me. A few years ago, another sign showed up that read: "Weeds for sale. Pick your own". Nope, not me again.

    I think they use the garden for an excuse to drink beer.

very nice...getting an early start with hoops is impressive.

BellaFina red and yellow peppers. Wife and I found these peppers at Rural King and they were all but dead from lack of water. Soil was bone dry and leaves were wilted badly. We rushed them home and gave them a good drink of rain water and planted them with added Espoma organic garden tone and within a few days.............


8 barrels and tubs


Some of this and that and onion bed.


Beets were beaten down twice by rain and wind but comes right back.


Nine peppers in a 4x4


Kentucky Wonder bush green beans.


18 peppers in a 4x8.


Green onions.. White sweet Spanish onions with more peppers, green ice lettuce and Giant red mustard greens.


2 Yellow and 2 green Zukes, 4 tomatos and cukes on trellis.


Ten Tomato's growing up a string.




I also am making wood signs from pallet wood.



AND......   The end of a perfect day in the garden.


A cold beer and my squirrel git'er.


Woops... Almost forgot my compost piles. The Reaganite71's "Drunken compost" method is working great for me.

Love it, MrB -- except for your squirrel solution. We rarely see any because of the cats, but when we do, we don't shoot them, we feed them. We are an equal opportunity sanctuary. 

countrynaturals wrote:Love it, MrB -- except for your squirrel solution. We rarely see any because of the cats, but when we do, we don't shoot them, we feed them. We are an equal opportunity sanctuary. 

I have really tried the "Mister nice guy" route with the squirrels.  They're always digging up the seeds or burying pecans or digging under the straw. 

I tried feeding them peanuts but they just dug up my garden and buried them. My neighbor, behind me, tried live trapping and relocating them but there's just to many of them. They destroy his garden also.

I don't have the time to cover and uncover my gardens all the time.  I have 11 SFG's.
The BB gun I use won't kill them but WILL sting their butt.

Looking good, Mr. Booker.

Mr. B thanks for the photos.  Looks like you have a lot of good things going and growing there.

I have squirrels and chipmunks digging up my SFG beds.  BB gun sounds like a good idea.  Would also help to improve my eye, hand, mind coordination. 

Everything looks so big and healthy! Lovely!

CapeCoddess wrote:Everything looks so big and healthy!  Lovely!

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