Sanderson's Urban SFG in Fresno, California

I have to admit that one of the few blessings living in CA is the variety of Ag products that can be grown.

Everything is looking good S.  Why haven't you started your seeds yet.  Do you plant an early spring garden with peas, broccoli etc or does it get too hot to fast to grow those things in the spring.

Correct about the heat taking over. Winter crops are starting to bolt now. I basically put out the summer seedings around March 30-April 1. The winter seedlings or seeds go in around Oct 1. I don't have enough square feet to have second rounds of brassicas or peas.

Wowza! I just read through this whole thread, what an awesome garden diary!!! Thanks so much for sharing, Sanderson!!!

Molly, thank you for reading it. I wanted to show that one can garden in the city on a smallish plot.

It's April 6, 2019, and I have been working on getting the beds ready for the summer seedlings and direct sowing.  Today, I finished the east side bean boxes by washing the windows, and putting up the trellises and sun shades as they are under tall windows.  The sun fries plants without the sunshade.  I'm calling it Beans and Roses garden.  Has a nice ring to it.

That's such a nice area....

AM, Thanks, still have some weeding and spraying with vinegar and Epsom salt to do along the bricks. Plus put trellis netting on the new trellises in the BTE strip on the right.

I tried to get away with PVC cucumber trellises but they turned were as weak as spaghetti in the wind. I finally invested in some galvanized electrical conduit (like Mel suggested) and they hold up fine. The only drawback was the price of the right angle fittings to join the conduit, but they are a one time purchase, and last for ever.

Yes, the EMC is strong, last forever and but need expensive fittings. I'll take a photo later today of the latest EMC supports.

The only reason my PVC trellises work so well is that they are locked in position with fittings and string, and set in "cup holders"

sanderson wrote:Yes, the EMC is strong, last forever and but need expensive fittings.  I'll take a photo later today of the latest EMC supports.

The only reason my PVC trellises work so well is that they are locked in position with fittings and string, and set in "cup holders"

You folks think EMC fittings are expensive! You should see what we have to pay up here in Canada.  Even the conduit is crazy expensive here.

Hone Depot USA 1/2 inch EMT conduit = $3.52 USD

Home Depot Canada 1/2 inch EMT conduit = $8.77 CDA = $6.59 USD

It's like that with most things.

It may end up being a little more expensive if you don’t already have the tool, but I used a conduit tube bender to make the bends so I could use just the cheaper couplers.

I took these photos at night without a flash, just the Christmas lights and a street lamp.  Summer nights are so nice after a hot day.

Herbs and flowers

Bush Blue Lake

Peppers, eggplant and Snow Fairy tomatoes.

The newest rolling bed just sowed with Dragon Tongue

Wow!! Sanderson!  NICE set-up!!

It's June 4 and tomorrow we start the 100*F weather.  The air quality a couple days ago was in the nice Green Zone.  Tomorrow it will be up into the Unhealthy Orange Zone.  May was such a delightful and rainy month.  The plants loved it, despite the clouds.  Everything really grew and started setting fruits.  Starting tomorrow, everything will start struggling.  The grasshoppers have started appearing so I will have a fun summer running around catching and dispatching them.  Ken will be looking out the window at me.  The sun shades go up tomorrow morning.

Here are a few photos I took end of May through June 1.

May 21, 2019 after a rain.

Yellow squash (since deceased and removed) and the winter squash.

North end of the BTE with extra winter squash, cantaloupe and gourds.  On the left are pole Blue Lake beans.

View of 7 table top beds from the back patio.

A different view of some of the beds.

Left to right:  run amok New Zealand spinach, cantaloup and gourds, yellow squash and the winter squash.

Baby oranges.  Not many survived the wind and rain, but that should mean that the ones that survived will be big.

Jalapenos with some poblamos behind them.

The 3 compact Snow Fairy tomatoes.

Right to left.  A Millionaire eggplant, the Snow Fairies and 9 peppers.

BTE south end with 2 paste and 6 indeterminate tomatoes.

May 30, 2019.

Some new wood chips in the isles.

Herb beds in fore ground.  Really growing!

Purple bell and large poblanos!

The quick trellis I Jerry-rigged for for Dragon Tongue beans. As of today, they are already above the PVC ridge pole.

June 1, 2019.

Clusters of Snow Fairy.  They will be 2" to 2 1/2".  I think they survive the summer as well as they do because the plants don't waste energy on big plants, just lots of fruit protected by the leaves.

May 28, 2019, night time lights as viewed from the kitchen/family room grand room.    

As usual your veggie garden looks fantastic. 

Thank you. Today reached 103*F so the green garden will struggle from here on. And, yours will beautiful.

Your garden is always such an inspiration, Sanderson.....

I hope I’m a tiny bit as successful at my garden as you are with yours! Looks great!

Awesome as always.

Thank you. I have the thank the rainy and cloudy May weather for the success so far.

Looks awesome, Sanderson! When I grow up I want to have a garden like that! in photo number three is that a bucket brigade full of wood chips? If so, where did you get those wood chips?

countrynaturals wrote:Awesome as always.

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