Sanderson's Urban SFG in Fresno, California

Husband to the rescue.  Not only has he cleaned and amended the beds, but he is setting out my seedlings!  He moved a chair around the yard for me to give instructions on what to plant where.  Tomorrow is a nasty job of amending the BTE strip with chicken manure for 12 of the indeterminate tomatoes.

The gardening stool from Gardener's Supply arrived and I hope to try it out in a couple of days. https://www.gardeners.com/buy/garden-kneelers/40-008.html?VariationId=V_5637187410

Planting luffa, cucumbers and cantaloupe in a 2'x4' bed.

Planting the precious Snow Fairy tomatoes in the 2'x8' on-ground bed with cement board bottom.  

He's a keeper, that's for sure!  

The "precious snow fairy tomatoes"?  What do you like about them?

Kudos for you husband, sanderson,  I like his kneepads, I could do with some of them as they look so comfortable.

I have always enjoyed photo's from your garden. hoping your Easter is a pleasant one, I have a lot of catching up to do...

Kelejan wrote:Kudos for you husband, sanderson,  I like his kneepads, I could do with some of them as they look so comfortable.

His son gifted them. Ken has always had knee pads, but he said these are the best he has ever had. Light weight, R and L knee design for full comfort.

https://liftsafety.com/collections/knee-protection/products/pivotal-two-knee-guard

And, the expansion continues: 2 blueberries, 1 lemon, 1 lime, 1 nectarine, and 2 pears. May have to wait until next sporing for a cherry tree.

It's been 6 months since I posted on this thread.  I lost almost 6 months of full gardening activities due to health this year.

I woke up this December morning to fog and a rose bush full of roses!  

The CA soft neck garlic cloves have been in about 7 weeks now, and have been growing like crazy.  I will be mulching with E-Z Straw any time now.  The strawberry plants my daughter transplanted for me this spring, propagated like mad.  I cut off the cascading runners and plants recently, and will try to tidy the plants and maybe thin and cover with straw before real winter starts.  

The pot area needs a little more cleaning before real winter.  The oregano from the deteriorated table top bed will be potted and set in this area where it can't do any harm.

Last, but not least, the winter Swiss chard and broccoli covered with tulle and the replacement table top bed in progress. The bed is about 4" narrower than the original so I will have to modify the drip system.  The PVC frame also had to be trimmed to fit the new size. Yes,that's fluffed peat moss on top of the Mel's Mix, waiting to be turned in.  After a few years, the MM becomes basically heavy with all compost with smaller pieces of vermiculite.  So, instead of throwing away the MM and making new MM, like has been recommended, I try to reestablish the 1/3 1/3 1/3 balance by adding an inch of fluffed peat moss and an inch of coarse vermiculite after 6-7 years.

Sanderson,

How have you been doing?  Was your Thanksgiving a pleasant one?

Could I use cement blocks as you have with drilled cement board on top, then a regular wooden bed?  I think that might be a good solution to my bed replacement problem.

Thanks in advance.

sanderson wrote:

Allright Sanderson.  Another question.  I am getting ready to replace some of my older beds and going to exclusively use 2 x 8 size beds.  This time I want to use the PVC structure you have on this bed.  I understand all of the pieces except the one in the middle of the bed that is supporting the top rail.  I can't figure out that one.  Also is the top rail approximately 8' PVC pipe or approximately two  4' pieces.

yolos wrote:

sanderson wrote:

I understand all of the pieces except the one in the middle of the bed that is supporting the top rail.  I can't figure out that one.  Also is the top rail approximately 8' PVC pipe or approximately two  4' pieces.

Yolos, when I built mine, I used the 90-degree fittings from Lowe's (shown below).  The way I did it uses separate pieces of PVC pipe for the top rail, cut to length.


90-Degree Side Outlet PVC Pipe Fitting

90-Degree Double Side Outlet PVC Pipe Fitting

OhioGardener wrote:

yolos wrote:

sanderson wrote:

I understand all of the pieces except the one in the middle of the bed that is supporting the top rail.  I can't figure out that one.  Also is the top rail approximately 8' PVC pipe or approximately two  4' pieces.

Yolos, when I built mine, I used the 90-degree fittings from Lowe's (shown below).  The way I did it uses separate pieces of PVC pipe for the top rail, cut to length.


90-Degree Double Side Outlet PVC Pipe Fitting

Thanks OG.  I can see it now.  This was the piece I was having a problem imagining.

Yolos, I see you figured out the top center fitting.  When I first started building the various gable-roof frames, I had to really think things through - no distractions.   There are two pieces of PVC for the top rail (approx. 4').

Donna, Thanksgiving was just the 2 of us.  Plans fell apart because of the common cold in the family!    Not covid, but the common cold!  Health-wise, pain is down to a Tylenol at bedtime, and I'm getting proficient with my limp.    I see the surgeon in January and will see what he thinks.  I am grateful that I can drive again, and limp or not, I am able to live again.

Regarding using the cement board, I'm leery of drilling drainage holes in it for the table tops.  I don't know if it would hasten the deterioration.  For the bed on the  ground, there were no holes and the water seeped out the sides between the bottom and sides.  The experiment of the cement board (pieced with red tape) was to exclude invasive roots. We will get to that bed soon and I'll update the condition of the board after 20+ months. The new TT bed in the photos shows that I have 2 layers of cement board with a sheet of plastic on top.  The water will travel along the plastic and drain out between the plastic and the sides of the bed.

Plywood is so expensive now so it was a no brainer to go with cement board.  OSB, even 3/4" thickness is also affordable but if I used it, I would definitely top with a 4 mil layer of plastic to keep it dry. I'm cautious with the weight bearing on the cement board and I limit the span between the cement blocks. A 2' span in both directions for plywood but closer to 1' for drywall. It may turn out that with a protective layer of 4 mil plastic, the 2-way 2-foot span may work out.

It's almost Christmas and the strawberry bed is decorating with red!  I'll have a lot of thinning to do come spring.  They survived transplanting and the scorching summer.  

Sanderson, some where in this forum you asked me about growing potatoes (reg potato or sweet potato - can't remember which).  Here is a video for growing regular potatoes in 5 gallon buckets and also one (if I can find it) growing sweet potatoes in larger containers.

Regular Potatoes in 5 gal containers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThePQs6kDpo&ab_channel=HollisandNancysHomestead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH6ATJmVfxQ&ab_channel=HollisandNancysHomestead


Sweet Potatoes in large containers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPGqyDP8zRk&ab_channel=HollisandNancysHomestead

Thank you, Yolos. Hope to watch them tomorrow.

Now that it's obvious that I won't be gardening on the ground, we (he) are raising this experimental bed up to 2'.  The good news is that the "cementy" cement board held up well!  I was afraid is would be all crumbly but it can be picked up by a short edge and it's still sturdy.

Summary, placing cement board on the ground first and then the bed, does work.  That should prevent roots from invading the bed from the bottom.

March 2020:  Getting ready to replace the 2' x 8' table top bed due to rotting bottom.


March 20, 2020:  New bed with experimental bottom of cement" cement board.


March 20, 2020: New bed finished.


February 13, 2022:  Removing Mel's Mix to rebuild the bed, again!




February 13, 2022:  Using the cement board as a level starting point for the cement block "legs."


And, these are the 2 new raised beds on the east side of the house.  The sun shade protects the beans from reflective and radiant heat due to the stucco and windows. I still have to add 2 more rows of trellis netting to the back bed.

How was the cement board in terms of drainage? It might be a good way to block bermuda grass, which, like life, finds a way.

Drainage was fine. The water seeps out at the junction of the wood frames/cement board.

Regarding Bermuda grass and other impossible creeping plants (other states), as long as the entire bed is set within the edges of cement board foot print, it should work perfectly, as long as the seams are taped. Ken used red tape for that. Nasty, sticky all-purpose duct tape should also work. In fact, I would extend the the cement board a couple inches out like a skirt. That way you can see when it's creeping towards the frame.

So far, 2022 has been good for me.  After the surgery for the L5-S1 synovial cyst 7-12-21, I still had some paralysis and an off-center gait.  Physical therapy has really helped with evening up the gait and overall functionality.

After getting the house tented the end of January, it was time to start the seedlings.  Since working at ground level is a challenge, I modified the seed set-up to be on top of the formal dining room table.  I could move from chair to chair for tending.



Ken rebuilt some of the beds to get them off the ground for me.  This is a new 1'x3' bed for the walking onions.  This is the hottest part of the back yard with the sun reflecting off the sliding glass door.  The walking onions are the only thing that can survive there year around.



The 2'x8' bed had to be raised off the ground.  This bed is primarily for the Snow Fairy tomatoes  The 2'x4' bed at the left needed replacing due to the 3/4" plywood bottom rotting through.  It is one of the 2 herb/lettuce/radish/miscellaneous beds.  The 3.5' x 3.5' herb, etc. bed in the center of the photo needs to be replaced any day now.  It will be a 3'x4' bed up on cinder blocks.



Feb 23, 2002, view from by patio chair.  

Same view April 1, 2022.  The Yukon Gold seed potato experiment was a great success.  I set out the summer plants mid March instead of April 1 because of the warm spring.
The

Another replaced bed due to rotting 3/4" plywood bottom that was built in 2014.  Eight years for a plywood bottom was pretty good.  The bed was 2'x4' but replaced with a 2'x3' bed so I could safely walk around it.  Wood chip mulch was subsequently added around the ground.



Same bed 4-18-22 with cucumber starts and trellises reinstalled.

I need to stop at this time.  Hopefully, I can finish this updated this evening.

Summer is officially here!  The sun shades are going up and will stay until September.  I had to spray almost everything with either insecticidal soap or spinosad.  Every pest known to mankind has attacked the garden.

I've enjoyed reading this thread Sanderson. You have really had a rough trot health-wise. I do hope that things continue to improve for you. I am glad that you are able to make modifications and amendments to allow you to continue your SFG passion. 
I am having to Google some of the vegetables I read about on the forum as they go by different common names here in Australia. I had never heard of walking onions until very recently.
What do you mean by BTE please?
Another one that I couldn't work out is Purple Podded Beans. Are these what we call Scarlet Runner Beans? (Phaseolus coccineus)?

BTE is Back to Eden.  It's a different method of dirt gardening, not supported by the SFG Foundation of course.  I had a 1'x50' strip of worthless dirt that I couldn't use for SFG (no way to build a skinny bed on it)   .  Some of us have auxiliary gardens along with our SFG beds.

Purple Podded beans are a variety of "green beans" with royal purple hulls.  Not the same as Scarlet Runner. https://www.heirloomseedsolutions.com/product/purple-podded-pole/

Just for fun, you can browse this seed company that many of us have bought from some time or another. https://www.rareseeds.com/

Thanks for that Sanderson. I will have a browse. I am interested in your Snow Fairy tomatoes too. I've had a bit of a look and don't think I can get them here but I've written them down in case I ever come across them. I'll also try to find out about back to eden to expand my horizons

Purple podded pole beans are pretty, have pink blooms, and are easier to see for picking!  I like them.  I have grown Blauhilde before.