OhioGardener SFG

The new Tunnel Arbor I build this spring with three cattle panels is beginning to get some use. The squash and cucumber have not yet been planted, but I had two extra tomato plants and put them at the end of the arbor - they are now over 2' tall on the arbor. I also planted a package of Blue Lake Pole Beans on one end of the arbor, and they are already starting to climb up it. Can't wait to see how this arbor looks with plants covering it, and fruit hanging down inside the arbor waiting to be picked.


Blue Lake Pole Beans are climbing on the arbor. These are just two weeks old, so they have a lot of climbing to do


A Yellow Brandywine Tomato is climbing up this side of the arbor



A Rutgers Tomato is beginning it's climb up the other side of the arbor.

Did a short video update on the cattle panel Tunnel Arbor today. Had to hang some old CD's in the arbor to distract the birds from roosting on the arbor. They seem to be working so far.

Loving the Tunnel Arbor more and more very day, made from 3 cattle panels between two raised beds.  It now has pole beans, cucumbers, butternut and red kuri squash, and tomatoes growing on it. It is so neat to walk through and enjoy the shade the plants provide. This is such an improvement over the trellises that were used the last 2 years.

love it.

side note,I having trouble with the birds sitting on my telephone line to the house and pooping. The cd may be my solution.

Love my garden protectors!  

when I was a kid I would run or kill that spider, but I was a city kid without gardening or nature training. Boy has my understanding change.

The beds with the Tunnel Arbor between them are doing great, and the arbor is beginning to fill in with the pole beans, cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes. Added drip irrigation to the beds this spring, to the beds are keeping evenly watered better.

Some time ago Suz suggested that I do a walk-around video of the gardens, and I said I'd try to do that when they were in full production.  So, yesterday I did a walk-around of all of the beds as she suggested. The beds are giving us more vegetables than we can harvest or process right now, but we are loving all of the fresh vegetables in every meal!

Did another short walk around the Tunnel Arbor, fully loaded with tomatoes, beans, and winter squash. Included a brief look at the Cushaw Winter Squash that has taken over the open ground next to the arbor - it is growing on the BTE wood chips.




After the video was created, I picked the beans from these plants.

That's a lot of beans

yolos wrote:That's a lot of beans

15 quarts canned.

And, we're having to pick them every 3 days. I have never grown Blue Lake Pole Beans before, but these plants have been amazing.

Nice, loved the video, OG.

Scorpio Rising wrote:Nice, loved the video, OG.

    

Made a very short video with a compilation of pictures of the Blue Lake Pole Beans on the Tunnel Arbor to show the quick growth and production of these beans. Also learned that the recommended 4" spacing is too close for these beans, and next year they will be spaced further apart.

The Blue Lake Pole Beans on the arbor are really producing. I have to pick them every 3 days.

Picked the beans on the arbor this morning -- Six and half pounds of them. This is our first time ever growing Blue Lake Pole Beans, be we will definitely be growing them again next year.

Cleaned out 4'x12' beds, refreshed them with rock dust and compost, and sowed Daikon "Ground Hog" Radish seeds for the winter cover crop.  I have never used the Daikon radish for the winter cover crop before, but everything I have read on it sounds like it is a win-win crop. The root grows quickly and penetrates deeply into the soil to scavenge and store nutrients, while the tops grow very large and provide complete soil coverage. As the radish winter kills, the dying tops provide mulch for the soil and the roots decay to enrich the soil with the nutrients they stored. Should be an interesting experiment.

OhioGardener wrote:Cleaned out 4'x12' beds, refreshed them with rock dust and compost, and sowed Daikon "Ground Hog" Radish seeds for the winter cover crop.  I have never used the Daikon radish for the winter cover crop before, but everything I have read on it sounds like it is a win-win crop. The root grows quickly and penetrates deeply into the soil to scavenge and store nutrients, while the tops grow very large and provide complete soil coverage. As the radish winter kills, the dying tops provide mulch for the soil and the roots decay to enrich the soil with the nutrients they stored. Should be an interesting experiment.

Can’t wait to hear the results, OG!  Planning to get stuff cleaned out this weekend as well...

I had planted some "Ground Hog" Daikon Radish seed in one 4'x4' section of a raised bed near the end of August after I had harvested the onions from that bed with the intention of them providing a winter cover crop for that bed. Apparently, though, I planted those seed too early! The radish have grown, and grown, and grown.... They now have huge roots already forming, I think they need to be pulled and new seeds sown for the winter cover crop.


This is a picture of the plants in the raised bed.


Picture of one of the Daikon roots


Picture of a couple more Daikon roots


Picture of the smallest Daikon root

Wow, my daikon radishes never get that big.  I have some seeds on my counter now trying to decide between winter peas or the daikon radishes.

The Daikon Radish winter cover crop is off to a good start! They have the soil completely covered and protected from the elements, and the roots are digging deep into the soil to bring up nutrients for next years vegetables.  I had hoped to get a couple more beds planted with the radishes for the winter, but I am running out of time and may end up just covering the beds with straw.

Need some new tomato cages for next year. I have used the Texas Tomato Cages for several years and they have done a good job of containing the tall tomato plants. But, this year the tomato plants grew so fast and so heavy that they bent the cages to the point that they are no longer foldable, and no longer stable for holding the plants.  So, I need to make some new ones before planting next year's tomatoes.  

I found this video on making some tomato cages from cattle panels, and am thinking these may be more durable as well as easier to install/maintain. I think I would modify his plan to cut the panels in half lengthwise (8') instead of at the 6' length he recommended - this would make the cages 6.5' high after the 16" is inserted in the soil. The way he recommends only provides a 4.5' high cage above the soil, which is not high enough for the way my tomatoes grow.

Any thoughts on the pros/cons of this design? Any better ideas?

The time has come to up-pot a couple of the Rhubarb seedlings. I started these Glaskins Perpetual Rhubarb from seed, wanting them to grow enough to be transplanted in the garden by late March.  But, they are growing a lot faster than I expected them to. The two bigger ones have grown into LED grow lights, so I transplanted them into larger pots. The two smaller ones will grow some more before up-potting them.

Picture of the seedlings before up-potting.  The 2 largest will be transplanted.


The two bigger plants after they were up-potted.

any rusting from the garden bed frames?

has55 wrote:any rusting from the garden bed frames?

Not yet. The galvanized metal is holding up well.