Time to have some fun....

OK, the stars appear to be aligned....

1) I have 2 pallets full of vermiculite, peat, and 5 types of compost.
2) I have a stack of 2"x8", plywood, screws, et al...
3) It appears that God's will is for sunny and mild (70 give or take) weather tomorrow.

So, it looks like I will have a chance to fire up the saws and power driver to make some bottomed boxes with 8' trellises (not true TT, as they'll only be off the ground by 1 brick or so.) And if all goes well, perhaps I can get some of the MM production done.

And I dropped my first seed order yesterday.... Still need onions and potatoes, but they're available at my Farm & Garden down the road...

I still need to get/construct tomato netting, good landscape fabric, fabric staples, 1" mesh wire, framing material for the wire boxes, etc, etc...

Some of this I am going to have to spread out a bit... I'm getting hit with 2 annual car insurance and the annual homeowners policy premiums this month... kinda puts a damper on my gardening budget.

I'm starting out with 4 - 4' x 4' boxes, but I'm gonna need more, I think..... at least 2 more, maybe 4. I'm going to try and remember to take pictures....

Very exciting! Spring is in the air...

Sounds as though you're on your way, Clay. When can cool weather veggies be planted in your area?

I'm curious about your 8' trellises. Why so tall? I have trouble reaching the tops of my 6' trellises, but I'm only 5'6". When my crops reach the tops, I train them along the top for a few inches, then let them go back down, and back up again if need be. They seem to figure it out fine for themselves.

Cool weather veggies? Well, last frost is somewhere between Mar 11 and April 2 in my area of the state.... depending on what source you choose... And I haven't decided exactly how far I want to push the envelope yet.... the earlier I go, the more risk and/or initial expense I incur. My initial $$ investment is already considerable, so I might be somewhat conservative this year... I've only been here full time for 2 years, so I am not too familiar with the local specifics...

Trellises? Well... EMT comes in 10' sections... So max height with 1 vertical piece would have been 5' less 1/2 the saw kerf.... simply too short for me. So, if I have to buy two verticals per box/trellis, I might as well make it as tall as I can reasonably harvest from/tend. I figured that over 8' might be pushing it too much... And I don't HAVE to let stuff populate the trellis higher than I choose...

Bottom Line: Trellises are to SFG as my sidearm is to my security. I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

Didn't get to turn a saw on until after 1400hrs.... I got all the bottoms and sides cut for 4 boxes, enough pieces cut for 2ea 1' square boxes, and enough 1'x1' nominal hardy board squares to build a 1 cu. ft. measuring box to make sure the ratios are correct. (Yes, it's a little OCD, but I want to know exactly what I start out with so I can make notes and analyze results.

Hopefully, the weather will wait and let me have tomorrow afternoon to drive some screws... and maybe mix some "dirt".

Pretty good results for four hours where you have everything cut out for 4 beds and your measuring box.
Will the 1 ft square boxes be used for high rise squares?

Hoping you get the afternoon you need tomorrow so you can finish putting the boxes together.

Hope you are taking pictures as you go.

You're well on your way! Great job

Thanks... It was really only about 2.5 hours... I was back inside by 1645hrs... household chores, taxes, et al. calling.

I had some 1.5' cutoffs from the 2"x 8"x10' boards, so I decided to make a couple of risers.... I don't WANT to use 2" for risers, as it "eats" area... but I didn't want to waste a bunch either.

Furbalsmom wrote:Pretty good results for four hours where you have everything cut out for 4 beds and your measuring box.
Will the 1 ft square boxes be used for high rise squares?

Hoping you get the afternoon you need tomorrow so you can finish putting the boxes together.

Hope you are taking pictures as you go.

Well, the weather is making it impossible to have fun outside, BUT look what I got in the mail yesterday! I still need Jalapeno, Serrano, and some vining purple-hulls. Anyone have a recommendation for a purple-hull pea that is a "pole" variety?

Sure wish it'd hurry up and warm up again!

I have never heard of pole purple hull. If it exist, might be hard to find. Most popular in the south is the bush purple hull.

Good luck with the weather and building. It's putting a damper on many gardening projects. Goin to be snow off and on for the next week around here.

Heh, well maybe that's why I am having such a hard time finding them.

CarolynPhillips wrote:I have never heard of pole purple hull. If it exist, might be hard to find. Most popular in the south is the bush purple hull.

Good luck with the weather and building. It's putting a damper on many gardening projects. Goin to be snow off and on for the next week around here.

We had some Zipper Creams 2 years ago that vined, those things were all over the garden, and we had a wild cantaloupe pop up in the middle of them. I say wild because it's been in the same spot 3 years running now.

Looks like someone fell in love with Baker Creek.

cautery wrote:I still need Jalapeno, Serrano, and some vining purple-hulls. Anyone have a recommendation for a purple-hull pea that is a "pole" variety?

Do mean purple-hull cowpea, or green pea? There's a blue-podded garden pea (http://rareseeds.com/blue-podded-blauwschokkers-garden-pea.html) and I grew a purple pod cowpea from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange that was wonderful (http://www.southernexposure.com/pinkeye-purple-hull-pea-southern-114-g-p-1063.html). My favorite cowpea, though, is the Calico Crowder because it's just gorgeous (http://www.southernexposure.com/calico-crowder-pole-cat-pea-southern-14-g-p-316.html).

kimbertangleknot wrote:Looks like someone fell in love with Baker Creek.

What's not to love! I'm sure I'll be patronizing several other companies as well. With 4 boxes and growing, a 12-year old who's becoming increasingly interested in the "project", and a long growing season, I'll have need for a lot more seed varieties...

miinva wrote:

cautery wrote:I still need Jalapeno, Serrano, and some vining purple-hulls. Anyone have a recommendation for a purple-hull pea that is a "pole" variety?

Do mean purple-hull cowpea, or green pea? There's a blue-podded garden pea (http://rareseeds.com/blue-podded-blauwschokkers-garden-pea.html) and I grew a purple pod cowpea from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange that was wonderful (http://www.southernexposure.com/pinkeye-purple-hull-pea-southern-114-g-p-1063.html). My favorite cowpea, though, is the Calico Crowder because it's just gorgeous (http://www.southernexposure.com/calico-crowder-pole-cat-pea-southern-14-g-p-316.html).

Until recently, I didn't know... Papaw, Mamaw, and Dad always just called them "Purple-Hulls". Now, I know that they are a cowpea. The bush variety will be fine I'm sure... I was just wanting to make as much of my stuff vertical growth to maximize space/light. Thank you so much for those links! So that "purple pod cowpea" you grew was a pole/vining variety?

Thanks! I've got several on my list for Southern Exposure...