Garden update pics

A few pics.....

Salad bed filling up and plants filling out..



Overwintered carrots really taking off now... hope to harvest before they get woody!



Not really part of my SFG clearly but I am excited to have purchased mature blueberry plants. Early varieties are just bloomng. Will put in half whiskey barrels.



Broccoli taking off. Bought new transplants today. Will complete this bed tomorrow.



That's it for now, except I do have 164 onions (yellow, white and red short day varieties) that I put into two rows (I know, I know a row) which are all sprouting nicely. But clearly my conscience won't allow me to show you a pic of my row garden on the SFG forum

Love your garden. My salads aren't as bushy looking, and the ones I started at home from seed, froze outside, unfortunately, typical newbie mistake. So to the Pike Nursery I go, and buy some good looking ones, so that I can pass them as mine

Outstanding!! Your setup just looks so clean. I really admire what you've done. And, I noticed you have your plastic off. Have you hit your frost date? Or, are you just throwing it on as needed?

My spinach and lettuces are a ways behind yours, but are starting to grow now that we've finally had some decent days over here with some sunshine.

Congrats again on the beautiful garden.

Appreciate the kind words WeedlessATL and BBG. I certainly don't hide behind the fact I'm really a "transplant" kinda guy. I've done seeds quite often and enjoy it but just find that the ease and instant gratification of transplants always wins me over...... not to mention; you can pick healthy looking plants that have a good head start on the season. Like I said in a previous thread, my local farmers exchange has a really good selection and they do it all in their own heat supplied "proper" hoop house.

The plastic was on last night actually BBG. I store it folded, just out of the shot and yes, throw on as needed. The next 10 days are not supposed to drop below 40 now for lows. This may appear to point to our last frost having past just last night. However, ole man winter always has a last "death throw." I'm guessing i'll need to break out the plastic maybe once, probably twice and possibly three more nights but thats about it. Then its off to the local farmers market for those tomato transplants.

I should have an avatar pic showing a super hero motif with a large "T" on his shirt..."Transplant Man"

staf74 wrote:I should have an avatar pic showing a super hero motif with a large "T" on his shirt..."Transplant Man"

We'll just call you Sprout and call me Seed and go from there...lol. Together, we can rule the world!!

I figured you may not be completely frost free yet. But, like me you monitor the longer range TV forecast for the lows and plan your plastic accordingly. I have mine still on until I get my tax return next week. Then, I run out to grab the varmit netting and trellis nylons. Once that gets put in, I can take the plastic off. However, I've discovered my critter problem was likely my dog. I've been opening the plastic all the way up the past couple of sunny days and not a problem as long as I monitor the dog.

You are looking GOOD !!! Wish I had the money to put into hoop houses - I'd be off and running right now. I hope the carrots make it through, they will be a great addition to the early greens. Keep us up on how it goes.

windrider1967 wrote:You are looking GOOD !!! Wish I had the money to put into hoop houses - I'd be off and running right now. I hope the carrots make it through, they will be a great addition to the early greens. Keep us up on how it goes.

I am so afraid people are overestimating the cost of a hoophouse. PVC pipe is inexpensive, and the plastic covering isn't too bad (use the painter's contractor plastic in the dropcloth section...not greenhouse plastic). A pack of brackets and a box of screws don't add up to much. I have a 4x12 bed completely covered that cost me a grand total of maybe $30. When compared to the lumber and MM inside, the hoophouse is minimal........and provides a few extra weeks of gardening.

Hoops and trellises are about the same investment.

BackyardBirdGardner wrote:

windrider1967 wrote:You are looking GOOD !!! Wish I had the money to put into hoop houses - I'd be off and running right now. I hope the carrots make it through, they will be a great addition to the early greens. Keep us up on how it goes.

I am so afraid people are overestimating the cost of a hoophouse. PVC pipe is inexpensive, and the plastic covering isn't too bad (use the painter's contractor plastic in the dropcloth section...not greenhouse plastic). A pack of brackets and a box of screws don't add up to much. I have a 4x12 bed completely covered that cost me a grand total of maybe $30. When compared to the lumber and MM inside, the hoophouse is minimal........and provides a few extra weeks of gardening.

Hoops and trellises are about the same investment.

$30 is a lot of money for someone who has very little money. As for me, I collect as much free and recycled things for my garden as I can. I have a budget that is quite limited for my garden this year, thus I buy what I must and eek out what I can from where ever I can. I hoard my seed and I am cautious about the weather. I cannot afford to buy more seed this year, beyond what I already have. Yesterday I was shopping at the dump for windows to make a cold frame.

Don't get me wrong, I am not being condescending. I understand we all have our situations. I am so far from the median income it's laughable, too. I am not trying to insult anyone. I just figured it worth posting the price of my hoophouse in case someone was thinking otherwise. For us, $30 is skipping one week's trip to McDonald's....or pizza.....or a couple week's worth of convenient store coffees on the way to work....or brown bagging lunch for a week, giving up smoking or soda for Lent, etc, etc.

I used to uncover money in people's budgets to implement insurances, savings, and mortgages. If you dig, you can usually find $30/month, much less a one time shot. And, this is tax season.....not that I'm a licensed tax advisor....but that Earned Income Credit for children can be a small pot of gold for a gardener wanting a trellis without denting the family budget much.

All I am trying to do here is encourage. If I can find bits of money here and there, so can others. I just snap a little when I hear people say they can't afford something that costs less than $100 when they went out to McDonald's Friday night, smoke, bought a 12 pack of beer, or put a $20 in a slot machine or bingo hall recently.

Disclaimer: Again, not an attack on anyone here specifically. I am just picking on the giant lack of fiscal discipline running rampant in this country. Please no one take offense to this, as I don't know your specific situation. I took home two loaves of bread from a church fish fry, and a buddy took home several bags of cooked noodles. We don't like wasted anything. My friend is from Bosnia, in the 1970's, and scolded me for not grabbing more....because of where he came from. I could only agree with him that the waste in this country is mind-boggling sometimes. That's all I'm saying.

Meh, I have nothing extra. Please take it easy with your judgements.

Camprn's right of course that $30 can be relatively a lot more money to one person than another. However, I don't think BBG meant anything other than a hoop house over your beds is cheaper than what you might at first estimate. I do agree though, that if anyone really wanted one, it is not an outrageous cost that some prioritizing would not take care of. Recently, I've had to lower my TV / cell phone package and gave up some of the finer things in life for a little while to pay for my new HABIT....gardening ...my gosh... just going out for dinner with my wife once is easily the same cost as my hoop set-up....BBG gives great examples, better than mine but the same idea here. I am cognizant that ANY amount of money in these trying times can be a real stretch for families, absolutely !... but where there's a will, there's a way.

I thought I'd chime in only because my involvement and interest in growing food has come, in part, from the realization of just how fragile our food supply actually is. The "just in time" grocery stores are things that way too many people take for granted and quite frankly, I don't think it is a sustainable model for feeding the populus. Our current ability to feed ourselves is waaayyy too reliant on oil from top to bottom.

So I know i went off on a huge tangent there, I'm sorry and probably hijacked my own thread....but a hoop house i've found to be a wonderful addition to my SFG and encourage anyone to give it a go. You just might need it one day. I'll help out any way I can. Please don't be offended Camprn, no-one is judging anyone here (I hope anyway). Happy growing everyone, however you decide to do it

+1

I didn't read BBG's post as anything but helpful. I'm thankful for the information because I, too, am on a tight TIGHT garden budget. Knowing that I can cobble together a HH for under $30 is encouraging, and I plan to give it a try.

I did a little price checking while near Lowe's today. Seems I can get 10' pieces of 1/2" PVC for $1.50 each 3/4" PVC was about $1.75. They also had some 4mil plastic tarp in the painting section for about $5. I saw some garden staples for $4 for a pack of 25 (I think). Packs of screws with bolts were less than a dollar for 6 in a little pack.

If I use 1' sections of 3/4" as "anchors" for the 1/2" PVC hoops and if I use only 2 lengths of PVC per 4'x4' box (crisscrossed and secured at the top with a nut and bolt). A bare bones 4'x4' hoop will run me:

1 length of 3/4" PVC : $1.75
3 lengths of 1/2" PVC: $1.50x3= $4.50 (2 for the HH, 1 cut in half and used to secure the tarp to the ground)
1 pack of bolts: $1
1 pack of garden staples: $4 (to hold down the HH)
1 4mil tarp: $5

TOTAL: $16.25 plus tax.

That's not bad.

I'm all for freebies too and the window cold frame will help out as well. Keep up the good gardening.


Kay

Freebies are always a great thing. I grew up in rural NH during the 70's, and the recession as it hit us, there, was bad enough that we were more or less working on a barter economy in our town. We had a surplus of eggs and hay and veggies, and traded around town for whatever else we needed. The thermostat was kept at 55. And so on. I do, though, think it is important to appreciate people for whatever it is that they have and can do, rather than to criticize for living too largely. (On the other hand, I think it is a great thing to point out to people where they might be able to save, and for that, I thank BYBG.)

We row-gardened in New Hampshire in the 70's without any of the benefit of all the Mel's Mix and fancy row covers and so forth that most of us are talking about here. And last year, I had a great garden from just sticking seeds in the soil. A little later than some folks, maybe... but it can be done.

I am saying all this because I want to encourage people with budgetary concerns to just get out there and try it. It may not work perfectly, but then again it may not work perfectly even if you have a $10,000 greenhouse, either. Just try it... trying is better than not trying, for fear of lack of funds or ability. I am stressing about my backyard right now because I may not be able to afford the vermiculite to fill all the boxes I want to build this spring. So be it... I'll make it work, one way or another. Happily, plants are often forgiving.

I am hoping what I said is a positive message. If not, please tell me where I fell down, and I will try to amend it.

What I have taken from this message/lesson is this, don't let money stop you from looking into something you want to do. I constantly price things. I am currently pricing cinder blocks, and figuring out how many are needed for a 4x4 and 8x4 (any one know). There is no way I will be able to get these this year, and probably not next, hubby finally got his bees, he now has 2 hives, and any and all extra (and plenty of not extra if you ask me but no one did) is going to what the bees need, but was happy when I found out the hive he got today (this one was free ) came with honey.

For those of us on a tight budget, use the old tried and true change jar, put a picture of what you want on it and how much you need, all change goes in it. Check with local plumbers and contractors, see if they have scrap, and see if they would be willing to barter, I plan on trying it out this year.

Megan, wasn't growing up in the 70's fun, I tell people I am a result of the 60's and a product of the 70's who got lost in the 80's but managed to survive, parachute pants, big hair and all.

FarmerValerie wrote:Megan, wasn't growing up in the 70's fun, I tell people I am a result of the 60's and a product of the 70's who got lost in the 80's but managed to survive, parachute pants, big hair and all.

LOL... I wouldn't do it again on a bet, but it's who I am and where I'm from, so I will have to be content! Growing up on a scratch farm was very hard work, even for a kid, but I am very glad for the strength of my family, their love, and everything I learned there, not just about farming but about life in general.

FarmerValerie wrote:For those of us on a tight budget, use the old tried and true change jar, put a picture of what you want on it and how much you need, all change goes in it. Check with local plumbers and contractors, see if they have scrap, and see if they would be willing to barter, I plan on trying it out this year.

My change jar doesn't make it to the designated purpose usually. However I have made the decission to go cold turkey on the smokes once the pack I have is done !!! Can't stand the constant coughing and it is just TOO darn expensive.

Megan, wasn't growing up in the 70's fun, I tell people I am a result of the 60's and a product of the 70's who got lost in the 80's but managed to survive, parachute pants, big hair and all.[/quote]

Considering that I was born in 1967 I am NUCH more a product of the 80s but everyone used to swear that when I was being born the hippie that ODd in the next room over decided that they weren't ready to leave yet. Used to call me moonbeam when I was younger, guess hooking up with the native hubby was a no brainer

Windrider, I was born in 1966, and raised by Archie and Edith Bunker...... Oh, the scars.

LOL - sisters from another mother ... Mom and Dad are white bread through and through !!! Main reason why hubby and they don't get along. They don't get the whole native thing, especially with my daughter.

Hah! 1967 baby here... except I think I got the Cleavers instead of the Bunkers.

and I could be your mother!! I got married in 1967, was the first generation of hippies.

That's funny. My mother could be your mother... she married in the 40's. (Yup, I was a late baby.)

garden looks great! I'm jealous..hope mine does as well.

Hey weedless in ATL...pikes is great but i just found this small awesome place (not as large of volume but a great local place) called Farmers D organics. Awesome little shop. Had some great looking cool weather veggies out. If i lived closer (it was off of braircliff) i'd shop there everytime. But hard to make the trip when I have a pikes 5 min from my house.

Well since everyone else pitched in two cents , so will I

We waited, contemplated and gave up saving for a greenhouse , went to the bank borrowed the money and built the Canning kitchen, store front and greenhouse, to date the greenhouse has paid back $ 150 bucks the first farmers market weekend, I hope and pray ( alot of prayers ) that the venture will be successful , sfg AND mELS MIX is the best weapon against the rising cost of fresh vegetables. with fuel costs increasing the store prices will just continue to rise.

If you can Invest do it ,, if not dont,,,, at any rate enjoy your gardening experiance you will get out of it exactly what you put in