Garden Update Podcast – Week of 8/15/16 – S1E14
As I discussed in my most recent Workout Plan Update, I am changing how I am rolling out posts and podcasts for Small Scale Life. I am going to post Workout Plan Updates at the end of the week (looking forward to the next week) and Garden posts at the front end of the week. I will post podcasts in the middle of the week. Other posts will pop up as I write them. Since I haven’t posted an update in a month, I am posting a Garden Update Podcast, post and videos. It is time to talk about success, failures, pests and blight. It has been a learning year in 2016!
I outline what is happening in each garden bed below, so if you want to hear the podcast, skip ahead to the very end of the article!
Garden Bed 1
Garden Bed 1 continues to be the flagship raised bed in the main garden – 8/14/16
Garden Bed 1 has four varieties of tomatoes, red onions, basil and cucumbers in it. This is my longest bed, and it has traditionally been my tomato planter. Below is an assessment of the plants in this raised bed.
Plant |
Assessment |
Opalka Roma Tomatoes |
3 of the 4 plants are doing VERY well with a lot of fruitI removed the 4th plant since it was not showing any fruitI added a volunteer that was hiding in the parsley in Bed 4 to replace the unproductive plant |
Amish Paste Tomatoes |
These plants are growing tall and strongTwo are over 8 feet tall and have several tomatoes on them |
San Marzano Roma Tomatoes |
Plants are growing taller and showing several tomatoes |
Cherry Tomatoes |
Showing several tomatoes and growing tallerGood production for being in the shade |
Basil |
Removed all plants on 8/14/16 due to Downy Mildew |
Cucumbers |
These plants are growing and starting to bear cucumbersNot as productive as the cucumbers in the wicking bed |
Red Onions |
Critters have devastated my red onion crop.I have learned to install fencing on my beds for the future |
Garden Bed 2
Garden Bed 2 is an exercise in chaos thanks to some pole beans that were mixed with the bush bean seeds – 8/14/16
Garden Bed 2 is a mish-mash of climbing plants. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. This bed was supposed to be sugar snap peas and bush beans. Unfortunately, some pole bean seeds were mixed in with the bush beans, and the pole beans are going crazy. I also added two extra tomato plants to the bed as well. Below is a summary of this garden bed.
Plant |
Assessment |
Bush Beans |
The bush beans have been productiveThey are being choked out by the pole bean plantsHarvest tomorrow |
Pole Beans |
These plants arte starting to fade in the late summer heatThey have been productive due to screening and shade from the pole beansHarvest tomorrow |
Cherry Tomato |
Plant is growing tallerStarting to show fruit |
San Marzano Roma Tomatoes |
Planted late in the seasonStarting to show fruit |
Garden Bed 3
Garden Bed 3 should be brimming with onions and garlic this year. Note: should be….8/14/16
Garden Bed 3 is my 3’x8′ bed. I grew potatoes in this bed last year, and this year it was going to be my garlic and onion box. It started out splendidly, but as of mid-August, it has not performed as I anticipated. Here is a summary of the plants and performance of this garden bed. The bottom line is that this bed needs a fence!
Plant |
Assessment |
Garlic |
Garlic was transplanted into this bed early in the seasonGarlic grew in the spring and early summerMost garlic was harvested; small headsTwo garlic plants remain in the bed |
Yellow Onions |
Critters have been digging in this bed this seasonYellow onions have been dug up as the animals digRemaining yellow onions do look good |
Peppers |
Transplanted late after the garlic was harvestedRabbits have eaten most of the leaves on these plants |
Garden Bed 4 and 5 and Vertical Garden
Garden Bed 4 and 5 with the Vertical Garden in happier and healthier times – 7/21/16
Between the vertical garden and Garden Bed 4, I had about 150 basil plants in my garden. I harvested about 9 gallons of basil and created a ton of pesto and pasta/soup starts.
Unfortunately, I did not notice early warning signs of downy mildew as I harvested the basil. We had some big rain storms, and when I looked at the garden last week, I noticed that many of the plants were suffering from the mildew. I removed the plants on 8/14/16 and salvaged what I could. The crop was almost a complete loss.
Meanwhile, the parsley is healthy and simply awesome!
Plant |
Assessment |
Parsley |
Plants are extemely productive and healthy |
Basil |
Basil has been infected by Downy MildewAll basil has been removed from the garden |
Guerrilla Garden
I added compost around the zucchini plant stems in hopes of root formation – 8/15/16
I have three zucchini plants in the guerrilla garden. The plants looked pretty healthy this season, and I have been taking pictures of the flowers all season. Unfortunately, I needed to keep my eye on the stalks. I noticed on 8/14/16 that the stalks were ripped apart. Further exploration revealed that my plants had been attacked by squash borers. I will be writing an article about this in the near future. Here is a summary of the three zucchini plants in the guerrilla garden.
Plants |
Assessment |
Zucchini |
Three plants planted in this spaceSquash borers detected and removed on 8/14/16Added compost around the stalks on 8/15/16 in an effort to assist the zucchini to grow new roots |
Wicking Beds and Hybrid Rain Gutter Grow Systems
This is an older photo; the cucumbers are almost to the top of the trellis – 8/2/16
The wicking bed and Hybrid Rain Gutter Grow System (HRGGS) are both showing their value and abilities. I have a great crop of peppers, cucumbers and jalapenos coming from these two systems. The plants in the wicking bed are VERY healthy and producing a bumper crop of green peppers and cucumbers!
Posts will be coming in the near future with my thoughts on each system and how to build these systems.
A summary of each system is provided below.
System |
Plant |
Assessment |
HRGGS |
Jalapenos |
The surviving jalapenos are really productiveMany blossoms and fruit already |
HRGGS |
Green Peppers |
Green peppers have struggled in the HRGGS due to soil conditionsPlants are growing and are starting to bear fruitNot as healthy or productive as the wicking bed |
HRGGS |
Dill |
Rabbit ate the seedlings downDill has rebounded nicely and is growing rapidly |
Wicking Bed |
Cucumbers |
Cucumbers are simply loving the wicking bedPlants are growing rapidly and almost as tall as the trellisEach plant has blossomsHarvested two 6″ cucumbers already |
Wicking Bed |
Green Peppers |
Green peppers are growing rapidly (almost 4′ tall)Several plants have multiple peppers on themGrowing the largest pepper I have ever grown with this system |
Watch
If a picture is worth a 1000 words, then a video showing the gardens are worth millions. I have posted two videos on the Small Scale Life YouTube Channel (which you should subscribe to and share with your friends), but you can watch them right here.
Garden Update
Wicking Bed/Hybrid Rain Gutter Grow System Update
Listen
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Hi Tom
Im diggin your blog and podcast.
My garden in Burnsville is doing well. I lost my first batch of tomatos to due to excessive rain but have harvested many since. I have a serious squash bug issue so I get squash for a while and then it tapers off. I just plant lots of plants. Over all things are a little slower than last year. The winter squash have lots of bloom but less pollination success. I usually get over 300 lbs of winter squash so this year ill be well short of that. Potatoes have done well and I have lots of volunteers from last year. My surprising success has been broccoli and cabbage. Both have done great as opposed to last few years.
I planted Kiwi and it’s not really doing anything. New seedless grapes have grown well. My fruit trees have very little fruit. I have 5 plums and I will get a grand total of 4 plums this year. Last year I had a couple hundred plums. I attribute the lack of production to a really bad pollination season and young trees, third full season. My pears have a few fruit and have grown a lot this summer. The apples are stagnant and not bearing.
I got a good harvest of honey berry, raspberries and Valient grapes.
Thanks for the feedback! Awesome! This is really excellent and inspiring.
This is great for a Burnsville yard! I graduated High School in Burnsville, so this is familiar turf! Actually, the yards in Burnsville are pretty decent sized, so you can get quite a garden and fruit trees in a yard in the south metro.
The squash borers really caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting their infestation. I HOPE I took care of them and will get some zucchini from the guerrilla garden bed this year.
I had no idea kiwi would grow up here. I have never tried that.
Sounds like I need to come down to Burnsville for a garden tour! That is pretty bold to invite myself. I am curious: do you have a traditional garden plot, raised beds or something more interesting? I know the fruit trees are on their own.
Tom
I remember reading years ago about planting in groups that are mutually beneficial, apparently certain plants deter bugs that attack other plants, etc. I don’t remember what it was called (a quick search led me to “companion planting”. You might wish to take a look. Sample article:
http://www.almanac.com/content/companion-planting-garden
Oh yes, there is a lot of uses for companion planting! An example is petunias and aphids, which can suck the life out of your plants and over-run a garden completely. I dealt with them before, and I lost horribly. You can see that story here https://youtu.be/qDADTS_ldKc on the Small Scale Gardening YouTube Channel. Aphids hate petunias; planting petunias can keep the aphids away. There are a ton of great resources out there about companion planting. Thanks for sharing that link. Here is another great one: https://greenfuture.io/home-and-garden/companion-planting
Good stuff! Thanks for the comments! Keep it coming.
Tom
Come on by anytime. One plot is a filled in 25000 gallon in ground swimming pool and the other in a raised bed using cinder block. I use wood chips and do cover/Back to Eden method. Just shoot me an email and we’ll set up a date.
That sounds like a really fascinating garden! My father-in-law had a pool and was wondering what to do with it when he had to replace the liner (once upon a time). He thought about filling it in, but there are a bunch of rules that come along with that. Using it as a garden is a fascinating concept. Is it an in-ground pool or above-ground pool? I am curious about drainage with some of the big rain storms we have had lately.
Really cool. Perhaps some time in early September I can come on down there for a garden tour (feature you on this blog if you like). Thank you for the generous offer!
Tom
Sure just email me when you want to come down. I will say she’s fading fast though. The pool was in ground about 10 feet deep. I had it filled with clean fill and topped off with 8-10 inches of garden soil (spendy). So far no drainage issues. The wood chips hold water well and the rest drains through. I have been steadily building the quality of the soil with mainly mulched leaves and lots of coffee grounds. I was able to save the wrought iron fence around the pool by cutting the concrete apron out.