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January 2009 Garden Project

AlabamaJack

AlabamaJack

eXtreme
Well, it is time to start finalizing the layout of the raised bed I had put in a couple of months ago...

first pic is looking straight down at the left end of the bed...

january2009gardenproject1.jpg


I will have one foot wide channels 6-8" deep filled with gravel between the rows and a 6" wide channel on the outside edges...

january2009gardenproject2.jpg


then with the plants on 36" centers, I can have 45 plants on the left end of the raised bed....these will be the "prized plants"...

january2009gardenproject3.jpg


the way I got it planned, the 6-8" deep the channels will essentially be bottom watering the plants...

There is a lot of prep work to be done before starting this project...like tilling in some compost....
 
Looks great AJ, as well as bottom watering the gravel beds should help with weeds too. Nice design.
 
That looks awesome man. How you planning on doing the watering? Laying down those soaker hoses before you fill the bed might work, that way to water you'd just have to turn on the faucet. Dunno though, keep us posted man.
 
Just a thought mate, won't the pots be too close together? Resulting in intertwining foliage, could be you don't mind or the pots in the drawing are not to scale. I am sure you have it sorted :)
 
Novacastrian said:
Just a thought mate, won't the pots be too close together? Resulting in intertwining foliage, could be you don't mind or the pots in the drawing are not to scale. I am sure you have it sorted :)
Click to expand...

Are they even in pots? I couldn't figure out if the circles were 36" diameter to represent the spacing or if they were cirlces because they're in pots.



Man I can't wait til i can move out of an apartment so I can do things like this. I'm so tired of growing in pots on a balcony/porch.
 
Novacastrian said:
Just a thought mate, won't the pots be too close together? Resulting in intertwining foliage, could be you don't mind or the pots in the drawing are not to scale. I am sure you have it sorted :)
Click to expand...

yeah, probably not to scale...but the circles are supposed to be 3' diameter (kinda plant footprint) and a little intertwining of the foalage between similar plants won't hurt IMO because I like the added stability the plants give to each other....I am not saving many seeds...will be planting in the ground maybe in 5 gallon containers with the bottoms cut out of them...I'm figuring that if I contain the shallow roots and encourage deep root growth, the plants will be much happier and healthy...
 
AJ,

Just some thoughts:

If you stake or cage them, you can easily get by with 30" off center. That's a lot more plants and they will not be starved for space. I did my toms about 28" and they had plenty of room.

Also, six-eight inches deep the soil is not going to dry out, unless you have one mother of a drought. If your compost is that deep with top soil over it (and for extra points, clay on the top), you can save a lot of time and effort, and a few dollars by skipping the gravel channels and the roots will still grow down because the compost will hold moisture much better.

Mike
 
I have possibly a dumb question for AJ and the other more experienced growers here?

For instance, I am trying to keep some of my varieties "pure". So how far apart should I keep my varieties in order to keep them from cross pollinating?
 
Brian,

If ya wanna be real safe, a mile is a good measure! But unless you are trying to save hordes of pods for seeds, you can protect the plants or just the blooms until the pods form. See the Tulles thread for ideas.

Mike
 
AJ, I would have to agree with the 3' spacing. Even at that distance it was difficult to get between most of my plants this year. By the end of the season it looked like a jungle.

Dale
 
wordwiz said:
Also, six-eight inches deep the soil is not going to dry out, unless you have one mother of a drought. If your compost is that deep with top soil over it (and for extra points, clay on the top), you can save a lot of time and effort, and a few dollars by skipping the gravel channels and the roots will still grow down because the compost will hold moisture much better.
Mike
Click to expand...

Understand Mike....but the "channels" provide another necessary comodity...they provide a path between the plants and essentially put the plants on 48" centers, row to row...I don't like getting my feet muddy...

I am giving my plants a lot more room this year than I did last year...last year they were on 16-20" spacing and needed probably 4 feet total footprint per plant...between rows I will have approximately 42" center to center...

oh, another thing is this is going to the grow area that will receive the very best of care...

Yup...a mile is what I have heard too because that is the distance a bee will travel to food..
 
Uh Oh, here we go again. Good ideas AJ. Only thing I can think of is make sure you keep your good soil well separated from the gravel because it is a pain to pull rocks out of it if you want to use it again.
 
From my experience a good thick layer of wood chips between rows will work with good results. You won't get muddy and they are easy to remove or till into your soil at the end of the season.
 
BrianS said:
I have possibly a dumb question for AJ and the other more experienced growers here?

For instance, I am trying to keep some of my varieties "pure". So how far apart should I keep my varieties in order to keep them from cross pollinating?
Click to expand...

They say at least a mile but I never grow plants that far apart and I've never had anything knowingly cross yet. I think it really depends on the amount of pollinating insects in an area.
 
having a lot of hot puree is what I am trying to get Stillz...this year it looks like I am testing shelf life since I haven't sold any...actually not trying to sell it...am just in test right now...

wood chips are a good idea but I need 3 yds material to fill the trenches...I am going to use edging to separate the gravel from growing media and will put weed cloth as a "trough" between the edging and bottom of the hole...two benefits here...keeps the gravel from migrating and won't let it sink too much in the soil...

I really want the gravel not to degrade so I don't have to keep adding each year...
 
AlabamaJack said:
Understand Mike....but the "channels" provide another necessary comodity...they provide a path between the plants and essentially put the plants on 48" centers, row to row...I don't like getting my feet muddy...
Click to expand...

Ah, that's half the fun! Actually, I got my butt chewed off by dad when I was young for trying to work in in the field when it was wet and learned to stay out of it!

I am giving my plants a lot more room this year than I did last year...last year they were on 16-20" spacing and needed probably 4 feet total footprint per plant...between rows I will have approximately 42" center to center...
Click to expand...

I see. That's why I wondered if you were caging the plants or not. When dad raised tomatoes we used 34-36" rows and no way could one "walk" between rows. More like drag your feet and clear the foliage as you went.

oh, another thing is this is going to the grow area that will receive the very best of care...
Click to expand...

Yeah, right AJ. ALL your plants will receive the very best of care!!!

BTW, how do you plan to keep the weeds out of the gravel? Crabgrass is a problem in my garden and it can grab a lot of pebbles with even a small amount of roots.

Mike
 
AlabamaJack said:
wood chips are a good idea but I need 3 yds material to fill the trenches...I am going to use edging to separate the gravel from growing media and will put weed cloth as a "trough" between the edging and bottom of the hole...two benefits here...keeps the gravel from migrating and won't let it sink too much in the soil...

I really want the gravel not to degrade so I don't have to keep adding each year...
Click to expand...

I'm just brainstorming here, & if I understand what your thoughts are.
you plan on digging a small trench place the anti-weed mat down then place lawn edging in (both sides) & fill with gravel/rock. is this gonna only be about 4" deep ? & this is how you're gonna water your plants ?

what about using drain tile ? they come in different sizes.
cut the top part off & lay in the garden trench & just place rock in the cut open drain tile. the rocks will not get mixed in with the soil & when it comes time to remove the tile/rocks I think it might be as simple as (in theory :lol:) just pulling the tile out of the ground w/rocks still in it &/or tip it on its side into a bucket to catch the rock.
vs placing anti-weed mat then placing lawn edging, what about removing the rock ? sounds like you'd have no choice but to shovel it out & risk destroying the weed mat (then how many season will that last?)

like I said just brainstorming. otherwise I hope everything works out for you & I cant wait to see the pictures during the season, I bet it'll look like a jungle.

***************edit***********************
right after I got done posting this I thought of pvc, thats if you want to spend extra $$ for it but that would surely keep the rock in & you could lift them up & out in sections with rock in, depending on the weight. just drill holes in them. & nice & straight pvc pipes
 
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