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organic My Organic Back Yard Raised Bed Garden In Las Vegas - Four 4x8 Raised Beds

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It's my 2nd year of gardening. 2010 was the very first time I planted a seed, and today, here are the results of all the reading i've done so far! I think it's been progressing really nicely.

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And here's a pic from 11 days ago when it was raining. I took it from my kitchen window. You can see how much everything has grown since just 11 days ago though!
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John Kohler from Youtube even came by my house and did a video on my garden too. You can check it out if you'd like:

http://www.youtube.com/v/9WKF1ODzRxQ
 
Justaguy said:
Do you use the hoops? Cover the plants?
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I use the hoops mostly during early spring and late fall. I cover them with clear plastic to help keep the heat in and protect the plants from the strong early spring and late fall wind.
 
Oh, one thing I should probably mention is that it's pretty obvious my tomatoes are not trained as a single vine up a tall stake, and they aren't caged. I grow them this way, and give them each a 2x2 space so they grow intensely, so that they will continue to perform well even when it hits 110 degrees outside here in las Vegas. They completely cover the surface of the soil and act almost like a living mulch. They also help each other to retain humidity and keep each other cool during the day.

I get WAY more fruits this way compared with staking or caging. People who stake or cage tomatoes in Vegas will learn quickly that the plants will try out, the leaves will turn brown and fall off, the blossoms will drop, and any fruit that did set will probably end up cracking. I'm sure some very heat tolerant varieties are more immune to these issues, but I like to grow a few heirloom varieties as well. This growing method really helps me get a nice harvest.

For peppers, i do stake them since they don't get so tall, and it helps keep them upright in the powerful wind, and once they get top heavy.
 
Very nice. Looks like you've created a lot of shaded mini-climates in the beds to help resist that hot hot sun that will be coming along shortly in Las Vegas.

There was a discussion earlier about 'clumping' peppers in hot climates for that purpose. I think you got it done for everything in those beds.... :cool:

P.S. Do you have an irrigation system in there or is it hand watered? Kind of wondering about best sprinkler systems for tight foliage like that.
 
Siliman said:
Very nice. Looks like you've created a lot of shaded mini-climates in the beds to help resist that hot hot sun that will be coming along shortly in Las Vegas.

There was a discussion earlier about 'clumping' peppers in hot climates for that purpose. I think you got it done for everything in those beds.... :cool:

P.S. Do you have an irrigation system in there or is it hand watered? Kind of wondering about best sprinkler systems for tight foliage like that.
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Thanks, I just found that thread. Interest info there. Im curious to see how poly's pot of 4 clumped peppers is doing.

I do have irrigation set up. I'm using Netafim sub-surface irrigation lines which are hooked up to my hose line with a filter and multi zone timer. The drip lines run about 2" below the surface of the soil, 12" apart down the length of the beds, and have 1GPM emitters every 12". I also have a shutoff valve on each bed so i can turn the beds on or off as needed. The emitters are made so they don't clog even while being under the soil. I check in random places around the beds once in a while and the beds are always evenly moist, so it seems to be working well so far.
 
Realy nice beds! I bet that took a ton of rock and mix. The plants look great and the construction looks like it will last a very long time. What are you feeding with?
 
Thanks everyone! I'm having a lot of fun with it.
ZanderSpice said:
Realy nice beds! I bet that took a ton of rock and mix. The plants look great and the construction looks like it will last a very long time. What are you feeding with?
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I use 1 full cup of Espoma Garden-Tone organic fertilizer per planting hole, and that's all I need for the whole season. Other than that, I have a compost tumbler around the corner of my house that you can't see in the pics. It makes compost really fast here, usually within 1 month or less. I use that all through the season for making compost tea. After I make compost tea, I usually just throw the used compost in a random spot in my beds.
 
Here's a few updated pics. I took these about 2 weeks ago so everything is even bigger now. Maybe I need to make more updates pics hah.

Overall Garden Shot:
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These cayenne peppers are coming out purple which is interesting. Even the flowers are purple. They came from a packet of normal red cayenne peppers, and all the other cayenne pepper plants i grew from the same seed packet are red.
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Basil: Thai, Boxwood, Purple Petra, and Genovese. I also have two Pesto Perpetuo basil plants growing in pots (not pictured)
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24 pepper plants of all different types. Poblano, Cayenne, Habanero, Jalapeno, Bhut Jolokia, Thai, Hungarian Wax, Banana, & a couple others.
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Purple Bells
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Poblanos: These plants always get really tall and stretchy.
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First baby spaghetti squash:
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Nice Truss of Porter Tomatoes:
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Hawaiian Tropic Tomatoes:
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Ripening Porter Tomatoes:
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