Mystery Seedlings

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

son was fine...walked away with hardly a scratch...bruised ribs on right side is about all. Thanks for asking.

I am glad I am mostly retired as I don't know how I would find the time to do all of this...

[surviort_wwdnet]

son was fine...walked away with hardly a scratch...bruised ribs on right side is about all. Thanks for asking.

I am glad I am mostly retired as I don't know how I would find the time to do all of this...

You and me both! I go out and check the gardens 3 or 4 times a day (my husband says I'm talking to the plants and he may be right), add water where needed, and figure out what to plant next, all while cleaning, reorganizing, doing laundry, cooking, etc. No wonder I never got much done when I was working!:rolleyes: Tonight I'm soaking some black soybeans so I can plant them tomorrow.

[surviort_wwdnet]

Got 4 more bags of potting mix today, filled up three more 10-gallon grow bags and one 5-gallon grow bag plus 1 plastic pot for black soybeans, planted more bell pepper seeds, and built my last trellis. I've used all but 1 of the zillion garden stakes that were stored in the garden shed (10-12 per trellis plus the stakes in the container garden). The 4 grow bags are waiting for new transplants and it looks like black beans and more sugar snaps are leading the sprouting race. My husband raised up the sprinkler head by my bag garden and replaced a broken pipe - now everything in the bags is getting plenty of water when the irrigation system runs. Otherwise? Cleaned house, went swimming, fixed dinner, and called it a day. Can I sit back and admire God's creation now? Uhh..no! I have radishes and turnips ready to harvest and process.

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

okay, built the two Kratky totes today and planted 18 seeds...will see how this goes...also planted twenty 7 gallon grow bags today...

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

Couple more pics

[surviort_wwdnet]

okay, built the two Kratky totes today and planted 18 seeds...will see how this goes...also planted twenty 7 gallon grow bags today...

What did you plant? Your setup looks great! What does the Kratky setup look like on the inside?

I pulled some radishes and turnips, blanched them (including greens), packed up and stuck them in the freezer. My pressure canner is sitting on the stove waiting for me to cube chicken and get it canned in the morning. I need more trellis net because one row doesn't have net on the ends and where do you think the plants want to go??? I'll probably need a few more garden stakes before it's over. This hot weather is keeping my garden hose in business for this bag garden. The irrigation system only runs twice weekly and on the other days I run for the hose. Black beans, sugar snaps, and butternut squash all sprouted and waiting to be transplanted.

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

okay in the bags I have radishes, mixed lettuce, spinach, thyme, corn, carrots, crookneck squash, watermelon, pumpkin, bush beans, jalape?o, cayenne pepper.

The inside of the Kratky is seen in last pic....it has a float valve. The red five gallon bucket has the water and nutrients to feed the two totes. I filled the totes up so the grow cups are immersed in the water about half way. I will be checking every 5 days or so to keep the roots grow in the water. After they start growing well, you let the roots keep growing seeking the water. AS the plants take up the water the level goes down. When it reaches the float valve, and the valve opens this will allow water to flow in and keep the water a certain point. The plants produce roots high up so some roots gather oxygen while the deeper roots gather water and nutrients.

I have my float vales to keep about a 6" air space between the plant cups and the water level.

[surviort_wwdnet]

okay in the bags I have radishes, mixed lettuce, spinach, thyme, corn, carrots, crookneck squash, watermelon, pumpkin, bush beans, jalape?o, cayenne pepper.

The inside of the Kratky is seen in last pic....it has a float valve. The red five gallon bucket has the water and nutrients to feed the two totes. I filled the totes up so the grow cups are immersed in the water about half way. I will be checking every 5 days or so to keep the roots grow in the water. After they start growing well, you let the roots keep growing seeking the water. AS the plants take up the water the level goes down. When it reaches the float valve, and the valve opens this will allow water to flow in and keep the water a certain point. The plants produce roots high up so some roots gather oxygen while the deeper roots gather water and nutrients.

I have my float vales to keep about a 6" air space between the plant cups and the water level.

Thank you. Can't wait to see your garden grow!

Butternut squash sprouted and one single pepper sprout in a bag where I planted at least a dozen seeds. None of my pepper starters have sprouted yet. I got more trellis net because I have plants wanting to grow out the open ends, so I'll close them in and they can grow up instead of out. Also ordered a small (8 qt.) bag of potting soil to top off some bags where the potting mix has settled too much (I ordered it because I also ordered a couple of other things and it will all get delivered tomorrow). I only watered the gardens today because I was busy canning chicken, then cleaning up after myself;)

[surviort_wwdnet]

While I was out picking radishes and turnips and sugar snaps, I noticed that the sugar snaps are growing well above the top of the trellis, so I added a couple of extensions. Then I saw that my acorn squash already had gone crazy and had tiny squash growing on the vines. I built another trellis and got that mess under control. Out in the grow bag garden, I spied some tiny spaghetti squash and yellow squash growing, and will need to keep an eye on them to train them up the trellis as soon as the vines are long enough. Blanched and froze the produce I picked today, so now I'm once again up to speed. I transplanted some black bean sprouts and the butternut squash, and the new sugar snaps are almost ready to transplant. Tomorrow I'll pull out the 7-top turnip greens and get them processed and in the freezer, and then I will have room in that container to plant something else. Of the 10 potato eyes I planted, I now have 10 potato plants - that will make my husband happy. Every day in the garden is a new revelation!

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

It is a surprise every day....we have about 10 cukes beginning, three little squash, been pulling some beans, all but one radish seeds have sprouted in the grow bag, have a bush bean up in the Kratky. Planted some sweet potatoes to get my own slips for next year. Mulberry tree has stopped putting out fruit though, so I don't know if that is normal...need to research as it is a new tree this year.

[surviort_wwdnet]

I spied at least half a dozen teeny tomatoes this morning. I have more bell pepper sprouts that I'll transplant into the container that I pulled the turnip greens from, and I'll put the jalapenos at the other end of the same container. The grow bags have to be watered every day unless it rains because they spend most of the day in full sun. My bush lima beans are starting to creep everywhere and I may have to build a trellis for them! No action from the black soybeans yet...

I don't have any baby cukes but I do have what will become cukes one of these days. I bought some Osmocote to recharge the used soils once I harvest each area, because both garden areas will be used this growing season and for the fall/winter season.



Container Garden


Squash, Watermelon, & Cukes


Tomatoes - Double Row


Black Beans, Sugar Snaps, Bell Peppers

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

Nice...My garden is a bit smaller. In the grow bags we have radishes, corn, watermelon, pumpkin, bush beans sprouting. In vertical garden we have 10 cukes growing on the plants, some beans and jalapenos have been harvested. The one tomato plant I have continues to produce fruit. The square foot garden has two squash popping out and everything in there looks very healthy. The Kratky totes we have one bush bean and one oregano sprouting. Interesting, one tote is losing water faster then the other, and I am not sure why. I believe that it seems to get more direct sun on the side of the tote and blocks the other totes side from the sun. Also, the nettie pots seem to be too wet....I need to research more on this method. This setup is truly an experiment and I am not counting on much "growth" return this season.

[surviort_wwdnet]

You've got a lot growing for the size of your garden! How much sun you're getting in a particular spot will definitely affect your water usage! I have 2 rows of 7 tomato plants each, and the ones furthest from the fence get the most sun and take a lot of water.

I planted thyme seeds and got nothing, so I'm going to restart it in peat pots and then transplant. I threw down a bunch of basil seeds and have plenty of that. I picked sugar snaps today and cooked them for dinner - sure beats the ones out of the frozen vegetable section in the store! Still waiting for my peanut seeds - the USPS is holding them hostage...

I ordered 5 more grow bags (shhhhh) and am going to put them in my old tropical garden to grow herbs. There's more shade over there.

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

Just inspected garden...4 more tomatoes and looks like 3-4 more will be ready to come inside tomorrow. More things showing up in the grow pots...thyme is making its showing, carrots are starting up as well. Squash is getting bigger as well as the 16 cukes we can see and the radishes are killing the game. I have a small tomato plant I will likely transplant in a grow pot of its own as it is with an onion plant.

Seems the square foot garden and grow pots are doing the best. Kratky, well the jury is still out as another basil is starting to show itself so the experiment is still ongoing. Ordered me 20 more grow pots as I have seeds and soil already. Will likely plant more of what is growing...carrots, corn, watermelon and beans. Want to try some zucchini as well. Not sure what else I want to put in ground quickly...ideas?

[surviort_wwdnet]

This is a good time to do winter squash (acorn, spaghetti, butternut, etc.), sweet potatoes, rhubarb, peas, okra, eggplant (never enough), and lima beans. What growing zone are you in? I'm in 9 here and I keep pretty close to the month-by-month recommendations for this area. There's not a lot to "start" when the weather is getting hotter. I wish I had planted more of some things and less of others, and I wish I had done all A-frame trellises instead of a couple "box" trellises I did early on, but this was a major experimentation year and we'll have plenty to harvest. I replanted one black bean to replace the one that didn't sprout. I have beans all over the place! Because I started everything from seed, I'm looking at fall to harvest the majority of the produce. That's ok because I need a break from hauling dirt. I'm going to let my bell and jalapeno pepper sprouts get substantially bigger before I transplant them in the containers.

I would leave the tomato and onion in the same bag unless there's a crowding issue, because plants that produce above ground and below ground generally do well together as there's no major competition for nutrients or space. "Plants that grow well with tomatoes include all the members of the onion family such as chives, onions and garlic. Their pungent odor is said to deter insect pests. Peppers, both sweet and hot, are excellent companion plants. Probably since they are related; they are both in the nightshade family." I also did corn, squash, and beans in the same container, as these are the 3 sisters and part of my heritage. They seem very happy together;)

Like you, I'm finding that the grow bags are the ticket (I have 35 of them) and I'm already scheming about the fall garden. I'm going to stagger plant so everything isn't ready all at once; I don't need to try and figure out how to store 10 heads of cabbage. In that vein, I need to really clean out the garden shed, get 3 or 4 well-sealing tubs to store soil, peat pots, black plastic, and frost blankets in (and keep the bugs out). I have a HUGE pot that can go somewhere, (who cares - it might work for compost) and some yard chemicals that are spent.

Post some pictures when you expand with your new grow bags. I can't wait to see it.