DW's 2018 Garden

Went to Dallas for a long weekend and as predicted came back to some death. The butternut squash didn't survive 4 days of no watering and 100F heat. That's the downside of the hugelkulture bed being raised instead of inground... the water tends to just run off at the bottom. I wasn't digging a big damn hole in the ground tho. Lost some carrots that had just started to come up as well.


This is 1 of the spaghetti squashes. As I have been unable to run the cattle panels over the chicken run and seem unlikely to be buying any in the near future, I rigged up some unused tomato cages behind it so it'd have something to crawl on. It will easily swallow those but at least it'll buy me time to figure out how to extend it's trellis line.


Grapes... really needed to thin them down a bit. Already saw grape skeletonizer moths on them so sprayed for that. Don't like using chems but don't like seeing my grapevines turned to brown dead lace in a week either. Seven spray works fine.


Had some issues with drainage on the bathtub that the peppers haven't cared for. Fixed it, should be better now. Zinnias seem to like it tho.


As always the zucchinis are doing well and growing fast.


My beet bucket is taking off! Still a few black seeded simpson lettuces in the back and a couple of onions but the beets have clearly taken over.


The raised hugelkulture bed... that's the sugaretti spaghetti/delecata (I think that's the cross anyway) at the front, then the zucchini, and then the regular spaghetti squash at the end. That toteponic at the end is a damn disaster. Fish truck never came through, goldfish croaked, algae taking over. I need to work on it.


Mater! First one.


More maters plus some rosemary.


My $2 strawberry pot is popular with the berries.

 

DW, if you have a way to string it up, you might be able to get away with just a nylon string trellis, for those squash. I had one of those string trellises up, last year, for the beans I was growing (along with some corn and squash, trying out the "3 sisters" method, in one of my boxes). Ran out of squash seeds, but had some of those pie-sized pumpkin seeds available, so threw some of those in the dirt, to finish the row I was planting. And boy, did the pumpkins take off!! Adventurous suckers, they be!!

Anyhoo, as I went out to check on that box, one weekend, lo and behold, what do I find, in the center of that string trellis? A dang pumpkin vine, with a baby pumpkin growing on it! I figured, what the heck, and vowed to keep an eye on it. Darn trellis was only being held up by a 1x2 wood frame, as I never expected it to hold any serious weight, and I didn't want Peter Pumpkin dragging the whole mess down!

Damned, if it didn't hold it, though! Mind you, that pumpkin never got but maybe 6" diameter, but there was never a moment, that I felt that the string trellis was in any danger of breaking. I don't have a photo handy of it, right now (on the other 'puter), but I did find this photo, from early this year, that shows the string trellis & frame, so you can see how it's put up. It worked out for me, might work for you, too!

 

Uploading pics from phone, will do commentary later...

Three days later apparently. What can I say. Been busy. Working on a new book, thought I'd take a break and remembered I never did finish this post, ha.

Crazy tomato plants! I pruned the tar outta them before I ran off to the northeastern seaboard for a 10 day roadtrip. Came back to a hot mess, but lots of tomatoes starting. FINALLY! And see my rotten chicks who are out. They're teenagers now so naturally they've been sneaking out of the window while I've not been paying attention. To the bottom right is a mosquito geranium and some eggplants.



Closer pic of my eggplants here. Used to be that metal bunny was larger than everything. Now he's buried.


More of the eggplants! I can't help it, it's the first time I've ever grown them and they've done GREAT! Had a pesty caterpillar kept hitting the plants early on but they seem to be gone now. This variety is Listanda De Gandia and I got the seeds from Baker Creek.


This hot wicking bed mess is banana peppers, cayenne peppers, Texas 1015Y sweet onions, some underachieving thyme,some overachieving basil. I had to whack the tar out of the basil as it was going to seed.


That's 1 zucchini and 2 spaghetti squash. The "Sugaretti" has gone nuts. I finally picked one the other day. Can't say I taste much difference between it and the regular spaghetti squash.


That's one of the Sugaretti squash. Pretty sure it's Delecata x Spaghetti hybrid based on the looks. The vine is def more vigorous than the old skool spaghetti squash.


This bed got off to a really rough start, my fault too, laziness on my part. But it's cycling right now. Catfish and bluegill inside as well as a few snails. My Forsythia starts up in the return water trough, they'll go in the ground this fall. Regular ole mint growing like mad in the bed. Mint is basically semi aquatic so don't ever plant it loose in a media bed. You think it's invasive in the ground? Try it in an AP system. Oy.


Crazy basil. The bed next to it is doing crap, but it's the first year and I'm having a problem with the water level... think I drilled the drain hole too low or something. Once the mulch breaks down tho it'll be fine so next year it'll do well.


Damn teenagers!


This was what I picked after leaving the place alone for 10 days. There was some tomatoes but my escaped brats made short work of those.


Have you made it this far? Good. Now I will impart wisdom to you at the expense of my ego.
Remember that hugelkulture bed I built? The one with the squash that are going catty bonkers now? Well squash isn't all it houses, dear friends,no indeed. It seems I also built the ideal home for roaches. A bed full of nice, wet, warm rotting wood. I am now a roach slumlord operating a favela to rival any in Rio de Janeiro.

If you have had any thoughts of creating a hugelkulture bed... you've been warned.

 

lining the tote cages for planters is a good idea - sometimes the used tote places are scrapping the cages for pennies ...

weird colored purple striped squash - never saw that variety before

 

DW - Thank you for posting the photos and adding the play by play on your garden!

Looks like a food riot in your back yard. I got a very late start here (AK) owing to a very cold 'Spring"

 

That's actually an Italian Eggplant. And it's AMAZING, made eggplant parm the other night and it was exactly like eggplant should be. No bitter, just creamy perfection. I'm adding commentary to the pics, will toss a link in for the seeds.

 

was thinking it could be an eggplant by the purple coloring - but that sucker is huge - worthwhile growing - people get tired of my squash might have to branch out ....

 

Just got back from Ruidoso spent a few days betting on the ponies for my birthday!


This is the bed when you come out the back door, it did have a tomato plant in there but it doesn't get enough Sun so it was just very leggy and not producing. I ripped it out. And the potatoes aren't doing anything either I just rip them out after I took the picture. However the lemongrass did fantastic as did the mosquito geranium, zinnias, and marigolds so it's a good beer and butterfly bed.


The bathtub I put zinnias, jalapenos, and a tomatillo in dried out while I was gone but everything's doing okay. I'm starting to see tomatillos although the jalapenos haven't done much. Probably cuz I put too many zinnias in here LOL.


I put lemon grass next to the gate that goes into the Garden area and it's doing good that stuff just grows like crazy. I think this is the last year for my pallet deck though, I'm having to pay attention to where I step more than ever before. But hey it was free and it's lasted for what 6 years?


The eggplants have gotten huge! So have the tomatoes on the other side of the walkway there I have proved them back so many times and they needed again.


I need to pick peppers, and that one banana pepper is on crack growing straight up. I already pulled the onions out of this bed.


The squash bed has gone nuts and I saw my first squash bug today but only one so I killed him. Didn't find any eggs under any leaves but I'll be keeping an eye on that.




I'll get a link to these Peppers later but these Jimmy nardello sweet Italian peppers are awesome. I've never just sat there and ate sweet peppers straight off the plant but these I can't seem to stay away from. They started producing faster than the Marconi's and make way more so these are definitely getting planted next year.


I have pickled so many banana peppers OMG and these plants are loaded again. Not complaining! Just a little shocked at how much each plant has put out. This wicking bed is in its fifth year I think or maybe fourth anyway everything has been going gangbusters in it.


There's always that one zucchini you don't notice until you could play baseball with it. I'm pulling the stalk up to go over the edge of the bed because it's running out of room.


I turned my back on the okra for a couple days and had some that were not fit to eat. The one hanging on the fence right there at the top is proof I can't throw for shit anymore. I used to be able to throw a rock and hit anything I wanted to hit and now it's a crapshoot as to whether it goes straight up in the air and comes down on top of my head, or hits the ground 3 feet in front of me. I do not understand this at all.


Spaghetti squash going up over one of the AP beds. It's all over the place as are the weeds I got to get out there and spray and weed eat. I swear it did nothing but rain while I was at the horse track.


This is what you get the first year of a wicking bed. I think it's because the mulch hasn't really broken down yet so there's a lot of air there and the water reservoir isn't quite accessible. I really have no clue I just know the first year you're better off putting some squash plants in it. There's a couple of tomatoes and some cucumber and an oregano and a habanero. Nothing has taken off as you can see and it didn't help that a tomato hornworm got a hold of those tomato plants when I wasn't looking. Next year it will do a lot better.

 

Your gardens are beautiful. You have the magic touch and the right soil mixture. Are you still using rabbit poo?

 

Thanks! I got rid of the rabbits last year so just what still in the bed is all I have now. The rabbit poop is the only thing I miss about those furry scratching bastards LOL

 

Been busy putting up the bumper crops of peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, and spaghetti squash.

Making eggplant chips today. Idk how they will turn out but I had to do something with all the eggplants!




Also flash freezing sweet peppers by the gallon today.

Jimmy Nardello on the left, Giant Marconi on the right. The Marconi plants were nearly 5 ft tall and produced late. Jimmy N went 2 ft tall, produced early and kept putting out heavy all summer.


This is by the back door, zinnia, lemongrass, french marigolds, and mosquito geraniums

 

I'm sure you're experiencing the same effect I am, DW, with the cooler/wetter weather we've seen, this past month. The summer heat we had here, pretty much had everything on hold. Still growing, just not doing much else. But cool the temps down from high 90's/low 100's, to high 80's/low 90's, and add some rain, and everything is going bonkers, now! Finally seeing some tomatoes and peppers, and, like you, the basil plants look more like large shrubs or small trees, than anything else!

And yeah, cockroaches are a constant problem. Really a shame, that it seems everything else in the world thinks they're too nasty to eat!

Next year, I'm elevating everything. My poor back just can't take bending over, to weed or dig, anymore. Figure I'll build 2' x 4', and 4' x 4' elevated planters, during the winter, and have them ready to assemble and fill with soil, come spring time.

 

Ugh the eggplant chips were a bust.

 

Thanks for the up-date on these, I have been wondering. Any way to salvage them? My first thought is mist with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt then crisp in the broiler.

 

The first batch was like the recipe, and they were greasy AF. Not too bad tasting but meh. I tried a second batch brushing lightly with coconut oil and just dusting with sea salt. They were ICK. IDK why but they were nasty tasting. Think I will just stick to Blue Diamond Nut Thins for my cracker/chip cravings.