03 May 2014
Getting started with 3 cattle panels, 50″ tall by 16′ long, formed into a 16.5′ diameter circle, 10 Earth Boxes and 3 potato towers.
Potato towers surrounded by concrete remesh. Vinyl flashing is used to contain the growing medium. The grid is 6″ square, large enough for arms to work through.
Buckets, (another how-to-build link), inexpensive containers inspired by Earth Boxes, will add more growing space.
04 June 2014
An 8″x8″ trellis structure added to provide room for more containers and cattle panel support climbing vegetables. The trellis structure can be covered with plastic sheeting to create a greenhouse for cold weather gardening. Here is an instructional video of how to build and cover a similar structure. Those are Leopold benches in the background where I can sit and watch the veggies grow.
22 June 2014
Round garden: 10 Earth Boxes, 4 Earth Buckets, 2 potato towers and other homemade containers, growing Irish potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, bell peppers and hot peppers.
All bucket garden/greenhouse: 20 Earth Buckets growing tomatoes, muskmelon, watermelon, tomatoes and squash.
8’x12′ 12 inch deep square foot garden. Corn planted in 16 squares a few days ago.
05 July 2014
I’m having some success compared to my previous gardens. But if I compare my organic garden with two other gardens in the neighborhood where commercial fertilizers are used, they have much better results.
The growing medium is peat moss, compost and vermiculite in approximately equal amounts, as is recommended in Square Foot Gardening. Perhaps the compost I uses was poor quality. Wish I knew.
Ghost peppers, the worlds 2nd or 3rd hottest, depending on who answers the question.
Round garden has Kennebec potatoes, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes and sweet potatoes. Both potatoes types are tied for the prize for best performance. Very little weeding needed in the containers, but weeds and grass take over around the containers. Next season I should lay down some type of grass/weed barrier.
18 July 2014
Kennebec potatoes still growing. I thought these should be expiring by now. Sweet potatoes seem to be doing good. The weeds are doing great. Next year I need to re-arrange plants so the weed wacker can be used more effectively.
I did harvest a few cucumbers but the leaves have turned yellow now.
Many small green peppers in here but they are well camouflaged.
Only four bell peppers in one entire Earth Box. One or more nutrients are missing from my soil.
There is still hope for half of my Triple L tomatoes.
No complaints about my cherry tomatoes.
Got a few watermelon. Maybe this variety is supposed to be that small.
Cantaloupe are alive but not growing much.
Ghost peppers (#3 of world’s hottest) seem to be doing OK. They are normally very slow to grow and these were planted late.
I’ve pulled the yellow squash plants. Picked 3 fruit before the bugs got the plant. I put the plant into a bucket of water for a few days to kill the buggers. Looks like some bugs left behind have invaded my watermelons.
