A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Garden Update 8-22-06

My garden has really took off the last two weeks. Think the cooler temperatures have really helped. Tomatoes have just started and look like they will be in peak production in about two weeks. Getting about one egg basket full of veggies every night now.Been picking some celery, carrots ect. Will try to link the pictures on photobucket. Hope it works. JD web page Photobucket

Wow, elkwc, your garden looks great!! We've also had the cooler temps and some much needed rain. My garden is enjoying it--but not as much as yours! How did you start that celery? Was it from seed, nursery, or did you start it from the leftover stalk from the grocery store? In any event, it all looks wonderful and what a great harvest your getting.

those are terrific pictures! looks like you're at about the same point as I - enough ripe stuff to start enjoying while trying different things out in (equal parts) anticipation & dread of the scores of tomatoes in a couple of weeks.

Enjoy!

Great pictures, and what a wonderful BOUNTY!!
Awesome lookin' tom's and everyything....

I Love your tomato cages, did you make them yourself??????
Is it concrete wire stuff...

Thankkkkkkkkkkk~Youuuuuuuuuu for posting those photos'....

(I wish my garden looked half that good this year)

First thanks to all for the nice comments. My favorite time of the year. Oz I started the celery from seed. The first year I've tried it. I had bought from a nursery before and they have quit handling it. I use it in my salsa and other canning and also to just eat fresh. Yes we have received some needed rain also. Have had to pick some a little early due to splitting and cracking caused by the rain. The Cherokee Purple in the picture I picked because it had a split.
Dee yes I'm already getting things ready to make salsa and can. Will pickle beets this week maybe.
Weezie yes I made them from concrete wire. Have had them several years. Have 48 of them and anything over that I let sprawl. Going to space 4 foot apart next year and stagger the rows. See if that will help with the jungles I've been having. My sprawlers have went everywhere. Have them 4 foot apart and not nearly enough room.
Nothing better than meals mostly from the garden. Had green beans with new potatoes this last weekend. Wishing everyone a bountiful harvest. JD

Your plants are beautiful. It's so nice to see that since mine are finishing up. I don't know what concrete wire is but I sure need some tips on making some tomato cages that will withstand the wind.

Okay, how did you make them???
Did you do it by your self? Or have help??

I have made mine out of some rabbit fencing..
but it is just not tall enough or sturdy enough :p

And was it expensive?

No truer words everrrrr spoken...
I love fresh veggies.. straight out of the garden...

Beautiful garden!!

Christina

Wow! That is a wonderful garden. Thanks for sharing!

First all the kind responses is what makes this the best garden forum on the internet.
Weezie. You can buy it in rolls at any contractors supply. Sutherlands, Home Depot, ect.. It comes in I believe 50 foot and then either 100 or 150 foot rolls I believe. It has been several years but the longer roll was between 50 and 60 dollars. I can't remember the length I cut them but settled on 24" dia. circle when connected. I can measure one and get close. My boy and I made and assembled ours and also for my Mom. I belief then they figured out to just less than four dollars a cage. Would be more now I'm sure. You need bolt cutters or heavy wire cutters. And a short length of tubing that will go over the end of the wire makes it easier to bend. You just cut above the bottom wire and that way you can stick that in the ground. Also cut one end so you can bend those wires around the other end to make your circle. Really simple and fairly easy to make. On most I never have to put any more support. With our wind and some of the heavy vines I will have to drive a post to wire them too. Mine are around 8 years old and still in good shape. You can also make them out of galvanized cattle panels but it is heavier and a lot harder to bend. The wire I bought was 60" high if I remember right. Hope this helps.
Also wanted to mention I mulched heavy this year and think that helped during the heat and drought. Our local recreation dept. mows five ball fields and they didn't spray or fertilize this year and let me have all the clippings. Makes wonderful mulch. JD

I am wanting sooooooo bad to make them....
The two I had given to me *my mom found them
out to go to the garbage* worked great..
Just gotta get some $$$$ up to be able to make them...

Thats' sooooooooooo cool about them giving you all those grass clippings...
I'd be like, yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh...
*I'd use if for compost*
but still what a great deal...

Wow! What a great garden! What size is it? i think its bigger than my whole piece of property!

Weezie I got another 7x16ft trailer load 3 ft. high this weekend. Thinking about composting some. Have never composted grass clippings. Can I just compost the grass clippings or will I need to add something? Going to do a search on it. If I can answer anymore questions on the cages feel free to ask.
Wrennie-It is about 50x60ft. now. Going to expand it some this fall. Have two acres so plenty of room. JD

JD,
Do a FORUM SEARCH on COMPOST, COMPOSTING...
You'll find a plethra of info on how to start one, what to put in it, how to add, turn, keep moist, or not dry or where you put it, sun or shade...
alllllllll sorts of info...

Please start one..

They are a bit to get used to, and some can get a weeeeeee~bit discouraged in the begining,
but you can't go wrong with it in the end when you finally get the knack of doing it..

I still find each bin a different way of composting and you WILL EVENTUALLY get the feel for it...

And you definately can't just compost grass..
You'll end up with a pile of slurry if you do...
and it'll stink a weeeeeeee~bit...
You have to have browns, and the ratio is 75% brown to 25% green...

oh, and start another thread in the Organic Section, about your pile and how to do it or what to do if you get stumped..
There's a bunch of us "Enthusiastic" Composters here that just love to get another gardener hooked on composting

Wow, your garden is awesome, elkwc! I wish I had that much room for my garden. :rolleyes: I'm in zone 5 near St. Louis and my tomatoes have been coming in for a few weeks already, but are probably getting pretty close to being done.

Weezie thanks for answering my question. Pretty much what I thought. Was thinking of ways to use and save the grass clippings. May have to start turning them down as I have built up most areas pretty deep. A few inches a week. Don't have near enough browns to make it work. Was hoping if I piled them and maybe turned them everyday or so I could get by till my garden is finished then add more to it. I can't add any to my tomatoes now for the jungle.
Patches I'm in zone 5/6 in SW KS. Surprises me you are about finished. I don't expect my peak for another 10 days maybe. Have been getting a few tomatoes since the middle of June but the constant flow started around July 20th. Have had plenty to eat for several weeks. Will start making salsa and canning this week. JD

JD, have you downloaded any more pictures? Love looking at pictures.

One of my spots is 25 x60 and I had a time this year keeping the tomato cages from falling over. I don't remember that being an issue in years past.

Best I haven't but will try to in the next few days. My garden is still doing great. I usually have to tie four of five of the cages to posts. The others seem to stand alright. JD

Do you have any access to fallen leaves in the fall time??

Or wood chips, or sawdust, or shredded news paper, or dried stalks from some type of gardening stuff??? *like dried sunflower stalks, hosta flower stalks, etc.*

Weezie,
Not in the quanity to make 75% browns. Going to keep trying to spread them out and dry them. I'm talking about the equal of two long pick up beds full a week. Just hate seeing them go into the dumpsters and off to the lanfill. They are put in with other items so just dumped and covered. Thanks for all the suggestions. JD

Do you have a lumber yard or Truss making place..
*we have one here, and go and grab loads of sawdust...*
Sometimes those places have sooooo much sawdust,
they are happy to give it away!

And my town has a place where people can dump off loads of their fallen leaves..
Nothing like that???

Or put a sign up on your front property..
Looking for fall time leaves...

I realllllllllly hate to see you not get some extra goodies for those leaves...
Compost is sooooooooo wonderful...
Comes out looking like this.......

and sifts out to this.......

And all that grass would be a wonderfuuuuulllll kick starter for any type of brown you can get your hands on..
Seriously...

of course your garden looked wonderful
and all those clippings are doing great for you already...
(I just love getting people into composting )