Veggie Garden Porn.....XXX......Season 3...(Very Graphic)

[bvar22]

(Cross Posted from The Gardening Group)

<in best rural Arkansas accent>....Hey, Yawl. :hi:

Season 3 is underway


Everything is Late...Late...Late.
Planting this year was delayed by a Tornado in April followed by Monsoon rains.
We had no damage, but close neighbors did, and non-rain days were spent helping them clear up the damage.
We were also delayed by a garden expansion that became over complicated.


For those who may not know, Starkraven and myself moved from The Big City(Minneapolis) to rural Arkansas (Ouachita Mountains) in October of 2006. We are committed to a more sustainable, organic, independent, DIY, Anti-CorpoConsumer lifestyle. Of course, a large organic Veggie Garden is a BIG part of that commitment.

Season One:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x5729

Season Two:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x7979


The Beginning...Spring 2007....Hopes and Dreams from Season 1




Early Spring 2009



We extended the garden by tilling up a section on the downhill side. We originally had decided to simply mound up the earth in contours, mix in some compost, and plant a cover crop for next year. The project "complicated itself" while in process, and we decided to build terraces to prevent the new soil from washing down the hill in a heavy rain.


We were surprised by the amount of viable topsoil we found in this area while tilling. Two years ago, this was nothing but rocks and hard red clay. Nutrients from the fertile soil inside the boxes had undoubtedly run down hill to this area, and combined with the mowing/mulching of the cover clover produced a decent amount of viable soil. After sifting out the rocks through a shaker with 1/2" hardware cloth, there was enough soil to mound up.


To hold moisture, prevent run off, and begin soil enhancement, we laid thick newspaper in the walkways, and then covered with wood chip mulch.
The wood chips in this photo were formerly magnificent old Oak trees from Mena, AR which were knocked down by a tornado in April. Most of Mena will never look the same. :(
On the other hand, Firewood and Wood Mulch are cheap this year.


This is how it looks today (June 26th).

On the Left are Pumpkins and "Yard Long" Pole Beans.
The Middle rows are reserved for the Strawberries which we will split from existing beds.
On the right are Field Peas(Crowder Peas, Cow Peas), which we discovered do extremely well in Late Summer, and are excellent "Green Manure". We will be planting Field Peas elsewhere in our garden as Summer/Harvest moves on.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x9836


Squash

The biggest success this year has been the Squash.
This hasn't worked well in the past, and we were close to giving up on Squash. The Squash Bugs got them before we did.
We still Hand Pick the Squash Bugs (no pesticides), but isolating the Squash has made this task much easier and more effective.
We have already harvested some Zucchini (Yum!), and have some Butternut close to ripening.


How it looks today (June 26th)

The empty spaces in some of the boxes are from harvested Garlic & Onions.
We are preparing those spaces for either Field Peas, or other Fall crops.
We are going to attempt some Late Season tomatoes, and are starting the seeds now.
Last year, I attempted to Nurse Along the old tomato plants without much results.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x10193
This year, we will pull the Tomatoes, and transplant seedlings when the heat breaks.

Bush Beans

One of our favorites...Bush Beans.
These produce much sooner than the Pole Beans. I'm always amazed at the quantity of beans that come from these plants.

We have been eating daily from this small section of Bush Beans for about 3 weeks.
With a little Basmati Rice and Butter...Yum!


WTF?...Asparagus ?

Why yes, I do believe that is Asparagus.
I've never seen Asparagus growing, and don't know anyone who has grown it, but I have eaten a bunch of it.
It is difficult to photograph because it is so ethereal.

Starkraven ordered it online, and it arrived in a box. It looked just like a knot of brown cord. It sprouted several days after planting, and watching it grow has been a treat. According to Starkraven, I must be very patient. It will be a couple of years before we can harvest any.


Yes...We do have some Tomatoes (and Jalapeno Peppers)

Instead of one big patch of tomatoes, We spread them throughout the garden giving them plenty of space.
We have put them on the ends of the raised beds, and used Hogwire as support to spread out the plants and make them easier to tend.
We LOVE tomatoes, but decided to grow only enough for our needs. EVERYONE around here grows lots of Tomatoes....you can't even give them away.
The above is a Creole. We also have 3 Romas (for cooking and canning), a Betterboy, a Purple Cherokee, and a Brandywine.


Big on Berries

We added two different June Bearing varieties this year, and will split our plants in July, moving some to Raised Rows. We have found Strawberries to be High Maintenance, but I LOVE them, and want enough to freeze and make preserves.
In the far bed are Black Beans and Roma tomatoes.



More about "High Maintenance Strawberries"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=246&topic_id=11505&mesg_id=11583


BlueBerry Fields Forever

Over the Winter we planted 24 Rabbit Eye Blueberry bushes, 6 different varieties.
All 24 seem to be healthy and growing well. We are delighted.
We installed a drip system for irrigation.
This system is inexpensive, easy to install, and is working well. The pieces simply snap together. We are planning to install a drip system in the Garden over the Winter.

New Baby Blue

The Blueberries are outside the fenced garden, on the backside of the hill. The deer don't eat them, but out of curiosity they pulled several out of the ground the first week, so we put little wire cages around them.


Hard Work?...or Hardley Working.

Running the water line from the house (150') was not so easy, and required several days with a pick & shovel. It was worth it to have faucets in the gardens. We had previously relied on a long series of garden hoses.


As I mentioned above, we moved here to commit to a more sustainable, natural lifestyle.
The Garden is a part of that, and has grown to an extent where it is probably more appropriate to post to the Rural/Farm Forum.

We also Keep Chickens and Honey Bees, and are working to make our cabin and lives more energy efficient.

Starkraven and myself are old Hippies, and have always been attracted to this lifestyle. We realize that we are very fortunate to be able to do this. Not a day goes by that we don't experience a deep gratitude for whatever made this possible.

I will post updates to this thread periodically.
I working on some posts about BeeKeeping and Energy Efficiency that I will post in the Rural/Farm Forum, so come visit over there.