Raised Bed Gardening - Cement Blocks > Greenhouse!

DrkAngel

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Upstate-Western-Southern Tier NY. USA
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Split Tomatoes

Mildew

Garden Pests

Soil Additives

De-Chlorinating City Water

2019 Week -4

Family Beds Rebuild

Pantry Beds Prep

2019 Growing Season - Week 0

Tomatoes and the interminable Bacterial Wilt

41.6oz Homegrown Tomato

2020

2021

2022

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Raised bed gardening ...

Helping at the local food pantry, rebuilding their Community Garden. Many wooden "raised beds" rotting after 8 years of service.
I've been redesigning and rebuilding with 8" cement blocks. Should last for decades-lifetimes, with minimal maintenance!
Holes in blocks should make excellent "pots" for various flowers, herbs, small plants.

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Marigolds and petunias repel most harmful insects, found some dwarf Dill that is even more effective, might have to prune-harvest continually. Started ♫ Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme ♫ as well as Oregano, Basil, Lemon Balm for 6" x 6" x 8" holes ... with good soil. Lined block holes in 3rd and 4th beds with tar paper to slow evaporation through blocks. And, hopefully Lime based cement blocks will deter snails and slugs from climbing into beds.

"Donated" rebuilt electric wheelbarrel to local food pantry and hauled a dozen loads of topsoil with a 25% drop in voltage.
Charged back up. 8 cubic yards of topsoil being delivered today ...

Will add pictures and updates
Interesting ideas:
Companion gardening
Sequential crops
Pest control
Rotation crops
Pot gardening (in pots!)
etc.
 
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Tools

Major tool and impetus for this thread
Electric Wheel Barrel-Snow Plow?

New Winter project!
Found an electric wheel barrel in the dumpster behind my store.

41PEB9SDA5L.jpg

2 larger drive wheels and a smaller bogie wheel.
(Dual motors for posi-traction)
Motors engage with handlebar lever.
I traced problems to a dead 12V 22Ah SLA and a faulty 40A relay.
Replaced relay and tested with 3sRC LiPo but was disappointed at the 2 mph top speed.

Fun begins ...
At 1st I considered running at 4s for a near 3mph but ... too simple and limited.
So, Why not run at 22.2V (6s 14p 22.2V 30.24Ah fits nicely!) with a pot controlled brush controller.
Will maintain handlebar oem relay function or replace with controller on\off circuit?
Variable <1mph - >3mph

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- $8
Now ... I don't have much use for a wheel barrel, but adding a plow to the front would be a great snow moving utensil!
Torque and speed should be appropriate.
Just have to add some weight. Sand or bags of salt? ... Rated for 200lb loads.
Chains?

Summer use
Mount rear 2 wheeled platform for standing on and cruising, with load, down the street.

Upper (green potion) removable by screws or add sideboards to upper portion ...

Battery compartment and motors-drivetrains remove as single component for alternate use!

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Decided to go standard 12V, boring, for old people use.
Replaced heavy SLA with 3s12p Sony LiPo.
12V 22Ah SLA upgraded to 11.1V 25.92Ah LiPo.
Built from 3s2p packs with all cells equal after initial balance last year.
I built a 5-30V LED volt meter with standard 12V DC charger plug for monitoring voltage through charging port.

Just hope age checked tires hold up! 6" x 2.5" ... cant find anywhere! (squeezed in oversize tube in one tire)
 
Concrete blacks IMO are ideal. I found some solid blocks 3 1/2 X 14
They are a bit expensive but are incredibly durable and can be moved and used for a variety of projects. My beds are nearly 10 years old.
Nice to sit on and designed the beds to sit on edge and easily reach past the middle a bit from each side. Raised beds ROCK!!!

Soil mix is important!
 

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Oh, I forgot. I found wall blocks much easily to break and fail when I was building beds as a contractor and horticulture director.
 
A few pictures of "work in progress"

Preliminary Block Beds
Blocks.jpg

Fall planting has clear advantage!!!
Garlic.jpg

Repairing many beds, may go blocks next year. Dependent on success and popularity of test beds.
Nouth beds.jpg

Alternate construction method. Lining beds with shingles to deter typical rot.
Shingles.jpg

Wasted wide path prompted extra thin bed against fence. Vinyl siding against fence, with boarded inner wall.
South beds.jpg

Experimented with "greenhouse" type cover near rear of above picture. Had nice crops of lettuce and radishes into December. Plan on using it for peppers this Spring. They prefer hotter soil and air!
 
Nice, great looking blocks too!
 
Moved half of 8 cubic yard top soil, good stuff. About 25-30 loads with electric wheel barrel.
Topped off several beds and made good dent in additional boarded against fence - new beds.
Will add aged horse manure and mix together into old soil.
Wheel barrel battery down from 12.3V to 11.6V ... about 50%.,

Plan on major planting this weekend, May 12-13.
Garlic, Peas, onions, radishes all coming up nicely.
Pre-started tomatoes, peppers, squashes, brussel sprouts, - marigolds, petunias (insect repellent) ready to go in.
Soaked cucumber, watermelon, cantaloupe, beans, in water till sprouting for fast start, can save week or two on germination time.

Update - Beans soaking may not have done well, didn't sprout. Will try different, between moist cloths.
Update-update - Beans are coming up nicely!
 
Pest control

Squash (cucumber) beetles were last years nemesis.
Squash and cucumbers shifted to different beds!
Marigolds and Petunias, reputably repel, Dill is even more effective!
Found and starting 2 species of smaller-dwarf Dill, to mix into cucumber and squash beds.
Dukat Dill - "more foliage than its siblings and grows to a few feet. Very pleasing taste and high yield. It holds longer at the leaf stage than other dills."
and better for mixing in;
Dwarf Balcony Hera Dill - "slow to bolt. Plants are fairly short, only getting about 18-24 inches"
Early Dwarf Dill Ella - Alternate dwarf variety

Neem oil reserved as more drastic, but safe, 2nd level insect control.
 
You could use a hydraulic dump cylinder on the wheelbarrow.

I have a bunch of solid blocks in my back yard used as retaining walls. I have one batch that essentially disintegrated after a few years. Water would soak into the blocks and freeze at night, causing the surface to spall. I have some other blocks from a different source that appear to be the same kind of material, but they are all still good and quite a few years older than the crappy ones. I wish I knew how to tell the difference before buying them. If the blocks were sealed to prevent water from soaking in they wouldn't be damaged by freezing.
 
Some people use concrete masonry wall blocks at my community garden. The weeds establish in and around them are hard to get rid of. However, the wood planks that are popular around here rot out after as little as 5 years. Mine have lasted about 7 years because I used a paint stripping heat gun to coat them with bee's wax before I built my walls. I tend to rotate them every couple of years, taking the one's in the ground and putting them on top of the pile. It will double their life span maybe more.

We make tons of compost around here filling and rotating 12 - 4x6x16 foot bins on a weekly basis. We shred vegetation every Saturday, and mix it with horse manure that we get from the city of Los Angeles for free. Filling the initial bin is hard work, and turning from one bin to the next for aeration is really hard work, but once done, the compost is really good stuff and free to the members and goes fast. So, as an additive, I finally bought a small batch of red worms that I am growing for the fall veggies and there-after. A friend of mine at the garden built a 3x3x4 foot red worm bin and uses composted horse manure as food for them. In about a year he must have had 100 pounds of red worms in it. He just keeps scooping the worm castings out of the bottom and adding composted horse manure and water to the top. He has a really productive garden.

:D
 
DrkAngel said:
Pest control

Squash (cucumber) beetles were last years nemesis.
Squash and cucumbers shifted to different beds!
Marigolds and Petunias, reputably repel, Dill is even more effective!
Found and starting 2 species of smaller-dwarf Dill, to mix into cucumber and squash beds.
Dukat Dill - "more foliage than its siblings and grows to a few feet. Very pleasing taste and high yield. It holds longer at the leaf stage than other dills."
and better for mixing in;
Dwarf Balcony Hera Dill - "slow to bolt. Plants are fairly short, only getting about 18-24 inches"
Early Dwarf Dill Ella - Alternate dwarf variety

Neem oil reserved as more drastic, but safe, 2nd level insect control.
Radishes being planted near squash cucumbers etc as additional repellent, left to go to seed.
Crushed eggshells forming a snail - slug barrier and beer traps as a kill method. Encourages Robins etc. to hunt for additional ... free marinated meal gets them looking for more. Surprisingly, last year saw a large number of hardshelled snails, upto an inch round or better, Robins seem to have trouble with them, but the occasional Crows rips them out.

Finished fourth cement block bed and might use the leftovers to build some form of herb or strawberry cascade or tower?
Filling block holes with a variety. Marigold, Petunias, Pansies, Onions, Strawberries ... will add Lettuce and various herbs.
 
Beans, peas, cucumbers, squash, more radishes planted.
Peas and beans planted against fence interspersed with varieties of sunflowers to encourage climbing.
Planning on companion- and sequential plantings. Short season crops being harvested before other crops overtake the area.
Plan on bi-weekly plantings of Radishes, Lettuce, Peas etc. Constant crop yield from rotated locations.

Will experiment with identical Tomatoes and Peppers plants, growing in open vs under gallon milk jugs, with bottoms cross cut and bent down as spikes. designed as insect and disease protection with hothouse heat and moisture.
Peppers will definitely benefit and Tomatoes ... likely.
Have some tall clear gallon water jugs as rabbit gopher mice etc protection outside of fence for climbing birdhouse gourds, morning glories etc. will take off cap and let grow out of top.
 
Raised beds are ideal for gardening, if for no other reason than the stoop is shorter. I made a great 3'x3'x16" bed out of a repurposed plastic folding table top. Fugly, but it never rots. Used it for a decade.

Another thing to consider for raised beds is the 12" wide cement board lap siding. Build just like the wood, but a ton more rot resistant. the 2x2 corner pieces will still rot, but the boards should last decades. Brick still the best of course, especially since it lets the soil in the bed breathe better.

Last few years my tomato garden is in two half barrels. The plastic 55 gallon drum cut in half to form two large pots. They are set on some blocks, so soil level is above my knee. no stooping to pick the tomatoes.
 
Garden Pests

Insects

Cucumber Beetles
Chewing roots before emerging and then destroying leaves
They reproduce underground, then emerge to eat and mate.
Cucumber Beetles.jpg

Squash Bugs
Destroying Leaves and whole plants!
Catch all before laying eggs, they explode in population and can wipe out garden.
Egg batches best removed with reversed duct tape. Press against eggs and peel off.
Dispose of in soapy water.
Squash Bugs.jpg

Mosquitoes
Another local pest are mosquitoes, near dusk and dark.
Going to use old tires, with drilled holes or sidewalls removed, as raised beds upwind of garden growing Lemon Grass.
Supposed mosquito repellent ... and tasty in salads etc.
Unknown popularity among Deer, rabbits, woodchucks, mice etc?
Rosemary, Lavender and Basil also recommended.

Stage 1
Repellents:

Dill
Marigolds
Petunias
Basil
Lemon Grass
Radishes (roots mingled with squash and cucumbers)

Stage 2
Insecticides:

Only (locally) approved being Neem Oil
Organic, non-toxic and safe for 1 day consumption on vegetables.
Additionally effective as a fungicide and against Mites

See - Neem Oil

Critters

Deer
Will eat anything and everything!
Fence required (6 foot?)

Rabbits
Decimate young crops
Fence, buried fence!
Additional chicken wire fence added, to 2' after young rabbits squeezed through typical chain link fence.

Woodchucks
Will chew on everything
Fence, buried fence!

Rats-mice
Can and will eat every young shoot.
Traps, sheltered poison as reasonable remedies?

Snails-Slugs
A constant plaque, requires constant vigilance on picking and drowning, shallow beer traps to intoxicate and drown or eggshell beds to deter. Multiple-combined methods preferred!
Iron Phosphate as a natural-organic-safe bait-poison.
 
Actually some other oils are less toxic than neem. Canola and soap if a great all round pesticide. But early control, in nymph stage at or before bloom is most important.
 
dogman dan said:
Raised beds are ideal for gardening, if for no other reason than the stoop is shorter.

Raised garden beds worked great in Seattle because drainage was always an issue. Here in Austin, they're a pretty terrible idea because they greatly increase the water required to keep plants healthy.

The last garden beds I built were sunken. I dug down two feet (to encourage deep root development), then laid in layers of compost and loamy topsoil up to ground level. Subsidence dropped the beds a few inches below grade. Even when those beds aren't tended or watered, the plants in them remain green and happy after everything around them has browned out.
 
Trellising vastly reduced squash bugs.

Screen Shot 2018-05-13 at 3.28.21 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-05-13 at 3.28.01 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-05-13 at 3.30.04 PM.png
 
tomjasz said:
Actually some other oils are less toxic than neem. Canola and soap if a great all round pesticide. But early control, in nymph stage at or before bloom is most important.

It is important to get a good bloom with out bugs in it, that is for sure, but I never found neem all that effective anyway. I wasn't really worth the money. I just know that the bugs will do a little chewing and if I grow enough it won't really matter if I have to cut around the chew marks. I did hear one podcast from a doctor's daughter who's father used to encourage them to eat the bugs..... :shock:
This year I used banana peels under my tomato seedlings to see if the peels will increase the flowering of the plants. Our compost is really good for green plants, but I feel it needs just a bit of help with the flowering part.

I also use a vibrating tooth brush to help the tomato flowers pollinate.
[youtube]eFzyIi6yn8Q[/youtube]

The only thing I would say is to keep an eye on ripening fruit and decide if you want to pick it just as it starts ripen and then stick it in a paper bag (perhaps with a banana,) to ripen on the shelf, or to let it ripen on the plant and risk a bug or bird or other creature chewing on it. I prefer ripened on the plant but so do all the other creatures.

As for chewing rodents, we keep feral cats around (spayed or neutered) and feed them sparingly. They stick around for the food and knowing it is their territory, but because the are also hungry they hunt at night.

:D
 
Important to go low Nitrogen fertilizer for good tomato blooms!
High Nitrogen promotes green growth but stifles blooming.

Determinate tomatoes stall growth and tend to ripen all at once, restrict Nitrogen at, or before, 1st bloom.
Tomato cage might be adequate.
Indeterminate tomatoes grow continuously for prolonged production - restrict Nitrogen at, or before, 1st bloom, benefit from judicious pruning.
Can grow very large or tall, poles or wrapped twine to overhead frame for proper support.
 
DrkAngel said:
Important to go low Nitrogen fertilizer for good tomato blooms!
High Nitrogen promotes green growth but stifles blooming.

Determinate tomatoes stall growth and tend to ripen all at once, restrict Nitrogen at, or before, 1st bloom.
Tomato cage might be adequate.
Indeterminate tomatoes grow continuously for prolonged production - restrict Nitrogen at, or before, 1st bloom, benefit from judicious pruning.
Can grow very large or tall, poles or wrapped twine to overhead frame for proper support.

I have a bloom recipe.I've used for 30 years. I broke this down to 1G

2 quarts apple cider vinegar
1 quart Bo Peep ammonia
25 gallons water

I've used this lab for as long. https://aglabs.com/tomatoes-farm-and-garden.html
 
Chalo said:
dogman dan said:
Raised beds are ideal for gardening, if for no other reason than the stoop is shorter.

Raised garden beds worked great in Seattle because drainage was always an issue. Here in Austin, they're a pretty terrible idea because they greatly increase the water required to keep plants healthy.

The last garden beds I built were sunken. I dug down two feet (to encourage deep root development), then laid in layers of compost and loamy topsoil up to ground level. Subsidence dropped the beds a few inches below grade. Even when those beds aren't tended or watered, the plants in them remain green and happy after everything around them has browned out.

Us gimps can't work in pits. I built scores of raised beds in Las Vegas. For hotel gardens as well as private. Lining them with pond liner or rubberized roofing works great and isn't crazy expensive from Ranch Supply stores. Gardening at chair hight is a dream!

If the beds can't be lined, well programmed irrigation schedules can mitigate ET problems.
 
#4 Cement Block Bed completed

2x 4' x 20' + 2x 4' x 10'

Marigolds in corner blocks
Center rows seeded with alternating Marigolds
Far right row seeded with alternating Onion sets (3 onion sets per hole 2 yellow onions for early harvest as green, 1 sweet for Fall harvest) and 3 types of head Lettuce (Romaine, Butter Crunch, Iceberg)
May fill far left with various herbs


CB3s.jpg

Left bed has Pansies on corners
Left bank has "Pot" small yellow cherry tomatoes
Tomatoes surrounded with crushed egg shells as snail slug barrier and for Calcium, against blossom rot and for stronger stems.
Right bed with Petunias on corners
Letting the last layer of seasoned horse manure weather a bit before turning in


CB4s.jpg

Garlic, Onions, Peas, Garlic, Radishes, Lettuce, Beets, Green and Yellow Beans, Cucumbers, Zucchini and Summer Squash all growing nicely.
Tomato and Pepper plants ready but still planning layout of 7 Tomato varieties and ~11 Pepper varieties
Still growing "sets" of various dwarf Dills, Geraniums, herbs etc.

Yes, rain water collected for watering needs (blue barrels).
Additional barrels being considered ...
 
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Egg Shells

The sharp edges of egg shells are reputed to deter slugs and snails
Additionally,
Egg shells seem effective in preventing blossom rot in tomatoes melons etc. Fertilizer with calcium performs similarly. If a problem previously, I would recommend working some finely crushed into soil around plants and some coarser around plant.

... Coffee Grounds

Coffee grounds are rich in nutrients but are acidic. Good for plants that like acid soil, Roses etc. ? Repeated rinsing removes most acid but supplementing with lime might be recommended.
Found listing of
"Acid-Loving Vegetables

Most vegetables grow best in a neutral or near-neutral soil pH, although they’ll tolerate slightly acidic soil. A few vegetables, though, actually prefer acidic soil. If you’ve got soil with a low pH, you’ll definitely want to plant these crops, which include:

Radishes. These fast-growing root crops thrive in soil with a pH between 4.5 and 5.5. Plant them in early spring or fall and give them full sun, consistent water, and well-draining soil. Harvest them when they’re young, because larger radishes become woody and hot.

Sweet Potatoes. These flavorful tubers are loaded with vitamin A. They grow best in soil with a pH between 4.5 and 5.5. Sweet potatoes need a long growing season and are difficult to grow in the north. If you live in a mild climate, though, you should have success.

Parsley. Parsley is a fast-growing annual herb that tolerates soil pH between 5.5 and 6.5. You can buy nursery transplants, but it grows quickly from seed. Plant it after the last frost in full sun and cover it with a light dusting of soil. Keep the soil consistently moist. In frost-free areas, you can grow parsley almost year-round.

Peppers. Peppers, including bell peppers and chili peppers, prefer a soil pH between 5.5 and 6.5. Related to tomatoes, they have similar growing requirements, including full sun, consistent moisture, and rich, well-draining soil. Plant them after the last frost.

Potatoes. Potatoes adapt to more alkaline soils – after all, they’re one of the main crops grown in southern Idaho, which is known for its alkaline soil – but they prefer a soil pH between 4.8 and 5.5. Plant them in early spring from certified disease-free seed potatoes.

Rhubarb. Rhubarb is generally used as a fruit in jams and pies, but it is technically a vegetable. This perennial vegetable grows best in soil with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5. Plant it in full sun at the edge of the garden where it can grow for many years."

Article link: 25 Fruits And Vegetables To Grow In Acidic Soil

Wow, Radishes will get a dose! Might have enough to help Potatoes ...
 
Planning 1 more Cement Block raised bed for this year. Gotta use up the rest of the delivery.

I bid on a large number of odd-specialty vegetables over the Winter ... from China. So info on size and accuracy of varieties from seed is sketchy to suspect.
"Blue Marigolds" are blossoming as Yellow, Orange, French (Red-yellow), nearly every color but Blue.
Growing:
Dwarf Orange cherry tomatoes
Black Pearl cherry tomatoes
Red cherry tomatoes
Red pear shaped cherry tomatoes
Yellow pear shaped cherry tomatoes
as well as the standards:
Beefsteak
Rutgers
Delicious
2 varieties of ornamental hot peppers
Green, Red, Orange, Yellow Bell peppers
Red, Orange, Yellow Small peppers
Jalapeno, Scorpion, Chili, Cayenne and Sweet Banana peppers

Plan on a labeled variety along entrance path in cement block beds ... might be months before decent pictures available?
 
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