Raised Bed Gardening - Cement Blocks > Greenhouse!

Congratulations on the hot house. The more people that can see food growing the better. Looking back into the 40’s we didn’t hide wars and everyone contributed. Home gardens were everywhere. I grew up in the 50’s when there were still remnants. Every kid needs to borrow a slat shaker or gave a little baggie of sugar, then swipe some eats in the middle of the night. They will never taste better. I guess these days the cynic in me fingers someone is more likely to damage my garden with easy access. Now that school is out the entomophobic kids will be plucking flowers. I helped some girl# make little arrangements, but they tossed them. Giggling, likely about the creepy old flower guy. I tried.
 
INDEX

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

Future Farmers
Our pantry garden has about 2 dozen "family plots".
Fun are the little grade schoolers "helping" mom, fetching water, planting seeds etc.
They get excited about how their vegetables have gotten so much bigger since last week.

I encourage them to smell the mint, basil, oregano, thyme etc. Point out how many flowers the strawberry bed has and ... wow, what's this ... these are strawberries started! and look at all these strawberry buds, waiting to turn into flowers, then the bees will pollinate them and they will turn into strawberries too! "Bees will sting me!". I explain that bees will not try to sting them unless you try to hurt them or endanger their home (hive) and point out that the bee kills itself if it stings them, they will only give their life to protect their bee community. They are not trying to hurt anyone "for no reason". (no "killer bees" in NY, yet)
Most prevalent, this time of year are the large yellow jackets (bumblebees), later in the season the honey bees seem to take over. Some support is growing for a bee hive ...

Encourage a multi-sensory experience.
Partly for the kids, I started some novelty tomatoes, Red, purple, orange and yellow cherry tomatoes and, cute as hell, red and yellow pear shaped cherry tomatoes.
 
DrkAngel said:
Future Farmers


I encourage them to smell the mint, basil, oregano, thyme etc. Point out how many flowers the strawberry bed has and ... wow, what's this ... these are strawberries started! and look at all these strawberry buds, waiting to turn into flowers, then the bees will pollinate them and they will turn into strawberries too! "Bees will sting me!". I explain that bees will not try to sting them unless you try to hurt them or endanger their home (hive) and point out that the bee kills itself if it stings them, they will only give their life to protect their bee community. They are not trying to hurt anyone "for no reason". (no "killer bees" in NY, yet)
Most prevalent, this time of year are the large yellow jackets (bumblebees), later in the season the honey bees seem to take over. Some support is growing for a bee hive ...

Encourage a multi-sensory experience. Partly for the kids, I started some novelty tomatoes, Red, purple, orange and yellow cherry tomatoes and, cute as hell, red and yellow pear shaped cherry tomatoes.
Click to expand...
.

Well done! I encourage them to get dirty hands. Clean hands are the mark of a mediocre gardener! AND kids need the exposure.
 
I must be a great gardener then, cuz I generally look like a mud-miner. :p

(actually i'm a terrible gardener cuz I never have time at the right times to get enough things done to really do stuff right)
 
Watermelon plants - uncovered vs covered with milk jug to retain heat and moisture

May 25

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May 29

WM 0525.jpg

WM 0525c.jpg
Second (backup) planting as a control, both appear identical, so soil quality probably not a factor.
Plants have outgrown gallon jug, will find larger cover to continue comparison.

Squash stated nicely ... Zucchini and Summer straight neck (yellow)
Oh, that is Fall planted Garlic behind them.

0529 squash.jpg
 
.
... 1st Fruits

Radishes and green onions ready for harvest and Pantry distribution
Radish growing tips:
Need room to grow, space 3-4 inches apart.
Need rich, loose soil.
Plant and harvest with other crops, Around squash, tomatoes etc., harvest before other plants need space.
Onions:
Plant everywhere.
Harvest as green for salads etc.
Thin and leave some for Fall harvest.

1st fruits.jpg

... OUCH!
1st sign of major problem?
Mildew?
3 Zucchini infected. Sprayed with 70% Neem oil in water at 100:1 dilution.

mildew.jpg
 
Milk will also work well for powdery mildew.
"Milk sprayed onto leaves may act as a nutrient source for benign microorganisms, decreasing the leaf area available for powdery mildew to infect.
Leaves coated with a milk spray may be less vulnerable to aphid attack, thereby reducing the transmission of aphid-borne viruses."
 

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DrkAngel said:
Watermelon plants - uncovered vs covered with milk jug to retain heat and moisture
Click to expand...

Very nice garden!
 
Getting heat to the summer plants that want heat is a really good idea. Spraying infected leaves, well, IMO just cut off the infected leaves and get rid of them. Either in a hot compost pile of in the trash. A well fertilized plant will grow more leaves. Trying to protect all the leaves to protect the plant is a lot of work and costs money and time and may not be successful anyway.

The better way to do it is to keep the nightly moisture off the leaves in the first place but that takes plastic, and costs money and time.

Although I did speak to a master gardener who claimed that if water is sprayed on leaves that are susceptible to mildew sometime around midnight, it brakes the mold spore cycle and the powdery mildew dies. I have not been able to confirm this because I have not grown any plants susceptible to powdery mildew since I heard about breaking the cycle by spraying the plants with water at night. (It might be time to plant some melons.) Also, my community garden does not allow members into the garden after dark, so I would have to risk expulsion from the garden if I tried it anyway.

:D
 
Sprayed infected plants and neighbors with 100:1 diluted 70% Neem oil.
1 day later
Removed "infected" plants to isolated garden section,to determine effectiveness of Neem oil.
2 plants were paired on hills. Each seemed pervasively infected but plant paired with seemed uninfected, despite intermingled leaves. Possibly infection was spread by crawling insect?
3rd plant replaced with spare.

1 plant removed with good roots, 2 pulled with minimal root retained. Watered heavily and hoping to survive ... to determine Neem oil effectiveness.

Also sprayed small Radish patch to evaluate effectiveness against small black bugs that put small pinholes in leaves. Same(?) small bugs eat holes in Potato leaves.
 
e-beach said:
Getting heat to the summer plants that want heat is a really good idea. Spraying infected leaves, well, IMO just cut off the infected leaves and get rid of them. Either in a hot compost pile of in the trash. A well fertilized plant will grow more leaves. Trying to protect all the leaves to protect the plant is a lot of work and costs money and time and may not be successful anyway.

The better way to do it is to keep the nightly moisture off the leaves in the first place but that takes plastic, and costs money and time.

Although I did speak to a master gardener who claimed that if water is sprayed on leaves that are susceptible to mildew sometime around midnight, it brakes the mold spore cycle and the powdery mildew dies. I have not been able to confirm this because I have not grown any plants susceptible to powdery mildew since I heard about breaking the cycle by spraying the plants with water at night. (It might be time to plant some melons.) Also, my community garden does not allow members into the garden after dark, so I would have to risk expulsion from the garden if I tried it anyway.

:D
Click to expand...

Master gardeners are usually hobbyists that took a series of classes. ALWAYS do a bit of research beyond their amateur recommendations. I've always preferred early morning watering for best results. I garnered for several decades on massive projects in the desert. Extremely dry conditions and no night watering and some plants, those susceptible, STILL were infected by powdery mildew. It's another disease that foliar treatments of good composted can help with. The microorganisms displace the mildew, similar to the milk effect.

Green side up!

Tom
 
Trying to "ban the hose" (City chlorinated water).
Haven't had to resort to dechlorinating City water in empty rain barrels, yet.
Watering cans, for water from rain barrels, are sprinkler type, am looking for something better at watering below leaves. If I can't find something suitable I'll cut off the sprinkler head and clamp on some type of hose.
 
DrkAngel said:
Trying to "ban the hose" (City chlorinated water).
Haven't had to resort to dechlorinating City water in empty rain barrels, yet.
Watering cans, for water from rain barrels, are sprinkler type, am looking for something better at watering below leaves. If I can't find something suitable I'll cut off the sprinkler head and clamp on some type of hose.
Click to expand...


Drip tubing, like Netafim. Rainbird, Toro, and many smaller companies produce good products. Buil# sections with threaded unions and roll up and store for next season.
 
tomjasz said:
Drip tubing, like Netafim. Rainbird, Toro, and many smaller companies produce good products. Buil# sections with threaded unions and roll up and store for next season.
Click to expand...
What do you think of tubes inserting water below ground directly under plants?
Don't feed the weeds!

12" curved 1/2" tubing with holes drilled, curved under individual plants.
Can feed from water tank on small wagon?

"Soil" is typically only 6-10 inches deep with a clay underlay-barrier.
Will be adding topsoil and building 2nd level on cement block raised beds, 16", next year?
 
DrkAngel said:
tomjasz said:
Drip tubing, like Netafim. Rainbird, Toro, and many smaller companies produce good products. Buil# sections with threaded unions and roll up and store for next season.
Click to expand...
What do you think of tubes inserting water below ground directly under plants?
Don't feed the weeds!

12" curved 1/2" tubing with holes drilled, curved under individual plants.
Can feed from water tank on small wagon?

"Soil" is typically only 6-10 inches deep with a clay underlay-barrier.
Will be adding topsoil and building 2nd level on cement block raised beds, 16", next year?
Click to expand...

Running from tanks on gravity isn’t successful. But a simple pump for pressure is fairly easy. The biggest drawback is watering time. Emitters are typically rated in gallons per HOUR. Now I’m curious to find who has done simple pump systems, self contained drip system.... hmmmmmm.....
 
Googled https://www.google.com/search?q=small+pump+drip+irrigation

Some interesting low cost, scrounged even, ideas!
 
.
... Kill Powdery Mildew

Just found a reputable study that specifies how to kill powdery mildew and spores!
Directly, by temperature!
Feasible in our case through simple greenhousing of specific beds on sunny days.
Black tar paper under each plant.

Kill Mildew.jpg

104ºF for 4 hours on these mid 80's day is very reasonable.
https://waytogrow.net/blogs/articles/stop-it-before-it-starts-powdery-mildew
 
Running from tanks on gravity isn’t successful
Click to expand...
Yea,....I am not so sure about that. I have seen 55 gallon tanks with drip irrigation and blubbers installed that work ok. I have had drip hoses in my home garden that work on timers until the hose decomposed. It took only a few years. All of it adds synthetics to the water on a molecular level. However, they all watered the plants.

As for a soaker-hose about 4 -6 inches under the top of the soil, I have seen that work very-very well in my community garden. It takes planting the veggies in the areas between the hose turns. (Visual a zig-zag pattern that seems to work.) But, dirt will eventually clog the hose and the hose will eventually decompose. If plastics and other synthetics from the hose don't bother you, then go for it. Or perhaps consider the Arch's Acres style of hydroponics where one can more then double the number of turns of vegetables on 80% less water. Their growing troughs are plastic but they sure produce a lot of organic veggies.

:D
 
DrkAngel said:
.
... Kill Powdery Mildew

Just found a reputable study that specifies how to kill powdery mildew and spores!
Directly, by temperature!
Feasible in our case through simple greenhousing of specific beds on sunny days.
Black tar paper under each plant.
Click to expand...

Excellent find. I haven't read a stitch of research since retiring a decade ago. Shameful but...
 
e-beach said:
Running from tanks on gravity isn’t successful
Click to expand...
Yea,....I am not so sure about that. I have seen 55 gallon tanks with drip irrigation and blubbers installed that work ok. I have had drip hoses in my home garden that work on timers until the hose decomposed. It took only a few years. All of it adds synthetics to the water on a molecular level. However, they all watered the plants.

As for a soaker-hose about 4 -6 inches under the top of the soil, I have seen that work very-very well in my community garden. It takes planting the veggies in the areas between the hose turns. (Visual a zig-zag pattern that seems to work.) But, dirt will eventually clog the hose and the hose will eventually decompose. If plastics and other synthetics from the hose don't bother you, then go for it. Or perhaps consider the Arch's Acres style of hydroponics where one can more then double the number of turns of vegetables on 80% less water. Their growing troughs are plastic but they sure produce a lot of organic veggies.

:D
Click to expand...
Drip irrigation, at least the well designed with matched precipitation rates at each emitter requires pressure. Sure you could use soaker but the flow rates will vary along the line. Pressure IS needed for balanced system.
 
DrkAngel said:
.
... 1st Fruits

Radishes and green onions ready for harvest and Pantry distribution
Radish growing tips:
Need room to grow, space 3-4 inches apart.
Need rich, loose soil.
Plant and harvest with other crops, Around squash, tomatoes etc., harvest before other plants need space.
Onions:
Plant everywhere.
Harvest as green for salads etc.
Thin and leave some for Fall harvest.

file.php
Click to expand...
1st harvest!
6/01/18 - 10.4lb of radishes and green onions.
Plenty left for 6/04 Pantry session.
Hopefully enough for the next week, planting radishes and onions every 2 weeks.
Will soon be planting in partially shaded areas to maintain good growth through the hotter months.

Picked up a flat (48) of Mortgage Lifter tomatoes at local greenhouse, over grown and wilted, for $5. Could have got Chocolate Cherry for same price, but sounded too strange.
Planted 3 dozen and another dozen of Cherry tomatoes and Rutgers, filling up most of the spare beds.
Got home, looked up what the Mortgage Lifters were and was presently surprised to find they were a type of Beefsteak that can go to 16-24oz.

Got most of the peppers planted, but left the greenhouse off to take in these couple days of decent rain.
Oh, got another half dozen 55gal barrels coming, to collect rain. Will need to construct proper platforms and configure some daisy chain type of inter-connection.

Mildew problem seems contained! ... ? 1 infected plant sprayed with Neem Oil dilution, moved to isolation area and observed no progression. No new indications of infection, in garden area.
 
Well done!
 
Striped, yellow and black, cucumber beetles have arrived but only on the Zucchini, not touching the Yellow Summer a few feet away.
Have been picking and squishing.
Just read about and will try hanging fly strips, yellow supposedly attracts and catches them.

Covering the Watermelon with plastic jugs seems to have greatly enhanced growth.
Actually outgrown the gallon size.
Transferred jugs to newly transplanted cantaloupe.
Found a larger clear tub and covered 1 watermelon mound to continue growth comparison.
Tests on cucumbers showed no marked improvement ... not a hot weather preferred crop.

Peppers "greenhouse" keeping the peppers nice and warm. Added Jalapeno, Chili and Scorpions.
Growth comparison is difficult, as no control group within sight.

Garden nearing fully planted. Growth and green everywhere!

Time for 2nd planting of peas and head lettuce, 4th planting of radishes ... oops, need more onion sets!
Green onions are very popular!
I use them in salads but they really shine in Tuna fish sandwiches and egg salad sandwiches.
 
July 20 2017 Front Gate
Thin path
Thin rotting wooden beds
Busted watering system
Falling over support posts

View attachment 2


May 17 2018 Front Gate (May 15 is earliest recommended plant date for our region)
Full 3' wide path, extended to 3' wide cross path.
Nearly indestructible 4' wide cement block beds
Manual watering system (at present)
Possible tripod supported framework to tie-up tomatoes (Future add-on?)


CB3s.jpg

Raised Barrel beds being repaired, reinforced and possibly shortened

July 2017
Raised Barrel beds.jpg
 
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