About Us

Enjoying the modern conveniences of life in a sustainable manner through technology, resourcefulness, and Zone 8a (North Texas) Gardening.

Monday, March 12, 2012

The Beginning of Something Wonderful

This week I finally pulled two of the lettuce heads that have been growing all winter.
The timing is perfect because I don't feel like cooking this week. These will be used in salads throughout week.

The four small lettuce heads that I showed you last week have really been enjoying all of the rain we have been getting. They've grown so much.

In other gardening news:

I am trying get some of my rose bush prunings to root.


One of my sweet potatoes has delivered me three slips (with roots); only 12 more to go.


We also got the tomato bed started. Our frost free date is 3/15; but looking at the forecast, we won't get below about 60 all week. So I set them out (they've been hardened for a month now). I am able to protect them if the need arises. The tomato bed has Cherokee Purple and Black Cherry planted along the trellis, celery planted down the center with Basil, more basil at one end, and (on tomorrow) Heinz and Roma. They will be caged to get more vertical growth.
The trellis was made with plastic bamboo stakes and garden netting. I put the stakes every 2' and connected the netting with garden velcro. This setup cost me about $19. The plastic should last over 10 years and the garden netting is reuseable as well. So, I expect to get a lot of years out of this. Plus, I should be able to grow about 4 tomato plants on this one trellis; so that is about $5 per plant - which is  great, as even the small tomato cages cost at least that. We'll see how this set up works and if there are any tweaks needed in the future.


The potatoes have emerged.

Collards are looking good and popping up everywhere.

Even outside of the bed....can you see them.....look behind the garlic...not that far back...just behind the garlic...center of the picture....yep, that's the runaway collard.

We got 2 of the bean trellis' put up. We've got 2 or 4 more to do...depending on how many peas I decide to grow. Each trellis will grow 21 plants spaced 6" apart.
The trellis is made of cedar furring strips and garden netting. The netting is connected to the strips using garden velcro; which is reuseable. So this trellis should last several years. Each trellis cost about $12. Not bad for something that will last a while. I wish I could have thought of a cheaper set up though. Last year, the peas completely took down the 4' bamboo stick teepees I made for them....what was I thinking...4'?


So all in all, I believe that this is The Beginning of Something Wonderful.

Check out more wonderful gardening harvests and adventures over at Daphne's.

10 comments:

  1. Our last frost date is around early/mid May, so I have a ways to go, in the meantime I am trying to get some maintenance chores completed and the garden beds ready.
    Your trellis look great I should think about doing something like that, thanks for the idea.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those are nice looking bean/pea tower supports. You should get some good utility from them for years to come.

    ReplyDelete
  3. So nice to be outside getting things planted. Someday!!! My last frost date is the very last of May and it will be mid April before the snow is gone and I can even start clean up and building new beds.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I usually don't put tomatoes or peppers out in the ground until May simply because we have very cool nights until then. Besides I"ve seen bad snow in late April. So it will be awhile. I have found the best bean and tomato trellis is circles of 6" mesh concrete reinforcing wire. If you buy a whole roll it's less than $1/foot or you can find scraps at construction sites sometimes. But stake them well; I had full cages blown over in heavy storm winds one year.

    ReplyDelete
  5. March 15 is your last frost date!! Now that is just not fair! Ours is May 15th and that is even pushing it some years!

    I grow my tomatoes in cages but I have several friends that grow using trellis's similar to yours. They are all super happy with the results so it should work out really well for you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your garden is coming along nicely. I love your trellising ideas, especially the bean trellis. Looks great.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You are so so lucky to have such an early last frost date! Everything looks great! I love your bean supports!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Everything looks great! I really like your trellises. I am still trying to decide how to do mine. Our last frost date is May 1st, but this winter has been so unseasonably warm! This week is going to be in the 60's and 70's. I may push the date a bit myself if this continues.

    Lynn

    ReplyDelete
  9. LOVE the trellising! PLEASE update on them all and with pictures. I'm always looking for the perfect (for me) trellis and I have no more that 6' to work with it has to stay under my privacy fence. *pout*
    Bueatiful heads of lettuce BTW-very striking.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It is supposed to be in the 80's all week here but I am still debating on putting out the tomatoes. I think after you have lived in one place so long you just get these feelings that tell you when to plant and mine keeps saying I should wait another week. Besides even if you don't get a frost, if it is too cool outside tomatoes tend to just sit there and stall.
    I agree, your bean trellis is really nice and your collards and garlic look great.

    ReplyDelete