DIS Dad Gardens

[DH-2-mamaduck]

Hello DIS Dad Gardner's. Thought I would start a thread for us to discuss our gardens and methods;

Like growing a prize pumpkin!

 

[theduck619]

I like this idea. I am trying to a rose garden this year. If that goes well I would like to do some tomatoes, because that is what Italians grow, lol.

 

[DH-2-mamaduck]

I use the square-foot garden method with cedar beds. I use 4x4's in the corners and 2x6 for the walls. I dig them down ~8 inches and staple in landscape fabric. I fill the bottom with black dirt and the top layer is compost/manure and peat moss. I have about 100 sq-ft of veggies in (4) beds and ~25 sq-ft of fruit.

Veggie Beds

1. (1) 4x8
2. (1) 4x7
3. (1) 4x4
4. (1) 4x6

Fruit

1. (1) 2x16 bed along chain link fence

 

[DH-2-mamaduck]

I like this idea. I am trying to a rose garden this year. If that goes well I would like to do some tomatoes, because that is what Italians grow, lol.

Roses! How fun. I dug mine up for a veggie garden...thought I was trading in for less work

Tomatoes are easy; you can even grow them in a pot if you like on a cage.

 

[wasnotafan]

I use the square-foot garden method with cedar beds. I use 4x4's in the corners and 2x6 for the walls. I dig them down ~8 inches and staple in landscape fabric. I fill the bottom with black dirt and the top layer is compost/manure and peat moss. I have about 100 sq-ft of veggies in (4) beds and ~25 sq-ft of fruit...

Nice.

In my case though, the cobbler's kids go shoeless.

 

[NWDAD]

I use the square-foot garden method with cedar beds. I use 4x4's in the corners and 2x6 for the walls. I dig them down ~8 inches and staple in landscape fabric. I fill the bottom with black dirt and the top layer is compost/manure and peat moss. I have about 100 sq-ft of veggies in (4) beds and ~25 sq-ft of fruit.

Veggie Beds

1. (1) 4x8
2. (1) 4x7
3. (1) 4x4
4. (1) 4x6

Fruit

1. (1) 2x16 bed along chain link fence

Wow, I am impressed. Living here in the PNW tomatos do not due well. I do have 6 apple, 2 pears and 1 cherry tree how ever plus some Strawberry plants and all the Blackbeery's one could ever want.

Kevin

 

[DH-2-mamaduck]

Wow, I am impressed. Living here in the PNW tomatos do not due well. I do have 6 apple, 2 pears and 1 cherry tree how ever plus some Strawberry plants and all the Blackbeery's one could ever want.

Kevin

I have been wanting to plant some apple trees since I put up the fence....maybe this fall. Still trying to get the wife to approve my mini golf course for the back yard.

 

[theduck619]

I have been wanting to plant some apple trees since I put up the fence....maybe this fall. Still trying to get the wife to approve my mini golf course for the back yard.

Nice!!

Anyone have experience with citrus trees, such as a lemon tree? Can they grow north of Georgia?

 

[Goofy + 3]

Nice!!

Anyone have experience with citrus trees, such as a lemon tree? Can they grow north of Georgia?

Yes!

I had a lime tree (nicknamed Limey) for years that I kept in a big pot. In October when the overnight temps got in the mid-40s I'd bring him in to the garage where he'd stay until it warmed up again in late March. If it was nice during the day in Feb or early March, I'd drag him out in to the driveway for some sun. The lack of sunlight in the garage never hurt him.

Apparently some lime trees are grown more for their flower and scent than the fruit itself. Limey was one of those. The scent was extremely strong and very pleasant but I wanted fruit. So now Limey sleeps with the fishes and has been replaced by Lemmy (he's a lemon tree). I can already tell he's stronger then Limey was and probably has about 30 lemons on him. He's already sprouting new leaf growth and will begin flowering for the second time this year- I'm not sure if that's a good thing.

To sum up, yes you can have citrus plants north of GA. Just don't put them in the ground. Keep them in a big pot so you can move them inside for winter and give them a nickname. The nickname is crucial.

 

[theduck619]

Yes!

I had a lime tree (nicknamed Limey) for years that I kept in a big pot. In October when the overnight temps got in the mid-40s I'd bring him in to the garage where he'd stay until it warmed up again in late March. If it was nice during the day in Feb or early March, I'd drag him out in to the driveway for some sun. The lack of sunlight in the garage never hurt him.

Apparently some lime trees are grown more for their flower and scent than the fruit itself. Limey was one of those. The scent was extremely strong and very pleasant but I wanted fruit. So now Limey sleeps with the fishes and has been replaced by Lemmy (he's a lemon tree). I can already tell he's stronger then Limey was and probably has about 30 lemons on him. He's already sprouting new leaf growth and will begin flowering for the second time this year- I'm not sure if that's a good thing.

To sum up, yes you can have citrus plants north of GA. Just don't put them in the ground. Keep them in a big pot so you can move them inside for winter and give them a nickname. The nickname is crucial.

How big of a pot? Any type of plant food?

 

[Goofy + 3]

How big of a pot? Any type of plant food?

I don't know how many gallons it is, but at the top it is about 18" x 18". When filled with dirt it's pretty heavy and tough to move from the garage to the deck. I might re-pot it next spring if I can find a cheap, huge pot. No special food. Just slow-release shake 'n feed. I think it's by Miracle-Gro.

 

[theduck619]

I don't know how many gallons it is, but at the top it is about 18" x 18". When filled with dirt it's pretty heavy and tough to move from the garage to the deck. I might re-pot it next spring if I can find a cheap, huge pot. No special food. Just slow-release shake 'n feed. I think it's by Miracle-Gro.

Awesome thanks! Does yours give off a good scent?

 

[Goofy + 3]

Awesome thanks! Does yours give off a good scent?

This is Lemmy's first spring with us so I can't comment on the fruit yet. But the flowers are strong (but not as strong as Limey) and smell good.

I went to a big nursery and bought a fairly small one that was growing in to more of a bush than a tree for about $25. You can train them to grow upright if you have the patience. To buy one that was already about 3 or 4 feet above soil level would have cost about $70.

Since squirrels, birds, and chipmunks are eating all of my strawberries, this is easily the plant I'm most excited about. If it actually produces a yield and I ever learn how to post a picture, I'll post a pic here.

 

[DH-2-mamaduck]

How is everyone's gardens coming along? I went to pick my blueberries as there was a good dozen ready...and the birds AGAIN! I think I need to put netting over them. Raspberries have been producing as well. Picked some tomatoes already and have peppers as well.

I need to get out and put a few more items in. Have not had chance to plant my lettuce and got my herbs started late as well.

I did finally get a chance to get out and do a little up keep on the landscaping. I'm thinking the deer got to my Sedum, maybe rabbits.

 

[scott2997]

We just picked our first two zucchini and a couple of banana peppers yesterday.

We have cherry and regular tomatoes that are ripening.

The only thing that doesn't seem to be doing well, thanks to the zucchini plant, is our cucumbers!

 

[Goofy + 3]

Raspberries were great for a week or two. I was pulling in about 50-75 berries a day for a while. Then the rabbits discovered them. Aside from importing snakes I don't know what to do about that. The cucumbers are doing well. We seem to get about one or two each day. Although keeping them wet in this weather is tough. No canteloupe yet. Tomatoes are just coming in to their peak. We'll get at least 4 or 5 each day. Lemon tree has lots of fruit but none have turned yellow yet.

 

[Urugami]

It's getting to be time for me to do the 'raze and replant' thing on mine.
I took the last dry ear of corn off the stalk a week or so ago. I only had about 10 stalks, so it's hard to call it a crop, but I got a good half-dozen sparse ears this year
And the last of the sunflowers are now in the final stages of seed maturation. Time to cut 'em down and let 'em dry. DS discovered roto-tillers watching This Old House recently; says we NEED one now to work our soil. It's less than 10 square feet, son... we can't even FIT a roto-tiller there! The kid scares us sometimes, he really does. Oh, ok.. ALL the time.
What really worked out well this year were the dwarf sunflowers we had in the window boxes in the front of the house. There were a few that were mutant giants, but most of them were around the specified 10'' height. They looked nice, too. I'll have to use some of those seeds for the second crop, see if they stay true to the Dwarf lineage.