My new garden from the beginning.


Twigs

Nature Hobbyist
Joined
Apr 12, 2020
Messages
172
Reaction score
166
Location
Southern States Z8
Hardiness Zone
Zone8
Country
United States
I moved back to Florida this past October. I spent the last few years in Louisiana with a quarter acre garden and had a blast. Moving from a clay rich part loam soil to strait sand would be a challenge I was not willing to endure just yet.
I decided that I would go smaller with my gardening and invest in raised beds.
84A44E40-422A-4836-9031-5CC8A70C6379.jpeg

This may be good for some plants, but most vegetables will starve for nutrients when the go to flower and fruit.
958B7188-012B-43F0-9198-79D5EC618C17.jpeg

I liked this design of a raised bed.
8FBB3A9A-22CA-49E3-AEF7-E2225F458389.jpeg

I first broke up the weeds and sand. Then I added a layer of leaves and finished with top soil.
834DF249-DE82-4BCC-A38E-CAEB8D4C21AD.jpeg

C307F42D-D051-433C-A17E-ECEA1709AF1B.jpeg

I have some that I started with broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, 2x lettuce, onions, and cilantro. The others I prepping for Spring. Peppers, tomatoes, cucumber...
88BCC559-C90A-48A1-BE1D-7CCFCEDFC08F.jpeg
 
Ad

Advertisements

Joined
Apr 18, 2016
Messages
240
Reaction score
163
Country
United States
I live 30 miles south of Nashville TN I tried beds several times but they are so dry in 100°F summer each bed needs 5 to 10 gallons of water every day, that takes me a very long time to water plants and plants never do as well as the same plants growing in the yard soil. I don't want to spoil your fun but you should do a test growing the same plants in 2 different locations, beds and garden soil. See which on is best and less work and less expense for you. You might have much better luck than me. I stopped doing beds long ago but there are 100s of people that have good luck with beds. My cousin tried beds 1 summer and never grew a garden every again. Don't get discouraged and quick figure out what works best for you. Soaker hoses work good.
 

Twigs

Nature Hobbyist
Joined
Apr 12, 2020
Messages
172
Reaction score
166
Location
Southern States Z8
Hardiness Zone
Zone8
Country
United States
Using mulch will help you with your water and moisture control. Thank you for the advice. I will definitely be watching my moisture levels.
I will also be growing several types of plants in the ground to see how they do, but I have lived and grown gardens here before.
3FAB25D6-C230-4192-A639-318785D15AE1.jpeg
8DD1AAC2-D5A4-409D-A2DD-372751363821.jpg
95C33BBB-6116-44F4-9C50-F5547977310F.jpg

Trust me, very different ground. I’m working with very thick sand...like the beach. I will probably have great luck with blueberries, sweet potatoes, and watermelon straight in the yard.
 

Twigs

Nature Hobbyist
Joined
Apr 12, 2020
Messages
172
Reaction score
166
Location
Southern States Z8
Hardiness Zone
Zone8
Country
United States
A49805C3-D91B-424F-A897-164E21AD951E.jpeg

Had to cover my beds. We had the coldest Christmas week in 33-years. It dropped down to 18 degrees with 34-mile per hour winds...staying in the 20’s for 4-days, breaking out once to a high of 37. I uncovered everything today...it climbs back to 70 degrees this week.

How in the world do you Northerners keep winter crops in the North?
 

Logan

Logan
Joined
Mar 21, 2017
Messages
9,607
Reaction score
6,691
Location
redditch west Midlands UK
Hardiness Zone
1a
Country
United Kingdom
View attachment 93845
Had to cover my beds. We had the coldest Christmas week in 33-years. It dropped down to 18 degrees with 34-mile per hour winds...staying in the 20’s for 4-days, breaking out once to a high of 37. I uncovered everything today...it climbs back to 70 degrees this week.

How in the world do you Northerners keep winter crops in the North?
The only thing is to grow things that are hardy in the UK, like cabbage, sprouts,Kale and parsnips.
I watch this guy, he lives in New Jersey
 
Ad

Advertisements

Joined
Apr 3, 2022
Messages
596
Reaction score
180
Location
Tennessee
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
Supposed to be the coldest Christmas here also but not the coldest day for this time of year, a little misleading. I would butt the beds together and then tarp them under cold conditions and then stick a heat lamp or two in there if I were trying to save my crop for a few more weeks when the first cold snap comes through.

Also anything I have had raised off the ground dries out faster as @gary350 stated. The smaller the container the faster it dries out, which can be good or bad depending on the weather and time of year.
 
Ad

Advertisements


Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top