Anyone into gardening here? | Page 47 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Anyone into gardening here?

mimico_polak said:
Since we have a lot of gardeners around here. What's the consensus of using PT wood for raised garden beds? We have a lot of scrap left over from the deck build and are considering using it for a small raised garden. I know cedar is nicer/better...but is there an issue with using PT wood instead?
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I used it but lined the inside of the beds with landscape fabric. The beds have been there for years. No issues. Newer pressure treated wood isn’t half as bad as the old stuff.
 
Thanks @Gary and @jc100 ... just picked up landscape fabric this morning, but talking to my buddy I saw he built one for the wife and he said PT is bad because it leeches into the ground. Mind you his wife is 100% dead on organic and anything else is bad. So he used cedar for $350 for the garden bed.
 
mimico_polak said:
Thanks @Gary and @jc100 ... just picked up landscape fabric this morning, but talking to my buddy I saw he built one for the wife and he said PT is bad because it leeches into the ground. Mind you his wife is 100% dead on organic and anything else is bad.
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old pressure treated stuff used to have arsenic salts in I think. The new stuff is more friendly.
 
GateKeeper said:
no idea what I got, but I put the seeds on A wet paper towel, watered and let sit for 2 days, little tails grew, took them and planted into container, this is now the 2nd day of them being outside, spray bottle watering each day, and in indirect/direct sunlight, brought indoors in the evening, let’s see what happens

interesting note, there were 20 of the little buggers with tails now only 19 have sprouted.

View attachment 43243

second time trying this, last year had 3 nice plants, only problem, after all the work, couldn’t get a buzz if if you smoked the entire jar full all at once, no idea what happened
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Strain is important. Sex of the plant is important. Harvest ripeness of buds is important. Mess any of these up and you have a problem.
 
jc100 said:
I used it but lined the inside of the beds with landscape fabric. The beds have been there for years. No issues. Newer pressure treated wood isn’t half as bad as the old stuff.
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or is it, the new stuff is half as good :unsure: maybe all the toxic nasties are what kept the bugs out of the wood
 
jc100 said:
I like hostas. If I have a problem spot in the garden where nothing grows well....the hostas go in. I have some growing in full sun and they love it even though they are shade plants. I liked them so much that one year I went out and bought about 6 varieties. Unfortunately I bought young small plants and didn’t realize one variety had gigantic leaves. I have a small crowding issues with it now but it looks fantastic so I won’t move it.
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An old time told me this about hostas -- the lighter the leaves = more sun, dark leaves =less sun. They are tough buggers, I have a few varieties in my yard - I can split them every 2 years to keep them from consuming the place.

Other low maint fave for trouble spots is Vinca Vine - grows anywhere, particularly good ground cover around nutrient greedy trees like maples. It flowers early and for a long time, and it's evergreeen - and regular Cedum.
 
Mad Mike said:
Strain is important. Sex of the plant is important. Harvest ripeness of buds is important. Mess any of these up and you have a problem.
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You had me at Strain sex important harvest Ripeness buds
 
Did a thing, now to replant things further apart (floral distancing) and to get some flowers in the holes of those concrete blocks (someone was giving them away)

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jc100 said:
old pressure treated stuff used to have arsenic salts in I think. The new stuff is more friendly.
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Yes PT wood had high enough arsenic content that it should not be used for food gardens. Wen I was in school our landscape construction teacher was steadfast that you never ever use PT wood for any type of food production and he provided us with the articles and data to illustrate it.

If you have removed an old fence my suggestion would be to not use it for food production, but recycle it for a raised bed that contains ornamental plants. I'm a bit picky like that because I also go to some lengths to keep my food and bud as organic as reasonable.

The compost bin I built was also made out of cedar for this reason - yes it's a bit pricey, but I'm eating the food not looking at it. When I was looking into staining it (for colour only), I came across some articles which mentioned that high microorganism content in compost bins would slowly break down and offset the impurities like fertilizers or other chemicals & pollutants that got into the bin - for whatever that is worth.

Landscape fabric will help for sure and maybe I'm being more cautious than I need to. Make sure you incorporate a base gravel layer or drainage tile or something else to maintain proper water movement.
 
LePhillou said:
Did a thing, now to replant things further apart (floral distancing) and to get some flowers in the holes of those concrete blocks (someone was giving them away)

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Nice! Nothing like free stuff.

You might want to keep your strawberries in pots and hang them - makes for cleaner fruits to eat fresh off the plant.
In the centres of the cinder blocks you will probably want to plant things that can take a bit of heat and dryness, since those pockets will tend to dry out and heat up a bit if they are exposed to full sun. A great plant that is also edible, super colourful and very easy to grow is Nasturtiums. The leaves are a great pepper substitute. They will also fall over the sides of the cinder blocks which will soften up the look of them. Your wife will probably love how they look.

Your daylillies are pretty close to your air conditioner!
 
shanekingsley said:
Nice! Nothing like free stuff.

You might want to keep your strawberries in pots and hang them - makes for cleaner fruits to eat fresh off the plant.
In the centres of the cinder blocks you will probably want to plant things that can take a bit of heat and dryness, since those pockets will tend to dry out and heat up a bit if they are exposed to full sun. A great plant that is also edible, super colourful and very easy to grow is Nasturtiums. The leaves are a great pepper substitute. They will also fall over the sides of the cinder blocks which will soften up the look of them. Your wife will probably love how they look.

Your daylillies are pretty close to your air conditioner!
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l do my everbearing strawberries in pots. I plant 10 runners from the pots every spring In the ground, the next year I dig them up early April and move them to pots. This year I’m trying some hydroponic.

Im with you on Nasturtium, non stop supply of peppery garnish for summer salads. Flowers also decorate food nicely. They do double duty as colorful flowers.

Yanked a few lbs of radishes this week. Great production this year.

First crop of perennial kale is done and gone to seed.

Lettuces are producing dinner for four every night.
 
The garden went in May long. This year the home garden has the following...

1 Manitoba heirloom tomato
1 Great white heirloom tomato
1 Pineapple heirloom tomato
1 Pink brandywine heirloom tomato
1 Indigo fireball cherry heirloom
1 Chocolate sprinkle cherry heirloom
2 Sun sugar cherry tomatoes
1 Bush early girl tomato
1 Sweet 100 cherry tomato
1 Topsy tom cherry tomato

1 Scotch bonnet pepper (currently potted)
2 Genovese sweet basil
2 Mint (currently potted)
1 Bee balm mix (pollinator)
3 Martini cucumbers
1 White wonder cucumber
3 Pickling cucumbers
3 Straight 8 cucumbers

Homesteader peas (~ 9 m double row)
Snap peas (~ 6 m double row)
Carrots
Red potatoes (~20 hills)
White onion sets
Yellow onion sets
Cherry bell radish
Red salad bowl lettuce (6)
Paris Island romaine lettuce (6)

Daikon radish
Green pak choy
Dwarf pak choy
Tsoi sim (chinese flowering cabbage)
Purple bak choy

These are ongoing plantings.
Rhubarb
3 different types of cherry trees
Raspberries

I'm on a big heirloom tomato adventure this year. May we all have good luck.... and have a great weekend.

chddibeics151.jpg
 
^^ That is a nice variety of plants and an awesome garden!

Back in April I started with a 3" topdress of compost from the bin to all the veggie beds. I also used Gaia Green for the veggies just before planting. Their all purpose 4-4-4 fertilizer has a very nice ingredients list. Also planted marigolds around the perimeter of all the veggie beds and I added earthworm castings to a lot of the veggies - we looking forward to eating from this in two months!
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Mad Mike said:
l do my everbearing strawberries in pots. I plant 10 runners from the pots every spring In the ground, the next year I dig them up early April and move them to pots. This year I’m trying some hydroponic.

Im with you on Nasturtium, non stop supply of peppery garnish for summer salads. Flowers also decorate food nicely. They do double duty as colorful flowers.

Yanked a few lbs of radishes this week. Great production this year.

First crop of perennial kale is done and gone to seed.

Lettuces are producing dinner for four every night.
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Thanks for the tips, i have 2 hanging pots of strawberries at the front, i want to put a trellis at the back of these ones and try to encourage upwards growth if its even possible. Worst case i can always try to transplant in a few weeks if it becomes unmanageable.

The blocks i have filled, 1/4 rocks, 1/4 clay (basically what my yard is made of) half gardening soil and topped with a bunch of mulch. Just gotta clean around the area now :)

1590946500735.png
 
kwtoxman said:
The garden went in May long. This year the home garden has the following...

1 Manitoba heirloom tomato
1 Great white heirloom tomato
1 Pineapple heirloom tomato
1 Pink brandywine heirloom tomato
1 Indigo fireball cherry heirloom
1 Chocolate sprinkle cherry heirloom
2 Sun sugar cherry tomatoes
1 Bush early girl tomato
1 Sweet 100 cherry tomato
1 Topsy tom cherry tomato

1 Scotch bonnet pepper (currently potted)
2 Genovese sweet basil
2 Mint (currently potted)
1 Bee balm mix (pollinator)
3 Martini cucumbers
1 White wonder cucumber
3 Pickling cucumbers
3 Straight 8 cucumbers

Homesteader peas (~ 9 m double row)
Snap peas (~ 6 m double row)
Carrots
Red potatoes (~20 hills)
White onion sets
Yellow onion sets
Cherry bell radish
Red salad bowl lettuce (6)
Paris Island romaine lettuce (6)

Daikon radish
Green pak choy
Dwarf pak choy
Tsoi sim (chinese flowering cabbage)
Purple bak choy

These are ongoing plantings.
Rhubarb
3 different types of cherry trees
Raspberries

I'm on a big heirloom tomato adventure this year. May we all have good luck.... and have a great weekend.

chddibeics151.jpg
Click to expand...
This year I have lotsa food growing:
garlic
Peppers (10 varieties)
Spinach
beans (6 varieties)
toms (6 varieties)
peas 3 varieties)
nasturtiums (2 varieties)
420s

and... the stuff I’m already harvesting daily:
Mint: chocolate, spear, Hungarian
Basil: sweet red and green, lemon
Parsley: curly and italian
Cilantro
Chives
Oregano
lettuce: red arugula, Boston, Simpson
Sage
Radishes
Kale
Bok choi
Strawberries
Looking good for apples, plums, passion fruit, raspberries, and blackberries.

Floral part of the garden looking good too. Overwintered Tender perennials all doing well except for mandivillas.
 
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