23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

That is not irritating to me. It is in the mid to upper 70's here for day time highs. Lows in the .ow 50's. Though within the next 60 days lows will be in the 80's with highs in the low triple digits. Top that off with high humidity.

I have lettuce outside that I transplanted a week ago that refuses to grow any bigger because despite our lovely mid 50's daytime temps, we have lows in the 20's. Same with the mustard. It all sprouted nice, but now it doesn't want to grow any bigger until it gets warmer overnight temps. The only thing that seems to not have gone on strike right now is about half of the onions. It's going to be May before any of my cool season crops decide to grow and then it's straight to seed cuz day temps will be too high. There's just no pleasing some people (err, plants?).

I don't envy the 90's still too early for that crap, but steady 70's would be awful nice. Instead we get 3 days of 70F and then snow in forecast for this weekend, yippy!

This is what I do in this case: Let's say I have a bed 5'X10''.
I plant my rows in parallel with 5' side. When I need to reach the middle of the bed, I take a 2''X2''X6' wood stud and lay it between rows on top of my 10' boards(like a bridge from one long side to anther). It is not enough to walk on it, but it is enough to put one foot there and get some support when leaning to the center of the bed. But it is only working with with short crop - like cabbages, carrots, beets and so on. With peppers and tomatoes I always make narrow beds to be able to reach the middle from pathway.

Thanks for sharing what works for you. That's another good idea. Lots of good ideas from everyone. Very resourceful.

Drilling holes in a pipe does not mean it is a *drip* system.
Thus, 30-minute run time may be more than enough water rather than too little.

Good point Jean but the cuts in most drip tapes are much larger than the ones the OP described so from his description I figured the odds were more likely drip than spray.

At least with drip tape you can calculate gph. With this set-up, who knows.

Dave

Hi All,

Thanks so much for the valuable input.
Finally i decided to scrap the idea. I am going to pull out the pipes this weekend. ( i will use the pipes to for the mini green house i am planning to build this winter :) )
I think for 2 beds of 4X15 - it is easier to hand water them, also i have some cinder blocks along one edge with garlic - and blueberry bushes there ... so even if i automate just the beds i still have to hand water the rest. I thought long and hard about automating those as well - but i think the complications and the maintenance of the automated system just is not fit for the size of the garden i have.

I learnt a lot - and again thanks for all the help.

Regards
Gmanar.

Thank you both for the responses.

McKenzie, that was a good suggestion about the metal straps instead of the 4"x4" corner posts. I'll look into that.

My climate is pretty hot and dry in the summer so some shade is actually welcome. And yes the north fence gets a lot of sun, even in winter. I'm planning to adapt the beds with hog panels to create some type of cold frame so I can grow greens along the north fence in the cooler months. For the west fence, which gets the afternoon shade, I was thinking blueberries.... I still haven't given up on growing blueberries lol! My current garden is in the northwest corner so it gets some shade and in comparing notes with my neighbor, who has his garden on the opposite side of the yard, we notice that he grows the best melons and peppers and I have better luck with tomatoes, greens, etc. I was hoping by having beds all along the perimeter that it would give me options so I could try to plant different crop where they would do best (though I also want to rotate crops so that gets a bit more challenging!) I am originally from Canada where pretty much everything I learned about gardening had to go out the window and I had to learn to garden all over again in this new climate.

Seysonn, thank you for the good advice you provided also. Sounds like you have about the amount of gardening space I'm hoping to end up with, 200 square feet or so. (The perimeter beds would give me about 170 square feet, and adding the two 4'x8' beds would provide about another 100 square feet.) I would love to see a picture of your garden if you don't mind sharing.

You are welcome, canokie.

I am still making few more beds.
I will take a few pictures tomorrow. We have a relatively small backyard. So I have narrow walkways just wide enough to walk ( No lawnmower etc.)

Thanks tishtoshmn, I'd rather make our own then buy a kit, too.

Seysonn, I haven't figured out what I'm doing for supports or cold frame covers. It's not that I know something that pvc in the bed is going to be detrimental, I don't. I just have lived long enough to have thought a lot of things were safe, until 20 years later, when they figure out it's not. So instead of figuring out what is safe and what isn't,, I just try to stick with natural materials as much as possible.

PM,
You can make them from wood too. PVC is just so simple and economical.

For cold frame top, I have used, plexi glass, clear plastic and some corrugated clear plastic ( called tuff(something)) You can also use common window glass. Then it can break easily.. Plexi glass is the best option but it costs more.

BTW: I make the top of my cold frame flat (not bowed). I think both cold frame and the hoop covers are dandy. Once you have them you cannot live without them. They are the next best thing to greenhouse.

Do I need to wait till my seedlings have their second set of leaves before I set outside?

Do I need to wait till my seedlings have their second set of leaves before I set outside?

I like the asparagus plants in a separate bed as well. The roots are not disturbed and it is easier to care for it's needs - IMO. This photo was taken when the plants were only one year old - we did not harvest the asparagus that year.

I have mine along edges of gardens.

If you see the little coiling tendrils, they are what the vine uses to support itself on a trellis. Cucumbers are straighter on a trellis, and not prone to problems from contact with the ground.

Thanks Guys

This question has been asked many times, so you are far from being alone. Just be cautious if those plants resprout as they are so likely to do. Then you can be affected the old fashioned way....by physical contact.

rhizo_1 I am always on the lookout for these lovely plants. Have had bad experience with them before. When I get the chance, I plan to pull up as many roots as I can. Thanks for the advice.