# SQWIBS Urban Garden Adventure 2017



## sqwib (Jan 20, 2017)

*SQWI**BS Urban Garden Adventure 2017*

Hey, I'm back. I decided to make another thread as the other was getting a tad long.

Here is what I have been up to,

After the basement was finished I done a little remodel to the bar, the bar is far from done. 
 














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I refinished the work benches then I cleaned up the workshop and got the grow light area cleaned and setup














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I have been gathering supplies and seeds to get ready. A lot of my seeds were harvested from 2016's harvest.

We hooked Mom and Dad up with their own hugelkulture raised bed, I still have to cap the top and run some irrigation that will be on a timer. It will be stained in the fall.

*Mom and Dads Hugelkulture Raised Bed *​ 
I've been spreading the word on Hugelkulture Raised Beds. My brother had seen mine and I was telling him about Hugelkulture, he was hooked immediately. He then built a few in place of his removed fence and will be building a few more.
 

We got to talking and I said we should do one for Mom and Dad in an effort to make their gardening a bit easier on them.
 

So I told Mom, "Mom were gonna build you a Hugelkulture bed", She said, "what" and I said, "Hugelkulture", she then said, "gesundheight"...I said, "no Hugelkulture, its a method of gardening". So I explained the entire process and she seemed to get it.
 
Over at Moms for Christmas dinner I checked out her little veggie garden. I said, "what the hell is that", she said, "thats my garden".
I said, "NO, this just wont do"!
 

After a few measurements I had a game plan, I talked with my brother and we decided on a build. 

 







Later that week I was driving around and came across some wood perfect for the bed. I drove around with this wood in the back of the truck for several weeks.
 







Then last week my brother calls and tells me he picked up and dropped the wood off at moms with some Hugel Wood.
I thought, "oh boy, were committed now", so we decided on knocking it out this weekend. Friday night I tossed some wood, tools and  some other Hugel Bits in the back of the truck and proceeded to smash an 80 pound soaking wet hay bale in there also.
 










 

December 31st, the build.
 





 

Dad tearing apart the old bed.
 





Here's what dad looked like a few months ago.













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Built the first row and leveled the bed.
 






 

We dug down about 12" or so to start adding the wood, the goal was to have at least 6" of loose soil on top.
 







We crammed as much wood in as we could, then poured a few cups of 10-10-10 on top of the logs. I'm not sure if the 10-10-10 will even help, but I guess it can't hurt.
 






 

We decided to build the rest of the bed before digging out, that was my call, Jim wanted to dig out first but we had no where to put the dirt.

We added a center support and outside supports, we were concerned with the sides bowing during freezes. We then topped off the logs with hay.

 





 

Then we topped the hay with soil and continued.
 





 





 




 





 

See Jim! I told you there was no place for the dirt.
 




 





When we were discussing this build, we were under the impression we would need a lot more soil, since my original plan was to make my raised beds on the hill into Hugelkulture Beds, I figured I would dig out one of my raised beds and use the soil from that. Apparently we didn't need any additional soil.
 





 

After all the soil was added back, I soaked the bed for almost an hour. I'm banking on the level dropping at least 4" by planting time and I can top dress with some composted manure.

Now all that is left, is to cap the top and possibly run irrigation oh and of course it will need to be stained but that will be in the fall of 2017.


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## daveomak (Jan 23, 2017)

Hey SQWIB....  Looking good....   Very nice to see you dad providing you with some direction...


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## sqwib (Jan 24, 2017)

Here's last weekends project. 

[h1]  [/h1]*Raised Bed #6*​Hugelkultur bed​[h1]  [/h1]
A few weeks ago I was eyeing up the yard and admiring the Hugelkultur beds. I thought about last seasons crops that were in the “Air Pruning Pots” that were along the side of the fence and was figuring out how to set it up for next season. 

After much thought weighing the "pros" and "cons", I decided to build another Hugelkultur bed along the side of the fence. This will be my 6th bed but 8th box, 9 if you count Moms Hugel Bed.

The plants did good in the Air Pruning Pots, but not as good as the raised bed plants. One of the "pros" to the “Air Pots” was they were mobile and at the end of the season I could move them up onto the hill and open the yard up a bit. But this was also a "Con", because the bags could be pretty heavy when wet and storing on the hill looks a little unsightly. So after one year of the Air Pruning Pots, I decided that I didn't want to be bothered putting the “Air Pots” away each season and wanted something more permanent. I will continue to use a few on the side patio.

This bed will be 24” deep by 20' long, I will loose some of the yard, but another "pro" is that I can use the beds to straighten and support the fence, however, the cost of building the bed is another "con".

My biggest "con" is that the box turtles hibernate in this corner, so I will have to dig out the corner in front of the corner of the bed and add leaf mulch and wood mulch so they can still hibernate there.

Here is what I did to straighten out the one end of the fence using the Hugel Bed.






Here is my Supply List, just in case someone is interested.

(10) 2x10x10 $148.00
(3)  2x4x12 $22.80
(2)  2x6x10 $17.53
(2)  4"x4"x10'   $25.38
(1)  #8 x 1-5/8 in. Star Flat-Head Wood Deck Screws (1 lb.-Pack) [1-1/2" is fine, but this is what I had]
(1)  #10 x 3 in. Star Flat-Head Wood Deck Screws (5 lb.-Pack)   $31.78
(8)  ZMAX Galvanized 16-Gauge 2X Rigid Tie Connector $16.80
(8)  ZMAX 7 in. 16-Gauge Galvanized Reinforcing L-Angle $19.25
(8)  ZMAX 5 in. 16-Gauge Galvanized Reinforcing L-Angle $15.86
(6)  1/2"x5" lags   $7.82 (had 3 lags and washers already)
(2)  1/2"x12" Eyebolt $6.80
(1)  1/8"x50' Cable $17.91
(2)  3/32"x1/8" wire clamp set $4.20
(2)  Vista Red stone $9.69
 
  6-8 bags manure


_*January 18, 2017*_

Earlier this week I checked the weather forecast and Saturday calls for sunny and 58°, after seeing the forecast I decided to knock out the bed this weekend. The day after I purchased the wood, I checked the weather again and the forecast is still 58° but cloudy, no matter, it will be dry, It's been wet the last few weeks and looks like more rain the beginning of next week.
 
I Picked up most of the wood at Home depot, still need to pick up the cap and side pieces.






 


These are freaking heavy when wet. I stacked them in the back yard and picked out the cleanest 4 pieces that will be for the front of the bed.







_*January 20, 2017*_


I dropped my son off at school and stopped in my usual spot to pick up some Hugel Wood.
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_*January 21, 2017*_

The weather was mild but very wet so I figured on getting muddy today. After I double checked the best pieces for the facade I carefully dug out the one corner checking for turtles, yep found one. I dug a new hole a few feet away, filled with loose soil and mulch then dug out a slot and placed the turtle back in and covered with some light dirt and mulch. I dug out the raspberry bush and will put that in the Hugelkultur bed. I had to move the underground hoses so they wouldn't get pinched.






This spot is 20' wide exactly so I will be fitting this as tight as possible. The irrigation line will need to be reworked. The hoses to the left of the picture were adjusted also to avoid pinching off.






I had Air Pruning Pots here for 2016.




 





 


This is the hardware I will be using. It may seem like overkill but it makes building the beds so much easier especially considering I can't get on the back side to drive the screws.





 


Build.





 




 




 





 


Tight Fit.






After the bottom half is done I try leveling and straightening the beds the best I can.




 




 






After all the boxes were completed I readjusted the beds one more time then called it a day, I was muddy, sore and tired. I slipped into some sweat pants popped four Advil, made a cup of coffee and watched an episode of Dexter and I was feeling much better. Now for some venting, what really pisses me off is that I am busting my stones trying to get every piece cut and to fit almost perfectly but when I start putting the boxes together, the width varies 1/4" from one end to the next on the 2x10's, 9-1/4" on one side and 9" on the other side, this should be illegal. Whats next, a nominal 2"x 10" actual will be a 1"x 8"?





_*January 22, 2017*_

The next day the weather was poor, it was misting all day and the yard was mostly mud but I wanted to get this done so I could get the wood, leaves, compost and other materials in the bed, we are supposed to be getting a lot of rain and figured it would benefit the bed. I stopped at Home depot to get some more wood. I decided on a permanent support system for the plants so I will be adding two 4"x4"x10' supports, they will be dug in and the finished height from the top of the bed to the top of the posts will be 7'.




 






Three 5" lags are installed and the corners of the box are beefed up.




 






Tops of the bed are capped.






Filling with wood.




 






Had the kids rake the leaves from the front yard and toss in the beds.





I still have to replant the Raspberry bush, add the upright supports and tweak the watering system. I will be removing the end top piece on the finished bed and install a wider piece for a neater transition between the new bed and the finished bed, also I need to remove the 6" upright in the front of the finished bed and move over the seam of the new bed and finished bed. 
I still need to dig out a little of the soil in the front of the bed, this soil will be tossed on top of the leaves.

Over the next several months I will be adding compost from my compost pile and 6 - 8 bags of manure, some potting soil, perlite and 10-10-10.

I also need to dig out to the far left of the finished bed and install another 4"x4"x10' upright for the permanent support system. This is gonna be a chore because of the wood in the bed, my only other option is to put the upright on the outside which I do not want to do unless I have no other choice.


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## litterbug (Jan 24, 2017)

Am I correct in assuming that the lumber being used to make the bed is treated? Is there a certain width that should be considered a minimum? How long before you can start planting in the beds, or can you start planting in the first season?


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## litterbug (Jan 24, 2017)

I am interested in this, as my yard is mostly clay, once you get a couple inches down. So a raised bed would be alot more beneficial.


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## cornman (Jan 24, 2017)

Please keep updating.  I've read a good bit on using rotting wood in your beds, and would like to see how it works out.  I love a good raised bed.


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## sqwib (Jan 25, 2017)

Litterbug said:


> Am I correct in assuming that the lumber being used to make the bed is treated? Is there a certain width that should be considered a minimum? How long before you can start planting in the beds, or can you start planting in the first season?


Yes it is pressure treated. (research PT for raised beds)

The width is up to you depending on how you will use it. If you will have access to both sides, the recommended width is no greater than 48", Mine is narrow as I can access only one side. Height also depends on whatever you want. I choose 20" because I can sit on the edge when tending the garden or use as a bench, that is why the front piece is a 2" x 6" , a 2" x4 " would hurt my delicate @ss.

Hugelkultur beds take a few years to become established, from my research (www), what is happening is the wood will pull much needed nitrogen from the soil that the plants need to grow. The first year can be disheartening, the second OK and from what I have read, the Magic starts happening at three years when the wood starts releasing the nitrogen. The claims are that once established, if built correctly, this is a Self Watering, Self Fertilizing way of gardening, however I have an irrigation system setup and will always water.

My first two Hugelkultur beds done great but what I did was layer this way, logs in bottom, branches, twigs sticks, leaves, clay soil from yard, shredded wood mulch, topsoil, manure. The wood mulch will also pull nitrogen from the soil.

A few months before my planting date, I will toss in a bit of 10-10-10

The mulch, top soil and manure provide a good planting layer for the plants right away (first year). I also tossed in some 10-10-10, then at the end of the season  top dressed with another layer of wood mulch and come spring will top that with more manure.

If you are more patient than me you can plant cover crops and nitrogen fixers the first season.


Litterbug said:


> I am interested in this, as my yard is mostly clay, once you get a couple inches down. So a raised bed would be alot more beneficial.


I have clay and my plants always do well in it, what I have found out is that it's the compactness of the clay that is the problem. Clay can be good if amended with organics, some clay soils are loaded with minerals, I would dig out some clay, set it aside, start a hugel bed and add some clay and amend with compost, leaves, hay, manure, grass clippings in layers. Add a few inches of your clay then a few inches of an organic material and keep layering, then top off the bed with some compost, topsoil and manure.


Cornman said:


> Please keep updating. I've read a good bit on using rotting wood in your beds, and would like to see how it works out. I love a good raised bed.


Yes I will update

For my area, Zone 7A, the best time to start a Hugel bed is in the fall, this way it has a 6-8 month start before planting, my first two were done in April but still were  good.

Wet the bed down real good when layering, you want that wood to suck up as much water as possible.

I also have been slowly adding perennial cover crops to the beds that will be permanent residents, Oregano and Thyme, along with weed suppression and helping build the soil, they are incredible for bringing in pollinators.  I also plant sunflowers for similar reasons but some feel that sunflowers can have an adverse affect in the garden. Sunflowers can be used to clean up soils of nasty stuff but then need to be discarded not composted, my soil is not toxic so I recycle my Sunflower plants.

The sunflowers do bring in birds but that is beneficial as the birds will keep unwanted critters off of the plants, some folks cover plants with netting then have problems with caterpillars and other destructive pests, the birds clean this up. I have had less problems with squirrels and birds destroying my tomatoes this year with the sunflower plants, Yeah it's a balancing act. 

The only critter I let feast on my garden is the Black Swallow tail, these guys always end up on my parsley and feast upon it, I leave them be until they are gone and the parsley comes back, I will be planting a ton of parsley this year hoping to see more.

The beds last year were like jungles, I tossed everything in there and didn't expect much growth the first season, many plants choked each other out for fruit production,  but the fact that everything was healthy made me a happy gardener, so this year I will be planting these beds normally.

*July 13th, 2016*
 











By August my Matts Wild Cherry Tomato plant took over the neighbors side of the yard after it engulfed the raised bed.

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## ab canuck (Jan 25, 2017)

Looks Great Sqwib, A very good idea for beds, and also decorative. I may have to show the wife..... After I build my smoker....


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## gary s (Jan 27, 2017)

Dang Buddy, Your'e running out of room, Glad to hear your Dad's better.

I did enlarge mine this year  It was 10' x 32'   Now its 16' x 34'

Need to get my Onions planted today, or maybe tomorrow

Gary

PS .......     Your's always look fantastic, nice job


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## sqwib (Jan 31, 2017)

gary s said:


> Dang Buddy, Your'e running out of room, Glad to hear your Dad's better.
> 
> I did enlarge mine this year  It was 10' x 32'   Now its 16' x 34'
> 
> ...


Yes, dad is doing good.

Gary, I am out of room, no where to go now unless I plant on the roof... hmmm!

I was over your thread checking your progress, looking good

Thanks for the compliment


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## sqwib (Jan 31, 2017)

_*January 28th, 2016*_
 
It was a sad day today, I cut down my Red Maple, I planted this 25 years ago and it just died all of a sudden. I hadn't the heart to burn up the wood so I figured it would make me feel better if it sustained new life over the next 10 years or so. Some will be split and used in the pit and some will be chunked for the smoker.






 


I removed all the leaves from the bed and placed the red maple in the beds. (Sad little coffin)





 


Topped with some clay soil from the yard, followed by the leaves then I emptied my air pruning pots into the beds, the Air Pots had , peat, manure, topsoil and perlite in them.





 


I'll probably toss a few bags of mulch in front of the beds for a path, my yard can get pretty swampy. I'm all ready to plant, just need to tweak the irrigation line, add the top cap pieces, vertical pieces and finish the vertical support. I will stain the bed and may add lights in the fall.





 


Ran out of money but not Mojo so I dug out the other end of the bed, had some wood I cut with a sawzall and one piece I had to split with a splitting wedge, then I hit a piece of granite and got out the hammer drill...forget that... I gave up after 30 minutes and just decided the extra 10" wasn't worth it!





 


Well the whole day didn't go as planned, we blew a brake-line on the suburban and I had to drive home with no brakes, wife was having a conniption the whole way home, I used the brakes one time on a twenty minute drive...IN THE CITY, wasn't fun.


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## sqwib (Jan 31, 2017)

My Sage, Parsley and Rosemary are hanging in there.













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## sqwib (Feb 6, 2017)

_*February 5th, 2017.*_

I finished installing the vertical support line.
 


Notched the side top plate 
 





 


I had to cut 9" off of this upright because I hit a hunk of granite that I couldn't get through. Installed the Carriage Bolts.




 





 


Back filled with stone, wood , ash and soil.




 




 





 


Next up was the cable, this will be 36' long.






 


There were only about 3" of threading on these eye bolts but I wanted as much adjustment as possible so I had to thread these further. What disappointed me was that the shaft diameter is slightly a smaller diameter of the threaded end so I don't have a full thread (Threads are flat)






 


Thread comparison.











Holes are drilled in the uprights, slightly larger than the eye bolts so they can move freely. Cable is looped and secured at one end around the eyebolt using the cable connectors. The cable is run to the other end and adjusted to the proper length and looped and secured with the cable connectors. Yes, Home Depot screwed up and gave me two different size cable connectors, but it was 25°F outside and I just wanted to get this done. I may change out the 3/16" with the 3/32" some day if I'm bored.




 


I'm happy with the support for the upcoming year, but more importantly, my wife is very happy with the streamlined support system, when she's happy I'm Happy!


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## cornman (Feb 6, 2017)

This is quite the project.  As I said before, please keep posting.  Can't wait to see this in the the prime of growing system.  Awesome job!


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## gary s (Feb 6, 2017)

Looking Good   You will have to go Vertical before long

Gary


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## sqwib (Feb 6, 2017)

gary s said:


> Looking Good   You will have to go Vertical before long
> 
> Gary


This entire bed will be grown vertically.


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## sqwib (Feb 15, 2017)

_*February 6th, 2017*_

Since my brain is in garden mode the last few weeks, and that is all I can think about. I have been thinking about the support system, I was looking for a way to tighten the cable without tools, at first I was going to use a winch type adjustment but decided it was overkill and I do have a tendency to over engineer stuff. I want it simple enough where I can say to one of the kids, "Hey go outside and tighten the cable a bit", yes I do have a kid named "Hey". Here is what I came up with.
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If you look closely you can see the needle bearing sandwiched between the washer. 

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The locking nut isn't really needed but I figured I would just toss it on.
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## sqwib (Feb 15, 2017)

A few weeks ago I was playing with my seed starting stuff and was going to try this out but not sure if I will now.

I like the K-Cup idea because it's a two-for-one recycling, you get to reuse the K-cup and compost the grounds.
 






Mini Solo Cups arrived. Hacked up my Rockwool tray for the Mini Solo cups.






Drain holes for Solo Cups.







Perfect fit.


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## ab canuck (Feb 15, 2017)

That's a great idea.... Should I tell my wife though??? lol I will send this to her, Thx.


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## sqwib (Feb 21, 2017)

*February 12th, 2017.*
 

The grow area is setup and reorganized as well as my seed starting tool box. I noticed that my one year old 1020 trays were split at the bottom, I decided to order sturdier ones for this season.
 

Rosemary seeds are started, I started another 10 seeds a few days later after reading up on the Rosemary Germination percentages..

*February 16th, 2017.*
 

These are Permanest Tray and domes that just came in from Indoor Garden Supplies.

Tray# GS2211 and the dome is a V2211.

 





So far I am very impressed with these trays and domes, extremely durable.

_*February 17th, 2017*_

 

Finished Mom & Dads Hugelkultur bed, topped with some compost, potting soil, peat moss and manure, planted some Radishes, beets, Romaine, Spinach and Black Seeded Simpson. In the very back they have a small bed they use for Cucumbers, I tossed in some Sugar Snap peas. Falls project will be to make that corner a raised bed.








_*February 18th, 2017*_
 

Figured I would get some of my gardening done this weekend, it's gonna be near 60°F today and even higher tomorrow_*.*_


The back pond is looking a little dirty, fired up the pumps and filters. 
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Finished the uprights on the new Hugelkultur bed, Cleaned out the fire pit and spread the ashes and bits of wood on the beds. 





Stained the Asparagus bed and added some composted manure. I spent a lot of the day working on the stump out front.








_*February 19th, 2017*_
 
I had the family help out today, It got near 70°F today and was just a beautiful day to spend outside with the family, all my plants are coming up already.

In the hugelkultur beds I planted two types of spinach, Kale, Romaine Lettuce, Black Seeded Simpson, Broccoli, Bush Beans and Mammoth Melting Snow Peas.

 
Mammoth Melting Snow Peas by the trellis.





We trimmed the tree and pulled up all of the Tiger Lilies from around the butterfly house to make room for the Milkweed Plants Coming.




 






The Red Maple trimmings will all be cut up, some will go in a wood pile for the chiminea on the side patio, smaller pieces will be composted and some will be chopped up for the smoker.






Playing around with the herb garden to see how invasive my chocolate mint plant was, I stumbled across this little guy.






We dug out quite a bit of soil and transplanted the Tiger Lilies. It will look a lot nicer when it grows in, I swear!
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I will be irrigating the stump all week because I will try pulling it out this weekend, I told my neighbor to come over and record the event as it may be "youtube" worthy lol. The front of the house is such a mess right now, so I'm amped up to get this stump out and get everything cleaned up.
_*


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## sqwib (Feb 23, 2017)

_*February 22nd, 2017*_


The weather has been very accommodating, last night I planted 16' of Swenson Swedish Snow Peas. The Parsley is still hanging in there. It's rained several times this week so keeping the soil moist has been easy.


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## sqwib (Feb 28, 2017)

_*February 24th, 2017*_


Got some time to work on my stump this weekend, this was a fail.







_*February 25th, 2017*_
Spent most of the day working on the irrigation. Last year I had a bunch of emitters for the air pots so I decided to just run a double loop drip line 40' and plug up all the holes in the main line with Goof Plugs, WRONG! Those goof plugs suck, they were leaking all over so I decided to cut out the line with all the holes and install a new piece of the 1/2" main hose. A bunch of the "T"s got busted during the winter so they had to be replaced. I fiddled with the inline filter for over an hour and eventually gave up and removed it. Installed my Timer and hose connections.


_*February 26th, 2017*_


This years Spring and Fall project will be this back hill. I started by taking out the Arborvitaes, and need to start pulling out the ivy. 






 
My only concerns are digging out the two Bradford Pear stumps. Hopefully I can cut enough of the stump out to fit in the retaining wall behind the stumps, Gawd I hate these roots.





 


After the hill is cleaned up and the ivy is out, I will try digging out a bit, for the retaining wall. I have buckets and crates of rock that I will be taking to my brothers. I'll burn a lot of the red maple and arborvitae for the compost bin. Some will be partially burnt for Bio-Char. The thicker pieces of the Arborvitaes are cut for the chiminea as well as the larger cuts of the red maple. Some of the maple will be recycled into my Pots that I will be converting into Hugelkultur pots. I'm gonna trash all my 5 gallon buckets and stick with just the homer buckets, I'm sick and tired of mismatched buckets getting stuck together. I still have some hydroponic stuff to ditch and sort, a bunch of cap stones from the steps that were removed when building the upper hugelkultur beds, a bunch of lumber, PVC Pipe, firewood in recycle buckets for the smoker/pit, milk crates, a few 55 gallon drums and tarps that all need to be sorted out and/or trashed. I really need to de-clutter





 


The plan is to plant 6 or so Laurel Shrubs in the spring, start digging out to get ready for the retaining wall and build a retaining wall up on the hill in front of the existing retaining wall and plant some Laurel 30' wide as a back drop, the Arborvitaes were getting too sparse at the bottom and looked horrible. The space between the two retaining walls will be planted with Tiger Lilies.





Got all of my pepper seeds planted, then realized I will be out of room once I start the Tomatoes and Eggplants. I promised Mom and my brother some plants and it looks like its gonna be tight. I broadcast seeded and will transplant and thin into solo cups, Ill probably double up on the pepper plants in the solo cups to save room. After I got all cleaned up and went upstairs to chill a bit, I was looking over my notes and realized, Shoot! I forgot to plant the Corno Di Toro Giallo Peppers.

_California Wonder_
_Anaheim_
_Corno Di Toro Giallo_
_Jalapeno_
_Ruby King_
_Tabasco_
_Poblano_
_Ghost Chili_
_Datil_


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## sqwib (Mar 3, 2017)

_*February 28th, 2017*_


I dug out all the Chocolate Mint and put in a three gallon pot to try and keep the mint at bay. I'll probably do the same with the spearmint.







Loaded up the truck with the stones from the back hill, I'll be taking these to my brothers house for his landscaping.






_*March 1st, 2017*_


I dropped off the rock at my brothers house and was checking out his hugelkultur bed that he put in late summer, after seeing mine he decided that the raised hugelkultur beds would look nicer than a fence between the two properties. When he moved here a few years back the fence was in bad shape and he decided to remove it. The beds give a good property line but keep the area open. He wants to see how well the bed does before committing to any more beds along the property line, I said, "just go for it"!






 

I have been slacking with my seedlings, checked them after dinner and the Rosemary had sprouted and were very leggy, I quickly got them under light, light timer is set for 18 hours. The fan is not set up on auto yet, I am still waiting for a timer from Amazon. Poor Rosemary!




 
_*March 2nd, 2017*_

Well it was inevitable and expected, the temp is dropping down to 15°F this weekend, I'll be disconnecting the irrigation line, draining and bring in the timer. Can you believe it was 70°F yesterday. This weekend I'll be planting some seeds and cleaning the back hill a bit so it won't be a total loss. It's really gonna piss me off if I loose my Rosemary after it lasted this long!

The Datil, Jalapeno and Ruby King peppers had begun sprouting, I'm impressed, it has only been 4 days. I'll give them another day or two before I move them out of the germination tray. 




 






_*March 3rd, 2017*_

The Tiger Lilies seem to like their new spot, there are a few stragglers in various parts of the front yard, I'll be digging them up and transplanting them with these guys. I may tear out the Azalea plant.


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## sqwib (Mar 6, 2017)

_*March 4th 2017*_


My timer came in so I hooked up the oscillating fan to the timer, the timer is set to turn on for twenty minutes, three times a day. OK now onto more pressing problems, the temperature is supposed to go down in the low teens and I needed to come up with a way to keep my Rosemary alive. I figured I would try this fluorescent light, it puts out a little bit of heat. We will see what happens. I cover the Rosemary at night and uncover during the day.

_*


*_

_*


*_

_*


*_

*March 5th, 2017*

I guess the warm snap we had in February got these guys going, this is my first year with Asparagus (first Harvest year), and I'm a bit worried about then coming up too soon, this weekend was down to about 15°F and next week it's supposed to get in the teens again.





 

All the peppers pretty much sprouted with the exception of the Ghost Chili. The Corno Di Torro Giallo, California Wonder and the Poblano took a full week to germinate. The Datil, Tobasco, Jalapeno, Anaheim and Ruby King were 4-5 days to germinate. These guys were removed from the Heated, domed germination tray and placed in a tray closer to the light. The light is set to 18 hours and the fan is set to go on for twenty minutes, three times a day.


Anaheim




 





 


Ruby King






Jalapeno






Datil






Tabasco






 


Planted , Amandas Unknown Farm Eggplant, Basil, Black Beauty Eggplant, Black Vernissage Tomato, Brandywine Red Tomato, Celebrity Tomato, Cherokee Purple Tomato, Fengyuan Eggplant, Indigo Blue Berries Tomato, Matts Wild Cherry Tomato, Parsley, Patio Princess Tomato Determinate, Rosemary and Sprite Tomato Determinate. A mix of potting soil and perlite is used for the potting mix. The potting mix is packed in the planters then tamped down lightly and watered until water comes out of the bottom. Seeds are planted 3 to a cell, then topped with a thin layer of potting soil and misted with a spray bottle. Heat mat is set to 80°F, and the dome installed. These will be watered from the bottom.





 


The broccoli started to come up, hopefully the low temps wont kill the seedlings.








​


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## gary s (Mar 6, 2017)

Looking good, All your starts look healthy, When is your last freeze ?

I need to get the rest of my garden planted, Onions, arugula, lettuce and spinach are really coming along

Gary


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## sqwib (Mar 6, 2017)

gary s said:


> Looking good, All your starts look healthy, When is your last freeze ?
> 
> I need to get the rest of my garden planted, Onions, arugula, lettuce and spinach are really coming along
> 
> Gary


April 14th


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## sqwib (Mar 8, 2017)

_*March 7th, 2017*_
 

Still working on clearing out the back for the new fence, I need to dig in 6 posts and every other hole location is where an Arborvitae was planted, so Ill be busting my stones digging out more roots. I plan on saving a lot of the top soil for when I build the retaining wall in front, the soil looks pretty healthy!
 


What a mess!!





_*March 8th, 2017*_ am
 


I cant believe the Marigolds came up already, these were planted Sunday night, it's been less than three days. I'll probably be dividing them this weekend.
 









 

Clearing out my Spam folder this morning I noticed an e-mail from Spring Hill Nurseries confirming that my Japanese Stewartia will be delivered March 9th-11th, that means that I will be working on the stump the rest of the week and the back hill will have to wait.


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## sqwib (Mar 16, 2017)

Clearing out my Spam folder this morning I noticed an e-mail from Spring Hill Nurseries confirming that my Japanese Stewartia will be delivered March 9th-11th, that means that I will be working on the stump the rest of the week and the back hill will have to wait.

_*March 8th, 2017*_ 

Well when I got home today, the tree was here, I think they shipped too soon, Looks like I will be doing the front yard tomorrow.



_*March 9th, 2017*_

With the early arrival of the tree, I had to knock this out ASAP, thank goodness the weather was nice. I didn't get the whole stump out but got a good bit of it out to plant the new tree. I actually would have kept going if I didn't have a slight mishap with the Sawzall, after I got hurt I said Bullshit, if the tree dies it dies, at this point I was beyond frustrated!





 








 
I also started the fence today, picked up six 8' 4"x4" PT posts earlier this week. The bottoms are coated with roofing muck.












 
I got 4 of the posts in today. A few of the post holes were exactly where the arborvitae stumps were so I had to dig them out, I used a sawzall to help remove the stumps. Each hole was dug a bit deeper than 24" then the post were set in place and temporarily secured to the fence using copper wire. The holes were then filled with Marble Chips and topped with a bit of soil, then adjusted.






 
Removing the stumps wasn't too bad, and once I got down about 10" or so I was past the roots and although the soil was pretty much clay, digging with a shovel, a post hole digger and a bum hand wasn't too bad. OH! I didn't mention the hand incident, well I had a little accident with the Sawzall removing the stump out front. After a bit of tape and a rag and 4 advil, I was back in action.
 





This weekend is shot due to the weather and the next two weekends will be shot due to Birthdays, Parties and a weekend canoe trip. I can at least finish removing the stuff from the hill and maybe burn the rest of the arborvitaes and red maple tree if the 100MPH winds would ever stop.
 

_*March 11th-12th, 2017*_

Well, this weekend was shot so I played in my workshop.
 






 

The plants are all doing well, I had more rosemary pop, a Fengyuan Eggplant sprout, the parsley came up and a couple more ghost chili's The only thing I have been having trouble with are my California wonder seeds, nothing has germinated yet. Nothing from the Gerbera Daisy yet either.
 






I expanded my growing space a bit. By topping off the solo cups I can get 18 per tray comfortably so I went from 60 to 72 on the grow table.
 





 






Then looking around the workshop I found another spot to expand to another 36. Armed with a plan, it was off to Home Depot.

I need to stay out of Home Depot or more specifically the seed area, I stopped over HD to pick up a few timers for my expanded grow area and picked up a packet of Box Car Willie Tomato Seeds and Abe Lincoln Tomato Seeds.

When I got home, I hooked these shop lights up to a timer, set for 18 hours and put a fan on the work bench that is set to go on for twenty minutes three times a day. I grabbed a board I had laying around, put in some eye bolts, popped 4 anchors in the ceiling and popped in some eye bolts and used Heavy Gauge copper wire for the supports, I'll change these out with light duty chain when I get a chance, but for now it was what I had and I wasn't going back out again.
 

These are 6000k LED light that I originally bought for the grow table but due to the type of bulb, I couldn't use them on the grow table, electrical stuff I wont go into right now.

This works out great, it is just the right height to work under it without bumping my head, it does block a little light from the work shop table but not too much.
 

Right now I have a few Jalapeno, Poblano and Marigold plants up there as a control, I will be checking them every day to see if the lights and area are adequate.
 

This brings me from 60 plants to 108 plants.
 






_*March 16th, 2017*_

Still not able to get outside, everything is under 6" of snow and ice!
It has been 5 days and the 36+ plants are doing well under the new grow area, so I think it is safe to say that the heat, air flow and and lighting under these lights are adequate.


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## gary s (Mar 16, 2017)

Dang Buddy !!!  You got it going on Wow.   I did enlarge my garden this year, and got everything planted Yesterday, As usual I still ran out of room.

Your's is looking good and gunna be beautiful

Gary


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## sqwib (Mar 16, 2017)

gary s said:


> Dang Buddy !!!  You got it going on Wow.   I did enlarge my garden this year, and got everything planted Yesterday, As usual I still ran out of room.
> 
> Your's is looking good and gunna be beautiful
> 
> Gary


I was just over there checking things out, looking good, hey how come you don't have any leeks?


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## sqwib (Mar 20, 2017)

_*March 17th-19th, 2017*_
This week was a bust and I'm pretty sure I lost all my seedlings in the Hugel Beds, I may replant this week.







I'm still trying to save my Rosemary plant, I started this from seed last year.




 

And if the weather wasn't enough for me to worry about, now I have this to worry about!




 
Started thinning and dividing the plants.







 
The plants in the Blue Solo Cups will go to a fellow garden enthusiast, the Yellow solo cups go to my brother and the rest are mine. 50% or less will be used in my garden, some will go in my parents garden and the remainder will either find a new home, find a nook in my yard or be tossed.






 
I started fertilizing the plants this week and they seem to be doing OK. I still have some Abe Lincoln Tomato seedlings and Boxcar Willie Tomato Seedlings that need to be re-potted next week, they wee a tad too small to be messing with.






The fan and lighting seem to be adequate. I have been keeping the garage at about 78°F.



I usually don't recycle my potting mix but was running low so I sterilized some potting mix for my Marigold plants.






 

I have been putting these Marigolds everywhere, here are a few on a morning sun windowsill in the basement bathroom, hopefully it will be enough light and not too drafty. Now I just have to figure out how to keep the wife from dropping and closing the blinds!





 
 
Today was a melancholy day, I retired my old faithful Remington saw and replaced with a new Makita, the Remington has been a great saw and don't owe me anything after 10 years of service, I feel like I lost an old friend!


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## sqwib (Mar 21, 2017)

_*March 21st, 2017*_

How do you know you have a gardening problem? When your running late for work and decide to do some gardening!
The snow and ice is almost gone so I checked my beds, all the peas that sprouted have rotted, same with the broccoli, no sign of the spinach, bush beans and lettuces. I replanted the peas and the broccoli. This weekend is shot, I will be on a canoe camping trip on the Delaware river, we will be heading out very early Friday morning but I will be home fairly early Sunday so I may be able to do some planting then.


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## sqwib (Mar 22, 2017)

My new cups came in and I have been transplanting into the new cups. These cups are awesome, nice and sturdy and can be run through the dishwasher. The taller ones are 20 oz. cups and fit 18 to a tray and the smaller ones are 10 oz. cups and fit 21 to a tray, I am still debating on getting all 20 oz. cups. I like that they are taller and slightly narrower than the red solo cups.











If I get more 20 oz. cups, I'll probably use the 10 oz cups for my pepper starts then pot up to 20 oz.


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## sqwib (Mar 29, 2017)

_*March 23rd, 2017*_


Replanted some Bush Beans,
,this morning before work, 




no, no, not those Bush Beans.

  After work I planted a row of the sugar snap peas in the Hugel bed.






 

_*March 24th - 26th, 2017*_
 

Canoeing the Delaware River, see ya in a couple days.



 

_*March 27th, 2016*_
 

I was re-potting some plants today and had a little mishap, I was adjusting the height of the shelf and spilled a whole tray of plants, there were some casualties but I managed to save most of them but time will tell. I really need to be more careful. The trays should be removed before adjusting, not sure what the hell I was thinking. I will be stopping at Home Depot tomorrow to pick up some supplies to install a more secure system.

_*March 28th, 2016*_


These tomato plants still have about three weeks to go before planting, they literally exploded in a week, I started my plants several weeks later this year but may need to start another week or two later.





 


The eggplants and some of the peppers are spot on for timing but I may plant them a week later as well.










A few of the tomato plants have what appears to be "sun scald", these plants were touching the light. I'll be hardening these off in a week or two so I turned off the heat in the garage so the garage is a bit cooler and I am going to cut back on the fertilizer and watering.




 







I setup a more secure adjustable/hanging system.


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## gary s (Mar 29, 2017)

Cool. Love the Video. Looks like a lot of Fun

Gary


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## sqwib (Apr 7, 2017)

_*April 2nd, 2017*_

Woohoo!, its finally dry enough to get moving on the fence.

got my mulch "5 for $10"





_*April  4th, 2017*_
 

Still working on the fence.




 

 
_*April 5th, 2017*_

I figured it was time for the plants to either "sink or swim". Sink or Swim dammit, these guys will get late afternoon sun.


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## sqwib (Apr 18, 2017)

_*April  5th-12th, 2017*_

I installed a new Pond filter and UV about 4 days ago, and it is now just starting to clear up, I ordered another filter that I will be installing this weekend. Now I need to do something with those wires!
 






 

I started work on the Koi pond, cleaned the filters, skimmed the bottom, fired up the Wendy Filter, had to do a quick repair job on the upper veggie filter, as it was leaking pretty good. Got the other veggie filter going and put in the Terracotta pots for my peppers.
 
I am still digging out the back hill. I have been digging out this hill for the last few weeks and taking the dirt to my Brothers house, he has a low spot in his yard that pools pretty good after a heavy rain so we have been dumping it in the low spot.


After work I decided to stop by Home Depot and pick up some 6x6x10 footers, lets just say that I wont do that again!




 





 






Woohoo! the fence is finished, now it's time to concentrate on the retaining wall.

 






 

Planted most of my veggies. (L-R)

  Matts Wild Cherry
  Ruby King
  Corno Di Toro Giallo
  Anaheim
  Poblano
  Black Beauty





 

This year I planted the Eggplants and peppers on a slight angle and spread them out a bit more. 

*Left Bed *(L-R)



California Wonder - California Wonder

Black Beauty Eggplant - Black Beauty Eggplant

Black Beauty Eggplant - Black Beauty Eggplant

Brandywine Red
Abe Lincoln
*Right Bed *(L-R)

6 plants across may be a bit tight, we will see!


Ruby King Red Pepper - Ruby King Red Pepper

Cherokee Purple
Cherokee Purple

Brandywine Red

Black Vernissage

Black Vernissage





 

*Long Hugelkultur bed *(L-R)



  Indigo Blue Berries Tomato 24"

  Abe Lincoln 24"

  Abe Lincoln 24"

  Corno Di Toro Giallo 18"

  Corno Di Toro Giallo 18"

  Cherokee purple 24"

  California Wonder 18"

  Anaheim 18"

  Black Beauty 20"

  Black Beauty 20"

  Jalapeno 18"

  Jalapeno 18"

  Poblano 18"

  Poblano 18"

  Box Car Willie 24"

  Box Car Willie 24"

  Brandywine red 24"

  Brandywine red 24"

  Ruby King 18"

  Ruby King 18"

  Oregano Cover crop

  Basil

  Parsley

  Marigold





 






 


Patio Princess





 


Sprite determinate. Old filter earmarked for the trash, I'm just waiting a week or two to make sure my new filter doesn't suck!





Jalapeno in the larger Vertical Tower (Top). I had strawberries in this vertical tower last year and was half hoping they would not winter over and I would plant other things in them, oh well, all the strawberries came back.






Tabasco in the smaller Vertical Tower (Top), gotta have Tabasco for my hot sauce!!! I'll be dumping miscellaneous herbs and pepper plants in here.






 

I just can't wait until all the veggie plants are in, my wildflowers arrive and are planted, everything is mulched, the retaining wall and fence are done, all the digging and dirt hauling is done, the ponds are finished, then I can put all my tools away, cleanup and enjoy the gardening. I took on a lot this year but I'm hoping it all pays off and I don't burn out by July!!

 
My Peas are starting to come up.






Last year I transplanted some Phlox and it has done really well. All this Phlox came from one small plant by the Koi Pond. It just blows my mind that one of the plants is white and they all came from the same plant.






Donor plant





 


My artistic Daughter is making me some Rock Labels for my Herb Garden.




 





 





 






My one Raspberry plant is doing well and for some odd reason, my shepherd loves eating this plant. Note the Dumb Ass turtle to the left, God knows how long he's been stuck there. I still need to childproof the yard a little better.






 


This morning I got up early and put in some Marigolds, checked on the plants and pond and YES, done some more digging!!!




 






 

After work I picked up some 4x4's for the supports, 4 foot rebar, stone (chipped marble), for the posts and 10" Timberlock screws. I laid the first three pieces of the retaining wall. I used my new AWESOME chainsaw to make the cut. The first row needs to be leveled but I will wait till Saturday after we pick up the remaining 6x6s, this way my brother can help me.

I got some more digging to do and I gave up on removing the stumps, natures gonna have to take care of them.




_*April 13th-16th, 2017*_

 

Today the other pond filter came in and I got that installed, I just didn't plug in the UV so it's just a canister filter at the moment.
 





I ran a 1/2" irrigation line from the raised bed under the retaining wall. I plan on running an emitter line to water the plants in front of the fence, I just need to order as few more parts.
 
I dug the hose in a good bit and covered the hose with some pavers, just in case I'm digging around and forgot about the line being there, Yeah, I sometimes do that!  And yes, I did some more digging.




 
I called my brother for assistance on the rest of the project, The game plan was to meet at Home Depot at 8 am, pick up the wood and install the retaining wall. We got the wood home safely and moved it into the back yard, boy was it heavy.
*


*


 
After the four posts were in we tamped everything real good secured to the fence and removed the support that was kicking the wall back.





Laura was painting the playhouse, when she finished, she ran out and grabbed a few hoagies and we stopped for lunch.





  I tweaked my Compost bin, It was undersized, last years garden waste filled it up and then some. 




 
Mulched the back and put in some plants.

 
*


*



All the turtles are up and about.
 




 





  I am having issues with the newest rescue, I keep separating them, he may have to go!

 

*


*



Finally a chance to relax.
 
*


*


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## gary s (Apr 18, 2017)

Wow, You really have that looking nice  I like the Painted Rock Idea,   Makes my Garden look like Crap

Gary


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## sqwib (Apr 18, 2017)

gary s said:


> Wow, You really have that looking nice  I like the Painted Rock Idea,   *Makes my Garden look like Crap....*
> 
> Gary


*.... Never gonna happen!*


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## whistech (Apr 18, 2017)

SQWIB, your garden and landscape is absolutely beautiful.     I know you have put in a ton (or 100s of tons) work on them and you have done an outstanding job.   Congratulations and thank you for sharing your pictures.      Cherokee Purple tomatoes are one of my favorites.


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## gary s (Apr 19, 2017)

SQWIB said:


> *.... Never gonna happen!*


Thanks Buddy, I just can't keep it up like I did several years ago. I would go out every day and clean and weed,

Just can't do it anymore  I have to hit it a lick and a promise when I feel like it.

But yours is Beautiful

Gary


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## sqwib (Apr 28, 2017)

whistech said:


> SQWIB, your garden and landscape is absolutely beautiful.     I know you have put in a ton (or 100s of tons) work on them and you have done an outstanding job.   Congratulations and thank you for sharing your pictures.      Cherokee Purple tomatoes are one of my favorites.


Thank you and I cant wait to try the Cherokee Purples, never had them before.


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## sqwib (Apr 28, 2017)

*April 18th-21st, 2017*


This was my first years harvest for my asparagus (2nd season). I harvested very conservatively and I am letting the rest go to fern to strengthen the roots.






 


Today I added the top pieces on the retaining wall and finished back filling the other two posts with stone, dirt then mulch. The top pieces for the retaining wall and fence are not screwed in yet, just like the top pieces on the fence, they will season until the fall then both sides will be stained before securing, hopefully this will eliminate or at least reduce the wood twisting or curling out of whack. I also picked up 6 cages to try for some of my peppers and eggplant, I don't like cages but these seemed fairly heavy duty, so I will be giving them a shot.

*


*

 
My brother and Sister in Law picked up these plants to give everyone for Easter, I put mine in by the back pond.
*


*
 
*


*

*April 22nd-27th, 2017*


Saturday morning... I hop out of bed all excited to start off my day gardening. First thing on the list, I put up my "Tree of Life", I really love this thing. 

*


*


2nd thing on my list... irrigation line, so I moved to the front yard, I started digging out the front for the irrigation and it started to rain, after my happy moment subsided, I realized I am gonna get wet today. It rained the rest of the day but I wanted to get my front irrigation line dug in.
I Removed the pavers then dug in the 1/2 inch line, each section has a tee and shutoff, there are three sections.
*


*
 

I still need to replace the leaky hose bib, (note the crack in the body), before I can tie everything in.
*


*


 
As I was working on the irrigation, my plants came in so I decided to get them in while it was raining, I also used the rain to my advantage and done a bit of weeding. I got to tell you, I am completely dissatisfied with American Meadows, it's a disgrace how they ship their plants. This is the second shipment that was destroyed.
*


*
 

*


*

This was my first shipment.
*


*

Yes that's a plant, my Common Milkweed.
*


*

The rest of the day was pretty much shot, so I cleaned the basement and the workshop and put away most of my garden supplies.

Anyhow, here is what I planted this weekend,

Swamp Milkweed Cinderella
Bee Balm
Gaillardia Goblin
Butterfly Milkweed
Basil
Sunflowers
More Marigolds
Leeks

Sunday was much nicer. I cleaned up the back hill, de-cluttered a bit more, planted some more Marigolds and Basil, planted most of my Leeks and finished the compost bin. It's not real pretty but I need this area for my wood and garden supplies.
*


*

 


I changed the watering tube on the vertical tower to a much smaller diameter and tied in to the irrigation line.






I had a few pepper plants left over so I tossed a couple by the back pond and a few up on both ends of the retaining wall. I then made a turtle step, this is where I access the hill and I was inadvertently compacting the soil every time I stepped off the hill. One of the turtles hibernates in this corner, so I dug it up and tossed in some mulch and sawdust. I'll loosen it up again in the fall before the turtles start hibernating.





I separated and dug out an area in the front lower yard for the leeks, filled with composted manure potting soil and planted the Leeks.





The Herb garden is coming along nicely, the Mints started to pick up, the Rosemary Survived the winter, The Horseradish is starting to flower, the Chives are budding and the Sage is looking lush.

Rosemary

 






 

Sage






 

Horseradish
 






 

Chocolate Mint
 






Chocolate Mint a few days later.

 






Chives
 






Spearmint
 





Later in the day I started working on the landscape lighting, but it's gonna be a major overhaul, most of the lights aren't working due to faulty connections.

Today I replaced the Hose Bib, of course it was not the same dimensions as the one being replaced, anyhow I got it together with no leaks, looks like $HIT but it works! My brother is gonna take a look at it and decide if we should redo it or put on a sleeve, to be honest, you won't see it once the hose holder is installed but its annoying just knowing it looks like that. I call crap like this "Easter Eggs", every time I build something, there is just one thing that peeves me and ask folks to find the hidden "Easter Egg".




 

*


*

*


*
 
It's been raining most of the week, so I've just been pulling weeds but not doing much anything else.

I did plant a bunch of Sunflower seedlings all over the place

 

The tiger lilies bounced back pretty good.





Japanese Stewartia






Celebrity





 
Patio Princess






Sprite






Zucchini






Raspberry






Aquaponic peppers






Asparagus






Peppers, Tomatoes, Basil, Parsley, Snow Peas, Oregano, lettuce.





 
Peppers, Tomatoes, Basil, Snow Peas, Oregano, lettuce, Chives, Parsley, Bush Beans, Broccoli, Eggplant, Marigolds, Strawberries.


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## gary s (Apr 28, 2017)

WOW  !!   Looks Fantastic 

Gary


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## dcarch (Apr 28, 2017)

*Hugelkulture Beds*,  Moisture + wood, paradise for termites. How do you prevent termites?

dcarch


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## sqwib (Apr 28, 2017)

dcarch said:


> *Hugelkulture Beds*,  Moisture + wood, paradise for termites. How do you prevent termites?
> 
> dcarch


Nah, I hired some nematodes to take care of them, but seriously it hasn't been a problem yet and I'm hoping it never does!


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## sqwib (May 18, 2017)

Wow, it's been a while since I updated.

_April, 28th-May, 6th 2017_
I got a lot done this weekend but not much from my list.

 
Friday after work I installed the hose hanger out front.


Saturday we stopped at a few local nurseries to get some flowers, we picked up some herbs as well, planted some Dill, Stevia, Lavender, Daisies and Sun-patients. I also picked up a few Water Hyacinths for the Koi Pond.




 




 




 





We cleaned up the patio, removed the rug, scrubbed with 409, sprayed down the patio and tidied up a bit. The rug cleaned up nicely. 







I ripped out the landscape lighting around the back pond, it needs a complete redo, so I figured I would tear it out and start from scratch.
 
Reworked the Planter on the deck and planted some Daisies, the daisies that were in there died because the planter was holding water and froze after they started coming back. I emptied out the planter, enlarged the drain holes and put everything back.





 


Installed some foam on the fence to keep the dog and turtles from Squeezing out.





 


Installed the new inline filter and ran a 30' drip line on the retaining wall. The red tape isn't pretty but it sure does hold well!




 






A buddy called me up to help him remove some of his Magnolia tree, that took up most of Saturday and we almost ended up in the ER, My buddy fell out of the tree, well he more or less was shot out, when the limb he cut slapped him upside his head, no broken bones or lacerations but he was banged up pretty good.
 
He was going to toss the wood and I said, "No Way, let's put it in the back of my truck"!





Fresh wood has a lot of moisture, I guess I should have cracked the windows in the truck.





 





 

I installed the EMT Conduit vertical tomato supports on one side of the raised beds, and on the other side, I'm going to try a Florida Weave between two posts.


 
Started the vertical support lines on the hugelkultur beds. For the vertical supports I'm using wire leaders and Jute twine. This is my first year using this system but have had success with vertical supports using EMT. My main concern is the weight of the plants spanned across 36' of cable. My back up plan is a center support if the cable sags too much.




 





At the end of the season, the twine will be cut and composted, then the fishing line leader will be slid to one end.






After work today I picked up my Lights and some other supplies. I removed the hose from the pond area and had Stephen help me reroute it to the back of the playhouse, installed a hose hanger, hose and spray nozzle.






Now onto the fun stuff, today I Installed the lights by the back fence, I'm still playing with different patterns and will need to readjust when the plants grow in. I ordered another set of 4 and will accent the pond, the tree of life, and the front gardens.
Photo#1 - Lights spaced 18" apart up against retaining wall.
Photo#2 - Lights back to back up against retaining wall
Photo#3 - Lights at each post up against the fence.
 




 





 





 


Installed the backyard pond lights, I may look into a lower wattage flood light for the wall but will most likely keep the 40 watt on the waterfall.




 
Replaced all the incandescent Low Voltage bulbs on the deck with LED's




 
 

Finished the irrigation out front but may still run a 1/4" line to the pond and planters, but I need to cut a bit of concrete, maybe one day when I'm bored.



*May 7th - May 17th, 2017*
I got a lot done this weekend but NOTHING from my list.
 


Installed some underdecking but still needs tweaks, this is definitely a case of "Functionality vs. Aesthetics in Design".




 






After I installed the extension I called up the Mrs. and asked her to grab me something for the Pit to do a test run.




OK The pit seems to be unaffected by the extension
 


Started transplanting Chocolate mint to the curbside. The mint was doing well till the neighbors grandson ran it over with the lawnmower, but thats fine its just for a ground-cover, because crap grows here all the time.







The front gardens are doing real well. 
Lavender, Calla Lilies, Oregano, Thyme, Stevia, Marigolds, Parsley, Dill, Gaillardia Goblin, Rogue Tiger Lily that I will dig out, I also planted some Swamp Milkweed and Butterfly Milkweed, but they didn't make it.






Herb Garden, Chocolate mint, Spearmint, Chives, Sage, Horseradish, Phlox, Tiger Lily, Day Lilies, Rosemary, Marigolds and some Rogue squash type plant I may let go for fun.





 

Sunpatients, Crocus, Lilies, Japanese Andromeda Pieris Japonica "Bonfire", Jack Frost Heartleaf Brunnera, Marigolds.






 

Irrigation for the front lower garden, I still need to do a few tweaks, mulch the rest of the gardens and hide the irrigation lines, replace the Y with my new Ball Valve Y, possibly run a line to the pond for Auto Fill?






Leeks, Vinca Minor Periwinkle, Japanese Stewartia that replaced my Beautiful Red Maple, and a three a 3 year old Rogue maple plant in there that I have been keeping for my neighbor.





Sprite Tomato, Basil, Parsley, Marigold?





Tiger lilies from the lower garden and a Dwarf Azalea that needs a new home.





Patio Princess Tomato, Strawberries, Parsley?, Basil, Marigold, Sunpatients. Leeks in the white planter in the back.





The pond - Yellow Iris Pseudacorus, Black Gamecock Iris.







 

Veggie filters for pond
 
Top - Sunpatients

Lower - California Wonder, Ruby King, Poblano, Poblano, Corno Di Toro Giallo, Corno Di Toro Giallo. The Phlox is in the soil not the veggie filter.





Side patio - Celebrity Tomato, Basil, Parsley, Marigold, Lilly's





Side yard Hugel Bed - Matts Wild Cherry by fence, Ruby King, Corno Di Toro Giallo, Anaheim, Poblano, Black Beauty, Sunflower, Basil, Parsley, Marigold, Swenson Snow Peas.





Asparagus





 

Raspberry





Mammoth Snow Peas
Black Seeded Simpson
Indigo Blue Berries Tomato
Abe Lincoln
Abe Lincoln
Corno Di Toro Giallo
CornoDi Toro Giallo
Cherokee purple
California Wonder
Anaheim
Black Beauty
Black Beauty
Jalapeno
Jalapeno
Poblano
Poblano
Box Car Willie
Box Car Willie
Brandywine red
Brandywine red
Ruby King
Oregano
Chives
Thyme
Black Seeded Simpson
Basil
Broccoli
Bush Beans
Parsley
Marigold
sunflower





 









 





 






Raised Beds, 
California Wonder
Black Beauty Eggplant
Brandywine Red Tomato
Abe Lincoln Tomato
Leeks
Oregano

Basil

Parsley
Cherokee Purple Tomato
Black Vernissage Tomato
 




 






Fence in the back, I don't think any of the Milkweed Plants made it
Elaeagnus ebbingei ‘Gilt Edge’
Corno Di Toro Giallo
California Wonder
Swamp Milkweed Cinderella
Bee Balm
Gaillardia Goblin
Tiger Lilies
Jalapeno
Butterfly Milkweed
Anaheim
Marigolds

Sunflowers
 


Trellis - Swenson Swedish Snow Pea, Marigold





Back Pond
Yellow Iris pseudacorus
Garden Pink
Camellia, April Remembered
Bee Balm
Ghost pepper
Tabasco
Chives
Oregano
Rosemary
 






Shasta Daisy and Marigolds on the deck.






I wonder what this is?





 


Woohoo! my sun came in.





I'm just worried that it will blend too much with the fence once I stain the fence, I may have to throw some light at it if it blends in too much.




 






Swapped out the 40 watt flood light with a 20 watt spotlight.


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## ws dave (May 18, 2017)

Now there's a man after my own heart! You sound just like me Sqwib, always too busy working in the yard to run the smoker. Story of my life. Nothing good comes easy so if you want the nice yards you put in the work. Yours looks great, you've done an excellent job there. Im the same as you, always planting something,moving electric and water lines, working on the patio,
setting up lighting, or deciding which decorations should go where. My veggy garden is very small, verrrry small, but I love planting landscape beds. I'm in Buffalo NY so we're just getting started here for the season, been to the nurseries a lot lately. I love it. 















IMG_20160325_123312.jpg



__ ws dave
__ May 18, 2017






This was two years ago before I put in the new beds. 













IMG_20160730_165513081.jpg



__ ws dave
__ May 18, 2017






The island and the bed on the right were new last year.  Island purposely doesn't have much in it so that the neighborhood cats can't hide in the flowers and ambush the birds at the feeder. Lost a far amount of stuff in the bed by the garage over the winter so I just planted some coreopsis and primrose in there the other day. This weekend we're going to our favorite nursery to pick some more replacement plants and get a few more goodies for this years planters. I have a few things already but I definitely need more. I love my container plantings.














IMG_20160730_174613804.jpg



__ ws dave
__ May 18, 2017





I like your sun on the fence, I have something very similar.













IMG_20160804_093633348_HDR.jpg



__ ws dave
__ May 18, 2017





This is my view when I actually have time to sit down. My favorite thing is to sit in this chair and watch the birds. The sweet smell of BBQ in the air only makes it better. 

PS: Being in Buffalo these are obviously last years pictures. Not much color back there yet this year. Couple things in bloom but not much.


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## ab canuck (May 18, 2017)

Wow, Nice yards...........


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## sqwib (May 19, 2017)

Dave, you are a master gardener, everything looks beautiful, and from the looks of it, you done it right.

I love a lot going on in a yard, busy but not cluttered, anyone can have a patch of grass.

I'm hoping by spring of next year I will be done for the most part, I still need to stain everything, some will be stained in the fall and some in the spring. I plan on tackling the deck in the fall as well, staining, a bit of painting repairing the bar roof and making it bird nest proof, and maybe a new ceiling fan.

@AB Canuck , thank you


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## whistech (May 19, 2017)

Squib, your gardens are looking beautiful.     I really enjoy all of your pictures.    Thanks for posting.


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## ws dave (May 19, 2017)

Thanks Sqwib but I'm far from a master gardener. Like most things I get by more on effort than ability. I had to stain everything this year too, no fun. I built the fence and pergola three years ago and let it season for a year before staining it but the wood up under the roof didn't get dry enough until this year so I did the whole thing over again while I was at it. It's a pain but it makes such a difference it's definitely worth the effort. I put up a ceiling fan a couple years ago but I'm still tinkering with that too. Trying to get some sort of decorative trim that will also hold the weight of the fan. That's a work in progress. There's always something to do and I find it very enjoyable if I don't let it overwhelm me. It's a delicate balance sometimes. I love your vegetable garden and the way you grow everything from seed. That's a true gardener in my book.


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## gary s (May 20, 2017)

Just gets better and better  Looks Fantastic.  Looks like you are about out of room have to start on your neighbors !!

Gary


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## ws dave (May 21, 2017)

Oh boy, went a little crazy yesterday. Went to a couple nurseries yesterday to get a few things and then stopped by Lowe's to see if they had anything. We hit the clearance rack jackpot! Two hours and three shopping carts later we had 40+ perennials and roughly the same number of annuals for $75. Scored some amazing deals. Got about half the perennials in today before the rain started. Raining like crazy right now so I'm done for the day. At least they're getting watered in! 














IMG_20170520_201318495.jpg



__ ws dave
__ May 21, 2017






I'm not even sure where to put it all but for those prices I'll find a spot for it.


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## sqwib (May 25, 2017)

Wow, thats an awesome haul!


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## sqwib (May 25, 2017)

*May 18th - May 25th, 2017*
I got a few things done this week and some were actually from my list this time, Yay!

Wired in the new Hugelkultur bed lights, they're not secured yet, I will secure them after the bed is stained.
Installed New Y valve
Ran some vertical support lines for the maters on the hill.
Mulched the front garden and in front of the new Hugelkultur Bed
Fixed some leaks on the under-decking still nee to fix a few more leaks
Installed a light for the cooking area.
Took off the storm door and reinstalled, it was hitting the bottom concrete pad and wouldn't close properly or latch properly.
Laura painted the back wall.
Scrubbed the patio, coolers and bench seat
Repainted the patio table.
Added composted manure to the Aquaponic peppers.
Lifted a bunch of pavers and added paver base to level the pavers better.
Fed all the flowers and shrubs.
Installed the new Ceiling Fan
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And look who's munching on my dill, a few Black Swallowtail caterpillars. Eat up guys there's plenty for everyone!





 

I have been having issues with garden pests this year, I know I have an Aphid problem but something is knocking the snot out of my Broccoli.
A few nights ago I inspected the garden with a flashlight to see what critters are decimating my plants. I found the culprits, Slugs, tons of them, real tiny guys. Whats odd is the infestation is only one half of the bed. I did dump some ash in the bed to the left so that may have helped.
 


So I decided to make some slug traps but first I needed a little bit of beer.





 

First I sprayed all the plants with Neem Oil, then laid out my Slug Traps.






Note the marigold plant bottom right. The sacrificial Marigolds are sort of working but I don't want to loose them either.
 


I put four slug traps in the 10' bed. After I set up the slug traps I sprayed all the plants with Neem Oil.





 

Trimmed the tomato plants to one stem.






I checked the beds last night and the slugs seemed to have disappeared. I did see a few slugs in one of the traps in the morning.

 
Maybe as a treat I'll feed the Beer soaked slugs to reds.






Installed the new ceiling fan.


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## ab canuck (May 25, 2017)

Looking Good.... I like the slug traps I may have to build some, Neem oil? What is it and where do you get it? I am in Canada and have never heard of it, as your using it I assume it is safe for all plants? Charlie


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## sqwib (May 25, 2017)

I never used pesticides or fertilizers before, I would just hope for the best but since I have been reading and researching a lot more, I want to up my game a bit.

I didn't even want to use neem oil, I hate the idea of the possibility of killing beneficial insects like lacewings and parasitic wasps, hopefully by brushing the plants a bit before spraying will let the good guys fly away.

This is my first year ever using a spray, Neem oil is supposed to....

well, Wiki explains it better than me...
[h3]*Pesticide*[/h3]
Formulations made of neem oil also find wide usage as a *biopesticide* for organic farming, as it repels a wide variety of pests including the mealy bug, beet armyworm, aphids, the cabbage worm, thrips, whiteflies, mites, fungus gnats, beetles, moth larvae, mushroom flies, leafminers, caterpillars, locust, nematodes and the Japanese beetle.[sup][4][/sup][sup][5][/sup] Neem oil is not known to be harmful to mammals, birds, earthworms or some beneficial insects such as butterflies, honeybees and ladybirds (ladybugs in US English) if it is not concentrated directly into their area of habitat or on their food source. It can be used as a household pesticide for ant, bedbug, cockroach, housefly, sand fly, snail, termite and mosquitoes both as repellent and larvicide.[sup][2][/sup] Neem oil also controls black spot, powdery mildew, anthracnose and rust fungi.

*Biopesticides*, a contraction of 'biological pesticides', include several types of pest management intervention: through predatory, parasitic, or chemical relationships. The term has been associated historically with biological control - and by implication - the manipulation of living organisms. Regulatory positions can be influenced by public perceptions, thus:

in the EU, biopesticides have been defined as "a form of pesticide based on micro-organisms or natural products".[sup][1][/sup]
the US EPA states that they "include naturally occurring substances that control pests (biochemical pesticides), microorganisms that control pests (microbial pesticides), and pesticidal substances produced by plants containing added genetic material (plant-incorporated protectants) or PIPs".
They are obtained from organisms including plants, bacteria and other microbes, fungi, nematodes, _etc_.[sup][2][/sup][sup][2][/sup][sup][3][/sup] They are often important components of integrated pest management (IPM) programmes, and have received much practical attention as substitutes to synthetic chemical plant protection products (PPPs).


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## ab canuck (May 26, 2017)

Good info, Thx. I will look around and ask some questions. Keep up the great work. Charlie


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## gary s (May 26, 2017)

I agree, I do not use pesticides either. . Back years ago (Can't remember his name) there was a guy who had a book on lawn, garden and pest care using natural stuff you probably have,

One thing was to mix dish detergent in a hose end sprayer and spray your shrubs, plants and veggies. I did this when I lived at the lake and it seemed to work fine. But I haven't used anything in years.

Gary


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## sqwib (May 26, 2017)

Spent several hours picking slugs off my plants last night, I go out, pluck them for a twenty minutes or so, go back inside for an hour then go back outside and repeat the process, the damage they are doing is pretty much unbelievable. 

Tried wrapping plants in copper tape and I have to call bullshit on the copper, Tried human hair too but they seemed to like that as well.

Going to keep handpicking in the evenings and mornings until the weather dries out a bit. Beer traps are working but there's just too many, most are about the size of a "Jimmies" ice cream topping and are hard to grab, Ive gotten to the point where I'm just mashing them with my fingers, little freaking bastages!

I refill the traps every evening and I ordered some "Sluggo". Talked with an exterminator and he said what I pretty much thought, IT NEEDS TO STOP RAINING!

I've never seen it so wet here and its supposed to keep up until Tuesday!


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## sqwib (Jun 30, 2017)

The sluggo worked.

*May 26th, 2017*
 
*Walkthrough*

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 *June 13th - 17th, 2017*
 

*My brother and I stopped at the "Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center" to check it out and was quite impressed, we pickup up some compost to try in our gardens and Moms garden.*


*Walkthrough*
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*Every year I let the tomato plants on the hill get out of control. Next year I'm going to purchase some Texas Tomato Cages.*

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*I have been using the "chop and drop" method with the oregano and letting some flower to attract more beneficial insects, so far it seems to be working pretty good.*
 
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*Getting plenty of "Buzz Pollinators"*
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*June 22nd, 2017*


*Walkthrough*
*I got tired of looking at the broccoli, nothing was happening so I tore them out and tossed in the compost heap. Pulled and composted the Snow Peas, but left the roots in the soil.*

*Cut back all the lettuces, I wanted to leave a few flower but they got so heavy that they couldn't support themselves. I thinned out the Bush Melons, when I planted them I thought the package said Bush Beans, wrong, they were watermelons.*

*Moved a couple of the plants around, weeded then planted some Crimson Clover.*
 

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*June 27th- 29th, 2017*
 
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*Loving my new Hori Hori Garden Knife.*

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## cornman (Jun 30, 2017)

Well done and a project to be proud of...I can't see on my device, where are you located?  We in south central PA could use a little rain.  No crazy storms, wind, downpours, just a nice evening of rain.  Great job!


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## ws dave (Jul 1, 2017)

Outstanding work Squibs! I love the walk throughs like that. Your place is fantastic. Well done.


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## ab canuck (Jul 1, 2017)

Wow that looks great Sqwib..... Truly a satisfying yard....


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## sqwib (Jul 13, 2017)

Thanks guys, quick update.

*June 30th, 2017** - July 13th, 2017*
*I fertilized the beds with some 10-10-10 and some lime. In the future I am hoping to use cover crops and compost to build the soil without the use of any fertilizers. The reason I am using fertz this year is because it is the 2nd year with a few of my Hugel beds and the first year with the newest bed. I'm figuring they should stop pulling nitrogen around the third season.*


 

*A few weeks ago I picked up some compost from the recycle center and tossed in Moms garden and my garden. The compost looks good and 0 weeds so I picked up some more compost Saturday.*
 

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*July 2nd, 2017*
 
*"Birdproofing" the Bar Roof.*
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*Last week I repainted the bar stools, today my better half and I reupholstered the outdoor bar stools adding some additional foam. *

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*I installed some RGB lights a few weeks ago, a few more tweaks and the bar area is done then I need to re-stain the deck and do some minor repairs.*
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*Laura picked up some new seat cushions, a new patio umbrella and was gifted the blue hurricane lamp. All the deck lights were swapped out with new LED bulbs.*
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*Not much going on in the garden, picked another zucchini, a few Box Car willies and a couple Corno Di Toro Gallo peppers for some skewers and tossed some Blood Meal in the gardens.*
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*The frog in the Back pond is getting bigger, must be all those skeeters.*

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*July 12th.*
 

*The back pond plants are doing well, I just planted some Quuen Annes Lace in the back corner to fill in a void, I get this weird type grass that grows there. The QAL is struggling a bit from transplant shock, hopefully it will come back next year.*
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*Indigo Blueberries Tomato, the two on the left are ripe the other one is not ripe but was picked for comparison. These are OK but was more of a novelty for me, the flavor is OK, however with my limited space I am sure I can find something more to my liking to fit this area. The plant appears to be struggling but still producing. If it continue to struggle it will be terminated. *
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*Box Car Willie in the first year hugelkultur bed. I really like these tomatoes, they are a good looking tomato, they ripen to a bright red, very hardy and prolific, great flavor, fairly thin skin, perfect for slicing for sandwiches. *
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*this is the same cluster of tomatoes as above 12 days earlier.*
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*Black Beauty Eggplants, these plants are doing well again this year, especially in the raised beds om the hill the one in the 2 year Hugelkultur bed has a few fruits also, the 2 in the 1 year Hugelkultur bed has blossoms but no fruit yet. Its hard to believe that I struggled with these plants quite a few years ago. The fruit to the right will be left for seeds and picked at the end of the season.*
 
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*These are the same two as above a week earlier.*
 
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*Corno Di Toro Giallo, this one is in the 2nd year Hugel bed and is doing fairly well this pepper is earmarked for seeds.*
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*Here is another plant in my Aquaponics veggie garden, they seem to like it here.*
 
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*This is my 2nd time growing Poblanos in the veggie filter and they seem to like it here as well. I usually stick a tomato spike in the planter earlyin the season and drop a small handful of 10-10-10 or Osmocote on top of the soil three times in the season. I am very careful about the fertz due to the Koi, frogs and Mosquito fish in the pond*
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*The California Wonder in the Raised bed is producing.*
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*Patio Princess.*
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*Sprite*
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*Celebrities.*
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*Sunflowers are happy*
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*Vertical gardens are doing well.*
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*The marigolds have exploded everywhere.*
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*Brandywine Reds.*
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*Brandywine red.*
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*There's no signs of anything near ripening on the Abe Lincolns, Cherokee purples and Brandywine reds. We have been enjoying the Box Car Willies, Celebrities, Patio Princess and Sprite tomatoes for a few weeks.*


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## gary s (Jul 13, 2017)

Looks Fantastic, you can tell you put a lot of work into it.

All of my stuff is done except for Okra and a second round of beans

Gary


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## dcarch (Jul 13, 2017)

I have two identical tomato plots, each about 4' x 24'. On one I used lots of compost free from the town recycling center. On the other I used kitchen scraps I had collected during winter. The scraps included veggies, meat, fat and bones.

I planted essentially identical tomatoes on both, and the spacing of plants are also the same.

I am really amazed that the plot using kitchen scraps are about 1/3 taller, 2x more dense. As a matter of fact, the plants are so dense that the bees can't find the blossoms to pollinate, and I can't find the tomatoes behind the leaves.

dcarch


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## sqwib (Jul 13, 2017)

dcarch said:


> I have two identical tomato plots, each about 4' x 24'. On one I used lots of compost free from the town recycling center. On the other I used kitchen scraps I had collected during winter. The scraps included veggies, meat, fat and bones.
> 
> I planted essentially identical tomatoes on both, and the spacing of plants are also the same.
> 
> ...


That makes total sense and is no surprise, the compost is not a replacement for nutrients, you will get a wider variety of nutrients from the kitchen scraps. people don't realize they're tossing out gold.

How did you compost your Meat, fat and bones, direct bury in the garden? Anaerobic composting?

I have been saving my bones for bonemeal I will be making this fall.


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## sqwib (Jul 13, 2017)

gary s said:


> Looks Fantastic, you can tell you put a lot of work into it.
> 
> All of my stuff is done except for Okra and a second round of beans
> 
> Gary


Zone 8 and all your stuff is done already, this blows my mind.

I'll be direct sowing some Broccoli this week and maybe some Snow Peas.


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## sqwib (Jul 13, 2017)

Check out my new Notekeeping, I usually use evernote but I'm being strongarmed to buy a premium membership. 













Google Keep.jpg



__ sqwib
__ Jul 13, 2017


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## dcarch (Jul 13, 2017)

SQWIB said:


> That makes total sense and is no surprise, the compost is not a replacement for nutrients, you will get a wider variety of nutrients from the kitchen scraps. people don't realize they're tossing out gold.
> 
> How did you compost your Meat, fat and bones, direct bury in the garden? Anaerobic composting?
> 
> I have been saving my bones for bonemeal I will be making this fall.


Well, it's a pain for a lazy guy like me to have to bag and take out kitchen garbage to be picked up. Instead, all kitchen scraps, veggies, fat, meat, bones, etc. go into a covered bucket on the kitchen counter. When it's full, the bucket empties out in a big covered garbage can in the yard. Because it's cold outside, the stuff does not really compost. Smells, but no flies. 

Spring comes, all stuff in the garbage can gets tilled into the soil. Larger bones get chopped like this:

Me pulverizing big bones.



dcarch


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## sqwib (Jul 13, 2017)

dcarch said:


> Well, it's a pain for a lazy guy like me to have to bag and take out kitchen garbage to be picked up. Instead, all kitchen scraps, veggies, fat, meat, bones, etc. go into a covered bucket on the kitchen counter. When it's full, the bucket empties out in a big covered garbage can in the yard. Because it's cold outside, the stuff does not really compost. Smells, but no flies.
> 
> Spring comes, all stuff in the garbage can gets tilled into the soil. Larger bones get chopped like this:
> 
> ...



LOL! That dam thing looked possessed

I keep a container for scraps in the kitchen then dump in a 5 gallon bucket on the deck, then when I'm not feeling lazy, I dump it in the composter on the back hill.

I'm gonna cook my bones in the fall with the schwenker then bust up and add to the compost heap. Gives me a reason to build a fire and drink some shine.

My daughter has two rabbits and a chinchilla, and I gave her hell the other day because she kept cleaning the cages and dumping in the trash, can you believe it? Free fertilizer in the trash.


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## gary s (Jul 13, 2017)

SQWIB said:


> Zone 8 and all your stuff is done already, this blows my mind.
> 
> I'll be direct sowing some Broccoli this week and maybe some Snow Peas.


I fibbed a little, we are still getting Tomatoes and Cucumbers every day But they are winding down.

I also rolled the dice and planted early this year and It payed off.

We will get plenty of veggies from the neighbors who planted way after I did.

Gary


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## ws dave (Jul 13, 2017)

Thanks for the tour Squibs, I love that kind of stuff! Man your bar is gorgeous with the matching trim and bar stools. That looks really sharp with the lighting you have. Speaking of lights I love the new patio lights. They are perfect for the space and I love the pattern they throw. Nicely done!I won't even comment on the veggies because those are obviously amazing. I'm struggling to grow a couple lousy tomatoes here.


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## sqwib (Jul 14, 2017)

Stuffed Poblanos, Corno Di Toro Giallo and Jalapeno for dinner.













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__ Jul 14, 2017


















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__ Jul 14, 2017






I definitely wont be growing the Black Vernissage next year, I really do not like these at all.

I may try making a sauce or sun-dried tomatoes out of them.













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__ Jul 14, 2017


















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__ Jul 14, 2017


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## ab canuck (Jul 14, 2017)

Mmmmm Mmmmm that sounds great....


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## sqwib (Jul 17, 2017)

*Garden Frittata*​



​
Chives
Eggs
Teaspoon Seasoned salt
Three Cheeses
Broccoli
Tomatoes
Lactaid Milk
Basil

Butter (for pan)
I eyeball this recipe but average 5-6 eggs to 1/2 cup of milk. This easily serves my family of 5. Veggies are usually leftovers that I try to recycle at the end of the week.
Whisk the eggs and milk, add all of your ingredients but the Basil, stir real good.






 
Heat skillet on low heat and butter real well, make sure to get up the sides on the skillet a bit. Dump the mix into the skillet, stirring to distribute ingredients evenly.





Once sides start to firm up, 7-9 minutes, turn broiler on low and place under broiler till browned 7-9 minutes. finely chop basil/Parsley and sprinkle on top, serve.


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## ab canuck (Jul 17, 2017)

That looks wonderful... Makes me hungry.... Point


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## sqwib (Jul 19, 2017)

*July 15th - 18th, 2017*
 





 






My sunpatients have never grown this big. The drip irrigation I put in seems to be working well.






I have the entire front lower yard on a drip line with the exception of the tree.






I picked my first Brandywine Red of the season, (Box Car Willie on the left)





I also got my first Abraham Lincoln picked, It seems that the AL are prone to splitting, sorry the photo I took was too blurry to post.
 

The most exciting and rewarding feeling I get from gardening is when I pick my first Eggplant, well other than seeing everything in my garden doing so well knowing it was all planted from seed!

This will be dinner tonight. I do have another that was ready a week ago but that will stay on the plant so the seeds can mature for harvesting. I will now be driving Laura nuts with all of the eggplant recipes I will be asking her to make, thank goodness she likes eggplant too!
 






Sitting by the back pond i realized the lights by the back fence weren't working.





 


Now how did he get a tomato






Leopard slug, This guy was huge, thats not a dime next to him its a quarter. and I'm a bit pissed that I offed 2 of them and found them to be beneficial.





Anyhow there were few up on the hill that big, I got the lighting working and learned a few valuable things... Don't off anything without researching it and DON'T wear socks ONLY on that hill!!!


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## sqwib (Jul 19, 2017)

Saturday I grabbed another Queen Annes Lace for the pond and dug up a few Blackberry plants I found in a parking lot at the industrial park. These things were growing through asphalt and there was barely any soil it was all shale and rock.
 





 


I don't have much hope for this one.






Just to make sure it's a Blackberry plant I ate a few!!




 






Hopefully this one will make it. There was Blueberry plant there but it has never bloomed.


----------



## sqwib (Jul 20, 2017)

Saturday Sam painted underneath the Bar Roof on the deck, thank you Sam , I hate painting and just couldn't do it, it took her all day, anyhow she said, "We need a new ceiling fan". So as she was painting in the 90° heat, I went down to the Air- Conditioned Mancave, popped on Netflix and ordered a new fan.

I Installed the ceiling fan last night and Sam loves it. I think it looks good too!










 

This fan has paid for itself, considering its not an outdoor fan and must be 10 years old, it still worked but was looking a bit nasty.





The tomatoes are starting to come off quicker and I keep chopping the basil. I actually sent a box of Basil to my wife's work for some of her co-workers.

I have one basil plant that smells a lot like anise, I am letting this go to seed to harvest the-seeds, I thought it smelled really interesting.

Brandywine Red left and my first Cherokee Purple.
*


*


----------



## gary s (Jul 20, 2017)

Nice my friend.  Looks like a lot of canning is about to take place at your house.

Gary


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## sqwib (Jul 24, 2017)

*July 21st, 2017 -  July 23rd, 2017*
 


Brandywine red, these are doing real well this year, there is a little bit of splitting at the tops.





 






Wing nite with Stephen on the deck during a monsoon lol.




 




 





 


Starting to clear up.





The garden is getting near its peak and is getting a bit out of control, I really need to get in there and try to clean it up a bit.







I stopped at the recycle center Saturday morning and picked up some more compost then stopped over Moms and topped off her Hugelkultur bed and planted some broccoli, I also picked up another flat cut piece of wood. I needed a path in front of the new Hugelkultur beds and figured this would be nice for a few years before it rotted out, plus I save on buying mulch!




 





 


The Cherokee purples are doing well, I just need to pick them a tad earlier, they develop splits on the top and the ants are getting in the splits. I have been freezing the split maters and will roast them later for different things.





 


Dinner Last night, Brandywine Margherita Pizza.




 





 


Eggplant, Green Pepper, Black Olive, Onion, Mushroom Pizza.


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## ab canuck (Jul 24, 2017)

Awesome garden And love the Pizza.... Point for sure....


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## sqwib (Aug 21, 2017)

_July 26th, 2016_

It has been a while since I have updated this page, I have been extremely busy and have had hardly any time for gardening. I'll do a quick recap.


Enjoying a break in the heat wave.





_July 27th, 2016_


My leek garden is doing well






I also can't get over the flowers, I guess they really like the drip irrigation I installed.






I stopped at the trailer to do some maintenance and battle some ants For dinner I enjoyed some stuffed peppers, fried eggplant, sausage, some happy juice a few beers and banana bread for dessert.





_July 28th, 2017_

Well, I found out why my Zucchini wasn't producing, nasty little [email protected]!




 




 





_July 29th, 2017_
Started a fresh batch of Sun-Dried tomatoes







This is a rogue Matts Wild Cherry, the one I grew from seed died, I think. It's kinda hard to tell because it is growing like a weed. Tasty Little buggers, I think these and sweet 100's are my wife's favorites.






And something for dinner!





_August 4th, 2017_


Our company moved, we done the move in three days.





_August 6th, 2017_

We went on vacation to OC MD. for a week.






 


Nature always finds a way.






Harvested a bunch of maters and eggplant to take with us, ended up roasting most of the maters and we really enjoyed the eggplant and stuffed poblanos.




 






When we got home I unpacked and headed out to the garden to see what was going on, my neighbor had stopped in and picked some maters to head to Wildwood for a few days while we were on vacation. I marked what not to take.





I picked mostly tomatoes I have some poblanos and bells to pick but needed to get the maters picked right away, I ended up tossing a dozen or so. I had my better half run a bunch to the neighbors.





 





 


Spot the critter







 
Many moons ago, I had a butterfly bush planted next to the Butterfly House. The bush got very leggy and Gnarly so I removed it, this has to be 10 years ago. Anyhow I found this growing in the same spot, I'm pretty sure it is a Butterfly Bush. I wonder if there were some dormant seeds or something that got kicked up when I redid this garden?





 


The Rosemary is doing great.






Harvesting some Dill Seed, once all the heads start browning I'll cut back the dill.






Leek garden is doing great, hopefully I'll have plenty for some Leek Soup in September.






The other day I came home and noticed this plant in the center nearly died, I just thought it was done for the season, later I realized I turned off the water after I used the hose, how long ago? Who knows. Anyhow I remedied the problem.




 






The garden towers are doing as well as can be expected.




 






The pond plants are doing well, so are the Ghost peppers and Tabasco peppers, the Bee Balm has been shaded out of existence.






This year  I have been roasting a lot of tomatoes to freeze.






These were roasted near 5 hours at 275°F, down the shore I was roasting at 300° for three hours, I like the results of the latter better.







Dinner










*August 21st, 2017*


This weekend was productive, as far as gardening goes.
 

Enjoyed a bit of Rain. Best time to weed!



A Spice bush Swallowtail?, enjoying my vertical tower.



The Koi are happy and the Poblanos in the pond are producing nicely.


I thinned out the Hugelkultur beds and planted some Bush Beans, Broccoli and Lettuce. Thinned out the Zucchini Air pots and replanted some more Zukes, I'm going to order some BTK to try to keep the SVB off the plant.





The Marigolds were taking over, I thinned them out and just let a few hang over the sides.





Removed the Patio Princess and Sprite from the front planters and planted some Bush Beans, the Patio Princess was done producing and the sprite wasn't looking good and wasn't worth keeping.

Corno Di Toro Giallo





Ruby Red Bell Pepper






Some Black Beauty Eggplants







 
Harvested most of my seeds for next year.

Made 10 pounds of Chili, one sweet and one sweet and spicy. Roasted some tomatoes for the chili, they were mostly Black Vernisssage.





















Harvested some Dill Seed




 
Hooked up a pond pump to my rain barrel to water the plants


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## gary s (Aug 21, 2017)

Great Pics my Friend. It is obvious that you have spent a lot of time and care on your beautiful yard and garden.

Loved all your pics, always look forward to your postings.














Gary


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## ab canuck (Aug 22, 2017)

I am still thinking this is a project of time and Beauty!!!! Great job....


----------



## sqwib (Aug 23, 2017)

Thanks guys, it does get addictive.

I think I'm gonna try growing a garden on my roof next lol.

Last Nights Dinner.

Pot Roast beef, eggplant , mater sandwich with barbecue sauce and a side of Old Bay Eggplant Fries.


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## sqwib (Aug 24, 2017)

_*August 22, 2017*_


Tonight was an exciting night for my daughter at the Phillies Game, no she didn't catch a 'Foul Ball', something much more exciting, she rescued a Peregrine Falcon at Citizens bank Park.





_*August 23rd, 2017*_

Rosemary Exploded





Got home early so started dinner.















Today Amanda rescues yet another critter, a Great Egret. I have to laugh, every time I sit down to dinner, go on the deck, in the basement or in the yard, I am being stared down by Screech Owls, Morning Doves, Snakes, Gray Squirrels, Flying Squirrels, Raccoons, Canadian geese, Pheasants, Rabbits, Turtles or some type of critter. She gets calls from the police, environmental centers and wildlife officers all the time. She works at the Pennypack Environmental Center and some animals are brought there because they know she is a Volunteer at the AARK Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center and will take them there when she can.
The dogs don't know what to think when she brings these rescues home.





_*August 24th, 2017*_

This morning was a little cold for this guy, just below 60°, I gave him a little pat to see if he was alive, yep still alive but moving very slowly.


----------



## dcarch (Aug 24, 2017)

We can probably share many garden ideas.

For instance:

My invisible tomato staking system.

dcarch













no stakes 2.jpg



__ dcarch
__ Aug 24, 2017


















no stakes.JPG



__ dcarch
__ Aug 24, 2017


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## gary s (Aug 24, 2017)

More great Pictures, and such a great thing to rescue animals 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Gary


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## sqwib (Sep 11, 2017)

*August 25th, 2017 - September 5th, 2017*

I was jonesing to build another Raises Hugelkultur Bed on the patio, but have been putting it off for a while, because it just didn't feel right, if that makes sense.
Anyhow I threw one together and it seems a bit overwhelming of the patio. I'm gonna give it a season or two and see if it should stay or go.

Since I was cutting back some of my shrubs I asked the neighbor if he wanted me to hack his stuff back. It's so overgrown you can barely get into his back yard and he has some large silver maple trees in there that gotta come out.

After the bed was built I removed the pavers underneath but didn't cut the other pavers, just in case I decide to take the new bed out.

I lined the bottom with Magnolia stumps and on top of that some thin cut Ash logs and then a boat load of Rose of Sharon cuttings, followed by a little of my clay soil, the contents of a planter that contained, peat, sand compost and manure then topped off with compost. In an effort to make it look a Little respectable, I tossed in some flowers and a basil plant then planted some Kale and Spinach.





 





I burnt the a lot of the heavy trimmings and this will be used for Bio Char and potash, I let the fire burn until everything was at coals and then sprayed with a hose.

I usually burn the evergreen stuff, weeds and tomato plants, everything else gets composted. A lot of the yew needles were used as a pathway, first I layered cardboard then the  trimmings then cardboard and mulch will be added in the fall, my hope is that the yew needles are allelopathic.

























 
I added a fridge to my smoking area, love it. My beer would always get warm while I was doing my yard work now it is ice cold.

















 
I planted some Garlic cloves.

My Jalapenos in the Vertical Tower are really producing rather well.






I'm very happy with my Leek Garden out front, I may make this a tad bigger next season.






Moving day for my daughter, we stopped at Uno's to grab a bite after we got her moved in.





 

Trimmed the Black Vernissage tomato plant, its way out of control. I 'll make some Roasted tomatoes out of this, I may smoke them too.






Welcomed Guest





I had a few Goldfinches making their rounds on the sunflowers

We were laughing as we were listening to the bullfrogs in the pond and watching the Goldflinches tossing sunflower seeds everywhere.

_September 5th, 2017_






 
Been adding to my Tabasco sauce again this year.






 
Found this Hornworm in the garden, my daughter took it as a little to do project.





 

Tore out my Black Vernissage and put in some Bio-char, rabbit manure and old potting mix from one of my Air Pruning Pots.






Another critter found







 
Planted some Crimson Clover and Oats. I plan on doing a section at a time as the Bio-Char and Rabbit manure come available.





 

Picked some peppers from the pond and Hugelkultur beds.





 







 
Roasted some Tomatoes and peppers









 


Picked up some more compost and topped off Moms Hugelkultur bed and some of my beds.






Grabbed some wood too!






Picked up 20 bags of mulch and cleaned up my pathway in front of the Hugelkultur beds.





















 
Transplanted the Calla Lilies, they were taking over the Herb Garden.





And got some smoking and cooking done. The cooking stuff was posted already.















I'm behind on this page, hopefully I can get caught up this week


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## gary s (Sep 11, 2017)

Beautiful, Just Beautiful  everything looks great







Gary


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## sqwib (Sep 12, 2017)

_September 9th, 2017_

Leopard slug.





Started staining the Retaining wall and top pieces for the wall and fence.











Boards are flipped and stained on the other side.






The irises took over the pond and were really messing with the filters so I had no alternative but to tear them out, I'm still debating on what to do with the pond.















 
Replaced most of the rubber hoses with silicone hoses, the rubber ones always end up splitting on me.






Decided to put some of the plants back, had to go swimming. I think I am going to remove the shrub in the back before it is too late.






My plan is to make a ledge from the pond to the wall and place some attractive planters with calla lilies and add some metal wall art. I'll make the planters into Sub Irrigated Planters that are constantly fed by the pond.






I need to thin out the irises in the back pond and pull the ivy as well as a bit of weeding. The Tabasco and Ghost Chili peppers are kicking butt.











Eastern Black Swallowtail. There are about half a dozen scattered through the garden.






Sam laying cardboard for a weed barrier.






The family helping lay out the cardboard and mulch.





Sam and Laura staining the new Hugelkultur bed.










Since everyone is helping, I can take a break.





Mulch is finished.






Top plate is installed.






Two more turtle rescues, these will be let go in a week or two. (Hey what are you two doing?)





Some stuff from the Garden. Eggplant, Chives, Jalapenos, Cherokee purple. (Grilled Sirloin with Tomato and feta, Sweet potato and brown sugar, Fried Eggplant, Buffalo Wing ABT, Potato pancake).





One hungry family.

*


*


----------



## sqwib (Sep 19, 2017)

dcarch said:


> We can probably share many garden ideas.
> 
> For instance:
> 
> ...


Well... lets see it!


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## sqwib (Sep 20, 2017)

September 9th, 2017

Leopard slug.





Started staining the Retaining wall and top pieces for the wall and fence.











Boards are flipped and stained on the other side.






The irises took over the pond and were really messing with the filters so I had no alternative but to tear them out, I'm still debating on what to do with the pond.















 
Replaced most of the rubber hoses with silicone hoses, the rubber ones always end up splitting on me.







Decided to put some of the plants back, had to go swimming. I think I am going to remove the shrub in the back before it is too late.







My original plan was to make a Sub Irrigated Planter that is constantly fed by the pond that is filled with calla lilies, and add some metal wall art.

Went back a few days later, pulled all of the Water Lilies, cleaned and fed them and placed back in the pond.






I still need to thin out the irises in the back pond and pull the ivy as well as a bit of weeding. The Tabasco and Ghost Chili peppers are kicking butt.











Eastern Black Swallowtail. There are about half a dozen scattered through the garden.






Sam laying cardboard for a weed barrier.






The family helping lay out the cardboard and mulch.





Sam and Laura staining the new Hugelkultur bed.










Since everyone is helping, I can take a break.





Mulch is finished.






Top plate is installed.






Two more turtle rescues, these will be let go in a week or two. (Hey what are you two doing?)





Some stuff from the Garden. Eggplant, Chives, Jalapenos, Cherokee purple. (Grilled Sirloin with Tomato and feta, Sweet potato and brown sugar, Fried Eggplant, Buffalo Wing ABT, Potato pancake).





One hungry family.






More from the garden






Some of my eggplants are struggling but some have set fruit and are still flowering.

Moms eggplants wont quit, this is a first year Hugelkultur bed I have no idea why these things have exploded, they have been supplying the neighbors with eggplant off of these two plants, I started these seedlings the same time I done mine and my plants look pathetic.











September 17th, 2017

Well it's about that time of year, the garden is past its peak and some hard choices for the garden need to be made, this is a melancholy time for me. Some fall crops have been planted and some plants are being pulled here and there. I guess I shouldn't be too sad, after all, I did have a great growing season. More Pond work needs to be done also.

 
Tore out the Laurel behind the pond and planted Calla Lilies. Hopefully the Flowers will take hold and grow in nice next year, it looks so bare!





Mom wanted to find a new home for her Koi, it was getting too big for her pond.







My first frost is in less than 4 weeks.

The tomatoes have slowed production with the exception of the Matts Wild Cherry, Celebrity and Box Car Willie, the BCW will not stop producing and "0" splits thus far. I do have quite a few green tomatoes and some random flowers. My Cherokee purples split and become bug infested while they're still mostly green, I'll never grow them again, I threw out almost every CP tomato the last month.
 

My peppers plants are doing real well;

The Jalapeno is on its third huge harvest (one plant). I may try to overwinter this guy.







The green (California Wonders) and Ruby Red bells fizzled out. I still have a few peppers that need to be picked.

Poblanos, Anaheim and Corno Di Toro Gillo still have plenty of fruit and some Poblanos and Anaheims are ripening to red, some will be roasted, peeled, smoked and dried, others may be stuffed.












The Corno Di Toro Giallo in the side Hugelkultur bed (2nd season Hugelkultur) is so loaded with peppers that I had to secure it to the trellis.







The ghost chili's are starting to ripen as well as the Tabascos. The Tabascos go into my sauce jar thats on its second year resting on charred oak. The ghost Chili's will be smoked and made into a Ghost Chili Salt.







The flowers out front look healthy, I never did get the "sunpatient" in the center to recover completely. The marigolds are doing great.







I don't know what I did to this Eggplant Plant but I couldn't bear to watch it suffer anymore so I tore it out and composted it, Thee were about 5 eggplants on it but only one was salvageable. I cut back the other two a few days ago and will let it go another week.







The Eggplant Plants in the Hugelkultur beds still look OK and have plenty of flowers but I don't see any fruit yet. This one looks a little bit nutrient deficient than the on in the Side Hugelkultur bed.





 
Side Hugelkultur bed






Rosemary is looking great.







The asparagus is going nuts, this is my 2nd year of not harvesting, next year I will harvest it a lot more.







The sunpatients in the upper veggie filter still look great.







I had a few eggplants that I dehydrated and made some flour to try in some flatbread recipes.












I fear my eggplant supply is done for the year, so we made a few Eggplant Dishes.






Yes, there's BACON in there!













20170919105.jpg



__ sqwib
__ Sep 20, 2017


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## gary s (Sep 20, 2017)

Everything looks absolutely Beautiful  Best yard I have seen Hands down. Love all the great pics.

Points for everything !!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I got my Fall garden planted last week. The Bush Beans, Snap Peas, Garlic and turnips are popping up already, waiting on the Lettuce, Spinach and Carrots.

Great Job my friend I sure am Jealous 

Gary


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## sqwib (Sep 21, 2017)

gary s said:


> Everything looks absolutely Beautiful  Best yard I have seen Hands down. Love all the great pics.
> 
> Points for everything !!
> 
> ...


Awesome, I'm gonna stop by there.

My beans never come up but I do have some Kale, Romaine and struggling Broccoli growing. Oh yeah I'm trying my luck at another Zucchini.

Some of my maters have bounced back as well as the eggplants on the hill. All my peppers but the Bells are doing great.


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## sqwib (Oct 18, 2017)

Wow, its been a while since I posted on this thread...


*September 22nd, 2017*

Was in garden mode after work today and decided to clean out one of the beds. I left one eggplant and the marigolds, the eggplant had a couple possible fruits on them.







Pulled the leeks for a buddy, they were puny but he didn't care. Gave him a bunch of Cherokee purples, celebrities, Box Car Willies, some basil, and some rosemary. I kept a few leeks for dinner. I had given a few of the CP's earlier to a neighbor












The Leeks in the Air Pruning Pot will be pulled next, Ill leave the leeks in the ground go till late October early November. I still have another pot of leeks that will be harvested sooner.







The Zucchini plant is doing well, I need to hit it with some BTK. I never grew Zucchini in the fall, we will see what happens.







Cut back the Raspberry and planted some more Garlic.






Time to play in the dirt, it is really nice being able to garden and not need a jackhammer. The Hori Hori wasn't even needed. Tore out most of the Oregano and left a little in each corner for next years pollinators.







The compost bin was full, it was actually about a foot higher a few weeks ago and the lid was just floating on top, it dropped quite a bit the last few weeks but I needed to make more room for the end of the season cleanup.







I pulled about 4 bucket loads and top dressed the top of the upper retaining wall, I'm concentrating on building the soil up there especially the ends because I plan to plant Asparagus beans and Spaghetti squash next year on either side.







I really need to do something with the Ghost Chili's, I'm thinking on drying a few and making a Ghost Chili salt.







The Tabasco and the ghost chili plant are really doing well here, I'll probably try a Serrano in place of the Ghost Chili next year.







I'll also space them a bit better and try not to shade out my Bee Balm. I also need to cut back the iris.






Since I was in garden mode I decided to have a garden dinner.






Thickened with Eggplant Flour









*
September 24th, - 26th, 2017
*

Made some Horseradish and Horsey Mustard for a buddy and myself.

















Made some Datil Pepper salt and Ghost Chili Salt






Got a chance to try the eggplant flour on some flatbread pizzas, I used it 7 parts wheat one part eggplant flour, I'll try doubling the EP Flour next time 6 to 2, and go from there.
















Had to pull a few of my leeks, the neighbor trampled them.






Prepping an area for some Phlox Transplants






Harvested some peppers and played a little.



























Since I had the smoker going, I Roasted, Smoked and dried some Poblanos






Since I removed the Laurel, the Koi pond area is now so bare, I wanted to dress it up a bit so I ordered some fake flowers and topped my Wendy filter. I think it looks good, better than the blue anyway, and most importantly, Laura likes it.

Before






After






Eggplant from moms Hugelkultur bed, Her eggplants are still putting out fruit, this guy was peeled, diced, blanched and dehydrated for winter addiction needs.






Prepped a third area to plant GARLIC, waiting for garlic to sprout.






Strawberries are still spitting out some fruit here and there, just enough to enjoy a treat when in the yard and to share with the turtles.






Sprayed the Zucchini and Broccoli with some BTK and put out some "Sluggo Plus"

Planted some Oat seeds and covered with cardboard to keep the birds off of them, they were up in three days. I'll be tossing down some more Crimson Clover as well. Prepped the garden area by the back fence with a load of compost and some rabbit dung. I really need to suck it up and pull the eggplant plant.







I had to get away from the garden for a few days, I was starting to obsess over everything. Saturday we walked at Challenge Grove Park in NJ for "Energy For Life Walkathon" to benefit United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation.

Nice Park.








Stopped at my Daughters Fall festival at the PennyPack Environmental center and Celebrated my SIL's birthday as well as mine with the family. It was actually nice to get away from the gardening.





The rest of this week I'm just putzing around a bit in the yard but will be away this weekend, I still feel I need a break from the gardening, hopefully this weekend will do the trick!
Its been high 80's most of the week with mid 80's nights, this morning it was 50° so I guess thats it, anyhow here is a quick walk through of whats going on.


----------



## sqwib (Oct 18, 2017)

*
September 28th, 2017
*
Garlic first and 2nd planting.

_August 27th_







_September 22nd_






Oats in one of the raised beds on the hill, they're not even a week old yet, covering in cardboard the first three days really helps.







The other raised bed still has a few Cherokee purple plants that seem to be doing pretty good, the tomatoes are actually coming off less cracked, split and bug infested. Maybe due to a lot less rain?







Ghost Chili's and Tabascos are doing great, the entire pond area is doing great, I'll have to cut back the irises this year.













Front pond, the Poblanos, Corno Di Tori Giallo and Ruby Red peppers are still producing. The plants are definitely deficient in something here, but this is a balancing act between the nutrient, plants and fish. The plants are mainly there to clean the water, the veggies that are harvested are a bonus.







Asparagus







Side Hugelkultur bed.







Zucchini test, direct sowed August 21st, next year if I have issues with the SVB and the Btk does not work, I'll try planting zucchini late July. I have sprayed this twice with Btk and will continue for another week, but I don't think that the Squash Vine Borer is active this time of year.







Side hugelkultur bed, year 2.







Backyard hugelkultur bed, left side year 2 (section with patio), right half year 1, (section with mulch). Got some romaine in the 2 year Hugelkultur bed. Have some struggling broccoli in the 1st year Hugelkultur bed.
*



*

Eggplants in the first year Hugelkultur bed (mulch section). I wouldn't bet on these getting any bigger than a baseball, but we shall see. The eggplant plant on the hill is getting flowers but no fruit. The plant in the side Hugelkultur bed have quite few flowers and may have a few eggplants forming.















*October 1st, 2017
*

Zucchini has some flowers, I'll start hand pollinating this week.
*




*

Got some pond work done I decided to cut the iris back completely so I had to go in, it was getting out of hand, it should come back next season. Since I went swimming I decided to work on the Koi pond as well, I just stirred up the bottom, picked out some pavers that had fallen in and replaced the filter sponges with a coarser sponge. The filters were clogging up almost every third day.
*




*

Transplanted a bunch of Phlox.






Planted the rest of my Oats and some of my Crimson Clover. I really need to find a supplier for oats and get 10 pound bags.
*


*



I'm still rooting for these guys












My romaine is finally perking up, somewhat.








I might as well give up on broccoli, this is my best plant.







Clover is growing nicely.







Playing with my peppers.






*


*

The Tabascos are going on year two, started these summer of 2016, these are resting on charred oak and I will try some fall of 2018 to see if it is ready for processing.







Made some bio-char burning a lot of the marigolds, some cardboard, tomato plants, sunflowers, some old tree trimmings, woody plant stems, weeds, dog poo, and some pallets. I got about 2.5 five gallon buckets, I'll be adding some urea to the 5 gallon buckets and then topping the one raised bed on the hill or dumping in the compost heap. This stuff is great for amending clay soil but I don't think it does much good in my Hugelkultur beds due to the healthy soil, none the less I add some here and there and also will add ash.







Pulled my Corno Di Toro Giallo pepper plant to make room for the garlic. This thing was so heavy with peppers that it completely toppled over when I removed the support.







I'll try stuffing these this week and see how they are.







Planting the garlic

















The eggplant plants in the Hugelkultur beds are doing well but the eggplants are growing slowly, I am not holding my breath for a late harvest, but I'm curious how far these guys will get.












The side Hugelkultur bed is doing real well and noticed a few eggplants on this plant as well.








This Jalapeno Pepper plant in the Vertical Garden is simply amazing, this will be my 4th harvest this year, I need to make sure and keep picking the peppers next year to promote new peppers. The first two harvests were about 18 each, the third was a dozen, looks like I'll have another 18 coming off in a bit.







Time to shut down the veggie filter. The cover to the veggie filter was looking a little weathered, so I sanded and stained it.













The pepper plants in the Koi ponds veggie filter are DEFINITELY finished.







Impatients are still looking good so I need to bypass the overflow. The soil is recycled into the compost bin with the plants The pots, saucers and fabric are stored away.







Bypassing the lower veggie filter to drain directly into the pond. Oh crap, just noticed in this picture that Laura stuck a fall decoration in the upper veggie filter, I hope she didn't tear the liner.







Pond work always requires a beer







Had to catch a frog that insisted on staying in the veggie filter, I called Amanda out to get him, she loves that kinda stuff. The weather is still fairly warm so technically I could have removed the stuff from the filter, placed on the cover and kept it running. There... all finished, now Laura can decorate this area with her festive fall stuff.







Planted a few Sunchokes on the upper hill. Planted two varieties of spinach and will let them go through the winter, I'm curious if they'll make it.







Played with the Swallowtails for a bit, easily two dozen on this one plant.


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## sqwib (Oct 18, 2017)

_*October 10th, 2017*_

Dam... Look at my parsley lol.






The everlasting gobstopper jalapeno pepper plant, I'll pickle a lot of these and make some Taco ABT's











Corno Di Toro Giallo, they really love this Hugelkultur bed.







Oats and Crimson clover are doing well, pulled the eggplant plant and diced the fruit up for my Saturday Garden Jambalaya. The marigold blows my mind, this was cut back twice.












The Box Car Willie still putting out red tomatoes, I got my first tomato off of this plant and it looks like I'm gonna get my last from it too.







The rest of the eggplant plants will be pulled Saturday.







The Composter is kicking @ss. My compost bin was full when I poured this 2nd batch of trub on it, a few days later it dropped a foot, must be the yeast.


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## sqwib (Oct 23, 2017)

*October 23rd, 2017

Well, I did my end of year cleanup this weekend and I made another batch of Bio-Char, using, pallets, cardboard, junk mail, documents, dog poo (only what was collected this week), Bones, woodsy plant trimmings, some hardwoods and the tomato plants.
I tore out all the summer veggies with the exception of a Box Car Willie tomato plant, a celebrity, Matts Wild Cherry and a Corno Di Toro Giallo.







The Corno Di Toro Giallo peppers are from one plant






And I had 2 surprise Eggplants that were growing through the fence on the neighbors side in the side Hugelkultur bed. The two big ones will be fried, the little ones go in the Jambalaya.







My compost bin has been kicking @ss this year the lid wouldn't fit on this 4 days ago.







Cleaned out the freezer and tossed everything on top, yes I tossed in meat like, pepper steak, chicken noodle soup, old chicken breast, cheesey dishes like stuffed shells etc...







This is the only problem with composting any type of meats and cheese. I could have burned these foods but wanted to try them directly in the compost bin first, the dog was up there before I could even get the lid on.






I start off with a few pallets with all the junk then started tossing on hardwoods to make my end of year Garden Jambalaya. Preheating with oil.






While the pallets and junk burn down, I started making some ABT's to snack on. I just cant believe I got another 32 peppers off of this plant, this is the 4th harvest.






Separated the peppers, some for pickling and some for stuffing.






My basic "Chicken Taco ABT's". Boiled Chicken breast, three cheese blend, taco seasoning, chili powder and a bit of chicken broth.







ABT's are tossed into the smoker with some Apple wood






 Tossed in some Poblanos, these will be fully dehydrated in the dehydrator for later recipes. (Awesome in my Baked Beans)






Added the rest of my Tabasco peppers to my Tabasco sauce that has been resting on charred oak over a year now.






OK, time for the jambalaya. preheated oil, Chicken thighs, Hot Sausage, ground meat, onions and eggplant.







Corno and anaheim peppers







Roasted tomatoes from earlier in the season, can of crushed tomatoes, Montreal steak seasoning.







While that simmered I installed a rack for my garden tools.






Barley.






I snacked on some ABT's, sampled a bowl of the Jambalaya, then the rest was put in containers and placed in the freezer.





After I was done making my Garden Jambalaya, I spent a few more hours burning up some hardwood. When the last flame flickered out, I busted up all the hot coals, let it burn down a bit more, then covered the coals with some potting mix from a 10 gallon Air Pot of spent potting mix, perlite, peat, potting mix.

The next day I mixed the rest of the potting mix in with the coals real well, dug it out and put about 20% in my raised beds and the rest in the compost heap, then poured 3/4 gallon of urea on top of the bio-char in the compost bin.

I made sure to cover the top of the compost bin with the Bio-char and urea to keep critters out, on the other hand my dog was quicker than me. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I know that there is going to come a time when I will have to stop adding bio-char, but for now, a half a dozen fires a year should be OK for the next 10 years... I still have an entire front yard to do. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





This end of season clean up works out well for me because, I get to clean out the freezer, clean up the gardens, add to my compost bin, use up all my extra veggies, have lunches at work for a month and have an excuse to hang out all day by the fire, listening to music, smoking, cooking and tossing back a few beers. 







My daughters car blew up on the turnpike.










So what do we do?

We go out to eat of course.






A few more turtle rescues being rehabbed.
















And I fear this may be my last tomato, a Box Car Willie, we will see, I left the BCW in the bed. (Roast beef is from Manday 6 cook)



*


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## gary s (Oct 23, 2017)

That's some great pics my friend. Sorry to hear about your daughters car,

Gary


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## whistech (Oct 24, 2017)

Looks like you had a heck of a year for your garden, congratulations.     I especially like your Corno D Toro peppers, where I live the temperature gets too hot too fast to make large peppers.     Sorry to hear about your daughters car.


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## sqwib (Oct 30, 2017)

gary s said:


> That's some great pics my friend. Sorry to hear about your daughters car,
> 
> Gary






whistech said:


> Looks like you had a heck of a year for your garden, congratulations.     I especially like your Corno D Toro peppers, where I live the temperature gets too hot too fast to make large peppers.     Sorry to hear about your daughters car.



Thanks, yeah she was a bit upset, were gonna pick her up a used car this week.
I was very impressed with the Corno Di Tor Giallo peppers, they earned a spot for next year too.


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## sqwib (Oct 30, 2017)

*
October 29th, 2017*

*Smoked and dehydrated my Poblanos and into the jar they go..*
*





*

*Made my Fall Leek Potato soup.*
*





I finally got around to making my Dill Bread. First I needed a way to separate the seeds. I used a colander for the first screening, most of the seeds went through the colander.







The next step was a coarse strainer to let the smaller particles and husks fall through.







There's still a good amount of Dill seeds in the screened pieces, these are placed in a jar to grow some dill next season.







Worked beautifully.







For the bread I just used a box of Bread Machine mix (white) and added a few of my own ingredients.

1 box of Bread Machine mix follow directions, I cut back on the water 2 tablespoons and added an extra tablespoon of oil.
1/4 Cup of Cream Cheese
1 tablespoon of Dried Minced Onions (will increase to 5 teaspoons next time)
2 teaspoons of Dill Seed (Will increase to 1 tablespoon next time)




The bread was fantastic, everyone loved it, but I want to increase the Dill flavor a bit next time I make this.









*


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