backyard farming
I'm feeling quite proud of my little backyard "farm".
The tiny seedlings I transplanted a few weeks back have really taken off.
This first image is of the tub against the back fence.
See the shadecloth attached with bulldog clips?
On really hot days, when I think the sun might burn my baby beans and tomatoes, the shadecloth is lifted up and clipped to the plastic trellis above, to keep the sun off.
The beans are starting to wind little tendrils onto the trellis.
These are a different type of bean, bush beans instead of climbers, so no trellis, but a couple of crossed bamboo canes for me to tie the bushes to should they become top heavy. With beans.
I've put the same support frames into the tubs with the mini rockmelons. The tendrils can wind and support while the plant climbs upwards. The tennis ball sized fruit will hang up off the soil and be easier for me to find and pick. Yum....
Here are the mini capsicums. When I planted these they looked so tiny in the big tub.
Here's a long view of the four tubs currently planted and living under the shadecloth on the driveway side of the house. The western side, which gets extremely hot, hence the shadecloth, which is supposed to shade the house a bit, but doesn't really work all that well.
How does your garden grow?
The tiny seedlings I transplanted a few weeks back have really taken off.
This first image is of the tub against the back fence.
See the shadecloth attached with bulldog clips?
On really hot days, when I think the sun might burn my baby beans and tomatoes, the shadecloth is lifted up and clipped to the plastic trellis above, to keep the sun off.
The beans are starting to wind little tendrils onto the trellis.
These are a different type of bean, bush beans instead of climbers, so no trellis, but a couple of crossed bamboo canes for me to tie the bushes to should they become top heavy. With beans.
This tomato is a "money-maker". It's the second seedling that I bought from the Community Garden. It's well on the way to becoming the tallest tomato so far. When I looked it over this afternoon, I noticed it, too was flowering. Just one flower so far, the "yellow peach" has about six.
I've jammed a wire support frame into the pot holding my pumpkin vines. These are Butternuts and there are only three vines, so the frame should be strong enough to support the weight. I'm looking forward to picking my own pumpkins.
I've put the same support frames into the tubs with the mini rockmelons. The tendrils can wind and support while the plant climbs upwards. The tennis ball sized fruit will hang up off the soil and be easier for me to find and pick. Yum....
Once again, three seedlings per frame.
Here are the mini capsicums. When I planted these they looked so tiny in the big tub.
Now there is a forest of bamboo canes ready to tie the bushes to when they start fruiting. Or sooner if they get heavy. I've grown regular sized capsicums before, and had so many I was giving them away. I'm curious to see how much fruit these will produce. There's a variety of colours planted here, green, red, yellow, orange, chocolate, with all fruit being miniature.
Here's a long view of the four tubs currently planted and living under the shadecloth on the driveway side of the house. The western side, which gets extremely hot, hence the shadecloth, which is supposed to shade the house a bit, but doesn't really work all that well.
It seems to be perfect for growing things though.
How does your garden grow?
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Wow, I'm impressed! I just love seeking out new recipes in which to use home grown produce from the garden!! I'm quite the little 'Good Life' wannabe!!!
ReplyDeleteRed Nomad OZ; I don't need recipes for my stuff. It's mostly salad and fruit. The beans will mostly be frozen for the winter, carrots too. The pumpkins will be stored, to use as necessary. Some will become pumpkin soup.
ReplyDeleteWell organized. Good for you. Planting in containers makes it a lot easier but it's hard to set up. I had a veg garden in the ground and got huge crops of tomatoes in the early years, the earth is a bit exhausted now for that but okay for cucumbers and so on. The sun is fierce on the west side of this house as well, I painted it dark green which made it even hotter. What an idiot. Your brick wall will give the plants some extra warmth when it's needed, if you painted it white or put up some reflective material they'd get extra light. Anyway, it's all nicely done, good job.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good idea those tubs are. Much easier to maintain than large beds. Looks like your in for a bumper crop. Enjoy :)
ReplyDeleteIt's so rewarding, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteMy garden only grows concrete because i live in a block of ground floor units with no room for pots.
ReplyDeleteWow River! Your garden looks awesome! Well done :)
ReplyDeleteR.H. I had some help with setting up. The tubs were put in place before being filled with the soil mix. Now all I have to do is water and pick off caterpillars.
ReplyDeleteYou need to renew your soil with compost and manures. Get gardening!
Reinsey; they're large recycling tubs, available at hardware stores, and I had a friend drill drainage holes in the bottom.
Frogdancer; very rewarding. I wasn't going to plant this year, but your posted efforts along with others have nudged me into action. I'm grateful to you all for that kick up the bum.
Windsmoke; welcome to Drifting. Can you put a largish pot by front and back door perhaps?
There's nothing quite like homegrown salad. You could do cherry tomatoes and lebanese cucumbers up a small trellis from each pot.
Beet; thanks, I'm quite proud.
River these are really, really impressive. All we've got are three citrus trees that have not grown an inch since we planted them two years ago and four pots of herbs that regularly seed out and give us stuff-all to eat. My mother's green thumb has not been inherited by me.
ReplyDelete