Originally posted by frayed1
Looking good!

After the first year with the wood and stone supported raised beds the slugs hit us with a vengence......they hid in the nooks and crannies, coming out at night in droves, in spite of our efforts at control. We hand picked them off, and drowned them in stale beer by the plateful......still they came.

We did not want to spread poisonous snail bait due to our small children and pets. Finally we pulled out the stone and wood and allowed the raised beds to 'melt' back into the ground.

That was the only problem I had as well. The slugs drove me nuts, but only in the lettuce bed. I tried beer for months and the only thing that happened was that I got drunk. Then I gave some to the slugs and they got drunk too. So I never did find a solution to that problem. The issue with lettuce is that the lower leaves are so efficient at keeping the soil surface damp... the perfect habitat for the little critters. So I'd advise that you keep a bed for lettuce only, and deal with them best you can. It appears that getting them a little inebriated doesn't help. Getting yourself a little inebriated while having a grand time in your garden... I highly recommend that.

I just finished reading the whole thread. You guys are awesome. I love talking about container gardening and square foot gardening. My husband built 2, 4 foot by 8 foot raised beds last year. I loved going out everyday to care for and admire the plants we grew. I had a great time discovering the do and don'ts. This year we added 2, 4 foot by 4 foot raised beds. By next year, we may not have any "lawn" left!

Great post. Star and Flag!

This is the first time I've read this thread and I have to say I am impressed by your garden. I've grown up with my dad and he bought some land out in BFE a while back and started a garden. I remember when I was very young he also kept a garden but he only grows things like tomatos and peppers. I happen to have some extra 2x12 here and I noticed some potting soil for sale in the store today. I think it just might have been a sign

I'll see what I can plant tomorrow and take some pictures if possible. Thanks for the inspiration

I went out and made myself a small garden outside the window here today. I planted a few things that are supposed to grow even though I planted them so late. So far I have Squash, Cucumber, Radishes... I planted some Broccoli even though I shouldn't have

I plan on planting more broccoli when the time is right along with some spinach and carrots. I'll post some pics later along with some of the stuff my dad is growing. He isn't using the raised garden... he's always grown stuff either around his storage building in a small garden or in pots/planters. He likes tomatoes and peppers. I got some pictures of his stuff too. His is much more impressive than my dirt pile right now

I love this thread with everyone's input and garden savvy.

Here is a pic of one of our "garden beds". Lettuce, Tomatoes, Basil, Peppers, and Cilantro.

thanks for the contributions gardenlen and others

Hazelnut when you said garden "bed" you weren't kidding were you

I love it!!!!!

With all this rain in Florida I haven't watered my garden in over two weeks. Everything seems to holding up well with the heavy rains, yard long beans are doing well, I've harvested enough for two meals already. I have two small sugar baby watermelons on the vine, two of my tomato plants have pretty much given up, but two others are still doing well. Eggplant, corn, okra all growing but not producing yet. Herbs are still hanging in there. Peppers are non stop producers, picking a different variety every couple days.

this is from a few weeks ago, it has since filled in quite a bit.. We call this plant/legume Bora, but it's known as yard long or asparagus beans. Great for stir fry.

I had to try this out myself. Rather than go buy wood, I used supplies I had on hand. This consisted of one 10 foot 2X4; four 42 inch hurricane shutters and wingnut bolts (left over from DIY shutter installation) and wheels off of a speaker box which is inoperable. I also used some scrap half inch plywood to serve as the bottom of the box and fibergalss window screen to keep the soil in the box. Ridges in the hurricane shutters will hold the bottom in place. Gives me about a 8-10" deth for planting.



Total cost was zero, just about 3 hours of labor to construct and paint. Today I will be buying the mix and filling the box in preparation of planting in 2 weeks. I will use Mel's mix which is 1/3 peat moss, varied compost, and vermilucite. I expect it will cost about $30 to fill, plus another $20 for seeds. Plan on growing spinach, romaine lettuce, radishes, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers. brocolli, cauliflower, carrots in stages as the south florida weather permits.

Since the shutters are 42 inches, this gives me a 3 inch border on each side which I will plant the onions, garlic and marigolds to keep the bugs away. I may also add some herbs in these areas. I will be left with 9 square foot areas.

I do have a few questions. 1. Will the fact that I am using a metal box rather than wood be detrimental to my crops? 2. Since the shutters have bulges on the sides this will allow high air flow to the soil. Is too much air a bad thing? I will probably put the herbs on the corners as they like drier soil. 3. In south florida which plants can be started now? 4. What would be the ideal way to arrange the planting? Should I not have certain things next to others? thanks for the assistance.

Edited to embed picture



[edit on 26-7-2009 by sligtlyskeptical]

[edit on 26-7-2009 by sligtlyskeptical]

Worldwatcher,

My wife and I just moved to a home that already has 2 above ground gardens. i have already ordered some heirloom seeds (2 kinds of peppers, onions, tomatoes, okra, and cucumbers). We live in SE Texas, so we do not have any shortage of sunlight during the day, and I believe we will do just fine with the planting. We are new, and my question is this:

We are getting started late in the year, and have heard you can do a fall garden here in Texas since our first frost is still a ways off. I know that most of the seeds I have will come to fruition in 60-80 days, so I should just make it before the frost and winter arrive. Do you have any suggestions for late planting? Also, how many seeds are you using for tomato plants and cucumbers? I have heard 4 seeds per plant.

Another newbie question: With heirloom seeds you are supposed to save the seeds after the harvest for use next spring (hence heirloom), but I am unclear how these seeds present themselves (for lack of a better term). Am I getting the replacement seeds for next time from the vegetables themselves? Will they be scattered on the ground? Sounds stupid, but I really have no idea. I know I want to continue to have the seeds over and over again. Any comments would be appreciated.