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mesquiteman

Photos of my first veggie garden

mesquiteman
10 years ago

As some may have seen, I am growing my first veggie garden this year. I started with an area that had a lot of dead oaks and cedars that died from the drought. I cleared them all and then dug up the native soil and rocks as deep as I could go. I went through all the dirt and removed all the rocks, then brought in some sandy loam to make up the deficit. I then built 4 raised beds with 2x6 lumber that are 4' x 16' and filled them with mushroom compost. I then used a mini-excavator to dig it all in and mix it all up.

I also had to build a fence to keep the deer out so this was done with 4x4 treated posts the a (2) 2x4 top rail using 2x4 welded wire. I stretched the wire with a homemade wire stretcher and a come-a-long. I put in a main entry gate and arbor as well as a back gate so I can get to my stockpiles of mulch and compost. Lastly, I added a flower garden outside the front of the garden where my wife planted deer resistant flowers. It ran a water line to the garden and put in a complete drip irrigation system.

The amazing thing to me is I started knocking down the trees on April 7, 2013 and this is what I have now, less than two months later!

Here is what I have planted:
5 Porter Tomatoes
2 Black Cherry Tomatoes
1 Celebration Tomato
1 Jalapeno M
2 TAM Jalepenos
2 California Wonder Bell Peppers
1 Red Bell Pepper
3 Burpless Cucumbers
2 Black Beauty Zucchini
2 Crimson Sweet Watermelons
1 Honey Rock Muskmelon
6 8' rows of Ambrosia Sweet Corn
1 8' row of Golden Wax Beans
1 8' row of Contender Bush Beans
1 8' row of Royal Burgundy Bush Beans
2 8' row of Texas Cream Cowpeas
1 8' row of Emerald Okra
1 5' row of Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans

So far, I am 100% organic

This pic is about a week ago and is a general pic showing the arbor from a distance with the corn and beans.

Comments (21)

  • mesquiteman
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Here is another general garden pic showing my cucumber trellis I built as well as the zuch and beans and tomatoes in the background.

  • mesquiteman
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Here is a pic of the main gate and arbor. We built a small bed on each side of the main gate and planted coral honeysuckle that we plan to train up the lattice and over the top. I built the lattice myself out of eastern red cedar that I milled on my saw mill.

  • mesquiteman
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Here is a closer pic of the gate. I built the gate myself out of Ash Juniper, commonly know as "Cedar" in the Hill Country. I had a 16" cedar that had died from the drought on my property so I cut it down and milled the lumber for the gate with my sawmill. The gate is my own design and is full mortise and tenon construction with no nails or screws. I applied a professional deck stain to protect it from the elements, thus the rich red/brown color. This is not the natural color.

  • mesquiteman
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Here is an overall pic from the front showing the flower garden in the front.

  • mesquiteman
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    And lastly, this was taken this evening while sitting in the chair just inside the gate seen in one of the other photos. Looks like a jungle in here!

  • mesquiteman
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I still need to put down some granite gravel for the pathways but other than that, it is all now just tending to the plants!

    Hope you enjoyed the pics!

  • PKponder TX Z7B
    10 years ago

    Wow! That is very impressive!

  • southofsa
    10 years ago

    WOW! Double Wow!! That's awesome! That's a ton of work to do just in what, 2-3 months? Definitely addresses the big stuff, soil, water source, critters from the get go. My hat is off.

    Lisa

  • sunnysa
    10 years ago

    Very impressive.... both the gardening and the woodworking. Really great job! Thanks for the photos.

  • TxMarti
    10 years ago

    Not only a great garden but very impressive structure as well. Way to go! Your own saw mill too? Cool!

  • Ann_in_Houston
    10 years ago

    I love how you used the felled trees for the gate. I also didn't know that Ash Juniper is mistaken for cedar.

  • plantmaven
    10 years ago

    Goodness gracious. You sure do things the hard way. I see you have a chair out there. I would be sitting there watching the plants grow.
    Absolutely amazing.
    And yes, I so enjoyed the pictures.

  • mesquiteman
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks everyone for the nice comments! It has been a very fun endeavor thus far. I did it to have more family time with my wife and 7 year old daughter and it has been good so far. My wife is as interested in it as I am and going out a number of times per day as do I. The chairs are mostly so they can sit and watch me work!

    Carrie,
    I am going to use granite gravel for my pathways because I like the look. I don't figure using mulch would help much with the soil since I am using raised beds. If I am missing something, please let me know!

    I have that dreaded SVB moth flying around now and messing with my zucchini. I am trying to take precautions but I imagine he will get me eventually! Before they ever showed up, I soaked the base of the plant and soil with spinosad. I also injected spinosad into the stems heavily. I am shooting them with a rubber band every chance I get as well as picking off any eggs they lay. I also have a SVB trap set up to catch them. Wish me luck!

  • phyllisb2008
    10 years ago

    Thank you for the great pic's. Good job now what about a greenhouse?

  • Lynn Marie
    10 years ago

    WOW! That was a LOT of time and work you put in. Your attention to detail really shows too. Great job.

    Also, now I know what corn is supposed to look like. Mine doesn't look anything like yours.

  • robyn_tx
    10 years ago

    Are you for hire? I'll even let your dear wife and daughter come along. The three of us will sit there and watch you work in my little slice of gardenville. :)

  • texanjana
    10 years ago

    Amazing. I can't believe that is your first garden!

  • sienna_98
    10 years ago

    A lot of garden envy here. :) Many kudos for the hardwork which fellow gardeners truly understand was behind that beautiful veg garden!

    With respect to your plants, I also put in a black cherry tomato this year. The tomatoes are delicious, but I'm not sure that the plant will survive the summer. It's definitely slowed down with the 90+ degree temps in my garden, but I only have 1 plant, so I'm not sure if it's the variety or this particular plant. All the other tomato plants are chugging away though. How are yours doing?

  • rhill3
    10 years ago

    Wow - I am impressed and envious. I hope you will get many years of enjoyment and veggies from it.

  • bootscootengal
    10 years ago

    greatttttttttttttttttttttttt