Ghetto Garden Update: end of May 2011

Ghetto Garden Update...end of May..so We've been farting around with germinating seeds for almost 6 months now. And it's slow going due to the learning curve and a dog that just seems to love eating seedlings...

We had a plastic barrier for a couple days but the winds have been strong lately and for this time of year the strongest they have been in the 10 years I've lived here. Regardless - the U of Az planting guide says we still have plenty of time for beans, cucumber, and melon. So we're just letting them grow. Mr. Man put in this wire fencing type stuff -it's not chicken wire but it's called something else. If it keeps the dog so be it - if it doesn't then it doesn't.

I'm sure everyone has some advice feel free to give it - I know some of them are fried and I know some of them are planted haphazardly. I know that square foot gardening is also an option and we have thousands of yards of cotton twine to do it. I know that the tomatoes probably won't make it since it's warming up but I just didn't have the heart to kill the only seedlings that made it. I know that I don't even give a shit - so give your advice and I'll give it back. Truth be told I'm fed up with the garden and I have moments I want to put bbq fluid on it and burn that mofo down...but I won't - coz the Mr. is determined and I won't pee on his parade.

So here's the overall view - He put the metal re-bar or whatever down about 8 inches and then linked the wire crap to each thing. I believe it was around 30 ft worth of wire.









Small Bed...butternut squash, cantaloupe, green beans (contender) and the determined tomato plants and red sweet pepper.











It's on the hot side of the bed it's fried but somehow continues to grow - it is what it is. But 3 of the backups are already peeping through.











This cantaloupe is freakishly strong - we put a wire divider between it so it has something to climb.











There is another stubborn tomato plant alongside the 3 squash. Since they were seedlings one of those squash plants has always been on the yellow side - I'm thinking of just yanking it.










These are what's left of the dog eating the bigger cucumber seedlings. 13 new seedlings. 4 armenian, 5 carolina, and 4 of some other kind of cucumber I put in there. the 7 bigger ones in the white pots were from weeks ago - zuchinni I think. I have no idea where to put them since I'm told putting them near armenians will cause them to become weirdos.






This is all chili and green beans of different varieties...*shrugs* we'll see.



























This is some black squash that I sectioned off with rocks away from the other stuff. There used to be like 5 in there until the dog got to it.











Okra...It doesn't look like it but there's actually 3 seedlings...the dog got those too.












Tobacco and something else.

*shrugs again*











Another stubborn little tomato and his 2 brothers,












Some green beans and chili that finally decided to join the party.


Maybe I should get out of town for a bit then this can all be fun again. LOL.

I hope all of your gardens are doing better than mine.

Ghetto Garden Update, week 3 May

Thpthhh I don't even know what to say - it's becoming this love hate thing with the ghetto garden. I keep an eye on it and things progress and it feels like everytime I go in the yard I just can't sit there and enjoy it I have to poke or prod or mix something...But it's necessary and we have to learn because this is a vital skill that people should learn.

I think I just finally got turned off because our lab-pitt ate a BUNCH of plants - all of the armenian cucumber, almost all the carolina cucumber plants, half the green bean plants, wrestled the remaining green bean plants, ate 3 of 4 black squash plants and chewed up like 8 butternut squash leaves. That's the 4th time our seedlings died/got killed.

6 of 12 seedlings made it but they are super slow. I don't know why...but also under one of the plants in the black pots there are 5 new seedlings lol - go figure










Here are some closeups at high noon.

That's butternut squash - the middle one made it, she's a little slow but she's coming to the party










Here's some tomato plant - i dunno what kind...It was hiding under the squash plant. Everyone keeps sayin oh don't put that close to the squash it will get crowded...lol at the time i moved the plants it was just sitting there and i didn't want to risk killing it Ohhh Kaaaay.








This is the canteloupe plant that survived getting chewed on by our dog. I transplanted them last week and they seem to really like it in there.


Those are green beans to the left - they started turning yellow in the last 2 days. I dunno why maybe i'm a bit of a spazz with the watering.






I'm told this is some kind of tomato plant - I thought it was in a pot that said peppers. This was an accident too I wasn't trying to raise these jokers lol. I was trying to raise those red sweet peppers towards the front of the picture though.









This is a side view of the mystery tomato plant.













This is the long view of the larger of the 2 raised beds. It is completely naked - missing almost all of it's plants











These are the 2 NUBS left from the Armenian Cucumber. Seriously it makes me feel violent when I think about that dog chewing up my plants. I was in the shower exactly 22 minutes and she caused damage that quick. Then 1 morning someone let her out for 10 minutes and she got the rest of them.







But I guess they look all right so far. And if they die oh well I can plant a few more things - and if not just wait until August to start all over again.











Nice and Green...and yellow kind of LOL.













There's Mr. Man looking at where to put the stakes, he's building a pullshade fence type thing to keep the dogs out. It's nice to be with someone who not only loves me but is not afraid to work.

Lucky me.

Ghetto Garden Update week 3 April

Well, we (okay Mr. Man) finally got the booty raised beds up lol. He did all of it by himself with the exception of Home Depot cutting the wood for him. He also picked up some tires that said "FREE" on the side of the road to put our tobacco plants in. I don't know what to say...this gardening thing has been pretty come and go and we are both so horribly busy we are doing our best to keep it going.
















FACES OF DEATH. This is our lab mix - she looks so cute huh - she AIN'T. She has eaten many of our seedlings that had positive growth and signs of life. It's annoying - but a word to the fledgling watch your pets - i've heard horror stories about people waiting to harvest their stuff and then they came home and the dogs had eaten it all LOL.
















She only acts like she doesn't want it - her head may be turned away but her body is pointed towards the plants. This is some bullshit - it's like playing basketball look where their feet are pointed. HAHA.

BAD GIRL!!!!!!!!






Below are the honeydew plants. A few months ago the wind had blown some seeds to the side of the house that I was getting ready to send overseas from some very good honeydew plants I had eaten. I didn't really pay attention to them and just left them in the rocks - last week there were signs of life. Of course the Lab has already eaten more than half of them so who knows if any will make it at all.

















Below are the tobacco plants they seem to like it here but I dunno I'm a bit spooked since I've had a LOT of fatalities. I'm still watering them from the bottom but so far I've only had luck with the HOPI tobacco and none at all with the Louisiana tobacco.













Below are the spinach plants and some other thing I planted and forgot to label.
All I know is those were in there over 3 weeks and seemed to almost come up overnight

















The dog had eaten all of the cucumber plants so I just put more seeds in there and let's hope it works, But now I've also included the carolina cucumbers in addition to the armenian.













This is some kind of sweet red pepper that someone gave me, like the spinach these also sat in the dirt over 3 weeks with no glimmer of life and then overnight they were there.













Everyone says tomatoes and green onions are easy - the transplant killed almost all 50 of those tomato seedlings. I guess I"ll be buying some plants that are just ready to go while I try to grow these for July. Annoying.
















The cucumber and cantaloupe I replanted are starting to come back again but like I said I'm not holding my breath. I'm not being apathetic, but my skill level is just not there.















Now this weird thing has been happening with the green beans and pea sprouts - they sprout in like 3-4 days and then die at about the 10th day. I am definitely not overwatering them and I've moved them to indirect light and all that but they just die off. The crazy thing is that I've heard of this happening to other people in other parts of the country - so I'm just going to keep trying.













I know I know, it's time to move the squash - well we just finished mixing the soil and compost (3:1) and put them in the beds. I have no idea how loose that dirt is supposed to be or if I should just walk on it and really compress the dirt. But I will be putting the squash in tomorrow.



























Freaky green beans just grow already.