Been busy getting my garden ready. Got the lines for marking my rows ran, soaker hose ran, and a few plants in the ground last weekend. Finished planting after work today and now have almost the whole garden planted. Now I just have to put my barrier between rows and sit back and watch it grow. Man it feels good to have a garden again! . Here is a pic the wife took of the rows after I got the soaker hose ran. I’ll try to get a few pics with plants in the ground within a day or two.
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We have started planting and have already been eating fresh asparagus.
Nice. The walking path is a nice touch.
Thanks! I will post some more when it is filling in…
[quote=“Baratone Brewer”]Been busy getting my garden ready. Got the lines for marking my rows ran, soaker hose ran, and a few plants in the ground last weekend. Finished planting after work today and now have almost the whole garden planted. Now I just have to put my barrier between rows and sit back and watch it grow. Man it feels good to have a garden again! . Here is a pic the wife took of the rows after I got the soaker hose ran. I’ll try to get a few pics with plants in the ground within a day or two.
[attachment=0]2012-04-06_17-23-23_667-2.jpg[/attachment][/quote]
So the soaker hose, can you buy this stuff at home depot, and if so, is it roughly the same price as a normal garden hose, or is it considerably more? I would love to get this laid down in my garden and get a timer hooked up to it.
You can pick it up at most garden centers. I think it is generally a bit more then regular garden hose.
I use 1/2" soaker hose and in my area it runs around $15 for a 75ft hose or $12 for 50ft. I also run an electric timer for my garden so that it waters on its own. Using soaker hose and mulching will greatly decrease your water consumption. The timer is nice because it can be set for how long and how often to water.
I did some reading on timers yesterday, and found that they seem to be fairly clumsilly made, and break a fair amount. What brand do you use, how long have you had it, and what are your thoughts on it?
Sorry for the questions, I just don’t want to spend all the money and end up with a piece of junk!!!
I’ve had some bad luck in the past with some of the timers as well. I do not like the ones that have a snap on front such as this
http://www.amazon.com/Ray-Padula-RP-ETI-1-Deluxe-Automatic/dp/B001D1DCH8/ref=sr_1_65?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1334174767&sr=1-65
one. The plastic clips wear out and it will either stay on or won’t turn on after just one season.
Currently I am using this
http://www.amazon.com/Nelson-Pre-Set-Water-Timer-56606/dp/B003UNJYG0/ref=sr_1_4?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1334175043&sr=1-4
one from Nelson. It is super easy to use and stays sealed. This will be my third season with it and it has served me well with no issues. I also might add that my timer stays in the shade and does not stay out during the off season. I feel that it has more than paid for itself.
[quote=“Baratone Brewer”]I’ve had some bad luck in the past with some of the timers as well. I do not like the ones that have a snap on front such as this
http://www.amazon.com/Ray-Padula-RP-ETI-1-Deluxe-Automatic/dp/B001D1DCH8/ref=sr_1_65?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1334174767&sr=1-65
one. The plastic clips wear out and it will either stay on or won’t turn on after just one season.
Currently I am using this
http://www.amazon.com/Nelson-Pre-Set-Water-Timer-56606/dp/B003UNJYG0/ref=sr_1_4?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1334175043&sr=1-4
one from Nelson. It is super easy to use and stays sealed. This will be my third season with it and it has served me well with no issues. I also might add that my timer stays in the shade and does not stay out during the off season. I feel that it has more than paid for itself.[/quote]
I appreciate the advice. What’s the battery life like on it?
Not sure exactly how long the batteries will last. But, its a long time watering every two days. One set of batteries last the entire season (April-Oct.)and then they get discarded and replaced with a fresh set the following season.
Fantastic. Thanks again for the timer advice and what not. My wife will forever condemn this day, but I appreciate it.
Finally! I’m all in. It may not look like much now, but should be going crazy within a few weeks. Straight squash, eggplant, green beans, onions, radishes, cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, jalapenos, habaneros, serranos, gyspy peppers, chinese okra, speg. squash, strawberries, and rhubarb all planted. Only thing left to do is finish placing my weed barrier down.
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Just ignore the dog helping water, didn’t see that until I went to post the pic. :lol:
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What is that alien creature guarding your hops?
This year we have a modest bucket garden but I am still excited to get a full growing season at my new place.
there is a small raised bed not pictured but it is all strawberries
:lol: He thinks he’s a rottweiler.
Looks like things are off to a good start.
[quote=“Baratone Brewer”]Finally! I’m all in. It may not look like much now, but should be going crazy within a few weeks. Straight squash, eggplant, green beans, onions, radishes, cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, jalapenos, habaneros, serranos, gyspy peppers, chinese okra, speg. squash, strawberries, and rhubarb all planted. Only thing left to do is finish placing my weed barrier down.
[attachment=1]2012-04-14_16-29-26_740-2.jpg[/attachment][/quote]
I know it’s probably hard to say with certainty, but do you find you end up with better yields, and less blight issues when you use the red plastic mulch for your tomatoes?
I definitely think that I’m getting increased yields. If its a super rainy year I still have some blight issues. But I have found that using a good fungicide and even applying some wood mulch to seal up the hole that I cut in the plastic keeps it at bay.
FWIW each of my tomato plants average 6ftx5ft when fully mature.
we just added a bit more today including some black currant for a tasty lambic this fall
