Water trough trial

[sugarapsa]

Most of the garlic is like the one in the center. My guess is another 3 weeks to a month?

 

[sugarapsa]

Peppers planted in wicking buckets...

 

[sugarapsa]

I did a little research and not all garlic bulbs are created equal. With that said I harvested the majority of the garlic at the center of the two beds which are flanked by onions. All but a few remain. Quite pleased with the results.

They will cure for a month or so and placed in storage.

Next I will be planting melons (Kajari), cucumbers, and beans.

 

[sugarapsa]

Post #32 shows my raised asparagus beds. The bed on the left has asparagus crowns taken from another location where tree roots took over. Only 2 large 6 year crowns survived. I managed to separate a total of 14 large crowns from the two plants in November of 2023. I am happy to report all 12 are doing well.

I added a second lower bed (right) and planted 2 year crowns in it. All but a few of those have surfaced and are doing well.

Below are photos of one of the 6 year old crowns I removed and separated for planting and a layout of the crowns.

Note; not a part of the water trough trial so I hope no one minds. Just seems like a good location for me to keep a diary of the overall gardens progress.

 

[Meadowlark]

I did a little research and not all garlic bulbs are created equal. With that said I harvested the majority of the garlic at the center of the two beds which are flanked by onions.

What type of garlic do you grow?

Here we grow softneck garlic and plant the sets in the fall and harvest bulbs mid-May about the same as onions.

 

[sugarapsa]

What type of garlic do you grow?

Here we grow softneck garlic and plant the sets in the fall and harvest bulbs mid-May about the same as onions.

I planted the garlic and onions in late Nov. 2023. First time trying either of these. Went to the big box stores and chose the ones in the attached photos. The garlic is called; California Early Garlic, a hard neck variety. In fact I had no clue what they were called because the name isn't on the packaging. I called the company shortly after I arrived home and they gave me the name of all three.

The onions certainly are lagging behind. Maybe there is some truth to the garlic's name. My guess is they too will be ready some time around Mid May. Sure hope so, so I can get my summer crops planted.

Added another photo of the garlic after harvesting a few more.

 

[Meadowlark]

I also grow the California early garlic. It is a softneck variety that produces excellent garlic.

 

[sugarapsa]

I also grow the California early garlic. It is a softneck variety that produces excellent garlic.

I'm going to have to let the company know it's a soft neck variety...lol.

Is there any truth to hard neck storing longer/better than soft neck? I ask because a lot of videos I watched indicated as such.

 

[Meadowlark]

I'm going to have to let the company know it's a soft neck variety...lol.

Is there any truth to hard neck storing longer/better than soft neck? I ask because a lot of videos I watched indicated as such.

I still have a few cloves of the Cali softneck strung up from last May's harvest...that's long enough for me.

 

[sugarapsa]

I still have a few cloves of the Cali softneck strung up from last May's harvest...that's long enough for me.

Doesn't get much better than that. Thanks for letting me know.

 

[sugarapsa]

Update; harvested the remaining garlic. Major thinning of lettuce to make room for summer vegetables. Planted cucumbers, zucchini, and beans, and built a trellis in one of the beds for beans.

Snap peas, onions, strawberries, and sugarapsa's are doing quite well, as well as the newly transplanted tomato's and peppers.

 

[sugarapsa]

The compost height when I began in December of '23 was 6'. It reduced to around 4' when completed. This is how much compost has gone into my small garden.

Here are two bags I filled this morning in about half an hour using a 1/4" screen. The remnants of the screening will be used to make compost tea and to feed my worms.

Will be using this compost to feed my summer vegetables along with more worm castings.

 

[tyronee]

When I was setting up a water trough for my garden, I found that the size and material were important considerations. I opted for a durable plastic trough that was easy to clean and large enough to accommodate my plant's water needs. If you're looking for advice on water troughs, Dial One Sonshine offers fantastic customer service. When I called them with questions about different trough options, they were incredibly knowledgeable and helped me choose the perfect one for my needs. Their expertise made the process smooth and straightforward.

 

[sugarapsa]

Thanks for your reply tyronee. Glad you decided to try this gardening method.
It's been a while since I gave an update but the garden has been incredible. Harvested many many onions, garlic, lettuce, radishes, and other cool season vegies and I finally planted my summer crops. Since then I harvested many, many tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, peas, and strawberries. Here's a look at it as of today... brown leaf tips on some plants are due to two consequtive days of 60 mile an hour winds. Even though, the garden faired well.

 

[sugarapsa]

It was an amazing harvest this year. Bumper crops of tomatoes (still have some stored in garage), green beans & pinto beans, ground cherries, cucumbers (3 varieties), strawberries (2 varieties), melons, zucchini, lettuce (several varieties), snap peas, onions, garlic, radishes, and the list goes on. All in a 500 sq ft plot of raised beds.

The tomatoes plants reached almost 7' tall (Park's Whopper Improved). Blew me away!