Your 2020 Garden “Build thread”
- Thread starter Markos
- Start date
Yeah, we need a solar thread and a personal wrecking yard thread. My garden boxes look exactly like yours Mark. I decided I wanted to make them once and be done with it.
steve in reno
Well-Known Member
I wasn't sure if the pic would show. Thanks for the input and help Markos.
My garden is easy to complete. Plastic is 10' wide, 4 mil, and fits perfectly over the hoops. I put bird net over the hoops when the plastic comes down. There are PVC clips that hold the plastic and net to the hoops.
I have a new neighbor in my front tree that may eliminate the circus of small birds, a family of Hawks.
My compost mound takes care of the leaves from my 70' Elm tree, and the garden is full now of leaves. The covers have been off of the garden to allow snow and possibly rain to keep garden moist, I will cover next week after a new storm moves on. It keeps the garden moist and breaks down the leaves quicker.
No one should use treated lumber, or tires, to grow. They release chemical toxins that are absorbed by the plants, that you are going to put into our body. I used 2x12 building lumber.
My garden is easy to complete. Plastic is 10' wide, 4 mil, and fits perfectly over the hoops. I put bird net over the hoops when the plastic comes down. There are PVC clips that hold the plastic and net to the hoops.
I have a new neighbor in my front tree that may eliminate the circus of small birds, a family of Hawks.
My compost mound takes care of the leaves from my 70' Elm tree, and the garden is full now of leaves. The covers have been off of the garden to allow snow and possibly rain to keep garden moist, I will cover next week after a new storm moves on. It keeps the garden moist and breaks down the leaves quicker.
No one should use treated lumber, or tires, to grow. They release chemical toxins that are absorbed by the plants, that you are going to put into our body. I used 2x12 building lumber.
Our little veggie gardens are in the front yard since our house faces south and veggies need all the sun they can get here in the PNW. 
We specialize in salad ingredients. The best salad is a "2 hour salad". That is, all the ingredients harvested within 2 hours of eating the salad. We do grow Romano beans and a few other non salad delicacies like blueberries and raspberries.
We specialize in salad ingredients. The best salad is a "2 hour salad". That is, all the ingredients harvested within 2 hours of eating the salad. We do grow Romano beans and a few other non salad delicacies like blueberries and raspberries.
The backyard has our little greenhouse (which we don't use much), and my bee hive which you can see against the back fence between the greenhouse and the cherry tree...
My bees do great in the yard. Plenty of forage nearby in all the urban gardens and in the major (75 acre) park that is next door.
Here they are a few days ago with a group of "newbees" doing their orientation flight to get the position of the hive firmly planted in their little minds just before they graduate to become foragers...
My bees do great in the yard. Plenty of forage nearby in all the urban gardens and in the major (75 acre) park that is next door.
Here they are a few days ago with a group of "newbees" doing their orientation flight to get the position of the hive firmly planted in their little minds just before they graduate to become foragers...
Nice! We are focusing more on salads this year also. The squash goes a long way though. Great for roasting with garlic and onions and peppers. Also my wife makes zucchini noodles with her kitchen-aid attachment.
I kind of gave up on raspberries but would love to do them again. They tended to creep like blackberries and I didn’t want to deal with the invasive characteristics. They would be great in a galvanized trough.
I’m guessing that you “harvested” those big stones from your yard. Every time I dig in the yard I pull out baseball sizes round stones. They are the aftermath of the glacier that carved puget sound. That is why they are smooth like river rocks.
Not to bleed too much into landscaping but I used all of my glacier rocks to create a dry creek bed. You can’t tell from this pic but it is actually about 30’ long. Something to do with the stones if you happen to dig up any more.
I kind of gave up on raspberries but would love to do them again. They tended to creep like blackberries and I didn’t want to deal with the invasive characteristics. They would be great in a galvanized trough.
I’m guessing that you “harvested” those big stones from your yard. Every time I dig in the yard I pull out baseball sizes round stones. They are the aftermath of the glacier that carved puget sound. That is why they are smooth like river rocks.
Not to bleed too much into landscaping but I used all of my glacier rocks to create a dry creek bed. You can’t tell from this pic but it is actually about 30’ long. Something to do with the stones if you happen to dig up any more.
Our little veggie gardens are in the front yard since our house faces south and veggies need all the sun they can get here in the PNW.
We specialize in salad ingredients. The best salad is a "2 hour salad". That is, all the ingredients harvested within 2 hours of eating the salad. We do grow Romano beans and a few other non salad delicacies like blueberries and raspberries.
This is getting good! Very cool happy bees! I’ve only done mason bee houses but I gave those up after cutting down our old pear trees.
That greenhouse is the real deal!
Very cool happy bees! I’ve only done mason bee houses but I gave those up after cutting down our old pear trees.That greenhouse is the real deal!
That is soooo cool. Did you “buy” a hive and move it to your backyard? I have no idea how this works.
You really have to be committed to be a bee keeper. Lots of stuff can go wrong quickly. It is a fascinating hobby, however. The little critters know exactly what they are doing at all times. It is like one brain but with 50,000 participants.
You start by buying $1,000 worth of equipment, tools and clothing. Then you order a "package" of bees with a queen, or buy a "nuc" from a local beekeeper. A package is about $150...a nuc about $250.
Most beginning beekeepers fail in the first year. Lots to learn an do. The smart move is to study for a year....both book learnin' and under an experienced beekeeper...so you know what to expect BEFORE you order the equipment and bees.
Lots of info out there...
beginning bee keeping - Bing
Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.
Super interesting. Since this is a Garden thread, what effect do the bees have on your garden? Do you actually see a difference?
I can’t speak to honey bees, but mason bees are super pollinators. They are really friendly and you can see them covered in pollen. Great for apple and pear trees. They move around a lot from flower to flower and keep the pollen dry. They also fly around when it’s raining. There is some statistic about them being X times more effective than honey bees..
Why Bees? - The Bee Conservancy
Imagine a grey world without almonds, apples, or fragrant flowers. Sounds terrible, right? That’s thefuture we face if we don’t help our bees.
thehoneybeeconservancy.org
Not mine, but they live in little tubes. My mason bee house looks like a bird house with a bunch of holes in it.
Why Bees? - The Bee Conservancy
Imagine a grey world without almonds, apples, or fragrant flowers. Sounds terrible, right? That’s thefuture we face if we don’t help our bees.
thehoneybeeconservancy.org
I don't. There are enough urban honey bees and other pollinators that my fruit trees and garden would do just fine.
If general pollination is your goal, I think Mason Bees are tops. Virtually no upkeep. There are crops (like Almonds) that currently honey bees are the only known pollinator that works. That is bound to change as the honey bee gets tougher and tougher to keep and substitutes are found.
Today I wrapped up the soil prep. I added two 90lb bags of sand to each bed, plus one bag of organic chicken manure compost. Smells wonderful. The soil is light and fluffy now and doesn’t stick to the soil.
I’ll be setting up the water soon so I’ll snap some pics of the process.
Since we weren’t going to do a garden this year we didn’t have the aforementioned marigolds to serve as a slug distraction. We went to our favorite annual store out in the rural farm area. They opened early since they anticipate getting shut down. As you can see, not very busy.
Our marigold starters are about 2” tall. Not sure about the color.
I’ll be setting up the water soon so I’ll snap some pics of the process.
Since we weren’t going to do a garden this year we didn’t have the aforementioned marigolds to serve as a slug distraction. We went to our favorite annual store out in the rural farm area. They opened early since they anticipate getting shut down. As you can see, not very busy.
Our marigold starters are about 2” tall. Not sure about the color.
No wonder your car is getting nowhere.Today I wrapped up the soil prep. I added two 90lb bags of sand to each bed, plus one bag of organic chicken manure compost. Smells wonderful. The soil is light and fluffy now and doesn’t stick to the soil.
I’ll be setting up the water soon so I’ll snap some pics of the process.
View attachment 88580
Since we weren’t going to do a garden this year we didn’t have the aforementioned marigolds to serve as a slug distraction. We went to our favorite annual store out in the rural farm area. They opened early since they anticipate getting shut down. As you can see, not very busy.
View attachment 88579
Our marigold starters are about 2” tall. Not sure about the color.
View attachment 88581
well done, so cool
assuming bees difficult to take care of
my family had them , honey bees, since i remember in the old family house that in fact is a trunked XV century defensive tower in a tiny village in the base of a mountain
they were hidden in an specific compartment in the floor of the top level, a hole in the wall let them go in and out
i was biten a couple of times when i was a child, so not very happy with them, but yes honey was delicious
top hole right hand side
still found the place in the floor when i did a rehabilitation two years ago, now it is all covered
Anyone has ever heard about bees inside houses ? I mean house structure, not in the living room....
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What a beautiful home and countryside to grow up in! You were also fortunate to have a supply of local honey so close. Nothing tastes better and is better for you than honey made from flowers within 2 miles of where you live.
There are many instances of bees building their hives in places they shouldn't...
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=honey+bees+in+walls
Usually the bees have to be destroyed and the walls taken apart and rebuilt. You were fortunate with your "in house" bee hive.
In the late 1980's a SouthEast Asia mite (Varroa Destructor) was introduced accidentally into hives in Europe and North America. The mite decimated the bee keeping industry. Treatments now exist, but they are still the biggest problem for a beekeeper and it requires constant attention of the hives in order to keep them from destroying the hive. There are essentially no more feral honey bee hives since unattended hives are destroyed by the mites in a year or two.
There are many instances of bees building their hives in places they shouldn't...
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=honey+bees+in+walls
Usually the bees have to be destroyed and the walls taken apart and rebuilt. You were fortunate with your "in house" bee hive.
In the late 1980's a SouthEast Asia mite (Varroa Destructor) was introduced accidentally into hives in Europe and North America. The mite decimated the bee keeping industry. Treatments now exist, but they are still the biggest problem for a beekeeper and it requires constant attention of the hives in order to keep them from destroying the hive. There are essentially no more feral honey bee hives since unattended hives are destroyed by the mites in a year or two.
Nice photos Dick. Your hive looks healthy. I have been inside my colonies a couple of times now. Found Queens, they are doing well! Discussed that the border is closed now, so no more "flights" into Washington State . But no matter, plenty here in the way of blackberries, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, blue berry farm across the road, and all that my wife plants for them around the farm. Here is a picture of some of the girls yesterday, 11C and sunny :
. But no matter, plenty here in the way of blackberries, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, blue berry farm across the road, and all that my wife plants for them around the farm. Here is a picture of some of the girls yesterday, 11C and sunny :
This thread is fascinating!
My sister had urban honey bees in downtown Chicago. She started with them on her roof then moved them to an urban garden on the south side. She has great stories about moving the hives in the inner city. The reaction of residents seeing the trailer with bees swarming all around.
My sister had urban honey bees in downtown Chicago. She started with them on her roof then moved them to an urban garden on the south side. She has great stories about moving the hives in the inner city. The reaction of residents seeing the trailer with bees swarming all around.
Last bit of soil prep. Added azomite to the beds. It is a good source of minerals.
The starters are doing well.
Lastly, the garden / home school science project. These are micro greens. Broccoli in this case. They are packed with vitamins. Going to make the kiddos mini salads and sprinkle them on our dinner. No soil, just standard seeds in a bed of water.
The starters are doing well.
Lastly, the garden / home school science project. These are micro greens. Broccoli in this case. They are packed with vitamins. Going to make the kiddos mini salads and sprinkle them on our dinner. No soil, just standard seeds in a bed of water.