Exciting News

Garden Anywhere Box is going to have a booth at the OKC Home and Garden Show January 18-20, 2013. We will be at the OKC Fairgrounds. Come and see us and let us show you how you can "Garden Anywhere". You can get a $3 discount on your tickets if you order them in advance.

Surviving the Frost

 

I hadn't been out to check on the Garden (boxes) in a few weeks. We did not plant a fall garden this year, but I still had some things planted from the summer. We had a frost a couple of nights before and I did not have high hopes of anything surviving. To my surprise, the Kale was still going strong. So was the Swiss Chard, rosemary and Pineapple Sage. Yay! The great thing about a fall garden is that there are no bugs. My kale looks great, unlike my summer kale which was devoured by grasshoppers. Next year...netting...

Things I've Learned this Summer...

Sorry that it's been so long since I last posted. I've been busy in the garden. I've had successes and failures along the way...and I've learned some things.

One thing I've learned is that no matter how easy the "Garden Anywhere" box makes gardening (less water, no weeding), there will always be bugs...

My beautiful squash plant (from the post below) succumbed to squash bugs. I was able to harvest a few squash, but it seemed like overnight it became infested and died.

B.G.A. (Before Garden Anywhere), when I would have a regular, in-the-ground garden, I would till the ground (well, my husband would do that ;) , rake, weed and get the ground ready to plant. Then we'd stake off rows, plant seeds, mulch (sometimes), and water. Usually stuff grew. Sometimes rain would wash it away (when we were getting rain with any regularity) and we'd plant again. Sometimes bugs and varmints would get my plants. Sometimes weeds would overtake the garden. By July, it was usually too hot and weedy for me to care anymore and the garden would go to seed until the next year when we would try again.

I started a new garden plan when I started using Earth Boxes (B.G.A). That was a new way to garden. I really liked it. I did not have to weed and I actually harvested some veggies. Larry figured out how to make his own garden boxes and we expanded our garden as the seasons passed.

Now we have over 40 boxes full of plants or seeds at some stage of growth.

Okay...back to what I've learned...

I've learned that you have to be diligent when planting. The bugs can take over if you don't watch out for your plants.

I did discover a recipe for a squash bug spray that I'd like to share. 

You will need:  1 spray bottle, 1. t olive oil, 1 t. Dawn dish soap and a quart of water.  I added a little cayenne pepper just for good measure.

This works! 

I am using it on my big, beautiful and healthy acorn squash plant. The bugs discovered it and are trying very hard to kill it. I spray them with the spray and they die. It's as simple as that. The other night something told me to go check on the plant. It was about 8:00 at night. It was covered with mating squash bugs. Yuck!  Grabbing my trusty spray bottle, I ended the party. At least they died with smiles on their faces....

I was thinking of bugs and gardening and it came to me...just as there is black and white, hot and cold, up and down, there will be bugs and gardening. There is opposition in all things. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were no bugs? But that is not how it works. Bugs are just doing what comes naturally. Just as there is birth, there must be death. The birth of the seeds offer promise. After they have blossomed and produced fruit (hopefully) they will die. The bugs sometimes speed the process along, but their purpose is to be the garbage collectors for the garden. When they interfere too early, it is my responsibility to stop them.

Another thing that I've learned this growing season is to plant and replant.

B.G.A., I would plant a garden at the beginning of the season, usually April or May, after the rains and/ or late frost. When things went to seed or bugs, that would be it for me for the year. Now that I'm using the Garden Anywhere boxes, if something isn't producing, I pull it up and start over. I've lost several plants to squash bugs, worms or grasshoppers. Before, I would have been done, but this year, up came the squash plants, kale plants, cucumbers and tomatoes and into the box went more seeds or plants. More tomatoes, more kale, more squash and cucumbers along with pumpkins,okra, beans, corn, peppers, and sweet potatoes are going into the boxes. I've decided that I won't waste a minute or box space. I'll keep planting and re-planting until the frost and then save or cover what I can until the next hint of cool weather allows me to get out and plant some cool weather crops.

In the meantime, I'm thinking about building a greenhouse attached to the house so that we can garden year 'round.

Lots of Squash

It looks like I will have lots of squash to share with friends. Like I said in a previous post, it always amazes me how much fruit comes from such a small seed.

Grape Vines

I got some grape and berry vines at Wal-mart and thought I'd see how they would do in a Garden Anywhere box. We tried growing berries in a raised bed years ago, but did not have much luck. So far, the vines are doing great. Our goal is to have them grow up the pergola and some day have our own little grape clusters right outside the back door. We have other boxes in between for squash and peppers.

More Boxes

This is the view from our back deck. More boxes. We've got tomatoes, kale, Globe zucchini, chocolate mint, pineapple sage and rosemary planted here. We are doing an experiment of sorts. We have tomatoes planted in the garden out in the full sun. These other boxes are in partial shade. Because of the pergola, they don't get the full noon-day sun, but they do get the HOT afternoon sun(around 3:00-dusk). Last year our tomatoes burned up. That was in part to a not yet perfected watering system and partly because we had over 60 days of 100+ degrees outside. We want to see the yield this year with a better watering system. We also want to see if the plants will thrive in full sun or do they like a little shade from the heat.

Our first cucumber of the season

I picked our first cucumber of the season today. It never ceases to amaze me that such a huge plant with an abundance of fruit can come from such tiny seeds. I know how it works. I've had gardens before. But each time I see that first sprout all the way to harvest time, I get excited.