Zone 10: Selecting the Trellises and Planting your Seedlings
Deputy Gardener Dianne Reed shares details and photos of her newly installed garden beds.
Good morning Beekman 1802 gardeners ! I hope this email finds you all with dirty knees and happy hearts. My garden bed is finally finished. It took over 60 wheelbarrow runs to fill in the bed but I am very happy with the outcome. I am also pleased to report that I am still happily married to the most wonderful husband in the world. His patience, strength and construction knowledge really paid off in building the raised garden bed. Needless to say, we had totally different ideas on how to approach this project but it was a great success ! The bed is just about 120 square feet and should support most, if not all, of the vegetable seedlings which have grown, and grown and grown. The fabled Jack's beanstalk cannot compare to the Beekman 1802 Heirloom Beans ! They are pictured below on the far right.
I have done some web research regarding the many different ways to trellis beans and cucumbers. I love the idea the Beekman Boys came up with using livestock panels. Of course living in Palm Beach County, Florida, finding a farm supply store may be yet another challenge, but I am up for the task. For more information on these great trellises, see the Beekman Boys' great article on the garden website. Here are a couple of pictures of my raised bed.
Now comes the exciting part, planting. For best results, refer to your garden checklist. I planted most of the seedlings a couple of inches below the soil. After a couple of days, once the seedlings have adjusted to their new home, I will fertilize the plants. I am keeping a garden journal documenting everything from date planted, depth and width apart, air temperature and wind direction, and fertilization. That way, next year, we will know what worked and what did not.
You probably noticed that I had to cut back part of the vine on the fence. With the assistance of my wonderful husband, we installed an automatic sprinkler head in the middle which adjusts to various heights. As the vegetables grow, we can adjust the height and direction of the spray. Also, should we need to get away for a long weekend, the garden will be watered automatically. Again, an idea borrowed from the Beekman Boys. I have learned so much from everyone involved in this community garden project and chatted with some really great people along the way. Thank you Brent and Josh for inspiring us and bringing us all together ! Until the next post, keep happy thoughts and keep those gardening questions coming.
