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Michaela
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| Posted: April 26 2008 at 10:57am | IP Logged
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lapazfarm wrote:
Mary Chris wrote:
I need to buy dirt  . |
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LOL! For some reason this just cracks me up! |
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This is a little side step from the topic, but I imagine there are horse owners who would also laugh at the fact that I may need to buy redworms for composting (that's the garden angle  ) while they have piles of manure full of hundreds of worms wiggling about.
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Michaela
Momma to Nicholas 16, Nathan 13, Olivia 13, Teresa 6, & Anthony 3
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 26 2008 at 11:43am | IP Logged
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Come on down Paula!! Peat would be great in this red clay!! You can drop off at each of the VA houses and meet all of us!!
MC- Truly nurseries are my weakness too. I can walk away from clothing, to-die-for shoes, cute purses, new furniture, and knick-knacks pretty easily... but get me around a bunch of plants and I just have to say "I'm ONLY here for mulch. I'm only here for mulch."
Although as a result.... we've got a botany lesson right in our own yard!!
Out here amongst all the VWs -- we are so lucky as to have dh go get his Dad's tractor and PLOW the hard rock red clay soil.
And the Mint? Love it, love it, love it. But we have it in a wood container in full sun -- so it spreads - but it's in its third year and it hasn't taken over the whole garden just it's own little container area. The purple flowers and the fun of smelling it make it a huge hit here. It looks really pretty next to Shasta daisies that also spread well.
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
A Lee in the Woudes
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Leslie
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| Posted: April 26 2008 at 7:10pm | IP Logged
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Thank you Elizabeth and Mary Chris for the ideas. Rachel had said she was looking into square foot gardening this year, and the idea had appealed to me. My one concern was that I couldn't seem myself out there constructing the wooden frame with the little ones at my elbows. I like the idea of purchasing a ready made one (at least one closer to being made, anyway!). My dh suggested converting the sandbox to a veggie garden today (veggies are what I want most, although so far I only have 1 tomato plant in a big pot). I think I'd rather keep the sandbox though. So far, we have the tomato plant, and the kids each planted a few flowers that could tolerate a lot of sun--I think we have a few (I mean 2 or 3  ) pansies, verbana, a daisy plant, a begonia plant and a snap dragon plant. Each of the older kids has their own plot of earth--only a small triangle that already had a bush or two planted in it. We added some soil (which is sadly so much more expensive than the plants!) and just went for it. Since I had no idea what I was doing when we started I announced it was just an experiment and we'd all learn as we go along. I'm not sure it is the most beautiful garden, but we're having fun...and I'm excited to do more :)
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Leslie
Mom to Kyler 6, Maddie 4, & Lucas 2
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Shari in NY
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 7:51am | IP Logged
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OH! This thread is about gardening! I thought it was about not being trusted to finish a school day when the great outdoor Spring weather is beckoning! Off to buy some dirt to add to our very rocky garden!
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Mary Chris
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 8:51am | IP Logged
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Shari in NY wrote:
| OH! This thread is about gardening! I thought it was about not being trusted to finish a school day when the great outdoor Spring weather is beckoning! |
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Shari,
We got that going on to!
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Blessings, Mary Chris Beardsley
mom to MacKenzie3/95, Carter 12/97 Ronan 3/00 and wife to Jim since 1/92
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 9:13am | IP Logged
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teachingmom wrote:
I bought two of these grow beds this year in order to try some square foot type gardening in my very small yard. I have strawberries and raspberries in one of them and will be putting tomatoes, peppers, and maybe some lettuce or an herb or two in the other. |
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I'm terrible with spatial things. What size would I need to plant six tomato plants?
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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ladybugs
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 9:30am | IP Logged
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Oh wow....I haven't started my garden yet due to our impending monve (May 3) but oh, how I am yearning to!
I'm going to check out those grow beds!
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Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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Mary Chris
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 10:54am | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
teachingmom wrote:
I bought two of these grow beds this year in order to try some square foot type gardening in my very small yard. I have strawberries and raspberries in one of them and will be putting tomatoes, peppers, and maybe some lettuce or an herb or two in the other. |
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I'm terrible with spatial things. What size would I need to plant six tomato plants? |
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Elizabeth,
If you use the square foot method, you would make that box into nine 1 foot squares. You can put 1 tomato plant into each square. So it would depend if you want one box of all tomatoes. What else do you want to plant in them? You could put 6 into one box, the ladders and cages we were talking about should help them fit into one box.
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Blessings, Mary Chris Beardsley
mom to MacKenzie3/95, Carter 12/97 Ronan 3/00 and wife to Jim since 1/92
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teachingmom
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Virginia Bluebells
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 12:44pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for answering the question, Mary Chris. Yes, I bought two of the 3ft x 3ft beds. That gives me 9 square feet per garden bed. I noticed that they also sell 3ft x 6ft beds. But I wanted to separate my fruit and my vegetables since strawberries spread.
I also bought a tomato cage and a set of vegetable cages from Gardeners.com. They are square, instead of the usual round shape, and each fit in a one-foot square space. It would be a tight fit to put them side by side, but I plan to stagger them, and I think they'll be fine.
And a sort-of-absent husband is exactly the reason that I splurged and bought the pre-made beds. This is one of the busiest times of the year for dh at work and he has evenings each week when he has to attend functions related to work. Add his long commute and his coaching soccer for one of our dds and he has very little time to do much else but normal spring yard upkeep.
So I knew that if we were going to have raised beds in time for planting, the premade ones were the way to go. I also learned from some online searching about raised gardening that most people have to replace wooden ones after a number of years since you cannot use treated lumber for a garden. Hopefully these will last a long time.  And I was pleasantly surprised to find that they are made in England - not China!
Elizabeth wrote:
Leslie,
Irene's idea might be perfect for you. Those beds can be assembled here in Virginia and then, if you really wanted to, you could dump the dirt before you move again, dissemble them and take them to the next post. At least I think you could. |
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Leslie, I think Elizabeth is right. You could easily move these to your next home. Just keep the box they come in because they are a strange shape to pack.
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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ladybugs
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 12:55pm | IP Logged
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Has anyone used these?
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Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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teachingmom
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Virginia Bluebells
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 1:06pm | IP Logged
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No. But I saw them and was tempted to try it. Let us know how it goes if you do!
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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Mary Chris
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 1:12pm | IP Logged
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Maria,
Those do look really cool. I just worry that my over the top, appearances only community, would write me up.
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Blessings, Mary Chris Beardsley
mom to MacKenzie3/95, Carter 12/97 Ronan 3/00 and wife to Jim since 1/92
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Ruth
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 3:46pm | IP Logged
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Mary Chris wrote:
Maria,
Those do look really cool. I just worry that my over the top, appearances only community, would write me up. |
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My husband made three of those. So far no one has complained. He did put them in the back yard. We already have a few tomatoes on them.
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Ruth
mom to 7 miracles
My family blog
Loreto Rosaries
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ladybugs
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| Posted: April 28 2008 at 4:28pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, Ruth - that's great!
Mary Chris, the home we're moving into has HOA dues and I'm not sure what the limitations are...
I'm thinking if I hang them in the backyard with the amount of heat and sunlight we get here...I should have a great yield....
Oh, yum...
I better do more than just think about it!
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Love and God Bless,
Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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Kristie 4
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| Posted: May 06 2008 at 5:14pm | IP Logged
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Off to make some of those great upsidedown tomato things! And off to try and round up some wood for another bed. The snow seems gone for good this time!
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Kristie in Canada
Mom to 3 boys and one spunky princess!!
A Walk in the Woods
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Why I am not to be trusted in the spring.
