Depends on which part of the garden you are talking about...I ended up expanding it to 10,000 square feet because of the flooding...Part was on a slope, part was flat...I tried to leave about 10 inches of dirt as a sort of levee between the garden and yard...It didn't seem to help...That's just another reason why I moved it to the lake house when we bought this place...Much better soil, better drainage, better nutrients (we sit on a limestone cliff) and relatively flat on top (the draining soil does drain down the hill...You'd have to see it...

I REALLY like how you grow the melons on the fence...I've got a PERFECT location to do that next year...WOOHOO!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

"I REALLY like how you grow the melons on the fence...I've got a PERFECT location to do that next year...WOOHOO!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!"

Lol. You're welcome , dude. Chain link works really well for any type of vine. I've grown gourds, cucumbers, morning glory / moonflower , beans , climbing roses, even squash (you have to tie 'em to the fence).

Just in case you belong to an HOA: you might want to explain the pantyhose on the fence before you tie 'em on.

Quick question on the potatoes:

I planted the red/new potato (seed potatoes) on 15 APRIL. I have decent bushes now, about 12" tall. When do I harvest or start to dig and check? Will the red potatoes flower?

Thanks in advance.

Still looking for Green Tomatoes! Around the Frisco area please.

I don't remember if the reds flower but when the plant starts to wilt and die back it's time to dig.

They'll make some flowers. Blue I think. You can dig around the base of your plants and see if there are any potatoes. They're usually done around 6/1 in my area. They will wilt.

Update:

My sweet 100 is almost 3 feet tall and has 14 little maters started as of yesterday. I can't believe how that thing took off. The celebrity tomatoes are starting to do well but nowhere near the 100.

Sugar snap peas are still producing but the older set is starting to brown. I planted some a couple weeks after the first set and those are going mad. Note to self, for a continued crop, plat sugar snap peas a week apart over a months time.

Spacemaster cucumbers are really starting to come alive. Although it's not a very big plant yet, the leaves are close to 8 or so inches in diameter. I wish I could say the same about my pickling cucumbers. They are only a few inches tall.

Squashes. The butternut is going ape and keeps growing in the wrong direction so I'm going to have to figure a way to make it grow in the direction I want. Zuchs are starting to come into their own. Still small plants but very nice and green. The yellow crookneck however are still yellowing and not looking great. I just worked in some fresh compost around those guys so we'll see what happens.

Bush beans grew like crazy till they hit about a foot tall then started to turn light green. They've put out some beans but they look to be struggling. I planted some more bush beans about two weeks ago in a container that I pulled my red norland potatoes out of and they have grown four inches in a week. We'll see if they produce.

Okra = sad. They turned yellow then died. So last night I turned em under and mixed in some fresh compost and replanted.

Peppers are looking good. Although they are not growing very tall, they are a nice dark green color. I've got bell and jalepenos and both have 3 to 4 fruits per plant with the jalepeno in the lead with the biggest at about an inch long.

Hops - A friend and I brew beer so we decided to try growing hops this year. I'm using a smallish container so I'm having to water every day. The chinook is about 3 feet tall with the cascades not far behind.

UPDATE FROM ROCKWALL AREA:

Red Potatoes: Couldn't resist - did a little scooping around one plant and found the roots LOADED with golf-ball sized taters

Celebrity Maters: Marble and golf ball sized tomatoes - loaded with blooms. Did some pruning and it really seemed to help.

Cherry Maters: Loaded with pea and marble sized maters - also prolific blooming. Also did trimming and this seemed to help.

Jalepenos: Recovering from squash beetle attack. Dark green again, lots of new growth. should be fine, just need some hot weather.

Egg Plant: Small fruit - tons of blooms.

White Onions: Awesome - baseball sized - some tops starting to fall over.

Purple onions: very bad. Some plants dead - all small - some bolting to bloom. I think I planted to late or they don't do well here - will stick to texas sweet's from now on.

Zuchini- recovering from aforementioned beetle outbreak. Lots of new growth - just waiting for another round of blooms.

summer squash: Recovering as well - small and still pale - but new growth showing up. Hopefully will recover with hot weather.

Thanks to all for the help!

I harvested 2 yellow squash and 2 sugary grape tomatoes last week...

This is this week's harvest...



I should have harvested the 2 large zucchinis last week, but they were apparently hiding from me... Oh well, that just means I can have some fried zucchini (and that's NEVER a bad thing)...

Oh and if your zucchini ever gets like 18" to 36" (or bigger) you can always cut it in half lengthwise and then scoop out the seeds...You can then slice the remaining meat and boil it...Then add some boiled potatoes and mash it all together...Really good...

Show off

I'm trying to keep a record to see how much it grows over the coming weeks...Oh and yes, I'm showing it off...It's a lot of hard work...

My first tomatoes are precious. I'm beyond that stage. I'll start giving some away next week, then I'll start canning some salsa. I put up 24 pints each summer. My jalapenos, and onions are waiting. After that, I'll freezen around 30 pints of marinara, then maybe a little creole sauce.

Most recipes call for cooking the tomatoes down for a couple of hours. I don't do that. I cook about 20 to 30 minutes, and then add tomato paste.

I have some empty room in my garden. What can I plant right now? I want to fill in the area. Thanks

I freeze because I have more room in my freezer than I have room to store jars. It's also quicker, and cheaper. I also make stuffed bell peppers and freeze them, and green beans.

Ever tried canning green beans?

Not too sure if I want to eat the blue taters.



Not really gardening related but my Catawba tree's in full bloom. Hopefully I'll have plenty of catfish bait this summer.

Second batch of string beans with some grape tomatoes. Peppers starting to do well. Already picked a batch of Cubanel peppers, waiting on the hot stuff....

Those green beans look great. Some people pick fresh green beans and boil them until they taste like they came from a can. I blanch mine for around 8 minutes and then stir fry them, in butter, then add lemon juice, or lemon pepper.

nice.. I need to come see what a good garden looks like, because mine ain't it. It's ok, but nothing like what you are producing. I have about a dozen tomato plants, but only have a total of 6 tomatoes on the vine.

Speaking of, do you prune your tomato plants, and if so, how?
I understand the process, but not sure what gets pruned and what doesn't.

Also, Cubanelles are becoming my favorite pepper. Can't seem to find them in the markets anywhere though. I grew a few last year, but don't have any planted this season.

Have never pruned our tomatoe plants, just let 'em go. I think the key to good growing is good dirt. I know you know about Dyno dirt, we talked about it last season. Since I've added it to my garden things have really grown better, fuller and produced more than previous years.

I used dyno dirt, and that's it in my raised beds, and they just didn't do great. I think my problem had been drainage related. It's better, and I have better plant spacing, but still needs work.