Used to do a regular veggie garden that covered a lot of area. After the kids left home I continued for a couple of years, then decided I was growing way more than I could use and the people I gave the surplus to acted like I should even can the stuff for them. I quit doing the veggies and would buy a bit from the farmers markets in the area. Seemed like I was always a dollar short and day late and tomatoes were soft and mushy when I was ready for them, corn you would think were gold nuggets on a cob so I started growing things in pots. Tough to grow corn in pots as the wind kept blowing them over when they got so high so I decided to dabble in raised beds. Started with just one 4'x8'x8" bed filled with soil I got from the woods. I raised tomatoes, squash and egg plants the first year to see how it went. Went way beyond my expectations, I have never raised tomatoes with 6' & 7' tall plants before and the soil in my old regular garden was the finest I could make. Wow these raised beds are great I think, and easy to protect early season from frost and also late season too.

First year got hit with tomato blight. I read all I could on it so removed all the plants from the bed, took them to my bury hole and buried them along with all the soil I removed from the bed later. Left the frame to freeze and thaw all winter, when spring came I mixes up a bleach solution and washed that frame several times with the solution and then plain dish soapy water and a final rinse and started over.
I also built 2 more new beds with recycled lumber 4'x8'x 11" filled them all again with woods soil. They have worked well for me also.

Today I am working on making a watering system where all the water goes in the beds. I discovered in 2014 that a water bottle on the end of a hose with holes worked best. Problem is water bottles are now cheaper made and do not screw on the end of a hose any longer.

Al

Great use of a water bottle. Do you use tap water for watering your raised beds?

I use water from the well and piped back to the pole barn.

Al

What about finding a slightly larger water container and plumbing it with a spigot? I have rain barrels (3) that are all plumbed with a spigot to fit garden hoses. I also have a water container from an old RV/camper that holds 5 gallons of water.

I hate gutters on buildings and have removed them all except where the builder decided to have the front door.

We make every effort to have the plants developed a good root system too. that is one good thing about my raised beds is what water we do use is in a tight controlled space.







Al

I've seen rain water-collecting devices that don't rely on gutters or downspouts if that's a direction you'd like to go. I try to limit supplemental watering as well but I will make exception for the few veggies I grow. Or - if we've gone through a hot, rainless period that we've just come through (so early in the season). My rain barrels were empty and I had to rely on city water which I prefer not to do but when plants are drooping, water is water.

No way I would pay for city water for a garden. I would either drive a shallow well or have one drilled for that.

Al

I would love a well just for gardening but I live in an oak/hickory wooded area. Would be a PITA to drill.

Only have to worry about hitting a root in the first couple of feet and if the well is drilled no problem. They hit ROCK all the time yet the well still has water at the bottom.

Al

Nice raised beds!

They really work for me. I am planning on making a few more and even put my asparagus in one.

Later in the season.



Garden friend.



I really like the purple bell peppers. I make a creamy summer squash soup the grand kids want every day when they visit for a few days.





Al

Nice! Are the peppers and squash from this summer? I grow my zucchini and squash in big pots because I don't have enough room in the ground. The zucchini are getting close to picking size.

Nope last year. Squash is just now blooming, peppers are still blooming but also have some small fruit on them developing.

Al

I've got peppers developing on my plants. They're in fabric grow pots as are my two cucumbers. The cukes are blooming nicely and look healthy but no fruits yet.

I'm not sure if I will get peppers this year. All of mine are yellow and sickly looking along with the beans planted next to them. Just that row that's acting up.

Are beans compatible with peppers?

Al

2017 tomato raised bed.



One of the early girl plants tomatoes.



My bell pepper raised bed.



A pepper plant with fruit, Big Bertha.



The squash, sweet corn raised bed. OK so I stuck one of Kare's new daylilies in there tempory.



Over achiever butternut squash.



My bio annual blooming climbing rose.



Al

Your plants all look happy and healthy. I did pick my first zucchini yesterday and should have more plus yellow squash to pick next week. All tomato plants have started setting small fruits. We've had spotty rain over the past couple of days so hopefully that will do for the gardens for the next few days. I'm not crazy about 88% humidity though.

Worked on my water supply system to the raised beds yesterday.
I had bought earlier 10 feet of 1/2 inch PVC, a gate valve, and a brass set up as a way to hook a normal garden hose to it.

I cut the PCV down to just over 6 foot, marked two lines 45 degrees apart on it then drilled 1/16 inch holes on both lines an inch apart. Glued all the PCV parts together installed the male brass fitting. then taking some old garden hose I installed 2 females ends so one would attach to my sprinkler set up and the other female end would hook to a garden hose.

Really disappointed as all I was getting was a trickle with the water turned wide open.

Yes the garden is getting watered but what should only take an hour with out moving the set up now will take about 4 hours and have to move the set up every 2 hours.

I am going to look into some thing to increase the pressure at the system.

Pictures to follow at a later date.

Al

You don't have any 90 degree turns in your set-up, do you? That could restrict flow somewhat.
I haven't used my soaker hoses yet. But I am growing some of my veg among established perennials which can take a little dryness. I do water the tomato plants in the ground though. And my veggie pots are requiring watering because of the hot, sunny weather. My snow peas will probably pout with this hot weather and stop flowering until we get a cooler spell.