I'm a slow learner...and stubborn too

[ssramage]

I have lived on the coast for 9 years now and have tried to grow things here for probably the last 6 or so. It's never worked. But I refuse to give up and keep trying things anyways. I had a killer garden last year coming up that got destroyed by deer and was really too shaded I think, so I moved a few plots closer to the house in one of the few spots we have that gets direct sunlight not diffused by the Live Oaks.

Long bed is tomatoes/peppers, small square bed is now sweet potatoes, metal planter has a few direct sown Kajari melons in it that I'll trellis (assuming they germinate). New this year are the Greenstalk vertical planters (I have 2 more to set up). One of them pictured is all strawberries, the other should be about 45 bush bean plants. It won't be a huge garden like I want to have one day, but we're doing what we can as we look for a piece of property for our family.

I have room here for one more of the large rectangle beds (already have it, just need to move it) that I may put in for squash/zucchini.

Side note, any gardeners know what the cigar is for? I consider it a must have when working in the dirt down here.

 

[Milkman]

Cigar is a deterrent for the skeeters and noseeums.

 

[ssramage]

Cigar is a deterrent for the skeeters and noseeums.

Yep! They are brutal, especially when working with bagged soil down here.

 

[Jim Boyd]

Love those coastal oaks.

 

[slow motion]

Love those coastal oaks.

Me too. Got a couple live oaks at our little vacation place in Fl.

 

[ssramage]

Love those coastal oaks.

Most people do. I hate them.

 

[TJay]

The cigar looks like a Baccarat to me, I smoked one down at our lease over the weekend. Nice mild smoking stick. Question on the boxes; do you fill them with regualr garden soil that you get at Home Depot or Lowe's?

 

[ssramage]

The cigar looks like a Baccarat to me, I smoked one down at our lease over the weekend. Nice mild smoking stick. Question on the boxes; do you fill them with regualr garden soil that you get at Home Depot or Lowe's?

That's exactly what it was. First time I've smoked one. I liked it and will definitely pick up more. I'm not a huge cigar smoker, but usually keep a few around.

So I don't have the perfect answer for raised bed soil, but here's what I do. I typically will buy some bagged potting mix, bagged raised bed soil, and bagged peat moss and mix together. It takes A LOT of soil, but the main thing is that you want to mix in the potting soil and peat moss to keep the soil from being too dense. It helps hold water without compacting. You don't want anything labeled as "in ground" soil as it will be really dense. I've also seen people recommend top soil as part of the mixture but most of that is extremely cheap and mostly sticks.