Please share pictures & ideas for garden space extenders.
Experimenting with sheep & goat panels (4” squares, 48” x16’) and 15-gallon fabric pots place between straw bales to support honeydew melon (closes fabric pot), butternut squash, & Marina Di Chioggis (my first year to grow this pumpkin). These large vining plants take up so much space I’m using this method in an unused area of my backyard to avoid wasting valuable raised bed area.
Comments
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The straw bales were on hand and are used in this garden experiment to help prevent the fabric pots from drying out. This fall the bales will be used as mulch or composted. The pots do have to be watered daily and if I decide to extend or use this method again will add drip irrigation.
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We use food grade 55 gallon barrels cut in half with holes drilled in them for drainage. We fill them with the composted soil in our chicken run. This is my lettuce crop. We also have tomatoes in 5 others. We also put our peppers in colorful planters among our flowers. We keep chicken feed bags and fill them with composted soil to grow potatoes in. Works pretty well. Oh, we also repurpose pallets whenever possible.
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Thank you @naomi.kohlmeier and @Vicky Morris for sharing your creative space management techniques. I've got an image of a combination of both those projects. The half barrels are fabulous for controlling the soil, managing the moisture, pest management and saving the back! Very productive, it allows you to plant a variety of items in manageable portions for consumption. The drain hole is essential for those heavy downpours and root wicking. Well done!
This image is of Malabar Spinach, a perennial, vining, sun love spinach, what's not to love!
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I planted corn, pole beans and squash all in the same holes. Corn grows tall - beans grow up corn, squash covers ground. The native American in this area used to plant like this. I planted about 12" a part to give each enough sun and room to grow. The local farmers plant corn in the fields ever 3-4" a part, with only 5-6" between rows. I was told this it stands up to wind better and makes a wall that deer/bear have a harder time walking through. (someone forgot to tell the deer/bears) they just run over everything. But planting close seems to work, they get very tall plants and high yielding crops.
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@naomi.kohlmeier , wow! That pic is incredible. It made me hungry. You are my inspiration. I hope my greens will look like that someday!
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@moreyshadypines where did you get your vining spinach? I didn't know there was such a plant. I am trying to figure out how to plant the front yard without it looking like a garden and people helping themselves.
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I grow in baby pools, paint cans, colanders, kitty litter buckets, and pretty much anything I can find. I just saw two 4or posts with old gutter nailed to it holding herb plants. Drill holes and tilt slightly when hanging.
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naomi.hohlmeier I am n
ot sure what vining spinach they have growing but there is what is called Malabar Spinach, which is not really spinach, but very similar. It seems to tolerate heat better than non-vining spinach.I have also seen and like using a large colander for growing lettuces
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