This year we are gardening minimalists. At least compared to our previous gardening efforts. You’ve heard me talk about how we had a busy winter/spring enough times. The visual proof is a garden about a third the size of our typical summer garden. But we have all the essentials. Tomatoes & peppers, a few squash, plenty of herbs. And our galvanized bins full of cucumbers and lettuce. We’ve stuck a few melon seeds in the ground to see what will happen.
We put our drainage pipes back in between the tomatoes. We went three years without doing that and we know now that for us, adding the drainage pipes produces a much nicer tomato plant. While we use drip lines for regular watering, being able to stick the hose down those pipes once a week or so, and water really deeply makes a world of difference.
It’s easy to beat ourselves up for not getting it all done as large-scale as in previous years, but we’re slowly learning to be easier on ourselves. We bought almost all our plants this year, no time for starting from seeds. And besides all that, it’s a drought year, so we’re even more justified with staying ‘small’ this growing season. We are loving growing in these raised galvanized tanks. There have been a few mutterings about wouldn’t it be dreamy to get another 8 of them and just grow as much as we can in them. I don’t know if that would really happen, but we are enjoying the two we have immensely. The way they are positioned, the sun hits them just right so they are much more photogenic, you’ll be seeing a lot of them. So we hope you like them too.
How’s your garden doing this year?
i am using the galv stock tanks as well, however i hav a couple with solid bottoms, what do u do for drainage?
Susan, we drilled a bunch of holes in the bottom before we filled them up. So far, so good!
Hi! I’m visiting from SouleMama and I’m thrilled to have found your website. I feel I could learn so much here!
Your garden looks great! Even if it’s smaller than previous years, it looks like everything is thriving well… so job well done!
This year my garden is doing okay. Having lots of trouble with getting melons to grow + making sure the plants stay hydrated. But I just started some new seeds because some of my indoor starts have had it!
It looks amazing! I think that even if you have a smaller space, you are able to get so much out of it if you tend it well. I’m sure you will!
I’ve been a long time reader of your blog. Your garden always brings inspiration to mine. I had a question about watering your tomatoes. How often do you water your tomatoes with the drip line and the drainage pipe system? Do you think you end up using less water? Thanks for the tip… I will try out your drain pipe technique next year!
We cut our drainage pipes into 18″ lengths, you can read more about it here East Sac: http://www.asonomagarden.com/2008/04/09/how-we-plant-our-tomatoes/ We don’t have our drip on a timer (we need to do that) but we water it maybe twice a week on drip for 30-60 minutes and then water straight into the holes once a week.
Good job on only a few squash plants, if you need any zucchini, I’m happy to bring some your way!!!
I love the pipe idea for the tomatoes, how far down does it go?
Looks like you’re well on your way to a great summer garden!
What size galvanized tubs do you have?
This has been my best garden since moving to Southern California 2 1/2 yrs ago. Most likely it is because we have worked really hard amending the soil. We have 3 gardens totaling about 68 sq’ and are able to produce all of our own vegetables. Of course year round gardening has a lot to do with the quantity we are able to grow.
Do you get dirt backfilling the holes in the drainage pipes when you water
through them? Just wondering? Read the book after you mentioned it but seemed really overwhelming so just implemented a couple steps. Thanks for your wonderful blog!
No we don’t get much dirt in the pipes, maybe a little, but not enough to be a problem. That book can be overwhelming. We don’t follow it exactly too. I’m not necessarily looking to build scaffolding to pick my tomatoes!
Ohhhh, the stock tanks! Be still my heart. I’ve got one I use as a raised bed and the plants in it always do so well. This year, it has tomatoes. I think they just get more heat. The other stock tank, I use for a container water garden. I think I might need a few more of these suckers too!