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View Full Version : Greetings from Beaverton Oregon!



maricybele
10-22-2008, 12:33 AM
:)I just love this site. I stumbled upon Garden Girl tv site looking under sustainable living and all the great ideas! It's got me thinking and dreaming of chickens and rabbits,hoop housings, more 4 season gardening, saving energy, taking out all my lawn, greenhouse, more gardening.

This is my second year gardening, and I am hooked! There is nothing like picking your own food from the garden. I am growing some lovely garden vegetables. It is so great to have fabulous gourmet veggies and herbs in my yard. My garden so far consists of 19 raised beds of various sizes, one lasagna bed, one large regular garden bed, 5 small strip gardens near fences and along walks. I have a vertical grape arbor, and a small orchard area with
various fruit trees, strawberries, raspberries, blue berries, gauva and several berry bush babies ready to plant this fall. I still have a lot more to go to take out my front lawn and my back lawn.

Last year I bought 1 plastic cold frame and I made 4 make shift hoop frames this year from pvc and plastic. I've done lots of seed trading over last winter and I did a stuffer tomato trails which was a lot of fun. I am going to make a cold frame from a shower door hopefully this year. So I can grow year round even better. My friend made one and her lettuce is growing so much better than mine. Would be great to find some sky lights like Patti. This fall I am growing lettuce, kale, carrots, beets, cabbage, radish, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts and seeing how long I can grow my tomatoes for, they are under plastic right now.

I have saved seeds from my favorite lettuce, I accidentally got the package wet so I had to plant them and they germinated same red color as the parent. I saved seed from my favorite heirlooms tomatoes this year using the fermenting method.

I make homemade kefir, kvass, kambucha, water kefir, and pickles and yogurt when I get time. My hobbies are quilting, reading, surfing the net, travel, camping, cooking, when I get time.

Thanks for providing such a wonderful site even for folks who don't have cable. So far this site has provided me with hours of interesting, and educational entertainment. Not to mention several easy ideas I can do at home to improve my garden. I am so excited to participate.

Garden Green
10-22-2008, 12:48 AM
What a small world. I lived in Beaverton for just over a year! Welcome to the site!

Sinfonian
10-22-2008, 03:34 AM
Yay, another PNW gardener! Hello from Seattle!

Wow, you have done more in two years of gardening than I could dream of in 10. Way to go! You're inspiring! Do you have pics?

Welcome!

gardengirl72
10-22-2008, 10:36 AM
Welcome Marci, I am so blessed to have you here. Please contribute to the Forum as often as you can. The more info we share, the better the world will be!

maricybele
10-22-2008, 02:01 PM
Yay, another PNW gardener! Hello from Seattle!

Wow, you have done more in two years of gardening than I could dream of in 10. Way to go! You're inspiring! Do you have pics?

Welcome!

I believe I know you from another gardening site and you have a lot raised beds also. Right?

Trying to do the photos. Mine were done on the quick and cheap, they cost about 4 bucks each with fence boards with either 4x4 or 2x4 connectors. I did them my self, and so many to do, they needed to be lightweight. I am hoping to do rock beds or cement beds later to create warmth but I had spent so much on my plants,shrubs,vines and trees, soil, to fill the beds etc, that I needed to something frugally. I am hoping the beds will last 3 years. It works for me, anytime I need a bed I can whip one out in 10 minutes or less and it's light enough for me to carry around where ever it needs to go. The only thing is I don't think they are strong enough for an interior hoop house so I made and exterior frame.

maricybele
10-22-2008, 03:04 PM
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Photos:
of my conventional garden
my onion lasagna garden
side raised bed area and upside down tomatoes (too small planters not much production)
3 sisters raised bed
cheap season extenders. I like Patti's better but I had to go on the outside to save on the life of my quickie/cheapie raised beds.

maricybele
10-22-2008, 03:15 PM
Here are some photos of my garden weeds and all. As you can tell I don't do much weeding. I don't use chemicals so it gets away from me sometimes. The one thing I love about square foot/raised bed/lasagne methods is the weeds are manangeable and I don't have to dig. Maintaining the beds is much easier. I actually have been able to grow things.
On my tomatoes along the fence I just used plastic and clips and it is working fine probably much to my neighbors chagrin. But they are getting used to me by now. My forgotten squash got huge!,My blue berry area and grapes
winter sowing,my south facing beds

Sinfonian
10-22-2008, 03:56 PM
We may have "met" elsewhere before. Well met again if so!

I have 4 raised beds totaling 130 SF but have tried to incorporate edibles where ever possible.

Your garden pics look amazing! I spent way more than you and got far less. Ah well, sunk costs and all. Way to go on all you're growing. Keep up the great work!

plantoneonme
11-06-2008, 11:55 PM
Great pictures and glad to have you with us. Don't worry about the plastic on the fence. I use strings and dollar store plastic curtains and rings to make movable curtains in the spring for new veggie starts. I got things in the ground at least 3 weeks earlier that way. Kim