For this project you will need the following materials:

• (1) 10′ piece of 1″ PVC pipe
• 30′ of 3/4″ black poly pipe (80 PSI)
• (5) 4″ x 8′ Landscape timbers (untreated)
• (1) roll galvanized pipe strap (1/2″ x 25′ should be fine)
• 10′ x 25′ of clear plastic
• (1) roll of twine
• (50) 1/2″ wood screws (may want to get a few extra for good measure.)
• (2) short wooden or metal stakes
• Approximately 22 cubic feet of good top soil

This is a no-frills, cheap way to create a PVC greenhouse for a 4′ x 16′ garden row allowing you to plant a month or two early and extend the garden season by a month or so.

You will need at least a 6′ wide by 20′ long garden space free of grass, weeds, etc. and should be leveled before beginning this project.

The area should also be worked up and make ready for planting down to 8 inches or so.

1. Start out by cutting the 1″ PVC into (10) 6″ pieces using a hacksaw or whatever method works best for you.

2. Likewise cut the black poly pipe into (5) 6′ pieces.

3. Cut one of the landscape timbers in half leaving you with (2) 4′ pieces.

4. layout the landscape timbers in a rectangle shape of 4′ wide by 16′ long making sure the timbers are level and even with each other. Use the (2) 4′ pieces to close off the ends. (see figure 1)

5. After you have it laid out as indicated, use the pipe strap to secure the timbers together. Small pieces 3 or 4 inches long should be fine secured on each side with a wood screw.

6. Use a trowel to dig a 2 ” hole hole every 4 foot along the inside edge of the rectangle. This will be for setting the 6″ pieces of 1″ PVC into the ground. Set the pieces 2 inches into the ground leaving 4 inches sticking above ground. Pack the soil firmly around the pipe and then use short lengths of the pipe strap to secure the PVC pieces to the timbers on each side. (See figure 2)

This is what the galvanized pipe strap looks like by the way:

7. You will now need to fill the inside of the garden row with good top soil level with the top of the landscape timbers. You may want to cover the pieces of PVC with some duct tape or something similar to keep dirt out of them.

8. Now that the 6″ pieces of PVC are secure and the garden area is filled with good top soil.. arch the black poly pipe across the garden by placing each end down in the 6″ pieces of PVC we just buried into the ground and secured to the timbers. Repeat the process for all 5 pieces of poly pipe until you have a sort of tunnel framework.

9. When all 5 pieces of the black poly pipe are in place, tie the end of the twine around a stake driven into the ground about 2 feet in front of the garden row then stretch it up to the top dead center of the first poly pipe, wrap it a few times and continue to the next poly pipe. Continue this process down the line until you reach the opposite side.

Once you reach the opposite side, wrap the twine a few times around the last poly pipe and then tie it off on another stake driven into the ground about 2 feet out from the garden. (See figure 3)

Repeat step 8 except instead of going down the top dead center of the poly pipes, this time go down 45 degrees from top dead center one either side wrapping the twine a few times around each poly pipe and then proceeding to the next. Once again do the opposite side going down 45 degrees from top dead center all the way down the garden row wrapping each poly pipe with the twine a few times and then tying it off at the end stake.

When complete, you should have (3) pieces of twine tied to the front stake and going all the way down the poly pipe, wrapping a few time around each one and tied off at the end stake, one on each side of the garden row and one down the top dead center.

This will give the “greenhouse the rigidity it needs to hold up under wind, rain and other inclement weather.

10. Now you simply spread the plastic over the framework securing the sides and front of the plastic with bricks or other heavy objects. You can also staple pieces of wood to the edges of the plastic on either side for better control.

On warm days be sure to open the ends of the greenhouse to allow a little air circulation else it will get too hot and burn young tender plants.

Once the weather gets past danger of frost for your zone you can easily remove the greenhouse and store it for use the following fall to extend the growing season.

You may also be able to improve upon this design.. this is what worked for me at the time and it worked very well I might add, however, feel free to let your imagination and creativity guide you a little on this project.

I apologize for not having better pictures.. I failed to take any pictures while building this PVC greenhouse row cover a good many years back (what was I thinking anyway?!!)

Composting is both easy and very very smart from a financial point of view as well as a plant healthy point of view.

Making your own compost from materials that you most likely already have and will be disposing of anyway can save you a pretty good lump of money considering commercial fertilizers are not exacly cheap.

Another advantage is that plants love homemade compost and why not make your vegetable plants happy if you have the means to do so.

Composting is simply placing certain naturally biodegradable items together in such a way as to allow it to decompose, rot, and turn itself back into a soil like substance rich in nutrients that plants need in order to grow and be healthy.

What Items Can be Composted?

There are certain things that can be used and some that should not.. of the things that can be used there are some that work better than others and some of the “hotter” acting ingredients are known as activators.

Activators

• Young weeds (before going to seed)
• Pigeon and chicken manure
• Grass clippings

Normal Ingredients

• Wood ashes
• Cardboard
• Paper towels/bags
• Cardboard rolls/tubes
• Egg cartons (the paper kind)
• Tea/coffee grounds

The Slower Acting Ingredients

• Fall leaves
• Tough hedge clippings
• Woody prunings
• Sawdust
• Wood shavings

Stuff You Should Avoid Composting

• Meat
• Fish
• Newspaper
• Cooked food
• Coal ash
• Cat litter
• Dog feces
• Glossy magazine pages

How to Actually Make Compost

There are many methods for making compost with some of them taking up to a year or more with very little maintenance or care and then other methods which require a little maintenance but can produce rich compost perfect for the garden in 3 months or less.

The only one I am going to cover is the hot compost method which in my opinion is the best way to do it and really if you do not have time to turn the pile once a week then composting may not be for you.

Gather together all of your grass clipping, vegetable scraps, young weeds, and compostable manure, etc. into the pile, compost bin or container making sure you have a decent balance of soft and tough materials if possible.

If you have some really tough pieces then use garden shears to break it up into smaller pieces.

Water the compost pile as you add it to your container or bin.. you want it to be wet but not overly soggy.

Within just a few days the compost bin or container or container will be hot to the touch and will remain so for several days. Leave it alone until it begins to cool down.

Once it cools down it needs to be turned or mixed up again trying to get the outside stuff to the inside of the pile so it can heat up and cook again.

If the pile is dry just add some water.. if it gets too soggy just add some dry materials to balance things out a bit.

This process of heating up and cooling down will happen several times with it being less and less active each time. Once the compost stops heating up and further, it is almost ready for the garden.. let it sit for a couple of months to finish the process and it can then be used in the place of fertilizer.

When the compost is ready, it will have taken on a dark brown color like rich dirt and will have a earth smell.

Some Last Words About Composting..

Here are a few last minute tips to help you be successful in learning how to make compost:

• Be very careful in adding weeds to the compost pile.. use young weeds only that have not gone to seed yet. A good rule of thumb is “when in doubt, leave it out”.
• When adding hedge clippings or twigs to the pile it is best to try and chop/shred them up a little first to speed up the breakdown of these tougher materials.
• If you have diseased plants, it is best to leave them out of the compost pile since the pile may not heat up enough to destroy the disease and cause you a nightmare later.. once again, “when in doubt, leave it out”.
• You do not have to use a bin or container for composting.. you can just make a pile, however, a bin will make it easier to contain, make it look better and be a lot cleaner all around.

Hope this helps some of you get on the road to composting.. if you have tips on composting, please send them to me.

When I was a kid we moved into a house with a very small back yard and virtually no front yard at all however, I remember there being a raised garden area about 4 feet wide all the way around the house. It was held in place by a single layer of untreated landscape timbers around the entire perimeter.

My brother and I decided on a whim to plant some things that summer so after several trips to the local hardware store for seeds, Miracle Gro and a few gardening tools we were ready to start our garden.

As best as I can remember we planted the following items:

• Beans
• Eggplant
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Peppers (several varieties)
• Tomatoes
• Lettuce
• Onions
• Radishes
• Carrots
• Squash
• Watermelon
• Cantaloupe

I am probably forgetting a few things.. we planted a lot of stuff in a very small space.. and I do mean small.

What most people do not realize is that just a few plants of any item will produce enough to feed an average family.. we had only a couple of tomato plants, a few pepper plants, squash plants, etc.

We went for variety instead of large quantities of single items however, I remember giving vegetables to the neighbors and still having plenty for our family.

We did not know it at the time but we were using wide row gardening techniques to maximize the use of our limited space.

In wide row gardening, you plant vegetable as close as allowed based on the insructions on the seed packet in an array that may be 4 feet wide by 20 or more feel long with no row in between.. you lean across the bed to pull weeds or pick fruit and with the beds no more than 4 feet wide this is easily done.

Because there are no walking paths between each row of plants, wide row gardening allows yields 4 to 6 times greater per square foot than in traditional garden designs.

If you are suffering from limited garden space then perhaps wide row gardening is just the trick for you.. here are a few things to keep in mind when planning your garden:

• Be sure to plant the garden in and east west position if you have the option to do so.
• Be sure to keep your taller plants toward the north to limit them from shading the shorter plants from the sun.
• With any garden, proper soil preparation before planting is the most important thing.
• Plan your garden well on paper before planting.
• Do a little research on yields per plant and only plant exactly what you need.
• If this is your first garden don’t overdo it.. it is better to grow a few plants well than to do a halfway job on way too many plants.
• If you have time constraints, consider setting up your watering on a timer*. These are fairly inexpensive and worth their weight in gold.

*mechanical timers tend to be less expensive than the electronic ones.. I found a mechanical timer at amazon.com for only $11.99 while the electronic timers run from $25 to $35. You do get what you pay for though.

Raised bed gardening holds many advantages for the gardener as well as the plants. The traditional garden soil is packed down from walking on it and as a result it is not porous and airy like it should be.

A raised bed garden is created by building up soil as much as 6 or 8 inches and sometimes even incorporates boards, stones, bricks or concrete blocks to make it more permanent.

This creates an area that is not stepped on but is still easily accessible.

I like to make the raised bed garden a little more secure by using non-treated lumber around the perimeter and then filling the bed with rotten pine bark composted material and well aged manure such as baa-baa doo (sheep manure) to make a rich substance that will grow my vegetables into some fine produce.

As a general rule you can make the beds as long as you like however you should keep them to no more than 4 feet wide to make them easily accessible from either side of the bed.

When using the raised bed gardening method year after year, you should vary the planting patterns making sure to not plant the same crop in the same location two years in a row.

This helps to keep the soil balanced since different plants use different ratios of nutrients. This also helps discourage bugs and pests that are specific to a certain type of vegetable.

Make sure the bed always faces an East/West position to maximize sunlight availability.

A few years back I had moved into a new house and decided to incorporate the raised bed gardening methods.. I also decided to make it real easy on myself by using lots of mulch in the beds as well as all around my two 4×20 beds.

I also buried soaker hose beneath the surface of the soil in the beds in a “U” pattern and put it on a timer for automatic watering.

You can call that lazy all you want but I was and am a very busy guy and that was what worked for me.

I went on later that year to install vertical trellises on one side for the cucumbers and cantaloupes to climb.. this was a bit of an ordeal since I had to support the crop once it started getting heavy but it sure conserved space and I had a lot of fun as well.

Raised bed gardening is a little time consuming to get set up at first but after that it is very efficient gardening and your plants will love you for it!

USDA Hardiness Zone Chart

USDA Hardiness Zone Map

<Growing tomatoes

Tomatoes come in two main varieties.. determinate and indeterminate and knowing the difference makes a huge difference in how you grow and care for your tomatoes.

Determinate Tomatoes

Determinate tomatoes also known as “bush tomatoes” usually only grow to 3 or 4 feet tall. They are unique in that once the top or main bud bears fruit the plant ceases to grow and all of the tomatoes will ripen at or about the same time over the period of a 2 to 2-1/2 week span.

These plants do not need to be staked, they grow very well in containers and should not be pruned at all or “suckered” as this will reduce the crop.

Examples of determinate tomatoes are the Celebrity and the Roma.

Indeterminate Tomatoes

Indeterminate tomatoes are of the vining characteristic and will continue to grow and set fruit until frost prevents it. These tomato plants will often grow over the tops of porches and trellises to amazing 8 to 10 feet heights.

Throughout the entire growing season these tomatoes will set fruit, produce new buds and ripen fruit all at the same time.

This type of tomato will most likely need cages, stakes or trellises to keep the fruit up and off of the ground where it can rot, be eaten by varmints or be infested with parasites and bugs.

Some examples of indeterminate tomatoes are the Big Boy and the Early Girl as well as most cherry tomatoes and heirlooms.

Soil Preparation for Growing Tomatoes

Tomatoes should be grown in soil that has been tested and amended to a ph of 6.5 for optimum growth and production of fruit.

Tomatoes also need calcium rich soil and the soil needs to be properly prepared so that the calcium can be extracted from the soil by the plant.. lime, composted manure (I like Baa-Baa doo) and bone meal can be worked into the soil prior to planting to increase the availability and uptake of calcium into the plant.

Clay and sandy soils can be improved by working in 2 to 3 inches of compost, peat moss, or other forms of organic matter in the top 6 to 9 inches of soil.

Starting from Seeds or Plants?

I do not recommend starting from seeds unless you are a fairly experienced gardener as this can add a whole new level of complexities to the process. It is best to choose quality plants from a local nursery that are known to grow well in your hardiness zone.

If you are intent on starting your own tomatoes from seeds then you will need to know how to do that.. be watching for a tutorial on this in the next few weeks.

Know this that you will need to plant the seeds indoors in containers 6 to 8 weeks prior to the last average frost date for your hardiness zone so you can go ahead and decide what type of tomatoes you will grow and get to ordering the seeds.

Planting Tomatoes

Tomato plants should be spaced 2 feet apart in the row and 3 feet between rows. The hole should be deep enough to allow the top of a peat pot to be covered with one inch of soil. If the peat pot is exposed to the open air, it will rapidly dry out the root ball, causing stunting or death of the plant.

If the transplant is tall and leggy at time of planting, the trench planting method should be used.

To trench plant a tomato plant, dig a horizontal trench rather than a hole for each plant. Next, remove all of the leaves from the plant except the top leaf cluster (4-5 leaves). Then lay the plant on its side in the trench and cover the root system and bare stem up to the very top leaf cluster with 2-3 inches of soil.

Tap the soil firm over the plant. Be sure not to press the soil too firmly around the stem where it comes out of the soil or the stem may break.

You should use a starter solution at planting time to insure proper fertilization during the early growth stages of the young tomato plants. Starter solutions can be purchased from local garden centers or made at home.

To make a starter solution, mix a pound of a complete fertilizer such as 8-8-8 in 10 gal of water. If small quantities are desired, 3-4 tablespoons. of fertilizer can be mixed per gallon of water.

The high phosphorus content in commercial starter solutions make them a better choice over home mixes. Never use more than one cup of fertilizer solution per transplant since large quantities of starter solution will burn the root system.