So I was reading another thread and didn't want to derail it, but it got me thinking about gardens. Anyone plant regularly? Have any luck? What do you grow?

My daughter and I planted one again this year. It's my third attempt in about six years. So far, I've got one golf ball size tomato and nothing else is coming up. Which is fairly frustrating. Our yard only has about an inch of dirt, under that it's a gravel pit, all clay and rocks. Twice I've put top soil on, but it rains pretty heavy in western Kentucky, so all the soil just runs off after a couple weeks.

(06-20-2016, 12:11 PM)Benton Wrote: So I was reading another thread and didn't want to derail it, but it got me thinking about gardens. Anyone plant regularly? Have any luck? What do you grow?

My daughter and I planted one again this year. It's my third attempt in about six years. So far, I've got one golf ball size tomato and nothing else is coming up. Which is fairly frustrating. Our yard only has about an inch of dirt, under that it's a gravel pit, all clay and rocks. Twice I've put top soil on, but it rains pretty heavy in western Kentucky, so all the soil just runs off after a couple weeks.

I moved this year, so I did not plant a garden. Just about every year I grew tomatoes, peppers, corn, onions, watermelons, and pumpkins.

I would also try various other vegetables from time to time (sweet peas, brussel sprouts, sweat potatoes, carrots). Some grew great. Some were total failures. Some were actually cheaper to buy when you figured in the time needed to grow them properly.

I would can sweet banana peppers and jalapeno peppers. I would also make a base sauce of tomatoes, onions, and peppers that i would use in everything from chili to spaghetti sauce.

I have some pictures I will post later.

(06-20-2016, 12:11 PM)Benton Wrote: So I was reading another thread and didn't want to derail it, but it got me thinking about gardens. Anyone plant regularly? Have any luck? What do you grow?

My daughter and I planted one again this year. It's my third attempt in about six years. So far, I've got one golf ball size tomato and nothing else is coming up. Which is fairly frustrating. Our yard only has about an inch of dirt, under that it's a gravel pit, all clay and rocks. Twice I've put top soil on, but it rains pretty heavy in western Kentucky, so all the soil just runs off after a couple weeks.

Yep, we put out a small one, and it does fairly well.  Tomatoes, cukes, green onions, bell peppers, cabbage, and carrots.  I think the wife put out some greens this year too, as I tilled up an extra row in the backyard, but I'm not 100% certain what she added this year.  We had a very large water maple in our side yard that I took down this past fall, and as a result, you can already tell a difference in the fullness of the plants.  It should be even better this year, we already had very good, dark topsoil, just a little too much shade.

(06-20-2016, 12:33 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I moved this year, so I did not plant a garden.  Just about every year I grew tomatoes, peppers, corn, onions, watermelons, and pumpkins.  

I would also try various other vegetables from time to time (sweet peas, brussel sprouts, sweat potatoes, carrots).  Some grew great.  Some were total failures.  Some were actually cheaper to buy when you figured in the time needed to grow them properly.

I would can sweet banana peppers and jalapeno peppers.  I would also make a base sauce of tomatoes, onions, and peppers that i would use in everything from chili to spaghetti sauce.

I have some pictures I will post later.

Our corn didn't do worth a shit.

(06-20-2016, 12:27 PM)SteelCitySouth Wrote:

Oh, we all know what you grow.

(06-20-2016, 12:33 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I moved this year, so I did not plant a garden.  Just about every year I grew tomatoes, peppers, corn, onions, watermelons, and pumpkins.  

I would also try various other vegetables from time to time (sweet peas, brussel sprouts, sweat potatoes, carrots).  Some grew great.  Some were total failures.  Some were actually cheaper to buy when you figured in the time needed to grow them properly.

I would can sweet banana peppers and jalapeno peppers.  I would also make a base sauce of tomatoes, onions, and peppers that i would use in everything from chili to spaghetti sauce.

I have some pictures I will post later.

Never tried that variety. Are they salty?



I planted watermelons, but so far not seeing anything there. I tried the mound, but most of the dirt washed away.

(06-20-2016, 12:40 PM)Benton Wrote: I planted watermelons, but so far not seeing anything there. I tried the mound, but most of the dirt washed away.

Watermelons take up a lot of space.  I will still have a garden at my new house; I just did not have the time to prepare it this year.  But since it will be much smaller I doubt I will be growing watermelons again.

I forgot to mention that I also grew cantaloupes.  The problem with cantaloupes is that when they come in you have way more than you can eat and they don't keep very long.  Someone gave me a simple recipe for cantaloupe sorbet, but I never got a chance to use it.

(06-20-2016, 12:11 PM)Benton Wrote: So I was reading another thread and didn't want to derail it, but it got me thinking about gardens. Anyone plant regularly? Have any luck? What do you grow?

My daughter and I planted one again this year. It's my third attempt in about six years. So far, I've got one golf ball size tomato and nothing else is coming up. Which is fairly frustrating. Our yard only has about an inch of dirt, under that it's a gravel pit, all clay and rocks. Twice I've put top soil on, but it rains pretty heavy in western Kentucky, so all the soil just runs off after a couple weeks.

First off, make sure you follow the old KY wive's tale: Never plant before the Derby. I have a garden every year. as well as, a peach tree, rasberry and blueberry bushes. We grow tomatoes. squash, and a variety of peppers. We start out by planting them in bags (we make them out of weed guard or use the type tree huggers bring to the store for their groceries). You can also plant them in buckets but you must drill lots of holes in them).

You can either leave them to grow in the bags or once they start to mature put them in the ground or what we do it have a evelated garden. A few 2x6s (untreated) and a few screws.

(06-20-2016, 01:18 PM)bfine32 Wrote: First off, make sure you follow the old KY wive's tale: Never plant before the Derby. I have a garden every year. as well as, a peach tree, rasberry and blueberry bushes. We grow tomatoes. squash, and a variety of peppers. We start out by planting them in bags (we make them out of weed guard or use the type tree huggers bring to the store for their groceries). You can also plant them in buckets but you must drill lots of holes in them).

You can either leave them to grow in the bags or once they start to mature put them in the ground or what we do it have a evelated garden. A few 2x6s (untreated) and a few screws.

My  last house had a pear tree. I'm not big on pears, and those weren't great, but I liked having it. But the tree was already there when I bought it.

How big do the blueberry bushes get? With the soil runoff problem if they're very big (needing more dirt to root) I'd probably have to do them in a bucket.

(06-20-2016, 01:34 PM)Benton Wrote: My  last house had a pear tree. I'm not big on pears, and those weren't great, but I liked having it. But the tree was already there when I bought it.

How big do the blueberry bushes get? With the soil runoff problem if they're very big (needing more dirt to root) I'd probably have to do them in a bucket.

peach tree... for peach preserves  hmmmmmm

I've helped people with prep work for growing but haven't ever actually maintained a garden through the growing season. It sounds to me like that is actually where you need to do most of your real work.

You can rent a tiller from a big box home improvement store. Most situations I've seen you won't need to rent one every year since a simple hoe will usually be enough to break the clay up in future years. Speaking of which, clay is usually very fertile but it doesn't hurt to mix topsoil in with it while tilling. In fact most people I've helped would never just lay topsoil on top of clay. Some amount of gravel shouldn't be an issue for most plants. In fact, if you can actually run a tiller there probably isn't too many rocks (of course big rocks should be removed).

Since run off is an issue retaining walls and leveling would probably be helpful. If you are planting on a slope then a separate retaining wall and leveling for each row creating steps may be necessary.

The heaviest work I helped someone with we dug up soil and Georgia red clay on one side of a two acre lot and moved it to some pre-laid retaining walls forming steps. I don't know about how it is there now but 3 years later he was still using that same garden with great results.

I have also seen some impressive gardens that were entirely in pots. If you go that route be sure to find out how much soil is necessary for the plants you intend to grow. Things like potatoes need a lot of room since you are actually eating the roots.

Maybe try digging the area out 18 to 24 inches down, put some gravel down if there is none for drainage, set up a small wall with railroad ties and fill it in with top soil.

(06-20-2016, 04:32 PM)Penn Wrote: I've helped people with prep work for growing but haven't ever actually maintained a garden through the growing season.  It sounds to me like that is actually where you need to do most of your real work.

You can rent a tiller from a big box home improvement store.  Most situations I've seen you won't need to rent one every year since a simple hoe will usually be enough to break the clay up in future years.  Speaking of which, clay is usually very fertile but it doesn't hurt to mix topsoil in with it while tilling.  In fact most people I've helped would never just lay topsoil on top of clay.  Some amount of gravel shouldn't be an issue for most plants.  In fact, if you can actually run a tiller there probably isn't too many rocks (of course big rocks should be removed).

Since run off is an issue retaining walls and leveling would probably be helpful.  If you are planting on a slope then a separate retaining wall and leveling for each row creating steps may be necessary.

The heaviest work I helped someone with we dug up soil and Georgia red clay on one side of a two acre lot and moved it to some pre-laid retaining walls forming steps.  I don't know about how it is there now but 3 years later he was still using that same garden with great results.

I have also seen some impressive gardens that were entirely in pots.  If you go that route be sure to find out how much soil is necessary for the plants you intend to grow.  Things like potatoes need a lot of room since you are actually eating the roots.

I tried tilling it years ago. The soil is so rocky it wasn't very effective. The pots are probably the way to go, or raised beds.

(06-20-2016, 04:57 PM)Nebuchadnezzar Wrote: Maybe try digging the area out 18 to 24 inches down, put some gravel down if there is none for drainage, set up a small wall with railroad ties and fill it in with top soil.

I've thought about that. My dad has a backhoe and a dozer, I've thought about getting rid of a foot or so of the clay and filling it back in with something that's not like concrete. Seems like a lot of work just to grow some tomatoes and some cauliflower, maybe some watermelons.

(06-20-2016, 03:35 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: peach tree... for peach preserves  hmmmmmm

It is impossible to find good peaches in stores anymore.

Sometimes I can find some good ones at a road side market neraby, but they are still hit and miss.

I've dug up my backyard in a few places. There was already maybe an 8 -10 sq. feet area separated as a garden when I moved in that I cleared out and re-dug about a foot deep, covered with topsoil and fertilizer mix and planted strawberries and a blackberry bush about four years ago. I've been getting strawberries and blackberries every year since.

About three years ago, I dug up a crap ton (let's say maybe 8 X 2 X 1.5, and did that in three different places). I replaced the dug up area with top soil and fertilizer mix again. I've planted a pomegranate tree, a fig tree and a kiwi bush. All of them have grown a bit, but I'm still waiting on them to start fruiting. The kiwi and the fig at least show do produce something like an early version of a fruit, but they never mature and always fall off. The pomegranate is still only about 3 feet tall, but I think it will take a couple more years to start growing a few more feet. I'm too lazy to plant vegetables in the other area that I dug up (even though it's ready to plant on), but that's what I would like to do next year when I get time (probably too late to plant veggies this year).

My thumb is blacker than a Steelers fan's heart so the only gardens that work for me are the recent White Marble gravel garden that i did so i wouldn't have to mow or weed whack the 4' x 33' of "grass" on the north side of my house, or, the flower garden that turned into a mulch garden...because of my black thumb, at the bottom of the back yard. 

My wife is growing a bunch of peppers indoors. She has all of these weird grow lights going. All that's missing is some velvet posters and a bong. The dog is scared and the cat's annoyed and I'm somewhere in between. The damn Kroger has plenty of peppers, so I don't know what the hell is going on.

(06-20-2016, 05:51 PM)Benton Wrote: I tried tilling it years ago. The soil is so rocky it wasn't very effective. The pots are probably the way to go, or raised beds.


I've thought about that. My dad has a backhoe and a dozer, I've thought about getting rid of a foot or so of the clay and filling it back in with something that's not like concrete. Seems like a lot of work just to grow some tomatoes and some cauliflower, maybe some watermelons.

Another consideration is a raised bed (or several beds) using concrete block, two layers with a 2" cap block to finish off the top for a total height of 18". A couple of layers of large gravel (2 to 3 inch variety) on the bottom for drainage, then clean top soil with some potting soil mixed in and on top. Might sound like a lot of work, but maybe not if you're looking at heavy equipment to deal with existing conditions. Plus harvesting is a bit easier with raised beds, and it can look really nice, depending on your creativity in arrangement and planting. I've had good success with this approach for variety of raspberry bushes, asparagus, tomatoes, bush beans, lettuces, and herbs. I learned some of this from a book called "Square Foot Gardening" from 'back in the day'.

I've also grown potatoes in 3 stacked tires. You just knock the tires over at harvest time instead of digging. 

(06-20-2016, 11:02 PM)wildcats forever Wrote: Another consideration is a raised bed (or several beds) using concrete block, two layers with a 2" cap block to finish off the top for a total height of 18". A couple of layers of large gravel (2 to 3 inch variety) on the bottom for drainage, then clean top soil with some potting soil mixed in and on top. Might sound like a lot of work, but maybe not if you're looking at heavy equipment to deal with existing conditions. Plus harvesting is a bit easier with raised beds, and it can look really nice, depending on your creativity in arrangement and planting. I've had good success with this approach for variety of raspberry bushes, asparagus, tomatoes, bush beans, lettuces, and herbs. I learned some of this from a book called "Square Foot Gardening" from 'back in the day'.

I've also grown potatoes in 3 stacked tires. You just knock the tires over at harvest time instead of digging. 

I like the stacked tires technique. I'll have to try it with a variety of root veggies.