Important Gardening lesson

I think this is quite possibly one of the most important lessons to be learned in gardening. Sadly I think most people learn it after they commit the same mistakes others have (me included) in the past

In the above picture you see my tomato plants just a few weeks old. I thought I gave them ample room and spacing

. But as you can see the other picture I was mistaken. Easiest mistake to make, planting stuff too close together. This was my first attempt at gardening and what better veggie to grow then tomatoes. But I quickly learned that they turn into bushy weeds that quickly take over everything.

I elected to not go the metal cage route and just used clothesline string to string large branches up to support the tomatoes. This jungle did reap great rewards but it was terribly hard to pick some of the tomatoes on the inside of the jungle.

What I learned from this is that no to plant too many tomatoes together unless you want your whole box taken over. I guess we all get over zealous and want to grow the most in the smallest area.

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Recycled sunflower stalks used to make grapvine trellis

So a little while back a posted about my grapevine extending out from my fence into the alley. It needed some support for it to continue its growth. So I brainstormed and thought what better way than to re-use the stalks from the sunflowers as a natural trellis. So I found a few tall stalks that were great for the task. I literally had to hatchet the stalks down. My clippers weren't strong enough to cut through their thickness. I already broke one set of pruners trying. I stripped the leaves off and dug them into the ground. Then used a smaller stalk as a cross beam for the vine to travel down. I think they really work out well. They similar color to the vine itself and add a natural touch to what would probably be an artificial structure. I have no idea how long they will hold up but I'm hoping a long time. Especially once the vine become entangled. I've also used some of the smaller sunflower stalks to create support sticks for leaning plants. I reccommend trying to...

Grapevine reaching out for support

So my grapevine is reaching out for support. I've tried to weave this vine into my fence but there are places where its just reached beyond for more. So i think I might try to build somekind of support structure into the alley. Maybe a simple pole or piece of wood to create a natural grapevine arch. My strategy has been to weave each independent vine into others to create a super vine that can still reach out and support itself. Sort of looks like an elephant.

Pest Control. My methods of extermination.(Gophers mainly)

So if you've seen some of my past posts you know that I've had encounters with possums and raccoons in my backyard garden. I've trapped 3 raccoons and eliminated 2 possums but gophers had been a problem in the past I wasn't really willing to tackle. At least until recently. The gophers in my backyard alley were ruining plants and soil everywhere. I'd had enough. So after some serious research I chose my weapon. A Victor Black Box Gopher trap. The amazon reviews were great and it was under $15. Now as you see the trap here it's set and ready to go. You would just point that end (the open end) towards an open tunnel. It works like a reverse mouse trap, instead of pinning a rodent down it pulls them up and pins them to the roof of the trap. The trigger is that coat hanger looking metal piece in the middle. It packs quite a punch when triggered. Now you can't just look for an open hole and stick it in front of it. I watched YouTube for about an ho...

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