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Hello my name is Emmett,

1574 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  stephanie
I've been gardening off and on over the past 4 years or so. The garden space is about 20 x 40 of direct sun and there are locations around the property for sticking in a plant or two.
This location is in Albany, Oregon (zone 8). Currently in the garden is around 8 clumps of asparagus spears going on their 4th year. 2 small blueberry shrubs (about a foot tall) produced nearly 2 cups of berries last summer and along side of those in planters is 1 miniature Lemon, 1 Lime and 1 Orange trees. I purchased them early last summer and will experiment leaving them out all winter as the nursery said they know of one individual who has done that with success. If they don't survive I will try a different tact next year. There is 3-4 strawberry plants left from a chicken attack (got rid of them). They did not do so well last summer, only a couple small berries. Should be totally recovered by spring.
This winter I began a project of attempting to grow vegetables year round with the help of my inclosed back porch. I'm heating the room maintaining around 65º F. I started seeds around the 1st of November. Of the 24 seeds planted only 5 made it. Must be that the seeds are old.
I have 1 very healthy and 1 coming along Brandywine Red Tomatoes. 2 Common Chives made it and 1 Roma Tomato. I'm a little anxious now because the plants won't fit inside the growing box for much longer and I will have to set up a different lighting system to keep them happy. I am considering doing a DIY upside down growing planter for the tomatoes - any suggestions about that would be appreciated. If that works it would mean much less space taken up and a lot easier care.
In my "new" back porch greenhouse I will be raising red wigglers in plastic tubs. Got 2000 coming next week. These critters will provide "worm tea" and "vermicompost" for my future gardening endeavors.
Erm, this is probably a long enough introduction and "Thanks Veggie Gardener" for being here.
Thank You
Emmett
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hello and nice to meet you. I too am going into my 4th year of gardening up here on the kitsap peninsula/washington. I have chickens but only let them free range in winter months when it doesn't matter if they stage an attack on the garden :) I did find that deer really like beet tops this year. I do raised lasagna beds for the most part, hate to have to till any thing and haven't yet in my veggie garden. I go with getting good bugs from http://www.arbico-organics.com/ to keep the bad bugs at bay with out chemicals and it works very well. my husband thinks I am nuts not tilling and doing lasagna beds he get fresh stuff to eat all winter out of the garden but he is stuck in the old ways of gardening in florida. check out the back to eden web site and video it has helped me do my garden in line with nature instead of fighting it :)
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welcome! I'm about 3 hrs south of you. I was thinking of trying a meyers lemon tree next year but wasn't sure how well it would do in our zone, but we are hotter down here in So. Oregon than you are, so maybe it would do okay.
sounds like you have a great winter garden set up also! I'm trying my hand for the first time at growing a few things in a vizquine covered raised bed. a few kinds of lettuce, spinach and some brocolli. so far so good, but for the first time this winter we are starting to see some below freezing temps at night, so I think tomorrow I might cut the rest of my lettuce. the brocolli is growing so slow that I'm not sure I'll ever get any, but this is my experiment this winter so I don't really care if I get any or not. just fun to try.
no just double up on the visquine and leave the lettuce, this is what I did up here in western washington and had snow covering the plastic but the lettuce never froze and I had some growing well into summer.
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