2013 first Garden attempt

this is the second weed grow but its been at least 4 years since my last grow. I decided I would mix it up a bit and ad some vegetables

In the red mulch square I have 6 tomatoes, 1 cherry tomato, about 6 basil, a Anaheim chili, Jalapeno and two cayenne peppers.
I have a row of corn against the fence, the left corner was originally going to be a flower garden but I threw in some rosemary, pineapple sage, chives, cayenne peppers and another cherry tomato, parsley and green bell peppers. I also have some cilantro sprouts, and two small Thai chile that I am going to put in the ground soon. Eventually every square inch is going to be covered with some type of greenery and I will keep this thread updated. I live in California but I don't want to go over board even though I DO have my doctor's recommendation. I plan to have no more than 10 plants a couple of witch that will be kept small along with some LST on one or two of them.

Any idea on what to put in that black koi pond? its full of clean sand but I cant put water in it because it has alot of holes. should I grow some plants in there? make it part of my vegetable garden or plant flowers?

Privacy might be an issue so I am building a make shift gazebo out of an old beat up metal frame. Maybe throw a few topsy turvys up and see what happens. We have a dog but she is pretty much harmless I am going to install a security camera or two. Maybe a flood light with motion sensors, I think this years crop will be big. I live in the suburbs but still will be staying up late with the girls when they are getting close to harvest.

I would appreciate any type of feedback and advice/suggestions. I am not a beginner but far from expert with both marijuana gardening and vegetable gardening.

thanks and happy growing

Lookin good. I am curious, have you used this type of mulch before with success? In reading and experience, I have found that hardwood mulch deprives plants of Nitrogen. I find that straw is king for veggies.

If you are going to leave all sand in there, I would suggest finding plants that thrive in that condition. Otherwise, you might need to do some mixing.

Keep us posted, best of luck!

I haven't read up on it much, should I keep mulch away from my buds? away from all my plants? I can us it just for landscaping and get some compost and perlite

I would, yes. Use straw mulch for your buds and veggies.

Any perennials are generally fine, but you still may want to consider supplying the hardwood mulched plants with some form of nitrogen throughout the first year. After that, it evens out a bit as the wood starts to decompose at the soil level.

Compost/manure is what you're looking for amigo. Mulch is great for many reasons, but there is a different mulch for all different purposes.

ill post a new thread tomorrow, ive been busy

3 babies in the ground, along with some green bell peppers 2 cayenne and some sage

Awesome pad, looks gorgeous.

thanks, you shoulda seen it 2 months ago, complete 360

can I top or lst yet?

i'd wait a few weeks before topping
also, you might want to kinda mix in some perlite, that soil looks heavy

Mister Sister said:

Lookin good. I am curious, have you used this type of mulch before with success? In reading and experience, I have found that hardwood mulch deprives plants of Nitrogen. I find that straw is king for veggies

Click to expand...

Bark mulch can suck N out of the soil when it's fresh.Like a tree thats been cut down and put through a chipper. That fresh. It's full of Carbon and in order for the Carbon/Nitrogen ratio to be balanced enough for the chips to break down the soil loses some Nitrogen at the plants expense. Some Nitrogen. Not that much. In time that N is returned to the soil and extra N added will benefit anything growing there. OP needs to build his soil level up. It's called raised bed gardening. He can use Hardwood Mulch, like Right Dress. It does no harm. It keeps in moisture while supressing weed growth. Don't pile the mulch around the plants stems. Not the Cannabis anyway. It could induce rot. But 4" around the root zone is very beneficial. And straw works fine too. But don't discard using mulch because of fear of losing N. Only fresh bark chips do what I described, not bagged or bulk shredded hardwood.

MADVILLAIN.CA said:

I haven't read up on it much, should I keep mulch away from my buds? away from all my plants? I can us it just for landscaping and get some compost and perlite

Click to expand...

Forget the perlite. Get a bale of straw for use in and around the beds. It makes getting around easier. It keeps in moisture, and next year you can till it into the soil and get a fresh bale. I think I answered the bit about the hardwood. You CAN use it. But I also think, for different reasons than Mister Sister, that straw is better.

straw sounds messy but I will see what I can find, my dog keeps pooping everywhere all over the garden, how can I keep her completely out without a fence? or is that crazy impossible? she tore up my sage and some green bell peppers. I would HATE to go outside one day and see my mary jane tore up

update for the veggie lovers