CTGrower Pantry & Home Grow log

[CtGrower]

I have enjoyed lurking on other people’s grow logs, so I thought I would start my own. This community is wonderful, and I have learned a lot from seeing what people do.

I have built and manage the Food Pantry garden in our town. There are 200 families that shop there and 100% of the food grown in the garden goes directly to the clients. It has been quite an experience and I have learned a lot and have made many mistakes over the few years it has been in existence. Until this garden was started in 2022, I had little experience growing vegetables. I would mostly grow a small salsa garden in earth boxes at home (tomatoes, hot/sweet peppers). Growing at a larger scale is much different.

Its been a busy spring, but now most everything is built and the 1st plants planted, and its raining so have a little bit more time to write. We added new beds this year and now have 560 sqft growing space. I will show pictures of this years garden with a little bit of background on when it was built with lessons learned along the way.

The picture below is our back ‘L’ garden. This was the 1st garden that was built in 2022 and has about 240sqft. This garden was built in haste in May of 2022. The scout who was supposed to build the raised bed had not communicated any definitive plans and I had started my tomato plants way too early so.. you can see where this is going. I ended up building this raised bed while keeping the scout project area open in case they pulled through (they didn’t). A very generous company donated 12 yards of garden soil so.. I thought we would put the soil on cardboard and plant on the ground. After the soil was in place, one of my mentors convinced me that the plants would not be healthy with this arrangement. So… I built raised beds around the soil. Take it from me… DO NOT DO THIS in this order!! Since we had no $$ I developed the skill of asking for donations. The corner blocks, drip line, many boards, cattle panel and string trellis materials were donated (and brought home in my Prius). We repurposed some fence sections for a garden strip along the fence with the fence as the back of the raised bed. We got a small grant to purchase mainline & connectors and fertilizers etc.. We survived! In 2022 there were 2 other volunteers on our team.

In 2023, the fence was starting to strain under the weight of the soil, and the fencing that we used in place of boards was bowing as well. We raised some $ with a fundraiser and used the ‘ask for donation' skills to add raised bed structure between the fence and the soil. DO NOT DO THIS! Moving the soil and building after the fact was very difficult.

This area has not changed much since 2023. We are maintaining/ fixing things from the hasty build.

This year, we have added four 8ft cattle panels trellises on both sides of a couple of beds. We just planted 10 cherry tomatoes (Sun Gold and Cherry Bomb) on 2 of them. We will plant cucumbers on the other 2. In the corner of the ‘L’ we have about 40 peppers (ACE and Sweet Sunrise). Under the string trellis structure we have 12 tomatoes (Big Beef, Supersonic, Jetsetter, Stupice, Martha Washington, Kellogs Breakfast). I plan on pruning to 4 leaders on each plant. We put some of the plants under some row cover for some extra protection from wind / cold nights.

L_garden.jpg

Below is a picture of the seedlings that we planted. The tomatoes and peppers were started in 2” soil blocks using Johnny’s 512 soil. The tomatoes were potted up to 3-4” pots. The peppers were left in as soil blocks. Next year, I think we will pot up the peppers. They did well in the soil blocks, but could have benefitted from more space. I will also use bigger pots for the tomatoes.
These tomato plants are the healthiest that I have grown. I grew some in cell packs at home with different soil (and no greenhouse) and they are much smaller. Im not sure if it is the soil or cell packs? I’m very pleased with the plants in soil blocks with Johnny’s 512 soil (and the greenhouse).

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Below is the fence section of the garden. At the end is 50 garlic plants. In the middle is 2 sections of cattle panel. We will grow cucumbers here. (Max Pack and Diva + a couple Salt & Pepper)

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Below is the ‘boy scout’ bed. It is 4ft x 24ft with drip irrigation. A different scout actually built 16ft of this last year (2024), and we fixed it (lol) and extended it another 8 ft this year. We will plant squash in this bed (Dunja & Zephyr) next week.

At the end of the boy scout bed is a temporary 6ft x 8ft greenhouse that someone donated this year. It has been a big learning year using the greenhouse since I have never used a greenhouse before. Since I live 10 minutes away from the pantry, I researched and purchased some temperature sensors that I can monitor from home. One is inside the greenhouse and the other is measuring outside temps. The sensors have been very helpful, but sometimes are a bit erratic. I haven’t mastered ways to isolate them from the direct sunlight yet. We also goofed by putting the greenhouse under a tree. It seemed like a good idea when the leaves were not out yet! Lesson learned.. don’t put your greenhouse under a tree!

boy_scout_bed.jpg

Below is the herb garden section in the front of the building. The 4 beds in the front were added last year and the 2 beds with the cattle panel arch was built this year. The beds are from Vego and are steel coated with Zn-Mg-Al which is reported to last 20 years. So far so good, but we have only had them for 1 year.
The 4 in front have parsley, chives, oregano, thyme and sage. We will plant cherry tomatoes on the arch. (2 sun gold, 1 sweet 100 and chadwick cherry.)

herb.jpg

Below is the front right growing area. We had 2 beds on the left last year with a huge willow and a couple of spirea’s in front. We cut the willow and spireas down and had the stumps ground out. This year the 2nd bed from the left was extended and we added two 4x12 beds on the right. I added drip irrigation to these beds. The purchase of the beds and irrigation and trellising was from a grant that we got from our town for this year. We still needed to get donations of soil and materials for the boy scout bed extension etc.. It has been a busy spring!

We just planted these beds with tomatoes and peppers. Shout out to @JayneR13 and @MissS for seeds for most of these tomatoes.
We have 22 shorter stature tomatoes here (Firebird sweet, Pink Berkley Tie dye, Hanky Red, Daniel Burson, McClintocks Pink, Early Girl, Red siberian, Pink Siberian(?) ) We have about 40 ACE peppers in 1 of the 4x12 beds.

front_right.jpg

All in all this has been a rewarding project that started out small and has grown. We now have a team of 9 volunteers to tend the garden. The produce from the garden is small relative to the need, but what is grown is appreciated by the clients.

[MissS]

What a beautiful thread @CtGrower! I have totally enjoyed my time reading it.

Your project is amazing and you are doing an awesome job at growing it for your community and finding the resources needed to carry out your dreams. It's so nice that you have found yourself some helpers too. It takes a lot of work to move and build beds as well as to tend the gardens.

I am looking forward to seeing how this wonderful garden grows this year. Thank you so much for sharing your experience.

[GoDawgs]

You've done great, @CtGrower! A vision has become reality thanks to the will to succeed and the ability to get others to help grow that vision. I really look forward to reading your updates.

[PlainJane]

I love seeing projects like this!
Once I retire (if ever) I want to find or start a similar model with one of the local food banks. Right now I donate my excess tomatoes to an upscale local restaurant but eventually I want to do a wider selection of produce and for a nonprofit or worthy cause.

[CtGrower]

I love seeing projects like this!
Once I retire (if ever) I want to find or start a similar model with one of the local food banks. Right now I donate my excess tomatoes to an upscale local restaurant but eventually I want to do a wider selection of produce and for a nonprofit or worthy cause.

Your tomatoes are beautiful! I'm sure a pantry would love your contribution when you are ready. The garden is a lot of work, but rewarding. I've met a lot of great people. It's a worthy pursuit when you have time. I retired during Covid so this project keeps me out of trouble.

[JayneR13]

I love seeing projects like this!
Once I retire (if ever) I want to find or start a similar model with one of the local food banks. Right now I donate my excess tomatoes to an upscale local restaurant but eventually I want to do a wider selection of produce and for a nonprofit or worthy cause.

I got started at my food pantry by donating my excess garden goodies. I agree they'd probably appreciate it very much! With federal funds being cut from food programs, donations are likely to become even more important.

@CtGrower I'm glad you've started this thread! It'll be interesting to follow and see the similarities & differences in how we do things. The herbs you grow, for example, aren't in demand by the clients of my food pantry. Mine had a huge oregano bush along with parsley, sage, and thyme. I cut them weekly. No one wanted them. My pantry has many Latino clients, whose cooking includes things like cilantro, onion, and garlic. So that's what I'm growing. We have tomatoes and cucumbers in common, although my Diva seedlings didn't do well enough to be transplanted. I've read elsewhere here that Diva also takes forever to produce so don't be surprised!

As for the mistakes, don't worry about it. There's not a gardener on this board who hasn't learned the hard way, including me! Garden and learn! Sometimes the hard way

[CtGrower]

@JayneR13
Our food pantry also welcomes local gardeners excess produce. It usually gets snapped up right away unless it is a bit overripe.

I will do my best to keep the post updated. It does take a good amount of time, especially including pictures.

Interesting the difference in the tastes of our clients. We did a survey and they want basil, oregano, thyme, chives and cilantro and garlic. I can't grow cilantro to save my life, so we aren't doing this for now. We did cut out the mint and lemon balm to make more room for what folks will use the most. The sage was there already and it was small so we left it.

Good to know about Diva delayed production. We will see. We did get some good Diva seedlings using soil blocks and will be transplanting these next week (after a few more nights in the 40's!)

Agree about garden and learn! You just have to jump in and do your best. Our team has the attitude when something doesn't quite work out as expected 'it's all an experiment'. Sometimes the experiment works out sometimes it doesn't.

One experiment that worked was overwintering lettuce. We planted some lettuce from seed in the fall. It did not produce right away, so I put it under some EMT hoops with AG19 row cover thinking it would produce later in the fall. It did not, but I left the hoops up over the winter. I had no expectation that the lettuce would have survived, but lo and behold it did! We harvested about 12lb of lettuce in the Boy Scout bed before needing to prep the bed for squash. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

covered lettuce behind greenhouse

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lettuce

lettuce.jpg

[CtGrower]

I'm trying a number of microdwarf tomatoes at home this year thanks to @JayneR13

Here is a picture of my lineup.

micro_dwarf.jpg

from l-r
Pendulina
Bonte Tigret, Groovy Tunes
Bushy Chabarovsky(2)
Red Robin(2)
Tiny Tim(2)
Minibel, Rosy finch

I have to say that I'm suprised by how big the pendulina is in relation to the others (even in the smallest pot). I was planning on putting the pendulina in a 10" pot inside a tall ceramic pot that would allow it to drape over the edge. Now I'm wondering if that will be big enough? I'm thinking of 2 gallon pots for the Rosy Finch, Red Robin, Tiny Tim and Minibel and 3gal or greater pots for the Groovy Tunes, Bonte Tigret and Bushy Chabarovsky plants. Here goes the experiment!

[JayneR13]

Both Minibel and Tiny Tim will grow into the space you give them, as will
Pendulina. P also yields larger cherries so that’s nice. As for the others, give it a try! Success is quite tasty and failure teaches its own lessons.

[CtGrower]

We just finished the last day of May with rain. News reports say that this has been the 3rd rainiest May on record for Ct. It was also cold last night at 47F (4 degrees colder than projected). I'm glad I brought my peppers inside. We have a warming trend coming, but with 2 more nights in the high 40's. Thursday;s high projected to be 86!! From too cold to too hot in a few days! I will be planting my tomatoes at home today. My lineup is quite different than the pantry and totally expanded due to this forum. So many new tomatoes to try!

Lineup:
Sun Gold (favorite)
Black Strawberry
Black Cherry
Principe Borgese

Cherokee Purple (favorite)
Brandywine Sudduth
Dester
Kellogs Breakfast
Prudens Purple
Mariannas Peace
Paul Robeson
4th of July
Hungarian Heart
Copper River

Amish Paste
San Marzano
Japaneses Black Trifle

[MissS]

That's a nice grow list. Enjoy!

[JayneR13]

Be careful of the San Marzanos! They'll try to take over and can shade out other plants very effectively. I found the JBT quite prolific and unusual. I think you'll enjoy those. So many varieties, so little garden space!

[CtGrower]

Be careful of the San Marzanos! They'll try to take over and can shade out other plants very effectively. I found the JBT quite prolific and unusual. I think you'll enjoy those. So many varieties, so little garden space!

Will do! Thanks for the seeds! I'm also curious about copper river. It has such an unusual color.

[CtGrower]

It's finally warm now! We planted squash and cucumbers and trellised some tomatoes enough to protect them from the hard rain forecast.

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cucumbers.jpg

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Unfortunately, a few of our tomato plants have suffered from broken leaders. The plants are strong, so I'm counting on them forming suckers to replace the leader. Not ideal, but.. it is what it is. I do not have any replacement plants.

broken_leader_martha.jpg

[MissS]

Your gardens look great!

[JayneR13]

I know what it's like when you need replacement plants! I had to replant my cucumber for the second time only yesterday, and I'm hoping it survives because there are no more. I'm trying to persuade every inch of that space to produce and the rodents are not helping! Life in the city, right?

[CtGrower]

I know what it's like when you need replacement plants! I had to replant my cucumber for the second time only yesterday, and I'm hoping it survives because there are no more. I'm trying to persuade every inch of that space to produce and the rodents are not helping! Life in the city, right?

We had a couple of cucumbers not make it after transplanting as well. I will be just direct seeding them at this point. Good news is that they will grow fast. I think of it as succession planting, although I have also read that direct seeding can sometimes be just as fast as transplanting. Another experiment!

[CtGrower]

My home garden is planted now!
Thanks to this forum, I have run out of growing space and have had to buy a bunch of grow bags. My patio is full!

20 tomato plants in my normal garden space. 7 along the house with 5 on cattle panel. This is usually as much as I have grown every year...
13 more in the rest of my garden with temporary supports until I figure out how I will trellis them.

tomatoes.jpg

Here is my earth box lineup. I have tomatoes and peppers planted in 5 of the 6. I have grown with these for many years.

earthbox_lineup.jpg

I had to buy some grow bags and dig out some pots for my potatoes, peppers, extra tomatoes and squash.
For peppers, I'm growing shishito, poblano, jimmy nardello, Sweet banana, jalapeño, ACE, Aleppo
The potatoes were ones that were sprouting in my pantry that my daughter wanted to try growing. I've never grown potatoes before, but they seem to like the grow bag.

grow_bag.jpg

We are having fun incorporating the micro dwarf tomatoes in our flower pots on our steps on our patio. There are 3 tomatoes on each side. 1 at the top on the porch, 1 on the patio and 1 on the lower step. On the left is Bonte Tigret, Red Robin and Tiny Tim. On the right is Groovy Tunes, Rosy Finch, Minibel, Bushy Chabarovsky. The chartreuse foliage of Bonte Tigret and Groovy Tunes is pretty. Pendulina is on its own in a tall pot. Hopefully it will trail over the edge. There are 3 extra micros that I will be planting at the pantry.

steps_left.jpg

steps_right.jpg

pendulina.jpg

[JayneR13]

I’ve grown potatoes in bags many times. It’s easy enough but you’ll want to be sure there are enough nutrients in your media. If you’re using potting mix you’ll definitely need to fertilize. If you’re using compost it’s not a bad idea to fertilize. Potatoes are heavy feeders.

[GoDawgs]

My home garden is planted now!
Thanks to this forum, I have run out of growing space and have had to buy a bunch of grow bags. My patio is full!

If you stick around here it won't be long before you notice your back yard space will be getting smaller....