Hi themayocynic!
I cam't say my garden is bountiful! I got my 1st pick of zucchini (5) But we are in summer duldrums.
All most every the garden in z5 around hear just sits and pouts untill about mid august, and, and then all heck breaks lose untill freeze up.
I know what you mean about amending your soil.this clay eats it up.
But I can bragg about my compost, 2 bins are running
135 degrees and a tumbler that almost ready to spread
on the garden.
James

Hi themayocynic!
When you say veggie beds, are you talking about raised beds?

And how on earth do you get zone 5 in Nevada?

Hello to all!! I've dug up a few potatoes and beets, the cabbage have developed heads, the corn have ears and silks, the tomatoes are finally growing, I've even had 3 cherry tomatoes to eat and I have 1 small cantaloupe that looks like it will ripen before we get a freeze. My husband has 2 giant pumpkins that are about 15lbs a piece. My gardens looking really great and we haven't had a freeze yet! It was only 38* degrees 4 mornings ago. Last year this time, we had a freeze by Aug 11. The corn froze, the tomatoes produced next to nothing in tomatoes, the beets and cabbage did well and the deer ate the pumpkins!! I don't want to even mention the voles that wiped out my 4 year old flower bed!!! Oldsoldier54 I wish we lived in zone 5, I'm being optimistic when I say we live in zone 4. I buy plants for zone 3 and are deer resistant. I love gardening in Nevada!!!

Hi all, I figured out my raised veggie bed problem. I took the dogs out at noon one day and saw that they were all still in shade! The neighbors trees have leafed out like never before and my beds were in shade until 2:30 in the afternoon :\

Fall and winter will be spent planning how I will move things so that the veggies will be in sun without taking away from the dogs' grassy yard.

On a positive note, I got my first two edible watermelons this year (had problems growing them before). :)