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I couldn't find any iron (III) phosphate pellets at my local hardware store (that's going out of business), is the beer method *really* bad on earthworms? What about an IPM solution or is a backyard veggie garden a bit too small for that to be viable?
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Sep 27, 2016 06:04
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Peristalsis posted:The only pepper I've ever seen advertised as particularly good for growing indoors is the Fatalii, but it sounds like you don't want to go that hot. And they seem to have removed that claim from the web site (maybe it's still on the seed packet?). I think I will definitely try growing lemon drop peppers, the black Hungarian and super chili plants have been doing pretty well indoors on a sunny windowsill, the scotch bonnet though has not been quite as productive but I've still got a few fruits off of it. I might try a plant or two on the balcony next year to compare with the indoor ones if the weather/wind isn't too bad.
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Sep 27, 2016 17:45
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Every pepper I grow inside dies from spider mites eventually. So, don't forget to mist or whatever it is that helps prevent that.
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Sep 27, 2016 18:11
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Misting and improved air circulation (like one of those small desk fans) can help prevent mites and other small pests. Someone asked me a while ago to update on the toad lilies I tried planting. They grew the first year, but before they had a chance to bloom this year, they died of drought + lack of garden irrigation.  It was a bad yard year for me.
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Sep 28, 2016 03:32
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I have a Shishito pepper and slicing tomato I've been growing in the window at work in 1-gallon pots. The Shishito has actually been doing quite well, producing several dozen peppers, while the tomato is clearly suffering from the pot size. I'd like to overwinter them both, with the plan to move them outside next spring for an early start, (and starting up a new tomato & pepper for the work windowsill). Anybody have any ideas on how to do this? I'm assuming I'll need to cut the tomato down to a foot or two, but then is it just cutting back water? Does the pepper need to be pruned back or is the cooler temperature and limited water enough to make it dormantish?
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Oct 3, 2016 23:10
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First year gardener with a 3x6 elevated garden bed (bed, on legs). Live in zone 4. What should I be doing to winterize the bed for next year? Yank the old stuff, turn the soil, and? I've seen various "suggestions" of putting coffee grounds, or egg shells, leaves, general compost, fertilizer on top or mixed into the soil and testing the soil next year before planting? Seems everyone has their own "suggestion" which makes me question if any of it matters or even a right way.
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Oct 4, 2016 21:15
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Duxwig posted:First year gardener with a 3x6 elevated garden bed (bed, on legs). Live in zone 4. Don't turn the soil unless you need to. It's disruptive to the soil life. Just trim the plants off at ground level and let the roots rot away, leaving little tunnels for air, water and bugs to circulate. The main thing you should be trying to prevent is compaction of the soil from rain over the winter, which is accomplished by some sort of covering. It can be a tarp, some sort of organic mulch (straw, wood chips, shredded leaves, even cardboard weighted down by rocks) or you can grow a cover crop. Cover crops protect the soil from compaction and are then turned into the soil in the spring a few weeks before planting in order to add organic matter to the soil, sometimes called a green manure. Adding anything else is just an attempt to replace nutrients that have been used up during the growing season. Anything organic is good, with quality compost being the best. If you use organic matter as a mulch it will also serve a similar function by partially breaking down over the winter. If I didn't want to deal with a cover crop then I'd put in a layer of compost covered by shredded leaves or straw. Straw usually ends up being a cover crop anyways due to the inevitable seeds it contains.
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Oct 5, 2016 00:11
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I've never heard of turning the soil to prep for the next year. I've tried top dressing with "top soil" and with compost before, neither really kept weeds down. If you turn the soil now you'll just be burying seeds deeper for the following season to be a headache. I've had some success with weeding and cleaning general debris and using winter rye as a cover type crop but then you're committed to tilling next season.
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Oct 5, 2016 00:13
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Does clover ground cover weeds count as a cover crop?
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Oct 5, 2016 05:24
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Spookydonut posted:Does clover ground cover weeds count as a cover crop? Sure, it's a great nitrogen fixer too.
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Oct 5, 2016 16:35
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I didn't experience many weeds. Not sure if that was due to it being the first year for it, or because the bottom is physically off the ground. I will try what was suggested but the soil may inevitably get turned anyway as I was going to empty it so to better reinforce my bottom beams so I can add more soil next year because it really compacted over the summer. If I put a tarp on top, should I pull it taut so it doesnt put as much pressure on the soil? Wisconsin is pretty snow heavy.....
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Oct 5, 2016 19:29
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Cpt.Wacky posted:Sure, it's a great nitrogen fixer too. Hurray! You've given me my excuse for not weeding over winter.
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Oct 6, 2016 02:25
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Cpt.Wacky posted:I've had such poor luck with peppers outside in the PNW that I'm seriously considering an LED grow light setup and keeping them indoors. I finally got some production out of jalapeno and marconi rosso, but it's not looking likely that they'll ripen fully. If it works for weed, then why not? I've had decent luck growing jalapeños on my balcony in seattle. A few plants even survived winter out there and produced the next year.
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Oct 7, 2016 17:10
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Seattle average 5-10 F warmer than my location 
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Oct 7, 2016 19:54
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Cpt.Wacky posted:Seattle average 5-10 F warmer than my location Dang. In that case my dad had a pretty easy time of growing jalapeños and birds eye chilies under a growlight before.
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Oct 7, 2016 20:44
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Very excited to share my gardening adventures here over the next few months with you guys, and get some advice. I just started a small balcony and window-sill vegetable garden, because it's finally cooling down enough here in Dubai. Forecast here is highs in the mid 90s and lows in the 80s. No worry for frost in December/February, and it will start getting above 100s again in April/May. Last weekend we planted seeds (outside) for two types of tomatoes, chives, peppers, and strawberries outside. In the past week we've seen sprouts for everything but the strawberries. Our balcony faces east, so everything gets 3-4 hours of direct sunlight every day. Since it's staying perpetually warm, we'll be using a tropf blumat system to keep the outdoor plants consistently hydrated. Right now we have a ~3 foot by 6 inch trough and 3 ~6 inch pots. The plan is to add more as time goes on. Inside we planted cilantro, basil, and chamomile on a windowsill that gets 3-4 hours of good direct sunlight every morning. So, as it grows I'll share pictures. If any of you have any suggestions for plants that do well in A: moderately sized (balcony and window sill) containers and B: consistently warm weather, I'm gladly open to suggestions. Thanks for all of the gardening info, posts, and experience!
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Oct 14, 2016 17:30
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Is it okay to ask questions about houseplants in this thread? I live in Seattle and want to liven up my townhouse with some plants. I also plan on adopting a dog shortly (I know some plants are not dog-safe) What plants should I be looking for? They won't exactly get lots of sunlight outside of late spring and summer. We have a large living room window/nook facing the east, and a rooftop patio on the west side of the house (I'd like to grow plants up there as well) Any recommendations would be appreciated.
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Oct 14, 2016 21:05
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Elderbean posted:Is it okay to ask questions about houseplants in this thread? I live in Seattle and want to liven up my townhouse with some plants. I also plan on adopting a dog shortly (I know some plants are not dog-safe) What plants should I be looking for? They won't exactly get lots of sunlight outside of late spring and summer. We have a large living room window/nook facing the east, and a rooftop patio on the west side of the house (I'd like to grow plants up there as well) Any recommendations would be appreciated. I'm not sure what part of Seattle you're in, but Swanson's Nursery in Ballard/Crown Hill is an amazing resource. We just picked up a plant from them last weekend that's going in a small bathroom that only has a north facing window and they had no problem recommending us a few different plants. Snake plants were one that they suggested, but I can't remember the name of the one we ended up buying.
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Oct 14, 2016 21:15
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I doubt anyone would be too upset about houseplant questions here but there is a general plant thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3543738 I agree with the suggestion to go to a local nursery for recommendations. The big box stores will have a good selection of plants with labeling about sunlight requirements. Snake/mother--in-law tongue/sansevieria are really hardy. Philodendrons are good in average indoor light too. Really low light like bathrooms you might try some sort of ivy. Succulents are fun but usually need more light.
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Oct 14, 2016 21:52
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It's the end of the season here and I'm getting the garden ready for winter. I've read from sources like the Farmers Almanac that you should pull tomatoes, beans, and peppers to reduce the chance of spreading disease but I can't find any information about pulling the roots from a university. Is pulling roots something that I should be doing as a preventive measure or just an old folk tale?
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Oct 15, 2016 05:06
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Elderbean posted:Is it okay to ask questions about houseplants in this thread? I live in Seattle and want to liven up my townhouse with some plants. I also plan on adopting a dog shortly (I know some plants are not dog-safe) What plants should I be looking for? They won't exactly get lots of sunlight outside of late spring and summer. We have a large living room window/nook facing the east, and a rooftop patio on the west side of the house (I'd like to grow plants up there as well) Any recommendations would be appreciated. It's real hard to kill a spider plant. They're a great starter houseplant. Don't buy more than one though, as they are super duper easy to clone. I started with one about 10 years ago, and now I have so many that I'm getting grief over my cloning habit, and both my wife's office and my office are full of them. We've given a pile away to all our co-workers too.
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Oct 15, 2016 05:44
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My pepper plant is lke a foot tall and I can see that flowers are developing. Should I cut those flowers?
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Oct 15, 2016 15:04
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Bronsonite posted:It's the end of the season here and I'm getting the garden ready for winter. I've read from sources like the Farmers Almanac that you should pull tomatoes, beans, and peppers to reduce the chance of spreading disease but I can't find any information about pulling the roots from a university. Is pulling roots something that I should be doing as a preventive measure or just an old folk tale? Leaving the roots in is good for aerating the soil, I think.
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Oct 15, 2016 15:58
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Fitzy Fitz posted:Leaving the roots in is good for aerating the soil, I think. Yeah they're supposed to decompose and leave aeration holes into the soil, also pulling up the roots disturbs the soil which isn't great for the micro organisms. You should be rotating crops to avoid disease, that's probably the #1 best thing you can do.
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Oct 15, 2016 20:18
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I put some of my indoor herb garden plants out on the front porch for a few days to get some extra sunlight and it looks like they picked up a bug. The leaves are covered in small black spheres that fall off leaving a mess underneath the pots and some unseen thing is chewing up the leaves. Any idea as to what this parasite is, and how to get rid of it considering that herb leaves are meant to be eaten directly so no strong pesticides can be used? If I need to just throw these plants out how long do I need to wait to make sure the parasites are dead and gone before re-potting some new plants in new soil (assuming I bleach the pots in between)? Goddamn these things suck. My herbs went from happy and healthy to diseased and dying within a week. 
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Oct 16, 2016 03:50
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Are you sure that's not caterpillar poo poo? Look around all over the plant for caterpillars.
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Oct 16, 2016 18:17
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How far should I cut down my perennial herbs for winter? It's just starting to get below freezing at night here.
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Oct 16, 2016 19:12
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Any suggestions for gifts for a person with a pretty successful and established garden? I was thinking about some cool varieties of tomatoes, squash etc seeds for next year, but other ideas appreciated
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Oct 17, 2016 00:13
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Laminator posted:Any suggestions for gifts for a person with a pretty successful and established garden? I was thinking about some cool varieties of tomatoes, squash etc seeds for next year, but other ideas appreciated Gift certificate for a nice seed company and/or garden supply catalog.
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Oct 17, 2016 03:14
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I probably shouldn't have put my fuzzy squash plants next to the fence. I had to ask my neighbors if I could take a ladder into their backyard to cut down the 2 foot long monsters hanging 20+ feet up on a pine tree.
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Oct 17, 2016 18:19
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Any other SF Bay Area folks enjoying the start of rainy season?  Related question that brings me here: it's also oxalis season! (Super invasive, but pretty and edible, plant: https://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=6016) I don't actually mind the oxalis taking over certain parts of my lawn, since it stays green for a long time, the flowers are pretty, I can mow it, it keeps the crab grass out, etc., but I do want it out of my raised beds (inherited them from previous homeowner, so they contact the native soil at the base and the bulbs got in there long ago). Anyone have any experience tackling this stuff and have tips? I know the answer is basically "years of hard work, and get as many bulbs out as you can," but I'm curious if folks have thoughts on which part of the life cycle is most critical for eradication and such. I spent a couple of weeks basically sifting my beds last spring after it died back while I was amending the soil and reworking the bed, and the new little plants are much sparser now because of that work, but I know how fast it comes back.
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Oct 18, 2016 02:37
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Trying to overwinter a Shishito pepper and Tomato at work, as the temperature never gets too low. Days are getting short (Seattle), and the tomato seems to be getting the idea; the fruits aren't really getting much riper and I suspect it won't try to make many more. However, the Shishito seems to just be continuing as usual; possibly slower, but still producing great peppers. Should I cut back on water hard/prune heavily to try to force them to go dormant, or will they eventually 'figure it out'? (both are super rootbound if that matters)
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Oct 19, 2016 03:02
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Pepper question – I grew both jalapeño and sequoia peppers this summer. They both produced a lot of fruit (and are still fruiting even though it's dipping down into the 40s), but both had a slightly bitter taste. In the sequoias it's barely noticeable, I think because they're a little sweeter by default. But with the jalapeños it's very noticeable. They're fine for cooking in sauces and whatnot, but I wouldn't want to eat the jalapeños raw. Both were planted in relatively large pots with bog standard potting soil, were fertilized a handful of times throughout the summer (miracle gro), and were watered generously. The only likely culprit I've found from googling is under watering. It was a hot, dry summer so I ended up giving them a lot more water than I would normally to the point where mold was forming on the top layer of the soil for both. So I'm having a hard time believing that's the issue. Does anyone have suggestions for me for next year? I'm wondering if I need a different fertilizer or type of soil? Or maybe I really didn't water them enough? kedo fucked around with this message at 02:30 on Nov 20, 2016 |
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Nov 20, 2016 02:27
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boberteatskitten posted:Any other SF Bay Area folks enjoying the start of rainy season? I try to get them before they bloom. That does seem to help. Raking infested areas during freezing temps helps too ime but that may not be practical for you.
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Nov 20, 2016 02:39
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kedo posted:Pepper question – I grew both jalapeño and sequoia peppers this summer. They both produced a lot of fruit (and are still fruiting even though it's dipping down into the 40s), but both had a slightly bitter taste. In the sequoias it's barely noticeable, I think because they're a little sweeter by default. But with the jalapeños it's very noticeable. They're fine for cooking in sauces and whatnot, but I wouldn't want to eat the jalapeños raw. Both were planted in relatively large pots with bog standard potting soil, were fertilized a handful of times throughout the summer (miracle gro), and were watered generously. I would suspect something to do with the soil conditions if you don't think under-watering was a problem. The pots might have seemed large but you'd be surprised how much the roots will spread out in the ground. If you were watering enough to get mold on the surface then it could have been overwatering, causing stress from anaerobic conditions. It could also have affected the pH which then affects how much of each type of nutrient is taken up. It could also just be the specific genetics of the plants you got. I'd try again with fresh soil, a time-release fertilizer like osmocote, and more careful watering. You might also invest in a cheap ph Meter. I think they have some now that can measure both moisture and pH too.
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Nov 20, 2016 17:21
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Cpt.Wacky posted:I would suspect something to do with the soil conditions if you don't think under-watering was a problem. The pots might have seemed large but you'd be surprised how much the roots will spread out in the ground. If you were watering enough to get mold on the surface then it could have been overwatering, causing stress from anaerobic conditions. It could also have affected the pH which then affects how much of each type of nutrient is taken up. It could also just be the specific genetics of the plants you got. A belated thanks for this. I have a pH testing kit but have yet to try it out. You may be right about overwatering as well... I wonder how much of the wilting I saw was due to mid-day heat rather than a lack of water. A tangentially related question: does anyone have any recommendations for a minimal footprint seeding setup? I tried germinating some basil last year but was ultimately unsuccessful. I got plenty of seedlings going but they all eventually died, probably due to temperature fluctuations or lack of sun. I'm assuming I need some sort of heating pad and maybe a grow light, but I have about 2x1 sq/ft of space to work with in a small glass cabinet. Any ideas?
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Nov 30, 2016 19:27
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Could you fit a 2ft fluorescent fixture in that cabinet? Those are really easy to work with. If not, you could try compact fluorescents or LEDs. A heat mat is definitely nice to have.
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Nov 30, 2016 19:57
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Fitzy Fitz posted:Could you fit a 2ft fluorescent fixture in that cabinet? Those are really easy to work with. Perhaps! The first thing that popped up for "2ft florescent fixture" seems like it could work pretty well if I can figure out some way to mount it. I've seen lots of heating mats too, I'm assuming I'd need to get an independent thermometer too? For some reason I haven't found one that has a thermometer built in which seems odd.
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Dec 1, 2016 20:48
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kedo posted:Perhaps! The first thing that popped up for "2ft florescent fixture" seems like it could work pretty well if I can figure out some way to mount it. They're only about 15 watts for the single tray size and don't really need a thermostat. Thermostats are usually separate pieces so that you can use them with a variety of heating elements. I have the Hydrofarm brand but it looks like they don't offer just seedling mats anymore, they want you to get the ridiculous germination station kit. I'd go with whichever of the results for "seedling heat mat" on amazon have good reviews since they're probably all from the same factory. For example the Apollo Horticulture thermostat looks identical to the Hydrofarm one I bought a few years ago.
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Dec 1, 2016 22:08
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I have one pepper plant that I grew in a pot to bring in over the winter. It's in my back window now, but it's looking very unhappy. Most of the leaves are dying or dead, and I assume it needs more light. With the fluorescent lights I use for seed starting, I know you're supposed to have the light bulbs within an inch or two of the seedlings, but that isn't going to be very practical for most of a grown plant. Is there another lighting solution that is good for a big pepper plant?
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Dec 21, 2016 15:29
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