|
I started an allotment last year and after a month of backbreaking work clearing the overgrown plot (beer cans and nettles and brambles, oh my) and getting the soil cultivated, the slugs and snails decimated both my courgettes and my french beans (I started them in my mother in laws greenhouse) within a single weekend. I caught my robin buddy trying to eat slug pellets and decided to try going organic and it seems saucers of beer just didn't cut it. I did have a lot of success with my runner beans (I think they are indestructable). Tomatoes were mediocre-- I was in England last year too and did have a real problem getting them to ripen. There just wasn't enough sun. I had no yield until late August, they all just came in at once. I am back living in the US now and can't wait to dig in something that isn't London clay! Unfortunately the move was last minute so I wasn't able to plan ahead and have the soil prepared in the Autumn. I had wanted to experiment a bit more with green manure. I think I am just doing courgette, tomatoes, and bell peppers, given my space restrictions. My favorite little trick is making seed pots out of newspaper like this :http://www.ehow.com/video_1745_create-seed-starting.html. Then you can just plant the whole thing. Also, prune your drat tomatoes. I hate seeing messy plants with lower leaves dragging on moist ground, and lots of barely-producing offshoots wasting energy.
|
#
¿
Feb 24, 2009 23:23
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 23, 2024 12:18 |
|
|
madlilnerd posted:Every piece of compost in our garden seems to have mini potatoes in too... My allottment plot had random potatoes everywhere--I mean everywhere. It hadn't been touched for like 8 years and I know nothing about potato reproductive habits but it was a nightmare to get rid of. Does anyone know of any easy edible flowers for my borders? Last year I did Pansies and nasturtiums (pansies are fresh and minty and nasturtiums are peppery) but I was hoping for some new ideas, other than lavender or rose, looking for something savory. Anyone who is new to it, flowers attract bees and butterflies to pollinate your veg, so it helps to plant some, even if it just quick and dirty. Dill and umbrella shaped flowers attract ladybugs.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 26, 2009 03:39
|
|
|
kid sinister posted:How about poppies? Actually, a gardening book I had a while back talked about a specific type of dandelion that you can grow just for eating, it is supposed to be more tender than the normal weed kind, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was, and I don't have the book. I didn't know you could eat carnations. I like ornamental flowers you can eat because I just love the way they look in a salad. Chive flowers are good that way. On the subject, anyone growing courgette/zucchini for the first time, don't forget you can eat those flowers too. Beebalm is the best idea, thanks! Not only is it gorgeous, supposedly tastes like mint/spearmint/oregano, but wiki says this: 'Companion plant Bee balm is considered a good plant to grow with tomatoes, ostensibly improving both health and flavor. It also is a good companion plant in general, attracting pollinators and some predatory/parasitic insects that hunt garden pests.' I know not everyone buys into companion planting, but I like to play around a bit and try to stay organic, at least when it's in my own yard and doesn't cost more.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 26, 2009 06:28
|
|
|
MarshallX posted:Iceburg Lettuce - Rotted too fast for us to get a good yield.We used 2 plants and by that time the others were mucky. The trick with lettuce is to sow seeds every week or every other week, so that you avoid a glut and have a steady supply. Loose-leaf lettuce in particular matures very quickly. As far as problems with rotting or disease, lettuce should be watered in the morning. I've always watered in the evening to avoid scorching and evaporation, so it kind of goes against my intution, but it isn't something you can let get too wet (unlike tomatoes and peppers that seem to love a soaking--I water tomatoes twice a day when it is sunny) Because it doesn't like to be too wet (edit: I don't mean it doesn't like to be moist, it does, I mean it can't be sopping wet, it needs to be more consistent.), lettuce does really well in grow-bags. It reduces slug damage, and you can move them around depending on weather. When it is too hot they stop producing and start to seed, so you can move into a more shaded area. Another option is to plant alongside tomatoes or corn in a way that by hottest point in summer they are shaded by these taller crops. MarshallX posted:Peas - Didn't see a single sprout, too much watering maybe. I don't know where in Canada you are, but peas don't sprout at temperatures above 75f-ish. They did lovely when I was living in England, but I am totally scrapping them where I am now because I just won't be ready in time. They need to go out early, a few weeks before the last frost even. HeatherChandler fucked around with this message at 07:02 on Feb 28, 2009 |
|
#
¿
Feb 28, 2009 06:57
|
|
|
CHEEZball posted:This year is my first attempt at vegetable gardening! In containers on my porch as well. Anyone have any tips? I've done container veg before, and as the previous poster said you will probably need to water every day--cucumbers and tomatoes even twice a day when fruit is setting. Be aware that terracotta is pourous and water will not stay as long so when it is very hot it will need attention, vegetables have higher water needs than flowers or plants you might normally use it for. They have stuff you can stick in the soil to keep the moisture longer, I don't know if it is appropriate for veg, never played with it. I mulch my pots, I have no idea if it is effective or not. You should also fertilize frequently, and look out for varieties specifically suited for container gardening. You won't want to stick some super extra large beefsteak tomato plant in a pot. I already mentioned I like grow bags for lettuce--I've also done smaller varieties of tomatoes in them as well. You can get decent salad tomatoes that grow as a bush rather than a traditional cordon that needs more room and staked. If you like radishes you can do those in grow bags as well. You can also do french beans or runner beans in large pots. Runner beans never seem to have caught on in the states, but they are easy, high yeild, delicious, and have pretty scarlet flowers. Anyway, since both grow tall on supports, they can be used to provide shade to more tender crops when it is hot.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 1, 2009 06:22
|
|
|
madlilnerd posted:And forget eating dandelions- go for nettles instead! The young tips can be cooked just like spinach. Of course, they're also an excellent indicator of good soil quality too. CHEEZball posted:
They sell plants especially bred for containers, like 'Patio Prize'. The taste is better than a store bought but not the greatest as far as homegrown tomatoes go. It is reliable though. Any bush type would work, if you read about the seed and it describes the plant as 'determinate' that is a bush type. What I would do is try both specific container plants in 3-5 gallon pots and and a few others in 8+ gallon pots if you want to try something else. It is very possible with attention, but I know from experience that if you go away for the weekend and it is dry all those beautiful Ponderosas you stuck in a pot will suddenly be deformed. I am planning to start my seedlings in a few weeks to be ready to go out as soon as the last frost date passes, and I am having a major heirloom seed picking crisis! I just can't decide, and have major space and budget restrictions. The farm I am buying them from recommended 'Hillbilly' and 'Chocolate Cherry' as two safe bets in this area, but I am overwhelmed by the rainbow of beautiful tomatoes. I just don't have the space anymore! I really hope I am not the only freak of nature that feels like I am in the most wonderful candy store when I look at tomato varieties.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 3, 2009 07:25
|
|
|
MikeD posted:Haha, wait, are we to understand that your windowsill garden was on the inside of the window? Why is that weird? I've always grown herbs indoors on the sill, and my mother-in-law even manages cherry tomatoes indoors and small amounts of lettuce above the kitchen sink (huge windows and lots of lovely light, I envy it). Ron_Jeremy: You really should be replacing, but if you have a lot of very large containers and money is an issue you could probably dig in some good fertilizer and rotate pots (don't grow the same type of plant in the same soil over and over). I do it with flowers, although they have less needs than vegetables. Only if you like, really can't replace. jovial_cynic: Your organization is seriously enviable. The only time I ever collected any seeds I forgot where I put them.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 4, 2009 07:01
|
|
|
Corn might not be cost effective, but it is so hard for a Maryland native to resist growing their own 'Silver Queen' when they are trapped in the midwest and can't find it anymore. The corn here tastes like chicken feed. I don't have room, but I considered trying hand-pollinating it. Does anyone have any experience doing that?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 5, 2009 17:49
|
|
|
Stupid question time: I finally ripped the carpet off the area I planned for my veg patch, it had been made into some weird makeshift putting green by the people who were here before. It is hard to explain without a picture, but the yard is a hill, and there was that one flat area on it, it is about 10 x 10 but shaped kind of like a baseball diamond if it were a baseball pentagon. Hard to explain without a working camera, but anyway. So I rip it off, and I am not sure what to think of the soil. At first I panicked because it seemed really, really sandy. However, under the inch of so of sandy soil it is clumpy and holds together like the clay soil I am used to. Is there such thing as soil that is sandy AND clay at the same time? Will it balance itself out or will I have the worst of both worlds? For what it is worth I took advantage of the weather and dug in 300lb of compost, so it would have a few months to work in (I usually do it in fall). That was all I could manage to lug in a day by myself. I might do more in a few weeks. HeatherChandler fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Mar 11, 2009 |
|
#
¿
Mar 11, 2009 01:48
|
|
|
kid sinister posted:Naturally occurring sandy clay soil? Probably not. The previous owner put down that sand to help level the surface for his green. That's pretty standard practice. Actually, adding sand to clay is one method to lighten clay soils and makes root growth easier. Well, not all sand... Big grain sand can help lighten soil, whereas powdery sand can do the opposite. Thanks, I had no idea that there were standard practices for making akward backyard putting greens  . I'll be honest, I thought it might have been a garden at some point, and then just covered up with something to sell. I've only been here since winter, so I really didn't have a chance to check it before. Either way, the faux turf at least it choked out all (most) the weeds. Other than digging compost in, is there anything else I really need to do to improve the soil? All my previous experience is in really really heavy almost black clay. I need to get a jar and get a better look at the soil, it is just so...weird. I actually had gone out with the intention of buying a ph test but ended up with all that compost instead and totally forgot my original train of thought.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 11, 2009 21:31
|
|
, this is neutral pH.
|
kid sinister posted:Clearly you're not a cheapass golfer. I dug down about 8 inches. I really feel like I should have gone further since I don't know if it has ever been done before. I don't have any perennial weeds to worry about making worse. Anyway, I could probably do it again better, I have nothing but time at the moment. I read a few articles about soil improvement and see them suggesting 3-4 inches of compost, I probably had about one out of that 300ish lb if that. If I am going to add some 800lb or whatever of compost I need to go get something with wheels to get it up the hill, heh. I didn't even think to use a lab, I am going to look for a free/cheap way to do it, good idea! Googling is teaching me that soil has lots of crazy names. Oh, and I just wanted to make sure the soil wasn't too basic, since I've got no idea what was thrown in it and it hasn't had anything growing in it. It shouldn't be in this area, but I am persnickity, if you can't tell.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 12, 2009 05:48
|
|
|
Depending on where in Texas you are, you should have a longer growing season than us further north, so being late with seedling shouldn't be a big deal. My last frost isn't safely until the beginning of May, so I'm not even starting tomatoes until next week. http://www.garden.org/zipzone/ <--That will give you your hardiness zone http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/cl...imate%20Normals <-That will let you look up your last frost date and first frosts in fall. Just for the future, so you can time when to plant your seedlings. Tomatoes and peppers take about 8 weeks until transplant ready, Zucchini only takes 4-6. The idea is to have transplants ready to go out as soon as it is safe. This is mostly important to us that have a shorter growing season. Be wary of those green beans--they can be bitchy about being tranplanted and are usually best sowed directly into the garden. Depending on how far south you are you can probably sow them pretty soon rather than germinate indoors. If you want to go with seedlings, just be very gentle with their roots. If you want something else fool proof throw some mesclun mix (mix of salad greens) into a window box. You just cut it as you eat it and it grows back, and since it is portable you can move it into the shade when it gets hot. I am retarded with soil so I can't really help you there.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 13, 2009 05:11
|
|
|
whyrat posted:I didn't know that about green bean seedlings, well I have a ton of leftover seeds so I'll just sow some directly into the garden if the ones I start indoors don't take. Zucchini is one of those things you can easily end up trying to pawn them off on everyone you know, on your neighbors, on strangers, making 100 zucchini breads and leaving it on a soup kitchen doorstep, leaving them in a bag that says EAT ME in a public area and running--you get the idea. Yea, as Zeta said mesclun can be well, anything. Its just a mix of greens that you eat young. I suggest them instead of lettuce because its the sort of thing you can take scissors to when you want some and not think about it. I think that sticking something like that in a container is the lazy way, because you don't have to make a bed for it. You can also buy these like plastic bags for pennies that you throw soil in and use instead of a bed for small stuff. Ugly, but lazy-friendly. Squid-Row posted:I'm planning to start a garden next weekend, but I have a black thumb, and way more space than I'm used to! Also, I live in the desert, and the last 36 frost is supposed to be next week, according to those charts linked above, so hopefully I'm not too late. But the set up at the house I moved into is just too good not to try! You are only too late really for peas and carrots. Peas I know stop producing when its above 75ish, so they need to be in early. Relax, you have a long growing season, enjoy it. The timing and getting a jump start headache is for those of us that only have a few months warm enough to grow warm weather crops. Although, if next year you want to plan ahead you can have even longer. How deep are the containers you have? Are they 2x 4 each? If so that is a bit of space, depending on how much soil it holds. You can do tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, lettuce, radishes, green beans--they even have small varieties of eggplant for containers if they are deep enough. All you have to do is dump some good soil in. The catch is that the smaller the area the more watering they need, especially somewhere hot. Twice every day sometimes (I'd wager a guess most days in the desert)--just keep it in mind. Greens and beans will tolerate some shade--in the desert they might even be better off. They still need some sun though. I should probably mention that if you have a terrace and not a lot of vegetation/flowers around you should plant some window boxes or pots with some bee/butterfly attracting flowers, need the pollinators. HeatherChandler fucked around with this message at 05:49 on Mar 15, 2009 |
|
#
¿
Mar 15, 2009 05:45
|
|
|
Cakefool posted:I'd like to try asparagus, anyone got any advice? Well, Asparagus takes years--2 or 3. You can buy 2 year old crowns, but even then aren't supposed to harvest the spears the first year at all. The upside is they can keep producing for like 15 years, so you would want to plant them somewhere they won't be disturbed. I really want to give them a try some day, once I actually stay in one place for long enough to harvest them.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 16, 2009 04:43
|
|
|
Cakefool posted:Upside down? Do you mean growing from a hanging container? Not quite, you actually grow them...completely upside down. You take something like a bucket and cut holes in the bottom where the plants are to grow, and it is filled with soil and hung. Like this:  Click here for the full 768x1024 image. I just started my tomatoes and peppers today. I busted my budget buying a new garden hose and I really wanted to get one of those plant germinating heating pads. Turns out the new fridge isn't warm on top like my old one was. Anyway, I stuck a few dish towels on top of my human heating pad and have it on low hoping it gets a bit warm but that the towels keep it from getting too hot. Is this a really bad idea?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 16, 2009 19:13
|
|
|
Zeta Taskforce posted:Is that basil growing out of the top of those buckets? That is so awesome! I think so, I've seen it that way before. Picture not mine, so I unfortunately can't take credit for awesomeness. I myself am irrationally terrified of non-traditional methods (other than regular containers). I dig, I till, I plant in rows. I'm excited to see someone else do it though. mischief posted:I was given a handful of radish seedlings, with the roots all firmly bound in some sort of water retaining seed-starter fabric, and I am completely at a loss for how to plant these things. Am I supposed to pull individual plants out, damaging roots, or what? I am trying to picture seed starter fabric, and really can't. Can you take a picture? Can you maybe cut it into squares around each plant and then plant them seperately? Does it look like it is biodegradable? I have never seen it before.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 17, 2009 05:17
|
|
|
Anubis posted:The stuff I'm thinking about is the bottom of a seed starting kit I saw at home depot earlier this year. It has fabric on the bottom going into each seed's pod that draws water up into the soil so that you just poor water into a bottom tray and don't have to worry about over-watering or damaging young seedlings. I almost got one but figured that the setup would require the plants would need to be transplanted at least twice and that is usually when my plants die, so no thank you. Yea capillary fabric--but I can't imagine how anything could grow to the point that the roots would be bound in it, it is underneath the pots. Weird.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 17, 2009 16:08
|
|
|
Cakefool posted:This is madness. What are the advantages? How do you get the plant through the hole? Either the root or green bit are going to be too big, or do you plant them really young? Do you put anything special around the hole to stop pooping the entire ensemble out? Haha, I should have made it clearer that I googled up that picture and can't take credit for it. I have read quite a bit about it, and I can tell you that the biggest advantage is ease. No staking, no pruning, no bending, no digging. You can harvest at eye level, standing up. When you water, less is lost to evaporation and through the soil. The hole is only a few inches wide and on a mature plant the root ball should hold soil into place. http://www.minifarmhomestead.com/gardening/tomato.htm <--these are pretty thorough instructions for doing a tomato, the same idea should follow for anything you can do upside down. I have a problem with the whole not pruning thing because it was always drilled into my head that the best tomato production is on the main vine, and offshoots just waste valuable plant evergy into foliage. I just can't unbeleive it.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 17, 2009 20:56
|
|
|
kid sinister posted:It's not the offshoots that are the problem, it's the overall distance from the roots. The farther the plant has to transport nutrients to a fruit, the smaller that fruit will be. Tomatoes naturally are a low growing vine that will layer itself as it spreads. Each spot that touches the ground will produce new roots to help send nutrients along. You can see this growing habit on tomato vines easily, just look for the little white bumps on the vines. But humans don't let tomatoes grow this way: they prop them up in cages to maximize garden space and keep the fruit out of reach of 'visitors'. Well poo poo, I know exactly what you mean. Like if a tomato seedling is too leggy you can just bury the stem and it grows roots. I never thought about how it would grow naturally.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 18, 2009 03:52
|
|
|
There are recipes on the internet for using fresh fish parts to make fish emulsion, here are a few: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/organic/2002080041031662.html http://www.ehow.com/how_2325703_make-fish-fertilizer.html The instructions seem about the same on all the ones I've seen. Something to try maybe?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2009 20:03
|
|
|
Slung Blade posted:You're going to be drowning in zucchini. I hope you have lots of friends to share it with. Hahaha, be prepared for an onslaught of zucchini--this has been said a few times but it is really true. Google 'too much zucchini'. It is the topic of some really bad humor. I've baked mass amounts of zucchini bread and forced it on random people like a twisted June Cleaver. I'm thinking of sticking with one plant or maybe two this year, unless I find a soup kitchen or something that accepts produce (or baked goods) donations. Oh, and Early Girl means just that, it will mature early. It will produce fruit before the others do, around 50-60 days instead of the normal 80ish for most tomatoes. Those leaves on the tomato plants are cotyledons. They will sort of wither and the true leaves will appear, on a tomato they have jagged edges and are more pointed. That is when you need to first start feeding.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 20, 2009 00:18
|
|
|
Well, apparantly August 8th is National Sneak Some Zucchini on your Neighbor's Porch Night, so you can always be that guy. You can always eat the blossoms; each blossom you eat a zucchini is never born. The winter squash gets planted at the same time, only harvested later once the rind is hardened. Those keep ages so they aren't as hard to get rid of, you can use them up during the winter. For the tomatoes, true leaves will start about two weeks from when they first come up , looks like they've been up for nearly a week?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 20, 2009 05:09
|
|
|
My tomatoes came up today, and I got so excited I made a chart in Excel to keep track of when each crop needs to be sown, hardened, and transplanted, including things I do successionally like bush beans and lettuce. I can hardly stop myself from constantly fussing and poking at them. I think I might go get another batch of compost and dig some more. I can't be the only one with really bad spring fever.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 21, 2009 20:02
|
|
|
^^^ The way they fell over, it looks like it could be damping off. How much have you been watering, and do they get any air circulation? A drafty window shouldn't kill seedlings, once they have germinated it is safe to keep them cooler as long as it is indoors and no below 50 or so in your house. Edit again, I reread, if they haven't germinated at all yet they need to be warmer. It would be wise to keep seperate types of plant seperate so that you can put them in different places. Stuff that takes longer will need to be kept warm longer, while stuff that is quick needs it cooler and sunny. Plus then you can harden plants off without using another pot, you shouldnt have to. I'd probably just take some heavy scissors and cut that flat into four. And yes, Texas (especially further south) has an enviable growing season. jovial_cynic posted::: sigh :: Like everyone said, you can do it a lot cheaper with just an all-purpose flourescent fixture. From what I've read you can either use just cool flourescents or a combination of warm and cool, instead of even shelling out for the full spectrums (if it is just for seedlings, and not for an all-year indoor garden). I am the real cheapskate, I keep my seedlings on a table that gets filtered sunlight most of the day, and have some cfls in reflector clamp worklights on them. I just bury the stems of my spindly tomatoes. I keep saying I'll rig something proper up one day but I honestly wouldn't trust myself to put together an Ikea spice rack. It works as long as I edit myself, and stop trying to support 60 tomato seedlings when I only have room to transplant 10 anyway. Unrelated, I am retarded and bought a mixed pack of hot pepper seeds, only to realize that they are identical and I couldn't tell them apart. So my master plan was to plant a bunch, and then write down the dates that they sprouted. I've always heard that the hotter the variety the longer it takes to germinate--I figured I'd keep one plant from each time period that they sprouted. I woke up this morning and they were all up at once. Other than waiting for fruit to set, is there any way to tell the difference? From pictures the leaves all seem identical, I was wondering if there was any subtle differences in the flowers to look for, maybe? I'd just plant them all and dry what I don't use, but gently caress this space issue. I've been making little drawings obsessively trying to shoehorn everything I know I can't fit. HeatherChandler fucked around with this message at 05:20 on Mar 25, 2009 |
|
#
¿
Mar 25, 2009 05:03
|
|
|
Also, corn does better planted in large squares because it is wind pollinated, unless you want to have a go at hand pollination. You could save a small spot on the west side of the house where it is partially shaded for having a go at lettuce and spinach in the summer when it can't withstand the heat (otherwise you are restricted to spring and fall, especially somewhere as hot as AZ). I think Tucson is actually zone 9. If you are planning on doing English/Garden peas and not like a southern pea or something scrap it until fall or next year. In zone 8 and 9 they need to be started in January. You might be able to do a fall crop of them though, not sure. They can withstand light frost, but won't produce over 75 degrees, so they need to be mature and harvested before that. I do love how you designed it landscaped and worked in more like a modern potager than just a patch. With a design like that you could look into companion planting in the borders and really make it beautiful with stuff like Marigolds that are supposed to be all natural pest control. I'm jealous. Anubis, how early do you set out your tomatoes? It seems so early for zone 5/6. I am in 6 and haven't planned to set out tomatoes until early May, preferably with no reliable dips below 50. I'm just curious, am I overly cautious? HeatherChandler fucked around with this message at 21:25 on Mar 25, 2009 |
|
#
¿
Mar 25, 2009 21:22
|
|
|
A 40 lb bag of compost typically covers about 9 sq ft an inch high. Most guides say to dig in 2-4 inches in. Depends on your soil though. Everything won't neccessarily die, just might not thrive and give maximum production. I don't do that much, I ended up doing 800 lb for my 100 sq footish plot and called it a day. I feel like I should have done twice that. What I did last year is dig holes about 4 times the size of my transplant, throw in half garden soil and half compost to fill 3/4 then the transplant, like a pot dug into the ground. My mother-in-law taught me that, not sure how 'correct' it is but it seems to work ok. I don't know much about gardening in a really hot area, but mulching helps with water retention. It might be worth looking into light shade cloth for the hottest part of the summer. Tomato pollen goes sterile in the 90s so it doesn't hurt to have some protection for them available--being able to move them seems ideal. Just hang them in full sun untill it gets to those temperatures and then move them. When you buy greens seeds look out for bolt resistant varieties unless you want to be limited to spring and fall. I bought local seed for the first time this year. I used https://www.localharvest.org. The farm closest so me that had what I was looking for was really wonderful and prompt and gave me awesome advice on varieties and how they perform in the area and stuff, which was really cool for what amounts to a 10 dollar sale.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 26, 2009 06:01
|
|
|
madlilnerd posted:I'm in south east England so zoning doesn't apply. We have a temperate climate, similar to Seattle. It rains a lot. The soil is very fertile. Highs of about 25 degrees C in summer. I can tell you from experience gardening in SE England that pretty much everything will be wanting full sun. Since there aren't the same high temperature extremes as there is in temperate US there isn't any crops that need sheltering in the summer, and there isn't as much sun in general. The upside is being able to have successful lettuce and spinach and even peas for most of the summer. The downside is it can be difficult to get tomatoes and peppers to ripen. Bottom line is I wouldn't put any vegetables in the shade there.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 26, 2009 21:46
|
|
|
ChaoticSeven posted:Do squash stems work like tomatoes? IE, can you plant squashlings right up to the bottom leaves for the same reasons? If it is a vine type, yes, if it is a bush type, I don't think so. Re. Growing veg in England--I don't blame anyone for sticking to conatiner gardening there. Best results I had were in the little grow bags crammed up outside my flat, practically on the pavement. I hope whoever took tomatoes as they walked by would agree, assuming they figured out to force ripen them.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 28, 2009 04:33
|
|
|
I am having a tomato problem--they have turned totally purple on the stems and underneath the leaves. They don't have true leaves yet so I know I shouldn't fertilize, and the internet tells me they are too cold. The internet also says optimal temperature is 60-75 for seedlings and that room fluctuates between 65 and 70. I thought they might not be getting enough light with my ghetto fabulous setup but the peppers, which are supposedly more temperamental, are just peachy. Now I can't decide if I want to stick a heating pad underneath them or if I want to be patient and wait it out.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2009 00:44
|
|
|
Kai was taken posted:Not sure if I'm hitting the right thread, but I'll try here. Depends on what you want to grow, what kind of look you are going for. You do have to fertilize houseplants sometimes. You don't really need anything special, I use an old empty water bottle for watering most of the time. Potting soil, pot, plant. My personal favorite is growing orchids indoor even though people think they are difficult. If you have a bright window that is fine for light, the blooms last ages, and a lot of varieties only like a little water so if you are forgetful they will be ok (mine only died when I went away for a bit and my husband watered them every day thinking he was being helpful, despite my sticky note warnings) They are a PAIN to repot but otherwise there are easy varieties. I think I might have gotten into them simply because most aren't poisonous to cats. The easist one I can think of is the kalanchoe. A lot of indoor flowers are easy to take care of generally, but once they are out of bloom might need special conditions to get them back into bloom again. Bromeliads and African violets are like that.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2009 01:25
|
|
|
Kai was taken posted:I think I'll give Orchids a shot, I've always liked them. Is there anything special I should know before I do it? Are they easy to grow this time of year? They grow indoors any time of year. They require some maintenance though. A good place to start learning is the phalaenopsis orchid, it is the one you see everywhere, at the supermarket and stuff. I think you will get more concise information on google than from me, but I can definately say that they are the easiest, and have the longest lasting blooms. The quick and dirty is water once a week, feed once a month, cut stem down when blooming dies. Repotting and getting it to rebloom are the tricky part, but for phalaenopsises you only really need to stick it somewhere a bit darker and chillier for a week and stick it back out and wait. Like I said, all indoor flowers really have some special needs, and will need to experience a mini winter to bloom again. My grandmother used to get her African Violets to bloom all year, but she also spent a lot of time and effort fussing with their light cycles and I don't think that is what you are looking for. For winter you can force bulbs to last until spring. Since you have all that wonderful sun, don't discount growing herbs. They have pretty little flowers too. Cakefool, you can put barbeque ash in the compost bin, but check the label on the briquettes you used and make sure they they didn't have additives, like in the instant lighting stuff.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2009 16:04
|
|
|
kid sinister posted:Technically, most Bromeliads never rebloom, each plant only flowers once, makes a few offsets, then dies. Other than that though, they are bulletproof and perfect for a newbie. Just remember, most bromeliads are epiphytic and only use their roots as anchors. For those you put their water in their central "cup" instead. Well poo poo, I am retarded and got my wires crossed, sorry. I was thinking begonias if you keep them indoors. Although, my mother in law has a massive bromeliad that I think she has had for 10 years or something ridiculous, I wonder if she is just letting it reproduce within the pot it is in, the pot is like 3 feet high and 4 ft across. Is that even possible? She has them in pots all over the conservatory, I bet they are all off the same start. Compost smells the worst if it is really really wet. Make sure you turn it and that it gets air.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2009 21:05
|
|
|
ChaoticSeven posted:Well, I've been busy. You used a rototiller...right? If not you are far tougher than me. You know, you can rig up some cloches from empty milk cartons and 2 L soda bottles if you are expecting any more chills. Guess this isn't too helpful at the last minute unless you happen to drink a whole lot of milk and soda or have a recycle bin that's full. With all that room are you planning melons? I am stuck looking for a dwarf cantaloupe, I'm turning green over all that space. Well, I decided to jump the gun and plant one section of my mesclun, since I do it successionally it won't matter if one bit dies, I can replant. It took all of 24 hours for some cheeky birds to find it. I need to get some netting but until then, I can't decide if I should put out some seed on the far side of the yard to distract them. Are birds that dumb? We have a lot of trees so birds are an inevitability.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 31, 2009 14:15
|
|
|
csammis posted:I've started cooking a lot of Indian recipes - I go through a fair amount of cilantro, but the bunches I buy from the store always start to wilt and rot before I finish them I don't know about animals, but growing cilantro is very similar to growing lettuce. It doesn't like really hot temperatures (it will go to seed, although if it does happen grab a mortar and pestle), and you can sow it in batches because it doesn't last that long. Grow it close together and preferably somewhere that has some shade in the hottest part of the day, but morning sun. It is another thing I do in a container and move around depending on the weather. Anubis posted:While the birds would certainly eat the seed my guess is that the extra food would attract more birds and they would eventually run out of seed and move on to your mesclun. A quick fix option would be a scarecrow or plastic/concrete owl, which might keep the little birdies at bay. That actually works? I feel like a div, I always thought scarecrows were made up for movies. I guess the little cutesy ceramic squirrel I've got out there just isn't threatening enough.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 1, 2009 00:44
|
|
|
kid sinister posted:That's a big patch even for a rototiller. My guess would be a regular tiller, probably one that mounts to a 3-point hitch on a tractor. I just had this horrible mental image of some poor guy out there 10 hours a day for a week tilling by hand, all in the name of fresh air and excercise. People do strange things. Oh, and thanks for the random plant knowledge . I know at some point I knew that, but lost it.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 1, 2009 02:25
|
|
|
Anubis posted:Is there a support group I can join for people who can't seem to stop buying plants in the spring? I just came back from the store with 3 Roma tomato plants (although those were planned) and 2 more blackberry plants. Someone help me, this needs to stop! Blackberries ACK! My allotment was absolutely covered in them, I can't tell you how many bloody (literally) cuts I had on my arms, legs, cheeks from trying to tame them back a bit. I was a walking 'faces of meth' picture. They sprawl uncontrollably. They used them along the fence as natural trespasser control. I would have really loved having them to harvest except the park next to my flat had them everywhere anyway, I would just pick those (Park management told me that they didn't use any pesticides on that area). Did I mention I hate blackberry brambles? Oh, and if I actually went to the nursery I would end up with a bazillion plants and no money to live on. The worst for me are flowers though. My annual borders are always a horrible mishmash because I want one of everything. I've restricted myself to starting everything from seed and only buying soil/potting mix/compost at Walmart to avoid temptation, since their plant selection isn't as good. Tomato pruning...I am an obsessive pruner. It is something I see debated a lot. From what I've read, pruning sideshoots results in lower yield, but bigger fruit. I had learned otherwise, so it is all news to me. If you are going to train on a single stake, pruning really is the only way to keep them manageable. http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/pruning-tomatoes.aspx <--good description of how to prune. In a cage you don't need to prune at all. I'm trying to figure out a happy medium, I really like mine neat and tidy but I would love a higher yield as well. I was thinking of building a narrow tripod teepee around each plant, and training one or two vines up each cane, pruning those as normal. I don't know if that would work, or if my description even makes sense. I figure as long as they are off the ground it doesn't really matter how it is accomplished.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 3, 2009 21:04
|
|
|
How silly of the predecessor to plant the thorned ones in the middle of everything. He also left broken whiskey bottles all over, maybe there is a connection. Sorry, I wasn't meaning to say 'don't grow blackberries' just 'gently caress my experience dealing with them, listen to me whine like a big baby please'.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 4, 2009 06:59
|
|
|
Haha, well, the space we had was an allotment so it was specifically for gardening, most people have enough repect to leave things in a state that the new renter can work the land. To be fair, we were only charged for half because of the state it was in. We did had ridiculous ivy growing on our flat building though. Someone planted it to climb up the shrub that divided our entrance from the one next door, because that makes total sense. In addition to constantly sprawling all over the sidewalk and front to the point you can't get out the door, it had climbed up the facade and was destroying the paint, cue argument with the management company and the owner. We only owned the inside, they wouldn't let us paint unless we paid THEM an inflated price to do it, so we just left it looking derelict. gently caress ivy, it could have at least had the courtesy to grow thick enough to completely cover the paint, not just take chunks off. If I knew where the owner lived I'd break in and plant some brambles in her garden. That'd show her. Speaking of climbing plants, are there any other than climbing hydrangeas that can climb up brick without trellises and without damaging it? That was my original plan to cover this kind of dated looking brick house, but older plants are too expensive, and they take so long to establish. The other option was that invisible netting and clematis, but I don't know how to attach it to brick without tools (not handy). I know this is the veg thread, but thought maybe one of you gardening whizzes might have a clue.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 4, 2009 20:41
|
|
|
kid sinister posted:Any climbers that stick to brick will do some damage, usually to the mortar. There are 2 natives to the US that I know would adhere to brick, but I'm hesitant to recommend them because they grow like weeds. They are the Trumpet Vine and the Virginia Creeper. Again I recommend you steer clear of these two. Some people will even get rashes from handling one or both of those. Some cultivars of creeping Euonymus a.k.a. Wintercreeper will successfully climb brick. There are even some pretty variegated cultivars too. I knew that climbers did cause some damage (and that Virginia Creeper was evil), but I read that of all of them, the hydrangea do the least, and most of it is cosmetic. Is that wrong? I guess there isn't a no drill way to do make supports--I assume those brick clip things wouldn't support the weight of a perennial climber. I'm going to have to make some handy friends out here, I am sort of a dizzy cow. Last thing I put together was an Ikea bookshelf that fell over. So how about this weather? We are on a tornado watch tonight, and snow through Wednesday. Salad germinated like crazy quicker than I expected so I went ahead and drug it in. All my tomatoes and peppers have been potted up and zucchini and cukes germinating--and snow?. Just doesn't feel right!
|
|
#
¿
Apr 6, 2009 01:51
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 23, 2024 12:18 |
|
|
ChaoticSeven posted:I think it sucks. Gathered up everything that would fit over a tomato plant, picked the ones that still looked like they had a reasonable chance of thriving and stuck em'. We'll see who makes it. Hahaha my goodness. I was reading a gardening forum and some guy constructed a tent system with sheets and christmas lights strung around the plants for heat, it was kind of cute. I was going to go pick up some straw bales today but I can't seem to get in the mood with snow falling. If anyone else plans on mulching with straw, seriously call around and find a local farm that sells feed and bedding. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, the price was a quite a bit cheaper. So glad it is going to be normal again tomorrow, I have no light for my mesclun jungle, although it doesn't seem to care too much yet:  Click here for the full 800x600 image. I have been thinning them like every day, don't remember putting that many seeds down. Tomatoes seem very happy to be transplanted, they are doubling every night it seems:  Click here for the full 600x800 image. And peppers do not grow as slowly as I have been led to beleive:  Click here for the full 600x800 image. Guessing those seed leaves are getting geared up to die.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 7, 2009 19:56
|
|
