Vegetable Gardening

Is this tree shading the garden? 41 degrees will slow down growth evergreen trees and needles are typically acidic. what is your PH?

Pine needles (aka pine straw) is a commonly used and highly desirable garden mulch.

As for the beans, can't really say without seeing at least a picture of them as to what the issue may be. Wide range of possibilities, some bad, some no big deal.

Dave

Agree with Dave. Discard the peat pot, and leave the 2 strongest. Though ONE zucchini plant will give you plenty of fruit, it sucks to walk out and see many ends rotted due to poor pollination.

If you don't have a problem with bees visiting, then one would suffice. But, better safe than sorry.

Kevin

Thank you everyone!

It looks like PVC pipe and strawberries to me.

Thanks.. its a vertical planter made from 5 inch PVC. Currently growing strawberries. In the fall it will be lettuce

No, no, that's what you want them to do. They are helping to support each other right now, which is a good thing. Some shorter varieties don't even require staking and will just kind of support each other in a clump, just like you have. If your string isn't enough, you can also push some stakes or tree branches around/among them to give them more to climb. The more they have to hang on to (including their neighbors), the more likely they'll be to withstand high winds as they grow. Good luck!

THANK YOU BOTH!

I'm really glad I asked first, because I was strongly considering just going out there and doing it.

They are not staked and supported by twine and, I suppose, each other. Now I'll just cross my fingers and hope for a delicious crop. I'll also have learned for next year.

This is my first year gardening, and I could not be having more fun. Where has this hobby been all my life?

I would say you need more nitrogen -- depends on the form on nitrogen how readily available of a form it is.

I say that the patch is planted too thickly.

@digdirt2 I get sun all day on my balcony. I get the rising sun rays as well as the setting sun. I think my balcony faces North. The tomatoes are fine for now. It is about 1-1.5ft tall now. I do see that it gets some spotted leaves near the soil. I try to snip those leaves when I find them. I stopped fertilizing since 2 weeks cause I didn't want to kill my tomatoes.

As for the Moister Control soil, I don't believe in it either, I always check the soil every morning to see if my plants need watering. I have added mulch (wood chips) to my plants since its getting really hot out.

I have a questions also... Could small pots kill plants also?

I am thinking on getting tarps to hang to shield off sun heat from the sun? Have any suggestions on plant houses or tarps?

Hmm, well, I bought the Coleman model from johnnys and like it a lot. I weigh about 110 so I can't handle something too "beastly." I like working it down all my beds at the beginning of the season to aerate and I can find all the rocks that have come up over the winter.

A friend who also has one did bend it. Don't know if she was a lot harder on it or what but perhaps it should have stood up better.

I think the closer-tiner model is probably better for finding potatoes.

Here's mine 22" wide 4 tine along with 18" "sharpshooter" spade with sched 40 pipe handle. That bugger can really break down deep into our clay

I imagine they meant done planting. I'm wishing I was in the same boat, there is never enough time.

I'm pretty sure the OP means the building/planting part is done. It looks great! The fence around it is very sharp and the mulch makes it look very tidy. How do you get inside to work? I assume there are gates somewhere? I don't see paths, so do you just walk on the mulch between the plants?

I have a couple of those Hav-a-Hart traps (rectangular cages for live trapping) that I in front of any openings in the fence, like little tunnels that are dug under the fence. I haven't had much luck just putting the traps in the garden or along the fence on the outside even if they're baited. I do much better by placing them in front of an existing tunnel under the fence for the veggie garden. For my fruit trees, I've had luck with baited traps at the base of the trees.

I have problems with groundhogs. I have witnessed them eating my spinach, lettuces, broccoli and strawberries. I trap them but it is hard to keep up since we have an overabundance of groundhogs. I have an electric fence around my garden (because of past deer problems) but normally left it off in the daytime. I've since turned it on all day and added a motion sensor sprinkler. I may need to add a lower wire to fence. Your problem sounds like groundhogs.

'DE is a harmless pesticide which works by physical means to kill and repel pests.' The point is that DE kills all insects. It does not differentiate between pest species and beneficials. It will kill a bee or a lady bug just as efficiently as a flee beetle or an earwig. So it is best not to use it until there is a definite problem to cure. Some pests will be dealt with by their natural predators if one can just hold off from the desire to deal with a problem the moment it appears. Aphids, for example, are often cleared up by ladybugs if one just gives them a few days to get to work.

DE can be applied to subdue the infestation, then rinsed off with a hose. My point is that it is harmless to humans and your veggies. To each his own. To the OP, DE is an excellent choice for pest control. Just use it when you need it.