23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Legumes are kind of the garden weirdos when talking about nutrients - since they tend to make their own nitrogen and don't need much of anything else to do well. So trying to companion plant with them is difficult - except for other legumes. So you could always plant bush beans, crowder peas, southern peas (aka field peas) etc. - 70+ varieties of them - or any of the other legumes. Plus any root crop that doesn't require high N supplements like the carrots Lori mentioned. It is the need to keep other climbing things off the bean trellis that I would be most worried about.
But if you don't normally feed during the season - which I have to admit I can't imagine - then maybe it won't be an issue for you no matter what you plant there.
For me the gardens get regular supplements - primarily side dressings with lots of compost since I have a well established soil web - throughout the season as the nutrients are exhausted by the plants and the N vaporizes away. Plus supplemental feedings of various other organics as needed throughout the season.
Nobody wants to go 3-4 months without eating. :)
Dave
PS: the beans from last year won't provide any supplemental N to what is planted this year unless you left all the roots with nodules in the ground or tilled all the plants in. If the plants were pulled, the N goes with them.
Cut off at ground level to leave the roots, pulled what was hanging on the fence off as best I could and threw the tops in the aisle to compost in place with the old hay we'd mulched with (though I admit I didn't look to see if they were still there, DH could have "cleaned them up" and put in trash, I should have bagged them up and brought up to put in compost bin).
I was planning on side dressing (way to the other side) as well as my usual amending the hole if planting tomatoes on the other side of the beans. But I amend the beds every spring with plenty of compost (wherever I'm planting things other than beans or potatoes) so no, I don't feed. Except when it looks like they need it, like last year when I tried foliar feeding b/c of all the rain. I do use diluted Neptune's Harvest while they're still in the pots, before transplanting.
I think I'm skipping carrots this year - the strawberries took over the bed I had them in last year and that's the only one that's been sifted through enough to get rid of even tiny pebbles. Our soil is pretty rocky - even the beds near the house that have gotten more compost b/c we started them in 2008.
Maybe turnips? Onions? There are still onion sets in the feed stores.
In your area I believe most people grow tomatoes during the winter. If it isn't too warm & humid for fruit to set, it soon will be. You may have a little better luck if they're cherries. My mom who is in Boca Raton has already pulled her tomato plants.
"Average high temp this and last month 64F, av low 42F. In between we have had a number of days over 70F. Still too cold?"
Yep. Peppers love the heat. Cold just makes them sit there and not do anything. When it warms up a little more they should start growing.
"Maybe it needs more time. Should I pinch the blossoms off and wait and see?"
I would.
Rodney
Farmington- The "one inch per week" "rule" is a very vague guideline at best. To put it another way, it's completely unreliable. How much you need to water depends on the specific crop, rainfall, heat, your type of soil, sun exposure, if your soil is mulched or not, etc. Nobody can say definitively that your plants need x-amount of water. Sorry, I realize that doesn't help much.
Water until your soil is moist. Not just on the surface but deep down. Certain plants like consistent moisture. Some like to dry out a bit between waterings. If it's been hot, you'll need to water more. If it's been cool you might not need to water for a while. Sandy soil dries out quicker than clay. Mulched soil retains moisture whereas unmulched dries out quick in summer. You just have to get a feel for it.
Rodney
You can use the same brand just dilute it to at least 1/2 strength or maybe even 1/4 strength and cut back on the frequency.
Since your mix is soil-based rather than soil-less it won't drain as well as most containers mixes and the bad mineral the salts will build up over time and harm the plant. You want to slow that down, keep it from happening, as long as possible. So a weaker, less frequent application will help do that.
Dave
What veggies are we talking about Sam? All I see is 3 pots of flowers?
Different vegetables have different fertilizing needs.
Are your vegetable plants in containers or in the ground? If containers, how big and filled with what potting mix? All that makes a big difference how one fertilizes, how often and with what. Especially if you only want to use organics as that can be more difficult in containers since there is no active soil micro-herd to help them work..
Dave
Hi, I am Mamta from OKC, OK. I am desperately looking for Tindora cutting, if anybody want to share with me, I will be really appreciate. I bought 3 plants from Nari Bhatia but didn't survive, please let me know if anybody want to share with me. my e-mail is mndabhi@aol.com
Thanks
Mamta
I've planted directly into composted manure many times with no problem.
Yes you have mentioned doing that several times before. But as has been pointed out in the past discussions, numerous university studies have proven that it is never recommended to do so.
It is not a question of nutrient burn but one of pathogen activity and the exposure of the plants to those pathogens. This is especially true when dealing with low-growing/ground contact crops. That is why the tilling in and the 30-60 day waiting period prior to planting is recommended.
Of course one always has the choice of ignoring the recommendations at their own risk. When you know the source of the manure, how it was composted (active or inactive), and the health of the animal sources it's one thing. But with unknown sources and history it isn't worth the risk since those pathogens are well-proven to survive for over a year in the composted manures.
Dave
Pepper plants are pretty brittle - I'd leave them, double-cage the EP for now and at the end of the season when you pull out the EP and peppers you can do your hoops and row cover, get a fall crop in (I'd start them late summer, not sure when in your zone, maybe August?). Can't see cutting down the cages - you may need them for something else next year.
BTW, how do you plan on getting 20ft lengths home?
I think you are right. I looked at them yesterday and decided just to leave them. I can't believe how loaded my pepper plants are! I tried a couple of new varieties this year and so far I'm impressed.
several eggplants were pushing against the fabric, so i went ahead and removed it this morning and coated the plants with the kaolin. I may just leave them without a cover. they are pretty big and healthy and may do alright now without the fabric.
I'm in southeastern tennessee...7a. I should still be harvesting eggplant and peppers in August, but I may be sick of them by then. I'll see how it goes.
Ha! I hadn't thought about how long they would be in regards to transporting them....but you would be suprised what I can fit in my vehicle. ;)
So I potted them up and they were not root bound but they also don't seem to be sucking up much water....I wasn't exactly watering them on a schedule. I check them everyday and if the soil was dry about an inch down or the pot was super light I would water. I want to say I usually end up watering every 3-4 days. They are outside full time now since I potted them up and I did move them to a different location where it's not quite as sunny. Some of the leaves that were already damaged have turned brown and fallen off but some of the leaves seem ok. Overall besides some bad spots, the plant doesn't look like it's dying so I'm not sure what to do. I will post updated pictures tonight.
This post was edited by therealdiehl91 on Fri, May 30, 14 at 9:34
It's true that gardening is a tricky hobby if you are a very anxious person as there are so many things you can't control or know and it puts you in touch with your environment and food in a way we aren't accustomed to anymore.
However, (speaking as someone who can also be a very anxious person), gardening could be a way to face some of these things and work on accepting (some) of the chaos in the world and (some) of the things we cannot change or control. For me, as much as I can worry about my soil (found some old paint chips in it from taking out a fence...oy...trying not to fixate and be reasonable about the actual danger) the payoff can really help you get past all the little trials you have to go through to get there.
Perhaps as you get more informed about all these issues, that knowledge will help quell your anxieties and you can embrace the very positive experience of gardening and being "present", which is one of my main reasons for doing it as it gets me out of my head and reconnected to my hands, the dirt, and the miracle of things growing.
I say don't give up yet! but maybe look at it as a learning opportunity, in more ways than one.
slowjane, that was wonderfully wise. I was wondering what could be said to the OP to help ease some of the fears -- thanks for doing it much better than I could.