23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
I long to do that ! Once I actually got a few peas and they were unbelievable they were so good.
But I wondered if "the basics" like potatoes and squash and even bananas would taste similar to store bought.
My dream is to grow corn and have the water boiling while I pick some, then dash back to the kitchen and in a few minutes have a buttery, salty feast !
My take is similar to that of Digdirt. Even if you were to grow the exact same vegetable varieties sold in the supermarket (which I don't recommend as a rule) they would still be better because:
(a) you can give them more TLC than they would get in the field
(b) you can harvest at the stage of maturity you prefer, rather than the stage of veggies picked & sold by weight
(c) you can eat them literally minutes after they were picked
(d) if you garden organically, you know what chemicals are not on them
That being said... I find that vegetables which are typically stored for long periods in the home (such as potatoes and winter squash) to be basically the same as those stored... well... in the store. You just have more varieties to choose from if you grow your own.
I like to grow C. moschata pumpkins (last year Dickinson Field) and they do a great job of dominating a weedy hillside. Outside the garden in a place I don't want to mow much, I make a big 3x8-foot compost heap with some chicken litter in it, and set five plants in the heap. I mow around the planting maybe twice, until the vines start to run. After that, the big leaves and vigorous vines definitely dominate over the nasty pasture fescue with no problem.
Last year I got over 100 pounds of good eating pumpkin from the five plants. One vine ran 20 feet, then up onto the roof of an out-building. They are great fun to watch!
WOW -- that's a lot of pumpkin!
C. moschata is the kind I can grow -- will look into Dickinson Field.
planatus -- HOW do you eat it? I'm always looking for good "pumpkin for dinner" recipes.
Melissa -- I agree with no need for landscape fabric -- just mow while you still can, and then let it go. It can be a little hard to get the mower through the taller than normal grass in the fall, but no big deal.
If you are thinking about using a sloped trellis, I find a 60 degree angle much more convenient than a 45. The cucs hang down beneath the trellis, and at 45 degrees, it's a pain to get under and harvest the lower fruit, and nearly impossible to rescue them from the top.
It's actually east facing and the house is sided, not brick. Thanks for all the info. I'm not trying to plant early, just worried that with the cold Spring on its way that we'll have more frosts, later in Spring than usual. I don't want to put my tomatoes out a week after the normal spring frost date just to have a really late Spring frost kill them bc this Spring is predicted to be much colder than normal. Trying to be prepared is all. What is a gardener to do when they plant 'on time' and then some random Spring frost threatens their seedlings? Just throw some garden fleece over them and hope for the best?
I'd have to say that siding, which is over wood framing and insulation, won't hold much heat. In fact, if your home insulation is any good, you won't benefit from the heat in the house much, either.
Seems to me the best plan might be to set the plastic up as a low cap over the bed. Then what you're holding in is the heat from the ground. Maybe staple the plastic to a 2x4s on each side, and lay it over the bed, with supports between the plants (big cans? small pails? bricks?) to keep the plastic from touching the plants. Anchor the other two sides with 2x4s just laying on the edge of the plastic. Basically a mini-greenhouse. Now, that design doesn't permit easy access, though access is just a matter of unanchoring the sides, and pulling it off.
If you want to get fancy, fill those big cans or pails with water. That way, you fill the space more with stuff that holds heat.
Concentrate on the roots and not the tops. You probably need to potup to deep pots, maybe more than once, to allow roots to expand. I'd pull up one or more plants to examine the root mass to make a determination on when to potup. You'll find that there is a bit more work with asparagus than many other veg. transplants and I'm not sure I would go to all that much trouble with that variety but the choice is yours.
I am just starting a veg garden in new place with a few firsts. 1.winter sowing many of my vegetables... 2.also am using vertical pallet gardens. So far onions, chives, radish', tomatoes, peppers, parsley crossing fingers..
It looks more like a milk jug garden at the moment. lol
Nothing!
I will drop about 70 something tomato seeds come St. Patty's day, although if this frigid weather doesn't break I may even wait until end of March. I don't want leggy plants. Probably drop 20-30 peppers and eggplants.
As far as other things, no. I want to direct sow most of everything. I don't notice much of a change in end product when I sow these inside and transplant, vs direct sow. Ie: lettuce, peas, radishes, herbs, etc. As far as broccoli and such, I'm only going to do a fall planting this year, as we will be in a new place this spring.
I normally would have started onions and leeks, but once again...new place, not sure how much ground we will be able to work.
Since I'm an avid seed-tape-fan I just have to add my two cents worth. I like them for carrots and onions mostly because I'm a little older and the whole bending over and holding my hand inches from my nose to pick up one or two seeds to put in holes kills me after about 3 minutes. During the winter I like to sit at the kitchen table and "garden" with my seeds and tp. Here's what I learned:
-two seeds to every dot. It tried to skimp once, and had bare spots because the one seed didn't sprout.
- last year I tried to mix things up, companion-garden style. Onion, then carrot, then radish, parsnip, and so on. I didn't like the results because everything grows on a different time scale. I'm going back to making tapes of just one item per tape.
-2 ply tp didn't work as well as one-ply because it seemed to sap the moisture away from the seed too much instead of disintegrating.
- wind will snatch the tapes right out of your hand and send all the little seeds flying. I make my tapes only the length of my two outstretched arms so they are more manageable (and easier to unfold without flicking seeds off).
- I watered down glue by adding 1/4 water per bottle. Also, the no-name, cheapo brands work better for this purpose because it lets go of the seed better once it's wet. Elmer's likes to hold on for dear life.
-permanent marker goes right thru the paper, so if you're working on a counter or kitchen table, get ready to scrub dots...and do it quick or else they will be there forever.
Gel pens work best for me.
- the soil covering the tapes can only be a light, light covering or the seed can't get out. If a tiny part of paper is exposed, it just dries out and sucks away the moisture from the seed too. I combat this by sprinkling a very light layer of straw down the rows. It doesn't have to be a complete mat, I've found, just a very light sprinkling is all it takes.
Great doing .How long the Quick fix glue holds.
Here is a link that might be useful: Quick fix glue
There is a school of medical thought that states that being in contact with bacteria is actually good for you (google, for example, the coolinginflammation blog), lots of peer reviewed paper showing that it is so. However, the bacteria of CAFO (grain fed) animals can be nasty indeed, although from your description these may be pastured cows, which do not have any E. Coli of the wrong type. Bacteria will also travel easily inside cucurbits plants.
If you wish to use all that manure without running risks, and like me prefer bacteria from dog kisses and sauerkrauts, you could a) plant winter squash instead, which will be cooked or b) plant fruit trees, since bacteria do not travel through wood or cambium. Make sure the cows and the plants have a fence between them.
The insects on the surface of the leaf are aphids. A strong spray of water and/or squishing can usually control them if tended to on a regular basis. Aphids are very common garden pests.
The gnats flitting around the containers are probably fungus gnat adult which lay their eggs in damp soil. The tiny maggot like larvae feed on the organic matter in the pot, as well as tender plant roots.
In the future, make sure that your potting medium is very porous, coarse textured and fast draining. Avoid watering too frequently.
Your plants are perfectly safe to eat. Just give them a good rinse in the sink. It's part of having a garden.....better get used to it. :-)
vinnnya....some years aphids just seem to be on everything, and they love fast-growing greens. I personally would never spray anything on leafy greens except maybe insecticidal soap. If you submerge your harvested leaves in a large bowl of water and stir it up a bit, all the aphids will float to the top. Then you can skim them off or run the water until they flow over the edge of the bowl into the sink.
Well, we've got some variation of advice. I never plant thickly. I plant and then thin to no closer usually than a foot apart in the row and about 27 or 28 inches between rows. This works well for me as I have plenty of room and plant 7 successive plantings.
Fencing is the standard recommendation and the only thing that seems to consistently work effectively.
There have been many discussions here about keeping various varmints - rabbits, gophers, woodchucks, deer, armadillos, squirrels, etc. - out of the garden that the search will pull up for you. They have reports on other efforts like repellants, motion detectors, sprinklers, various types of lights, etc. but it always comes back to a fence for the best results.
Dave
Fence , I second.
For rabbits a couple feet high wire chicken net will do. Make sue it is galvanized and buried at least 6" deep, so the rabbits cannot tunnel under it. They will chew plastic material.
The next option is a gun.
Yet another option is TRAP.
You may also try yelling, chasing and throwing stones. hahaha
Gretchen, collard greens should be a great crop for fall and winter harvest in your area. I cook them as a rule. I have tried Georgia, Vates, Champion, and Morris Heading. Georgia is our favorite, but we liked Morris Heading too. Vates was okay. We didn't like the toughness or the strongness of Champion at all. But taste is subjective. Even as cold as this winter has been, the collards have stood under row cover and produced all winter. kale too.
I think the next time I will plant carrot in mid to late October for a harvest by February / March.
Just wondering, Your zone would have below freezing temps (upto 15F). Does that not harm the carrots?
Also if you leave the carrots in ground until April - don't they become woody and inedible?
Yes, Sept or Oct would be alot better than starting in Jan. Carrots will generally be fine down to 20F, below that they probably should be covered. I've never covered before this year and my carrots did fine with temps in the teens. As you probably know the eastern US has experienced record cold temps this winter. And I did cover carrots when it got down to 7 or 8F a couple times here. alot of things can cause woodiness in carrots and leaving them in the ground too long is one of them. You don;t want to wait until they are completely mature and reach their max size. I'll harvest most Dec/Jan but I've left some in the ground til early April and were still edible.