23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
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 don't think that the height is the over riding factor except for maybe the fact that your in a very hot climate. On the other hand, total volume is important and you said you had about 7 gallons per container. That's plenty of dirt to grow cucumbers. Your roots will grow out instead of down. I did some last year in five gallon buckets and that worked well.
I have A & L Lab and never was very happy with them, never give me how much and what is need.
Never told me if there was anything tied up.if anything was tied up.
What you are telling me is don'y worry?
Why are there Labs out there that well give you more for your money?
Why don't you think that you should know everything about your soil?
What you are telling me is don'y worry?
Not at all. A professional soil test is a great thing to have. But your expectations of what a soil test is and isn't have to be realistic too. A soil test isn't a cure-all in any way. And it isn't a static thing anyway. It changes constantly depending on weather and what you do to it. That is one reason why many labs no longer test for N levels - they change weekly or even daily.
Why don't you think that you should know everything about your soil?
First, because it isn't possible. Like I said soil isn't a static thing. It is alive and it changes. Second, because minute testing for non-relevant things don't exist or are cost-prohibitive. Soil testing is done for the purposes of fertility. So you only need to be concerned with what is relative to plants growing in the soil - the items I listed above - and how those test results relate to the norms. That is what most any soil test will provide.
Sure if someone wanted to fork out several hundred dollars they can have it tested for all sorts of extra things like mercury and other toxic metals, specific types of bacteria, dissolved N vs. free N, the number of specific soil dwellers per sq. foot, and so on and so on unlimited. And yes, there are labs out there that will give you anything you want whether you need it or not as long as you are willing to pay for it.
For example, when you say "Never told me if there was anything tied up.if anything was tied up.". I'm not sure what you mean but no soil test is going to tell you that. You can't test for "bound up nutrients" if that is what you mean. But they will tell you your soil pH and that is what will determine if the nutrients are available tot he plants.
And most reputable labs aren't going to tell you specifically what to add since the choice is yours of the many things available - both organic and synthetic. All they make is general recommendations such as "x amount of nitrogen in some form" and "pH needs to be reduced to optimal levels by the addition of one of the following.
Interpretation of the test results is up to the gardener.
so I know that the soil well give my plants the minerals best and that nothing will be tied up as fare as minerals so the plants well be able use use everything and they well give the best yield.
Please don't fall into the trap of believing that you can somehow create perfect garden soil. You can't. If that were possible then we would all have the perfect gardens. Instead it is always changing, it is always in need of something.
Nor can having what some test tells you is perfect soil today can guarantee the perfect plants with the perfect yield. It just doesn't work that way and never has for any of us. While good soil is important of course, many gardeners are very successful with a WIDE variety of different soils all with a wide variety of different shortcomings. Soil is only one of the many variables of gardening.
I hope this helps clarify things.
Dave
Hi,
Just wondering what sort of luck others have had with this as well. Would like to plant some edible pumpkins (not Halloween ones). Not sure of the variety that's best, or time of year to plant. Also, we grow organically. Was thinking of using a 15x15 area in a raised bed for the pumpkin; have the rest of the plot (equal size) that I was going to put an asparagus bed in. Thanks!
Last year the wood chuck ate 28 of my broc. plants one day. Crowns were about half size on about a third of the 80 or so plants I had growing. Oddly, he preferred the leaves to the crowns. The 2nd day he ate about 12 more. The third day he must have been getting full he only ate about half of the leaves on another four plants. The next day his luck at avoiding my traps ran out. I was able to harvest several meals in spite of his best efforts to defeat me.(It was close!) I was also able to freeze up a few meals for winter. I share with 3 other households so there was certainly no surplus.
Seysonn asked about Silvery Fir Tree tomatoes. I've grown them a couple of times and I love them. I've grown them in a 10-gallon Smart Pot and in the ground, and they did well both ways. I was surprised at how big the tomatoes were with such a little plant. The tomatoes are very tasty and the plants themselves are really beautiful, with their unusual leaves.
-Anne
There is a detailed FAQ here on how to do hand pollination. Just click on the blue FAQ button near the top of any forum page.
But which to remove? Really makes no difference as your plant will very likely not be productive anyway. You might get 1 small cuke with good hand pollination.
Your container is far too small for even one plant and so it will be very stressed. Even if planted outside in a container it would need to be a much bigger container.
Bottom line - you are trying a grow this plant indoors under very artificial conditions and it simply isn't an indoor plant. Very few vegetables are. So just enjoy it as a plant for as long as it lives but don't expect to get actual cukes. Sorry.
Dave
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.