23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Several years ago I visited an enthusiastic gardener whose gardens had spilled over into raised beds directly on a paved surface (cannot recall whether it was macadam or concrete). I was stunned by how well these plants were doing, despite the fact that there couldn't have been 12" of soil in those beds on pavement. Perhaps due to the enthusiasm and diligence of the gardener. She was probably very attentive to fertilization and irrigation needs.
We know almost any kind of vegetable plant can be grown in a container, and I've even seen tomatoes successfully grown in bags of container mix with just an "X" cut in the bag to plant the tomato plant.
It's probably late, even in MA, for peas, though you could try pre-sprouting them inside to give them a head start. The shorter varieties of carrots should be fine, and any kind of lettuce or mixed greens. Tomatoes and peppers you'd be best off with seedlings if you can manage that. I think these plants' roots may need a little more space to spread out, since they cannot go down. The lower soil levels have more stable moisture and temperature levels, so you'll need to compensate by monitoring moisture of the growing medium and watering as needed ... as if you were growing in a container, which, essentially, you are.
Something beneath the bed to insulate, as mentioned by someone above, might be a good idea. If there is any way you can shade the concrete surrounding the bed to keep it cooler, that might help as well.
You might want to consider a succession of quick-maturing crops, and perhaps some herbs, many of which actually appreciate a warmer, leaner, drier soil. Beans, cucumber, melons, and Swiss chard all have rather shallow root systems, so might work well for you. Forest gardening and sustainable gardening make the most use of space by combining deep-rooted plants with shallow-rooted ones. Checking into either of these methods might give you some additional shallow-rooted plants you could try.
A good layer of mulch on top of your growing medium (which should be light and full of organic matter like compost) will help to stabilize temperature and moisture levels, as well as keep down weeds.
Our gardening efforts are always experiments, and that's how you should look at this; a learning experience. I hope yours is a good one! Good luck!
I dug a bag of ramps last week, in West Virginia, to bring to a friend who has been transplanted from WV to NC and hasn't had them for many years. He told me about how people also use them as a spring health tonic, sort of a detoxifier. To freeze them I've heard the best way is to clean them up, put them in a bag of water, and freeze the whole bag.
laceyvail, nice to know your ramps have taken off. I know people who have tried to transplant them but without success -- good to know it will work in the right conditions.
Wait, a sprinkler nozzle watering for an hour and the bed is dry in two days? Is that what you're saying? That just doesn't sound right. Especially in NE Pennsylvania, where the temps can be that extreme yet. Yes, the soil might be dry on the top few millimeters, but it's got to be moist below. Dry as in the soil isn't dark and moist? Or dry as in it isn't sopping wet? Parched beets? What does that mean? You mean the leaves are drooping? Beets have pretty deep roots, so it's practically inconceivable to me that they are hurting for lack of water after intensive watering two days before.
Years ago, I used a spray to try to increase tomato plant brix (sugar), but not necessarily to sweeten the tomatoes. I read higher brix levels help the plant fend off insects and disease. The spray included, among other things, a little blackstrap molasses. I also tested using Epsom salt in the planting hole, but not sure if it really did much. My best tip for sweet tomatoes is to neglect the plants--dry soil makes the sweetest tomatoes (and the sweetest, hottest chili peppers).
It can be as simple or as complicated as folks want to make it.
I just snap them off the potato and bury them about half way down in the moist soil. If they are really long just snap them in half or thirds and plant. Water it as needed until they root and you see new leaf growth. Simple. Done it for 50 years and always get sweet potatoes. :)
No need to even cut the potatoes in half or put them in water. They grow sprouts all on their own without either. Many discussions here about this - some with pics. The search pulls up over a hundred discussions on growing sweet potatoes.
The shoots will grow in just about anything. Whether or not they will produce potatoes all depends on giving them good soil to grow in and room to spread.
If you want to root them first then moist potting mix works better than water as the feeder roots will develop in the soil (only water roots develop in water).
Dave
Thank you planterjeff, that was exactly the information I was looking for. I won't be able to plant the sweet potatoes in the raised bed until the Garden Peas finish. The peas just started setting pods. With this cool weather we are having, I just may get some peas this spring. So I will try rooting my sweet potato vines in small pots.
Saw a YT video once where the person lays some cutting flat on the ground (maybe it was about 6"). Using some kind of stick or tool with a notch in it, he pushes down into the ground at the middle section, with the notch connecting there at the middle of the cutting. The result is that the center of the cutting is the part that is buried, and the plant has two stems coming up out of the ground. His plants grew just fine that way also, without other additional time used to strip leaves or plant only one end, etc.
In his case, he was planting a lot, so that method worked for lots of plantings.
As for how the slips grow from the potatoe, if you want to do more experimentation, keep track of which slips are from which potatoes. When you get the produce yield, see if it has a better yield also. If it does, keep these as the seed potatoes for next year.
Really, though, the reason I want to know is because I want to have some in a story--not because I'm particularly planning to grow them. If they're not illegal in my state I might grow them in a large container or a field of morning glory if I ever have one. They are said to grow well in large containers.
I know the plant well and have seen it many times. But I have never heard of anyone eating it so I can't help you with that aspect. The fruits start green and ripen to orange and are encased in an orange lantern shaped case. The case later becomes beige and lacy. They are often used when still orange in dried arrangements.
The first thing to start with, organic or not, is a soil test. The fertilizers you mention are fine, but they may or may not be appropriate for your particular garden. You can put on all the N you want to grow leaves, but if the garden is deficient in K not many leaves will grow. All the nutrients need to be in the right proportion. Only a soil test can tell you where you are now, so you know what products you need.
This discussion reminded me of the old Radiolab podcast "Parasites" --
http://www.radiolab.org/story/91689-parasites/
The story about toxo is at the very end of the podcast. Although the hookworm story at the beginning is pretty darn entertaining.
Radiolab did followup episodes on both hookworm and toxo later on. Here's the other toxo episode --
When cats were a problem, I just stuck a lot of sticks in the ground. The cats didn't like picking their way between the sticks, the sticks could decompose if not needed, and I could easily find more. Another person I know used a bunch of metallic pinwheels. Made his garden very colorful!
I found any kind of cover was more annoying to work around than some sticks, and no spray I tried worked.
Last year I did one of each and had problems with powdery mildew and what I think was poor pollination (we only picked about 4 squash and zucchini ) . So I hope to have 2 of each this year. I put in soaker hoses instead of overhead watering to help prevent powdery mildew and hopefully more flowers will help with better pollinating.
I'm only growing 5 or 6 types of veggies this year so I have the space. Next year I hope to try some new things once I get the hang of all this.
Seeds for them are available from several sources and then you can grow your own plants. Easy to grow just like the other members of the cucurbit family but they do need a long growing season. There are some cuttings for them listed over on discussions on the Asian Vegetables forum here and Google pulls up several different sources for plants.
Dave
It could be that your growing area is very dry and regular watering is needed. If your experience is that this is the case I would suggest transplanting everything now to larger pots. It may not seem the thing to do but I always can skip watering for a week after potting-up. Rootbound plants may actually need watered more than daily and those should not be allowed to remain in that situation for long anyway.
Your alternative solutions don't seem feasible. Maybe I don't understand your setup but why do you have those particular plants(other than tomatoes) Started nnow?
More info needed. I often leave my garden for a week or three, but do check the local forecast and might call and ask someone to check on things. They get the added benefit of harvesting for themselves as well.
A week is fine as long as it gets a good soak with proper mulch to keep that moisture in. We all have different set-ups for holidays depending on climate and what time into the growing season extra care is needed.
(i do have a drip system, but it can clog with newts after a heavy rain)...so i have a neighbor check...
There's one in every crowd I guess. ;)
Check this out ...
https://www.facebook.com/topic/World-Naked-Gardening-Day/417322488297207?source=wtfrt&position=1&trqid=6144095772083686061