24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening



I missed it. Sorry. The per 10' thing threw me off for some reason. Since it is organic, I probably don't need to worry as much about over doing it... I definitely tend to overthink things sometimes so thanks for dealing with me!
Since this is the first application, you guys think I could by with adding more? Maybe 2-3 tablespoons per plant? There I go again over thinking... oh well... :-)
thanks again!

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.


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.


"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

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






"Zeedman, how do you get rid of your ant hills?"
Unless they are causing problems, I leave them alone. Black ants, while annoying, seldom cause problems. The except is when they spread disease from plant to plant, by carrying aphids... then it's necessary to kill the ants so I can deal quickly with the aphids (I use insecticidal soap to kill the aphids). Destructive ants, like the carpenter ants, are another matter; I do not tolerate their presence in the garden.
Ants are the only exception I make from strictly organic practices. I use the liquid ant baits designed for household use, placing them under empty pulp plant trays to both keep them dry & prevent animals from finding them. The hills are usually just outside my garden, and I bait them there. A single bait usually kills the nest, although it may take awhile to see results. Larger nests, or complexes of several hills, may require several baits. If I can't find the nest, I place a bait or two under the plants they are infesting, and let the ants find the nest for me.
If you don't want to use poison, and are able to locate the nest, dump a big kettle of boiling water on it. Do this at night, when most of the foraging ants should be in the nest. Open the heart of the nest, then pour the boiling water in. This may need to be repeated several times.
There is another way which might work, one I use to kill wasp nests in the ground. Get a tin or can, and put some charcoal lighter in it. Find a large, sturdy metal container (such as a very large steel bowl or metal tub) that will fit over both the nest & the tin of fluid. Just before sunset, water the ground around the nest to make it soft. Working at night so as not to get stung, place the fluid next to the nest, light it, and quickly cover it with the tub, forcing the edges into the ground. The burning fluid will exhaust all of the oxygen inside, and leave poisonous fumes behind. Leave the tub in place for at least a day; any insects that were too deep to be killed by the fumes will be killed as they emerge. This has been 100% effective for me when dealing with ground-dwelling wasps; it might be worth trying for fire ants. Keep in mind, ants often form satellite nests, you'd have to get them all at close to the same time, or neighboring nests would just re-inhabit the empty ones.
My asparagus bean plants are aphid magnets. I knock them off in the morning and they're back in the afternoon. They destroy the blossoms and new beans so that few are left for harvest. Will those of you who say that you have no trouble with aphids please post which varieties you're growing? I'm hoping there's a resistant one.