23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Iowi,

How did your galvanized water troughs work out? I'm a Seattle resident who would like to try the same but am utterly new to gardening (this is the first year I've owned a house with a substantial area in which to give it a try). We'd like to have one area with raised beds and another with galvanized tanks as beds. Not sure how to proceed with either but the tanks really have me stymied. Are small holes drilled in the bottom adequate drainage given our PNW rains? Or would it almost be better to cut out the bottoms of the tanks? Is it safe to grow food in galvanized metal? I know some zinc consumption is safe but I think the cadmium is a greater concern.

Nila, Could you elaborate on your soil instructions? Are you recommending mixing these 2 components are layering them in some manner? Would you recommend this same mixture for other types of raised beds as well?

Thanks guys! Hoping the GW community will take me under their collective wing and help grow a new gardener!

Hi Tess :)

I would be inclined to cut a giant hole in the bottom of the tank, personally. Like, remove most of the bottom, and cover the opening with landscape fabric.

If you choose to drill holes instead, make sure they are big enough. You have to at least be able to put your finger through each hole, and 2-3 inches diameter is better. Water doesn't drain well through small holes when dirt is involved, because of surface tension (not to mention clogging).

Don't layer the soil. You don't have to mix it perfectly, either. Put in a shovelful or two of one component, then a shovelful or two of another :).

Personally, I don't worry about soil compaction in my bed. Sure, the sandy mixes are very dense. But worms plus gardening means lot of soil gets moved around. And the plants are happy.

HTH :).

carolml-

Preserving garlic in olive oil is only recommended for up to 30 days unless it is frozen. That is because garlic and oil make the ideal medium for severe food born illnesses such as botulism.

If you do this, be sure to keep refrigerated and disgard after 30 days unless frozen.

Thank you for that advise, I thought that only applied to raw garlic and that it would be safe once cooked. I guess I should freeze it in multiple small packets.

Just for clarification and for your future reference, aphids are insects not eggs. You can Google 'aphids' for all kinds of info on them.

Dave

To clarify on DigDirt's post - Aphids CAN and DO come from eggs - but not always. Aphids lay eggs typically in colder seasons, such as fall. When established (such as in summer) the females will give birth to females because they are viviparous. It is not true that aphids don't produce eggs - they do, which is why they become such a pest in spring and the cycle continues.

gardengal13:

Neem oil is a decent fungicide, but it's kinda pricy and I'm still not too sure on it's effect of beneficial insects. This was to be my 1st year of practicing what I preached to you, but the monsoonal moisture came a about 2 months too early and the next thing I knew, I saw some spores forming.

So, through my research, I read recently that potassium bicarbonate (NOT sodium bicarbonate(baking soda), which is one of the recommended homemade remedies) is pretty effective and can actually cure AFTER symptoms show. So, I went and found some at a wine making shop for $6/lb. Even if you have to buy it online, it's still quite reasonable and much cheaper than commercial fungicides and even the milk solutions that I've read about.

Only 2 treatments so far, so it's much too early for a review. But so far, so good.

Good luck.

Kevin

Hi Kevin,
I like the sound of the potassium bicarbonate. Sounds safe and effective. I will have to look into applying it. I like organic methods.

Thanks!

Egg cartons work good for seeds or yogurt containers with holes punched in the bottom.

Fun idea, might want to try some indoor growing yourself now to fine tune your choices before you do this with students.

Fluorescent grow lights work best when you keep plants within an inch or two of the tubes. Increasing the distance will result in tall floppy plants that don't grow well. Put together a set up that lets you raise pots or adjust light height and consider the plants different heights if you decide to plant a variety of veggies. Strong light from windows can help some but usually isn't sufficient alone.

Soiless container mixes used in pots with drain holes will give good soil moisture and healthy plants. Larger containers will make it easier to maintain consistant moisture levels, especially over weekends.

Choose varieties that are naturally compact such as many of those recommended for container growing. Tiny Tim tomatoes and dwarf marigolds (not a veggie, I know) are two that could stay manageable and good looking inside. Compact buttercrunch type lettuces and herbs are also good.

I wish you well. I've enjoyed sharing the world of plants with many students. Many have no prior experience with them and most everyone loves the planting, growing, harvesting, eating, etc. And some even like weeding when we grow outdoors!

With eggplants, it is more about sheen and less about size. You should harvest them before the sheen begins to fade. Early-season eggplants often fade before they reach full-size, and the eggplant in this photo is an example of that (unless my eyes are playing tricks on me). So, pick it now. However, you will find that when the plants get bigger and healthier, the eggplants will grow larger than this before they fade. A normal Rosa Bianca should be the size of a large man's fist.

You can always play it safe and pick them early. No harm in that.

Thanks all for the feedback. Slimy okra the dullness on the first one and the size was throwing me off thanks for explaining! Just had my first seasons harvest of my first vegetable grown from seed; rosabianca!!! So happy! I was gonna have them for dinner but I ended up sauteing one in garlic and oil cause I couldnt wait to try.... best flavor ever!!!

I just picked one of these!! It was yellow on the top, but had a slightly streaked green place that I did not see until I cut it. It tasted great, but could have gone a week or so longer.

I have 4 vines, but only have fruit on one stem of one plant. Hopefully more will come along.....

Nancy

I've learned to measure it, when it gets 7-8" long it's ready

sorry about the duplicate posting.

This post was edited by nugrdnnut on Sun, Jul 14, 13 at 10:13

I'd cut it off as close to the bottom as possible, pull off the bottom leaves then try rooting it in another pot just to see what kind of tomatoes it might produce.

The markings are the leaves dying around their veins.

I've seen the same thing often when my backup plants spend too long in their pots, unneeded. It means it's time to throw them out.

Whatever the reason for the failing plants, you have too many and they are indeed too crowded. If I were in your position, I would throw out the two bad plants, sterilize the soil (or better yet,use it somewhere else or throw it out), then use the container (be sure to wash it out with PineSol or someother disinfectant cleaner) to transplant one of the good plants.

Whatever the variety you have, you do not need 4 zucchini plants. I have two plants of an unknown bush variety planted out in the ground and I am feeding the neighborhood.

Last year I had another variety that vined more and the four plants just overtook anything in their way so I isolated the zucchini in another part of the yard this year. This years two plants are producing enough for 4 families plus a weekly drop an my mom's exercise group.

Jean is probably right, but you also need to rule out spider mites by looking at the leaf undersides with a magnifying glass.

That's what I was afraid of, with it being such a bad year for aphids. I'll do a check for mites. One time I'll probably ever hope to see some spider mites, LOL.

Here's another pic. My good camera is on the fritz so I used an ipod touch.

Another pic

Maybe you got some diesel or hydraulic fluid from the compost or the road grader. A soil test won't pick that up.

If the compost was tainted with persistent herbicides particularly aminopyralid or clopyralid, tomatoes, peppers beans and peas will show abnormalities but most other veggies will grow okay.