23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
It depends on how and how deep you planted them, the nature of your soil, its moisture and nutrient content, how often and how deep you water them, etc. I've seen sprouts in 7 days and others where nothing was visible for 6 weeks. I'd say if you don't see any signs of growth in 4 weeks then carefully dig one up and see what is going on with it.
Lots of good discussions here on growing asparagus you might want to read through. The forum search will pull them all up for you.
Dave
Dicamba will drift even on a calm day. What is he trying to control. 2,4-d is good on dandilions and clovers. dicamba will control crabgrass. the drift will damage nearby trees and is deadly to tomatoes. in my area, weed and feed should have been done in late march. I have used granular in early spring and a gain in September to kill off lawn weeds. I now have good thick grass an don't weed only feed.
It's the 3rd year I'm planting in this soil so all rocks are long gone :) thank you for your help on this, also is there a best way to till? I read to go in straight lines, and to really not over till either. Is there truth in this? What are your best practices when tilling?
I prefer to deep till then mix the compost in. I also often will till across or at an angle to the way the rows will run. also working the soil just before planting is good. I don't know what it cost to rent a tiller or how big your plot is, but you may want to consider a mantis for about $300 on Ebay.
Pegleg, wood chips are fine for surface mulch, but will tie up nitrogen when mixed into the soil unless they've been well composted ahead of time. You might want to start a new thread to ask about soil mixes. I just use native soil with compost turned in every year or two and it does fine, but I have good soil, and am not any type of expert.
I was under the impression that soil microbe feed on the sugar in Reg Coke. Jerry Baker, Master Gardener Extraordinaire, has a recipe using coke to enhance plant growth. Claims your plants will be jumping out of the ground.
You should do that coke vs soap experiment using reg coke,
I have found brown bead to be largely a function of variety. That probably also equates to water as brown bead is much more rare on high dome heading varieties versus those which are more flat. I depend on rainfall, but have more brown bead in rainy seasons with varieties like Packman.
Thank you very much! I just delivered a soil sample for nutrient testing, but that's good to know about nitrogen as I was reading that lack of nitrogen could be the problem.
We have already decided not to use the sprinklers for the tomato plants since it encourages early blight, but it's been so convenient! We're going to put in a drip system for them, so I suppose we'll just do that for other plants as well if we need to. I'll take your advice and not use sprinklers for the broccoli.
As far as variety, I've been purchasing whatever is available at our plant centers, whatever that might be. I'm not sure. I'll try to look into that and find out if a flat variety is available. Thanks so much!
Pictures are very helpful...and why you are getting responses. Otherwise it is just a guess as to what your questions refer to. And yes, like mentioned, compost your weeds. If left on your lawn they may take root but will create a lumpy lawn. Your compost bin is fine. Considered a passive system. Plant matter will take some time to compost down...really likes a bit more air circulation. But use what you have and plan for another/better compost system later. I do have one similar for garden trimmings and weeds but also have a built 3 bin system that cooks faster.
Those of us with years of experience really don't need to weed much if beds are tended throughout the year, put to bed and covered in the fall, etc...and properly mulched when planting. Just takes a bit of study.
You didn't mention what you might like to plant. I also suggest a spade. And double-digging. Starting at one end of the bed...dig up a shovelful, flip it over and pull/shake out the roots and weed matter. Going across in rows. It does take time but can be done a bit at a time.
OR, and maybe best, with not much time as it can be overwhelming, ...you could just dig three spots spaced evenly down the middle, about a two-by-2 ft square, (just three would not take much time), mix into each hole/area a bucket of good top soil to make mounds....or three bags of purchased soil.
Then cover the entire bed with weed barrier or plastic, and cut open the mounds to expose them. 5-8 seeds per hill of your choice like zucchini squash, winter squashes, pumpkins, ...put four of your stakes and make a teepee and grow some beans, sunflowers, A nice way to start slowly and get fast results for a first time garden. A nice way to start new beds. The rest of the bed will break down and be easier to clean up next year.
I started a new bed that way last year and had a few dozen winter squash that we ate throughout the fall up until the holidays.
a pic...from last year. My beds are cleaned up in the fall and covered. Ready to plant in the spring. Salad beds get planted thick, less weeds. veggie plants that need more room get mulched with straw, again no weeds. I only have the weekends to tend my garden. No time for weeding, just picking.
This year i start tomorrow...with early crops. And start/tend
a bed or two every week over the next 6 weeks. 2-3 hours a week is all it takes to tend an established garden.
Ya only few leaves can give your curry amazing taste. Check out this link for complete growing guide of curry leaf plant http://balconygardenweb.com/curry-leaves-plant-complete-growing-guide//
You don't need to be one. :) Gardening is only as complicated as we make it.
Dave
I went ahead and planted the last row of potatoes. I hesitated BECAUSE it Was going to rain. I cover them lightly to start with and do not want them deeply in cold wet ground.