23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Hey Dave, thanks for our response! Being right down in the bottom of Ontario, surrounded by the lakes keeps us a bit warmer. Even farther south in the Niagara region (protected even more by the lakes and a big escaprment) it get downright balmy, pushed even to zone 7a! Interestingly, zone maps from before 1980 have us listed as a 5.

Sorry I didn't realise the photo was so tiny - I have no clue how to resize it. My spacing is 8x2m (26x6 feet roughly).

Having used Garden Planner in the past, I think I remember most of the plant spacing a being accurate. Maybe a little small on the tomato spacing--they can easily get bigger with certain varieties. What kinds specifically are you doing? Also, to me without seeing the spacing well enough, you may not have wide enough paths for harvesting--if it's 6', you won't be able to reach the center from each side.

If you can't raise the bridge, lower the river, I.E. move the garden to the creek? Just a thought.

I see this post is from years ago, but we have run into the same issue at our house in middle tennessee. I'm just curious as to what you decided to do.

Red Brandywine - I got poor yields. I planted 5 plants and got one tomato. Not worth the time and effort in my opinion, but lots of people like it.

I've never grown Old Virginia or Goliath.

Celebrity, Big Beef and Romas have always given me good yields. Some people don't like Big Beef or Celebrity becuaes they taste like a "grocery store" tomato. I think they're fine tomatoes.

Matt's Wild Cherry gives crazy yields! It's my favorite to grow. Have a plan for when they start coming in. They don't keep well. They do have amazing big tomato taste in a tiny dime size fruit.

All plants were planted in the ground.

Thanks for all the responses! I'll give some more growing info:

- I'm planting in a 4x4 raised bed, one that I've been growing in for 3 years.

- However, I'm going to plant some of the tomatoes in large pots, don't know the size in gallons, but each are somewhere around a foot and a half wide at the top. In the pots, I'm using very fertile potting soil, pots hold in moisture pretty well

- Soil stays pretty moist, lots of organic matter in the soil

- The nightly temps. average somewhere around 52-53 right now

- Location of the raised bed is pretty good, is shaded some, plants get enough sun but not too much

- I prune indeterminate varieties pretty occasionally

- Watering with a hose

- Big beef, brandywine, and goliath are transplants, rest I'm starting from seed

- Seed brands are Lake Valley Seed and Southern Exposure

Normally you would start with a trench and within the trench you would plant and cover crowns with 3-4" topsoil, still leaving another 3-4" below grade for filling in as plants grow.

In concept you don't want to cover crowns with so much soil that it creates an impenetrable barrier for the new crown first growth, yet on the other hand the crowns should ultimately be low enough that they will never dry out. You may have started out planting crowns just below grade and so you'll likely need to ultimately create a raised row in order to sufficiently cover your crowns for long term crown health, a lot like a row of hilled potatoes. You don't want to cut new growth for these first few years as crowns become established and new growth is tender so wait until growth is higher (tougher) before hilling around spears.

Asparagus needs a couple years to gather strength before you really harvest anything. Give te crowns lots of organics (compost) and they will repay you for the feeding.

I wonder if that mulch could be making a too wet environment for small seedlings.

The visible shredded wood remnants are a non-issue. The odds also favor the little bugs outdoors to also be a temporary thing that's a non-issue; it's their territory after all and they're just taking advantage of current local conditions. Speaking of which, what's your area/zone/weather?

It's true that there is no way to diagnose too-wet conditions from a pic of the surface that's just been rained on, but low N is a good first call and some light fertilization should be OK to try. And just waiting a bit could work too!

Dave- Thanks for the clarification.

"My apologies, Rodney. Yes, you were asking about the OPs steer manure. I was talking about the steer manure I was referring to."

Not a problem. :)

"If the biosolids don't come from sewage, as now seems to be revealed for EarthGro, then the question is pretty random, and carries misleading implications. I usually associate the word "biosolids" with processed sewage including human waste but evidently it's also used, quite sensibly, for solids that come out of cattle."

Agreed. I wasn't completely sure if animal manures were being included by using the term "biosolids" and so I just assumed that it was meant to be only sewage/sludge type products.

Rodney

Where did the OP go??? Some one has an agenda to discredit walmart or whoever. And we are reading and commenting on it. Not saying it is not interesting, but lets not be mislead by the terminology used. Is BIOSOLIDS the new GMO?? We are against it but don't really know what it is.

I grew some broccoli about a month ago and it turned out amazing! I think that if you are waiting to harvest your broccoli until you see flowers, you are waiting way too long. Once the broccoli starts to flower, the broccoli starts developing a bitter taste.

I've never tried growing it; I've always just bought organic broccoli. It looked great, fresh, no flowers, but was the worst, most bitter broccoli that I have ever tasted. If I ever grow it, I'll harvest before flowers. Thanks.

Thanks Dave.

I've always grown Big Zac, Portuguese Monster, Delicious, etc. for large tomatoes (for fun), s I'm not as familiar with the cherry tomatoes that I'm growing this year and didn't realize their plant sizes..

I already have my beets etc. planted (I'm in Washington DC and also Southern Maryland on the Ches. Bay). I can usually plant those cool crops through mid May and still get results. So I'm thinking of them maybe as a second or third planting this weekend, even before I put the tomato plant in..

My thinking is that since Tomatoes are getting most of the nutrient from deep in the soil, something with a more shallow root (like onions) can be in the container and not affect the tomato's feeding needs.

Once I harvest my current crop of beets and onions, I don't want to be left for the rest of the Spring/summer without any more beets...

Basil I will have scattered everywhere in the garden, so I probably wont do that and same for marigolds.

Also open to other plants I might not have thought of. I had extra space in the garden last year and someone gave me eggplant seedlings. I'm not really a fan and never would have thought to on my own, but I ended up liking the eggplant and now include them regularly. SO I like seeing what others might recommend.

I planted Marigolds in my vegetable garden last year and they grew gigantic and competed with all the vegetables. Definitely would not recommend planting them in the same container with tomatoes.

Maybe some bush beans?

balloonflower(5b Denver CO, HZ 5-6, Sunset 2b),

In my January 13, 2012 post, I made it clear that Heavy Hitter okra is a strain that I personally developed, and that I was at that time, working with my State's Ag. University on seed increase; and that it had won first place in every competition we had entered.

In my December 29th, 2014 post, I included a photo of a single Heavy Hitter okra plant that I had developed, growing in a test plot, in my certified organic garden, with a brief history of how it was developed; it would have been redundant to mention that I had personally developed this strain, after having already mentioned that in an earlier post, on January 13th two years previous. I even included a link to the Green Country Seed Savers' website where you could read more about it, and order seeds from me.

I apologize, if that seemed somehow dishonest, or came off in someway, as hiding the fact that I personally benefit from the sale of my own seeds that I've spent over a decade of hard work in developing?

I have no personal knowledge of the effort required to develop your own strain of something, and I do admire that. You should benefit from sales--I have no problem with the capitalistic aspect. It's really no different than me selling off my extra tomato seedlings that I've grown--I did it originally for my benefit to have backups and not for profit, but if they have value, then it's a bonus. The strain does sound very interesting, but this will be my first year growing okra so I have no comparison point, but that's why I've been scanning okra threads for tips. I did not notice the disclaimer from the earlier column, so that makes sense in a way as to why you chose to not continually repeat, and it sounds like it was probably oversight. But I have seen the sales pitch in several columns without the disclaimer. Your research appears to back up your claims, and I am not trying to say that you are lying or exaggerating, but simply that I prefer to have the full story. I am very analytical in my planning.

There are so many sensationalistic claims about garden stuff. Some things work, some things are hype and I tend toward skeptical when first looking into something new. I love my EarthBoxes, but would not have purchased them myself based on only the website had someone not given me some. Now, I do recommend them for things they work for and have purchased several additional ones--they are not a substitute for an in ground garden, and I now have community garden plot where I can grow more. But when we were moving every year, they allowed me to garden in apartments or wherever with little effort.

Hello! Could I have a bit of help please!

I planted some ginger root last year but then read that I had planted too late and the frost came about 1 month later. However, during the cold season I saw some greenery coming up and now I have what is pictured below. What do I do, harvest, seeds or should I just bin it and start again???

Any plant will respond to the change in temperature and light. That's how practically all plants that die back for the winter do it. It didn't matter if you started the plant in April, August, or October. Plants don't grow a set number of days or months just because you put it in the ground. I've had ginger in the ground and in pots, and they die down and then return for the spring.

If you leave it in the ground/pot during the winter, you can treat it as a tuberous root plant and remove some of that root to control how thick the growing area is. Or, plant it over a few inches or feet to give a better decorative feel to the area if you wanted.

There are also actual ornamental ginger varieties if you want to get some of those instead. And it's not beyond reason to begin a ginger collection, and get all of them! :-)

you could share extra seedlings with friends.

"you could share extra seedlings with friends"

That's right. It's practice for getting rid of all the Zucchini later on.

Pay attention to Babs and Kathy, but it all still depends on your climate, energy, and methods. Firstly, you're dealing with beds and it's not at all necessary to think in terms of rows, which are only an artifact from machine planting habits. Gardening with a tape measure is totally unnecessary. Not as crazy as that Bartholomew guy, but close.

Secondly, there's nothing at all wrong with judicious crowding but it does work better in some climates than others. It requires "heavy feeding" accommodations. Some self-shading is an advantage there too.

Lastly, good results with little five gallon buckets are harder to get than good results with infinitely deep soil. However, many folks are whizzes with buckets, but I suspect that they're mild weather gardeners. Buckets tend to not be as good an idea in warmer climates.

I would second the notions to not plan to do it all at once, but go slow as you learn what you really want, and the growing conditions of the property. Start small, and find out what your family will really use before doing large batch growing for canning, etc. You could start now by defining the space and adding in raised beds for the non-rotating perennials on the perimeters. Get those going this year, learn your location and plan for more next year.

We also have a community garden plot for now, but have been looking into what we'd like to develop if we have more room. Currently looking at 4'x10' bed areas where we could design different hoop covers as NHBabs speaks of--covering brassicas against bugs, or season extension on some others. Then, we could just rotate them as needed if all beds are the same dimension.

Also, what herbs are you wanting to grow? Annuals such as basil, cilantro, parsley can easily be planned into a reg garden rotation. If you're looking at perennials such as sage, thyme, oregano, etc. you may want to look into a space saver such as an herb spiral. We just rebuilt the one at my community garden, and they are also great for helping with drainage issues on the Mediterranean herbs. I have nearly 20 linear feet of grow space contained in a 5' diameter circle.

I also like to have my herb garden right near the house so I can access it summer and winter (zone 8, No CA) Nancy

Thanks Dave!

it was this one here:

http://www.njsupply.com/40Lb-Composted-Manure_p_125891.html

I didn't take the soil temp or moisture level. It's been in the 60s here though. This is the 2nd year of this garden bed. I am wanting to transplant some of my lettuce that I started a while back, and plant my carrots, onions, garlic, and beets.

Thanks!

If it's already composted it should be fine. Nancy