23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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

Fun view! It looks happy & healthy. Good luck!

There is a container gardening board here.

The garlic chive blooms also make a really great infused vinegar--we use in seasoned rice vin that DH uses for salad dressings and stir fries where it adds a nice garlic hint. Like it better than onion chive vinegar, though it's good too.

Oregano grows just about anywhere, I have it coming out of cracks in my retaining wall. I'd recommend that.

I direct seeded chard/beets/carrots, but since both the vegetable sprouts and weeds look so similar (for these vegetables) and are so small, it makes it a bit difficult - but I understand what you're saying for other veggies that can be transplanted. It's easier for me to tell the difference between things like lettuce/spinach sprouts and these weeds b/c they look different.

When planting you might try sowing a few seeds of each crop in small pots with weed-seed-free potting mix. Then use the known seedlings in the pots for comparision with what's in the garden beds. From your IDs you can decide what stays and what gets removed. But soon you will learn the recognize the various seedlings and won't need any samples to help.

Weeding out most of the unwanteds when they are small is quick with a hoe, even a hand held hoe/cultivator. Just pull it over the seedlings on a warm sunny day so they are sliced off at the soil line. A little while in the sun will fry them and you won't even see the "organic matter" you have added to the soil. A mulch of straw, untreated grass clipping, or crumbly leaves from last fall can be put on top of the soil once the wanted veggies are a bit larger. It will help prevent weeds from growing and retain soil moisture.

Looks like you have 15 feet of trellised slicing cucumbers in your plan. You could end up quite overwhelmed with slicing cukes. Consider reducing the slicing cukes to about half that length (or less) and add a pickling variety for the other half. The pickling cukes will be more versatile for preserving - canned or fermented pickles.

I'm concerned that you only have about one foot between the radishes bed and the two large tomatoes in the SE corner. I'd put the radishes where the garlic bed is and move the garlic bed over to butt up against the onions bed. That will give you greater access to the tomatoes since the garlic bed will be unused until the fall.

As Dave pointed out, its getting a bit late for some of the things you want to grow and you may have to wait until next year to incorporate them into the plan. But this year, you can use those spaces for other things - perhaps eggplant, bush or pole beans, brussels sprouts, etc.

Looks very nice, but I would start thinking about succession planting. You have only allowed yourself one crop in each space per year. You can get far more mileage out of your garden than that. For example, what happens after the radishes have all bolted or been eaten? Will that spot sit empty? Why not plant some beans there? Or mesclun mix? And your garlic won't be planted until fall, so you can get pretty much a whole season out of that spot before the garlic goes in. Why not plant basil in there in the meantime?

What are you doing for paths between the beds?