23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
"My neighbor has a horse stable and I can get all the mostly composted horse manure I want for free.
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it couldn't be any better than this.
If I were you, here is I would do: Mix topsoil/garden soil , compost , horse manure (5/3/2) and fill the beds to the rim. It will compact several inches. Horse manure and compost already have some nutrients, enough to get you going. Then check the mixtures for pH. 5.9 to 7.2 is a ranges that most garden veggies can grow in it.
Thanks for all the help. I called the extension people (thanks!) and the lady was very helpful. She said that the local landfill stuff was fine except that it still has little pieces of wood in it after sieving so you need to add nitrogen fertiliser if you use that. She said if I can be bothered to go get the mushroom compost she thinks it is superior. She suggested 2/3 compost 1/3 soil as apparently my soil is heavy clay.
She sent me a list of veggies and said it is really too late for chard now here. She suggested squash, tomatoes and cucumbers as possibles.
I did look at the soil/manure options at Home depot today (I went for grout so thought I'd look) it was really expensive considering how much I'd need.
Eggplants like tomatoes are self pollinating. If its protected frm wind, sometimes a slight shaking of the plant helps. Most like ly tho "Eddie" will set fruits when its ready. Plants know when they are capable of supporting fruit. Black Beauty is a big plant so it may not be grown up enough. They are much slower to develop than tomatoes.
I too have a Black Beauty eggplant that I'm growing and it's giving me a hard time but from what I've read it's somewhat typical. I hand pollinate all of the flowers on it (all you have to do is take a q-tip or small paintbrush and gently brush around some of the pollen to the long, skinny stigma in the very center) but it's still dropping flowers like crazy. I know it's getting enough water since I water every day. Mine has produced 2 fruits so far but that's out of about 30-35 flowers.
Hang in there!! It really is just a stubborn plant, I think. I have a variety called Ichiban also (you should try that one!) that has done awesome! Every flower I've pollinated has produced fruit!
I plant dill twice so I'll have it all season, but don't put in the second sowing until early August. If you have spring volunteers they should do for summer pickling. I like to use the midseason seed heads in a green condition, think they deliver the better flavor that the first bloom.
If you will go over to the Growing Tomatoes forum here and put AZ Arizona in the search bar there several discussions will come up from the AZ tomato growers there that will be of interest to you.
The same (and even more info on them) is also available on the Arizona Gardening forum here.
But from all my reading of their posts I 'think' March will be considered a late planting date. Not so much because the plants won't survive - they will if kept well watered - but because they won't set fruit (Blossom Drop) because of the air temps.
Of course this varies depending on exactly where you are in AZ but the AZ forum has folks from all over the state. Eg. planting times differ for the Flagstaff area from the Phoenix area where fall gardening seems to work best.
Unfortunately peppers also suffer from Blossom Drop (see FAQ here on it) but not quite as badly as tomatoes do. Sweet Potatoes, given good loose soil and tons of water and nutrients should do fine IMO.
Hope this helps.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: AZ Gardening forum
I watched the news tonight and worried for you all. Although my weather is not often as violent as yours, we do have violent thunderstorms and have had tornadoes within a few miles of my home. I usually have at least one hail storm and often have strong enough winds to knock down trellises and tomato cages at least once or twice each summer. Most of my plants survive, though some are set back and most wouldn't win any beauty contests after the storms. I garden because I love nature, not because I can control it.
We're at the northern end of tornado alley, so we get our fair share of them. We've got so much open space here, though, that the odds of them touching down in a heavily populated area are much more slim; they don't often hit the news outside of the province. Last summer, my in-laws were hit by a plough wind that lifted their large cattle barn roof right off the structure and flung it across the yard (news crew came and their clip made it to the national news that evening). Our own communication tower twisted and fell, just missing our house. The winds that night were nearly 100 km/h, if I recall. Lots of twisted grain bins in the ditches all over the area. When you're monitoring the live feed for Greg Johnson's storm chaser truck and he's headed pretty much for your property, though, it does rattle your nerves!
We lost about half of our broccoli last summer with the storms, a little over 20 heads. The main stalks snapped right off, so there was no opportunity to recover. The rest were bent flat against the ground for a few days, but they eventually righted themselves and still produced, albeit moderately. Anything with a large leaf was hit hard by wind and hail - mainly squash/pumpkins, rhubarb and the beans. The pole beans were shredded the worst, but surprisingly recovered and managed to produce eventually. We thankfully had the pole structures braced really well. The tomatoes weathered things much better than I thought they would, as did the peppers. A lot of veggies that were flattened - literally into the mud - I thought I'd lost, then they would gradually right themselves. They're tougher than you think!
I never grew Bodacious before...,
I planted my Sugar Dots Corn in Mid March directly in-ground, and some started to show tassels while they were about 30" or so. I thought that the tassels were coming out too soon, but they look alright now. At present, they are about 6' tall and tassels are all opened up, and many have corn ears with silk flowing out of them. They all look pretty normal.
Bodacious is a second early that grows a normal size plant and ears. Starting to tassel at 30 inches is normal. The plant should top out at 5 -6 feet. It normally sets ears at 15-20 inches above ground level. But much of this depends on weather conditions and fertilization. This is Illusion which has similar habits.
No. If anything it can slow fruit set and development as it encourages leafy growth instead.
But basically the DTM is genetically determined. When a short growing season is the issue then you need to use varieties with the shortest DTM.
Dave
I just discovered this site about two weeks ago. I have been impressed by the manner in which most people share information in here. My job can be nothing but conflict all day long, I come in here and I have not found that on here. My onlly problem is this, I am a newbie to gardening and am trying to start out slow and easy. You all have so much good info, makes it hard for not to get carried away but I will stay the course and take it slow and easy. Glad I found you all.
Well there are deer repellents sold but they get mixed reviews on effectiveness. Many discussions here about them. They may work on the chipmunks depending on which you get as some are combo deer/rabbit/squirrel.
But of course the most effective is the fence - for all of them. No comparison on effectiveness when it comes to fencing vs. anything else. Don't know about the cranes tho.
Can't imagine that you could grow melons and squash there without using fencing. IME most any of the varmint pests will go for those two things faster than you can say tiddly-winks if they can get to them.
Good luck!
Dave
Hi Joe. I'm up in Saskatchewan where both our ground water and our soil is highly alkaline (we actually see alkaline flats here and there). We also have off-the-chart potassium levels. People farm and raise wonderful, productive gardens here in the native soil all the time. Production and health improves when the pH is lowered to a more neutral position, but it's not necessary (I don't know anyone else locally who does it besides ourselves) for basic growth, which is the issue with your plants. The advice on adding nitrogen is spot on. It sounds like you need to keep up with adding organic matter there, too, though.
Not really adding anything to the conversation other than the reassurance that you can still grow a great garden with high pH and potassium levels. :)
What is BT that you recommend?
Just type BT into the search bar here for all sorts of info about what it is and how it is used. Or see article below.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: What is BT
shuttering: What Dave said.
Also, I'm no pest expert, but with the looper and moth, I consider them to be pretty much the same... their children do damage!
I think(emphasize think) the reason why they're called cabbage moths and loopers is because they're particularly attracted to brassicas(cabbage family). But they'll attack other veggies also-- peppers, maters, etc.
I know I'm not supposed to do this because you're supposed to identify pest FIRST, and then TREAT. But I use BT almost year round(almost as a presventative). But, in my climate and my year round gardening, there's almost always cabbage loopers flying around. Between my peppers and tomatoes in the warm months and my Brassicas in the cooler months, I use quite a bit of the stuff. Not surprisingly, I've seen a helluva lot less of the moths flying around this year.
I wouldn't do this with ANY pesticide -- just BT. the reason being that it's a very "target" specific pesticide(caterpillars only). Killing the beneficial insects isn't a concern with the stuff.
Kevin
I use rhubarb and lots of other veggie leaves as mulch. Why carry the stuff to the compost pile? Rhubarb leaves cover so much space, too. I think having fresh aromatic stems shriveling at the surface may confuse some pests, too.
I've used burdock and comfrey leaves for mulching.....why not?