23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
I have done the hairy vetch/tomato "system" described in the link below, and it worked well. When adolescent overwintered hairy vetch is cut off at the soil line, it dries into a knitted blanket that can be rolled up like a rug. I think it would work well with sweet corn, too.
Lessons learned: The hairy vetch must be taken down a certain way, by slicing off the plants at the crown. In a garden bed I could do this with the serrated edge of my big garden knife, then went back a few days later and got the ones I missed. Do not let hairy vetch mature! When allowed to establish as a perennial, the roots get huge and gnarly and are very very difficult to dig out. The photo shows hairy vetch at the sage when it should be cut.
So, I would recommend using hairy vetch only as a short-term cool season cover crops to preceed tomatoes. There are lots of warm-season cover crop to plant after spring tomatoes. For ex, widely spaced sudex (sterile sudan grass hybrid) makes a great living trellis for vining field peas.
Here is a link that might be useful: ARS Tomatoes and Hairy Vetch
Split it into 2 parts, drill drain holes in the bottom and plant away. If you layer the seed potatoes then yes, you can get production in layers most of the way up - how many depends on the variety used. Check out the many previous discussions here about 'potatoes in container' for more details.
Dave
Is it possible to take it apart and turn it into two containers? I'd drill holes into them for drainage and you should be able to use it as containers for potatoes. Make sure if you want potatoes to grow as you hill them that you get a variety that is "indeterminate". There is a lot of debate as to whether this is possible in potatoes etc blah blah blah. All in all, make sure you research the variety you plant to make sure it's a good variety for what you want and preferably indeterminate. I've also heard the reds give more potatoes than others...
It really depends on the variety. For tomatoes and peppers, if you buy transplants, they should tell you the rough number days to harvest. That's very much an average, though, and much depends on your local conditions.
Typically sweet potatoes need roughly 3.5-4 months in the ground to get full size. But that depends on how hot it is. I've included a link below to a Sand Hill Preservation Center page on sweet potatoes. Everything under "Sweet Potato Growing Information" will help you determine when to plant and harvest and give some info on best SP growing conditions.
Here is a link that might be useful: Sand Hill Preservation Center
In Phoenix, you generally put plantings of toms/peppers in late/end February to early March...and/or July (they tend to do better for fall harvest). During the "hell" of summer you will probably need shade cloth. Small fruited (cherry/grape) tomatoes tend to do better there during the heat of the summer.
Sweet potatoes go in May/June.
A couple of things....Chicken wire will do NOTHING! It's too flimsy and will rot within a year or 2 in the ground. It is also too big of a gap! Those gophers are like mice! They can slip through a VERY small space!
Flooding is pretty useless. Those little suckers have a way to seal their tunnels just for that reason! They seal tem in several places throughout their tunnel maze.
As I said earlier and on another board, the noisemakers have kept my raised bed garden area gopher free (except when the batteries went dead) for close to 4 years now! The rest of my 1 1/4 acre property is just riddled with gophers! I'm just reporting what is working for me! Nancy
Good luck and happy gardening!
Squash happens! But I do agree that seems to be a very small pot for squash! Mine get to be 4-5 feet across!
You might want to re-plant either in the ground or in a very large container! I don't think it will thrive in that small container. Nancy
And what has your weather been wherever you are? Cool and wet like many have been having equals no growth. Save the fertilizer for when the plants are established and showing growth. Only makes the problem worse right now.
Dave
It's usually wind or over-fertilization that causes mid-rib breakage.
Corn responds best to timed fertilization (and different types, NO3 vs NH4, depending on the time (though that's not crucial)).
That said, as long as it's just a few leaves it generally doesn't effect the plant too negatively unless the breakage is at the collar of the leaf.
In the future, time your fertilization efforts appropriate for your area (generally pre-planting/very-early and at silk emergence). Some areas may need/suggest side dressing during the season between these points. You can find suggestions from successful locals or your local extension agency.
Organic veggie fertilizer will burn tiny seedlings. Use a very diluted (1/4th strength) soluble fertilizer like Miracle Gro, once a week. Too much heat isn't good after germination. They like it around 65-70 degrees. 16 hours of light a day is enough and the lights should be 1" from the seedlings. I think you are over-loving your plants!
ltilton...This should answer your question
Here is a link that might be useful: Old Thread
This is the first year I have ever had a garden so I am trying to learn as fast as I can.
My garden is 14' x 28', we just bought the house last year and the garden was already there. Last fall I poured about 5-6 bags of grass clippings into it and tilled everything together this spring. After tilling my neighbor mentioned I should use landscape fabric to handle the weeds which sounded like a good idea. Now I am not sure as I am learning more and more.
I used scotts 4' x 200' landscape fabric and covered the entire garden. I then cut holes out to plant all of my vegetables. I have corn, tomatoes, eggplant, squash, jalepenos, Strawberries, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, and spinach.
Everything is growing very well but I don't know if the fabric is the best way to handle weeds. Do you think I should take it out and lay down a layer of Compost or mulch instead? Would this help the plants grow even better?
I didn't want to add mulch on top of the fabric because I don't want to have to deal with pulling it up when I want to till next year. Please let me know your thoughts, thank you in advance.
I went from using landscaping fabric from the local garden center to something called Lumite from Shaw Fabrics (via a tip from Gardenweb) and I couldn't be happier.
The Lumite is woven strips of some kind of plastic and lasts for years. I plant my tomatoes between two 3-foot strips of Lumite and run a soaker hose between them.
I can only access my garden on the weekends so it saved me huge amounts of time (not) weeding.
This year, I'm using a 4-foot wide strip to plant my peppers and eggplants and basil in/under. I have 2 rows of holes about 14 inches in from the outside edge, again with soaker hoses underneath.
The best way to cut it is using a torch so it melts the ends so it doesn't unravel.
Here is a link that might be useful: Lumite
After the discussion of roly bugs here, I went to the garden yesterday and put more yeast in the bowl. It rained last night, but the bowl did not overflow. There were a wide variety of insects already floating in the bowl, including roly poly and - bellieve it or not - a squash bug. It was the first I had seen of the season, so I took it out for closer inspection. Yup, squash bug. I inspected the squash plants and found a nest of eggs under one leaf. Its gone now! I checked all squash and found one more bug far away on a trombocini squash plant. I squashed him and found no eggs on those plants.
Just thinking that by eliminating the first generation of squash bugs, what a difference that could possibly make on the season. I'll be on close watch now and will likely add more bowls of yeast in all areas where there are squash plants.
I was planning on baby greens in 2 more weeks, just want it to hold out til then. Supposed to be 30-40 DTM I forget when I start it but transplanted a couple of weeks ago and it's looking good. Same with kale. Need something to bring to first market June19.
I've read that growing pepper plants close together can be beneficial because it can help keep the plants cooler and provide a canopy for the fruits (which are prone to sun scald). You'd think that a plant should be able to provide its own canopy, so that seemed a little dubious to me. Thoughts?
Annew21:
I've had colored bells that have gotten burnt on their shoulders and maybe an Anaheim or 3. It's the larger, thicker fleshed varieties that may get burned. Usually when you're waiting for them to change color. All my other varieties -- never.
Kevin
Those leaves look like being damaged by hail, heavy rain drops from trees, gutter, hit by solids falling from trees, roof..etc. An one more thing; This has happened while back and the leaves have grown since then and the gaps enlarged. (like continental shifts of earth !)
BTW, JMO
Well, a three-four weeks back we did have some hail! And in central Iowa, we have had TONS of rain already. Record, I think I heard! That would be AWESOME if it was from the hail or rain.
I am not looking forward to bug hunting all that much!