23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Wally, I sure disagree with you, there are experts IME. In gardening as well as anything else.
Maybe the point is that within any given climate/soil paradigm still there are many successful ways to produce food crops. So that someone might be expert in a particular way of achieving that doesn't mean there aren't other ways.
This also means that an expert who moves from one climate to another often reverts back to neophyte status. For example, the florida forum gets constant threads from people who are expert gardeners in the mid-latitudes but find they are lost in the florida climate and soil. This makes me wonder about the possibility of a mid-latitude expert being an advisor to multigenerational tropical gardeners. My guess is that the expert in that case is learning a lot more than teaching.
I agree with others, that this is not anything new. Theme and variations on composting.....
In regards to teaching other cultures, aren't we really saying - "hey that load of chemicals we sold you on in the 40's and 50's (60's.....70's)......we were wrong - bad idea - back to composting, back to natural methods"
if you think about anyone growing food for themselves, without the aid of garbage collection! - they are going to compost somehow.....
annew21 said "I've seen see packets that say 6 inches is adequate, but that's garbage. "
He couldn't be more true. Okra is such gigantic plant it is a monstrosity in my garden! Even when it is blown down by strong wind it never die! I planted them for their pretty flower and now I don't know what to do with their high productivity of pods!
Here is one with its main branch literally lying on the ground:
Here's another one with a somehow more straight branch:
I would vote for 10 plants to give the amount of okra you indicate. They should be 18 to 24 inches apart in a row with 2 plants per hill. To get that number of healthy seedlings, put 5 seed in each hill, then thin to two seedlings per hill.
If I had a choice, I would grow a different variety. Clemson Spineless has to be picked daily to get tender pods.
DarJones
stitchem, I'd be interested in hearing about your progress with this. Two years ago, we tried it with peaches and cream corn, blue lake beans and I don't recall what kind of summer squash. The squash died. The beans climbed the corn like crazy but never produced anything. The corn, however, was beautiful and tasty. We only did 3 sisters that one time though. Seemed like a great idea though. Good luck!
stitchem, I'd be interested in hearing about your progress with this. Two years ago, we tried it with peaches and cream corn, blue lake beans and I don't recall what kind of summer squash. The squash died. The beans climbed the corn like crazy but never produced anything. The corn, however, was beautiful and tasty. We only did 3 sisters that one time though. Seemed like a great idea though. Good luck!
Yep, start the tomatoes April 1 and start maybe 50% more than I want to plant instead of 200%. I do have friends and family who want my extras, but market just starts too late here to sell any (mid June). Except maybe this year - I put an ad on Craigslist, we'll see if there are any takers.
I live where slugs and snails are ABUNDANT. Hand picking and either Sluggo or Cory's snail bait are really the only ways to go. Copper works, too, but if any bit of dirt, leaves, etc. that go over the copper will render it useless. And yep, you can eat slug/snail eaten leaves; just wash 'em first!
It isn't Early Blight nor Late Blight nor even Southern Blight .
What you are seeing in merely environmental damage from the weather and the effects of the plant having been rootbound in its container.
Once you learn the causes and actual symptoms of the 3 different types of "blight" then you never have to panic. And you can learn much more about all of them over on the Tomatoes forum here.
Plus there are many pictures and info sheets available on all three as well as the other common tomato diseases available on the web and I linked one of the many resources below.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: TAMU - Tomato Problem Solver
Wish I could help you more, but I've yet to have the wonderful problem you describe since none of my artichokes has made it through a winter yet. But here's a link to the UC Davis artichoke page. It's been a while since I read it, but maybe it will help you? Artichokes are perrenial there. Good luck!
Here is a link that might be useful: UC Davis Aritchoke Info
Winter squash is often harvested after first frost. Sometimes a light frost is needed to polish them up for harvesting. So if using the cover for season extension I'd think you can wait until just a few days before your frost date.
Of course you'll have some green fruit that will never ripen but that's normal.
Next year consider shorter DTM varieties or earlier planting under cover to get more fruit.
Dave
Oh my gosh, you are all so funny! I feel so much better now knowing I am not alone.
I went to the nursery yesterday to return a plant I wasn't happy with and came out much poorer. It was a trap. Easy returns but you're still going to pay! I have the stuff rolling around in the back of my truck. I'm hiding it from you-know-who. :)
Just to keep things straight, I really am not a hoarder. I just tend to get a little carried away periodically.
Many, many thanks to those in the military past and present.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday. It looks like its going to be great gardening/BBQ weather here today.
I have never had much luck with sweet corn between it's very finicky growing habits (as compared to dent and flint cultivars) and animal pests eating the ears as they begin to ripen. Sweet-corn regions tend to have very good ground, ideal climate and extirpation of pests. No doubt though we will all continue to try.
seysonn... Not looking for a green house at this time, my raised beds are long ago constructed (2011), and include four 14' tall hops beds... the raised bed complex is 4' wide, 32' long, and 16' high... Harbor freight is not going to help.. LOL
Not only that, but I would not trust their contraption under 4' of snow....
I need to build individual cold frames over each raised bed five of them 2'x4' and one long raised bed 2' x 28'...
Hopefully I can start building a dedicated green house this fall, but more likely next spring or fall... It will be concrete block around the base, and then an arched tunnel of solex on top..
pn brown.. did he use clear for the roof, or was that translucent?...
My cold frame was very simple this year - 10 55 gallon water barrels and 6 bales of hay arranged in a square with the hay at the front and the barrels as the sides and back. This was then covered with a thick plastic sheet. When the temps were in the low 30s my cold frame was never below 55 all night. The 55 gallon barrels cost $10 a piece, the hay was $6 - and I subsequently used it for mulch. It was a low cost, high performance cold frame that has seen 500 plants go through successfully this year. I didn't even have to worry as much about overheating if I was late in venting the frame - all that water mass buffered the heat.