23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

I once had a mole run in the fall that went down to the garden. In the spring after I planted sweet corn, They tunneled right down the row and ate the grains. I had to "intercept" the tunnel with field corn sown across the tunnel.

>I am working a temporary job promoting Bayer Advanced chemicals at Lowe's. The Scott's rep, my competitor, said they eat other things. Oh, how I'd love to prove her wrong!!

I know that Scott's was recruiting Master Gardener's to push their products. Does GA allow MG's to recommend products by name?

Some of these comments made me giggle.

I had the same problem trying to figure out what I wanted to grow, where I wanted to grow it, why I wanted to grow it, and then ran into the problem of what was actually available (I prefer start seedlings over seeds) at the store. I planned to put in artichokes and ended up with pattypan and acorn squash instead. I started with a 6x4, added three 2x2 pallets (6" deep) for greens and my daughter to plant bush beans and mini sunflowers, and just added a 4x4 bed. Not to mention a few 7-gallon pots, 5 gallon pots, and anything else of size that can hold dirt and a plant. I'd give parts of my anatomy for a big yard with better soil (I'm urban farming it) with just a little more sun each day than I get now and revel in the production. And keep planting more and more. My dream is a potage garden some day...where I can grow food for use now, grow food for preserving, and grow food for giving to friends because nothing beats fresh grown veggies!

This post was edited by THatstat on Thu, Apr 18, 13 at 11:05

You have gotten a lot of good advice, but i'll add a couple of more things...
1) Give your plants plenty of space. I have several 4x8 raised beds and the first year I put 4 tomato plants and some other plants in each one. Wayyy too crowded. It just looks so empty when you plant those teeny tiny plants! lol but trust me, they will take over. I now put two tomato plants in each box, on opposite ends, and they still end up covering the whole box by the end of the season.
2) 10 tomato plants is a LOT of tomatoes. I planted 7 plants last year, a variety of tomatoes, and nursed them through the worst drought in the history of my area. Then they all got blight, got infested with pill bugs (which apparantly isn't possible but I will tell you for sure it is), and lost most of my tomatoes from August on. I still ended up canning 112 jars of salsa and we ate fresh tomatoes every day.

Laying out a garden isn't as some people make it sound. I've been gardening for year and still spend hours trying to get it right.
But basicaly you need to make a plan with indications of north , west, east, and south.
Put the tall plants on the north end and work tward the south with the shorter items.
But the tricky part comes when you start putting in summer crops after the spring crops are over.

All of the above! Plus, there are so many variables that you will learn by doing, reading and observing!
Like maybe I should have my tomatoes in a bed next to the house on the south side to get a few more degrees of heat (I'd have to build a new bed, so not this year!) or I can have a few more beds for winter in this area, and still have some lettuce and shade lovers in this bed!
Check out your neighbors' set ups! I get whip lash driving places and checking out the gardens! We often have to stop and admire a random garden at my insistence! ;)
I still have troubles with summer/winter gardens cause we have a very long growing season, lasting into Nov/Dec sometimes! This is why I have a couple of dedicated beds right near the deck (less mud!) for fall/winter stuff. I do tone it down in the winter to a couple of beds and work on amending the spring/summer beds during the winter (we don't freeze much, just some frost)
Keep reading and learning! And Happy Gardening! Nancy

Yes, as Deborah says, don't plant in FL until summer heat is done. Same here in Socal.

I tend to believe companion planting advice tends to be more anecdote than science, but overall I believe in polycultures over monocultures.

They say alliums are helpful for brassicas. I tend to plant green onions (allium fistulosum) as a cut & come again crop along with other things. They do well as a cool-season crop.

Lettuces get along with lots of crops, and as they do well in partly shady conditions and cooler weather, they might do well in the understory with the brussel sprouts.

In terms of companion planting, I like to think along the lines of niches both in space and in time.

So, in terms of space we can look at tall plants vs, short plants, shallow roots vs. deep roots, etc.

Opportunities in time would be something like sowing very short season crops (such as a baby greens mix) alongside a long-season crop, such as brusell sprouts (120 days). The greens mix will grow quickly and you can start harvesting after a few weeks, gradually thinning the greens as the brussel sprouts need more space.

If I had an available bin I would probably put bagged manure in it. However it keeps well in the bag. There is a series of small pin prick wholes on the side of the bag. You can add a little moisture with a water spray from time to time. The plastic keeps the moisture in. I stack the bags becaue it is easy to store that way. The end product is far from dry and dusty. It is moist with virtually no odor. I would characterize it as mighty fine compost.

Zeuspaul

Send that bagged compost to lab to examine the soil foodweb(microorganisms,etc), I bet fresh compost would have ten fold the life then the bagged crap...

I did see a bird picking at it, also have seen grasshoppers in my yard. If its slugs or snail what can i use to stop them? Thanks. Here is another photo.
Terry

Last pic really looks like slugs. This time of year they are very small and difficult to see unless you go out at night with a flashlight.

There are any number of slug and snail pesticide baits on the market, some organic, some not but most are jusy iron phosphate. Sluggo is one brand name.

Plus there are all sorts of tips and tricks for controls ranging from beer and/or board traps to copper wire/tape to crushed egg shells on the soil surface to the good old flashlight and a salt shaker to sprinkle them with (works well for containers or small beds).

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Slug Control discussions

i can't see the original photos :( wish i could because i just got my hands on some wooden pallets and would appreciate seeing what others are doing with theirs. so far, mine are holding up planted containers. would appreciate advice on stacking, filling, etc. thanks

This post was edited by letsharmonize on Thu, Apr 25, 13 at 16:00

Real quick just wanted to advise~ please don't ever bring pallets that could be treated into the home or around pets. Hopefully mentioning this might help someone who stumbles upon this thread.

I would personally be quite cautious in buying a property nearby long-time commercial crop growing. My concern would be primarily contaminant plume in the groundwater from many years of fertilizer and herbicide usage, or possibly surface run-off, although nowadays it would be a rare operation that is so sloppy as to allow expensive fertilizers to flow away.

It is what went on 40-50-60 years ago that would especially concern me, before stricter regulations on what compounds could be used and when growers were much less careful. I would certainly consider it worthwhile to pay for a comprehensive water test before signing a purchase contract. If there is no well on the property I'd get a sample from the nearest existing well.

Good job doing your research early.. I wish I asked your question when I bought my house...

To evaluate your new home site, you should bring a compass with you to visit the site. Also bear in mind the sun does not shine the same way through four season. However, if they're slow slope, then maybe direction does not matter so much and you hit gold for gardening.

My gardening hills are steep and facing south west, and south. A path next to the house gets mostly shade. Once I figured what to plant in all day sun, and what grows in the shade, then all sites are good. It only took me 10 years...

I planted kale seeds in January and it did not bolt till the second summer. I planted some in October and it DID bolt the next spring. About half of my cabbages made heads, and half bolted, so I am still confused.

You may be witnessing genetic variation within the strain. This is the kind of thing that will save us if we can't buy seeds at some point.

Are there a lot, or just a few?

I get them every year, gnats, or what have you, here and there, on my seedlings I grow under lights and on windowsills. When I see one on a leaf, I smoosh it, but I don't really worry too much about them. It happens every year and my plants do just fine when I get them in the ground outside. I think it may have something to do with wet soil inside the house. I never have houseplants (although I would like too) because it always attracts these gnats we are talking about.

Lindsey

Thanks for the replies. this is the first time this has happen to me. I don't start indoors always outdoors, but the weather here in so cal have been wierd, hot then cold then hot again n then cold. But i have read that it could be due to wet soil. Thanks again.
Terry

This is not the best picture, but you can see the little bugs on the plant.

Thanks!
Keli

Aphids. I have a heck of a time with them. They are a real nuisance. I blow them off with the hose and spray the plant with soapy water. If you only have a few this won't be a problem. You can smoosh them with your finger too. If you get a big infestation of them,( and you'll know, because it will look like growths everywhere, when it's actually just lots of bugs),they just keep coming back. So don't let them get established. I have never had them on squash before, but they frequently attack other things in my garden. I deal with them every year. Sometimes I see red ones, sometimes green. They are all annoying.

Dave, you ever grow winter rye? I grow it every year and it is no where a foot tall iin Jan-feb.. Maybe 3-6 inches.. You must be talking the tropics! My winter rye ain't that tall until may-June.

Yep. Just about every year. Sounds like you need to be planting it a lot earlier. And nothing says you have to wait until it is 10-12" to till it in. Sure you lose some biomass but you still get most all the benefits and that is the purpose for growing it.

Seasonal gardening that involves cover crops is supposed to be a balanced route, optimization not maximization, of all the factors involved.

Sounds like crookedgarden has a pretty well optimized solution.

Dave

Very interesting, Dave.

I plant my winter rye as soon as my tomatoes as other warm crops come out, I don't plant to many fall crops, just to devote that time to the rye.. The rye germinates overnight at 60-80 degrees, takes a week 40-50 degrees.. I try to give it as much time to establish a nice thick carpet on my beds.. Perhaps your warmer weather/microclimate really does do that much more for the rye, lucky! When do you plant yours Dave?

Thanks,
Joe

Ps- don't optimization and maximization go hand to hand?

Mine initially sent up a few a week ago, then I harvested them because it was heading for temps. well below freezing. Had a good serving of them for a couple of meals.

Just noticed today there are a few more shoots ready to bust out, but going to have more freezes later this week.

It's all about soil temperature. When you get a few warm, sunny days in a row......BAM!