23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Make a low hill/mound in the center of the bed and put 3-4 plants spaced around on the top of the hill, and then let the 3-4 vines run as they will. You'll get better pollination that way. Keep the bed well fed and WELL watered.
Dave
Never really had a huge issue in the garden beds, but my kids sandbox was a issue for one of our cats for awhile, covered it in plexiglass for about a year or so.
But I have to comment on water, our cat WILL never drink from the water dish, dont even try anymore. Her favorite mode of drinking is for one of us to turn the upstaris bathroom faucet on so she can drink from the running water.
We have 3 beds in a neighborhood with a lot of cats...who thought they were giant litterboxes. This year I'd had enough and bought some of this
http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Gardener-602-BirdBlock-Protective/dp/B00004RA0O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368556526&sr=8-1&keywords=bird+garden+netting
put screws in the top of the beds and wrapped the netting around. So far worked well and I can cut out holes to plant into.
If snipping then in various steps along the way as recommended.
If pulling (not recommended) then ASAP.
As mentioned in your other posts, "keeping moist" is for germination only. Once germinated then watering is done as needed by the particular plant given its growing conditions.
Dave
I pay a 22 year old $10 an hour to mow and week whack and dig. He lives with his mom and has no expenses to speak of I would pay more for someone trying to make a living. Sometimes I wonder if I am enabling him in staying with mom past appropriate age by giving him spending money but not enuf to actually be independent.
I have a 73 year old man who helps me....I know, sounds weirdly cruel, but he loves it and thinks it's the funniest thing when I tell him what I want him to do next. He will only accept $10 an hour. Let me tell you....this guy works harder than any 13 year old I've ever known. (I call him "Rock-Steady" because he only has only one pace, "slow," but he just plugs along steady as she goes!) I love him.
13 year olds have notoriously short attention spans...I would only pay them $7 or $8 an hour because most of that time will be spent watching you work... or watching the clouds, or sneaking in a text or two, or playing with the cat, or replanting the worms or talking, talking, talking while propping up the shovel....then time for a pop, then time for a bathroom break, then time for a popcicle, then time to call and check in with mother, ...... !
Besides, if you find that they a a great worker, you can always give a bonus as a surprise...Rock Steady gets a big kick out of it when I try to give him one!
I have a LOT less stink bugs than my neighbors. I'm wondering if it's because I plant a few tobacco plants. I know the neighbor's goats won't even go near the plants, much less nibble on them, and they eat EVERYTHING. If you do plant some, use gloves when harvesting. I feel sick when I don't.
We do have them in maine as well.. though our top crop damage is still JBs.. Stink bugs are all pretty tenacious, where JBs are not as bad, simple netting may or may not keep out the stink bug for you, remember they get into your house, any loose hole they can find and enter.
If you're in Z7-east, your peppers may do really well in your partial shade. I usually have to install a shade cover for mine to prevent sunscald on the fruits. In some countries, peppers are grown between strips of corn for shade and shelter.
Sunlight will get much more intense in the next few weeks as the earth tilts closer to old Sol.
I would say, "yes " cover them. But not lettuces and shallots. they cans stand freezing temp's.
And if during the day sunshines, you SHOULD take the plastic off otherwise they might get cooked.(greenhouse effect)
This post was edited by seysonn on Tue, May 14, 13 at 10:14
There's a couple versions of this pepper out there.
There's a thicker blocky version (semi-bell-like with a blunted end) and a smaller frying type.
The smaller frying type is the one traced back to Jan Antolli (name probably misspelled) and the thicker one has a relatively unknown lineage as far as it's introduction.
They both display the same color changes.
Most of the seed out there is from the smaller frying type. The thicker, blocky one is a bit harder to come by.
You'll be able to tell which one you have once it starts setting fruits by the fruit's width if you're unsure which one you've gotten a hold of.
Both plants (I've seen/grown both...and used the blocky version as a breeding partner for a seed I developed) are medium+ sized plants as far as heirloom peppers go, and they can get taller depending on how closely they're spaced. They can both get kind of top-heavy and might need staking depending on how heavily they set fruit.
I think "companion" planting just touches upon the reality, which is that it is necessary to have a very wide range of plant species present to reduce the severity of insect infestations.
IME, it is better to have less production of favored crops so as to achieve this diversity. IOW, even if all a gardener cares to produce is tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant still one had better devote space to other plant families or suffer the consequences. After some seasons of too narrow a range and nutrient depletion, one could not use enough insecticides to stave off the infestations.
Skeptic here, too, for the most part. I *have* found nasturtiums to work very well, though. You have to remember, however, that they're a trap crop, not a repellent. Nasturtiums are more attractive to some pests than the crop you're trying to protect, so they go to the nasturtiums first. You can then kill the pest on the nasturtiums (either by organic or synthetic pesticide or by simply removing the nasturtiums along with the resident pests). Whatever method you choose, you're sacrificing the nasturtiums on purpose to save the crop. In our in-ground garden, I plant a row of nasturtiums next to the row of crop I want to protect. With pots, I'd definitely have the nasturtiums in their own separate pots.
As far as repelling pests, I still haven't found any plant that lives up to the companion planting hype. The problem is, the majority of them only work when they're jostled or crushed to release the offensive (to the pest) scent. That just doesn't happen enough in the average garden unless the plants are right on the path getting stepped on and brushed against. I just don't have the time and space for that.
The dill and brassicas combo is the one other CP that has worked well for me. I have no idea why. It's just been a consistent observation that the years I plant a row of dill in between my rows of broccoli, I have healthier plants and bigger harvests. *shrug* That's not to say that that would happen for everyone, though.
Another lucky gardener here who doesn't have to deal with slugs. We have them, but not many. They stay way out by the slough (pond) with the snails and the only place I've ever seen them in the garden is under the rhubarb when I haven't had time to keep it tidy and off the ground. My dad used to have them, though. Horrible things. He used to send me out with a salt shaker when I was a kid. *shudder*
This spring, as wet as it has been in many parts of the country, wireworms will be a severe problem for many of us.
Beneficial Nems are the most frequently recommended organic control and they will work if they are applied in sufficient numbers. But they do take time to mature, reproduce, and have an effect. Meanwhile DE, potato traps (the more the better), soil tilling/turning are about the only other organic controls I know of. Pyrethrin soil drenches can be used as a last ditch effort for severe infestations but it bring you real close to crossing the "organic" line. :)
Chem controls - Ortho Bug-B-Gone.
Dave
Thanks! Looks like i may have to go the potato trap way then...