23,823 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Njitgrad: if you are interested in making your own potting mix, follow the link below to the most popular thread on the Container Gardening Forum. It has run for more than 8 years with well over 2,000 posts. Do yourself a favor and read the long introduction to see the recipe for 5-1-1. I've used this mix to grow tomatoes and lots of other vegetables for three years. It costs me about $3 a cubic foot.
Here is a link that might be useful: Container Soils - Water Movement and Retention

but alot of liquid organic fertilizers are already consumed by microbs and ready to use(fish emulsion,fox farm, any other liquid fertilizer), many people even use them hydroponically. The majority of organic fertilzers are inoculated with the organisms to begin with.
You have taken it out of context.
Yes I am well aware of the nature of some liquid organic fertilizers and frequently make that point myself. However it cannot be said about all or even the majority of the many brands available and care must be taken when purchasing.
But you see this discussion is not about liquid fertilizers so all that isn't relevant to it. This discussion has been about dry potting mixes used to fill containers - the so-called expensive organic mixes vs. the less expensive mixes without the hyped "organic" label. And with all dry potting mixes you have to add microbes in some form.
Did you look at how expensive a bag of foxfarm is?
Fox Farm makes several different varieties of mix and yes I am aware of the costs but then I wasn't recommending it either. I merely included it in a short list of some of the 100's of different potting mix brands as one that comes with active mycor already added.
Some mixes don't even have the proper type of fungus fo vegetables,
Name one.
I would just buy a bag of peat moss($10) and a bag or two of compost($3-6).. For 10-15 bucks you can have dozens of containers filled.
You make it sound so simple. But what proportions would you use? And which of the umpteen varieties of bagged compost would you purchase? How do you eliminate the salt build up that comes with using bagged manured compost? Or would you only use non-manured? How much of which type lime would you add to balance the pH? And which wetting agent would you add in what amount to eliminate the hydrophobic nature of peat? There are at least 15-20 recipes for making your own that I know of and likely 50 more. Each has associated issues. The pre-made stuff addresses all those issues so if you advocate making your own to someone who has no basic knowledge then you have to provide all the necessary info or you do them no service.
njitgrad - Container Gardening - the focus of your post - is a totally unique form of growing, regardless of the plant in question, with little if anything in common with standard vegetable gardening. That is why it was given its own forum 10 years ago.
So my point is that all your questions about containers, container mixes, container fertilizing, and container gardening in general are already answered in great detail by highly experienced container growers over on that forum. That includes at least 50 discussions about "what is the 5-1-1 mix", and recipes for making your own.
ProMix BX....can it be purchased at HD or Lowes?
No it is a professional/commercial mix. However it is available from any growers supply and online.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: 5-1-1 discussions


The white areas look like they are dried out, not like something is growing on top.
I added some 5-3-4 fertilizer last weekend following the manufacturer's instructions because the squash next to it was looking a little yellow too. The squash has greened up but the cucumbers did not.
I guess I'm wondering if I should rip them up and re-plant, because I probably still have time. Or maybe just cut off all of the lower leaves that look like this. It's a bit heartbreaking because there are lots of mini-cucumbers on the vine already.

You might want to post this on any of the three New York Gardening forums here or at least search them for local sources recommendations from locals.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Metro NY Gardening forum

Wish I knew this when I filled my beds last spring. I bought a product called "All Top" which is a Topsoil Compost Blend,
If you search 'topsoil' you'll find all sorts of discussions about how poor it is considered since the term can mean 500 different things, some ok, some not too bad, and some really lousy.
But discussions on how to salvage it when used are common on the Soil & Compost forum here. It can be salvaged simply by adding lots and lots and lots of quality compost to it and mixing it in well. Then use more compost (not wood chips) to mulch the top with and refresh the compost content in the bed each spring..
Using any kind of wood chip mulch in a vegetable garden is a hotly debated topic with lots of pros and cons.
Dave

Dave,
In that case I guess next season I'll remove the cedar mulch covering and add compost on top instead.
But won't the soil that's in my beds just remain there indefintely unless I remove some of it, mix the rest with something else and then refill my beds?
Should the result of my soil test I got from Rutgers reveal the composition of it? See below.




How you doing Tommy?
For germination- just keep the seed on the surface consistantrly moist
For seedlings- keep the entire soil moist, but not soaking wet.. You want to water and let the soil surface dry slightly to the touch, water and let dry.. Your soil should be moist like a rung out sponge. It should never be sitting in water.. Overwatering is the number one killer of seedlings.. Just keep the soil moist, and let dry slightly before watering again..
Also, you need adequate light. A bright window would be better then nothing... But you really would do better if you had a cheap shoplight..
Dont hesitate to ask any questions.. Everyone here Is more than happy to help you.
Joe
Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Starting
This post was edited by Raw_Nature on Sat, Apr 20, 13 at 23:45



White flies possibly but could also be several other things. Without knowing your location or at least your garden zone there is no way to know if it is too early or not for them in your location or what might be in season.
You can Google white flies for lots of pics to compare to yours. Aphids is another possibility.
Either way they are not what did the damage to the back leaf in the picture.
Dave



Can't help with soaker hose information, but I sympathize about trees blocking the sun and limiting your options. We don't have any trees in our own backyard, but our neighbor to the west has three trees that are beginning to block the sun to our main vegetable gardens as they get larger. The previous owner had the trees trimmed regularly so it wasn't a problem for years, but the new owners don't even clean up storm damage when big limbs come down. (My husband and I finally just went into their yard and did some trimming ourselves since their fallen branches were damaging our fence.)
My advice would be to take notes to see where the sun is in various seasons. The 5-8 hours of sunlight you get now in the spring may turn into 10+ hours in the summer. OTOH, We have one bed that we built in May in full sun, only realizing months later that it's actually in shade from October-March. No problem for summer veggies, but it does mean I can't use it for fall/winter plantings. (On the plus side, by tracking the sun more carefully, we realized there are spots that are in shade from the neighbor's trees in the summer, but get plenty of sun autumn through spring, which would be a fine location for a cold frame.)

Thx both.
I'm actually thinking of setting up my camera on a tripod and timelapsing the area. Haven't paid attention to this area since I just got the "greenthumb" this year.
All I know right now is that the front edge of the area gets sun around 2/230p and the entire area is covered by 3p. Been cloudy so hard to say when it stops getting sun. I suspect right now I'm only around 4hrs direct.

Check out this website for California growing guides
Here is a link that might be useful: California Planting Calender

The world record holder for tomatoes, Charles Wilber, used rusty old cages... All he did was torch them to disinfect them at the end of the season.. I would not worry about the rust.. He didnt have a problem, he grew 30 foot tomatos, yielding hundreds, if not thousands of pounds! If his heavy plants could handle it, so could yours.. If you really want houngan probably sand and buff all the sharp chips,etc.. But all that's really neccesariy is disinfecting them IF that.. No worries, have fun my friend!
Grow on,
Joe
Joe


Some people would envy you. Don't worry if the sprouts break off, they'll regrow.
Definitely not a problem. That's how I know it's time to plant potatoes -- the ones in my kitchen start sprouting!
Potatoes are strong growers. I planted a potato last fall, but forgot about it. Then I ended up placing a stepping stone over it this spring and the potato just sprouted around it.