23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Kathy has good advice.. They say not to add sand to clay unless you have something along the lines of 50-70% sand by volume.. But that is tilling sand into clay soil, i dont see the problem with adding it to a raised bed.

so then maybe 1 part top, 1 part mushroom or compose and 1 part sand would be better...

I read that article it makes perfect sense.. layering will be hard at this point.. since they will just mix at the point of origin and then deliver already mixed up..

My tomatoes have usually been in the ground for a month or more before I mulch them in late June. It takes a while for the soil to get really warm, and bare soil warms up faster. We usually have ample spring rains so dryness isn't an issue. I usually prune off the lowest leaves and mulch at the same time, which together postpone early blight.

I basically do the same as planatus, just a little sooner, being a little souther. Generally if the inevitable tomato volunteers are popping, I figure it is time to think about mulching.

I've mostly grown black beauty (I think) and mine don't start vining until Sept/Oct. Maybe it vines earlier for you because of the heat? You could grow one and still have some corn? I don't grow corn cause it all seems to get ripe at the same time and I really don't like it frozen. Also, it's so cheap during the summer! Nancy PS sometimes I just steal from the neighbor ;). He doesn't mind.

I once grew Eight Ball round zucchini, and to my surprise it stayed a bush.

Thanks a bunch Dave, this was very helpful info. I will start germinating them in June according to transplanting them in mid-late July.

-Mr Beno

In search of the perfect brussels sprouts planting date, I have settled on June 5-10.

You should set up a camera for 24h and tell us what was eating your seedlings!

well, now I suspect it may be small birds. I noticed a few of them hopping around my garden at about 9:30 this morning when I went outside. I guess my plastic owl isn't scaring them away! I put some chicken wire over the garden boxes, we'll see if it works!

While I agree in part with Nila, (sorry but I feel 27 degrees in far too cold), keep in mind that it is also going to vary depending on the material used to make the GH and light transmission it allows.

For example, I have 1 glass greenhouse which allows for full spectrum exposure while plants are still inside the GH. But the others are various types of polycarbonate and can reduce the UV penetration down to 80%. Roll plastic such as found in tunnel-type GH reduce it even more.

But either way, they will still need some hardening off. it is just a question of how and how much.

Dave

Another part of the hardening process is gradual exposure to moving air.

It makes you wonder how much crop rotation truly happens in a natural environment... Dandelion pollen of course disperses the seeds in the wind to far away from the parent plant.. But let's say, tomatoes for example - they will ripen, fall on the ground and rot, next year there will be a dozens of plants all in a matter of a few yards... This cycle would continue until something terminates the parent plants... Same thing with the majority of things, other than what is dispersed by wind, animals, etc... How much crop rotation do you really see in nature? I think the key here is diversity not necessarily rotation.. Logically it sounds great, just like tilling but does it really happen in nature? Earth is the biggest laboratory,we are the rats, nature is the control... Nature has the golden key...

Joe

Joe

Yes, indeed, plants are colonial beings that want to claim space using the only means they have, which is often close-range seed dispersal.

Here-here to the point that gardens are way different from farm fields, where crop debris is turned under. When you pull up plants, roots and all, you have achieved half of the objective of crop rotation by removing rotting root tissues.

I run a three-season garden and manage to get three-year rotations of most of the major plant families. The only one that worries me is the cabbage clan because I grow a lot of plants, spring and fall. I use extra compost when prepping planting sites, and keep my fingers crossed that soil pathogens don't get too excited.

Assuming you have no concerns about the chemical leaching issues associated with growing in tires - some do, some don't - then most any variety will work. Some of the smaller, early season varieties may be more productive in any confined space but if one has a particular variety they want to grow it should still work.

I have grown russets, Yukons, and early reds of several different varieties in both small raised beds and 1/2 barrels with no problems.

Dave

"Assuming you have no concerns about the chemical leaching issues associated with growing in tires - some do, some don't - then most any variety will work. Some of the smaller, early season varieties may be more productive in any confined space but if one has a particular variety they want to grow it should still work."

Definitely agree in this one. However there are lots of people who prefer not to use this one as they are very much concerned about the chemical issues of using tire.

Edymnion,

I copied your post to the Foliar Feeding thread on the Garden Experiments Forum and replied to it there so as not to hijack this thread and to include your comments in the documentation of the experiment. See you there.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Foliar Feeding Experiment

This post was edited by jimster on Tue, Jan 1, 13 at 21:00

I loved reading the Foliar Feeding Experiment. Thanks Jim. Isn't conducting experiments so interesting,.... unfortunately I've never had a eureka moment. Still, I wish that more of us GW members could get together on one forum with results from all of our "lab" results, scientific or not. Why recreate the wheel when we could expand on each other's results. (Great Garden Tips-if you like. i.e. "Don't forget to add surfectant to foliar feeding solutions.")
Thanks to Jim's experiment I now intend on trying my own version. My next big one is going to be in adjusting my water PH for watering my seedlings. My well water is a slightly high 7.2. I'm wondering if lowering it to 6.5 will help with seed germination and immediate availability of nutrients to my sprouts.

Well it might help if the pics weren't upside down. But since this is hydroponics you are using and it is a whole other world of growing with its own methods and problems, you might find more help over on the Hydroponics forum here.

The damage in the last photo appears to be some sort of nutrient issue assuming there is no sign of pests. If this was a regular plant in the garden I would just remove the affected foliage and continue to monitor the plant.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Hydroponics forum

The browning of leaves may also be a sign of bacterial disease. That happened to my first round of indoor tomatoes. I discovered that is common with greenhouse plants.

I would think you would want to put them back outside in the summer. They are one of the few plants that bloom and fruit best in the very hottest part of our summer. I don't want it that hot inside! :)

I will put them outside when it gets warmer but the main idea is to establish them as year round plants. In the winter I will have them under lights and near a window as is the current set up. They are mini-eggplants so they should do well in small containers.