Vegetable Gardening
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I once had my entire potato crop stolen from my yard during the middle of the afternoon. They also stole some tomatoes, but I was really heartbroken about the potatoes which involved hours of patrolling for potato bugs. Now I cover the potatoes with netting to keep the bugs off and I never leave harvested crops anywhere visible from the road.

I personally have not, but I have friends who live in the "not quite gentrified" parts of Atlanta where they have had rose bushes, Mums, Hostas, Veggies and even a porch swing stolen. Basically any flower planted at the mail box would be pulled and stolen within a few days.

As Dave said, "But all the wood chip mulch right up against the plant stems doesn't bode well for the future." Is that mulch or did you mix that into your clay soil to amend it? In either case it can rob your soil of nitrogen. And touching the base of the plant can cause disease.

My lettuce seeds all over the place - I currently have more than 40 Rouge d'hiver lettuces planted in beds that re-seeded themselves in my walkway. Sometimes I just get too busy to pull the plants and lettuce doesn't hurt anything. The way I look at it - free food!



Fish emulsion is one of, if not the most benign supplements out there and it is honestly almost impossible to overdose with it (unless perhaps you used it daily). Not only is it a low dosage of the primary nutrients but it is in a form that encourages a slow and only-as-needed absorption by the plants. Plus it has the advantage of multiple levels of dilution. As many of the past discussions here about it show, many gardeners use it diluted to 1/4 strength each time they water plants or 1/2 strength every 10-14 days.
Lots of discussions about using fish emulsion
On the tomato growing forums it is often recommended as a foliar spray as well as a root drench with no concerns. So unlike many of the mass market synthetics used to excess by so many, fish emulsion has few if any negative side effects (other than odor).
Dave

I've grown potatoes in grow bags. 14" wide seems a little small, but that pic seems fine. It will look crowded, but you will get a lot of small potatoes. That is okay, you will get potatoes. Maybe 3 small seed potatoes should have been the max. Steal some out of the dirt after they flower, eat them new. You could try pulling up one of the groups after they flower and eat the small new potatoes, with the idea of letting the others have space to get bigger. Not sure it will make any difference, but you could try that and see what happens.



So when do you start picking your peppers - in March?) I don't think so. I start my peppers in late Feb- early March, to start picking at the end of June. I pick them till first frost in October. Keeping in mind I only have 6000 sq foot yard, that also includes house, 2 sheds, 8 dwarf trees, few berry bushes and other veggies I can't plant more then 30 peppers. And I need about 10 5-gallon buckets to be picked by the end of the season for my canning/freezing needs. This is why I start them early, and plant them out in late May with almost every plant having several peppers on it. But that comes with the cost - when I start them, they have all the room and air they need. By the end of the "in house" period, it is jungles there. If weather is not cooperative to move them out to portable greenhouse I set on the deck(only unused space in my yard) like this year - we struggle. But anyway, it worse it, as they start producing much earlier and give me more for the season. Actually, even powdery mildew doesn't set them back much. So short season in zone 5 is comparing to warmer zones, where you can start your plant a month before transplanting without worrying about PM in crowded environment and still get good crop for the season.


I'm shocked to see some of the comments here on castor seeds being poisonous. Growing up in the Caribbean we picked the pods and laid it out to dry just to hear it pop and see the seeds fly out. Now that I'm older and trying to adopt a much healthier lifestyle I have been using oils such as castor oil, rosemary oil to name a few for my hair. It does wonders for my hair and scalp, no itching no dandruff and promotes great hair growth as it helps with circulation . Picked some pods just this morning. Rastafarians have been using it for centuries in their hair and to oil their bodies after a shower. I also know that fresh pure castor oil can be ingested to purge and it works immediately too. Someone mentioned on this forum it's cheap. Let me tell you good pure castor oil is not cheap you can easily pay a good US$50.00 or more for a liter. I know that pharmaceutical grade is available as well and seem to be a little more affordable but I don't use it.


I am in New Zealand and it has been quite wet recently (Autumn now).
I grew them a few months ago and yes they did struggle to heart up, but I just picked off the leaves as I needed them in the end.
Has anyone used a polythene tunnel to keep the rain off a bit?

And remember, August 8th is leave a zucchini on your neighbor's porch day! ;) I think I was probably drinking when I planted 2 each of zuk and crookneck! I'll probably end up with a little free squash table at the end of the driveway! Nancy





I use 4 metal fence posts, Put 2 on each end about 8 inches apart, Then use 5 foot high fencing and run it on both sides, Then plant peas on one side and beans on the other side and then put hay or straw between the fence so weeds don't grow.
Steel fence posts and galvanized fencing is working well for me. I wouldn't want to deal with it for a larger patch though. I had extra from my garden fence.