23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

I cut and plant immediately. But to protect them against rot, I dip the cut part in wood ash first. I planted today the whole potatoes which had sprouted well, but I am holding back the big ones that will have to be cut, and the small ones which have not sprouted, the soil is just too cold right now.

That's interesting to know!

thanks. I meant to buy some this year, but could not find them locally (and then just took my chances -- DOH!)

Seems like at least half of them are perking up and starting new growth. I'll trim the dead off later today.

daves10z7annv said "not sure why in your zone-same as mine-you start them indoors."

Could be to avoid seeds rotting in cold wet soils? That can be a problem here on the southwest coast of Canada, with early plantings. I don't picture that as a problem in Virginia though.

Having to buy plants will limit your choices to what is available locally. So we could list all sort of suggestions for you but few of them may be available. Most local plant suppliers can tell you which of their varieties are ok for containers.

But that raises another issue. What size of containers are you talking about? That alone will make a BIG difference in what plants you can grow. The usual "flower pots" don't work for tomatoes. 5 gallon containers is the smallest recommended but bigger is better.

In zone 7 you can grow any variety you wish so it will be the big containers and soil-less potting mix plus the watering and feeding you provide that will make all the difference. Check out the Growing Tomatoes forum here as well as the Container Gardening forum for many discussions about which varieties work best in containers.

then I;d suggest you go to your local supplier and make a list of what plants are available and let us know the names. We can then tell you which of them might work for you.

Dave

Okay, I'm using 18" tall x 18" diameter grow bags so I think I'm good there. I'll need to wait until the tomato plants are stocked at the nurseries and then I'll post the varieties available. Thanks for your help!

Baker creek heirloom seed company Suyo Long cuke

I'm sure you've already ordered your seed by now, but I thought for the sake of someone in the future pulling up this thread, I would add the cucumber that I had great results with last year. We had no pest or disease issues and had so many cucumbers we were sick of them. [g]

Ministro from Fedco

Ministro Cucumber

Thanks, Rina, I am still trying to find that white box. Anyway, I have found another post where someone recommended just pruning off the bolting part. That was my first instinct too, but I know nothing about horseradish, so I thought I would ask. Hope this is right! Cutting it off in the morning!

Cecile

Ah! Found it, Rina, thank you! Cecile

The basil does not seem worse. I might even say slightly better than a week ago. I did snip off all the funky looking leaves. But they don’t seem to be taking off yet. They’ve been in the ground for 2 weeks now. I’ve heard it can take several weeks for basil to take off. Is that true?

As for the watering, I noticed during the day they were wilting. I know plants can wilt a bit during the daytime when it’s warmer, but my gut was telling me to water them anyway, because they were looking pretty sorry, so I did. And they perked up again. But what has me confused is that even after the sun had gone down they remained wilted, but the moister meter I’m using was indicating good moisture level, so I was reluctant to water. But after a few days of noticing this I decided I was watering, regardless of what the moisture thingy was telling me, and the plants perked up as I mentioned...

What the heck?

Basil can wilt slightly in sun, then perk later. Have you tested your moisture meter to make sure it's reading correctly? My digital has been pretty good for me so far, but my manual multi one started being rather inconsistent.

And yes, basil can stunt a bit and grow in fits and spurts. It doesn't surprise me that you haven't seen major improvement. But, as long as it's not getting actively worse, I would say you're on the right track to learning it's habits and it is not diseased.

The containers are about a square foot. I will eventually removed some of the plants to stretch the experiment but it will be too crowded to grow to maturity. The two 1:1:1 mixes started of quite equally but the one with the sphagnum moss peat started to outgrow the other one. The coco peat was not buffered so maybe there are issues with Ca uptake.

Sounds like the Square Foot Garden mix - Mel's mix.

They sure are healthy. What do you fertilize with?

Lovely plants but only time will tell ;)

How about some true scientific exploration, though. Document the habit, especially the flowering and suckering of the plant. Maybe you'll discover more dissimilarities that could help tell the two apart?

Right Steve - now I know you are in Yorkshire everything looks different. I sowed my first row of peas last week under cloches and I am probably at least 200 miles South of you. I think maybe you have been sowing too early. You need to adjust recommended sowing times since you are further North. I moved down from York and found Spring a good 2 - 3 weeks earlier where I am now. And if you are up on the Moors or somewhere it may be even cooler. I do not expect this first lot to do brilliantly but I get itchy fingers on sunny days in March. My best peas will come from an early April sowing. Try Douce de Provence - those were my best last year. BTW I would not soak peas in your climate. The danger of the weather turning cold and your pre germinated seed sitting for days in cold wet soil is too great. I would also never water them except at sowing time unless we have at least 2 weeks without rain (ha ha). We have long slow cool Springs compared with most posters on this Forum. Even those who are currently still under snow will get much higher temperatures than we ever have pretty soon.

Thanks Floral - We are down in Leeds and have a well-sheltered spot - but I think you are right. I know ouur "last expected frost" date for the area is mid-may (though just here I think maybe May 1st is safe) - while a friend in Bristol says his is late March!

This last batch were in seed compost in short lengths of gutter in the cold frame - sowed late February - but they showed no sign of life until I brought them into the greenhouse and put them on a heated propagator for a few days. By then, I reckon the damage was done. I'm going to wait for this current spell of bad weather to blow over before I try again - maybe next week - and under cloches.

Concur with one exception. Calcium has no effect on pH. The base in alkaline soil is the OH radical. Limestone( Calcium carbonate) does neutralize acid because the Carbonate radical reacts with acid. Same type of reaction as Tums in your tummy.Some places will sell calcium hydroxide which is a base and acts fast. Gypsum is Calcium sulphate a neutral salt. I certainly do not recommend it, but the commonly sold Rot Stop is Calcium Chloride also neutral, but I do not want to add chloride ions to my soil.

You might consider the following:

* Beneficial microbes (via manure, compost or whatever); these can sometimes help nutrients to be available

* Organic certified potassium sulfate (this should help your plants to be less finicky about water, and may help prevent BER; it may reduce your PH a little, too); additionally, there are many perks to potassium, if your plants aren't getting enough; potassium sulfate is better to use than potassium chloride, since potassium chloride kills beneficial microbes in the soil.

* Loosening or aerating your soil (you could till the ground, attract worms, add perlite, peat moss, cover crops, organic matter or maybe even sand); compact soil can cause issues with potassium and maybe calcium

* Add plain sulfur to make the soil more acidic. This potentially might make your calcium and potassium more available. However, it may take a long time to work. I hear it's easier to raise PH quickly than to lower it quickly. I don't know a lot about adding sulfur. There may be some drawbacks.

Sorry to bump up a thread this old, but I really want to know the answer to "aclum"s question 4 posts above. I have googled this topic, but still I am confused. Thanks for your help.

If all the plants are short, then row orientation is irrelevant. Taller plants cast a shadow, and the footprint of that shadow - and its movement throughout the day - needs to be taken into account.

I use both N-S and E-W orientation in my gardens. Whenever possible, I place the tallest plants in the North side of a bed, in E-W orientation. This results in a zone of permanent shadow, so E-W orientation in the middle of a bed will result in loss of usable space. Because of that, I often place paths in that location, or a block of corn. (And BTW, those shaded paths are most welcome in the dog days of summer.)

If I use tall trellises in a N-S orientation, then I try to grow plants of medium height adjacent to them, so that shading will be less of an issue. These might be shorter trellises of cucumbers, or caged tomatoes. In areas with hot summers (such as when I gardened in SoCal) some plants can benefit from being planted on the East side of tall crops, so they will be protected from the afternoon heat. Tomatoes really seemed to like that arrangement, it caused a major reduction of sunscald.

If you are planting a lot of tall crops, then the amount of shade increases, and wider row spacing is required to compensate for it. I often plant adjacent 6-foot trellises for various beans & gourds. With E-W orientation, the plants get full sun all day, but only on one side; and rows need to be spaced 3 1/2-4' apart. With N-S orientation, plants get equal sunlight on both sides... but the rows will shade each other both early & late in the day. If spaced too closely in either orientation, then the plants will be top heavy late in the season, with little growth - or yield - in the shaded zone.

Shebear brought up a good reason to use tall crops, which is as wind breaks. I plant tall trellises on both the North side (running E-W) and the West side (running N-S) of my gardens, to protect from cool NW winds. Here in the North, heat-loving crops (such as okra, eggplant, and watermelon) do better in those protected micro-climates. Furthermore, those outside barriers usually sacrifice themselves to protect the interior from the first frost.

I also use tall trellises as baffles, to block or re-direct pollinators for seed saving. In various locations, both N-S and E-W rows serve that purpose.

So really, the question of row orientation is dependent upon your gardening philosophy. If you have limited space, then using only short crops - or a row of tall crops on the N side - is the best utilization of space. Rows can be closer together, so you can grow a greater variety... and orientation won't matter.

But if you have more space, enjoy picking without bending over, or prefer to grow varieties that climb (as I do), then just consider that planting tall crops is planting shade, and plan for the shadows accordingly.