23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
I'd suggest you ask the folks over on the Hydroponic forum here. And a quick search there pulls up several discussions on nutrient sources.
How about just planting your spuds into slightly raised hills (or level) and then covering with a thick layer of straw? Plants come up through it, with cool moist soil and no weeds. Reuse straw or till it in later in the season, I don;t understand why you would want to use fabric.
I don't know about growing potatoes like that, I use garbage cans, but I think you'll love the way a garden works when you plant things through holes in weed fabric. I've been doing it that way for a long time and I don't waste time pulling weeds and my soil stays really nice and warm and moist.
I've been meaning to try those someday. If you Google them, you do come up with a lot of eBay offerings. It is known to grow wild (I think they're considered invasive in many southern locales), and I'm pretty sure they are OP and perennial, so it's really easy for people to come up with loads of seeds.
I will be setting out tomatoes this Saturday after this cold spell. If a frost is possible (anything under 40 degrees) I will cover it with a 5 gallon bucket until it warms up to 40 (usually by 9:00). I like Better Boy for a midsize tomato. If you want a truly meaty tomato go with one of the paste tomatoes like Roma. I do grow my own since it is hard to get plants this early but I did see some at Krogers. I started my plants January 15th. I live in Beaumont.
Thank you, Digdirt2. You've been so awesome at answering this newbies questions and I really appreciate it.
I haven't been able to check out local sources yet, (had an issue with my car battery and have been hesitant to leave the house this past week), but plan to hit up the local garden store tomorrow to see what they have and to ask what they might recommend.
I've read everything on the FAQ for growing from seed, growing under lights, and growing tomatoes, but will definitely refer back to them when needed.
Not a vegetable. Try Perennials forum. Far as I know Black Negligee is sterile - not seeds and only grown from cuttings.
just last night I pulled out my copy of Four Season Harvest because I had the same question about row covers. There's a table in the book that charts temp differences with row covers. I'm considering building a double-wall row cover for extra warmth and multiple purposes.
First, two layers of insulation are better than one--especially if separated by a little air space between layers. Second, if I use shade cloth for the first layer, I can pull off the outer, thicker layer during the day and still have shade/bug protection underneath.
I'll probably go with the hoop method and test using a high/low thermometer to measure inside/outside temperature differences to see how much actual warmth I get from it.....'cause I'm a bit of an incurable data junky.
I think that row cover can be useful in case of an overnight light frost. But because of its porosity, it is not a good insulator. So in case of cold it can moderate a bit. I don't think it has much "greenhouse effect" property. Unless it is very tightly woven. I could be wrong.
Seysonn
Red Garnet is not the usual supermarket sweet potato. Mostly they are Beauregards ans Covingtons. However to start your own plants dot not cut the potato. Place the whole potato root end down into a container of water. The water should not cover much more than the bottom quarter of the potato They can also be started in moist (not wet) potting mix.
Great, I would have cut it, if I hadn't asked. Thanks for the photo which helps. In the Whole Foods, they often have potatoes labeled as Garnet. They are gorgeous and tasty. I don't know what they have in the stores right now though. Will have to check next time. Thanks!
Hi rkslander,
Sandy, hydrophobic soil is a big issue here in Western Australia and it helps to understand what is happening or it will remain an issue - especially before adding organic matter. Check out Hydrosoil and MuddyThumbs (flick through the slides on the first screen). They are dedicated to solving the problem here in Aus and will explain how organic matter creates a waxy coating over the soil particle leading to water run-off and how best to combat it. Good Luck.
Where are you located? High levels of sodium in soil can make the soil seal up and not accept water. If this is the problem, applying gypsum should help. Decomposed organic matter or animal manure are also good additives. Watch out for salts with animal manure.
That's exactly right. I forgot that tobacco bears fruit! And the fruit doesn't contain much nicotine. One has to wonder if tomato, pepper, eggplant, and potato foliage has a lot more nicotine than their fruits do. Interestingly, in the depression, people dried and smoked tomato leaves because tobacco was too expensive and, I gather, there is some halfway useful amount of nicotine in those leaves. There is other bad stuff in tomato leaves, so it wasn't very smart, in retrospect.
Laceyvail you grow your onions in a flat? Like what people start seeds in? I'm a little confused, am I missing something here. do you transplant them then? If you could explain a little more I'd really appreciate it. Thanks
Yes, of course I transplant them. Usually in mid-late April. And while they're in the flat, I keep trimming them back with scissors to about 3 inches.