24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening


I have a potato fork that is likely very old. I finally broke the handle and welded a metal pipe handle on it...heavier, but extra strong now. I use that fork to more deeply mix in things, to dig potatoes, and to aerate to speed drying to plant sooner.
I have a well used and sharpened hoe. It is a bit heavier than another one I have, and I definitely prefer the heavier one.
I have a sand shovel [2 in fact] and they are hand me downs, but they are very useful for..ta da..moving sand which I have moved a lot.
I have a shovel and a front drive [my preference] rototiller. I can lean it and make ridges and dig deeper.

Thanks SoTX! We actually have a bunch of white quartz landscaping rock in a big pile on the other side of the shop, so that is what I'll use. It was an eyesore in the front flower beds, but will work well for greenhouse flooring. I hadn't thought about the heat sink aspect, but that would be good motivation for digging the floor out by a couple inches and adding more rock (plus, that pile will shrink more and get out of my way).
Sunnibel, great idea using the clear roofing for your chooks. My coop gets too much shade in the summer as it is, my girls probably would have appreciated a clear roof (plus they can stargaze at night). Good luck working on hubby for the GH. My dad and I just started building while my DH was at work. Ask for forgiveness instead of permission, that's my motto!

I'm wondering if you have any final pictures of the lean to greenhouse...and how you attached the frame to the cinderblocks! I'm looking to build a lean-to for my mom and your design is perfect! We just finished the screened in porch and have, I believe, enough supplies to build this - minus some screws, and the blocks.... I'd love to hear more about this now in 2015!

Most of what I have read regarding garlic is that the size is generally put on at the end of the growth cycle, like the last 1 month to 6 weeks. In zone 3, if you were to harvest in August/September, they were likely just in the beginning stages of dividing and sizing up. The digging likely happened in that most crucial of times (not a judgment, just a statement). That is my best guess as to why the garlic was small.

I don't know if this helps, but my first year with a veggie garden I decided to let one of the indeterminate tomatoes (variety long-forgotten) go where it would. It went up the 8-foot stake, and down the 8-foot stake, then crept along the garden fence until it met the rhododendron, which it proceeded to meander through. It was interesting, by late summer, to see tomatoes in a rhodie.
When desperate, I've "topped" vines and found they root very quickly.
On the more conservative side, is there a way to direct the vines laterally on a trellis or fencing of some sort?

I have a buddy who grows Marzano's and does it all totally and completely wrong. He gets phenomenal yields. He set some PT posts two feet deep and 7 feet above ground. Two feet above groud he put galvanized chain link fencing across. He plants the Marzano's on both sides, after they've grown enough to reach the fencing, he prunes all branches to that point. As the Marzano's grow, he ties them to the fence, directing the vines where he wants them. He's been doing this in the same place for over ten years. forget rotating crops, etc. It works for him.
Marzano's are my all time favorite for sauce, but they are a challenge. Wonder how they do it in Italy?


I'm not sure what potting soil it was. I'm a pretty haphazard gardener so I can tell you it was whatever I could find at the store. Probably something generic like the Miracle Grow Organic mix. I grow the celery in fairly small pots. Maybe 3 plants in a ten inch pot. Here's a picture of my front porch. The celery is in the white pot near the bottom right of the picture. I can take a close-up of it when I get home from work if that will help.


Unfortunately, we don't have a wide variety of potting soil in the market here in the Philippines. I guess I'd go with something nonspecific when buying one and use that. Your garden's huuuge!
So 3 plants in a ten inch pot? I see... I have two plants in my 10 inch pot. But that's good to know that it will thrive. I guess I'll have to move it to a shadier area as I can see that yours is in a shaded area and see what happens. Thank you! BTW, do you blanch your celery? I read somewhere online that blanching helps with the taste.


I am using a 5 gal styrofoam cooler purchased from walmart and a homemade string trellis. I am using a special blend of dirts and stuff that I cannot share the recipe for. I water when my water meter says its kinda dry. I only give it 2 quarts of water when I do and I check twice a day but so far it only requires water once every two days.
A cucumber is ripe when it has outgrown its bumps and is the size approximately shown on package of seeds. for me its hit or miss, the first one was slightly under ripe and the rest have been fantastic, 5 so far. It grows in full sun and you have to watch out for leaf mold! neem oil seems to control it best however I have some luck with copper stuff sprayed on leaves once a week before the mold appears.

cucumber is a sprawling vine that will grow like crazy!!! Similar to squashes in what it likes, give it nitrogen and water!








I'm surprised that they only grew about 5 feet or so. But that didn't seem to halt much progress. They're looking good. Average 2 ears per stalk which is healthy.
My girlfriend keeps wanting to hand pollinate but I keep telling her to let nature run its course! Plenty of corn for natural pollination I think.
Let us know how many ears are actually harvested. Corn usually has 2 starting ears, but unless there is very good vigor, the second may not develop.