23,822 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

You can try anything but there are a few things to bear in mind. Obviously there is the toxicity issue. It won't make your vegetables poisonous to grow Delphiniums near them but there is always the risk of some leaves getting into your basket when you harvest or a child thinking that if it's in the veggie garden it must be food.
Secondly, Delphiniums are tall and could shade your crops. Thirdly, Delphiniums are perennials so the cultivations and amendments that go on in a vegetable garden would disturb them, unless of course you put them in with perennial vegetables.

    Bookmark     October 22, 2014 at 2:00PM
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heavenlyfarm(zone 6b)

I was concerned mostly with the toxicity being in the soil as well! We are all grown-ups now and I most likely will be the only ones tending the gardens or harvesting them!

As far as sun, how our veggie beds face, they should get sun most of the day till around the afternoon sometime without shading out any crops! I read to keep eyes on how the sun changes from season to season and during times of the day in a book last year so I try to pay attention! lol and since they aren't big veggie raised beds, i was planning on fertilizing ( miracle gro but a friend also recommended garden tone) and perhaps working manure compost in the Spring of the following year. I am very new so forgive me if this sounds wrong or not enough! I plan on doing some reading up on veggies before I officially plan all the raised beds out.
~Michael
heavenlyfarm

    Bookmark     October 22, 2014 at 8:39PM
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Deeby

Ingenuity ! I'll bet it was a fun discovery too. I'd love to see your garden, Floral. I read your posts but so far haven't greeted you. So hello from southern California, USA !

    Bookmark     October 21, 2014 at 12:12AM
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jeanwedding(6 ky)

my "sweet 100 "tomato plants are hardy volunteers. they traveled here to this house via compost... when we moved.... so many of them. so sturdy and reliable. but of course they come up later than transplants I buy....
also this year some not dug from last year some potato.. not sure of the variety.
Oh my mustard greens came back from" went to seed" in my mini hoop houses, raised beds.
I wish I had ground cherries... a lady gave me a few dried .. They got lost in the move....
Oh also my lime basil came too. of course gobs of purple basil everywhere. they were mostly volunteers from previous owner( I guess, cant ask as she died a year or so before we bought this money pit all consuming property and house. LOL)
just chiming in. wish I had so of yall voiunteers, sounds great......Im jealous, LOL
Oh how do yall identify what is a volunteer from 'weeds" I mistked a weed for rubarhb, and another for okra

    Bookmark     October 21, 2014 at 10:27PM
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nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

Also what type of pests you have in your area. We have zillions of gophers, so we have to do raised beds (for example)
Rabbits, gophers, voles, etc etc etc Nancy

    Bookmark     October 18, 2014 at 8:42PM
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MrClint

Look into square foot gardening and/or EarthBoxes if you are just starting out. These are easy entry points into veggie gardening that are well documented and will get you hooked.

Here is one of my 4'x4' SFG beds that I planted out in early September. Bringing in excellent greens from it right now:

    Bookmark     October 21, 2014 at 11:29AM
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

just keep this in mind ...

rototilling sand into clay.. is just about making cement ... or adobe bricks ...

when it rains like heck.. where does the water go.. IN the soil ... or runs away???

dont foget.. for vining type plants like you note ... you can make a small bed of good soil ... and use the sand area for the vines .... if you get my drift

your cheapest alternative.. might be to get a yard or two of good soil delivered.. and move it back there... and make a raised bed of about 12 inches after it settles....which might mean putting 15 to 18 inches to allow settling ...

many of the things listed above.. can nickle and dime you into spending much more.. than you ever intend.. by the time you collect it all ...

but.. if you can find it for free.. and have a truck.. and add you own free labor.. many good suggestions above . ..

but all that said... just plant some seeds in spring... who knows ... maybe this is much to do about nothing.. since we can see.. smell.. feel your soil ... and you might be making a mountain out of a mole hill .. it gets tricky when we rely on the words of a neophyte ... when making presumptions ...

but it all starts with that perk test...

ken

ps: yes.. many of us.. can smell a good or bad soil .... go figure ... a soil that does not drain well... will have a rotting smell... swamp like ....

PPS: btw... while you are perking.. make a snowball of the soil ... it should hold together for a moment or two.. and then start decompressing.. and fall apart... i call that.. a friable soil ... crumbly .... and what follows.. is that water flows thru it .... and that will confirm the perk test ... why havent you done it yet ....???

Here is a link that might be useful: link

    Bookmark     October 20, 2014 at 1:49PM
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backyard_nc

Thanks ib is the perk test today is about an hour for the water to drain from about a 12 inch hole good? I think I'm gonna scrape some of the sand off and add organic matter then add more in the spring and till. Thanks for all the help. Also I heard that planting hot peppers along with other veggies will help deter rabbits. There aren't too many rabbits around here but I see them every now and then. I don't want to have to put o'l thumper on the dinner table if u get what I'm sayin. I have a dog too which helps keep them away, but that brings me to my next point. The past couple years we've had moles in our yard and our dog goes crazy trying to get them so he digs a lot. How can I deter him and the moles from the garden as well especially since I am planting some root veggies like carrots and onions. I'm more worried about the dog getting in there but getting the moles away would be good too

    Bookmark     October 20, 2014 at 7:05PM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

The variety is the main contributing factor - different varieties have different genetic markers for thinner or thicker walls. The growing conditions provided is the next biggest factor. Inconsistent soil moisture levels, in ground vs. in containers, nutrients provided, and ambient air temp extremes can all contribute to the wall thickness as the peppers mature. Those you buy at the store are usually grown in very different environments than yours given your location.

Many growers prefer the thinner walled peppers so it is a personal preference.

Dave

    Bookmark     October 20, 2014 at 3:23PM
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mdfarmer

If you pick the peppers too early they'll also be thin walled. I've had the thin walled problem too, so this year I put my peppers under plastic mulch and was careful to water them enough. The first peppers I harvested were bitter and thin, I finally figured out that I was picking them too young. Once they matured they had thick walls and were very sweet, better than anything I've ever bought at the store. I planted a rainbow mix from Peaceful Valley so I could compare. The orange peppers were the sweetest, but they were all pretty good.

Some growers here in zone 6 use shade cloth to protect peppers from full sun. I was prepared to cover mine but they didn't need it. In zone 9 though, you might want to consider it.

    Bookmark     October 20, 2014 at 5:11PM
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2ajsmama

I always find I have to pick/rub mine off when I pull the plants, though eventually they must fall off themselves bc I always have volunteers the next year.

Do you have much of a market for coriander seeds?

    Bookmark     October 18, 2014 at 3:54PM
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Slimy_Okra(2b)

About $10-15 worth per market - not much but it's another crop that sets me apart from others.

    Bookmark     October 19, 2014 at 12:10AM
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changingitup(8 PDX)

Thanks Rodney! Hose in hand :)

    Bookmark     October 18, 2014 at 8:14PM
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jean001a(Portland OR 7b)

To be more specific, cabbage aphids. They *love* all cole crops.

    Bookmark     October 18, 2014 at 11:41PM
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galinas(5B)

Had similar issue in spring with lettuce - ended up to be an army worm. Just one - but it killed a plant a day. I went through the top half inch of the soil with my fingers and found it dreaming near still alive plant. Killed it - and damage stopped.

    Bookmark     October 16, 2014 at 7:30PM
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Mark(Oregon, Zone 8)

Take your pick of critters that love to eat spinach roots. At my place it's usually voles, but cut worms come in a close second.

    Bookmark     October 18, 2014 at 9:53PM
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planatus(6)

I have seen English gardeners planting parsnips in cardboard tubes (toilet tissue or paper towel tubes) and transplanting those to the garden. Seems like it should work because the tube would protect the taproot from disturbance during transplanting.

I plant the germinating seeds in a prepared bed over which I am likely to place a cloth shade cover for a few days. Sometimes I also place strips of wet newspaper between the rows to prevent weeds for the first few weeks. Even with pre-germinating the seeds, it takes a few weeks for the stand to establish well.

Many say you can't transplant rutabagas, but that's not true, either.

    Bookmark     October 17, 2014 at 8:27AM
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beeman_gardener(5)

"planatus"
OK, sounds good. Next year I'll try your methods using my soil blocker. It worked for Beets this year so will try parsnips next.
Thanks for the information.

    Bookmark     October 18, 2014 at 9:05AM
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fusion_power

Give Yellow Moon & Stars a try. It is an excellent watermelon.

    Bookmark     October 17, 2014 at 2:34AM
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christacharlene(6)

Thanks for all the suggestions. I looked up everything you guys/gals posted. Next year I am going to go with everything I planted this year because I have leftover seeds and I am happy with the melons they produced. I am also planning on adding Ali Baba, Yellow Moon And Stars, and Charleston Gray to the list for next year. I wish I had room for more :). Yellow Moon And Stars looks so beautiful, I can't wait to try it.

This post was edited by Christacharlene on Fri, Oct 17, 14 at 23:45

    Bookmark     October 17, 2014 at 11:30PM
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ju1234((8 Dallas TX))

Thanks every one for all the info.

So, I planted some of the winter leafy stuff, first time doing winter garden. I am in Dallas. Early September, we had a week when night temps dipped down into 60s. After that i planted these things. Since then day temps have been up and down, highs between 80s - 90s, but the night temps have been in high 50s to low 60s.

Over the first 3 weeks of September I planted various kales/collards, spinach, cabbage, mustards, Chinese cabbage, broccolli etc. The only things that germinated were radishes, turnips, beets. Most others did not germinate at all. Thinking that i planted them too deep, I replanted most of them, not so deep this time. Since then, a few things have germinated very sparsely. In 3-4 weeks since germination, none of them have really grown much. Most don't even have the first set of true leaves.

Cause?: Is this temperature related? Or may be this is normal. Should I plant some more seeds when the temps go down or the ones that are already in the ground will germinate then. The first frost will be around Nov 15.

thanks.

    Bookmark     October 17, 2014 at 12:22PM
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Deeby

Thank you, Conchita. It'll be fun to grow little tiny heads for my rabs.

    Bookmark     October 17, 2014 at 12:53PM
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ltilton

Onion seedlings typically sprout folded in half and unfold themselves after a few days to look like thin grass blades.

    Bookmark     October 17, 2014 at 5:22AM
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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

Lets get this straight:

OP ordered seeds , not seedlings. So the first ID of any onion family seeds is BLACK color, rough shaped. It does not mater what color, variety of onion.

SECOND:

It is probably too late to start onions from seeds in zone 7. It should have been sown like 40 days ago, to germinate and grow a little and overwinter.

THIRD:
You have to order the right variety for your LATITUDE.
There 3 kinds of onions: (1) Short Day (Like for way down south) . (2) Intermediate Day: where longest days are 14-15 hours (that would be like central USA) (3) Long Day: where summer days are Very long, like in northern states and Canada. Onion growing is more tricky than one might think.

I would personally plant onion plants in the spring time (sold at BBS in bunches like scallions).
I would suggest that you post in "Alliums Forum" for more expert ideas.

    Bookmark     October 17, 2014 at 9:19AM
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jean001a(Portland OR 7b)

Older leaves look okay except for the powdery mildew.
Newer leaves are gnarly.
Any chemical weed killer used in the area?

    Bookmark     October 15, 2014 at 11:03PM
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Peter1142(Zone 6b)

I didn't even notice the older leaves... PM would not do that to the newer ones.

    Bookmark     October 16, 2014 at 12:47PM
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barrie2m_(6a, central PA)

You'll need to first neutralize the acidic peppers. Soaking in a baking soda solution should accomplish that. Then you'll need to reinocculate with a yeast or suitable bacterial culture. The outcome still might be questionable.

    Bookmark     October 15, 2014 at 7:24PM
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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

It can be done, IFF it has not been for a long time: If vinegar has penetrated into the peppers already it cannot be reversed.

== drain the liquid
== rinse with distilled water
== make brine with ditilled water ( 3 TBS sea salt in one quart of distilled water"
ADDITIONALY, add plain yogurt whey to get is started quicker. Yougur whey has "Lactic Acid", produced by the batcerium called "Lactobacillus ". So adding yogurt whey you are in fact introducing lacto fermentation culture.

JMO

    Bookmark     October 15, 2014 at 7:46PM
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pnbrown

Zackey, that's true, commercial citrus was all over central FL. We tested the new garden site at a lakeside place a few years ago and it was oddly high in copper (though not toxically high) until one remembers copper sulfate's use as a fungicide. It was very high as compared to normal for central fl sand (almost zero).

    Bookmark     October 15, 2014 at 4:04PM
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zzackey(8b GA)

Our property was a cow pasture before we moved here. My hubby doesn't want to soil test and I do. An on going battle.They mixed all kinds of soil in and took down trees. Built up our lot with soil removed to make the neighbors pond. God only know what we have.

    Bookmark     October 15, 2014 at 7:03PM
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