23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

crikey ...

how deep is the field ...

and will anything you grow on top ... get their roots .... to the actual depth ...

mine is 2 to 3 feet down .. in sand ... and water doesnt leach upwards ...

so i simply dont see what difference it could make ...

as with wells ... someone in the county ought to have access to permit/installation information ... i think i tracked my well info thru the county health dept ... [i had started by calling well drillers .. there are only 3 in the county .... until one of them gave me the lead .. you might try the same with septic installers]

once you have some actual facts... THEN ... you might get some actual relevant advice ..

and... maybe the health dept peeps will have info ...

good luck

ken

I will start this by saying this is just conjecture on my part, I do not know enough to be sure. I wonder about heavy metals and it may be worth it to you have the soil tested by a place that specifically tests for heavy metals that could have concentrated in the site, depending on how long the septic was used. The potential risk could be somewhat lessened by using raised beds but as it is my family's health/well-being on the line, I would prefer to have more definitive data before proceeding.

That new code is with a fifty dollar minimum.

Thanks Grubby, I didn't click on the link before posting so I didn't know. I will check next time!

I went to that posting and still didn't find out anything worthwhile.

My name is Ron Cook, I am the one who developed Heavy Hitter Okra.
I have seeds, if you need to contact me about them, please send an email to: fourteenmilecreek@ yahoo.com

fourteen mile creek is where I've lived most of my life, so I made it my email address.

Also, there is quite a bit of information about Heavy Hitter okra with photos, and the story of how I developed it, on the green country seed savers website. I hope this is helpful information to anyone seeking seeds from this new strain.

Whether or not you opt for lined raised beds or not you still have to deal with the gophers. They will destroy roses, fruit trees and just about anything else you care about.

Learn how to trap them. I like and use the Victor black box trap. You need a body count. Guessing with poison or scare tactics isn't the best way to go.

Gophers relocate on the surface. Poultry fence around the garden is helpful to keep out the surface relocating gophers and essential for rabbits. If you see mounds approaching the garden you will have time to get the gopher before it finds its way under the fence.

Zeuspaul

From the perspective of the DH, I would build 2 separate 3X8 beds 10 inches deep. 10" boards are cheaper than 12" and should be deep enough. I would not line them, just assemble with 3" screws.

3' wide beds would make it easier to reach the middle if you have the baby in a sling. The additional dirt would not be that much more than one 4X8. If you need the lining you could always tear it down and rebuild it. The boards should be strong enough not to need post to keep them from bowing.

Trust me, you do not want to have goats and a new baby at the same time.

I use to live near Abilene that had both moles and gophers. They were a problem that you fought but did not wipe out the garden. I just planted flat after tilling up the ground. I would save up to buy a tiller rather than rent one.

Thx Kristi. I'm familar with the hearts of course, but wasn't sure how to prepare/eat... the leaves. I have one ready to pick so I will try the steam/butter recipe tonight. I have a total of seven plants. Not sure how many to expect per plant. Some are just starting to form but there is one plant that has three and another that has four out at this point - at different stages. Shouldn't be long though.

We in the Middle East prepare the artichoke differently. We use several methods for that but in most of them, we dip them when stewed in a mixture of mashed garlic, salt, lemon juice and olive oil. Then we peel off the leafs and eat the lower portion. The heart is then eaten seperately after removing the flower hairs.
We also chop the heart then clean the flower, and do the heart as salad after stewing or even green.
We also use the green heart and fill it With the French Gratin recipe.

I don't believe wall-walla will survive zone 5. Z7 is supposed to be the maximum coldness. Walla-walla WA is z8, right?

pnbrown- walla walla survived in a low tunnel in my back yard- the winter of 2102/2013 in zone 5. I am experimenting further this year-hoping to replant onion seedlings started late last summer in low tunnels.

Can you show us some pics.

Here is a link that might be useful: growing seedlings indoors

Sounds like it might be a soil problem. Your problem sounds like it's not just that your seedlings aren't growing, but that there is something actually hurting them. It's hard to overilluminate indoors, and if you under-illuminate, things will just grow more slowly. What are you using for a planting mix?

I'll echo floral_uk's question. What exactly are you trying to grow that you're having trouble with? You say you can get seeds to start, but not grow. Which seeds?

This is only your 2nd year. The yield will at least double over the next two years. Send me some :-)

First thing I would take into consideration is how much do you like asparagus? If you really like it than plant as much as you have room for, you won't regret it.

What temperatures are you trying to grow them at? It's true that greens are a cool season crop. I googled to find the precise temperature, and Clemson U. says that lettuce prefers to grow at temperatures from 55 to 65 degrees F. I would think that 60F would be a reasonable compromise between the plants' growing preferences and the desire for quick growth.

The lighting depends on the type of lighting used. I prefer fluorescent tube shoplights on everything--brassicas, greens, nightshade seedlings, etc. They're inexpensive, readily available, and have a good lumen to watt ratio. It's also pretty much impossible to burn your plants. I hang them on chains from S-hooks and adjust them every day or so to make sure they're practically touching the leaves. Someday they'll make LEDs in the right red for plant growth, and then I'll switch over to those.

Some varieties of plants absolutely need light to germinate. I read that the light-seeded lettuces do, and you would have to undertake a complete researching of every type of green that you intend to grow to make sure that that variety doesn't need light. So I for one wouldn't go with no lights at all. Besides, unless you are very disciplined about checking them, there exists a good possibility that you will miss noticing that a few have germinated, and they'll be spindly weak little things searching in vain for a light source by the time that you hit the switch. Maybe you could compromise by leaving on just one bank of lights? It would make it easier to spot germination anyhow.

I wouldn't place the lights too close while trying to germinate. You'll be trying to have a good balance between warm but not too warm, and moist, but not damp to get the fastest possible germination. Everything germinates faster at warmer temperatures, ( 70 or 77 degrees, say), however the germination RATE of the cool-loving crops can drop precipitously at these temperatures.

For example, according to one source, spinach has a 96% germination rate at 41F, but takes 22.5 days to germinate at those temps. Raise the temperature to 77 degrees and you'll get germination in 5.1 days, but only 28% germination.

Parsley is simply slow-growing, and it is biennial, so I certainly wouldn't try growing it as an annual and harvesting the whole plant. Instead, I would have a permanent patch of them going and just harvest off the patch, allowing the individual plants to regrow continually. You don't have your climate zone information showing, but depending on your climate I would try to keep the parsley going outside. I have a permanent patch that seeds itself every year, and am working on establishing a patch in my greenhouse under double protection for winter use. They're one of the toughest of the cold-tolerant plants.

It's funny reading this thread 4 years later and seeing people ask "what are micro greens?" Ha ha.

Lime is alkaline - high pH. Acid is low.

Hi everyone, I have a product that can be sprayed on a lawn and will kill all onion weed (and no harm to the grass) in one, maximum two applications (if infestation is very extensive).

I am in the process of commercialization - to be a specialized service where a contractor would come and spray for you or to sell for people to home spray.

As such I was going to ask the forum what they thought about pricing for this service/product and if there would be a demand for this.

Thank you for your help.

Regards, David

For mice/voles, I think the only viable, sustainable remedy is hanging barn owl boxes everywhere in the surrounding woods.

Sorry, I thought I had already replied to a couple of these.

Anyway, I grow for my own use only.

I don't really have a deer problem. They have only gone after my beans, and I solved that with bird netting.

I don't want to create a permanent fence for various reasons. To keep out the rabbits I use 30-inch chicken wire that I don't bury at all. Then I lay a 12-inch roll up next to it to keep them from digging under it. Every couple of weeks I pull up the 12-incher and weed eat both sides of the fence.

woohooman - i had mites on my snap peas not snow peas. does that seem crazy? and also sweet peas. ? if that seems extremely atypical i wonder if it's because they were stressed plants - perhaps due to short days.

and thanks for suggestions about amendments and transplants. do you think direct sowing kale, spinach, etc is a bad idea? or are you saying i should wait til january to let the soil rest or just that you have better luck with seedlings? i did direct sow last year and they were slow to get going but successful.

dave - i will look into reflectors then. thanks for the tip!

Jane: All I've ever grown is snow, so I wouldn't know about the others. But yes, a stressed plant is much more likely to get hit than a healthy one.

Also, regarding transplants... for spinach(because you want to plant tons of plants to get good harvests, direct seeding is smarter. BUT... I've done it and had slugs just wipe out row after row in one night. So, I prefer to start them in a bunch of pony packs and give them a fighting chance once I transplant. Either way, lay down some slug bait every couple weeks or so.

For the brassicas, it's so much easier to do transplants. First, most home gardeners aren't going to need a ton of plants. Second, they're ready in just a few weeks so if we happen to get a Santa Ana come by, I can hold off for a week or so. Third, controlling temps is so much easier than having to worry about them outside. Fourth, a 6 or 9 pack only cost a few bucks, even cheaper at walmart after they get rid of all the holiday stuff(much cheaper if self done at home). However, with KALE or collards, I have no idea how I'd use all that they would produce. 2-3 plants is sufficient for my small family. Fifth, now, when sunlight is low and weak, I can give my transplants a good 16 hours of light a day with a shoplight.

The only things I'd put in that soil right NOW is the compost and meals. In a month or so, they'll be acclimated. The bone meal will take quite awhile to break down, but better now than later.

Kevin