|
drat Your Eyes! posted:Aphids infested my lettuce lettuces are pretty easygoing, it's just hard freezes and roasting hot summers that kill them off. there's a reason those bagged salad mixes are often called "spring mix" !
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2012 18:45
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 06:36 |
|
|
Growing lettuce in the Summer Growing lettuce without bolting Use loose leaf vs head types and bolt-resistant varieties. Plant in the shade of taller stuff, use shade cloth, or plant in containers that can be placed in shade. Water daily, especially when hot and dry. Harvest when young and harvest continually. Who's got their garden planned for this year already? I've narrowed down the list of plants but I'm still working on specific varieties.
|
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2012 19:54
|
|
|
Thanks for the tips!
|
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2012 20:40
|
|
|
I had a lot of success growing Amish Deer Tongue here in NC this year. By far the hardiest loose leaf lettuce I've tried and tasted great well into the heat of a North Carolina summer.
|
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2012 00:00
|
|
|
They have a fantastic Seniors' Friendship garden where my parents live. Anyone over 55 can sign up to get one of about 120 plots that are 20" by 30" out near the extension service. My dad has been using one for the last two years and it's been great. He's learning a lot about gardening and is also taking better care of his yard as a side effect. He actually keeps and mulches the leaves from his yard now and has stopped using stuff like weed-n-feed on his yard. We've been enjoying brussel sprouts, kale, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, carrots, radishes, cauliflower and all sorts of leafy greens this winter. It's so easy to eat healthy when your veggies taste so good.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2012 03:34
|
|
|
zeroprime posted:20" by 30" either it's the size of a poster or did you mean 20' by 30'?
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2012 05:41
|
|
It's burgin' time! 
|
Ha, yes, wrong punctuation. It's 600 square feet. There's a lot of space where the garden is located (and a brewery just around the corner with weekend sampling).
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2012 14:55
|
|
|
I have a bunch of strawberry plants that didn't get enough sun through the winter, so they all grew leaves like crazy but no fruit. Should I replant them in spring or should I start over with younger plants?
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2012 20:18
|
|
|
drat Your Eyes! posted:I have a bunch of strawberry plants that didn't get enough sun through the winter, so they all grew leaves like crazy but no fruit. Should I replant them in spring or should I start over with younger plants? You aren't supposed to expect fruit the first year with strawberries, i fact if I remember correctly, you're supposed to pinch off any blooms you see the first year, to encourage it to establish itself. You should be fine this upcoming year. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2012 18:32
|
|
|
Does anybody grow cantaloupe/musk melon around here? I don't because I don't have the space for it, and yet I have a whole bunch of seeds that I'm sitting on.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2012 00:35
|
|
|
I love love love to garden and have grown my own veggies the past two years. Last year I successfully grew green and red peppers, chilli peppers, carrots, green onions, snap peas, spinach, romaine lettuce and cherry tomatoes. Ill definitely upload some images when i get home. My cucumbers and herbs, which I grow in our green house, were not so successful. I think the soil in the greenhouse is to dry, because the past few years I haven't been able to grow anything in it, but I water it on a daily basis during the summer and even composted but no luck. This year should I try growing the herbs outside? A couple years ago I had amazing success growing herbs in there but not anymore. What should be grown in the green house and out of the green house? Two years ago I grew pumpkins also but they grew so totally out of control, but I got about 10 lovely little sugar pumpkins out of it. Edit: Here's some of my mini fall harvest:)   The chili's had to be picked because we got a killing frost pretty early on. They turned red within a few days but I pickled a few while they were green. The red ones dried in the sun and are now a great addition to cooking, but super potent! I didn't take any pictures of the HUGE basket of carrots which I actually picked about a week after these. The frost made them so so sweet. By the end of the season I hated the idea of growing spinach and lettuce again, it's just like weeding constantly to me. Snipping every other day and not even having enough people to give the huge amounts of both we had! What I do love is gardening with my nephews, one is 5, the other is 4. I usually have the younger one Wednesday nights in the summer (the older one is with his dad) and every morning we get up and go out to the garden. He helps me water the plants and I always tell him that talking to the plants makes them happy and helps them grow so we say "grow big and strong, plants!" Then when it's time I love to pick whatever's grown with them so they can try things right out of the garden like snap peas and carrots. 54 40 or fuck fucked around with this message at 06:32 on Jan 18, 2012 |
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2012 00:51
|
|
|
Oh lawd, look at them tomatoes. I want to make pasta with them so bad... I'm impressed!
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2012 06:55
|
|
|
EagerSleeper posted:Oh lawd, look at them tomatoes. I want to make pasta with them so bad... That's exactly what I did it was very good.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2012 15:05
|
|
|
Where are you in the country Toriori?
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2012 15:46
|
|
|
McNutty posted:Where are you in the country Toriori?
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2012 17:52
|
|
|
Yeah that's rough. Here in Louisiana we only have to have tomatoes in the greenhouse until they germinate and gain some heft. Pretty much everything else we can direct seed, although to avoid worms we have been letting kale and chard bulk up in four inch pots.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2012 18:10
|
|
|
McNutty posted:Yeah that's rough. Here in Louisiana we only have to have tomatoes in the greenhouse until they germinate and gain some heft. Pretty much everything else we can direct seed, although to avoid worms we have been letting kale and chard bulk up in four inch pots. I think I'll start my stuff in pots early this year so I can get more out of them ultimately in the season. I usually start inside in small peat pods, then the green house to acclimatize them, then outside. There's about a foot and a half of snow and it's not going anywhere til mid April I reckon.
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2012 03:59
|
|
|
Attention all US gardeners!!! USDA has released a new zone chart to account for changes in climate along with a better methodology. http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/ Quite a few of you might have changed zones slightly, so it might be worth a look. You can read about the changes here: http://news.consumerreports.org/home/2012/01/usda-updates-plant-hardiness-zone-map.html
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2012 16:40
|
|
|
They put a CAPTCHA on the zip code search? Various books had been putting me in 6 or 7, but now this new chart says 8b which actually seems about right based on what I remember over the last few winters. I'm getting a community garden plot this year along with my plot at home, and now I'm having trouble figuring out where to grow what and how to lay out the community garden plot since it's 100 sq ft but nearly square.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2012 17:45
|
|
|
I've been growing thyme in 2 mason jars and a clay pot... could the reason the ones in the jars are dying be because they're drowning in the water that won't absorb? I'm so sad, I basically just have a jar of dirt on my windowsill... they were growing fine up until they just died off one day 
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2012 19:37
|
|
|
Thyme likes well drained to slightly dry soil between waterings. You should be able to see the conditions inside the jar since it's glass, right? Planting in anything without drainage holes is usually a bad idea.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2012 19:54
|
|
|
Cpt.Wacky posted:Planting in anything without drainage holes is usually a bad idea. Pinterest lied to me.  Thanks though, I'll try to drain it and start over. Good thing I have tons of seeds.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2012 21:48
|
|
|
I'm a solid 7b now. That's interesting. I've been successful growing some zone 8 stuff though like bay laurel.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2012 21:50
|
|
|
Keep in mind that the zones are really just averages for a wide area- your own garden will have "micro-zones" that can be different from the geographical average. Like for example the area in front of south-facing wall may be a full 5-10 degrees warmer than the rest of your yard.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2012 21:58
|
|
|
So does this mean the US government is endorsing climate change as a reality? That can't be right, 5% of mad scientists disagree with the scientific method.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2012 02:38
|
|
|
Toxx posted:So does this mean the US government is endorsing climate change as a reality? That can't be right, 5% of mad scientists disagree with the scientific method. Money talks and bullshit walks. The crops for all of the growing lobbies depend on this data. That being said, this change is necessary and LONG overdue. Also, I found this and I'm not sure if I like it or not: Craftsman's take on a hori-hori.  Like all Craftsman garden hand tools, it's guaranteed forever. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 04:01 on Feb 1, 2012 |
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2012 03:49
|
|
|
Got an early start this year with a 30"x8" planter box on my desk for salad greens. I'm missing the arugula that I accidentally naturalized to my parents' yard a few years ago. Trying out containers on both decks and square foot gardening this year since I'm a renter. Two 4'x4' beds should be plenty to keep me busy this year. I'm going to give the method a try and see how it works out for me, because why the hell not? Added 40lbs. of manure/humus to a 32 gallon compost tub tonight, so hopefully the ashes, newspaper, and straw I'll be adding on Saturday will get the whole pile cooking off. My pitiful little bucket of kitchen scraps had gone anaerobic despite all of the turning I could muster, and goddam did it stink.  Lesson learned.I'll be adding worms to the bin after the anaerobic pockets have dissipated, so hopefully my only remaining challenge will be finding a cheaper source of perlite and peat moss (preferably coconut fiber) than loving Lowes.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2012 03:57
|
|
|
TheFuglyStik posted:I'll be adding worms to the bin after the anaerobic pockets have dissipated, so hopefully my only remaining challenge will be finding a cheaper source of perlite and peat moss (preferably coconut fiber) than loving Lowes.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2012 15:24
|
|
|
Socratic Moron posted:Why do you prefer coconut fiber? Loads of environmental issues with peat moss harvesting, but they are debatable. I'm wanting to try something besides peat moss just to see if there is any real difference in the end result.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2012 01:11
|
|
|
Looks like I'm gonna be in my no-dirt condo for the forseeable future. I thought we'd be able to move in time that I could get somewhere with a yard and I could make some raised beds, but it's another year of container gardening for me. I'm really sick of being confined to countless pots on a wooden deck and I'd planned an entire layout that involved using raised beds, so in desperation I've come up with a somewhat crazy idea. I was thinking of getting some of those plastic under-bed storage containers-- the wide, relatively short ones-- punching some holes in the bottom for drainage and using the lid as a drip tray. I think it could be a really easy, super cheap alternative to the more expensive and smaller planters. The only thing I'm worried about is leaching from the plastic. The fuss over BPA in the last few years has probably reduced this risk, but these types of containers aren't exactly food grade as far as I know. Thoughts?
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2012 02:40
|
|
|
drat Your Eyes! posted:I was thinking of getting some of those plastic under-bed storage containers-- the wide, relatively short ones-- punching some holes in the bottom for drainage and using the lid as a drip tray. I think it could be a really easy, super cheap alternative to the more expensive and smaller planters. The only thing I'm worried about is leaching from the plastic. The fuss over BPA in the last few years has probably reduced this risk, but these types of containers aren't exactly food grade as far as I know. Thoughts? I don't think that the bad chemical stuff would leech so far into the soil as to really effect the things growing in it, at least not for one season. You could always line it with something though...lightweight cardboard or gardening plastic maybe.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2012 02:45
|
|
|
drat Your Eyes! posted:I was thinking of getting some of those plastic under-bed storage containers-- the wide, relatively short ones-- punching some holes in the bottom for drainage and using the lid as a drip tray. I think it could be a really easy, super cheap alternative to the more expensive and smaller planters. The only thing I'm worried about is leaching from the plastic. The fuss over BPA in the last few years has probably reduced this risk, but these types of containers aren't exactly food grade as far as I know. Thoughts?
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2012 07:39
|
|
|
If you can find sterilite brand ones they should be food-safe. The sliding drawer type containers made by them are, so as long as the plastic numbers match up you should be fine.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2012 23:15
|
|
|
I did a little research on food-safe plastic for home brewing related stuff and it was hard to find anything that clearly stated there was a problem using HDPE (#2) plastics for food storage. My suggestion: find a local community garden or start your own, even if it's just a few of your neighbors in some open space nearby.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2012 01:02
|
|
|
If you're really cramped for space, you could try those shoe organizers that you hang on the door. I've seen quite a few of those used for herbs and such. I've seen gutters and shipping palettes used as well.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2012 01:23
|
|
|
Thanks everyone! It's not so much the space as it is that due to where the sun hits I need to keep my plants on the brand new wooden deck the condo owner had installed but didn't bother weather sealing, so it will rot in a season if I let containers drain freely with no drip tray and I'm tired of having a million tiny pots. I am also hoping to keep things fairly transportable as there's a decent chance we'll end up moving before fall. If plastic is safe, that may be my best affordable option. I do really like the shoe holder idea though, and I have one I'm not using right now, I'm totally doing that too.
Damn Your Eyes! fucked around with this message at 05:20 on Feb 3, 2012 |
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2012 05:16
|
|
|
Okay I ordered a bunch of plants of things that I know I'll eat/ use a lot, and I have basically unlimited space to work with but don't want to go too overboard, so I'm trying to stay at about 100sqft. However even with just 100sqft and not too many veggies and herbs, I'm still struggling to figure out how many of each plant I should grow and how many I could grow with a packet of them and how to plan it all out. Are there any programs you guys use to plot out square feet and plantings? I think it would be easier if I could shuffle things around in a program rather than scribble out graphs on paper over and over! *edit: this is now where I think I'm going to be doing the gardening. Apparently there are deer and groundhog issues and as this is 75% surrounded by a barn and stone wall, and has a stone driveway on the other end, it should be much less prone to critters than being on one end of an open field next to a bamboo grove.  I think it's somewhere around 100sqft all together, and there are already trellises built. I need to build higher walls though- I might build a bunch of 3'x3' boxes inside those grids and fill with good soil and stuff. What would you guys do? Plus_Infinity fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Feb 3, 2012 |
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2012 19:03
|
|
|
How many you should grow is based on how much of them you want to eat. For example, 2 zucchini plants is plenty for one person to eat zucchini all through the season. If you haven't grown them before then it can be tough to tell how much you're going to get. Good seed catalogs should talk about yield for most plants. The other thing to consider is when to plant. It's better to do succession planting on things like lettuce and carrot where you plant a few, then wait a few weeks and plant more. That way you always have some ready for harvest rather than having all of them ready at the same time. The smallest seed packets have way more seeds than you'll need for 100 sq ft. The extras should be good for up to a few years if you keep them in air-tight containers in a cool and dark place. How to plan it out in the garden is a little trickier. You can do traditional row planting and the packets should have info about the spacing. The other option is intensive planting where you put the individual plants on a hexagonal grid. It's a bit more work but the idea is a higher yield for the same area and the plants being closer together will shade the ground, keeping the weeds from growing. The John Jeavons book "How to Grow More Vegetables" has a big grid of spacing for different plants using intensive planting. The other thing to consider in layout is companion planting. One way is that you actually interplant two (or three) different types of plants and it gets complicated fast. The other way is to just plants that work well together next to each other, and avoid plants that don't get along together. Lettuce likes to be next to carrots and radishes. Broccoli doesn't like to be near tomatoes or pole beans. This is what I usually do. The Jeavons book has a table of these too. Be sure to put little pockets of herbs and flowers around the edges to attract pollinators. I mostly do my planning in Excel spreadsheets using 1 cell per sq ft, but a lot of people use Growveg.com and it's free to try, you don't even have to register. Keep good records! You'll never remember where, when and under what conditions you planted stuff a year from now. Plus_Infinity posted:this is now where I think I'm going to be doing the gardening. Apparently there are deer and groundhog issues and as this is 75% surrounded by a barn and stone wall, and has a stone driveway on the other end, it should be much less prone to critters than being on one end of an open field next to a bamboo grove. Deer fences are usually recommended to be 8 feet high. I don't know much about dealing with groundhogs (aside from Caddyshack) but if you can afford the materials and soil then raised beds are a great idea. Just make sure the bottoms are sturdy to keep them out but still have good drainage. Cpt.Wacky fucked around with this message at 19:59 on Feb 3, 2012 |
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2012 19:55
|
|
|
Thanks for the help! I have a bunch of gardening books and have been planning on doing square foot gardening and companion planting, but that's where I started to go crazy with 2308320 grids and what should go next to what and I kept erasing and re-drawing stuff! I know the deer never go near the house and haven't ever seen groundhogs near here either, so I don't even know if I need fencing if I plant there. The other area I could plant is one end of a huge 5 acre field that gets foxes, deer, groundhogs, etc. tromping through it all the time. I'm thinking that the money to build some boxes and buy some extra dirt and plant near the barn is going to be less than building a giant fence all around the area of the field I want to plant it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2012 22:25
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 06:36 |
|
|
Plus_Infinity posted:Thanks for the help! I have a bunch of gardening books and have been planning on doing square foot gardening and companion planting, but that's where I started to go crazy with 2308320 grids and what should go next to what and I kept erasing and re-drawing stuff! It seems like a clever computer science person could program up a garden layout solver to help with this. It's really easy to get caught up in trying to make it perfect. Another thing I forgot to mention for layout is to think about the vertical height of mature plants. You don't want to plant tall stuff like corn where it would shade your tomatoes. quote:I know the deer never go near the house and haven't ever seen groundhogs near here either, so I don't even know if I need fencing if I plant there. The other area I could plant is one end of a huge 5 acre field that gets foxes, deer, groundhogs, etc. tromping through it all the time. I'm thinking that the money to build some boxes and buy some extra dirt and plant near the barn is going to be less than building a giant fence all around the area of the field I want to plant it. If they aren't seen there often then I would worry about it too much. The 8 foot fences are for keeping deer out of a place that they've already learned is full of tasty snacks. A simpler and shorter barrier should be enough to keep them out otherwise. I used some of that 3 foot tall plastic coated wire fencing and they didn't bother my garden last year.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2012 22:44
|
|