|
Defenestration posted:Thanks everyone. Disappointing, but I did find a four leaf clover in there so hooray. Most greens and green onions should be fine. Strawberries aren't going to produce this year but they would get established for next year. Basil should be fine too. You should be able to get a harvest of carrots and can plant other root crops for harvest in the winter. Here's a planting chart for MA: http://www.ufseeds.com/Massachusetts-Vegetable-Planting-Calendar.html FISHMANPET posted:Is there an easy way to tell how dead my dirt is? It was buried under landscape fabric for years so no more organic matter was going into it but also there were a couple dead trees under there slowly rotting away. Other than putting it under a microscope, you can dig into it and see if there are any bugs present. Good quality compost will inoculate the soil with microorganisms. Rhubarb and strawberries are both pretty hardy and should be fine.
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2016 18:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 02:51 |
|
|
I'm trying manure tea this year, and I have a question. All the online instructions I find for it include elaborate steps to strain out the poops and sludge before use, but none of them explain why this is necessary. Is there a problem with just letting the steeped horse poop pour onto my garden along with the liquid? I really don't want to have a fancy apparatus for soaking poop in water, you know?
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2016 20:38
|
|
|
Peristalsis posted:I'm trying manure tea this year, and I have a question. All the online instructions I find for it include elaborate steps to strain out the poops and sludge before use, but none of them explain why this is necessary. Is there a problem with just letting the steeped horse poop pour onto my garden along with the liquid? I really don't want to have a fancy apparatus for soaking poop in water, you know? Is manure tea the same as compost tea? Compost tea is basically bullshit, no pun intended. This article explains how little evidence there is for any of the claims. If you have manure, you should compost it and then top dress (spread in a thin layer) your garden. Less work, same benefits.
|
|
#
?
Jun 21, 2016 21:56
|
|
|
Guys I need someone to talk me off (or push me off) the ledge. I haven't posted here in quite awhile because things had been mostly ok, but i woke up yesterday and more than half my garden had been eaten. I have a couple options I've been considering: 1. Buy some shells for my 12 gauge Winchester (this is preferred in my head) 2. Replant too late for any real hope. 3. Contemplating plowing it all under this fall and broadcasting some sorghum or mint or bee balm. Any advice on #3? I know mint can get pretty invasive, but if I plant like an acre of it my neighbors won't have any choice but to love it right? 
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2016 03:56
|
|
|
vonnegutt posted:Is manure tea the same as compost tea? Compost tea is basically bullshit, no pun intended. This article explains how little evidence there is for any of the claims. Thanks for that link! My understanding
However, it seems like this paper is calling my manure tea "nonaerated compost tea", though I'm not clear if they used composted or fresh manure for it. It also sounds like they acknowledge some fertilizing benefit to the nonaerated tea, but then (mostly) talk about the aerated variety. They also seemed to focus on alleged disease-fighting properties of the tea(s), rather than nutritional content. The benefits I wanted from the tea over straight compost were, firstly, that I could use pretty fresh (horse) manure to make it, instead of using up the rest of my supply of composted manure from last year, and, secondly, that it was supposed to be a more concentrated and faster-acting fertilizer than top dressing with compost and waiting for the nutrients to leach into the ground and be taken up by the plants.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2016 04:57
|
|
|
theacox posted:
Well, if an acre of mint won't anger your neighbors, maybe attracting swarms of killer bees to your neighborhood will. You could also try buckwheat. I've had some luck using that as ground cover/green manure. It attracts bees as well, but I think it's an annual, so at least you'll have a chance to get ahead of it next spring, before it infests your yard, moves into your house, and takes you out back to slap you around for a while,
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2016 05:02
|
|
|
Peristalsis posted:The benefits I wanted from the tea over straight compost were, firstly, that I could use pretty fresh (horse) manure to make it, instead of using up the rest of my supply of composted manure from last year, and, secondly, that it was supposed to be a more concentrated and faster-acting fertilizer than top dressing with compost and waiting for the nutrients to leach into the ground and be taken up by the plants. I wouldn't ever put fresh manure on my garden in any form, unless it was from rabbits. Definitely not horses. Too hot and too much risk of pathogens. If you need a quick fertilizer try some diluted liquid fish.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2016 20:03
|
|
|
Peristalsis posted:Well, if an acre of mint won't anger your neighbors, maybe attracting swarms of killer bees to your neighborhood will. I'm using buckwheat and then oats/peas this fall on new ground I dug up this year but don't have too much to put there (too late for warm season stuff, and I wanted to improve the soil a bit before using that spot as a cold season bed next year - the oats/peas will winter-kill here in 4b). Just chop down/pull/mow buckwheat 7-10 days after flowering and it won't get away from you. Note that that's about 35 days. Lots of options for cover crops if you don't want to put too much more effort into it this year. Just remember to think about how you'll terminate it - mixes with winter grasses you either need to roundup or till early (and even then it's not 100%, at least what I've read), or wait until it's flowering, which for me was mid-late May. If you live somewhere where oats and peas will winter-kill, that'll probably be the easiest, and you'll be adding a ton of organic matter and N from the peas, and no need to worry about killing/ripping it up. Next year I think I'm going to start having one bed all season in various cover crops in my rotation to catch nutrients and improve soil (and organic matter), which my tomato bed will perpetually rotate into .. I love me some tomatoes. Got my mixes from http://www.highmowingseeds.com/, but there's lots of other mixes out there too. If you've got a farm seed/supply store nearby they may have some of the covers available for cheap (depending on how small an amount you can buy) dedian fucked around with this message at 03:18 on Jun 23, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2016 01:20
|
|
|
So I am looking into a wire/net mesh greenhouse to protect my small orchard from the ravenous birds, and I can't seem to find anything made by American companies. Lots of different British manufacturers seem to make "fruit cages", which are exactly what I want, but it seems odd that no one carries or makes that in the states. Do fruit cages have a different name or something in America?
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2016 03:16
|
|
|
We're growing some pea pods indoors and they have developed this weird, waxy, sugar-like growth. Does anyone know what it is? Some sort of fungus? Just peas being peas? One of the pots were outside for a while, I don't think that pot developed it until I took it indoors with the others due to a storm. We water regularly, but they're not kept exactly damp. The indoor humidity is quite dry. Our poor peas. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2016 09:39
|
|
|
Just a random phone post- I bought a weed torch this year after breaking my cultivator trying to get all the winter weeds out of the garden and it has been hilariously effective. I put the whole garden to the torch and out of about 300 square feet only two dandelions survived. I'm going to try and actually put in a cover crop this year in combination with having a flamethrower but we'll see.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2016 15:24
|
|
|
Looks like fungus to me.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2016 15:24
|
|
|
Oh crap the cucumbers exploded out of nowhere and I'll have at least 3 large ones to harvest when I get home Monday
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2016 19:04
|
|
|
So I bought a packet of Opalka tomatoes from Seed Savers this year, but now that I'm seeing the fruits develop, it's clear they aren't the right type of tomato. Looks like I'll be making a few gallons of tomato sauce with mystery tomatoes!
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2016 21:26
|
|
|
I've had a similar problem with Seed Savers. I got tomatillo seeds which ended up growing some tomatillo and some ground cherry.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2016 03:31
|
|
|
The blueberry bush which wasn't putting on any leaves bit the big one Fortunately the other three are still producing more than we could hope to eat. What other plants out there like acidic soil? Blackberries?
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2016 04:02
|
|
|
My daughter and I grew some sweet basil from a growing kit. Are these ready to harvest? Where would I cut it?
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2016 13:59
|
|
|
I'd let it get bigger. Basil is one of those "pinch a leaf or two and let it keep growing" plants.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2016 15:17
|
|
|
I would pinch off the top two leaves right now just to get branching started early on. That reminds me, I need to pinch my basil back.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2016 15:30
|
|
|
Shifty Pony posted:The blueberry bush which wasn't putting on any leaves bit the big one I dunno about liking acidic soil, per say, but my blackberries have gone absolutely bonkers growing in totally unamended Missouri clay. So I don't think they're picky. They send up canes all over the place, be forewarned. We have three main bushes (although they way they've caned out, it's more of a continuous hedge at this point) in full swing right now, and I'm picking about 3-4 pints every other day. Production will continue to be heavy for the next 2-3 weeks, then it will be more sparse after that. Our blackberries go to this question: cheese posted:So I am looking into a wire/net mesh greenhouse to protect my small orchard from the ravenous birds, and I can't seem to find anything made by American companies. Lots of different British manufacturers seem to make "fruit cages", which are exactly what I want, but it seems odd that no one carries or makes that in the states. Do fruit cages have a different name or something in America? I dunno how big your trees are, but we stapled bird netting (if you just want something to drape over them, "bird netting" is what you're looking for) to panels Mr. Cookie made from 1x2's and we build a box around the blackberry bed. It's roughly 6ft tall, by 4 ft wide, by...as long as the bed is. 20 ish feet. Roof and everything. He built a skeleton frame around the whole bed, and then fitted in the panels, secured with standard slide latches, like you'd put on a door. So, I just slide the two latches for the panel I want to remove it, and lean it off to the side while I'm in there picking. The whole thing was a cheap trip to Home Depot, and two afternoons worth of work. Looks very much like a wood framed version of the boxes I see when I GIS'd "fruit tree cage". In other news, the soil around my trellis is officially off limits to nightshades for at least the next season. The tomatoes out there wasted no time getting wilt, so that settles it. (They weren't resistant varieties, but still.) I'm going to grow various pole/long/wax beans along there next year, and give it a break. Ditto for my potato bed; three good seasons, but I pushed it too far and should have rotated them out this year. Too much early blight. So I've over seeded with wildflowers for the rest of this season and am going to do squash and melons out there next year. Fortunately, my main tomato bed is still healthy and going strong. Nothing more than the very lowest branch or two showing a little septoria (which is easy enough to control, and seems to eventually set in anyway.) I'm spraying, and it's very minor. I have a combination of my favorite heirloom varieties as well as some hybrids from Gurneys that are supposed to be VFF resistant. Figured I'd hedge my bets. But everybody is doing well. I've applied Mycostop (beneficial strains of streptomyces) twice now, as a drench, and maybe it's done the trick. I'll apply some more in another couple weeks. In the fall, all the beds are getting heavily amended with compost, and I think a shallow tilling. I also want to get some more gypsum really worked in. We haven't tilled since initially tearing them up, we've only layered compost on top, but I don't like the level of soil compaction right now. I think it's because we have such heavy clay naturally, it wants to keep reverting. This is also the year we're tilling up half the strawberry bed and refreshing it with new plants. Will do the other half next year. The bed still had very good production this year, but the red spot set in faster than it has before, and they're looking a little bit sad. So we don't have to sacrifice an entire harvest pinching blossoms, we're going to do half and half while the bed is still in pretty good shape. tl;dr Gardening! 
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2016 15:07
|
|
|
First time gardener posting my new loveliness.   It's a 3x6 square foot garden. The first version had drywall screws and single 2x4 legs. It didn't last long before collapsing. (6/11 Never Forget - The Fall). Redux used lag screws and doubling the legs. Growing an heirloom tomato, super sweet cherry tomato, 16 (4 groups of 4) basil plants, cilantro, two red bell pepper, one banana pepper, sugar snap peas, blue lake bush beans, onion chive, and carrots in the space. Not sure how much it mattered but used organic soil and a more natural pellet fertilizer -- haven't used any pesticides or fungicides. We have s newborn and really wanted to use the veggies to purée for him as he gets older. Few pics of the tomato plants and possible issues.  Appears to be early blight on the heirloom? Any non chemical solvers? Or should I rephrase for anything that could be more "organic"? Or best to just leave it alone and not spray or do anything vs use a product?  This is on the cherry tomato -- anything to worry about? I also have a group of tomatillos as I'm really excited to make salsa verde. Made it with store bought tomatillos and was delicious.  This is happening on one of the tomatillos...what is it with the leaf curling? 
Duxwig fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Jun 28, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2016 02:57
|
|
|
drat it, double post.
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2016 02:59
|
|
|
Duxwig posted:First time gardener posting my new loveliness. FYI, that is WAY too shallow for tomatoes.
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2016 05:42
|
|
|
Fozzy The Bear posted:FYI, that is WAY too shallow for tomatoes. What depth should they be at? It was a full plant when I transplanted. Wife's mom's boyfriend definitely isn't a master gardener but he had the same raised bed depth for past few years and said the plants have been fruitful?
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2016 12:45
|
|
|
Duxwig posted:What depth should they be at? It was a full plant when I transplanted. Wife's mom's boyfriend definitely isn't a master gardener but he had the same raised bed depth for past few years and said the plants have been fruitful? I guess they will produce some fruit. I meant that tomato roots like to go down 2+ feet, and that container just looks 6 inches deep. Its your first time gardening, I didn't mean to poo poo on your parade, have fun with it :-)
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2016 15:03
|
|
|
Fozzy The Bear posted:I guess they will produce some fruit. I meant that tomato roots like to go down 2+ feet, and that container just looks 6 inches deep. I've been doing fine with a 25cm planter, tomatoes can still do well with limited space. But obviously, more space is better, and while that's not an option for me, you can definitely spare some, Duxwig.
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2016 16:25
|
|
|
I know it's going to be extremely dependent on soil, temperatures etc. but for those of you with drip systems, what kind of emitter do you set up for your tomatoes? I did the initial setup on mine last night, and only did a 1GPH emitter for each plant, and they just seem so drat slow. I'm hoping to kick on the drip system for 30-40 minutes a few times a week, and I'm wondering if the 1GPH will be enough. I'm new to this whole drip system business, but I'm looking forward to not sitting out there watering my plants by hand or moving sprinklers.
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2016 22:13
|
|
|
Fozzy The Bear posted:I guess they will produce some fruit. I meant that tomato roots like to go down 2+ feet, and that container just looks 6 inches deep. I started "late" in the season for Wisconsin I think and purchased adolescent(?) plants[aka about that size when purchased]. Next year I want to grow from seeds and will plant 2' or need more? Also I read that you bury 2/3 of the plant and regrow it. Is this an any size tomato plant or just juvenile ones? The tomatillos I have are young and leggy so I buried atleast half of it but seemed silly to bury 2/3 of a well established plant? I asked so it's not making GBS threads on my parade -- I'm a complete newbie so I expect lots of gently caress ups and dead plants along the way, in some regard. The raised box is also 12" deep, however, the soil has since compacted so I will need to add another bag or two next year to top it off as its prob 9-10" currently via soil. Jan posted:I've been doing fine with a 25cm planter, tomatoes can still do well with limited space. Spare room you mean to plant nothing next to squares of the tomatoes or ...? I googled and seemed people went back and forth with space between plants or the tomatoes specifically and not relative to other plants. Someone was posting 5 gallon for the tomatillos but I opted for 10 gallon containers as I want fruit! Any idea what the curling leaves of the one tomatillo picture means? Re: water / drip: how often should I be watering all of it in Wisconsin weather (80s during summer). Ive been doing daily so far with a light shower hose. About 10 seconds for each square foot section.
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2016 22:32
|
|
|
Falco posted:I know it's going to be extremely dependent on soil, temperatures etc. but for those of you with drip systems, what kind of emitter do you set up for your tomatoes? I did the initial setup on mine last night, and only did a 1GPH emitter for each plant, and they just seem so drat slow. I'm hoping to kick on the drip system for 30-40 minutes a few times a week, and I'm wondering if the 1GPH will be enough. I'm new to this whole drip system business, but I'm looking forward to not sitting out there watering my plants by hand or moving sprinklers. One to two gallons per week should work as a start and if they start wilting any bump up the watering duration. If your soil lets water move pretty easily one emitter could work, but it looks like commercial growers use two or more (3' spacing between plants, hose with 12" emitter spacing) to help match the watering zone with the root size.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2016 15:13
|
|
|
Falco posted:I know it's going to be extremely dependent on soil, temperatures etc. but for those of you with drip systems, what kind of emitter do you set up for your tomatoes? I did the initial setup on mine last night, and only did a 1GPH emitter for each plant, and they just seem so drat slow. I'm hoping to kick on the drip system for 30-40 minutes a few times a week, and I'm wondering if the 1GPH will be enough. I'm new to this whole drip system business, but I'm looking forward to not sitting out there watering my plants by hand or moving sprinklers. How costly was your drip system, and how much area does it cover? Can you hit individual plants with it, or is it pretty much the same as putting soaker hoses on whole rows?
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2016 15:43
|
|
|
Shifty Pony posted:One to two gallons per week should work as a start and if they start wilting any bump up the watering duration. If your soil lets water move pretty easily one emitter could work, but it looks like commercial growers use two or more (3' spacing between plants, hose with 12" emitter spacing) to help match the watering zone with the root size. Thank you very much, that will give me a starting point and we'll see how they do. I can always adjust it depending on the weather and how the soil feels. Peristalsis posted:How costly was your drip system, and how much area does it cover? Can you hit individual plants with it, or is it pretty much the same as putting soaker hoses on whole rows? They are pretty drat inexpensive. I grabbed a starter kit from Home Depot and an additional 100ft of the larger 1/2 main supply line. Most of the hoses and little components are pretty cheap, but the back flow and pressure regulators are a little pricier. Still super affordable. I think I'm in ~$40 and can just hook up the hose and turn the water on and walk away for 30 minutes to an hour. A lot better than hand watering it all or moving the sprinkler every 15 minutes. Add a timer in and you've got an automated system.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2016 18:50
|
|
|
Some plants from my parents greenhouse from yesterday when I visited with the kids. This thread seems like a suitable place: Some other stuff for personal consumption, such as chiles:  Cherry tomatoes (also bell peppers out of frame)  Watermelons, should be ready by august:  Also got some grapes growing elsewhere, new plants so don't expect anything of them this year. Kids are watering the weeds:  Bonus cat, count the toes:  We also found some roses growing in the wild when going down the lake, my SO got all excited about them so we're probably gonna have to go back with spades and dig them up... Also lots of wild strawberries found on the way, focus you fack:  In the background you can also see raspberry, red & black currant and gooseberry bushes.
|
|
#
?
Jul 4, 2016 12:00
|
|
|
His Divine Shadow posted:Some plants from my parents greenhouse from yesterday when I visited with the kids. This thread seems like a suitable place: Super cool, but what is going on in this setup? It looks like they're planting things in bags of soil or something? Is it all hydroponic?
|
|
#
?
Jul 4, 2016 22:56
|
|
|
kedo posted:Super cool, but what is going on in this setup? It looks like they're planting things in bags of soil or something? Is it all hydroponic? Yeah it's a hydroponic setup, the bags consist of rockwool. Switched to that back in the late 80s from peat. The rockwool lasts many years too.
|
|
#
?
Jul 5, 2016 04:25
|
|
|
I have these gross fuckers in my parsley:  The parsley seems fine but the shrooms are weirdly revolting. They're about 1/4" in diameter. I plan on changing out all the dirt in this bed, but should I apply some kind of fungicide? We get a decent amount of rain but the other beds don't have these guys. Wondering what they are.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 00:18
|
|
|
Phil Moscowitz posted:I have these gross fuckers in my parsley: That very well might artillery fungus. I don't have much experience in IDing it but google images points to it being that or birdsnest fungus. Artillery fungus shoots stick black spores and they're very difficult to remove. I would err on the side of caution and remove them asap. The spores likely came in on mulch or shot in from neighboring property. This page suggests mixing in mushroom compost can help reduce them: http://blog.blaircountylawnservice.com/2014/03/26/what-is-growing-in-your-landscape-mulch/
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 01:00
|
|
|
Cpt.Wacky posted:That very well might artillery fungus. I don't have much experience in IDing it but google images points to it being that or birdsnest fungus. I think that's it for sure. Weirdly it's in a small bed that is off the ground about 5 feet and has never had any mulch, but it's very possible some soil from a different mulched bed wound up mixed in there, bringing spores or mycelium with it. I'm going to empty and clean it out, any advice how to sterilize it before I use it again? Thanks!
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 17:28
|
|
|
Phil Moscowitz posted:The parsley seems fine but the shrooms are weirdly revolting. They're about 1/4" in diameter. I plan on changing out all the dirt in this bed, but should I apply some kind of fungicide? Fungus and mushrooms are a sign of healthy soil.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 17:50
|
|
|
Fozzy The Bear posted:Fungus and mushrooms are a sign of healthy soil. I usually don't care but the bed is pretty infested and I'm not interested in having spores all over my fence.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 20:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 02:51 |
|
|
I just weeded the hell out of my garden, finally. The massive bastard is a cherry tomato, the only one that's producing so far. Next to it are two Momotaro's from seed, one of which is finally starting to make little tiny green tomatoes, the other is doing lovely.  Here's the yield from today:  The two plants in the foreground are volunteer tomatoes, I'm pretty sure they're cherry tomatoes.  There's also a couple pepper plants in there you can't see very well because they're much smaller I didn't take a picture but the cherry tomato I put in a big pot isn't doing very well, its leaves keep shriveling and drying up. I think too much sun? So I moved it to a place that's shaded pretty much from noon onward.
|
|
#
?
Jul 9, 2016 20:23
|
|
