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Ebola Dog posted:My question got missed so I'm trying again, any input would be appreciated! Not hot enough? I am not a pepper expert, so I'm not entirely sure. However I do know that many kinds of peppers don't need to be pollinated in order to produce fruit.
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May 4, 2017 15:51
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For tomato plants, how important is supplemental nutrition? I see a lot of "tomato food" booster on the store shelves and wonder if I'll need any. I'm growing mine in ~3 gallon pots full of potting soil and so far they're growing strong and fast, but no tomatoes yet
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May 4, 2017 19:01
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ROFLburger posted:I'm growing tomatoes and a bunch of herbs on my apartment balcony. Are birds eating my veggies pretty much guaranteed to be a problem? Should I start setting up a chickenwire enclosure now? I've had more trouble with rear end in a top hat squirrels (maybe raccoons?) taking huge bites out of my tomatoes then leaving the rest on the plant. Bastards. Birds just bother my blackberries. Your herbs should be fine at least.
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May 4, 2017 20:52
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Jan posted:I left wet earth in them, which underwent multiple cycles of freezing, thawing, accumulating snow and melting. I know the wintering recommendation is to normally cover any beds or planters with tarps of some sort, I just didn't have anything appropriate so I figured it's not the end of the world.
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May 4, 2017 22:30
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topenga posted:I've had more trouble with rear end in a top hat squirrels (maybe raccoons?) taking huge bites out of my tomatoes then leaving the rest on the plant. The mockingbirds have taken to hanging out on the top of my giant ugly tomato enclosure. They want to peck the tomatoes so bad I just know it. But they can't. So they fly over to the neighbor's yard and come back with a pink cherry tomato.
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May 5, 2017 02:31
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kedo posted:Not hot enough? I am not a pepper expert, so I'm not entirely sure. However I do know that many kinds of peppers don't need to be pollinated in order to produce fruit. They need to be pollinated, it's just that peppers are able to self pollinate, since mine are indoors I give them a helping hand as the male and female parts of the flower don't always touch and there is no wind to help move the flowers. My main issue is that in the black hungarian flowers I see lots of pollen produced by the flower, but with the scotch bonnet flowers I don't see any pollen when I use the paintbrush to try and help pollinate the flowers. Temperature should be high enough, I guess I will have to see if any of the flowers produce fruit or not.
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May 5, 2017 09:56
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Ebola Dog posted:They need to be pollinated, it's just that peppers are able to self pollinate, since mine are indoors I give them a helping hand as the male and female parts of the flower don't always touch and there is no wind to help move the flowers. My main issue is that in the black hungarian flowers I see lots of pollen produced by the flower, but with the scotch bonnet flowers I don't see any pollen when I use the paintbrush to try and help pollinate the flowers. Temperature should be high enough, I guess I will have to see if any of the flowers produce fruit or not. I wonder if they are similar enough to just cross pollinate to produce peppers? The peppers should still grow as expected, but the seeds may bear a cross breed if you try to plant them.
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May 5, 2017 12:55
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Apologies for my tardiness. Encyclopedia of gardening 1992 edition - general garden knowlage. The first picture is relevent to thread in general as they worked out the optimal veg garden.   Encylopedia of Plants and flowers 2006+ Editions Random page  Index Page with the Aoenium on it  RHS handbook series. It's worth second hand prices but lol if you pay a tenner. 
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May 5, 2017 16:52
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Well I'm sold. Thanks for posting all those pictures... time to see if I can find a good, recent copy somewhere online! Interesting that the "ideal vegetable garden" diagram doesn't include any obvious pollinator attractors (unless some of those veggies are and I'm just not aware of it).
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May 5, 2017 17:20
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If my mum's garden is anything to go by just dot lavender plants all over the show and you'll be shoveling bees out of the way.
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May 5, 2017 17:48
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topenga posted:I've had more trouble with rear end in a top hat squirrels (maybe raccoons?) taking huge bites out of my tomatoes then leaving the rest on the plant. Maybe you need to grow better tasting tomatoes.
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May 5, 2017 20:59
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learnincurve posted:Apologies for my tardiness. Lol ideal if you have all day every day to deal with so many different species at once.
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May 6, 2017 02:25
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lol, they're nearly all cole/leafy crops and root crops. Aside from doing a daily patrol for veggies and blight, it wouldn't be a ton of work except when you're fighting off an infestation of CWWs or something. kedo posted:Well I'm sold. Thanks for posting all those pictures... time to see if I can find a good, recent copy somewhere online! There are basically no crops in those (what, 36'-40' long beds? omg I'd kill to have that much space) beds which either require that they be pollinated, or which become more desirable once pollinated.
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May 6, 2017 18:52
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Makes sense. However there are definitely a few in there that need to be pollinated though, unless I'm completely mistaken.
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May 6, 2017 19:23
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There is no "ideal" veg garden layout because we all have different tastes. Some people hate broccoli, some hate celery, some people want 20 tomato plants to jar or dry, some just want 2 cherry plants.
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May 6, 2017 23:08
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I think it rather caters for British allotment holders, that patch in the picture is a typical full size plot size rather than something you would find on a country estate. in the 70s and 80s there was a massive resurgence of allotment holders, especially in the north, because of the miners strikes. It got so bad in 84/85 that over 140 thousand families were living off Red Cross hand outs and the allotments for a year, so maximising yields and all year round crops became a huge and widly debated topic.
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May 6, 2017 23:59
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Has anyone successfully controlled a spider mite infestation? I've been spraying pyrethrum every few days but they've now spread from the Cilantro to my basil plant which had been doing so well previously  I'm prepared to sacrifice both plants (ie harvest all, dump the soil from the pots) to prevent the mites from spreading further, but am afraid they're now settled in on our balcony. 
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May 7, 2017 13:45
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I was able to get rid or the majority of the spider mites on my balcony with neem oil and some good ol' fashioned murdering. They tended to stick to one or two plants, so one afternoon I grabbed a beer and spent an hour sitting in front of those plants looking for mites. When I found a leaf that was infested, I'd grab it loosely between two flat fingers and pull along the length of the leaf which would squish all the mites without harming the leaf itself. Once I had done this for both plants and couldn't spot any more mites I drenched everything on my balcony in neem oil multiple times over the course of several days. I tried ladybugs once and while they did kill a few mites they didn't stick around long enough to have any real impact. I don't think a balcony's worth of plants is enough to hold their attention.
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May 7, 2017 16:12
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Fozzy The Bear posted:There is no "ideal" veg garden layout because we all have different tastes. Some people hate broccoli, some hate celery, some people want 20 tomato plants to jar or dry, some just want 2 cherry plants. Absolutely. For example, I have zero desire to grow potatoes, onions, garlic, etc. I find them all cheap, easy to buy at the market, they store well which enables bulk purchase and I've never bitten into a home grown, organic potato and felt like I could tell a big difference between the store version.
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May 7, 2017 16:14
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Onion sets are more expensive than onions. (Seeds are cheap though) I started my allotment a bit late this year so am doing a test run with potatoes, carrots, onions leeks and so on, the plan next year is to grow heritage vegetables because a rainbow dinner will be awesome and you can't buy funky coloured veg in the shops. I did get hold of some red popping corn though which will be fun.
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May 7, 2017 16:40
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Yeah, the key to those cheap and boring vegetables is to grow varieties that you can't buy in the store. I'm really surprised by the flavor sometimes.
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May 7, 2017 17:36
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I just stick ones that have gone bad in the ground then sometimes when I run out I might dig some up.
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May 7, 2017 19:25
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I just moved my mint pot so I could hook it up to a drip irrigation because watering it daily was annoying. It had already sent roots out the bottom of the 18" tall pot, looking for a way out of its prison.
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May 7, 2017 20:06
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 I ate some cocoa fruit (bit slimy, very tasty) when I was at the botanical garden. I planted one of the saved seeds a week ago or so and now it's sprouting! Quite vigorously, in fact. This morning it was still in the dirt. Edit: there's also a Eugenia uniflora (also tasty; also from the botanical garden) in there somewhere, which I'm going to attempt to turn into an indoor bonsai tree. And I forgot to mention that I live in Sweden, so the cocoa plant's fate is already sealed. Still, gotta enjoy it while it lasts. anatomi fucked around with this message at 22:42 on May 7, 2017 |
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May 7, 2017 22:34
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kedo posted:I tried ladybugs once and while they did kill a few mites they didn't stick around long enough to have any real impact. I don't think a balcony's worth of plants is enough to hold their attention.
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May 8, 2017 02:31
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Fitzy Fitz posted:Yeah, the key to those cheap and boring vegetables is to grow varieties that you can't buy in the store. I'm really surprised by the flavor sometimes. There are also roughly a billion kinds of eggplant that you can grow in your garden that are different from the purple thing which is the only thing you can find in the produce section of most non-ethnic grocer's.
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May 8, 2017 07:30
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kedo posted:I was able to get rid or the majority of the spider mites on my balcony with neem oil and some good ol' fashioned murdering. They tended to stick to one or two plants, so one afternoon I grabbed a beer and spent an hour sitting in front of those plants looking for mites. When I found a leaf that was infested, I'd grab it loosely between two flat fingers and pull along the length of the leaf which would squish all the mites without harming the leaf itself. Once I had done this for both plants and couldn't spot any more mites I drenched everything on my balcony in neem oil multiple times over the course of several days. Thanks mate, I'll try to find some neem oil and it seems persistence is key!
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May 8, 2017 14:08
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coyo7e posted:You need to let them out at night after you soaked down everything. They're thirsty when they get out of the box and will gently caress right off if you don't give them a reason to stay. Yeah I did this. They stuck around for the night, drank some water and ate a few bugs, but when they warmed up the next morning they all disappeared. I get the feeling they took off looking for a new plant to check out and since there are no other plants for ~12 stories they weren't able to find their way back.
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May 8, 2017 15:50
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kedo posted:Yeah I did this. They stuck around for the night, drank some water and ate a few bugs, but when they warmed up the next morning they all disappeared. I get the feeling they took off looking for a new plant to check out and since there are no other plants for ~12 stories they weren't able to find their way back.
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May 8, 2017 16:50
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I'm a dumb gardener. Planted zucchini and spaghetti squash seeds in the small dirt pods (top), they got super leggy and I replanted most in these planters. What's up with the leaves? This is WI, so is it too cold for them outside still or am I killing them some other way?
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May 9, 2017 01:27
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What temperature is it there at night? As long as it is limited to the smooth-edged seed leaves that come out right when it sprouts and not the true leaves I don't think I'd worry much. Also how many zucchini are you growing?! Are you planning to feed the entire county?
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May 9, 2017 02:46
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SubG posted:
YES. EGGPLANT. LOOK HOW PRETTY!!! http://www.seedsavers.org/category/eggplant  Except they dont seem to have my favorite one. Everyone do yourselves a favor and grow those little Japanese Eggplants, they are drat near bomb-proof, and produce perfect little eggplants that don't go rotten in an hour like the big soft ones in the store. I had one producing for like 8 months last year, and it was growing out of a pile of horse poo poo. It likes the hot humid and lovely summers here.
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May 9, 2017 02:58
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Shifty Pony posted:What temperature is it there at night? As long as it is limited to the smooth-edged seed leaves that come out right when it sprouts and not the true leaves I don't think I'd worry much. Ok so if they're not "furry" like the top leaves, they're just poo poo leaves? Should I prune those to put more energy into the top ones or no? Temp has been average of like 37, lows of like 34, low of 40 tonight. Shifty Pony posted:Also how many zucchini are you growing?! Are you planning to feed the entire county? I had a grid system on an above ground garden for my first ever garden last year. I had everything spaced out nicely and planned how many plants and where. I came home from the store with the bundle of starter dirt pods and some seeds with the intention of again planning out how many plants of each. I come home from work...and the mini seedling greenhouse is setup. Hum....  "Hunny! Sometjhing weird has happened! The greenhouse is all setup!" "that was me!" "You planted 12 zucchini, 12 spaghetti squash, 4 egg plant, 4 cherry tomato, and 4 green beans for a 3x6 plot?" "Hell ya!"
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May 9, 2017 03:15
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36 plants in a 18 sq ft space (half of which will take up fully 18 sq ft of area each)? that's truly impressive. Did she carefully space them all like 8 inches apart in a grid, or how exactly did that work?
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May 9, 2017 03:20
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Leaves start to go yellow whenever they have eaten all the nutrients in the potting material, it could be that.
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May 9, 2017 06:42
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learnincurve posted:Leaves start to go yellow whenever they have eaten all the nutrients in the potting material, it could be that. So the pots are probably too small at this point and need to be transplanted into the actual garden? I added two fertilizer pellets on top of each to slowly break down as it got watered since I didnt know if too much would nuke them...or am I dumb on how to fertilize also?  coyo7e posted:36 plants in a 18 sq ft space (half of which will take up fully 18 sq ft of area each)? that's truly impressive. Did she carefully space them all like 8 inches apart in a grid, or how exactly did that work? I bought one of those jiffy packets of dirt pods that rehydrate when you water them. It had 36 pods and she planted them all. She didn't plant them in the above ground garden. I'm not good with the spacing myself but even I knew that 36 plants wouldnt fit. I think she was just really excited to plant them. The cake topper? She plants 12 spaghetti squash plants. I buy spaghetti squash for a recipe last week and she complains that she won't eat it and doesn't like spaghetti squash. I asked why she planted 12 of it then. Long pause and nothing. 
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May 9, 2017 12:16
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I plant two jalapeņos every time I do a garden. I don't think we use a dozen of the things in a year, but they are fun to give away.
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May 9, 2017 12:21
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I planted 50 inca berry seeds as the reason the plants are so expensive to buy is because they only have a 10% germination rate. All 50 have germinated and they grow to the size of tomato plants. Free plants for all I know!
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May 9, 2017 12:28
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Shifty Pony posted:I plant two jalapeņos every time I do a garden. Make jalapeņo poppers! Cut them in half lengthwise, remove the seeds & veins, fill with cream cheese, wrap in bacon. Then broil until the bacon is crispy throughout. We always end up bringing a couple dozen of these to barbeques and potlucks in the summer and they disappear instantly.
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May 9, 2017 12:39
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vonnegutt posted:Make jalapeņo poppers! Cut them in half lengthwise, remove the seeds & veins, fill with cream cheese, wrap in bacon. Then broil until the bacon is crispy throughout. We always end up bringing a couple dozen of these to barbeques and potlucks in the summer and they disappear instantly. Our garden party food is tomatillo salsa. Grill/broil 1-2lbs of tomatillos, one or two jalapeņos, and several cloves of garlic to blacken the skin a bit, seed the jalapeņos, then food processor it all with some cilantro and salt. Our tomatillos aren't doing so hot this year though so it might have to be poppers.
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May 9, 2017 13:34
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