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Anyone have any experience with a fabric raised bed planter like this?
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May 9, 2017 13:58
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I have no problem going through jalapeņos. You can put them in practically anything. It's the habaneros that I can't eat quickly enough. They're too loving spicy.Duxwig posted: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? Those bottom leaves are the Cotyledon. They fade quickly and that's OK.
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May 9, 2017 14:05
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I was looking at one of those myself and after asking around I was told that fabric planters have a tendency to sag/bulge which gets worse with time, and as they are fabric they do disintegrate eventually. However, a lot of people end up putting wood around the outside as funds allow, to make them look less fugly, which solves both those issues 
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May 9, 2017 14:06
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learnincurve posted:I was looking at one of those myself and after asking around I was told that fabric planters have a tendency to sag/bulge which gets worse with time, and as they are fabric they do disintegrate eventually. However, a lot of people end up putting wood around the outside as funds allow, to make them look less fugly, which solves both those issues yeah, that's what I was thinking I'd do eventually anyway. Although there's a cedar 2x8 foot kit that's only 5 bucks more so maybe I'll just go with that.
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May 9, 2017 14:45
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indigi posted:yeah, that's what I was thinking I'd do eventually anyway. Although there's a cedar 2x8 foot kit that's only 5 bucks more so maybe I'll just go with that. That's 16sqft vs 9 for the fabric so it's much better value too.
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May 9, 2017 15:10
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I have a couple raised beds in my front yard that I didn't do anything with last year when I moved in and haven't really done anything this year to prep. Right now its got a bumper crop of dandelion and some real solid grass growth. What is going to be the easiest way to clear all that poo poo out so I can maybe grow something this year? I assume just tilling the whole thing would keep too much intact and continue to grow. What is going to be the best way to clear out the stuff I don't want? Hands and knees with a trowel? Set it on fire? Cover with ground cloth for a week?
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May 9, 2017 17:47
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Teabag Dome Scandal posted:I have a couple raised beds in my front yard that I didn't do anything with last year when I moved in and haven't really done anything this year to prep. Right now its got a bumper crop of dandelion and some real solid grass growth. What is going to be the easiest way to clear all that poo poo out so I can maybe grow something this year? I assume just tilling the whole thing would keep too much intact and continue to grow. What is going to be the best way to clear out the stuff I don't want? Hands and knees with a trowel? Set it on fire? Cover with ground cloth for a week? Hands and knees or cardboard over the top and add good compost/soil on top of that. The cardboard should help the weeds stay at bay for a bit.
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May 9, 2017 19:02
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Teabag Dome Scandal posted:I have a couple raised beds in my front yard that I didn't do anything with last year when I moved in and haven't really done anything this year to prep. Right now its got a bumper crop of dandelion and some real solid grass growth. What is going to be the easiest way to clear all that poo poo out so I can maybe grow something this year? I assume just tilling the whole thing would keep too much intact and continue to grow. What is going to be the best way to clear out the stuff I don't want? Hands and knees with a trowel? Set it on fire? Cover with ground cloth for a week? Turn it with a shovel and let it sit for a few days/a week then rake it out. Most of the stuff will be dead or at least way easier to weed.
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May 9, 2017 19:02
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Does anyone have a lead on where somebody in the US can get a kabosu tree or bud graft thing?
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May 9, 2017 20:08
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Fitzy Fitz posted:I have no problem going through jalapeņos. You can put them in practically anything. It's the habaneros that I can't eat quickly enough. They're too loving spicy. Should I prune them or leave them? Are soil PH testers any good for a newbie or do I need to murder some plants for a few years to get my wings? I got a digital one off Amazon but the drat thing doesnt move from 7 no matter what it's testing (soil, vinegar, baking soda).
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May 10, 2017 00:20
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You can leave them. It's a natural part of the growing process.
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May 10, 2017 01:17
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indigi posted:yeah, that's what I was thinking I'd do eventually anyway. Although there's a cedar 2x8 foot kit that's only 5 bucks more so maybe I'll just go with that. Got one of the cedar ones for Christmas. Just set it up over the weekend. The panels are pretty thin but it went together so quickly. I didn't bother with the decorative caps so no tools really needed.
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May 10, 2017 16:28
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Duxwig posted:Should I prune them or leave them? How does your ph meter look like? Did you calibrate it? I work in a lab and digital ph meters are super finicky. You'll probably have better results with paper strips (I recommend the narrower range ones for aquarium/urine testing, about 5-9 with triple colors)
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May 11, 2017 12:49
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I'm looking to get my girlfriend a gift that will let her develop her gardening hobby. Right now she lives in an apartment, and is basically growing a few herbs (mint, thyme) in potted soil on her balcony. I know next to nothing about gardening. Other than just getting her more potted herbs/veggie seeds, is there anything else I should be thinking about? Is there some type of set-up I could buy her that would help her grow things a different/better way on a balcony? Any type of essential tools or devices? My price range is 100-200 dollars. Sorry if this request doesn't even make sense, but I'm pretty ignorant about this subject.
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May 11, 2017 22:50
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Megasabin posted:I'm looking to get my girlfriend a gift that will let her develop her gardening hobby. Right now she lives in an apartment, and is basically growing a few herbs (mint, thyme) in potted soil on her balcony. Maybe some nice gardening books? Stuff about vertical gardening and small space garden planning. Maybe some stuff about herblore? I have a few booms i've really enjoyed, i'll post them in a bit.
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May 12, 2017 02:20
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Do you live somewhere with cold winters? A heat mat in the window sill is useful.
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May 12, 2017 06:08
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Suspect Bucket posted:Maybe some nice gardening books? Stuff about vertical gardening and small space garden planning. Maybe some stuff about herblore? I have a few booms i've really enjoyed, i'll post them in a bit. Agreed. Vertical gardening is a game changer for people with balconies. You can get her canvas hanging herb planter + compost, a windowsill propigator, 7cm pots, some seed and nice trowel as a starter set up, plus some books and be well within your budget,
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May 12, 2017 07:39
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Maybe a nice, quality grow-light set-up if, like me, she has issues with a short-ish outdoor growing season? Or perhaps some exotic (non-phalaenopsis) orchids to pamper? A small terrarium for some really exotic plants? That's what I'd like anyway..
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May 12, 2017 07:47
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Heated propigator with an adjustable thermostat would be a game changer for me, would take up a lot of that budget but you can grow any plant indoor and outdoor from seed with no worries, and the amount of money you save growing the more exotic house plants from seed makes it pay for itself long term.
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May 12, 2017 08:09
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I was going to post this in the general questions thread, but it may be more appropriate here. My mom has a rectangular garden that backs up to a fence. Its "divided" from the rest of the yard by a bunch of square interlocking bricks. Some have sunk, and the soil has pushed some of them out and they've fallen over. I want to get some 12 inch pieces of rebar from Home depot and using some conduit straps or something similar, screw them to 1x4 or maybe 1x8 planks, and drive the rebar in to the ground to hold back the weight, or most of the weight of the soil before re-laying the bricks. It doesn't have to be fancy, I just don't want them to fall again, cause I want to be a good son and mother's day etc... My questions are, what type of wood should I use? I don't want to go with pressure treated wood because yeah.... Can I just use regular cheap pine planks? Cedar? Do I even need the rebar? If I get long enough planks, and screw them together, lap style, will the weight be distributed more evenly along the bricks, making them less likely to bulge out? Longevity is not a huge concern. As they might be selling the house in a few years. What say you garden goons?
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May 13, 2017 00:41
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wesleywillis posted:I don't want to go with pressure treated wood because yeah.... Please explain what "yeah..." means in the context of not wanting to use PT for something in ground contact. Are you saying this is temporary while you lay bricks? Because if so you can use basically any scrap wood you have laying around. If not, you are setting up for problems in like 2 years. I'm assuming it won't take 2 years to lay bricks. If this is in fact temporary just get a sheet of the cheapest poo poo you can find (OSB most likely) and cut to size. Motronic fucked around with this message at 02:02 on May 13, 2017 |
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May 13, 2017 01:59
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Motronic posted:Please explain what "yeah..." means in the context of not wanting to use PT for something in ground contact. Because pressure treated wood is treated with some pretty bad poo poo. Good if you want to keep it from rotting, but probably bad if you want to eat vegetables and poo poo out of said garden. Everything I've read says that you should wear gloves or wash your hands after cutting or handling pressure treated wood. I don't think I want to be eating vegetables out of a garden where those chemicals are leaching in to the soil. Maybe its not as bad as I'm making it out to be, but I don't care that much if the wood is mostly rotted in five years.....
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May 13, 2017 05:25
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I would be less concerned with chemicals leeching into the soil than I would be about the loving horrific splinters anyone will get while they're working in the beds in short sleeves and short pants. Pressure-treated wood is NASTY when it jabs you, and garden beds are a place where you can easily get splinters from sitting on the edge or the bed, not wearing gloves while you lean in and hold yourself up, etc. I wouldn't wanna use rebar either because it'll get rusty, and rebar tears skin and clothing easily as hell. Why are you so set on keeping the brick?You could buy some utility cedar 2x12s or something and just replace the whole thing. Using 1x lumber will definitely bow anyways, but 2x is thick enough it'll be pretty okay. Cedar and redwood are the go to lumber for beds, they'll last a few years, definitely long enough to still look okay before selling. coyo7e fucked around with this message at 06:12 on May 13, 2017 |
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May 13, 2017 06:08
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wesleywillis posted:Because pressure treated wood is treated with some pretty bad poo poo. Good if you want to keep it from rotting, but probably bad if you want to eat vegetables and poo poo out of said garden. Everything I've read says that you should wear gloves or wash your hands after cutting or handling pressure treated wood. I don't think I want to be eating vegetables out of a garden where those chemicals are leaching in to the soil. Maybe its not as bad as I'm making it out to be, but I don't care that much if the wood is mostly rotted in five years..... Older pressure treated wood (CCA) is a small concern because there is a small uptake in the plants but not enough to be of risk to humans. It was banned by the EPA in 2004 Newer pressure treated wood uses CQA which isn't an issue.
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May 13, 2017 06:14
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Spookydonut posted:Older pressure treated wood (CCA) is a small concern because there is a small uptake in the plants but not enough to be of risk to humans. It was banned by the EPA in 2004 Yes, and beyond that the big concern with "treated" wood in garden beds is using things like reclaimed railroad ties which are soaked in all sorts of unpleasant things. CCA was a theoretical concern and was shown to leech arsenic into the soil, although there's question as to how bioavailable it was for the plants. CQA isn't really anything to be worried about. If you are looking to reinforce the bed before replacing the bricks around it as a kind of decorative wall you might be able to drive in some plastic edging material and then back that up with the bricks.
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May 13, 2017 08:12
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coyo7e posted:I would be less concerned with chemicals leeching into the soil than I would be about the loving horrific splinters anyone will get while they're working in the beds in short sleeves and short pants. Pressure-treated wood is NASTY when it jabs you, and garden beds are a place where you can easily get splinters from sitting on the edge or the bed, not wearing gloves while you lean in and hold yourself up, etc. I wouldn't wanna use rebar either because it'll get rusty, and rebar tears skin and clothing easily as hell. I was planning on using the Epoxy coated rebar, since it won't start to rust until at least tomorrow morning...... THe 2x12 idea is pretty good though. I might try to see if she's interested in that instead of the bricks, except then I have to move a bunch of bricks  Spookydonut posted:Older pressure treated wood (CCA) is a small concern because there is a small uptake in the plants but not enough to be of risk to humans. It was banned by the EPA in 2004 Glad to hear about pressure treated wood not being an issue anymore. I learned something!! Hubis posted:Yes, and beyond that the big concern with "treated" wood in garden beds is using things like reclaimed railroad ties which are soaked in all sorts of unpleasant things. CCA was a theoretical concern and was shown to leech arsenic into the soil, although there's question as to how bioavailable it was for the plants. CQA isn't really anything to be worried about. Yeah, creosote from railway ties is pretty awful. Alright goons, I'll try and convince my mom to go with the 2xsomethings for the border, what do you recommend I use to anchor it to the ground with? I figured on the rebar because it would be easy to beat in to the ground. Its only 10mm diameter. The soil around here is pretty good, and I've rammed 5+ foot lengths of 3/4" (19mm) in via sledge hammer before in rocky and gravelly poo poo so I'm not scared of going at 1 or 2 foot lengths (dependant on what width of 2X I end up geting) with a hammer. Should I use wooden stakes and then screw or nail the planks to them?
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May 13, 2017 16:08
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wesleywillis posted:I'm not really set on reusing the brick, I just figured it was already there, so why not?  I'm assuming they're not mortared, which is why they bulged (if they're the kind with holes through them, you could use rebar to reinforce them but that seems spendy) unless it just split from the dirt's weight? Which seems unlikely by itself and if the mortar cracked it's probably from moisture expanding in the joints over winter. I can buy a 2x12"x12' for less than 20 bucks, but epoxied rebar and brick sounds spendy - especially if you're shoring it up with wood slats as well. Also, I can slap together a raised bed from a 12 foot 2x12 or two in like 15 minutes, compared to bending over and re-laying brick all afternoon, assumedly after you had to move the dirt out to re-stack them. Also, brick is valuable, re-used brick is a hot item to sell to craigslist-surfing do-it-yourselfers if it's in good shape.
coyo7e fucked around with this message at 17:42 on May 13, 2017 |
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May 13, 2017 17:35
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Thanks for the advice. The pieces of rebar were about 2.50 each, and I figured on needing ten or so. So not a big outlay on that. The bricks were square interlocking bricks that had been piled on each other, maybe 4 high. Each layer wasn't offset, so eventually the weight of the bricks, sank them in to the ground, unevenly, and the dirt pushed them out, knocking a bunch of them over. I still have to give credit to my mom. At 70, she dragged probably 150 of them 10 at a time from the driveway to the backyard in her little garden wagon and laid them all down. This while needing a new hip, knee and also having M.S. I'll post some pics tomorrow. I just put my hiking boots on and was literally too lazy to untie them and walk to my bedroom to get my camera. So I'll only get some post project pics. Luckily I didn't have to dig much dirt back. I just had to get rid of the bricks which was bad enough. It was 3 feet wide and 21 feet long, I picked up four 2x8s at lowes 10 2x2 stakes, and a box of 3 inch wood screws at Lowes. I had three of the 2x8s cut a foot short and used the cut offs to join the planks on the inside, and the other 2x8 was cut in to two, 3 foot lengths. Joined them together and laid them out. I leveled the end boards, but the yard kinda humps up towards the far end of the garden,so the long "board" isnt really level. Got the string out, shoved some rods in the ground at the corners, strung my string and straightened the long board. Sledgehammered some stakes on the ground, even with the top of the 2x8s and screwed them in there. At the end of it, I had some space at the bottom between the edge of the grass and the bottom of the boards, so I found some rectangular bricks (buried under the square ones) and shoved them in there. Serving a couple purposes. Since I had to shove them in, between the grass and board, they'll help keep the boards from bowing out, my dad can run the wheel of the lawn mower over the bricks, cut the grass and not have to get out the weed whacker. Something he always bitched about, and also, it was a couple dozen less bricks that I had to cart away in the wheel barrel. Its not a professional job, but like I remind my boss sometimes when I'm doing something that isn't actually my job (like welding/metal fab), "if you want professional workmanship, hire a professional, else, you get what I'm giving you". Its not fancy but it works just fine. Plus my mom was happy with the job, so gently caress it. 
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May 14, 2017 01:48
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I had a vision then of a sweet little old lady staring forlornly at her beloved and empty veg patch. You are a good son friend goon
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May 14, 2017 06:13
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Book chart updates: vegetable growing month by month by John Harrison Has a small useful month by month thing but it's more of a beginners guide in three parts. The preparation and what you need section which explains everything from fertilisers to pests, the month guide, then a plant guide. A lot of it is geared towards garden and allotment growing* but with most of it you can just substitute that for containers. *It alarms me that I'm thinking of the publishing date of 2008 as a few years ago when it's 9 years and container veg wasn't a big thing then.
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May 14, 2017 16:28
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Like I mentioned, the end board is level ( I used a level and everything!), but the bricks slope up a bit. I'm not sure if that was intentional, or if the bricks further from the edge settled a bit.  Its hard to tell, but the lawn humps up towards this end a little bit, the long board is not totally level, it humps a bit too, but I tried to keep it fairly level, but its not perfect.  I used some string to get the long board as straight as I could for the length of the garden before I rammed the stakes in to the ground and screwed the boards to them.  You can see a bit of light in the bottom of the end board, I might try and shove something in there, to keep soil from running out of there, if it ever pours rain.  We need to get a few bags of topsoil to fill in the empty spots. Maybe next week we can do that. But for now its done. My mom can still plant poo poo in the mean time and even more once we fill in the voids with soil.
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May 14, 2017 18:48
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Since you already need soil, I'd go ahead and turn over the dirt and cover it with black plastic or something until then. Stirring up the soil will encourage the dormant weeds and leftover plant seeds or burly roots which they can re-emerge from (and possibly bulbs depending what was originally in there) to sprout immediately, and the plastic will force them to die from either starvation or heat exposure from the black plastic being heated in the sun. If you don't do this step now, then you'll accidentally encourage weed seed growth when you add in more soil and start to plant stuff, disturbing the soil.. That's a nice south-facing spot, and it's got a privacy fence rather than solid cedar fence slats, which will help keep stuff from getting baked too hot in the sun from the reflected radiation and emitted convection heat coming off of the sun-warmed wood.
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May 14, 2017 21:22
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The cherry tomatoes are now 8' tall.  The black krim are not but are completely loaded with fruit 
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May 14, 2017 22:11
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Fitzy Fitz posted:I have no problem going through jalapeños. You can put them in practically anything. It's the habaneros that I can't eat quickly enough. They're too loving spicy. I'm growing a whole bed of bhut jolokias and Carolina reapers this season lol
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May 14, 2017 23:00
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Shifty Pony posted:The cherry tomatoes are now 8' tall. My homie black Krims are loving awesome tasty tomates gjgj here!
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May 14, 2017 23:01
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T.S. Smelliot posted:I'm growing a whole bed of bhut jolokias and Carolina reapers this season lol Give them to high school kids so they can film each other barfing.
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May 14, 2017 23:57
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My spinach beet are about 4' tall, send help. Actually about peppers, I've got 4 jalapeno plants looking like they're doing well, I think I've been under watering them but how do I tell? E: leaves aren't floppy but top 1" of soil is dry
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May 15, 2017 11:04
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Mulch them. If it's only the top of the soil getting dry then you need to stop the water from evaporating so fast
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May 15, 2017 11:19
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I have read that peppers don't mind getting dried out between watering. I wait until they're starting to wilt a bit before watering. They seem pretty happy but I haven't asked.
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May 15, 2017 12:14
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They're in pots on a windowsill, and I killed the last bunch I planted by overwatering hence my caution.
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May 15, 2017 12:34
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