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Harry Potter on Ice
Nov 4, 2006


IF IM NOT BITCHING ABOUT HOW SHITTY MY LIFE IS, REPORT ME FOR MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HIJACKED

net work error posted:

When am I supposed to pick arrugula? My little buddies are starting to get strangely lanky so I'm not sure if that means I have to trim them up a bit or not. These were planted from already existing plants I bought at a local nursery.

Pick that rocket! It and leafy greens grow back all season. 3-4 inches are plenty tall

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Fitzy Fitz
May 14, 2005




With the possibility of work-from-home extending well into summer, I feel like I should expand my garden plans, but I'm not sure what that would mean. I'm already growing more nightshades than I know what to do with. I've built a big bean trellis. I'm putting out tons of sunflowers and hopefully mallows around the house. I wanted to do watermelons, but I don't know where they'd even go.

Not sure that I can do anything quite as extreme as building a new raised bed, but idk

A Pack of Kobolds
Mar 23, 2007



Fitzy Fitz posted:

With the possibility of work-from-home extending well into summer, I feel like I should expand my garden plans, but I'm not sure what that would mean. I'm already growing more nightshades than I know what to do with. I've built a big bean trellis. I'm putting out tons of sunflowers and hopefully mallows around the house. I wanted to do watermelons, but I don't know where they'd even go.

Not sure that I can do anything quite as extreme as building a new raised bed, but idk

Cucumbers do well in containers but you should plan on supporting them as they grow. This would qualify for zucchini and other squashes as well. Greens are always great to have on-hand and they don't have deep root systems, so they're pretty forgiving as long as they get some shade. If you haven't planted herbs, do that now. Plant more Genovese basil than you think you will want because holy gently caress is it ever good.

Fitzy Fitz
May 14, 2005




A Pack of Kobolds posted:

Cucumbers do well in containers but you should plan on supporting them as they grow. This would qualify for zucchini and other squashes as well. Greens are always great to have on-hand and they don't have deep root systems, so they're pretty forgiving as long as they get some shade. If you haven't planted herbs, do that now. Plant more Genovese basil than you think you will want because holy gently caress is it ever good.

These are all good recommendations! My wife is running our herb operation, but I really should do squashes. Mine have always succumbed to squash borers in the past, but I can pay more attention to them this year. I hate those borers though.

Solkanar512
Dec 28, 2006

by the sex ghost
So quick question about stuff like pumpkins and melons. Obviously I plant them in normal soil like anything else, but it is a problem that the vines spill into the lawn? I don’t give a poo poo about the lawn, it dies out in the summer anyway and I wasn’t sure if the vines and eventual fruit needed to be over soil.

I guess what I’m asking here is if these plants have a central root system and vine out, or if new root systems are created by the vine and are needed to support fruit/vegetable production. It would be really cool if I could just use all that extra space without digging a massive new bed.

CommonShore
Jun 6, 2014

A true renaissance man


Solkanar512 posted:

So quick question about stuff like pumpkins and melons. Obviously I plant them in normal soil like anything else, but it is a problem that the vines spill into the lawn? I don’t give a poo poo about the lawn, it dies out in the summer anyway and I wasn’t sure if the vines and eventual fruit needed to be over soil.

I guess what I’m asking here is if these plants have a central root system and vine out, or if new root systems are created by the vine and are needed to support fruit/vegetable production. It would be really cool if I could just use all that extra space without digging a massive new bed.

I've never had a problem with that.

A Pack of Kobolds
Mar 23, 2007



Yeah, I don't those type of vines are like ivy vines which will never, ever die and will take over everything.

Solkanar512
Dec 28, 2006

by the sex ghost

CommonShore posted:

I've never had a problem with that.

A Pack of Kobolds posted:

Yeah, I don't those type of vines are like ivy vines which will never, ever die and will take over everything.

Hell yes, thanks for the advice on yet another way to actually make my lawn useful.

net work error
Feb 26, 2011

Harry Potter on Ice posted:

Pick that rocket! It and leafy greens grow back all season. 3-4 inches are plenty tall

I picked some of the arrugula that was growing and it has a much more mustardy (?) and sharp, almost bitter taste compared to the ones I get from the grocery. Is that expected or does that mean it's bolting/not well?

Shine
Feb 26, 2007

No Muscles For The Majority
My wife wants to set up a grow tent in our apartment, but is having trouble finding guides that aren't primarily focused on marijuana. Is there a reputable guide (or book) y'all would recommend for setting a tent up for other plants/veggies, just in case the stuff needed for growing marijuana differs from what's needed for growing, say, mint, snap peas or potatoes?

Jhet
Jun 3, 2013
The basics will be about the same regardless of what you’re growing. Control the temp and water and provide enough light and you can grow plants. You won’t need any air filters to deal with smells, but there’s nothing wrong with all the marijuana guides. That’s where I found a lot of good info for my veggie hydroponics. There’s a lot of info out there, but I didn’t find any perfect book for indoor gardening. I did a lot of reading and then had to decide where to start for my own setup and go from there.

I’d personally recommend against big plants like potatoes and suggest instead greens and plants like tomatoes and peppers. If you’re using a tent, going with heat loving plants is a good bet. Planting in soil will be the simplest of course, but make sure to use bug-free soil if you can. If you’re just growing greens you won’t need as strong of a light, but any flowering plants will need a stronger lamp. The marijuana guides will have all sorts of recommendations on lamps and those will work well for fruiting plants too. You’ll still need a temp activated fan for keeping the temp inside the tent in the right range, as most lights put off plenty of heat.

Motronic
Nov 6, 2009

Shine posted:

My wife wants to set up a grow tent in our apartment, but is having trouble finding guides that aren't primarily focused on marijuana. Is there a reputable guide (or book) y'all would recommend for setting a tent up for other plants/veggies, just in case the stuff needed for growing marijuana differs from what's needed for growing, say, mint, snap peas or potatoes?

This seems like a good way to have massive moisture problems that cause damage to your living space.

If you're growing weed presumably it's worth enough to cover that. Vegetables not so much.

Jhet
Jun 3, 2013
Maybe if you’re lazy about it? I haven’t had issues with the 2 dozen houseplants or 5+1 tub hydroponic system that I was running? You could easily just put a plastic boot mat under you plants and not have an issue with moisture on the floor. I just put down some plastic sheeting under my plumbing and that was enough to not have any issues. People run regular hydroponic things in the house all the time. It can just be more difficult to get the same sort of production you get outside, but if you don’t have space outside? Why not have fun with gardening?

Motronic
Nov 6, 2009

Jhet posted:

Maybe if you’re lazy about it? I haven’t had issues with the 2 dozen houseplants or 5+1 tub hydroponic system that I was running? You could easily just put a plastic boot mat under you plants and not have an issue with moisture on the floor. I just put down some plastic sheeting under my plumbing and that was enough to not have any issues. People run regular hydroponic things in the house all the time. It can just be more difficult to get the same sort of production you get outside, but if you don’t have space outside? Why not have fun with gardening?

When you're talking about a scale that requires a tent like a grow op you're well beyond "2 dozen houseplants and a mini hydroponic system" levels of humidity.

taqueso
Mar 8, 2004


:911:
:wookie: :thermidor: :wookie:
:dehumanize:

:pirate::hf::tinfoil:

Do you know you will need a tent? Only some plants require a high humidity. I have been growing sweet peppers under lights but they are just in the open.

I'm not sure about a book for indoor growing, I got most of my info by trolling the internet. It's true that marijuana growing has taken over the idea marketplace, but most of the stuff transfers over. You can use the USDA info pages to get information about nutrition needs and light needs etc.

Atticus_1354
Dec 10, 2006

barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark

Motronic posted:

When you're talking about a scale that requires a tent like a grow op you're well beyond "2 dozen houseplants and a mini hydroponic system" levels of humidity.

Not necessarily. Plenty of smaller systems use a tent. Its not any worse than living near the coast or putting a humidifier in your house.

Shine
Feb 26, 2007

No Muscles For The Majority

Jhet posted:

I’d personally recommend against big plants like potatoes and suggest instead greens and plants like tomatoes and peppers. If you’re using a tent, going with heat loving plants is a good bet. Planting in soil will be the simplest of course, but make sure to use bug-free soil if you can. If you’re just growing greens you won’t need as strong of a light, but any flowering plants will need a stronger lamp. The marijuana guides will have all sorts of recommendations on lamps and those will work well for fruiting plants too. You’ll still need a temp activated fan for keeping the temp inside the tent in the right range, as most lights put off plenty of heat.

She'd definitely want to plant in soil, as working with and watering soil will be part of the appeal for her, versus the hydroponic stuff. Quarantine has been mentally draining for her, and gardening has helped her deal with stress in the past, but she hasn't done any since moving to Vegas.

When I was a kid, my grandfather grew potatoes (outdoors) in bags like this: https://www.amazon.com/HYRIXDIRECT-Portable-Growing-Planting-Vegetables/dp/B07MGTM54X/

Space-wise, it seems like a bag would fit fine in a small tent. Are there particular reasons why you'd recommend against potatoes indoors? Pain in the rear end, or is there something especially tricky about them?

taqueso posted:

Do you know you will need a tent? Only some plants require a high humidity. I have been growing sweet peppers under lights but they are just in the open.

I'm not sure about a book for indoor growing, I got most of my info by trolling the internet. It's true that marijuana growing has taken over the idea marketplace, but most of the stuff transfers over. You can use the USDA info pages to get information about nutrition needs and light needs etc.

We may not, necessarily. She was eyeing tents in part because our cat is a plant chewer, and because tents of the size she'd consider are pretty cheap. The den is also our guest room, and while we don't anticipate having guests anytime soon due to COVID-19, a tent that can block most of the light would be more courteous whenever someone stays over.

This is the sort of thing she had in mind: https://www.amazon.com/VIVOSUN-Reflective-Indoor-Hydroponic-Growing/dp/B07HQMX3S1

She was thinking parsley in the top rack, dwarf peas or strawberries in the bottom rack, and a grow bag in the large section with potatoes, onions, or whatever else.

Motronic posted:

When you're talking about a scale that requires a tent like a grow op you're well beyond "2 dozen houseplants and a mini hydroponic system" levels of humidity.

You haven't made it clear what type of scale you inferred from "my wife wants to grow peas indoors," so I can't really contextualize the posts you've made thus far. She's looking at ~9-12 square feet grow tents. If you think that the humidity from something that size would be harmful to our home, or if you think tents are generally unnecessary for what she wants to grow and you have a more fitting suggestion, then I'd appreciate if you'd provide that suggestion.

Motronic
Nov 6, 2009

Shine posted:

You haven't made it clear what type of scale you inferred from "my wife wants to grow peas indoors," so I can't really contextualize the posts you've made thus far. She's looking at ~9-12 square feet grow tents. If you think that the humidity from something that size would be harmful to our home, or if you think tents are generally unnecessary for what she wants to grow and you have a more fitting suggestion, then I'd appreciate if you'd provide that suggestion.

I was assuming the scale of "a room or nearly a room" based on the grow-op leaning research. You know, small garden sized. What you're looking at there is more along the line of the "dozen houseplants" that was mentioned upthread and I wouldn't be worried about it. It's the kind of thing a lot of people would use to start seedlings indoors.

taqueso
Mar 8, 2004


:911:
:wookie: :thermidor: :wookie:
:dehumanize:

:pirate::hf::tinfoil:

I'm sure a tent like that will be perfectly functional. If it is really going to be a whole room maybe some kind of shade or roller blind can control the light for the whole thing at once.

CommonShore
Jun 6, 2014

A true renaissance man


I have a yam that's sprouting and I'm thinking about planting it for funs. I'm somewhere cold enough that it shouldn't be able to take over my yard, so any tips? The current plan is to put it into a mulch bed.

Shifty Pony
Dec 28, 2004

Up ta somethin'


If I remember correctly weed and tomatoes have very similar needs, to the point that people asking for advice for "tomatoes" is/was a bit of an in joke at hydroponic stores. I bet a lot of weed growing tips would translate over pretty well.


Our tomatoes (actual, real tomatoes) are doing very well this year. We decided to try with overwhelming quantity approach to getting some and planted 11 plants. We already have fruit setting!

Shine
Feb 26, 2007

No Muscles For The Majority

taqueso posted:

I'm sure a tent like that will be perfectly functional. If it is really going to be a whole room maybe some kind of shade or roller blind can control the light for the whole thing at once.

Thanks! She's leaning toward that one.


While looking for posts about lights, I found these in the aquaponics thread:

CapnBry posted:

It is hard to say what sort of quality to expect, but I would avoid those red/blue LED grow lights. The technology is beyond that now and the wattage numbers are usually inflated. You actually don't even really need a "grow light" any more due to the decent CRI of consumer LED floodlights meaning it covers everything plants need. No more of this


And more like this (Cree E12 5000K "60W replacement" light bulb from the hardware store)


I'd say try just a "100W replacement" 80 CRI or higher floodlight? I'm also surprised that bulb I linked keeps going up in price. It was $10 for a while, then jumped to $16, then $20, now $21. Thanks, Obama!

CapnBry posted:

The Red/Blue layouts came from before there was really "full spectrum" LED lights available everywhere, which wasn't too long ago (5-7 years?). NASA did a study in the early 2000s and found plants (lettuce) grew well using off the shelf 625nm red LED and 450nm blue LED that were fairly efficient compared to fluorescent and way better than commercial grow lights. At the time, the phosphors weren't ready to make white LED in a cost effective manner and they'd still not be quite the same swath of spectrum we have today.

Nowdays, white LEDs are much more mature a technology, but pure red and blue are still a little cheaper to make I think and people have come to expect that the red and blue means "grow light" because we've seen them in media as the ubiquitous grow light. You can still use them, but all the clones out there usually wildly overstate their output by comparing them to high pressure sodium wattage, and even then probably overstating the specs. White LEDs can run in excess of 200lm/watt now and the phosphors are being continually improved because they're in everything now. The best part is that you can see your plant under white light, because that red and blue stuff really makes it hard to see if the plant is healthy, and it's much nicer to not have a bright purple shrub in the corner. You've got to be careful though on account of a lot of the red and blue lights call themselves full spectrum on account of they put out light on both sides of the spectrum. FULL RIGHT?!

The min/maxing that people usually do now is using high color temperature while LEDs 5000-6500K which are bluish white in their vegetation stage because red light photoreceptors in leaves can trigger stretching. In nature, a leaf being hit with red light usually means it is in shadow so it tries to grow to get to more light. In the flowering stage of growing weed, they switch to low color temperature LEDs 2700-3000K (or as low as 1700K) due to the marijuana flowers getting bigger or more potent with a higher amount of red light (I'm not sure exactly where this idea comes from). Once weed plants are flowering they mostly stop growing taller so the red light doesn't have as much effect. For us normals, just growing regular plants indoors, 4000K-5000K is fine for the whole plant's cycle which is easy and great because 5000K LED lights are so ubiquitous at almost any store. 70CRI is fine, but 80CRI usually adds more if the higher wavelength red which theoretically can be beneficial. 90CRI usually adds a lot more red, including some near infrared which can be a benefit too, but those are kinda pricey for not much gain if any.
(emphasis mine)

Thoughts on this versus buying an "official" glow light?

Otherwise, if anybody has a "just get [this thing] for the 3x3ft space and two of [that thing] for the 3x1ft spaces" suggestion, I'm all ears.

Jhet
Jun 3, 2013

Shine posted:

She'd definitely want to plant in soil, as working with and watering soil will be part of the appeal for her, versus the hydroponic stuff. Quarantine has been mentally draining for her, and gardening has helped her deal with stress in the past, but she hasn't done any since moving to Vegas.

When I was a kid, my grandfather grew potatoes (outdoors) in bags like this: https://www.amazon.com/HYRIXDIRECT-Portable-Growing-Planting-Vegetables/dp/B07MGTM54X/

Space-wise, it seems like a bag would fit fine in a small tent. Are there particular reasons why you'd recommend against potatoes indoors? Pain in the rear end, or is there something especially tricky about them?

Potatoes can be space hogs is the only thing I'd think about and I'd worry about yield with them getting less light potentially, that and I'd worry about them just straight up rotting on me inside. That's just me though, and if you've done potatoes before then why not? Definitely put a boot mat under those bags if you go that route. What kind of veggies do the two of you enjoy eating? That's where I'd start with planning. If she's done gardening in the past, she'll know what she likes so I'd just run with that. I had a lot of fun growing different types of greens indoors all winter

My mother uses Earth Boxes for growing indoors. She does a lot of herbs and greens in hers, but they seem like they'd potentially be a good fit? They're just basically big window boxes, but they let you water from below which is great for keeping the top of the soil dryer to dissuade bugs. You could just as easily bury a potable water pvc pipe to put water in the bottom of whatever you end up using for that purpose or just water from above.

That lighting info from the other thread is still relevant. I found some rebated shop lights in the daylight spectrum (5000 spectrum) for my plants. I've used regular fixtures, but settled on 3' LED shop lights that were in the daylight part of the spectrum, but I don't do flowering plants, so I went with the cheaper light option. I'd add extra bulbs if I were doing tomatoes or peppers inside.

Solkanar512
Dec 28, 2006

by the sex ghost
Actual tomatoes:



Those starts were 18-24” tall when I took them out of the hotbed so I’m hoping they should develop a very nice root system. I’ll companion plant a poo poo ton of basil once it’s farther along.

Platystemon
Feb 13, 2012

BREADS

CommonShore posted:

I have a yam that's sprouting and I'm thinking about planting it for funs. I'm somewhere cold enough that it shouldn't be able to take over my yard, so any tips? The current plan is to put it into a mulch bed.

True yam or sweet potato?


Shine posted:

Thoughts on this versus buying an "official" glow light?

Otherwise, if anybody has a "just get [this thing] for the 3x3ft space and two of [that thing] for the 3x1ft spaces" suggestion, I'm all ears.

White LEDs are the way to go for grow lamps now, even more than in 2018.

The white light means it’s more likely that problems with plants will be noticed early, and with the cost/efficiency being as good as it is now, it just makes sense unless you have a compelling need to push a plant toward vegetative growth or flowering.

Any white LEDs will work. The reason to use a “grow lamp” LED versus a bulb in a socket or a desk lamp is that grow lamps are bright and efficient and they’re less likely to fail after two years.

Samsung’s LM401B and LM561C diodes are the ultimate and penultimate right now in efficiency. Products that use them will let you know.

Shine
Feb 26, 2007

No Muscles For The Majority

Jhet posted:

Potatoes can be space hogs is the only thing I'd think about and I'd worry about yield with them getting less light potentially, that and I'd worry about them just straight up rotting on me inside. That's just me though, and if you've done potatoes before then why not? Definitely put a boot mat under those bags if you go that route. What kind of veggies do the two of you enjoy eating? That's where I'd start with planning. If she's done gardening in the past, she'll know what she likes so I'd just run with that. I had a lot of fun growing different types of greens indoors all winter

My mother uses Earth Boxes for growing indoors. She does a lot of herbs and greens in hers, but they seem like they'd potentially be a good fit? They're just basically big window boxes, but they let you water from below which is great for keeping the top of the soil dryer to dissuade bugs. You could just as easily bury a potable water pvc pipe to put water in the bottom of whatever you end up using for that purpose or just water from above.

That lighting info from the other thread is still relevant. I found some rebated shop lights in the daylight spectrum (5000 spectrum) for my plants. I've used regular fixtures, but settled on 3' LED shop lights that were in the daylight part of the spectrum, but I don't do flowering plants, so I went with the cheaper light option. I'd add extra bulbs if I were doing tomatoes or peppers inside.

Thank you!

She'd like to mix things up over time, but to start she's considering mint, parsley, strawberries, dwarf peas, and potatoes. Maybe garlic too, as she's never grown it successfully before, but she's never tried it indoors. Over time, we'd also like to do spinach, lettuce, parsnips, etc. Whatever, basically.

Our local Home Depot has Cree CRI-90 LED floodlights in stock for about 10 dollars per 120W-equiv bulb. I'm thinking a pair of 5000Ks for an herb-only shelf, a pair of 4000Ks in the bottom shelf, and four 4000Ks in the large space, with clamps to allow us to move them up as stuff grows. Does that sound like a workable amount of light?

They also have CRI-90 3000K lights, and it wouldn't be much of a bother to start strawberries/etc. on 5000Ks and then swap in 3000Ks, so we could do that as well. I suspect I'm stepping into "overthinking it for my scope" territory, though.

Please holler if I'm missing some super important consideration.

Ebola Dog
Apr 3, 2011

Dinosaurs are directly related to turtles!

Shine posted:

Thank you!

She'd like to mix things up over time, but to start she's considering mint, parsley, strawberries, dwarf peas, and potatoes. Maybe garlic too, as she's never grown it successfully before, but she's never tried it indoors. Over time, we'd also like to do spinach, lettuce, parsnips, etc. Whatever, basically.
.

I'm not sure if garlic would work indoors very well. It generally needs to be planted in winter and needs to be in the ground in cold weather for the cloves to split and develop into heads of garlic properly.

Otherwise it's really easy to grow, I've planted about 20 cloves of garlic in Feb and they are all coming up nicely.

Solkanar512
Dec 28, 2006

by the sex ghost

Solkanar512 posted:

Actual tomatoes:



Those starts were 18-24” tall when I took them out of the hotbed so I’m hoping they should develop a very nice root system. I’ll companion plant a poo poo ton of basil once it’s farther along.

Uh, so I got hit with a surprise frost this morning and there's pretty significant leaf damage on some of these plants. Now, I presume that because the vast, vast majority of the plant is buried underground that I'll be fine and just have to wait for new growth? God drat I'm pissed off about this.

Edit:

I did dig around and the stems that were buried are just fine so do I wait to see something new grow or do I start replacing them with other starts I have in the hotbed?

Edit 2: The plan is to cut back anything that's damaged later today and leave them there to see what happens. I have maybe 8 spares in my hotbed so I'll continue to let them grow and clone them if I don't have enough and need to replace them all.

Christ this poo poo is stressful.

Solkanar512 fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Apr 12, 2020

Kaiser Schnitzel
Mar 29, 2006

Schnitzel mit uns


Solkanar512 posted:

Uh, so I got hit with a surprise frost this morning and there's pretty significant leaf damage on some of these plants. Now, I presume that because the vast, vast majority of the plant is buried underground that I'll be fine and just have to wait for new growth? God drat I'm pissed off about this.
Oh no! They'll probably not die, but it'll probably slow them down a bit for a while.




I got most everything finished up yesterday. 9 hills of squash, 15 maters trellised, 4 eggplants, and 6 peppers. Also planted some swiss chard and beets (to be replaced by okra in 20 months or whenever it gets too hot) in one of the D shaped raised bed things and okra in the other, with radishes seeded to put something there until the okra gets going. I'm going to plant pole beans on the back side of the circle, and still need to mulch, especially down in the water troughs between rows. In the front where all the dark dirt is I seeded a bunch of cosmos, zinnias, and marigolds and a few big sunflowers to help mask it all from the street. It's gonna be bright and loud in there in 6 weeks.

I can't remember who recommended the spanish trellis, but that's what I did and it was super simple-thanks for the recommendation! Seems like it should work well. I probably should have been brave and chopped all these back to 1 main leader, but couldn't bring myself to do it, so we'll see how 2 leaders works on some of them.


I used pretty rough sisal and I'm worried it's gonna be to rough on my dainty tomatoes, but I'm sure they'll toughen up :ohdear:

Also found my first hornworm who meet the thumb and forefinger of doom :commissar:

Solkanar512
Dec 28, 2006

by the sex ghost

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

Oh no! They'll probably not die, but it'll probably slow them down a bit for a while.




Thanks for the confidence! Also, I really, really like how you've integrated that veggie garden with the rest of your lawn.

Jhet
Jun 3, 2013

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

Oh no! They'll probably not die, but it'll probably slow them down a bit for a while.




I got most everything finished up yesterday. 9 hills of squash, 15 maters trellised, 4 eggplants, and 6 peppers. Also planted some swiss chard and beets (to be replaced by okra in 20 months or whenever it gets too hot) in one of the D shaped raised bed things and okra in the other, with radishes seeded to put something there until the okra gets going. I'm going to plant pole beans on the back side of the circle, and still need to mulch, especially down in the water troughs between rows. In the front where all the dark dirt is I seeded a bunch of cosmos, zinnias, and marigolds and a few big sunflowers to help mask it all from the street. It's gonna be bright and loud in there in 6 weeks.

I can't remember who recommended the spanish trellis, but that's what I did and it was super simple-thanks for the recommendation! Seems like it should work well. I probably should have been brave and chopped all these back to 1 main leader, but couldn't bring myself to do it, so we'll see how 2 leaders works on some of them.


I used pretty rough sisal and I'm worried it's gonna be to rough on my dainty tomatoes, but I'm sure they'll toughen up :ohdear:

Also found my first hornworm who meet the thumb and forefinger of doom :commissar:

That was me and I hope it works for you. That twine won’t harm your tomatoes in the least. I’d go out and wrap it every couple days. I made the mistake of using twine that wasn’t strong enough, but that looks a fair bit heavier than what I used. I might reinforce the twine on the top as that’s were all the weight will go unless you’ve got another material on there I can’t see. I used spare 2x4s that I split to build the trellis, but I’d use some wire or clothesline if I do it again.

Tomato pruning requires bravery. Your plant will thank you for being brave.

LLSix
Jan 20, 2010

The real power behind countless overlords

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

Oh no! They'll probably not die, but it'll probably slow them down a bit for a while.




I got most everything finished up yesterday. 9 hills of squash, 15 maters trellised, 4 eggplants, and 6 peppers. Also planted some swiss chard and beets (to be replaced by okra in 20 months or whenever it gets too hot) in one of the D shaped raised bed things and okra in the other, with radishes seeded to put something there until the okra gets going. I'm going to plant pole beans on the back side of the circle, and still need to mulch, especially down in the water troughs between rows. In the front where all the dark dirt is I seeded a bunch of cosmos, zinnias, and marigolds and a few big sunflowers to help mask it all from the street. It's gonna be bright and loud in there in 6 weeks.

I can't remember who recommended the spanish trellis, but that's what I did and it was super simple-thanks for the recommendation! Seems like it should work well. I probably should have been brave and chopped all these back to 1 main leader, but couldn't bring myself to do it, so we'll see how 2 leaders works on some of them.


I used pretty rough sisal and I'm worried it's gonna be to rough on my dainty tomatoes, but I'm sure they'll toughen up :ohdear:

Also found my first hornworm who meet the thumb and forefinger of doom :commissar:

Why's your garden white? Kinda reminds me of giant spider webs in horror movies and its creeping me out.

A Pack of Kobolds
Mar 23, 2007



Jhet posted:

Tomato pruning requires bravery. Your plant will thank you for being brave.

You're not hurting them, you're only showing them where to grow. They understand and appreciate your direction.

guri
Jun 14, 2001
Off to a bad start this year. I started tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants at different times throughout the past month and had no problem getting things to sprout but after that.. nothing. I've put some in different places to see if it makes a difference; windowsill, heat mat, outside (it's been around 60-65 the past couple weeks), outside in a cold frame.. Nothing has budged. Even varieties in years past that would be going along perfectly by this time. Tried doing another round after the first and same thing.

The only tomato seedling that has started growing its second set of leaves is one that I popped out of the started pot because it wasn't looking healthy and just stuck in a proper container outside because I figured there wasn't much to lose. That is the only one that has started growing.. That makes me think that the potting mix I used was just poo poo for seed starting.

As an experiment I took out a few other seedlings and put them into proper containers today and started yet another round of tomatoes using a potting mix I've used before. It's much later than I would typically start seeds but I have a pretty long growing season so here's hoping for the best.

Kaiser Schnitzel
Mar 29, 2006

Schnitzel mit uns


Solkanar512 posted:

Thanks for the confidence! Also, I really, really like how you've integrated that veggie garden with the rest of your lawn.

Thanks! It took some trial and error and laying things out a few different ways, but I'm happy with the result. It's definitely not the most efficient layout as far as plants per sq ft, but I'm looking at this year as a learning/soil building year as much as a gardening year.


Jhet posted:

That was me and I hope it works for you. That twine won’t harm your tomatoes in the least. I’d go out and wrap it every couple days. I made the mistake of using twine that wasn’t strong enough, but that looks a fair bit heavier than what I used. I might reinforce the twine on the top as that’s were all the weight will go unless you’ve got another material on there I can’t see. I used spare 2x4s that I split to build the trellis, but I’d use some wire or clothesline if I do it again.

Tomato pruning requires bravery. Your plant will thank you for being brave.
There are 4 strands of twine top and bottom and the verticals are 2 strands, so hopefully that'll be enough. I definitely did think about using stronger rope for the top, but all the hardware store had (and I was scared to go to a big box) was white poly line that I didn't want or a literal half mile of sisal twine, so I got the half mile of sisal twine. I think I have a roll of baling wire somewhere-that's a good idea for insurance on the top run. My old trellis structure was conduit with a solid pipe on top and it was great, but I couldn't quite do shiny silver conduit in the front yard- twine seems a little more charmingly rustic.

LLSix posted:

Why's your garden white? Kinda reminds me of giant spider webs in horror movies and its creeping me out.
I have fairly sandy soil and it hadn't rained in a week or more, so the top layer was dust. It's much more black/grey when it's damp. Mulching all that white stuff with oak leaves is my next task.

Shifty Pony
Dec 28, 2004

Up ta somethin'


The year I aggressively pruned my tomatoes I got very little fruit, the years I haven't I have been so overloaded that I was grateful for the squirrels to take some away.

Is it perhaps different for indeterminate or cherry varieties? I'll clear out old non-productive vines but leave the suckers since that's where the flowers tend to pop up.

willroc7
Jul 24, 2006

BADGES? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' BADGES!
My wife and I are planning on starting a garden and the idea of doing it indoors has been floated. We live in Ohio so most of the year the seems less than ideal for plant life. Does it make sense to do an indoor/hydro garden in this kind of climate? We aren't lacking in space either indoors or out, but we both have basically no gardening experience. I don't mind making an investment on a hydroponic setup if that will yield more year-round. My wife has already started some seedlings of peas and peppers indoors in soil, if that has any bearing on this. Could those be transferred to hydroponic?

LLSix
Jan 20, 2010

The real power behind countless overlords

I've been disappointed by every cucumber trellis I've ever made. Every time I've tried to make something cheaply, it collapsed under the weight of the cucumbers partway through the season. Does anyone know of a good premade frame for cucumbers to grow up?

Failing that, I'm thinking of trying to make an A-frame by cutting this down to size and then bending it in half. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Tarter-Act...cB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I'd really prefer something I could order instead of risking a trip to the store.

Solkanar512
Dec 28, 2006

by the sex ghost

LLSix posted:

I've been disappointed by every cucumber trellis I've ever made. Every time I've tried to make something cheaply, it collapsed under the weight of the cucumbers partway through the season. Does anyone know of a good premade frame for cucumbers to grow up?

Failing that, I'm thinking of trying to make an A-frame by cutting this down to size and then bending it in half. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Tarter-Act...cB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I'd really prefer something I could order instead of risking a trip to the store.

I think this place has a good reputation, what do others think?


https://www.gardeners.com/search?q=cucumber%20trellis

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Shifty Pony
Dec 28, 2004

Up ta somethin'


LLSix posted:

I've been disappointed by every cucumber trellis I've ever made. Every time I've tried to make something cheaply, it collapsed under the weight of the cucumbers partway through the season. Does anyone know of a good premade frame for cucumbers to grow up?

Failing that, I'm thinking of trying to make an A-frame by cutting this down to size and then bending it in half. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Tarter-Act...cB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I'd really prefer something I could order instead of risking a trip to the store.

Making one from a cattle fence panel like that is definitely the way to go. If angled you might want to reinforce it with a bar of rebar up the middle to keep it from sagging but otherwise it will last for a very long time.

The store trip is a concern though, everything I've heard from others is that places like Lowe's are slammed right now. Maybe a smaller landscape supply would have something with less chance of crowds?

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