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SubG posted:What kind of luck have you had growing potatoes in grow bags? Whenever I've tried it, the plants have been very vigorous, but I've gotten fewer usable potatoes than when I've done them in the ground. Part 1 of... 5 I think... of potato grow bag trials https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ol6QYYscPY the tl;dw is that he found that potatoes are heavy feeders and most broadly speaking need nitrogen at two key times - early to create tubers and late to grow them. His best performing potatoes were those that had steady nitrogen feeding throughout the season.
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May 22, 2023 05:24
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No one has asked so I have to. What is that soil mix? It looks like large chunks of bark mixed in with compost? I'm curious about it. Where do you get bark pieces that big? Did you do that because you have trouble with drainage? How does it affect the nitrogen levels in the soil? Fozzy The Bear fucked around with this message at 05:54 on May 22, 2023 |
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May 22, 2023 05:46
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SubG posted:What kind of luck have you had growing potatoes in grow bags? Whenever I've tried it, the plants have been very vigorous, but I've gotten fewer usable potatoes than when I've done them in the ground. I did potatoes in bags last year without much luck getting more than my seed potatoes back. I did wonder whether the air pruning qualities of the bags were bad for potatoes, but it doesn't seem to bother the people on youtube or whatever. w00tmonger posted:Busy as gently caress weekend so far. Put in a patio for a firepit, made labels for my plants, and managed to keep my hrdoponics tower alive Love the hydro tower!
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May 22, 2023 12:28
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This morning I decided that I can feel better about things if I think of my garden as a food forest and not an overgrown mess because I am lazy.
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May 22, 2023 12:57
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I've just mulched my garden to try and at least temporarily stop losing in the endless war against weeds - but how does that work if I want to plant seeds later? Surely the mulch will be just as effective at stopping my deliberate seeds. I can start some of my seeds in pots, but the lettuce I have explicitly warns against that as apparently it will bolt - and lettuce already likes to bolt in my garden. Do I just clear out a bit of mulch and put the seeds there? I'm pretty new to gardening and don't really know what I am doing, but I have been pleasantly surprised by how plants want to live and reproduce, so doing nothing has resulted in many healthy plants, some of which aren't even weeds
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May 22, 2023 13:37
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Fozzy The Bear posted:No one has asked so I have to. What is that soil mix? It looks like large chunks of bark mixed in with compost? I'm curious about it. Where do you get bark pieces that big? Did you do that because you have trouble with drainage? How does it affect the nitrogen levels in the soil? I tried to use as little bagged potting mix as possible, for the most part! It's yard scraps on the bottom (logs, sticks, old vines) and then some standard yellow bag sta-gro from Lowes, and then some bark mulch. The sta-gro has some chunks but I think in general I prefer that to the really uniform sizing of some of the pricier mulches. I haven't been able to find as good of undyed non-treated wood mulch for the top as I'd like to so bark mulch is the move for me. I need to buy some more, so right now all we've got is last year's.
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May 22, 2023 14:24
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Splode posted:Do I just clear out a bit of mulch and put the seeds there? That's what I do, seems to work out ok. I'll pull the mulch back in once the plants get established. That said once I had mulch that must have been contaminated with some sort of pre-emergent herbicide because my germination rates for that bed (and only that bed) were absolutely horrendous. Ended up having pull the mulch back, build little mounds of fresh potting soil, and then put the seeds in that to get anything to grow there that year. Pretty much zero weeds that year, but it took me a while to figure out what was going on and the zinnias I was planting weren't able to get established enough to withstand the Texas summer sun. So... pull back the mulch will typically work, but pulling back the mulch and making a little mound of high quality soil will definitely work.
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May 22, 2023 14:40
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I have 3 pepper plants on my balcony, and 1 of them (the Tabasco) has some funky looking leaves. The plant itself seems to be growing well, it's much bigger than when I first bought it, but I want to make sure there's nothing bad going on.  
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May 22, 2023 20:31
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Shifty Pony posted:So... pull back the mulch will typically work, but pulling back the mulch and making a little mound of high quality soil will definitely work. Thanks I'll do that!
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May 22, 2023 20:41
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Annath posted:I have 3 pepper plants on my balcony, and 1 of them (the Tabasco) has some funky looking leaves. Can you take a picture of the underside of the leaf, too? That would let us rule out leaf miners, a common insect problem. In any case go out and separate the Tabasco as far as you can from the other peppers in case it's a disease. e: If it's not a leaf miner or aphid, it looks a lot like one of the mosaic diseases of peppers, probably tobacco mosaic, and the only thing you can do is throw it out.  e: See here https://www.ruralsprout.com/pepper-plant-problems/ for pictures; I'm pasting in an image of cucumber mosaic.  Arsenic Lupin fucked around with this message at 21:34 on May 22, 2023 |
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May 22, 2023 21:24
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Oh dear. Well, these are the backs of the leaves:   The leaves are a little... crunchy? Like, they're stiff, like dry leaves, except they are green and lush. Not all of the leaves, just the wrinkly ones. The Shishito pepper plant next to it also has a slight yellowing, but much much less and only on 2 leaves...    
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May 22, 2023 22:45
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CommonShore posted:the tl;dw is that he found that potatoes are heavy feeders and most broadly speaking need nitrogen at two key times - early to create tubers and late to grow them. His best performing potatoes were those that had steady nitrogen feeding throughout the season. And I've had great luck growing potatoes in the beds, and very mediocre luck in the bags, in essentially the same growing conditions otherwise (in terms of sunlight and watering schedule).
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May 22, 2023 22:57
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Annath posted:Oh dear. APHID DETECTED. TERMINATE. TERMINATE.  Aphids nibbling on leaves as they grow will cause small, curled holes like this. Look for any signs of a more widespread infestation, and you can just murder them by hand if you don't have that many plants.
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May 22, 2023 23:02
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Jan posted:APHID DETECTED. TERMINATE. TERMINATE. 1. Could aphids explain the yellowing? Or should I still be concerned about mosaic virus? 2. Is there something I can use to kill aphids? I don't really want to inspect every leaf by hand like daily or whatever. I have 3 peppers and a Hibiscus plant.
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May 22, 2023 23:13
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Annath posted:1. Could aphids explain the yellowing? Yep. Annath posted:2. Is there something I can use to kill aphids? At this small of a scale insecticidal soap is a great non-toxic option. 
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May 22, 2023 23:19
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Motronic posted:At this small of a scale insecticidal soap is a great non-toxic option.
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May 22, 2023 23:30
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Be sure to spray all the plants on your balcony, because there is no such thing as one aphid.
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May 22, 2023 23:43
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Dammit, this made me go check my jalapeño and it has aphids. Also, would overwatering inhibit tomato plant growth? Mine is much smaller than comparable plants in my neighbor's yard, and I'm getting leaf curling which the internet seems to think is either overfeeding or overwatering. This is my first year with a real garden and I'm still pretty bad at it.
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May 22, 2023 23:58
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How do i keep soil in a planter in good shape? I imagine after a couple years i need to fully restart with 100% fresh but theres probably some ways to get more longevity
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May 23, 2023 00:05
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SubG posted:Hm. I'm willing to entertain the possibility that it's fertilising that's the issue, but I'm skeptical; the soil in the grow bags and the soil in the raised beds is from the same source, with the main difference that the soil in the grow bags is fresher (because it was bought specifically for filling the grow bags, whereas the soil in the beds is a couple years old now, although it has been amended and fertilised over that time). The media in the grow bags has fewer organisms in it to break down biomass into nutrients that plants can use, especially compared to the wide ecosystem that is ground soil, which the raised beds are presumably connected to, with worms and other critters getting in there.
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May 23, 2023 00:07
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Motronic posted:Yep. Awesome! Thanks so much! I'm really glad that it's (probably) not Mosaic virus! This is the first time I've grown these 3 types of peppers (Tabasco, Shishito, and Super Thai). Previously I've only grown Bird's Eye chilis, so I'm excited to see what I get!
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May 23, 2023 00:50
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Real hurthling! posted:How do i keep soil in a planter in good shape? I imagine after a couple years i need to fully restart with 100% fresh but theres probably some ways to get more longevity just add compost on top. if it's been a while add some slow release fertilizer too. the only things missing are going to be organic matter that got broken down (replaced w compost) and nutrients (fertilizer)
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May 23, 2023 01:32
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PokeJoe posted:just add compost on top. if it's been a while add some slow release fertilizer too. the only things missing are going to be organic matter that got broken down (replaced w compost) and nutrients (fertilizer) Ok cool thanks
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May 23, 2023 01:38
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Annath posted:1. Could aphids explain the yellowing? Or should I still be concerned about mosaic virus? I always say this, but you can literally just mash aphids between your fingers. I've never seen an aphid infestation that couldn't be solved by that in a few minutes, but that's just my experience. They don't come back all that often.
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May 23, 2023 02:48
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Annath posted:Awesome! Thanks so much! I'm really glad that it's (probably) not Mosaic virus! The tabasco is a temperamental plant too, and the curl happened probably because it didn't like the temps overnight. They were curling on me last year and eventually got a small harvest, but it wasn't hot enough for me for long enough. I often have leaves yellow and fall off early in the season with no real obvious issue. sometimes they hang out all season like that, sometimes they just fall off as they end up near the bottom of the plant and aren't necessary anyway. Tabasco is a Capsicum frutescens, Shishito and Super Thai are C. annuum and should give you less issues once they start to leaf out if you keep the aphids off them. C. frutescens are more particular about temperature in general, so even if you think it didn't get too cold, it'll tell you otherwise. Even my super hots care less about temp, they just sit there and hang out until it's hot enough and then they grow a ton in a week. The neem oil + insecticidal soap will help keep issues away, but it needs to be sprayed after they're out of the sun for the day so the leaves don't get torched. Fingers do work great for a few.
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May 23, 2023 02:58
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Speaking of which! I live in a cool-summer area. I don't have room for a greenhouse or an entire tented row. Does anybody have favorite ways to raise the temperature around a couple of peppers?
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May 23, 2023 03:06
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Jhet posted:The tabasco is a temperamental plant too, and the curl happened probably because it didn't like the temps overnight. They were curling on me last year and eventually got a small harvest, but it wasn't hot enough for me for long enough. I often have leaves yellow and fall off early in the season with no real obvious issue. sometimes they hang out all season like that, sometimes they just fall off as they end up near the bottom of the plant and aren't necessary anyway. Tabasco is a Capsicum frutescens, Shishito and Super Thai are C. annuum and should give you less issues once they start to leaf out if you keep the aphids off them. C. frutescens are more particular about temperature in general, so even if you think it didn't get too cold, it'll tell you otherwise. Even my super hots care less about temp, they just sit there and hang out until it's hot enough and then they grow a ton in a week. Ah, that's it. Its been rather cool in the evenings - int he 60sF with some nights in the mid 50sF, which is kinda weird (I live in VA). It usually warms up around now, so hopefully it will do better soon. This is the first year I've tried growing peppers since I moved into an apartment. Previously I lived in a house with a deck, so the peppers got plenty of sun all day long.
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May 23, 2023 03:13
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CommonShore posted:The media in the grow bags has fewer organisms in it to break down biomass into nutrients that plants can use, especially compared to the wide ecosystem that is ground soil, which the raised beds are presumably connected to, with worms and other critters getting in there.
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May 23, 2023 03:18
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Chad Sexington posted:It's in the deepest part of my new bed which is probably like 95% compost. I've found this fairly problematic in the past. Especially with the stuff I can get for free from the local recycling program - its good quality compost (certified organic, even), but is only aged something like 8-12 weeks, so its not great by itself as a planting medium. Even a lot of the expensive bagged soils can be pretty heavy on minimally aged compost, "forestry products", sawdust and other stuff that can be a good soil amendment but doesnt work well as a soil substitute. I have found it impossible to find a place that wants to sell less than a cubic yard of the sort of inexpensive top soil that I imagine would be good to mix with fresh compost for raised beds. Curious if anyone has any ideas for good substitutes. My current idea is to just get a bunch of the free fresh compost and let it sit in a pile for a year or two to break down a bit more.
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May 23, 2023 03:20
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Arsenic Lupin posted:Speaking of which! I live in a cool-summer area. I don't have room for a greenhouse or an entire tented row. Does anybody have favorite ways to raise the temperature around a couple of peppers? Cloches aren’t going to be tall enough, but you can take tomato cages and use the row cover fabric to make a open topped cylinder that should work for most of them. The key is making sure it’s a big enough cage and not the narrow ones. But you can use other supports to make your plants warm too.
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May 23, 2023 03:21
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Fitzy Fitz posted:I always say this, but you can literally just mash aphids between your fingers. I've never seen an aphid infestation that couldn't be solved by that in a few minutes, but that's just my experience. They don't come back all that often. You've never farmed or even had a large garden then. Yes, on small scales with enough periodic attention you can do this. It's just not practical past a micro scale.
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May 23, 2023 03:28
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Looks like the person they are helping isn't a farmer either, huh.
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May 23, 2023 03:37
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Actually found a recent detailed soil analysis for the compost I use which includes this great test: So, clearly the answer if you want to grow directly in compost is to plant some cucumbers
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May 23, 2023 03:42
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SubG posted:I mean maybe. But every time I've dug down into the grow bags they've been full of earthworms and pill bugs and so on. Never tested for microorganisms like beneficial nematodes though. ah if you have worms and stuff idk nevermind. Usually when I see people working with grow bags it's missing those guys.
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May 23, 2023 04:05
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CommonShore posted:ah if you have worms and stuff idk nevermind. Usually when I see people working with grow bags it's missing those guys.
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May 23, 2023 04:37
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Motronic posted:You've never farmed or even had a large garden then. Yeah I'm not saying this is the solution for a large-scale problem. It should be fine though for most home gardeners, who often don't realize that mechanical solutions can be better than chemical ones. Like, we got a picture of a single aphid on a leaf. It's not necessarily time to buy and broadcast a product.
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May 23, 2023 12:54
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you ate my cat posted:Dammit, this made me go check my jalapeño and it has aphids. Yeah root rot from sitting in water can inhibit nutrient uptake. It's pretty hard to overwater tomatoes in the ground though if they have good drainage. Do you have clay? Or are they in pots?
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May 23, 2023 13:03
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I decided to replant my Dracaena trifasciata. These are the only plants to survive in my house. But I aspire to do better. You might not believe it. But these things have not been replanted in 8 years and have been watered about 6-10 times a year. What came out of the flower pot was basically a fist sized lump of 95% roots.  It started as 4 pots with about 20 plants. I didn't want that many, so I filtered it down to 6. Any future houseplants will be of a different species. I also wanted to standardize my pots as well. I think clay pots look way cooler.
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May 23, 2023 14:01
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Chad Sexington posted:Yeah root rot from sitting in water can inhibit nutrient uptake. It's pretty hard to overwater tomatoes in the ground though if they have good drainage. Do you have clay? Or are they in pots? There's definitely clay. I worked a bunch of compost and some "soil improver" into the bed prior to planting, and that seemed to loosen everything up a lot. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that there's more clay farther down since I only dug down a foot or so. I'll poke around and see if I can get an idea of the root condition. Thanks! Also, I think one of the bags of compost I bought had grass seed in it because there's grass loving everywhere now.
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May 23, 2023 18:20
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How well can tomato plants recover from leaf loss? A recent hail storm ripped a bunch of leaves off my Brandywine's. My most productive plant, with a dozen or so grape size green tomatoes lost about 80% of it's leaves. Is it likely to recover and is there anything I should do to help it?
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May 23, 2023 18:45
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