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I'm going to be starting a variety of plants from seeds this year for my small garden, 12'x4' bed. Can anybody let me know if I've got holes in my general plan for getting my seeds -> plants to my garden? 1) I've got some potting soil, garden soil and plain yard dirt on hand. Should i make a mix of the 3 for the seed growing process or just use potting soil (I've heard it can burn seedling roots)? My natural yard soil (Loc: Indiana) is pretty good I believe, last year I planted from 4"-8" starters because I didn't move into my current house until June. The plants grew like crazy, the only thing that didn't work out was the peppers, because I started too late. 2) I've got little plastic planter cups to grow these guys in, I'll cover them to keep a humid environment ~75 degrees until they begin to sprout, at which point they will be put by my window to get sunlight 8~10 hrs a day. Should I stick an LED bulb in a lamp and make some kind of aluminum foil lined lamp shad to reflect the light to the plants as well? 3) I'll use a water sprayer a couple times a day to keep the soil moist but not soaking wet. When the last frost has passed, I'll drop em in the ground.
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Feb 23, 2016 16:09
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Peristalsis posted:Some things depend on what you're starting, but I'll assume peppers and tomatoes. Thanks for your comment. I'll pick up some sprouting mix and find a couple cool flourescent bulbs... I've got some on my bathroom vanity, but I don't know how long they've been in use as we rent. I suppose I should have listed what I'm growing. Mostly tomatoes, some brocolli, squash, cucumber, eggplant, pepper, basil and oregano. Good to know about the hardening period. I'll work that into my schedule.
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Feb 23, 2016 17:00
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Thanks again for more information, Peristalsis. edit: text removed, Menard's inventory tracking sucks. extravadanza fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Feb 23, 2016 |
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Feb 23, 2016 19:41
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melon cat posted:I'll be sure to do that. Thanks for the tips. We've been having some really unstable weather here in Ontario (we just had a mini ice storm), so I guess I'll just have to play it really safe. For reference, in Indiana my tomato plants probably won't go into the ground until mid May. Peppers may wait until June.
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Mar 25, 2016 00:46
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I've got a couple tomato questions. 1) I'm growing 3 types of tomatoes, 6 plants of each variety. One of my varieties has these weird twisty branches and leaves, well 5/6 of them do.. one is perfectly fine. These were Ebay seeds. They keep growing, but they look gnarly. I've tried cutting back on their water as well as increasing it over the past 2 weeks to no real effect. Anybody seen anything like it? They are 'Trucker's Favorite' seeds.  2) I just snapped the top of one of my tomato plants off where it was growing from... It's got about 3 branches with big true leaves on it. Will it be able to mend from such a trauma? Thanks!
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May 9, 2016 21:33
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kedo posted:If you just stick that in some dirt and water it, it'll probably root and survive. Should I snip off the current leaves or does it not matter?
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May 9, 2016 21:42
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kedo posted:How tall is it? It was maybe 6 inches tall, but pretty wide. Ended up burying the whole thing w/ a little sucker branch point up and 2 of the 3 true leaf branches poking out of the soil. I'll see how it goes!
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May 10, 2016 16:30
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kedo posted:How tall is it? Just checking back in regarding my broken tomato situation. (Broke off the tip where it was growing from) Buried the whole thing except 2 of the large branches with leaves and it has quickly sprouted a new stalk and you can hardly tell it apart from the other tomato plants in my garden (except for the unusual potato leaves). I think it helped a lot that it basically rained non-stop the 2 weeks after I buried it. Actually the way that I buried it with 2 branches sticking out caused it to sprout 2 trunks. Probably best to snip the smaller trunk off just under ground level, correct?
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Jun 2, 2016 15:02
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Shame Boner posted:Is it too late in the season to find/plant blueberry bushes in 6a? I just cleared out a spot beside my garage that's essentially a huge hugel bed, since the ground underneath is crossed with huge rotting roots from a big mulberry that used to occupy the edge of his property. Until a storm blew it onto his garage, that is. This spot gets hours of direct morning sun until the garage shades it in mid-afternoon. I have no illusion of getting berries this year; I simply want to get a start on growth to support a crop for next year. If you are angling for a crop next year, I don't think anytime during the spring/summer is too late to plant. I'm in 6a and my local Kroger still has berry bushes for sale out front... I imagine nurseries will be selling them all spring/summer
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Jun 2, 2016 18:16
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So I bought a packet of Opalka tomatoes from Seed Savers this year, but now that I'm seeing the fruits develop, it's clear they aren't the right type of tomato. Looks like I'll be making a few gallons of tomato sauce with mystery tomatoes!
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Jun 25, 2016 21:26
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Yea, peppers wilt in the heat of the day. Check the leaves after the sun has gone down. You may find they have bounced back very quickly to a normal leaf firmness. If they are firm at night, they probably don't need more water.
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Jul 13, 2016 12:59
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Ebola Dog posted:Could I please get some recommendations for chili peppers to grow next year? This year I got a black Hungarian chili, super chili and a scotch bonnet and they've done pretty well. I'm after something that will do well in a pot or container that I can grow indoors, not anything spicier than a scotch bonnet with nice/interesting flavours. I think I'm going to grow some Aurora peppers next year, just because they have wonderful colors. This year I have black Hungarian and Banana peppers.
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Sep 26, 2016 20:53
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Peristalsis posted:I have one pepper plant that I grew in a pot to bring in over the winter. It's in my back window now, but it's looking very unhappy. Most of the leaves are dying or dead, and I assume it needs more light. With the fluorescent lights I use for seed starting, I know you're supposed to have the light bulbs within an inch or two of the seedlings, but that isn't going to be very practical for most of a grown plant. Is there another lighting solution that is good for a big pepper plant? If I had to guess, needs more lights and possibly more heat. For a plant that grew to a large size outside, it's difficult/expensive to bring back inside and continue to grow. It's used to bright full natural light and it's grown to a size that could utilize that light. Alternatively, you can cut the plant down and store it somewhere cool. It should go dormant and can be replanted in the spring. I've cut 2 of my pepper plants down to about a foot and a half worth of main trunk with a few branches here and there. I'm currently storing it in the basement where it is pretty chilly. I've never tried overwintering before, so I'm just following some internet instructions. edit: to answer the lighting question above this post... just buy more lights! Most of them can be hung sideways if you want to shine light on your plant from the side. Another option is using LED light strips or fluorescent bulbs inside a bucket. If you want to give it a try, you can google 'space buckets' (warning, it's commonly used for drugs). extravadanza fucked around with this message at 19:45 on Dec 21, 2016 |
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Dec 21, 2016 19:41
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ROFLburger posted:I recently started a little herb garden on my patio and was wondering if anyone had any book recommendations for a beginner? Looking for maybe a pocket reference or a baby's first type of deal. My alma mater puts out great free PDFs on various topics for home gardeners. https://www.purdue.edu/hla/sites/yardandgarden/gardening-bulletins/ Some/All information may not apply to climates dramatically different from the Midwest.
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Jan 24, 2017 18:00
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Can we exchange seeds on this forum? I have some (random amounts of each) 'Apple Green' Eggplant, Black Hungarian Pepper, Stupice Tomato, Opalka Tomato, Romanesco Cauliflower seeds that have been in my fridge since last spring that I will not be able to plant this year. I will be away from my house for a couple periods of a week or two during seedling growing, so I'm only doing like zucchini and cucumber from seeds this year. Edit: Suppose I can also offer mystery Hop rhizomes from my 4 hop vines I've been growing for 2 years now. They might be Cascade, Centennial or Chinook. extravadanza fucked around with this message at 20:30 on Feb 8, 2017 |
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Feb 8, 2017 20:27
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Anybody grow herbs or other non fruiting edible plants in their basement? I just got two 6 bulb T8 fluorescent light fixtures for free from my work and I'd like to keep a small rosemary, basil, mint and/or some chives in my basement year round. I was brainstorming how to build an enclosure, but it seems like buying a  grow tent is cheaper and easier than all other options. Anybody have experience with this?Mainly, it seems grow tents are at least 5' tall and for herbs, I would probably just need a 2' distance between my soil and lights. Not sure I need all that space. extravadanza fucked around with this message at 19:40 on Feb 23, 2017 |
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Feb 23, 2017 19:36
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Is that sectioned off into... square feet? Good luck keeping your zucchini from taking over all of the area zoned for peppers, summer squash and some of the broccoli area. I guess it's possible with a lot of pruning and attention, but in my opinion, that's packing a lot of plants in a small space.
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Mar 8, 2017 20:00
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Grow mint in a 2 gal bucket from Lowe's if you want to do it on the cheap. Mine still grew enough for dozens of mojitos per week in regular potting soil, last year. Edit. In my opinion, you have twice as many plants as you need, especially with your bed up against the house. It will be hard to read h the plants in the back in july/August. Totally my opinion, and worst case scenario you end up with a really really dense garden, kill it over the winter and start over. extravadanza fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Mar 9, 2017 |
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Mar 9, 2017 00:39
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Yea, echoing that traditional drinking yeasts have a really hard time producing good tasting alcohol in very acidic conditions. I make a batch of this every summer though. It's cheap and an excellent thirst quencher. http://skeeterpee.com/recipe Basically a buttload of sugar, some yeast and yeast nutrients and lemon juice. As mentioned, the yeast can't handle acidic environments very well, so most of the lemon juice goes in at the end. You can carbonate it in coke bottles if you want. Also you can sweeten to your liking, but bottle carbing and sweetening at the same time can be tough if you don't know what you are doing. I usually just leave mine uncarbed and unsweetened and drink it on the rocks. Super refreshing!
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Mar 14, 2017 13:23
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Hubis posted:e: I may have to brew that recipe I whipped up now, however... Sounds good, aside from the Sorachi Ace. That hop in any appreciable quantities just ruins beer for me. I don't know what it is, but it just has the worst taste (IMO).
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Mar 14, 2017 19:25
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learnincurve posted:So I've just moved house, and now live amongst the elderly, and it turns out there are community allotments a 2 min walk from it and they have plots going. It's a proper community thing with large equipment free to use and shared compost and water, also plots are ony £3.75 - £7 a year. The question is what size plot do I want as a beginner. I'm sure the 10m plot is too big but 2.5m may be too small, 5m? Are those measurements actually in meters squared?
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Mar 28, 2017 16:21
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learnincurve posted:Oh shoot I posted too early in the morning. The large plot is 100m2 or you can have a half or quarter plot. That a friggin big plot. You should probably be able to easily fit between 2-4 plants per meter squared depending on type of plant (zucchinis, broccoli grow wide, while tomatoes, cucumbers and other climbers can be trained upwards). I figure that you need to use half of the plot area as walking paths between rows of crops, so you could grow something like 150 plants on the full plot, 75 on the half, and around 38 on the small plot, max. For just my families consumption (wife and I), we had 4 pepper plants, 2 cucumber plants, 8 tomato plants (canned sauce), 2 basil plants, oregano, 2 broccoli plants, 1 eggplant, 1 zucchini that was plenty of veggies for us. Depending on how much you want to grow, the small or half should easily fit the needs of a single family, but also the cost difference between the large and small is like... almost nothing. e: vonnegutt has a good point on the weeding.
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Mar 28, 2017 16:51
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if you stick a digit in the dirt a knuckle or two deep and it's dry - add some water. Letting the plants dry out a bit isn't bad, it promotes a deep root system and helps fight off damaging diseases that like damp environments. It looks like your plants are pretty happy so far, so just keep up what you're doing. Also plants will grow a surprisingly large amount in cups like that.
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Apr 4, 2017 16:11
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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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You can buy a small LED grow lamp or some kind of work light that accepts fluorescent light and use that.
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May 26, 2017 19:12
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Jan posted:So basically, white light, not incandescent? Okay. This is a write-up for growing pot, but applies to veggies too. https://www.google.com/amp/gizmodo.com/5903134/better-know-a-grow-light/amp Basically if you are just trying to grow seedlings, get a 5000k fluorescent bulb and stick it in a work lamp that can clamp on a shelf or pole or something. LEDs can be tricky.. can't just use any LED.
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May 28, 2017 21:45
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Flaggy posted:Need some advice on what to do with my hot peppers, specifically my ghost peppers and trinidad scorpion peppers. My plants have alot of peppers, big ones,most of them are still green and not changing to orange/red. I live in Colorado and its starting to get colder at night during the day. Can I ripen them off the vine? In a paper bag with a tomato? Or am I just getting screwed out of the peppers that aren't ripe yet. I have gotten about 20 peppers between the plant but there are so many more that I don't want to lose! I've got some banana peppers on my counter that are slowly turning red. So I guess they can ripen off the vine?
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Sep 25, 2017 14:01
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Costco has some vinyl raised garden beds for sale $40 off. https://www.costco.com/.product.100153335.html Does anybody have experience with white vinyl garden beds? In moving into a new house in a couple weeks and I'm thinking about getting one to frame around a tree in my front yard and 3 to use for food crops in the backyard. I've used lumber framed garden beds at my current residence and they have lasted OK so far.
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Dec 8, 2017 17:03
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I haven't planted it yet, so the idea would be to add dirt to the raised bed, then plant tree in the new soil. Currently the front yard is empty. I was also considering wild ginger or other ground cover plants in the raised bed instead of just mulch.
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Dec 8, 2017 18:53
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I also just use wire shelving like the above poster linked + ratcheting hangers to move the light up as my seedlings grow.
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Feb 12, 2018 17:39
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Schmeichy posted:How often should I be fertilizing? I've got some liquid fertilizer and worm tea that I've been mixing with water and giving a sprinkle maybe twice a week. Depends on the fertilizer - you should read the packaging. Miracle Gro liquid fertilizer recommends feeding once ever 7-14 days, but this also can vary based on whether you are growing your plants in fertile soil or depleted soil. If your sprinkle is really just a sprinkle, twice a week might be ok... but you also might be better off giving the ground a good soak with liquid fertilizer once a week.
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Jun 5, 2018 13:38
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I had some great success growing cukes on one of these: https://www.gardeners.com/buy/deluxe-cucumber-trellis/8587083.html I think I trained 4 plants on each side, and it was way too much. They didn't start growing beyond the trellis until pretty well into the summer in zone 5/6. I had far fewer bitter cucumbers with this trellis, but I'm not sure if it's because I used a different variety or because of the equipment or because of the weather.
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Jan 3, 2019 21:13
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Drone posted:Should I bother getting a little cheapy LED lamp to make sure my seedlings get off to a good start while I wait for the weather to be good enough to keep them outside full-time (or at least outside during the day, inside at night)? If so, are there any recommendations An LED lamp would help, but may not be necessary if you have a south facing window. Worst case scenario, if your seedlings don't work out you can pick up some starts from a gardening center nearby in the spring. Drone posted:Edit: and maybe I'm thinking too far ahead here but in the interest of saving space on the balcony, can I also plant some oregano and/or basil in the same pot as a chili pepper plant? I know they're both recommended as "companion" plants to chilis but I have no idea why... won't the much taller pepper plant block sunlight that those herbs would need? Since you are doing pots, I would suggest not having 2 plants share a pot. Herbs are great in pots though (and I think peppers do pretty well in pots too)! They are companion plants because basil is sort of a natural pest repellent. Also hot tip for people growing peppers in pots. You can overwinter peppers in cold climates by pruning them down pretty heavily and storing them in the basement and have a huge head start for next spring (assuming they aren't pest ridden).
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Feb 4, 2019 14:42
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Grand Fromage posted:Louisville isn't super far south of me so that's good to know. April 22 is apparently the average last frost date where I am. I put tomatoes in the ground in Indiana around memorial day, maybe a week or two earlier. Peppers go in June. Cucumbers can probably go in April for direct sow? I always have to looks this stuff up each spring before planting. E: Here's what I use for guidance https://www.purdue.edu/hla/sites/yardandgarden/extpub/indiana-vegetable-planting-calendar/ extravadanza fucked around with this message at 04:53 on Feb 23, 2019 |
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Feb 23, 2019 04:48
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Anybody have experience with seedsavers transplants? I've had good experiences with their seeds, but worried about buying young transplants by mail.
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Apr 11, 2019 14:23
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I got this light a few years ago and it's badass. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019J3UPTY/ Wouldn't call it a cheap option, though.
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Apr 16, 2019 17:32
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Whatever you get, for seedlings you will need a way to adjust the height so the light can just hover over your plants and grow upwards with them. The ratcheting hooks are pretty good for that, but also small chains with hooks work well too.
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Apr 16, 2019 18:14
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Someone here or in the tools thread was singing the praises of some high-quality, made in USA, garden hoses and sprayers a while ago. Anyone remember what they were called? Love my Dramm garden hose sprayer attachments. Specifically the one with the aluminum sprayer head. The basic plastic sprayer heads break easily in my experience. Never used their hoses though...
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Mar 28, 2024 22:40
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Shifty Pony posted:Made covers for all three strawberry beds. Hell yea! I feel your joy vicariously.
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May 7, 2024 16:33
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