|
It worked! It took a lot of trial and error, but my growing table produced some pretty sweet seedlings! My first planting I actually had to scrap, because I had too many lights on so the only thing that grew was mold. So I pulled the plug on one set of lights, replanted and tried again. Stuff started growing, then I took off the lid and things sort of stagnated... so on a hunch I grabbed a fan I knew I had kicking around and stuck it in there. It had a heating element in it too, but turning it on just wilted the veggies and brought the temperature up to 95 degrees in the table. So I left it just blowing air, and somehow this raised the humidity in the enclosure. So instead of being 85 degrees and 10%-ish humidity it was 75 degrees and 40%. I'll take it. The biggest accomplishment so far is this:  This is seriously the best attempt I've had so far at growing green pepper seedlings. I might actually get some from my garden this year! For some reason though, my broccoli seedlings did horribly, and now they're all dying off. Guess the deer's favorite food won't get planted this year. Now all that's left is to find someone willing to deliver enough manure to cover a 20' x 40' plot. And to install anti-deer, rabbit and rodent measures. 
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 15:35
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 6, 2024 11:11 |
|
|
Broccoli is a cool weather plant and prefers 50's-60's
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 16:48
|
|
|
I'm terrible about broccoli, but I persist in dreaming that it will produce before the summer weather hits. I planted 6 squares of broccoli a month or so back, and it'll probably immediately bolt but whatever, I've got lots more seeds for later in the year! v vedit:  http://eugene.craigslist.org/grd/3000550880.html
coyo7e fucked around with this message at 17:21 on May 9, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 17:11
|
|
|
All that other...stuff...aside, those are pretty good prices for sprouts.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 18:23
|
|
|
^^^^^ I wonder if a quantum tomato is both eaten and uneaten, as long as it remains unobserved?  Tonight it's supposed to get down to near-freezing, so I'm going to put some cloches over some of my plants.  I sprayed some neem oil solution onto my leafy greens, they've been getting chewed up by some creepy-crawlies that I haven't yet caught in the act. I put my peppers and tomatoes in the ground a bit too early but I think they'll probably do alright. Also, pictures:  My direct-seeded bed except for tomato and pepper (you can see the radishes and carrots my cousin planted on the left, and the ones I put in on the right, when I realized how atrocious his "help" had been.)  These are all starts. Notice how the nasturtiums (back-middle) are yellowed, I pulled the lower, original leaves off the spinach and lettuce and peas as well. I think the yellowing was mostly just due to shock since my starts almost always do that a bit. My kale looks like swiss cheese in this pic.  Nice, sunny picture: 
coyo7e fucked around with this message at 20:18 on May 9, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 20:07
|
|
|
I'm starting up my first three raised beds (3x6) in North Idaho. I haven't made it through the thread yet, but was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on soil layering (What kind/how much on bottom and on up...) I also want my boxes to look nice and weather well. I was thinking of staining or putting a clear coat on the outside. Is this okay to do? Has anyone used Smartgardener.com? Do you like it or have a site that you think is better? Thanks in advance! AzCoug fucked around with this message at 04:23 on May 10, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 04:16
|
|
|
AzCoug posted:I'm starting up my first three raised beds (3x6) in North Idaho. I haven't made it through the thread yet, but was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on soil layering (What kind/how much on bottom and on up...) You don't really need to layer different types of soil. If there's existing grass and you don't want to remove it then you could put down a scattering of composted manure and layer or two of cardboard before filling the bed in with soil. How deep are the beds? At 12" you're talking about 2 cubic yards of soil. That's going to be very expensive if you're following something like the square foot gardening recipe and mix perlite/vermiculite, peat moss and compost, and buying it by the 1-3 cu ft bags at a big box store. You should be able to find someone local that does composting. Be wary of municipal compost programs because they may incorporate biosolids in the product, and the yard waste may have been treated with pesticides or herbicides. At least educate yourself on the risks before you decide to use it. The local composter you find should be able to recommend a good product of theirs for raised beds. Probably just their compost depending on what goes into it, or a mix of compost and soil. Most places will only deliver for a fee with a minimum of so many cubic yards, like 3. If you don't need that much then they might allow you to bring your own truck/trailer and make a few trips. That Smartgardener site looks too good to be true. Definitely better than GrowVeg.com that a bunch of people rebrand. I'll have to give it a try since it seems to address a lot of the issues I had in garden planning. e: After playing around with it that SmartGardener site is decent but nothing super special. If you don't have any previous experience then it's a fine place to start planning. Their business model seems to be making deals with retailers to sell seeds and starts and some sort of app store with extra features. Cpt.Wacky fucked around with this message at 07:21 on May 10, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 06:49
|
|
|
I don't think I've ever seen a place that wouldn't deliver a yard or two of soil unless they don't do residential at all pretty much. You'll pay a premium for the privilege of them driving twenty minutes to lift a dumptruck bed and leave a big pile of dirt in your driveway, but half a yard or 20 yards is all the same to them in my experience. Good quality composted soil is something like $27/yd in my town last I checked, but for 1 yard to be delivered, it starts at like $120 and then each additional yard costs a pittance after the delivery charges. Getting it blown in is even more expensive, generally, but moving two yards of soil by shovel and wheelbarrow is not an insignificant amount of labor if you're not already in decent shape and health. Municipal compost programs will very clearly state they are using biosolids if they do. Also, I wouldn't necessarily go all apeshit for the Mel's Mix ratio from the square foot gardening sites, you could easily end up paying 150 bucks a yard between the different ingredients, and have a lot of obnoxious mixing and stuff to do. I also wouldn't really recommend indiscriminately adding perlite and/or vermiculite to your soil without knowing what you're doing and why you want to add them.. You could easily end up with really swampy or really dry soil, and waste a lot of money and time to do so. coyo7e fucked around with this message at 17:37 on May 10, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 17:20
|
|
|
Anyone ever used an Aerogarden? I want to get my wife one for mothers day because our herbs always go haywire and grow way too large to be usable.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 17:51
|
|
|
One of my cucumber plants just yielded a very large cucumber, while the rest of the blooms are just starting out with the fruit. Normal? My tomatoe plants have just hit their stride in blooms, while my jalapeño and bell peppers are still quite small with no blooms, as expected.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 23:10
|
|
|
Hey guy's what's wrong with my Basil plant? Another plant next to it for comparison. It's either oregano or thyme I don't know (oh god I am terrible at this  ) Thanks in advance for any help 
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2012 00:37
|
|
|
How much sun does it get? Basil likes full sun. And that is oregano.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2012 01:15
|
|
|
It's oregano. And the basil looks a bit yellow, maybe the potting mix is nutrient deficient.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2012 01:17
|
|
|
THE LUMMOX posted:Hey guy's what's wrong with my Basil plant? That's more likely to be oregano, maybe marjoram. Thyme has smaller leaves and straighter stems. It's hard to say about the basil since it can be a little picky. Not enough light. Too hot or too cold. Too much water or not enough. Usually it's too much water, but with the color of the plant in the pic it could be not enough light or not intense enough light. You'll also want to start thinking about pruning the basil soon. Each place you prune it should split off into two stems, rinse repeat to get a nice bush going. Otherwise you end up with one tall stem that keeps growing up straight.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2012 01:17
|
|
|
Thanks for the advice guys. First, I will move it to another window. If my potting mix is nutrient deficient do I need to buy some plant food somewhere and water it with that? Should I prune it now or wait until its health is restored?  Should I prune at blue line or green line? What do you think about the health of the oregano plant?
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2012 01:31
|
|
|
I would just pinch the bud and leaves 7 and 8 out of the growing tip but I don't know if that is the best way to do it. I would certainly avoid removing any of the developed leaves because that would weaken the plant. If it a nutrient deficiency, a basic NPK fertiliser would do the job or you could transplant it carefully to a pot of new potting mix. But I would wait and see if moving it to a less shaded area works first.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2012 02:00
|
|
|
THE LUMMOX posted:Hey guy's what's wrong with my Basil plant? It looks like you might be overwatering. Soil shouldn't get bone dry but it doesn't need to be continously moist either. Roots need to breath too. You should let it dry out somewhat between waterings.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2012 14:58
|
|
|
Ok I'm looking into building a raised bed for vegetable gardening and I have some questions: - 4x4s at the corners, 2x6s (stacked 2 deep) for the sides. For a box 8'x4'x12", should I go deeper? If it matters for drainage I plan on placing this over an old tree stump that's rotted out and I live in TN where we have maybe ~2 feet of topsoil for drainage. - Should I concrete the corner posts? - Grab some PVC pipe and nail it to the insides at the corners (and maybe at the midway points) so I can later hang netting up via removable poles? - I'm planning to just use a shovel to dig the dirt in the area to smooth out the slight hump where the tree was so everything is level, will this be adequate or do I need more precision? - Should I be lining the thing at all? - Googling tells me that PTP is fine, especially since after 2003 the EPA mandated the elimination of CCA in consumer grade lumber products. Is this true? - What did I miss? fake edit: The bed will be N-S aligned, somewhat shaded in the morning but with full sun from Noon till 6pm easily. With the area I'm growing in I won't have a better option without sticking it dead center of my front yard (not an option).
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2012 18:09
|
|
|
Totally TWISTED posted:Ok I'm looking into building a raised bed for vegetable gardening and I have some questions: Don't nail pvc pipe, drill and screw through it instead. Ramming a nail through will shatter or send big cracks through the pvc. Also, it's not uv resistant at all so it *will* weaken over time. Much faster if you're in a southern area than northern too.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2012 18:51
|
|
|
Totally TWISTED posted:Ok I'm looking into building a raised bed for vegetable gardening and I have some questions: -My beds aren't even sunk into the ground, they're literally just 4 12" sections of 4x4 for corner anchors, and then I laid the beds out flat on the ground with cardboard under to kill off the grass and stuff (I am glad I did this because I didn't plan for mowing, and it's a PITA to navigate the around beds with my mower, also there's a sinkhole under one end of one of the beds!) I am planning on adding some corner brackets this summer, to cut down on the flexing, and I may fasten some 2x4 scraps along the top edge so I can add a flat 2x4 or 2x6 railing around the top edge for sitting on, placing tools, etc. My parents have a railing on their beds at their house, and it's sooo nice to just sit on the edge and lean in and pull food out!  -Yeah, or you can use rebar sections and pull them out when they aren't needed in good weather. With PVC half-hoops, you can also put up clear plastic tarping and clip it on, to make temporary greenhouses aka "hoop houses" and extend your growing season a good deal.. -Newspaper or cardboard on the bottom should be fine (avoid shiny paper and cardboard, those use non-soy-based inks that may be potentially toxic!) you might line the sides with landscape fabric or something to keep dirt from slipping out and weed seed from sneaking in and growing out the gaps, but it'll be pretty minor. -Sure thing, although I hate PTP since the splinters tend to get nasty pretty quick when you scratch or jab yourself. -Remember to put the taller plants on the rear end-end from the sun, so they don't grow up to overshade your shorter stuff? 
coyo7e fucked around with this message at 19:05 on May 11, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 11, 2012 19:01
|
|
|
10' of 1/2" PVC will bend nicely across a 4' bed for hoops. Rebar to secure the ends works. You can also use 1/2" electrical conduit clamps. Pressure treated wood is safe but if you want to be extra careful just don't plant root vegetables within 2-3" inches of the sides. coyo7e posted:(avoid shiny paper and cardboard, those use non-soy-based inks that may be potentially toxic!) All the research I did on this a while ago pointed to practically everyone using soy-based inks. The glossy part of the paper is made either with a clay called kaolin or more recently with calcium carbonate. The only problem with using them is that they are more water-resistant and will take longer to break down.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2012 19:32
|
|
|
Thanks for the tips!
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2012 20:19
|
|
|
I moved away from my parents' house and massive garden way back in January, but luckily the flat I picked has a terrace (unluckily my flatmates, despite me getting a "yes you can" from them, don't seem to like me growing stuff out there). I'm also a bit worried about light levels because this terrace doesn't get a vast amount of sunshine, and the weather has been so crappy lately. Here are my sugarsnap peas:  Don't know if they'll grow down or trail up the chains. And here is my tub-o-salad, ready for its first harvest (which is good because I'm out of food) 
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2012 01:06
|
|
|
My poor kale was hit pretty bad by itty bitty green caterpillars  before I had the time to go over all 10 or so plants by hand and wipe away and squish all the little fuckers  before giving the leaves all a good neem spraying, top and bottom.  [timg]http://imgur.com/5IMRc.jpg[[/timg] Bit of an aside, but my cousin claimed from his former  experience, that neem oil is really bad for your skin. But googling shows a bunch of skin care treatment stuff..?
coyo7e fucked around with this message at 02:57 on May 12, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 12, 2012 02:54
|
|
|
So I had my herbs growing in around 500g yoghurt containers but they were getting crowded. Since I had some more space free up I wanted to maximize space for my 4ft year-round herb grow bay. I found some absolutely perfect containers at the dollar store, they fit three to one 10"x20" greenhouse tray - so six of them in two trays sit perfectly under my two 4ft light fixtures. Anyways, I've got them in the trays, decided to bring my year old sage and thyme in from outside for easier access. Oregano, parsley, sage, rosemary, basil, thymes.  In others news, do not use top soil (black earth) for growing things. I ran out of triple mix and did a new round of annual seeding in just straight black earth from the grocery store and got really poor germination rates. Also, I sent out the last of my peppers (14) and tomatoes (18) in six greenbins to join the other two greenbins with 10 peppers outside. It's getting a bit hilarious but I need to keep my garden mobile for the move to the new house next month. 
cowofwar fucked around with this message at 02:47 on May 13, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 02:42
|
|
|
I'm still designing my herb garden; rough figures are gonna be 6'x15', I wanna elevate it behind some paver stones but I'm still not sure how high. I figure on basil, thyme and oregano in massive amounts, plus sage, chives and cilantro Anything else that should go in there? I've already got two big hanging baskets with peppermint and spearmint, and a gigantic rosemary bush I inherited from the previous owner.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 02:54
|
|
|
So I got home today to find all my seedlings smashed to bits. A flatmate had put the tray on the terrace wall, and poor balance or a gust of wind knocked them off. Piss annoying because I was planning to give the last of my pea seedlings out as presents, and all of my leeks look beyond saving. Can I have some advice with dealing with housemates who don't respect your plants? My plants were not in the way at all, they could have just pushed the seed tray to the corner of the terrace and not balanced it on the wall which was clearly a stupid loving idea. I asked them if they minded me having plants before I even moved in and was told they would be happy for me to grow food so I don't know what the gently caress. I don't know how to approach this, because I'm pissed off. Edit- I decided not to be an irrationally angry crazy person and got over it, then told flatmates that the tray can't be on the wall because it falls off. The end. madlilnerd fucked around with this message at 17:34 on May 13, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 14:06
|
|
|
Is it okay to stain and/or seal the outside of my boxes?
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 18:06
|
|
|
I don't see why not, I wouldn't but stain doesn't penetrate very deeply so I doubt it could leach into the soil. You should look into linseed oil.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 22:12
|
|
|
What's the best way to keep soil drier? In containers, I mean. They're a bit too heavy to keep moving in and out of the house (since I live in the second story) but it's been so rainy recently that some of my plants are really suffering.
|
|
#
?
May 14, 2012 00:31
|
|
|
I've had that issue, some of mine definitely don't do well when it just keeps raining. I usually just put them in the eaves, but second story does suck. Obvious solution. 
|
|
#
?
May 14, 2012 00:53
|
|
|
Pick posted:What's the best way to keep soil drier? In containers, I mean. They're a bit too heavy to keep moving in and out of the house (since I live in the second story) but it's been so rainy recently that some of my plants are really suffering.
|
|
#
?
May 14, 2012 01:38
|
|
|
Pick posted:What's the best way to keep soil drier? In containers, I mean. They're a bit too heavy to keep moving in and out of the house (since I live in the second story) but it's been so rainy recently that some of my plants are really suffering. Terracotta pots.
|
|
#
?
May 14, 2012 12:20
|
|
|
We planted on the weekend! I use the echelon layout because the sun come up directly in front of the garden and sets behind the fence. I put high plants (Tomatoes) and low-sun plants at the back and high sun/low plants in the front (Peppers). I also took out half of my fence boards to hopefully get more sun this year as I think last year my plants were affected by having too little sunlight.  I put an automatic watering timer in this year as well, right now it's set up to: 1: 7:00AM - 7:30AM every other day. 2: 4:00PM - 4:45PM Misting (1min on/6min off) I'm not 100% sure how much water this will produce, but I'm looking to get 3-4 inches deep wet every other day.
|
|
#
?
May 14, 2012 16:19
|
|
|
Pick posted:What's the best way to keep soil drier? In containers, I mean. They're a bit too heavy to keep moving in and out of the house (since I live in the second story) but it's been so rainy recently that some of my plants are really suffering.
|
|
#
?
May 14, 2012 16:55
|
|
|
MarshallX posted:We planted on the weekend! I use the echelon layout because the sun come up directly in front of the garden and sets behind the fence. That seems like a wasteful amount of water and I don’t think your plants will benefit from that much water either. I would mulch them and just manually water deeply if it hasn’t rained for awhile and you are seeing water stress. You have to water quite a bit right after you transplant, but other than that, you will have stronger plants with deeper roots if they dry out from time to time.
|
|
#
?
May 14, 2012 18:44
|
|
|
Has anybody here experimented with growing blackberries? I bought a pair of plants on a whim at Lowes and planted them in the back yard a couple of months ago. They're only a foot tall, but one of them has already started to set fruit. I can't find anything online that will tell me how fast they might grow. I know they can get huge, and that I'm supposed to cut the canes back every year to encourage more fruiting, but no one seems to be saying "They'll get x tall in y months" and I'm curious. They don't seem to be getting any taller. One's an Arapaho and the other is an Apache, if that helps. I've read that the thornless varieties can grow more slowly than their wild cousins, but I don't know if that's true. I grew up picking wild blackberries from these enormous dense hedges that would grow up in the public lands under the power lines near my house. The state would clear-cut them every few years, but they always came back with a vengeance. If you were brave enough to stick your hands in past the thorns, you could gather a gallon of fruit in short order. The easier pickings usually got stripped by deer. Right now I'm anticipating about five berries from the Arapaho, unless the squirrels eat them before they're ripe. I'm weirdly excited for those five berries.
|
|
#
?
May 14, 2012 20:40
|
|
|
It's generally a terrible idea to harvest wild blackberries from public lands anywheer near roads, highways, and utility lines, because they tend to get regularly sprayed, and the crap from passing cars is pretty foul as well (look up what.) I've got a bit of a dumb-seeming question but I haven't ever really though about it, some of my radishes are starting to crest and I suspect that my cousin's drunken toss-and-scatter approach means I've been pushing what little soil they're rooting into, away with my daily watering. They're splitting across their tops more than I'd like, and I was considering maybe spreading a half inch of soil around them but wasn't sure if that could cause any other unforseen problems. 
coyo7e fucked around with this message at 21:04 on May 14, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 14, 2012 21:00
|
|
|
coyo7e posted:It's generally a terrible idea to harvest wild blackberries from public lands anywheer near roads, highways, and utility lines, because they tend to get regularly sprayed, and the crap from passing cars is pretty foul as well (look up what.) I'll back this up. I also grew up picking wild blackberries.... Until the summer my mum decided she needed a shitload of blackberries for summer pudding, and got horribly sick. She was vomiting for days, and never again was summer pudding seen at my house. I do have wild ones attempting to take over my yard though. I clear cut a section in February and the one new sprout I keep forgetting to cut is three feet tall and bushy. It is a constant battle, they keep popping up in all my beds, and it's hard keeping on top of them everywhere else. They are voracious as hell. The domesticated ones I think take a year or so to get established properly. I also find that some of my other plants sort of plateau a bit after a while. They'll send out some new leaves for a while and then appear to do not much for ages. I reckon it's either because I go look every day after lots of new leaf activity and then am disappointed when its not super quick, or because they're working on roots.
|
|
#
?
May 14, 2012 21:17
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 6, 2024 11:11 |
|
|
I picked a whole ton of blackberries and elderberries from the public footpaths and park last year and made some amazing jam... Totally gonna do it again this year, half of them are right near a wheat field and they're all gonna be boiled up, so they can't be that bad right?
Nettle Soup fucked around with this message at 22:05 on May 14, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 14, 2012 22:02
|
|