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Rotten Red Rod posted:Is there a DIY thread for general backyard/landscaping? I am growing a garden in part of my yard, but I wanted to get advice on stuff like gravel, paver stone patios, outdoor furniture, etc. There have been a few, check back a few pages in the forum and revive one of them. My zucchini is being taken over by powdery mildew... 
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Sep 13, 2012 23:13
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My Indigo Rose tomato plant's leaves still look lousy, but everyone I've given them out to have come back with tons of praise for them, and a couple people asked for more to save for seed (I doubt they'll do well, it's a grafted plant). They're all just perfect, 2-3" indigo spheres with a reddish/yellowish patch on the bottom which indicates how ripe they are. I have to pick them by feel because the amount of sun hitting the fruit, really makes a huge difference in the coloring on the bottom, but not always so much on how ripe they are.
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Sep 14, 2012 21:01
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I just grafted my first citrus tree ever. Lime onto a very well developed Eureka lemon. Now the waiting game begins.
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Sep 15, 2012 04:32
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Okay, I have a question. I am definitely a newb when it comes to gardening. I live in Florida and I'm trying to grow Okra, Eggplant, Bell peppers, and jalapenos by the square foot method. The Okra is coming a long pretty good, the peppers seem to be lagging a bit, and the egg plant isn't growing well at all. The peppers I think will be okay because the ones that aren't growing very well are located in the regions of the garden with the least amount of shade. But the egg plant is perplexing to me. I've read that egg plant doesn't grow well in damp climates and it's been raining like crazy lately in Central Florida. Could it be because of the damp weather lately? I also should mention I don't currently have compost so I've been treating the soil with a "plant food." I figured that since I haven't added compost since I planted a month ago, that could be my issue, but honestly the egg plant is the only thing that doesn't seem to be growing. Any suggestions? I've grown egg plant before with seriously no effort besides planting the seeds.. I just want egg plant parmesan. 
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Sep 16, 2012 21:13
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My transplant eggplant hates me this year, I may try to go from seed next time, or find a younger start and plant it with some compost mixed in.
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Sep 17, 2012 00:23
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dudemanbudguy posted:I've read that egg plant doesn't grow well in damp climates and it's been raining like crazy lately in Central Florida. Could it be because of the damp weather lately? Could be. If it's getting lots of rain and no sun it could be over watered and too cold. I had to replant pretty much my entire garden because I managed to plant right before three weeks of rain and cold. =/
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Sep 17, 2012 01:23
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Cpt.Wacky posted:There have been a few, check back a few pages in the forum and revive one of them. Mine have a bit as well now. We are calling it a wrap on the veggies for this year. Something that i'll be doing before next planting: spray painting the drip lines WHITE. It took me this long to realize that the 6PM watering cycle was using water that had sat in the jet black tubes in the blazing sun for 8 hours. It's no wonder many of the plants were hard to grow and veggies grew misshapen.
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Sep 17, 2012 16:00
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Fog Tripper posted:Mine have a bit as well now. We are calling it a wrap on the veggies for this year. Isnt it better to water during the morning?
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Sep 18, 2012 01:46
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I had really good luck by spacing the eggplants about 3 feet apart and watering them about every 2 or three days. I was following the idea of low-watering garden, and the eggplants seem to do well, either because the soil wasn't cooled down or the low-watering was stimulating the plants to set fruit. I was watering with 5-gallon buckets with a 3/16 hole in the bottom, and the eggplants got watered in rotation every 3 or so days.
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Sep 18, 2012 03:19
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Early this summer my roommate went ahead without me and started a garden by digging up a 4'x8' plot in the backyard and putting down a few inches of topsoil. He built a small wooden frame around it to keep the really dumb pests out, I guess. It was all starter plants: code:So now the garden looks like this: code:
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Sep 18, 2012 22:14
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Peruse this planting calendar and see what's in season for your area. If you like salad or fancy sandwiches, it's about the right time of year in most of the US for lettuce. Many varieties don't take long to yield, and it's even shorter if you want microgreens. Looking at that calendar, spinach would also be an option before too long. You're at the tail end of cucumber and zucchini planting season, and you'd most definitely want a trellis, but you could probably still toss some in there. I'd look for an early-bearing variety since you might be pushing up against lower than ideal temperatures.
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Sep 19, 2012 00:53
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Frogmanv2 posted:Isnt it better to water during the morning? Well, I think it is better to not water with scalding hot water.  We are about to dismantle the cuke and zuke plants to churn into the soil. Has anyone advice on how to get them chopped up nicely?
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Sep 19, 2012 18:01
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I throw vines and such into the compost heap and let it rot down. I don't feel comfortable tilling in plant material if I am going to immediately re-plant a bed. I suspect if it is at all woody it will steal Nitrogen from the soil. Was there a composting thread anytime?
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Sep 20, 2012 05:06
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Rule .303 posted:I throw vines and such into the compost heap and let it rot down. I don't feel comfortable tilling in plant material if I am going to immediately re-plant a bed. I suspect if it is at all woody it will steal Nitrogen from the soil. There never was that I know of, but quite a few pages back someone with a lot of composting knowledge posted a lot of info asking if there was any interest in such a thing. I don't think a thread actually came of it though.
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Sep 20, 2012 05:20
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A couple of quick questions. I'm in Sydney, Australia, and have just finished planting most of my summer vegetables. I've planted them in containers on my 6 foot wide front verandah which faces north. About half of the verandah is covered with a shade sail, so I can move most stuff around when our expected El Nino summer hits. What I'm not going to be able to move around are those plants which require a trellis. At this point, I have snow peas and Lebanese cucumbers planted out into pots but I haven't quite decided where to put them. Although everything I've planted says "full sun", "full sun" at my place means 8+ hours a day of direct sunlight and we'll be getting temperatures of 30C and above within the next month. At the moment I'm thinking that I might keep the snow peas behind the shade cloth, where they'll still get fairly strong indirect sunlight but be sheltered from direct sun during the heat of the day. I'm less sure of how well the cucumbers will tolerate long hours of direct sunlight and scorching heat, so any advice would be welcome. Also, does anyone have any experience growing zucchini on a trellis? I've planted some in a pot which is next to the railing on my front verandah and if I can just get them to grow about 18 inches up a trellis then they can cascade over the top of the railing, giving them plenty of room to spread out. The variety cucurbita pepo if that helps. Finally, I have one of those upside down tomato planters just sitting around doing nothing and I'm trying to decide what to put in it. I've got some Roma tomato seedlings coming up but I don't know what type as I grew them from seeds out of some tomatoes we bought from the supermarket a couple of weeks ago. I'll also be planting some capsicums this week, again, from seeds out of the salad vegetables. I'll be potting and staking the majority of the seedlings, but this empty upside down container is going to drive me nuts until I plant something in it, so would the capsicum or the Roma tomatoes be the better option (I'm inclined to think the capsicum as it will be a lighter, shorter plant)? I'm kind of wishing I'd thought to put holes in the side and planted the snow peas in it.
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Sep 20, 2012 05:49
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Fog Tripper posted:Chopping up plants Get a good sharp hoe and pretend they're the cast members of jersey shore? Er. Well, a good hoe will help. Unless you want to take shears to them and cut the vines bit by bit, which would probably yield more consistent results than hacking it apart after tearing it down, but will also take longer. If you have or can borrow a tiller that's probably the best and easiest way. Tillers are awesome. My mom has a mantis and she manages a big garden with it, and it's been a pretty reliable little machine. Also it's lightweight enough that I can use it, and I am a tiny girl. Edit: I have no experience with zucchini but I grew my cucumber on a trellis/teepee this year. It got 8' tall (climbed to the top, and then worked its way up the string I tied to the porch roof to keep the teepee stable) and didn't need much training. I suspect zucchini would be similarly ok. I found that mine really liked cotton string and the furry vines stick to it like glue, so a taut piece of string woven between uprights worked well for me. Faerunner fucked around with this message at 14:53 on Sep 20, 2012 |
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Sep 20, 2012 13:47
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Faerunner posted:Get a good sharp hoe and pretend they're the cast members of jersey shore? The hoes on Jersey Shore are anything but sharp.  edit: I suppose I'll do some research into compost piles. I don't think the garden greens are going to fit into the miniscule tumbler we bought. Fog Tripper fucked around with this message at 15:56 on Sep 20, 2012 |
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Sep 20, 2012 15:53
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Lolie posted:Also, does anyone have any experience growing zucchini on a trellis? I've planted some in a pot which is next to the railing on my front verandah and if I can just get them to grow about 18 inches up a trellis then they can cascade over the top of the railing, giving them plenty of room to spread out. The variety cucurbita pepo if that helps. I helped my mother grow spaghetti squash on a trellis this year and it worked really well. I think we got about 10 good sized fruits on each of three plants in a 3x9 foot row. The last 5-6 are still on the vine and growing to the size of large watermelons. You need to figure out whether your zucchini is a compact bush type or a vining type. They both grow the same way but the distance along the vine between where the leaves emerge is basically zero on a compact bush type. That isn't going to work well for trellising. It will grow in a larger container but they tend to grow up for 1-2 feet and then start to lean over and keep going, usually guided by the prevailing wind direction. As far as composting squash vines I would only chop them up and work them in if I was going to cover crop over the winter. You can toss them whole into the compost pile and they will break down eventually but anything long like that makes it a bitch to turn the pile. Most people with a compost pile will a have log round for a chopping block and a machete to roughly chop up the garden waste.
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Sep 20, 2012 18:10
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Molten Llama posted:Peruse this planting calendar and see what's in season for your area. Lettuce and spinach sound great! The climate here is all screwy and I can't know for sure if it'll cool down this month consistently or if it'll be scorching and muggy until November. I'm also worried about my tomato plants. I'm not sure if it's worth it to let them persist in the hopes of getting a few tomatoes or if it should just pull 'em up, compost them, and replant.
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Sep 20, 2012 18:35
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mischief posted:
polyfractal posted:
Chajara posted:Morning made. Toriori posted:Today's harvest! Cpt.Wacky posted:
Well, you all are just precious. We're supposed to get our first freeze tonight, so I went out and picked anything that looked close to ripe (mostly peppers at this point)...  Those grocery bags in the back are full of jalapenos. I didn't count, but I'd guess that there are a couple of hundred in there. I don't seem to have a pic of a banner tomato day, but here's one from before things really got going:  Unfortunately, the squash, cukes, leafies, strawberries, and cantaloupes were a bust this year, but at least we have a lot of pasta sauce and chili frozen for winter. And honestly, if I never see another cherry tomato, I'm okay with that. Those fuckers are a pain in the rear end to pick. Also, polyfractal - do you have a favorite recipe for those poppers? I seem to have a few jalapenos I need to do something with. Peristalsis fucked around with this message at 06:28 on Sep 23, 2012 |
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Sep 23, 2012 06:19
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I don't think I would ever want to grow cherry tomatoes - they produce so many and I always hated fruit picking (my first ever official job was picking flats of raspberries, probably part of why.) I will definitely grow the "black" tomatoes again, the Indigo Rose that I got from TSC has looked unhealthy for its whole life, but goddamn if it doesn't produce dozens of the most beautiful, perfectly shaped, identical fruit. I just eat them straight, they're the perfect snack size, like a plum. http://www.territorialseed.com/product/13098/new_products coyo7e fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Sep 24, 2012 |
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Sep 24, 2012 19:36
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Got a couple trees in the ground this afternoon. An asian pear and a bartlett. Also picked up a very nicely formed apple (our 3rd) tree, of uncertain ancestry. They THINK it is a golden delish or some sort. Either way, it will fill the spot it is going nicely. All 3 will be within our easily jumped-by-muledeer fence, but since our garden is outside that boundary, they should be content pillaging that rather than these 3 trees. Next year there will be no more apples and pears rotting in a basket on the counter. I'll eat them off the trees when I damned well feel like it. coyo7e posted:I don't think I would ever want to grow cherry tomatoes - they produce so many and I always hated fruit picking (my first ever official job was picking flats of raspberries, probably part of why.) Next year I am going with plum tomatoes. The big boys just took too damned long to start producing, coinciding with the mule deer beginning to fatten up for the winter.
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Sep 25, 2012 03:17
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Fog Tripper posted:The big boys just took too damned long to start producing, coinciding with the mule deer beginning to fatten up for the winter. Sounds like you're just getting some protein ready to go with the veg.
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Sep 25, 2012 03:42
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coyo7e posted:
I liked the indigo rose this year too (grown from seed though). Didn't produce a ton for me though. And small tomatoes ARE a pain in the butt - I've got 5 currant/grape/cherry tomato plants, and the picking required is just unpleasant. Next year I plan on nothing but plum and up in size - although I'm sure I'll get some volunteers of the smaller varieties.
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Sep 25, 2012 06:53
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mischief posted:Sounds like you're just getting some protein ready to go with the veg. Oh trust me, I love having the mulies around. It's like living inside a deer park. 
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Sep 25, 2012 17:06
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Fog Tripper posted:Oh trust me, I love having the mulies around. It's like living inside a deer park.
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Sep 25, 2012 20:03
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Tad SG posted:I liked the indigo rose this year too (grown from seed though). Didn't produce a ton for me though. And small tomatoes ARE a pain in the butt - I've got 5 currant/grape/cherry tomato plants, and the picking required is just unpleasant. Next year I plan on nothing but plum and up in size - although I'm sure I'll get some volunteers of the smaller varieties.  
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Sep 28, 2012 00:02
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Well, sounds like a freeze warning for tonight and Saturday night. I have a wacky idea of digging up my Super Chili plant and bringing it inside to see if I can get any of the 100+ peppers currently on it to ripen. Anyone done this before? I know digging it up will stress it out, but temps are getting colder during the day so I doubt it's gonna do much outside anymore. Worth a shot?
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Oct 5, 2012 16:52
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Might as well try if the weather is going to kill it anyways. Dig a circle as wide as you can manage, those roots are mostly horizontal. Disk your potting soil down real well before you place it, and then the plant, in the pot and put a little bit of potting soil in top of the ball. Peppers and tomatoes can pretty much root out of any part of their stems. edit: That should have read "soak your potting soil", autocorrect strikes again. Kilersquirrel fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Oct 5, 2012 |
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Oct 5, 2012 18:32
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Frilled Lizard posted:Well, sounds like a freeze warning for tonight and Saturday night. I have a wacky idea of digging up my Super Chili plant and bringing it inside to see if I can get any of the 100+ peppers currently on it to ripen. Anyone done this before? I know digging it up will stress it out, but temps are getting colder during the day so I doubt it's gonna do much outside anymore. Worth a shot?
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Oct 5, 2012 18:47
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Thanks.  I think I will just pick the green peppers and be done with it. It's always sad to see a happy producing plant go away at the end of the season. Especially this one which has fruited like mad. Will definitely grow another next year.
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Oct 5, 2012 20:40
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Frilled Lizard posted:Thanks. When I used to start peppers outside in May the season would end with my first harvest being still green on the plants. And yeah, sucks to turf a plant but when it starts cooling down no more fruit will set and ripening will slow so you might as well pick them all. I picked around 50 still-green peppers at the end of the season. I made around 25 stuffed peppers, and sliced and froze the remainder in ziplocks for fajitas.
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Oct 5, 2012 21:25
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As a counterpoint, I successfully kept a large chile plant alive over winter by bringing it inside into a pot. It was pissed off and unhappy for a couple weeks from transplant shock, but stayed alive and produced just as well the second season after being replanted. I did water the hell out of it for the first month or so as well. The caveat to this is that I had a large south-facing window to place it in front of, so if you don't have that you may not be able to pull it off. Moving it inside also led me to discover that my cat love love loves to get hosed up off of the alkaloids in chile leaves, which was practically worth the work just to see happen.
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Oct 5, 2012 21:54
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Kilersquirrel posted:As a counterpoint, I successfully kept a large chile plant alive over winter by bringing it inside into a pot. It was pissed off and unhappy for a couple weeks from transplant shock, but stayed alive and produced just as well the second season after being replanted. I did water the hell out of it for the first month or so as well.
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Oct 5, 2012 22:17
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cowofwar posted:I made around 25 stuffed peppers, and sliced and froze the remainder in ziplocks for fajitas. We've had a very dry and warm summer here in BC, Canada, and it's still very pleasant and sunny out during the day--getting cold at night but no frost yet on the coast. The tomatoes are still coming in. My basil started so slowly in June, but finally was ready in the last few weeks and just flowered over the weekend.
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Oct 6, 2012 06:03
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I need bug help. I am just getting started with my first real garden (raised bed!). I'm in zone 9a & have little seedlings, planted ~a week ago, of carrots, lettuce, arugula & chamomile. Today I noticed these incredibly small white bugs crawling around the soil but none on the seedlings, which don't look damaged or stunted. Anyone have a clue what these are? They are crazy small and variations of googling 'tiny white bug vegetable garden' didn't turn up anything that seemed right. Should I be concerned?
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Oct 7, 2012 02:01
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It's going to be really hard to ID with a picture or a better description besides small and white. Aphids can be lighter colored when they are younger and they are a pretty common pest, so that's my wild guess. If it is aphids you can try using nasturtiums as a trap crop.
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Oct 7, 2012 02:48
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Cpt.Wacky posted:It's going to be really hard to ID with a picture or a better description besides small and white. Aphids can be lighter colored when they are younger and they are a pretty common pest, so that's my wild guess. If it is aphids you can try using nasturtiums as a trap crop. I thought that might be the case, they are seriously small - I tried to take one this afternoon but it just looked like a picture of dirt. I've had to deal with aphids before with container plants and these seem to be much smaller. I planted some nasturtiums nearby (along with some marigold) so I guess I will just wait & see.
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Oct 7, 2012 03:17
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Jesa posted:I need bug help. I am just getting started with my first real garden (raised bed!). I'm in zone 9a & have little seedlings, planted ~a week ago, of carrots, lettuce, arugula & chamomile. Today I noticed these incredibly small white bugs crawling around the soil but none on the seedlings, which don't look damaged or stunted. Anyone have a clue what these are? They are crazy small and variations of googling 'tiny white bug vegetable garden' didn't turn up anything that seemed right. Should I be concerned? I hope it's not whatever I discovered in my pansies at the end of the season. Whatever they were, they didn't touch the leaves or flowers but one day the plant looked really sick and when I pulled on it slightly the whole thing came away from the roots - whatever the buggers were, they did all the damage under the surface of the soil.
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Oct 7, 2012 07:59
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Desmond posted:Reading this thread has helped me to plan next year's garden. I didn't grow green peppers this year but plan to next year. Stuffed peppers sound so good. I'm also in BC (sunshine coast), and my Roma tomatoes are ripening up really nicely. Unfortunately, the deer have discovered my yard and last night some rear end in a top hat venison steak waiting to happen ate a bunch of my tomatoes, the tops off the bell peppers, kicked over my teapot fountain, knocked over all the cornstalks and took a huge dump in the middle of the lawn. Fucker didn't so much as touch the blackberries I'm slowly clearing. Got some chards coming up and a second wave of arugula and assorted salad greens. And my strawberry runners all have a zillion runners of their own for next year. As long as the drat deer don't eat them.
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Oct 9, 2012 01:15
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