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ashez2ashes posted:What does everyone think of growing cucumbers on a lattice? I'm going to build one and I'm debating if I should use the 'upside down V' version of the straight up version. I tried tying up a couple to stakes last year as an experiment and that didn't go that well. I had very good luck with putting two posts in the ground and stringing some scrap hogwire fencing between them. The cucumbers were extremely productive and pretty much covered the entire fence.
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Apr 10, 2015 04:01
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ashez2ashes posted:What does everyone think of growing cucumbers on a lattice? I'm going to build one and I'm debating if I should use the 'upside down V' version of the straight up version. I tried tying up a couple to stakes last year as an experiment and that didn't go that well. Totally depends on what kind of cukes you're growing. I grow several vine varieties on welded wire in the middle of the row. I have to "train" them up especially early in the season but it works out just fine, other than the occasional one that grows through the wire and looks weird. Shifty Pony posted:I had very good luck with putting two posts in the ground and stringing some scrap hogwire fencing between them. The cucumbers were extremely productive and pretty much covered the entire fence. ^^^^^ You know what you're talking about. I would use hog panels if I didn't have left over welded wire.
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Apr 10, 2015 04:07
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Shifty Pony posted:I had very good luck with putting two posts in the ground and stringing some scrap hogwire fencing between them. The cucumbers were extremely productive and pretty much covered the entire fence.
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Apr 10, 2015 05:10
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ashez2ashes posted:What does everyone think of growing cucumbers on a lattice? I'm going to build one and I'm debating if I should use the 'upside down V' version of the straight up version. I tried tying up a couple to stakes last year as an experiment and that didn't go that well. I have a trellis built out of furring strips and a salvaged piece of plastic construction fence with about a 1"x1" grid on it and it works very well for cucumbers. Tends to keep them on one side as well so they don't try to pull their neighbors down.
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Apr 10, 2015 06:10
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Micomicona posted:No, I don't think they're chives--they're not hollow, they bigger and denser. I'd thought they were garlic, but they don't have bulbs. They look more like narrow scallions growing in a bunch, but smell more like garlic. They may be ornamental, they look intentionally planted. Mysterious! So this is where pictures really help with plant IDs over the internet. But I'll give it one more shot, how about egyptian walking onions?
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Apr 11, 2015 00:11
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Shifty Pony posted:I had very good luck with putting two posts in the ground and stringing some scrap hogwire fencing between them. The cucumbers were extremely productive and pretty much covered the entire fence. I did this last year. The plants broke some wires and pulled over the end post. It was glorious.
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Apr 11, 2015 03:11
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I have to rant about how much Gurney's pisses me off sometimes. This is the second time they just have decided to not send stuff in my order for no reason. They are often so slow to ship that they miss the planting window and so they just don't send crap until the fall. It's really frustrating.
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Apr 11, 2015 04:18
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I got my mushroom plugs yesterday. I don't have logs yet but I stuck a few oyster shroom plugs in my worm bin, just to see what will happen. I kinda wanna stick some plugs here and there to see what will happen.
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Apr 11, 2015 13:02
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Anubis posted:I have to rant about how much Gurney's pisses me off sometimes. This is the second time they just have decided to not send stuff in my order for no reason. They are often so slow to ship that they miss the planting window and so they just don't send crap until the fall. It's really frustrating. I've read that this happens a lot with Gurney's and its group of companies, which makes me a bit nervous about buying through them again. (They seem to own or be owned along with Spring Hill and some other nurseries.) I received my stuff on time and it all seemed okay... Barring the persimmon trees, but I won't know until the dormancy period passes. I did not have a bad experience, but there are enough bad reviews out there that I'm reluctant to use them again. I guess quasi-related, I've had a really good run with Companion Plants. One of the mountain mint plants they sent me last year was broken in transit and died a couple days after I signed for it, but the proprietor answered my email really quickly and shipped me a nice replacement at no cost. They also have some really interesting stuff. I've had good luck with Burpee's customer service, but not always good luck with their actual live plants.
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Apr 11, 2015 17:16
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I will say that all of the live plants that I've received from Gurneys have been very healthy. The blueberry plants I received last year arrived with green leaves, and the gooseberry bushes I just bought sprouted leaves within a week of being put in a pot. Everything arrives really well packaged too (much better than Burpee, which is the other online plant place I've bought from). They have a terrible customer service phone line though. ashez2ashes fucked around with this message at 18:17 on Apr 11, 2015 |
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Apr 11, 2015 17:56
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I'm a novice gardener so make of this what you will, but I've had varied success with Gurneys. This year I ordered six pepper plants, three flowers, and three tomatoes. The pepper plant arrived alive and healthy, while one of the flowers was pretty weak-looking and later died. The tomatoes were all dead on arrival - brown, dry, and falling over. I tried planting them but it was hopeless. Maybe they are better with shipping more established plants, but so far I've found their service to be iffy.
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Apr 11, 2015 18:31
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I order seed from Gurney's regularly and it's always been fine. (Their rainbow carrot blend is my exclusive go-to now. It's an even mix, and it grows great for me. I ordered 5 packets this year.  ) My blackberries came from them and they are absolute bosses now in their second season. I ordered some Red Lake currant saplings this year and although they were bare root sticks, they have leafed out nicely now. I've never ordered their vegetable plants. For seed variety beyond the common stuff, I highly recommend Rareseed. They're even local-ish for me. Burgess is total crap. Total crap. The absolute only thing I am happy with that I ordered from Burgess a few years ago were two little bitty wisterias for $1.99 each. They have consumed a fence section now, but wisteria are really, really tough (and grow aggressively.) Don't be tempted by their prices; sometimes you really do get what you pay for. (But if you're patient, you will save a bundle on wisteria. Daylilies are probably okay from them too, on account of them also being tough as nails. Also, if anyone's in the STL area, I always have daylilies to spare. I thin a 5 gal bucket's worth every year. Also Prairie False Indigo. Those are amazing for garbage soil, no water, and tons of relentless summer sun.) I have bought lots of bulbs and iris type things from Spring Hill over the years and have never had an issue. I think that's where I got my Maypop, but I don't super remember anymore... I also order flower bulbs from Breck's regularly. (I have over a thousand bulbs in the yard, easily.) Speaking of "where the hell are my plants"... I've been patiently waiting for Jung's to ship my potatoes and shallots. The hell Jungs?! I usually love them. The seed potatoes are for a second crop to be sown in late July or so, but still. I'd like to have them now, for insurance, in case my experiment in sowing potatoes in the fall fails. (So far, 3 have emerged. Out of 45. Forty five. I know it's early still, but I'd like to have some spares just in case.) But seriously on the shallots. My garlics are all about a foot tall now. I picked up a handful of mystery garlic/onion bulbulles that were on the ground at the botanical gardens last year after they did the allium harvest in the home garden section. I don't know exactly what they are, but I planted them like garlic in the fall, and they too are growing like champs. I don't think they're actually garlic, because they have each sprouted 3-4 shoots instead of just one, but who knows.  I have zero shame in scavenging mystery plants. In fact, along with some new Darwin hybrid tulips that I planted last fall, an "oops" from Breck's mis-packing has grown. (This is only the second time this has happened to me. I got a sack of Stargazer lilies a couple years ago, and one of them was actually a yellow Asiatic lily. It turned out to be my husband's favorite; now I know. I'm very flexible with my flower beds.) The leaves look tulip-ish, but it's way behind the rest and variegated green and purple. I'm kind of excited.  Tsinava, and anyone else, please keep updating about your mushrooms. We love mushrooms, and have talked about growing plugs in logs, or in detritus under the shade of other garden plants, and such. I would love to keep reading about how that goes for folks. Has anyone gotten one of those boxed kits? How'd that go?
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Apr 11, 2015 20:57
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I've got my garden mostly planted, except stuff that critters keep running off with and my long beans, which I should plant soon because it looks like the weather will be mostly warm from now till October. I've had some high winds (25+ mph) in the last week and more are coming. The winds beat up my peppers and killed 3 tomato plants, I replaced them with 6 Roma and 1 Ace 55. A lot of my tomatoes are setting fruit, even in the wind So I'm hoping I'll start harvesting mid-May. I have way too many tomatoes now, good thing we got a pressure canner for Christmas! I've done some silly things like putting mantises and earthworms into my garden. The mantises eat whatever they can but they neither crowd out unwanted predators (black widows) nor protect my plants from pests. But they look cool and I saw less roaches last year so I did it again. As for the worms, I live in the desert, I don't have any turf and the nearest lawn is 2 houses down. There is no natural way for a worm to get to my garden. One local author insists that they just come, but she also sprays casting tea on everything so that *might* be a clue. I tried putting some red worms in 2 years ago, but after planting them I never saw them again. This year I think I will have more luck. Last year, I had a big chunk of my backyard filled with compost. I over watered, and my wife spread it too thin, so it didn't work out so well. This year we made it into 4 smaller raised beds, now they are probably 16-18" deep with the pathways being 4" deep on top of hardpan clay. I think with all that compost and better watering worms can survive, especially right under the beds. As for the worms themselves I bought a bunch of bait and feeder worms, mostly night-crawlers and some packages of smaller worms. Dunno if it will improve soil quality, but its fun finding them sill alive. As for seed companies I stick to Burpee and Johhny's for online ordering. I've used Baker Creek (rareseeds.com) before, but I've found the quality of the varieties they sell to be inconsistent at best. Johnny's is excellent, lots of detailed information on each variety whether organic or conventional. Probably the most scientific of the catalogs that offer a lot of organic seed. (IDGAF about organic personally) Burpee online seeds have always been high quality for me. They aren't like display seeds, which have been in heat/cold/rain. The seed packets are green print on white, and I can get varieties I can't get locally. Most of these were my best producers last fall, or are highly recommended locally. It's funny that Burpee doesn't market them better, but I guess the big stores want the same seeds everywhere. There used to be one tomato I absolutely would get from Baker, Stupice, but Burpee has it now. AxeBreaker fucked around with this message at 06:44 on Apr 12, 2015 |
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Apr 12, 2015 06:05
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mrmcd posted:How cold does it get? Freezing will kill them, but temperatures around 4-5C (40F) they are fine, though they get kinda grumpy and stop producing around that temperature. Not quite freezing, I'm going to put them up on the window and see how it goes. I mean, worst case I'm out like $1.30 for the seeds (bought an extra packet for sping). Thanks for the advice!
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Apr 12, 2015 08:57
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Not quite freezing, I'm going to put them up on the window and see how it goes. I mean, worst case I'm out like $1.30 for the seeds (bought an extra packet for sping). Thanks for the advice! I've seen window pepper plants before, they just don't get very big and might not produce much fruit. You probably won't even need the whole seed packet either if you just want one or two plants. Take two or three dixie cups and poke some holes in the bottom. Put some potting soil in, sprinkle 3-4 seeds per cup, and cover with soil at whatever depth the packet says. Put the cups into a tray and soak the soil and let the excess water drain out the bottom. (you can also use starter peat pellets if you prefer.) Then cover the cups with cling wrap and put them somewhere warm, like near a radiator, because they won't germinate in cold soil. Once the seeds germinate and poke through the top, remove the cling wrap and set them in the sunniest part of your house. After they are a few inches tall and have 2-3 sets of true leaves, thin them (if more than one germinated per cup) and transplant them to your pot. I have thinned plants be gently pulling their roots apart from the starter cups and replanting, but if that's too much trouble just clip the plants you don't want. Also once flowers emerge if it's indoors you might need to tickle the flowers to fertilize them.
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Apr 12, 2015 14:02
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 My sorrel is alive, mache volunteers are up, and I think at least one patch of wild ginger made it. Not sure if my mayapples pulled through or not. Last year was my first attempt at cultivating them. I got some horseradish sprouting, too.Of the things I ordered from Gurneys... The persimmon saplings are starting to come out of dormancy, and the pawpaw is hanging in there despite an unanticipated night at 32F. So far my helleborus plants are looking good. Haven't seen much out of the spiderworts or toad lilies at this time, but that certainly doesn't mean they are dead, just not established yet. I dug up a lot of potatoes we failed to get out last year. Most of them were still in good condition, excepting those within three inches of the tower's exterior. I guess the lesson here is don't fail to harvest all of your potatoes like a dumbass, or at least make sure you get the ones at risk of freezing. Otherwise they become pulp. The real bad news is that we didn't check on the seedlings for two or three days, and most of them dried up. I still have plenty of seeds and time before the last frost date, but I am annoyed at myself.
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Apr 12, 2015 18:26
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Micomicona posted:No, I don't think they're chives--they're not hollow, they bigger and denser. I'd thought they were garlic, but they don't have bulbs. They look more like narrow scallions growing in a bunch, but smell more like garlic. They may be ornamental, they look intentionally planted. Mysterious! If they look ornamental but smell like garlic, it's probably 'society garlic'. It's a popular ornamental plant because it's pretty low-maintenance and drought-resistant. Also they may or may not keep vampires out.
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Apr 13, 2015 00:40
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Mizufusion posted:If they look ornamental but smell like garlic, it's probably 'society garlic'. It's a popular ornamental plant because it's pretty low-maintenance and drought-resistant. Also they may or may not keep vampires out. Oh man they have those ALL OVER the place in Southern California. Apparently someone in the state DOT decided it was the go-to plant for bioswales and now every time I visit my parents I can't escape the smell. It's like a mixture of funky garlic and old weed, just randomly wafting by in the breeze.
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Apr 13, 2015 12:35
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e: solved!
Srebrenica Surprise fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Apr 19, 2015 |
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Apr 13, 2015 19:30
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If you think it's gonna get real warm, slip a pen or pencil under the clear cover to permit it to vent a bit while you're away.
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Apr 13, 2015 19:42
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 Planted some plants today on my patio. Cilantro, basil, oregeno, chives, kale, ceasar lettuce, peas, beans, beets, sweet onions. Planning on doing more stuff next month when the time is right with peppers, sweet onions, brussel sprouts, squash, zuchinni, cukes in the community plot. Than in the big huge plot we have doing a bunch of sweet corn and potato, possibly beats.
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Apr 15, 2015 02:02
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My tomatillos are getting disturbingly large already. I'm scared 
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Apr 15, 2015 04:08
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Well the wind is getting busy beating up mine, and my other poor plants, especially the peppers.
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Apr 15, 2015 05:31
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Shifty Pony posted:My tomatillos are getting disturbingly large already. Yeah. Mine are by far the biggest thing in the seed tray. They grow crazy fast. (I did this freak out last year, but all ended up fine.) I'm repotting the larger stuff in my seed trays this morning. Tomatillos, and most of the tomatoes. The peppers are still a reasonable size. I'll crowd them together in a couple window boxes, and keep them inside under lights still. It's much more room for their roots than the trays, but they won't have time to get big enough for the roots to become entangled. (About a month until I move things outside.) More potatoes have sprouted! I'm breathing easier now and hoping for a good success rate. If this ends up well, I'll plant my potatoes in the fall from now on.
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Apr 15, 2015 13:41
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What's the advantage of starting your taters in the fall? e: I'm still a tater newbie, I'm not sure if I've heard of treating them the same as garlic.
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Apr 16, 2015 15:23
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/\/\ You're not "supposed" to plant them in the fall. But after two years of so many volunteer potato plants coming up in the spring from scraps or root pieces or whatever left in the soil from the fall harvest, I just figured I'd give it a go. I'm trying a thing! They're obviously hardy, and need a cold/dormant phase to grow anyway (like say, winter in the ground.) Provided it works well (and things are looking up--I was just out there and there are more than a dozen now! Almost all of the purples are up, and there are a couple reds and yukons now too), I figured the advantages are this:--one less thing on the early spring to-do list --I don't have to wait on the weather to cooperate to plant them (like I do in the spring) --they may get an earlier jump on the season since they're already ready and waiting in the ground to grow when conditions are right for them (as opposed to waiting on my rear end to plant them) --aaaand did I mention one less thing on the spring to-do list
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Apr 16, 2015 16:32
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Say, is there any reason not to harvest and eat fall-planted potatoes as new potatoes now? I've got a few volulnteers in what is to be the Zucchini Zone.
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Apr 17, 2015 05:06
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Has anyone here tried growing grains at home? Is it a completely futile venture?
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Apr 17, 2015 18:39
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stab stabby posted:Has anyone here tried growing grains at home? Is it a completely futile venture? I've never even considered it knowing the acearge required for a meaningful harvest.
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Apr 17, 2015 18:53
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I mean it should be very easy, you'll just need a lot of space.
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Apr 17, 2015 22:28
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Yeah....then you just need to figure out how to mill it.
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Apr 17, 2015 23:24
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 It begins.  Beginning intensifies 
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Apr 18, 2015 00:22
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Where are you? Mine might as well be the same size as they were from the nursery.
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Apr 18, 2015 02:51
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Austin TX. The cherry tomatoes are over three feet high and starting to set fruit as well. I got the beans, spinach,and cucumbers in a bit late so they aren't nearly as impressive as the tomato plants
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Apr 18, 2015 03:30
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I'm having a weird problem. Some of the stuff I'm growing from seed in the bed will come up then suddenly stop growing. They never develop their second set of leaves even though they look perfectly healthy. Many, I find, actually have the bottom of their stem broken off from the root even though they look perfectly healthy above soil. Is this normal?
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Apr 18, 2015 13:17
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I had that happen with basil and chillis. Turns out it was a combination of low temps and lovely potting mix.
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Apr 18, 2015 13:28
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Damping off is sadly really common. Cool, wet conditions and soil with higher pH levels tend to make the perfect bad conditions for fungal infections, which are usually what merc seedlings. You might not be able to do much about temp and moisture levels if you're planting outside, but check your soil's pH. Plenty of ag school extensions will do this for super cheap and they provide really good info. Then you'll have an idea of how to appropriately amend your soil. Some sources recommend various forms of sulfur compounds for amendment, which are sold in hardware stores' garden sections.
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Apr 18, 2015 13:38
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It's in a raised garden with Mel's Mix so I didn't think I'd have a pH issue. Bah. It might just be because of how weirdly rainy and cloudy it's been for NC the past week or so. It's only happening to a few of them, not enough to actually effect my yield since I'm thinning anyways.
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Apr 18, 2015 14:56
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Rurutia posted:It's in a raised garden with Mel's Mix so I didn't think I'd have a pH issue. Bah. Ah, then you might have a different problem from damping off... Peat moss is pretty acidic (low pH), so it might be causing root burn in your tender seedlings. They need something a little closer to neutral. A little lime can help. I had that problem with peat pellets a couple years ago, so I started using coconut coir instead. Another possible explanation is insect damage. Various invertebrates will mess your lil starts up. They move in quickly and are totally ruthless. Without knowing your region, it's difficult to guess at what kind of pests you might be subject to. UMD shows some fairly common eastern US pests; your state university/local agricultural college probably can provide you with more targeted troubleshooting. Most of these schools have pretty drat good online resources or they have extension agents you can visit or call. If you live in New England, the University of Rhode Island has a "master gardener" program with a hotline you can call with questions. It's pretty sweet. I've also taken samples and photos to extension agents in the past to inquire about pests, plant diseases, and unidentified plants. They are immensely knowledgeable and want to share information with everyone. https://extension.umd.edu/growit/wilt-fall-over-or-cut-soil-line-vegetable-seedlings-and-transplants
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Apr 18, 2015 15:57
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 Screw hail.
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Apr 19, 2015 03:49
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