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kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002
Here's some gardening tips:

Most herbs are annuals. Some of those will need to be replanted every season, others will reseed themselves. A handful are perennials and will come back every year, like oregano and chives.

Most fruits are perennials, the only exceptions I can think of are the wild and older varieties of blackberries and raspberries, where each branch is a biannual. Even then, different branches from the same plant clump can produce during different years.

Nearly all veggies are annuals. I can only think of onions and garlic coming back year after year, and that's only if you don't harvest them.

Some herbs are super invasive and will take over your entire plot. Plants in the mint family are notorious for this around here. If you must plant these, keep them in a pot!

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kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

HeatherChandler posted:

Does anyone know of any easy edible flowers for my borders? Last year I did Pansies and nasturtiums (pansies are fresh and minty and nasturtiums are peppery) but I was hoping for some new ideas, other than lavender or rose, looking for something savory.

How about poppies? :v:

You can eat the flowers of anything in the Allium family (onions, garlic, leeks, chives), there are a few varieties of these that are even ornamental. Since I'm mentioning veggies, I suppose broccoli would count too, since you do eat the buds from those. Nearly every herb would count too, as their typical herb pungency extends into their flowers.

If you're talking strictly ornamental, how about Carnations, Lilac or Beebalm? You can eat Honeysuckle too, but they kinda grow out of control, at least around here.

If you're into eating weeds, how about dandelions?

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

HeatherChandler posted:

Beebalm is the best idea, thanks! Not only is it gorgeous, supposedly tastes like mint/spearmint/oregano, but wiki says this:

'Companion plant
Bee balm is considered a good plant to grow with tomatoes, ostensibly improving both health and flavor. It also is a good companion plant in general, attracting pollinators and some predatory/parasitic insects that hunt garden pests.'

I know not everyone buys into companion planting, but I like to play around a bit and try to stay organic, at least when it's in my own yard and doesn't cost more.

You'll like beebalm, it's a very beautiful and interesting flower. It's native here in the US and reseeds itself like clockwork. Here are my 2 favorite varieties:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/799/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/301/

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

Onta vasa posted:

Blueberries don't really like our soil...

Blueberries have slightly different needs than all those other crops. They like a low soil pH, as low as 4.5. It depends on where you live, but soil in most areas is between 6 and 8 pH. You can test your soil pH to find out where it is. To test it they make soil testing kits similar to the ones for swimming pools, but I find these a pain in the rear end to use. I use an electronic probe instead, where you just stick the metal end in the dirt for a minute or so and it tells you the pH.

Of course you can improve the soil to lower its pH, it's best to do this 1 or 2 years before you even plant the blueberries in that spot. It can be done after planting, but it will be harder since you have to worry about not damaging the plants or their roots. You most commonly lower soil pH by adding some form of sulfur, whether in its elemental form or in some type of sulfate, usually aluminum or ammonium. How much to add depends on the form you use and how much you need to lower pH. Amounts being equal, elemental sulfur lowers pH more but is much slower acting and takes longer, sulfates lower faster but do not lower pH as much. If possible mix it into the soil instead of leaving it on the surface, then give everything a nice watering to help it spread.

Onta vasa posted:

If you want to see cherries you have to net the trees off from birds...
Have you tried putting up fake predatory birds in the open amongst your cherry trees? A big plastic owl or hawk might be enough to convince birds that coming close is a bad idea.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

Mnemosyne posted:

My only south-facing window is in my bathroom. I've got both a north-facing window and an east-facing window in my kitchen. Should I give up my dreams of growing herbs on my windowsill?

Go with the east-facing window. That way your herbs should at least get sunlight from sunrise until noon.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

MarshallX posted:

Onions - never really grew past an inch or so in circumference and they were in the ground for 6 monthes.

Onions take at least a year to grow to harvesting size. They're also typically planted and harvested in the fall.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002
is your patio covered? If not, you're going to have to water all those veggies every single day.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

HeatherChandler posted:

At first I panicked because it seemed really, really sandy. However, under the inch of so of sandy soil it is clumpy and holds together like the clay soil I am used to. Is there such thing as soil that is sandy AND clay at the same time? Will it balance itself out or will I have the worst of both worlds?

For what it is worth I took advantage of the weather and dug in 300lb of compost, so it would have a few months to work in (I usually do it in fall). That was all I could manage to lug in a day by myself. I might do more in a few weeks.

Naturally occurring sandy clay soil? Probably not. The previous owner put down that sand to help level the surface for his green. That's pretty standard practice. Actually, adding sand to clay is one method to lighten clay soils and makes root growth easier. Well, not all sand... Big grain sand can help lighten soil, whereas powdery sand can do the opposite.

You had the right idea about mixing in compost with the sand and clay. In fact, you'll probably have some kickass dirt for growing! Whether to add more compost or not is subject to how good the soil is now. The ideal soil for growing is black or at least very dark; this (normally) indicates it's very fertile. After you've tilled it, the ideal soil also has a texture of big clumps that crumble easily, and doesn't harden and crack into plates on top when it dries. If you really want to get technical, take a soil pH measurement. For most crop plants you want a pH of around 7. If you remember your high school chemistry :science:, this is neutral pH.

Zeta Taskforce posted:

I would appreciate any tips, especially with crops and varieties that store well and strategies for collecting all that rainwater without it turning into a mosquito love fest.

That's easy, keep it covered with window screening. You can even have the entrance spout be outside the screening, then let the water just flow through the screen. To get water out, I'd put a spigot on the bottom.

kid sinister fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Mar 11, 2009

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

HeatherChandler posted:

Thanks, I had no idea that there were standard practices for making akward backyard putting greens :)
...
Other than digging compost in, is there anything else I really need to do to improve the soil? All my previous experience is in really really heavy almost black clay. I need to get a jar and get a better look at the soil, it is just so...weird.

I actually had gone out with the intention of buying a ph test but ended up with all that compost instead and totally forgot my original train of thought.
Clearly you're not a cheapass golfer.

It's hard to say what else you'd need to do to your soil without seeing it. It's possible that it's perfect now and anything that you'd add to it could be a waste of money. If your clay is VERY heavy, there are other additives to help. If you were able to dig into it without a mattock however, it should be light enough to grow plants in it. How deep did you even till?

Look into your state university's agriculture department to see if they offer soil testing services. I know here in Missouri that you can request little boxes for soil samples. When you get them, you fill it up with a little soil, mark down on it what you're trying to grow, then send it in. In a month or so you get the results, which should say what nutrients your soil is deficient in (if any) and what you'd need to add to it to improve it to be able to grow what you told them.

edit: pH should be an afterthought for nearly all crop plants. The only one I can think of that would really require an uncommon, non-neutral pH would be blueberries.

kid sinister fucked around with this message at 03:14 on Mar 12, 2009

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

whyrat posted:

green beans and zuccini
...
Anything I'm blatantly missing or not doing (or have done wrong)?

one zucchini plant could almost fill your entire garden. They get surprisingly big! If everything truly is "bigger in Texas", it probably will take up all 2 square meters. How many of them did you start?

edit: they do make "gardening soil" too, that might be slightly better to turn in.

kid sinister fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Mar 13, 2009

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

HeatherChandler posted:

I have a problem with the whole not pruning thing because it was always drilled into my head that the best tomato production is on the main vine, and offshoots just waste valuable plant evergy into foliage. I just can't unbeleive it.

It's not the offshoots that are the problem, it's the overall distance from the roots. The farther the plant has to transport nutrients to a fruit, the smaller that fruit will be. Tomatoes naturally are a low growing vine that will layer itself as it spreads. Each spot that touches the ground will produce new roots to help send nutrients along. You can see this growing habit on tomato vines easily, just look for the little white bumps on the vines. But humans don't let tomatoes grow this way: they prop them up in cages to maximize garden space and keep the fruit out of reach of 'visitors'.

Cakefool, you're right, you plant them very young. You start them in the bucket turned upside-down, then when they got enough of a rootball to hold the dirt in place so that it won't pour out the hole, you turn the bucket over and hang it.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

TheFuglyStik posted:

Does anyone know if I'm in for my backyard reeking like a brothel, or if it's going to work as wonderfully as cheap fertilizer as I'm thinking?

The only composting that I've heard of regarding fish was of just their skeletons. And that was with a proper compost pile, not just lumping dirt on top of them. I bet a whole fish would take quite some time to decompose entirely.

Still, putting that much fish in your garden would pretty much guarantee that you'd have pests trying to dig them up: raccoons, possums, even neighborhood dogs and cats.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

Zeta Taskforce posted:

In this paylake, they must be constantly feeding these fish, so the nutrient load in the lake must be high. Are they constantly pulling out algae and seaweed (lakeweed)? That might be a better option.

Fertilizer runoff from neighboring fields and yards can also cause this. Are there a lot of great big yuppie houses with perfectly manicured yards on the shore surrounding this lake?

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

TheFuglyStik posted:

I plan on planting like onions, cabbage, and spinach could use some staggering in when individual plant are put in/seeded. Since I have a ~180 day growing period, would a 10 day or week staggering in planting these be advisable?

A staggered planting schedule is really only for plants where you have to harvest that entire plant at once that won't survive the winter (lettuce, cabbage, root crops). Even then, that's assuming that they will all grow at the same rate. You could even leave those onions in the ground to get bigger for next year if you'd like.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

ChaoticSeven posted:

green thumb you never knew you had

You will have WAY too much zucchini, as already has been said. Apart from how much each plant produces, the plants themselves get huge! Imagine a bush 4 feet wide by 3 feet tall. Now multiply that by the 72 you started...

You're right about kohlrabi being weird-looking. They kind of look like turnips if they grew above the ground. Has anyone ever seen a veggie that looks like Sputnik?

Click here for the full 1088x814 image.


Also, either unplug those lights at night or put them on a timer. Plants need dark too to rest.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

madlilnerd posted:

That sounds like something out of immensely creepy sci-fi regarding abortionist aliens.

OK then, let's go for another flower bud you've probably eaten. You like broccoli, right?

edit: should we start a new thread for planting non-crop plants, or keep this one? It is the time of year to be planting those too. I would gladly field those questions.

kid sinister fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Mar 20, 2009

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

StoolBot posted:

lime.

Don't go overboard with that stuff, pure lime is VERY alkaline and can drastically raise soil pH. It will be a huge pain in the rear end to lower it again if you go too far. Basically, follow the instructions on the bag to the letter, i.e. figure out your current pH, measure out how big your garden is and do the math to figure out EXACTLY how much you need. You will be sorry if you just 'guess' how much you need, especially for how small most backyard gardens are.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

Zuph posted:

A big shop light is like $20 from home depot. The hardware to hang it above your plants should be less than $40 depending on what you have on hand. Florescent lamps grow seedlings just fine, in my limited experience. My tomatoes and peppers aren't dead yet, at any rate.

The way electricity costs are out here, my lamps cost me less than $0.10 a day to run.

This is the right idea. Get yourself a simple 2 or 4 bulb florescent shop light on the cheap. Get a standalone one with a power cord and chains to hang it, not one to mount to a ceiling. Get one that takes 4 foot T12 bulbs. You should be able to find growing bulbs in 4 foot T12 in many hardware stores. I've seen grow bulbs in both of the big hardware stores: Home Depot and Lowes. You might also want to pick up an electric timer too if you're lazy, one that takes a 3 prong plug. Again, you can get these at hardware stores, but they might be considered a seasonal item as they're usually used for Christmas lights.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

Becktastic posted:

layout advice?
Uhh, this is the gardening megathread...

How tall is that fence? What kind is it? Does it let much light through?

Unless you needed a forklift to move that one bag of compost, you'll need more than one bag to really make a difference with a garden that big.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

madlilnerd posted:

I'm in south east England so zoning doesn't apply.

I wouldn't say that...

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

Zeta Taskforce posted:

From what you describe its going to be hard to grow a lot. It will likely be an uphill battle just keeping the area free of roots. My boyfriend tries to maintain a flower bed under his maple tree and every year he digs out the area, shakes all the soil off the roots, mixes in compost and horse manure. And every year the roots have grown back to the point where the ground is solid and it's hard to get a shovel a couple inches deep.

Your best bet might to replant those bulbs now, this fall plant some tulips and daffodils, get some hostas, and ferns, and if you want to experiment, in some of the deeper, richer patches away from the trunk, try growing things that might have a shot like leaf lettuce, spinich, or chard.

Honestly, I think your boyfriend is going to too much trouble with his flowerbed. Just plant some full shade perennials under that tree and be done with it. Feel free to call in the heavy artillery when digging near a tree. Trees can survive quite a bit of root damage without any problems. I usually keep my set of loppers and a knife close by when digging under a tree.

madlilnerd, my advice to you would be to actually make yourself a rock screen and sort out the rocks. You can leave the pea-sized stuff without problems. In fact, a couple years of winter freeze and thaws should take care of those.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

HeatherChandler posted:

My personal favorite is growing orchids indoor even though people think they are difficult. If you have a bright window that is fine for light, the blooms last ages, and a lot of varieties only like a little water so if you are forgetful they will be ok (mine only died when I went away for a bit and my husband watered them every day thinking he was being helpful, despite my sticky note warnings) They are a PAIN to repot but otherwise there are easy varieties. I think I might have gotten into them simply because most aren't poisonous to cats.

The easist one I can think of is the kalanchoe. A lot of indoor flowers are easy to take care of generally, but once they are out of bloom might need special conditions to get them back into bloom again. Bromeliads and African violets are like that.

Technically, most Bromeliads never rebloom, each plant only flowers once, makes a few offsets, then dies. Other than that though, they are bulletproof and perfect for a newbie. Just remember, most bromeliads are epiphytic and only use their roots as anchors. For those you put their water in their central "cup" instead.

You're right about African violets though. Seconding kalanchoes. If you want easy flowers indoors, I'd try peace lilies, or any of a number of succulents.

Becktastic posted:

I just made a worm bin. Should I have just done a regular compost bin? Does it breakdown faster with worms or what are the advantages of one over the other? I think I just really wanted pet worms :3

Depends on some conditions. Do you have space for a proper compost bin? They need to be at least 3 feet X 3 feet X 3 inches in order to be able to start breaking down material. Of course, the larger it is, it will have more material to break down and then should be more able to generate the heat that bacteria love. There could be so much heat that it could be too hot for the wormies and they'll leave if able. Bacteria really are necessary and will break down stuff much faster than worms if there's enough heat for bacteria to thrive. In fact, there is some stuff you can compost like sticks and branches that worms won't touch until bacteria has done its job.

Another condition is that depending on what you add, compost bins can stink, bad. You may want to locate it away from yours and your neighbors' houses.

kid sinister fucked around with this message at 20:23 on Mar 29, 2009

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

Magipp posted:

if it's too warm for them in the pile they'll just leave.

...if they can leave.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

HeatherChandler posted:

Although, my mother in law has a massive bromeliad that I think she has had for 10 years or something ridiculous, I wonder if she is just letting it reproduce within the pot it is in, the pot is like 3 feet high and 4 ft across. Is that even possible?

You sure can. I've got one of the smaller bromeliads right now that started out as a clump of 3 when I planted it in an 8" pot that is now a clump of 12. Again, most don't use their roots for nourishment, so pot size has no real bearing on how big the clump can get. I've already had to cut off several pups that were growing out over the edge of the pot and move them to the other side where there was room.

Your mother-in-law's would almost have to be a lineage of pups. Remember the "grow, flower, pups, die" cycle? That entire life cycle lasts about 18-36 months, only to be repeated by the pups. From what I've read, bromeliad seeds don't germinate so well, or have very short times of viability.

Fun fact: pineapple plants are bromeliads. The pineapple is actually the flower of the plant:

Click here for the full 1280x849 image.


They're one of the few bromeliads that use their roots to draw nutrients. They're also unique in that they have yet another propagation method that other bromeliads don't: you can plant the crown from the fruit.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

awapplesauce posted:

an evil little poo poo squirrel
...
Besides buying a BB gun and camping out in the living room (it's definitely crossed my mind), do you have any suggestions?

You could trap it... What you do with it from there is up to you. Keep in mind that squirrels are territorial, and unless you release it in like the next state, it WILL come back.

HeatherChandler posted:

You used a rototiller...right?

That's a big patch even for a rototiller. My guess would be a regular tiller, probably one that mounts to a 3-point hitch on a tractor.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

ChaoticSeven posted:

I have a bromeliad I bought a couple weeks ago. The bloom is up, but hasn't folded out. But the leaves are starting to curl under on the tips. Doesn't look good. Any ideas on that?

Some bromeliads do curl at the tips and it's perfectly normal. When the leaf sides curl up and inwards, that means that that bromeliad needs water. You're remembering to water in its central "cup", right?

Also, the time for bromeliads from bud to bloom can last anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks and the flower structure will last another 2 to 6 weeks after blooming. In other words, don't get antsy in the pants.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002
If you only water the roots of most bromeliads, then the only way they'll get water is from that water evaporating into the air. Only a few bromeliads can get by on just humidity as their water source.

Bromeliads only rot in the cup if you water it too much, so much that it always has standing water in the cup, which can eventually go bad. There's two ways to prevent this:

1. when the water stinks and rot has set in, turn the whole plant upside down to empty it (guess what happens to the dirt when you do this)
2. don't water it so drat much that it always has water standing in the cup

Bromeliads are tough and can take a few days without any water. Try it!

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

HeatherChandler posted:

Blackberries ACK! My allotment was absolutely covered in them, I can't tell you how many bloody (literally) cuts I had on my arms, legs, cheeks from trying to tame them back a bit. I was a walking 'faces of meth' picture. They sprawl uncontrollably. They used them along the fence as natural trespasser control. I would have really loved having them to harvest except the park next to my flat had them everywhere anyway, I would just pick those (Park management told me that they didn't use any pesticides on that area).

Did I mention I hate blackberry brambles?

You know, they've developed thornless blackberry cultivars...

Anubis posted:

Is there a support group I can join for people who can't seem to stop buying plants in the spring?

There sure is. With Gardeners for the Betterment of Kid Sinister, you simply send all your money to me. Since you will have no money then, you will not be able to buy plants!

kid sinister fucked around with this message at 22:57 on Apr 3, 2009

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002
Any climbers that stick to brick will do some damage, usually to the mortar. There are 2 natives to the US that I know would adhere to brick, but I'm hesitant to recommend them because they grow like weeds. They are the Trumpet Vine and the Virginia Creeper. Again I recommend you steer clear of these two. Some people will even get rashes from handling one or both of those. Some cultivars of creeping Euonymus a.k.a. Wintercreeper will successfully climb brick. There are even some pretty variegated cultivars too.

One trick to hiding a support for climbers on a brick wall is to drill holes in the mortar with a masonry bit in a grid pattern with holes about 1-2 feet apart and 4-6 high from one another. You should be able to use the mortar pattern on the wall to figure out straight horizontal and vertical lines. Put masonry anchors in those holes and screw in eye bolts with the eyes going vertical. Once that is all done, thread a solid steel wire up each column of holes, bending it back and wrapping the end around the straight section. That will give climbers with tendrils and twirling leaves something to hold onto!

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

Zeta Taskforce posted:

Any ideas?

Seconding digging out that stump. All those stems should show you just how resilient that plant is to just being cut back.

That is good dirt, but you main limit of what you can grow is your climate and the sun exposure your intended spot gets. If it's between two houses that close together, there's a good chance that spot will be shady. Does it have unshaded southern exposure at all?

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

Windy posted:

In just four days all my basil has sprouted, and it seems that overnight my tomatoes have sprouted up over and inch! However, the tomatoes are all gangly and falling over. I hadn't had time yet to set up my lights yet because I didn't expect anything to come up so soon. Will my little tomato sprouts strengthen up once I get them under growing lights tomorrow, or are they doomed to be weak and useless? Right now they're just sitting in a window without direct sunlight.



You might want to cull your basil back to one plant. A single basil plant can form a bush 4 feet tall and around, more than enough for one household.

Tomato plants themselves aren't very strong, they are more like vines and are grown in cages for added support. Still, they're strong enough to stand upright by themselves without support until they're at least 18-24 inches tall. If they're that bent over now, it's because they don't have a direct light source like you said and are growing towards the light, most likely the nearest window. Once you add a proper overhead light, they'll correct their stems and start growing towards the new light source.

edit: My dad and I should know something about growing tomatoes. We grow ours so large that we could never find cages for sale that were big enough to support our plants, so we had to make our own. We've had plants that have topped out their 6 foot cages, fell over and touched the ground again. I should really get pictures of them one of these years... We grow mostly Better Boy and Brandywine tomatoes for the record.

These ones get an extra special recommendation though, Sungold. They're little orange cherry tomatoes and they're so sweet they're like candy. The only kicker about them is that they're F1 hybrids, which you can't really harvest the seeds from them. Plants from those seeds won't have near the same vigor as their parent.

kid sinister fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Apr 9, 2009

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

Windy posted:

edit: How are the Brandywines Kid Sinister? My mother usually plants Better Boys, and the seeds I started are an heirloom mix. I honestly won't know what kind of tomatoes I have until they mature.

Brandywines are an heirloom variety. Some people claim disease problems with them, but, I've never had a problem. We get 1 pound tomatoes with regular watering and without pruning.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

Blue_monday posted:

First time gardening since I was a child. I'm starting my own little herb garden indoors, right now I've got some dill, basil, oregano, thyme and chives on the go.

I'm following the directions on the package/ a couple of quick glances at the internet, but does anyone have any recommendations for herb garden books/websites that are reliable/comprehensive?

If you followed the instructions, I doubt you'd need any real advice. Herbs are super easy to grow. Most grow like weeds. Hell, some are weeds.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

Chajara posted:

I'm in Milwaukee and have some Quinault strawberries and snap peas out on my porch... they can withstand frost, right? I'm asking because research suggested they can but now that I left the peas uncovered last night they're looking a bit wilty.

I planted a backup crop just in case, but I'd still hate to lose this batch. The strawberries aren't producing any flowers anymore since I transplanted them but otherwise they look okay.

They can withstand frost if they're in the ground, not if they're potted up on your porch. If they're in the ground, they at least have the dirt to insulate the roots. If they're up in a pot above ground, then the cold air can work on all parts of the plant.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002
Those aren't fruit flies, those are fungus gnats. Their larvae live in dirt and eat dead roots and leaves. While not a danger to people, they can spread diseases between plants and are more of a danger to smaller and new plants. There are a couple methods to treat and control them. The first is to not overwater your plants. You can also do sticky traps or the potato trap method. That's where you cut a potato into 1 to 1 and 1/2 inch chunks and place those chunks on the soil surface for a few days. Pick it up and you should quickly see if you have larvae in your dirt. Throw away potato when done if it wasn't obvious.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002
Cutting down on watering will help, but it probably won't get rid of them completely. That's where the sticky traps for the adults and the potato trap for the larvae come in. There are chemical methods too, but that's for more than a handful of plants, not to mention that you have to worry about other things like kids and pets getting harmed by the pesticides.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

FuzzyDunlop posted:

On another, sadder note, this blog post really struck a chord with me.

That's nothing a night of hiding in the bushes with a 12 gauge loaded with rock salt shells couldn't fix.

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

MarshallX posted:

Does anyone have any thoughts on berms vs mounds vs flat?

That depends, what are you trying to grow? What is your rainfall like? How free-draining is your soil? Does water pool on the surface?

kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002
For everyone recommending container gardening, keep in mind that you will have to water those plants more frequently than if they were planted in the ground, especially any tomatoes or anything in the squash family. That EarthTainer is a good idea, but it would seem to be a bitch to set up the wicking action properly. I would especially check to see whether your self-watering pots would be more cost-effective than regular pots with an automated watering system, though admittedly this probably won't be the case unless you intend to do quite a lot of container gardening.

It's nice to see that you're growing so many peppers! I myself am growing a Naga Jolokia from seed this year. The included sample of the dried powder just about knocked me on my rear end, and I just took the little amount that stuck to my moistened pinky finger.

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kid sinister
Nov 16, 2002

ChaoticSeven posted:

I was thinking of the time my Mom cut up a ton of peppers without gloves and got actual blisters. Her hands were beet red. I heard second hand stories about the same type of thing.

Capsaicin is a skin and tissue irritant. That's why you're supposed wear gloves when harvesting or handling the peppers. The amount of irritation is proportional to that pepper's heat, which is why some people can handle jalapenos without a problem. It's also present though in a lesser degree throughout the plant, which is why I intend to put a little fence around this particular plant.

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