anyone into gardening?

[elvis christ 451]

So what's the benefit of the buckets vs regular in the ground plants? Portability? Nutrient control?

 

Also, i got a couple of new ferns, these seem to take water better than the first two, but now both of the initial ferns have god damned bird nests in them.

[yakdung 2,926]

In my particular case, too many trees blocking the sunlight. The only location that was available would not support a traditional bed(s) for planting. I tried it last year as an experiment and it worked out great. This year I've added a drip watering system and a timer.

[termite 463]

Elvis, depending on how much ground you got, I have a small tractor and tiller, be glad to till it up and also make a mess of the rest of the yard. As far as tomatoes, try either better boys or big boys, you might also try some tommy toes in a bucket or two. I have sprouted cone inside the house and then transplanted it out side, it did fine until I forgot about it and the weeds and deer took care of it. You can use cages or stakes for the maters, but use old panty hose to tie them up, it's softer and won't hurt the vines. If the ground hasn't been planted in a while, be sure and fertilize it, before planting. There's different types of squash, so check to see what you might like, I think down here, we planted crook neck last year, also try some zuceeni squash, my spelling ain't no good, and FRY it up.

[elvis christ 451]

Thanks for the offer, but the garden is about 15x15 ft, so it won't be that bad to till up by hand. I'm going to get some plants this week.

[Syndicate 812]

We had a 5 acre garden at one point. We sold tons of produce. Now I just put in what we will eat and store for our own use. Last year I was travelling alot and didn't bother. I'm on Vacation right now and the frost is out of the ground. I intend to get the till going here in the next few days and enlarge my plot a bit more. It was a bit crowded the year before last.

I thought farmers from New York planted bricks in their gardens, and grew buildings, and they never had to use compost or manure because of the abundance of liberals that inhabit that area?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm just half in the bag, and messin' with ya, Yeoldtool!

 

 

Yeah, yeah... Most people don't realize how big and rural most of NY is, bagged or not.

 

I've posted an aerial picture of my farm on here before I think. The entire area behind the barns was the garden. Now it's all cattle corn. The second picture is the view from my backyard into Vermont.

it's only a model! (monty python)

 

I used to do lots of boxes and in the gravel spots outside of my deck's concrete slab grow everything, flowers as well, better photo op for hummingbirds and insects over the sugar feeders, natural flower is a better back drop. I would just grow peppers, tomatoes, and pretty much anything to make home made salsa. Lots of herbs. Thinking back it's been more then 5 years since I've done it. hum

[elvis christ 451]

So, this is what i ended up with:

 

 

 

Roma tomato, better boy tomato, 2 crook neck squash, 1 zuchini squash, 1 cucumber, 1jalapeno, and a row of about 6 green beans in the back. Unfortunaltely, the garden is on a hill, so i put some landscaping timbers up, made a little box, and scraped the topsoil from the high part to the low part. Hopefully it doesn't turn into a draining problem.

Edited April 25, 2013 by elvis christ

[Syndicate 812]

home grown nom nom, the best kind

 

keep us posted Elvis!

[yakdung 2,926]

So, this is what i ended up with: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v676/jcawthon/IMAG0234.jpg Roma tomato, better boy tomato, 2 crook neck squash, 1 zuchini squash, 1 cucumber, 1jalapeno, and a row of about 6 green beans in the back. Unfortunaltely, the garden is on a hill, so i put some landscaping timbers up, made a little box, and scraped the topsoil from the high part to the low part. Hopefully it doesn't turn into a draining problem.

Nice. I just removed a couple of "runt plants" today and swapped them out with other plants that have shown to be better producers. I also give my tomato plants a shot of nutrients once a week with this:

http://www.scotts.com/smg/goprod/miracle-gro-tomato-plant-food/prod70358/

Your county extension agent should have a list of what grows good in your area.

Good luck,

[elvis christ 451]

My tobacco plant isn't doing too hot, though.

[patriot 7,197]

Has anyone ever crossed a cayenne and a habanero? I tried, but all I got were runt plants that didn't produce.

[HappYBallZ 31]

I love growing fruits... Florida is pretty tough on fruits/vegetables that are not native though. Very hot and many bugs and diseases that always try to ruin your fun.

 

I will post some pics later but I mainly focus on fruit trees and bushes.

 

What I got

 

Hedges/bushes: blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, boysenberry, muscadine grapes, kiwis, various pomegranate varieties, Surinam cherry

 

Tried growing currant and gooseberry but the plants dried up and died ...too hot. Got one inside my house in a pot but will probably not fruit and flower because we don't have enough "chill hours" for it be dormant and bloom after winter.

 

Fruit trees: Cherries, Peaches, japanese plums, Mulberries, Pluot, Aronia, Elderberry, Tangelolo (lol), Mandarin, Grapefruit, Kumquat.

 

also planted like 10 different melon/watermelon varieties. I pretty much ran out of space that is outside of my fence in my residential backyard.

 

A lot of work, especially with Florida's disease, insect and wildlife pressure but a great stress reliever for sure!!

Edited April 25, 2013 by HappYBallZ

[mancat 2,368]

my wife gardens her ass off. sometimes it's a little too much for me, though. I have some ideas that will be fun for our new place, though. I want to build a small greenhouse with either 12v or 24v solar power, and divert some of the running water from the adjascent property. we have a 2 acre wooded lot, and there's another next to us that will never be developed due to the grade and the high water table. because of the high water table, there is often a moving creek going downhill. I want to divert some of that into a small pond, and have it pumpable via 12/24v pump, and hook that into a water collection system.

 

a buddy of mine recently set up a 1,000 gal tank at his place - he straight up buried it in his backyard, and set up water collection from his roof with a sand biofilter system, along with 24/12v pumps similar to what I was looking at. so I have a pretty good idea what I want to do based on his system.

 

wait, we were talking about gardening? I like salad.

 

seriously though, we have a few fruit trees, and I'm clearing out space right now to plant a few more. I MUST have a honeycrisp apple tree.

Edited April 25, 2013 by mancat

[elvis christ 451]

I'm looking for input here. Does anyone have any words of wisdom about me planting on a hill? I don't know if you guys can tell the grade from the pic. I'll take one from the side.

[Syndicate 812]

Patriot, cross pollination peppers can be hit and miss at times, you can aid the process manually. Unfortunately the plants don't tip for these handys though.

[termite 463]

Depending on your grade, you might want to terrace it, but it don't look that bad, if you want a grade, come look at my back yard. water flows off the hill in a good rain like a damn raging rapid. I want to cut some more of the hill back, but the wife says NO. Just watch it when it rains and see if any of it is washing out, if it's not, don't worry.

When you get the tobacco plant to growing, let me know.

[yakdung 2,926]

I'm looking for input here. Does anyone have any words of wisdom about me planting on a hill? I don't know if you guys can tell the grade from the pic. I'll take one from the side.

I say go for it. I found this:

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/growing-a-vegtable-garden-on-a-hill.htm

[David Mark 2,452]

Here is a pic of my box design. 100% cedar. They have been holding up pretty well for a number of years.

Gives you a nice place to sit while weeding or harvesting.

 

These are on a slight slope but it is easy to control the grade because they are as deep as they are.

 

Nothing like fresh home grown veggies EC. Good Luck!

 

[elvis christ 451]

I'm looking for input here. Does anyone have any words of wisdom about me planting on a hill? I don't know if you guys can tell the grade from the pic. I'll take one from the side.

I say go for it. I found this:

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/growing-a-vegtable-garden-on-a-hill.htm

 

 

Good lookin' out, yak. That's kinda what i've got, but it would be good to separate it into some horizontal rows to accommodate the grade. I could probably still pull it off, but i don't wanna disturb shit right now.

[JonnyDingDongs 158]

Man, I've been missing out on some of my favorite topics! I need to check in here more often. Gardening is my second-biggest hobby, with guns being first. My 2011 garden was ~800 sq ft, but I moved and I'm down to less than 150 sq ft. Makes Jonny sad.

Pre-started plants: In some regions, it's your only option to get any real results. Tomatoes in particular take too long to start producing from seed around here (NE IN). Starting indoors is unbelievably rewarding but can end up being cost-prohibitive. I get all of my tomatoes and peppers from a couple local greenhouses. It's important to note which variety you are buying as well. For instance, I love fresh sugar peas. I picked up some Oregon Sugar Pod II's and some Sugar Daddys last year. The Oregon Sugar Pod II variety did well at first, but bolted as soon as it got hot. You can find charts that show all of the characteristics of a certain variety like disease resistance, germination time, time to harvest, etc.

Planting on a hill: If you're growing peppers, you can use this to your advantage. Obviously the higher end will drain faster and generally retain less moisture. Hot peppers produce more capsaicin if they dry out a little more between waterings. I'm on a hill this year too so my hot peppers are going at the top.

Don't overlook soil amendments: Keep an eye out for things like high clay content, sand, soil pH, and how well certain plants perform this year. Around here, the "soil" is mostly clay which is horrible for gardening. It retains moisture fairly well but when it dries out, it's completely bone dry. Then it packs down hard (roots need some air too and can't spread worth crap when they have to fight through clay) and won't hold nutrients at all. I've been fighting they grey scourge with cocoa bean shells (breaks down fast, loosens the soil, gives nitrogen boost), sphagnum (peat) moss (same as cocoa bean shells but less nitrogen and holds water well), and perlite which is an expanded volcanic rock commonly used in potting soil (that white stuff that looks like styrofoam). This year, I also tracked down some vermiculite (holds nutrients until the roots reach it). By tilling all of the above, I'm hoping to reproduce the 10' (not even exaggerating) tomato plants I had back in '11. I'll have to scrounge up some pictures of that garden.

I use a micro-irrigation system which I've cobbled together from materials at Lowes, Menards, and Harbor Freight. Lowes has a "Mister Landscape" starter kit that you can use as a manifold line. Then grab some valves and sprayer heads (should be right next to the kit) and head off to Menards (assuming you have these three stores in your region). At Menards, they have Rainbird brand stakes for watering at $0.88 instead of the $5+ for the Mister Landscape brand that do the same thing. Then off to Harbor Freight to snap a $10 drip kit (you just need the roll of hose and some of the fittings). Bam- you just made the most easily customizable, totally badass watering system in the world for like $50. We had a wicked drought last year- I laughed.

 

Holy shit, now I remember why I've been staying off of here- I ramble too much.

[mancat 2,368]

We can grow peas at my place that last 3-4 months as long as they stay watered. I love those things. I just grab a few handfuls right off the vines. We had about a 4x10ft stretch of vines at our last house, and it's the first thing I want to set up here.

[Spikester 93]

Elvis, my garden is on a hill as well and it's no problem. Just make a cage out of something like concrete wire and stick it around your maters, make it about 2 foot across so the plant can grow and hold up the heavy tomatoes. You may want to put some epsom salts around the plants on the ground and water it in, about a hand full. Mine gets bottom rot and the salts helps. Use miracle grow to water them about once a week, mix it in a bucket of water and pour it on all your plants. Okra is easy to plant and grow, makes a bunch too. I have 12 tomato plants, hot peppers, 2 rows of green beans, 2 rows okra, squash, cucumbers.

Edited April 26, 2013 by Spikester

[JonnyDingDongs 158]

Blossom end rot is a PITA. I've heard about using salt but never tried it. It's supposedly caused by Calcium deficiency and my Dad has been having trouble with his tomatoes for a couple years. I might experiment with his plants this year.

[elvis christ 451]

Awesome info, i've never heard of bottom rot. I have the tomatoes in about a foot or so of straight topsoil over some grass remnants, would that cause the rot? I'm assuming its rotten soil around the roots and bulbs or something.

 

I've got several tomato cages, i just need to put them up and stake them.

[JonnyDingDongs 158]

Blossom end rot is what you call the brown, mushy rot that forms on the bottoms of tomatoes, peppers, and I've seen it on cucumbers too. It starts right where the flower used to be and is usually hard to spot until you go to pick them and get a handful of rotten mush instead of fresh food. Most plant foods (like Miraclegro or Shultz) should cure it but not always as I'm learning.

 

A quick tip when you plant- modern (indeterminate) tomato varieties were bred from a vine (determinate) form of plant. Ever notice that tomato plants start growing little roots on the stems part-way through the year? This is from soil splashing onto the stem during rain or watering with a hose. It triggers an instinct to root itself wherever possible. It won't hurt anything but it's a waste of the plant's energy. Mulching with a little bit of straw (just enough to cover the soil- you don't want that shit growing mold) will cut down on this as well as help retain soil moisture.

[jrance@iacwds.com 716]

http://www.survivopedia.com/category/food-production/

Take a look around this site. Some great articles on saving your seeds. I just planted a bunvh of Okra from last years seeds (Clemson). I like the idea of using Heritage Seeds/Plants because you get a true reproduction the following year as opposed to the genetically modified seeds that are only good for one crop. When planting corn, be careful to only plant one variety. My dad decided to plant sweet corn and ornamental corn close together one year and it was a disaster! Cross pollination ruined it all. This year will be mainly Okra with some cherry tomatoes and herbs. I have two flower beds on the west side that I tilled 120 lbs. of expanded shale into. We'll see what happens. My neighbor is a Master Gardener and gives me fresh vegetables, herbs, seeds and seedlings from her rather large garden. Even loaned me her tiller to get started. Good neighbors are hard to beat. Of course it works both ways, I rebuilt her commode the other day. LOL

[elvis christ 451]

That sounds like a decent deal. Good to see you posting again, btw.

[Spikester 93]

I also spray a fungicide on the tomatoes, they get spots on them that's a fungus.

[Bigtwin 219]

I had a vegtable garden in my backyard for a few years here in N California. I had tomato,2 different bell peppers, chili peppers, oregano, basil, and onions. I even tried potatos but I did it at the wrong time for the heat in my area.

 

The issues I had was my black lab would eat the tomatos, even green. I fenced it off(she then could only get the fruit on the edge), but last two years we got the tomato worms so bad the plants died within a week and a half. I would get those catapillars off, around 3-6 of them a day. I just couldn't keep up. Did not want to spray pesticides(defeats the purpose of growing your own), so I threw in the towel.

 

Some of you folks suggesting buckets, has me rethinking a garden again. As I understand from research the tomato worms eggs can be deposited in the soil just to return the next year. If that is true if I have fresh soil(not from my existing garden) I wonder if I may have a chance. Plus with the bucket I think it will be easier to deal with weeds( had a small problem with that in my garden too).

[JonnyDingDongs 158]

Tomato worms!?! Go to plan B:

 

 

Seriously hate those friggin' things.

[sccritterkiller 473]

All my maters are heirloom...cherokee and mortgage lifters are my favorite....I have been slowly moving over to 100% organic..I have been using worm casting for years..last year I had to break down and dust do to the damn beetles, couldn't find anything to stop them. We also do beans, peppers and cucumbers..and then lettuce and broccoli in the fall.