Vegetable Garden Tips, Complaints, Concerns & Discussion

Sarge said:

Alright, what gets rid of grasshoppers? They're tearing the hell outta my limas

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Dust the plants with all purpose flour. When the grasshopper tries to eat it, it gums up their mouth and they can't eat anymore.

Excellent! Thanks!

No problem. I had the same problem last year with my limas, got the same advice and tried it this year and it works.

It's that time of year again kids. Today I decided I was going to nearly triple the size of my garden. Bad idea. I rented the biggest and strongest tiller Honda makes. Worse Idea. Then I decided to go at it all today to get it out of the way. Worst idea ever.

On the up side, I got it all done. With the size increase, came the need to build a new irrigation system. I must say, the hard work was worth it, because even though I can't feel my arms anymore and my upper back feels like I got paddled, it looks the best it ever has.

For anyone who has problems with clay, there is a solution. The place I do all my business with sells this stuff called clay buster. I have no idea what it is, but it is clear and goopy. You add it to a hose sprayer, and one jar covers 3900 sq ft. It dissolves the clay and breaks it down into workable organic matter in no time at all. The guy makes it himself and sells it in mason jars for $25 a jar for the size I bought (he also has great big jars, but I don't know the price), but I used it one time about 4 years ago, and it was the best investment I ever made for my garden, because my soil was like concrete and now it's perfect ever since I used it.

I don't know if it is available anywhere else commercially in any form, but I can send a jar Fedex to anyone who's interested. You buy it of course, I'm not that nice The guy has a website up now......http://vb-fs.com/catalog he has a product list, but the clay buster isn't on there that I could find. You could try giving the old man John a call and see if he could ship some to you as well.

Anyhow, this year I've decided to grow some Brandywine Tomatoes, radishes, sweet bicolor corn, artichokes for the first time, Marconi Peppers, yellow bells, Champion Collards, Black Beauty Eggplant, Ichiban Eggplant (the best eggplant available for anyone who likes eggplant (and it's a very high producer), cucumbers, Egyptian Walking Onions (very rare, but very awesome), yellow straightneck squash, zucchini, and various herbs. I might pick up some more plants, but that's what I've started with.

What are you guys/gals doing this season?

I've got cold stuff coming in finally. Poor plants didn't know what to do, one night it's frosty and the next day it's 85. They took a pounding last month from the heat

Anyone here have experience with a container garden? I'm an apartment-dweller but I have a balcony and would really like to start a small veggie garden. I've started looking online, but there really are so many books and resources to choose from, I'm not sure where to start.

renaissance said:

Anyone here have experience with a container garden? I'm an apartment-dweller but I have a balcony and would really like to start a small veggie garden. I've started looking online, but there really are so many books and resources to choose from, I'm not sure where to start.

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I used to live in a townhouse and had a container garden. Honestly, it's a whole lot easier than a regular garden. What would you like to know?

Biggest issues are buying tough plants (it's much more stressful for plants in a container than in a full-sized garden), and that you have to water more frequently. You can buy crystals to mix with the soil that absorb a huge amount of water and then slowly release it - recommend that as otherwise it's hard to keep your soil from drying out. It can be done, but it requires some work.

Boone said:

Biggest issues are buying tough plants (it's much more stressful for plants in a container than in a full-sized garden), and that you have to water more frequently. You can buy crystals to mix with the soil that absorb a huge amount of water and then slowly release it - recommend that as otherwise it's hard to keep your soil from drying out. It can be done, but it requires some work.

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I always took Scott's topsoil and mixed it with peat moss, never had a problem. The crystals added to that mixture would probably work out perfect.

Just looking for a couple simple starter plants, any advice on where to get seeds, and any tips someone might have.

I'm ok with putting in the work.

I was looking here at their recommendations for urban/container gardening. I'm thinking I will go with the stupice tomatoes and mesclun salad mix.

Probably depends on where you live too. The summers here in NC are very hot. Yeah, you really have to use potting soil mixes of some kind (and I'd mulch on top of it too), dirt just won't work except for potatoes.

renaissance said:

Just looking for a couple simple starter plants, any advice on where to get seeds, and any tips someone might have.

I'm ok with putting in the work.

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If you're going from seed, this is the best place for price, quality, production, germination rate, etc. I have never put a seed in from them that didn't produce, and I've tried probably 15 companies before settling on them a few years ago.

http://parkseed.com/default.aspx?gclid=COiru6Cci7ACFYFo4Aod_TqSrw

As far as which plants to get, even if you mulch the top coat like Boone suggested (which you absolutely should do), your roots will stay very warm. So you need things that are more fungus resistant (avoid cucumbers and anything related), and you should really go for hot weather plants like peppers, certain tomatoes, certain lettuces, any type of greens, etc.

Hot peppers for me always did way better in planters than the ground. They love the heat.

Oh, if you can, try not to get Chinese made pots. Not for economical reasons, but because I've had a problem with toxins leeching into the soil and killing my plants, and every time it has ever happened, it was in a cheap Chinese plastic pot.

I tried to get back into my vegetable gardening last Summer, but unfortunately I had so much tree growth around my gardening area that there just wasn't enough sunshine. I'm having someone come out and take down every tree within 50 feet of my garden plot in the next couple weeks.

One of the things I love to do is to start all my own seeds. I ordered a bunch of stuff tonight. By next weekend, I'll have them started under growlights.

Really looking forward to having a garden again.

Anybody else getting the itch?

I started getting the itch after last Summer destroyed everything I had. If we have another one like that I'll rip my hair out. As for this year, I was planning on going the box route like Mike. I bought all the supplies a few weeks ago, it's just been too damn cold to do anything. The only reason I'm going with boxes this year, is I think it's time to raise this crap up off the clay, because it seems like my ground here just gets worse every year, and I'll be damned if I'm losing another $300 garden to bad soil conditions like I've done 2 of the past 5 years.

The boxes will also help with the Disney like abundance of rabbits that have taken over my neighborhood. That and a .22

I just got my seed order in from park seed. Those combined with a bunch of heirloom peppers will go into peat pots in a week or so.

I want radishes. Fresh radishes, washed clean, with some salt--heaven!

Start of my 2013 summer garden Spent the day pulling my 'grow stand' out of the shed, cleaning off the cobwebs, replacing fluorescent bulbs, etc...). Been a decade (!) since I started my own plants. I've vowed with my recent job change to get back to doing the things I love - gardening being one of them. Started mostly tomatoes, eggplant, pepper varieties, including quite a few heirloom varieties. Bottom slats are perrenial flowers (cone flowers, daisies, foxglove, columbine, etc...). Will direct sow just about everything else in my summer garden (several varieites of pole beans, cucumbers, squash, beets, swiss chard, okra).

Awesome. I'm still in the building my area like I need it phase. This time of year is great, because I never run out of things to do, but I hate this time of year because I never run out of things to do

We need to file a petition and see if we can't get some 30 hour days going.

You start your own stuff from seed Extreme? Knowing you as I do, I'm guessing the answer is yes