2013 Vegetable Gardening Thread

[pointyfootball]

I finished building my elevated garden boxes about 2 weeks ago with knotty cedar wood.

Very nice. I had to use 1x's because I couldn't find 2x cedar. Where'd you get yours, and was it expensive?

Not sure if you have critter issues, but I mounted 1" electrical clamps on inside surfaces that allow me to bend pvc tubing and fit into clamps. I then can put netting/cheese cloth up over to try and keep most animals out. Not sure if it's that or the wolf my family calls our family dog that keeps deer/rabbits away.

[hunterx]

Do you all water every other day? In sunny florida we get rain maybe once a week and sometimes the ground will dry out pretty quick during this time of year. Obviously warmer weather than all of yours living in Jacksonville, so I am thinking everyday I should put the sprinkler on it for 10-15 minutes.

I went very newbie with this, didn't even close my box in from the fence side. I also did not line the bottom of my box with anything to keep weeds out And you also will notice I didn't get enough soil to bring it to the top lol.. But I did till the ground a good 2-3 inches on top of the 5-6 inches of topsoil/garden soil I put in there.

[Ellis]

Knotty Cedar is not too expensive. Clear Heart Cedar would break the bank on a project like this.

I purchased 2x6 knotty cedar boards 8' long for about $18.88 each. And the guys at the lumber yard were nice enough to pre-cut everything for me at no extra charge.

The 4x4's were pricey. About $46 per 8' and I couldn't get them any other way.

I purchased all the wood at Johnson Lumber Yard (Edgewater, MD location). Cedar isn't difficult to find but not everyone sells it. HomeDepot only sold it as 1x's.

The boxes are 8'x4' and are about 10-11 inches deep. Each box cost about $210 to make (and there's a lot in the pic you can't see, such as a 1/4" gauge hardware mesh deep under the soil to keep moles/voles from eating the worms and roots). With the soil I mixed myself, the cost went up to close to $300 each.

---------- Post added April-8th-2013 at 03:36 PM ----------

Also, for any of you living in the greater DC area, keep in mind that the Brood 2 cicada is coming in May.

http://dc.about.com/cs/weather/a/cicadas.htm

[hunterx]

Opinions on how to combat whatever is causing my leaves to have white running lines?

[twa]

leaf miners

http://entnem.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/leaf/a_serpent ine_leafminer.htm

[hunterx]

leaf miners

http://entnem.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/leaf/a_serpent ine_leafminer.htm

Thanks. I can't get to that link but most websites say the best way to get rid of them on vegetable plants like tomatoes is to just cut the leaves off.

[twa]

yeah not a big problem unless it is a major infestation, spraying them with dish soap might help prevent more

http://www.ehow.com/how_8744585_rid-leaf-miners-homemade-repellents.html

[LadySkinsFan]

Don't use RR ties, they have creosote and that's cancer causing. Consider diatomaceous earth for around your plants especially around squash plants. Also, get some onions (cheap kind) and pulse them in a blender with lots of water. Strain to get only the remaining liquid and then spray that on your plants.

[hunterx]

Thanks for the tips. Since I already cut the leaves off I will have to keep an eye for their return. I'll try one of those home remedies if they return, which I am sure they will!

[Ellis]

Not sure if you have critter issues, but I mounted 1" electrical clamps on inside surfaces that allow me to bend pvc tubing and fit into clamps. I then can put netting/cheese cloth up over to try and keep most animals out. Not sure if it's that or the wolf my family calls our family dog that keeps deer/rabbits away.

I do have critter issues in our neighborhood, including deer. I created a similar contraption on our boxes (pic below.)

I haven't bought the bird netting yet, but we'll have it installed by the end of the week. There are no vegetables or fruit growing so we haven't needed it yet.

I finished the fencing and transplanted many of our seedlings over the weekend.

I had to breakdown and buy a few at the store that wouldn't grow well at my house. Not to mentioned that sudden 91degree day on 4/10 killed almost all of my arugula seedlings. (Slightly irritated about that.)

We still need to transplant a lot of seedlings that need to get a bit bigger before they can handle the sun.

[China]

http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/how-to-attract-spiders-to-your-garden

 

Create a habitat that appeals to spiders and they will protect your flowers and vegetables from pests that feed on plants.

 

What’s your first instinct when you see a spider in your vegetable or flower garden? Hopefully it’s not to squish it or spray it with an
insecticide.

 

Although it may be hard to convince an arachnophobe to roll out the welcome mat for these creatures that creep so many
people out, spiders are good guys in gardens. That’s because spiders eat the insects that feed on plants and vegetables in the garden, reducing vegetable yields and chewing holes in the leaves and flowers of ornamental gardens.

 

In fact, spiders are the most numerous land predators on the planet, according to Rod Crawford, curator of arachnids at the Burke
Museum of Natural History and Culture on the University of Washington campus in Seattle. Other than some animals in the tropics, spiders eat more insects than any other creature — more than birds, bats or ants, all of which are voracious insect eaters, Crawford points out.

 

For gardeners, that means you don’t need to get rid of insects by buying an arsenal of chemicals or natural predators such as lady bugs or praying mantis. You can simply allow nature to take its course and leave the spiders in charge of pest control chores.

 

The trick is to create a garden habitat that attracts spiders. The way to do that is to provide some protection from the elements.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[grhqofb5]

I planted a similar garden about 2 weeks ago, have done it a couple times in the past.  Remember (don't know where you live), even if you are the best gardener in the neighborhood, deer, rabbits, and other animals will eat the **** out of your garden if you don't enclose it with some sort of fencing, and if you have strawberries birds will eat at it so netting can help.  Nothing sucks worse than some ******** animals eating your stuff.

[grhqofb5]

Opinions on how to combat whatever is causing my leaves to have white running lines?

 

I was going to say green spray paint. 

[Ellis]

Coming along well...

 

I have a few more to transplant this weekend including a yellow squash.

[hunterx]

So my 3 tomato plants are probably fully matured.  We've got one of each:  Cherry Tomato, Beef Steak and a Hybrid plant.  The Cherry Tomato plant is awesome, we probably get 3-4 picked every other day.  We have had a few Hybrids but we had worm issues early on so I have been combating that.  

 

The Beef Steak plant...it's like 12 feet tall and not a single sign of tomatoes growing.  It keeps growing those little yellow bud flowers where the tomatoes are supposed to form but they keep dying.  I'm not sure what's going on with it...ideas?

[CrabR]

you dont spray with dish soap it is not pure soap and is not very effective . It has to be real soap like Ivory. Take a bar of Ivory cut it up inot a empty gallon milk jug fill with water and wait for it to dissolve then spray

 

for any type of caterpillar use [bT] bacillus thuringiensis

[NoCalMike]

I have three tomato plants growing this year, just right out of the pots.  I bought them from a local farmer's market and they were just starting to sprout out of the dirt.  Transferred them to bigger pots and they have been growing crazy ever since.

 

All three are yielding fruit now.  I have grape, patio, & black krim tomatoes.

 

Patio are sort of similar to vine ripes, Grapes are an oval version of cherry tomatoes, and black krim...hard to describe, what I have been telling folks is they are sort of the portabella mushroom of tomatoes as they have a big bold flavor almost "meaty" if you get what I mean.

 

It has been pretty easy growing them, every couple of weeks I hit em with one of those miracle grow  mix packets that you add a gallon of water to. Other then that just keep them well watered and found best spot in backyard for optimum sunlight.

 

Only issue that has come up is that when we experience multiple 100 degree days in a row, some of the tomatoes that don't have other leaves to shade behind can tend to develop sun blisters.  It isn't toxic or a disease or anything, so I usually just cut the little bit off that gets effected. If I know ahead of time the weather, I move them to a shadier part of the yard and that takes care of the issue.

 

Honestly, now they are yielding so much, so often, I almost don't care if  have to toss a few.

 

I'll probably never be able to grow ALL my own veggies, but if you have the time, patience, and space to do it, I recommend definitely trying to grow SOMETHING.  There is a reason farmers will tell you that fruit and veggies are meant to stay on the vine until they ripen, because they taste a hell of a lot better then being picked before they are ready in order to ripen on the delivery truck.

[hunterx]

Wish I understood why my larger tomato plants arent growing like yours.  We haven't had any days in the 100s yet in NE Florida, but they have been high 80s and lately a few low 90s from a heat wave...but I water them a few times a week.  I'd love to say I could pick a few big ones per week  !

[NoCalMike]

Do you get wind there at all? I have noticed that on particular windy days, sometimes it causes the budding flowers to detach from the stem before the tomato bulb has grown enough to stick out of the plant opening.

 

[PCS]

One of the reasons I haven't been around recently is the home garden project we have going,(we've been going back and forth between the garden and the big landscaping project in the front of the house). We have 3 tomato plants going in the front that are really beginning to take off. Already had some fresh tomato to use in salads and sandwiches. Mmmmm. Meanwhile in the backyard,we have 2 4x8 raised garden boxes with corn,peppers,beans and other veggies while a small spot nearby has squash and strawberries growing. Oh. And a half whiskey barrel that I planted potatoes in not too long ago. Can't wait to see how this all works out. 

[CrabR]

picked my first real tomato[better boy] this morning. I have been picking cherry tomatoes[best tasting I have ever had]. I am picking 4-6 cukes a day 1-2 squash a day. I got about a dozen cabbages I will have to give away. I planted 20.12 regular,4 red, 4 savory. Me an 2 neighbors took one of each.  

 

I picked about 6 Japanese eggplant and a good sized bag of jalapeños a 2 bell peppers and a bag of green beans, this morning. I planted  4 rows of green beans 1 week apart, topcrop and bluelake so  I will have a steady supply into august. I will plant turnips.collards and mustard greens when it is time to pull the bean plants

 

all extra goes with the wife to work, My neighbor says I plant to much, but i just like gardening and someone will always take fresh vegetables

[Ellis]

Things are going well with my garden.  I lost all of my Pea plants, primarily due to a bad spot of soil in the garden box.  I've since fixed the problem.

 

Tomato plants are kickin' so much ass.

[PCS]

Well we're beginning to get some veggies off the plants now. Cucumbers, zucchini,a variety of peppers and such. We're learning as we go,(it's one thing to read and research,another to actually do some of this. Yeah. Duh...). We'll be adding one to two more big planters and 3 or 4 smaller ones,(4x4),next year and spreading things out more. Potatoes in the whiskey barrel seems to be going very well,but will see when I harvest them if they are as good as it's looking like they'll be. Zucchini and watermelon plants continue their quest for backyard domination too.