What Are Some Tips for Successful Gardening?

[Evo]

that's just the way males are

 

[Astronuc]

Besides crowding, from the hairy roots, it looks like either too much fertilizer or too much organic material. I once read a warning that carrots and parsnip (basically any root crop) should not be grown in rich organic material, but preferably in something like a sandy soil away from organic material otherwise they would produce fine (hairy) roots rather than simply grow the main central root. The watering was supposed to be done in a trench with the root vegetables in mounds.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG0435.html

Proper soil preparation is very important in achieving success with the root crops. They grow best in a deep, loose soil that retains moisture yet is well-drained. Root crops do not grow well in very acid soils. Always remember to take a soil sample for pH and nutrient analysis and apply fertilizer and/or lime appropriately. Nitrogen recommendations for beets, carrots, parsnips, and rutabagas are about ¾ to 1 cup of urea/100 sq. ft. Apply half during seed bed preparation and sidedress the other half in mid-season. For radishes and turnips, nitrogen recommendations are about ½ cup urea/100 sq. ft. to be broadcast and incorporated before planting. P and K application should be applied according to soil test recommendations. The optimum pH range is between 6 and 6.5. Liming will raise the pH of acid soils. You can improve soil conditions by adding well-rotted manure or compost. Do not use fresh manure as it can stimulate branching of the roots, . . .

This last line makes me think the radishes got something akin to too much fresh manure. They seem to have put a lot of energy into growing roots rather than a bulb.



I visited a horse ranch this morning to get some 'free' manure. They also have several cubic yards of top soil available for the taking. So this summer, I'll be making lots of trips to ranch.

 

[Evo]

Sadly, here is the entire yield from my radish crop (it's the little speck next to the red onion). I do remember my first radish attempt was in a long wooden planter and they were incredible. I wish I remembered what kind of dirt I used.

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/130/camerapictures050qi2.jpg

 

[turbo]

I visited a horse ranch this morning to get some 'free' manure. They also have several cubic yards of top soil available for the taking. So this summer, I'll be making lots of trips to ranch.

I hope the manure was old and well-rotted. Horses don't have multiple stomachs like cows and they don't chew their food thoroughly, so horse manure can have LOTS of weeds. Voice of Experience, here! After my father-in-law had his legs amputated due to side-effects of diabetes, he still wanted to garden, so he ordered seeds and fertilizer and I supplied all the labor. And what a LOT of labor that was! The guy he ordered manure from brought horse manure, not the promised cow manure, and I was fighting wild mustard, pig-weed, goose-foot, and dozens of other noxious weeds all summer.

 

[turbo]

Sadly, here is the entire yield from my radish crop (it's the little speck next to the red onion). I do remember my first radish attempt was in a long wooden planter and they were incredible. I wish I remembered what kind of dirt I used.

Evo, do you have a soil test kit? If there is a lot of peat in the potting mix the pH may be too low to allow nutrient-uptake. Radishes like sandy/loamy soils with a pH of around 7. Lime could help you get there if the pH is low. If your potting soil is rich and loamy, try adding sand and for sure, check the pH. Thin the radishes to 3" apart once the greens get up about 2" or so, and use the radish greens and roots in tossed salads.

 

[rewebster]

Sadly, here is the entire yield from my radish crop (it's the little speck next to the red onion). I do remember my first radish attempt was in a long wooden planter and they were incredible. I wish I remembered what kind of dirt I used.

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/130/camerapictures050qi2.jpg

[/URL]

use the same dirt as you grew the onion in

 

[mapsurfer]

This year I gave it a shot... Planted some legal herbs in my little garden, but having a tough time with germination rate of some of my hopefuls... and also the insects are wreaking havoc on a faster growing botanicals.. What a bummer. I thought about insecticides, but I was sort of waiting to see if these plants have enough fortitude to survive the attack of insects. Is there any natural way to spray to help my little green friends stay alive?

Some ppl have a green thumb, but unfortunately I am not one of them, but I am trying.

Regards,

-map

 

[Evo]

I hope the manure was old and well-rotted. Horses don't have multiple stomachs like cows and they don't chew their food thoroughly, so horse manure can have LOTS of weeds. Voice of Experience, here! After my father-in-law had his legs amputated due to side-effects of diabetes, he still wanted to garden, so he ordered seeds and fertilizer and I supplied all the labor. And what a LOT of labor that was! The guy he ordered manure from brought horse manure, not the promised cow manure, and I was fighting wild mustard, pig-weed, goose-foot, and dozens of other noxious weeds all summer.

it seems turbo is correct

Horses only digest about 1/4 of all the grass and grains they consume. Therefore horse manure is a very weedy manure.

On the other hand, cows have 4 stomachs. So their manure is more digested, and has less weed seeds in it.

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/organic/2003082510028156.html

Evo, do you have a soil test kit? If there is a lot of peat in the potting mix the pH may be too low to allow nutrient-uptake. Radishes like sandy/loamy soils with a pH of around 7. Lime could help you get there if the pH is low. If your potting soil is rich and loamy, try adding sand and for sure, check the pH. Thin the radishes to 3" apart once the greens get up about 2" or so, and use the radish greens and toots in tossed salads.

I'm thinking the soil was perhaps too acid.

use the same dirt as you grew the onion in

I bought the onion at the grocery store, which is how I will be getting my radishes until this fall. The temperature is going to be too hot for radishes now.

 

[rewebster]

it seems turbo is correct

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/organic/2003082510028156.html

I'm thinking the soil was perhaps too acid.

I bought the onion at the grocery store, which is how I will be getting my radishes until this fall. The temperature is going to be too hot for radishes now.

try it anyway----you never know how they will turn out---you like things 'warm' if they do get that way---I like the iceberg radishes--they have a warm flavor

one thing about radishes, they're not too expensive usually

 

[rewebster]

This year I gave it a shot... Planted some legal herbs in my little garden, but having a tough time with germination rate of some of my hopefuls... and also the insects are wreaking havoc on a faster growing botanicals.. What a bummer. I thought about insecticides, but I was sort of waiting to see if these plants have enough fortitude to survive the attack of insects. Is there any natural way to spray to help my little green friends stay alive?

Some ppl have a green thumb, but unfortunately I am not one of them, but I am trying.

Regards,

-map

One guy on the tube mixes beer, liquid soap and 'some other ingredient' to use on his stuff (I forgot his name) from fertilizer to bug spray, and, I think, even for his deodorant

 

[turbo]

This year I gave it a shot... Planted some legal herbs in my little garden, but having a tough time with germination rate of some of my hopefuls... and also the insects are wreaking havoc on a faster growing botanicals.. What a bummer. I thought about insecticides, but I was sort of waiting to see if these plants have enough fortitude to survive the attack of insects. Is there any natural way to spray to help my little green friends stay alive?

Some ppl have a green thumb, but unfortunately I am not one of them, but I am trying.

Regards,

-map

There's a naturally-occuring substance called BT (bacillus thuringiensis [spelling?]) that you can mix with water and spray on your plants. It paralyzes the guts of most herbivorous insects so that they can't eat any more and they starve. If you have plants that are getting attacked by egg-laying bugs, you can spray them with a mix of water and canola oil. I put canola oil and a little bit of palm-oil-based dish detergent in a hose-fed sprayer and douse my apple trees with it as soon as the blossoms have dropped and periodically after heavy rains. Last year's apple crop was bountiful and practically insect-free with NO pesticides. The canola oil smothers the eggs and grubs and even adult bugs with no poison involved. For spot treatments of plants getting attacked by Japanese beetles, a spray bottle with a strong mix of palm-oil-based dish detergent and water works wonders.

 

[turbo]

As a bonus, the early and persistent snow-pack prevented the lawns from freezing, so the moles got to feast heavily on Japanese beetle grubs. The lawn looks like a jigsaw puzzle, but if it means fewer Japanese beetles, that's a good pay-off!

 

[Evo]

one thing about radishes, they're not too expensive usually

A tiny bunch of radishes cost a $1.50. By weight, that's about $4 a pound. I think people don't realize how expensive they've gotten since they are usually used sparingly. I usually lightly sautee a pan of them in butter and I love adding them to dishes because of their peppery flavor.

 

[turbo]

A tiny bunch of radishes cost a $1.50. By weight, that's about $4 a pound. I think people don't realize how expensive they've gotten since they are usually used sparingly. I usually lightly sautee a pan of them in butter and I love adding them to dishes because of their peppery flavor.

This is something that drives me nuts. Produce is often sold by "the bunch" and the prices are getting jacked up horribly. My wife and I started a small herb garden and grew a few herbs in pots on the deck, until last summer when we transferred basil, dill, parsley, and others to the garden proper. It's great to come up from the garden with a handful of fresh basil for a pesto or a bundle of dill flowers to put the florets in chili relish, salsas or pickles. You can't even by the florets in any supermarket, and if you could, they would probably cost more per pound than saffron. Dill can grow about anywhere, so give it a try. The florets (the tiny flowers at the ends of the skinny flower-stalks) are absolutely wonderful and beat the weed (green leaves) and seeded heads hands-down in every recipe that I've tried them in.

 

[Astronuc]

I hope the manure was old and well-rotted. Horses don't have multiple stomachs like cows and they don't chew their food thoroughly, so horse manure can have LOTS of weeds. Voice of Experience, here! After my father-in-law had his legs amputated due to side-effects of diabetes, he still wanted to garden, so he ordered seeds and fertilizer and I supplied all the labor. And what a LOT of labor that was! The guy he ordered manure from brought horse manure, not the promised cow manure, and I was fighting wild mustard, pig-weed, goose-foot, and dozens of other noxious weeds all summer.

Well, it's not well seasoned. We'll have to 'cook' it ourselves in our compost piles, which is why we got the manure. We already fight wild brambles and noxious weeds like crown vetch.

The topsoil, mix of manure and soil from their meadow seems well seasoned, so I'll be going back next weekend for the soil.

 

[rewebster]

The irises are blooming around here.

the peaches look good for this time of the year

these are necarines--I need to spray them now--they'll get a moth egg laid in the skin otherwise which will eventually rot the fruit

this yellow delicious apple never has done well or produced much--it's a 'shade tree'

 

[turbo]

For fruit trees, try canola oil with a bit of detergent in a hose-fed tree sprayer. It smothers the adults, grubs, and eggs. Prune your apple tree aggressively this fall to allow sunlight to penetrate to fruit-bearing branches. Apple trees should not be shade trees. My rule of thumb is that if I have pruned and am not asking myself, "Oh my gosh, did I prune too heavily?" I didn't prune enough.

 

[Evo]

The irises are blooming around here.

the peaches look good for this time of the year

these are necarines--I need to spray them now--they'll get a moth egg laid in the skin otherwise which will eventually rot the fruit

this yellow delicious apple never has done well or produced much--it's a 'shade tree'

rew...you know what a woman wants. :!)

 

[rewebster]

rew...you know what a woman wants. :!)

hmmm-----an eccentric physicist with a British accent?

 

[Evo]

hmmm-----an eccentric physicist with a British accent?

No, fruit bearing trees.

My father's family owns huge orchards in Florida, and strawberry fields. They're a decent size supplier.

All my life I've wanted to live on a small farm, just fruits and vegetables, maybe some chickens for eggs.

 

[turbo]

I've got some decent apple trees and have planted peach, cherry, plum, pear, etc. There are a couple of very old, large rangy-looking trees on the side lawn that I'm tempted to prune to within an inch of their lives to rehabilitate them. These old varieties are the very first to set on blooms and they could be good producers If I trimmed them to the point where they could concentrate all their resources on fruiting instead of vegetation.

 

[rewebster]

I've cut over 2/3 of that apple off. Apples are one that can be almost trimmed to the trunk. I've ringed the limbs, and cut the roots. Its going on 12 years now and I think I've picked a peck.

 

[turbo]

I've cut over 2/3 of that apple off. Apples are one that can be almost trimmed to the trunk. I've ringed the limbs, and cut the roots. Its going on 12 years now and I think I've picked a peck.

Darn! That's a recalcitrant tree! I have one tree at the end of my driveway that produces apples that are firm and are much sweeter and more flavorful than Macs. I still don't know the variety for sure, but they are a family favorite. My nieces' daughters love climbing the tree and picking apples and my neighbors' granddaughters find it a special treat to come down here for some apples. At 3 and 4, they are prejudiced toward the apples, but they LOVE it when I let them dig up their own carrots and beets for supper. They love to play in the dirt and when their grandparents or mother haul them up here in the big garden cart, they can't wait to pile out and see what's growing.

 

[rewebster]

It was a 'four year old' when I got it. I'm beginning to think that the graft died, and it's a root stock tree that wasn't noticed that the graft died when the nursery sold it.

 

[Moonbear]

On the other hand, my grandfather had apple trees that WERE shade trees, and we got insane amounts of apples year after year. My aunt and my mom would both get bags and bags and bags and bags of apples from my grandparents (the old paper bags, filled to the top), and my grandparents still had plenty for themselves. We'd gorge ourselves on all the fresh apples we could, make apple cakes and apple pies, and can the rest. 10 of us (my parents, my sister, myself, my aunt and uncle and two cousins, and two grandparents) plus whatever random neighbors and fellow church-goers my grandparents gave fruit and vegetables to, even after the birds stole their share, couldn't finish off the apples we'd get in a year from about 3 trees. Inevitably, we'd be canning the next year's apples while having to dump some old jars into the compost heap. I think apples do whatever they feel like, or maybe it's just the soil.

Last weekend, I got my tomatoes and basil all into planters, along with a few planters of oregano. In my tiny garden patch, I planted a row of zucchini and a row with a mix of herbs (some lavender, some more oregano, and I think I sprinkled something else on there, but now can't remember what seeds I had...hee...guess I'll find out). I'm not sure how that's going to do. I only need a couple of the zucchinis to grow to get enough for myself, but we've had almost constant rain and cool weather since planting, which might be leaving my seeds rotting in the ground rather than sprouting.

 

[turbo]

It's also possible that the root stock was planted too deep and the stock overtook the graft.

 

[ZapperZ]

Flowering Plants update

I got back from my vacation, and my orchid is in full bloom. All of the flowers have opened, and I would say that ever since I started growing orchids, this is THE most spectacular bloom that I've ever had.

I'm hoping that the flowers last as long as Freckles, which still has a few flowers on her stem going into the 5th month. I don't have a name yet for this orchid plant. I was going to name her Pinkish, but her flowers are more purplish.

My African Violet is also has the fullest bloom I've ever seen ever since I got it a couple of years ago. It has never bloomed this thick.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/4125/img1852ps9.jpg

My desert plant is also flowering, although not as full.

It appears that 2 weeks of neglect while I was away was all they needed! :)

Zz.

 

[hypatia]

Purpish is just beautiful! And your violet and desert plant {Kalanchoe}, are just blooming their little hearts out. Lovely.

 

[Evo]

Wow, Zz, there has been quite a lot of bloomin' going on!

Those are just gorgeous! I love african violets. It's amazing how their petals sparkle so much. That is one of the thickest bloom custers I've seen and I've raised violets for years. Your orchid is better than varieties I've seen in greenhouses.

All of these pictures and talk of gardens has made me me so homesick for plants, that I may volunteer at the local arboretum this year. I'm calling them tomorrow. I hope they can use me out in the gardens and not inside the visitor center.

 

[turbo]

Zz, that is one massive inflorescence in the first pic. A close friend of mine (and the organist in my college band in 1970 onward) was the caretaker of the university's greenhouse, and he would have been really proud of an orchid blooming so profusely under his care.