What Are Some Tips for Successful Gardening?

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Gardening is a cherished activity for many participants, with roots tracing back to childhood experiences and family traditions. Organic gardening methods are favored, emphasizing the use of natural techniques over chemicals. Current gardening efforts include cultivating perennials like blueberries and raspberries, alongside plans for vegetable and herb gardens. Participants express a desire for more space to garden, reflecting on the challenges of apartment living and the joy of nurturing plants. The discussion highlights cultural differences in gardening practices, particularly contrasting American and Spanish lifestyles regarding home and garden ownership.
  • #2,401
Garden update. I have to water frequently due to the heat-wave/drought, but things are coming along well otherwise. Getting more zuccini than we know what to do with, not to mention string beans, cucumbers, and baby carrots (thinning time!). The cattle-panel fencing works wonderfully! My aunt (the one I gave more garlic to this year) stopped in last night to drop off a loaf of fresh bread (talk about hauling coat to Newcastle!) and asked where I got my fencing. I told here where to buy it, and she immediately put my uncle on notice that he would be putting up fences for her cukes, squash, indeterminate tomatoes, etc.

aug2010garden.jpg


Anyway, the reason that I was wandering around the garden with a camera is that while I was mowing the lawn, I saw one of the big hairy orange assassin-bugs flying off with a bumblebee in its clutches. No luck finding him again, but this is the second time I have seen this type of assassin bug preying on bumblebees and flying off to eat them somewhere. They are both very beneficial bugs, but there are so many bees working the garden that a few here and there won't be missed. Thanks in part to the flower garden that my wife planted (I assume) we have many honeybees this year. If the vegetable plants can keep setting blossoms, we should get some decent crops this season.
 
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  • #2,402
Your garden is looking really nice this year turbo!
 
  • #2,403
Evo said:
Your garden is looking really nice this year turbo!
Thanks. Amending the soil with both sand and aged manure last fall made weed-pulling very easy, so it's a snap to take care of. In a hot dry summer like this the clay-heavy soil would have hardened, making weeding tough. You can pull the weeds, but the roots remain to plague you. I'll till in another 14 yards of manure this fall - looks like just the right mix of soil, manure (nutrients), and sand (drainage). Keeping the soil a bit on the sandy side has been great for root vegetables, because they can grow with little restraint. Plus, the soil is more permeable for the worms and the worms are really big this year as a result.
 
  • #2,404
Pepper here and there...

Actually this is something unknown - I was told these were seeds of ecuador purple, and the small ones in the background (purple/yellow.orange) are what I was expecting, but the large ones in front are completely different:

pap01.jpg


These are called here purple jalapeno:

pap02.jpg


Unfortunately, when we were far north, good people that promised to take care of our peppers failed a little bit, so peppers don't look as good as they should. Doesn't mean they would look better if I was looking after them.
 

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  • #2,405
Borek, if I was going to guess (OK, I am!) I would say that your red peppers may be Itialian corno di toro peppers. Nice bright red color and wide flat shoulders (unlike most serranos). If those are sweet peppers, that's probably close to an ID as you can get. Corno di toros are mild and sweet - no heat.
 
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  • #2,406
I NEED rain! Can anybody push some this way? We haven't had significant rainfall since early June. I have had to switch from my dug well for watering to the drilled well, and I'm in the twilight zone as to the drought-capacity of my drilled well. I don't want to run short of water, but I don't want to lose my garden either.
 
  • #2,407
turbo-1 said:
I NEED rain! Can anybody push some this way? We haven't had significant rainfall since early June. I have had to switch from my dug well for watering to the drilled well, and I'm in the twilight zone as to the drought-capacity of my drilled well. I don't want to run short of water, but I don't want to lose my garden either.

Maybe it's time to consider rain barrels? Not for this year of course, but for future dry seasons.
 
  • #2,408
We have two rain barrels. But with no rain... You get the drift!

One of my closest neighbors is the town's fire-chief. I may have to see if I can locate an old tanker/pumper truck so that I can suck up water from ponds or rivers to water gardens...
 
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  • #2,409
turbo-1 said:
I NEED rain! Can anybody push some this way? We haven't had significant rainfall since early June. I have had to switch from my dug well for watering to the drilled well, and I'm in the twilight zone as to the drought-capacity of my drilled well. I don't want to run short of water, but I don't want to lose my garden either.
Well - we just had rain yesterday - about 3 inches (8 cm) in a few hours. One more branch of our maple tree came down in the downpour. Last night it was hanging from a spot about 25 feet or so from the ground. This morning, I found it on the ground. It somehow detached during the night. I suspect we'll start pruning more of the tree which has been damaged due to wind, storm and drought.

turbo - I think the system should be headed your way. It's supposed to be raining in NH this week. Many people in southern VT were without power last night and this morning due to the storm.

This year we've had dry periods (mini-droughts) punctuated with torrential rains or windstorms.
 
  • #2,410
I hope. It looks like the system will be steered along the coast toward George, and that we may not get much more than sprinkles. I'd love to have a couple of days of heavy rain. We need it badly.
 
  • #2,411
The fruit bat found a tiny baby squirrel yesterday. I scooped it up and put it into a box in the sun to warm up, it was huddled in a dark corner of the house in cold mud. I tried to make it drink from a syringe like it suggested on the rescue site, but although it would let me pick it up and pet it, it absolutely went nuts when I tried to get anything into his mouth. So he'd just suck on his front paws. :frown:

I finally turned the box on it's side so hopefully the mother would find it. The last my neighbors and I saw of it, it had walked to the rocks and fallen off. I decided to go inside so the other squirrels would come over. I hope it's mother found it.

tinybabysquo2.jpg
 
  • #2,412
Well, I broke down and switched the drilled well over to supply the sill-cocks so I could water the garden. The submersible pump was cavitating after just 20 minutes of running a single sprinkler. I later did some spot-watering with water that I dipped out of my backyard pond, though I'm risking life and limb to climb down those steep banks to get the water. Not fun.
 
  • #2,413
turbo-1 said:
Well, I broke down and switched the drilled well over to supply the sill-cocks so I could water the garden. The submersible pump was cavitating after just 20 minutes of running a single sprinkler. I later did some spot-watering with water that I dipped out of my backyard pond, though I'm risking life and limb to climb down those steep banks to get the water. Not fun.
How far is the pond to the garden?
 
  • #2,414
Evo said:
How far is the pond to the garden?
Only about 75 feet or so. It's the last few feet to the pond that are difficult to navigate. It's not a natural pond, though it is supplied only with ground-water. It was dug out with a large excavator, and has very steep sides.

I'm thinking that I might invest in a pump and a filtered suction-line to transport water to the garden. Never needed it before, but this drought is a killer. Some dairy farmers are certain to go under this winter with the low price of milk and the high price of grain, because their hay, alfalfa, and corn crops are burnt.
 
  • #2,415
Our tomatoes have exploded this year and have almost overtaken the garden and an additional two feet surrounding the garden. A few have toppled the tomato cages.

I can hope to have the same luck next year, might have to expand the garden garden to allow for it.
 
  • #2,416
Insanity said:
Our tomatoes have exploded this year and have almost overtaken the garden and an additional two feet surrounding the garden. A few have toppled the tomato cages.

I can hope to have the same luck next year, might have to expand the garden garden to allow for it.
That's great! My Marianas are loaded with fruit (even the smallest plants) though they are slow to ripen, I think due to the drought.
 
  • #2,417
I think canning will be in order. I am planning on separate areas for the hops and tobacco next year. Won't need as much square footage for the hops, but definitely will need vertical space. The tobacco might need some space, I have no idea yet as the harvest/space.
 
  • #2,418
turbo-1 said:
Only about 75 feet or so. It's the last few feet to the pond that are difficult to navigate. It's not a natural pond, though it is supplied only with ground-water. It was dug out with a large excavator, and has very steep sides.

I'm thinking that I might invest in a pump and a filtered suction-line to transport water to the garden. Never needed it before, but this drought is a killer. Some dairy farmers are certain to go under this winter with the low price of milk and the high price of grain, because their hay, alfalfa, and corn crops are burnt.
I was going to say a small portable pump with a 100 foot hose will work nicely. I bought one for around $100 at Home depot a few years ago when the basement floaded. That thing had to pump the water up the stairs across the house, out a window and around the side. It was awesome. You'll just need an electric supply.

I sure do hope that you get a decent rain soon.
 
  • #2,419
I'm probably going to have to bite the bullet and got to Tractor Supply tomorrow to see what I can find for a trash-pump/sprinkler-pump. I can't afford to lose all that produce or to burn up one of my well-pumps trying to save it.
 
  • #2,420
turbo-1 said:
I NEED rain! Can anybody push some this way? We haven't had significant rainfall since early June. I have had to switch from my dug well for watering to the drilled well, and I'm in the twilight zone as to the drought-capacity of my drilled well. I don't want to run short of water, but I don't want to lose my garden either.

Wow, that is a normal summer here. Well, actually, we usually get little or no rain from 4Jul to perhaps mid Sept.

Question for you Turbo, we planted a pepper plant this year and we actually have some peppers growing, perhaps not surprising for you or Borek but this is a real shock for me! Now, when do I pick them? I'll have to post a pic of my Topsy Turvy, it has more tomatoes then I have ever seen on a plant of mine. To be fair the plant I but in the ground has the 2nd most tomatoes I have ever had. It even looks like some of them will get ripe!
 
  • #2,421
Integral said:
Wow, that is a normal summer here. Well, actually, we usually get little or no rain from 4Jul to perhaps mid Sept.
Well, we have had no significant rain since early June and ground-water levels are dropping like a rock. I don't ever recall having such a hot dry summer here. Of course, I am a young 58, so perhaps my sample-size is insufficient. :-p

Integral said:
Question for you Turbo, we planted a pepper plant this year and we actually have some peppers growing, perhaps not surprising for you or Borek but this is a real shock for me! Now, when do I pick them? I'll have to post a pic of my Topsy Turvy, it has more tomatoes then I have ever seen on a plant of mine. To be fair the plant I but in the ground has the 2nd most tomatoes I have ever had. It even looks like some of them will get ripe!
If you have planted bell peppers or another sweet variety, you can pick them at any time, though they will be more pungent when they are smaller, in general. If you planted chili peppers, they may need to be nurtured and tended until they are worthy of picking and processing. Unlike Astro, I don't dry my chilies. I pick them and can them in batches, either in tomato-based salsas or in very hot chili relishes.

If I ever get my act together (after all these years) I should make sure to get at least 1/2 row of Hungarian wax chilies to maturity (nice ripe red), dehydrate them, and grind them for home-made paprika. I have a really nice smoker now, so I can smoke the chilies before I dehydrate them, and make smoked paprika better than the stuff I can buy.
 
  • #2,422
I bought the pump today, and am planning what I'll need to establish a decent suction line with filter and foot-valve. I'll also have to buy reciprocating sprinklers with large nozzles, because the water coming out of the pond will almost certainly have enough fine materials to plug a conventional rotary sprinkler.

And finally, a decent rain-fall. It started around 11:30 and built slowly, but it's now a nice drenching rain creating puddles on the lawn and in the garden. Oddly, my Mariana tomatoes have decided to start ripening, and I now have 10-12 or so that are red enough to pick and make into sauce. Marianas are nice fleshy firm tomatoes that de-water easily when simmered. I like them even better than Romas for sauces.
 
  • #2,423
Practical witchcraft: to cause rain, buy a pump.
 
  • #2,424
Borek said:
Practical witchcraft: to cause rain, buy a pump.
Perhaps I need to throw away my canning jars to encourage my habanero chiles to grow and ripen.
 
  • #2,425
I gave my father some Mariana plants this spring. I think he was a bit skeptical because the plants were small (late start in the greenhouse), but he's happy as a clam, now. He just ate the first couple of ripe ones today, and he's pretty pumped because he thinks they are less acidic than the tomatoes that he usually grows (Big Boys and Early Girls). He loves fresh garden tomatoes, but when he over-consumes them, he starts getting canker-sores, cold sores, etc. To be fair, he can eat a LOT of tomatoes when they are in season. We have been giving him cherry tomatoes and he eats them like grapes - now he has large ripe Marianas coming in.

Marianas are great for sandwiches because they are quite fleshy and not as juicy as most garden tomatoes, so they won't soak the bread when you make BLTs. Good type for home-gardeners to try. You won't be disappointed.
 
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  • #2,426
turbo-1 said:
I gave my father some Mariana plants this spring. I think he was a bit skeptical because the plants were small (late start in the greenhouse), but he's happy as a clam, now. He just ate the first couple of ripe ones today, and he's pretty pumped because he thinks they are less acidic than the tomatoes that he usually grows (Big Boys and Early Girls). He loves fresh garden tomatoes, but when he over-consumes them, he starts getting canker-sore, cold sores, etc. To be fair, he can eat a LOT of tomatoes when they are in season. We have been giving him cherry tomatoes and he eats them like grapes - now he has large ripe Marianas coming in.

Marianas are great for sandwiches because they are quite fleshy and not as juicy as most garden tomatoes, so they won't soak the bread when you make BLTs. Good type for home-gardeners to try. You won't be disappointed.

Interesting. I've never heard of the mariana plant, so I googled it. Google asked me, "Do you mean marijuana plants?" I answered, well, I don't know :confused:, that's why I'm asking you, google. Sheesh.
 
  • #2,427
lisab said:
Interesting. I've never heard of the mariana plant, so I googled it. Google asked me, "Do you mean marijuana plants?" I answered, well, I don't know :confused:, that's why I'm asking you, google. Sheesh.
Look up Johnny's Selected Seeds on the 'web. I got my Mariana seeds, and Moskvich seeds from them. Marianas are determinant bushes with a burst of production, and Moskviches are heirloom indeterminant vining plants that need to be pruned, tied up, etc, but can produce until killing frosts. I think I'll stay with those next year too. It seems like a nice mix.
 
  • #2,428
  • #2,429
Andre said:
Looks like the popular roma's those Mariana's.

They are most likely derived from Romas. Mariana tomatoes are very pale when they set on, then turn red very quickly as they ripen. Unlike many varieties, Marianas turn red quite evenly and don't end up with green flesh at the stem-end. Here are a couple that I just picked. BTW, I have had poor luck with Romas in the past. The fruit tends to fall off the vine easily, and the plants are not very hardy in this climate. Marianas do very well here.

marianas.jpg
 
  • #2,430
I have a 1 hp pump that can suck water out of my backyard pond. I have some 100psi flexible piping and fittings, and a $9.99 reciprocating sprinkler that can cover the entire garden. At least my two wells and well-pumps are safe from cavitation due to watering. It has cost me close to $200 for the project, but that is far cheaper than the potential loss of the produce or the replacement cost of burnt-out well pumps.. The pump and reciprocating sprinkler can cover a LOT more area than my garden, so I'm pretty happy with the result.

sprinkler.jpg
 
  • #2,431
Fantastic! Hope you keep getting enough rain to keep the pond level up.
 
  • #2,432
Evo said:
Fantastic! Hope you keep getting enough rain to keep the pond level up.
It's a pretty big pond. Even at this low level there are many thousands of gallons of water in there, so that should be OK. Today I installed 1" aluminum tubes on two T-posts each about 1/4 way in from their respective ends of the garden, so I could move the sprinkler back and forth between them, and adjusted the sprinkler to water a smaller radius, so that I can spot-water more efficiently. Then I built a "roof" over the pump. It's sitting under the deck, but rain-water can drip between the decking boards and hit the motor if its not protected. I think this project is complete. How many more in the works?
 
  • #2,433
BTW, we are gearing tomorrow's family get-together around the produce from the garden, instead of doing the normal grilling/smoking routine. My father and my younger brother and his little girl are all coming over for the afternoon. My wife is going to stop and buy some nice deli-meats on her way home tonight and we'll bake some fresh bread - French loaves and beer-barrel rye bread (a hearty sandwich bread). We'll have mayo, various mustards, fresh sauerkraut, and lots of fresh garden vegetables to make sandwiches out of. Plus my niece loves raw vegetables as snacks, so there will be fresh green beans, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber spears, etc for her. Need spicy fresh salsa and corn chips too (for me!).
 
  • #2,434
Where is summer? I have loads of apple-sized green tomatoes in my garden, and it's 60F outside. Forecast calls for temps to *cool* this week, for goodness sake!

Yeah, yeah...fried green tomatoes, I know. Just goes to show you, you can garlic-cheese-and-fry-up just about anything, and it can be sort of edible.

I want fresh, home-grown, ripe, juicy, sweet, *red* tomatoes :cry:!
 
  • #2,435
lisab said:
I want fresh, home-grown, ripe, juicy, sweet, *red* tomatoes :cry:!
I'm eating one right now in a BLT made with still-warm French bread. Marianas are wonderful in sandwiches, though I should have used the home-made rye bread - it's better for sandwiches.
 
  • #2,436
Everything except onions did well this summer, they just didn't stand up to the brutal heat. Tomatoes and peppers are bountiful, and potatoes are ready to dig.

Barley, ready to harvest next week in Michigan's upper.

DSCF0048.jpg
 
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  • #2,437
mmm...barley, matled, then mashed, then fermented.
 
  • #2,438
Insanity said:
mmm...barley, matled, then mashed, then fermented.
John barleycorn must die!
 
  • #2,439
hypatia said:
Everything except onions did well this summer, they just didn't stand up to the brutal heat. Tomatoes and peppers are bountiful, and potatoes are ready to dig.

Barley, ready to harvest next week in Michigan's upper.

DSCF0048.jpg

Beautiful pic :smile:!
 
  • #2,440
Borek said:
Practical witchcraft: to cause rain, buy a pump.
Turbo did more than cause rain, now he has a hurricane headed his way. "Earl".

http://www.weather.com/maps/news/atlstorm7/projectedpath_large.html
 
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  • #2,441
Evo said:
Turbo did more than cause rain, now he has a hurricane headed his way.

He probably overdid with tubes and sprinklers.
 
  • #2,442
Borek said:
He probably overdid with tubes and sprinklers.
Old northeast maritime superstition about "buying the wind"... Ah, well...
 
  • #2,443
Borek said:
He probably overdid with tubes and sprinklers.
:smile:
 
  • #2,444
Evo said:
:smile:
My neighbor wants the heavy rains because he is anxious about his dug well (more reliable than mine!), but heavy winds could knock out power out for a week. People who live in rural areas need to have stored gas, diesel, generators to power their homes, and other resources. I don't think I can efficiently cool this house AND provide water from the drilled well if there is an extended outage. My generator is not industrial-grade.
 
  • #2,445
Hopefully with the rain you might get some relief from the heat.

We got a bit of rain this morning, and depending on the mood of the weather forecaster at weather.com we may be getting more rain tonight and tomorrow, they've been changing the forecast every 30 minutes.

We're supposed to get another break from the heat Friday & Saturday.
 
  • #2,446
Hope the rain brings relief. We are due for ~95 deg weather for the rest of the week.
 
  • #2,447
50 deg F and raining

Well, it is just past midnight, during a day temperature goes up. A little bit. Perhaps even to 60 deg F.
 
  • #2,448
had an absolutely awful season, as did most people around here. weather didn't cooperate, and bugs were a plague. still trying to get some late-planted butternut squash to mature before frost (which is late here near birmingham). first batch only yielded one decent mature fruit. i think if i get half a dozen, it'll be a "success".
 
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