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Gardening Thread

For those that plant fall crops, what do you plant and when do you put them in the ground? I'm in Charlotte if that helps with the timing issue. All of my raised beds are setup to do 3-4 foot tall cold frames if needed.

For late summer planting, fall harvest, I'm thinking: suger snap peas, snow peas, broccoli, romaine, chard.
For fall planting, winter harvest, I'm thinking: carrots, onions, garlic, kale, spinach, collards.
 
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I do carrots, onions, and garlic over the winter. I just plant them as I normally would and forget about them. Come spring, they're ready to harvest.
 
Transplanted some marigolds into pots this evening.

I made sure to water the soil very well(there is water in the saucer below the pot) and I put them in our porch closet. How long should I let them sit in the dark? I hear that this makes the transition less stressful on the plants?
 
Did you ever look up and scan the treetops for seizures and the mean one? I bet they were up there, watching you till the earth, and sending their gratitude.
 
Tomatoes - What's your preferred method for caging/trellising/staking? I'm leaning towards a Florida weave setup to limit the amount of pruning I'd need to do if I was just staking. I don't really have room to cage.
 
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Tomatoes - What's your preferred method for caging/trellising/staking? I'm leaning towards a Florida weave setup to limit the amount of pruning I'd need to do with just staking. I don't really have room to cage.

on the topic of tomatoes:

has anybody ever tried one of those tomato things that grows upside down so you never actually plant them in the ground? i'm not yet motivated enough to actually plant a garden (maybe next year), but if those things work at all (i know there's no way they work as well as they SAY they do), i would seriously consider doing that just so i could have some fresh tomatoes.
 
on the topic of tomatoes:

has anybody ever tried one of those tomato things that grows upside down so you never actually plant them in the ground? i'm not yet motivated enough to actually plant a garden (maybe next year), but if those things work at all (i know there's no way they work as well as they SAY they do), i would seriously consider doing that just so i could have some fresh tomatoes.

Not worth the money IMO.
 
On the other hand, I've had friends who had a hanging tomato plant and they found it pretty easy to take care of and plenty for 1-2 people.
 
Transplanted some more seedlings this afternoon on my lunch break. I didn't use any gravel at the bottom for drainage/roots, so we'll see how they work out this time around. If they die, I have about a million other seedlings in the chamber.

3 Marigolds
2 Basils
1 Catnip(I'm not sure if this one will live, it seems to grow pretty slowly.
 
Catnip is very easy to grow. Should have no problem. We have one indoors that has survived about 4 years.
 
Not worth the money IMO.

You can do it real cheap buy just cutting a hole in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket, or any bucket that is big enough. That's what I did when I tried this shit last year b/c animals kept eating my tomatos before they got ripe. The upside down thing worked ok, but the plant still tries to grow up towards the sun, not this big nice downward plant like they show in the commercials. It worked ok though.
 
As I told her in a pm, it would be great if you lived in an apartment or condo where you didn't have space to do a planter or small garden. Otherwise, IMO, you'd be better off to spend the money on other planting materials.
 
Tons of sprouts coming up after the rain. Looks like we're going to avoid a frost tonight, but other folks further up the East coast probably want to cover up their plants. Tsy - I assume it gets cold for you down by the river? Think you'll see any frost tonight?
 
The latest I've seen is that we'll get down to 35 or so. I planted my garden on Friday, so thankfully nothing has come up yet. I'll cover up my a couple of my planter boxes, but the rest will just fend for themselves.
 
Ok, so we're ready to become official gardeners. We constructed our raised beds last weekend (3 4x4 together - so essentially 4x12) and are tentatively planning to follow the "Square Foot Gardening" tenants. Any advice yay or nay (especially as it regards first timers)?

We haven't filled the beds yet, but are planning to put down a weed barrier underneath then fill in with a combo on top (approx 8 cu ft per 4x4 bed). Gardeners Supply catalog website recommended some combo of topsoil, compost, and something else, but Square Foot Gardening recommends compost, peat moss, and vermiculite. I've also read that vermiculite is hard to find. Was going to check Home Depot since I'm not sure where else to go in DC proper.

I know we're a bit late in the season, but since it was in the 30s overnight here, I suppose we're not too late!

Based on some seeds we have and also what we want, here is a very tentative planting plan. I did a bit of research, but am sure I don't have everything done correctly. I'm sure we'll learn a lot this year!

2012squarefootgardening.jpg


ETA: Putting a trellis in on the west end for the cucumbers and peas and will look into tomato cages or stakes for the tomatoes and possibly stakes for the zukes and squash).
 
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Also, any general watering advice? (i.e. how often, how much, from a hose vs watering can, etc)
 
We haven't filled the beds yet, but are planning to put down a weed barrier underneath then fill in with a combo on top (approx 8 cu ft per 4x4 bed). Gardeners Supply catalog website recommended some combo of topsoil, compost, and something else, but Square Foot Gardening recommends compost, peat moss, and vermiculite. I've also read that vermiculite is hard to find. Was going to check Home Depot since I'm not sure where else to go in DC proper.

I know we're a bit late in the season, but since it was in the 30s overnight here, I suppose we're not too late!


I get all my gardening supplies from Southern States, including vermiculite. At least down here they have it in abundant supply. In fact, I'm going by to pick up some this afternoon. Here's a listing of all the ones near DC.
http://www.southernstates.com/store...orelocator&Num=5&SearchAddress=Arlington,+VA+
 
Also, any general watering advice? (i.e. how often, how much, from a hose vs watering can, etc)

I use drip hoses and water mine every 2-3 days during the summer drought months. According to a friend who got his degree in Turf Management from State, the best time to water is between the hours of 2 and 3 am. Studies have shown that the mold and fungus accumulation is significantly less when watering at that time.
 
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