• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Gardening Thread

SkinsNDeacs

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 16, 2011
Messages
12,384
Reaction score
550
Vegetable Gardening

So...

The wife and I just bought a small plot at a community garden. Neither of us know what we are doing. The plot is just grass right now (we got to select the one we wanted and this one had the least amount of trash to haul out). Does anyone have a good resource for beginning gardeners?
 
What is the soil comprised of? Is it loose and homogenous or hard and clumpy? Do you have any idea what vegetables were grown in that plot in recent years? Knowing that will tell you which ones to avoid and which nutrients you need to replenish.
 
What is the soil comprised of? Is it loose and homogenous or hard and clumpy? Do you have any idea what vegetables were grown in that plot in recent years? Knowing that will tell you which ones to avoid and which nutrients you need to replenish.

Unfortunately, I don't know the answer to either question. We are having it tilled soon so I will know what the soil is like after that. I have no idea what was planted before...it is just a patch of grass and weeds right now.
 
tsy, do you have a resource for complementary vegetables that can be planted together yearly & in consecutive years & what to avoid when rotating crops form year to year? We have a small garden in our back yard & have had varied success. This past year, our 2 rows of peas 1 ft apart did not form very many pods so I wondered if it was a soil nutrient issue.

Thanks in advance!
 
How big is your plot?
 
Once you till it, take a small sample of the soil to the local agriculture extension. There should be one not too far away. They can test it to tell you if and what it's deficient of.

How big is the area? Normall squash and zucchini are the first to come in, tomatoes are later. As long as there aren't critters in there, you could probably grow a bunch of leafy greens.
 
tsy, do you have a resource for complementary vegetables that can be planted together yearly & in consecutive years & what to avoid when rotating crops form year to year? We have a small garden in our back yard & have had varied success. This past year, our 2 rows of peas 1 ft apart did not form very many pods so I wondered if it was a soil nutrient issue.

Thanks in advance!

Have you grown tomatoes there previously? They're known for leaving the soil very acidic and tend to stunt growth of future vegetables. If you have a soil acidity tester (~$10) it should tell you the ph of the soil. If so, like the area extensively to balance it out.

As far as rotation of crops, do so by family rather than specific plant. NCSU/Clemson/TAMU are usually the best to reference, and they regularly publish examples based on soil type. Here is a very basic one from TAMU.

http://lubbock.tamu.edu/horticulture/docs/vegrote.html
 
Have you grown tomatoes there previously? They're known for leaving the soil very acidic and tend to stunt growth of future vegetables. If you have a soil acidity tester (~$10) it should tell you the ph of the soil. If so, like the area extensively to balance it out.

As far as rotation of crops, do so by family rather than specific plant. NCSU/Clemson/TAMU are usually the best to reference, and they regularly publish examples based on soil type. Here is a very basic one from TAMU.

http://lubbock.tamu.edu/horticulture/docs/vegrote.html

Well, what da ya know....the previous year we did have tomatoes in that area. I'll check out soil pH in the spring.

Thanks for the link above. I'll check it out now.

done....that's exactly what I was looking for!! Thank you!!!
 
Last edited:
So...

The wife and I just bought a small plot at a community garden. Neither of us know what we are doing. The plot is just grass right now (we got to select the one we wanted and this one had the least amount of trash to haul out). Does anyone have a good resource for beginning gardeners?

I would highly recommend setting your plot up as a raised bed. We do all of our gardening in these and it makes life so much easier (before we switched to raised beds we had a 2 acre plot of garden field). Also, after getting the soil tested as TSY suggested, I would recommend using some Black Cow and miss that in your soil. We grow ours without using any chemicals. There are some plants that you can use in order to attract the bugs away from the garden.

Right now we have planted about 4 different varieties lettuce and cabbage for the fall. The basil, rosemary, and peppers that we planted for this summer are still going strong. If you plant lettuce or cabbage, I would recommend putting some chicken wire around the bed, as this will prevent Peter Cottontail and Bambi from getting into the lettuce and cabbage.
 
I would highly recommend setting your plot up as a raised bed. We do all of our gardening in these and it makes life so much easier (before we switched to raised beds we had a 2 acre plot of garden field). Also, after getting the soil tested as TSY suggested, I would recommend using some Black Cow and miss that in your soil. We grow ours without using any chemicals. There are some plants that you can use in order to attract the bugs away from the garden.

Right now we have planted about 4 different varieties lettuce and cabbage for the fall. The basil, rosemary, and peppers that we planted for this summer are still going strong. If you plant lettuce or cabbage, I would recommend putting some chicken wire around the bed, as this will prevent Peter Cottontail and Bambi from getting into the lettuce and cabbage.

Why keep them out? Just sit out there one night and then tada you have lettuce and venison.
 
Do yourself a favor and get the book "The Essential Kitchen Gardener" by Frieda Arkin. An awesome book that helps go from seed to table in a small gardening space. I also second the raised beds. They help prevent so many problems and just make things easier in general.
 
Why keep them out? Just sit out there one night and then tada you have lettuce and venison.

We could do that at the old house out in the country, but now we live in the city. Last thing we need is our neighbors running out of the house or calling the police. Right before we moved in, our contractor's son moved his car out of the house around midnight. Needless to say, they called the police concerned that someone was breaking in.
 
I am a farmer. I sent you a private message, let me know if you would like some advice.
 
So...

The wife and I just bought a small plot at a community garden. Neither of us know what we are doing. The plot is just grass right now (we got to select the one we wanted and this one had the least amount of trash to haul out). Does anyone have a good resource for beginning gardeners?

Good luck Skins. These are a lot of fun.

Early in my career I had success with okra (which is good boiled with lemon pepper), basil and spinach. In the last couple of years I've gotten better with tomatoes but they can be frustrating the first couple times.
 
Looking for some advice, specifically for raised-bed, urban gardening, but open to any and all discussion. What to plant, when to plant, supplies to use, etc, etc.

I've found some great resources down here in Charlotte, from an urban planting almanac to sources for good supplies for organic gardening. Would like to hear others experiences and the "dos an don'ts" they've learned over time.

Planning to plant 3 3x or 4x8 raised beds on an empty lot across the street from us. The lot is owned by our neighbors and they are planning to partner with us. Plenty of sunlight. They tried an in-ground garden last spring/summer on the lot but ended up with far too many weeds and poor soil conditions (the lot once had a house on it, so tons of trash in the soil from the knockdown).

Any good plans for sturdy but cheap raised beds? Would like to add a net/trellis on at least one of the beds for vines. I've found some kits online for $150 per bed, but surely I can put something together for a lot less money with some 2x10's and a few 4x4 posts for the trellis, unless I'm missing something about how these things are built.
 
I built 2 beds using this as a reference:
http://www.sunset.com/garden/backyard-projects/ultimate-raised-bed-how-to-00400000011938/

I went 3 x 8 x 18" (using three 2x6 boards stacked up)

We tried to pick as many direct sow seeds as possible. For the stuff we ordered that wasn't direct sow, we started some of those in egg crates last week and already have some sprouts.

The top soil is being delivered on Friday and I still need to order my irrigation system, but I should have everything done by the end of the month.
 
Just want to mention, I did NOT use cedar planks which is what the link I posted suggests.
 
Back
Top