When diversity is good.....

[Toni]

When diversity is good and bad.....for the garden.

This summer will be my third summer gardening. So I'm pretty new to this stuff.

During the preparation for my garden (located in my backyard) I have been reading about diversity in the garden, how some plants (flowers, herbs) are good for certain vegetables and some are not.

I have been doing some research on the internet and going through a stack of Garden Gate magazines I found at a thrift store.

Marigolds are very good to plant as edging around veggies and strawberries. Spinach and strawberries planted close together seem to help each other.

However I plan to grow cantaloupe in the same plot of my strawberries but have the spinach plants "buffer" between them, but I came across some information that too much Ethylene gas naturally produced by some plants can harm spinach. Cantaloupes seem to produce this gas in higher amounts than spinach, but I'm afraid this will affect the growth of the spinach, I'm thinking planting the cantaloupes in a container (large) away from the garden plots and plant something else. Any ideas for companions to spinach AND strawberries?

I'm wondering since I'm planting 1, 2 plants of cataloupes if the spinach and cataloupes can be grown close together in my garden and other advice one would have for growing strawberries (they have been protected by mulch this winter - I put them in the ground last spring)

thanks

[diabloblanco92]

When diversity is good and bad.....for the garden.

This summer will be my third summer gardening. So I'm pretty new to this stuff.

During the preparation for my garden (located in my backyard) I have been reading about diversity in the garden, how some plants (flowers, herbs) are good for certain vegetables and some are not.

I have been doing some research on the internet and going through a stack of Garden Gate magazines I found at a thrift store.

Marigolds are very good to plant as edging around veggies and strawberries. Spinach and strawberries planted close together seem to help each other.

However I plan to grow cantaloupe in the same plot of my strawberries but have the spinach plants "buffer" between them, but I came across some information that too much Ethylene gas naturally produced by some plants can harm spinach. Cantaloupes seem to produce this gas in higher amounts than spinach, but I'm afraid this will affect the growth of the spinach, I'm thinking planting the cantaloupes in a container (large) away from the garden plots and plant something else. Any ideas for companions to spinach AND strawberries?

I'm wondering since I'm planting 1, 2 plants of cataloupes if the spinach and cataloupes can be grown close together in my garden and other advice one would have for growing strawberries (they have been protected by mulch this winter - I put them in the ground last spring)

thanks

String beans. peas, carrots or and lettuce are good. You can also plant green peppers, as the plants are pretty compact. I would avoid corn or tomatoes as the plants are too large and neeed to much space because they draw so many nutrients out of the ground

diablo

[Toni]

String beans. peas, carrots or and lettuce are good. You can also plant green peppers, as the plants are pretty compact. I would avoid corn or tomatoes as the plants are too large and neeed to much space because they draw so many nutrients out of the ground

diablo

thanks for the response. I have read lettuce to be okay to grow next to strawberries.

I tried to corn last year, not much rain and did not get enough water, I ended up using the stalks for halloween decorations but since I live where corn is abudent and cheap, I'm going to utilize my other plot for the tomatoes and cucumbers (need to figure that one out)

I am soooo ready to get outside, its been a long winter.

[Alex Linder]

thanks for the response. I have read lettuce to be okay to grow next to strawberries.

I tried to corn last year, not much rain and did not get enough water, I ended up using the stalks for halloween decorations but since I live where corn is abudent and cheap, I'm going to utilize my other plot for the tomatoes and cucumbers (need to figure that one out)

I am soooo ready to get outside, its been a long winter.

You aren't kidding. Can't wait for it to warm up. Now's about the time to start growing tomatoes in flats indoors. Six weeks before last frost, they say. Anybody here grown cauliflower? What's involved with that, let me know if you have. I don't even know if it can be grown in Missouri. Going to grow tomatoes, potatoes, musk melons, and probably some radishes and carrots, those are easy enough. I love to weed. I envision the weeds as sneaky jews trying to jew up all the water and nutrients. Perhaps this year I'll throw all the weeds into a big pile and make a garden golem called mulchenstein.

[White Will]

You aren't kidding. Can't wait for it to warm up. Now's about the time to start growing tomatoes in flats indoors. Six weeks before last frost, they say. Anybody here grown cauliflower? What's involved with that, let me know if you have. I don't even know if it can be grown in Missouri. Going to grow tomatoes, potatoes, musk melons, and probably some radishes and carrots, those are easy enough. I love to weed. I envision the weeds as sneaky jews trying to jew up all the water and nutrients. Perhaps this year I'll throw all the weeds into a big pile and make a garden golem called mulchenstein.

Ha! Reminds me of a couple of fitting garden sayings:

"Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are."
-Alfred Austin, 1905 "The Garden That I Love."


A man of words and not of deeds
Is like a garden full of weeds.
-Anonymous nursery rhyme

[Toni]

You aren't kidding. Can't wait for it to warm up. Now's about the time to start growing tomatoes in flats indoors. Six weeks before last frost, they say. Anybody here grown cauliflower? What's involved with that, let me know if you have. I don't even know if it can be grown in Missouri. Going to grow tomatoes, potatoes, musk melons, and probably some radishes and carrots, those are easy enough. I love to weed. I envision the weeds as sneaky jews trying to jew up all the water and nutrients. Perhaps this year I'll throw all the weeds into a big pile and make a garden golem called mulchenstein.

for two summers I have had a bad luck with tomatoes, I think its the soil, rather clayish. This year we're thinking about growing them in containers rather in the plots.

I'm going to try for organic as much as possible this year by using companion planning and using dishsoap (dawn, ivory), water, cayenne spray to repel insects, by default, I have found out last year a little bit of dish degt. and water helps even non-garden plants that are suspectable to slugs.

I'm going to try my hand at Okra this year also. the weeds can be pulled - we get the big throny ones that requires gloves to pull it. its the bugs that I hate.



http://www.tinkersgardens.com/Vegtables/companionplanting.htm
http://www.gardenguides.com/TipsandTechniques/vcomp.htm
http://www.gardensablaze.com/Companions/CompanionYield.htm

[Alex Linder]

for two summers I have had a bad luck with tomatoes, I think its the soil, rather clayish. This year we're thinking about growing them in containers rather in the plots.

I'm going to try for organic as much as possible this year by using companion planning and using dishsoap (dawn, ivory), water, cayenne spray to repel insects, by default, I have found out last year a little bit of dish degt. and water helps even non-garden plants that are suspectable to slugs.

I'm going to try my hand at Okra this year also. the weeds can be pulled - we get the big throny ones that requires gloves to pull it. its the bugs that I hate.



http://www.tinkersgardens.com/Vegtables/companionplanting.htm
http://www.gardenguides.com/TipsandTechniques/vcomp.htm
http://www.gardensablaze.com/Companions/CompanionYield.htm

Funny how it varies from year to year. I had huge potatoes last year, but the year before none came up, probably due to excessive rain. Tomatoes weren't as good last year as two years ago. Melons depend on water and sun. I may try strawberries this year too, depending on what's involved. Really, for most of these a little weeding is all it takes once they're planted. We don't seem to have bug problems out here. They eat the bean leaves, but no tomato worms. We also have some asparagus that comes up on its own - pretty cool. It grows quick, you can just pick it and eat it whenver a spear appears.

[diabloblanco92]

for two summers I have had a bad luck with tomatoes, I think its the soil, rather clayish. This year we're thinking about growing them in containers rather in the plots.

I'm going to try for organic as much as possible this year by using companion planning and using dishsoap (dawn, ivory), water, cayenne spray to repel insects, by default, I have found out last year a little bit of dish degt. and water helps even non-garden plants that are suspectable to slugs.

I'm going to try my hand at Okra this year also. the weeds can be pulled - we get the big throny ones that requires gloves to pull it. its the bugs that I hate.



http://www.tinkersgardens.com/Vegtables/companionplanting.htm
http://www.gardenguides.com/TipsandTechniques/vcomp.htm
http://www.gardensablaze.com/Companions/CompanionYield.htm

Heavy clay soils are often very rich in phospherous which is essential for the production of the actual tomato, while nitrogen compounds are importan for the growth of foliage.
The problem with clay soils centers on lack of areation, not so much infertility. One approach is to break up the density of the soil by topsoil, mulch or sand mixtures. Mulch however or leaf mold should be well rotted or it can burn the roots and draw insect vermin in excess qualities.
Also,you will want to constantly cultivate the soil so it will areate, and not allow it to form a sun-baked crust, which it is especially prone to do with heavy rain followed by intense sun, which is common in most of the US during the summer.

diablo

[MadScienceType]

I've been container gardening since last year with poor results, mostly resulting from having to move, which crops in pots seem to hate!

This year, I've got pumpkins, radishes (really easy to grow and a good cool-season crop), carrots, garlic, potatoes and tomatoes.

Most of it I've just decided to let grow as will grow and concentrate about learning as much as I can about one particular plant per year, this year being tomatoes. I didn't realize last year that tomatoes like loose soil best (the clay is not good for them, yes) due to a very aggressive root growth. I also read that it's best to bury the whole plant once you remove it from the starter pot, except for the top two leaves. The plant will shoot off mucho roots from the main stem and be that much better rooted and will soak up more nutrients. I was skeptical, but I figured I couldn't do any worse than last year so I went ahead with it. It worked well though. The plants grew about six inches in less than a week and have lotsa new leaves.

Still new to it, but learning all the time. I may try cauliflower later in the season just to see how it goes, but I think it doesn't like heat very much.

I have found out last year a little bit of dish degt. and water helps even non-garden plants that are suspectable to slugs.

The dish detergent thing only goes so far. I had some really nasty aphids attack the tomatoes last year (another reason they didn't do so well) and they laughed off the soap treatment. I finally put some chemicals on there and that took 'em out, but the damage had been done. Do you know about the beer trick with slugs? We had them all the time when I was a kid and the beer took care of most of them, even if it is pretty gross to clean up.

[nick nolte]

[testing 1 2 3
Testicles 1 2

[Toni]

Do you know about the beer trick with slugs? We had them all the time when I was a kid and the beer took care of most of them, even if it is pretty gross to clean up.

no, never heard of this :confused:
need details, thanks!

So you still container garden? Do you recommended container tomatoes?

Diablo,
thanks for lowdown on soil. my garden is highly susceptible to little critters underneath ground that eat the roots. also I noticed a LOT of grasshoppers in the late season, thankfully feeding the wild birds helped that population but they ate my green pepper plant leaves. They left the bristly zucchini leaves alone.

I can grow cayenne peppers successfully here and seems pretty much resistant to everything, but unfortunately the use for the cayenne is limited. I saved one plant back and potted in a container, took minimum care of it last winter and replanted in the ground last spring, I think we even got a frost, but this plant produced many peppers. I dried them like a little ol' Italian grandma would and hung them up. I have been so mean to that plant, I left it outside all winter this year. if that thing grows back - I will definitely post my results, considering it would have lay hidden in snow for about 4 months!



http://www.agrenv.mcgill.ca/urban-nature/insect.htm

[MadScienceType]

Howdy Toni,

Slugs and snails are really attracted to the carbs in beer (or they're just gastropods with an alcohol problem). They smell it and drop everything else to make a beeline (slugline?) for the brewski. If you have it in a steep-sided container, they crawl in and eventually drown, but I bet the die happy. Anyway, just put a couple of these around your most-vulnerable plants and see what you catch. I guess any beer would work, but the richer the better, though I hate to see a decent lager go to waste. Like I said, it's kind of nasty to clean up, but it works.

I start a lot of plants out in containers, since the soil around here is very sandy and rocky, and it's not too nutritious. When they get going and healthy, I put them in the ground that I've been working compost into. Since I just moved in, this area is very small right now, so I may have an entire crop in containers this year. We'll see and I'll keep y'all updated. Tomatoes do pretty well in containers, but you'll need a pretty big one cause they have lots of roots and you'll need some way to stake or cage them. I fertilize lightly about every two weeks and maybe a little more often when they start producing. Straight Miracle Gro works well. I just got some Miracle Gro tomato food to try this year. Same stuff, just a little different formulation, looks like.

[Georgie]

This talk of growing fruits and vegetables has really gotten me in the mood for some REAL fruits and vegetables. I remember having some naturally grown tomatoes not too long ago and dear god they were so delicious. Beats the hell out of this engineered crap.

[Toni]

This talk of growing fruits and vegetables has really gotten me in the mood for some REAL fruits and vegetables. I remember having some naturally grown tomatoes not too long ago and dear god they were so delicious. Beats the hell out of this engineered crap.

deliciously peeled homegrown tomatoes cut into cubes and thrown onto a salad with bacon and fresh romaine, chopped egg and homemade french dressing. mmmm

[diabloblanco92]

deliciously peeled homegrown tomatoes cut into cubes and thrown onto a salad with bacon and fresh romaine, chopped egg and homemade french dressing. mmmm

If you get a huge surplus of tomatoes at the end of the season.many will be green but fully developed before they have a chance to ripen.
If you live in a continental climate, you will have to pull them in while still green before the frost damages them.
Its actually very easy to ripen them in your house or garden shed , or barn as good or better as if they were ripened on the vine.
Select a cool dry place. Spred them out and do not put them on top of each other as this will spred any rotting. Keep them on a table or shelf, never in contact with soli, and DONT put them in the fridge or any other high moisture enviornment.
Wrap them individually in newspapers, black and White print only. Ripening should be complete in 1-4 weeks, and when it is, you can THAN refrigerate them.
BTW, if you cant eat all of those tomatoes in salads, and your not a dago LOL like me with an inclination to turn thm into a base for a tomatoe sauce or chile sauce you can still get real good use out them by mixing them into a beef stew and making a delicious and eye appealing beef stew. If you have also grown Caynne peppers or other hot peppers, you can add a really hot taste to the stew, if you like spicy and hot foods, as I do

diablo

[diabloblanco92]

Howdy Toni,

Slugs and snails are really attracted to the carbs in beer (or they're just gastropods with an alcohol problem). They smell it and drop everything else to make a beeline (slugline?) for the brewski. If you have it in a steep-sided container, they crawl in and eventually drown, but I bet the die happy. Anyway, just put a couple of these around your most-vulnerable plants and see what you catch. I guess any beer would work, but the richer the better, though I hate to see a decent lager go to waste. Like I said, it's kind of nasty to clean up, but it works.

I start a lot of plants out in containers, since the soil around here is very sandy and rocky, and it's not too nutritious. When they get going and healthy, I put them in the ground that I've been working compost into. Since I just moved in, this area is very small right now, so I may have an entire crop in containers this year. We'll see and I'll keep y'all updated. Tomatoes do pretty well in containers, but you'll need a pretty big one cause they have lots of roots and you'll need some way to stake or cage them. I fertilize lightly about every two weeks and maybe a little more often when they start producing. Straight Miracle Gro works well. I just got some Miracle Gro tomato food to try this year. Same stuff, just a little different formulation, looks like.

I prefer this method with the beer, though its a mess. There are a lot of very effective slug poisions, but most are shaped like dog or cat kibble, and the shape plus the protein mixture may attract pets with deadly results for our four legged friends, or even very small toddlers wandering about....stick with the beer if you can

diablo

[Gott]

I prefer this method with the beer, though its a mess. There are a lot of very effective slug poisions, but most are shaped like dog or cat kibble, and the shape plus the protein mixture may attract pets with deadly results for our four legged friends, or even very small toddlers wandering about....stick with the beer if you can

diablo


I don't know how well their stuff works, but gardens alive (www.GardensAlive.com (http://)) has an entire catalog of natural cures, lures and treatments for plants, none of which involve chemical pesticides. I'm thinking of placing an order even though their stuff is fairly expensive, just to see if you can really do it without serious poisons (insects ate all my brussel sprouts and kale last year and slugs ruined most of my tomatoes). They have something for slugs and snails and for just about everything else too.

They will send you their 100 page catalog for free, and in it is a 22 page illustrated guide to insects, diseases, etc. in garden plants of all kinds. It (the guide) is extremely helpful.