Using well water in Vegetable Garden
cammunizm
12 years ago
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gargwarb
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Well water in vegetable
Comments (10)Depends on your threshold for organic and non-organic solutions. Non-organic solution would be urea, Miracle Grow or some other synthetic fertilizer, heavy on the first NPK number, like 30 or 40. Side dress the plants with the granular fertilizer or if liquid, add to watering can and saturate the roots or heavy application as a foliar spray. Organic solution will take longer to see results but will be just as effective in the long run. Blood meal is your best bet for Nitrogen boost as a side dress, along with a foliar spray of fish emulsion (if you can stand the smell and don't have too many animals in the area). You can also side dress with a seed meal like alfalfa or soybean, and make sure you mix in some phosphorus like bone meal and some potassium (harder to get a good organic source, but kelp meal is a good choice, albeit expensive). Absolutely essential to the uptake of slow release organic fertilizers is the addition of calcium. A combination of dolomitic lime and calcium sulfate (or any agricultural lime) applied at the same time as your side dress. No doubt you are going to hear the standard "don't add lime it will change your pH!!!" songs, but it won't change your pH that drastically nor that quickly. Besides, without calcium, the NPK you are adding will not be available to the plants. That's right: NPK should actually be NPKCa because without calcium the true effectiveness of the NPK numbers is a crap shoot....See MoreHow often should you water vegetable garden?
Comments (8)I prefer soaker hoses and use only this method to water. It varies with the vegetables that are grown. Things like melons and cucumbers need a LOT of water, so I usually water these everyt day or two. The rest can get waterings about every 5-6 days, unless it rains for a few hours. Tomatoes and peppers usually don't need too much waterings, and neither do peas and beans. Its also dependent on the heat of the day, the kind of soil and many other variables that can factor in as to the amount of watering. A soaker hose helps to reduce diseases on the leaves of some plants. I have b=nearby blueberry bushes that see no waterings at all, as they have a natral oak leaf mulch that they grow in. This acts like a nice moisture barrier. The rest of my gardn has a black fabric mulch that alos helps to hold in moisture and reduces weeds....See MoreWatering a Vegetable Garden
Comments (28)I gave up trying to direct seed lettuce here. The top layer of soil dries out too fast, and birds think I'm giving them a buffet. I just use potting mix in one of those disposable aluminum loaf pans, sow lettuce on top, water and cover with plastic wrap and keep it inside. Once it germinates, the wrap comes off and it goes outside until the lettuce is big enough to dig out with a spoon and transplant. A little more work than direct seeding, but I'm guaranteed almost every lettuce I transplant will actually grow into a plant vs almost nothing making it direct seeding. Makes spacing easier and thinning necessary, too. I can fill a 4x12' bed to capacity with transplants out of one loaf pan, so it's pretty space efficient as well. I hope your gardening goes better for you, sounds like you've been put through the wringer lately....See MoreHow long to water vegetables using a drip system?
Comments (8)Wow I didn't know they even made 10gph emitters! Would seem to defeat the entire purpose of using a drip system - a slow, deep, evenly dispersed delivery. Most of us use 1/2 or 1 gph emitters. Those can be run over a 1-2 hour time frame depending on plant, and run them much less frequently. But do keep in mind that not all vegetables require the same amount of water nor the same frequency. And this especially true for container plants. What is good for lettuce and leafy greens can drown a pepper plant for example. I'd strongly suggest you invest in some more reasonable sized emitters. Dave...See MoreMichael
12 years agowertach zone 7-B SC
12 years agoLucia Capozzoli
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agojeanwedding. zone 6
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