I need to vent: first time organic gardener worn out already
takadi
14 years ago
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Comments (22)
fuzzy158
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
First time gardener- whole container garden seems to be dying! :(
Comments (17)tdscpa, Thanks, I will call the master gardener's here Monday & see if they can give me tips on gardening here. burnet, Thanks for making your case against insecticides, I haven't really decided where I stand personally on the matter. As far as watering, I do water daily, I would say at least 3-4 inches deep? It's kinda hard for me to explain to you how much water, lol. But the reason the eggplant looks dry in that picture is because I dug it up & when I saw the balls I didn't have my phone handy, so I left it and went ahead and watered all of my good plants. (so the pic was also before watering, plus it sat in the sun until I got back to it with my phone.) And I know, I know. I should water early in the morning, but they really needed water that day & I didn't feel the need to wait. But when I dug it up, there was still some moisture in the soil from the previous watering the day before. Over watering, possibly? I really doubt it's under watering. The containers have no bottoms, just weed paper stapled to the frame, which is 6 inches deep as far as the wood (pine, untreated) goes, and it is dug down in the soil approximately another 5 inches, then filled with the soil mixture. I really wouldn't know if water drains out the bottom? The soil is always warm, and the weather here is always about 80 degrees. It never gets higher than 85. mauirose, Thank you! I'm growing on Oahu, I live close to Pearl Harbor, but I'm unsure what the elevation is. I took more pics for you guys to get the general idea of what my garden environment is. Although the biggest bed which has been having the most issues is against a chainlink fence, we live in a neighborhood packed full of houses, so they really don't get more than a good breeze. Actually I had no idea that spraying insecticide during the day would burn the leaves! That could actually be what has happened! I do live pretty close to a community garden. belgianpup, Pine. And the weather is kinda humid on Oahu. Thanks....See MoreMy First time growing a garden PLEASE help
Comments (10)Hi Nathalia. I live in SA, too, so I'm going to give you very specific suggestions. First of all, it was only last year when we had a lot of 100+ degree days. Normally it would take years to accumulate as many really hot days as we had last summer. This is not to say you can ignore heat. From April through November we will have plenty of heat. Start by listening to the radio. Turn on AM 550 (KTSA) radio from 6:30 - 9:00 am every Saturday and again on Sunday morning from 9:00 - 11:00. Bob Webster hosts the best organic gardening show there is anywhere on radio or TV. I don't agree 100% with him but he's light years ahead of other radio personalities when it comes to gardening. He is 100% organic, so his only advice on garden chemicals is to stay completely away from them. You can visit with Bob Webster or his people at his nursery, Shades of Green, on Sunset Road between I-281 and Broadway (north of the Quarry Market). Yes he has an interest in selling you plants, but nobody in town knows more about plants, fruits, and organic gardening in Central Texas. The plants he sells are adapted to the area...unlike what you'll find at the red, orange and blue box stores. Webster sells ideas and leaves the plant selections up to you. He also puts on free seminars at his nursery on Saturday mornings. Call, listen, or visit to get the schedule. Be sure to attend the one on Tomatoes and peppers. You might have to camp out overnight to get a seat. He IS that popular. If you live on the southeast side of town, visit Fannick's Nursery on Holmgren Rd. If you live on the west side, visit Fertile Garden Supply on Loop 1604 south of Bandera Hwy. Neither of these people will steer you wrong. If you live in the north east, or even if you don't, visit Garden-Ville, one mile off of Nacogdoches Road outside Loop 1604 at Cibolo Creek. They only sell soil amendments, but Malcolm Beck lives adjacent to the offices out there. You can visit Malcolm's gardens on a casual stroll around the place. Look to see what he's done with his raised gardens and his row crops. He's been 100% organic since the 1960s. If you're lucky you can visit with Malcolm or his wife, Delphine, while you're there. They're retired from owning Garden-Ville but are still active in the operation. If you see either one of them, show an interest in greenhouse growing. They might take you to the most awesome greenhouse I've ever seen (and I've seen a bunch). Of all the things you mentioned wanting to grow, blueberries are going to be the biggest headache. They like acidic soil with a pH down around 5. Our soil is limestone with a pH up around 8.0. Webster can help you with an adapted plant variety and some soil that will get you going, but don't expect buckets of berries like you'd find in Labrador. For potatoes, Malcom is possibly the regional expert. Be sure to ask about his potatoes if you get the personal tour. His methods are......See MoreI need help. Lots. This is my first garden.
Comments (12)I took your advice and split up all my questions. Thanks and thanks for the advice! All of the plants I purchased were already outside or were in an open air nursery. I'm really pretty convinced my compost was the culprit becase as soon as I got some fertilizer in them they perked right up and the yellowing, stunted growth, and dying foliage lasted for a good 3-4 weeks. I feel really dumb that it took me that long to correct. As far as shade/sun half the beds get mornign sun, all of them get midday sun and half of them get afternoon sun. Other wise they are completely shaded in the morning or afternoon. I've been trying to get a hold of some clean straw fro mulching but having a hard time finding any that is def organic and doesn't have weeds and other junk in it. I had been using shredded newspaper for my alpine strawberries but it was really messy so I trashed it. THe peas are shaded form the afternoon sun almost completely so I thought that might work but apparently not. They aren't dying, they're just not growing...or they're growing extremely slowly. Otherwise they look healthy. Idk what to do with them. I really wanted peas and don't know if I can do them as a fall crop in Nebraska. Again, thank you for your reply....See MoreI need advice on creating an organic garden
Comments (3)Your first step should be determining the layout of the garden.......deciding what will go where and how the individual elements will interconnect :-) Roses and vegetables need a lot of sun - locating them well away from any trees that may cast shade will be important. Do you want any lawn? It makes a good "carpet" and counterpoint to planted areas. What about outdoor entertaining areas? Is there a patio or deck or will there be? How will these relate to the garden? Do you need privacy screening and if so, in what locations. There are lots of DIY landscaping books on the market than can help you with these issues - the box stores like HD or Lowe's generally carry a good selection or check with the library. And although they have rather unfortunate titling, the "For Dummies" series of DYI books are really quite good for novices - look for 'Landscaping for Dummies' for a good basic resource. Or you could hire a design professional to give you a hand. Preparing the soil is a bit further down the road. Rototilling is often not the best way to get a garden going. First, many weed seeds get disturbed with tilling and fall is a prime time for their germination. And many persistent perennial weeds are not destroyed just by tilling. In fact, it can spread their root parts around and exacerbate the problem. And tilling disrupts the soil ecosystem. Many gardeners find smothering the weeds with layers of damp newspaper or cardboard and mulch very effective. The paper products prevent light and oxygen from reaching the weeds, will breakdown and decompose in time and together with the mulch, provide a reasonable planting medium. Sometimes importing soil to provide additional planting opportunities and to create some height is beneficial. And if it is a new construction property, importing some decent soil is almost a requirement. But you first order of business is planing :-)...See Morejustaguy2
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