Help. 2nd Year Gardening

14 years ago

Hello,

Last year I started growing vegetables for the the first time. I do strictly container gardening and had great success last year. I started my seeds in mid October and have done well so far. A lot of the seeds were from last year and unfortunately weren't stored very well for a month and a half while I was moving. Anyways...

Last year I had good results with my cucumbers but only harvested 1 zucchini and 3 squash from 3 plants each. I probably got 15 or some cucumbers though. The leaves would dry out and turn a powdery gray color. I figured I would plant the same ones and hope for better results this year. Well they sprouted nicely and began producing good sized leaves and 90% of the leavs have been eaten and there is only stems sticking out. Any suggestions? I can take pictures if necessary.

The tomoatoes I did last year were amazing and I have added 4 more varieties this year. I would getting bottom rot on some of them and added nutrients as needed.

Ultimately I am looking for someone who is in the Brevard County area or a climate that is similar that has some recommendations on varities that are more susceptible to this area. The majority of the seeds I have are from the Big Box stores and seem to be mediocre or not suited for this area.

I purchased 3 BlackBerry plants from Lowes the other day and plan on planting them in the next few days. They said they are supposed to be getting grapes in sometime soon as well.

If you have seeds and knowledge that you are willing to share, that would be great.

Unfortunately I am in the process of being divorced (not by choice) and unemployed so money is tight. I can afford to purchase soil from the local nursery at a good price but that seems to be all right now.

Thanks in advance. I hope this is productive.

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Comments (3)

whgille
14 years ago
Hi bcfishman

Welcome to the forum! I am very sorry about your troubles, but gardening will be a good therapy for you. While you are tending your plants your attention will be focused in something positive.

I am no expert at all. But unfortunately what I know is that to care well for the veggies in Florida we have to use sprays. I only use organic sprays but in the beginning they can be costly. They do last me for a while.

If you can not afford at this moment that, use a drop of a mild dishwashing detergent, I use Dr Bonners castile soap and some baking soda. You will have to look into homemade sprays to get more into the subject and amounts used.

I can share a few seeds with you from seeds that I had saved. The important thing with seeds is to keep them dry and in a cool place. Mine are keep in a closet in a filing cabinet. An empty shoebox will work well.

For containers to start your seeds, think about all the recycle material that you can use. Empty soda bottles are like gold.

To fix your soil little by little, you can add leaves that people throw out. Ana, has been enlighten us about this practice. Thank you Ana for being pro environment and showing us how to do it.

bc, send me an email with your address and I am going to start you with some veggies and ask any questions here. People are kind, smart, and very helpful in this forum. And they will all give you a hand and lift your spirits.

Silvia
imagardener2
14 years ago
welcome bcfisherman

if your name in indicative you can always trade fish for veggies :-)

your seeds should be viable but always overplant and hold some seedlings back if something gets eaten/dies in the garden to pop in the departed ones place.

have you been growing in pots? that works for many of us in FL, others do fine in the ground. Guess the nematodes haven't gotten their address yet.

Someone will get you an answer on what to spray on the plants with the eaten leaves but do some detective work at night with a flashlight. See any caterpillars? If so, buy some BT (bacillus thuring-something) at the garden center. It's a non-toxic-to-humans caterpillar killer.

Some easy things to grow are leaf lettuce (not romaine or iceberg) and I can send you lots of seed if that's what you want to eat. Also collards, which are good for you and like FL winter conditions.

Send an email with your mail address to imagardener2 at comcast dot net.
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coffee grounds are toxic to slugs and some other crawling pests. Reuse them out of your coffee maker, sprinkle around the base of plants.

Vinegar - mix 1 pt to 3 pts water and spray on everything that can get wet. Good as a mild anti bacterial, repels some small bugs too.

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That works great in pots.

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Help. 2nd Year Gardening

Comments (3)

whgille

imagardener2

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cathy09

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