Brand New Gardener. Seeking advice. Questions within.

8 years ago

The internet is a deep deep resource with conflicting accounts on so many different topics, so I thought I'd just dive in and get my hands dirty. I'm a first time homeowner, first time gardener in Grand Rapids, MI (Zone 5b) and as a chef, I'm all about fresh vegetables and herbs. So I thought, what better what to get the freshest than to start growing my own?!

As I'm sure most beginners experienced, I got overwhelmed with all the knowledge you provided from the internet, and frankly finding a place to begin is the hardest part. I decided to start three projects at once, and well you'll see how that's working out. I began building a coldframe, a 3 compartment compost bin, and a raised bed garden (it will be eventually). I have a 2 year old, and a 2 month old, so my time is always thin and getting things done doesn't always happen as fast I'd like.

I'm the bearded one.

Everything I'm doing is being built from reclaimed pallet wood and the cheapest plants or seeds I can find.

I started with the cold frame.

All that's left to do is outfit the inside with styrofoam for insulation, attach the window, and add the handles.

All the cuts for the compost bins and all the corners and center pylons have been constructed, but it hasn't been put together, and I have no pictures of that.

I seeded early, but killed everything but the Jalapenos, Bell Peppers, Parsley, and Basil. The dead include Cherry and Beefsteak Tomatoes, and just about every other major herb. I determined that I over-watered at the beginning and killed most of them. I didn't have them under enough light, nor in a steady temperature environment, and I planted like 6-8 seeds per socket in the flat. Learned that lesson.

So I started on the garden once I was able to maintain the ones that survived, and I just bought some Tomatoes, Chard, Thyme, Oregano, Rosemary, and Brussel Sprouts. I direct seeded some Pole Beans, Okra, and Carrots.

I started by removing the sod and transplanting to a part of my yard that was missing grass. The garden is 15 x 7.

I did it with a String guides, a flat shovel, some gloves, a hand cultivator, and a tree saw (for cutting the roots deep,) and my 2yo's toboggan (for moving the sod.)

The left and the right sides of the garden are planted now and there's nothing in the middle. On the left side, I added 3 bags of topsoil and 1 bag of mushroom compost to the side with the tomatoes on it, but did nothing but cultivate the side with the beans. Here's what it looks like.

My cat sat on and killed the Tomato plant in the middle, I've since replaced it, and planted a Brussel Sprout as well. The Chard had just been transplanted in and not yet watered when this photo was taken. They're looking much better right now.

My problem is that something is eating the leaves on my Beans, and I'm afraid my Okra is next. These things look similar to ants, but I don't think they are, or they're just some breed I've never heard of before. I do have regular ants in there as well, but they're black and small. They're also on in the middle. These munchy critters are burrowing near the bean plants. I don't really want to drop any poison on my stuff, but I will if I have to. I'd like to know what to do about these bugs. I have a video below, but I can't get a close up picture because my phone won't focus on them, and they won't sit still.

Any other pointers about the other things in my garden would be nice. I'm pretty sure I planted things too close to my tomatoes, oh I added tomatoes cages to them today so they have some structure. And I've fertilized once with Miracle-Gro Vegetable Food. The pink stuff.

I eventually plan on installing an 18" fence around the garden (pallet wood), and converting it to a raised bed garden next year. I'll also be building a 6' structure for the beans to climb. Keep in mind that I've got less than $100 in all three of these projects (with the exception of the original purchase that started all of this, my Makita Compound Sliding Miter Saw. <3 $220 at the pawn shop!)

Here's the bug video.

So, I know this is a lot, but thank you for reading all of it, and I'm so very appreciative to any and all advice! Thanks!

Tim.

Featured Answer

tfswest

8 years ago

Wow, I like your bravery. I was lucky enough to be raised by gardening parents and grandparents, so I had the headstart of absorbing their knowledge as I grew up.

Search the web for a used copy of a book called "Crockett's Victory Garden" He was from Boston -- very similar climate -- and did a PBS television show, and did a book each on flowers, vegetables, and houseplants. Full of practical advice from a lifetime gardener, long since dead.

Some notes for next year.

Peat pots: ignore the manufacturer's proud claim that you can set them right in the ground. It causes plants to get root bound and prevents them from flourishing. If the roots have grown through by the time you plant them, carefully pull away the peat anyway. The disruption will prevent the plants from getting root bound in the ground. When they start growing new leaves, it means the plants have settled in.

If you unpot a plant from the garden center and can see roots all around the root ball, slash through these roots vertically and pull away the severed pieces of root (same on bottom side). This will allow new growth out into the surrounding soil.

A trick with tomatoes: Most people don't know they can grow roots from their stems. If you start them indoors and they get long and leggy, replant them deeper with half of their stem buried. If they are still too tall and the weather still too cold, cut to tops off milk cartons (and punch a drainage hole in the bottom) and bury the stems in those. When they go into the ground, you can even lay them on their side and gently bend so only the top four or five inches are above the soil. This will give a large root system that will help them endure dry spells.

A trick with long season plants (like cantaloupe): buy seedlings, and plant in dark colored containers that retain heat. They are from a hot climate, and the dark container will warm the soil, especially in the cool shoulder seasons, and that will make them happier.

Mediterranean herbs: These need a Mediterranean micro climate. Find fast-draining bagged soil mix meant for cactus, succulents and palm trees. It may be in a specialty corner in your garden center, with houseplants. Use this soil in terra cotta or other earthen pots, (never in glazed or plastic pots, as these hold too much moisture). Give them all the sun you can, but be careful not to let them go completely dry in hot dry spells. This treatment will succeed with rosemary, thyme, oregano, sweet marjoram, nepatela (a.k.a. cat mint, not cat nip), chives, lavender, and you can also do this with nasturtiums if you grow those for salads.

When I lived in Maine, I used 1-foot wide pots with three rosemary plants each in a south window all winter. In spring I set them in the ground and used them for cooking, while I got new plants for the pots, nursed them along on the doorstep. In fall I brought in the pots, and let go of the ones in the ground (but coastal Maine they lasted almost to Thanksgiving). Depending on our windowsill space and your favorites, you can try this with any of those herbs, but lavender will not cooperate.

Not all herbs are Mediterranean. Basil originated in southern India, and flourishes in heavy soil and hot humid weather. Dill and tarragon and mint and cilantro are from cooler climates and flourish in the milder part of year, and dill and cilantro go to seed as soon as the weather turns hot. Most of these do fine in plastic pots that hold more moisture. Mint is almost a marsh or stream plant, so it likes a lot of sun and a lot of water.

Lay plank walkways between your rows to prevent soil compaction. Cultivate to keep weeds at bay (a claw with a five-foot handle will save your back). If you skimmed the sod, the grass likely will come back. If weeds become a problem, you can start a new season by covering the garden with black plastic, and cutting out planting holes in it. Laying plank walkways over it to keep it from blowing away.

The two most space-intensive crops are peas and corn. And corn is a massive nutrient hog, a waste of space for a single ear per massive plant. If you must have peas, snow peas will give you much more food for the room they take up, but need to be planted as soon as the soil is thawed. Corn (and a lot of other vegetables) are the reverse: if they are planted in cool soil, their growth will be permanently stunted for the entire season. No kidding; my father did a controlled experiment with corn and beans and learned this not something to rush no matter how anxious you are.

If you have trouble with big tomatoes, try cherry tomatoes in a future year.

i've moved from Maine to the Sonoran Desert, so now I am a beginner again for the first time since I was ten (and that was fifty years ago!). I grow lots of herbs, but don't even attempt any vegetables except peppers. They have a long season requirement, so try them in dark containers too.

Good luck. You are at the start of a great adventure that is guaranteed to have some failures and setbacks along with the little triumphs that keep us at it!

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