Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 Vol. 14 May 7

Free Republic | 5-7-2010 | Red_Devil 232

[Red_Devil 232]

Good morning gardeners! If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. There are many Freepers from all over the Good Ol’ USA that are willing and eager to help.

I thought a little primer on fertilizers might come in handy this time of year especially to those of you just starting out.   

What do the numbers mean? 

Every bag or container of commercial fertilizer has a three number code that tells you the percentage that that particular fertilizer has of the "Big Three" nutrients used by plants.

The big three nutrients are, in the order listed on the container:

1. Nitrogen - Important for green growth 
2. Phosphorous - For flower and fruit production
3. Potassium - Strong stems roots and other functions.

A bag of fertilizer labeled as 13-13-13 will have equal percentages of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium for a total of 39%; the rest is filler.

Ideally a soil test is needed to determine how much of these nutriments your soil needs. 

Also  the type of vegetables or plants you are growing may require different percentages of these nutriments to grow or produce successfully. Know your plants needs.

And remember small amounts will go a long way. Don't over fertilize. Too much at one time or too often can overwhelm plant systems and cause problems.

 

[goodnesswins]

WOO HOO....it MIGHT hit 71 here today....we had the rainiest (most days with rain) on record in April (Oregon)...and it’s been so generally cool that even the greens are struggling except for what I THINK is some radiccio I planted last year....it’s so tall and green...I’m beginning to wonder what it REALLY is. I’ll try and post a picture...

[who knows what evil?]

You’re slipping, Diana...shouldn’t that have been a link to your employer’s store? :-)

[texanyankee]

Yeah, I’m doing my best to spread some sorta mulch/compost over the garden to keep as much moisture in the soil. Keeping enough moisture for the plants is gonna be the largest chore right now.

It’s not easy when I dont really have a large source here. I almost depleted my compost pile which was mostly post oak leaves & old hay.

[Red_Devil 232]

The trick to a eating a green mango is that it is still firm but the flesh is just turning light a yellow but not ripe like you could just eat it off the seed. It is like eating a crisp apple but it does need to be cut up and eaten in pieces.

[DCBryan1]

Lots of slope....75 feet down...need 4 wheel drive to get up and down my driveway into the garage.

[kalee]

Please add me to the garden ping list. THANKS!

[StopBigGovt]

Our first victory garden seems to be doing well. I’ve noticed a couple holes in the zucchini leaves, but am not sure what to do about that. Most of the plants are 6 weeks old (planted from seed). The cucumbers are only 4 weeks old.

I’m hoping this link to the photos in Photobucket works.
[URL=http://s805.photobucket.com/albums/yy334/hotcookin_photos/?action=view&current=314_1516.jpg][IMG]http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy334/hotcookin_photos/th_314_1516.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[rightly_dividing]

Where in Texas do you live? We are moving to Houston soon. That and health issues destroyed my garden plan for this year. Hopefully, NW Houston wil be a good site to garden next year.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Bring lots of loose fitting, light weight clothes and a big straw hat. It’s hot and humid. Takes your breath away. I don’t know where you are coming from, but it took me 2 years to get used to the Houston weather, and even then I couldn’t be outside very long from May through September unless I was near a pool where I could jump in.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"Aren’t those feedlot panels? Do you use them for tomatoes?"

Yes, they are feedlot panels ... we call them cattle panels in our neck of the woods. They make a very sturdy trellis when you brace them with 1/2" rebar that is driven about 2' deep.

I do not use them for tomatoes. I grow anything that creeps and crawls on a trellis. Cukes, spaghetti and butternut squash, I even grew canteloupes on the trellis last year. Here are some pics:

I stake my tomatoes with 3/8" rebar. All of the rebar and cattle panels are used from year-to-year. The initial expense seems high, but these things will last until they plant me ;-)

[texanyankee]

We live about 55 miles west of Austin - in the Hill Country.
The soil here is quite fertile, but low on organic matter. The main issue for all landowners in this area is water.

I used to live 50 miles northeast of Houston - back about 30 years ago.
I know there are a lot of successful gardeners in the NW Houston area.

[Red_Devil 232]

Hey glad to see you here! The Photobucket link did not work for me. Go to your Photobucket page and you should see below the pictures you posted there - HTML Code click on the box next to it and it will highlite the code copy the code and you can just paste it into your posts here on FR and it will work.

As for the holes in your zukes get some insecticidal soap (Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Home Depot) and mix as instructed and spray the plants. You can use this on all your plants. Just spray in the early morning before it gets hot.

[texanyankee]

Wow...those are some nice looking cantaloupes. I wish we had the space to grow cantaloupes. I figured the most I could spare in our backlot without too much shading affect from the large trees, is a 18’x 32’ area.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"What are you going to trellis? And what kind of strawberries will you plant?"

Hi Agnes! I trellis anything that runs or crawls ... cukes, squashes and gourds, english peas, and even small melons. I have planted Quinault strawberries. They are bearing already and should do so most of the summer, I'm told.

[JRochelle]

Papayas are just about the best fruit on earth. That and guavas.

[who knows what evil?]

How do you employ the rebar to stake your tomatoes? It is REAL windy in my neighborhood, and I would like to find something sturdier than traditional staking systems...

[Arrowhead1952]

Wow. That is like driving up a cliff. We live in the TX hill country and my cousin has a house about one mile from us. They have a 25 foot rise from the road to their garage about 75 feet away, but don’t need 4 wheel drive.

They have terraced the entire front yard with retaining walls. Each terrace is about 20 feet from the next one. They are putting good dirt onto the limestone base. Mortar is put between each rock on every terrace.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"What you growing?"

So far I've planted zucchini, speckled butter beans, cream (lady) peas, green stringbeans, green butter beans, pinto beans, white butter beans, yellow squash, cucumbers, butternut squash, all sorts of peppers, strawberries, english peas, spaghetti squash, okra, turnip greens and mustard greens. I still have a countertop of seeds and little plants under a grow light in the garage.

This is the largest garden I've ever planted. I also have a 2 acre patch of sweet corn that is down the road a piece.

[Black Agnes]

Envymaking trellising.

You’ve given me ideas.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I hate it when that happens. And it’s equally disturbing that I’m not that same Army Ready skinny gal who used to be able to really pack it in in the garden and STILL fit between the rows, LOL!

The injustice of it all! Harmpf! :)

(I’m still skinny on the inside!)