What Are Some Tips for Successful Gardening?

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Gardening is a cherished activity for many participants, with roots tracing back to childhood experiences and family traditions. Organic gardening methods are favored, emphasizing the use of natural techniques over chemicals. Current gardening efforts include cultivating perennials like blueberries and raspberries, alongside plans for vegetable and herb gardens. Participants express a desire for more space to garden, reflecting on the challenges of apartment living and the joy of nurturing plants. The discussion highlights cultural differences in gardening practices, particularly contrasting American and Spanish lifestyles regarding home and garden ownership.
  • #2,601
dlgoff said:
It's not winter yet but close enough.

I just finished a bacon and tomato sandwich from my baby. The tomato was big enough for one sandwich and a couple extra slices.

I was surprised how well it ripened indoors. It was firm but still juicy with a really thin skin. It had a "strong tomato" taste; sort of wild I guess.
Jealous. It's very cold and dark here. We probably topped out at 20 deg.
 
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  • #2,602
dlgoff said:
It's not winter yet but close enough.

I just finished a bacon and tomato sandwich from my baby. The tomato was big enough for one sandwich and a couple extra slices.

I was surprised how well it ripened indoors. It was firm but still juicy with a really thin skin. It had a "strong tomato" taste; sort of wild I guess.
oooh, I am amazed that my indoor tomato is putting out blooms and setting fruit like it was spring. I'm not even supplementing the light, which I should probably do.
 
  • #2,603
Evo said:
oooh, I am amazed that my indoor tomato is putting out blooms and setting fruit like it was spring. I'm not even supplementing the light, which I should probably do.
Does your plant drink water like crazy? I have to give mine about 1/2 gallon per day.

My plant is too tall to get outside sunlight where the blooms (well, buds) are. The plant light doesn't really help. If it were 5 kwatt maybe it would.
 
  • #2,604
dlgoff said:
Does your plant drink water like crazy? I have to give mine about 1/2 gallon per day.

My plant is too tall to get outside sunlight where the blooms (well, buds) are. The plant light doesn't really help. If it were 5 kwatt maybe it would.
Can you prune it?

I had a tomato plant that wasn't producing until it fell and broke in half. Then it went crazy!
 
  • #2,605
Evo said:
Can you prune it?

I had a tomato plant that wasn't producing until it fell and broke in half. Then it went crazy!
I'll give it a try.
 
  • #2,606
dlgoff said:
Does your plant drink water like crazy? I have to give mine about 1/2 gallon per day.

My plant is too tall to get outside sunlight where the blooms (well, buds) are. The plant light doesn't really help. If it were 5 kwatt maybe it would.

outside they certainly drink like crazy. i tried some upside-down bucket tomatoes this year, and never will again because it's just too much work to give them each a gallon of water every day, and even then they wilt between waterings.

but yeah, light, water, heat, fertilizer, they like all these things.
 
  • #2,607
Passion fruit, Parsley, Basil, Chives, Coriander, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Zucchini, Potatoes, Corn, Orange, Mango, Strawberry. Can't quite see the Sage, Kumara or Lychee (unless you have very good eyes and knowledge)

The recent 95F+ weather has seen everything grow like crazy.
 

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  • #2,608
Zryn said:
Passion fruit, Parsley, Basil, Chives, Coriander, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Zucchini, Potatoes, Corn, Orange, Mango, Strawberry. Can't quite see the Sage, Kumara or Lychee (unless you have very good eyes and knowledge)

The recent 95F+ weather has seen everything grow like crazy.
You must be near the equator or in the S. Hemisphere.
 
  • #2,609
Zryn said:
Passion fruit, Parsley, Basil, Chives, Coriander, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Zucchini, Potatoes, Corn, Orange, Mango, Strawberry. Can't quite see the Sage, Kumara or Lychee (unless you have very good eyes and knowledge)

The recent 95F+ weather has seen everything grow like crazy.
Nice garden!
 
  • #2,610
My tomato plant now has more blooms and set fruit than it's had all summer! The new stems are a but leggy though, perhaps I should put a light in there for it.
 
  • #2,611
turbo-1 said:
Jealous. It's very cold and dark here. We probably topped out at 20 deg.
Same conditions here, but guess what I found in the garden?
The kale still has harvestable leaves.. I picked a bunch today.
They must go into some kind of cryostasis as the temperature dips down. :smile:
 
  • #2,612
Ouabache said:
Same conditions here, but guess what I found in the garden?
The kale still has harvestable leaves.. I picked a bunch today.
They must go into some kind of cryostasis as the temperature dips down. :smile:
My kale survived last winter - down to -20 F. It was harvestable and edible throughout the winter into spring. I think a kale plant is good for 2 years.

We make kale and potato soup - with fried onion and sausage.
 
  • #2,613
OmCheeto said:
hmmm... Interesting. Of course, the technology is widely used now in the treatment of cancers.

But we're trying to get rid of aphids. How's about we merge the "keep the teenagers away with ultrasonics" and Rifes beam technologies?

Kids B Gone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXhRmv1mrs4

Does anyone know if aphids have ears?

google google google

hmm... Can't seem to find anything about their hearing.

But they don't like http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0809/Aphids-in-your-garden-Try-warm-goat-breath." . Get a goat. Or maybe an artificial goat.

Ah ha!
http://www.kaz.com/kaz/humidifiers/products/vicks-vaporizer-with-nightlight-v100/" , only $9.99!

Of course, now you have to get a de-humidifier. :frown:


hmmm...

Just went up to the Thai garden, just happened to have my glasses on, and what do I find?

Aphids. Trillions of them.

So of course, what do I do? Use the goat breath method.

What do they do?

Of course, they ignored me.

So I got out my hand held hair dryer and baked them all.

Do not buy a goat.

Nor invest in techno-surrogate-goats-breath devices.

:mad:

Idiot...
 
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  • #2,614
OmCheeto said:
Idiot...

Argh!

Trust not in glasses. The trillions turned out to be aphid moulting casings.

The live ones did in fact jump ship and returned a few minutes later...

Buy a goat!

But wait. What is this?

e-gads...

wiki on aphids said:
This process iterates throughout the summer, producing multiple generations that typically live 20 to 40 days. Thus one female hatched in spring may produce many billions of descendants. For example, some species of cabbage aphids (like Brevicoryne brassicae) can produce up to 41 generations of females.

No wonder we haven't seen Moonbear for a bit. I heard she had a moth problem of similar biblical proportions.
 
  • #2,615
Got Hot Peter pepper seeds :smile:
 
  • #2,616
Borek said:
Got Hot Peter pepper seeds :smile:
ooooh! Are you going to plant them outside in the spring? :biggrin:
 
  • #2,617
Borek said:
Got Hot Peter pepper seeds :smile:

OK, I will bite, what kind ? and from where ?

Rhody...

:bugeye: If they are ghost peppers, you are in for a long slow growing season, then moments of exhilaration, and possibly anguish when you begin nibbling on them.
 
  • #2,618
If I had a heated greenhouse and a long summer season, I would give those rascals a shot. For now, I'm happy to get some ripe habaneros.
 
  • #2,619
rhody said:
OK, I will bite, what kind ? and from where ?

Rhody...

:bugeye: If they are ghost peppers, you are in for a long slow growing season, then moments of exhilaration, and possibly anguish when you begin nibbling on them.
The <cough> peter peppers. :redface:
 
  • #2,620
Evo said:
The <cough> peter peppers. :redface:
Knowing we're going to see some pictures. :bugeye:
 
  • #2,621
Evo said:
The <cough> peter peppers. :redface:

Evo,

You are sooo... bad...

I am willing to bet Borek did NOT buy PP's. hehe.

Rhody... :redface:

Borek, ohhh Borek, where are you ?
 
  • #2,622
rhody said:
I am willing to bet Borek did NOT buy PP's. hehe.

<cough>, you lost.

Evo had an inside information, we talk about seeds during chat.

Borek, ohhh Borek, where are you ?

At 3:37 a.m. my time? Up the stairs I posted in the photo contest.
 
  • #2,623
Evo said:
ooooh! Are you going to plant them outside in the spring? :biggrin:

Most likely window sill first, pots later. Just like the last year.
 
  • #2,624
Borek said:
Most likely window sill first, pots later. Just like the last year.

cough cough, I lost but not fairly :devil:, so your bought peter pepper seeds and not bhut jolokia (ghost pepper) seeds, right ?

Rhody...
 
  • #2,625
Yep. I got some other free seeds as well, long red slim pepper and hot banana pepper.
 
  • #2,626
Borek said:
Yep. I got some other free seeds as well, long red slim pepper and hot banana pepper.

Good luck man... I hope you have success with your "ghosties". A little trick that seems to work for me, get the ghost peppers to germinate, (about 10 days with 80% F heat mat) then get a decent grow light and when the seedlings are transplant able, move them to a pot about 2 to 3 inches tall. Use a grow light soil (it doesn't hurt to microwave the soil before transplanting) to be sure no bad things grow as well. Then, put the heat mat under the 2 to 3 inch pot. Use the grow light 10 - 12 hours a day, turn off at night, but leave the heat mat on, every two or three days add a small amount of water, top of soil should remain dry. My plants are doing 2X better than just being in cool temps with normal ambient light. This technique works. Good luck, the sooner you start the ghost peppers the better.

Rhody...
 
  • #2,627
A sad garden disaster story...in progress:

I have a ficus benjamina that I love and I hate. Well OK, I basically hate it. It's never been happy the whole time I've had it, drops leaves at each season change or if I so much as touch it.

It was in dire need of a new pot. It also needed to be pruned a bit - it had lots of bare branches (all that leaf dropping, you know).

So I did both the pruning and the repotting today. Took it into the garage, cut off all bare branches. Re-potted it (oops, there was a bit of root rot that I had to remove, not too severe I hope). So it's back in its spot and I hope it's happy.

Then I discovered I have sap drops in my hair :frown:! So I researched that quickly, found the recommendations for sap removal: peanut butter or olive oil. I chose olive oil.

It took a while but I did manage to comb all the sap out. My hair is not oily, it's fully *oiled*. Now I'm waiting for my scalp to stop hurting, so I can shampoo.

I look a mess!

And I bet the tree is going to die, after all that.
 
  • #2,628
lisab said:
And I bet the tree is going to die, after all that.

If I had a plant that caused that much trouble, it would be a safe bet that it would die very shortly after.
 
  • #2,629
lisab said:
A sad garden disaster story...in progress:

I have a ficus benjamina that I love and I hate. Well OK, I basically hate it. It's never been happy the whole time I've had it, drops leaves at each season change or if I so much as touch it.

It was in dire need of a new pot. It also needed to be pruned a bit - it had lots of bare branches (all that leaf dropping, you know).

So I did both the pruning and the repotting today. Took it into the garage, cut off all bare branches. Re-potted it (oops, there was a bit of root rot that I had to remove, not too severe I hope). So it's back in its spot and I hope it's happy.

Then I discovered I have sap drops in my hair :frown:! So I researched that quickly, found the recommendations for sap removal: peanut butter or olive oil. I chose olive oil.

It took a while but I did manage to comb all the sap out. My hair is not oily, it's fully *oiled*. Now I'm waiting for my scalp to stop hurting, so I can shampoo.

I look a mess!

And I bet the tree is going to die, after all that.
No, it loves you and will reward you by taking off this spring after it comes out of shock.

I've had simiar problems with them. They seem to be thriving one day and the next day you brush against it and every leaf falls to the floor. :frown:
 
  • #2,630
I need to make my seed list and get an order into Johnny's Selected Seeds. They have seeds that are appropriate for my zone.
 
  • #2,631
The jalapeno plants I brought inside are blooming.
 
  • #2,632
Evo said:
The jalapeno plants I brought inside are blooming.
I'm going to have to cut some forsythia branches and put them in a vase. Winter is too long and bleak!

kitchforsythia.jpg
 
  • #2,633
Evo said:
The jalapeno plants I brought inside are blooming.

Evo,

Did they bloom on their own, or did you, err... ahhh... help them along by being shaken ? :redface:

Rhody...

BTW, Borek... have you planted any of your Peter peppers yet ?
 
  • #2,634
turbo-1 said:
I'm going to have to cut some forsythia branches and put them in a vase. Winter is too long and bleak!

kitchforsythia.jpg

I wish I could have sent you the fifty foot row I removed last summer. They're gorgeous when blooming but here they'll take over your yard in a few years. I still have plenty I could thin out though. I left the original plants (they look like small trees).
 
  • #2,635
rhody said:
Evo,

Did they bloom on their own, or did you, err... ahhh... help them along by being shaken ? :redface:

Rhody...
It's Evo's magnetic personality or aura. :biggrin:

Interestingly, I heard a blurb on the radio about winter gardening and winter farmers' markets in the Northeast. Apparently USDA has been encouraging hoop houses to extend the growing seasons, and it's working. Rather than lay off farm hands during the winter, more farmers are keeping staff year round.

http://www.hoophouse.com/why-hoop-house.html

http://westsidegardener.com/howto/hoophouse.html

http://www.harrisseeds.com/storefront/c-106-high-tunnels.aspx

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2003-02-01/Hoop-Houses.aspx

 
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  • #2,636
dlgoff said:
I wish I could have sent you the fifty foot row I removed last summer. They're gorgeous when blooming but here they'll take over your yard in a few years. I still have plenty I could thin out though. I left the original plants (they look like small trees).
I would gladly have taken them if they were a cold-hardy variety. Unfortunately, dishonest garden-shops will sell varieties that are more suited for Mass-Conn, and the only parts of them that bloom are the parts that were buried under snow all winter. You end up with a green, leafy bush (eventually) that only gets blossoms on the lower parts of the lowest branches.
 
  • #2,637
Well it's not Maine's climate here, but I've seen them blooming in the snow.
 
  • #2,638
rhody said:
Evo,

Did they bloom on their own, or did you, err... ahhh... help them along by being shaken ? :redface:
When I noticed the blooms were open I must admit that there was some shaking going on. :biggrin:
 
  • #2,639
Evo said:
When I noticed the blooms were open I must admit that there was some shaking going on. :biggrin:

:biggrin: :devil: :wink: No comment...

Rhody...
 
  • #2,640
As it's well before spring, I'd like to plant something which will florish over the summer, while surviving next winter when I port them back inside.

Any suggestions? The pots are about 3 liters in size.
 
  • #2,641
forsythia, eh? i think we call them yellow bells.

i actually have some asparagus spears coming up, but it's only their second year (from seed) and they are tiny, spindly things. probably needs some kind of fertilizer, too, i suspect.
 
  • #2,642
mugaliens said:
As it's well before spring, I'd like to plant something which will florish over the summer, while surviving next winter when I port them back inside.

Any suggestions? The pots are about 3 liters in size.

how about some christmas/thanksgiving cactuses?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiday_Cactus

just be careful to let them adjust a bit when you return them outside next year. full sun right away will be bad.
 
  • #2,643
This year, I left my strawberry plants out in the snow and ice since they always die when I move them indoors.

For once, I won't have to buy new plants in the spring.
 
  • #2,644

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  • #2,645
  • #2,646
Seeds I have, time to think about planting them.
 
  • #2,647
Astronuc said:
turbo reminded me - it's time to think about seeds and spring planting

http://www.fedcoseeds.com/seeds.htm

http://www.fedcoseeds.com/ogs/covercrop_chart.htm

Astro,

I did too, hehe... bring it on, the heat (in peppers that is).

Rhody...
 
  • #2,648
I guess I need to plant more garlic for the next season. My wife took a couple of small bags of garlic to the artisan butcher shop/deli. She bought sliced cheese, herb-garlic smoked bacon, and a large sub with vegetables and ham and she still ended up getting money back from the exchange. The garlic is a big hit, and the deli's customers are now stopping in and requesting it. Good thing for Tracy, because the more times people stop in for special foods that they can't get in supermarkets, the more incidental purchases they will make, including $$ deli meats, cheeses, and specialty foods. I might end up being the "garlic man" for real. Last year, I stopped in at the local community garden to give some seed garlic to a friend, and one of her co-volunteers stopped working long enough to come over and introduce herself, and say "you're the garlic-man!" She's a cute little thing, and I gave her enough garlic so that she could start her own self-sustaining crop. I have to reconsider giving away too much garlic from this season because it appears that I have an eager retailer for organically-grown, properly-cured hard-neck garlic.
 
  • #2,649
Is regular grocery store garlic hard neck? I have some that had started to sprout, so I planted it and brought it here to work. I still have 3 monstrous bulbs at home that I intend to plant at home, just in case my work experiment fails... (none have yet!) I have no experience with garlic...
 
  • #2,650
Ms Music said:
Is regular grocery store garlic hard neck? I have some that had started to sprout, so I planted it and brought it here to work. I still have 3 monstrous bulbs at home that I intend to plant at home, just in case my work experiment fails... (none have yet!) I have no experience with garlic...
I think most supermarket garlic is of the softneck persuasion (ones with tops that can be braided). My German white and Russian red garlics are quite flavorful, and they are very popular. Once Tracy started offering them in her deli, she got a a following that will pay a premium (she charges $1/bulb) for really high-quality garlic. I could easily sell my garlic as seed for other growers, but I'd rather help friends build their business.

My White German garlic is top-quality. She sells it for food at $0.95/bulb. FedCo co-op sells the bulbs for $3 each.

http://www.fedcoseeds.com/bulbs/search.php?item=222&index=1&listname=
 

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