How does your garden grow?

[VonMessa]

I and another squaddie of mine "bigjohnV" are into home brewing beer.

His son has a hops farm.

http://lazyacres.ca

Nice link, bro     

I now have another hero.       

Go Josh 

[Ripsnort]

Thanks again Von.

Back to subject line "Gardens"

We bought a couple of those "preying mantis" cocoons and they never hatched   We do have pleny of lady bugs that love to eat aphids though.

I ended up planting shallots inbetween rows and that kept the garden pests to a minimum this year. Anyone else have a favorite way to treat garden pests naturally?

[Jackal1]

I ended up planting shallots inbetween rows and that kept the garden pests to a minimum this year. Anyone else have a favorite way to treat garden pests naturally?

About the only thing I ever use is a simple mixture of dish washing liquid and water. It will take care of most anything in the garden.

[Jackal1]

If i knew i would tell ya.  We acquired some seeds from my great-grandmother a few years back.  Since then we always leave two or three okras left on the vine to dry out.  Then we take the seeds from them to use the next year.  These okra are raised on a vine, so you have to have a trellace (spelling?) or some kind of chain link fence to let them grow on.  The okra itself can grow over a foot long and is still VERY good when they get that big.  I'll try to find a place to get them for ya

Edit....you let them grow to 1 foot or larger to gain seeds, but usually you pull them when they are smaller.

Thanks.
Is this what you are talking about?---> http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MV073
Picture middle of the page.

[Frodo]

Thanks again Von.

Back to subject line "Gardens"

We bought a couple of those "preying mantis" cocoons and they never hatched   We do have pleny of lady bugs that love to eat aphids though.

I ended up planting shallots inbetween rows and that kept the garden pests to a minimum this year. Anyone else have a favorite way to treat garden pests naturally?

Hot pepper spray works on a lot of pests. Just mix hot pepper sauce with water and spray. If you have extra hot peppers from the garden, you can even make your own. Use an old blender that you don't use everyday, if you make your own. 

Frodo

[Frodo]

Has been a good garden year here, after a cold start. (Missouri). I have the following...strawberries,raspberries,blackberries,asparagus,beets,cucumbers,tomatoes,potatoes,pole beans,cantaloupe,sunflowers, and a few misc. flowers. Great year for strawberries,beans,beets,asparagus. Too wet and cool early for the tomatoes, and they are 3 weeks behind, and just starting to ripen the last week. Grow a big garden every year, as my wife and I love to do it, and eat it. We grow old time varieties and heirloom varieties all organically, as we like the taste better. Will try and post some pics later.

Frodo

[ROX]

Some good some dissapointing this year.


Dissapointing:  planted (kind of late) habenero red savina, jumbo jalepeno, tobasco, and New Mexico.  Only one came up from seed.  Bummer.


Great:  Roma tomatoes, a hybrid tomatoes, yellow sweet peppers, and my almost 6 year old habenero orange.

I'm probably the anomoly here.  I plant/gareden exclsively in 3 & 5 gallon pots/buckets, elevated on my deck with multiple holes in the sides next to the bottom.  I got screwed a few years back and planted quite an investment in peppers in the ground and it was a very wet year.  About a third of the crop just stunted and died.  Another third stunted and put out a few peppers per plant, if that.  I learned my lesson from "Charlie".

"Charlie" is the ZZTop looking 75 year old guy who worked near me.  He was the "nut" who grew all kinds of exotic peppers and tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets and not only never lost a plant, always won 1st place blue ribbon at the county fair (yes, THAT kind of nut).

He taught me the 5 gallon bucket trick and I've never looked back.  On very wet years, the rain just soaks right through and exits the holes.  When the hot season comes (like now) I just move the plants into the shade of the big oak tree next to the deck.  When it starts to cool off I relocate them back to the sunny side.  He also taught me to hit them with those $1 bags of cow fertilizer and hit them often.

I got over 5 lbs of halepenos off just the one habenero bucket last year.

The best part:  when it's fall and your outdoor plants are dying, I dolly mine inside fo rthe winter.  They go semi-dormant (you have to water as usual though, household heating systems will dry them out.  The next Spring, you simply give them a trim and back out they go.  Peppers and tomatoes will start to look like a bush over the years, and then a small tree--just like they do in the tropics.  Saves money on buying new plants next year.

Good Luck!





ROX

[VonMessa]

"Gardeners"  in Humbold County have been using 5-gal buckets for years with great success 

They use the green pickle buckets from McDonalds and hang them in the trees to keep the, uh....deer from getting to them.

[Banshee7]

Thanks.
Is this what you are talking about?---> http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MV073
Picture middle of the page.

yes sir the luffa gourd or whatever.  That's it i believe..i would have to see it in person

[Nefarious]

I'm probably the anomoly here.  I plant/gareden exclsively in 3 & 5 gallon pots/buckets

Nope, I plant the same buckets. I meant to say Gallons, not quarts in my original post.

For the last two years I have had successful grows in these buckets, this the first year I have tried a pepper plant though.

[Jackal1]

I have a neighbor who uses buckets, but he plants tomatoes from a hole in the bottom and from the sides and hangs the buckets .
He has pretty good luck growing patio and cherry tomatoes that way.

[Jackal1]

yes sir the luffa gourd or whatever.  That's it i believe..i would have to see it in person

Thanks . Gonna have to try that.

[VonMessa]

OK Rip......  Here are the hops (and garden pics)


Cascade





Hallertauer




and Nugget





Plus some various broccoli, peppers, collard greens and a tomato jungle....













This is the first year for the hops, so I don't expect much yield til next season.  I also procrastinated and didn't get the trellis (um... PVC pipe) up soon enough and some of the hops started going through the fence.  Next year I will train them earlier and they will be stronger and should yield a lot more.

[ROX]

Nice pics!

I wish I had rototillered a nice garden this year but health problems kept me on the sidelines.

You folks that did a big garden will save $$$ due to skyrocketing food prices because of fuel costs.  That whole tomato/salmonella scare not only made some vegatables scarce it drove up the price.

Here's a a few pics of the deck garden from a month ago:


That's the whole (small) view.  (L toR, Tomato, Habenero, Tomato, Yellow Bell Pepper, 3 Watermellon, baby pepper((??))



The almost 6 year old habenero.  It produces from early August to early December.



Close-up of one of the 20 peppers so far on the habenero.  I normally get 2 crops a year off this plant.


I'll get some more recent pics on soon.

GREAT JOB VON!!

And the guy who asked about having a garden on an apartment balcony---5 gallon buckets might be your way to go.  Bring 'em inside when it gets cold and set 'em back out next spring!

I'm also toying with an indoor herb garden.  My own fresh basil, and oregano would be cool. 





ROX

[eskimo2]

ROX,

You don't keep those pots on the railing do you?

I'd think kids, wind or coons would topple them.