Virgin Gardener

[zombiepreparation]

balcony containers-
**soil doesn't seem to hold water, draining right through in similar amount added. Am adding newspaper mulch today.
**still harvesting daily small amounts of lettuce, kale, spinach, basil for small salad though I prefer blending into a 'green' drink usually.
**two more tomatoes with blossom rot. Will not afford buying anything but will add newspaper mulch today to see what that does. Plants look deliciously beautiful, strong, and healthy though.

downstairs containers-
**large tomato plant growing but pale green in color. Will reduce number of times deeply watered. Am sure I've gotten into the habit of watering too often.
**pepper plant also growing but also pale green in color. hmmm... will also reduce number of times watered.
**leaf lettuce looks happy and is harvest-able daily.

downstairs in-ground-
**Oh holy cow. Lettuce still will not grow past less-than-an-inch stunted plants with two leaves in the south part of the soil. I shall just keep treating them like real plants as simply an experiment now. Weird. Three plantings, the last time laying lots of seeds. Only three or four came up. Stunted. Move four feet to the north and the transplanted lettuce from container lettuce is better but, again, doesn't seem to be growing.
**kale is beginning to be harvest-able in tiny amounts. I planted seeds, twice. The plants seem small to me and spindly. I don't know for sure. I may be watering them too much too.
**the marigolds in the south part of the plot are mere sticks like the lettuce planted there, each with a couple of stunted leaved. Move four feet to the north and the marigolds are small plants but do not seem to grow, like the lettuce and kale there. Move two feet to the east and they are big bushy flowery plants. Confuse me much?
**the two small bush tomato plants in the two feet to the east part of the plot are growing great guns and have started at least a couple of dozen tomatoes.
**the two cucumber plants in soil donated in another plot look happy and healthy. Growing fast, big leaves.

Downstair garden chigger report:
Thriving in large numbers, lots wanting 'me' to host them. In the garden downstairs I wear 18" rain boots that tie snugly at top with jeans tucked in and deet rubbed onto boots.

I do not put anything I bring to the garden 'down'. Everything is hung off 4' metal something-or-another. Might be a stake of some kind.

I walk back from garden stomping boots in attempt to dislodge tiny 1/150 inch size critters. Also brushing hands and clothing as I go. I look demented.

I remove boots upon entering apartment, go straight to bathtub to bathe and rinse all articles of clothing and rinse bathtub fully.

They are devious, circumventing all my machinations, a couple settling in to do what they do each day.

I get a piece of hydrogen peroxide soaked cotton and place on each new bite imagining I am caustically frying their little butts.

[zombiepreparation]

delete (double post)

[ZombieGranny]

I can't help on the chiggers, we don't have them here, but I'm wondering about those stunted plants.
If as they sound, they are all in the same area, could it be that it was saturated with a herbicide at some time?
-
Blossom end rot - it may or may not help, but watch your watering and mix some crushed eggs shells into the ground around the plants.
ll
V
Cause
Calcium is required in relatively large concentrations for normal cell growth. When a rapidly growing fruit is deprived of calcium, the tissues break down, leaving the characteristic lesion at the blossom end. Blossom-end rot develops when the fruit's demand for calcium exceeds the supply in the soil. This may result from low calcium levels in the soil, drought stress, excessive soil moisture, and/or fluctuations due to rain or overwatering . These conditions reduce the uptake and movement of calcium into the plant, or rapid, vegetative growth due to excessive nitrogen fertilization.
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/toma ... 23571.html

[Dawgboy]

I would also suggest Bone meal. Is the ground plot poorly fertilized? Because Spindly says "No usable Nitrogen" to me.

I don't know about chiggers, but Diatomaceous earth does a great job on earwigs, fleas and other 6 legged pests, and it's cheap. And won't kill you or your pets...

[slannesh]

Quick update from today:

I have lettuce!
Romaine


Green Leaf


And my peppers, tomatoes and Zucchini are doing pretty well in the hoop house!

[tripleryder]

Lookin good!
Bout another week for me, and it'll be time to start thinning. I maayyyy have overplanted a wee bit

[zombiepreparation]

I have lettuce!

[zombiepreparation]

Lookin good!
Bout another week for me, and it'll be time to start thinning. I maayyyy have overplanted a wee bit

Rock on, boys!! Lookin good.
(You probably know but I'll post it anyway)
You can eat the lettuce thinnings. Just wash em and eat in your salad or atop your choice of foods.

[slannesh]

(You probably know but I'll post it anyway)
You can eat the lettuce thinnings. Just wash em and eat in your salad or atop your choice of foods.

Ate em on my way back to the house Planted a few more in the hoop house since I had a free square and just wanna see how they do in there.

[zombiepreparation]

Blossom end rot - it may or may not help, but watch your watering and mix some crushed eggs shells into the ground around the plants.

I now have 'a couple of shells in place. Thx.

I'm wondering about those stunted plants.
If as they sound, they are all in the same area, could it be that it was saturated with a herbicide at some time?

That hadn't occurred to me. Before the little strip was loaned to me it was a walkway. It isn't inconceivable herbicide had been used on it some years past to reduce plant growth in the strip of wood chip covered walkway that had been given me to dig up and plant in. That could account for allllll those seeds I've planted that never even sprouted and the couple that did come up that don't grow with the same seeds growing happily in other areas.

[zombiepreparation]

I would also suggest Bone meal. Is the ground plot poorly fertilized? Because Spindly says "No usable Nitrogen" to me.

I don't know about chiggers, but Diatomaceous earth does a great job on earwigs, fleas and other 6 legged pests, and it's cheap. And won't kill you or your pets...

Cheap is what I afford and will look into it.

Bone meal may be out of my near zero cost range.

No usable nitrogen, eh? Is this another 'purchase'? Is there something lying around I could use instead, like kool-aid or something? I'll google after I post this.

Thanks for the tips and suggestions.

[phenris]

The best thing I found for dealing with chiggers mixing yellow sulfur and petroleum jelly and applying it to the bites. Chiggers naturally go for where clothing is tight. (waistbands, socks, etc) The only things I have found for keeping the beasts down is free range chickens and regular mowing.

[zombiepreparation]

balcony containers-

**soil doesn't seem to hold water, draining right through in similar amount added. Am adding newspaper mulch today.
**two more tomatoes with blossom rot. Will not afford buying anything but will add newspaper mulch today to see what that does.

I was slow to add the mulch but when today's blossom rot count hit #6 I got busy. Instead of newspaper I have covered the soil with mylar from a space blanket. I punched lots of holes and will pour the water atop the mylar cover when watering and hope the holes drip the water slower into the container and retain the moisture longer 'under' the mylar.

downstairs containers-

**large tomato plant growing but pale green in color. Will reduce number of times deeply watered. Am sure I've gotten into the habit of watering too often.
**pepper plant also growing but also pale green in color. hmmm... will also reduce number of times watered.

Interesting. Both tomato and pepper plants have deepened in color so am thinking the reduced watering was a good move for them.

downstairs in-ground-

**Oh holy cow. Lettuce still will not grow past less-than-an-inch stunted plants with two leaves in the south part of the soil. I shall just keep treating them like real plants as simply an experiment now.

The lettuce and marigold plants in that part of the soil are still less than an inch in size with each plant having only two leaves. I am leaning toward the suggestion there is herbicide in that area.

**the two small bush tomato plants in the two feet to the east part of the plot are growing great guns and have started at least a couple of dozen tomatoes.

They are still growing well. There was an accident today. Arrghhh. While using a pair of grade school round nose scissors to clean up leaves from the lower part of one of them I put a big nick in the stalk. I put a band aid on it by wrapping the cut closed with a strip I cut off a plastic grocery bag tied snugly. Man, I hope I haven't ruined the plant.

**the two cucumber plants in soil donated in another plot look happy and healthy. Growing fast, big leaves.

The lady who gave me the tiny cucumber plants was excited today and took me to look at them (they are in a different plot). They are growing well, have big ole leaves, and there are three cucumbers already good size. The plot next to the cucumber plot has a squash plant attempting to swamp them though. Have to think of a way to stop the encroachment without offending plot neighbor. It's not like I really have any 'rights'. I'm little more than a squatter in the plot my cucumbers are growing and certainly an after-the-fact planter as everyone had growing gardens before I was given the little corner for the cucumbers.

[zombiepreparation]

The best thing I found for dealing with chiggers mixing yellow sulfur and petroleum jelly and applying it to the bites. Chiggers naturally go for where clothing is tight. (waistbands, socks, etc) The only things I have found for keeping the beasts down is free range chickens and regular mowing.

Thanks for the tips. If you can believe it it seems I am getting them from the wood mulch put down in the garden area for the walkways and to keep the grass away. A regular piece of irony, that.

Wait, where does one find 'sulpher' anyway?

[phenris]

Wait, where does one find 'sulpher' anyway?

Last time I had to buy it, I found it at a pharmacy.

[slannesh]

Took some pics when I was watering today. I can't believe how fast the Zucchini is growing!

The whole hoop house:


Swiss Chard:


Peppers and Tomatoes:


Zucchini and Spaghetti Squash:


The tomatoes I started from seed are doing VERY well I couldn't be happier with how well they're growing I should have a LOT of tomatoes at this rate.
The zucchini and spaghetti squash have grown an incredible amount in the last week, I'm going to have to start training them to grow up right away since I want to keep them from taking over the whole bed, i'm trying a technique of growing them up instead of out that I had read about.

All in all things are going very well, I've lost a bunch of peas and beans that I think got drowned out with all the rain we've been having but the Hoop House Greenhouse has exceeded my expectations which is great. I'll definitely be building more of them.

[zombiepreparation]

Dang, Slannesh, you have a fine garden there.

Update:
Balcony Garden
We've had several days of right at 100 degree temp. Lost one spinach plant. Have moved the other two plants inside for all but three hours of morning sun. They have perked back up.

Have moved the to tomato containers out of all but two hours direct sunlight and to floor of balcony. Two days I even brought them inside, just inside sliding glass door. They liked that.

Moved the lettuce to the back of balcony next to the floor to ceiling window and they are all perky and growing nicely. Not looking stressed anymore. The window is fairly cool because the AC vent hits it directly so the temp is a bit cooler for the lettuce.

Have begun misting all plants whenever I think of it and am home. They cool noticeably when I do.

Am getting ready to replant kale and spinach.

Still haven't gotten a tomato to mature before succumbing to blossom rot. Rats.

Containers downstairs in the garden
Heat is stressing the tomato plant but it does have quite a few fruit growing. May come up with a way to shade it like a miniature tobacco crop type tenting.

Bell pepper plant is currently fat and sassy.

Lettuce seems to be doing well.

In-ground downstairs plants
Where the possible herbicide is the plants are still pitiful, and I'm still watering just to see what happens.

The replanted kale is growing but still spindly with small hapless leaves.

The transplanted lettuce doesn't seem stressed and is growing somewhat.

The two bush cherry tomato plants have lots of fruit growing. Growing enough I have to add more supports near daily.

Cucumber plant is fat, sassy, big and beautiful. Bearing big fruit. Have been only allowing enough cucumbers to mature that my friends and I want to consume. I'm not doing all those extra cucumbers I'm begging people to take and everyone hates to see me coming. The little beginning ones I cut off before they grow go in my green drinks.

Chiggers
Huzzah!! Near total success. Found a Deet bug spray for $3 at Aldi last week and each morning before leaving apt to work in downstairs garden I spray those 18" rain boots I wear in the garden. Only one chigger in a week has come home with me. Yayyyyy.

[zombiepreparation]

Dang, Slannesh, you have a fine garden there.

Update:
Balcony Garden
We've had several days of right at 100 degree temp. Lost one spinach plant. Have moved the other two plants inside for all but three hours of morning sun. They have perked back up.

Have moved the to tomato containers out of all but two hours direct sunlight and to floor of balcony. Two days I even brought them inside, just inside sliding glass door. They liked that.

Moved the lettuce to the back of balcony next to the floor to ceiling window and they are all perky and growing nicely. Not looking stressed anymore. The window is fairly cool because the AC vent hits it directly so the temp is a bit cooler for the lettuce.

Have begun misting all plants whenever I think of it and am home. They cool noticeably when I do.

Am getting ready to replant kale and spinach.

Still haven't gotten a tomato to mature before succumbing to blossom rot. Rats.

Containers downstairs in the garden
Heat is stressing the tomato plant but it does have quite a few fruit growing. May come up with a way to shade it like a miniature tobacco crop type tenting.

Bell pepper plant is currently fat and sassy.

Lettuce seems to be doing well.

In-ground downstairs plants
Where the possible herbicide is the plants are still pitiful, and I'm still watering just to see what happens.

The replanted kale is growing but still spindly with small hapless leaves.

The transplanted lettuce doesn't seem stressed and is growing somewhat.

The two bush cherry tomato plants have lots of fruit growing. Growing enough I have to add more supports near daily.

Cucumber plant is fat, sassy, big and beautiful. Bearing big fruit. Have been only allowing enough cucumbers to mature that my friends and I want to consume. I'm not doing all those extra cucumbers I'm begging people to take and everyone hates to see me coming. The little beginning ones that I cut off before they grow go in my green drinks.

Chiggers
Huzzah!! Near total success. Found a Deet bug spray for $3 at Aldi last week and each morning before leaving apt to work in downstairs garden I spray those 18" rain boots I wear in the garden. Only one chigger in a week has come home with me. Yayyyyy.

I have started harvesting seeds from garden plants that are bolting. I have lettuce, dill, and basil so far. A few years back a 'natural born gardner' taught me to put the harvested seeds in small brown paper bags or folded up pieces of paper, label and keep them in something like an open cardboard shoebox to dry until I plant them or winter arrives (when they get sealed tight and put in fridge). All the dill downstairs is bolting but it is soooo delicious that I'm going to plant some in a container on the balcony. I should google to see if dill does well in the summer heat. I may be moving that container around a lot to keep the plants cool.

But hey, Sissy did a lot of dragging container plants inside and out in Mom's Journal of the Zombie Years and that's what gave me the idea in the first place. I swear, I'd of never thought of it on my own. I'd of just left the containers in the place they were sitting like they were glued there or I'd get a ticket for moving them or something.

Except for the tomatoes. I learned shading the tomatoes from the 'natural born gardener' I used to know who taught me about harvesting seeds. She raised fine tomatoes and moved her plants to her shady porch when it got real hot. She said they liked that better.

Live and learn, live and learn.

[prepper7]

P7: And am also liking the way you have planted your buckets; several items in each. I am noticing myself keeping my plants rather small so that would work for me too.

Thx, ZPrep. I mix several types of lettuce in containers and plant scallions/green onion in with the chard. inter planting can prevent a whole crop being lost due to infestation as different things like, well, different things. Good companion parings can bolster that aspect and can also provide support to aid growth. Sometimes a "sacrificial" plant can benefit the primary plant.

A word of warning: even if your plan is to harvest often and keep the plants small, follow the recommended spacing for whatever you plant. It won't look as "lush" or "bountiful" as a container crammed full, but having air circulation between the plants will help slow the spread of insects and disease, you'll have room to inspect the plants, you'll be able to harvest without damaging nearby plants, and there will be times when, best intentions aside, you don't keep up with the harvesting.

Are you satisfied/pleased with the self-watering system you have? If so that's on my agenda next year. I am displeased with watering the buckets and having the water draining each time.

More than I thought possible! I am converting all my planters (except for some annual flowers I planted in shopping bag planters and three hanging flower baskets--though I am mulling over a way to run wicks to the baskets from a bucket water reservoir). I also want to figure a way to "wick" the 36" flower boxes I use for lettuce before the season begins. SIP is EPIC WIN!!!

The home gardener is at a disadvantage being kept in the dark about this type of container gardening. It is such an efficient method. There is less time spent watering and less water lost to evaporation (your top two inches of soil are basically a mulch layer -- I use cheap soil or reuse soil from other planters on the top for this reason). With the dry soil surface, there aren't fungus gnats, etc. (or the damned mushrooms that infest my other planters). The system also provides a healthy environment for the plants. One doesn't have the dissolved salts, etc. that occurs from top-down watering and over or underwatering is eliminated (one may need to experiment to get the wicking basket / wick fabric sized correctly).

Ever since I changed, my chard has been so beautiful it's like garden porn (downside: I can't buy it at the farmer's market or grocer's, their offerings just don't measure up). And except for one container a few weeks ago, the aphids have been a thing of the past (I hadn't kept track of the rising summer temps and had let the water level in the afflicted container get too low. I cut the plants back and now that there's plenty of water, the plants are again thriving and the aphids are gone. To be fair, the sweet Alyssum I planted to attract beneficial, predatory insects may be helping, too). My sweet basil and perennial basil look fantastic and I am sure the other herbs will benefit similarly when they get their new containers.

So yes, make the containers. Do your research and look at as many types as you can; You'll have a real understanding of the concepts and this will allow you to easily modify designs or substitute materials to suit your circumstances.

[zombiepreparation]

A word of warning: even if your plan is to harvest often and keep the plants small, follow the recommended spacing for whatever you plant. It won't look as "lush" or "bountiful" as a container crammed full, but having air circulation between the plants will help slow the spread of insects and disease, you'll have room to inspect the plants, you'll be able to harvest without damaging nearby plants, and there will be times when, best intentions aside, you don't keep up with the harvesting.

I will never forget this piece of advise.

(your top two inches of soil are basically a mulch layer -- I use cheap soil or reuse soil from other planters on the top for this reason).

Ohhhhhhh. I did not know this and I have been worrying worrying "why is the soil so dry?" Ohhhhhhh. OhKAY! Got it

Ever since I changed, my chard has been so beautiful it's like garden porn (downside: I can't buy it at the farmer's market or grocer's, their offerings just don't measure up).

[slannesh]

Well the weather has been not great, we're getting lots of rain but thankfully the hoop house is allowing me to use what little sun we are getting to great effect.

July 3rd


Back of the same bed, the Zucchini is going crazy


And a close up of the Swiss Chard AFTER I harvested 1/3 of it.


A lot of my container stuff hasn't been doing so well since if I keep it out of the rain it's getting no sun either so there isn't much going on in anything that's not in the hoop house. The Lettuce gutter planter is doing ok, I'll have to take some pics of that soon too. We were away for the long weekend up here so I got pics and all in a bit of a rush while I was staking the Spaghetti squash vines and the Tomato plants. I think i'll end up doing a trellis net for the tomatoes and squash but I have to figure out how to do it and still be able to get at the peppers. In the long run I think i'll end up doing some 2' deep by 8' long beds for stuff that needs to be trellised in the future.

[Ajira]

Nice! Stuff is growing well i see

[zombiepreparation]

Update:

balcony container garden:
No blossom rot!!! I cut watering all but out on the two tomato plants. Instead I heavily mist them as many times a day as I'm home and think of it with heavy enough spraying to allow drips onto mylar covered hole punched soil cover I devised, making small sips of water trickling into soil several times a day.

One plant has flowers that do not grow fruit, the other plant is beginning to burst with tomatoes... with no blossom rot. Yay.

I think I already posted I had moved the plants down to the floor of the balcony where they are only getting two hours of sun a day.

The basil plant keeps plugging happily along and is not giving signs of bolting.

The lettuce I moved out of the sun and against glass wall to apartment is big and fat and sassy!

container plants in down stairs garden
Lettuce growing like weeds.

Pepper plant growing like weeds, fruit beginning to grow.

Tomato plant producing a lot of fruit but is starting to look severely stressed. I moved it to another part of the garden where it will be shaded starting at Noon each day. Will report findings.

in-ground plants in garden downstairs
Bush tomato plants full of growing fruit

Lettuce is there.

Cucumber is big fat sassy and happy AND all but one of my cucumbers were stolen last night. GONE. <swines> <grumble> <fargin iceholes> No sign of animal, cucumbers were nicely and cleanly missing at the correct place. <raggle fraggle bastiges> Only one left for me to pick today.

Last year a few blocks away from here and entire tomato 'garden' was harvested by bandits in one late night picking.

[slannesh]

Update:

balcony container garden:
No blossom rot!!! I cut watering all but out on the two tomato plants. Instead I heavily mist them as many times a day as I'm home and think of it with heavy enough spraying to allow drips onto mylar covered hole punched soil cover I devised, making small sips of water trickling into soil several times a day.

One plant has flowers that do not grow fruit, the other plant is beginning to burst with tomatoes... with no blossom rot. Yay.

I think I already posted I had moved the plants down to the floor of the balcony where they are only getting two hours of sun a day.

The basil plant keeps plugging happily along and is not giving signs of bolting.

The lettuce I moved out of the sun and against glass wall to apartment is big and fat and sassy!

container plants in down stairs garden
Lettuce growing like weeds.

Pepper plant growing like weeds, fruit beginning to grow.

Tomato plant producing a lot of fruit but is starting to look severely stressed. I moved it to another part of the garden where it will be shaded starting at Noon each day. Will report findings.

in-ground plants in garden downstairs
Bush tomato plants full of growing fruit

Lettuce is there.

Cucumber is big fat sassy and happy AND all but one of my cucumbers were stolen last night. GONE. <swines> <grumble> <fargin iceholes> No sign of animal, cucumbers were nicely and cleanly missing at the correct place. <raggle fraggle bastiges> Only one left for me to pick today.

Last year a few blocks away from here and entire tomato 'garden' was harvested by bandits in one late night picking.

Sounds like things are on the right track, congrats!

Sorry to hear about your cucumber thieves though. Bastards.