Garden thread

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  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
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    I'm in the zone 10b and my soil is sandy. I have compost pile and use that plus ash, store bought compost, organic fertilizer to amend. Still, i struggle with growing things in my garden. Beets, carrots, cucumbers won't grow at all, squashes and zucchini don't grow either. Cukes and zucchini get powdery mildew and no matter what i do I can't grow them. Even peas, nope... I get good tomatoes though, beans do well, had great crop of mustard greens last year. Okra and eggplant were so-so, but at least we had a little of it. I have a beautiful rosemary bush, basil is very good, i eat and cook with it year around. Still working to make my fennel to form bulbs (from last winter planting, kind of late, because it got cooked in the sun couple of times, so replaced it twice). Anyone has an idea for what would do well in my garden? There's literally no veggie that I don't enjoy, i wish i can grow more of my own... I shop for seeds that are supposed to be adapted to my climate, and still i don't get as good of results as i hope. Even kale, it should be growing fine, but didn't. I would appreciate suggestions and advice from you guys! It's almost time to start my seeds, new season is coming. Summer is almost over.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 13,191 Member
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    Have you had your soil tested? Seems like a lot of the things you're trying SHOULD grow fine. Maybe there's too much spores of some of the rots. Keep working on the soil. Keep trying. Worst that happens is you have another failure. I have plenty. I have two San Marzano tomatoes this year. They are prone to blossom end rot. Mine have it bad. Oh well.
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
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    mtaratoot wrote: »
    Have you had your soil tested? Seems like a lot of the things you're trying SHOULD grow fine. Maybe there's too much spores of some of the rots. Keep working on the soil. Keep trying. Worst that happens is you have another failure. I have plenty. I have two San Marzano tomatoes this year. They are prone to blossom end rot. Mine have it bad. Oh well.

    No, never had soil tested. I will look into it.
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
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    Soil questions....please and thank you. :)
    I have a feeling my garden now has some kind of fungus spores or something attacking it. :( I feel the leaves on most of my plants have 'caught' something. It went from my strawberries to my tomatoes to my cucumbers and to my green beans. :( Well, my green beans may have just been over planted and over watered because their symptoms weren't the same(bottoms of stems were getting moldy and the vegetables ended up becoming weird looking towards the end). My tomatoes are still producing well enough, my strawberries weren't very good this year, and my cucumbers are just barely limping by. :( Maybe will harvest 5 compared to 50 last year,

    Anyways, who do you contact to get your soil tested, is it costly, and how do you amend it(I would guess that'd depend on the end result of soil testing :))?
    I get confused easily because there are soooo many products on the market and everybody does their best to sell theirs. :/
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 13,191 Member
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    Extension Service would be the place to check for soil testing. Usually associated with an agricultural program at a university. Mostly you'll get a texture analysis, soil pH, and a N,P,K suggestion. They might be able to do more with minerology. They can provide instructions for taking the sample.

    The disease might be powdery mildew or it might be Botrytis. They are common around here late summer and early fall. Assuring adequate air flow through the plants can HELP, but it's almost a given that I get some in my garden. The grapes get it. In fact, wine growers around here actually inoculate their vineyards with Botrytis. It's known in the wine grape industry as Noble Rot, and it is desired under some circumstances. It's not the greatest for table grapes. It gets on my raspberries and for sure on brassica vegetables.

    Good luck.
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
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    Thanks @mtaratoot! You've always got sound advice.

    Going to google Botrytis :)
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 13,191 Member
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    It could be worse.....


    wsvgt7tuc6e8.jpg
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
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    mtaratoot wrote: »
    It could be worse.....


    wsvgt7tuc6e8.jpg

    New Compost ingredients!! :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    girlwithcurls2 wrote: »
    I just picked beans yesterday. I have never grown them. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I find them to be a pain to pick? But wow. They are delicious! I had no idea that they would be ready so soon. I was watering and when I pushed the plants aside, beans revealed themselves! I'm pulling carrots, and the lettuce is pretty much done due to consistent heat. But lots of green tomatoes, so I'll have them to look forward to! Sadly, many berries were scorched in the intense heat a couple of weeks ago. Mostly marion and boysenberry, two favorites :(

    I really like my purple pole beans for ease of picking - almost no bending over and the purple is ornamental as well as making them easier to pick. They turn greenish when cooking, but a less attractive green than regular bush beans. And the flavor is not quite as good. Nevertheless, I've been quite happy with them here, but next year when I am at Mom's where there is more room, I won't try to talk her out of her regular bush beans into pole beans.

    I do recommend them highly for people who need to utilize vertical space.

    https://www.burpee.com/bean-pole-purple-king-prod000595.html

    Have you tried the Asian (<=sometimes called) long beans? They grow in vining/pole fashion, are arguably less attractive raw or cooked than a standard green bean, but IMO have a *better* flavor, a little richer or more hearty IMO, but still in the green bean flavor zone. The beans are like a foot long or longer, narrow, small seeds until seriously over-mature. They were easy to grow, here (Michigan), prolific. The only downside I saw was that bees and wasps *loved* them. Might find them at an Asian market (fresh) to try; I can get them from a vendor at my farmers' market who grows other Asian specialty veg.

    Thanks for the tip! I will try sampling them and growing them :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    Sweet potato question-can you wait until after the frosts start coming to dig them up or better while it's still hot? I've never planted potatoes before, especially sweet potatoes. Is there any way to tell how they might be growing under ground? The vining seems to be doing well? But I know nothing......obviously. :)

    You rooted a supermarket sweet potato, yes? Then it is probably a long season southern variety and should stay in the ground as long as possible, until a frost is forecast.

    https://bonnieplants.com/how-to-grow/growing-sweet-potatoes/

    ...Sweet potatoes are usually ready to harvest just as the ends of the vines begin to turn yellow, or just before frost in the North.

    To avoid injuring tubers, find the primary crown of the plant you want to dig, and then use a digging fork to loosen an 18-inch wide circle around the plant. Pull up the crown and use your hands to gather your sweet potatoes. To make digging easier and get the vines out of your way, you can cut some of them away before digging. Harvest before frost because cool temperatures can reduce the quality of the potatoes and their ability to keep.

    Sweet potatoes are not very sweet when first dug, but they are fine for sweetened pies or casseroles. They need a period to sit and “cure” to bring out their sweetness.

    Shake off soil, and then lay the unwashed sweet potatoes in a warm (80°F to 90°F), well-ventilated place for about 10 days. A shaded table outdoors and out of the rain works well. As the sweet potatoes cure, any scratches in the skins should heal, and the flesh inside will become sweeter and more nutritious. This step is very important, as fresh, uncured potatoes do not bake as well. After 10 days, move your cured tubers to any spot that stays cool and dry, but do not refrigerate or store below 50°F. Cured sweet potatoes will keep for up to 6 months when stored at around 60°F with high humidity; a basement is ideal, though an air-conditioned storage room or pantry will do, too.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    lorib642 wrote: »
    Any tips on starting a garden. I have a backyard with some flat area, I was thinking of planting in tubs. My cousin showed me pictures but said you need to drill a lot of holes. Another cousin directed me to Pinterest. I have no clue where to begin, I live in Southern CA. Was thinking spinach, lettuce, cucumber, zucchini.
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Holes are good, yes. Depending on the type of tubs, holes for good drainage can be easy; with deep tubs, another option is to put something in the bottom to let excess water pool there. (Not for this reason, but for weight, in half-barrel planters I've used packing peanuts (not the water soluble kind!), topped with a layer of water-permeable landscape fabric, with a good-depth layer of soil on top of that.) If no holes, more need to avoid over-watering to the point of keeping roots more wet than they like at the bottom of their normal growing depth.

    Standard spinach and most lettuces are not very heat-tolerant, so bolt to flower/seed quite quickly rather than producing nice leaves for longer. (I don't know much about S. CA, so someone else might be able to be more specific about when to plant those.) There are alternate greens that are more heat-tolerant, including some that are good for raw eating (malabar 'spinach' (it's a vine, needs trellis), red amaranth, Romaine is among the more heat-tolerant of normal lettuces, etc.). Lots of cooking greens are more heat tolerant than regular spinach.

    Cukes and zukes will be happy in heat, as long as they have adequate water and decent soil. If you're planning container gardening, maybe look for bush-type varieties, rather than long-vined ones. It's possible to trellis the vines, but the fruit may need support as it gets heavier to avoid dropping off the vine, and that's a pain. Personally, I like cousa/kousa squash better than normal zukes (similar, but IMO a nicer flavor/texture for raw use, and comparable to zukes for cooking). The seed is pretty easy to find online but they're less common to see in grocery store produce departments because they're a little more tender/bruise-y so don't ship as well.

    I share Ann's concerns, as well as inexperience with S CA. I'm a great Massachusetts gardener, but failed miserably when I tried to garden in S Florida.

    I suggest looking for a local gardening group on Facebook. Mine is so wonderful!
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    Sweet potato question-can you wait until after the frosts start coming to dig them up or better while it's still hot? I've never planted potatoes before, especially sweet potatoes. Is there any way to tell how they might be growing under ground? The vining seems to be doing well? But I know nothing......obviously. :)

    You rooted a supermarket sweet potato, yes? Then it is probably a long season southern variety and should stay in the ground as long as possible, until a frost is forecast.

    https://bonnieplants.com/how-to-grow/growing-sweet-potatoes/

    ...Sweet potatoes are usually ready to harvest just as the ends of the vines begin to turn yellow, or just before frost in the North.

    To avoid injuring tubers, find the primary crown of the plant you want to dig, and then use a digging fork to loosen an 18-inch wide circle around the plant. Pull up the crown and use your hands to gather your sweet potatoes. To make digging easier and get the vines out of your way, you can cut some of them away before digging. Harvest before frost because cool temperatures can reduce the quality of the potatoes and their ability to keep.

    Sweet potatoes are not very sweet when first dug, but they are fine for sweetened pies or casseroles. They need a period to sit and “cure” to bring out their sweetness.

    Shake off soil, and then lay the unwashed sweet potatoes in a warm (80°F to 90°F), well-ventilated place for about 10 days. A shaded table outdoors and out of the rain works well. As the sweet potatoes cure, any scratches in the skins should heal, and the flesh inside will become sweeter and more nutritious. This step is very important, as fresh, uncured potatoes do not bake as well. After 10 days, move your cured tubers to any spot that stays cool and dry, but do not refrigerate or store below 50°F. Cured sweet potatoes will keep for up to 6 months when stored at around 60°F with high humidity; a basement is ideal, though an air-conditioned storage room or pantry will do, too.

    Thanks for that info! A lot of great information! My sister gave me 2 organic potatoes she'd gotten at the grocery store, yes, and it's been kind of cool growing the plants. I just hope it's a success. They look good from the top, that's all I know. :)
    I ended up googling it as well. Between you all and google, I should be a master gardener by now :) but still find every season is different and so much of it is trial and error.
  • MsCzar
    MsCzar Posts: 1,039 Member
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    Oooo! I just discovered that a strawberry claw huller works brilliantly for removing the stem from blanched tomatoes. Insert huller and twist. The skin comes off in one hand, and you pull the stem with the huller.

    I've got Too. Much. Garden. Making chili and stuffed peps, canning peaches and tomatoes, freezing more 'basil balls' (blanched basil thrown in food processor with a bit of olive oil and frozen in round ice cube trays).
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
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    Tomatoes, tomatoes and oh look, more tomatoes. :) Big ones, little ones. And here I was afraid my tomatoes wouldn't yield much of anything this year with having to pick all the yucky stems off.

    My sister said you can freeze cherry tomatoes on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, then use them in soups/sauces, etc. Can it be done that way successfully?

    I blanched and froze a ton of bigger tomatoes but now have no stove(just a hot plate which I will try).

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