vegatative state - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

nailkiller1 · 07-26-2009, 08:17 AM

got into gardening by accident a couple years ago
I have come to really enjoy it
we have a short growing season up here
I have had really good luck until this year
I dont know if its the cooler weather or what
looking to be a sad harvest
Growing anything?

J F · 07-26-2009, 08:27 AM

We do a lot of flowers (I normally just dig the holes and stand around and look pretty while swmbo plants

)

These are from about 5 weeks ago, so a lot of stuff is doing even better...and some stuff has croaked...just like every year.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jjfwoodw...eat=directlink

This is a columbine, first year we had 'em, pretty neat looking. There's definitely something good for your soul (if ya got one

) in taking care of the stuff.

mmike032 · 07-26-2009, 08:37 AM

same here about the harvest, only thing doing good here is my tomatos.
dont know why though, last year everything did good.
must be something in the air cause my brothers garden is doing worse than mine this year

Cdat · 07-26-2009, 08:38 AM

This year is much colder then most. Global Warming my rear! We are having a decent year but some stuff ain't doing so good. Beans are really small right now and so are the cabbage. I do believe there is a gardening thread in OT. Mayhap this should go there?

J F · 07-26-2009, 08:39 AM

We lost a ton of stuff last year to some disease...I'm now very diligent in spraying dangerous chemicals all over everything pretty regularly ... not sure if that's why one of the dogs is growing a third ear or not

oldfrt · 07-26-2009, 08:59 AM

Just took a look at my sorry excuse of a garden and getting the same results as last year.I'm blaming it on the excess of rain and cool nights.

Tomato plants are dying before the fruit ripens,squash has hardly grown,the deer are eating some of the leafy greens.
It's hardly worth fighting off the weeds for the return I'll get.
Bought two more tomato plants a couple of weeks ago,planted them in a real sunny spot,they're not looking too good either.

Just too much rain here!!!

mmike032 · 07-26-2009, 09:07 AM

we had an abundance of rain right around easter when I first planted everything and I thought that had something to do with it.
Its been hot here like it always is. I've fertilized, sprayed for bugs, etc.. like last year but not the same results
only got 1 1/2 small ziplock bags of beans and now they're dead.
only gotten 1 piece of okra off about 7 plants
no cucumbers from about 7 plants
no strawberries
no lettuce
no corn

oldfrt · 07-26-2009, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmike032

we had an abundance of rain right around easter when I first planted everything and I thought that had something to do with it.
Its been hot here like it always is. I've fertilized, sprayed for bugs, etc.. like last year but not the same results
only got 1 1/2 small ziplock bags of beans and now they're dead.
only gotten 1 piece of okra off about 7 plants
no cucumbers from about 7 plants
no strawberries
no lettuce
no corn

Maybe it's the shortage of bees??

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...honeybees.html

J F · 07-26-2009, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmike032

we had an abundance of rain right around easter when I first planted everything and I thought that had something to do with it.
Its been hot here like it always is. I've fertilized, sprayed for bugs, etc.. like last year but not the same results
only got 1 1/2 small ziplock bags of beans and now they're dead.
only gotten 1 piece of okra off about 7 plants
no cucumbers from about 7 plants
no strawberries
no lettuce
no corn

Thank god for kroger

corian27 · 07-26-2009, 08:36 PM

Still trying to figure out how to grow stuff in the desert here (other than cactus)....it seems to just be a matter of different planting times and watering. Back home in Maine we had a real short growing season too but I could at least get some fresh veggies.

copusbuilder · 07-26-2009, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corian27

Still trying to figure out how to grow stuff in the desert here (other than cactus)....it seems to just be a matter of different planting times and watering. Back home in Maine we had a real short growing season too but I could at least get some fresh veggies.

Having grown up in Mass. I was also subjected to the shorter growing season.
Now that I live in Texas I have learned we have two growing seasons.
Just a mind set and adaptation .....twice the fun!

BobsLandscape · 07-26-2009, 09:38 PM

Get a greenhouse. You can build a small one for less than a grand. There are kits available too. With a good heater you can grow year round. It's a lot of fun.

DavidC · 07-26-2009, 09:39 PM

Cooler weather and too much rain aren't bad enough, we've got an army of woodchucks backed up by almost as many rabbits vying for whatever does grow. The birds claim the berries as their own. The weeds are doing just fine though.

We do manage to get our salad from the garden, except still waiting on a ripe tomato. The potato plants are looking pretty good. The best looking plant so far is a pumpkin that came up on it's own in the barnyard, way ahead of what's in the garden. The sheep just walk around it. Funny thing is it probably sprouted from pumpkins I fed them last fall.

Good Luck
Dave

Tinstaafl · 07-26-2009, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidC

Cooler weather and too much rain aren't bad enough, we've got an army of woodchucks backed up by almost as many rabbits vying for whatever does grow.

Then eat meat instead of veggies.

Dustyrose · 07-26-2009, 10:03 PM

I love to garden but I find it depressing at the same time.
For years I battled blackspot on my roses and decided to tear them all out.
Last year some kind of wood borer tore through my garden.
This year some kind of white fungus is having its way with my plants.
I can't grow any vegtables I like except tomatoes because the squirels eat them.
On the bright side my raspberries did beautifully this year and I have found a few plants that even nature has a hard time fuc**** up.

BobsLandscape · 07-26-2009, 10:18 PM

Damn Rose, you need some help. First off get a soil analysis done. You have a vitamin deficiency or an overabundance of heavy metals. Maybe both. Then you can work on a plan to get your soil in proper condition.

What kind of irrigation are you using? Perhaps you have a fungus growing inside your pipes or heads. Check that out.

Add some clean compost. Mushroom compost is one of the best. Adds a lot of nutrients to the soil. Healthy well fed plants will be able to resist pests/disease better.

Mulch the area around the plants you want to grow. If you throw down a weedbarrier and 3 inches of mulch it makes a dramatic difference in how often you have to weed.

WarnerConstInc. · 07-26-2009, 10:41 PM

I want to grow year round in a green house.

Dustyrose · 07-26-2009, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobsLandscape

Damn Rose, you need some help. First off get a soil analysis done. You have a vitamin deficiency or an overabundance of heavy metals. Maybe both. Then you can work on a plan to get your soil in proper condition.

What kind of irrigation are you using? Perhaps you have a fungus growing inside your pipes or heads. Check that out.

Add some clean compost. Mushroom compost is one of the best. Adds a lot of nutrients to the soil. Healthy well fed plants will be able to resist pests/disease better.

Mulch the area around the plants you want to grow. If you throw down a weedbarrier and 3 inches of mulch it makes a dramatic difference in how often you have to weed.

My problem is the neighbors. The landlord next to me (and my garden) has an area behind his garage about 12x30 that he refuses to tend to. The weeds get 7' tall. and the quy behind me refuses to tend to the weeds along his fence line. Manacures the rest of the lawn but won't touch this area. So all the seeds and fungus make their way into my garden.

I weeded really good this weekend and laid out 20 bags of mulch and put paper under that.

My Knock out roses are doing great, my Hostas are something to brag about, and I planted some more lillys as they seem to require little maintenance. Eunomous also looks good and some other purple plant that seems to fight off disease.

On the down side, I had to cut my Colombine and Peonys down to nothing as they aquired some kind of white fungus all over the leaves. I figured it better to just get rid of it and hope they grow back next season.

What else can I do when the neighbors are so close and won't do anything to fight weeds and plant disease in their yards?

BobsLandscape · 07-26-2009, 10:57 PM

With your neighbors like that there isn't much you can do.

You can offer to take care of their area for a nominal fee.

You can put in a tall solid fence.

You can put up a greenhouse and do your planting in an indoor, controlled environment.

wallmaxx · 07-27-2009, 01:05 AM

We go to a local farm and buy all kinds of stuff fresh.

Boxx Berry Farm