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Post by cowgirlup on May 24, 2012 15:08:16 GMT -7
I learned 2 things that I put into practice last year that really made a difference.
Tomatos like to be warm. ( OK I knew that part) But that includes the root system which doesn't like cold water. Our well water is icy so last year I would keep watering cans in the garden and let them warm up before watering the tomatos. Seemed to help.
Secondly I read that pepper plants like sulfer and got the tip to put match heads around the peppers. The plants were just OK and it was mid summer before I remembered that. I put the match heads in the soil around the peppers and they took off. Got really tall and lots of blooms. So I'm doing that early this year.
What other tips do you have that you swear by???
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Post by woodyz on May 24, 2012 17:21:35 GMT -7
I use old washer drums to plant root crops that need good drainage. They have all the holes in the sides. I put half leaves and half potting soil about half way up then plant things like potatoes. As the potato plants grow I add more soil to the drum a little at a time until it is almost to the top. Then mount a wire frame around it and let them grow. Water the heck out of them and it will run right through as it completely soaks the soil. I can get about half a bushel of potatoes from each one. You can partially bury them or paint them bright colors in the flower garden. I have them sitting on tree stumps all over the place. They also work great for strawberries but only about 2/3 up, any thing that likes to be wet but well drained.
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Post by woodyz on May 24, 2012 17:34:37 GMT -7
If you have a problem with water running off faster then it can soak in I either make dikes around the plant with straw, or punch small holes in the bottom of a gallon bucket and bury the bucket between plants like tomatoes. Then water the bucket and let it drain slowly so the soil can soak it up. Also works to add fertilizer to the water or make a tea with composted manure.
We added worms under our rabbits, so every time we clean under the pens we get worms with the manure. The worms just keep growing and breeding while leaving worm poop. Never have to feed them any thing and the food the rabbits always drop gets ate by the worms too.
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Post by offtrail on May 24, 2012 20:27:11 GMT -7
Buy your veggies at the farmers market, how's that for a tip ;D ;D ;D I wish I had a place to start a garden but this year looks way to dry we need some rain....bad
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Post by BORNTHATWAY on May 25, 2012 3:54:50 GMT -7
There was a gentleman who came into the farmers co-op and was telling my husband thathe always put 2 tablespoons of Epsom salts and two matches head down around his tomatos. He said that was the way his mom and grandmother did it so he did too.
I use sheets of plastic around my tomatos, peppers and cucumbers. It keeps the roots warm and you do not have to weed them.
Also keep your hoes sharp by filing so they cut into the dirt better. Also keep them oiled or sprayed with WD-40.
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Post by geron on May 25, 2012 4:33:21 GMT -7
I can't tell you it works or not but this year when I planted my tomatoes I mixed up a "soup mix" in a 5 gal bucket. *Some plant transplanting fertilizer (according to directions on the box) *Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) According to the tradition of the old time gardeners in your neighbor. I used 1 cup per 5 gal. *2 Tums (Calcium Carbonate) per plant (10 per 5 gal) powdered so they will dissolve. When transplanted I soaked each plant with 1 gal of the mixture. All I can say is "They're not dead . . . yet." Now I'll have to go stick a couple matches around each plant I'm thinking another source of "sulfur" might work better (calcium sulfate). Sulfur itself is "hydrophobic" and needs to be "broken" down before it can be directly utilized by plants. If your soil has a good bacterial "community" they can do the job for you.
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Post by cajunlady87 on May 25, 2012 8:52:49 GMT -7
If you have a friend who is a barber, all those hair clippings add great protein to planting soil.
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Post by missasip on May 25, 2012 10:53:54 GMT -7
After the tomato/pepper/squash season is over I bury LOTS of fish leavings in those rows. I do that till January and then let do their thing till growing season. Then cut the soil with my disc. Then I use cottonseed meal tilled in. Row them up and plant my squash/tomatos/peppers. No further fertilizer is added. I mulch them up with pine straw.
Jimmy
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Post by missasip on May 25, 2012 10:55:42 GMT -7
I learned 2 things that I put into practice last year that really made a difference. Tomatos like to be warm. ( OK I knew that part) But that includes the root system which doesn't like cold water. Our well water is icy so last year I would keep watering cans in the garden and let them warm up before watering the tomatos. Seemed to help. Secondly I read that pepper plants like sulfer and got the tip to put match heads around the peppers. The plants were just OK and it was mid summer before I remembered that. I put the match heads in the soil around the peppers and they took off. Got really tall and lots of blooms. So I'm doing that early this year. What other tips do you have that you swear by??? CGU, this would make a great sticky thread... Jimmy
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Post by cowgirlup on May 25, 2012 16:20:22 GMT -7
CGU, this would make a great sticky thread... Jimmy[/quote] Done!!!
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Post by missasip on May 26, 2012 5:40:41 GMT -7
CGU, this would make a great sticky thread... Jimmy Done!!![/quote] Cool! Ok folks, give those great gardening tip! Jimmy
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Post by jimmyq on May 30, 2012 18:00:46 GMT -7
ok, I dont see this one yet so... Put a fish head (we have salmon here which tend to be fairly large but if you dont, I would say about a pound of fish heads) under a tomato when you plant it, of course this could also be a bad idea if you live anywhere there are curious omnivores such as bears, coyotes or inquisitive family dogs... My inlaws have a grow in the ground greenhouse and they swear by it. That and kelp/seaweed. After winter storms they go to the beach and collect 5 gallon pails of the stuff then run the mower over it and spread it on the fallow garden, by spring the rain has washed the salt away and the minerals are just laying there for the plants to absorb.
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Post by olebama on May 30, 2012 19:08:52 GMT -7
I have a few that I use: 1. Put egg shells in the hole when you are planting tomatoes to prevent blossom end rot. I think it is the calcium, so the tums mentioned before probably do the same thing. 2. Put a corn cob or 2 in the hole when planting tomatoes. They will absorb and hold on to water. (I am not sure if this works or not) 3. Take a piece of pvc pipe, about 2 inches in diameter and cut to about 2 ft in length. When planting tomatoes, put one end of the pipe in the hole with the plant. Then when you want to water, you just pour water into the pipe and it goes to the roots.
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Post by cowgirlup on Jun 6, 2012 17:13:06 GMT -7
Here's one I figure most people know but if not it does work.
To keep slugs off your plants, save your egg shells. Rinse them out, let them dry and crush them coarsely. Sprinkle around the plants that are getting attacked by slugs. The slugs don't want to cross the eggshells because their bodies are soft so it cuts them to cross it.
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Post by Cwi555 on Jun 6, 2012 17:27:49 GMT -7
I can screw up a chia pet when it comes to gardens. My advice is for me to stay out of the wifes garden.
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