Any body growing a garden / veggies this year?

[Mikej]

My gal is from the south and has a perfect solution to green tomatoes and they are delicious.
Fried Green Tomatoes

I figured I get that suggestion, among others too. Years ago I did fried green tomatoes and they were very good. Tried them a couple more time and though they were terrible! don't know what it was but, ick. So I haven't even tried for several years. I do the cooking in the house, and I'd fry everything if I could!

There's also others thing to do with green tomatoes, but none sounded all that great. I do have one gal that takes 5# or so every year that makes a batch of some stew with them.

What Can You Do With Green Tomatoes?

This actually looks good. Until it got to the apples.

Farmgirl Fare: What To Do With All Those Green Tomatoes? Try My Salsa-Like, No Sugar Green Tomato Relish Recipe!

Looked again and 1/2# apples to 2# tomatoes doesn't sound that bad?

Maybe this fall I'll look into something else. All those green tomatoes can be ripened in the garage but the taste suffers terribly.

 

[pokerace]

We picked tomatoes last week and got 30 to 40 off of 1 plant, that was hard to believe. Got cukes coming out may ears (3 plants) and the green beans are in over abundance.

PS wife made tomato preserves, love that stuff.

 

[gearhead]

Kept it small this year, as I have to repair the back yard when we move in a few months. Sage, rosemary, and oregano are all doing well. The okra has been prolific, as have the jalapeños. (Ought to be pickling them next weekend) Cukes, melons, and tomatoes did not do well last year, so I abandoned the idea this time around. I tried getting lavender to grow, but discovered that by the time the plants were 2 feet tall, I had been cultivating some unknown weeds of a sturdy variety. Boy did I feel dumb.

 

[Brutus57]

We are harvesting spuds, peas are done, green beans going well, onions too, sugar pumpkins and spaghetti squash as well as zucchinis are looking very nice. We are not HAPPY with our fancy Territorial Seeds carrots, just not cutting it this year Samurai and another variety. It is an odd year up here for some things but we are using great soil.
Pears are on the increase and apple tree output was low last year but going gangbusters this year. Probably have 80 plus jars of stuff put up so far.

Brutus Out

 

[Koda]

Well I hope I can pick the minds of those more experienced than myself here... I have 7 garden beds that I plant each year but they are producing less and less. I'm no greenthumb and don't know what's wrong except I guess they have sucked all the nutrients out of my soil. I started a compost bin, but we don't put out enough. I've got about 6 tomato plants but right now only one is putting out and not very healthy ones. produce is coming in, but small and not much and some are not developing correctly.

 

[nammac]

Well I hope I can pick the minds of those more experienced than myself here... I have 7 garden beds that I plant each year but they are producing less and less. I'm no greenthumb and don't know what's wrong except I guess they have sucked all the nutrients out of my soil. I started a compost bin, but we don't put out enough. I've got about 6 tomato plants but right now only one is putting out and not very healthy ones. produce is coming in, but small and not much and some are not developing correctly.

We are patio farmers and got great results and production of tomatoes and strawberries with Miracle Grow and
lots of water...

 

[STUKA]

I'll share my secret fertilizer.. Chicken leavings, and diesel exhaust fluid.
I'm a truck mechanic, so I get a "discount" on it.
It sounds scarier than it is- look it up!

 

[Mikej]

Well I hope I can pick the minds of those more experienced than myself here... I have 7 garden beds that I plant each year but they are producing less and less. I'm no greenthumb and don't know what's wrong except I guess they have sucked all the nutrients out of my soil. I started a compost bin, but we don't put out enough. I've got about 6 tomato plants but right now only one is putting out and not very healthy ones. produce is coming in, but small and not much and some are not developing correctly.

The key to growing vegetables is good soil. The key to good soil is "Organic Matter" and beneficial microbes, bacteria. Once you get a good load of organic matter the good "Bugs" come naturally. Do you keep your lawn green? If so put the grass clippings around the base of plants, like tomatoes. That's called "Mulch". It will help to keep moisture even in the soil and will slowly be broken down by the good bacteria in the soil, THAT will help.

In the fall, cover you beds with copious amounts of leaves, chewed up with the mower if possible, but not absolutely necessary. You could turn the soil at that point, but get more and cover it for winter. It's not good to have the rain just slapping the bare soil all winter. If you don't have much leaves you could buy a bail of straw. Though straw may have some wheat or weed seeds in it. A "Cover Crop" is something to consider, though I've never used one. Google for good cover crop greens and how to incorporate it in your garden.

Fertilizer....If you still have a bunch of leaf matter/mulch on the soil in the spring, add some fertilizer. I just use the basic 16-16-16. The mulch, when turned into the soil will temporarily deplete the nitrogen in the soil, so it's a good idea to throw a little fertilizer in the mix when you turn the mulch in.

Start making your soil better early in the fall by getting a bunch of compost or mulch, at least 6 inches deep across you beds. Something about Compost vs Mulch, people seem to be confused about the two, and their differences. Compost is organic matter that has been though a process to break it down. Compost has readily available nutrients. Mulch could be anything you put on the soil to retain moisture, news paper, leaves/grass, cardboard, even that stupid red ground up tires some places sell. So, compost can be "Mulch" but mulch is NOT compost unless it goes through "The Process" of decomposing. "Compost"

I use a bunch of the "Steer Blend", it's composted manure and sawdust, from Home Depot, in each hole for tomatoes and peppers. I turn the stuff in a week before I plant my short rows of cukes and beans. Tomatoes need a good shot of lime and bone meal. If you have those brown sunken spots on the tomatoes bottoms, (Blossom end Rot) it's due to lack of calcium/magnesium...Bone meal/lime. I use the Super Sweet lime.

For people with containers, consider that those big bags of Potting soil you buy have pretty much been sterilized. That means no nutrients. Though now I see those product are coming with a 0.05% nitrogen, or something like that.

Don't know what else. One thing popped into my head though. Watering. People tend to over water. That can be as bad as under watering. Containers in full sun would likely need water every day, that also leaches nutrients so regular (Bi-weekly?) half solution fertilizer for containers. Tomatoes, once established, get watered once a week, except if it's in the 90s day after day then every 5 days. That's assuming you have a good thick mulch on them. I put a half strength Miracle Grow on mine about every two weeks.

Phew! Any thing else?

 

[Koda]

The key to growing vegetables is good soil. The key to good soil is "Organic Matter" and beneficial microbes, bacteria. Once you get a good load of organic matter the good "Bugs" come naturally. Do you keep your lawn green? If so put the grass clippings around the base of plants, like tomatoes. That's called "Mulch". It will help to keep moisture even in the soil and will slowly be broken down by the good bacteria in the soil, THAT will help.

In the fall, cover you beds with copious amounts of leaves, chewed up with the mower if possible, but not absolutely necessary. You could turn the soil at that point, but get more and cover it for winter. It's not good to have the rain just slapping the bare soil all winter. If you don't have much leaves you could buy a bail of straw. Though straw may have some wheat or weed seeds in it. A "Cover Crop" is something to consider, though I've never used one. Google for good cover crop greens and how to incorporate it in your garden.

Fertilizer....If you still have a bunch of leaf matter/mulch on the soil in the spring, add some fertilizer. I just use the basic 16-16-16. The mulch, when turned into the soil will temporarily deplete the nitrogen in the soil, so it's a good idea to throw a little fertilizer in the mix when you turn the mulch in.

Start making your soil better early in the fall by getting a bunch of compost or mulch, at least 6 inches deep across you beds. Something about Compost vs Mulch, people seem to be confused about the two, and their differences. Compost is organic matter that has been though a process to break it down. Compost has readily available nutrients. Mulch could be anything you put on the soil to retain moisture, news paper, leaves/grass, cardboard, even that stupid red ground up tires some places sell. So, compost can be "Mulch" but mulch is NOT compost unless it goes through "The Process" of decomposing. "Compost"

I use a bunch of the "Steer Blend", it's composted manure and sawdust, from Home Depot, in each hole for tomatoes and peppers. I turn the stuff in a week before I plant my short rows of cukes and beans. Tomatoes need a good shot of lime and bone meal. If you have those brown sunken spots on the tomatoes bottoms, (Blossom end Rot) it's due to lack of calcium/magnesium...Bone meal/lime. I use the Super Sweet lime.

For people with containers, consider that those big bags of Potting soil you buy have pretty much been sterilized. That means no nutrients. Though now I see those product are coming with a 0.05% nitrogen, or something like that.

Don't know what else. One thing popped into my head though. Watering. People tend to over water. That can be as bad as under watering. Containers in full sun would likely need water every day, that also leaches nutrients so regular (Bi-weekly?) half solution fertilizer for containers. Tomatoes, once established, get watered once a week, except if it's in the 90s day after day then every 5 days. That's assuming you have a good thick mulch on them. I put a half strength Miracle Grow on mine about every two weeks.

Phew! Any thing else?

Shazam... thats some of the best advice Ive heard yet.
Im new to gardening but have observed the problem is with my soil. I wondered last winter if it was bad to leave the soil exposed to the elements... Ive asked friends and just get the add fertilizer in the spring advice (which I did this year to no avail...). Lots more advice and a bigger picture in your one reply than anyone has ever told me in person.

 

[Mikej]

I'm pretty self taught, through 40 years! Common sense and a little knowledge. And what I've been doing seems to work for me.

If you don't remember anything, remember "Organic Matter". At least that's MY advice. If you have access to a pick-up and the space get a yard, or more, of compost from local purveyor. Work it in good, NOW wouldn't be too early, that is if you decide to bag your garden for the year. If you're still cutting your lawn put the grass everywhere you can in your beds. If you've got trees, leaves are falling now with the summer heat, get those mowed up and put that on the beds too.

Don't use barkdust/nuggets or have many pine needles, takes too long to break down and conifer anything isn't going to be good for veggies. Something else I forgot. Don't use nut tree leaves. Especially walnut, google it.

 

[The Nothing]

This is the first year that I've continued to water my tomatoes after the 4th of July. I usually cut them off at that point. This year has been different, I started harvesting on the 4th of July and they're still budding and ripening. Crazy.

I got a WAY late start on my tobacco this year, so I'm hoping I might have anything worth curing.

 

[Dan Adams]

We just moved to a new place and have only enough time and space for two smaller raised garden beds. I brought starters of golden raspberries from the old garden and we're on our second harvest so far this summer. My wife learned her lesson about using too much Miracle Gro on the tomatoes—they took over half the garden last year. Next year we hope to add a third garden bed and grow an artichoke. We've had excellent luck with artichokes, given that we're in Western Washington; and though they're not supposed to be perennials, they just kept coming back with more fruit each year. I heartily agree with those who can taste the difference in fresh-picked veggies. We're enjoying some superb dinner salads.

 

[Mikej]

This is the first year that I've continued to water my tomatoes after the 4th of July. I usually cut them off at that point.

I've heard people say they do this but it makes no sense to me. You've got a plant that produces food, and you stop giving it water on the 4th of July? I don't understand how the plant would continue to produce until October + without water and nutrients.

 

[Mikej]

We just moved to a new place and have only enough time and space for two smaller raised garden beds. I brought starters of golden raspberries from the old garden and we're on our second harvest so far this summer. My wife learned her lesson about using too much Miracle Gro on the tomatoes—they took over half the garden last year. Next year we hope to add a third garden bed and grow an artichoke. We've had excellent luck with artichokes, given that we're in Western Washington; and though they're not supposed to be perennials, they just kept coming back with more fruit each year. I heartily agree with those who can taste the difference in fresh-picked veggies. We're enjoying some superb dinner salads.

Artichokes have traditionally been perennials, at least the good ones are. I've heard now that they have been using an annual artichoke. You can tell them because they don't have the spines/thorns, and the meat on the leaves is thinner and they are very "round". The heart is smaller also. I refuse to buy them, I'm an artichoke eater since I was 10, 50 years. If your buying artichokes after May or so they're annuals.

Castro Valley California man! Always in Season: Artichokes

Watch a little of the video, That's what a real artichoke looks like.

 

[The Nothing]

I've heard people say they do this but it makes no sense to me. You've got a plant that produces food, and you stop giving it water on the 4th of July? I don't understand how the plant would continue to produce until October + without water and nutrients.

IME, tomatoes that continually get water focus on growth rather than fruit production. By cutting off the water, they go into production mode.

 

[HK940]

When I moved to WV There was a fenced in garden area. The soil sucked. I then bought a load of "Top Soil" it was worse than what I had. I then made raised beds and last year went down to the neighbor's and got a truck load of cow manure.
This spring I had tons of earth worms in the soil.
My cucumbers are growing outside of the fence, butternut squash are killing the eggplant. Zuccuinni are taking over and peppers and tomatoes are growing wild.
Go organic!

 

[partsed]

We have 3 blueberry plants (one that starts producing in early June, the second in July and our last one in August). We have so many berries that my wife gives them away to people where she works and to the neighbors behind us, we have a 10x20 bed with strawberries, same size bed with Concord grapes to make wine with, two dwarf apple trees, a peach tree, assorted pepper plants, cherry tomatoes, 3 raspberry plants and pole beans.

 

[PaulB47]

Garden every year, and do canning too. Bok choi and "cruciform" plants do well in western Oregon. Lots of berries this year, lots of apples, always plums, tomatoes good too. I forgot to spray the peaches last winter so they are in recovery mode. Ate strawberries until we were sick of them.

 

[Hop Sing]

One factor that folks often ignore or don't know about is soil acidity. Our winter rains acidify soil, and generally untreated soil in the Willamette Valley has a pH of less than 6. Test your soil in the fall (you can get cheap testers at any garden center or farm store) and apply lime in fall/winter to it has time to change the pH by gardening season. Wood ash is also a very good additive, as it contains trace mineral and also raises soil pH.

Spreading a layer of leaves on raised beds or garden beds reduces soil compaction. Spade it in late winter so it decomposes in time for planting season.

 

[Jamie6.5]

One factor that folks often ignore or don't know about is soil acidity. Our winter rains acidify soil, and generally untreated soil in the Willamette Valley has a pH of less than 6. Test your soil in the fall (you can get cheap testers at any garden center or farm store) and apply lime in fall/winter to it has time to change the pH by gardening season. Wood ash is also a very good additive, as it contains trace mineral and also raises soil pH.

Spreading a layer of leaves on raised beds or garden beds reduces soil compaction. Spade it in late winter so it decomposes in time for planting season.

Just don't do this with Blueberry plants. They like an acidic soil, so add things like coffee grounds to the compost you intend to use on those.