Lessons Learned in the Garden, 2006

[redbrick]

Lesson #1; Don't try to put plastic on your hoophouse frames on a windy day!

It does seem obvious now, but the wind didn't seem that strong at the time. I must have been a sight to see this afternoon! I felt like I was in an old Slapstick comedy the way I kept running around the bed, trying to fasten down the plastic.

I'm sure I'll have a lot more lessons to post as the year moves on, probably including some "reruns" from previous years as well.

[TastyofHasty]

How bout ... don't buy dead-looking strawberry plants late in the season from Walmart ... 'cause they ARE dead strawberry plants and you will severely waste your time.

[redbrick]

Hmm, that sounds like "Lessons Learned, 2003"! 'Course, it was a grape vine frome Lowe's. Oh, and I paid all of 75 cents for it! Can you say, "Well, duh!"? Yeah, I know what you're talkin' about!

[ceresone]

learned a early lesson this year-(about time!) we had to fence our garden from neighbors cows and dogs. this is a good time to put in posts!! ground is so soft from a few days of rain, we just pushed some of the posts in--and i mean the green steel farm posts--went in past the "V". course, i figure the drought will be back soon-

[TennOC]

I used to be (25-30 yrs ago) bad about planting to much, too close. Finally got over it after seeing things do poorly due to crowding, and hating to thin them out.

[Cliff Timmons]

Don't weed the asparagus bed.

After 4 years of weeding the asparagus, we learned not to weed it. Just apply salt and watch the weeds die off leaving your bed to look like a pro's. :D

[gulfcoastguy]

When you plant more than one type of tomato seed in the same tray lable them or give away mystery tomatos.

[Cheri Cason]

Don't weed the asparagus bed.

After 4 years of weeding the asparagus, we learned not to weed it. Just apply salt and watch the weeds die off leaving your bed to look like a pro's. :D

No kidding? Salt doesn't kill the asparagus?

[Cliff Timmons]

Nope.

I was weary at first so I started slow, but it's hard to kill asparagus with salt.
I don't know if it likes salt or if it's root system is just deeper than the weeds, but it works. If you have big weeds you might have to get them out. The salt doesn't work as well on established weeds.

It was getting to the point of me using a pre-emergant. But this is an organic solution that really works.

[tashak]

Don't use a regular red ballpoint pen to write on those wooden plant sticks for label identification. It will fade to illegibility in less than a month. (Lost my plant label nonfade pen early last year, and resorted to the only other pen in the household--what a mistake.)

[TennOC]

Salt is not an organic solution (albeit a "natural" one) to anything, sorry. You can't see it, and therein lies the problem. It drifts, it dissolves, it moves around. It kills worms too, not just weeds. Many many people wish their soil didn't have salt in it. In biblical times when a country was conquered, they would spread salt in the fields knowing that culture would not use that ground for farming for generations, maybe never. Think about it, you might someday (or your heirs) want to grow something else there, but the salt will still be there.

[SunflowerMeg]

A grease pencil works well on plant tags. I labeled a plant 10 years ago, and I can still read it!

And yup, wetting the ground before pulling up wild onions (or weeds), definately works better them trying to pull them up otherwise. BTW, has anyone ever cooked with wild onions?

I read in an old forklore book that setting an onion on a squash hill would repel the squash bug. I tried it last year and in fact, I had less squash bugs than ever before. Maybe there was something to it, I don't know.

[Jim]

Deer LOVE a winter rye/vetch cover crop and will graze a 12" tall stand down to nothing over the course of a week.

Spraying a commercial rotten egg/pepper repellent appears to work if kept "refreshed" weekly.

There is a wide difference in opinion between my wife and I as to whether or not the rotten egg smell that permeates the yard for a couple days is worth saving the rye.

The rye will recover nicely after a couple weeks.

At this time of year there is a 6 degree difference between soil exposed to the elements (6 degrees warmer) and soil still slumbering under it's cover crop or winter mulch.

A digital temperature probe purchased at an appliance parts store works well for taking soil temperatures.

A reasonably priced 4' trellis can be constructed by cutting a 10' section of 1/2" electrical conduit in two, driving each segment into the ground and weaving a section of wire fencing between.

More lessons to come - half the garden this year is an experiment of one form or another.

[donsgal]

My lesson....

Don't plant corn in raised beds :(

Don't get the leaves on your cucumbers and beans wet while watering in the evening (mold!!!!!!!) :eek:

Don't ever under estimate the power of a cut worm :mad:

Don't start looking for canning jars in the middle of canning season! :confused:

donsgal

[Cliff Timmons]

Salt is not an organic solution (albeit a "natural" one) to anything, sorry. You can't see it, and therein lies the problem. It drifts, it dissolves, it moves around. It kills worms too, not just weeds. Many many people wish their soil didn't have salt in it. In biblical times when a country was conquered, they would spread salt in the fields knowing that culture would not use that ground for farming for generations, maybe never. Think about it, you might someday (or your heirs) want to grow something else there, but the salt will still be there.

Those are good points. I also enjoy the history of that. I didn't know they would do that. "OK, I like history,"

We live on a farm and the plot is about 250 feet from any structure. Hopefully, there will be asparagus there for the remainder of my life.

It could be the next people to own the farm will wonder what in the world happened in that spot. Aliens landed, killing all the grass, and these little spiky things are the only thing that will grow there now. :D

[Marty Maraschino]

But Redbrick and Tasty I always think that I am somehow rescuing those poor plants. I got a clematis on deaths door on clearance at Wal Mart for a buck and nursed it back to health last summer.Well I hope so anyway it is springing up out of the ground a little.

[redbrick]

Hey Marty, I know what you mean, I keep telling myself the same thing! ;)

Here's a setup for another lesson learned: I actually planted out some eggplant and pepper seedlings today (I'm in zone 6! :eek: ). The eggplants are in a mini-greenhouse I made from some window sash, and the peppers are in that plastic hoophouse I mentioned earlier. Hopefully, they'll stay warm enough. I just figured I'd never know until I tried! :D

[redbrick]

The eggplants still live, but sadly the peppers got roasted early. I didn't cut big enough vent holes in the plastic!

Here's another one: When you buy clearance perennials and don't know where to plant them, don't heel them into the bamboo patch "just for now"! The bamboo roots tend to lace them up but tight!

[wilderness1989]

How bout ... don't buy dead-looking strawberry plants late in the season from Walmart ... 'cause they ARE dead strawberry plants and you will severely waste your time.
This goes for onion sets too.

[mrtomatoexpres]

hi well learned 2 things today one do not go to the bakery coffee ,donut,when you leave your tomatoeplants outside.they grow arms and legs.they learn how to walk away stolen :mad: :mad: 2 when you are skrewing to pieces of wood together for your raisedbeds. do not skrew your jeans to the wood like i did and tear your jeans and fall flat on your face. but my freind and i had a great laugh about it :o :p

[bluelacedredhead]

MrTomato, I hope today is better for you than yesterday was. But thanks for posting about it..DH and I had a good laugh about your jeans cuz it sounds like something that I would do, LOL

[JackiMac]

ROFLMAO....mrtomato and Redbrick...I just had to post to thank you both! The image of one and then the other doing what you discribed just made my day! :D I almost fell out of the chair! I'll see those images everytime I go out to the garden now :rolleyes:

[aberration]

"Occasional watering" does not mean plant it and then forget about it for a month during the dry season.

Don't put pepper plants out when they're too small.

Varieties that grew beautifully into lush jungle-like masses in the damp clay soil and temperate weather of West Virginia will not necessarily do the same in the dry, sandy soil and hot, sunny weather of Florida.

Caveat to above: But some do. You pretty much have to learn which ones by experience.

[Cliff Timmons]

I learned to never ever try to cross a bobcat with a wombat.
Not without an exit door nearby.

[redbrick]

Um, what DO you do with a bobbat, any way? Or did you say womcat? Ya know, I think I might have a use for one of those... Never could stand bobbats though...

[TastyofHasty]

How about "do not transplant once, and then transplant again within about a week." Tried that with lamb's ear, it was okay the first time, but couldn't take being moved AGAIN.

Okay, here's another one: "do not expect two or three year old seeds you buy at garage sales for 10 cents to come up." Sigh. Pots labelled 'sweet marjoram,' 'italian parsley,' and 'lemon balm' sit there doing NOTHING. All from same garage sale, I think.

Here's another one I'm learning this year: "it is amazing that you can collect so many seeds yourself from heirloom plants! and they are very full of life!" Grew some 'ambrosia melons' last year, rather than throw out the seeds, I saved 'em. Now they're coming up; also the very few 'Radiator Charlie Mortgage Buster tomato' seeds I saved are giving me some tomato plants this year!

Also ... "Manchurian apricots don't ever seem to bear fruit!" ... planted mine 2003; no fruit yet!

[justdoit]

Learned this one living in dry country. Make your planting furrow, then water the bottom of it really well...drop your seed and pull dry soil over the top. The dry soil will keep the water from wicking out and the seed will have time to germinate before needing additional water. This works really well for those fall crops that need planting during mid to late summer. Of course, it helps to have some organic matter in the soil to hold that moisture. ;O)

[runawayredhead]

I planted some cucumber seeds my boss gave me without looking at the package date. Well after a week I decided to read the package and it was dated 1986 (this was in 2006) soooo not wanting to waste the soil I put marigolds over the cucumber seeds and 2 days later the cukes ALL came up. Now I have cukes surrounded by marigolds!

[chubbyduckie]

Good thread, many valuable lessons learned. I know not to plant to early, but I still do it. The soil isn't warm enough, seeds rot or just don't germinate.
First crop of radishes didn't make it; second ones were great.
Not one of my moonflowers made it, so I replanted. I think I saw TWO that made it. I'll try once more now that's it will stay warm.

I HAVE learned not to plant tomatoes too early, tho....finally.

[wuukiee]

Good thread, many valuable lessons learned. I know not to plant to early, but I still do it. The soil isn't warm enough, seeds rot or just don't germinate.
First crop of radishes didn't make it; second ones were great.
Not one of my moonflowers made it, so I replanted. I think I saw TWO that made it. I'll try once more now that's it will stay warm.

I HAVE learned not to plant tomatoes too early, tho....finally.
Ugh. Maybe THAT's what's wrong with my moonflowers. Nicked one batch, soaked one batch for 24 hours, none of the stupid things have come up! I guess I'll try again.

[chubbyduckie]

Wuukie, I can't understand it. Last year I planted 3 seeds under my trellis in the beginning of June, and by August they had overtaken the trellis and bloomed in abundance.
First (this Spring) I planted the seeds from last year, and none came up. Then I planted new seeds; only the two made it. It's been chilly at first, now we've had non-stop rain; so maybe they drowned?? LOL

Another strange thing is, I always thought it best to let the seed dry naturally on the plant. I did bring some in last Fall, and those looked good, but didn't germinate. I left some to overwinter on the plant, and this Spring they just crumbled to nothing.
So when do I pick them?? Any ideas; anyone else know?? I'm not that familiar with Southern gardening, so maybe I'm doing this all wrong.

[redbrick]

Ok, class, new lesson: if you want to grow chamomile, don't bother to plant any! I've tried to grow the stuff for the last five years with bought plants, seeds, swapped plants, transplanted wild plants,...never having any luck. :mad: The most frustrating part is the fact that the stuff grows wild all over my parents' farm, less than three miles away! :( So, guess what I discovered growing in my lettuce bed, yesterday? You guessed it! Chamomile, volunteer no less! :confused: :) Not that I'm complaining, mind you. This just reinforces the idea that most of my successes are in spite of my efforts, not because of them! LOL!

[Hee Haw]

Save yourself a lot of work by planting fresh seeds,and plant thick,you can always thin after you get a good stand,and by not being stingie on the amount of seed and planting fresh seeds,I have found that saves from having to replant most of the time.

[flowerpower]

Hee Haw is right, plant alot of seed. And you just barely cover them with soil. Chamomille seeds takes a long time to germinate. Even if I let plants go to seed, there are only a few volunteers.

The best way to dry the flowers is on an old window screen. They need alot of air circulation. For tea, pick the best looking flowers when the petals look "pushed back". For seed, leave the flowers a few days longer. Dry the same way. You only need the yellow part.

[boston]

What I learned is something they teach in gardening 101. Don't till wet soil and it seems I need a refresher course on that cuz every couple years I usually do it.

[TastyofHasty]

How come you're not supposed to till wet soil?

[Brook]

cuz it just clumps together and compacts more readily, particularly if there is any clay content.

[redbrick]

If you're planting Marigolds in the tomato bed, don't mulch your soil knife along with the plants! :rolleyes: I'll betcha I spent ten minutes looking for the darn thing, all along saying, "But I just used it!" :o

[Nutter]

Gourds to make things like these need LOTS of room to roam.. LOL

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/KHR/basketgourd.jpg

Nut

[winter_unfazed]

Don't plant a peach tree on the south side of a concrete wall under the eaves! When I moved in, the landlady had planted one of the trees there, and it died this month in a heat wave following a drought.

[dirtundernails]

Don't let chickens in to eat squash bugs... and baby peppers and tomatoes and radishes and...

How nifty, Nutter! If it were open we could see if you were out of your gourd. tee hee

dun

[redbrick]

Don't use cocoa hull mulch as a walkway cover. It tends to float and migrate during a "monsoon", and it gets gooey and gloppy when it's wet, just like mud, only worse! And to think, I was trying to AVOID that condition!

Oh, and don't lend you Havahart trap to your sister just because you haven't seen a groundhog all season. Yet. I did just that, and two days later, guess who showed up? GRRRR!

[mobi]

Don't use cocoa hull mulch as a walkway cover. It tends to float and migrate during a "monsoon", and it gets gooey and gloppy when it's wet, just like mud, only worse! And to think, I was trying to AVOID that condition!

Oh, and don't lend you Havahart trap to your sister just because you haven't seen a groundhog all season. Yet. I did just that, and two days later, guess who showed up? GRRRR!
Andy :D maybe that groundhog wanted some hot cocoa to warm up with after all that rain ;) Mobi

[newbiedigger]

My lesson learned ....is not to forget that you planted some pumpkin seeds and then go out and weed your garden and pull up the cute little pumpkin sprouts :eek: !!! Arghh!!

[Ohiogal]

Don't spray those Japanese beetles eating your paperbark birch tree with Weed B Gone.
I think I killed that tree.

[windsng225]

Mr. Tomatoe, I would have loved to see that! LOL, OMG, how funny is that, screwing your pants to the wood, that had to be a big surprise to you when you tried to stand up! LOL! You made my day today. Too bad about your tomatoes, people are just ruthless. Karma will get them.
joyce

[johno]

newbiedigger,
You think pulling up your pumpkins is bad? My friend Lynn was telling me the other day that the first time she ever had a garden her mother informed her she needed to pull weeds, so she went outside and got to work on it. When her mother came outside with some iced tea she dropped it from laughing so hard. Lynn had just finished pulling up every vegetable in the garden!

[windsng225]

I was weeding my cut flower bed in the back yard and pulled up my mellon seedlings, I should have known better because the empty packet of seeds was right in front of my nose! And it was the last of my musk mellon seeds.
lol
joyce

[tomakers]

I was rototilling my weeds between rows yesterday and got 2 of my Ace peppers. I knew they were close but I got caught up in how good the tiller was working after pulling my butt off to get it going. Brain not in gear, sigh.

[windsng225]

Lessons learned? NOT TO BUY ANY PLANTS FROM JWDOBBS! He took my money (93.00) back in 3/8/06 never got my plants, never got my money back either. Made a complaint against him to the bbb, made a complaint against him and his company to the state of AL. Guess what guys? He wrote to me via e-mail and said he would refund my money as quickly as possible, did I get it, NO! He never responded to the bbb, and they sent him 2 notices. Bad businessman. I'm an old lady of 64, on a fixed income, no money to buy new plants, lost all that growing time. Thank GOD I planted some seeds back in April. Otherwise I would have nothing.
Joyce

[mrtomatoexpres]

hi wing 64 is not old oh iam glad i made your day i was lol when i was on the floor it looked like i was checking for grubs :p i had o problem with a squirrel it was pulling my veggies out when i had them on the firescape i thought it was the old guy in the room next to me :D :p :)

[windsng225]

You are so funny mrtom! The poor old guy next door didn't even know he was getting blamed for it! LOL
joyce

[ipaintedmyhousewhite]

(1) Just part with the cash and buy the freakin tomato cages. Spending every day tying up new growth is as annoying as...(fill in whatever)

(2) If you're going to take the time to very carefully draw up a diagram of what seeds you started where in the tray, don't go move the little peat pot thingys around after you do it and not change your diagram. You may end up thinking your eggplant is a serrano pepper that doesn't look like any pepper you've ever seen and almost writing to Baker Creek to tell them they sent you the wrong seeds. Except you don't because the mystery plant fruits and you panic because you can't recognize what the heck that vegetable could be (because you planted white eggplants, not purple ones) and how will you ever find out if it's even edible? And then you remember you planted eggplants that were white! But then, that eggplant in the front of the house must be an...artichoke? And you had No Idea you planted two artichokes back in February. And all this time you were marvelling at how very similar eggplant plants looked to artichokes.

(3) Maybe don't plant the corn on your yard's floodplane (but I really thought I had that fixed). It topples over.

(4) Completely ignore the recommended plant spacing for tomatoes. Double it. At least, in my opinion. (I have almost all heirloom plants that are massive.)

(5) Keep the strawberries weeded. It really is a bear and a half to go out there and do it after they're done fruiting and sending runners out.

(6) Also keep the lettuce weeded, because it's a real pain to try and do when crabgrass etc has claimed squatter's rights.

(7) Lettuce that is planted thickly, left unthinned, and has grown to almost maturity (a) houses many many insects (b) rots and stinks.

(8) Japanese beetles poop a lot, and they're gross.


That's all for now. As this is my first year, I'm sure I'll have more to say later after I screw up some more.

[johno]

ipaint-

You're funny!

Good advice...

[windsng225]

Hey I painted, join the group! You have made my day today. I laughed so hard. I love the one about the plants, the little seedlings. You would think I would learn, this year I taped up all the "special" italian tomatoes. Taped, labeled all of them together so I would not get them confused with the other tomatoes. Was I to know that when the tape gets wet it doesen't stick any more? Was I to know that the pen I labeled everything with would run when wet? I should have, but I didn't! Should I partake in buying some nice lables with "stick thingies on them" yes I should, and after this year I think I will in January.
Speaking of lettuce, especially when it's planted thickly, never mind the bugs they will rince out. How about a family of baby frogs in with your lettuce! Talk about scarey, I almost jumped out of my shorts when I saw this thing moove among the lettuce leaves! Now I'm looking for mama.
joyce

[johno]

windsng-
The frog story reminds me-
I made those tomato rings with compost inside that are all the rage this year. Anyway, I was watering the compost with a hose and a big speckled king snake got kinda worked up over it! What a start! We have big, nasty water moccasins here so any time I'm surprised by a dark colored snake at my feet, I jump back! (A water moccasin killed our favorite dog a couple weeks ago...)

[johno]

Thought of another lesson learned.

My wife is doing most of the harvesting this year (kids help sometimes...) and this morning I went along to keep her company. She learned a lesson today by the melon patch: those pretty yellow ladybugs aren't ladybugs at all. ha ha ha

[windsng225]

johno, I would never step foot in the garden again! I freek out over a tiny spider, a frog, if I ever saw a snake let alone a poisonius snake! I had a teritory fight last year with a black-white spider with a white sack on the back of it. He would build his web during the night from one plant to the hedge. In the morning I would knock it down and try to kill it, yelling the whole time DIE, DIE DIE! But the d--n thing lived and we continued all summer.
Question, if they weren't pretty yellow ladybugs, what were they? I don't think we have any pretty yellow ladybugs, ours are like a red orange lady bugs with black polka dots (they are very pretty too!) Now I am curious.
joyce

[redbrick]

Hmmm, sounds like Mexican Bean beetles to me!

[johno]

They were striped- and spotted cucumber beetles.

[redbrick]

Whoops, my bad! See, there's another lesson learned: never assume! :o

[ipaintedmyhousewhite]

Lol, family of frogs...you're lucky!
These posts remind me of two more important lessons:

(1) Often yelling things like DIE DIE DIE does not make something die (as was already noted). Also GROW TOMATOES or RIPEN or MAKE ME SOME PEPPERS. Even if yelled/whispered eerily/chanted while making ceremonial jazz hands.

(2) Thank God for grass-clippy thingys, as opposed to the weed whacker which I broke on first use. This is because a frog would have died needlessly the other day when I was trimming along the fences if I had my weed whacker. Instead, I was grumbling and using the scissor things, and the little froggy jumped out of the tall grass, all scared. We each had a bit of a fright and moved on, but it could have ended differently. As it was ,he made a new home under the sage, and I got the grass trimmed. But it gave me a new perspective. I have worked hard to make the yard friendly to creatures like this, not only are they a great help, but they are fun and joyful to have around and help the kids be more interested in nature. I seriously may never repair the weed whacker.

[johno]

Good point about the weed whacker. I heard somewhere that power tools allow you not only work faster but also make mistakes faster.

[flowerpower]

John, very sorry to hear about your dog. I noticed last week that a garter snake has moved in to the pot-belly pig's stall. It's about a ft and a half long and neither pig has bothered it. It must not be bothering them either. They could easily kill it.

My garden is close to the treeline so I find all sorts of creatures there. Lots of frogs, toads, snakes, and spiders. One time I was digging up some new potatoes. I pushed aside the hay and there was a huge salamander. It had to be 8-9 in long and about 3 in wide. We call them ''mudpuppies'' here. I can't think of the latin name right now, but they can live up to 20 yrs. Scared the -------------- outta me. LOL

[johno]

My wife's family laughs at me, but I'm scared of pigs. They would be too if they had seen what I saw pigs do to people when I was a kid... Yeah, they could easily take care of a snake...

I haven't seen a mudpuppy since about 25 years ago. Almost forgot about them. I reckon that would frighten me too.

[redbrick]

It doesn't matter if the sign and the plant tag BOTH say "bush cucumber", DON'T BELIEVE IT! I can barely keep my four vines under control! Help!

[windsng225]

LOL!, you are so funny!

[werecat]

THings I'm making note of (since Im still working on trying to till that nasty soil. We may have to see if we can find a friendly farmer with the disk thingie):

!) Sharpie markers are your best friend. [I'm going to make the paper starter pots and lable the pot directly with the blessed sharpie]

2} Cats are great pets and vermin hunters but suck as plant sitters. They either take it to literally (IE sitting or laying on the seed pots) or want to "play" with them. My mums managed to kill off all the Lincoln peas I had started, but I did save the lemon cucs.

3] When a man says "Oh no problem. you should see the tiller I have. It will cut through that clay soil like a hot knife through butter." Don't believe it till you see it. I now have 7 lemon cucs planted in buckets and 10 tomatoes also in buckets cause they got too big to wait for him to finally admit that "you know, maybe I can find a farmer with cutting disks..."

[mrtomatoexpres]

hi one thing i learned do not leave your water in the sun it gets pretty dam hot :mad: :o :p

[johno]

I've got a lesson that I've been thinking about since last year, but haven't been able to bring myself to try yet. What if, for reasons of getting more from limited space and disrupting bad bug cycles, you tried a new kind of crop rotation? What if you grew more of half of what you normally grow one year and can it or otherwise preserve enough to last for two years, then the next year don't grow those crops at all, but instead grow the other half of what you normally grow and preserve enough of that for two years? In this way, not only would you effectively have twice as much space, but your worst insect pests would be starved out every other year, hopefully drastically reducing their numbers (unless they were purely migratory...) Has anybody tried this already? If so, how well did it work?
Which brings us to the issue of canning, etc. - I've noticed a lot of questions about this on this forum. For the beginner, I recommend (from the makers of glass canning jars) the Ball Blue Book, published by Alltrista Corporation, Muncie, Indiana 47305-2398. My wife recommends The Busy Person's Guide To Preserving Food By Janet Chadwick from Storey Books as it is a little more in depth. One thing about canning, if you're not sure, overheat a little bit...

On another note about lessons in the garden, I noticed this year when I had to use a cane that it was quite useful for moving a hose, killing squash bugs,etc. I wonder if any differently - abled persons have stories like this to share?

[miller]

The lesson I learned is don't start pumpkins when you do tomatoes and peppers. If it were October 20th instead of July 20th, I'd be in pretty good shape. They are taking over!!!

[windsng225]

But isn't that good? Think of the sizes of them in October! Maybe you could enter one of those contests, "the largest pumpkin"! Enjoy.

[dirtundernails]

I just learned not to plant Kentucky Wonder pole beans and wait till later to give them a pole. Later is too late, and I can only untangle four rows at a time before my back aches.

duh

[sparrowgrass]

I learned that "bush lima bean" is kind of a misnomer--I think they (and I) would have been happier if I had put some supports up for them.

I also learned the lima beans are hard to shell. Wonder if there is a trick to it?

[johno]

I learned yesterday that one should be careful when cleaning up refuse around the garden. I had a teenager take a load of trash to the dumpster and unload it for me. Later when I looked in the back of the truck I found a small rattlesnake coiled up in the corner. I guess that was one lucky teen.

[redbrick]

You ain't whistlin' Dixie, are ya? Yikes!

[werecat]

I am learning that only one tomato plant per bucket and lemon cucumbers are vining climbers and will grab anything that will hold still long enough to get the little grabby things wrapped around. My parents are afraid to park their vans too close to my pots of them LOL

[johno]

I don't know if this lesson is actually learned - I seem to learn and forget it every year...

More moisture retention needed in the soil so I don't have to water so much!

I wonder if tilling a little bentonite (that grey stuff they seal ponds with) in with the organic matter would work?

[Cliff Timmons]

I learned yesterday that one should be careful when cleaning up refuse around the garden. I had a teenager take a load of trash to the dumpster and unload it for me. Later when I looked in the back of the truck I found a small rattlesnake coiled up in the corner. I guess that was one lucky teen.
I was back in the woods where the chickens and turkeys don't go and saw a copperhead. I jumped off the tractor to kill him, but by the time I got the old 8N shutdown, he was long gone.

I like snakes, unless they're poison. Then,..... the DIE! <grin>

[leelanau_ferg]

I learned yesterday that what you think is a cucumber is not always a cucumber and by yanking them off of the vine because they're the wrong shape and size and chucking them into the woods in anger, you might just be ruining a bumper crop of muskmelon. (Lucky I got lazy about the "cukes" and just left them on to see how big they would get :))

And-no matter how long you leave an unripe sliced up muskmelon in vinegar because you thought it was a cucumber and 'daggone it I will eat one of the dang things', it will always be bitter.

[TastyofHasty]

leelanau ferg, hee hee! :D I did the same thing thinking muskmelons were cucumbers last year! Was so proud of those huge weird round cukes! But they didn't taste very good ... Then they started turning orange inside ...

Johno said:
More moisture retention needed in the soil so I don't have to water so much!

What with "greenhouse effect" for next 50 years or so ... yeah!!!!!!!!! We get rain, but only soaks about half an inch into the ground ... then next day it evaporates again. Also ... need a big tank & other ways to save rainwater.

[April]

On another note about lessons in the garden, I noticed this year when I had to use a cane that it was quite useful for moving a hose, killing squash bugs,etc. I wonder if any differently - abled persons have stories like this to share?

When I had to use a cane....I used it for whacking garden spiders out of the ball park. I don't do that any more, since I realised it's better to have them than not, but I do use it for moving hoses and holding floppy plants up while DH mows underneath them. It's also good for balance when you need to get up off the ground after weeding or planting...whether you need the cane for walking or not. If you have a "lumpy" yard, and your balance is not that great...a cane comes in handy.

[Tim]

Well my lesson was do not plant pumpkins in a small garden. I can be moving at any time and did not want to waste plants, so I planted a small garden this year, and it looked like a crazy person decided to plant some vegetables in a pumpkin patch, I cant wait untill the last two are orange and the vines can be riped out.

[flowerpower]

They will turn orange even if you have to pick them early. Also, you can cut off some of the larger leaves. Just don't take too many. You want the plant to concentrate on the fruits (not foliage) at this time of yr.

[Soapymomma]

tomatoes need to be labeled clearly as seedlings, so clearly thatthe 5 yo helping with plants cant dislodge the labels,

a bunch of "squash like" baby plants can be many different types of squash ....
and last but not least
sure ill help in the garden , coming from the husband who wont even take his didrty socks to the laundry basket across the bed, and who works over 50 hours a week is a sweet sentiment, and as much as you love him , he did mean those words when he said them ,.... but well , he works so hard and when he gets home hes tired ... and yes serving nothing but veggies for a week , without any meat to a meat eater can make him cranky "but honey these are all the things you wanted to plant" can be a sort of sweet revenge :D

[HillsideDigger]

Late summer straight-neck squash have prospered, still wondering what I did.

[Helen Wong-Joe]

Next year, I will have to remember to label the pots so that I will know what they are and not have to wait until they are ripe and mature. I am still waiting to know what variety or color of tomatoes, squashes, and eggplants I planted this year.

[slug slayer]

Soapymomma- My house too!!!! Its all fruit and veggies and no meat.

Lessons learned in '06
1) no matter how hot it is ALWAYS wear socks with my muck boots (ouch!!!! the scars from ankle chafing)
2)Give the tomatoes space- more then you really want to
3)get out there and water even if you are afraid of bears and the silly dog won't bark to warn you!!!!!
4)carry needle nosed pliers of kids scissors to cut the heads off the hornworms
5) always put gloves on when weeding- it usually turns out to be an hour long event
6) its always more fun when you can share your stuff with others because REALLY when am I going to use all the seeds I've saved.

Slug Slayer

[johno]

I visited CrEaTiOn GrOaNs' garden yesterday, and I learned probably more than I can remember already... Thanks Chad - truly remarkable. Anyway, the biggest mistake I would have made without Chad's advice is waiting longer than RIGHT NOW to prepare my garlic bed. :eek: Somehow I had it in my head that I would prepare all the beds at once for next spring. That oversight would have left me planting garlic in a freshly prepared bed, as usual... :rolleyes: But I added my amendments and fired up the rototiller today, with plenty of time for the fresh bed to mellow before planting garlic in October. Next year's harvest should be impressive! :D

[April]

Lesson learned today: Never let DH weed-whack unsupervised. Never.

[johno]

Uh Oh... Sounds like he made mowing easier by accidentally removing some of your favorite bulbs or something? Or was he wearing shorts and had to go to ER? Hmm... Maybe I shouldn't weed eat unsupervised either...

[redbrick]

How about this one? Next year, make the bean trellises a foot shorter. Honestly, they didn't seem that tall last spring!

[mrtomatoexpres]

yea but redbrick you now whats going to happen if you do that they will grow 3 feet taller :p

[redbrick]

Oh, believe me, they outgrew the trellis as it is! :eek: At least, if I shorten the trellis, I'll still be able to pick the beans! :D

[Soapymomma]

another lesson learned, bunnies love cucmbers, but the seeds will sprout if left to grow in the poo under the pens

[Joan]

Cliff you are going to make my husband SO happy when I tell him the salt method of weeding asparagus! He is constantly trying to keep it weed free and gets so frustrated!

BTW asparagus has very shallow roots, we learned this by his hoeing in a chopping method to remove weeds - up came the roots with the weeds

A big thanks!

[Soapymomma]

lesson learned today, you may want to build a trellis, you may even have all the materials to build the trellis, and wonderfull visions of how cool its gonna look in the garden even danccing in your head ......
but even if you own 10k worth of construction tools..... you will not have a saw of any kind on the property, not even a hand saw......
and your irate phone call to your husband berating this fact will result in his promising for a week running to bring one home will amount ot nothing....
the wood will still be sitting by the garden , awaiting its transformation, tonight i will go to walmart and buy a blade for the little skill saw i have here, that hubby claims isnt "good enough" to bring to work , i will add this to the rest of my cheap walmart tools that i have here, so he wont take them....

you can keep your dewalt and makita, i will be happy with simply having a black and decker, cause at least its HERE!!!
grrr......

i promised them clemetis they would have an arbor next year and by gummy they will!!!!

[redbrick]

Sometimes, as you look around at what's left of your garden, you just have to realize that you did the best you could this year. You can't control everything that effects it. Not all forces that affect it are even in the garden (like a case of acute appendicitis or vindictive neighbors with itchy fingers). It may never be picture perfect, but then again, tell me something living that is? If it's perfect and it stays that way, it must not be living and growing, and I don't want it. Isn't that the main part of gardening, after all?

All in all, the best lesson learned in 2006 is: It really was a good year. Any year you can put seed to soil and tend something green is a good year.

All living things do one of two things: They either grow or they die. When they stop growing they automatically start dying. I intend to keep growing as long as possible, how about you?

[Rockhound]

It was a good year here too, still is. All's that's left in my garden is Kale, but I got a lot of it!

[johno]

I have mostly flowers, herbs, and shamefully poor brassicas left.