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Garden Gate:  woes  |
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pamcook
True Blue Farmgirl
228 Posts
Pam
Chapel Hill
NC
USA
228 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 25 2016 : 12:25:53 PM
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So last spring, I planted tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. They never grew! They stayed exactly the same size until the frost killed them in the fall.
The year before, I planted potatoes in barrels - they did well but my garden (square foot garden) - nothing grew.
My garden is 4 x 4 feet with a mixture of top soil, compost, and peat moss.
Could I have planted too late last year? It was brutally hot early that year.
Am I under watering?
Could it be that we NEVER see bees any more - okay, last year I saw 4 bees.
Do I need to go through the hassle of having my soil tested?
The older I get, the more I'm afraid of depending on stores and farmer's markets for my food!
www.ikat.org
www.longaberger.com/pamcook |
Edited by - pamcook on Jan 25 2016 12:26:36 PM |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4740 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - Jan 25 2016 : 1:45:36 PM
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Living in the Midwest, late spring is when to plant these vegetables, I'm not sure about NC. Did you have enough fertilizer in the soil mix to get them started? What type of soil do you have, i.e. clay, sandy, loam, etc.? I would talk to a nursery by you for some advice to see what they think.
Best of luck, hope things turn out well this year for you,
Dawn in IL
"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." Abraham Lincoln |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2016 : 12:37:19 PM
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We had nematodes in our garden last year. The plants grew but some did not last too long. Goggle nematodes. Good luck this year.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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guineahen
True Blue Farmgirl
86 Posts
Andrea
Hawley
Pa
USA
86 Posts |
Posted - Jan 29 2016 : 4:29:59 PM
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| Not sure about where you live, but here all you have to do is go to the Penn State extension office and pay less than ten. Your state would have something similar. You get a little vial that you put your soil sample in, mail it and get back some good info. You get your ph level. If that is out of whack, the plants won't be able to properly use the nutrients in your soil. It will also tell at what level these nutrients are in your soli and give recommendations just for you. It is frustrating to put all that time and effort into the garden and not get what you want out of it. I try to look for varieties listed as easy. And sometimes my seed catalogs say sorry, this and that aren't available this year because of crop failure...which just goes to prove even the pros don't always get a good crop! Please let us know as the season progresses how your garden is doing! |
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gramadinah
True Blue Farmgirl
3557 Posts
Diana
Orofino
ID
USA
3557 Posts |
Posted - Jan 29 2016 : 6:52:06 PM
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I water every day and when it gets to be over 100' I water 2 times a day. I water by hand and make sure the plants get water on the soil. Then I spray everything using a fan sprayer hand held hose nozzle. I til every thing into the soil from the previous year I add either lime or gypsum depending the PH and I weed with a hula hoe all the time. I have also put newspaper around the base of the plants to absorb the moisture and to keep the weeds away I have so much produce I can't give it away.
Diana
Farmgirl Sister #273 |
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Garden Gate: woes |
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woes
