Any edible plant or part of a plant
19
votes
5answers
1k views
What's the best mulch material for a vegetable garden?
I want to lay mulch down around my already established plants to help retain moisture and discourage weeds. Is there a recommended material for this? Or at least some materials I should know to ...
11
votes
2answers
1k views
How do I deal with millipedes eating my vegetable seedlings?
After cursing all the slugs in my yard and removing the few that I could catch, I was quite shocked yesterday to discover 100+ young plants all chewed to the ground.
I was going out at 9 - 10pm to ...
12
votes
4answers
2k views
What is eating my vegetable seedlings?
I recently grew some lettuce and carrots from seed, but within three nights they were completely eaten.
I then used a seed growing tray and then transplanted about 40 out into the garden bed. But ...
11
votes
2answers
992 views
Vegetables to grow with limited sunlight
Our backyard receives limited sunlight due to three massive trees in a small area. There is only about 2 hours of direct sunlight per day to my vegetable patch.
Could I get some suggestions for ...
8
votes
2answers
321 views
Cereal boxes for mulch?
This question asks about using corrugated cardboard for mulch. In the comments and the answer there are some questions about glues and inks possibly having "bad stuff" that you might not want in the ...
29
votes
6answers
1k views
Is it bad to water plants in the evening?
Is it bad to water plants after the sun has gone down or near dusk? If so, why?
17
votes
9answers
3k views
What are inexpensive materials for homemade tomato cages?
After starting our tomato plants from seed this year, we have many more small plants in the ground than in the past years. We are looking to make our own inexpensive and durable cages that we could ...
11
votes
3answers
674 views
Which techniques and tools should I use to build a raised vegetable garden from bricks?
I have about 2/3 of a pallet of bricks left over from building our house (I didn't build it!), and I'd love to use them to build a raised vegetable garden. I have never laid bricks before, but am keen ...
20
votes
4answers
268 views
How do I grow a usable vegetable garden indoors?
I'm from a very rural area and love to garden, however, for work I just moved into an apartment in the city. I miss being able to grow vegetables and so I attempted to start some leaf lettuce indoors, ...
9
votes
4answers
813 views
Is it worth spreading ash on the vegetable plot?
My grandparents used to spread the ash from the fireplace on the vegetable plot. This was in reasonably large quantities (I mean, not just a thin trail of ash to deter slugs), and was done to "add" to ...
19
votes
4answers
458 views
What is “Compost Tea” good for?
I have read that you can get a tumbler type of composter and collect the "juices" from the composter. This is referred to as "compost tea".
Does anyone know what the real usage of this is? Some ...
18
votes
10answers
3k views
What is the best way to prevent animals from eating my garden without a fence?
We have a raised bed garden that does well for the most part. For aesthetic purposes, my wife will not let me put a fence around the garden. Most of the veggies and herbs do well and do not get ...
15
votes
6answers
609 views
Can I harvest vegetable seeds and store for the next year?
This discussion of seed storage got me wondering if it is feasible to harvest seeds from vegetables (I'm partial to tomatoes) as I cut them up for consumption.
Generally, I buy seeds each year. But ...
14
votes
1answer
2k views
Why did my jalapeños turn black?
Last year I grew jalapeños. The fruits were tiny, but I was able to harvest a few handfuls. I noticed that many of them started to turn black on the plant. They were still edible, and they weren't ...
14
votes
5answers
491 views
What happens if you plant lettuce in hot weather?
For whatever reason my lettuce (except for the mustard) in my mesclun mix didn't take this year. I'm about ready to rotate in something else, but I'd really like a decent crop of lettuce.
I don't ...
11
votes
1answer
294 views
What is the maximum number of trusses for a tomato plant?
I have 6 tomato plants of different varieties grown in planters outdoors. I have heard that there is a recommended limit to the number of trusses (bunches of fruit or number of branches bearing fruit) ...
10
votes
1answer
223 views
How can I grow my own sweet potato starts?
I have always used pre-grown sweet potato slips, but since the source of sweet potatoes I have been using is unreliable, I am looking for how to grow my own in fairly large quantities. How should I ...
4
votes
1answer
781 views
How much water should I give my veggies every day?
I have the following plants, each with their own drip feed:
Corn
Tomatoes
Peppers
Squash
Cucumber
Cantalope
Crenshaw mellon
Zuccini
Artichoke
Bush beans
I have a bunch of drip ends that are 1 ...
28
votes
6answers
557 views
Crop rotation theory v. practice
Every guide to growing vegetables will have an early section on rotating roots, brassicas and legumes. There might even be a little diagram with neat evenly spaced and sized areas marked out for each ...
17
votes
5answers
447 views
What vegetables can be grown effectively in a small, urban garden?
I currently live in a condo with a limited sized balcony. Which vegetables work out best for a small garden?
22
votes
7answers
4k views
My lettuce is flowering - does that mean it has bolted?
I planted a batch of "zesty blend" lettuce seeds. They seem to be doing fine, but suddenly they started flowering:
Have they bolted? They look healthy otherwise. Still edible?
12
votes
3answers
1k views
Does water temperature affect vegetable plant growth?
Generally speaking, when watering a vegetable garden, are there any benefits to using cold water vs warm or vice versa?
I'm in Wisconsin, so 90+°F is about as hot as it gets around here. Typically ...
11
votes
1answer
295 views
How much mulch should I put in my vegetable gardens?
I have heard some conflicting info on this, but mostly "about 3 inches deep" is what I remember. Are there some veggies that need more than others?
9
votes
3answers
228 views
Starting tomato from seed
We are wanting to grow tomato plants from seed this year. We've not done this before, so we have some questions.
How big should the containers be that we start the seeds in?
How long should they ...
16
votes
3answers
1k views
Does eating fruits and vegetables watered with greywater affect your health?
Does using greywater on your fruit and vegetable garden affect your health in a negative way?
Greywater is the run-off or cast off water that lolls about when you do normal washing around the home. ...
12
votes
3answers
189 views
Should I remove fruits afflicted with blossom end rot?
A few of my peppers are, it seems, suffering blossom end rot - first identified a week or two ago - this is based on the descriptions on the condition elsewhere on the site, but here's a few pics to ...
10
votes
1answer
1k views
Does cauliflower produce secondary growth after the main harvest?
Will cauliflower do anything after you pick the main flower like broccoli or should I just pull the whole plant out when I'm harvesting?
10
votes
1answer
2k views
What does it mean if my tomato leaves are curling?
The leaves on my tomato plants are curling up and I'm wondering if they are getting enough water. The leaves are still green and there are tomatoes on the plant, but I didn't know if that was a sign ...
9
votes
1answer
229 views
What kind of chili turns brown and shrivels when ripening on the plant?
I have a few of these chili plants growing and they produce a longish (approx 4", sometimes curled chili that turns brown and begins to shrivel (slightly) when it ripens. It does not transition to a ...
9
votes
2answers
385 views
Is September too late to plant winter greens in USDA zone 6?
I have Red Russian Kale and Collards that I want to grow for a late-season crop, but I keep procrastinating. Is late August/Early September too late to put them out in order to get enough greens to ...
7
votes
2answers
221 views
Duration of harvest season from Bush Bean plants?
Was wondering what a typical duration of production for a conventional bush bean is. I know a lot of factors such as how well the plants are cared for and heat can play into it. Here in the ...
6
votes
1answer
529 views
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using soil blocks?
I recently read a book that suggests using soil blocks for starting seeds. What are the advantages and disadvantages of soil blocks over the more popular seed starting methods? I am mainly interested ...
6
votes
1answer
222 views
Why does my sweet potato have stunted growth with wide, flattened stems and dense leaves?
My sweet potato plant has a severely widened and flattened stem and grows like a band, with dense leaves and stunted growth. What is wrong with it?
5
votes
1answer
161 views
Why are my eggplant seedlings not thriving?
I have started a bunch of seedlings and some are doing really well others are not, under similar conditions. I used 6-8 inch wide pots, ~6 inches tall, potting soil, and left the pots in front of a ...
5
votes
2answers
3k views
How often should I fertilize vegetables?
I only ever add fertilizer after I remove a previous crop and break up the soil a bit, but should I be adding fertilizer to vegetables that take 10 or so weeks to grow, such as zucchini?
How ...
4
votes
1answer
249 views
How to remember planting depth and spacing in the vegetable garden?
This may seem like a non-problem to some, but I very often find myself with a handful of seeds and I totally forget what the seed spacing, row spacing and seed depth is supposed to be for any ...
1
vote
1answer
459 views
Will a plastic liner in a Redwood raised bed make the wood last longer?
I was thinking of getting 2x6"x8' redwood planks to make raised beds. The beds will not be burried at all. Will lining the inside that with that black plastic make these beds last longer, or does ...
