9
votes
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Managing Cover Crops
An important thing that many people miss is that if a cover crop produces fruit and seed (beans in your case) it is no longer a cover crop or green manure, but a crop, which depletes the soil rather ...
- 236
9
votes
Concerned about slow growth of my seedlings
I'm by no means an expert, however I am pretty sure that, at least for Zucchini, Cucumber and peppers 1% more light = 1% more growth. Thus in order to increase growth, maybe you should start moving ...
- 3,396
9
votes
Is it okay to grow root vegetables in soil enriched by manure?
There are two possible problems that could come from using manure on root vegetables, one of which only applies to fresh manure and the other is more applicable to fresh manure also.
The first, and ...
- 5,839
9
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Is it okay to grow root vegetables in soil enriched by manure?
There is a big difference between manure from ruminants (e.g. cows) and non-ruminants (e.g. horses, chickens, etc).
Non-ruminant herbivores produce poo which is relatively bulky and contains a lot ...
- 11.2k
9
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What are these abnormal tomatoes on my tomato plant?
This looks like blossom end rot. Here is another source of info.
According to the second link, which is from Clemson University:
After tomatoes are planted, gardeners can minimize the potential ...
- 6,937
9
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How should I 'close out' a garden bed before moving?
Since you say that these beds are small, one option would be just to plant vegetables, as if you were going to be continuing to garden - particularly lettuce, spinach and maybe beets. You could also ...
- 13.5k
8
votes
Accepted
Placement of a front yard raised vegetable garden
Dog pee once in a while on the ground won't hurt anything, especially with the amount of rain you likely get - but if it's happening a lot then it can "burn" your plants with the excess nitrogen and ...
- 7,707
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votes
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What is the advantage of a raised bed over clay soil vs just amending the clay soil?
I find that raised beds are best for:
early spring production
drainage
square foot garden (limited space)
older people
And I have also found that I can grow more per plant in the ground beds, but ...
- 51.5k
8
votes
What "gotchas" should I avoid when building a raised garden?
First a question. What is going to be underneath your raised beds? Garden soil, lawn, patio, other?
If you're going to get into raised bed vegetable gardening I strongly suggest you look into Square ...
- 8,437
8
votes
Managing Cover Crops
Normally with cover crops you want them to grow as long as possible, where possible is influenced by:
When you plan to plant the actual crop (including some time for breakdown of the cover crop ...
- 18k
8
votes
Accepted
Is a 4x4x1ft raised bed too small for potatoes?
My potato bag is one square foot in diameter, and just under 2 foot high. You have 16 square feet in your bed so you could potentially plant one seed potato ( or part of one with at least 3 eyes ) ...
- 22.9k
8
votes
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How do I take over a previous owners raised beds?
Topping with compost is always a good idea, it should be an annual fall event, however it won't hurt to do it in the spring when you move in.
In any case it's always good to bring some samples from ...
- 6,316
8
votes
"Volunteer" tomato plant in my vegetable garden - good, bad, indifferent?
The answer really depends on how much space you have to grow tomatoes. The reason most people choose to start with tomato seedlings or plants in areas that are not tropical is that the growing season ...
- 9,414
8
votes
Cleaning homegrown vegetables prior to consumption
Just wash them all in clean tapwater - the hardest are the leafy greens, so the way to do that is immersion in a sink full of water, then picking out the leaves and running them directly under the tap,...
- 128k
8
votes
Accepted
Why use landscape fabric in a raised bed?
Without looking at your video, I would expect the landscape fabric is being laid as a weed mat to inhibit weeds from regenerating from roots left in situ and coming up in the middle of the raised ...
- 22.9k
7
votes
Accepted
Should I rotate border vegetables, or plant a perimeter of onions/scallions each year?
In my experience, planting onions etc around the perimeters isn't very effective. On the other hand, rotation is not only effective, but necessary for a good Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system. ...
- 51.5k
7
votes
Managing Cover Crops
Usually, you would wait until the plants are in full flower, and have no ripe seeds, then cut/mow the tops down and turn them under. This will add the most nitrogen to the soil (the green tops are ...
- 51.5k
7
votes
Accepted
Growing seeds outdoors
If the soil temperature is adequate, the seeds are good, the depth is correct, then likely the seeds are rotting in the ground or are being eaten by animal life.
That's why people use seed mixes to ...
- 22.9k
7
votes
Is a 4x4x1ft raised bed too small for potatoes?
Looking at the measurements of your garden bed, it sounds like square foot gardening. And yes, potatoes are included in that method, one seed per square, so sixteen for your bed.
One issue with ...
- 15.5k
7
votes
Recommendations for Composting Bin
Sitting on soil allows worms and other critters to enter and exit the bottom of the bin. Also, I would think the drainage would be poor and you could get an anaerobic smelly mess at the bottom.
As ...
- 1,152
7
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Recommendations for Composting Bin
I've tried 2 bins similar to the picture on the left. They did not work well. They took a very long time to break down the compost. It was difficult to turn the pile because it was so small. They ...
- 9,414
7
votes
Cleaning homegrown vegetables prior to consumption
If you subscribe to the hygiene hypothesis, then there's no need to wash anything.
If you're not keen on eating insects and eggs, then a good immersion in warm salty water removes insects, and ...
- 22.9k
7
votes
Accepted
Help me decide in a location for my raised bed garden
Full sun - most vegetables like as much sun as possible, although in very, very hot countries, some shade from the midday sun may be beneficial.The berries falling doesn't matter either way, but they'...
- 128k
7
votes
How can I grow ginger in my backyard?
You should really wait till late winter (in pots if its not warm enough outdoors) or spring time to plant, but assuming it's ginger root you're after, then yes, you can buy it from the grocery store - ...
- 128k
7
votes
What is the useful life of a kale plant?
Most continuous production systems (tomatoes & peppers in greenhouses or the tropics being the major exception that comes to mind) do find it beneficial to replace old plants with young ones on a ...
- 18k
7
votes
What are the advantages and disadvantages of raised vegetable beds?
I'm kind of the opposite of stormy. I love gardening directly in the ground (that is my method of choice for most things). The only reason I use raised beds is because we have some. However, I do know ...
- 16.8k
7
votes
Accepted
Is it ok to have a raised garden bed next to a house?
Personally, I like the separation. It will keep the back of the bed from rotting due to moisture trapped between the house and the raised bed.
It looks like your siding could be wood, and putting ...
- 13.5k
6
votes
Should I replace the soil every year in a raised bed that's on top of concrete?
drainage doesn't have to be straight down, if your raised bed is 15" deep and is made of stacked wood or block you probably have some drainage
I really wouldn't worry about it until you think you ...
- 5,162
6
votes
What is the advantage of a raised bed over clay soil vs just amending the clay soil?
The advantages of raised bed vs. ground bed are pretty much the same regardless of your native ground soil, so you can take any of the comparison lists that pop up from your favourite search engine. ...
- 779
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votes
Should I remove dead grass/weeds from my raised beds before planting?
Once the weeds are completely dead, unless the soil is very soft, you'll usually want to loosen up the top layer. This is easier once the dead layer is removed. And some weeds carry vegetable diseases ...
- 51.5k
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