***2026 Garden Thread***
- Thread starter AFM22
- Start date
You leave them outside? I carry everything inside and store it in my shed. Big hoses are
Rolled and hung up, irrigation hoses just get tossed in. I’m not usually in my shed in the winter anyway.
What's going on with that rocking adirondack chair in the second picture?
I rented a garden space this year. Some guy named Guy (pronounced Gee) was helping me out as I don't know **** about it. I just did some quick learning on AI and watched a few videos. I didn't know I needed to have compost as the dirt is too dry so getting that put down. I'm starting real small this year with a couple of plants and some seeds. If I get a couple of tomatoes and cucumbers I'm going to call it a success, but we planted a Jalapeno, Strawberries, Lettuce, Onion, etc. I don't know if any of this stuff will grow but we're going to live and learn as we go.
Here is a question for @AFM22
Guy had me pull off some of the leaves from my plants that I transplanted. Said he liked to only see the leaves "pointing up", anything should be discarded and placed by the plant. It helps the plants grow tall. He couldn't be shidding me, but he seemed to know what he was talking about. You do anything similar?
Here is a question for @AFM22
Guy had me pull off some of the leaves from my plants that I transplanted. Said he liked to only see the leaves "pointing up", anything should be discarded and placed by the plant. It helps the plants grow tall. He couldn't be shidding me, but he seemed to know what he was talking about. You do anything similar?
which plants?
Plants I prune:
Tomato (when the lower leaves start touching the leaves start touching the ground. Or if it just in general gets too crowded.)
Squash/Cucumber/melons (when the leaves start dying off, get mildew, or just in general look like shid.)
I throw them away or compost them, though. Maybe he's just repurposing the leaves as a type of mulch.
I've never had luck with onion, but i've only ever tried from seed.
Each year I add I try to add 1 new thing that I want but haven't had success in and try to learn all about it. Last year was peas, this year its broccoli and lettuce, next year I'm thinking onion.
Just leave your jalapeno alone. Either stake it or cage it, but it wont want to be pruned.
I've never done strawberries but heard they do well in the midwest.
Ah, now I see it! It originally looked like an adirondack chair suspended in the air in the pool area. I was hoping I would be able to get one of those myself.
Tomato were the ones he pulled off so that checks. I'll check my cucumber and others when I go over this afternoon. Need to get compost down apparently. Dry as shid over here in Eastern Iowa. Needs some rain but only slight chance tomorrow it appears.
So tomato have what are called "adventitious roots" which means if they are buried deep, they will grow roots out the side of their vine. Taking off just the bottom leaves and leaving the top ones is fine and won't hurt the plant.
I'd be shocked if he did anything with your cucumbers yet since they'll be real small at this point. mine are just starting to sprout.
As for compost, what I would do if your plants are already in the ground:
1. rough up the soil with a trowel and just lay some compost around the top about maybe 1 inch thick. Then I would mulch with some straw. Add in a little granular oranic fertilizer that is lower in nitrogen and higher in potassium and phosphate. Something like a 3-5-5. Then just water.
was the ground really compact or just dry?
I planted seeds and a plant for cucumber. I just put cages over my Big Beefy and Roma tomato plants and something so the cucumber plant can grow vertical.
The ground was tilled previously but is really dry according to Guy. He said African dirt in his home country was better. His garden looks like yours with all the straw.
If you can dig into the soil without much resistance then just kind of rough up the top of the soil and just layer some compost on top. Don’t worry about replacing any soil or anything like that. You can add fertility through granule fertilizer. And over time the compost you add on top will work its way down through gravity and watering.
@PW Herman also in some countries like England compost means mulch. So maybe that’s what he means. Mulching will help retain moisture
He meant compost. He was going to bring me some buckets of it (I think today, I need to get over there to water). He said the same thing about spreading AROUND the plants. I'll probably get it put down and water tonight. Tomorrow I'll start looking for some straw and the fertilizer you mentioned above. Does that just go right on the plants or around them in the compost?
So with granule fert you need to kind of work it into the soil around the base of the plant. Without too much detail, the fert uses microbes to break down, and that is how it becomes available to the roots. So you need to just pour it around the base, and then just kind of rub it into the dirt with your fingers.
Then just take handfulls of straw and layer it on top of the soil, and then water it in.
I use straw from menards, the same kind that comes in the big *** brick that you can use for lawn seed.
This is what I use for fert:
Note the NPK (3 numbers in bold) first number is nitrogen which boosts leaves, 2nd number is phosphorus which boosts root, blooms, and seeds, 3rd number is potassium which boosts overall health, water intake, and disease resistance.
You want presences of nitrogen, but not too much or else you just end up with all leaves and no tomato.
Then I use this to just make sure there's enough calcium in the soil:
Right, Planted the tomato plants yesterday. Next time I mow I will bag it and place around each plant about 4" deep. One of the ways while we're traveling mid-June-July to help retain moisture for the plant. We'll have someone come by every other day to check and water if needed depending on rain.
Edit: don't do this if you have put down a weed & feed or spray on the yard. Then straw as you listed just above is probably best.
Sorry, I've been traveling so I missed this comment. It is a bird feeder we got from Aldi for $10. The bird feeder setup is new this year. We had some in the yard on an old pecan tree we had cut down and we missed watching the birds on the feeders.
Alright, boyz, I'm venturing into the unkown. One of my boys was born right before Halloween, and his first birthday is in about 5 months. I have this grand idea for his first birthday to have a halloween themed pumpkin party for him and all his cousins. We have table in the garden that I can throw plastic sheets down and each kid can carve a pumpkin.
Now, the issue is pumpkins are fucan expensive these days and I don't want to spend the bulk of the birthday budget on pumpkins... soo.. I have a largue unused spot in the garden and I think I'm going to try growing pumpkins for the first time. I need about 10-12 pumpkins.
Anyone here tried pumpkins and have any tips beyond treating them like a squash?
Basically my goal is to do 3 or so plants and keep them pruned down to secondary vines and try for about 3-4 pumpkins on each plant and just make sure they're well fertilized from june until october.
Just looking at these:
www.botanicalinterests.com
www.botanicalinterests.com
Now, the issue is pumpkins are fucan expensive these days and I don't want to spend the bulk of the birthday budget on pumpkins... soo.. I have a largue unused spot in the garden and I think I'm going to try growing pumpkins for the first time. I need about 10-12 pumpkins.
Anyone here tried pumpkins and have any tips beyond treating them like a squash?
Basically my goal is to do 3 or so plants and keep them pruned down to secondary vines and try for about 3-4 pumpkins on each plant and just make sure they're well fertilized from june until october.
Just looking at these:
Jack O'Lantern Pumpkin Seeds – Botanical Interests
A superb pumpkin for carving since 1956! 10" tall, 10" diameter, 10–18 pounds, and stores for months. See inside of packet for scrumptious, pumpkin seed recipe, and read about the Irish myth where the jack o'lantern got its name!
www.botanicalinterests.com
Sugar Pie Pumpkin Seeds – Botanical Interests
Since the 1800s, 'Sugar Pie' has been the standard for making terrific pies, soups, muffins, and casseroles. Small, 6"-7" fruits are also good for carving decor-size jack o'lanterns. Stores for months. Also called 'New England' pumpkin.
www.botanicalinterests.com
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GOOD LUCK WIT TEH PUNKINSAlright, boyz, I'm venturing into the unkown. One of my boys was born right before Halloween, and his first birthday is in about 5 months. I have this grand idea for his first birthday to have a halloween themed pumpkin party for him and all his cousins. We have table in the garden that I can throw plastic sheets down and each kid can carve a pumpkin.
Now, the issue is pumpkins are fucan expensive these days and I don't want to spend the bulk of the birthday budget on pumpkins... soo.. I have a largue unused spot in the garden and I think I'm going to try growing pumpkins for the first time. I need about 10-12 pumpkins.
Anyone here tried pumpkins and have any tips beyond treating them like a squash?
Basically my goal is to do 3 or so plants and keep them pruned down to secondary vines and try for about 3-4 pumpkins on each plant and just make sure they're well fertilized from june until october.
Just looking at these:
Jack O'Lantern Pumpkin Seeds – Botanical Interests
A superb pumpkin for carving since 1956! 10" tall, 10" diameter, 10–18 pounds, and stores for months. See inside of packet for scrumptious, pumpkin seed recipe, and read about the Irish myth where the jack o'lantern got its name!Sugar Pie Pumpkin Seeds – Botanical Interests
Since the 1800s, 'Sugar Pie' has been the standard for making terrific pies, soups, muffins, and casseroles. Small, 6"-7" fruits are also good for carving decor-size jack o'lanterns. Stores for months. Also called 'New England' pumpkin.
Jarrahdale Pumpkin Seeds – Botanical Interests
Perfect for autumn displays, this Australian favorite's silvery bluish-grey color and drum shape with deep ribbing make it almost too beautiful to be real. Carve it or bake it like any other squash. The golden to orange colored flesh is nutty, sweet, and stringless. 6–12 pound fruits with long...
Thank you. I'm also growing cantaloup for the first time this year.
Thanks, I'm waiting for my peas to be ready to harvest first. Once I can pull those out, that's where the melons will go. I'm going to do 4 plants, and aim for 2-3 per plant. So hopefully get about 12 cantaloup.
Yessir. We're a bit behind on the garden this year, but planning on getting all of our plants at the farmers market this Saturday, and getting then planted in the afternoon.
During my walkthrough this morning i noticed my jalapeno was already putting out a single fruit and the thing is maybe like 6 inches tall.
Dude is ready to get to work.
We're still determining exactly what we're going to plant, but we're kind of leaning pepper heavy (jalapenos, bells, sweet, etc). I know we'll be able to use/store all of em, not much will go to waste. We'll have other shid too, but I think there's gonna be a lot of peps.
Peps are super easy. Don't usually get to big so they don't need pruning, resistant to a lot of bugs/diseases. Just gotta make sure to fertilize and water.
We dry store ours. Freezing is fine too, but I don't think they store as well or as space efficiently as drying. Plus drying you can make into powders and flakes.
Looking good!
Where are you located?
In northwest Iowa my plants are way behind yours.
Please don't tell me you are in northern latitude region.
South Carolina. Zone 7B. Makes sense I'm ahead. I also started my plants indoors so they were decently mature when I put them out.
If anyone has some extra cucumbers....
5-Minute Addictive Cucumber & Red Onion Pickles
Sadly, I do not have a garden and I envy your produce. But I do have these. An early freeze did a little damage and will limit yield a bit, but they’ve come back well. Worst comes to worst, lots of dolmades this summer. 
Tomatoes are starting to bud out but we have been pulling suckers. Peas look good. Beans and cucumbers need weeding. Pumpkins, which are my focus this year, just sprouted through the ground and are maybe 3-4 inches.
***rhubarb is in year 2 and looks good but we won't do anything with it this year.
***rhubarb is in year 2 and looks good but we won't do anything with it this year.
Make sure to stay ahead of squash bugs on the pumpkins.