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Anyone into gardening here?
- Thread starter shanekingsley
- Start date
It looks like my lawn has gotten its second wind, needing more frequent mowing. A shot of fertilizer and nematodes were applied last week. I still have to do some driveway edging and patch a few bald spots.
My neighbour's lawn is a total mess making mine look good by comparison.
My neighbour's lawn is a total mess making mine look good by comparison.
If anyone here is into native plants - go check out the park just east of the Distillery District called Corktown Common. It's a pretty sweet park with a nice marsh. And all natural maintenance, so no fertilizers or chemicals used in the park at all.
Vulcangirl
Member
Always start out with the best intentions and full of enthusiasm. This fades quickly once the good weather starts. Rabbits eat most of my vegetables and I have two big dogs which doesn't deter them in the least. But I am planning to plant vegetables and herbs. The only plant that seems to do well is the raspberry bush.
I'd love a green house, TSC had one that was 6x8 for $400 on a flash sale. sadly didn't have the $ to buy it
Last night i was thinking i should get some seeds started. our garden is kind of shaded so i think this year in addition to the shaded garden i might do planters of some sort (rubbermaid tubs) in the middle of the back yard.
Last night i was thinking i should get some seeds started. our garden is kind of shaded so i think this year in addition to the shaded garden i might do planters of some sort (rubbermaid tubs) in the middle of the back yard.
Mine's not fancy, it's a poly structure I got from Jysk in a sale last year. Hoping it will last me 2 seasons at least. Comes with 4-6 shelves and protection from wind. If it gives me a place to acclimatise plants I'll be happy.
Also I bought an extendable Fiskars tree pruner too and went out at the weekend...my yard isn't as shady in places as it used to be now.
Can't wait to get outside and get dirty. Some of those extendable Fiskars tree pruners are pretty handy around the home.
One project I was working on this winter was putting together a spreadsheet/database of plants that are Juglone tolerant. For those that don't know, Black Walnut trees emit a toxin (juglone) from their roots, shoots and other plant parts that kill most plants nearby.
I'm doing veggies again this year - not sure what yet though. Definitely tomatoes, cucumbers, kale, swiss chard, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, hot peppers, and a bunch of herbs. Looking to add a bunch more pollinator plants into the garden as well.
A preseason tip - look up ramial wood chips - often better than normal mulch for soil enriching, if you are ok with the look of it.
Another tip - look up Hugelkultur - often better for long term veggie beds for lower maintenance and possibly earlier growth, if you are ok with the look of it.
One project I was working on this winter was putting together a spreadsheet/database of plants that are Juglone tolerant. For those that don't know, Black Walnut trees emit a toxin (juglone) from their roots, shoots and other plant parts that kill most plants nearby.
I'm doing veggies again this year - not sure what yet though. Definitely tomatoes, cucumbers, kale, swiss chard, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, hot peppers, and a bunch of herbs. Looking to add a bunch more pollinator plants into the garden as well.
A preseason tip - look up ramial wood chips - often better than normal mulch for soil enriching, if you are ok with the look of it.
Another tip - look up Hugelkultur - often better for long term veggie beds for lower maintenance and possibly earlier growth, if you are ok with the look of it.
I'm definitely excited about the upcoming season! Riding, gardening and yard work, and SUN! My yard has seen a huge improvement over the last few years. Partly spurred on by the ice storm exposing a beetle problem in the ash tree in my backyard when half of it landed on my roof. If I feel ambitious when I get home I will try to post a couple pics. I love getting out for the spring clean up knowing the great weather is just around the corner, and look forward to the rewarding harvest throughout the summer/fall.
shanekingsley - I can't ever seem to get any amount of success from larger tomato varieties. Cherry and grape tomatoes yield abundantly. Romas I might get a few. Anything bigger just doesn't produce. Any ideas/suggestions?
Since I don't know the details of how you are growing them I can't say for sure, but I can tell you what I do. I get about 6-8 hours of full sun where I plant them and my garden beds are amended with about 6-8 inches of home-made compost. I dig or work that compost into the existing soil, so that the top 8-12 inches is a really nice and rich planting medium. I remove the lowest set of leaves and plant the tomatoes with the top of the root mass submerged about 3-6 inches below the soil surface to make sure that the plant is well supported. I think roots might emerge from where I removed that lowest set of leaves, but I've never pulled a plant out to check. I immediately put a tomato cage around it after planting and that's it. I never prune them, fertilize or do much else. Just water when needed and pick the bounty.
Ya I guess more detail would have been helpful. My garden is not raised. I usually turn over the soil in the spring with a garden claw type of tool, add a few bags of black earth and mix that in. Then plant the tomatoes and cage them. I had issues getting peppers (hot/banana/jalapeno) to grow as well so last year I planted those in pots and they did very well. I would estimate the garden gets a good 6 hours of direct sun per day. A couple of times through the summer I will add a sprinkle of fertilizer. I never had any issues growing tomatoes this way at my previous residence and as stated the peppers did well once I switched them to pots.
I'd guess it might be your soil. Perhaps the underlying soil was better at your old place, so it all worked out. I'm not a big fan of the bagged black earth type soils that can be found at Loblaws and Home Depot. I find it seems to lack any good nutritional quality and I also don't like the way they hold moisture. In fact I don't really like any of the soil products usually sold in bags at the big-box type stores. I don't know how big your gardens are, but I find that either making the soil amendments yourself (like compost) or ordering it by the cubic yard from a reputable / local aggregate supplier is good for the veggies. I originally got my soil from a local yard and it was really nice stuff and not very expensive.
Matthew, some anecdotal reports state that using compost teas applied as a foliar spray helps to ward off blossom end rot and other pests/diseases. I've never read any research to support this, though I have used compost teas quite a bit anyways. You should also be checking the soil pH if you have not. Planting your tomatoes with a soil that is calcium enriched is absolutely necessary.
See if you can get a compost bin going. Your plants would love the home made stuff.
Also last year was bad for my tomatoes too. Lots of end rot. What's the best way to avoid that anyone know? I'm going to rotate some crops and not plant tomatoes in that bed again for a year to start with. Going to try to set up a drip watering system to see if I can avoid splitting in late season too.
edit: just saw response above
Riceburner
Well-known member
Will have to follow this thread this year. Looking to put in a somewhat raised vegie garden. Probably zucchini, peppers and....?
Thanks for the input shanekingsley and jc100.
I will try to find some compost instead of the black earth and see if that helps. I may try to dig out some of the existing soil as well and replace that. I've always liked the idea of composting but we tend to have very little food/organic waste at our house. I suppose it all helps so maybe I'll get that started too.
I will try to find some compost instead of the black earth and see if that helps. I may try to dig out some of the existing soil as well and replace that. I've always liked the idea of composting but we tend to have very little food/organic waste at our house. I suppose it all helps so maybe I'll get that started too.
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If you do put in food organic waste into a compost bin, then don't out in the meats and foods that can attract animals. If you have trees on your property, you can also save some of the leaves that drop in the autumn and add them in as well as any other yard waste. Up at my mom's place, I rake the leaves onto her driveway and then just mulch them up with the mower while on the driveway and then rake them up and toss them into all her gardens. It decomposes usually by mid-spring of the following year and benefits the soil.
If you decide you want to start doing composting, there's all kinds of info on how to get started. Once you start it takes no effort to keep it going.
Riceburner, there's all kinds of stuff you can put into raised beds. I personally like the leafy greens like kales and swiss chard. Broccoli/cauliflower and cabbage will also work. Raised beds are also useful for planting root crops like carrots, because the soil is nice and porous inside the raised bed and never really gets compacted from stepping on it like my garden beds do.
If you decide you want to start doing composting, there's all kinds of info on how to get started. Once you start it takes no effort to keep it going.
Riceburner, there's all kinds of stuff you can put into raised beds. I personally like the leafy greens like kales and swiss chard. Broccoli/cauliflower and cabbage will also work. Raised beds are also useful for planting root crops like carrots, because the soil is nice and porous inside the raised bed and never really gets compacted from stepping on it like my garden beds do.
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