How does your garden grow

[Otto]

4 minutes ago, cynthiafu said:

When do I start my potatoes  doing potatoes towers this year . But not sure when to start them.

Potatoes are good to go now Cynthia!  PS I have not heard good things about the towers, bu it looks like it would be fun to try! 

[E J]

6 minutes ago, cynthiafu said:

When do I start my potatoes  doing potatoes towers this year . But not sure when to start them.

Any time after the threat of frost is best for potatoes. 

[cynthiafu]

1 hour ago, Otto said:

Biz, I would get:

2 cukes, (6’ x 6’) Leave on ground, not on trellis.  Good place to use a plastic mulch as a weed barrier. 

4 tomatoes: 1 grape, 1 beefsteak, 2 regular like Jet Star or Superstar - if they sell single plants. Early Boy is a good one too.   If they have any heirloom tomatoes, get those, much better flavor.   If not sold in single plants, get 6 of your favorite variety. (6’ x 6’)   The grape tomatoes are delicious and prolific growers.  Use one wire tomato cage for each plant. 

1 green squash (zucchini) (6’ x 4’)  One plant will produce a bunch!  Unless you REALLY like green squash and lots of it!  Leave on ground, no trellis.  It is a good idea to hill the plant if you can.  

 6 peppers - If you can get 1 or 2 hot peppers that would be fun too.  

I would also get a can of Bonide “Tomato-Potato Dust”, it is a good all purpose garden insecticide and fungicide.  If you want to go organic, you’ll have to do some research, it is not my forte.  Ask at the garden center, they will have something they will want to push.    Also, 10 pounds of 5-10-5 fertilizer, or a box of Miracle Grow.   If you want organic fertilizer “Neptune’s Harvest” is highly regarded. 

 If you want to add a pumpkin, 1 plant will produce enough pumpkins for decoration around the house, but it doesn’t look like you have enough room.  It is better not to squeeze in too much, so you can walk in there and weed and cultivate. 

Good Luck!  It will be a nice “Covid19 Victory Garden”!  

When I do my garden I put down cardboard  and cover it with the black paper. It works great . No weeds.

[crappyice]

When I do my garden I put down cardboard  and cover it with the black paper. It works great . No weeds.

I need more info on this process!!!


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[BizCT]

Biz, I would get:

2 cukes, (6’ x 6’) Leave on ground, not on trellis.  Good place to use a plastic mulch as a weed barrier. 

4 tomatoes: 1 grape, 1 beefsteak, 2 regular like Jet Star or Superstar - if they sell single plants. Early Boy is a good one too.   If they have any heirloom tomatoes, get those, much better flavor.   If not sold in single plants, get 6 of your favorite variety. (6’ x 6’)   The grape tomatoes are delicious and prolific growers.  Use one wire tomato cage for each plant. 

1 green squash (zucchini) (6’ x 4’)  One plant will produce a bunch!  Unless you REALLY like green squash and lots of it!  Leave on ground, no trellis.  It is a good idea to hill the plant if you can.  

 6 peppers - If you can get 1 or 2 hot peppers that would be fun too.  

I would also get a can of Bonide “Tomato-Potato Dust”, it is a good all purpose garden insecticide and fungicide.  If you want to go organic, you’ll have to do some research, it is not my forte.  Ask at the garden center, they will have something they will want to push.    Also, 10 pounds of 5-10-5 fertilizer, or a box of Miracle Grow.   If you want organic fertilizer “Neptune’s Harvest” is highly regarded. 

 If you want to add a pumpkin, 1 plant will produce enough pumpkins for decoration around the house, but it doesn’t look like you have enough room.  It is better not to squeeze in too much, so you can walk in there and weed and cultivate. 

Good Luck!  It will be a nice “Covid19 Victory Garden”!  

Thanks! This is super helpful! I will say I’m not overly concerned with weeds though. My backyard has none and this spot had 3” deep of mulch for 12 months and no weeds. I cleared the mulch a few weeks ago and still no weeds. Or do you mean the veggies will cause weeds to grow?

 

 

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[cynthiafu]

3 hours ago, crappyice said:

I need more info on this process!!!


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??? Till garden . Lay down cardboard ( pizza boxes beer boxes  boxes  ceral )  then a layer of black cloth over it . Works great no weeds . No grass cut a spot out for your plants . 

[Otto]

11 hours ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

Thanks! This is super helpful! I will say I’m not overly concerned with weeds though. My backyard has none and this spot had 3” deep of mulch for 12 months and no weeds. I cleared the mulch a few weeks ago and still no weeds. Or do you mean the veggies will cause weeds to grow?

 

 

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Biz, weeds will grow on any open ground eventually.  Just turning over the soil brings up all the dormant weed seeds, waiting for the right conditions to sprout and grow.  Or they will blow in from your neighbors yard who is not as meticulous as you on lawn care.   Can be from miles away too! 

You can use black plastic (or like Cynthia cardboard and plastic) or other mulch like straw to keep the weeds from getting sunlight.   Don’t use mulch like pine bark or grass clippings though.  When they breakdown, they rob the soil of nutrients that your plants need.  That is not a big problem around your landscaping, but around your vegetables it is.  Also, grass clippings will leach all the chemicals into your vegetable garden, also not good.  

Or you can weed once a week for like 10 minutes and stay on top of it.  It is a part of gardening!  It is a good idea to cultivate the top 4 or 5” of soil a little too, it helps your plants get water and nutrients down to their roots.  

That’s why I suggest you plastic mulch a vine plant like your squash and cukes, it’s hard to hoe around the plant and not damage it.   But it is easy around your tomato plants.  So, get a hoe!

You picked very easy vegetables to grow.  Just keep the weeds down, keep them watered and feed them once a week and you will be very happy with the results! 

[Five Seasons]

14 hours ago, Otto said:

 If you want to go organic, you’ll have to do some research, it is not my forte.  

 

dont even mess with trying to get cute your first few years. Just wash your veggies off. I use miracle grow and seven. And usually only spray seven twice, if that. This year we're starting to compost, but it's not going to be anything we use early on obviously.

Start small, and make it easy. I wouldn't bother with plastic weed barriers and stuff either. And also I'd recommend some seed starter trays, they're not necessary but our first 2 gardens weren't beds and we didn't know our shit. Weren't sure what was a weed sprouting in some cases haha. The pods make it easier, especially for the tougher plants like peppers. 

[BizCT]

1 hour ago, Otto said:

Biz, weeds will grow on any open ground eventually.  Just turning over the soil brings up all the dormant weed seeds, waiting for the right conditions to sprout and grow.  Or they will blow in from your neighbors yard who is not as meticulous as you on lawn care.   Can be from miles away too! 

You can use black plastic (or like Cynthia cardboard and plastic) or other mulch like straw to keep the weeds from getting sunlight.   Don’t use mulch like pine bark or grass clippings though.  When they breakdown, they rob the soil of nutrients that your plants need.  That is not a big problem around your landscaping, but around your vegetables it is.  Also, grass clippings will leach all the chemicals into your vegetable garden, also not good.  

Or you can weed once a week for like 10 minutes and stay on top of it.  It is a part of gardening!  It is a good idea to cultivate the top 4 or 5” of soil a little too, it helps your plants get water and nutrients down to their roots.  

That’s why I suggest you plastic mulch a vine plant like your squash and cukes, it’s hard to hoe around the plant and not damage it.   But it is easy around your tomato plants.  So, get a hoe!

You picked very easy vegetables to grow.  Just keep the weeds down, keep them watered and feed them once a week and you will be very happy with the results! 

Got it thanks. My backyard is fully fenced it (6ft) so i dont get any weeds from neighbors, but i'll just weed by hand weekly. Thanks for all the tips. The big question now is do I plant this upcoming weekend (65 degrees and sunny) or wait for the weekend after?

[ATbuckhunter]

5 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

Got it thanks. My backyard is fully fenced it (6ft) so i dont get any weeds from neighbors, but i'll just weed by hand weekly. Thanks for all the tips. The big question now is do I plant this upcoming weekend (65 degrees and sunny) or wait for the weekend after?

I got a good idea for you. Go out and buy a permiable fabric and put it down on the bare ground. Make a hole for each plant and plant it there. Itll stop weeds from growing and permable is the key word. Or if you cut your own grass, you can spread the grass clippings on the bare ground. Itll do the same thing as the fabric, but also adding a slow release fertilizer. Only down side is you have te re-apply once a week or once every 2 weeks I use grass clippings on my garden 

Edited April 27, 2020 by ATbuckhunter

[Otto]

1 hour ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

Got it thanks. My backyard is fully fenced it (6ft) so i dont get any weeds from neighbors, but i'll just weed by hand weekly. Thanks for all the tips. The big question now is do I plant this upcoming weekend (65 degrees and sunny) or wait for the weekend after?

In southern NY you are probably ok.  If it does get really cold and you lose a couple of plants, they are easy to replace. Go for it! 

[Otto]

1 hour ago, ATbuckhunter said:

I got a good idea for you. Go out and buy a permiable fabric and put it down on the bare ground. Make a hole for each plant and plant it there. Itll stop weeds from growing and permable is the key word. Or if you cut your own grass, you can spread the grass clippings on the bare ground. Itll do the same thing as the fabric, but also adding a slow release fertilizer. Only down side is you have te re-apply once a week or once every 2 weeks I use grass clippings on my garden 

If you use weed killer etc. on your lawn, I would not use grass clippings for garden mulch.  The residual chemicals will leech right into your food source.   If you never apply anything to your lawn, it would be ok.  Personally, I never have done that.  I just weed.  Actually now, I just use containers for a few herbs and tomato plants. Everything else, I get from my our farm.   Almost all my gardening now is for flowers. 

[BizCT]

 

11 minutes ago, Otto said:

In southern NY you are probably ok.  If it does get really cold and you lose a couple of plants, they are easy to replace. Go for it! 

I'm fine waiting another week, but worried if i do other people will buy up all the good plants? I remember shopping for roses, shrubs, trees with my wife and by mid May people snatch up all the good ones.

7 minutes ago, Otto said:

If you use weed killer etc. on your lawn, I would not use grass clippings for garden mulch.  The residual chemicals will leech right into your food source.   If you never apply anything to your lawn, it would be ok.  Personally, I never have done that.  I just weed.  Actually now, I just use containers for a few herbs and tomato plants. Everything else, I get from my our farm.   Almost all my gardening now is for flowers. 

I have purposely not spread fertilizer near the garden area so run-off won't be an issue. I plan to just hand-weed weekly when i'm out there anyway with the lawn/pool work.

[Otto]

23 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

 

I'm fine waiting another week, but worried if i do other people will buy up all the good plants? I remember shopping for roses, shrubs, trees with my wife and by mid May people snatch up all the good ones.

Buy them now then and put them in your garage for an extra week.  Check your forecast and decide based on that.   If there are no cuke or squash plants, those are very easy to plant from seed right into the ground.  Buy a small packet of each and you will have a 5 year supply. 

23 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

I have purposely not spread fertilizer near the garden area so run-off won't be an issue. I plan to just hand-weed weekly when i'm out there anyway with the lawn/pool work.

The lawn fertilizer is mostly nitrogen.  It won't hurt your garden, but you will want something with a higher middle number to encourage fruiting and flowering in the vegetables. 

[crappyice]

Since I stared from seed (and they are taking their sweet time
Growing, I probably won’t be in the ground until close to Memorial Day. Cucumbers may go in sooner since they are good and healthy. Slowly introducing plant to outdoor temps is a good idea-keeping them in the garage.


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[BizCT]

12 minutes ago, crappyice said:

Since I stared from seed (and they are taking their sweet time
Growing, I probably won’t be in the ground until close to Memorial Day. Cucumbers may go in sooner since they are good and healthy. Slowly introducing plant to outdoor temps is a good idea-keeping them in the garage.


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the few nurseries i been to locally in years past are massive with just a tiny indoor area to pay, so they must leave their veggies outside 24/7?

[Jeremy K]

15 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

the few nurseries i been to locally in years past are massive with just a tiny indoor area to pay, so they must leave their veggies outside 24/7?

I've seen them cover outside plants with sheets of plastic in extreme cases of frost. 

[crappyice]

the few nurseries i been to locally in years past are massive with just a tiny indoor area to pay, so they must leave their veggies outside 24/7?

The few I know of closer to me on the saw mill and the sprain all have greenhouse style buildings that patrons enter to help themselves


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[corydd7]

Tonight should be last time we see 30's in Orange County. I'll start planting tomorrow, just a couple plants at a time. Farmers almanac has planting dates for your area just type in your zip.

[BizCT]

14 minutes ago, crappyice said:

The few I know of closer to me on the saw mill and the sprain all have greenhouse style buildings that patrons enter to help themselves


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any suggestions for veggies? My wife loves Rosedale nursery for trees and flowering shrubs/plants, but ideally i would buy veggies closer to me. I know that nursery in mahopac on route 6 by the firehouse usually has veggies, but maybe some of the farms in northern westchester do too? I plan to call around later this week

[crappyice]

Tonight should be last time we see 30's in Orange County. I'll start planting tomorrow, just a couple plants at a time. Farmers almanac has planting dates for your area just type in your zip.

Here’s the link...cool suggestion Cory


https://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-calendar/zipcode/10708


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[BizCT]

1 minute ago, crappyice said:

Here’s the link...cool suggestion Cory


https://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-calendar/zipcode/10708


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7 minutes ago, corydd7 said:

Tonight should be last time we see 30's in Orange County. I'll start planting tomorrow, just a couple plants at a time. Farmers almanac has planting dates for your area just type in your zip.

Looks like May 5 for my area and veggies of choice.

[BizCT]

I'm set on my choices for veggies, but do i throw in strawberries?

[crappyice]

I'm set on my choices for veggies, but do i throw in strawberries?

Absolutely...we’ve done them in the past and they are great if you have extra room

 

 

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[Five Seasons]

11 minutes ago, crappyice said:

Absolutely...we’ve done them in the past and they are great if you have extra room

 

 

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just dont expect grocery store quality. IDK but they've always been hard for me to grow in any quantity that makes it worth the space.