Gardening Tips

hunterridgefarm · May 8, 2014

I have see some good gardening tips in different threads on TBN. I thought a thread where everyone could post things that work for them, tools, growing tips, etc would be good. We have a lot gardeners, large, small, and fruit growers on this site. Tell us tips and tricks that work for you.

One thing I use is a 2 gallon sprayer the I only use for water. I can use it in the greenhouse to water seedlings and keep the water off the foliage, and I can mist with it. It beats a watering can since a few pumps will last a long time.

I also use it for setting transplants. Dig the hole, set the plant, and give it a good spraying of water. No bending over, I can shoot the water right in the hole on the roots, beats dragging a water-hose.

I also got my wife a smaller one for potted plants. If you want to get to the roots quick you can push the small nozzle into the soil and spray the water under the topsoil.

She loves it and it work great.

Ed of all trades · May 8, 2014

I plant my green beans in rows about 8" apart and green peas about 6" apart. I use a garden way push planter and don't worry if I am just right, I just aim at that. In a 20 x 45 pea patch we picked 21 five gal. buckets of peas and when i tilled them in there was still a lot of peas on the vines. Got over 200 qt of green beans caned off of a 20 x 40 patch and would have had more but the bugs were beginning to get too thick so I tilled them in. would have had a couple more pickins if I had sprayed them but I don't like spray. To pick just make a milking stool. I made mine from a deck board and a 2 x 4, added some blocks to the bottom so it wont sink in so bad. Often you can sit and pick a 5 qt bucket full before you move your stool. Keeps weeds down too.

hunterridgefarm · May 13, 2014

Well maybe this was not a good idea for a thread

but

I thought I would share a new planter I got this year. It works great planting thru plastic and also bare ground. You can set the depth, push it in the ground, drop the seed, rock it forward, and the seed is planted.No bending over.

I still use the wheel planter and will drop some seed by hand. This would work good for a small garden and you can use the rocker foot as a spacing guide.

RobertN · May 13, 2014

Enter the Master Gardener program. My wife is a Master Gardener; they have all kinds of tips. Her chapter has public classes/seminars almost every Saturday.

AMD · May 14, 2014

hunterridgefarm said:
Well maybe this was not a good idea for a thread but

I think it's a great idea for a thread and would like to see some more replies! I don't really have any tips or tricks to offer myself, just what I learned observing my parents growing up. This year will be my 9th year with a garden of my own, but spread out over 12 years and 3 different properties. I do things my own way, but not always successfully and would be happy to learn from some of you that have had more experience.

Ed of all trades · May 14, 2014

hunterridgefarm said:
Well maybe this was not a good idea for a thread but
I think it is a great idea, I do wish others would comment with their ideas, I have gardened for years but still have a lot to learn, that is for sure.

bcp · May 14, 2014

If you are trying different varieties, make a map, diagram, or notes about what is where. The little tags tied to the plant or stuck in the ground seem to disappear.

Bruce

pacerron · May 14, 2014

I agree with it being a good idea.
Part of the problem is timing and/or competition with the weather.
January would have been a good time to start this thread.
The winter and spring was so extreme in many parts of the country, it is now catch up time and not much time available for TBN.
Another thing you must do to get many hits is keep it on the first page of "today's posts" so it will be seen, even if you must post something yourself. I doubt if many folks have time to browse very far down the list this time of year.

Our plants are still in flats and being shuffled in and outdoors via a utility trailer because of the heavy rain the last few days and predicted storms with hail for the next two days.
The garden is plowed and disk but too wet to even put up the deer fence let alone do any roto-tilling and planting.
We don't plant tomato and other plants till after May 20 anyway as there is always a good chance of frost before.
We have found over many years of gardening that stuff planted a little later catches up with early plantings anyway because the ground is warmer.
Without the ground being warm enough seeds and plants won't grow well, regardless. That's my tip.
Now back to mowing pastures before the next rain.

CanadianBeaverS370 · May 14, 2014

My tip - If your gonna experiment with sweet potatoes, don't make the same mistake I did. I expected them to grow as normal potatoes... you know nice little plants in a row... wrong. I planted 2 of them I got from the co-op. they are vines and took over a 10x 20 foot patch of my potato garden snuffing out everything in their path. and I found some as deep as 24" under ground. they basically made one everywhere the vine made contact with the dirt. I wish the the lady at the co-op would of told me how big the plants get....

hunterridgefarm · May 14, 2014

bcp said:
If you are trying different varieties, make a map, diagram, or notes about what is where. The little tags tied to the plant or stuck in the ground seem to disappear.

Bruce

I am actually doing that this year. I have several different verities planted this year and will keep a record of how they grow, produce, sale, and taste.

I started recording the information when I planted the seeds, with germination rate, dates started in the green house and amount of time it took to germinate.