The Gardening Thread

#176
#176
walkenvol said:
Any of you guys have any experience with worm towers in your garden? Thinking about trying a couple this year. Have always liked the idea of composting but I’ve never had a good spot as I sort of have 2 front yards without any place to hide something like a traditional compost pile.
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I’ve never even heard of them! But I do no-till gardening, building lasagna beds. I don’t know where the worms come from, but after the beds are started four months or so ago, when it’s time to plant, there are zillions of them!
 
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#177
#177
walkenvol said:
Any of you guys have any experience with worm towers in your garden? Thinking about trying a couple this year. Have always liked the idea of composting but I’ve never had a good spot as I sort of have 2 front yards without any place to hide something like a traditional compost pile.
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I keep a hole (about 10" dia, 10" deep)in one corner of my beds for kitchen scraps. About anything except meat goes in the hole. Mostly vegetables and coffee grounds including the filter. Everything compost before it gets full.

I think I'm a lazy gardener. Composting seems like an extra step to me. If I need a little I get a little soil from my vegetable beds.
 
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#178
#178
I have a couple of questions for those who have tried these methods.

1) I have nothing but hard Tennessee red clay in my back and front yard. I’ve seen some in here say they would till theirs with compost and good dirt for a couple years to get it to where it was good enough to grow things in. What are peoples opinion on a raised garden bed? I’ve heard good things about raised beds but would like to hear from you all. I was thinking of doing a 50/50 blend of mushroom compost and top soil. Thoughts?

2) Making your own compost. Is it worth it? Also, how bad does the smell usually get? I have no leaves so all of my green parts would come from grass clippings.
 
#179
#179
Go aeiou said:
I double dig and have added a foot of leaves mixed with existing soil every fall for the last 11 years. When tomato/pepper planting time arrives 90+% of the leaves have broken down, and I always have excellent soil. But the leaves are acidic, and I need lime for that .
I gave up trout fishing at 67. I'm sure a fish works, and I did use one in the hole annually 40 years ago if I happened to go fishing. I'm too lazy to look for fish for the 6-8 tomato and 14-20 pepper plants that I grow now. A small amount of organic fertilizer works well. like most people at some age the older you get the smaller your garden gets.
But yes, fish are excellent fertilizer.
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What types of peppers do you grow?
 
#181
#181
zhangliao04 said:
I have a couple of questions for those who have tried these methods.

1) I have nothing but hard Tennessee red clay in my back and front yard. I’ve seen some in here say they would till theirs with compost and good dirt for a couple years to get it to where it was good enough to grow things in. What are peoples opinion on a raised garden bed? I’ve heard good things about raised beds but would like to hear from you all. I was thinking of doing a 50/50 blend of mushroom compost and top soil. Thoughts?

2) Making your own compost. Is it worth it? Also, how bad does the smell usually get? I have no leaves so all of my green parts would come from grass clippings.
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Your red clay can become productive over time. You can put a raised bed with the soil that you bring in and have a good garden in the first season. All depends on whether you want to buy / haul in dirt or work with the dirt you have. My garden started flat but has become raised through the years due to everything I’ve dumped into it. Raised is a good design to improve drainage IMO, but it doesn’t have to be built out of lumber like you typically see. Good luck!
 
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#182
#182
walkenvol said:
Your red clay can become productive over time. You can put a raised bed with the soil that you bring in and have a good garden in the first season. All depends on whether you want to buy / haul in dirt or work with the dirt you have. My garden started flat but has become raised through the years due to everything I’ve dumped into it. Raised is a good design to improve drainage IMO, but it doesn’t have to be built out of lumber like you typically see. Good luck!
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We have raised but unframed beds (except for one.) We joke that it looks like I'm a serial killer who buries my victims in the back yard.
 
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#184
#184
walkenvol said:
Your red clay can become productive over time. You can put a raised bed with the soil that you bring in and have a good garden in the first season. All depends on whether you want to buy / haul in dirt or work with the dirt you have. My garden started flat but has become raised through the years due to everything I’ve dumped into it. Raised is a good design to improve drainage IMO, but it doesn’t have to be built out of lumber like you typically see. Good luck!
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I’m not sure we have any dirt lol. That red clay goes for a while below the surface.

Right now my plan is to use 2x12’s for the perimeter with stone at each corner to keep them upright. Fill in with compost/dirt. Pretty normal/non-extravagant.
 
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#186
#186
VolNExile said:
We have raised but unframed beds (except for one.) We joke that it looks like I'm a serial killer who buries my victims in the back yard.
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I never heard of using wood until 20-30 years ago. People just hilled up rows, and understood the benefits of those raised beds. Seems like gardens used to be larger too. ?Smaller yards, less free time, kids after school activities, fast food? Things change.
 
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#187
#187
Go aeiou said:
I never heard of using wood until 20-30 years ago. People just hilled up rows, and understood the benefits of those raised beds. Seems like gardens used to be larger too. ?Smaller yards, less free time, kids after school activities, fast food? Things change.
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We’re actually looking at framing the veg beds out of kindness to my back and knees (triangular seats in the corners. But I hate to loose the more fluid, organic (in the design sense) look.
 
#189
#189
Go aeiou said:
Mostly bells, Thunderbolt, mild corno di toro, Other Italian peppers. Poblano every few years.
You grow peppers?
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Last year was my first time ever trying to grow peppers. Tried bell and poblano. Got them in the ground way too late due to no fault of my own (we moved into our house a couple of months late). All of the peppers I got were tasty, but small. Probably due to being planted late. I also started from seed.

Got any tips for growing peppers? Have you tried pepperoncini?
 
#190
#190
zhangliao04 said:
Last year was my first time ever trying to grow peppers. Tried bell and poblano. Got them in the ground way too late due to no fault of my own (we moved into our house a couple of months late). All of the peppers I got were tasty, but small. Probably due to being planted late. I also started from seed.

Got any tips for growing peppers? Have you tried pepperoncini?
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Not trying to be a smartass as I’ve found peppers to be about the easiest thing there is to grow if you’ve created healthy soil. Buy seedlings or start seeds and transplant once things start warming up good with no chance of frost. Plant and stake (my plants got 3’+ tall and the fruit will break the stems without support) the seedlings and mulch heavy around them. Only water when you pull back the mulch and the ground is dry an inch or 2 deep. Some folks prefer to top the plants but I’ve done well both ways. They produce until it starts getting cold. Core and slice up your excess and place on cookie sheet in freezer for apx 1 hour then transfer to large freezer bags. Open bags and pull out your bounty all winter for your cooking needs.
 
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#191
#191
VolNExile said:
Tell me about “other Italian peppers”! I grew Jimmy Nardellos last year.
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I grew those a few year ago. Supposed to be the best. I think maybe for climates cooler than Nashville. That was when I started most things from seed. Southern Exposure seed Co. is a very reputable seed company that sells seeds that should do well in the South.
 
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#192
#192
walkenvol said:
Not trying to be a smartass as I’ve found peppers to be about the easiest thing there is to grow if you’ve created healthy soil. Buy seedlings or start seeds and transplant once things start warming up good with no chance of frost. Plant and stake (my plants got 3’+ tall and the fruit will break the stems without support) the seedlings and mulch heavy around them. Only water when you pull back the mulch and the ground is dry an inch or 2 deep. Some folks prefer to top the plants but I’ve done well both ways. They produce until it starts getting cold. Core and slice up your excess and place on cookie sheet in freezer for apx 1 hour then transfer to large freezer bags. Open bags and pull out your bounty all winter for your cooking needs.
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True
I wait until the nights are above 55 degrees .(probably same as no chance of frost) Peppers do not do well if planted too early, and will just sit there. Some say never recover.
 
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#193
#193
zhangliao04 said:
Last year was my first time ever trying to grow peppers. Tried bell and poblano. Got them in the ground way too late due to no fault of my own (we moved into our house a couple of months late). All of the peppers I got were tasty, but small. Probably due to being planted late. I also started from seed.

Got any tips for growing peppers? Have you tried pepperoncini?
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No pepperoncini. I buy those in a jar.:)
Did you grow it? 2nd year of a garden. Improving the soil? That is the most important thing?
Some of the sweetest peppers are naturally small 2''.
 
#194
#194
Go aeiou said:
I grew those a few year ago. Supposed to be the best. I think maybe for climates cooler than Nashville. That was when I started most things from seed. Southern Exposure seed Co. is a very reputable seed company that sells seeds that should do well in the South.
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We’re zone 7a (we were 6b until a few years ago.)

Asheville, 2200’ altitude. Air temps are now warm enough to transplant tomatoes and peppers May 1, but soil temps stay COLD until late May. So tomatoes and peppers pretty much just sit there and look at you until beginning of June. Then ka-bam!
 
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#195
#195
Chili pequin/petin is my favorite, it's perennial and is the godfather of all peppers (modern peppers came from this guy). Birds absolutely love it too, in fact it is sometimes called Bird Pepper. It grows well from seed and can begin fruiting within 2-3 months. Have seen it come back from 10 degrees no problem.
 
#196
#196
Volunteer_Kirby said:
Chili pequin/petin is my favorite, it's perennial and is the godfather of all peppers (modern peppers came from this guy). Birds absolutely love it too, in fact it is sometimes called Bird Pepper. It grows well from seed and can begin fruiting within 2-3 months. Have seen it come back from 10 degrees no problem.
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o_Oo_Oo_O:eek::eek::eek:Too hot for me.
Do you ever save seed?
 
#198
#198
Pequin is also quite tasty green. Though I prefer to let em ripen and sweat a bit.

There is a new pequin out there w purple fruit, it's very pretty.
 
#199
#199
Go aeiou said:
No pepperoncini. I buy those in a jar.:)
Did you grow it? 2nd year of a garden. Improving the soil? That is the most important thing?
Some of the sweetest peppers are naturally small 2''.
Click to expand...

The bell peppers got to be around 14” tall and a couple of them produced well enough, but the peppers were mostly sorta small. The poblanos were late in the season and I only got a 4-5 peppers. They were also on the small side. This year I’d like to try both again, but add some jalapeños in there as well. I hear there is a no-heat jalapeño so I might grab one for my wife (she is sensitive to spicy). I’ve thought about growing pepperoncini as I really like the taste, but can’t seem to find seeds or seedlings.

Another plant is like to learn to grow is garlic. I might try my hand at onions, but I am going to really look into garlic. I love garlic and I hear it is awesome and tastes even better than store bought.
 
#200
#200
zhangliao04 said:
The bell peppers got to be around 14” tall and a couple of them produced well enough, but the peppers were mostly sorta small. The poblanos were late in the season and I only got a 4-5 peppers. They were also on the small side. This year I’d like to try both again, but add some jalapeños in there as well. I hear there is a no-heat jalapeño so I might grab one for my wife (she is sensitive to spicy). I’ve thought about growing pepperoncini as I really like the taste, but can’t seem to find seeds or seedlings.

Another plant is like to learn to grow is garlic. I might try my hand at onions, but I am going to really look into garlic. I love garlic and I hear it is awesome and tastes even better than store bought.
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Gourmet Garlic Gardens if you want a deep dive. They are no longer in business but there is a wealth of knowledge on their website. You will want to wait for fall as most specialty growers ship around Oct.
 
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