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Starting a small garden plot

ThPantherFan

By ThPantherFan,
in Huddle Lounge

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ThPantherFan Grand Master

ThPantherFan

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Zod made a comment about raising produce on a lawn that had been treated for pests, etc. A good thought about what you are putting in the ground to put in your belly picks up some of the pesticides or herbicides used. If you put a raised bed over the treated area does that still migrate to the plant?

Let me first say that people put too much junk on their yards to control pests and weeds. If your desire is to have the greenest, fullest yard in the neighborhood and that is important to you, who am I to say stop it. Just think of this, it runs off when it rains and ends up in the creeks to the ocean. A little bit goes a long way so constantly spraying that stuff is unnecessary. So what if you have a mole or a grub. A bare spot here and there is not worth killing the fish for. Okay, I'll hush on that.

Have your soil tested. Go to the agricultural extension office and get a test kit. Take a sample back to the county agents and have them test it. They will tell you if it is too poison to use and will tell you what to put down to make it usable. Read the chemical analysis thoroughly and ask a master gardener from the county office on what to do. The county Master Gardener program is a great resource.

A little bit of junk on the yard will not kill you. Sometimes, during hard times, you have to make a choice. Do I plant to help with the budget or not. As I said, if you quit putting the stuff down it will eventually leach out. I'm planting myself.

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ThPantherFan Grand Master

ThPantherFan

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Did anyone get their plants killed or nipped from the cold night? One way of preventing that is to use a cover. I use a tobacco cloth on my plants set out in March. I purchase my cloth at Southern States. It's not too expensive, but it is light weight and will lay on the plants without harm to them. If you forget to take it off when the sun comes up it will not harm the plant. It is porous too. You wouldn't leave it on permanently because it would prevent pollination.

Even with the best of gardeners mother nature will take its toll on your plants. That's what keeps the garden centers in business (replant, replant).

Don't forget to till that soil to fine loamy texture. Add plenty of organic material whether your soil is sandy or clay.

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ThPantherFan Grand Master

ThPantherFan

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If you do not have a super rich soil, you people down around the southern coast and southern piedmont area, you should start thinking about side dressing your lettuce and spinach. You side dress about half way through their growing cycle. These plants love nitrogen so 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of ammonium nitrate per plant should do it. Don't put it up next to the plant, but out away about 3-6 inches or so. If you put it too close to the plant it will burn it. If your leaves are lush, healthy looking and green or bright colored (depending on if you have red lettuce or other color) then less side dressing is needed. You just have to learn how much is needed. Work it into the soil well. I also water thoroughly after side dressing to make sure if anything is close to the plant it will wash it away.

If you set out broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage (all cabbage family) you will need to side dress about 4 to 5 weeks after you transplant them. I usually use 10-10-10 or 8-8-8 (I never said I was totally organic) fertilizer.

For those of us in the rest of the state it is time to start putting out lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. You should make sure you have a good fertilizer with a phosphorus content of 20 or better. Simply put, the phosphorous helps with root production. Organic gardeners can use bone meal for this. Whether you use liquid or solid fertilizer to start your transplants is up to you. Once you get the transplants going you can side dress as above.

I hope this is helping. If not, I can just dump the thread. I haven't had many comments, except hairlesscat who has pooed the loam issue. For those of you that may have been scared away by his comments can go to the NC State Agriculture website and download the AG-06 document and it will tell you how to change your clay or sandy soil into a more loamy condition. I don't claim to be a soil scientist so they know more about that than me.

Have fun gardening. I hope everyone raises some good vegetable to put on the table and with a little perseverance put some away for the winter.

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ThPantherFan Grand Master

ThPantherFan

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sorry but I got to say it again.

you cant till soil into a fine loamy texture. your soil is either loam or it isnt and all the tilling, cultivating or praying aint going to make it something else.

I think we are talking two different things. Yes, there is a loam. It has a particular make up. What I, and the NC Ag Department, plus many others is saying that you can amend your clay or sand to make it more loamy. I don't have an intention of arguing this. I'm just stating a fact. I respect your opinion.

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