Planting Vegetables

[borealis]

I don't have much soil, so last summer I grew beefsteak, yellow, cherry and grape tomatos in enormous 36cm diametre black plastic pots. I used transplants (starts) and left just one in each pot once I knew which one was strongest. I planted the weaklings in a garden bed and got a few tomatos off them. But the ones in the pots grew and produced great. I had a sheltered sunny spot for them and they were easily four feet tall and bushy in no time.

I used a standard fertilizer on them, and I found once they took off I had to water them heavily almost every day. They demanded a lot of water.

I did prune them some too, especially after the tomatos got fair sized.

[Mantisdreamz]

Originally Posted by oblivion

How large is large? I'd put several in, and then I'd pull all but the most hardy 1 or 2. Tomatoes need a lot of growing space and they really pull the nutrients from the soil. So, they'll stunt each other easily if there are many in a close space. You never know which seeds are going to do the best, so it's a good idea to overplant and then thin them.

I have a pot about 72 cm in diameter, maybe slightly larger. And i asked, because i just planted about 12 seeds of dill in a circle within the pot.

I suppose that is different than tomatoes, because they probably don't take as much nutrients?

[Mantisdreamz]

Originally Posted by borealis

I don't have much soil, so last summer I grew beefsteak, yellow, cherry and grape tomatos in enormous 36cm diametre black plastic pots. I used transplants (starts) and left just one in each pot once I knew which one was strongest. I planted the weaklings in a garden bed and got a few tomatos off them. But the ones in the pots grew and produced great. I had a sheltered sunny spot for them and they were easily four feet tall and bushy in no time.

I used a standard fertilizer on them, and I found once they took off I had to water them heavily almost every day. They demanded a lot of water.

I did prune them some too, especially after the tomatos got fair sized.

And i get what thinning means now, i think. Means planting a bunch, and when they start sprouting and partially growing you see which one do the best. And remove the others.

The lady i talked to at the garden center actually recommended not fertilizing anything. So, other than a bit of wood ash i used initially, i haven't put anything else on anything.

[borealis]

Yes, that's thinning.

I'd fertilise tomatos and peppers at least when they've settled into whatever final spot/pot you have for them.

Did she also tell you to plant the tomatos quite far up the green part of the stem? Because that's a good idea.

[oblivion]

Originally Posted by Mantisdreamz

I have a pot about 72 cm in diameter, maybe slightly larger. And i asked, because i just planted about 12 seeds of dill in a circle within the pot.

I suppose that is different than tomatoes, because they probably don't take as much nutrients?

dill should be fine. you can probably add more than 12 seeds to a pot that large.

[oblivion]

Originally Posted by borealis

Yes, that's thinning.

I'd fertilise tomatos and peppers at least when they've settled into whatever final spot/pot you have for them.

Did she also tell you to plant the tomatos quite far up the green part of the stem? Because that's a good idea.

I don't plant them too deep to start. I add more soil after a month or so. tomatoes are hungry, hungry plants.

[Mantisdreamz]

Originally Posted by borealis

Yes, that's thinning.

I'd fertilise tomatos and peppers at least when they've settled into whatever final spot/pot you have for them.

Did she also tell you to plant the tomatos quite far up the green part of the stem? Because that's a good idea.

no, she didn't! but, i accidentally did plant them a little too deep, so that an inch or so of the stem was planted. is that because the extra support is good?

i probably will look into the fertilizer then. It feels weird not to put a bit on, at least.

[Mantisdreamz]

Originally Posted by oblivion

dill should be fine. you can probably add more than 12 seeds to a pot that large.

excellent. because i wouldn't mind having a whole ton of it. (love it in cooking!). the directions said to sow about 30 cm apart and row them about 1 inch apart.

[borealis]

Originally Posted by Mantisdreamz

no, she didn't! but, i accidentally did plant them a little too deep, so that an inch or so of the stem was planted. is that because the extra support is good?

i probably will look into the fertilizer then. It feels weird not to put a bit on, at least.

Tomatos don't differentiate much between stem and root: "Is in dark? Is root! Is in sun? Is stem!" The part of the stem you planted undergound will grow more roots.

[oblivion]

I've switched over to evening watering tonight. And I'm soaking my last beans overnight. will plant them tomorrow.

[borealis]

Getting my transplants for my container garden early next week. And maybe a few annuals. I have a hankering for a bunch of deep red gerber daisies.

[Mantisdreamz]

Originally Posted by borealis

Tomatos don't differentiate much between stem and root: "Is in dark? Is root! Is in sun? Is stem!" The part of the stem you planted undergound will grow more roots.

haha

well that's good then.

i used 'the claw' to make sure that all other roots were taken out of the ground before planting. maybe about 2 feet. that was my concern with planting the root veggies... that they might get entangled with previous existing roots in the ground.

[Mantisdreamz]

Originally Posted by oblivion

And I'm soaking my last beans overnight. will plant them tomorrow.

this is something i did not do! i didn't soak the seeds beforehand at all. Just plopped them into the soil (made the proper sized holes, in depth) and covered, then watered a lot afterward. what you did - is that absolutely necessary?

[oblivion]

No it's not necessary but it does speed up the germination process a bit. This is the first year I've soaked the beans first, and it's worked pretty well. They come up 3-5 days more quickly, which in the scheme of things probably doesn't matter all that much.

[Mantisdreamz]

Originally Posted by oblivion

No it's not necessary but it does speed up the germination process a bit. This is the first year I've soaked the beans first, and it's worked pretty well. They come up 3-5 days more quickly, which in the scheme of things probably doesn't matter all that much.

no, i suppose it doesn't. But - i imagine it gives you that reassurance that they are in fact starting to germinate.

[oblivion]

my last bean seeds went into the ground today.

My Rutgers tomato plant already has some tiny fruits developing. It beat my better boy to the punch. Better boy or Early girl are usually my first tomatoes to fruit. I passed on the early girls this year because they always wind up diseased in my gardens.

Making a mental note about the Rutgers for next year, though from what I read, I could wind up with a different variety under the same name, possibly even a different cultivar.

[oblivion]

[borealis]

Wow. I wouldn't even dare leave tomatos out all night some nights yet.

[oblivion]

I am so glad my son wanted to make sure the veggies happened this year. If I didn't have an already thriving vegetable garden I'd be sooo disappointed. I had resigned myself to just keeping the herbs and potatoes going this year, but it would not have satisfied my craving for home-grown veggies.

My area of expansion this year is in herbs and gourds. I'm trying my hand at pumpkins. And I've added a few new varieties of mint along with some bee balm. I planted a blueberry cane, but I won't see any berries until next year.

The (just plain old) mint patch has been officially renamed "the mint field" due to the way it has expanded this year.

[borealis]

Mint will do that.

Have you tried planting some borage yet? I love that stuff. It's beautiful and has delicious leaves and flowers. Leaves are a bit furry. Pretty sure I've extolled its virtues before.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borage

[oblivion]

I haven't but it is on my watch list. when I find some in a nursery I will grab it

[borealis]

It's only 7C here right now, cold and cloudy and rain later on. And rain tomorrow, though it's supposed to go up to 16.

[Mantisdreamz]

Originally Posted by borealis

It's only 7C here right now, cold and cloudy and rain later on. And rain tomorrow, though it's supposed to go up to 16.

they have been calling for thunderstorms for the past 2 days here now and there has only been a mild sprinkling. and still just really muggy weather in it's place.


very healthy looking plant ob.

[Mantisdreamz]

i got a bit crazy yesterday and a bit paranoid that the garden bed wasn't going to work... so, got some pots and planted the green bean seeds, transplanted a few cherry tomatoes into a pot, and then took a few more herb seeds and planted them in pots as well.

It does seem a bit better this way, because of the control you have with regards to moving them around (out of the rain, into the sun, etc).

[borealis]

Given I have land but no soil, container gardening is a really good extender for me. Flowers are more forgiving than vegetables. Lots of perennials will grow in poor shallow soil, and so will annuals if you fertilise and water them enough, so I have flower beds. Veggies, not so much.