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deermousie -> RE: Container Gardening Help (3/17/2008 4:21:00 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: HisCovenant
Thanks for explaining it to me! I'll see if I can find that book.
My grandfather grew a few things when I was little, but we lived out of state, so he never taught me. He was the only gardener in the family, although my mother has luck with container plants on her porch. She really didn't teach me much about it, though, and when I was younger, I really don't even remember her having flowers on our porch. She may have, but I was too busy playing to pay any mind or maybe folwers were too much of a luxury to spend time and money on. Anyhow, I never learned, so I appreciate you all explaining all this stuff to me.
My tomatoes are sprouting, and the zuc and yel squash are starting to break the surface of the dirt. It's all just so beautiful. I can't believe the seeds are actually sprouting. It's a miracle to me.
It's a miracle to me, too. [:)] God does great work!
Gardening is easy with a few basics: most plants need at least 6 hours of sun a day. They need water, and they'll grow even better with fertilizer once they're established. Read the following with a grain of salt, as it's more than you want to do at first. Don't get overwhelmed; some stuff can wait another year or five.
The first job for any gardener is to grow soil. Good soil is made, and unless you're in a natually fertile area (like silt from ancient rivers or such) your soil needs help. Plant legumes (peas, beans, vetch, etc.) and when they blossom, plow them under. Collect leaves (except oak and pine) in fall and throw them on your beds and plow them under. Put in manure and compost it (because most manure has so much nitrogen it will burn your plants, so it needs time to calm down, like 6-12 months). Add anything that was alive (grass clippings, kitchen peelings, chicken carcasses, but bury them so predators don't hang around, etc. I composted half a cow carcass, and two years later it was black, crumbly soil. The very best kind. Every year if you aren't growing something to eat in the growing season, get some legumes in and improve your soil. Weeds are good for this, too, as long as they aren't in seed. Buckwheat is good, too.
The humus you grow with all this plant and animal material will improve your soil incredibly: it will hold water, it will hold air (both are needed by roots), it makes the soil easy for roots to penetrate, it is fertilizer, and it balances the pH.
In the meanwhile, plant tomatoes and zucs and cucs and whatever you want. The timing is important - tomatoes and beans need warm soil, and peas and spinach want cool soil (so plant them now unless you still have snow). Learn what they like. I'd keep your tomatoes indoor/outdoor and transplant them into bigger pots so as to delay putting them in the ground. They like 8 weeks before going out anyway. I move plants in at night and out in the morning in spring and drive my family crazy with all the mobile pots, but they don't complain in July when the harvest starts the avalanche (we have a dwarf lemon tree in a pot with wheels - the Lemonmobile - and we have the only fresh lemons within a couple hundred miles. It's worth the bother of keeping it indoors by a window all winter. It's a pet).
Keep a journal; what you planted when and where. Next winter look it over and see what worked and what didn't. Something is always going to flop, so don't sweat it. Learn from mistakes and know the weather doesn't help all plants. Make plans for the next spring's garden while the snow is flying outside. Don't forget the seed catalog, the marker, and mug of hot cocoa. Gardeners have it *so* rough!
Every year something isn't going to work, so plant a variety. Last year, no one in my county got decent tomatoes. The year before that, the corn suffered. That's just life, and God allows it. Punt. [:D]
I check my plants at least once a day - they're pets. I stick my finger in the soil and water if the top 1/4" is dry. I look for wilting, light green color (needs water), bug damage, and fruit ripeness. As soon as something quits fruiting, I pull it out and put something else there (culled plant goes into compost pile). The dog spends summer nights in the garden to keep crows and deer out. He likes to lie on the lettuce. Sigh. I plant lots of lettuce.
I hope this didn't overwhelm you, HisCovenant. Start out with a really small area (my first garden was 4'x4') and enlarge as your confidence grows. Don't take on so much that you get discouraged. God bless, and don't forget to have fun doing this.
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