I am finally settled into our new home (and not pregnant) during planting time here in the Piney Woods of East Texas and I want to have a "real" vegetable garden but I hate to invest so much time and energy only to have it fizzle out I am hoping that if I get advise before planting, I'll have a better chance at a good harvest. Here's the situation and what I intend to plant: Location:I had a single wide mobile home out back and when we built our new house the old one was hauled away, this was last April, I wanted to put the garden in the (roughly) 30X15 foot bare area that was our house. Is this a good idea? We disked the soil up and it broke up very well, even the largest clumps crumbled easily when I picked them up and I assume that sandy red dirt was added to build up the foundation prior to it being put up. We intend to use fertilizer to add richness and nutrients but with it sitting for so long under the house I worry that it's no good for growing anymore. I chose this location for it's convenience, it's outside the kitchen windows and between the shed and the old house's water hose which is still there making maintainance very easy, I'd like to use this space if I can but want advice. I want to plant: Tomatoes, green beans, carrots, cucumbers, a variety of sweet peppers (bell & nonbell), a variety of hot peppers (mostly Jalapeno & Habanera), and possibly romaine lettuce, early on (next week if possible). Then later onions, garlic, okra, potatoes, collard greens, and a small variety of herbs. I am also thinking of giving strawberries, watermelons and cantaloupe a try if space permits. I know this is a big garden for a first time but I am using transplants for most of the peppers and tomatoes and a planting strip for the carrots and cukes, and those are the plants I have the highest hope for producing. Please give me any tips you can. I also was wondering about a couple things: When composting, are any of these things no-no's: Pet rabbit droppings (occasionally w/ slight amount of shredded newspaper), acorns & oak leaves (Will the acorns end up growing?), pine needles, adding nightcrawlers, worms etc. from the bait shop? Also when we process a deer or clean fish there's alot of meat we dump in the back woods, should this go in instead of being dumped or would it do more harm than good? I have NO experience with composting so any suggestions are helpful, I hope to start now and use it next year. My dogs will keep out the rabbits, hopefully, but is there anything I could plant or do that will help to keep them away (other than a fence)? And finally, It gets into the high 90's and once in a while up to 100 degrees here in the summer will my plants all die off? Is there anything I can do to stop that from happening? Thank you so much for any help you can give me! -Lily-
I say go for it. You can get your soil tested to see what amendments you need. Its not very expensive an will tell you exactly what you need. On the compost: No meats or grease can go into the pile. If you look around on the net you will find lots of info on composting. As far as the plants dying, as long as they are getting watered an you plant things rated for your zone that shouldn't be a problem. Good luck with your garden.
Welcome!!!! Here is a great link to some good composting info for you. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07 ... ompost.php Hope that will help you out.
First Vegetable Garden What a day! I could sleep for a week! This morning started slow with the baby up all night and into the wee hours I didn't start bright and early like I had planned, It seems with the little one plans change like the weather. I was finally out on the 4-wheeler to finish disking at 10am, Emily supervised, as usual. I ended up with a smaller plot than planned after I relised how far over my head I was, it's probably about 15X20 instead of 15X30. Today was the last day of James's deer season at his lease and he missed an early morning doe so he was in about noon and helped after checking in on the food plot in the back and clearing some more of the woods out. Thankfully he's all done with the season so I can look foprward to alot more help with the garden for a few weeks. We fought roots from the oak trees for most of the day after I finished disking up the plot, and that was quite a fight! There is one at each of three corners and they are very large and old so the roots were huge and ran almost all the way through the garden. I had soaked seeds for the green beans over night and so when the sun began to set I decided we'd go ahead and make two rows for them, no fertilizer other than the burnings we had from cleaning out the garden and some rotted oak leaves but maybe they'll be okay anyways. Fingers crossed. We had some mower trouble, a broken belt, but managed to get it fixed just in time for cleaning up. He plans on mowing tommorow while I dig more rows, should we put the clippings over the beans to give them a little more warmth or would they grow grass? Oh, and I found out this evening there may be another freeze (low of 32F) Monday, so I am still trying to decide whether to plant the pepper transplants before then or not, that's also going to be the first really good rain we've had in a week or so and the highs are still in the upper 70s with only mid-40s for lows except that one day. What do yall think? I suppose I could keep them up on the porch under cover til the freeze either comes or doesn't, but would it make a difference? I really want to get them in as soon as possible since the beans are in now and the tomatoes will be here Sunday evening (Easter presents from my mother-in-law, hooray!) and I have the herbs and a few other veggie seeds just begging me to plant them.
This sure is a tough task LiliPlanter. I do admire you - I mean a little one with all the demands that a little one makes as well as starting up a veggie garden. Just take care of yourselves also.
I would put the rabbit droppings directly into the garden. They don't need composting. Neither does goat/sheep pellets. Native Americans would bury fish heads and guts right next to their crops.
What an adventure you are on this spring Lily. No meat, dairy products or grease in the compost. You want a good mixture of browns and greens. Browns are dead leaves, small twigs, dead grass clippings. Greens are vegies, fruit and vegie peels, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea grounds, etc. Shredded paper, coffee filters, tea bags can also be included. Don't add seeds or nuts, leftover nut meats you find in the freezer would be fine since they won't sprout. Since you live in the piney woods area, you soil is probably highly acidic, adding pine needles might be more than you need for healthy plants. With a layer of the sandy red dirt on the area, you really need to have the soil tested so you will have a better idea of what fertilizer and nutrients you soil really needs for optimum plant growth. Earthworms are a good thing in the compost pile or barrel, they speed the process along. Of the vegies you have listed, most of them will be great in a Texas garden in our summers. Keep them watered and keep the vegies picked so the plant will continue to produce. It is too late to plant lettuce, it likes cool temps and cool soil. With summer like temps coming really soon down here it will hardly get growing before the heat takes it out. You could try the lettuce next January or February. Remember to get a variety of cucumbers that will continue to produce in the summer heat. Have you ever seen cucumbers that are curled or almost folded? That is what happens to some when summer heat takes over and they have a very bitter taste.
I still look for more frosts in our area .If you pant the peppers you will have to protect then against the frost. Last year we got an ice storm in March and a snow here .I am aways from you .
Thanks so much for all the helpful advise. I'm glad you mentioned about the lettuce that would have been very disappointing and I wouldn't have tryed it next year now I know better. I think I'll save the peppers up on the porch and use the hint I saw somewhere around here about the rubbermaid container for cover, hopefully next week we'll be past the freezes and into more springy weather. I have to dig more rows today and maybe put some seeds in the ground, I think since the carrots and cuckes are in those planting stipes I'll try those. I'm glad the bunny droppings can go right in, the cage is another of the things on the to do list today. Too bad Blue Bell is scared to leave the porch or I'd have him out digging for me while I clean his cage Silly rabbit, maybe the garden will get him off the porch, I doubt he'll be able to resist fresh collard greens, the store bought ones are what got him outside on the porch for play to begin with. You would think a rabbit would like the outside, mine prefers my desk he's happily plopped in my inbox as usual waiting for another rasin. Thanks again for all the advise it's super helpful, oh and I'm keeping a garden blog too now, just pasted yesterday's progress there for a start.
