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Growing Your Own Vegetables

Mehm said:
You want your compost to aerate, I would leave it uncovered. Also, compost takes 6 months to a year to properly cure unless you use a worm bin or bokashi bucket. If you put uncured compost into your veggie beds it will leach oxygen out of the soil as it finishes decomposing. Egg shells are great for keeping away slugs and snails. A bowl of beer also works, but is a trap, not a repellent.
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Hmm.... that's no good then. Mine has been tightly tarped. What about the rain and the snow?
 
The optimum compost conditions are one part "green" (food scraps, fresh grass clippings, fresh manure) and on part "brown" (cardboard, dry grass, dry leaves, sawdust). The "brown" and "green", when mixed together, should have the consistency of a damp sponge.

That being said, any organic material will compost given enough time. Your pile seems to be heavy on the "green" and very wet. This is fine if smell is not a problem. I'm not sure if tarping it will hurt or help to be honest. What you need to do more than anything is add some cardboard, like you mentioned earlier.

I had a pile that was in the same condition as yours. Almost pure green and untarped. I came back a year later and it was good to go.
 
corn is the easiest thing in the world to grow. grow shitloads and give some away!

delta_9 said:
^+1 anything in the allium genus(onion, garlic, leek, shallots, chives, scallions, etc.) is great for keeping animals/pests away. Plant these guys around the perimeter of the rest of your veggies and you're good to go :D
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nice i'm gonna try that next time.
 
A few other companion plants that act as great animal/pest "keep away" some of you may find useful -


Lavender (Lavendula) for gnats/mosquitoes
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinales) for gnats/mosquitoes
Lemon Thyme (Thymus X citriodorus) for gnats/mosquitoes
Mexican Marigold (Tagetes minuta) for gnats/mosquitoes
Scented Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) for gnats/mosquitoes
Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) for moths
Holy Basil (Ocimum sanctum) for flies/mosquitoes
Pennyroyal Mint (Mentha pulegium) for fleas/ticks
Pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum cinerifolium) for mites/aphids/leaf hoppers
Southernwood (Artemesia abrotanum) for moths
Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) for ants
and finally
Santolina (Santolina chamaecyparussys) for damn near all other insects :D

These are all herbs by the way not veggies.
 
egg shells break down quite well I use it in my compost, I also leave mine uncovered to allow insects in to break it down quicker and allow air and water through it, as for mulching it is basically covering up your soil to allow it to retain water, kind of like natural growth leaves and moss would do. you can use wool, cardboard, grass cuttings, sawdust, egg shells, bark cuttings etc for the more natural way rather than plastic sheeting. if you are in a colder climate using gravel or small rocks to retain heat helps as well.

I use horse manure as well as I get it for free, you can always ask anyone near you if they have a horse, or any stables near by, they often will allow people to come in and take it away as it saves them dealing with it.

I know a lot of people round here who use a bin bag filled with manure and compost and plant tomato plants in it, kind of like slicing a compost bag open when it is lying flat and planting your seedlings in it. Same with strawberry plants.

I use lavander, basil, chives, onions, leeks and garlic to help with pest control.
I have been told the best for deer is buying lion dung, not tried it but have been meaning to get my hands on some. :)
 
Glad to hear about your carrots. I never had luck with them slugs would eat the seedlings up. I had a tough time with certain eggplants too. I never use pesticide. At the most I'd spray garden down with the hose to wash bugs away. I was usually lucky to attract praying manitises and spiders who are your friends in the garden! Garlic is a great thing to grow if you like it and virtually maintenence free. It is a whole entirely different experience to use it fresh. Post or PM if your interested in garlic. I also grew some killer sinsemilla once too, super sticky and sweet! Enjoy your garden!
 
Yeah it like sun, but will tolerate a little shade too it seems. Some kinds are best planted in late winter/early spring while others in the fall. It is one of the few veg's that actually grows in really cold temps. If you plan on hanging garlic to dry and store, pick it before it's flower opens up. It makes a flower that is made up of tiny little garlic bulbs unlike onion flowers which make seeds. If you wait to long to pick it the cloves underground start to spread and bust the outer covering around the cloves lessening shelf life. Sometimes if the soil is loose and wet you can rip 'em up right out of the ground, otherwise dig them up carefully. My soil is mostly clay based and unlike onions I still get some pretty big bulbs even though the soil is so hard. You can also eat tender green shoots that are quite strong in flavor. Garlic rocks!
 
MynameisnotDeja said:
I'm planning on growing garlic. I eat tons of the stuff daily, I could never have enough! Good to know it's easy to grow. Does it like a lot of sun?
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Pick a spot that will be full sun in the spring time. If the ground isn't frozen, plant the bulbs right now. They will come up as soon as the temps allow.
 
I might have to try growing some garlic, I use it pretty frequently in my cooking, and I'd love to try it fresh from the garden!
 
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