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Growing Your Own Vegetables

aislinnna

aislinnna

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Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Messages
254
I'm starting my own vegetable garden, currently growing carrots, capsicum, brown and spring onions and garlic chives. I'm thinking of also adding tomatos and cucumber into the garden as well.

Does anyone have tips on maintaining a vege garden, and what was easy to grow, what doesn't work, what attacts pests, etc?
 
onions tend not to be bothered by too many pests where I am, tomatoes and cucumber seem to attract more slugs than anything else along with strawberries.
for carrots add sand into your soil as it will allow them to push down through the soil better.

if you are just seeding up just now put them on a window ledge and cover the pot with cling film, helps keep in moisture and heat. once they have broken through remove the cling film wait till they are about 1cm then transfer them to a larger pot or outside. Make sure you give them enough to grow. when you replant the tomatoes put in your stake at the same time and as they grow start tying them up. Tomatoes tend to get a calcium deficiency, so make sure you have good compost. Also they need a lot of sunlight so dont plant them in the shade and they are thirsty plants.

It is very easy to grow veggies and aslong as you plant evenly to allow for growth and water them you should get good results.
 
Im just starting to grow some Chilli plants from seed at home :) - there looking pretty healthy at the moment but will keep this updated (ooh the drama :0)
 
I've got seeds for:

watermelon
snap peas
cherry tomatoes
kale
broccoli
red chard
mustard greens

I think I want to plant some garlic, hot peppers, a few more types of greens as well.

We started a compost pile last month and it's doing it's thing out there. Some should be ready to add to the soil late next month and then maybe a month after that I'll start planting stuff.
 
chilli's I found tend to get spider mites so I only grow that indoors.
spinach and kale are amazing they keep growing so you always have a plentiful and ongoing supply of it. I found peas and broccoli take a bit of time to grow.
I found composting took about a year to be ready, but with putting things on daily what was at the bottom I could use every month for topping up potatoes and turnips. tea bags are great for composting and to belp it break down quicker, you still need air water green stuff and brown stuff by which I mean cardboard lol and turn it every few days to help it break down
 
Your success will greatly depend on your soil. My philosophy is to feed the soil, not the plants.

Are you on the California coast? If so, which county? Are you in the marine layer or not? I live right on the coast in central California and am constantly amazed by the vast diversity of micro-climates here that are separated by a mile or less. What you are growing will depend on your specific location and the season. In this coastal climate, I am currently growing chard, mustard green, peas, lettuce, and garlic. Potatoes are one of my very favorite things to grow, I highly recommend them.

If your region is prone to frost, anything with a fruiting body (chili pepper, tomato, etc.) will die with the frost unless you cover it with a frost blanket. Wait until the last frost to plant any of these fruits. However, you can start the seeds inside or in a green house to get a jump on the season.

We have had some good gardening threads in here. You can find them with the search function.

Please feel free to ask anymore questions. I know the Healthy Living regulars have quite a bit of cumulative gardening experience.

Good Luck!
 
Nope, i'm in Queensland, Australia, ver close to the beach. I guess that would make it a sub-tropical climate? Definately not a frost prone area, it barely drops below 15C here in winter.

My veges are starting to take off! Potatoes are one thing I want to try growing, and I might try spinach as well. I've grown chilis before, they just pretty grew on their own. I'm thinking of getting a large pot and doing my own herb garden. I'd like to eventually grow enough veges so that I don't need to buy them.
 
Sounds awesome, fresh homegrown veggies are the best. My region of California is also called the gold coast..that's why I asked ;) In the USA there are state sponsored agricultural offices that can give you some guidelines on planting times and varieties. Maybe Aus. has something similar. Otherwise there might be private gardening group meet-ups. Sounds like you are on your way. I've always tried things out, if it works it works :)

Maybe Dtergent will drop into this thread, she is a very successful tropical gardener.

peace!
 
where i live it is over run by deer . they eat every thing . flowering plants as well as vegetables.
gardeners have to deer fence their patch . the pricks will jump anything lower than 2.5 meters.

deer will not eat rhododendron flowers and that is why rhodies are so thick in the forests here .
 
^^they won't eat onion or garlic either fwiw

my biggest problem has been gophers. they decimated my carrots this year.
 
^+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
I'm looking forward to getting my garden started indoors soon although it will be awhile(late april at the earliest) before I can transplant outside the weather is not kind over here. :( I'm in zone 5 for those of you in America

Right now I have seeds for
NSFW:
carrot
onion
tomato
lettuce
leek
kale
oregano
thyme
celery
cilantro
chili peppers
and bell peppers

Of course I don't have enough room to plant them all this year though.
 
tiggerific said:
chilli's I found tend to get spider mites so I only grow that indoors.
spinach and kale are amazing they keep growing so you always have a plentiful and ongoing supply of it. I found peas and broccoli take a bit of time to grow.
I found composting took about a year to be ready, but with putting things on daily what was at the bottom I could use every month for topping up potatoes and turnips. tea bags are great for composting and to belp it break down quicker, you still need air water green stuff and brown stuff by which I mean cardboard lol and turn it every few days to help it break down
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips, tigger! Have you heard of sheet mulching with cardboard? Someone on another forum recommended it to me when I said I didn't have a lot of green clippings or dirt to mix with the rotting fruit on my compost pile. You basically make layers of the rotting kitchen scraps and then cover them with layers of cardboard, one layer at a time. Then over time it all soaks together and breaks down and you put some dirt on top and you can plant stuff right on it. She said that this really helps reduce weeds, but I think the process may take awhile so I'm just going to try it in a little area of my yard and plant my other stuff in another area.

Also, what about using crushed up eggshells as a way to avoid pests? An organic farm I worked at for a short while did this around their tomato plants and other stuff that the slugs and worms went for. They basically just collected the eggshells, crushed them up a bit but not too much and then baked them (I guess just to stop the leftover egg from rotting on there). Then they spread them on top the soil all around the plants. The eggshells were so sharp it was supposed to cut the bodies of the worms and send them in another direction. Sort of the way people use diatomacious (I know I spelled that wrong) earth, I think.

We always have a ton of eggshells so aside from putting them in the compost itself I'm going to try it I think.

Do you guys cover your compost? To protect it from rain/snow? I have a tarp over mine, not sure if I should or not.
 
aislinnna said:
Nope, i'm in Queensland, Australia, ver close to the beach. I guess that would make it a sub-tropical climate? Definately not a frost prone area, it barely drops below 15C here in winter.

My veges are starting to take off! Potatoes are one thing I want to try growing, and I might try spinach as well. I've grown chilis before, they just pretty grew on their own. I'm thinking of getting a large pot and doing my own herb garden. I'd like to eventually grow enough veges so that I don't need to buy them.
Click to expand...

I'm just up the road in Brissie and after some nice crops of corn, lettuce's, leeks and radishes this Summer, I have given the patch a bit of a rest for the next month. I wish I had planted water melon again this year because I had great success last year. We have had plenty of rain this season but as you know the last week or so it is ridiculously hot and humid and I find planting new seedlings at this time of year a real battle. It is so hot that even if I water in the morning by the time I get home from work I find the plants are too stressed from the heat. I usually leave it until around March and just feed the soil with compost and mulch till then.

I have to contend with flying foxes and possums. Sometimes I plant sacrificial crops and hide my tomatoes on the porch. I am going to rig up some netting this month to better protect them as well. Best thing about living where we do is that we can grow stuff right through Winter. In fact I find it is the best time to plant as I don't have to fight the elements quite as much.
 
Mmm.. growing watermelon sounds geat!

We also have flying foxs hanging around, but they tend to go for the larger trees. Did you have many problems with other pests when growing tomatoes?
 
Do you guys cover your compost? To protect it from rain/snow? I have a tarp over mine, not sure if I should or not.
Click to expand...

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.
 
commercial deer repellent is no more effective than garlic and raw eggs turned liquid in a blender, then thinned with water and pump sprayed onto the crop .

easy and practically free if you have chickens and a load of last year's garlic on hand .
 
Eh, I've always been more in favor of companion plants vs. prepared repellents, natural or chemical. I'm not knocking them or anything, but if I had the room I would always go with companion plants.

Although to be fair, I've never had the same pest/animal problems as some listed here.
 
I have only a very small raised bed, but could add a few containers. I am definitely growing some exotic tomato varieties like Brandy Wine, Black Krim and Hillbilly. Also, hot peppers, Cilantro, a few watermelons and New Zealand Spinach- (exotic- I've never seen it in markets here).

I also have to plant some Morning Glories. I don't eat these, but they are so gorgeous, I have to give them a shot.

I start the peppers+tomatoes inside at least a few weeks early inside b/c the growing season here is exactly 4 months between frosts on average. I'm only 40' N, but that whole mile high thingy puts the squeeze on gardening........
 
^^if you live around any agriculture be careful with morning glory. Its weed name is "choke vine", which is an apt description of what it will do to a field.
 
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