Any gardeners here?

azblackbird

azblackbird

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azblackbird
I've got almost an acre tilled up and ready to plant. Having been a city boy for the last 30 years or so, it's been a long time since I've played farmer and have had a real garden that wasn't the size of a postage stamp... so I'm a little rusty.

For those of you who are green thumbs, are there any tips or tricks you care to share for growing and managing a decent size garden? Suggestions on design, which plants go best together, weed control, insect control, hail avoidance, etc. would be much appreciated. :thumbsup:
 
Pilawt said:
I'm no help. If I were left to take care of it, Astroturf would turn brown.

I could relate when comedian Steven Wright said, "My fake plants died when I forgot to pretend to water them."
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Hey, I thought I was the only one with a “brown” thumb.
Edit: I have managed to kill cactus and also bamboo shoots, which is supposedly hard to do.
 
PH testing the soil...it has made the biggest difference in my garden. Since PH testing (and then PH balancing), I can honestly say I have the best garden around.
 
Ditto on the PH. You can get a soil tester at Amazon for $10. Adjust slowly. Add some fertilizer.

If you're planting seeds, get them in now and it's maybe a little late.

Keep an eye on the plants on a daily basis. Last year I went on an extended work trip and came home to find out that almost all my cucumbers had some kind of disease (downy mildew?) and it was too late to save them.
 
Don't try to grow things that don't do well where you live. For a number of years we tried to grow Halloween pumpkins here, but it's too humid and they develop powdery mildew. There are lots of things that do well here, but pumpkins aren't one of them.
 
Cow doo-doo... Lots and Lots of Cow doo-doo... As far as "Hail Avoidance" Prayers....

As you can see, my expertise is full of doo-doo...basically, I know nothing...
 
Good luck growing stuff, other than what naturally grows there, in the "Colorado Boonies". ;)
 
FormerHangie said:
Also, an acre is an awful lot of garden to keep up with. I'd start smaller.
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That was my initial thought. I'd start with something maybe 40'x60'. That's a pretty good amount of area to start with, and will likely end up with more than enough produce for a family to consume before it goes bad. A few rows of corn, potatoes, lettuce, and tomatoes with mixed rows of broccoli, okra, beans/peas, and peppers should be a good start. You might even be able to get some strawberries as well, or melon fruits (watermelon/cantaloupe/honeydew) if you like that terrible stuff.
 
FormerHangie said:
Don't try to grow things that don't do well where you live. For a number of years we tried to grow Halloween pumpkins here, but it's too humid and they develop powdery mildew. There are lots of things that do well here, but pumpkins aren't one of them.
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This is important.

I suggest you not waste your money on store-bought soil testers. Take several samples of your soil and send to you local Agricultural Extension office. They will have instructions for how to take and send the samples on the submission form. They will advise you on your current soil analysis and give recommendations for additives based on what you plan to grow. Some things, like ph, are difficult to change (especially on large areas) so you will want to plant something that is appropriate for your soil rather than forcing the soil to be something it is not. (this does not mean you can't use soil amendments like compost or manure, and it does not mean you can't user chemical fertilizers or even insecticides unless you want to grow organically.

If you are serious about growing, I strongly urge you to do this. Those home soil testers are worthless. And the fee from the extension service will be less than the home kit. It will just take about a week longer to get results.
 
tawood said:
PH testing the soil...it has made the biggest difference in my garden.
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Yep, already have a test kit on the way. I took the skid steer and hauled in a few bucket loads of manure and tilled that in with the soil. Hopefully I'm not too hot.

FormerHangie said:
Also, an acre is an awful lot of garden to keep up with. I'd start smaller.
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I've got 3 separate areas (close to an acre total) that get good sun that I'll be growing veggies in. I'll be doing 2 ft. wide raised rows. for the main crops and will be using tires for my peppers and tomatoes. Another area will be devoted to squash, cucumbers, etc. and will be in mounds. I want everything wide enough that I can get a tiller in to keep the weeds knocked down and to provide ample room to walk through and for adequate plant growth. I hate a crowded garden.

SoonerAviator said:
That's a pretty good amount of area to start with, and will likely end up with more than enough produce for a family to consume before it goes bad. A few rows of corn, potatoes, lettuce, and tomatoes with mixed rows of broccoli, okra, beans/peas, and peppers should be a good start.
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I'll end up giving away most of what I raise to my family and neighbors. What doesn't get eaten fresh I'll be canning.

JOhnH said:
If you are serious about growing, I strongly urge you to do this. Those home soil testers are worthless. And the fee from the extension service will be less than the home kit. It will just take about a week longer to get results.
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I thought about taking soil samples to our local extension office, but then again I'm growing a little bit of everything, so I have to prepare the soil in a more universal manner than I would if I was a regular farmer growing just one crop. However, I am researching what crops grow best together and basically require the same nutrients and will adjust the soil accordingly or as close as I can.
 
Where I live the best thing that grows are rocks. One year I bought a few of the upside down tomato hanging pots and actually got a good yield of jalapenos.

Every year my wife plants boc choy. With varying results.
 
1 ac. WoW! big garden, plant lots of peas, corn and potatoes.
 
azblackbird said:
I'll end up giving away most of what I raise to my family and neighbors. What doesn't get eaten fresh I'll be canning.
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If you don't have a fair number of neighbors/family nearby, you better buy an industrial canning machine, lol. My parents have neighbors across the road who have a 1/2 ac. garden and we all end up with grocery sacks full of sweet corn/beans/spinach/potatoes a few times a year. They usually borrow my father's tractor and tiller or disc once or twice a year to turn the soil as needed.
 
SoonerAviator said:
If you don't have a fair number of neighbors/family nearby, you better buy an industrial canning machine, lol. My parents have neighbors across the road who have a 1/2 ac. garden and we all end up with grocery sacks full of sweet corn/beans/spinach/potatoes a few times a year. They usually borrow my father's tractor and tiller or disc once or twice a year to turn the soil as needed.
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When I was growing up in the 60s, the only time we locked the doors to the car and house was during harvest time. If you didn't lock up, you would find a box full of zucchini or a bag full of tomatoes or a bag full of corn stashed inside.....
 
Zeldman said:
When I was growing up in the 60s, the only time we locked the doors to the car and house was during harvest time. If you didn't lock up, you would find a box full of zucchini or a bag full of tomatoes or a bag full of corn stashed inside.....
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That's funny... my Grandpa did the same thing. He'd sack up tons of veggies we grew in our garden on the ranch, and then walk down main street of our little one-horse town and put a couple bags in each vehicle. He'd do the same with meat from our cattle and pigs. If somebody fell on hard times, he'd give them a couple boxes full of meat.
 
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