| 5/20/2011 11:14:04 AM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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bones01
Homeland, CA
68, joined Apr. 2008
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I thought we could share some of the little bits of info and experience we've learned over the years. We never "Know it All"!
Water bill too high?
If you take a gallon milk jug and put a hole at the bottom with a small nail, you can set it next to a plant and all of the water will slowly go straight to the root system. When you fertilize with water soluble products? Put it in the jug too!
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| 5/20/2011 2:18:09 PM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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kaddo
Taylor, TX
73, joined May. 2007
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that's a great tip. l live in central texas where it's always hot and very dry this will help.
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| 5/24/2011 10:44:39 AM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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bones01
Homeland, CA
68, joined Apr. 2008
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Tomatoe plants blooming? Give your plants a vigorous "Shaking" to help distribute pollen.
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| 6/4/2011 12:19:06 AM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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sparklingbeam
Melbourne, FL
76, joined Jun. 2009
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If you are growing something like Banana Trees that take a lot of water, you can use a 5 gallon bucket, with a hole in the bottom and set it next to the tree or plant, it will water slowly.
Works the same as the milk jug. You can also put your fertilize in the water as well.
Use leaves or pine needles to mulch heavy around your plants and you want have to water as often. Leave space around the base of your plant, don't mulch to close to plant.
Place brick or fill a bottle with water and place in the towlet tank, will help to reduce your water bill.
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| 6/4/2011 1:08:59 PM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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badger59
Raleigh, NC
68, joined Jun. 2009
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How do you keep the jugs from blowing away when they're empty?
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| 6/6/2011 1:11:16 PM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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bones01
Homeland, CA
68, joined Apr. 2008
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How do you keep the jugs from blowing away when they're empty?
Once they are empty just pick them up and put them away or simply use a small stake and tie them to it. Mine blow aropund the yard sometimes and I just pick them up. Gives me something to do.
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| 6/6/2011 7:41:13 PM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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sparklingbeam
Melbourne, FL
76, joined Jun. 2009
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Place a rock, in a sock and tie the sock, to the bottle handle.
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| 7/5/2011 11:58:22 AM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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bones01
Homeland, CA
68, joined Apr. 2008
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In Hot climates, it is usually better to water your garden in the evening. Morning watering can leave "Droplets" on the leaves that actually magnify the suns effect, causing more heat stress.
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| 7/16/2011 3:45:06 PM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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sierratoo
Grande Prairie, AB
63, joined Dec. 2008
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you can use wet newspaper as mulch also. by the time it dries, it has conformed to its surroundings...
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| 7/20/2011 4:36:56 PM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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bones01
Homeland, CA
68, joined Apr. 2008
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If you live in a Hot climate, sunflowers are easy to grow and the shade is beneficial. They are pretty much compatible with most other plants and grow quickly.
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| 7/22/2011 11:51:08 PM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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oneis
Johnson City, NY
68, joined May. 2011
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Hi, I have my garden in containers, i use straw to keep the moisture in. works good,
My sister has planted her garden near my area and she uses lots of straws in her garden. I water the garden 2 times per day, her garden is prolific in growth.
Since this heat wave her garden stays moisturized and mine too,
Oh I forgot to plant the sunflower seeds this year, I can still try.
I love your sunflowers to that lady in the photo, I let the birds graze every year and this year I forgot to plant them,
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| 7/23/2011 5:41:49 PM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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kittypurrr
Winnipeg, MB
63, joined Jul. 2009
online now!
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When planting any squash or vine plant, use a can (coffee can for pumpkins) to keep the small vine shaded until it is hardier, and afterwards, it can be kept in place to know where the base is and you water the can rather then the whole area. So, less water waste and less chance of mold on leaves. When it is really hot (like now) you know where to add mulch to keep in moisture.
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| 7/26/2011 11:39:50 AM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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bones01
Homeland, CA
68, joined Apr. 2008
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Good tips everyone. Keep em coming! 
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| 7/26/2011 10:32:43 PM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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4gnosis
Happy Jack, AZ
55, joined Jun. 2011
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Are you saving your Tomato seeds for the next year? To do so you will have a more vital plant suited for your own particular garden and climate.
A method I discovered to save tomato seeds is easy and fun.
Slice a tomato in half, use a spoon to scoops seeds and pulp from a ripe picked tomato and place into a small pint glass canning jar or baby food jar.
Add about a 1/4 cup of water to it and cover with a lid. Set aside for a couple of days, in a warm environment- 75 to 90 degrees. It will begin to ferment. Stir once or twice a day.
In about 2 or 3 days your seeds should be fermented and will separate from the pulp.
When bubbles form or seeds drop to the bottom stop fermentation. Add double the water (about another 1/4 cup of water) to separate good seeds from the bad. The pulp and bad seeds with float and the good seeds will drop to the bottom.
Scoops out the pulp and bad seeds, drain and rinse in a fine mesh strainer. Spread the seeds out onto a paper towel and dry for about a week under normal conditions and temperatures. I use the oven here without turning it on. It helps to control the temperature of the room and also keeps the humidity out.
After the seeds are good and dry, just roll up the paper towel, store in an air tight container and keep cool and dry until next spring, and then next year either spread the towel out on a tray with soil to grow or cut sections of the towel to plant as group seedlings.
Oh...dont forget to label your paper towels. Also this will work with any seed that has a pulp. Like Cucumbers and squashes too.
Save your seeds....its not only a cost saver, it also creates a signature plant to your own specific garden and environmental growing conditions.
Happy Gardening ALL!! 
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| 7/27/2011 5:10:13 AM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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tbirdracer
Gainesville, GA
54, joined Nov. 2007
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I've been drilling holes in 1/2" pvc pipe, and gluing a 12" piece in the neck of a 2 liter soda bottle. Cut the bottom off, and stick it deep into the roots of your veggie plants to water the roots. Good for watering and adding compost tea fertilizer, and won't blow away like an empty jug. Nothing heavy to carry, and can be reused for years. I've been mulching heavily with grass clippings for two years now, and my soil is greatly improved. Got more earthworms than ever too. This year I put a layer of newspaper down under the grass clippings, and weeds have been non-existant, and even in this heat in Ga, only have to water every 3 or 4 days.
Last year I had such big peppers and eggplants, the plants broke or fell over. I used a lot of stakes and tied them up, but never worked very well. This year I put those round tapered tomato cages around them when I planted, and they work great! No staking or constant tying. They stack and store easily and should be good for many years.
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| 7/27/2011 8:36:14 AM |
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red35670
Somerville, AL
60, joined Feb. 2011
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I use newspapers alot and have containers with mulch and compost I end up using alot
of the dirt for my garden and flowers the next year. Use to raise worms and it got
out of hand for the time I had but just let it happen naturally now. They will
come without you having to actually raise them. I use a lot of pine straw around my
plants and starting in the fall and people think I am crazy but when I go to Huntsville
to see my family the bags where people bag leaves and set on the side of the road I pick up all I can hold in my vehicle and that starts my composting for the summer. I keep some
aside to mix with soil and use when planting my garden and flowers to hold moisture.
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| 7/27/2011 8:44:47 AM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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red35670
Somerville, AL
60, joined Feb. 2011
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For my rose bushes and other plants too I use on bayer asprin to a gallon of
water and that helps with fungus.
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| 7/27/2011 11:50:22 AM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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red35670
Somerville, AL
60, joined Feb. 2011
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Just heard on tv from a segment about trees and plants and the guy said you
can spray your bushes and plants with baking soda water for fungus. Never heard
of that. He didn't say how much soda to how much water though. Anyone heard of
this?
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| 7/28/2011 12:49:31 AM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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tbirdracer
Gainesville, GA
54, joined Nov. 2007
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No, and my experience with baking soda caused a big dead place in my yard. Never heard the aspirin trick, but I have used old milk and even powdered milk added to my sprayer on plants.
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| 7/28/2011 7:47:55 AM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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red35670
Somerville, AL
60, joined Feb. 2011
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I have heard to spray plants with buttermilk for the moths I think but now
not sure what it is suppose to be good for. Something that wants to eat the
leaves though. I use the powdered milk mixture for the calcium mostly around my
tomato plants. Heard you can used a crushed up tum to a gallon of water once a
week also.
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| 7/28/2011 4:04:23 PM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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tbirdracer
Gainesville, GA
54, joined Nov. 2007
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Spraying milk on the leaves kills fungus. If you need to add calcium to your soil, why not simply add some dolomitic lime in the spring? Is your soil PH low?
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| 7/28/2011 6:47:04 PM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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red35670
Somerville, AL
60, joined Feb. 2011
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Spraying milk on the leaves kills fungus. If you need to add calcium to your soil, why not simply add some dolomitic lime in the spring? Is your soil PH low?
I have never checked the soil ph. Just always add powdered milk. I remember now
that the buttermilk is to kill fungus and think it helps with bugs eating your
plants too.
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| 8/18/2011 1:12:35 AM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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pamjill
Rio Dell, CA
55, joined Aug. 2011
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egg shells work as calcium additive too
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| 8/18/2011 8:33:50 AM |
Veggie Gardeners.Take a Tip, Leave a Tip! |
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red35670
Somerville, AL
60, joined Feb. 2011
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A customer told me his wife takes a coke bottle and cuts it off, takes the
top part of it and tapes it over the wand of her sprayer and goes around her
plants with weed killer and the bottle keeps it from splatering on her plants
and killing them. sounds like a good idea
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