2015 Experiments, What are you trying.

[hendi_alex]

As posted earlier, our yard is very sandy and contains dozens of large oak trees. The roots reach every gardening space. Because of this pervasive root problem, we have migrated more and more toward raised bed and container gardening where the beds are not in contact with the native soil

We have one raised be area that sits on an old concrete carport slab. That area consistently gives us our best results. Other experiments have always given less than satisfactory results and in fact eventually fail as the roots find their way into pots and grow boxes.

This year I considered pouring a new concrete pad to use as a gardening patio, but I hate the idea of doing that to the yard. That brings me to this year's biggest experiment. We ordered two 10 foot by 20 foot 45 mil pond liners. The material is guaranteed to be stable for 20+ years. Yesterday the ground was leveled and the liners spread to give a roughly 20 x 20 area. This coming week beds will be constructed and placed on the mat. The liner will be covered with permanent rubber mulch or gravel. Hopefully this will be a permanent solution to the tree root problem.

[Lindsaylew82]

I am starting EVERYTHING from seed.... First time ever, and I am A Nervous Nelly! Especially now that I have some seeds that I'm super excited about growing!

I don't have an indoor lighting setup, yet. I'm gonna have to go ahead and make that happen.

I was thinking about buying a huge clear Tupperware storage container, drilling a few holes in the upper sides and putting them, in the container, outside in the morning, then bringing them in at night.

I think both methods would prolly cost about the same. I have a smaller clear container now...maybe I'll try it with some seeds I don't care much about!

[hendi_alex]

Initially the most important thing for seed starting is adequate temperature, usually best given via bottom heat. We use a Kane heating mat. Another primary factor is constant moisture, for me gotten by starting my 2.5 inch community pots in the clear, large salad boxes gotten from the grocery store. The third most important thing is giving adequate light almost from the instant germination takes place, to avoid leggy plants. My best plants are grown when they are given natural sunlight as often as possible and from the youngest possible age. Early on, they are put outside on any sunny over 55 degree day and are left in their clear containers. Later they are moved into a cold frame as much as possible. By spring, my plants are thick stemmed, lush, and tough.

I find it easy to start in 2.5 inch community pots with about 5 seeds per pot. Those are given individual pots when the first true leaves appear. The plants seem to really jump after that first repotting, and at subsequent repottings as well. So far we have about 65 tomato plants all of which look very healthy. This week I'll plant pepper and egg plant seeds.

Good luck with your seed starting. I think that you will love it. The process gives on additional gardening activity, when the main garden is mostly asleep. Plus, planting seeds gives almost infinite choice of varieties grown.

[imafan26]

I want to try grafting some of my hybrid tea roses and some of the citrus trees and air layering the anthurium.

[hendi_alex]

My brother has done a good bit of grafting Japanese maples. With just a bit of research and some practice, he very quickly started having very good results. IMO yours should be a rewarding experiment.

[hendi_alex]

I've been imagining this one for several years and hope to work it in this year. Plant tomatoes in synthetic soil, and have the plants totally covered so that no rain or mist gets on their foliage. I'm thinking that if the plant is sheltered in this way and is only bottom watered, that they may avoid the tomato disease problem.

[digitS']

I'm wondering about tomato foliage disease with something I want to try, Alex.

The happy home I have created for voles with straw mulch has kept me from using it for years . The risk of disease seems to be lower for gardeners who use straw mulch but my experiment in the tomato patch will be with green straw.

DW uses grain straw in autumn wreaths and dry arrangements so we always have some of those plants in the veggie garden. I have used them as mulch but have the idea of using both the hulless oats and black-tip wheat as a living mulch in the early season around the tomatoes. After the grain is cut (immature) for her crafts, the plants can be pulled and left right there.

Their harvest comes just about the time the tomato vines begin to get heavy with green fruit. Hopefully, the grain will make a suitable living and dry mulch for the vines.

I've learned that foliar disease in my garden seems to mostly come with physical damage from wind. I don't think the oats and wheat will help much with that but tying the tomatoes up doesn't either . That garden is entirely too exposed to wind but I'm not prepared to put in a wall or a fence. Rather, it's just best for the tomatoes to sprawl and keep a low profile. Those plants always do best for production, also. Hopefully, the mulching will be a benefit.

Steve

[imafan26]

I find that rain and humidity are the biggest problems with tomato disease. Even in a hothouse with aquaponic tomatoes, they still get powdery mildew and late blight when the humidity is high.

[rainbowgardener]

My experiment will be to turn the grow lights back on again for late starting, for fall crops and to start some summer squash in mid-August to see if I can save them from the SVB's.

Last year I planted cool crop seeds for a fall garden at my community garden space. But then I didn't manage to get over there to water them enough and we didn't get rain at the right times, so I had very poor results. It is easier for me to take care of seeds if they are in my basement and transplants can survive not being watered every day better.

So I will try to do some indoor fall crop seed starting instead of only the spring.

[digitS']

... when the humidity is high.

High humidity? Oh, you mean like when it's 27° and the dew point is 27° and there's lots of fog.

No. Weeks of summer without rain and humidity below 20% every afternoon is typical weather in this part of cowboy country. Wind ... and tumble weeds, at times. Now, if those things could somehow move around in the fog ..!

Steve

[imafan26]

People have been asking for more butterfly plants so I am going to try to propagate the crown flower from cuttings. I haven't done this one in years. I will have to go look up how.

[shayneca25]

This year I am am trying Potato Cages, AKA Potato Towers. Live most ideas, I have seen mix reviews. I will be planting new potatos in the next coming days.

[PaulF]

This year I am going to try and start a Community Garden in my small village. On Main Street there is an empty lot that just takes up space and the owner has given permission to till up any or all of it. I usually have lots of extra plants and seeds, so I will start the garden sort of as an extension of my garden and see if anyone would like to help tend the space. I will leave some old hoes and rakes, etc. there and put up a sign indicating that anyone is welcome to plant, weed and help harvest at any time during the year. It may or may not work. We shall see.

[jal_ut]

Weather has been weird this season. No snow here. I guess my experiment is planting in mid February. Never done that before. I planted some radish, carrot, lettuce and spinach seed. See what happens?

[DigForVictory]

https://www.half-pinthomestead.com/GardenBarrels.html

Is what I want to try but instead I'm using grocery bags for grow bags. My key for this year is I have to be frugal.

[digitS']

I was in at the garden center a couple days ago having remembered something I want to try this year.

DW doesn't like beets. I think this is a real shame because baby beets are about my favorite. I'd just bet that 99% of the reason she claims to not like them is because of the color of purple beets.

This year, I want to try white beets. If DW takes an interest in them, that's fine but I've got another idea. Acres of sugar beets used to be grown around here. I know I haven't picked a sugar beet variety but I beet, umm bet, that sugar can be made from what I've got. I mean, it's a white beet (Lutz). Maybe I'll just stop at syrup but I'd like to see "How Sweet It Is!"

Steve

[applestar]

Bunch of NEW EXPERIMENTS going on as usual

- large size DE UltraSorb (in place of typical perlite) to increase drainage and airspace in potting mix
- encourage seed germination by soaking overnight, then soaking or briefly dipping in some kind of liquid {so far tried weak Oxyclean solution and willow bark/leaf decoction. Don't have chlorine bleach or chamomile tea on hand, but will try some other liquids, too.}
- germinating and sprouting pepper and eggplant seeds on moist paper towel lined plastic spoon in seed zip bags before planting. May try this with older tomato seeds as well.
- using an aquarium heater maintained warm water bath as seed incubation/germination chamber
- SWC (self-watering container) • SIP (sub-irrigated planter)

later on
- season extention with low and med poly tunnels/coldframes
- some kind of hydro and/or aquaponic setup/system
- multi-flora indeterminate cherry type tomato varieties grown in containers and trained in columnar/sentinel style

Continuing previously started experiments:
- growing potatoes from TPS (true potato seed)
- drooping/sprawling tomato varieties suited for basket growing
- feed store alfalfa pellets and bran as organic fertilizer
- soilblocks
- pre-germinating to get a jump on starting from seed and uniform planting
- insect barrier protection cover structures against white cabbage butterflies and moths, and SVBS (squash vine borer) moths

I can't think of anything else right now, but ...there might be more....

[jal_ut]

Built a planter box and planted onion seeds. I am growing them out back in the shed (with a South window). It is not heated, and I do not intend to heat the shed. Will see if these seeds can grow. It is rather cool weather still, yet on sunny days the shed warms up . I usually buy a handful of small onion plants, but wanted to try growing my own. In this country, if you plant onion seed directly in the garden, you can get loads of green onions, or if let to finish they will be dry onions about walnut size. For a large dry onion you have to plant sets or small plants early.

[ElizabethB]

In November we had to have 1/2 of a 150 year old oak tree removed. The back half broke off 5 or 6 years ago. The remaining part of the tree was over the shop, house and patio. It started splitting and had to be removed. EVERYTHING is now an experiment. The micro climate of the yard is entirely new. So is the moisture and fertility - nitrogen in particular. The tree sucked huge amounts of nitrogen from the soil. It also robbed the soil of moisture.

Definitely a learning experience.

I know I will make mistakes. This is an entirely new growing environment.

Hendi - I am familiar with those pool liners. Are they impervious to roots? I would hesitate to pour concrete. Have you considered boxes elevated with cinder blocks or house footings? Just a thought.

The birds are gathering nesting material. Unfortunately I no longer have tree for them to nest in. I scattered a hand full of dryer lint in the yard for nesting material. It is GONE! Will put more out tomorrow.

Good luck to all of you with your experiments.

[applestar]

James, growing the onion plants in the shed may be a great way to preserve and grow them through the winter. I forgot that I was doing something similar by sowing Walla Walla onions and planting shallots under a double layered 3-mil greenhouse plastic covered low tunnel. Its completely buried in snow right now and I have no idea how they fared during the negative single digit temperstureconditions dope we had. Your shed sounds warmer and more protected.

...If you replaced the shed roof with greenhouse panels or re-purposed glass windows, wouldn't you have a greenhouse?

Marlingardener, growing untried new tomatoes is always a lot of fun. I'm looking at 200+ varieties and trying to trim down the list....

ElizabethB, it sounds like you'll have opportunities to grow all kinds of things you couldn't before, even if the things that used to grow there need to be relocated. Have fun and good luck.

DigitS, I have seeds for white beets, too. Someone gave me these for my White Sauce Garden, which is not exactly an experiment so much as a theme for one of my garden areas (VG Raised Beds) this year. I also have many varieties of white fruited tomatoes, peppers and an eggplant, as well as white carrots, parsnips, turnips, cauliflower, and self blanching celery which I'm planning to blanch further by hilling them with compost. An extension to the White Sauce Garden will be my Variegated Foliage Tomato and Pepper trial garden.

[Taiji]

Alex. Just curious how thick the containers you are building are. 6 inches, 8, a foot? What thickness (height) of the raised bed is needed to grow most anything if it sits on a solid surface? Thx.

[hendi_alex]

Two by ten treated. So about 9.25 inches deep, probably filled a little over 8 inches. That depth has worked well for lots of plants, including 6-8 foot okra and large cucumber vines. I'm working on some kind of shade cloth arrangement to reduce heat and water needs in July/August. At some point I'll likely double the height for a few more demanding plants like squash and tomato vines.

[High in the Rockies]

With a new and much larger garden site, almost all will be new. -- Two automation systems I am working on, since I will be gone on and off, are a freeze protection system and watering system. Working on the site now and will put in overhead sprinkler system. I will have temperature sensors scattered at various locations, and anytime the temp. drops below about 35 F, have the sprinklers come on for a few minutes. Then wait and check again in a few minutes. I have no idea if this will work, but looks good on paper. -- Also will build some moister sensors and have the water turn on when needed. Again I have high hopes this will work.

[applestar]

Adding two more EXPERIMENTS -- but not sure I'll get to it

- grafting watermelon on Cuccuza gourd and winter melon rootstocks, also considering trying tetsukabuto as rootstock which is a moschata hybrid and should be resistant to SVB.

- attempting to make different poured concrete and hypertufa casting of useful and/or decorative garden objects

[digitS']

. . . DigitS, I have seeds for white beets, too. Someone gave me these for my White Sauce Garden, which is not exactly an experiment so much as a theme for one of my garden areas (VG Raised Beds) this year. I also have many varieties of white fruited tomatoes, peppers and an eggplant, as well as white carrots, parsnips, turnips, cauliflower, and self blanching celery which I'm planning to blanch further by hilling them with compost. An extension to the White Sauce Garden will be my Variegated Foliage Tomato and Pepper trial garden.

Yes, but have you tried making beet sugar, AppleStar ?

Somewhere on HG and recently, you have suggested that I grow pepper plants in containers. Like everything you suggest or even hint at, AppleStar, I take seriously figuring that someone who is so "far into the weeds" as to how gardening works should have that attention from others. And, I suspect Alex would concur, I should try growing peppers in containers.

They are rather different garden plants since peppers are really perennials. And, they are tropical. A high-altitude Colorado gardener has gone completely over to peppers in pots claiming that it allows him to move them around for greater protection in the early season.

A problem is that I have distant gardens. The small beds here at home have been given over to plants that require more attention for a good harvest. They are "salad & stir-fry beds." Now, to think how I might fit the peppers in ... I'm sure it wouldn't work as well to just put them in pots and take them out in those distant gardens and just plunk them down.

Steve

[Rairdog]

Steve, peppers are my weak spot also. The best I've done was in 5 gal SWC's. I used 50/50 mushroom compost and peat. They grew great and some even turned red/orange. I think it was combination of peat lowering the ph and the ability to move around so they absorb heat faster or avoid getting drenched. Mine kind of fizzled out and turned pale at the end so mixed needs some improvement. It was still the best crop I've had. You could easily cover the top with plastic to avoid drenching and just add water once a week.

[hendi_alex]

Mine did a little worse than usual last year. They are always grown in 3 gal nursery pots. Last year the plants were left in a 30 minute twice per day watering zone, only half day sun at that. I'm sure that the water was the issue. Next year I'll try to use more appropriate groupings in terms of water requirements. Eventually I would like to get the pepper plants on drip irrigation with their own water timer. This coming year may be a good one to make the change.

[pepperhead212]

I am going to run an experiment this season in which I will grow two each of two varieties of tomatoes (haven't decided which ones yet!), one of each in two Earthboxes, in which everything will be the same, except for inoculating one with mycorrhyzae. Ideally, I would have a clone of each plant in each EB, but I'm not going that far! LOL I'll also grow at least one of each in the ground, to compare that with the EB.

I'll keep you updated, and hopefully everything will go well for all of the tomatoes, and I don't have to replace any, or something like that, that would sort of mess up the experiment.

[Rairdog]

I am going to run an experiment this season in which I will grow two each of two varieties of tomatoes (haven't decided which ones yet!), one of each in two Earthboxes, in which everything will be the same, except for inoculating one with mycorrhyzae. Ideally, I would have a clone of each plant in each EB, but I'm not going that far! LOL I'll also grow at least one of each in the ground, to compare that with the EB.

I'll keep you updated, and hopefully everything will go well for all of the tomatoes, and I don't have to replace any, or something like that, that would sort of mess up the experiment.

Keep us posted. I have never tried and EB because I don't see how the flavor could compare with my dirt. For those with poor soil and soil born diseases it seems like a good option. I have been experimenting with Buffalo Loam that has mycos. I don't know how well they do after being dried out and sitting on a shelf.

[lexusnexus]

There have been successful grafts of tomatoes to eggplant stalks. Eggplants have fewer root disease issues with no negative effects on the tomato fruits.

[imafan26]

Next week is March and my cool season garden isn't going to be done in time again this year. So, I am going to try over planting my corn, squash and beans around the cool season plants. Hopefully, the cool season stuff will be done and ready to come out before the warm season plants need the space. The only thing may be that I won't be able to mix in the compost I usually do between the crops. So, I am going to try to use the compost as mulch around the plants and see if that works out.

[cdog222]

I've been away from the forums for a while, but after getting my first round of seeds started indoors I'm ready to get back into gardening mode I guess like most of all of the rest of you, we are never all the way OUT of gardening mode but I digress!

For the upcoming year, I am trying a couple of things that are new to me. First, I am ready to try insect netting / fabric and bird netting. I do primarily garden organically and have struggled with pests over the years. Broccoli has always been one of the hardest for me because of the cabbage moths. I have noticed over the last several years as I increase plants and flowers that attract beneficial insect, my pest issues have slowly been decreasing, but I think it takes a combination of approaches to get the best results. So....physical barriers are in this year! I built a hoop frame last fall for my broccoli plants, and have insect fabric that I will use to cover them. I am curious to see if I can keep the cabbage moths at bay, and how much of a pain the fabric is when I'm fussing over my plants. Or maybe I will fuss over them less....

I am also anxious to see the results of my fall planting of onions, carrots, and beets last year. I was inspired by a post from Rainbow about overwintering some plants that can handle the cold in order to get a jump on the next growing season. I am always looking for ways to improve my overall harvest from year to year, and it seems that this would give the best chance at an early round of crops. If it works out, I might be able to pull of 4 rounds of growing / harvesting in the same space over the course of a year.

I am probably going to scrap my potato growing efforts this year. For 3 years in a row, I have tried with frustrating results. Each year, the plants grew well, had beautiful flowers, and I wound up with a huge pile of scabby potatoes. I'm not giving up, but I'll use the space to grow something that I know I can grow and regroup next year.

Not necessarily veggie related, but this growing season will be year 3 for some dwarf apple and cherry trees, blueberries, grapes, brambles, and asparagus. I've been diligent with my pruning and not allowing the plants to bear much fruit to focus on root and overall structure development, but I'm planning on being able to begin harvesting this year. I have tempered expectations - I know it will be several more years before they really ramp up to full production, but the prospect of even a modest little harvest is quite exciting! It has felt like a very long experiment, with (hopeful) results just around the corner!

At any rate, it's going to take me a little time to get organized and get my game plan together, but it's going to be cold here at least for a short bit - plenty of time to get my preparations in order!

[jal_ut]

"...If you replaced the shed roof with greenhouse panels or re-purposed glass windows, wouldn't you have a greenhouse?"

Ya, I suppose so, yet I have no need of a green house other than starting a few seeds. When it comes right down to it I can buy all the nursery plants I need for around $10. How can I justify spending money for glass? The little shed with a South window works well for what few seeds I start.

[digitS']

James, my greenhouse is really a "sunshed" in that it has an insulated roof, north wall, and parts of the east & west walls.

I also use a shed-attached hoophouse. The south wall is essentially an 8' door that can be removed to access two beds covered with plastic film for several months each year.

The shed door was built so that it can be modified as a "Dutch door," or, maybe I could just call it a "Dutch window." The shelf below that window could just be used like the shelf below my utility room south window in another home. I lined up my plant starts there and they did just fine!

Steve

[imafan26]

I saw one cabbage moth hovering around my broccoli. I wasn't able to catch it. I guess I will have to check my leaves for worms. Hopefully geckos are as fond of them as they are of earthworms. Otherwise I will need to do something. I usually do not have issues with cabbage moths at my house.

Peppers are tropical, but I don't get many bell peppers. My tabasco and superchili peppers though are prolific and last for years. Try those and see if you have better luck. Because they do last a long time, five gallon buckets are too small, a pepper in 5 gallons will be good 3-4 years and you will need to repot as the soil becomes spent. Peppers in 15-18 gallon tubs were producing for 8 years. I just had to pull mine, not because of soil issues but because the peach scale was uncontrollable.

I planted pelargoniums on my shrub border that did not get very much water. They took off and became monsters and actually overtook the amaryllis and tried to eat the roses that have been there for twenty years.
So, that experiment was only 50% successful. Anyone have any ideas what I can use that is drought tolerant but will be tamer and not try to overtake the other plants in the bed? The only thing that wasn't stopped was the grass which always tries to claim that bed. It needs to be something that works in zone 9 and up.

[hendi_alex]

New bed area with pond liner underlay is moving toward completion. Will have 7 beds, each 36 inches by 72 inches.

[lakngulf]

Funny. I haul topsoil from the farm for my garden. I tell people that the tomato plants don't even know they are in coosa county (where I live).

Well, your plants don't even now they are on dirt. You have created some "controlled environments"

[hendi_alex]

Fighting the oak roots turned out to be a never ending and losing battle. It is nice to no longer share the veggie plot with the oak trees. We love our oak trees and the shade they provide, but the roots will stretch out a hundred feet or more to find a rich, well watered garden area. So now we have the best of both worlds!

[Mr green]

Are the bottoms of the beds sealed off as well? I think it would be better if not.

[hendi_alex]

With the slightest crack, the oak roots grow up into the beds. Then it is impossible to water enough, the roots form a tight mass, and rob the soil of any nutrients, plus squeeze the root system of any desirable veggie. If the oak roots were not present, then I would construct my grow beds over open soil. This is not a perfect solution, but is the best that I've come up with so far. I may go to the bottom of the hill, about 1000 feet from the house and open up 1-2 acres and set up a garden space in the middle. Perhaps that would allow the beds to avoid tree roots. The soil there is a rich loam. Would have to devise some way to get water to the location though. Also, that is not nearly as satisfying as having a garden spot in the immediate yard area.