User avatar
kayjay
Green Thumb
Posts: 416
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 7:14 am
Location: Southern Ontario

Encouragement for Newbies

I was cleaning out old pictures from my computer last night, and I found some interesting garden comparison photos.

Here were my pepper starts on May 17, 2015
150517-peppers.JPG
(*narrator voice*) They got nowhere near enough light.

Here were my pepper starts on May 8, 2018
2018-05-08-peps.JPG
That's more like it.

Moral of the story:
- Do lots of reading.
- Ask questions.
- Be patient - often, when something doesn't work, you have to wait until next year to try again.
- Don't give up, but that said, be judicious about what you'll try again vs what just isn't going to work in your little micro-climate.
- Understand and be accepting of the things you can't control, like weather - I grew beautiful spinach a few years ago, but the last three springs have been too cold and then we get summer practically overnight. Oh well. I'll try again next year.
- Be honest with yourself about how much time and effort you're willing to put into gardening. I'd rather have a small successful garden than an overambitious one that mostly fails because I burned myself out, quit, and everything died from negligence.

(Add yours!)

Vanisle_BC
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1354
Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:02 pm
Location: Port Alberni, B.C. Canada, Zone 7 (+?)

kayjay wrote: Oh well. I'll try again next year.
One year it looked as if my rhubarb was in its death throes. I was baffled - who can't grow rhubarb? It turned out rhubarb was near failure all over the valley. Nobody knew why; opinion was "not a cold enough winter" which made no sense in light of past winter temps. Next year rhubarb was again its robust productive self.
- Be honest with yourself about how much time and effort you're willing to put into gardening. I'd rather have a small successful garden than an overambitious one that mostly fails because I burned myself out, quit, and everything died from negligence.
Agreed but once again there's ginger root in the kitchen putting out a fat bud and once again, darn it, I'll try vainly to coax it into planthood. Why? Because.

I do have a short list of plants I won't try again: For example Gray's Cherry tomato because it behaved like a thug among its neighbours. Garbanzos because they're not only unruly but labour intensive at harvest with only one pea per pod. Almost hooked myself on mail-ordering sweet potatoes but fortunately my wife said she doesn't care for them all that much. I think they would be hard to grow here. Likewise groundnuts. I've managed cantaloupes but the number & size of fruits (in good years!) makes them not worth while.

User avatar
digitS'
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 3925
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 1:10 pm
Location: ID/WA! border

Semi-arid climate and a fairly high altitude makes for afternoon to morning temperature swings that interfere with the growth of many warm-season crops, especially in the melon family.

I have 4 cucumber varieties this year. Some years, I have more. About one year out of 10 or 12, my cucumber patch would rate a big fat F! I might have been surprised but growing several varieties, I can see that some will have problems every few years.

Blacktail Mountain is an early watermelon variety, developed by a grower in Idaho before he moved to Iowa. If I climbed to the top of the neighbor's hay barn, I think that I should be able to see Blacktail Mountain. It is only a few miles away. I have tried to grow Blacktail Mountain melons twice. The trials were complete failures!

Steve

wisconsindead
Senior Member
Posts: 168
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:48 pm
Location: Zone 5b

The difference between my 2015 Garden (First year) and my 2018 Garden is pretty incredible. I have learned a lot of these past 3.5 seasons. I am hoping to have year round production with my first attempt at winter farming this year.

For me focusing on timing is important. Though realize the weather will throw you off at times.

Sow often.
Weed often.
Take notes!

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

I remember a quote once that said "As my hair gets grayer and grayer, the soil gets blacker and blacker".

Everybody had to start somewhere sometime, once you get bitten by the garden bug, you can spend a lifetime learning and still not master everything. Challenge makes it more interesting.

Things that I learned over the years were:

1. Start with good soil. Start a new garden with a soil test as it saves a lot of money and time if you add only what it really needs

2. Research the plant if it is a new one to you so you know what conditions of soil, light, and water it needs

3. Beginners should look around the neighborhood and grow what your neighbors can grow, if they can do it so can you.
Select plants that are appropriate for your zone or microclimate. If you are growing indoors, select plants or create an
environment that the plants need. You can push the window a little by growing plants one zone lower or higher under
the right conditions. Start with something easy and work up to the more challenging.

4. Some things you cannot control like the weather, but if you work toward growing the healthiest plants possible they will be
more resistant to bugs and disease

5. Plants are always growing and you need to make sure you select the pot, location and spacing to accommodate their mature
size. It is easy to plant closer when plants are small. It looks like there is a lot of empty space, but it fills up quickly

6. Soil is a living thing, it supports a multitude of micro and macroorganisms. They each serve a purpose and when everything
is in balance, they all get along so, don't mess it up. Whatever you take out of the microcosm of soil needs to be put back:
Keep adding organic matter to feed the soil. Only add nutrients you need. Too much or too little will always cause problems.

7. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out how to grow things. If you need encouragement or helpful tips, you can always
count on your gardening friends for support.

User avatar
jal_ut
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7447
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

I was having trouble growing a watermelon in this high Utah desert. So one year I got seed from every variety I could find and planted a few of each. Of the lot one excelled here. It was Charleston Gray. I have been keeping seed and propagating that one for years.

Image

https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/GARDEN.pdf

User avatar
jal_ut
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7447
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

Gardening is an adventure. You plant and hope. Your success depends a lot on what the weather does, and that is unpredictable. We plant and takes what comes. So plant three times what you think you need. One for you, one for the bugs and one for your neighbor. Have fun!



Return to “Vegetable Gardening Forum”