I’m probably a bit crazy, but

[hendi_alex]

As posted earlier, my gardening style is intensive planting. I pay no attention to companion guidelines, just mix and match in what fits in beds according to what my screwy brain dictates. Most everything seems to do well, with few pests or diseases. Given that background, I don’t pay attention to specific varieties. I may try them and if they pass muster the seeds get dumped into themed community packs, sometimes they just go strait in. So each bag of tomato seeds says black, large salad, cherry, determinate, etc. Seeds drawn are pot luck after that. The same is true with bush beans, but there is one large bag with every color bean that can be imagined. This approach gives beds mixed with different vegetable plants, but the individual blocks are also a mix of varieties. The tomatoes that ripen are always a surprise. Cucumbers, squash, peppers, etc, all are mixed varieties. Organization is way easier and the harvest most always tastes great. I do have some favorites that are bought more often, giving them a greater probability of being drawn.

[imafan26]

I plant like that sort of. I do actually have to pay attention to varieties with good disease and heat resistance that will do well in a hot humid climate with short days. I do look for specific heat and disease resistance. Pretty much here, people want Japanese cucumbers only so I only plant a few of the other types . I grow mainly Suyo and Soarer for the Japanese types. But I am looking for others. I can only get Soarer from Kitazawa/true leaf market. I like Suyo, but my mom does not like the rough skin. I also grow Beit Alpha, Diva, Ashley, Tasty Jade, Dasher II, for their very good heat and disease resistance. The cucumbers are mainly non bitter varieties.

I don't plant it rows. I interplant, but there are definitely some things that don't get along with each other. I actually try not to plant the same things together. I don't want to plant all the tomatoes in one place. The cucumbers pots are usually spaced 10-20 ft apart, and Unless it is the only place to put them I try to put different plants between others. I even plant different things in the same pot, but some companion rules do apply. Somethings don't like each other or grow too fast and crowd out the other plants. I prefer to broadcast seeds rather than plant them in a row. Sometimes, I will mix different kinds of seeds and throw them out together especially if they will mature about the same time.

There are rules for some plants. Zucchini will attract fruit flies and other pests. So, I plant it far away from the rest of the curcurbits. Cucumber and bitter melon (its a weed in my yard) are mainly in the back yard. Zuchhini is in the side yard. I have a couple of roses in the back yard with the vegetables, but they are very hardy roses and are not fussy like the hybrid teas. Fennel is a good nurse plant for ladybugs and it attracts aphids. It is also unfriendly to most plants causing them to stunt once the fennel blooms. For that reason fennel needs to be by itself. It will still protect the rest of the garden, but there are only a few plants like ginger, gynuura, malabar spinach that are not bothered by it. I have so few aphids that the fennel doesn't usually have any. The blooms will still attract beneficial insects and it blooms for months.

My yard looks like a jungle, not nearly as orderly as yours.

[PaulF]

I am far too structured to garden like that. Maps get drawn before the season begins. Everything to its place. Decisions are made as the the varieties and spaces they will take well before the snow leaves the garden. Even the harvest is logged into a journal.

[hendi_alex]

I didn’t really mean that I don’t pay attention to varieties. The varieties in my packs have been selected based upon a lifetime of garden experience and careful selection. What I mean is that I don’t pay attention at planting time as to which specific varieties get planted or how many of each. For example I may plant 12 seeds out of the black mix. That will include a random assortment of the 6-10 varieties in the pack. My long time favorites are Black Krim, Carbon, Black from Tula. There are also several newer varieties in the pack.

[imafan26]

In the beginning with a new garden or new types of plants, it is helpful to have a detailed plan. I tried that, but I did not get the timing right and things did not come out of the garden on schedule.

Over time, I think most people figure out what works and what doesn't and looking back on my past photos from the garden, I pretty much plant the same things more or less around the same time of the year in the same places. I do try a few new things, but for the most part, I also stick to what has been successful in the past. I may plant a different cultivar, but I plant basically the same kinds of things.

I don't really need to plan every inch. I have mainly figured out how much space each plant takes. When I interplant, I have found some things don't like each other or sometimes, the growth rates are so different that one takes over.

Now, mainly, in order to maximize the yield and actually get the best use of the garden, I have to tweak what , how much, and when to plant. I still haven't got that right. For that, a plan does help.

[hendi_alex]

I used to over plant most crops. Now I plant successions of smaller blocks. Those keep the right amount producing over a longer season. The method works well for many veggies.

[applestar]

I like to plan ahead. I NEED maps. They help compensate for my tendency to resist making labels. Smart phone to take pics and verify/update the planting map as I go, since there are almost always last minute changes— usually to squeeze more plants in.

I’m a real stickler and have faith in the varietal differences and special traits… especially among fruiting crops. Where I might be doing something close to @hendi_alex is when I sow/plant multiple varieties together when I know the specific differentiating traits.

I do sow/plant things together in a mix when their differences are not AS critical to me like root vegs that mature around same time (like carrot varieties or beet varieties) and greens that are harvested cut and come again in a mix.

I’ve been doing more rows lately since I am in the middle of trialing biodegradable/composting film mulches and various low hoop tunnel covered with insect mesh, vented poly, nonwoven floating cover, etc.

[imafan26]

I try to succession plant, but I still plant more than I can use. I have to downsize that more. Things don't come out fast enough and I have succession plants with no where to go. I don't have a large enough yard to have a fallow bed. I have one main garden that is normally in production all year unless it is being solarized. I have three main planting times.

September to start the long cool crops like the onions, garlic (if I do them), broccoli, brussels sprouts, End of October most of the cool crops go in lettuce, Asian greens, zucchini, tomatoes, beans, fennel, cilantro.

January, I may replant some of the cool crops or add more. March 1. The first of the warm season crops go in.

If I plant March 1, I can get 3 cyles of supersweet corn but it would take up the entire garden. This has been one of the areas that has caused problems with succession, because the broccoli and Asian greens don't cooperate. This year I did something different. instead of pulling out the cool crops, I planted the corn around them. I turned out o.k. but the only corn variety I could get at that late date was Early Sunglow, which is not a super sweet corn, and it failed as bait for the mousetrap. I did get a decent amount of ears considering, I did not have enough space to plant 47 plants. I can replant ginger and turmeric when it sprouts. I could plant melons and squash if they have short vines, otherwise, I don't have the space for them and I can get them in trade, so I don't have to.

By May, I am mainly harvesting out the garden but little actually goes back in. This is when I have to decide to solarize or plant just the tropical or the most heat resistant crops. This is when my water bill triples. At this time, I can be planting tropical corn, heat resistant corn, beans, cucumbers, eggplant, sweet potato, peanuts, hot peppers, and long beans.

Year round I can plant heat resistant cultivars of tomatoes, kale, beans, and cucumbers. I can plant all year: eggplant, hot peppers, most perennial herbs, citrus, araimo, taro, sweet potato leaves, citrus, pandan, katuk, pollen and nectar flowers basil, alyssum, angelonia, cuphea. and annuals (different ones at different times: sunflowers, nasturtiums, cosmos, marigolds)

This is my basic annual plan. I do keep a notebook, but it is usually for test varieties or if I encounter specific problems related to weather, pests, or fertilizer. I write dates and varieties on the tags, but except for checking the tags, I don't keep track of it anywhere else unless I remember to post it in on this forum. I like to take pictures of the garden rather than writing it down. It is easier to do that instead of keeping a log, because I can't read my own writing after awhile. I keep a record of garden expenses and production on the computer. Unfortunately I lost it three times so I just started it all over again. All of the data I had before was only on the computer and it is lost in space.

[hendi_alex]

I try not to stress over garden details. My objective is to create as natural looking of an outcome as possible, in the context of my very unnatural raised bed area. I have succeeded to the degree that beds look like haphazard jungles of vegetation with a mix of flowers and veggies. The garden is obviously transient therefore is approached in the moment. The setting is formed via free form thought as groups of seeds are delivered and planted as inspiration at that time directs. I don’t weed as a chore, but do snatch weeds here and there on every visit to the garden. Pests are usually handled the same way, as part of routine visits to the space. Maybe six to ten times per day: walk, look, appreciate, snatch a few weeds, squish a few bugs if needed, remove a spent plant, grab a ripe fruit or veggie. Enjoy the succession of plants, the succession of critters, enjoy the relationships and interactions. The garden season never ends, it just rolls from one phase to another, from one season to another, from one form to another.

[imafan26]

You spend more time weeding than I do. I do look for bugs, but the garden patrol is doing a good job, so I rarely have to do much. I used to spend more time in the garden, but I tire out so easily that if I can get out to the garden a couple of times a day, that would be good.

[hendi_alex]

If I lived in your paradise, I would probably stay outside ALL OF THE TIME. I have a limited issue most years, mainly spring and fall, with aphids. They are easy control but sometime I reach for pyrethrum spray. Flea beetles usually only attack our egg plants. Those are scattered and at varying heights. I use the squish method, early in the season and aggressively for a few days up to two weeks and the bugs are done. Leaf footed squash bugs are squished along with egg clusters. Catching them early and being thorough is the key. Finally leaf footed tomato bugs can become a problem. They fly fast, so I hit them with a chilly spray of water which makes them hold still for squishing. Tomato hornworms are easy to control, just have to stay aware of foliage. Most years all of these are low level issues and only take a modest amount of effort to control.

[imafan26]

I use mainly water and ant bait. Water knocks off aphids, scale, white flies, mites, even the birds lurking in the trees. I just have to look under the leaves every day. I don't have hornworms. I do have butterflies and a butterfly net. The geckos take care of the caterpillars. I don't remember when I had hornworms and aphids are rare. I do get pickle worms that I use Bt and net bags for. The barriers nets, and fencing have to be used for the birds as well as snails and insects. I treat black spot on roses and erineum mites with Systemic rose care. The rest of the pests mainly thrips don't cause enough damage to treat and the garden patrol keeps them under control. I only had to spray the orchids otherwise the thrips would have destroyed all the buds and I would not get any flowers. I have fennel, marigolds, and nasturtiums as trap crops and even they are relatively pest free. Right now the corn does not even have a single aphid and I only kept it to try to bring in more purple ladybugs. I do have whiteflies, but not that many compared to other years, and I just knock them off with water.

I don't have voles, moles, rabbits, bears, deer, or foxes. There are mongoose, and wild pigs a few miles away, but none of them are here. I have not seen a rose neck parakeet but those are not far away either. The bulbuls, finches, cardinals, doves, and rice birds are more than enough trouble. Occasionally a cattle egret or mynah will come by, but they are mainly looking for insects. Although the cattle egret will eat the geckos and the mynahs are not adverse to eating papaya or hot peppers.

[pepperhead212]

I'm one of the "map" guys, that has everything mapped out in advance, constantly changing it, as the seeds are started, and some might not germinate at all, and I have to fill in the spots with extras. I have a number of spaces for tomatoes, peppers, and usually the eggplants, though I have 7 this season, instead of my usual 6, which is usually too much for me! My tomatoes are always mostly new varieties, but the peppers I have more "must have" varieties, so fewer spaces for newbies every year! Not as exact with the cold weather crops; maybe a little more so in the fall, as well as the hydroponics, for the off season. Herbs are all over, in the same places - some perennial, some self seeding, some rooted from cuttings, and just a few started from seeds.

Something you see on a lot of my plants - tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers and other cucurbits, okra, and peppers, until I see the peppers - is the Surround powder I spray on the leaves, which is totally safe, for us, and is more of an insect repellent, to insects that don't like the feel of it. I started using it with eggplant, to keep flea beetles off, and it works well against most other beetles, as well as aphids. It sticks well, and takes a very heavy rain to wash off, otherwise, I just have to coat the new leaf growth. I stop spraying as soon as cherry tomatoes and small peppers appear, as it's too much of a pain to wipe off small fruits. Unfortunately, doesn't work against spotted lanternflies, an ongoing problem around here.

[imafan26]

Where do you get the surround? If it repels all insects, would it repel beneficial insects as well?

[pepperhead212]

Where do you get the surround? If it repels all insects, would it repel beneficial insects as well?

It might repel beneficial insects, too, but it seems to do more than they do, with the insects I have on those plants. And since it doesn't kill things, the insects are still around, for my greens, herbs, and things I don't spray it on.

I get that in 25 lb bags, which last a long time - maybe 4 or 5 years. I got it from Pinetree Gardens - an organic based place in CA, that has a flat rate shipping cost (though I don't know what it would charge to HI).
https://www.groworganic.com/products/su ... 106e&_ss=r

[imafan26]

Thanks for the info. I will have to check them out. The shipping will be more. Most places only ship to truck stop and there are no roads for trucks across the Pacific. At least our barges do come from LA and Oakland so it may be able to ship here since it probably won't need to go by rail.

My garden patrol is the opposite. It is very active. In the last year, I have had more stink bugs and leaf hoppers because of the neighbors' hibiscus hedge. The geckos will still eat those if they catch them, but I use more net barriers when I can. I have not had to spray for them. I just tell the neighbor and he has the landscaper treat the hibiscus for the bugs. I did have to get more ant bait because the orchids are becoming more infested with ants than usual because of the hibiscus hedge.