Gardening

[JulieNY]

Southernmom, or anyone else who has trouble growing lettuce,

A couple of days ago I spoke with a lady from D. Landreth seed company and she told me the biggest mistake people make with lettuce is picking it too late...well I already know that isn't my problem so then she said the next biggest mistake is not putting extra lime in your soil. Anyway I am going to try out her suggestion and post my results. Lime is a bit less expensive than hydroponics so that's how I made the decision to try it first! Hope this helps.

Julie

[Tex]

There are different grades of lime and it is getting all but impossible to find the good extra strength lime they used to use for construction. We can still find barn lime occasionally and we try to keep some on hand at all times.

Did the lady give any hints as to what strength of lime one should use, Julie? We need to add some sand to our garden soil this year, but some lime might not be a bad idea either.


Tex

[JulieNY]

She told me to use one with 50% limestone mixed with other natural ingredients that you can find at Home depot or Lowes. Hope that helps.

[southernmom]

I was just looking at lime at the feed store yesterday. It is really good to sweeten the soil. THanks for the update!

[tk]

We are in the heart of the Vanport limes stone range. Our area produces some of the best high calcium lime made . High cal lime sales for around 16 dollars a ton at the plants loose. But the grades of agg lime ranges . We use tons of rock dust in the coal mines for fire and explosion protection witch is a low cal ( grade) lime. Being from around here close to the plants we use a lot of buckwheat lime ( half the cost) witch is lime stone sand or screenings it takes a few years to break down but it keeps our clay soil from getting hard. I also like to use a lot of pot ash and plow it in with the lime. I just cover the garden with a lime spreader and till it in . You can take soil samples and send them in to your ag office and they will tell you what your ground needs though. TFK

[DMH]

Came across this site this morning. Really like the idea of Olla pots for watering the garden. In the summer our ground here gets so hard that we have a lot of run of. Same principle as burying a plastic bucket with holes in it, but slower and prettier.

http://blueyonderurbanfarms.com/2013/06/making-an-olla/?utm_content=buffer074a9&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Also on that site was a link to this video about Urban gardening. 15 minute video but was very interesting and inspiring. With the way things are around here, I doubt that people would be allowed to turn their property into a garden such as this, but it does show what is possible. (in California weather)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IbODJiEM5A&feature=youtu.be

[airdrop]

look for pelletized lime the kind you spread on your lawn it breaks down fast. What You need to know is the soil acidity and what does the plant like neutral or alkaline type soil . Take a sample and buy one of those test kits and see What it is then you might ask your local AG guys or maybe even homedepot might be able to help , or better yet a local green house. A lot of farms here in Michigan run lime over their fields , got one that GPS's the whole place so the machine drops the right amount in different parts of the field , doesn't it make life fun LOL.

[airdrop]

http://www.ehow.com/info_8289545_lis...idic-soil.html might help

[airdrop]

don't know why I can't edit Grrrrrr test your soil first before doing anything would be my advice

[W.Lynn]

We seem to be past our latest possible frost (this morning, 32°F at the airport, beaten fifteen years ago by a 31°F low for tomorrow's date.)

Time to get real with the garden bed. Have to see if I can get a pallet or two for shallow things.

As far as testing, eh, I already know some things that will do fine here.

[JulieNY]

I thought this was a handy little trick if you don't feel like digging each hole individually.

[JulieNY]

I have the feeling I'm forgetting something. My garden is in, but I have space left over just in case I forgot something this is what I have so far:

Leaf Lettuce
Spinach
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Green Peppers
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Carrots
Radishes
Potatoes
Spaghetti Squash
Summer Squash
Pumpkins
Green Beans
Sugar Snap Peas
Watermelon
And a ton of corn.

So help now what am I missing?

[Gena.KY]

Jalepenos and bananna peppers for salsa making....mild bananna peppers are great for stuffing with cheese on the grill.

[JulieNY]

I LOVE banana peppers! Good Call!

[doublel]

onions.