Questions from the newbie!

So... my wonderful hubby bought 2 packs of nonGMO seeds from the ARK Institute. There are more seeds than we can possibly use this year (and for several years really... LOL) There were a bunch that I don't think that we will ever use... (but you never know!) and some that I wanted to put in the ground as soon as the package came in the mail! (Hello golden sweet corn!)

One of the questions that I have is (boy... I'm gonna show my newbie-ness) do I need any type of support for the bush beans? (I'm ASSUMING that I will... but you know what they say about assuming...)

Another question... we have two different varieties... bush and yellow bush... can they be planted in the same bed (4 ft by 8 ft)? Will we have to worry about cross pollination very much? I mean... I know that beans are basically a "carbon copy" of the parent plant, but I also know that they have flowers. How does that work?

We're finishing up the beds today and getting the tomato cages. I wish I could say that the tomatoes are ready to go in the ground, but, they seem to be kinda of small still. They don't look like the ones that you would buy that's for sure! Do you think that's because they've been inside and "stunted" by the small growing space that I've given them? Should I harden them off and plant anyways?

For the cucumbers do you think a small teepee would work or should we get some do something else? Suggestions... comments... all welcomed (and greatly appreciated!)

nachoqtpie said:

So... my wonderful hubby bought 2 packs of nonGMO seeds from the ARK Institute.

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Just so's you know, virtually ALL seeds available to the home gardener are non-GMO (only exception is the whole debate about crosscontamination among corn varieties). GMO varieties are pretty much exclusively a matter of commercial agriculture, not stuff available at retail.

Most all retail seed catalogs carry both hybrid (not GMO at all, just won't come true to variety from seed) and open-pollinated (will come true from seed) types.

do I need any type of support for the bush beans?

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Nope, not at all.

Another question... we have two different varieties... bush and yellow bush... can they be planted in the same bed (4 ft by 8 ft)? Will we have to worry about cross pollination very much?

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No problem mixing them together. Beans do not outcross virtually at all. They require a bee to activate self-pollination of the flower but it really is SELF pollination, they pretty much never actually receieve pollen from another plant to fertilize the ovules.

We're finishing up the beds today and getting the tomato cages. I wish I could say that the tomatoes are ready to go in the ground, but, they seem to be kinda of small still. They don't look like the ones that you would buy that's for sure! Do you think that's because they've been inside and "stunted" by the small growing space that I've given them? Should I harden them off and plant anyways?

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If you don't really have good growing conditions (esp. light) indoors, then I would go ahead and harden them off to plant as long as they have like three pairs of true leaves (or two really healthy lookin' pairs). They could be spindly from insufficient light, or if you started them in seed-starter medium with no fertilizer in it, they could simply be a bit 'hungry'. Just be careful not to let them accidentally dry out while hardening them off.

OTOH if you do have good light conditions indoors, or if they have only 2 pair of true leaves, I'd pot them on one size, burying them up to their necks (so that the lowest pair of true leaves is only *just* above soil surface -- tomatoes, unlike most plants, will grow roots from buried portions of their stems), then let them get a bit bigger and healthier. Make sure they have a *little* bit of fertilizer of some sort available to them, don't glurk a big whack o' anything onto them right after fertilizing but either pot them into some medium with decent nutrient content or once you see leaf growth resume you can start feeding them weakly each watering.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

I'm sorry... I just read the lil package insert thing.. haha... it says non-hybrid seeds!

Would it be better to give the beans something to grow on? Would it be easier for me to harvest?

The tomatoes do have nice true leaves on them, 2-3 pairs on quite a few of them! I tried to harden them off before... but I got caught up in something and left them on the back porch ALL DAY and they really took a beating! :-( A Lot of the leaves were wilted when I brought them back in later that day. They've been back inside for about a week. I stuck them back outside this morning.... and then I noticed that the sky was looking a bit dark and brought them back in. About 5 minutes after I brought them in, the sky opened up and it POURED down rain! LOL

My tomatoes seem to have been just stuck at a certain place until they got out in the garden. Even then, it took them a while to get going, but once they start growing, they take off like rockets.

The hardening off is something that I would certainly love to find a way around! I'm not nearly patient enough. (Or diligent enough)

It is quite the pain in the arse, eh? LOL

After the rain stopped I said out loud "MAN! I wish I would have had some seeds in the ground!"

For the cucumbers do you think a small teepee would work or should we get some do something else?

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We tried growing our cucumbers up a trellis last year, and we had a heck of a time getting them to stay on there. They went everywhere but where we wanted them to--which including growing over to our catnip cage and attaching itself to the chicken wire we had on it. So, I think we'll try making something out of chicken wire this year since the cukes seem to like climbing that over the wooden trellises.

nachoqtpie said:

. . . Would it be better to give the beans something to grow on? Would it be easier for me to harvest? . . .

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There are bush beans and then there are "runner" beans. Bush beans are not supposed to have runners. So, they can't really climb.

If your beans are a bit crowded in the bed (and I nearly always crowd most everything ) - you can drive in a stake about 16" high every 4', or so. Then run a string around the stakes and the entire bed to keep the plants from collapsing into your paths. They won't climb on the string but the weight of wet foliage or the snapbeans might drag them down.

About hardening-off: I thought Lesa had the right way of putting it. Carry them in and out a dozen times.

Leave the seedlings in a place with filtered sunlight and little wind at first. Only a few hours on those first days. More time after a few days. Then get them out where they have more sun. By their 12th visit outdoors, they should be in full sun for all day (make sure they have water). They are now ready for the open garden.

Your plants will still benefit from conditions that aren't too severe for them during the first few days in the garden. Cloudy weather is good. You can also set up a little shade if it's real sunny and hot. Of course, they can't take a frost either.

Yes, they are a bother at first but the more babying you can give them the better they are able to adjust. Still, they have to be able to handle life in the open garden so there comes a time when coddling has to end.

Steve

Thanks guys... I do have them out there right now. They've been out there a couple hours... it's been sunny a bit windy... so.. I think I might leave them out there till about 1 and bring them back in.

Thanks for the advice with the beans.... I thought they wouldn't need anything to climb on.. but I wasn't 100% positive. It does say bush on the package!