Gardening Basics "Backyard Gardening 101"

[DawnSuiter]

Hi, I'm not really a new gardener, but I am still a total idiot. I always figured, if I plant it, it should grow, but that's so not true. Recently I figured, if I just follow the directions on the packet or plant, it will grow, again, so not true.

I just don't seem to have any basic understanding of what it takes.
I put plants labeled Full Sun, in the Full Sun & most seem to die away, part shade/full shade same thing.. I just can't get the sun exposure or lack-there-of part right

The watering.. too much too little.. how much IS 2 inches of water per week, how do you know? I'm watering with gallon jugs & hoses...

anyway... what's Humus, Top Soil, Garden Soil etc and the difference or purpose...

Really, I ask everywhere, I look everywhere but it all seems so frickin foreign. Gardening is HARD! But I don't want to give up. I was a member at that other garden site (DavesGarden) and while really informative if you knew what plants you had, I still seemed to learn nothing.

I want to grow in pots and in the ground. I HAVE learned that my soil/clay is not the best to sink plants into, but have gotten chickens and manure to help me learn to work raised rows. So.. I planted my first raised rows a few days ago with corn (you may have seen my post) and that's working out REALLY well! But all the rest of my veg, except cucumbers, are sad.. really sad.

Any advise... what would you tell someone just starting out? Pretend I've never planted anything before... I'm looking for gardening basics here... what's the stuff even an idiot should know.. cuz clearly, I'm missing something really basic here, and I surely can't be the only one. Reading packages is just still like a foreign language!

 

[patandchickens]

Hi, welcome to TEG, sorry your experiences in the garden have not been encouraging so far but honest you have to break a few eggs to learn to make an omelet or something like that

I put plants labeled Full Sun, in the Full Sun & most seem to die away, part shade/full shade same thing.. I just can't get the sun exposure or lack-there-of part right

Enh, relatively few plants are SO sensitive to the sun/shade thing that they will die outright (mostly, if unhappy w/r/t sun vs shade, they will just grow poorly or odd-shaped or not produce a good harvest). I'd say the chances are that your problem is more one of soil or moisture or things like that.

Or initial plant health, come to think of it, if you are buying plants at Walmart or anywhere else like that (including, sadly, a number of garden centers, these days) where the poor lil' things have been so badly abused, so underwatered, and gotten so potbound that they may never perform well for *anyone*.

But fwiw, full sun means at least 6-8 hrs of direct sunlight a day; full shade means no direct sunlight falling on the plant; and part shade means like 2-5 hrs of direct sunlight per day. Remember that afternoon sun is much hotter and harsher and harder on a plant than morning sun, so fewer things can tolerate only-afternoon sun than can tolerate only-morning sun. Air/soil temperatures and water availability have a lot to do with how much sun or shade a plant can take, too -- to *some* extent, you can compensate for too much sun by providing extra water and making sure the soil stays cool.

The watering.. too much too little.. how much IS 2 inches of water per week, how do you know? I'm watering with gallon jugs & hoses...

If you are watering just individual plants rather than the entire garden area (and what you're doing is a good idea as long as you can get your system worked out), the inches per week thing is not as relevant as gallons per week per plant. There are tables available indicating how much various plants typically need, in terms of gallons -- try googling or maybe someone else here can point you to a source. Actually you may find some associated with 'square foot gardening' stuff (Mel Bartholomew).

Ultimately you will end up watering according to how the plant and soil look and feel but I agree it's good to have numbers to guide you for the first while. (Btw, 2 inches per week is a *lot*, and would pertain more to an unmulched stand of large mature tomato plants than to little plants just getting started, unless

Common things that can go wrong with individual-plant watering include:

--watering only the very very base of the plant rather than a wide enough area of soil to moisten the plant's entire root system.

--waiting too long between waterings. You typically don't want more than the top inch or two to dry out (i.e. the soil becomes powderier and lighter-colored).

--not waiting long enough between waterings. You do WANT the top inch or two to dry out somewhat, as per above.

anyway... what's Humus, Top Soil, Garden Soil etc and the difference or purpose...

Humus is organic matter after the first part of composting has occurred. It functions (among other things) as a sort of 'sponge' in the soil - absorbs water when water is available and then releases it gradually as the soil tries to dry out.

"topsoil", "garden soil", etcetera have rather elusive slinky meanings in the commercial trade and honestly I really would not worry about definitions too much.

The best thing you can do for your soil, no matter WHAT type it is (unless you live in a black-earth peat bog which you probably do not), is to add organic matter, meaning compost or composted manure (peat has some merits too, but is generally not nearly as good as compost or composted manure, for various reasons).

Also if your soil is at all clayey, this fall you can loosen it by digging and prying at it and leave it all chunky and lumpy over the winter (preferably with a buncha organic matter dumped over top). Then in the spring mix it together again with a shovel or spading fork, and break up any remaining chunks, and you will be in much better shape next year.

I HAVE learned that my soil/clay is not the best to sink plants into, but have gotten chickens and manure to help me learn to work raised rows. So.. I planted my first raised rows a few days ago with corn (you may have seen my post) and that's working out REALLY well!

So there you go, things are improving

But all the rest of my veg, except cucumbers, are sad.. really sad.

Well sometimes that happens. Do you have any theories what the problem is? If the soil is too compacted you could use a spading fork (wiggled back and forth) between rows, and mulch well. If the soil is too wet, you could try to improve drainage and evaporation. If the soil is too dry, you could try to water larger areas and mulch more or differently. If they're just not growing, you could try experimentally fertilizing one or two plants with half-strength fertilizer and see what happens. Etcetera.

what would you tell someone just starting out? Pretend I've never planted anything before...

1) Plants don't always grow well. Sometimes they don't grow at all. It is wise to regard things you put in the ground as an experiment rather than an investment or guarantee. That way you can be pleased as punch when some work out, and you can learn from the ones that don't.

2) Plants can take care of themselves real well IF you give them the type of environment they like (loose organicky loamy soil being a biggie for most plants; also temperature, water, etc). Whereas if you don't give them the type of environment they like then there is not going to be much you can do to save them. So gardening is in large part a matter of choosing appropriate plants, and/or manipulating the soil, temperature, water, etcetera (insofar as possible - and there are severe limits on what you can do) to let you keep your preferred types of plants happy.

3) If you are vulnerable to disappointment, it is smart to start with the more 'can't kill em with a stick' types. Around here I'd say daylilies, perennial blue sage, beans, and tomatoes... but it depends on your location and garden environment. So find someone locally whose soil, sun, water, temperature, etc conditions are similar to those in your garden ON A BAD DAY and see what grows well for them. Or look at what weeds do well on your property, and choose cultivated plants that have similar lifestyles (seriously!)

4) Buy very healthy plants to start with, not overgrown potbound straggly things with root systems half dead from over/underwatering. Or if you are direct-seeding, choose things that come up very reliably (beans come to mind, as long as the soil is warm) and keep the soil damp and un-crusted-over til they sprout.

5) Try to view plants' failure to thrive as education, not failure. There is nearly always something useful to be learned that can be applied in the future to decrease the chance of other plants experiencing the same fate. If you're not sure what went wrong a photo might help us help you figure it out.

Good luck, and really, have FUN ,

Pat

 

[DawnSuiter]

Pat, that was FANtastic, really. I am going to refer to this post often as I need the guidance, you really packed a lot on there for me. I truly appreciate it.

My veg was grown from seeds, except my walmart cantelope, that seems to be growing slowly and no flowering, it's planted in a hill of 40lbs garden soil & 20lbs manure, tried the same hill concept on watermelon seeds but they didn't grow.

I think the rows above ground are already more promising than the last 3 years combined, and so a chicken tractor was built, and well.. you know how that is supposed to work, so fingers crossed, next year, will be very fruitful.

an experiment...
I understand.. just an experiment

which is how I've approached every try, the rows seem to be the successful experiment

thanks for your time