"How To"'s for newbies

[canesisters]

There is a thread going right now about asparagus. Everyone is showing off their beds and sprouts and its got me wanting to build a bed and plant some and realizing that I have almost no idea where to start. And THAT got me thinking that it would be useful to have some basic How Tos for us complete newbies. Just the basics the thing that we SHOULD know but never learned you know, those common sense things.

For instance, I think its Majorcatfish that posted all the lovely pictures of trelliss and such this morning and there was a picture of tomato cages (small side down) and I realized that I wouldve put them in upside down.

So how about some of yall experts putting together a basics? Pick a common garden plant; describe exactly what you do from seed to harvest. Maybe not every single possible problem/remedy but things like: Growing tomatoes choosing a site, starting seeds/buying plants, when/how to transplant, early care in the garden, when/how to harvest, common pests, when is it time to compost the vine.

Or is this already here somewhere and I just couldnt find it? I mean, I know there is a WEALTH of info available here - just for the asking. But it would be nice to be able to gather a little info from one place, and then jump in with the questions, questions, questions.

 

[digitS']

We could have something like that Cane'. There could be a FAQ for different sub forums but Rob may go crazy and give us a separate forum for every darn thing under the sun! There could be a carrot forum. I'd have to stay out of there . . . One reason I have liked TEG is that there aren't many forums to look at but I can understand how gardening can be intimidating - there are living things out there! We don't want to kill them or watch them die . . .

It is likely that any crop will have places where it grows well and places where it doesn't. And, there are several ways of doing things right! Of course, there are a few bazillion ways of doing things wrong.

Here are a couple of things that I think beginning gardeners do so often and it just kills their enthusiasm for continuing to garden:

They don't weed thoroughly.

They don't thin their garden plants.

They don't harvest on time.

The first 2 are related. It is a dog eat dog world out there and there is competition something fierce for soil, moisture and sunlight. You just have to pick the winners.

It is difficult to know when to eat something. You never have to make that decision at Mom's breakfast table. Or, the restaurant. Or, when something comes out of a box. And, the soopermarket is happy to tell you to buy and consume! Besides, that "food" is growing down there at your feet!!!! Surely, it isn't something you are suppose to take inside to your nice clean kitchen and eat!

Steve

 

[OldGuy43]

Hi CSis,

I really don't know anything about raising asparagus, but I do remember my grandmother had planted some in her Victory Garden during The Big One (WWII. You heard of it? It was in all the papers. ) As late as the mid-1950's she still had it taking over her back yard. They'd tried everything to get rid of it including burning, with no luck. Apparently, you don't need to know a lot about raising asparagus. The asparagus knows all about it.

 

[majorcatfish]

steve hit on 3 big issues one thing he forgot to mention was proper feeding .

yes a faq section/ sub-forum would be nice with key experts that we have here as moderators.

 

[digitS']

See, and you folks who actually have rain during the growing season could have mentioned - watering!

Feeding isn't always too difficult here near the 49th parallel. If you use organic, it stays around awhile.

If I was to live in the South, with a lot of rain and - all that heat(!), I can imagine standing at the garden gate and shoveling organic fertilizer in . . . just to watch it melt away!

That pdf file from UCDavis that I posted the other day on plant roots - has some pretty good information on proper irrigation at the bottom of the 2 pages: http://celosangeles.ucdavis.edu/files/121762.pdf

Steve

 

[897tgigvib]

Cane, you can start a topic about any garden plant you want to know about growing, like:

BASICS OF GROWING ASPARAGUS
BASICS OF GROWING TOMATOES
BASICS OF GROWING BEANS
BASICS OF GROWING CORN
BASICS OF GROWING SUMMER SQUASH

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i think of something like what BYC has/had for their chicken breeds, a spreadsheet/chart listing each specific breed, the colors, common characteristics and any notes related to them.

 

[canesisters]

Cane, you can start a topic about any garden plant you want to know about growing, like:

BASICS OF GROWING ASPARAGUS
BASICS OF GROWING TOMATOES
BASICS OF GROWING BEANS
BASICS OF GROWING CORN
BASICS OF GROWING SUMMER SQUASH

That's a GREAT IDEA Marshall. It won't be any extra work for Nifty & the gang - and if they're all titled the same, it will be fairly easy to search and find.
Chickie'sMoma has a good idea too. Maybe it would be easier for them to make that chart after some threads have compiled some basic info for them.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

yeah, we could always post links to those threads like they were sticky notes.