In my Hard Rock NC Soil...I gave up...But I have one Tomatoe Plant & One

[KoKo]

Yellow "Crook Neck Squash" (a legacy plant with warts and hairs) and I managed it by using my "Deck" to grow them.. I am so proud. Two hale and hearty "crook necks" and three bright red tomatoes that I COULD GROW, FINALLY.

It's us "little guys against the big Agribusiness." But, I have yet grown a pig or chicken here...and sadly, I couldn't kill them if I raised them.

BUT...after all my time here battling this "clay soil," and using a pick axe to try to dig a spot for a bed and making even "raised beds" and achieving nothing for all my effort....THIS YEAR...by moving them into huge planters on my deck with full sun...I managed to get a few little "veggies of my own."

These little efforts which turn out to be huge, might end up the way we will all survive in the coming years. Not much of a return...but "baby steps" in achievement.

I still can go to my local farm store here in NC and by pounds of tomatoes, squash of ever kind and eggplant, corn, cukes and the rest.

But, I'm so proud of my teeny little produce from my own experiment where I was "cut out" because of poor soil and low light but found a way to get just a few of my OWN VEGGIES, grown by my OWN HAND, and I'm so proud of this innovation. Just that I showed it's possible to do it.

I think what I'm trying to say is that "little efforts might not produce huge results in the overal marketplace," but that the fact that I feel good about a little squash (barely enough for one meal) and a couple of tomatoes to make a salad) makes me feel so good, must mean something POLITICAL!

Sort of a "philosophical moment" here. :D

[shraby]

1. Koko, if you have enough of a yard,

take a section of it and get some top soil to put in a bed, then plant your plants in that and you can plant a lot more next time. Use some bricks or "railroad ties" to keep the top soil in that space and you'll have a dandy garden.

[KoKo]

8. Oh, I've done the "raised beds" and compost and topsoil and all of it, but

I live on a ridge or hill and the torrential rains wash it all away...so after years of this, I decided that big pots on my deck with good potting soil and mulch would be worth a try.

We've replaced topsoil over and over...it just doesn't hold, even with the railroad ties underground and built up. Plus we now have so much shade from trees that have grown in from our neighbors yeards...it was good to have this small little "garden of pots." :D

And, it's worked. Except the daily watering is a chore because of the pots and the heat on the deck.

I'm thinking of filling large Zip Lock Bags and poking a few holes to allow a "drip system" so that the plants can get through without my having to water so much.

[mzteris]

2. yay

for you! Good job.

We grew tomatoes in planters many many years ago when living in an apartment. Heck, we had enough 'maters for the entire complex and then some!

NC is tough if you're in the wrong spot. Try liming your soil - that helps break down the clay so at least the darn grass will grow.....

[dsc]

3. My uncle built a box type structure into which he put peat moss

and other good soil. It was a fairly big initial investment of both time and money but should lest for several years.

[NewInNewJ.]

4. Congratulations on your green thumb.

I have one potted tomato plant that had small tomatoes on it and the deer ate them. Even though it was surrounded with wire. Also have parsley & sage.

[Vinca]

7. Tried and true deer repellent: grated Irish Spring soap scattered

around. They hate it.

[KoKo]

9. A friend of mine in Vermont says Vermin eat his tomatos....no matter

what he does they jump up and eat what the deer don't eat.

I want to tell him that this means animals are starving...so they are going after our gardens..but he would say back to me...KILL THE ANIMALS...why should "I" Compete with them for my garden????

I think this is the "crux of opinion differences" between Dems and Repugs.....it's over "Food" and "Water Rights." :shrug:

[Lex]

5. Oh my! You need a pickup load of topsoil

to amend your soil. Or maybe 2, depending on how big your veggie garden is.

It's pretty cheap and tell 'em you want the topsoil for growing veggies--a rich mix.

Once you get your plants in, mulch liberally.

Continue to amend the soil every other year or so, and you'll have great looking veggies!

If you do a slightly raised bed, make sure you get non-arsenic treated landscape timbers.

Congratulations on the success with the container gardening! :thumbsup:

[kestrel91316]

6. Your clay soil is very fertile but there are tricks to growing

in it. I have VERY hard clay here in SoCal, too, and it has taken a few years of amending my raised beds to get the soil where I want it. I think maybe one thing that helps is gypsum? I think it is good at loosening the structure of those really dense clays, and also helps us here with our terribly alkaline soil, so am planning on trying it.

Keep digging and amending and planting those raised beds. Remember to mulch heavily in warm weather to hold the weeds down and the moisture in. Don't give up.