Help me stop being such a crappy gardener!!!

[4_Legs_Good]

Why am I such a bad gardener? Why won't my damned cucumbers grow?!?!? And shouldn't a Bush even be able to grow peppers?

What the heck am I doing wrong???

I live in Southern California. The weather is very temperate. I grow in pots and raised beds. It is *VERY* windy a lot of the time.

Only a rare tomato plant will take off, and my cucumbers only ever produce one sickly looking fruit if they don't wither and die first. I try watering a lot. I try watering a little. I add fertilizer, I don't add fertilizer.

Maybe they're not getting enough sun?

I've tried growing plants inside in a window sill for a few weeks (usually nursery transplants) and they seem to do well, but once I get them outside, they die or stay stunted.

Zucchini seem to be doing okay.

I want to go organic if at all possible, but I do have a lot of pests. Afids and cucumber beetles and lots of fruit flies.

Are there any basics I might be missing out on? How about starting with containers. What are the essentials? How often should I water?

Any tips, I'm soooo pathetic!!

david

[el_gato]

1. do you have good soil with alot of organic matter?

[4_Legs_Good]

6. Mostly potting soil...

Most of the soil I'm using is potting soil in containers, maybe mixed in with some redwood compost and a little of my own compost.

david

[wryter2000]

2. I don't know

I do know cucumbers don't seem to like cool weather.

Invest in an earthbox http://www.earthbox.com and see if it helps you. It required you to use 2 cups of fertilizer, which will mean you're not organic unless you can find organic fertilizer. Put four pepper plants or two cucumbers in there (don't believe their instructions on how many plants go in) and see if that works. If so, consider buying more earthboxes.

[4_Legs_Good]

7. Sounds neat...

Mabye I'll try one!

I don't mind the fertilizers, so I guess it's not 100% organic. Just want to avoid pestacides and herbacides.

david

[phatkatt]

3. Check your soil

Get a soil tester to find out what nutrients are missing in your soil and get the proper fertilizer.

Do you compost? If not, do.

Get something to block the wind from your peppers and tomatoes.

You usually need eight hours of direct sun.

[redqueen]

4. That's too bad

It may be partially due to the windy setting - have you tried putting up some kind of stuff to cut down on it? Lawn furniture or statues or anything?

Also, do you have strays? There are some cats that like to use my beds as their litter box. Doesn't do a lot for the plants.

[4_Legs_Good]

9. The wind is probably a serious impediment...

I don't know how much I can do to try to break it up, 'cause it's pretty bad, but I'll try a few more items.

There is definitely one neighborhood cat who likes to use my garden as a litter box. I don't think, though, that it could really be the cause of all my poor plants.

david

[HFishbine]

5. Tomato tips

I have pretty good success with tomatoes. The key seems to be the soil. I have to add lime every year and I fertilize with manure, but your soil conditions may be different. There are lots of helpful tips on the web (just Google "growing tomatoes") and your local agricultural extension office will give you free advice and free soil testing. I really like the "better bush" variety. Any tomato plant needs to be well-staked, but the better bush stand up well to windy conditions and has a succulent fruit.

[4_Legs_Good]

8. Thanks!

So far the only tomatoes that have been doing well this year have been the one with a really thick main stalk, and the early girls aren't doing poorly either. The long thin stalked tomatoes are doing pretty very poorly and look like hell, though they have sprouted a couple tomotoes...

[Elad]

10. You should buy this book

It's very helpful: Rodale's Guide to Successful Organic Gardening: Vegetables

You should try building a barrier to cut down the wind. Most of the plants you're describing are also warm-weather plants and will not do well in cooler weather, you should check the temperature of your soil. Most require full-sun, too, which usually means at least 10 hours of sunlight optimally.

Try mulching with dark matter, or with black plastic sheets, to warm the soil and keep the wind from drying out the ground.

[4_Legs_Good]

11. The weather is pretty warm this time of year...

Maybe a little too temperate, though.

I'll check out that book! Thanks!!!

What kind of dark matter makes good mulch? I've used clear plastic before for strawberries. It worked pretty well.

I think my raised beds might get less than 8 hours of sun a day. I'll look for some better spots.

I really don't want to miss this year's planting season...

david

[bicentennial_baby]

16. Black plastic is incredible

I could'nt grow a pepper to save my life, I put in black plastic last season, and I had a pepper crop you would'nt believe!!

[4_Legs_Good]

18. Ahhh, super!

Thanks. I'll get to work on that right away!

david

[amazona]

12. sun is important

You need full sun to get good tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers.
If you are concerned they're not getting enough sun, you probably have a reason for thinking this. Certain trees (eucalyptus trees in southern California, Chinese tallow in south Louisiana) are non-native invasive pests and can and should be removed without guilt. Other trees, like the ancient oak that used to shade my backyard, well, they provide habitat for wildlife and birds so you have to wait for them to fall down. When my oak fell, though, I have to admit it, I might have a five figure hole in my house but I had the best bumper crop of tomatoes from my yard EVER.

I don't fool with cucumbers, I grow borage instead, which has cucumber flavored flowers and doesn't seem to care if it gets too much or too little water. If you're really a hapless hopeless gardener, the thing to do is grow herbs to develop your confidence. Basil, thyme, rosemary, lemonbalm, lemongrass, the borage I mentioned, oregano, marjoram, many more, seem to survive any amount of abuse from the yard being flooded to drought. Even the basil which is not supposed to re-seed itself has come back this year without any effort from yours truly. It is probably too warm now to grow lettuce or salad greens, but in winter grow your lettuces, green onions, regular onions, and garlic. The lettuce might sometimes capture the imagination of a slug, and it will need water, but the bulb plants do their thing without any need for real effort or attention. I travel a lot so I am a bit of an expert at lazy gardening.

Oh, and don't forget the various mints. They come back every year like you won't believe. You can save a fortune on herbal teas alone by raising mints, lemonbalm, and lemon grass. They might actually be more cost-effective than raising zucchini, which is not the world's most costly vegetable. On the other hand, zucchini is very gratifying because it is so productive.

On, containers. I don't know about containers for California. Herbs and vegetables in containers dry out very quickly and might need to be watered daily. In my area I can put out plants in containers because otherwise they might drown during rainy periods. So I control the mints from spreading by growing them in containers. But quite frankly I would put my plants in the ground or a raised bed if I lived in a dry climate. Indeed, I have many in raised beds as it is. If you must use containers, make sure they're large enough.

[4_Legs_Good]

14. Sounds good...

You're right on herbs, they are pretty easy!

I do lettuces and cabbages during the winter with no real problems on the growing side, buuuuuuut, they quickly become infested with all sortsa little baddies.

Artichokes grow very well in my garden, but they quickly turn into apartments for earwigs.

And... uhhhh, bugs gross me out, particularly in food (not to mention I'm a vegetarian!)

So I'm trying to stick to stuff with skins that are harder to be invaded and that when attacked, the invasion is pretty evident.

david

[ElsewheresDaughter]

13. FISH EMULSION! seaweed... in a blender puree fresh fish and water let them

rot a few days/week dilute 1/2 cup per gallon and water gardenr

or buy the stuff http://www.victorpest.com/landscape/fishemulsion.htm

[redqueen]

17. Fish emulsion works wonders!

And the smell always reminds me of being out at the lake. ;)

[ElsewheresDaughter]

19. i love kucinich Kerry and peace ...all of your avatars too

:7

[fudge stripe cookays]

21. I was just going to suggest this...

The shit stinks to high heaven, but it kicks butt!

[4_Legs_Good]

22. Guh, but I'm a vegetarian!

Sounds cool, but I don't know if I could sit around watching someone's corpse rotting in a bucket of water for 3 days.

Hmmmmmm...

david

[radwriter0555]

15. WATER. WATER. WATER. WATER. WATER. WATER.

Seriously. I garden here in so cal as well. Gardening in pots in so cal is VERY hard, because pots retain heat at the roots and roots need coolness and moisture. Pots are too hot and dry out too quickly. Raised beds are a bit better so long as they aren't made of railroad ties which have the creosote, which is toxic. RBs still retain a LOT of heat, so some shade during the noon hours helps a lot.

Soaker hoses are the best way to go for windy areas. Soaking at night works best, at dusk and before midnight so the plants have the precious night hours to absorb the water.

Forget organics. Almost impossible without it being a full time job.

WATER, WATER, WATER, WATER, WATER.

[4_Legs_Good]

20. Water... doh!

I can never tell if I'm watering too much or too little, but this advice is very helpful. I'll up the watering.

Thanks!

david