Captain Caveman's First Vegetable Garden

mcpurple · Apr 18, 2011

CaptainCAVEMAN said:
This is my first season at this house so I bet if I stay here for a few years by the time I leave it will look like a botanical gardens! I am ambitious but need to learn more and am restrained by money just like everyone else.

I don't know about the ph. That stuff is what the local garden store recomended. They are just a garden store not Lowes or Home Deopt so I guess they should know about local soils. I need to learn more about garden ph. Should I spread dolomite lime or something? I want to grow mostly organic as I can and will be making and adding my own compost.

i understand about the cash part.

as for ph well you should test your soil 1st before anything is done to it, my soil is at about 7.5.
i bought a 12 pound box of bird shit for nutes for the most part but my soil should be rich for awhile, iva added cow shit, alot of used coffee grounds cuz they are free, a good source of N and provide worms with food so they can shit all in my soil. i also add powdered egg shells. all this stuff has dropped my ph to about 7 witch is right where i want it is hard to make the ph right for each individual plant if all are in the same area so a neutral ph allows them all to grow just fine IMO unless you got plants that love acid soils.

last year i did not feed my plants at all and they all did great so this year should be better.

find out your soils ph before you add lime

TCurtiss · Apr 18, 2011

CaptainCAVEMAN said:
Thanks T, nice pics. What is the bottom pic? Red spinach or something?

Red Lettuce sir, I usually run a few different kinds

This year I am growing iceberg, butter crunch?, I the red lettuce. I am trying to have the complete salad this year I have some celery, pickled & regular cucumbers, 3 different kinds of tomatoes, and various herbs

Should be an interesting year, I also just started a forced flowering project & if you don't know what it is check out Ed Rosenthal's book on growing.

I have learned so much from it & with your set up you could hide a couple plants in your garden for a project just the same

Good luck

T

CaptainCAVEMAN · Apr 18, 2011

mcpurple said:
i understand about the cash part.

as for ph well you should test your soil 1st before anything is done to it, my soil is at about 7.5.
i bought a 12 pound box of bird shit for nutes for the most part but my soil should be rich for awhile, iva added cow shit, alot of used coffee grounds cuz they are free, a good source of N and provide worms with food so they can shit all in my soil. i also add powdered egg shells. all this stuff has dropped my ph to about 7 witch is right where i want it is hard to make the ph right for each individual plant if all are in the same area so a neutral ph allows them all to grow just fine IMO unless you got plants that love acid soils.

last year i did not feed my plants at all and they all did great so this year should be better.

find out your soils ph before you add lime

Thanks man, I'll do that.

CaptainCAVEMAN · Apr 18, 2011

TCurtiss said:
Red Lettuce sir, I usually run a few different kinds

This year I am growing iceberg, butter crunch?, I the red lettuce. I am trying to have the complete salad this year I have some celery, pickled & regular cucumbers, 3 different kinds of tomatoes, and various herbs

Should be an interesting year, I also just started a forced flowering project & if you don't know what it is check out Ed Rosenthal's book on growing.

I have learned so much from it & with your set up you could hide a couple plants in your garden for a project just the same

Good luck

T

Thanks T I've got Ed's book -at least one of them- and I'm looking forward to following your grow!

CaptainCAVEMAN · Apr 23, 2011

Time for an udate on the veggies and flowers. I have been putting them outside whenever I can and the weather permits. They are already getting more stout from the wind and sun.

Does anyone know what's wrong with theese sweet pepper plants? They have some whitening around the edges. Don't know if this could be the problem but they could definitely have some wind burn. I'd like to know if they need my help.

Finally got some Lilac to sprout. I must have gotten a bad batch of seed.

Sweet peppers

Broccoli (mostly)

Pithcer plant/Venus Flytrap

Today is an indoor day. Late april snow today.

Fat broccoli leaf!

mcpurple · Apr 23, 2011

all your plants are looking great man. im not positive about the pepper plant issue though, my best guess is like you wind burn if it has been windy and they are not used to it, or maybe it could just be a sign of being hungry if your not feeding any thing and the soil is nute less.

CaptainCAVEMAN · Apr 23, 2011

mcpurple said:
all your plants are looking great man. im not positive about the pepper plant issue though, my best guess is like you wind burn if it has been windy and they are not used to it, or maybe it could just be a sign of being hungry if your not feeding any thing and the soil is nute less.

That's probably it. I haven't fed them anything. A couple of days ago I started some compost tea-my first try at that- and it's ready today but it looks really weak. It is 173ppm and is very light brown & see through. Should be good for babies but I think I need to use more compsost next time because I'd read that I would need to dilute it yet I didn't.

Do you brew compost tea?

mcpurple · Apr 23, 2011

no i dont do teas. i mix all my stuff into the soil. when i do need to fertilize after a few months in the ground i might make a tea or just add some guano into the first few inches of soil and then water. that should be good for young plants though

FrostickZero · Apr 23, 2011

Very nice looking seedlings. If you have some B-1 Thrive I would mix up a very weak feed.

CaptainCAVEMAN · Apr 24, 2011

FrostickZero said:
Very nice looking seedlings. If you have some B-1 Thrive I would mix up a very weak feed.

Thanks man. I have some and will do that. While I can't quantify it, they seemed to have loved the weak compost tea I made. I'm going to try a stronger batch for further experimenting.

mcpurple · Apr 24, 2011

FrostickZero said:
Very nice looking seedlings. If you have some B-1 Thrive I would mix up a very weak feed.

it is good for plants but it is not really a nute just a vitamin. dont know if you knew this or not so i thought id chime in

FrostickZero · Apr 24, 2011

mcpurple said:
it is good for plants but it is not really a nute just a vitamin. dont know if you knew this or not so i thought id chime in

Oh. I never knew that thanks for telling me.

CaptainCAVEMAN · Apr 24, 2011

Thanks mcpurple. After checking out Frost's journal I don't think we're talking about the same stuff which is my mistake.

I have Technaflora's Thrive Alive B-1. Man, the damn names almost the same!

CaptainCAVEMAN · Apr 24, 2011

Since I'm unemployed, Ive been watching the birds around here and they fly around here in gangs of 10-20 and eat anything they can find! I've also seen lots of holes around and I think they are moles or gophers. So we went and bought an outdoor pest prevention kit including 2 big fake owls, a hornet/wasp trap, and a sloar thing that scares moles and gophers.
I also started some more and stronger compost tea because I think the plants like it.

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Captain Caveman's First Vegetable Garden

mcpurple

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TCurtiss

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CaptainCAVEMAN

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CaptainCAVEMAN

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CaptainCAVEMAN

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mcpurple

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CaptainCAVEMAN

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mcpurple

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FrostickZero

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CaptainCAVEMAN

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mcpurple

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CaptainCAVEMAN

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