(Part 2) Best products from r/gardening

Your tomatoes will be fine. You have hot, humid summers, yes? Especially if you have small tomatoes (cherry, grape), but even big ones. You have time.

Even though you will HATE it, plant the tomatoes deeper than you think you should. Bury the bottom leaves in the soil. If you only have one set of true (tomato-leaf-shaped, not the first round leaves you get when they first emerge) leaves, wait until you have another before planting. Tomatoes root all along the stem if underground; your plants will be less stable and well-rooted if you plant at the depth of the start. Plant deeper, it's fine to just leave a few leaves above ground. They are going to take OFF in the heat and sun. Be sure to put cages around them when you plant; they'll be too hard to add later. Be sure you know whether they are determinate or indeterminate tomatoes; indeterminates will grow and grow and grow, and you'll have more work to do to keep them in check and supported. Determinates don't grow as wildly. I plant a mix of both, but I note which is which so I can keep a closer eye on the crazy ones and pinch out unwanted growth.

You can put some bean seeds directly in the soil here pretty soon. Cheap, easy, delicious. I let pole beans grow up my tomato cages, though that isn't for everyone. Bush beans don't need support.

You're too late to start peppers from seed, I think. They take FOREVER to germinate. They grow slow. They need heat and sun and you might get some going well by fall, but I would buy starts if I were you.

If you're going all through the soil, I would add in some compost while you have it all open . And when you plant, I would add some all-purpose fertilizer. I like http://www.amazon.com/Jobes-09526-Organic-Granular-Fertilizer/dp/B003SHEDQY/ personally.

If you have the opportunity to run even a simple drip system, this weekend would be a great time. Cucumbers are prone to powdery mildew, tomato leaves do not like to be wet. If you can get a small system even if you hook it up to your hose, and if you can let it water at the base of your plants, it will be so much better for them than turning an aboveground system or a hose on them. Or just get a soaker and run it through the garden. Anything better than relying on overhead watering.

I'm assuming you're past frost dates, but if you do get a freeze or near-freeze after you plant peppers or tomatoes, put a cloche over them overnight. Plenty about that online. Any protection better than none.

Zucchini/cucumber, you'll need to talk to locals about whether you can still start from seed or if you need to start from scratch. I grew both easily from seed in Texas, but we had long hot summers. I have a harder time growing them in the PNW. It's all local. Cucumbers don't like to be transplanted, but if you're careful, it can be done. Zucchinis in the right climate are utterly indestructible. Check them every single day, look under every single leaf, and laugh when you realize you missed one leaf for a few days and there was a zucchini the size of a baseball bat growing under it.

Sunflowers can still be planted from seed but get them started. If you want the seeds before the birds get them, you'll have to keep a close eye on them as they mature.

Nasturtiums grow from seed. I like the flowers. They're edible, but I think they're pretty, especially the long vining/trailing kinds. Plus, they'll attract all the aphids that would otherwise be on your tomatoes. (Or they'll attract aphids to your garden that will then jump onto your tomatoes. One or the other.)

Marigolds are nice with veggie gardens too.

When you do plant corn, know that you need to plant a bunch of it. One long row won't work well; to pollinate you want a bunch in a square.

Look into cool season vegetables. Depending on where you live and how quickly and harshly winter comes on, you might get a fall crop of things like spinach or lettuce or broccoli if you plant in late summer. Very location dependent.

Have fun. Don't forget the sunblock!

Compost and fertilizer do they same job, but you would be purchasing different things. Fertilizer would be something like Garden-tone which is little granules you'd sprinkle onto your soil. Compost would be something you'd purchase in a bag like potting soil like this. A simple explanation would be that fertilizer usually acts faster and runs out faster, compost takes longer to kick in but lasts longer. Compost also helps break up your soil and improve it so it's healthier for your plants. Compost (or composted manure) is also often cheaper. I usually work compost into my soil and then use a little bit of fertilizer near my big plants like my tomatoes.

Growing plants from seeds is a lot of fun, but it takes about 8 weeks to get tomato and pepper seedlings that are big enough to plant outside. You'd probably be better off starting with seedlings this year and trying to transplant your own next year. Also, setting up a system for growing plants from seeds to make sure they grow well can get complicated fast! So starting your garden one year, and working on seed starting later in winter when there's not as much garden stuff going on is a good idea. In order to save money on seedlings you might want to watch for sales at your local hardware store or see if there are any gardening groups in your area that might trade or sell extra seedlings. You can also plant mostly plants that are always grown from seeds directly in the garden like cucumbers, beans, squash, melons, etc. That simplifies things a lot.

Also I'm glad the size comments were helpful. I learned that the hard way when I was starting out. Doing one side at a time sounds like it would work really well!

And I hope you enjoy preserving. It's amazing how much money it can save once you've had a little practice, especially when the surplus is coming out of your own garden.

Wandering Jew isn't a 'succulent' but it's pretty close and is going to be more similar than say, a seedling or trying to produce tomatoes in the winter.

This is the article that helped me, so many place talk about proper grow lights instead of typical shop lights that work just fine. This is also helpful

I got these from amazon earlier this month and I've had them on for a couple weeks now and all my new growth is going great. I got them for $56 for 6 bulbs. I have them set up on your typical wire shelving, 2 per shelf. They were extremely easy to install and set up. They're also pretty cool, even directly touching the bulb it's just warm, barely hot after being on for 12 hours.

Now, obviously they're not available anymore. Amazon does have some similar packages that are 5000k which should work but isn't as ideal.

Special grow lights are nice (the red/blue bulbs, give out purple light) but if you're not looking to force something to flower and just keep it with decent growth in the winter, a shop light works fine.

You want something with 6500k for the color temp - it's a bright white. 5000k would probably be okay but not ideal. 3000k is for flowering.

Basically, if you have a smallish area and a shelf, a t5 or t8 light fixture with bulbs in the 6500k BRIGHT WHITE or HIGH OUTPUT range will keep her plants happy.

If you throw t5 6500k into amazon, there are tons of bulbs available but I'm not familiar with the fixture - what I got included those.

Now, if she only has a couple of plants, something smaller would be fine, I know they have 2ft long ones too.

This is the exact light that I got here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LG39B3M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It had a lot of good reviews, and it seemed pretty close to sunlight. So far I think my herbs are doing quite well (my cilantro and dill have really taken off) but I would absolutely love trying to grow fruiting plants like tomatoes or peppers inside if it's at all possible. I live in an apartment in Minnesota with no balcony, so I'd really love to find a good alternative to a yard! :)

I'd love to have a link to your YouTube channel, if you wouldn't mind sending it to me.

You're supposed to wait until May for a good reason: weather fluctuations. One night of frost will kill seedlings and young plants. Are you starting with seed? Or buying transplants? Transplants are so much easier, but limited on variety. Peppers and tomatoes are great for containers--they love warm soil, which is easier to obtain in a container, and lots of sunshine. Try mini or dwarf versions of each. Mulch around them to protect them from water loss and chilly (but not freezing) nights.

I started gardening in containers, too. This has been my bible: http://www.amazon.com/McGee-Stuckeys-Bountiful-Container-Vegetables/dp/0761116230
There are a surprisingly many things you can grow in pots: herbs, lettuce, green onions, even peaches and apples. The author even suggests specific varieties that are compatible with growing in containers. Good luck.

I'm very fond of Cornell's growing guides. Here is their guide for potatoes. I followed most of that same advice with the fabric pots, but halved most of the spacing and depth measurements.

Here's my entire process if you're interested:

• Follow Cornell's guide on cutting and curing the potatoes in a grocery bag.
  
• Fill a 20-gallon smart pot with about 5" of garden soil.
  I had been using Pro Mix Ultimate Organic Vegetable and Herb Mix, which was 2CF for $19.99, but they don't seem to carry it anymore. I liked it because it's kind of halfway between normal garden soil and potting mix and has mycorrhizal fungi added, but anything not too dense would probably work. I also sprinkle in some all-purpose organic fertilizer and add a few handfuls of peat moss to increase the acidity.
  
• In a ring, about 4" in from the edge of the pot, place one of your seed potato pieces every 5", eyes up. I usually get around 5 pieces/pot in that ring.
  Depending on the size of your pieces, you should be able to fit another 1-2 pieces in the middle of the ring.
  
• Cover all that with another 4" of the above soil mix.
  
• Grab two ends of the pot, shake it a bit, and pull a little outward. Should be a crevasse on each side beneath your hands. Drop some more soil in there. Rotate the pot a bit and repeat until there's no more room for soil. This helps the pot stand up better and gives more soil along the edges for the taters.
  
• When there's been about 3-4" of growth, add about 2" of soil, unrolling the bag as you go.
  
• Pretty much repeat every few weeks or 3-4" of growth until the bag is completely unrolled and then you're done.
  
  Water according to the Cornell site. I've got a dripper in each so I kind of just run that weekly.
  
  This is only my second year doing it this way so I wouldn't yet call it tried and true, but I did get a splendid yield last year.
  
  Edit: Sorry, I kind of snuck the answer to your question into that wall of text so I've bolded the relevant part.

Growing stuff indoors is a lot of fun and I've been doing it for over a decade now even during grow season. I used to use HID lighting but LED light technology has come a LONG way in the past few years making it way easier and cheaper to get into.

For my seedlings and small flowers I'm using these 50W daylight white COB LEDs I got off amazon for $20 for a 2 pack: https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Daylight-Equivalent-Brightest-Security/dp/B07TSGYJ89/

They aren't technically grow lights and come bare wire for mounting on a wall but I mounted them on a cheap IKEA shelf and added cords.

I also have some real grow lights from same company that are the pink high PAR ones that come with hanging hardware and a removable cord with a switch which are $30 ea or 2 for $50. They're also IP67 waterproof (ok if they get sprayed), fanless and don't produce a ton of heat. 4 of them (200W total) easily replace my old 400W HPS light (480W total). https://www.amazon.com/FECiDA-Premium-Spectrum-Waterproof-Greenhouse/dp/B07TL9VFD4

IKEA seedling rack:
https://i.imgur.com/0JLibbG.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NdrSPPR.jpg


Fruiting / outdoor plant grow tent (groundcherries & hibiscus):
https://i.imgur.com/QINGX3O.png
https://i.imgur.com/kniiLIN.jpg

Plants I want to look at tent w/ huge window. I have a praying mantis living in this tent too:
https://i.imgur.com/MZMYs2v.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/f9Zq95c.jpg

Sorry for the wall of text but I love indoor growing and can talk about it forever haha

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PH1MQV8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

This will make the room violently pink, but casts a lovely width of lighted area and is super bright.

So far, my indoor tree is loving it and bounced back from acclimating to the new pot and location since it was from a nursery. He was a seriously un happy tree, I thought I would lose it. This light is awesome.

This is an awesome book, I receive no gain from this plug, and you should read it before you take another step.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QSRUJWI/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

The #1 reason for a community garden to fail is the people. Not the weather, not the crops, not the bugs or diseases or critters. The people.

The #1 reason for the people to fail is that nobody wants to do the gruntwork, like arrange for insurance and pay the water bill and pull weeds, but everybody wants to pick tomatoes. It's a lot like those people on Kitchen Nightmares who buy a restaurant and then think all they have to do is stand around and greet customers.

The community gardens that succeed are the ones with strong leadership, and the ones where people already have a strong sense of commitment to each other--neighborhood watch groups, churches, Girl Scouts, things like that.

The Square Foot Gardening book really helped me out. It's easy to read, has a whole section dedicated to the different types of garden bed layouts, and a glossary in the back for different plants that goes over when to plant/harvest and what sunlight conditions they do best in. You don't have to have a square foot garden to benefit from this book.

*Edit You should also research the zone you are in to get a better understanding of frost dates. These will tell you when the best times to plant or transplant are as well as how long your growing season is. Also, determine how the sun crosses your property. Doing so will help you determine the best location to start your garden.

For those just getting started, Square Foot Gardening is great, it's a good starting point for getting in the habit of maintaining a garden, for making good use of small spaces, and for learning about gardening.

How to Grow More Vegetables is a fantastic book. It is a great reference book on sustainable gardening, and self-sufficiency gardening. It is used by several programs as a textbook to teach sustinence gardening in third-world countries.

Carrots Love Tomatoes is a great book for learning about companion planting.

I just ordered Gardening When it Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times. I haven't read it yet, so I can't give a review, but it is reviewed very favorably. My understanding is that it presents a more old-fashioned, traditional method of gardening that requires less water, less fertilization, etc.

Good luck, and let us know what you think of any books you try!

A 10-watt LED won't do anything for your plant, the 36-watt bulb is slightly better, but ideally you want something like a 300-watt HPS replacement. LED grow lights are a nice starting point for smaller citrus.

In practice, the more light, the better, citrus are subtropical plants and generally thrive in warmth and strong daylight.

Soil can be expensive. I have been expanding my garden. I sort of follow the "Square Foot Gardening" method. Check out that book at the library, it's a good place to start. In there, he recommends a mix of equal parts peat moss, vermiculite, and compost. I substitute coconut coir because it's about the same price, that brick will expand to two cubic feet. I mix that with equal parts sand and compost and I got a nice mix that is well-draining, holds water well, and is properly aerated. It also is much cheaper than the bagged mixes at the store, but maybe you could find a bulk supplier that would be good.

As for peat moss, it's not bad. People will mention that it's not renewable, so we're harvesting it a lot and possibly damaging bogs. I can see the point, but the issue for me is that the stuff sheets water off when it dries out. Here in NC where the sun is really hot in the summer, that top layer dries quickly, so if I don't water several times a day, it dries up so the water runs to the edge of the bed and then down. Coconut coir is more forgiving and feels a little better than that anyway.

As for the bottom, I wouldn't use plastic. You want something that is going to prevent the grasses and weeds from the bottom growing up through your soil. You would be surprised at how long they can grow from the energy stored in their rhizomes or roots. Anyway, plastic will also prevent your plants' roots from extending below that. It's not critical, 6" is actually enough soil to get by with, but your root crops like carrots won't do well.

I suggest you get cardboard and lay down several layers. You could also get newspaper and do the same thing. It'll stop your weeds from growing up, but it'll break down by next year so that your plants can grow down.

As for the plastic, it can regulate temperatures a bit in the spring when you can have warm days and frosty nights. I never bothered with it because I considered it more trouble than it was likely to be worth, but I never tried it.

And because Imgur won't let me edit anything in my post via mobile, I will add more info here! I spent about two months researching container growing fruit trees/edible tree/bush before deciding to start with a blood orange and my favorite, lemonade. I'm hoping this helps someone else who might think they can't have a fruit tree due to space.

Although I bought trees on dwarfing rootstock (often called flying dragon rootstock, as that's the plant used to give it stunted growth), you do not need a tree marketed as dwarf. Using a container will naturally impede the process of growth, in addition to pruning.

This is very important because each type of rootstock will give different qualities to the root health. Pick the rootstock that works best for your growing conditions. The book Grow a Little Fruit Tree was invaluable for its information on rootstock alone, although it's geared towards deciduous trees and not evergreens like citrus.

Another helpful book for container gardening that helped me jumpstart my information search was The Bountiful Container. It's American oriented, not Aussie, but lots of helpful principles and ideas all the same.

Another great read, and useful, is this write-up on Daley's Fruit Tree Nursery about using bags (containers) to restrict tree growth in order to net better fruit production. Size restriction can help to produce more per hectare than just letting a tree go (which would be suicide to a home orchard anyways).

Depending on the PH of your water, you might only need a little bit of PH Down Solution (an acid) and some sort of nutrient solution. The nutrient solution that worked best for me when I was doing lettuce was the DynaGro Grow. One step, no mixing A B and C.

Amazon Link

I bought a gallon of PH Down from my local hydro shop, with their logo and everything, it was like 10 bucks for a gallon. I still have 3/4 left after almost 2 years. You could just use this one in case you really need to. I found out that DynaGro lowers the PH at an Ideal level.

You should have a PH probe and a TDS probe. They make some cheap ones like these two. You might need to calibrate them often, so you need this and this

I use This to measure my nutrients. You can get the same one at walmart for 10 bucks. But you have to go to walmart, and that to me is not worth the savings.

Try to find the "Recipe" you need for your reservoir. I calculate my towers have about 20 gallons of water up to the hole where the wire from the pump comes out of. Once you have everything measured write it down somewhere and take notes. I do a full reservoir change at the end of every crop. Lettuce wont grow again once you harvest it. Make sure you clean your tower really well to avoid salt buildup.

I get my seeds from http://www.johnnyseeds.com/

I've had great success with [this one] (http://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/lettuce/romaine-lettuce-cos/sparx-lettuce-seed-3156.html) and This one

You can also use your own Rockwool and make sure you get one of These.

I have something very similar to this but I can't find the exact one. You start your seedlings with that.

Let me know if you wanna go deeper down the rabbit hole. Sorry for the wall of text. And also, sorry about your wallet.

Good luck!

At the time, I didn't own a mill so a friend of mine offered to grind it for me. I ended up with about 15lbs of flour in total. I recall being happy about the yield but I honestly couldn't tell you if it was good or not. I'd have to go back to my old notes to calculate the total area I planted to come up with a sq ft yield. As far as how much flour would result from the wheat in this photo - I'm not sure. Not much.

For future plantings, I want to talk to someone from my local extension to see if there is a recommended wheat variety for my area. I bought some random hard red winter wheat berries from amazon and planted it. For all I know, it was terribly suited to my climate.

Since then, my wife bought me a mill that I've been happy with: https://www.reddit.com/r/Breadit/comments/7mr7sw/adventures_in_milling_first_whole_grain_loaf/

If you're interested in reading more, I highly recommend Logdson's book: Small-Scale Grain Raising: An Organic Guide to Growing, Processing, and Using Nutritious Whole Grains for Home Gardeners and Local Farmers, 2nd Edition - https://www.amazon.com/Small-Scale-Grain-Raising-Processing-Nutritious/dp/1603580778

The link to your photo is not working.

It is hard to answer most of your questions without that link.

But a few I can answer.

As far as herbs go. You can do a lot of these in doors on a window. Only grow herbs that you are going to use, mint is really easy, so is basil, so are chives and garlic.

I just bought these seeds for my garden for this coming fall, winter, and spring 2017.

I have never used this company before but they have good reviews. If you plan on going organic I would get some neem oil right off the bat as it is a great natural defense for your plants and it is better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

What kind of fruit are you thinking? Strawberries?

You might find these two books interesting:

http://www.amazon.com/Homegrown-Whole-Grains-Harvest-Barley/dp/160342153X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377128301&sr=8-1&keywords=home+grown+grain

http://www.amazon.com/Small-Scale-Grain-Raising-Processing-Nutritious/dp/1603580778/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y

Main thing to watch out for is picking varieties that make it alright to process them yourself - grains that don't have to be de-hulled to be useable are much easier to process without specialized equipment.

Get a proper mill of some kind if you're interested in wholegrain flour. There's reasonably priced options out there that do it alright, and the taste of stuff made with freshly milled wholegrain flour is awesome.

Take a look at ancient grains & older varieties of the usual grains. (a few examples & more info here: http://www.islandgrains.com/how-do-i-thresh-grain-on-a-small-scale/)

Personally I have a tiny plot of flax, that I'm hoping to get some tasty seeds out of. If I were to grow my own grains I'd focus on the ones that are interesting taste-wise. I'd probably go for Hull-less emmer, and rye.

This is a good one too.

Weird why Amazon would not ship.
Some walmarts carry the Espoma line of organics, so check Walmart.

Absolutely, just the fiber along cleans up your gutt. I hated the taste initially, but so used to it now, its now part of the taste palette.

I went full vegetarian, about 3 years ago, cholesterol is down, blood pressure under control, sugar levels are normal, lost 40+ lbs, more importantly I sleep a lot better. So glad to have a 8hr sleep. I wont say it was just Ashitaba, but it certainly boosted my confidence and changed my view on food.

Thank you :) Yup, I got the seeds from Baker Creek and these ones in particular are Cherokee Purple

They germinated super fast @ 100% success. Started them in the expanding peat pots that you find in the starter kits with a heating mat under the tray. Now they're moved into a 5x5 Grow Tent with a small space heater, fan to circulate air, and two LED lights one two set on timers. They grew so fast once I repotted them and put them in the grow tent that I didnt look for a day and the plant on the left had burned itself on the light (you can see the couple of crispy leaves on the top left lol).

Yeah, they like a lot of light. If you have somewhere, you could put them outside (and it's warm enough) you could do that, otherwise it wouldn't hurt to get a grow light. They have them available on Amazon: 2ft or 4ft.

Hope it helps =)

I've had good luck with Jobe's Organic fertilizer. I got a good deal at my local nursery on a bag of their Rose fertilizer and I'm glad I tried it. I contains feather meal, bone meal, composted chicken poop, and sulfphate of potash. When it is watered it is fast acting in my experience. It has a slightly higher Nitrogen content than their tomato/veg food which I think is a good thing especially this year with all the rain, N gets used up and/or washed away.

I've been using cow manure for general fertilization and then I've been using the Jobe's when something needs a boost. It also contains calcium which is a benefit for tomatoes.
I also think one of the reasons manure products work so well is because of the added microbe activity which I understand improves the nutrient availability to the plants.

I still use MG occasionally because it has some trace elements in it but if I'm not able to find good sale prices in the future, I may well stop using it.

I read it in the "Carrots love tomatoes book"

Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening https://www.amazon.com/dp/1580170277/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_MvgRzbNPNNGEA

Hey there! I am in the same zone as you up in Maryland. :)

1. Start hordes of seedlings. Much more than you need. Choose the most healthy ones and pot some extras in case things go bad.
   
   
2. Use a free tool like this to plan your garden out. Spacing is very important.
   
   
3. Consider inviting some garden bros to your garden. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00533KOIC/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687782&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B004LTFMAY&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1KRAMJR0WPKHVC6HX105 and http://www.amazon.com/Praying-Mantis-Egg-Cases-100/dp/B000MR7B26/ref=sr_1_4?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1426810151&sr=1-4&keywords=praying+mantises will do nicely.
   
   
4. Do seedlings now. Make sure you harden them off over 10 days before transplant or the shock kills them.
   
   
5. Use bagged soil and begin composting on the side. :) Great gardeners don't grow good plants - they grow good soil and that does the work for them.
   
   
6. Does your area not drain?
   
   Final tip: You will learn more from your mistakes than successes. I know it hurts to see root rot kill some seedlings. It just happens. Learn from it.

There are a lot of great online references if you are willing to sit down, do some research, and map things out. As far as books go this one is pretty thorough and this book (I have heard) gives a more basic introduction. I've actually found the wikipedia chart on companion planting to be a really useful quick reference as well.

I enjoyed The Bountiful Container by Mrs. Stuckey and Nichols McGee. Mrs Nichols McGee runs a nursery not too far from me and I've had the pleasure of emailing with her a few times and she is delightful.

I currently have a dieffenbachia, peace lily, bromeliads and croton. I’ll use the light for the croton, dieffenbachia and peace lily. I’m considering this light: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LG39B3M/ref=psdc_14252941_t1_B07Q4RQ4V6

Thanks!!!

I looked at these the first thing when I wanted an indoor garden myself, and honestly, he's right, and he's trying to help. They are v low wattage, like 20-30 each, if that. Simplest setup i would say, if you can spend 70$ and replace those heads and put up a nice blurple 300w like viparspectra, your money would go a longer ways. I did this and had some mylar survival blankets wrapping the whole thing, strung up with tape, for a long time. The mylar blankets are 7$ and they have more than enough to make a makeshift "grow tent" of sorts.

links

edited grammar

https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-Reflector-Spectrum-Indoor-Plants/dp/B01B4GQ6MO

https://www.amazon.com/NAVAdeal-Reflective-Greenhouse-Effectively-Environmentally/dp/B00B8PAAJW/ref=sr_1_4?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1536205654&sr=1-4&keywords=mylar+blanket

They do! I don't have much to say about them right now since I bought them a week ago based on other recommendations. So far, so good though! They're much sturdier than I had anticipated.

They are called SmartGrow pots. Everyone on Amazon swears by them. They have a great range of sizes, I just wanted something large enough to give the sprouts a chance to become true trees.

While I don't have experience with this Lowe's version, the concept is pretty standard and is one that my wife and I used in the past. The concept is called "Square foot gardening" and the idea is to plant a different crop in each square. Now considering that this raised bed is 48" squared and the number of squares are 6 in one direction and 5 in the other (as opposed to 4 in both directions), what you plant is going to be a bit more cramped.

Personally, I didn't like the idea and we just use raised beds that I built myself. You have to be very calculating regarding how you plant things. This is obviously a good thing. I just didn't like the super duper planning that it called for. My garden is currently 16'x24' and I have a good number of raised beds, so I don't need to be so perfect when it comes to the amount of space I use.

When buying something like this, realize that you could probably make this yourself for $20 or less. If you're being sold solid materials and it's less than $30 bucks, I'd say go for it and buy it. If the markup is high, forget it! Remember, 2 2x8 ($5 each) and some nails or screws (which you probably have already) are all you need. You can use anything to mark those squares. If you don't want to spend any more money, you can simply drill screws along the frame at 1' intervals and string yarn or anything of the like across.

edit: clarity

16,500 Non GMO Heirloom Vegetable Seeds Survival Garden 40 Variety Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017YET9K6/ref=cm_sw_r_apap_o6ldvOKW3UUX9

I bought this, this year. Last year I bought from herloomseeds.com they grew awesome but I'm still pretty new so picking was hard, this year I'm checking an easier route. The seeds from heirloom were amazing though, after transplanting tomato plants in solo cups I set 4 on the edge of my garden because I had too many. I neglected them, but all 4 fruited with big tomatos I couldn't believe it!

I'd recommend Let It Rot! also.

Love Mike McG and didn't know he had a composting book. Will have to check it out. Thanks for posting.

Best advice is pick up a copy of Let it Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting. Great information for beginners, lots of different methods to try if you're so inclined.

I've used lady bugs with success in my garden beds and herb containers. Last year I used them for aphids my tomatoes and peppers and this year I used them on my chives for aphids and whiteflies on my rosemary. Worked well for both aphids and whiteflies. I suggest watering before releasing them, I have noticed they stick around longer this way. I've seen some people make little water feeders for them out of a bowl with pebbles, I'm going to try that next time. My only concern for you getting them in FL is how they will hold up to transportation in the heat. Also be sure to check your mail box constantly you don't want them roasting in there. Last summer I had them delivered in 80 degree weather and they were fine. I get them on Amazon, about $10 with shipping there are different sizes from multiple sellers. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00533KOIC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_ixvKXplSmVp5v

No! Get some good bugs that eat other bugs. [Preying Mantis.](http://www.amazon.com/Praying-Mantis-Case-Hatching-Habitat/product-reviews/B004LTFMAY

Ladybugs! They'll eat your bugs and birds will eat them.

I had chiggers, fleas and ticks. I put out 25 million beneficial nematodes. They cost $50 and ate the chiggers and everything. Cheaper than pesticide and I can plant whatever I want.

I don't recognize your little black pests, but something benign eats them.

Try putting rosemary, mint, or sage next to your basil. Companion plants can protect others.

I keep seeing posts from a lot of people having great luck with their plants and I want the same for mine.

I set the troughs up using the Square Foot Gardening Technique and they have been doing pretty well. We've been getting Chard, Kale, Green Beans, Snap Peas, a few carrots, and a few beets. Nothing seems to be thriving other than the tomato plants in one of the bins but no fruit yet!

I water regularly but have not fertilized other than last week for the first time and I wasnt sure how much to use. I used one solo cup of each fertilizer and spread the one cup full throughout the three troughs. The tomatos look a little wilted to me but are haning in there and have a few flowers now.

Veggie Fertilizer:http://amzn.com/B001H1LS6G
Tomato Fertilizer: http://amzn.com/B0011UEKKE

Any advice appreciated!

(Picture of my dog included because pets make everything better!)

I bought this package on amazon for $7.31. If you need ladybugs, I definitely recommend it. Every bug arrived alive!

How high above my seedlings should LED lights be? All the guidance I see online is for lighting that is massively more powerful than these. I have these grow lights which are about 20W worth of light per level.



Here are some of the plants and setup: https://imgur.com/a/YZKuB

Is it worth moving the lights even closer? What about getting more light (20W seems like a small amount to me).

Yes, you do. Here is a good book to help you out: http://www.amazon.com/Small-Scale-Grain-Raising-Processing-Nutritious/dp/1603580778?ie=UTF8&keywords=small%20scale%20cereal%20grains&qid=1465326199&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

Thanks for the advice...15k seeds is quite a bit...what was more surprising is it was only $14 or so....Here is the link if you are curious. I can't wait to get started!

hmmmm ok thanks. And I'm in Zone 10b.

So I should get two T8's? And I'll need to get a new fixture for those as well, correct?

The T5 bulb I have came with this stand and fixture.

Are you concerned with aesthetics? If not, you can easily get away with some florescent shop lights such as these. You would want to get some full-spectrum bulbs, or some that are in the sunlight spectrum at least. Depending on the plants, you may be able to get away with some standard 6500K blue/white bulbs.

If you really want to be super efficient/cool looking and you don't care about price then you could go with an LED setup like this, but you'd likely need several to keep many plants going and the cost adds up quick.

You could also get one large metal halide fixture such as this but they generate a lot of heat and look very industrial.

Please note that I'm not recommending any of these brands in particular, I'm just using these as examples. Were it me, I'd probably just pick up two fluorescent fixtures from your local box store and designate a corner of a room to overwinter the plants. They may or may not grow a lot under the lights, but they will survive and you won't break the bank.

So did you buy this?:

http://www.amazon.com/Heirloom-Vegetable-Seeds-Variety-Pack/dp/B017YET9K6

There are some seeds you can still start right now, like all the lettuces or the radishes.

I just googled for a vegetable sowing calender which fits you climate zone, this one should be perfect since you say you're living in Zone 8a: North Carolina:

http://when2plant.com/

So there are many vegetables you can still plant directly outside into your beds.

Yes and it’s a little oscillating desk top tower fan hooked up with my timer. These are the lights https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LG39B3M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-vsQCbE1TJ63M.

try the book carrots love tomatoes!
http://www.amazon.com/Carrots-Love-Tomatoes-Companion-Successful/dp/1580170277

They do. I’ve got two different kinds of lights, making it pretty full spectrum.

Using these T5s: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AKKUBDQ?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Using these LEDs: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074Y32PFZ?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Using this outlet timer for 12 hours on/off: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MVF16JG?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Using these for gnat control (it was pretty bad at the beginning): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O2KYORO?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Also when you say more light how can I tell if my lights aren't bright enough? I turn them on when I get up and turn them off when I go to bed but when I first started them I was only doing about 10-12 hours a day.

I bought these cheap lights on Amazon so maybe they just aren't bright enough.

Grow Lights for Plants, 45W Including Power Supply, 4 pcs 9.6W Extendable 16 Inches LED Grow Light Strip for Greenhouse, Plant Grow Shelf; Easy Installation-[4-Strip-Kit] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074Y32PFZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Az9QCbS03TXKF

Hmm... Well the one I have is this one, but that's a bit out of your range.

I do know they have a smaller version, but I think that's still like $200 or so.

FWIW the one I linked to started to "sunburn" some of my tomatoes a year or two ago when I let them grow to close to the light without raising it. 😓

Looks like there's a knockoff (if you will) for about $100 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PH1MQV8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_XOAHxbYB5TWFX

Can't attest to quality so you might need to read reviews before deciding.

Edit: merged my posts together - stupid mobile app!

I use these grow lights from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074Y32PFZ/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


For $43 you get a total of 64" of light bar. And the LED lights have a spectrum specifically for growing vegetables/herbs.

This should help

I've used this light for Cannabis and it works great. Since it's LED, It only uses 128W but is comparable to a 300W non-LED.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B4GQ6MO/

Supplemental lighting. Something like this - don’t buy any light less than $70.

These are the bugs I got. This company also sells praying mantis larvae so I think I’ll try those a little later in the summer. It took about a week for them to get here and I’d say maybe 100-200 were dead but I noticed them mating immediately when I released them so here’s hoping they’ll just continue to increase!

Not totally clear what you are looking for. But a couple of general options for you:

• Book on starting a community garden - deals with logistics
  
• An organization that helps families on foodstamps to grow gardens
  
  

I don't have any personal experience, but I know of a couple of books on the subject:

Small-Scale Grain Raising, Second Edition: An Organic Guide to Growing, Processing, and Using Nutritious Whole Grains, for Home Gardeners and Local Farmers

Homegrown Whole Grains: Grow, Harvest, and Cook Wheat, Barley, Oats, Rice, Corn and More

It's a T5 high output light. This one specifically: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006856EQ/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've kept it at about 3" above the seedlings when they were young. Now that they are in bigger pots and more spread out it's higher to try and spread over everything.

Yes these are the only plants underneath it.

60F but with a heating mat underneath.

No fertilizer.

I've been sticking to under watering since I over watered once when they were in their original burpee seed trays and I think that's what left the soil too damp.

Try ordering ladybugs, they're cheap. I dunno if it will work, bur for ten bucks, it's probably worth a shot.

You can get them on amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00533KOIC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_V4qSCb1DZM8BV

You absolutely must get this book: The Bountiful Container. It's said to be the bible for vegetable container gardening, full of info, and it's written so delightfully that you want to run out and plant all the things.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.com/Carrots-Love-Tomatoes-Companion-Successful/dp/1580170277&ved=2ahUKEwjCudi9n9zlAhULrZ4KHdLZD1IQFjALegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw3D2HYBuuOmjFgxm5qjqO59

ladybugs?

https://www.amazon.com/1500-Live-Ladybugs-Guaranteed-Delivery/dp/B00533KOIC

Ladybugs

yo.

This one
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PH1MQV8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Roleadro LED Grow Light,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PH1MQV8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

• 2x1020 trays
  
• 2xSureRoots 50 Deep Cell Plug Trays
  
• 2x7" Vented Humidity Dome
  
• 2xVIVOSUN 10"x20" Seedling Heat Mat plugged into an outlet strip hooked up to a temp controller
  
• 1x
  VIPARSPECTRA Reflector-Series 300W LED Grow Light
  
• 1xTaoTronics LED Grow Lights Bulb left over from last year because why not?

Murder machines http://www.amazon.com/1500-Live-Ladybugs-Guaranteed-Delivery/dp/B00533KOIC?ie=UTF8&keywords=ladybugs&qid=1462558996&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1