A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Help in Starke -- Tomatos etc

Hi there,
I am new here, and my granddaughter is helping me learn how to use this computer to find information on gardening. I used to live just outside Atlanta, and I have grown many vegetables over the years, including tomatos, bell peppers, garlic (lots of garlic), and okra... the list goes on.

We have moved to Starke on a very wooded piece of land, and of course where trees were removed, there are a lot of roots! I am not exactly young, and digging in this stuff is hard. I have had trouble getting my tomatos to grow. Two years ago, it didn't rain enough, and the soil was so shallow, the poor plants just died without giving me much. Last year, it rained so much, it was hard keeping them alive, but they did better. I think we also got them planted a little deeper. But of course, a lot of them "blew up" cause of all the water in them...

This year, I have gotten them to grow better, but of course, we have had not so much rain. Keeping them from the birds, the deer (!!!) and the other animals is also a challenge.

We also have wild blueberries on the property, and wild bullet (scuppernong) grapes. The blueberries do really well, but not the grapes. What can I put on them... they get grapes, but they just don't develop, and wither and fall off. We also have a bit of blackberry, but they are SOUR!

One of these days, if my granddaughter ever finally moves down here, they are going to plant strawberries too. Yum!

Anyway, if you can help, I would appreciate it. I only can get on here with my granddaughter right now cause I don't quite understand this computer, but I am getting better. She types a lot faster than I do, so right now I am letting her type, but one day soon, I hope to "solo" on the computer. I hope I don't "crash and burn"!

Jonnie

Jonnie welcome aboard. And remember you learn by doing so don't be afraid just dive in. One thing you might consider is raised beds if you have someone to help you make them. I'm fortunate and have great soil so don't need them. But others on here can help you out. Best of luck gardening. JD

Jonnie, aren't granddaughters great! I have one too.

With all those roots you may have to do raised beds like elkwc36 mentioned. I think you can make that as intricate or difficult or easy as you want. Also some people on here grow tomatoes in buckets - some of them upside down somehow. Where there's a will....And, if you want to start stuff by seeds you can get plenty on this board. It's a fun place.

I have never seen an upside down one, but my son in law used to grow them on hay stacks. He didn't have near the roots so he grew them all over the place... in the ground, in pots... It just seems a shame with all this room I would have to put them in pots. Maybe this fall I will get my granddaughter to help me do some raised beds. What do you all recommend for putting in the beds?

are you talking strictly about raised beds for veges or for decoration purposes? For veges you grow anything for which you make the room. For flowers you can grow things that will trail out over the edges of whatever you use as your sides and make things very lovely.

for veggies... although maybe i could do that for flowers too in another area. I have lots of room....