A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 discouraged about starting my garden--just a vent

I have been working on my garden plans but its so discouraging!

I have a plot that can be as big as 1/3 acre but of course I'm not going to plant it all. I have to pick up manure for tilling tomorrow and I still don't know how much square foot to do (and manure to buy)

Here's what I know I'm putting in:

in furrows and hills--
1 hill zucchini
1 hill yellow crookneck
pole beans
peas and snowpeas

12 tomaters (4 early, 4 roma, 4 yellow pear)
at least 6 bell peppers, 3 hot peppers

I also want to try a couple hills pumpkin...

since these are big crops would 25x25 be too big or too small?

I'm also doing 3 squares (4x4) for the small crops and salad and such

I plant my tomatos about 3 ft apart zucs about the same. peppers can be closer maybe 2ft. crooknecks the same as zucs, pole beans grow vertical so you need a trellis not much space there. peas and snow peas???? pumpkins take alot of space long vines, about the manure I dont know but you could ask where you buy it what they recommend. I hope this helps a little.Good Luck and have fun with it, dont get discouraged the fruits of your labor will be discovered

First Don't worry...it is normal to get all worked up, stressed out etc...when planting time is close and your still have a ton of things to do, It can be down right over whelming. Stop for a minute take several deep breaths...Ok even though beans need nitrogen...they are not esp fond of manure. Instead of trying to fertilize the whole area, How about side dressing the plants that need the extra help with the manure...figure out how many plants that will need it and then you can figure out how many bags you might need. I would guess that around 10 bags might be enough.

I still get all stressed out, well, not really stressed, I know what will be will be, and I am content with that, but there is so much to do...
*and Comfrey is sooooo right, just take a deep breath and relax, and

*and I remember still being brand new to gardening and that's half the fun of learning new things...and I still go thru the same thing every year when it's time to figure out which stuff goes where and to rotate crops...*

I am not knowledgeable enough on the ratio of how much stuff to put in per square foot..
*darn, I guess my math teacher was right

It is good to get the stuff thru the whole garden, that way roots don't stay in a single place.. but if you can't, side dressing is always
good, and needed for such plants like your squashes and pumpkins which are heavy feeders...

If you can why not get chicken manure works GREAT also take all the OLD tree leaves that are around and till then into the soil. That helps.

I`ve grown everything you are last year except crookneck (peas but not the pole kind). Everything grew GREAT..... UNTILL... the drought hit hard that is. I grew them like this. Tomatos with peppers then beans\peas followed by potatos vine plants (cucks,squach,mellons) At the end behind fence for vine plants were lettace and carrots. I forgot I also had a small space for broc and colliflower.

On Tomatos I grew big boy roma and the yellows as well.

Two years ago I tried the cages and the plants fell over. Last year I used tomatos fences you get at farm and home and bent them in half and pushed them into the ground. Needless to say thoses tomato plants get over 5 feet tall and out of 12 plants I got over 100 lbs of tomatos.

Pretty good huh???? I used the Ortho miricle grow when I watered. Got a great harvest. I almost hate to know what I WOULD HAVE gotten if there was no drought to kill some of my plants.

Hang in there, Mrs. Spud ! It all sounds wonderful to me, as I can only garden in containers.
You've made great choices in what you're planting.
Green Thumb, 100 punds ! Wow !
Comfrey, I can't get any comfrey after all - helpppp !
Hi, Weezie !

Last week when I was working like a dog in my garden I stopped and asked myself "why am I doing this. I don't have too. I don't get paid money for it and it's killer work." The answer that came is because I enjoy watching things grow and it's a way to totally get away from my paying job. I'll bet you feel the same way.

Bestofour,

You forgot the "OTHER" reasons as well. For one you just can`t get any fresher then your own. Second many veggies from commercial farmers are picked WAY too early IF you ask me like cucumbers and squash for one and finally but also VERY IMPORTANTLY look at the money you save.

Example: Last early fall\late summer tomatos were selling for over $4 a lb for a while but "I" did`nt care because I had my own fresh tomatos and (I forgot this) canning\jarring\vacumm packing. Look at all the FOOD you can get from your garden weather you save it store it eat it or sell it (farmers market\barter) your better off from what YOU make for yourself like your original point.

To all......

One side effect you sometimes get from gardening is nature. I too have been bummed about all the "WORK" involved in weeding and tilling to get ready for planting but surprise surprise when I see a few Volenteers in my garden. Like 6 lettuce plants , a potato and 6 catalope plants (i think) growing out of the ground which I did`nt plant at the time. Last year i had a volenteer cherry tomato plant and got like 20 lbs off that plant so you never know.

I think the best part for me is,
when I am making dinner, and I can just walk
out and pick it, and then use it..
I don't have to have it stuffed in my frig, or on a shelf, or opened, I just pick it...and use it.
Goshhhhhhhhh nothing finer...

*yes, and not paying for it is the total bonus..
especially those darn cherry tomatoes, I buy two containers of those at least a week, my husband takes a salad to work~6 days a week~ and those cherry/grape little tomatoes can get expensive...*

thanks guys, I'm feeling better today. Yesterday I got some things done.

I've almost got everything now I need except the rototiller, the pea inoculant and the vermiculite for my squares. I drove 50 miles to find out they were out!

I'm trying not to worry that I'm too late for the peas and lettuce, not knowing how hot it gets here.

I started working on my rhubarb yesterday, I had one plant and a friend gave me two starts. When I started digging I found two baby rhubarb coming up by my big one...so I dug those up and combined them. While I was digging a neighbor showed up with another rhubarb so I should have 6 plants now.

I got a whole lot more stuff but I have to go now.

I was just pullin' our Rhubarb yesterday,
sent off about 6 loads to people, they often
bring back Rhubarb jam/jelly, Rhubarb w/ strawberry jello, Rhubarb relish, and Rhubarb pies..
Ohhhhhh, yummyyyyyyyyy!

weezie, I've never eaten rhubard. Is rhubard used as a dessert?

Oh yea, we had a tomato plant come up in the middle of our back yard last year. We left it alone and eventually put a cage around it so we wouldn't forget it was there and mow it down. It got gigantic and we got the biggest tomatoes from it. Some of my potato plants from last year have come back up.

got my compost heap started!

got my bags of manure and composted stuff in bags moved!

Bid on a rototiller on ebay...

Its raining today so tomorrow I'll go dig some more rhubarb holes and a row for the walking onions....

getting there.

PS. Everybody I talk to says, you want manure? bring your truck and you can muck my barn out....LOL

oh yea, forgot to tell you my pumpkins are sprouting in my mudroom. I'm a grandma to some little sprouts.

Congratulations Grandma!

Congrats' Granny Pumpkin'!!!!!

What's a mud room?

Serious or are you kiddin'????

Me? If you mean me, I really don't know what a mud room is.

A mud room is like an entry way, before coming
into the house, that you can let get a little dirty, *ie; boots, shoes, jackets/coats, etc..*
instead of it coming into the house...
It's usually not heated or if it is can be cooler, and can store items, like salt for the walk way, plants, dog's, fishing poles, etc...

Wasn't bein' funny, when I wasn't sure if you were jokin' around....
I often say, something like that, cause mine is a catch all, and it's not just for mud...
but it sure seems like that's all it's filled with these days...

hey don't feel bad about the mudroom...I asked the same question. I also asked what a storm window was.

Moving from sunny centeral CA (zone 9) to west-central idaho (zone 5 on the cusp of 4) I really had no clue. Mudrooms are very important especially with snow!

Oh, OK, I get it, like an enclosed front porch, kind of.
Thanks, Mrs. Spud and Weezie.
I'm third generation Californian, have never traveled, and alot of things about other states are really unfamiliar to me.
I only know about storm windows from the news !

Hi Mrs. Spud, don't be using fresh manure in your garden. It will burn everything. You need old manure. I used to work for a dairy farmer and you wouldn't believe the people who would come looking for fresh manure for their gardens. Some couldn't be talked out of it and ended up with a crappy harvest.

don't worry, the manure is for the compost. I am only going to get 3 or 4 bucketfulls.