garden q/a
this is a collection of random things i've been asked about gardens/my garden
What do you use for container gardening?
i use ten gallon fabric pots, a mixture of soil from last year and new stuff purchased from the store, with administration of plant food after every heavy rain, and bloodmeal every few months as needed
Why fertilize so often?
ten gallons is a little small for plants that are making fruit, and i live in an area that rains heavily for a lot of the year so nutrients wash faster than in other places. the plant food i use came with a measuring spoon, i use half of a small scoop after heavy rain, added when i water the plants again. seems to be helping, the yield is about 50% higher in years i supplement
Help, my tomatoes cracked!
too much water. either water the tomato plants less, put them under shelter when it rains, or grow crack resistant varieties. if overwatered enough, all tomatoes will eventually crack, though. if the crack is small you can leave the tomato and it'll scab over, but if it's deep enough to expose seeds it's time to eat. once the seeds are exposed they'll just drip to the soil and the flesh will rot.
Help, there's weird bumps/thin white tendrils growing from my tomato plant's stems!
aerial roots. some tomato breeds are much more prone to them than others, and excessive rain/humidity can cause them. for example, my tami g is COATED in them, every inch of the main stem. the other breeds don't have much/any at all. if the tomato fell, it could root into the ground with every single one of those spots. you can safely ignore them, if the roots don't find dirt pretty quickly the plant lets them die, and they don't cause any harm to anything. if the aerial roots are low enough on the main stem, and you have space left in the pot, you can bury them with dirt and they'll become full roots. i add some soil to my active pots whenever it compacts enough to drop a half inch
Caterpillars are eating my plants!
i use bt caterpillar killer spray early in the season to keep levels low until the predatory insects can establish themselves. tons of garden bugs love to eat other garden bugs. mantids, wheelbugs, wasps, spiders, etc. if you make a home for them, they'll gladly assist in your caterpillar problem. you can also just pick the squishy lumps off the plants yourself and get rid of them. manual removal is the safest for all garden bugs, but it's not something everyone can tolerate
My garden has no butterflies!
butterflies come from caterpillars. plant native stuff that attracts the kind of butterflies you like, and DO NOT SPRAY PESTICIDES IN GENERAL OR BT ON THOSE PLANTS i cannot stress this enough. if you want butterflies you have to give caterpillars a safe home and not kill them all
Deer/rabbits are eating my plants!
rabbit fencing can help keep bunnies out. for deer, i use bloodmeal semi regularly and give the deer free access to the oak trees in the other end of the yard. bloodmeal and fish meal helps repel all sorts of herbivore animals, but bloodmeal unfortunately does attract mosquitos and both will attract any omnivores and carnivores in the neighborhood. don't let your dog near the bloodmeal they WILL eat the whole bag the instant you turn your back
How do I choose what edible to grow?
tomatoes are one of the easiest garden vegetables to grow, generally. chives, peppers and radishes are extremely easy too. potatoes are pretty easy, but require a lot more soil than other plants because all the potatoes grow underground. squash and zucchini will happily wildly overproduce if you live in an area that's not being overrun by squash eating bugs (it's me, i live in an area being overrun by squash eating bugs)
Should I grow from seeds or buy plants?
i recommend buying the plants, at least until you have a bit of experience in keeping the adult plants alive. i buy plants every year because i'm very very bad at properly growing from seed
help my mint escaped containment
may god have mercy on your soul