I'm planning to tear out a patch of sod and amend with organic matter to create a new planting bed. I'm a little confused about what I should be amending with. My options are compost or aged cow manure + sawdust mix. Why use one or the other? Once a bed is amended, does it need bark mulch on top or is that just for aesthetics?

How many asparagus bulbs should I plant? I have plenty of space, since the groundhogs won't eat them I have lots of unused well-drained high quality soil I can plant in and leave my fenced garden for the other veggies. My dad is trying to convince me to plant 50 bulbs but that seems like overkill (though I don't mind sharing excess veggies).

What are some apps you would recommend for tracking what you have planted in your garden and maybe the type of care they would need?

I use PlantSnap for identification. It seems pretty accurate but not 100%. After I get a match I search the web for care tips. Edit: your comment reminded me that an acquaintance recommended an app called Greg, which I just installed. You can add five plants for free and get care tips and reminders.

I recently downloaded Seed to Spoon and I like it so far! Little limited on varieties but it helps me keep track of best times to sow/start seeds for my area.

Thanks! I will check it out.

Is it too late to plant tulip bulbs in southern Pennsylvania? I moved to a new home in the fall and completely forgot about them

They may make leaves, but will probably not bloom. You can force them in the fridge like any other forcing bulbs; see the Internet for instructions. Then once they're done blooming, you can plant them, with the foliage still attached, into the ground, the way you'd salvage any other forced-tulips pot from the florist. If the transplant "takes", this allows them to fit themselves into their natural cycle, merely omitting the "flowers in April" stage.

My two-and-a-half-inch tall [Hot Pops Purple ornamental peppers](https://www.ballseed.com/PlantInfo/?phid=045607519004341) both have flower buds on them. Should I discourage them, since they're still so small? They have a million leaves on them, like a tiny, dense little bush. Also, if they're determinate, does that mean they can't be bonchi'd? I got the seeds from a dry pepper on a dead plant in a nursery trash heap, so God knows what they could be crossed with.

If you remove the flowers, then you won't have the subsequent fruit that is presumably why you're growing them. > bonchi'd? Do you mean bonsai? It would probably be easier with an indeterminate type, since bonsai is all about cutting pieces off creatively and waiting for it to grow back in the desired manner. >I got the seeds from a dry pepper on a dead plant in a nursery trash heap, Since it's a niche specialty pepper, and a patent has been applied for, it is very likely an F1 hybrid, which would mean it won't come true from seed. You'll get a hot pepper of some kind, but it may not be 'Purple Pops'. It's not a question of what it may have been crossed with, it's a question of whether it's an F1 hybrid to begin with.

I've seen people suggesting pinching flowers off of immature peppers and tomatoes to encourage the plants to put their energy into growth. Didn't know if that would apply here. They seem absurdly small and the leaf growth is unlike anything else I've seen so far (dense but very compact), but apparently the parent plant is a dwarf, so maybe that's normal. I had sort of thought most peppers were indeterminate, only it's usually convenient to let them die off. Whatever they are, I'll prune them in the late fall and see if I can push them past a year in a container. Could make a cute bonchi/bonsai, could just die.

Pictures of what you have would be helpful. It's not completely outside the realm of possibility that what you're nurturing is some kind of genetic throwback to goodness knows what ancestors, and so its DNA is sending it into weird leaf growth that doesn't resemble normal Capsicum annuum growth and development. If your plants are already fully leafed out and bushy, then it's doubtful that they're in any kind of "immature" stage in which removing flowers would help them grow any larger. Peppers plants at that stage, where you want to them to focus on leaves instead of flowers, usually have maybe four to ten sets of true leaves, and they're still obviously "seedlings" by their appearance. I too tend to assume that peppers are indeterminate by default.

Took a pic of each plant with a nickel for scale: https://imgur.com/a/NI6KV5A. Looking closely, they may be working on some branching. I have them a few inches from a 5000 lumen shoplight on my desk and they - along with the jigsaws and reaper they share the shelf with - seem to be thriving with it. However, I can only assume they'll do better with full sun once that's an opportunity. Maybe those tiny leaves will get bigger. I just think they're interesting and adorable.

Those look like fully adult leaves and branching to me, just on a genetically dwarfed scale. It looks like an adult plant. I don't think you're going to get much branching. If you want to do bonsai, I'd get an ordinary indeterminate type for that, and just enjoy this for whatever it wants to do. You've got them at optimal lighting already if they're making flowers, because that's how we know when peppers are happy, and putting them out into the sun isn't going to affect whatever genetic blueprint they're following for growth habit. They're apparently already at maximum development of adult appearance. Plants that are getting insufficient light will stretch upwards, growing thin and lanky, even if hardwired for a dwarf growth habit. These don't look like that at all, these look very happy and normal, for them.

My pink viburnum shrub was extremely healthy and suddenly it’s dying. I’m in north Texas and it was planted about three years ago directly into our vicious clay soil in a north facing front yard - it gets direct sun. It has begun to die from the tips of the branches with them all turning brown and all the leaves curling up. The base is still green but rapidly thinning and losing leaves. We’ve had some very cold temps for our area but it survived 10 degrees better last year so wondering if it has a disease or infestation. I do not see any bugs, evidence of bugs, or obvious blight or fungus. Has anyone seen this before or feel like offering condolences? 😢

It would be very helpful if you provided pictures. You can upload images to Imgur and edit your comment to add the link.

I've got this plant in front of a rental that I'd like to move, and I don't want to kill it. The plant identifying app I use doesn't know what it is, though it's similar to Japanese aralia. This poor plant has so far been effectively immortal, it has been poorly maintained for at least 10 years and keeps on living. Each leaf connects to a thick stem, several trunks merge at the ground. Any ideas? It's unlikely to be native to Northern California. https://imgur.com/zuRYtW4

You might try over in /r/whatsthisplant

Establishing two raised beds this spring - one with a 12" corrugated metal border for asparagus and one about 8" with concrete pavers on the edge for irises. I can till under the asparagus, but not so much under the irises (tree roots). Would it be a good idea to put a layer of cardboard and/or mulch under the beds to prevent grass from pushing through (at least until the plants have gotten established)? I figure the irises will be okay regardless of what I do to them because they're irises, and the asparagus roots will soon be strong enough to get through moist, buried cardboard without a problem.

> not so much under the irises (tree roots) You can't put raised beds on top of tree roots. Piling soil over tree roots more than the depth they're already buried can cut off oxygen to the roots, and eventually kill the tree. Nor can you plant iris on top of tree roots. Neither party will benefit. Iris also can't grow in the shade of a tree. Is the asparagus also going to be under the tree?

Hm, no, asparagus is in full sun most of the day. Full sun all day feels like too much here for irises - in August, it's like stepping into an oven. But I could put them ten feet away from the trees and still get some benefit. Thanks for the tip. Cardboard okay to line the beds in any case?

Yes. As long as you're not on top of tree roots Where are you located? What species of iris are they? Bearded, Siberian, Dutch, other?

I'm in West Texas. -10F to 110F range is possible in a given year, lousy soil, very little rainfall. I'm not super optimistic about the asparagus making it. Dunno what kind. My mother says they're blue and white. We grew a mix before, back in Central Texas. People I've talked to here say they thrive on neglect.

Asparagus is growing well for my folks in cental AZ. They are at a high enough elevation that winters are pretty bitter and late freezes are common, and it's Arizona so almost every summer day is topping 100. It will need water, but they have plenty and so get a nice crop. They tend to get fewer spears than when they lived further north with cooler summers, but their 'gus makes up for it with monster spears.

Ah, cool, thanks. It's mostly an experiment - worst case scenario, they die, and I still have a new raised bed. We do at least have enough cold days for its winter dormancy, I think. I mostly just want to see the big ferns - have literally never seen it growing anywhere I've lived.

[Bearded iris.](https://www.google.com/search?q=bearded+iris&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS749US749&sxsrf=APq-WBtRTCd5uaOlR65DxoOdwLn6ZfrhnQ%3A1645573211631&ei=W3QVYvCMJoWkptQPgvCWWA&ved=0ahUKEwiwpuz1vZT2AhUFkokEHQK4BQsQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=bearded+iris&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyCwguEIAEELEDEIMBMhEILhCABBCxAxCDARDHARCvATIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMg0IABCABBCHAhDJAxAUMgUIABCABDIFCC4QgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQ6BAgjECc6BAgAEEM6BQgAEJECOgcILhDUAhBDOg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCjAjoKCC4QsQMQ1AIQQzoHCAAQsQMQQzoLCC4QgAQQxwEQrwE6BggAEAoQQzoICAAQgAQQsQM6CggAEIAEEIcCEBQ6BwguELEDEEM6CwgAEIAEELEDEIMBOgoILhDHARCvARBDOgcIABDJAxBDOgcILhCABBAKOgYIABAKEB46BAgAEB46CgguELEDEIMBEAo6EAguELEDEIMBEMcBEK8BEAo6BAgAEAo6BAguEApKBAhBGABKBAhGGABQAFjmHmDjIGgFcAF4AIABmgGIAZkPkgEEMy4xNJgBAKABAcABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz) One word: "showy". [Dutch iris.](https://www.google.com/search?q=dutch+iris&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS749US749&sxsrf=APq-WBsHkfvm97ibnpCA9cwQCl9Xcg_NwQ:1645573753890&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiuorX4v5T2AhUMjYkEHbZTB2sQ_AUoAXoECAIQAw&biw=1280&bih=625&dpr=1) Small, skinny, and understated. [Siberian iris.](https://www.google.com/search?q=siberian+iris&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS749US749&hl=en&sxsrf=APq-WBv5_Yo_3CIRh085cpfzn4Y_zo83Mw:1645573797388&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjbk5SNwJT2AhUpjIkEHYbOCfQQ_AUoAXoECAIQAw&biw=1280&bih=625&dpr=1) Kind of intermediate, but with much taller stems and leaves than either. I'm guessing you have bearded, because while they all thrive on neglect, bearded tend to be the ones that people have a passionate emotional attachment to, and dig them up and bring them with them when they move. Massive understatement: "Best suited to the cooler areas". https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/gardening/asparagus >*It produces poorly in areas with mild winters and extremely long, hot summers*

Thanks. These irises, whatever they are, come from an old, established bed from two blocks away (came with my parents' new house), so I reckon they'll do okay here in spite of any mistakes I make. I had irises at my old house that I ignored for 8 years and they somehow did great. I think we have enough "winter" for asparagus's obligatory dormancy period, but the summer is inescapable. I won't cry if this experiment doesn't work. Just try something else next year. Like artichokes - I've always wanted giant thistles in my yard.

What's the best popup greenhouse anyone knows of?We're moving soon because our landlord sucks, I don't want to put down anything permanent so raised beds are out but I would love something to container garden in with bonus humidity and maybe raise native butterflies. Cold isn't an issue, FL is good for that, mostly worried about cost (around or less than $100USD) and portability when the time comes to move everything.

In Florida, there's practically zero need for a greenhouse, unless you're in North Florida and you want to keep orchids alive outdoors all winter, in which case you may need a heater on standby in case of a Polar Vortex emergency. Greenhouses are either too cold or too hot half the year. In cold-winter climates, the sun alone can't always keep it above freezing, and in hot-summer climates, it's 120F inside it and nothing survives. So they have limited use in Iowa and Vermont. In Florida, I'm hard put to think of a reason to have one. In Florida, you are already blessed (if that's the word I want) with abundant humidity. You don't need humidity to grow milkweed for monarchs anyway. In Florida, just grow your butterfly plants outdoors in containers year-round. https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/milkweed.html You can grow dill for swallowtails, which also doesn't require a greenhouse. Plastic popup greenhouses cost about $40 at Lowes in the spring. There is no real "best", they're all basically the same thing.

The humidity is more for raising tropical houseplants. It's humid enough where I am that it's uncomfortable for me but apparently not enough for the delicate Victorian maidens who keep dropping aerial roots on me like it's their day job despite multiple mistings a day and my janky humidifier running 24/7. I want something that'll keep humidity enough so that if I put in my garage with a nice grow light it'll keep humidity constant around 80% instead of fluxuating when I'm not around to constantly baby them. Being a butterfly 'container' was mostly a secondary thought for raising some donated eggs from my local butterfly garden to release. I'll look at the Lowes ones though, thank you!

> the delicate Victorian maidens who keep dropping aerial roots on me like it's their day job What species are these? I'm trying and failing to visualize a Floridian deliberately running a humidifier. So the obvious question is, What are you trying to grow that needs an actual rain forest?

Vining philidendrons, alocacias, stuff like that. They're delicate and the cuttings are just downright ecstatic to die on me. I also run a humidifier because my spouse is asthmatic and the extra humidity keeps them from having athsma attacks, we also have reptiles in true Floridian fashion.

r/houseplants I don't know how you would control temperature in a green house in Florida. Maybe instead of a green house use tube irrigation will spray mister emitters rather than drip emitters. I imagine your greenhouse easily getting 100+ degrees

I don't really think of philodendrons as humidity junkies, I guess, but if you're trying to grow them up a bark pole, you do need that for the air roots. Now, Alocasias, those are definitely indoor humidity junkies. I had one living in a wet basement that was humid enough for orchids, but oh no, not the alocasia. For me the humidity divas are always the Boston ferns. I finally gave up on them.

What do you mean about humidity diva with the Boston Fern? I have two (in Florida) that are doing amazingly well on the porch so far since I got them in October. I'm hoping the humidity this summer isn't going to make them turn on me...

I had them in a damp Midwestern basement that ranged between 35% in the winter and 60-80% in the summer, and it was a continual shower of brown leaflets. Nothing made them happy.

I'm from Champaign, my mom always had some that seemed to do well in the north facing windows in our home! Wish I could ask what her secret was!! I'll never forget those ferns in the windows, maybe why I got a few of my own ❤️

My philidendron is a humidity feind, it's a vining variety I'm gonna put on a climbing pole eventually so she needs the bonus. I had a Korean rock fern because it reminded me of living there, lasted like 2 weeks with every stop I could pull.

I had my yard people come and mulch my flower beds because I didn't have time this year. They put in the mulch about 3 inches thick over black eyed Susan, yarrow, mountain mint and irises ferns and other little cuties. I raked about an inch of the mulch off and moved it elsewhere but it's so thick I'm worried the plants won't come up this year. Thier were already visible rosettes on the ground in a few spots. Should I be concerned or just leave it alone?

Use your fingers--not a rake--to gently remove the mulch from around any above-ground crowns or rosettes. Now that winter is over, and the mulch is no longer needed to protect the crowns from dessicating cold winter winds, they need to not be smothered under layers of wet mulch during March and April. This is a standard part of spring cleanup for perennials that have above-ground crowns, to clear away any debris that might have accumulated since last fall.

What kind of mulch did they use, I'm assuming wood chips? Regardless, I would try to expose any rosettes and reduce some of the mulch over the irises. If you have a lot of perennials you might want to consider leaf mulch next time, you'll still get the insulation during winter but it will break down quickly in the spring and most plants will easily be able to push through.

Just plane hardwood mulch with no dye. They really buried everything. This is what I get for not doing it myself. SMH. I may have to go hunt my little treasures one by one then. I don't want them to die.

I have some fairly large beds and it's a lot of work (at least I have lots of trees so the mulch is free), but I have so many irises and rosette plants that I really can't trust a landscaper to work around them. I just mow all of my leaves up in the fall and stick them in a big pile in the corner of my yard until I need to use them.

Can I still plant tulips and daffodils? I have seriously like 50-100 bulbs and didn’t get to plant them due to moving. :(

You can plant them, but without the requisite winter chill period, they most likely won't bloom, but just make leaves. You can force them in the fridge for 8 weeks like any other forced florist bulb, see the Internet for instructions. Then after they're done blooming, you can plant them in the ground with all their leaves, and if they survive, they'll carry on as usual.

You can plant them in spring, they probably won't flower this year but next year.

I’m trying to grow basil in my dorm room out of a small pot and some solo cups, and I can get sprouts really easy, but then they slowly weaken and die, they never get to the stage where they grow the secondary leaves that come out perpendicular to the seed leaves. I have a nice grow light over top of them, I don’t think my soil is over watered, and the temperature in my room should be good, although I’m not positive. It’s like room temperature so I feel like it can’t be too far below 70 degrees if at all. Using miracle gro potting mix, could it be drainage issues or something? How much exactly do I have to water basil?

What are the specs on your grow light? Or a link to the product. What kind of MG potting mix are you using, what does it say on the label? What kind of fertilizing are you doing? What is your watering regimen, what exactly have you been doing? Is there a hole in the bottom--not the sides--of the Solo cups? What size solo cups are you using? in terms of ounces. What is the manner of the seedlings' dying? [ ] one by one, over a period of days, they slowly weaken,fall over, and eventually die. [ ] You check them and they're fine, and when you go back again later, they have all toppled over at soil level, to the last man, and there is a weird-looking pinched place at the base of the stem.

1. Grow light is led grow light off of Amazon with red and blue led bulbs, got it for 25$, I have it like a foot above the plants, on for 8 hours maybe 2. Mg Potting mix is “blended for a variety of potting plants” and I believe is peat based with coco coir and the white pellets 3. Not doing any fertilizing, I figured the potting mix was supposed have nutrients to feed it for a while 4. I water with a spray bottle about once a day, either spraying the top until it’s fairly wet but not mud, or through the holes in the side 5. No holes in the bottom of the cup, although I’m gonna try that, but when I dumped out all my failed sprouts (starting over) the bottom soil wasn’t soaked or anything it just seemed normal, not too moist or dry 6. I think 18 oz? 7. Basically they sprout, stop growing, and slowly the stems lose their rigidity and they go limp and fall over

Okay, things to look at, basically everything, sorry. The grow light isn't bright enough. https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/wiki/faq/lighting#wiki_what_kind_of_lights_do_i_need_to_start_seeds_indoors.3F In a dorm room, look into /r/SpaceBuckets they run on ordinary household CFL or LED bulbs liike you put into a lamp in the living room. Let everyone think you're growing weed, it won't hurt your reputation. lol If the MG potting mix doesn't say "Feeds for 3 months" or "Feeds for 6 months" on the front of the bag, then it's nutrient-free. Peat moss, coir, and perlite (the white pellets) are all inert and provide no nutrients at all. They're just a matrix for the roots. The seed starter mix industry does not tell you this, they let you think that their product is all you need for happy successful seed-starting. A lie by omission. If it says "feeds for 3 months", then it has a timed-release fertilizer added. So you start feeding by using 1/4 strength any type of water-soluble fertilizer (MiracleGro, Schultz, fish emulsion, whatever) in your watering can as soon as you see the first set of true leaves emerging. Read about correct watering. https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/wiki/faq/watering The 16 oz beer pong cups are way too big. It's like a toddler wearing Daddy's shoes. Get some 3 oz to 8 oz cups, styrofoam coffee cups, plastic bathroom cups, whatever. Seedlings are tiny plants, they go in tiny pots. You then up-pot them in increments as they outgrow their pots. Poke a hole in the bottom for drainage, and water by watering, not by misting. So, it's kind of academic whether they died from starvation, drought, overwatering, insufficient light, or fungal damping off. But the good news is, revamp your procedures and you too can have success. You have actually made a very promising start. You are already ahead on points of all the people who sat on the couch and said, "I should grow a plant" but never did. And, further bonus points for persevering when it all went pear-shaped, and coming back and trying to fix it. Other people just throw in the towel, "Meh, I must have a black thumb, I can't keep plants alive" and they toss the whole thing into the back of the garage forever. You don't become a Gardener with a capital G just by starting some seeds. You become a Gardener with a capital G when it all goes pear-shaped, and instead of quitting, you troubleshoot what went wrong, and you start over. So today, Grasshopper, you are a Gardener. Welcome to your new addiction.

Thanks for all the advice! Miracle grow does say it feeds for 6 months but I’ll try and get water soluble fertilizer. Why does they cups being too big matter? I figured they would grow into them

The excess unused soil, without roots moving into it and through it, can go anaerobic. Each watering carries soil particles downwards, eventually crushing out the air spaces between them. Anaerobic rot bacteria begin to proliferate, and old-timers sometimes say the soil has "gone sour". Since roots need oxygen and will not expand into anaerobic soil, the end result of a seedling in a too-big pot, adrift in an ocean of unused soil, is a seedling that stalls out in its growth, never advancing. It just sits there. It's not dead, but it's not doing anything, either. You up-pot any plant when it has nearly filled its present pot with roots. That's the benchmark. So seedlings can't really grow into a too-big pot the way a child can grow into a pair of pants that are two sizes too big.

Do the cups have drainage holes? Assuming you have drainage holes. The potting mix could also be the issue. The soil might be too rich and/or be retaining too much water.

I started watering the basil from under by cutting holes in the side below the seeds and spray the water in there? How often should I water basil? How do drainage holes work? I’m new to growing plants. Thanks a lot!

How much water are you giving them? They need to be fully soaking every time you water. Also, what's the grow light?

Drainage holes let excess water drain out from the bottom of your pot (cup) so that the plant is never sitting in water and air can reach the root to take in oxygen. Seems like you're pretty much doing it right, maybe attaching a picture would help ppl diagnose?

If you’re not even getting the true leaves, it makes me wonder about the seeds themselves, are they from this year? If yes, how deep are you planting them in the soil? It sounds like you’re doing everything else perfectly so I hope you can get some seeds to cooperate soon!

I feel like the seeds are fine cuz I put a bunch in a paper towel and basically everyone sprouted, I’m planting them just a little bit below the surface, I feel at the right depth because the sprouts come up a good but, and the roots of the dead ones went down about twice as far as the sprout came out. I’m using a miracle gro potting mix which a couple people online said should work. I’m starting to think it’s my watering strategy but I’m not shure how to fix it

If you have potting soil and not seed starting mix then you could be seeing "damping off". Do an image search for damping off and see if your seedlings look like that. Seed starting mix and potting soil are very similar, but seed starting mix is lighter and drains faster which helps prevent fungus growth. You probably have a decent bag of potting soil so if you can get your hands on some plain perlite (it is cheap, just normally comes in a bag the size of a pillowcase) you can mix it into your potting soil. I would probably start with 3 parts potting mix to 1 part perlite. Good luck!

So, I have been having issues with this pot retaining water. Not sure if the video will show up, but there was basically a plastic tray covering all the drain holes in my pot! It has a saucer beneath it, so this just seems super problematic. Has anyone had similar problems? And now that I have removed it, will the soil finally stop getting waterlogged? [video I took of cover blocking drain holes](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/290987983966830603/945428241102041108/IMG_4016.mov)

It's better if you host your video files on reddit's video hosting service.

ZONE 8B GARDENERS - what are your favorite IG accounts to follow along your gardening with?

Zone only tells how cold your winters get, it doesn't tell climate. Zone 8 covers climates as disparate as Seattle and Dallas. You'll probably get more traffic if you start a standalone new thread, as you're kind of buried in the Friday Help thread here. Ask for "Gardeners of [city, state, or region]" instead of "zone 8"

I made some lacto fermented hot sauce, but some of the ingredients poked up above the water line and got a dime size spot of mold. I scraped it off, weighed the stuff down and everything seems fine. Smells fine. No visible mold. The white ropy lacto stuff looks good. Am I safe to eat it?

There are assorted "can I eat this?" forums around the internet. You might try asking in one of those. While googling, I found this. https://www.reddit.com/r/fermentation/comments/3hzu3w/troubleshoot_my_hot_sauce_ferment_mold_issues/ You might ask over there.

I'm trying to fix up my garden. In the past few years it's become overrun with nettles moss, ivy, etc. You can't go out more than a meter or two in the summer once the nettles grow big. and I want to get rid of them. But I have no clue where to begin. I don't mind a solution that destroys every plant, even the grasses because I doubt the stuff that's meant to be there is very salvageable anyway. It just can't be a chemical method. Once I get rid of everything I have some money set aside to buy new grass, nice plants etc. I don't know of any methods other than getting a shovel and digging up the entire garden, but because of how deep the nettle roots run they might not all be dug up. I'd really appreciate any kind of advice.

Can you define "chemical"? My first thought was horticultural vinegar. It is STRONG vinegar, regular vinegar is something like 3-6% acetic acid but horticultural vinegar is 20-30% or more. It will kill weeds, even the ones with a tap root, along with everything else it touches. But it will take 2-3 applications, where you spray the base of the rosette ... wait for it to regrow a little and spray again ... repeat once more. I used it successfully last year on some stinging nettles in an area my dogs could not reach. It WILL damage skin (paws, eyes, etc) so don't let anything in the area until it has dried.

Is there an herbal medicine store near you? This time of year people are hungry for nettles. You might be able to get someone to come dig them all up for you if you put up a "free nettles sign". Just a thought.

Are you renting, or do you own the garden in question? Where are you located? How large a patch are we talking about, in terms of square feet, meters, etc.? How many hours a day does the sun shine directly on the garden, unobstructed by trees or buildings? Pictures would be helpful. It's 100% feasible without chemicals or a lot of digging, but specific ways and means depends on the above.

If you don't mind a solution that kills all plants, you can pull up the biggest weeds and then cover the garden area with a layer of cardboard, then a layer of woodchups, then a layer of nitrogen rich material like compost. Then wait for several months (at least) and just plant your new plants in the top layer. The cardboard and woodchips smothers the weeds but will decompose into nice soil.

I have some begonias that were in pots on my front porch for the last 9 months. Not sure what kind but they have tiny clusters of small flowers and did great all summer and fall. They look really spent right now but still alive. I'm in Florida 9b, can these last this long? Can I do anything to help them bounce back?

There are several types of begonias, and your way forward depends on what type you have. https://www.gardenloversclub.com/ornamental/flowers/wax-begonia/types-of-begonias/

Oh I found it, it's a hybrid "Doublet White' Begonia (Begonia semperflorens)". It was the perfect plant for my shady porch and blooms constantly. I'll definitely look for more of these, probably just at the end of it's days now.

a.k.a. wax begonia. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/begonia-semperflorens-cultorum-group/ https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/begonias.html They are nice little plants for varying degrees of shade, being easy to care for. When they start looking ratty and overgrown, you can cut them back by about 1/3, just snip each stem, going around the plant and giving it a haircut, and they will regrow and look nice again. When they get so old that even that isn't helping, they're quite easy to start cuttings from, and have new plants. They also come in shades of pink. The garden centers where I am always feature tons of them in spring, when they bring out the petunias. Walmart, Home Depot, too. Sometimes Kroger has them.

Thanks for the tips, didn't think about propagating them! I'll try the hair cut idea too. I love begonias and these really wowed me. I'll be getting some others as well for some color and flowers on our back patio this year.

This is a silly question, but I'm propogating some green onions in some soil, and I got dirt all over the cut off sections on the top. I tried washing it off as best as I can, but couldn't get it all off. Will that cause any rot or anything from happening due to the soil touching the open, wet sections of the plant? I'm guessing not, but just wanted to make sure. [The green onions](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/190621334219259904/945146523715510272/PXL_20220221_022408629.jpg)

More than likely, no. They should be fine.

Agree. And if a single shoot starts to look rotten, just clip it back.

How would shop lights (just normal LED ones) work for getting some seeds started for an eventual mid april early may planting? (peppers mostly)

Shop lights are the go-to for starting seeds. https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/wiki/faq/lighting#wiki_what_kind_of_lights_do_i_need_to_start_seeds_indoors.3F You want the tops of the seedlings to be about 2" (yes two inches) from the lights. You don't want the lights way up at the ceiling, and the plants way down on a table below them.

Shop lights will work fine. [Urban Farmstead](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPwLhs3U7W8&t=311s) on Youtube did a good comparison of grow lights vs. work lights.

I was just looking into this for my own grow lights for veggies I want to grow from seed. A good grow light is supposedly between 1500 and 3000 lumens and 5000-6000K. Most LED shoplights are good on the lumens. And likely good on the K (Kelvin I think)

You want at least 4000 to 5000 lumens total, and you want a mix of color temperature, some from both ends, like 2000K to 3000K and then 5000K or 6000K. This is basically Warm White/Soft White, and Cool White/Daylight.

Want to plant some perennial flowers into pots, live in an area where they should overwinter OK. I have some freesia seeds so was thinking of those, but I understand they go dormant over winter and don’t just want an empty space. Are there other flowers that go dormant over summer that I could plant in the same pot so there is always something in it? Cyclamen?

Where are you located? If you're in a cold-winter climate, everything is going to go dormant during the winter one way or another. ?

I'm in Auckland, New Zealand. It's subtropical, apparently zone 10 according to the map in the side bar. I'm looking for something that will go dormant over summer, our winters are pretty mild, tbh it's prime weed growing season haha!

Okay, in NZ you're spoiled for choice. Once your freesias are finished and are in their resting phase, you can substitute any of the other similar summer-flowering or "tender" bulbs. Gladiolus, ranunculus, cannas, callas, begonias, caladium, dahlias, see what your local nursery or garden center recommends. In your mild winters, they can most likely be left in the ground year-round to grow on their own. Cannas can be invasive so check locally before you plant them.

Silly question but in my area there was a week of hot weather about 80/45F. Got some nice blooms.This upcoming week we are going to be experiencing 55/35F weather. Is that going to harm the outdoor plants or is there something I should do to help them out?

Where are you located? What are you growing, what species? Just how cold is it predicted to get? Are they giving frost and freeze warnings, or just to the mid to upper 30s as the predicted lows? Are these in pots, or in the ground?

I'm located in the Bay Area in CA. In my area the low looks to be 35F Wednesday and Thursday night. There are frost warnings for these temperatures. The plants are in the ground and just planted last fall. I'm growing several species: Verbena Liliana, Erigeron glaucus and penstemon to name a few. I'm worried about the sudden change in temperature and how that affects plants in the garden

Plants aren't really affected by sudden fluctuations in temperature, as long as the fluctuations don't involve either of the two lethal extremes of "too hot" or "too cold". Plants can handle being 45F at night and then the next morning it's 75F. Plants can handle being 75F one spring afternoon and then suddenly the next morning it's down to 45F. What they can't handle is being so hot that their leaves wilt and then may actually burn and crisp, or alternatively being down to the freezing point of water, 32F. It doesn't matter how fast or slow the temperature reaches those limits, how wide the fluctuation in temperature is. Once it's so hot that leaves scorch and burn, it doesn't matter how long it took to get to that point, they still burn. And once the water in their cells freezes, the ice crystals can puncture the cell walls, leading to Black Death, the blackened and dying leaves so typical of hard frost damage. In your specific case, what you want to do is go out there just before sundown on the nights when frost or freeze is predicted, and cover all your plants with fuzzy fabric, such as blankets, duvets, etc. Fabric insulates better than either plastic or paper, with its many air pockets. You want a draped tent, not a wrapped bundle, so use sticks of some kind if necessary to hold the "marquee" up over the plants. It works by trapping the heat that the Earth radiates back up into the sky after the sun goes down. It doesn't need to be high, but it does need to not be wrapped up tightly around the plants. Most people's instinct is to bundle them up like a toddler in a parka, but this is not the best choice. Trust physics. If you have particularly tender and delicate plants, and/or if it's predicted to get colder than a few degrees of frost, you can fill up empty clean 2-liters or gallon jugs with the hottest tap water that won't melt the plastic, cap them securely so they don't just leak all over, and insert them under the blankets when you set it all up. Strings of Christmas lights are frequently touted, but this is a leftover practice from when all Christmas lights were incandescent. LEDs don't emit that much heat, and so aren't much use for this. If it's going to involve freezing rain or sleet, get back to me. You'll need a plastic layer for waterproofing.

Covering any plants of concern with blankets can help prevent frost damage. Typically if temps stay above 32, most plants will be just fine

I’m planning planting dwarf trees in large pots. The trees are still little for the pots but I don’t plan to move them for a while once potted. Would it be harmful to plant a couple small flowers in the same pot?

Additional plants sharing the pot will compete for water and nutrients, and their roots can get in the way of the tree's shallow surface feeder roots. Also, the smaller plants may have different nutritional and watering requirements. So all in all, this is not something that is generally done. >dwarf trees in large pots. What happens when a small plant is "overpotted" is that it can stall out in its growth, and not advance. This is because the excess unused soil can compact and become anaerobic. Roots will not expand into anaerobic soil, and without being able to grow more roots, the plant never gets any bigger. The end result is a plant that just sits there, the same size, no matter how much fertilizer you give it. So plants are up-potted in increments as they outgrow their current home, as indicated by their roots nearly filling the pot. You never put a small plant into its huge "forever home" right away. You move it up gradually, over time, as it needs a bigger pot.

Hey thanks for taking the time to put up such a detailed answer! I learned a lot and I’m glad I haven’t potted yet, will aim for incremental increases.

No, it should be fine. At worst, you might have to fertilize as nutrients from the potting soil will get used up quicker. Just make sure that whatever flowers are planted need roughly the same amount of water as the tree.

Thanks!

I’ve had a raised bed garden for about 5 years now. Haven’t added anything to it since we created it. The soil is really packed down….other than tiling it this spring, what should I add to it to help bring it back to life? Organic soil? Something else? Any advice is welcomed!

Spade in some compost and composted manure. You want at least a 1" to 2" layer of each of these all over the bed. Then you can add any other goodies you want: bone meal, kelp meal, any other meals that the garden center has. A small bag of worm castings maybe. You need to get organic matter into it, is the thing, as well as nutrients. Over time, it breaks down, and while natural forces such as earthworms will move through it and add their two bits' worth, still, it can use having more added. Orgaic matter is what holds onto the water molecules, making them available to the roots. Also, if you keep it mulched year-round with about 3" to 6" of mulch depending on what it is, it will not get so packed down, as the mulch itself breaks down over time and adds organic matter, and keeps it moist and loose. Add more on top every spring, just dump it on top to maintain the layer. Goodies should be added every year, either in the fall during fall cleanup (pile dead leaves on top, go around town and pick up leaf bags off the curb), or in the spring just before planting. Don't buy bagged "soil" and add it. This is often of problematic origin, and you don't need "soil", you need to feed the soil you already have.

Very helpful answer! Thank you!

Are [these bugs](https://i.imgur.com/uuPEUJD.jpg) some kind of aphid or something else? The upper left ones clearly look like it, but the ones on the right and bottom don’t look like the bright green aphids I know of, but I’m still a novice patio gardener. I noticed them on my jalapeño plant yesterday. Flicked off & squashed what I could and hit the plant with a neem oil & soap mixture today. Just trying to figure out what they are and how best to combat them.

Looks like some kind of aphid to me, too. You can hit them with a strong jet spray from the hose and just knock them off the plant. Once they're on the ground, they're helpless. What was he "neem oil and soap mixture" you used? Commercial, or DIY homemade?

Homemade mixture, based on a quick Google search; 1 tbsp neem oil & a couple drops natural dish soap to a gallon of water.

If the "natural dish soap" was detergent, it doesn't work as well as actual soap. It's the potassium salts of fatty acids of true soap that work to damage the insect's waxy outer coating. Most dish "soaps" are detergents. What brand is it?

Ohh that’s interesting, I didn’t realize that. It called for dish soap so I used the Method one I have, but I see now that’s more of a detergent. So ideally something like Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap would be better to use?

Yes.

What seeds are y’all starting right now? I’m always super anxious to get started and end up pulling the trigger a bit too early, then come April my basement is essentially a jungle. But there are some slower growing things that work well this early. So what seeds do you have going for spring?

>What seeds are y’all starting right now? Totally depends on location and on what you want to grow. If you're in Orlando or SoCal, you've been seed starting basically all winter, for one thing or another. If you're in Nunavut, same thing since you have a heated greenhouse. The southern hemisphere gardeners are starting their fall/winter crops this month.

How about there in IL?

My planting dates for cool season frost-tolerant crops is around the middle to end of March. This means that crops that are going to be set out as transplants need to have been started indoors under lights 8 to 10 weeks before that, i.e. in January. My planting date for warm season frost-intolerant crops that go out once the soil--not the air--has warmed to about 65F--is the middle of May. This means that tomatoes get started indoors under lights about 6 to 8 weeks before that, and peppers get started about 8 to 10 weeks before that.

Wanted to amend some raised bed soil for the new year for the new veggies and soil to grow. The current soil is raised bed soil from the nursery from last years growing. What’s the best thing to rejuvenate it? Compost? Manure? Just plain slow release commercial fertilizer?

Spade in some compost and composted manure. You want at least a 1" to 2" layer of each of these all over the bed. Then you can add any other goodies you want: bone meal, kelp meal, any other meals that the garden center has. A small bag of worm castings maybe. You need to get organic matter into it, is the thing, as well as nutrients. Over time, it breaks down, and while natural forces such as earthworms will move through it and add their two bits' worth, still, it can use having more added. Orgaic matter is what holds onto the water molecules, making them available to the roots. Also, if you keep it mulched year-round with about 3" to 6" of mulch depending on what it is, it will not get so packed down, as the mulch itself breaks down over time and adds organic matter, and keeps it moist and loose. Add more on top every spring, just dump it on top to maintain the layer. Goodies should be added every year, either in the fall during fall cleanup (pile dead leaves on top, go around town and pick up leaf bags off the curb), or in the spring just before planting. Don't buy bagged "soil" and add it. This is often of problematic origin, and you don't need "soil", you need to feed the soil you already have. Fertilizer comes later, during the actual growing season, as amendments alone don't usually provide enough nutrition for heavy feeding vegetables.

I’m planning to put a shade cloth for my balcony, where there’ll be peppers, tomatoes, etc. This will be the location - under the roof, hanging from hooks on the edge: https://i.imgur.com/Oho0j4c.jpg. I have a couple of questions about it: 1. This spot gets an awful lot of sun, especially in summer when it can reach 40C. I burned peppers and tomatoes here last year, so I wanted to know if 50% shade cloth is enough, too much, etc. 2. Will there be enough space for the air to circulate? It’s 25 inches in depth. Separate question - I transplanted this Rosemary the other day from soil to potting mix with extra perlite mixed in. The tips are dropping at the moment - will it recover from transplant shock or should I make cuttings preemptively: https://i.imgur.com/5rHdhFn.jpg Thanks so much in advance for anyone who can help me out!

Shade cloth doesn't help with ambient temperature, it only helps with diminishing the directly burning infrared rays of the sun. If the ambient air in the shade is 40C, it's going to be 40C under the shade cloth, and that's too hot for both those crops. They can survive, but at temps hotter than about 90-95F/32-35C, they start having problems with pollination and fruit set. So if it's that hot, there's not much point growing them in the first place, with or without shade cloth. Where are you located? If you have a mild winter, then it's common to grow vegetables over the winter, not in the summer.

Curious..what method did you use for watering? Did the soil in the containers dry out too often?

40 C is just very hot--too hot for most plants, especially when they're against a wall that absorbs heat. You're not going to be able to reduce the outdoor temperature that much below ambient with a shade cloth that also allows enough sun to get through, and peppers and tomatoes can't take it.

Hey, I’m not really familiar with rhizomes and I recently harvested some turmeric. What are these round bulb-like things? Can I plant them again? https://imgur.com/a/LBPOoSE/

Those are the turmeric rhizomes-the edible part, as well as the part that you typically plant. What did you plant to begin with? You can cut them into chunks, let the cuts callous off, and plant them. You can also just dig up the plant and cut off only part of the rhizome system then cover the rest back up to allow it to keep growing if you're in a tropical climate.

I just planted a small piece of turmeric that had some sprout from the wet market. Thanks for the advice, the top part already died so I just took all of them out. I’ll grow some of it for next time though.

Hello, this is my first post here. I know I'm a day late. I am in zone 6. I'd like to plant sunflowers this year, and was wondering which ones are both nice looking and produce a nice amount of seeds. I pretty much have zero experience in outdoor gardening. I've only planted flowers. These will be part of a food garden. Thanks in advance for your recommendations/suggestions.

The Friday thread runs all week until the next one goes up the following Friday morning. So you're not late. Large amounts of big edible seeds and "looking nice" tend to be a little bit mutually exclusive. The pretty dwarf-type sunflowers that come up to your waist do make seeds, but they're tiny birdseed-type seeds. The sunflowers that make the big seeds you eat are the huge single yellow flowers, and whether they count as "looking nice" depends on your point of view. Most people plant them along the back fence, or behind the vegetable garden, where they can do their thing all summer and nobody really cares what they look like. Mammoth and Mammoth Russian are pretty much the standard go-to for big edible seeds. https://www.burpee.com/sunflower-mammoth-prod000397.html https://www.seedsavers.org/mammoth-russian-sunflower Other "big seed" options. https://www.jungseed.com/category/577 Note the adjectives like "massive" and "towering". For the smaller pretty ones, look for keywords like "dwarf", "bouquet", and "color", also smaller mature height of about 4 feet. The ones for food will say things like "snacking" and so forth. https://www.burpee.com/flowers/sunflowers/

Thank you so much for all of your help! I think I'm going to plant different types. I'll check all of these links today. So nice of you to take time to leave these here.

I plant Mammoth Russian for seeds. In appearance, they are your standard huge tall yellow sunflower.

I second the mammoth! Super easy to grow and tons of seeds. Only problem is that every last one of nature’s creatures loves them as well, gotta watch em like a hawk toward the end.

Thank you so much for this!

I also plant this mixture linked below because they are all non-hybrid. It includes a variety of different colour and forms of sunflowers and I wanted to avoid pollenless sunflowers. I can't say whether they produce a decent amount of seed though. [non-hybrid mix william dam](https://www.damseeds.com/products/sunflower-mixture)

Thank you very much! 🌻

You're welcome. Hope your food garden is a success!

Hope everyone is well! I have several questions. First I have 2 Chile Petin plants that froze this year. They almost always freeze and come back and the main stem still seems supple, so I’m almost sure they are still alive. Should I trim them back now? If so take it all the way to the ground or the first fork or should I just trim the brittle, obviously dead branches? How bout a passion fruit vine? Take it all the way to the ground? Next what are the lowest night temps 6-8 week old seedlings can handle? Tomatoes, eggplant, shishitos, okra, ground cherries, various squash? Thanks!

For the second question, I wouldn't expose them to consistent overnight lows below 65. For the first, my instinct would be to cut them back when it's early spring in your area, but you're clearly in a semitropical environment and I haven't gardened in that situation.

Hi everyone! Has anyone ever painted a Vego garden bed? I’m hoping to purchase some raised garden beds in that style but my wife doesn’t like the color options! I asked Vego and all they would tell me is that painting voids the warranty 🤷‍♀️

Check to see if the Birdie beds that [Epic Gardening](https://shop.epicgardening.com/) sells will let you paint them. I know they did a custom drop of them and they were painted... so I can't see why you painting them would be any issue.

This is great advice, I will look into it. Thank you!

They look to be the same price as well.

Never heard of the brand, had to go look it up. ... Oh, those. The horse troughs. They are currently hot and trending, displacing the plastic kits that Home Depot had for a while. Like all other raised beds, they have a specific purpose, and if you have problem soil that needs them, they're fine, but they do take a lot (a LOT) of potting soil to fill. So I always tell people, "Why a raised bed?" They're a workaround for heavy intractable clay, pure beach sand, or glacial till full of rocks. If you have any kind of normal backyard "dirt", it's nearly always better, cheaper, and easier to work with that, improving as needed, rather than going with raised beds. It is technically possible to buy one brand-new and paint it with the appropriate paint found at Home Depot for galvanized iron. Ask the Paint department person. But my understanding of the folks who go with the horse trough look are opting for that specific look, as sopposed to the wooden raised bed look. Also, the galvanized steel lasts longer than wooden beds. So the "look" is of thrift, utility, and common sense, not decor as such. If you paint it, then it looks like a painted horse trough planter, as found (where I live at least) in front of farmhouses out in the truly backwoods boonies, far from garden centers. Pa drills some holes in the bottom of the rusted-out stock trough because he just bought a new one, puts it in the front yard, and Ma fills it with dirt and petunias. But that's all subjective. If your wife wants to paint it, it's a free country and nobody's got a right to tell her no. But I'd circle back to, "why a raised bed".

Because I want one? I’m not asking if it’s physically possible to dip a brush in paint and then smoosh it around on the object, I’m asking if anyone has ever done it and what their results were - and I’m pretty sure you knew that, but wanted to make me feel small for being foolish enough to want to paint a raised garden bed. You must be a fun person to live with. To answer your question - I want a raised bed because we have problematic soil, a dog that pees straight through chicken wire and a bad back. I am capable of building a wooden raised bed (and have in the past) or one with added corrugated metal. I happen to like the aesthetic and convenience of the Vego beds (or any galvanized tub for that matter) Thanks for your super helpful response.

>I’m pretty sure you knew that, but wanted to make me feel small for being foolish enough to want to paint a raised garden bed. You must be a fun person to live with. :( I'm truly sorry that it came across like this. It certainly wasn't my intent. The trouble with communicating via pixels instead of face to face is that, absent the usual visual, aural, and body english cues as to the other person's state of mind, the brain helpfully fills them in, and sometimes it gets it wrong, attributing motivations and emotions that were never intended to be there. So, my apologies. Try re-reading my post in the neutral tone of Mr. Spock or Tuvek, instead of with snark added. I ask everyone why they want a raised bed because a lot of people have the impression that they're mandatory, and they're not. As part of my overall mission, if you like, to help people in the subreddit have a better gardening experience, I like to help prevent people from getting into expense and hassle that they may not need. Sometimes you can just plug some tomatoes into the ground, but if you look at Youtube, you might never know that. It's all about the raised beds. Painting a galvanized steel horse trough planter is the same whether it's an actual horse trough or a Vego bed. You get the appropriate type of paint from the Paint aisle at Home Depot, and you paint it. I thought I'd mention that not everyone views a painted horse trough as desirable yard decor, in hopes of giving your obviously decor-savvy wife a headsup that, depending on your neighborhood and milieu, it may not come across quite the way she had visualized it. I don't usually care about the karma, that's not why I'm here, but I would like to point out that I have been here for 10 years, have over 175,000 karma, the vast majority of it in this subreddit alone, and I didn't earn 175,000 karma by belittling people and putting them down, that's not how this particular subreddit works. Nobody upvotes snark and assholery in here.

I appreciate this. We’ve certainly all had our words misinterpreted online. I live in a funky eclectic neighborhood, so a painted horse trough certainly wouldn’t stick out :) Thanks for all of your expertise in this sun, I look forward to learning more from you in the future!

Hi all. So I’m using one of those seed starter tray with a lid thing. I planted some seeds on Saturday and check back most days. Checked back today and I have some tomatoes and Brussel sprouts seedlings! However, my home has pretty poor natural lighting for when I’m off work and I don’t have any grow lights so the seedlings are already pretty etiolated. Are they worth trying to save or should I start over? It’s too cold to play them outside and I’m a bit fearful of sticking the whole tray outside due to wind...

Sticking the whole tray outside will simply kill them faster than leaving them indoors. Get some lights and start over. Don't just "start over". Start over, with lights. Fluorescent shop lights are inexpensive and work fine. https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/wiki/faq/lighting#wiki_what_kind_of_lights_do_i_need_to_start_seeds_indoors.3F Where are you located which means how soon do you need to have brussels sprouts transplants to go outside, and how early are you for starting your tomato seedlings? Because if it's cool enough for brussels sprouts transplants, to go outside and "git 'er done" before summer heat, then it's still too cold for tomato transplants, and conversely if it's warm enough for tomato transplants to go outside, it's already too hot for brussels sprouts. So where are you?

Zone 7a Oklahoma

Randomly chosen zone 7a OK city. https://garden.org/apps/calendar/?q=Tulsa+Intl+Ap%2C+OK Transplant brussel sprouts plants into the ground basically starting next week, for the next couple of weeks. They need cool, moist weather to get your harvest in before the hot weather locks down and they bolt and/or turn bitter, so this means that you need to start seeds indoors 8 to 10 weeks before the end of February, i.e. I guess the end of December, beginning of January. So unless your local garden centers are featuring brussels sprouts plants (which many do, including Walmart sometimes), you have unfortunately missed the window for spring '22 on those. However, you get a second, and much more productive, chance by growing them as a fall/winter crop. They like the long fall merging into mild winter of OK zone 7 much better than the short and hectic spring before it's May and it's time to put the A/C in the windows. Scroll down the link to the bottom "Your Fall Planting Strategy". Brussels sprouts plants go in the garden basically during August, so you'd want to start seeds indoors 8 to 10 weeks before that. It's too hot outside for those, so they definitely need to be indoors in the A/C, which means you'll definitely need lights. For tomatoes, you plant transplants outside basically during April, but since they grow so fast and easily from seed, needing only 6 to 8 weeks with lights, that you are still in the zone. Get a fluorescent shoplight and start over. Or you can buy plants at Walmart when they go on sale. You're not a Bad Person if you don't start things from seed.

I've read that if you lightly brush your seedlings with your hand once a day, it encourages them to grow thicker stalks. I just did a google search and the first result said to do it for a minute using a piece of folded paper. If I was going to restart, I would keep some of the ones you have and try that, maybe they can be saved.

If they’re leggy I’d just start over.

Hi y’all! Anyone know of seedling humidity domes that don’t drip all over the place outside of the 1020 tray? Makes such a mess on the counter when prepping seedlings indoors for the spring. Would love to find something that encourages the water back into the tray.

You don't need the dome unless you live in Death Valley or Las Vegas and your relative indoor humidity is like 5%. Remove it, put it away somewhere.

Wow, that WOULD be a good idea! Have you ever seen the underside of a Dutch oven lid that has the little bumps or spikes so that steam drips back down all over the food? I wonder if one could take a hot glue gun and make little drip-bumps in strategic places? Then just don't plant anything where it might get too wet. But no, I have not seen that and it sounds divine.

Wonder how the bumps would impact light distribution? I assume the current design is to save cost and churn them out with an injection mould. A slightly larger opening on the tray with a shelf and a double width base to give it some structure might work?

Hi everyone! Brand new to gardening and currently soliciting opinions on soil and fertilizer for tomatoes that will be grown in buckets. I've got seeds on the way and a plan for germinating. I don't have the ability to compost at this time but I do have access to rabbit manure. Will I want to use that early, then back off to something with less nitrogen when the fruits come in?

I'd use the rabbit manure and some bone meal or other calcium supplement for tomatoes. Tomatoes are heavy feeders, so if it was just a small amount of manure I would also consider supplementing with a general purpose fertilizer partway through the season.

Rabbit manure is the only manure that can be added directly to a garden without fear of burning. Other manures all need to be aged or composted for a period of time, to allow the ammonia and other things to dissipate so it doesn't burn roots. Manures considered as fertilizers are fairly lightweight, when compared to the punch you get from commercially compounded ferts, either synthetic or organic. Manure just isn't that concentrated. But what it brings to the party is, first, organic matter to improve the soil, and second, trace elements such as copper and boron that compounded ferts might not supply. So it's worth using, and if you have access to some, be sure to take some tomatoes regularly to whoever is supplying it. But for tomatoes, big feeders, it won't be enough, and you'll need to supplement once a month with some kind of fert in a bag or box. Potting soil for containers should be whatever ordinary container soil you can source that isn't too expensive. Also be wary of very dense and moisture-retentive (MG, "moisture control" I'm looking at you), and of mixes that are basically just peat moss with a sprinkling of perlite. If you're going to do a peat moss based mix, you can DIY it a lot cheaper with a big bale of horticultural peat moss. Or use coir--coco peat--which is sustainable. Cherry types get a 5 gallon bucket, slicers get a 10 gallon tote, beefsteaks get a 20 gallon. So if you're doing multiple plants, that's a lot of potting mix in the tiny bags, so look into the stuff on pallets at the Walmart parking lot. "Garden soil" being comprised of "composted forest products" works well. It's got obvious bark in it, that's fine, it still works.

You can use it to top dress the soil and I would do one or two applications, then let it break down and keep feeding the soil the rest of the season. I don't know if rabbit manure is high in calcium/magnesium, but consider feeding with a cal-mag supplement to help them set fruit and avoid blossom end rot (feed the tomatoes, not the rabbits). You are lucky to have access to rabbit poop! It is a lot less smelly than chicken poop. The nice thing about natural fertilizers is that they tend to be time release on their own, unlike the neon colored powdered fertilizer (tho I have resorted to that out of desperation).

Last year when I started seeds they suffered from dampening off disease. I used soil. I think one of my issues is also not enough air flow. Thats easily solvable with a fan. Does anyone have a recommendation on which pots and potting mix to use?

I've used pure coir this year and so far almost everything has done great. I have a small fan that's on the same 16-hour timer my lights are on. What lights are you using?

If I remember off the top of my head, its one of the Bridgelux LED's that are suggested over in /r/spacebuckets. I think it gives off 5k Lumens. Color is Warm white. I kind of made my own LED system rather than buying one.

How many of these do they suggest using? Usually the issue is not enough light but if it's r/spacebuckets approved that's less likely.

Usually one per 5 gallon bucket. I am using a square tote though. But unlike them, I also didnt add the fan. I do have another LED that can be added, but its the generic "100W LED" that sort of works. It actually runs HOT and Ive noticed burn out in some of the cheaper LEDs. I should devote the time and make something better. If it matters I did also use a seedmat last year.

How far from the seedlings is the light? Mine is 6 inches. Given your setup and prior results I would add a fan though.

Im using a 12 gallon bin for size, so its 12". Also, If I use the logic from above, every 5 gallon bucket should use 1 COB LED, therefore, I should probably use another. I have also seen people use side LEDs as well for stem development. Luckily, I have another month or two before I can start seeds, so I should get my grow bucket together. I know they grow the other green stuff over there, but you can find people who do vegetables as well. Theres a fair amount of good info over on that sub :).

A fan can only do so much. Damping off is much better addressed by providing brighter light. You want the seedlings to grow fast and strong, so that by the time the damping-off fungus gets its act together and begins to attack the seedlings' stems, the stems are so robust and sturdy that they shrug off the attack. But weak and etiolated stems due to insuficient light are at severe risk. So get brighter light to fix damping off, not just a fan. >. I used soil. Do you mean dirt from the ground that you shoveled up? This isn't used, due to its clay component that compacts and drains poorly. But the soil didn't cause your damping off. The spores are ubiquitous on the planet, they're in your house, your clothes, your eyebrows. Using potting mix instead of dirt from the ground won't make a damping off problem go away, it just means you avoid other issues with using dirt from the ground, such as other fungal and bacterial things, also insects and other hitchhikers.

I mix coco coir, perlite, and a little green sand and mychorzhae (I can't spell that for the life of me). Bagged seed starting mix is a good idea if you are planting less than 60 cells. Some people like peat moss better than coco coir. I think my ratio is about 4:1 coco coir and perlite, the perlite really helps keep the mix light and airy so I often go heavy on perlite for seeds. Once they have a few true leaves I add sharp sand to the top of each pot to reduce fungus gnats. Apparently the little turds won't tunnel thru shards of glass to lay eggs.

Do you think diatomaceous earth would work instead of the sharp sand? This is my first year staring seeds and I like this idea to head off any problems.

I tried DE first because I have a big bag of it, but it just got damp because it wicked moisture from the top of the soil (even tho I water from the bottom). So it became like a slimy sludge and would crack when it dried out. DE is also lighter than sand, so I really wish it had been effective but sand was the better answer. You can also hang yellow sticky traps (post it note sized) to monitor IF you get gnats. I didn't for years and years, and then one day I did. Monitoring is probably smart as a first stage, sand is really annoying some days.

Zone 6 here.... Lowe's is beginning to get spring planted bulbs in, including dahlia tubers (more of a selection of those then I've ever seen there). I picked up a couple bags and the tubers I saw looked pretty good. I didn't buy any to try since I ordered quite a few online and have seeds, but I know we're all getting the itch to start planting and they were inexpensive enough to gamble on. I won't lie, I want to go buy a bunch but I really will be out of space...... Happy planting soon enough!

Hi everyone, I have a question regarding grass. My backyard at my house always gets overtaken by moss. Like there's grass, then suddenly there's a large hole where it's all moss. It's a bit shady and surrounded by trees, but the lawn is south facing and gets a lot of sun during the day. We're getting ready to plant grass for the spring and I was wondering what's the best kind of grass we should get for the lawn, with these issues in mind? I'm also in the middle of aerating the lawn with one of those plug machines to try and help the dirt out beforehand. [The Lawn in question](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/938159898376695849/944288488768020570/PXL_20220218_174511680.jpg)

r/lawns, r/landscaping maybe could help

I’d love to know this as well as I deal with the same issues.

Hey, I planted some fruit seeds for fun at the beginning of winter and one of the peach trees has just sprouted and I'm not sure how to care for it, I'm kinda new to growing trees, I've been growing them for a few years but I'm very new to fruit trees and starting from seed. I read about the whole not true to type stuff and it doesn't bother me, I'm just going them for fun I guess. But yeah basically how do I care for a baby peach tree and should I bring it inside for a bit since it's still February and a bit cold still in the UK :)

>should I bring it inside for a bit since it's still February and a bit cold still in the UK :) Is it growing in a pot outdoors, or is it in the ground, or is it just a sprouted peach pit?

It's a sprouted peach pit in a pot outdoors

If it's been outdoors all winter, then I'm not seeing the point of wanting to bring it indoors now. Winter is over, it's spring, especially in the UK, which isn't Manitoba. In the wild, peach pits germinate and then live outdoors anyway.

Awesome thanks for the advice I guess I'm worrying about it too much cuz the weather has been a little crazy lately 😅

As long as you're not experiencing a Canadian-style winter that will freeze the seedling's pot into a popsicle and then keep it that way until May, you're fine.

Lol that's very true, we had a pretty bad storm yesterday, had a red wind alert but other than that I guess the weather isn't too extreme, nothing that cold luckily 😂

I saw you on the news. Apparently the livestream of planes landing at Heathrow in the midst of all of it went viral? Weirdly cool, and terrifying, all at the same time.

Yeah it was interesting to watch, some trees went down near me and the wind was crazy but that's about it in my area, none of my plants got damaged tho luckily :)

Hi there, anyone have any advice or resources for starting a school garden? I'm an elementary school teacher hoping to start a school garden next school year. I tried to this year but was denied, but I'm hoping if I can come up with a concrete plan on how to implement it with our curriculum and such, that they may go for it. Thanks!

There is a long running charity in Australia that has lots of info and maybe even a book you can buy on school gardens. You can find it [here](https://www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au/)

Lots to unpack. You need things in writing, for your own protection, is the bottom line here. Official go-ahead, Mission statement, budget, administrative connection to the school district (i.e. (who's in charge), supervisory assignments (again, who's in charge), the whole chain of command thing, curriculum connection, who what where when why how...document everything, get it in writing. Handshake deals, or casually volunteering to the school principal to start a garden and getting a "yeah, sure" isn't enough. This isn't paranoia, "Oh, we're all friends here, it'll be fine", it's just good business and education industry (if that's the word I want) practice. CYA. Casually-organized school gardens not infrequently end in tears, and often with the teacher paying for all of it out of pocket, and that's not even the worst case scenario. Angry parents, accusations of malfeasance, "Where did the budget go?", "Why is my kid wasting time on this? Why are my tax dollars going for this?" And everybody's favorite, "Why can't I as a taxpayer show up at the garden anytime I want and do things with it? I'm helping!" If it's an official school project, then most school districts have pedophile protections in place that prevent random strangers from interacting with the students. It can all go haywire in a myriad of ways. So having this not be your own personal pet project (School principal: "gee, I dunno, she said she wanted to run a garden for the kids, so we let her; that's all I know") is for your own protection. You need the official backing of the school, in writing, so that if shit goes down, you're not the only one standing there in the line of fire. The other bottom line is that very little of it has anything to do with actual gardening. The gardening part of it is almost an afterthought. The big part is the paperwork, the bureaucracy, the permissions, the organizing of parent volunteers (or the determined exclusion of them), the dealing with the school district's custodial and maintenance people that normally maintain the grounds and who may either assume that your garden is theirs to deal with and who may eventually weed whack it, or who may be resentful of perceived extra uncompensated work. Minefields abound. There are a lot of people to get on board. If you view it as any other school district project such as organizing a science fair, art fair, book sale fair, field trips, and so forth, it will go much better than if you view it as an opportunity for young people to get their hands in the dirt and learn where their food comes from. That's all later, once you have it organized. The people who organize the PTA Fall Frolic aren't aiming to improve school morale and help their children form lasting friendships and happy memories, they're just trying to get their fundraiser done. --Parent and grandparent here, who has seen her share of optimistic and helpful projects get hopelessly bogged down in administrative school district paperwork. Want to get a group of middle school kids to paint a park bench and donate it to the park district? There are hoops to jump through, starting with clearing any copyright issues to the 19th century Impressionist painting they want to excerpt. I mean, really people? Not bitter, just realistic. Watch yourself. > I tried to this year but was denied, Then either you didn't provide them with enough documentation, and only suggested a casual handshake deal to which they said "no", or else they don't want any of the above hassles.

This is perfect and the reality check I need. I think if I start planning now it’s something we can get going in 3-4 years to be realistic. Thanks for the reply!

All that paperwork and buerocracy sounds like a drag. Would it be possible to do a proof of concept lesson around a smaller project (e g sunflowers and peas in pots) to help show the value and to help you learn about the possible gotchas first? P.S. I know some things about gardening and would be happy to advise if you ever have questions. Feel free to DM me with questions if you like.

Oh yeah I usually do a few projects a year involving gardening with my students. I picked up a pretty cool book last week that aligns with NGSS(Next Generation Science Standards) and am going to do some more projects in class for the time being. https://i.imgur.com/d1AdVX8.jpg

Also, Covid makes everything more difficult. Administrators coping with staff shortages and angry parents at school board meetings about mask mandates and remote learning, "Ain't got no time for your school garden, sorry hon, come back when the world gets normal again".

Hello, is there a good website to order seeds from ? I've heard negative things about ordering from Amazon, and I'm hopeful that you guys know some

Burpee, Jung, Johnnys, Park, Baker Creek, Pinetree, all are reputable and well-established online vendors in business for years.

Also Botanical Interest, Territorial Seeds, MIgardener, Seed Savers Exchange…lots more out there too. I like to watch a variety of seed starting videos or seed haul videos. Also, check out Growfully With Jenna - she has some recent videos on seeds that she’s tried last year and she posted a bunch of seed companies I didn’t know about since she’s a seed trial manager for some seed companies

I like Baker Creek. I've also had good luck with Gurney's and Burpee.

if anyone knows of a better subreddit to ask this to please let me know. in the fall i prepped the right side of my yard so that i can have nice soil to plant in in the spring. that side of the yard gets shade on the bottom and then full sun higher up. the left side of my yard is full sun. since i’m still learning i kinda just planted whatever there and now i feel like it’s all messed up (i have a peony bush, weigela, rose bush, and other small ones). my question is- does it matter that the left and right side have different sun requirements? i won’t be able to plant the same plants and therefore i feel like it will be over the place. also, should i get rid of any of the big plants on the full sun side since there’s so many varieties going on? pictures : [https://imgur.com/gallery/MK0ewfi](https://imgur.com/gallery/MK0ewfi)

If you think about your plants as general shapes and colors, you can make the left and right sides look like they go together. Think of descriptions like "Silvery green and squat". "Dark Piney green". "tall and pointy yellow green". Almost like what you would do if you were sketching your yard in 15 min and had a half dozen green colored pencils to work with. Texture, shape, color ... As long as those are harmonious you'll be in great shape. Have fun!

awesome. that’s definitely something i didn’t think about but makes so much sense. really helpful. thank you !

The bottom line is that "full sun" plants like peonies and roses need at least 6 hours a day of the kind of hot direct sun that you could get a suntan or a sunburn in. If this direct sun is cut off by shade from trees or buildings, then it counts as "shade". So "right" and "left", "top" and "bottom" don't signify. What signifies is the amount of sun that is shining directly on the plant from up in the sky without having trees, buildings, or taller plants in the way.

Thank you so much but that isn’t my question! maybe i’m wording it confusingly but my question is more so about cohesiveness of the garden and the differing of plants between the sections of the same space.

Then I'm not understanding your question at all, sorry. When I look at your pictures, I'm just seeing plants in a garden. It all looks fine to me, I'm not seeing whatever potential problems you are seeing.

ok maybe i am overthinking. thanks for the feedback !

If you’re basically wondering if your garden will look weird or not as beautiful because you have sunnier vs shadier areas, I would say, no, of course not!! You could have ‘transition plants’ between those areas if you wanted to better visually unify the two spaces. But any lush garden area full of plants is going to look pretty good to begin with.

transition plants is a great idea. thanks for your response !

I have a sunny but steep slope that I’d like to change into a tiered flower garden. Are there any good plans that I could reference for this purpose? I have seen some images of both wood/raised bed style tiers and brick retention wall-type tiers. Is one better? Also we get a lot of rain runoff from our gutter at the top of that hill. Is that ok for the garden since it’s on a slope and also does the highest box end up being wetter or the lowest box? Thank you!

Depends on how big this is. With a big hill and a steep slope and multiple terraces, you need serious engineering expertise to design it so that it doesn't slump or collapse. This isn't a DIY project unless you have experience with it and can do the math, both figuratively and literally. Otherwise, you're looking at hiring a pro who does this sort of thing all the time. The experienced landscaper you hire to design and build this will know how to deal with the water runoff. Get references and check them. The winning candidate will have built terracing on big hills with steep slopes before and will be happy to provide the names and contact details of former clients who will tell you how pleased they are with the results. Not the winning candidate: Kevin, who has coffee with your retired dad every Wednesday at DQ and says he knows where he can "get a couple of guys to do the digging". Also not the winning candidate: Your wife's cousin's friend's brother-in-law, ditto. Touch base with /r/landscaping They won't design it for you, but they'll have thoughts.