1/3 peat, 1/3 course vermiculite, 1/3 of 3 kinds of compost manure. Cow, chicken and worm castings.

Build It said:

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1/3 peat, 1/3 course vermiculite, 1/3 of 3 kinds of compost manure. Cow, chicken and worm castings.

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Thanks. I was recommended 1/2 sandy loam and 1/2 compost. Any thoughts to this? Cucumbers and okra will be in this bed.

SharkinAg said:

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Build It said:

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1/3 peat, 1/3 course vermiculite, 1/3 of 3 kinds of compost manure. Cow, chicken and worm castings.

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Thanks. I was recommended 1/2 sandy loam and 1/2 compost. Any thoughts to this? Cucumbers and okra will be in this bed.

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I wouldn't have sandy anything for okra. They really like clay soil.

zooguy96 said:

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SharkinAg said:

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Build It said:

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1/3 peat, 1/3 course vermiculite, 1/3 of 3 kinds of compost manure. Cow, chicken and worm castings.

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Thanks. I was recommended 1/2 sandy loam and 1/2 compost. Any thoughts to this? Cucumbers and okra will be in this bed.

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I wouldn't have sandy anything for okra. They really like clay soil.

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The soil underneath the bed is solid clay. I actually just finished framing it out today. 5x12x12in. I'm planning on filling it next weekend. What do y'all recommend for okra and cucumbers?

B-1 83 said:

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Now as your neighbors foolishly rake and bag their leaves, collect them and use them as mulch.

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My agronomist friend, I'd like to use leaf mold compost as my tomato beds mulch this year. I need about 15 cubic feet.

Options are:

• Pre-bagged leaf compost from garden store.
• Grab my neighbors bag of leaves and rake mine ( do they need to be shredded)
• Take my wagon to our neighborhood forest and rake up some forest floor leaves ( shred these?)

I ask because I have no lawn mower and if needs to be shredded I either invest in a leaf shredder or by bags.

Thanks!

Buy. Your leaves won't be compost in the amount of time you have unless you take the naturally composted from neighborhood "forest".

Obvious next question is if I already have plenty of manure compost in my soil mix does it need to be leaf mold or will shredded leaves be just as good and I'll just turn them over in August and let them compost in place?

Asparagus crowns going in the ground today !!

Build It said:

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B-1 83 said:

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Now as your neighbors foolishly rake and bag their leaves, collect them and use them as mulch.

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My agronomist friend, I'd like to use leaf mold compost as my tomato beds mulch this year. I need about 15 cubic feet.

Options are:

• Pre-bagged leaf compost from garden store.
• Grab my neighbors bag of leaves and rake mine ( do they need to be shredded)
• Take my wagon to our neighborhood forest and rake up some forest floor leaves ( shred these?)

I ask because I have no lawn mower and if needs to be shredded I either invest in a leaf shredder or by bags.

Thanks!

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Let's understand the difference between "mulch" and "compost". Quality compost is organic material that has been pretty much broken down by flora and fauna to its most basic form. It is fine to mix it with the soil for improved tilth , water holding capacity, and fertility (depending on the source). Mulches are raw organic products used on the surface only. They hold moisture, shade weeds, and turn to compost over time. When tilled in (especially near planting time) they often rob the garden of nutrients (the soil flora and fauna use the available ones to live and break down the raw material).

If you're just now getting after it, by all means use the compost, and then use the leaves as a mulch. I've been doing it for so long, even live oak leaves pretty much disappear in a couple of months.

Without a leaf shredder I'll probably mulch with the leaf mold this year. However I did just source some cheap cotton burr compost I may use instead.

All I have to say is wow. That is ao impressive. People do not know the cost that we put in just to have a garden

Looks great!

What are everyone's favorite tomatoes to grow? Looking to mix it up this year. We love slicers and cherry tomatoes.

My favorites that I've grown are probably Sun Gold and Beefsteak. Also usually do a few Husky Cherry because they are pretty good and really dang prolific, at least for me.

I've had Brandywine and Cherokee Purple that were amazing but have never grown them.

(I'm in the Austin area.)

rdunham98 said:

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What are everyone's favorite tomatoes to grow? Looking to mix it up this year. We love slicers and cherry tomatoes.

My favorites that I've grown are probably Sun Gold and Beefsteak. Also usually do a few Husky Cherry because they are pretty good and really dang prolific, at least for me.

I've had Brandywine and Cherokee Purple that were amazing but have never grown them.

(I'm in the Austin area.)

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Romas. EOT

Romas and yellow tomatoes for salsa. I usually grow about 12 different varieties. There is a local variety here in East Tennessee that everyone likes.

Parks Whopper, 2 Champion, Juliet, 2 Sweet Million, 2 beefmaster, Heirlooms are Black Krim, Brandywine, Carmelo, Mortgage Lifter, Beefsteak and Roma.

White, yellow, purple onions, garlic, and some bunching onions to fill in between plants. I quit counting at 80 or so onion starts. Still a couple spare bags for something else. 4 bags of carrots.

Everything is in the ground. Still need a couple hours work on the drip system to be fully operational.

Then on to a cucumber experiment.

I have grown Cherokee Purples and Juliets for the past two years, and have planted more this year.

Juilets are good for sauce and salsa, similar to romas, they are also good in salads similar to cherries and grapes.

Cherokees are my favorite tasting mater. Good for slicing but not quite as prolific since they are heirlooms.

I'm trying some Phoenix this year because I hear they do well in the Texas heat and are almost impossible to crack.

rdunham98 said:

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What are everyone's favorite tomatoes to grow? Looking to mix it up this year. We love slicers and cherry tomatoes.

My favorites that I've grown are probably Sun Gold and Beefsteak. Also usually do a few Husky Cherry because they are pretty good and really dang prolific, at least for me.

I've had Brandywine and Cherokee Purple that were amazing but have never grown them.

(I'm in the Austin area.)

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Year in, and year out, Celebrity is my "go to". There's a little heirloom yellow pear that is also outstanding.

What part of the world are you in that you're putting out onion sets and carrots in March?

I know right. I plant mine in mid november but They normally start to sell again in january february

So I guess planting in March is fine just never heard of it

Houston and yes they grow just fine here in the spring

Give us a picture when you pull the onions

If they work I think that is awesome I plant mine in November and still dont pull till may.

But I have plenty room so It does not bother my garden room wise

Spring onions don't get as big, but big enough.

Thanks all! I got Sun Gold, Celebrity, Beefsteak, Cherokee Purple, Roma and Brandywine in the ground today. Kinda on the early side but the 10 day forecast looks promising.

I've eaten many a homegrown tomato but I honestly don't think I've ever had homegrown Roma; very interested to give them a try. Years ago when we didn't garden we bought them at the grocer because they were the best tasting option at the time. Now if we buy it's mostly cherry (Nature's Gold, Flavor Bomb, etc) as they seem to have the most flavor. The grocery store slicers are for the most part not even worth eating.

What variety of onions? If you plant now when do they start to bulb?

How do your carrots turn out that are planted this time of year? In the past, those I have left to pull when it's warm haven't been very sweet.

That is because they pull them green and they ripen on the way here

Your tomatoes are ripening on the vine and are actually vine ripe tomatoes

Anybody have experience with composting? This will be the 1st year I try it. I'm starting off with one bin because I don't have room for a full 3-bin system.

Any caveats to be aware of? I'm assuming this isn't an exact science. Any general advice is welcome.

fav13andac1)c said:

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Anybody have experience with composting? This will be the 1st year I try it. I'm starting off with one bin because I don't have room for a full 3-bin system.

Any caveats to be aware of? I'm assuming this isn't an exact science. Any general advice is welcome.

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Moisture and aeration are key. Don't be afraid of all your kitchen fresh vegetable scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds (filter and all), leaves, grass clippings (if you don't use weed and feed), etc........

Guess I won't be composting my grass clippings then. Thanks for the info. What if I would be using it on already established plants?

Yep, good advice. By far the easiest and quickest are the full sealed enclosures you can easily tumble or spin. Downside of these is usually the size if you need a lot but they are pretty much hassle free.

Also, it's tempting to put vegetable garden stuff in there too but unless you know it is disease free I wouldn't. I tend to leave my vegetable plants in the ground for a long time and they are always very stressed so I discard.

Most compost recipes call for carbon (cardboard) to be added in. I also use saw dust and chips to add to the compost pile to help with the process.

Yellow garden peach tomatoes are some of our favorites. I have some extra seedlings in the Austin area if you want to try a few.

That would be amazing! I'm always looking for something new!

Good bull.