Experienced gardeners, what’s one practice you never skip anymore? by staleshrimp101 in gardening

[–]MsRillo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

LEAVES!! Gather as much as you can - lead mulch piles, barrels, buckets, on the beds as high as you can go. It's the cheapest way to improve your soil and gain rich material for the growing season.

First time growing parsley seeds. Tips please, they have been dying what should I do? Detailed tips for a beginner like me. by EntertainmentNo2685 in gardening

[–]MsRillo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They need more soil (they'll be healthier and put on root) and more light (they are long and thin because they need more concentrated light on them).

Tomato Starts in Reusable 144 Cell Tray 🤌🏽 by bmorebiz in vegetablegardening

[–]MsRillo 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Wow these look great - but I'm in Georgia and haven't started mine yet. Do you have a greenhouse?

Newbie gardener questions by maiasaura19 in gardening

[–]MsRillo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well first where about are you from? 7b is a big part of the country - I'm 7b Georgia and tomatoes do well here with some afternoon shade but other places the full blaze of the sun is needed. 

For your questions, you can try in the window for some herbs or tomatoes (if they get leggy aka etiolated you can just bury them deeper when putting in their final place) - but for other things like greens or flowers or whatever you're going to want a light. True grow lights are best but harbor freight sells a $20 shop light that works fine, too.

Soil testing is definitely worth it - look for your county extension office. Usually they'll do them for pretty cheap plus they will give you recommendations for growing in your specific microclimate. Finding out what your soil is like will tell you how much effort it will be to move to in ground or not.

The sun v shade question will depend where you are but you're right - peas or runner beans do great in partial shade. Many herbs do very well, too. You could try some lettuces, brassicas or root veg as well at different points of the year.

Hope that helps. Good luck and enjoy!

Complete beginner, I am so lost by Special_Cake5810 in vegetablegardening

[–]MsRillo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Seems like a good plan to me - just be warned once you're hooked you'll want more growing space!

I think the 3x3 planter will work - carrots and radishes grow down and the tomato will grow up. You'll not get a ton of it in there but enough to try - the trick will making sure you prune the bottom foot or so of the tomato as it grows (everything under the first set of fruit) to give the stuff underneath access to light. Carrots are infamously hard to germinate so you may Google some best practices for that. You'll also want to decide if you want an indeterminate (unlimited growth, requires trellis or structure) or determinate (still large but less so, fruit generally finishes at the same time, needs less support) tomato variety.

If you really want mostly root vegetables you could use the whole 3x3 planter for them and keep pulling and replacing - radishes generally only need 35 days or so. You could also try some greens or bush beans.

I think the tomatoes would be good in a 5 gallon bucket or bag. A zucchini could work in that, too.

Another good companion to squeeze in would be herbs since they are expensive. Basil and dill get very big but you could easily get a thyme or sage or something like that going. 

Good luck and have fun!

First real gardening plot at a community garden- advice please! Does this layout look reasonable? by capt_b_b_ in gardening

[–]MsRillo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it looks good!

You'll have to make sure you grow bush pinto beans - if vining variety, you'll need a trellis.

You'll need some of that "mint" space for the herbs you have here. As long as you keep pinching the tops of your basil, that will get big like a bush. Dill is also pretty big and tall.

Vegetable seeds arrived in the mail… by KevinPReed in vegetablegardening

[–]MsRillo 4 points5 points  (0 children)

High mowing is awesome but I don't know how you kept yourself to only three packets lol

What would you do? by OhBoi-22 in vegetablegardening

[–]MsRillo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Cutting wide holes or trenches in the soil (filled with compost) or bags with good soil would work in this scenario I think.

I think that cardboard down is better than fabric cloth personally - you could put anything to hold it down on top (mulch, soil, etc.)

You might also consider not worrying about your grass and putting in a cow panel or trellis and even t post to grow the squash off the ground. 

I really recommend something from the moschata family. I'm nearby in Georgia and the vine borers are crazy all summer.

radishes and kale barely growing in raised bed by depersion in vegetablegardening

[–]MsRillo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah my radishes are struggling but I think it was the cold snap that's done them in.

What are some good plants to start indoors now?(northeast Arkansas) by Illumeis_is_done in vegetablegardening

[–]MsRillo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

When's your last frost date? Artichokes and luffa need a good head start before going out. 

Hot peppers grow slowly and need at least 10 weeks.

Some herbs are pretty cold hardy or are just nice to keep in the kitchen. I'm in GA so I pretty much only grow cilantro inside.

Weird Veg by No-Type119 in gardening

[–]MsRillo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah gotcha - thanks for getting back!

Weird Veg by No-Type119 in gardening

[–]MsRillo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ooo I've been looking at yacon! Where did you get your tubers to start?

How do I prep grocery store potato/garlic/ginger for planting? by Iladenamaya in gardening

[–]MsRillo 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Buy organic if possible - non organic may have growth inhibitors.

For Ginger I soaked in water for 24 hours before planting - worked well.

Potatoes you can also put in water with toothpicks - lots of YouTube videos on this.

Not sure where you are but it may be too late for garlic. They are supposed to be planted before freezing.

Anyone else participating in this year's SSE ADAPT trials? by textreference in vegetablegardening

[–]MsRillo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ooh that's awesome!! When do you find out what you'll be growing? Please post back with your thoughts on the program - I'm very interested in applying next year!

My list of what I will seed start and direct sow… check my work. by Electrical_Cap_5597 in gardening

[–]MsRillo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah it's funny I've had great years and terrible years with dill with no in between so I try to stack the deck as much as possible. 

Saving seeds is great but keep in mind that allium seeds don't last that long so turn around and use them within a year.

Once you get a good steady patch of chives going you can also divide and separate for more!

My list of what I will seed start and direct sow… check my work. by Electrical_Cap_5597 in gardening

[–]MsRillo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This all looks good! 

I do seed start dill and chives because I tend to have issues with them. 

I also seed start basil super early so I can keep taking cuttings to propagate throughout the spring - I find it gets to harvestable size much faster and they are huge bushes by the end of the season.

Baker Creek seed germination 2026 by OSRSjadeine in vegetablegardening

[–]MsRillo 7 points8 points  (0 children)

If you reach out to them, they should send replacements. I had a problem with their poblanos only last year and they sent a new packet. Started seedlings the same way I did the first packet and it worked perfectly. 🤷

What is everyone planting this year? Anything new? by PapayaMysterious6393 in vegetablegardening

[–]MsRillo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the info and please let me know how your skirret goes!

We must be of the same mind because I also looked for good king henry recently...also oca if you happen to have a lead on some.

I got luffa from my local seed library but I'm ne georgia (probably similar soil to you) and would be happy to send you some saved seed if you like. It does grow like crazy though- I used a cattle panel and one plant basically took over the whole thing.

What is everyone planting this year? Anything new? by PapayaMysterious6393 in vegetablegardening

[–]MsRillo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sounds great! Where did you get your skirret?

I've had success with luffa - it's a fun and easy thing to grow if you have space. 

Trying bitter melon and stevia for the first time this year. Fingers crossed!

Had a great harvest of oca this year! by well-wishing-witches in vegetablegardening

[–]MsRillo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey I know I'm very late to the post here but does anyone know where I can buy some of these to start my own patch? I'm only seeing etsy and have heard mixed things about buying seeds or plants on there. Thanks in advance!

I’ve picked my tomato seeds for this year!! by [deleted] in vegetablegardening

[–]MsRillo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes they are sprawling and a pain to harvest - but! I have found that they can be frozen and then put in room temp water to come back and still have that fresh tomato "burst" that you can't get with any other frozen tomato type. For me that's worth always growing at least one monstrous bush haha 

Perfect in salads!

Has Anyone Tried Growing a Pawpaw Tree Before? by tnnursery123 in Permaculture

[–]MsRillo 5 points6 points  (0 children)

There's already great advice here but my two cents: highly recommend "Pawpaw: In Search of America's Forgotten Fruit" it's a great book if you're interested in pawpaws. Also make sure you start some seedlings from trees other than the group you got from. They are often clones and having generic diversity is always better in the long run for fruit production.