how do you know if your overwatering your veggies?

This is my first year planting a vegetable garden from seedlings and my plants are doing amazingly better than i thought,but it seems somedays when you go outside to look at your garden it looks better than other days,somedays it loks amazingly green and other days it doesnt look as green? my worry is i think i might be overwatering my garden,how do i know if im watering it too much? on the other hand my green bean plants seem to be getting eaten up,i have looked very closely on the underleaves and cant see any bugs? i was told to buy 7 dust and dust all my veggie plants,does this stuff really work? i put it on my corn plants but it seems not to stick, its like it just beads off the corn stalks,why is that? we also have lots of ants here in Florida, little brown ants,i have noticed alot of them getting in my garden,do they cause any damage to my plants? what should i use to kill all the bugs on all my plants? i have cucumbers,tomatoes,eggplant,zucchini,green beans,corn,green peppers,red radishes,carrots,sweet onions? someone please help this newbie,i dont want to lose my garden,oh and btw...i made a raised garden cause here in florida its just all sand and some clay,i have my raised garden in 10 inches of top soil,and added 6 bags of black cow is this deep enough to grow & harvest my vegetables? any help will be greatly appreciated....thanks

hey, bill:

I'm in South Florida. I have a a 12" raised garden, because like you said, nothing but sand. I have all of the same veggies, and it's my first year, too. :)

as far as ants - I was told as long as they're not fire ants - leave them alone. I can tell you, though, that ants tend to harvest aphids, much like humans tend to sheep or cattle. so, if you see ants, there's a probability that there's aphids nearby. I'm using a homemade insecticidal soap, plus alternating with "organocide" which is an organic insecticide, but it doesn't take care of the ants; only other soft-bodied pests. :(

I planted marigolds around most of my garden (pretty much anything with a leafy plant), specifically around the tomatoes, squash, and peppers. I've heard nasturtium is a general pest repelling plant, but haven't tested that theory.

if you go onto ehow.com, you'll find a lot of info.

oh! go into your profile and list what zone you're in. I'm in 10b. this way, when you ask a question, people will know what zone you're in so they can help you. for instance, I have no idea where spring hill is. :)

hope this helps.

Bill, the Sevin dust will kill any ant or bug. It works. And it is safe to use on vegetables. It is almost imposible to overwater, if you have good drainage. If you see water standing , that means you do not have good drainage. Having a drip system is the best way to water. I use a PVC Pipe, drive it into the ground, next to the plant, & fill with water. Do this many times during the day, every day. You'll be surprised how the plant will grow.

If by chance you are over watering your plants will show signs of it. The leaves will start turning yellowish because essential nutrients are being leached out of the soil

Bill, I seriously doubt if you are over watering a raised bed. The excess water comes out the bottom of the bed. The biggest problem I have with my raised beds is keeping enough water on them.

For aphids, I mix water with a few drops of dish washing liquid in it. It gets the job done. When you get the aphids the ants will disappear.

The only thing I use is an organic slug killer and BT. I use a lot of kelp spray which helps the plants fight off the bugs and a lot of the fungus infections and don't water them to death. Plants actually have their own defense systems for fighting off bugs and when they're overwatered its diluted and doesn't work as well. Also, try using companion plantings. They do work. Oh here's an old timey method for making bug killer, believe me, it will work. You could even put a few drops in that special someone's coffee (don't you dare!).

Grind up Hellebore leaves (root is better) with water. Let steep. Strain off the water and spray. You can do the samething with Foxglove leaves (collect them early in the day) and watch the little chappies have a heart attack.

No I don't reccomend it, just thought it was interesting, I got it from a 19th century gardening book

I have a row of nasturtiums next to my beans and the beans AND the nasturtiums have tons of holes in them!

Could be slugs. I use ferrous sulfate. Just sprinkle it around and watch them go for it. Its organic. Could also be birds, but my first bet is slugs. Do you have a picture?

I agree with yehudith - it's probably slugs! I've read that coffee grounds either repels or kills them (not sure which). If you Google 'coffee grounds slugs', you'll find lots of references.

I've a cool picture of one of the little beasties chowing down on the slug killer if anyone wants to see it. It really warms my soul. I'm a firm beliver in "if thine right eye offend thee pluck it out...".

This message was edited May 13, 2011 1:54 PM