Help!

1. So I have ants in my raised bed garden...some little tiny ones and some fire ants...I put down fire ant killer to take care of those...but what to do about the rest....I mean the garden is outside and there are bound to be bugs.

2. How do you know when things are ready to pick...I have burpless hybrid cucumbers that are about finger length. My tomatoes are all green still, peppers are still small so I assume they are not ready, squash are about an inch long right now...

3. Any one ever grow eggplant? My plant has gotten bigger but has not produced any flowers yet.

4.How long until carrots start growing...I started with seeds and they seem to be taking a long time! I have little leaves popping out of the ground so I know that they are growing.

Any other advice???
if you want to see my vegetables here they are :

http://andersonrealliving.blogspot.com/2011/04/week-five.html

Hi,

I had a look at the photos on your blog. I grew veggies for the first time last year and was very excited about everything too! However, it really does take time. Carrots will grow very very slowly, mine were barely even finger-size by the days estimate given on the packet, but I did get them eventually. The other stuff will look ripe and ready to eat when it's ready to be picked - the tomatoes will turn red and will easily pull off the plan, peppers will take a long time to ripen but you can pick the green ones earlier. Before you know it summer will be here and you will have loads to eat :)

Don't be disappointed if the carrots don't do much for you this time. They're a cool weather crop, and probably will quit before they're very big. I'd pull one now (or just dig down beside it to look), and see how they look, and check again in two weeks. Peppers should be just getting going really, they love heat, and the eggplant does, too. I think they took longer to flower, where the peppers will flower small.
You should have time for the hot weather stuff, but for me (West Palm area) tomatoes quit by June.

Good luck, Florida gardening is kind of, um, unique*G*.

Thanks so much!!

I actually spent some time in the garden this evening...pulled my first 20 green beans! There will be a ton more ready this weekend. I put what I pulled in the fridge in hopes that I can pull some more and actually have enough to go with a meal. I have tons of cucumbers starting so that is exciting. I think I need to trellis my peas because they are kinda long and lanky. Florida Gardening does seem to be unique!

Hi Danielle, Your garden looks great!
A good way to tell if your veggies are ready yet is to use the ones in the grocery store as a guide, comparing their size and color to what you have. (That's what I did when I first started growing veggies.) Also, once your squash starts growing, check on it nearly every day, as they grow large quite rapidly. Once they're the size you'd choose in the grocery store, pick 'em quick! I've made the mistake of waiting several days to go check my squash vines again and found they grew so large so quickly they were no longer the small, tender, fairly seedless ones I like. They were still edible, but had lots of tough seeds. We like the ones that are about 4 or 5 inches in length, not counting the green stem portion.
Also, with the green peppers, I've left some on the vine too long, and they start to get rather shriveled and soft in places. Again, they're still edible, but aren't the fresh, crisp, really tasty ones we like.
If the peppers you planted are the ones that are supposed to be red, orange, or yellow, those take alot more time to develop than the plain green ones. (I guess that's why they're more expensive than the green ones.) The label on the seed packet or on the package of seedlings you bought would tell you which kind you have.
I've never grown eggplant, so can't help you any there. I have noticed that it takes a long time to grow, though.
Keep your eye out for that woodpecker, that it doesn't decide to make lunch out of your tomatoes once they start ripening! I've lost some tomatoes to the birds in the past and had to get birdnetting to cover the tomato patch with. (It's perhaps available at Home Depot, Lowe's, or maybe a local nursery. I've ordered some from Gardener's supply Co. too, which is a wonderful company to do business with.) This past summer my two dogs seemed to solve the bird problem, for some reason, for I didn't have any problem with birds eating my tomatoes at all. Before that I've had only one dog, and the birds weren't the least bit threatened by him!
I'll be looking forward to hearing how your garden comes along. Post some more pictures for us as things develop!

Looks like it is time to loosen the ground and add some miracle grow this will boost the production , and adding some organic matter to the soil will keep it from packing the ground so hard ... even though it is sand it still will inhibit the growth and production of the veggies .... just don't work the ground when it is wet as it will pack the ground even harder when it drys out. you will get much better results , by adding a fish emulsion to the plants also as it will feed the plants for a longer time .

Hope this helps

Sarge

Here's a nice little guide to tell when things are ripe and ready to pick.

http://www.almanac.com/content/ripeness-guide