Hi this newbie would love some pointers!

Absolutely, Gymgirl! I hope I'll be able to identify them for what they are and not mow them, heh heh heh. =)

You might wanna put a little wire cage around that area to protect them from the mower until they come up...light, air and rain will get through the wire...

HoneybeeNC, I think you have the wisdom of thne ages there.

Everybody is different.
People think that anyone who is too different from them must be crazy.
Therefore everyone thinks everyone ELSE is crazy.

Once we get used to that and allow for it, we can get along and let each other be what we are.

Seeds drive me crazy when they thrive without my fussing around, for example by sprouting and taking over my compost heap after I tried all spring to get them to come up.

Hi there, while i see there are some experienced gardeners here, i could use a bit of advice.... I have 3 new raised beds and so far all is well. Peas, lettuce, bush beans and green onions in # 1. Peppers, tomatoes and okra ( i know it is too early for okra...I lost almost all in the latest cold and have re started from seed) in # 2 and here's the big question, #3 contains all cucurbits..cukes, cantaloupe, watermelon and zucchini and yellow squash. Is this a mistake? if some bug or disease strikes they are all in it together. Also, right next to bed#3 is a few gourds and i plan for pumpkins in the ground. So, i could re- arrange if necessary. What do you all think?

Biggest thing I see is peppers and tomatoes together in the same raised bed. There needs to be some separation between them, hopefully the okra is in the middle...

Uuuhhhh.... okra will be on one end. Why no tomatoes and peppers together? I am not saving seed this year. I was thinking of putting a row of okra in front of my peas, since they will be gone before it gets hot. Maybe the Pumpkins could be put in that space instead. They can trail out the side. Next year I will be trying to save seed. I want a bit more growing experience before I attempt that. Also I need to get my organizational skills honed. I am not too big on "a place for everything & everything in it's place." Gotta get better at that!

Thanks for helping me here folks.

Tomatoes and peppers get some of the same diseases, and can spread them to each other...

Gymgirl is correct about tomatoes and peppers getting the same diseases, but I've learned not to grow them together because they fight each other for "light". Tomatoes are such rampant growers, that the peppers aren't able to set fruit.

August last year was so hot, the tomatoes died. Not until then did the sweet peppers manage to set fruit.

As to curcubits growing together - as long as the cucumbers have something to grow up on, I don't see a problem. Just space the squashes far enough apart so they have room to spread. Small cantaloupes can be grown on a trellis, too. Watermelons take up a lot of space, but you could guide the vines in the direction you want them to go.

Gourds are best grown on a strong trellis. Pumpkins will take over your yard if you let them.

I assume you have a large garden area for all those vining plants?

UH OH.... the peppers and tomatoes are already together, not inter planted, toms on one side peps on the other. The 3 beds are 10'x5' each. ( had i thought it out, i would not have so far to reach across.) I grew the cantaloupe(hales best) and watermelon(sugarbaby) last year and they didnt really take much room, although I did pick up vines and spiraled them in. There are only 3 plants of each, same with cukes, 3 staight 3 pickle type. Last year I got a lot of cucumbers, but they didn't vine, they were gift seeds so maybe a bush type?The plants never got more than 2 feet tall and maybe 3 feet around. The gourds were an unplanned thing, i know they will go over the side of the bed. Maybe an old card table, with lattice for a top will work for a gourd trellis? I could set it next to the wood side rail of the bed. Now, for the pumpkins..4 plants 2 jack o lantern and 2small pie type. They are still in pots, so I can find a roomier place. Then the bed won't be so crowded. This is new dirt bought from a landscaper to fill the new raised beds. My own is clay that even with adding compost and manure and leaves in the previous fall... it was just bad last year. Very heavy and wet. Plus the grass and weeds jut had it in for me.(it was personal, i am sure. lol!) Hence raised beds and what the dirt salesman called "Magic Mix" humph. we'll see.
I still can't believe I BOUGHT dirt. Anyhoo, So, am I committing garden felonies? or just misdemeanors that will not go down on my permanent record? :)

scarletbean - We have hard, red, Carolina clay, so raised beds were the only way to go. To get started I purchased potting mix, compost, Kow Manure, peat, mushroom compost, and vermiculite. The beds were 24ft long by 4ft wide and 6" deep.

Since then we have collected leaves each fall and spread them between the beds. We've also raised the height of the beds from 6 inches to 10 inches. I'd like them to be 12 inches, but I can't get that sized lumber into my hatchback! We've also changed the beds from 4ft wide to 3ft wide with 3ft walkways.

Earthworms break-down the leaves into wonderful castings, which I add to the beds each spring and fall. I also run the mower over leaves until they are very small and use this as mulch.

Finely mulched leaves break-down into wonderful, rich, black (free!) soil.

AAHHH yes, the leaves. I mixed some in with the dirt i bought to fill the beds. Using them as mulch is a good idea. While i was digging up some flower beds, i engaged in a small scale earthworm search and rescue operation. I would take them to the raised beds to live and hopefully multiply. I am starting a compost pile. I got a rodale book from the library. I am very interested in this process.
Temps are getting in the 80s so the okra is going in today. I found a pumpkin spot and am working on a gourd trellis. Thanks for helping me with all my trials! there will be plenty more to come.

scarletbean - we moved here in October 2006. The following spring we started removing the Burmuda grass to lay out our garden. There were NO earthworms! I searched in the nearby woods and found four. We now have millions! I think every American Robin dines in our yard.

If you put your compost pile in the shade, earthworms should move in.

When you mix leaves with soil, make sure they are thoroughly wet first. Dry leaves tend to stay dry, unless there is a heavy rain storm. I've also learned not to put dry leaves in the compost bin!

Add some spent coffee grinds, and the worms will come and set up CONDOS!

Gymgirl - is that what attracts earthworms? No wonder we have so many. Hubby saves and dries all his coffee beans and I sprinkle them around the plants as they are supposed to deter slugs. I don't think it works against the slugs, but I do it anyway. LOL

In a New York heartbeat! For some reason, earthworms gravitate to coffee like bees to honey or flies to poo!

Depends on which way ur looking at ur worm!

LOLOLOLOL!!!! ^^_^^

I faithfully dump my grounds in the garden every day. For all the hard work they do, earthworms deserve some coffee! there is a great joke brewing here(get it ...brewing?! hyuk yuk yuk !) about one worm says to the other worm " boy this coffee tastes like mud!" I just cant pull it together with a punchline. Oh well. Help me out here folks!

I really wish i could find something to deter the slugs. (the beer thing is so-so) They are positively insatiable! AND those awful earwigs... ugh! I caught some in the act on my sunflowers last night. The earwigs were unrepentant.

Sluggo PLUS! It's a bit $$ up front ($25 for a large container), but a little goes a LONG way, and it maintains over a couple rains. Sprinkle it around your perimeter...

Sluggo Plus definitely kills slugs and pillbugs!

I have ordered some - it should be here soon!

Honeybee, do you have a riding lawnmover? We have a push mover & I can never get it started. Alas, all my leaves are in piles, waiting for someone to start my lawnmover. Some times I just wait years for the leaves to turn to dirt.

RE tomatoes and peppers sharing diseases:

I think ikt was Drf. Carollyn ikn the Tomatoe forujm who pointed out that dieases are only a problem if your region and your soil and your practices do happen to HAVE those diseases. If you DON'T have them, you don't need to worry about them.

I think she was talking about the need to rotate crops to avoid diseases from accumulating in the soil from year to year. If your region nev er has that diease, you don't need to go to a lot of work to protect yourself from it.

On the other hand, anything yolu can do to encourage your soil to remain free from those diseases (or pestgs) may be worthwhile, IF your neighbors DO have such problems.

>> This is new dirt bought from a landscaper to fill the new raised beds.

My guess is that that gives you good odds for the first year, at least.

SLUGS:

I don't always follow through on this, but I think that slugs are most vulnerable in early spring, when they're awake but there's not a lot to eat, and also in late fall during breeding season. That's when I think beer and bait pay off best.

It may also be worthwhile to set up some protection from rain over some of the bait - like an inverted margharine tub with slots cut out of the rim. The bait really does attract them (as does beer), yet it seems to me that the bait dissolves after even a little rain.

Yes, Rick, it does dissolve after getting wet -- but, it's still working!

behillman