I need a little encouragement!

I was reading a lot of other peoples posts and California has had 110 deg lately... that might be part of my problem with my toms.

Howdy Lisa,

With clay soil like i have, raised beds are a must. Clay gets either soggy wet or hard as a brick. Even by incorporating large amounts of organic matter, drainage is still a problem. Tomatos would die in a heartbeat after a heavy rain while standing in water.

For some encouragement and hope, look over Mel's web-site and the versatile system he uses. See if it won't meet your needs. His new updated book is probably in your local library to thumb thru. You can do it girl!
http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

Les

I know it"s not veg, but can anybody tell me after spitting a yellow daisey plant should I cut the follage off. I would love anybodys help.Thanks Nettas.

"pollinate by hand by picking male flowers and rubbing pollen on female flowers"


This may be a dumb question, how do you tell the difference between a male and female flower???

Cucurbits; squash, cucumbers, melons have seperate male and female flowers on the same vine. They require something, usually insects to move the pollen from the male flower to the female flower. The female flower will sit on a baby fruit. The male flower just has a straight skinny stem.

I guess the saying is true.....you learn something new everyday. THANKS.

In my area, there is a commercial supplier of compost---$30. a truckload, you haul. Look around for something like that because you need a LOT of compost to start. A half and half mixture is not unreasonable for clay soil.

AVOID horse manure unless it has been heat-composted. The previous owner of my garden dumped raw horse manure into the quarter acre garden and he/I have been fighting the Johnson Grass ever since. You do NOT want Johnson or Bermuda grass in the garden. It's perennial, persistent, and smothers nearly everything. Horses, unlike cows, do not "ferment" their feed in their guts so the grass seeds go right through them, ready to sprout at earliest opportunity.

Hi, fellow gardeners. I'm a newbie ,67 years old, from Philadelphia area. My question is: is it OK to use a product called"Soil Moist" in my raised veggie bed? Will the veggies be safe for our family and an insane iguana to eat? I've used it on floral beds and houseplants with great success, and they may have something like it in certain commercial soil mixes.It really helps when I forget to water, or am on vacation.

How I got my username: I wanted to name it after my schizophrenic iguana, so I tried his name: Murphy-taken. I tried lizard-taken. I tried Murph Murph. That didn't work. Frustrated, I tried "nutcase", a name that he has truly earned. It worked. So now I'm "Nutcase", altho I've never been in an institution.I kind of like it.

I like it too ! digger

LisaOliver,

Seems to me the best thing that you could do to help amend your soil problem is with compost. This is not a hard as most people would try to make it seem. Just by using all and I mean ALL, of your organic materials. Within two to three weeks of persistent tending, you could actually have some ready. It just depends on what you want to put into it. I have two bins, one for my primary compost that I turn and water every other day.
The other is a finished product that is ready to use where ever I might have a need. If you have access to Horse manure, next to bat guano, this is one of the better mediums to use to help break down your compost quickly; after you turn your compost over, place the manure on top, then water.
Using compost in your gardens is a better organic way to assist your plants and helps them to be more pest, and disease resistant so you are less apt to have to rely on Mass Market Chems.
My best suggestion is to purchase

“The Rodale Book of Composting: Easy Methods for Every Gardener (Paperback) by Grace Gershuny”.

This book has tons of tips to help you bring your garden or yard up to peak production. Check on Amazon and you might be able to buy an new or used copy for around $5.00 (note: all their books have a $3.99 mailing fee [flat rate USPS])

Wish you the best with your garden.