Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk AL Garden and Farm New gardeners

Due to the situation at hand, I know there are people planting gardens this year, who've likely never planted anything. There's some good knowledgeable folks on this board. If any of you have any questions, don' be afraid to ask.

At what point and with what do I fertilize tomatoes and peppers? I’ve also heard putting egg shells and epsom salt in the tomato plant holes helps. Thoughts?

Egg shells and epsom salt supply calcium and magnesium. That is to prevent blossom end rot. A better method is to put Dolomitic Lime around them. I mix it with the dirt in the hole that I plant them in. I rarely have any blossom end rot and if I do it’s only on the first couple of tomatoes that set fruit during colder weather.

I use about a half strength mixture of miracle gro to water my plants in when I transplant them. If you’re going the miracle gro route then just water them with it per the directions. I typically put a triple 13 or triple 17 dose around them a couple weeks after planting then come back with a heavier dose of 5-20-20 six weeks or so after that. 5-20-20 is a fantastic fertilizer blend for a garden. It works for every plant and you can add more nitrogen to your corn and okra.

Good move Fur I'm sure there is going to be a bunch of questions.

How late would be too late to plant squash, okra, maters, cucumbers, and peppers.

Mine went in this past weekend. I would say the end of April for summer and Early August fall planting.

Thanks going to try and get seed in the ground this weekend.

Think mine have been in 3 weeks. Just Fertilized some more today with the rain coming.

I plant a 2nd crop of all that except peppers and okra in early July.

Will temps in the 40's projected for Friday night hurt my mater plants ?

As long as you aren’t in a cold pocket and get a frost it won’t. It will stress them but won’t kill them. I put a bucket upside down over mine at nigh when it gets cold. That traps the radiant heat from the soil. Just make sure you take the bucket off before the sun gets up higher in the sky.

One tip for you new guys that I just thought of...

Don't plant one row of corn. It pollinates much better when planting at least 2-3 rows.

Also, there's no real need to buy "Bonnie" plants for anything other than tomatoes and peppers. (You don't need those either, but they take longer to grow from seed) I actually saw 6 pack trays of corn to transplant at the Co-op yesterday. I can't believe anyone would buy stuff like that. They sell okra that way too. For less than half the cost of one six pack of plants, you could buy a pack of seed and have enough seed to plant for years if you're only planting a normal sized backyard garden. Store your seed in the deep freeze and it will last indefinitely.

Squash, cucumbers, and zucchini planted from seed will be up within a week if soil temps are okay, and they are okay now.

Soak your okra seed overnight in water so it will germinate faster.

I've had luck with G90 corn not getting blown over. Might consider that if you're in an open area where wind could knock stuff down. Tastes good too.

G90 is my favorite Joe and I have seen the same. I like peaches and cream too, but it does blow over badly.

Back when I use to have a big garden I would plant 3 or 4 rows of corn about 40 feet long and then wait 12 or 15 days to plant another similar area, the corn doesn't all come off at the same time. I would have corn coming off for a few weeks, just skip the time frame out.

Glad you started this,Fur. I’m listening and learning. Everything we’ve planted is up and growing great except for the zipper cream peas. Not sure what’s going on with them. It was new seed and only a couple seeds germinated. I planted them where I had some turnips that I mowed the tops off and turned them in with the tiller. Not sure is turnips are like mustard where you have to give them time for the toxic gases to leave the soil before you plant something where they were. I’m gonna give them a chance to get a rain on them and see if it helps them. If not I will till it up and try again.

Is G90 ever sold under a different name? Went looking for it today, but no luck at Thrasher’s Feed and Seed.

If any of y’all use a rear tine tiller, how do you lay your rows out. I’ve got a plow that attaches to the drag bar and I run it on either side of “my row”. Is that the right way?

Can I plant corn and okra next to each other if I plant them at the same time?

Sure you can.