Hi Stacy!

I am glad you have found the articles helpful!

Sounds like you have some challenging issues to tackle. Getting enough sun is a big problem, because most vegetables need at least 6-8 hours of full sun in order to be productive. Any less than that and your plants will not thrive as they should. You really need to find an area in your yard that receives that kind of full sun.

Sprinklers can be a problem while the plants are just seedlings because the force of the water hitting them can damage and break them. Once the plants begin reaching maturity it might not be as big an issue. The best advice I can give is to create some kind of barricade to shield the young plants from the sprinklers. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, maybe even just an old sheet hung up or something. Anything that would reduce the force of the water hitting the plants.

I hope this helps and good luck with your garden!

Hi! I just found your blog today and have already read a ton of articles! I love it!

I’ve tried square foot gardening the last couple of years without much luck. The biggest problems I seem to have are not getting enough sun, or finding an area that the sprinklers don’t hit. Any suggestions for gardening in a yard that gets a lot of sprinkler action? I live in Utah so the hot summers mean we water the yard 3x a week for three 15 minute increments.

Thanks!!!

Stacy

HI TEE, THE PROBLEM I AM HAVING IS THAT AFTER A YEAR OF MY BANANA PEPPERS AND SWEET PEPPERS AND PIMIENTOS DOING BEAUTIFULLY AND PRODUCING A LOT OF DELICIOUS FRUIT, BUT THEY HAVE NOT PRODUCED ANYTHING LATELY. I LIVE IN PUERTO RICO AND WE GROW VEGGIES AND FRUIT ALL YEAR AROUND, BUT THE PLANT LEAVES ARE PUFFY, WRINKLY AND THE FRUIT, IF ANY, IS VERY VERY SMALL OR THE FLOWERS DRY OUT AND FALL OFF. SOME FRIEND SAID IT WAS BLIGHT(I THINK THAT THE WAY ITS SPELLED) AND TOLD ME MY BEST BET WAS GETTING RID OF THE SICK PLANTS GET NEW TOP SOIL AND START ALL OVER BECAUSE MY SICK PLANTS ARE AFFECTING THE ONES THAT WERE HEALTHY. ONLY MY VEG PLANTS ARE AFFECTED MY HIBISCUS , GARDENIAS AND ALL MY FLOWER PLANTS ARE DOING BEAUTIFULLY. HELP ME, DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO! THANKS FOR ANY ADVICE.

Hello Tee,

Thanks for the great site. I am very new to gardening and have chosen to do it with containers. I have grown some egg plant, brussel sprouts, blue berries, black berries, tomatoes, herbs of various types and some flowering plants. I also tied some pumpkins (only had 3 small ones from 3 plants using vertical growing using tomato cages). I currently have water melons growing vertically on a small “wind mill.” they seem to be doing well.
Just wanted to say thanks for the web site. Has a lot of good helpful information. I like the PDF function on your printer page. It makes it easier to save an article for quick reference later. I am looking forward to more informative articles.

Thanks,
Steve

Interestingly I came across this term heirloom vegetables, seems it applies to all those veggies that younger folk do not eat , and the real originals before the doctored hybrids, whilst some of these are great I hate the irradiated veggies, as they look good in the shop, have all the good bugs killed off and the fruit does not ripen when harvested. I have not found swedes in south africa for example and have to go directly to the seed suppliers for the older type of english veggie seeds that we like, ie greanfeast garden peas not grown here in johannesburg, only in the cape. I found some and have been eating and freezing them for 6 weeks, what a joy to pick delicious sweet green peas grown in our small garden. Came here in 1969 and still learning John Burton

I built a potato tower this year and had fair results. my main problem was something was eatting holes in the leaves of the plants. I looked and couldnt see any bugs. what could have been eatting them? and what do I do to prevent it? Great web site, It has been a life saver. Bob

Hi Diane – Thanks for the kind words! The biggest thing that typically causes bolting is fluctuations in temperatures. This is common in spring or fall when it’s cool at night then very warm during the day, then cool again at night, etc. The best way to avoid this is to either plant them a bit later when temperatures are more consistent, or plant them in containers that can be brought in at night.

For mulch the best things to use are organic materials like straw, bark, grass clippings, or leaves. You want to mulch around your plants as much as possible and also any walkways or paths that you want to suppress weeds. You can mulch at any time and I usually leave mulch in my garden year round. The materials decompose adding organic matter to the soil and help suppress early spring weeds.

Hi, I love your website! I moved from Montana to Oregon about 10 years ago, and I love gardening in Oregon! Each spring I find myself tearing up yet another little patch of lawn to add more garden space. I have 2 questions. The first is about growing radishes. I planted them twice this year, and both times they bolted and flowered and didn’t produce. The second is about mulching. What to use, where to mulch, and when?
Thanks!

Hi!

I started looking over this site and thought I’d join in so I can see what others are doing.

I’m a new gardener! I have yet to eat one single vegetable that I grew from seed in my garden. I planted late! My plants are growing now and I’m excited about it. They’re pretty! And, I’ve even joined http://www.urbanfarmonline.com to post my progress and pictures under Quinn’s Burb Farm. However, I do not have a clue what I’m doing, just growing them in extremely hot temperatures here in the DFW area. I water every day, not sure if I’m supposed to do that either. It’s like 101 – 107 every day here. I don’t know if you can see my blog or not I posted here – - let me know! I’m growing bunches of stuff after pulling all my first puny attempts!

How the heck long does it take to get vegetables to produce? For real! My family is laughing at me about this so far! Thanks!

Hi TJ – Plants do uptake water through the foliage, but it’s very little compared to the roots.

What you are most likely seeing with the abundant greening after a storm is generally because of the static electricity caused by thunderstorms. Lightning has been proven to increase the amount of nitrogen available in the air. This sudden increase in nitrogen tends to help plants.

Ever noticed that everything looks greener, brighter, and more lush after a thunderstorm? It’s most likely due to lightning. I’ve even heard some gardener run copper wire around their raised beds to attract more of the static electricity around the plants. I’ve never tried it personally.

I still think it’s better to water your vegetables using drip irrigation or soaker hoses for the most part. If plant leaves stay too moist it can promote certain diseases and fungus.