It sounds like this is a raised bed that is elevated off the ground. If so, is it something you bought or something you built, and what are you using as a raised bed mix? I have been trying to grow garlic in containers, and the container mix seems to make a big difference.
Bought - two of them. The soil by now is a mixture of several types of raised bed soils and Iâve even mixed in fancier âorganicâ and nutrient rich bags as they get refreshed and replenished. As soon as the garlic fails to do anything (except my one good year where I got tiny bulbs), I plant other things in there and those plants never fail to grow spectacularly! Tomato, pepper plants, cucumber, etc. All have done perfectly fine in the plant bed, so part of me doesnât think thereâs anything wrong with the soil (perhaps not optimized for garlic might be the only complaint).
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Iâd love to see a picture!
It sounds like these raised beds are essentially containers, meaning they are isolated from surrounding soil? I think the garlic might need better or faster drainage than things like peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes. Mine seem to, although they are hard to compare since the problems seem to come in the wet, cool winter/spring, and my tomatoes and peppers grow in a hot and dry summer. Interestingly, I have no problem with shallots, also grown winter/spring.
In addition, this year I (with @bogman 's help) Finally identified some root maggots.
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I am writing primarily to whine, because I screwed up. I put my seedlings out on the balcony once the threat of frost was over. But it was still pretty cold. And continues to be pretty cold. So my tomatoes and peppers and cukes are stunted, and I fear they will never get going. Lettuce, herbs, chard and bok choy are doing better.
Iâm pissed off at myself.
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Iâm sorry you are suffering this! Iâm thinking theyâll probably recover. Are they getting a little purple? Mine have when they were a bit too cold. Some nutrition thing that happens when itâs cold. We live and learn.
Iâm kicking myself for not having bigger tomato seedlings by now, and I havenât planted any in their permanent home! Oh well. Life happens. Weâll call it a new âtrialâ!
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In the early days, we stunted our tomatoes regularly by putting them out too early and unprotected. Eventually we learned and good habits were developed. We should all learn from our mistakes.
You can explore varieties which do well with an early start. I donât know what area you are in. We are in PNW USA, and have found a variety called Oregon Spring can be put out much earlier than some of the other varieties we grow. On the other end of the spectrum, we have given up on late-season tomatoes, as a good Second Summer season is hard to come by around here.
Tomato accelerators (protectors) are very handy for getting an early start.
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Hereâs a picture of our herb garden. We built it on the side of a shed just outside our back door, which is near the kitchen. There are a couple of gates on it to keep the deer out: tarragon, oregano, chives, parsley, sage and thyme.
We also have some basil in the greenhouse, and rosemary and wild fennel (?) growing on the property.
Sometimes I think our fennel is dill, as it smells dilly, and doesnât have the licorice taste that fennel does. But the root looks more like fennel than dill. A mystery, indeed. I use the fronds anywhere I would use dill, as none of my go-to recipes call for fennel!
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This was just a grievous miscalculation. My garden is usually quite successful, but for some reason I had it in my head that I should put the plants outside not by size, but by calendar date. And now I regret the error.
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I usually put mine in on May 1st, but I have still not put my peppers and tomatoes in their permanent home. We are still having (unusually) cool weather; high 64 today and low of 43 tonight, but by next Saturday it is supposed to be 94 f.
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First garlic scape!
The plant is sort of sad, but the scape looks good!
And potato flowers!
Iâm hoping they can outlast whatever critter with sucking and rasping mouth parts is hanging out on this nearby potato plant.
Itâs usually thrips or mites. I also see whiteflies.
Not veggies, but sweet peas have peas in their name!
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Iâm blown away by your garden
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Lovely flowers! You beat the heat with those and the favas.
Itâs funny how âsweetâ can either refer to flavor or scent, when it comes to English plant names. In addition, Lathyrus latifolius(perennial) and L. odoratus (annual) are both called Sweet Pea, but the former isnât edible or sweet-smelling, at least the ones around here are mostly odorless.
Are you getting any help with all of what youâre growing? Itâs a lot to keep track of, but if gardening makes one happy, itâs not really work. Here, if I need an extra hand in the garden, I usually have to find and pay someone; itâs work to them, LOL!
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About 50 peppers, Capsicum chinense varieties, are feeling very cramped and tired of living in small pots! Two: Grenada Hot Red and Jamaican Red Goat, are very hot. Two: Grenada yellow âseasoningâ and Rocotto, are very mild, with a pungent habanero-type aroma.
Theyâre sharing table space with a community pot of seedling Chinquapins, a dwarf, native chestnut which grows wild out here.
Since itâs rainy and cool, I took the white bags of of some apple grafts I did a while ago. The new top growth is a good sign the grafts are taking.
The real question is wether or not I grafted a desirable apple or an under stock. An ancient, super tasty apple fell over and mostly died, but sent up a strong sucker. Though the sucker bark color and appearance matches the old tree, thereâs no way of knowing. After some years, itâll be obvious if there are a bunch of great trees or useless root stock on root stock trees! Ugh!
A previous attempt to graft the old tree failed because the twigs were so scarred and damaged by Periodical Cicadas, the grafts didnât heal properly and were stunted. The tree mostly died the following year, save for a single sucker growth.
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Just a âmower and blowerâ. I really need to cut back. I always say that when it suddenly gets hot.
What will be your next step with your peppers?
Also, what sort of shape with the sugar rush Peach is expected? Tolland lanky? Sort and stout?
ETA I found this. Sounds like Aji Amarillo.
And this
Ta-dah!
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Congratulations!!! My garden is about the size of one of your beds, and I have a black thumb but I love looking at and reading about your garden and endeavors
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Congratulations! I hope the process was enjoyable for you, as well as the new âfeather in your capâ.
The Sugar Rush Peach (SRP) do not taste like Aji Amarillo; thereâs less of a grapefruit sort of flavor. SRP is very good, just different. The plants are much shorter and bushier than Aji Amarillo; mine were under three feet tall. Peppers are set in abundance much earlier in the season and theyâre not as heat sensitive, too.
SRP makes excellent salsas and is easy to use. You could substitute SRP for Aji Amarillo when making Peruvian dishes or condiments, like Salsa a la Huancaina.
If you were to leave in all the septa (âveinsâ and core), minus seeds, I think Aji Amarillo would be hotter. Both can be trimmed with more or less septa to adjust the heat level. SRP is a bit juicier than other C. baccatum. The best flavor develops after they get a bit of pink in them, hence the name.
The next step here is to rototill some rows in the garden and check the fencing for rabbit holes, trap any varmints already inside. I may repot the plants into quart-sized pots to buy some time. Iâd like to space the rows some distance from each other, in case there isnât time to put net bags over branches to get pure seeds. Here, there are tons of pollinators!
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I had to abandon/donate a bundle of bamboo stakes because scores of Mason Bees moved in, perhaps the best pollinator for fruit trees.
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