Free Garden Catalogs

Vegetable/fruit garden questions? 10pts to best answer!!!!?

Hi. Our very very small garden is starting to really take off, but I have some questions on how to keep it thriving through the summer to harvest :-). I planted the plants I started from seed inside this winter outside last weekend, and they seem pretty happy. I have an extremely limited space for a garden, most of it in containers, with only 20 square feet of ground space. This is my first time gardening, so please no rude comments if I did something wrong. I'm not experienced enough to know the ins and outs, so I guessed, and now I'm trying to find out more. Experienced gardeners, what would you do? How often should I water my container-growing strawberries? I have 1 everbearing plant and 1 June bearing plant. I already had 2 die because I think I over-watered them, but I noticed my June bearing wilting, and it perked back up with a good watering. They are both already producing berries. What is a good watering schedule or way to tell if they need water? They are in 5 gallon pots. I planted spinach from seed in a half barrel, along with other types of lettuces (I didn't start these inside). Where I planted the seeds is sprouting, but it looks more like grass than spinach. 2 thin leaves for each plant. Is this how spinach should look when first sprouted? Given the extremely limited ground space I have for a garden, I planted a few indoor-started plants closer together than instructed. These include watermelons, honeydew melons and butternut squash. I now have thriving plants (about 3" tall), but they are only about 14-20 inches apart, and I have 3 plants each. These are produce we frequently buy from the store in the summer/fall, so we would like as large of a crop as possible. Would it be better to thin them out and give each plant more room or keep them spaced as-is to yield more fruit? The soil is very nutrient rich, as I planted these in my compost from last winter, and organic potting soil I used to amend the ground soil. They are also in full sun, in a easy spot to water daily if needed. I also planted my indoor-started corn plants closer than instructed, at about 6 inches apart. I have a block of 12, 3 inch plants. I know each stalk only produces 1 ear of corn, so I'd like to get as many as reasonably possible. Should I thin them or feed them more often with compost/compost tea to keep them growing in a cramped space? I got a little tomato crazy when I started the plants inside, growing 2 plants each of 5 different heirloom varieties. I have 10 plants, already large at about 1 foot high, big and bushy, and already starting to produce tomatoes (not big or ripe yet, just little green babies). I planted 8 of them outside, and kept 2 in 5 gallon pots indoors. How many tomatoes does the average plant produce? I never thought of this before I started them, and I'm getting the impression I am going to have to sell/give away some tomatoes. Thanks for any advice!

Public Comments

1. First of all Kudos to you for tackling such a large project with such gusto.as far as water for any of your plants.Lettuce and leafies will need more water but the more they shade their own soil the more water they conserve.Strawberries in containers will need frequent watering.like almost every day depending on climate.You can purchase a battery operated hose timer at the home store and hang a hose over your plants and either push drip irrigation fitting into it.or just use a pin to punch small dripping holes into it at points where it will drip onto your plants. I would like to suggest you look at a few sites called Companion planting.You can grow bush beans, squash and corn in the same container and these plants benefit each other. tomatoes and onions and carrots benefit from being close etc.I have found that depending on light and soil you can grow much closer than listed on packages with no or little adverse affects.Now pumpkin and watermelons like to root where they wander and draw added nutrients where they land.So you may want to add puts for the to colonise or keep them trimmed back short and to a few fruits.that added advantage to this is all the plants energy will go into the few fruits it produces.Be sure to give the large fruits somwhere to rest as they grow.you don't want them just hanging on the vine when they are used to resting on the earth. also be aware of pests.mints and marigolds and other aromatic plants deter pests on plants and in soil.Nasturtiums deter harlequin beetles that devastate squashes. I don't know where to go from here.Let me know how your garden is going!