Build your own tomato cages or choose the sturdiest available. I use woven wire fence from the scrapyard. The flimsy three-legged wire cages often disappoint.
Compost everything, even weeds. Just remember not to compost tomato vines.
All cole crops (cabbage, radishes, kohlrabi, etc.) can withstand light frost, so plant them in early spring and late summer.
Zone your garden. Allocate one area for cole crops, another for nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes), and one for everything else. These two groups can carry diseases, so they need to be rotated every year.
Start onion seeds indoors in January if you’re in the Midwest.
Overwinter hot peppers indoors—they can live for years with proper care. This gives you a head start next season with early peppers.
Avoid insecticides, as they harm bees, mantises, and ladybugs.
Manually eliminate cabbage loopers instead of using Sevin.
Sweet potatoes, watermelon, and zucchini need more space than you think—they can really cover a large area.
If stem borers cause your zucchini to wilt, cut open the stem, eliminate the worm, and cover the stem with moist soil. The plant might survive; ignoring it will surely lead to its death.
Keep chickens away from your garden.
After harvesting everything in the fall, scatter turnip seeds in the garden.
Always ask questions! Gardeners love to discuss gardening. Learn from others because whatever issue arises in your garden, someone else has faced it too, and there’s often a solution.
@Mal
What about bell peppers? I have a nearly year-old plant that survived two hurricanes. Will they keep fruiting? I’d hate to lose such a resilient plant! My bird pepper already has new fruit after regrowing its leaves post-storm.
@Dallas
In my experience, I’ve never been successful overwintering bell peppers or their green counterparts. Those are just my observations; you might have better luck. Most pepper plants are woody shrubs in their native habitats and could potentially thrive as perennials there.
@Dallas
They should continue producing. However, many plants today have strayed so far from their wild counterparts that they might not reliably produce a second crop.
Why avoid letting cultivated plants drop their seeds?
Is it because resulting plants might sprout at the wrong time of year and die prematurely? Or is it you want that garden space for something else? How do these plants turn out less desirable?
It seems like self-perpetuating plants could be beneficial, but I must be missing something here. Thanks for any clarification.
@Kit
It’s all about crop rotation. Certain plants drain the soil of nutrients in one year, so it’s essential to plant something else the following year. Additionally, some plants attract pests or diseases that worsen when repeated in the same spot. Some plants don’t get along well, and putting them close can harm them. Conversely, some can cross-pollinate, leading to undesirable results. Any plant can become a weed if it’s in a place you don’t want it. Conversely, any weed can become cherished if placed correctly.
@Cal
Yes! Crop rotation is crucial for successful gardening and is something I haven’t seen covered here. While I let plants seed, I collect them and store seeds for later planting in different beds.
@Gracen
I’ll let volunteer seeds grow, then either move them or feed them to my rabbit. That way, it’s either a surprise (WOW MORE PURPLE PEAS!) or extra manure!
@Gracen
Agreed! Currently, I’m in ‘forget the yard’ mode, focusing on improving the soil. I’m growing lots of heirloom beans and peas, along with pumpkins and squash for mulch and nitrogen. I’ve found that chopping pumpkin into pieces and burying it excites the local raccoons and makes them dig everything up. Since I don’t feel inclined to manually break the hardpan myself (and the raccoons are eating the Fig Beetle grubs!), it works out well. Once the soil is ‘tilled’, I send my boyfriend to pee on everything, then spray some Scorpion/Ghost Pepper mix on it.
Gracen said: @Kim
My boyfriend gave me a strange look when I asked him to pee on my garden. I’m considering adopting your raccoon tiller strategy; it’s genius!
Since the little rascals dig up my yard anyway, I might as well let them work for my benefit. My boyfriend, being an Eagle Scout, I’m sure finds peeing outdoors quite relaxing.
@Kit
Because the seeds never land where you want them. Tomato plants become some of the worst weeds in my garden, especially near cherry tomatoes. I make sure to remove rotting fruit to minimize that issue. I’ve even seen pumpkin seeds sprout from last year’s rotting fruit and push out young seedlings. Dill and cilantro can be troublesome, but at least I enjoy growing those, and I can generally keep them in check.
@Kit
It all depends on what you grow and your preferences. I prefer letting my plants seed naturally as much as possible. It feels more organic, and it’s less work for me. However, some plants can be quite invasive, like fennel. For less aggressive plants, I’m fine with thinning them later if needed. I also let my lettuces seed themselves since they’re harvested as mini plants, preventing crowding.
@Kit
This spring, I had around 300 tiny tomatillo plants sprouting everywhere—between rows and all around—except where I wanted them. Last year, my tomatillos dropped so many fruits, which are packed with seeds. You just end up working around them, and I have better things to focus on, like actual gardening. Also, if the original plant is a hybrid (which most tomatoes are), the offspring won’t breed true, leading to subpar tomatoes that may not taste good. Volunteer plants don’t help in my garden, so I just pull them. They’re not worth the space or effort. If you have heirloom or open-pollinated plants, you can save seeds, which is rewarding because they will breed true.
Jessie said:
Sorry, I’m a new gardener here… what does 10-10-10 refer to?
That indicates the ratio of macronutrients contained in a specific fertilizer. It’s often referred to as NPK, which stands for the amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium in the mix.