Gardens

[GrnBay007]

I absolutely love fresh veggies from the garden. Used to have a huge garden a few years back. I was disappointed after I bought this house and found the back yard is shaded almost the entire day. I heard you can plant tomato plants in a 5 gallon bucket and it works ok. I planted 4 of them like that this year. Has anyone heard of anything else you can plant in a bucket and it will grow?

[Scott Campbell]

Has anyone heard of anything else you can plant in a bucket and it will grow?



I'm guessing Mad has a few "herbs" growing like that.

[GrnBay007]

Has anyone heard of anything else you can plant in a bucket and it will grow?



I'm guessing Mad has a few "herbs" growing like that.

LOL
I want to cook the produce, not smoke it. :P

[Joemailman]

I have a large garden so I don't have any knowledge of container gardening, but this looks like a prettty good site. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/container/container.html

[GrnBay007]

[quote="Joemailman"]I have a large garden so I don't have any knowledge of container gardening, but this looks like a prettty good site. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/container/container.html


Thanks Joe. Sounds like you can grow a lot more than I thought that way.

P.S. During that time of year when you are looking for people to give your crops to -----> 007 :D :P

[Iron Mike]

When you are looking for people to give your crop to -----> 007 :D :P

http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00360/SNF2914ANN_360906a.jpg

Feel free to change your avatar. 8-)

[Little Whiskey]

it just isn't worth it unless you can use your tractor!

[GrnBay007]

When you are looking for people to give your crop to -----> 007 :D :P


Feel free to change your avatar. 8-)

:shock: :shock:

[GrnBay007]

it just isn't worth it unless you can use your tractor!

OK Brett!!!

[GrnBay007]

My poor tomato plants got flattened in the storm last night. :( Replanted 2 today.

[Little Whiskey]

it just isn't worth it unless you can use your tractor!

OK Brett!!!

one of the few things we have in common.....oh ya and the whole packer thing.

[MJZiggy]

So, I went out to the garden to plant the early pea and corn seeds I sprouted and to remove the giant weed that somehow sprouted under all that snow in the middle of the garden and it turns out that that "weed" is corn. It's already nearly a foot tall. I looked at my little herb garden and the chives are already about 2 inches tall, somehow the parsley survived and of course the sage and somehow the strawberries in the box are already to three leaves. The forsythia hasn't even bloomed yet and the crocuses and tulips are just up and we have a foot of corn?

[hoosier]

Winter corn, that cannot be a good thing.

For four years now I have planted zucchini plants in the backyard garden. The first year they produced like freaks through September and we had more zucchini than we knew what to do with (that IS a good thing). The last three years, however, have seen dwindling productivity and plant burnout in early August where one morning they go from fine to looking like they had the life sucked out of them. I know there is a common virus that plagues tomato plants. Are there also common zucchini plant viruses? Or bugs? Or has my garden simply gone barren? If so, maybe I buy a goat and switch to alfalfa.

[MJZiggy]

I still planted the stuff I sprouted so it will be interesting to see what comes of it. Last year it never got past baby corn.

[Patler]

Winter corn, that cannot be a good thing.

For four years now I have planted zucchini plants in the backyard garden. The first year they produced like freaks through September and we had more zucchini than we knew what to do with (that IS a good thing). The last three years, however, have seen dwindling productivity and plant burnout in early August where one morning they go from fine to looking like they had the life sucked out of them. I know there is a common virus that plagues tomato plants. Are there also common zucchini plant viruses? Or bugs? Or has my garden simply gone barren? If so, maybe I buy a goat and switch to alfalfa.

Sounds like squash vine borer.

[MJZiggy]

I also have my cheap beer slug remedy all ready to go.

[hoosier]

Winter corn, that cannot be a good thing.

For four years now I have planted zucchini plants in the backyard garden. The first year they produced like freaks through September and we had more zucchini than we knew what to do with (that IS a good thing). The last three years, however, have seen dwindling productivity and plant burnout in early August where one morning they go from fine to looking like they had the life sucked out of them. I know there is a common virus that plagues tomato plants. Are there also common zucchini plant viruses? Or bugs? Or has my garden simply gone barren? If so, maybe I buy a goat and switch to alfalfa.

Sounds like squash vine borer.

That is what I heard from some local growers. I got one of those row covers, a translucent and breathable plastic sheet that you put over the plants, and while it definitely speeded up the maturation process they still sputtered out at the end of July. Maybe the cool summer had something to do with their early demise. Or maybe those varmints do not take no for an answer.

[hoosier]

Any idea whether the squash vine borer is susceptible to beer?

[MJZiggy]

No, but I bet the gardener is. It's not real beer by the way. It's Old Milwaukee. Slug killer.

[Patler]

Winter corn, that cannot be a good thing.

For four years now I have planted zucchini plants in the backyard garden. The first year they produced like freaks through September and we had more zucchini than we knew what to do with (that IS a good thing). The last three years, however, have seen dwindling productivity and plant burnout in early August where one morning they go from fine to looking like they had the life sucked out of them. I know there is a common virus that plagues tomato plants. Are there also common zucchini plant viruses? Or bugs? Or has my garden simply gone barren? If so, maybe I buy a goat and switch to alfalfa.

Sounds like squash vine borer.

That is what I heard from some local growers. I got one of those row covers, a translucent and breathable plastic sheet that you put over the plants, and while it definitely speeded up the maturation process they still sputtered out at the end of July. Maybe the cool summer had something to do with their early demise. Or maybe those varmints do not take no for an answer.

They can be hard to control. If you covered your plants before they blossomed, low productivity was probably due to lack of pollination. Cover your plants after the blossoms fade, it should still be before the adult moth hatches and lays its eggs. It's the eggs you want to prevent, because the larvae is what bores into the vines. It then overwinters in the soil and hatches as the summer turns hot the next year.

If you plant the squash in the same place as last year, covering won't help because you will be trapping the moths under the plastic to lay their eggs as they emerge from the ground they entered last summer.

[hoosier]

Winter corn, that cannot be a good thing.

For four years now I have planted zucchini plants in the backyard garden. The first year they produced like freaks through September and we had more zucchini than we knew what to do with (that IS a good thing). The last three years, however, have seen dwindling productivity and plant burnout in early August where one morning they go from fine to looking like they had the life sucked out of them. I know there is a common virus that plagues tomato plants. Are there also common zucchini plant viruses? Or bugs? Or has my garden simply gone barren? If so, maybe I buy a goat and switch to alfalfa.

Sounds like squash vine borer.

That is what I heard from some local growers. I got one of those row covers, a translucent and breathable plastic sheet that you put over the plants, and while it definitely speeded up the maturation process they still sputtered out at the end of July. Maybe the cool summer had something to do with their early demise. Or maybe those varmints do not take no for an answer.

They can be hard to control. If you covered your plants before they blossomed, low productivity was probably due to lack of pollination. Cover your plants after the blossoms fade, it should still be before the adult moth hatches and lays its eggs. It's the eggs you want to prevent, because the larvae is what bores into the vines. It then overwinters in the soil and hatches as the summer turns hot the next year.

If you plant the squash in the same place as last year, covering won't help because you will be trapping the moths under the plastic to lay their eggs as they emerge from the ground they entered last summer.

I did, but was told that as long as I uncovered them before they began to blossom that pollination would be fine. Planted them in early May, uncovered by early June. I suppose it can't hurt to try planting the zucchini in the tomato bed and the tomatoes in the zucchini patch this year. We'll see how those squash borers like them apples! (My entire vegetable garden will probably now go south on me like the Packers offensive line due to too much shuffling.)

[MJZiggy]

It's crop rotation. It should be fine. That said, my tomatoes demand to be in the same spot every year. If I put anything else there, the volunteers spring up and immediately choke out everything else but the peas.

[Joemailman]

Winter corn, that cannot be a good thing.

For four years now I have planted zucchini plants in the backyard garden. The first year they produced like freaks through September and we had more zucchini than we knew what to do with (that IS a good thing). The last three years, however, have seen dwindling productivity and plant burnout in early August where one morning they go from fine to looking like they had the life sucked out of them. I know there is a common virus that plagues tomato plants. Are there also common zucchini plant viruses? Or bugs? Or has my garden simply gone barren? If so, maybe I buy a goat and switch to alfalfa.

Sounds like squash vine borer.

That is what I heard from some local growers. I got one of those row covers, a translucent and breathable plastic sheet that you put over the plants, and while it definitely speeded up the maturation process they still sputtered out at the end of July. Maybe the cool summer had something to do with their early demise. Or maybe those varmints do not take no for an answer.

They can be hard to control. If you covered your plants before they blossomed, low productivity was probably due to lack of pollination. Cover your plants after the blossoms fade, it should still be before the adult moth hatches and lays its eggs. It's the eggs you want to prevent, because the larvae is what bores into the vines. It then overwinters in the soil and hatches as the summer turns hot the next year.

If you plant the squash in the same place as last year, covering won't help because you will be trapping the moths under the plastic to lay their eggs as they emerge from the ground they entered last summer.

I did, but was told that as long as I uncovered them before they began to blossom that pollination would be fine. Planted them in early May, uncovered by early June. I suppose it can't hurt to try planting the zucchini in the tomato bed and the tomatoes in the zucchini patch this year. We'll see how those squash borers like them apples! (My entire vegetable garden will probably now go south on me like the Packers offensive line due to too much shuffling.)

You're gonna get apples by growing tomatoes in your zucchini patch? :?:

[Patler]

Winter corn, that cannot be a good thing.

For four years now I have planted zucchini plants in the backyard garden. The first year they produced like freaks through September and we had more zucchini than we knew what to do with (that IS a good thing). The last three years, however, have seen dwindling productivity and plant burnout in early August where one morning they go from fine to looking like they had the life sucked out of them. I know there is a common virus that plagues tomato plants. Are there also common zucchini plant viruses? Or bugs? Or has my garden simply gone barren? If so, maybe I buy a goat and switch to alfalfa.

Sounds like squash vine borer.

That is what I heard from some local growers. I got one of those row covers, a translucent and breathable plastic sheet that you put over the plants, and while it definitely speeded up the maturation process they still sputtered out at the end of July. Maybe the cool summer had something to do with their early demise. Or maybe those varmints do not take no for an answer.

They can be hard to control. If you covered your plants before they blossomed, low productivity was probably due to lack of pollination. Cover your plants after the blossoms fade, it should still be before the adult moth hatches and lays its eggs. It's the eggs you want to prevent, because the larvae is what bores into the vines. It then overwinters in the soil and hatches as the summer turns hot the next year.

If you plant the squash in the same place as last year, covering won't help because you will be trapping the moths under the plastic to lay their eggs as they emerge from the ground they entered last summer.

I did, but was told that as long as I uncovered them before they began to blossom that pollination would be fine. Planted them in early May, uncovered by early June. I suppose it can't hurt to try planting the zucchini in the tomato bed and the tomatoes in the zucchini patch this year. We'll see how those squash borers like them apples! (My entire vegetable garden will probably now go south on me like the Packers offensive line due to too much shuffling.)

If you uncovered them by early June and left them uncovered, you did nothing to protect against the squash borer. The moth emerges from the ground in late June or early July, lays its eggs, the larvae hatch and go to lunch in your squash vines. Your plants were not protected when the moths were active laying their eggs in early July.

What you have to do is prevent the moths from laying their eggs near your squash plants in late June, early July.

[swede]

Winter corn, that cannot be a good thing.

For four years now I have planted zucchini plants in the backyard garden. The first year they produced like freaks through September and we had more zucchini than we knew what to do with (that IS a good thing). The last three years, however, have seen dwindling productivity and plant burnout in early August where one morning they go from fine to looking like they had the life sucked out of them. I know there is a common virus that plagues tomato plants. Are there also common zucchini plant viruses? Or bugs? Or has my garden simply gone barren? If so, maybe I buy a goat and switch to alfalfa.

Sounds like squash vine borer.

That is what I heard from some local growers. I got one of those row covers, a translucent and breathable plastic sheet that you put over the plants, and while it definitely speeded up the maturation process they still sputtered out at the end of July. Maybe the cool summer had something to do with their early demise. Or maybe those varmints do not take no for an answer.

They can be hard to control. If you covered your plants before they blossomed, low productivity was probably due to lack of pollination. Cover your plants after the blossoms fade, it should still be before the adult moth hatches and lays its eggs. It's the eggs you want to prevent, because the larvae is what bores into the vines. It then overwinters in the soil and hatches as the summer turns hot the next year.

If you plant the squash in the same place as last year, covering won't help because you will be trapping the moths under the plastic to lay their eggs as they emerge from the ground they entered last summer.

I did, but was told that as long as I uncovered them before they began to blossom that pollination would be fine. Planted them in early May, uncovered by early June. I suppose it can't hurt to try planting the zucchini in the tomato bed and the tomatoes in the zucchini patch this year. We'll see how those squash borers like them apples! (My entire vegetable garden will probably now go south on me like the Packers offensive line due to too much shuffling.)

If you uncovered them by early June and left them uncovered, you did nothing to protect against the squash borer. The moth emerges from the ground in late June or early July, lays its eggs, the larvae hatch and go to lunch in your squash vines. Your plants were not protected when the moths were active laying their eggs in early July.

What you have to do is prevent the moths from laying their eggs near your squash plants in late June, early July.

As April approaches you really have to be careful about how skillfully Patler trades on his reputation for serious posts.

[Patler]

As April approaches you really have to be careful about how skillfully Patler trades on his reputation for serious posts.

:lol: :lol: If people start giving two-week advance warnings, I don't have a chance to pull off another!

[hoosier]

Winter corn, that cannot be a good thing.

For four years now I have planted zucchini plants in the backyard garden. The first year they produced like freaks through September and we had more zucchini than we knew what to do with (that IS a good thing). The last three years, however, have seen dwindling productivity and plant burnout in early August where one morning they go from fine to looking like they had the life sucked out of them. I know there is a common virus that plagues tomato plants. Are there also common zucchini plant viruses? Or bugs? Or has my garden simply gone barren? If so, maybe I buy a goat and switch to alfalfa.

Sounds like squash vine borer.

That is what I heard from some local growers. I got one of those row covers, a translucent and breathable plastic sheet that you put over the plants, and while it definitely speeded up the maturation process they still sputtered out at the end of July. Maybe the cool summer had something to do with their early demise. Or maybe those varmints do not take no for an answer.

They can be hard to control. If you covered your plants before they blossomed, low productivity was probably due to lack of pollination. Cover your plants after the blossoms fade, it should still be before the adult moth hatches and lays its eggs. It's the eggs you want to prevent, because the larvae is what bores into the vines. It then overwinters in the soil and hatches as the summer turns hot the next year.

If you plant the squash in the same place as last year, covering won't help because you will be trapping the moths under the plastic to lay their eggs as they emerge from the ground they entered last summer.

I did, but was told that as long as I uncovered them before they began to blossom that pollination would be fine. Planted them in early May, uncovered by early June. I suppose it can't hurt to try planting the zucchini in the tomato bed and the tomatoes in the zucchini patch this year. We'll see how those squash borers like them apples! (My entire vegetable garden will probably now go south on me like the Packers offensive line due to too much shuffling.)

If you uncovered them by early June and left them uncovered, you did nothing to protect against the squash borer. The moth emerges from the ground in late June or early July, lays its eggs, the larvae hatch and go to lunch in your squash vines. Your plants were not protected when the moths were active laying their eggs in early July.

What you have to do is prevent the moths from laying their eggs near your squash plants in late June, early July.

I think they lay eggs a little earlier here in southern Indiana, like in early June. (http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef314.asp) But you may well be right that they are still laying eggs when the vines begin to blossom, and if so that does diminish the effectiveness of the row covers. I am going to try a combination approach based on your and Ziggy's comments: crop rotation and crappy beer lures (the gardener will not be swayed by Old Swill!!), early use of row covers followed by close vigilance and manual removal of eggs during the first half of June. If it works you two can expect to receive a smashing zucchini bread in the mail.

[MJZiggy]

Spectacular! (but the beer is a slug remedy, not winged pests)

[MichiganPackerFan]

I have NO experience with gardening (and I strongly believe that beer should be taken internally and often and not shared with small slimy creatures. If they want beer, the can buy their own)

I'd really like to try growing some herbs and have a small area in back set aside. Can anyone provide some input as to when they need to go into the ground and whether i need to buy plants or seeds started inside, etc?

Thanks!

[SkinBasket]

I have NO experience with gardening (and I strongly believe that beer should be taken internally and often and not shared with small slimy creatures. If they want beer, the can buy their own)

I'd really like to try growing some herbs and have a small area in back set aside. Can anyone provide some input as to when they need to go into the ground and whether i need to buy plants or seeds started inside, etc?

Thanks!

I'm a fucking terrible gardener, but tried to grow some shit last year as an exercise in land management with the kids. Those miniature tomatoes grow like a disease. We had 4 plants. 1 would have been enough. Squash grew well, but who the fuck eats squash? Not even the wild animals would touch that shit. Corn died because I didn't want to water it twice a day.

We bought the plants as babies from one of those garden centers. This year I think we'll try some more tomatoes, some green beans, and some pumpkins after we slash and burn a new spot for them. Maybe some cilantro for the guacamole.

[hoosier]

I have NO experience with gardening (and I strongly believe that beer should be taken internally and often and not shared with small slimy creatures. If they want beer, the can buy their own)

I'd really like to try growing some herbs and have a small area in back set aside. Can anyone provide some input as to when they need to go into the ground and whether i need to buy plants or seeds started inside, etc?

Thanks!

Relax, we were not talking about wasting real beer on garden fauna. It was Old Milwaukee or some such abomination.

When to plant very much depends on where you live. If you're in DC then you can probably expect some frost until late April, so don't put anything in outside before then unless you are prepared to dig it up and rush it inside--or bury it. I have always had an aversion to starting seeds inside and have tended to buy plants at the local farmer's market, though as my kids are now emerging from the destructive rages of toddlerdom I suppose they might get a kick out of starting from seeds (and besides, forgetting to water the tomato sprouts for a week is much less tragic than forgetting to feed the pet gerbil for a week...). So my advice to you is, be lazy, forget about the garden for about six weeks, and then go out and buy yourself a few boxes of Thai basil, chili peppers and one cilantro plant. Then stick them in the ground with some peet moss and egg shells.

[MJZiggy]

I have NO experience with gardening (and I strongly believe that beer should be taken internally and often and not shared with small slimy creatures. If they want beer, the can buy their own)

I'd really like to try growing some herbs and have a small area in back set aside. Can anyone provide some input as to when they need to go into the ground and whether i need to buy plants or seeds started inside, etc?

Thanks!

Relax, we were not talking about wasting real beer on garden fauna. It was Old Milwaukee or some such abomination.

When to plant very much depends on where you live. If you're in DC then you can probably expect some frost until late April, so don't put anything in outside before then unless you are prepared to dig it up and rush it inside--or bury it. I have always had an aversion to starting seeds inside and have tended to buy plants at the local farmer's market, though as my kids are now emerging from the destructive rages of toddlerdom I suppose they might get a kick out of starting from seeds (and besides, forgetting to water the tomato sprouts for a week is much less tragic than forgetting to feed the pet gerbil for a week...). So my advice to you is, be lazy, forget about the garden for about six weeks, and then go out and buy yourself a few boxes of Thai basil, chili peppers and one cilantro plant. Then stick them in the ground with some peet moss and egg shells.

Actually I believe it's Old Milwaukee Lite. I'm not sure the slugs'll even drink it but it was the cheapest the store had.

Mich, just wait until Home Depot gets their spring stock in. Holy hell!

[MichiganPackerFan]

What's the purpose of the egg shells?

[MJZiggy]

What's the purpose of the egg shells?

To hold the baby chicks inside. (I slay me)

Seriously, It adds calcium to the soil (wash and crush them). You can also add coffee grounds for extra nitrogen.

[MichiganPackerFan]

Ok, here's the plan:

I've selected a few herbs i want to try to grow:
Basil
Chives
Dill (possibly)
Parsley
Rosemary (already have)
Sage (possibly)
Thyme

Furthermore, I'd like to do two tomato plants and a hot pepper plant, all potted.

To get the whole experience of this attempt, I would like to start from seed
I have been recommended to start the seeds in a big egg carton, so I think i'm going to start them all in some potting soil. Once they're going well and the weather is good, i'll transplant them outside to the existing bed, placing the washed & crushed eggshells and peet moss below them.

What is the purpose of the peet moss anyway?

What specific types of the above herbs should I look for? And the tomatoes?

Is there anything I have to do to the soil?

Any advice or witty comments are much appreciated!

[swede]

Ok, here's the plan:


Parsley
Sage
Rosemary
Thyme


Simon and Garfunkelfixed

[MichiganPackerFan]

Ok, here's the plan:


Parsley
Sage
Rosemary
Thyme


Simon and Garfunkelfixed



I can't believe I missed something that glaringly obvious!!!

[MJZiggy]

I like starting my herbs from plant, so I generally wait just a bit, but couldn't resist some cinnamon basil seeds I ran across. The chives are perennial here so be careful not to overdo it with them. My little herb patch is in a sheltered location so with the chives, I still have two types of sage (tri-color and plain boring) and the parsley is coming back as it never completely died off either.

The plan sounds good though. I have peat pots full of sunflower and snapdragon. In a couple weeks, they can go outside.

[MichiganPackerFan]

I like starting my herbs from plant, so I generally wait just a bit, but couldn't resist some cinnamon basil seeds I ran across. The chives are perennial here so be careful not to overdo it with them. My little herb patch is in a sheltered location so with the chives, I still have two types of sage (tri-color and plain boring) and the parsley is coming back as it never completely died off either.

The plan sounds good though. I have peat pots full of sunflower and snapdragon. In a couple weeks, they can go outside.

Have you done tomatoes? If so, what types?

What is the best type of basil to grow?

[Patler]

I like starting my herbs from plant, so I generally wait just a bit, but couldn't resist some cinnamon basil seeds I ran across. The chives are perennial here so be careful not to overdo it with them. My little herb patch is in a sheltered location so with the chives, I still have two types of sage (tri-color and plain boring) and the parsley is coming back as it never completely died off either.

The plan sounds good though. I have peat pots full of sunflower and snapdragon. In a couple weeks, they can go outside.

Have you done tomatoes? If so, what types?

What is the best type of basil to grow?

I have grown lots of different tomatoes over the years. If you really like fresh tomatoes, grow at least a couple different kinds. You can get some that will ripen very quickly (45-50 days or so), others much later (80-90 days), and everything in between, giving you a very long harvesting season.

You should think about how you want to use them and serve them; cooked, fresh, whole, sliced, canned. Different varieties excel in different ways. The garden centers usually have very good descriptions about their size, best uses, ripening times, etc.

Last year I planted some standard ones, both cherry tomatoes and a typical slicing variety. I also got some heirloom tomatoes. There is a growing effort to bring back old garden varieties that have been lost in the age of hybridization. There are lots of tomato varieties available, both "newer" and heirloom. You might lose something in certain disease resistance with heirloom varieties, but wow....the taste! I had one that was very rich and sweet tasting in a deep, deep red, another that was purple and a yellow and red striped tomato. (I cant find the variety names right now, I should have them here somewhere.)

Tomatoes are easy to grow, plant several different ones and see what you like best.

[MichiganPackerFan]

Thanks for the advice Mr. P!

We found a way to open up a bit more space in back, so I certainly am going to try a few more varieties, and maybe not have to place them in pots at all.

Is there a tried and proven way to determine how far away plants should be planted?

When I start my seeds, do i just put one in each container or do I put a few in each container and hope that one works?

[Patler]

We found a way to open up a bit more space in back, so I certainly am going to try a few more varieties, and maybe not have to place them in pots at all.
I have lots of room, but still sometimes plant my tomatoes in containers. Its easy, they do well, and I can move them around if I want to.


Is there a tried and proven way to determine how far away plants should be planted?
Read the info on the seed packet, or read the label on the sticker or on the stake in started plants! That's what I do!


When I start my seeds, do i just put one in each container or do I put a few in each container and hope that one works?
Either way can work, depends what you want to do. Some people plant several and then thin the plants out after they come up. Some people use little seed starter cubes and may only put one seed in each so they don't have to mess around with thinning them. It can depend on how you are set up to take care of them, what plants you are starting, and just what you feel like doing.

For a lot of gardening, there isn't a right and wrong. Do what you feel like doing and adapt and change as you decide what you like and don't like. Have fun with it and don't worry too much about being "right".

[MJZiggy]

I like starting my herbs from plant, so I generally wait just a bit, but couldn't resist some cinnamon basil seeds I ran across. The chives are perennial here so be careful not to overdo it with them. My little herb patch is in a sheltered location so with the chives, I still have two types of sage (tri-color and plain boring) and the parsley is coming back as it never completely died off either.

The plan sounds good though. I have peat pots full of sunflower and snapdragon. In a couple weeks, they can go outside.

Have you done tomatoes? If so, what types?

What is the best type of basil to grow?

I plant romas and occasionally cherry tomatoes. I have grape tomatoes that I planted years ago and they volunteer every year so I don't bother planting those anymore. It sort of gives me an extra crop. As to basil, I just buy the stuff that shows up at Home Depot and it grows fine. I think it's probably time to plant the jalapenos, though I did like the banana peppers better last year.

[MichiganPackerFan]

How big of a terra cota planter do I need to buy for a tomato plant? For a bell pepper plant?