Garden woes.

Soilman

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I’m danged disgusted with gardening. Last year I got flooded out 3 times, which destroyed it. Just now, it got beat for 20 minutes with little round ice balls...and we have another intense wave headed our way. I just can’t win!
 

Hunterreed

Twelve Pointer
I know your pain,it seems to be more troubling for me every season. Nothing is normal anymore it rains 3 times a week delaying getting ground ready all spring and then when you get a break to get planted it gets scorching hot before young plants make anything. I used to could grow lettuce, sweet peas, cabbage in the spring but the last three years we have had late hard freeze that wipes it out and then by mid may it's already hitting high 80s. We had a frog strangler thunderstorm last night and there was near 0 percent chance of rain forecast. Left mower out,windows down,had holes dug for squash plants to go in this morning. Now I could keep minnows alive in them they so much water. This is the first year I have had to cover my potato plants because of hard freeze and even under plastic 25 percent of them was killed back to the ground
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Wow..and I've been trying to patch holes in my garden fence so the chickens can't get in(at least that's been my excuse) so I'm glad I'm a couple of weeks behind in planting. I just planted my peppers in tubs for this year to see if I could move them to eastern sky sun only, my garden gets sun all day and it's a bit much for the hot peppers.
Hopefully y'alls garden woes will lessen with the picking of the first fruits of your labor.
 

Rescue44

Old Mossy Horns
Last year was the worst garden ever!! My late maters were very healthy. Had blossoms and more blossoms. A few tiny tomato would develop and fall off. Even the okra were terrible. Lot of work was wasted. Got a hand full of yellow squash. Hopefully this year will be different.
 

JONOV

Twelve Pointer
Wow..and I've been trying to patch holes in my garden fence so the chickens can't get in(at least that's been my excuse) so I'm glad I'm a couple of weeks behind in planting. I just planted my peppers in tubs for this year to see if I could move them to eastern sky sun only, my garden gets sun all day and it's a bit much for the hot peppers.
Hopefully y'alls garden woes will lessen with the picking of the first fruits of your labor.
Eric, do the really hot peppers (Reaper/Ghost types) do better with some shade? I planted my first Carolina Reaper last year in line with the banana and habaneros and it didn't make any fruit.

I'm behind as well but hoping this weekend turns things around.
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Soil conditions here this spring were as good as they've ever been by late April, but we didn't need that rain last night. We were already on the wet side from earlier this week, and we got almost an inch in the early morning hours that came out of nowhere. Wasn't expecting that at all.

Still not anything close to the 9.5" of rain we got in 4 days right after planting last year. That flooded the garden for weeks.
 

josh

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I hear ya, it’s always something with a garden, too wet, then too dry, wind breaking plants etc etc .... then the pests ... particularly the darn deer, my garden looks like a cage fighting setup....then come the hornworms, squash bugs, unknown fungal diseases etc etc

All for some vegetables I could’ve bought at the farmers market for a few bucks and a lot less work lol

But it is satisfying growing your own though
 

Hunterreed

Twelve Pointer
Its a lot of work but I couldn't be happy with myself if I couldn't keep a garden going. I became fully in charge of the task when my grandfather passed so the immediate family and neighbors wouldn't complain if I didn't have one but they sure would miss it. I just keep trying until I get it right,the canned tomatoes and beans are probably the most important. We would probably quit eating spaghetti if we had to go the store bought stuff
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Eric, do the really hot peppers (Reaper/Ghost types) do better with some shade? I planted my first Carolina Reaper last year in line with the banana and habaneros and it didn't make any fruit.

I'm behind as well but hoping this weekend turns things around.
yes, they only need morning sun, 4-6 hours. That afternoon sun is too much for them and they'll drop their flowers.
 

bwfarms

Old Mossy Horns
A bit of myth in sun causes blooms to drop off of pepper plants. High heat and sun will cause scalding, an unsightly woody looking spot on the outside.

If the plant is not bearing and blooms just drop it is due to being too wet. Peppers need high drainage soil to thrive. A little shade never hurts though, and if you’re going to have shade have afternoon shade.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
A bit of myth in sun causes blooms to drop off of pepper plants. High heat and sun will cause scalding, an unsightly woody looking spot on the outside.

If the plant is not bearing and blooms just drop it is due to being too wet. Peppers need high drainage soil to thrive. A little shade never hurts though, and if you’re going to have shade have afternoon shade.
I've been growing those high heat chili's for years and typically grow planted in the ground, mine is clay based but has lots of material for drainage worked into it over the years. It rarely gets too wet unless it rains for several days in a row and I've always noticed that the afternoon sun wilts the plants badly in the late summer and causes late blooms to drop off.
I'll let you know if the new location in tubs (rotted mulch in bottom half with Pete's Plant Pleaser in top half)helps with the late blooms staying put. It will be a big difference in moisture retention though with great drainage but soil that holds more moisture.
 

bwfarms

Old Mossy Horns
I've been growing those high heat chili's for years and typically grow planted in the ground, mine is clay based but has lots of material for drainage worked into it over the years. It rarely gets too wet unless it rains for several days in a row and I've always noticed that the afternoon sun wilts the plants badly in the late summer and causes late blooms to drop off.
I'll let you know if the new location in tubs (rotted mulch in bottom half with Pete's Plant Pleaser in top half)helps with the late blooms staying put. It will be a big difference in moisture retention though with great drainage but soil that holds more moisture.

Too much water and then high heat will wilt them fast. Dad had some trouble last year with his in pots, no blooms and found the roots were rotting. He drilled small holes in bottom, I told him he needs to drill bigger holes. He was worried they wouldn’t have enough water, I assured him it would be fine. The habaneros and jalapeños were growing into October last year, did have some scalding later in the summer.
 

Rubline

Twelve Pointer
So far everything we've planted is still living.
Potatoes and cabbage and tomatoes are all looking good, we planted 10 squash plants last Saturday and they wilted a little the next day but they look alright now.
We planted squash, zucchini and okra seed and waiting to see how that turns out.20210507_163000.jpgj
 

timekiller13

Old Mossy Horns
One year I tilled up a huge garden. Planted dozens and dozens of veggies from seed. I fertilized and pulled weeds. They sprouted and were growing well. It was a beautiful garden....

Then the deer came in and ate it all.
 

timber

Twelve Pointer
Overall my garden looks good. Planted some stuff early think every seed came up. Planted about 90 tomato plants have had to put the drip tape by them already and put water to them 3 times because been dry here. So far no rain yet again today
 

darenative

Twelve Pointer
Overall my garden looks good. Planted some stuff early think every seed came up. Planted about 90 tomato plants have had to put the drip tape by them already and put water to them 3 times because been dry here. So far no rain yet again today
We've had to water ours as well, as the rain has been sporadic at best.
 

hunthard2

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Had purple potatoes in the ground since March. They’re doing well.

40 better boys and 4 Cherokee purples, 8 bell pepper, 4 zucchini and a whole row of okra put in a little over a week ago and all doing great so far. 12 pickling cukes and 4 squash going in after work tomorrow. My first garden. Used to help my papa every summer though
 

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Blackwater

Twelve Pointer
Got about a 98% germination on my corn and yesterday noticed a crow flying down to my garden. Went outside to find he and a buddy were pulling up my 4" high corn to get the kernel underground. In the past it has been squirrels, now crows, so the war is on again.
 

timber

Twelve Pointer
First time in awhile the crows didn’t bother the corn when it came up. Not sure why. Planted it no till maybe it got up and going before they noticed it. Have had a few years the walked right down the row pulling it up ended up replanting some of it
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I’ve given up on corn for that reason. Something pulls it up when it is 4-6” high to eat the kernel. Sweet corn and field corn. At first I thought it was crows, but then I decided it must me squirrels.
 

timber

Twelve Pointer
Been doing the garden thing a long time this is first time I can remember having to water knee high sweet corn because it’s so dry this time of year. Been had the drip tape on the tomatoes for couple weeks which is about the norm. About only green in the yard is where there is clover. Most all the grass is brown and crunches when you walk across it
 

Soilman

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
No flooding so far this year. Actually dry as a bone.
Some stuff is slowly recovering from the hail storm.
But, fear not!
It appears the next pestilence God is sending to destroy my garden is...deer.
 

Lastfling

Six Pointer
No flooding so far this year. Actually dry as a bone.
Some stuff is slowly recovering from the hail storm.
But, fear not!
It appears the next pestilence God is sending to destroy my garden is...deer.
That pestilence descended on mine last night. Small though it is, the plants were looking good. No more.... Last night the deer near cleaned me out. Ate 90% of the maters; most of the squash plants as well as the potatoes. Day late and a dollar short I had planned to put up a fence today. They must have read my thoughts LOL
 

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Triggermortis

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Got an older neighbor who has a fenced garden about 60’ x 60’; he plowed it a couple of times to get it ready but never rowed it up. Suspect as it’s dry he just isn’t bothering.
 

BigBow

Ten Pointer
Contributor
That pestilence descended on mine last night. Small though it is, the plants were looking good. No more.... Last night the deer near cleaned me out. Ate 90% of the maters; most of the squash plants as well as the potatoes. Day late and a dollar short I had planned to put up a fence today. They must have read my thoughts LOL
You need a NCWRC predation permit.
 
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