Gardening questions

Planning on starting a small garden in the back yard - mostly for learning purposes right now.

So, what do you plant to control insect pests? I've heard marigold flowers are good, so perhaps plant those around the perimeter. And for the initial vegetables, most likely radishes, yellow and white onions, cayenne pepper, plus scallions. Any other suggestions greatly appreciated!

Well...I love tomatoes, string beans and cucumbers...but I suppose that is my 'tasty' bias! We have had a lil garden for years now and it feeds my wife and I quite well! I highly recommend 'puttering'
For the most part...the veggies you describe grow in the ground. I've never had insect problems with 'ground grown' stuff. I really don't spray anything on my stuff...but I suppose i've been lucky. I've used a diluted dishsoap water spray for roses n other stuff. Sorta works. Dreaded japanese beetles will wipe out a good rose in a few hours...and THAT is a drag! Dang invasive species!
However...most veggies do well without spraying for me.
Good luck!
b.d.

Nasturshums (spelling?) are also good to plant. If you have snails, put some beer in a shallow dish and set it out, that will take care of them. Very diluted dish soap, as Dan suggested. Larger critters such as caterpillars can be hand picked off. If I think of anything else, I'll post.

BTW, I have my own small garden, too. Mostly herbs but some hot peppers for my hubby, a tomato plant, some patty-pan squash (which are really growing well) and some cantaloupe. Didn't want to over do it.

This is for all of you: get predatory neamotodes (beneficial neamotodes). They are a microscopic worm that eats insect larvae including mosquito and fleas. I have used them for years and have no insect problems. What little they don't get, other predatory insects and spiders do.

For slugs and snails, just put crushed eggshells around the plants.

As for things to grow in a small space, if it is sunny and the soil is well amended with organic matter, the possibilities are endless. Just trellis everything that trails and grow more compact plants beneath them. Pick your favorite vegetables and enjoy.

The Sunset Western Garden Guide is indespensible for finding which plants and which varieties of them will thrive in your particular microclimate. Your library probably has a copy.

Ah WD was doing one year ago exactly what I am doing this year. (I was trying to find that thread and stumbled upon this one). How did it go WD? Are you doing it again this year?
My veggies are just growing away. My tomato plants are at least 4 feet high now and my corn sprouted about 2 days after I planted it. The only thing that isn't coming up yet is my pumpkins.

Great advice here.... I wonder where my other thread is, lol.

BlueTopaz wrote:Ah WD was doing one year ago exactly what I am doing this year. (I was trying to find that thread and stumbled upon this one). How did it go WD? Are you doing it again this year?
My veggies are just growing away. My tomato plants are at least 4 feet high now and my corn sprouted about 2 days after I planted it. The only thing that isn't coming up yet is my pumpkins.

Great advice here.... I wonder where my other thread is, lol.

Only onions, of all things! And I'm now staying with my other cousin, so to do a garden at his place, you'd have to go the hydroponics route!

Well I'm about to start my vegetable garden for the year (a little late maybe, but my work schedule is crazy). Anyway, last year my tomatoes grew really well, my corn got eaten by some leaf borer. I got some organic spray that helped a little. My peppers and eggplant did really well, got LOTS of those. My cantaloupes flowered a lot but never developed, same with my zucchini squash (????). My red onions grew and grew, but bulbs didn't develop. Anyone know what I did wrong?
Also, I'm starting a compost pile. Any advice there?

eta: my pumpkins never came up at all! I thought maybe I have a brown thumb with the viney-ground growing things, but the eggplants did so well. **scratches head**

Look into BT to combat corn borers and beneficial neamotodes for most everything else. These two micro-organisms pack a powerful punch.

My experience with red onions is they need two seasons to bulb. Put sets back in and they will bulb this year. (I'm assuming you started them from seed.) Also, let a few go to seed and they will self seed themselves for future crops.

Hard to mess up a compost pile; just keep contaminates out of it like pesticide laden scraps or meat scraps.