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Started By
Message
Advice on Starting a Vegetable Garden
Posted on 3/18/14 at 6:20 pm
Posted on 3/18/14 at 6:20 pm
Wasnt sure where to post this, here or on the outdoor board so I just posted on both 
I want to plant a veggie / herb garden in my backyard and just need some advice on best ways to do it. In South LA. My backyard gets great sunlight, easy to water, and drains well.
I want to plan lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, sweet peppers, snap beans and squash. Also thinking of planting a few herbs like basil, rosemary, and thyme, but only if I have enough room. If there are any other veggies / herbs that arent too difficult to grow down here, please let me know.
My main questions are:
Are some of the crops Im thinking of planting difficult to grow and maintain? Others are easier? If so, which should i take out / add in?
How many of each veggie should I plant to yield enough for a household of 5 or so?
Raised garden bed or just plant in the ground? Have decent soil, but I think that building a raised garden is neater and keeps everything together. Leaning towards a raised garden. How much room will I need / how big of a raised garden box should I build? Thinking of just building a couple of diff raised garden boxes and putting certain crops in certain boxed. Would rather do that then just have 1 huge garden box that would be difficult to move and what not.
Row cropping or intensive cropping? Leaning towards doing intensive cropping with the "square foot method". It will maximize my space.
Best fertilizers / feed / pesticides / disease and weed killer?
Also will most likely be using vertical growing method for the tomatoes and snap beans. Will help me maximize my space. Best ways to do that?
Any and all advice is welcome.
And if I need to move to a diff board just let me know. TIA
I want to plant a veggie / herb garden in my backyard and just need some advice on best ways to do it. In South LA. My backyard gets great sunlight, easy to water, and drains well.
I want to plan lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, sweet peppers, snap beans and squash. Also thinking of planting a few herbs like basil, rosemary, and thyme, but only if I have enough room. If there are any other veggies / herbs that arent too difficult to grow down here, please let me know.
My main questions are:
Are some of the crops Im thinking of planting difficult to grow and maintain? Others are easier? If so, which should i take out / add in?
How many of each veggie should I plant to yield enough for a household of 5 or so?
Raised garden bed or just plant in the ground? Have decent soil, but I think that building a raised garden is neater and keeps everything together. Leaning towards a raised garden. How much room will I need / how big of a raised garden box should I build? Thinking of just building a couple of diff raised garden boxes and putting certain crops in certain boxed. Would rather do that then just have 1 huge garden box that would be difficult to move and what not.
Row cropping or intensive cropping? Leaning towards doing intensive cropping with the "square foot method". It will maximize my space.
Best fertilizers / feed / pesticides / disease and weed killer?
Also will most likely be using vertical growing method for the tomatoes and snap beans. Will help me maximize my space. Best ways to do that?
Any and all advice is welcome.
And if I need to move to a diff board just let me know. TIA
3
Posted on 3/18/14 at 6:33 pm to KG5989
Check out the lsu ag site for seasons to plant different things.
Pretty sure this is a winter plant.
Ive had great success with planting all three of these in BR. Basil grows like a weed and needs to be trimmed often. The other two always grow very well when i plant them. I usually have these 3 in pots.
In my experience, peppers such as jalapenos, anaheim, habaneros, tabasco, bell peppers, all grow like its their job. The hot peppers love the heat we get and produce for more than half the year. Just keep watering them and I give them a little feed every week or two. You dont need many pepper plants also. If you like jalapenos, 2-3 plants is plenty.
I do peppers in the ground and in pots. Bell peppers definitely in the ground because they can get big. My bell pepper plant last year was easily 6+ feet tall.
Jalapenos work good in the ground or in pots. More room is always better. Dont plant hot peppers by other veggies and plants. They can mess with other plants.
I think this is up to you. Raised gardens are nice and you can keep it very organized.
Definitely spread them around if you can.
Tomatoes are very hit or miss with me. Bugs and insects have always messed with mine. I use Seven Dust on my plants but sometimes I feel like it's not enough.
Cucumbers have also grown well for me but you need a lot of room
quote:
snap beans
Pretty sure this is a winter plant.
quote:
Also thinking of planting a few herbs like basil, rosemary, and thyme,
Ive had great success with planting all three of these in BR. Basil grows like a weed and needs to be trimmed often. The other two always grow very well when i plant them. I usually have these 3 in pots.
quote:
Are some of the crops Im thinking of planting difficult to grow and maintain?
In my experience, peppers such as jalapenos, anaheim, habaneros, tabasco, bell peppers, all grow like its their job. The hot peppers love the heat we get and produce for more than half the year. Just keep watering them and I give them a little feed every week or two. You dont need many pepper plants also. If you like jalapenos, 2-3 plants is plenty.
I do peppers in the ground and in pots. Bell peppers definitely in the ground because they can get big. My bell pepper plant last year was easily 6+ feet tall.
Jalapenos work good in the ground or in pots. More room is always better. Dont plant hot peppers by other veggies and plants. They can mess with other plants.
quote:
Raised garden bed or just plant in the ground? Have decent soil, but I think that building a raised garden is neater and keeps everything together.
I think this is up to you. Raised gardens are nice and you can keep it very organized.
quote:
Thinking of just building a couple of diff raised garden boxes and putting certain crops in certain boxed. Would rather do that then just have 1 huge garden box that would be difficult to move and what not.
Definitely spread them around if you can.
Tomatoes are very hit or miss with me. Bugs and insects have always messed with mine. I use Seven Dust on my plants but sometimes I feel like it's not enough.
Cucumbers have also grown well for me but you need a lot of room
Posted on 3/18/14 at 6:42 pm to Jones
Thanks for the advice man. Helped out with a lot that I wasnt sure of. Yeah ill def be planting some in pots to help save room in the raised beds for the bigger crops.
And yea thats the reason why Im thinking of doing most in raised beds. Easier and cleaner. Plus, dont want weeds taking over the ground and spreading throughout the yard.
My neighbor has a tomato plant that has thrived for multiple years. Im sure he wont mind helping me out with that at all.
And yea Ill be keeping any and all peppers together and in a diff box. Any idea which plants I should plant in the same box? Best way to organize each box?
This post was edited on 3/18/14 at 6:48 pm
Posted on 3/18/14 at 6:55 pm to KG5989
quote:
hanks for the advice man
No problem but give the thread some time. They have quite a few people on here that know wayyyyyy more than me.
quote:
Plus, dont want weeds taking over the ground and spreading throughout the yard.
Weeds wont be spreading anymore than normal. Just periodically go through your garden and pull any that come out. Dont want them taking up the water and nutrients.
quote:
Any idea which plants I should plant in the same box? Which ones would do ok together?
I havent planted some of your options so I dont want to give you wrong advice. My cucumber plants got very big and require trellises. They easily covered a 5 foot area across with the trellises. My tomato plants grew pretty upright but I had them in supports. They can get big also.
Be sure to space your plants out like some of the labels say. Dont try and fit more in and make it crowded.
My pepper plants like jalapenos, tabasco, habanero all grow upright and sometimes need a stick supprt or two to stay upright when they start producing. On average, when full grown take up space of about 2 feet by 2 feet.
Posted on 3/18/14 at 7:11 pm to Jones
Awesome.
Yeah i just printed out LSU Ag Center guide for planting veggies in LA and I now have a new list
Peppers, squash, tomatoes, green bean, okra, zucchini, and onions.
Yeah i just printed out LSU Ag Center guide for planting veggies in LA and I now have a new list
Peppers, squash, tomatoes, green bean, okra, zucchini, and onions.
Posted on 3/18/14 at 7:16 pm to KG5989
quote:
okra
Ugh this damn plant. I gave up. My plant last year had 1 okra, 1 okra! Hopefully you have better luck because I love okra.
quote:
onions.
My gf's dad grows these and they get massive. Ill try and get a pic
Posted on 3/18/14 at 7:25 pm to Jones
Thats a sad, sad image for okra haha. 1st time doing this so I doubt mine will be any better. But yea im gonna give it a shot. Maybe itll work, maybe it wont. But im gonna give it shot.
Thanks man
This post was edited on 3/18/14 at 7:25 pm
Posted on 3/18/14 at 7:31 pm to KG5989
Do herbs in pots, they tend to go crazy in a bed.
Posted on 3/18/14 at 7:35 pm to Cosmo
Yeah if I end up doing the herbs they are gonna be in pots.
Posted on 3/18/14 at 7:40 pm to KG5989
he def has a green thumb
This post was edited on 3/18/14 at 7:41 pm
Posted on 3/18/14 at 7:43 pm to Jones
Damn.... thats a nice crop right there.
Posted on 3/18/14 at 8:58 pm to KG5989
My first tip is to purchase this book: Month by Month Gardening in Louisiana It is written by Dan Gill of the LSU Ag center and gives you very good breakdown of what to do each month specific to Louisiana. (that is very important)
This is a difficult question to answer. It depends on to what level you plan on sustaining life from the garden or just augmenting your groceries with homegrown. We grow ~65 square feet in a raised bed. I'll post a few links to my previous garden posts as well.
I'm a big proponent of raised beds. You can control the weeds much better. It stays contained and well drained. You can use the ideal soil mixes and have very little effort each year.
I try to minimize pesticides, but do rely on a few blasts of Sevin each year to knock down the damn bugs. If you start a raised bed with a good soil mix, vermiculite to hold moisture and composted chicken manure, you can't go wrong. Very little fertilizer will be needed for strong cops.
You can also grow cantaloupes upright. We used electrical conduit and metal welded wire to make our trellis.
Thread I started about what I'm growing this year (this may help)
quote:Lettuce and Spinach are a winter crop here. The heat makes them bolt (sprout flower and go to seed) and inedible. Onions..not so sure about. The others should be fine in the summer.
I want to plan lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, sweet peppers, snap beans and squash. Also thinking of planting a few herbs like basil, rosemary, and thyme, but only if I have enough room. If there are any other veggies / herbs that arent too difficult to grow down here, please let me know.
quote:
How many of each veggie should I plant to yield enough for a household of 5 or so?
This is a difficult question to answer. It depends on to what level you plan on sustaining life from the garden or just augmenting your groceries with homegrown. We grow ~65 square feet in a raised bed. I'll post a few links to my previous garden posts as well.
quote:
Raised garden bed or just plant in the ground? Have decent soil, but I think that building a raised garden is neater and keeps everything together. Leaning towards a raised garden. How much room will I need / how big of a raised garden box should I build? Thinking of just building a couple of diff raised garden boxes and putting certain crops in certain boxed. Would rather do that then just have 1 huge garden box that would be difficult to move and what not.
I'm a big proponent of raised beds. You can control the weeds much better. It stays contained and well drained. You can use the ideal soil mixes and have very little effort each year.
quote:
Best fertilizers / feed / pesticides / disease and weed killer?
I try to minimize pesticides, but do rely on a few blasts of Sevin each year to knock down the damn bugs. If you start a raised bed with a good soil mix, vermiculite to hold moisture and composted chicken manure, you can't go wrong. Very little fertilizer will be needed for strong cops.
quote:
Also will most likely be using vertical growing method for the tomatoes and snap beans. Will help me maximize my space. Best ways to do that?
You can also grow cantaloupes upright. We used electrical conduit and metal welded wire to make our trellis.
Thread I started about what I'm growing this year (this may help)
Posted on 3/19/14 at 6:46 am to KG5989
Snap beans do very well in the summer. They are always the last in my garden to quit producing.
Posted on 3/19/14 at 8:48 am to Sir Drinksalot
Definitely follow the advice of a previous poster and get Dan Gill's month by month gardening book. Much of the "standard" gardening advice on when & what to plant simply does not apply to Louisiana, esp if you live south of I-10. Ditto for the AgCenter's great publications on backyard gardening.
Snap beans (and blackeyed peas, purplehulls, etc) are a great warm weather crop, but lettuce is strictly a winter/early spring thing in LA. It will bolt (aka flower & go to seed) as soon as it has a couple of leaves when the weather is warm, then it will be too bitter to eat. You won't get a harvestable leaf of lettuce once the temps get above 70-75 degrees.
Peppers are about the easiest thing to grow, but do not over estimate your ability to eat/use them. Just one or two plants of a couple of varieties will do, unless you plan on a massive output of pepper jelly, hot sauce, etc.
If you plant nothing else, plant herbs. Rosemary does best in a well-drained pot, unless you have a dry spot in your garden (it hates wet feet)...ditto for sage. A few summer t-storms in a row will water-log it and it will keel over. Basil, mint, chives (esp flat chinese garlic chives) will grow fine in the ground.
But some herbs (cilantro, parsley) are cool-season plants here; they will flower/seed as the heat increases.
Finally, buy some green onions (scallions) at the supermarket. Cut about 1" above the root end, let the little cut bits dry for a day. Stick 'em in the ground, leaving the cut end just slightly above the surface of the ground. Voila--you will have green onions before you know it. Gr onions make nice edging for raised beds. You simply snip off the tops as needed; the plant will regrow from the buried bulb end.
Snap beans (and blackeyed peas, purplehulls, etc) are a great warm weather crop, but lettuce is strictly a winter/early spring thing in LA. It will bolt (aka flower & go to seed) as soon as it has a couple of leaves when the weather is warm, then it will be too bitter to eat. You won't get a harvestable leaf of lettuce once the temps get above 70-75 degrees.
Peppers are about the easiest thing to grow, but do not over estimate your ability to eat/use them. Just one or two plants of a couple of varieties will do, unless you plan on a massive output of pepper jelly, hot sauce, etc.
If you plant nothing else, plant herbs. Rosemary does best in a well-drained pot, unless you have a dry spot in your garden (it hates wet feet)...ditto for sage. A few summer t-storms in a row will water-log it and it will keel over. Basil, mint, chives (esp flat chinese garlic chives) will grow fine in the ground.
But some herbs (cilantro, parsley) are cool-season plants here; they will flower/seed as the heat increases.
Finally, buy some green onions (scallions) at the supermarket. Cut about 1" above the root end, let the little cut bits dry for a day. Stick 'em in the ground, leaving the cut end just slightly above the surface of the ground. Voila--you will have green onions before you know it. Gr onions make nice edging for raised beds. You simply snip off the tops as needed; the plant will regrow from the buried bulb end.
Posted on 3/19/14 at 9:03 am to hungryone
quote:
nally, buy some green onions (scallions) at the supermarket. Cut about 1" above the root end, let the little cut bits dry for a day. Stick 'em in the ground, leaving the cut end just slightly above the surface of the ground. Voila--you will have green onions before you know it. Gr onions make nice edging for raised beds. You simply snip off the tops as needed; the plant will regrow from the buried bulb end.
Nice.
Summer plant?
Posted on 3/19/14 at 9:36 am to Jones
quote:
Summer plant?
Perennial. If the onions like the spot you put them in, they'll last for several years. If you cut just the older, outside shoots and leave the center shoots alone, you can keep 'em going for a long, long time. Planting the ends of three or four supermarket size bunches will give you enough tops for an as-needed (at least weekly) harvest without using the entire plants. It's nice to go out and snip off just what you need.
The flat garlic chives are perennial as well, and prolifically self-seeding.
Posted on 3/19/14 at 9:40 am to hungryone
Posting to keep up with this thread.
Posted on 3/19/14 at 10:39 am to hungryone
quote:
Perennial. If the onions like the spot you put them in, they'll last for several years. If you cut just the older, outside shoots and leave the center shoots alone, you can keep 'em going for a long, long time. Planting the ends of three or four supermarket size bunches will give you enough tops for an as-needed (at least weekly) harvest without using the entire plants. It's nice to go out and snip off just what you need.
The flat garlic chives are perennial as well, and prolifically self-seeding.
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