re: 2020 Garden Thread

I think it was around May. Which is probably what I’ll do this year. But I didn’t transplant, I direct sowed.

Heck, you could probably get away with planting them in July.

Got my tomatoes moved and pulled the carrots and broccoli. The boys had a blast pulling up those carrots.

I’m still waiting on my garlic to finish up. I also went ahead and put my Tabasco plants in some pots. Probably next week I will start working getting other proper plants in the ground.

The bed looks great.

I’ve never grown them, but I know that blueberries like really acidic soil. You may be able to get away with growing them in close proximity to the others you mentioned, but I think it would be tough.

You’re really past the effective cutoff to grow lettuce. It’ll bolt/flower before you can harvest much. When it bolts, it tastes really bitter.

You’re at the perfect time to plant cherry tomatoes/tomatoes and cucumbers, though. You could pick up some seedlings at your local feed store or nursery and put them in the ground tomorrow if you’d like. Now is also a good time to plant peppers and eggplant. You can google the LSU ag vegetable planting guide to get an idea of what to grow when. We really have 2 growing seasons down here. I’ve been planting both spring (now) and fall (septemberish) crops of tomatoes and cucumbers. As long as they stay healthy, there’s really no need to replant peppers in the fall. They’ll produce all through summer until freeze, though some slow down a bit in the heat of summer. Okra and eggplant both grow really well in the heat of summer too.

It’s really useful to let LSU test your soil, but with the turnaround time I’d just go ahead and plant them worry about all that later.

eta: just saw you are in St. Amant. Go to Clegg’s nursery. They have tons of varieties of all kinds of spring vegetables and they’re super helpful.

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Just on a table in enclosed garage. Not really a grow light either, just the garage lights

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That’s your issue right there. They’re just not getting enough light. You really need a dedicated grow light for the plants that you can keep close to the tops of the plants, whether it’s LED or otherwise.

My seedlings also always develop a little bit of mold on the surface of the dirt. I use plastic pots though as opposed to peat. I just think it’s because of the environment in a house. It’s never caused me any major issues. You can spray the pots and the surface of the dirt with neem oil and water mixed per label suggestions and it’ll knock it back for a few days. As long as you don’t see fungus gnats flying around or the plant leaves looking ratty, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

I stopped by O’Keefe’s last week and I pass by every day on my way to work. They have a ton of vegetable starts right now and are getting more in every other day it seems. Good time to go.

Balls ( ), how much do your 4 blueberry bushes produce? I wouldn’t mind having a couple in my yard but I’m not sure about sizing/how many I would need.

As someone else said, plant the blueberries somewhere besides you're raised bed. Also make sure you are getting a blueberry variety that is better suited for the deep south that can handle low-chill hours. Some blueberries desire cross pollination for maximum fruit output, while others can self pollinate more easily. If you get one that needs cross-pollination, then make sure you plant a couple of other types around it.

Here are some photos of my main raised bed and bags. Cucumber box and my random fence box haven't been completely planted out yet. Irrigation lines also haven't been set yet. The empty spaces are for 8 okra plants.

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I don’t know if this is all possible on this one bed. If it isn’t the only thing that’s a must is Blueberries. Located in St. Amant.

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Being in St Amant you likely don’t have sufficiently acidic soils (pH 4.5 - 5.5) for blueberries for ground planting without addition of elemental sulfur to acidify the soil. It’s a slow process taking several months.

I’m growing blueberries in a 1/2 doz 15 gallon black poly nursery trade containers - works well. In fact, I’m going to move them into 30 gallon containers this fall. Planting medium is 50% garden mix (“top soil”), which is just composted tree bark/limbs and sand for weight, and 50% sphagnum moss - which provides the soil acidity blueberries need. Osmocote fertilizer, supplemented monthly with an acid forming water soluble fertilizer. These are LSU AgCenter recommendations based on research trials at the Hammond Research Station.

You could a build a second raised bed a foot high, and fill with the same planting mix. Blueberries are shallow rooted shrubs. If you want to soil plant blueberries get soil samples from the planting area, have analyzed by the AgCenter for a blueberry recommendation and they’ll provide you the proper sulfur recommendation to lower the pH. Do that this spring and the bed would be ready for blueberries planting this fall.

Rabbit eye blueberries are recommended for our area, and you need at least 2 varieties (cultivars) for cross pollination. Premier, Climax, Brightwell,Tifblue are often found in retail plant nurseries, and their are a few other rabbiteye cultivars.

Thanks. Yep. I originally bought a couple to try to companion plant near tomatoes and squash to see if it helps anything. They’re laid out how they are because of sun positioning. I felt they’d get shaded out between the plants.