Urban Farming Challenges
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Tuesday, 05 April 2011
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I had my first experience with an organic garden this year and I am struggling with ants in the garden! I have used diatomaceous earth many times and while it kills ants, it won't make them all go away! What can I do that will not add poison to my garden? I am tempted to break out the ant bait, but I don't want that in my garden.
269 days ago
Paula Are the ants being terribly problematic? I have oodles of ants but only a couple of colonies that I struggle with. There is one group that cropped up recently that decided to eat all the new growth off my eggplants, which pretty much stopped production there and a couple of others that are wrangling the aphids on a gourd and on a pumpkin plant. Otherwise, as long as they aren't biting me, the rest of the ants are fine and I'm sure somewhat beneficial.
The aphid wranglers, I don't really mind. I just wash the leaves off from time to time and that seems to keep them from causing too much damage. The ones attacking my eggplants are another story. I tried diatomaceous earth, cinnamon and chili powder. I've planted tansies and onions near them. All of which seems to irritate them but not make them disappear completely. It might sound silly but my next attempt is going to be going after them with my dustbuster! I'm hoping they might find less enthusiasm for rebuilding if a large portion of their colony suddenly vanishes. :)268 days ago -
I keep my plants on the balcony, unfortunately it's really windy here and I wonder what could I do to stop the wind but without generating too much shade..
345 days ago
Kari Spencer Hmmm, maybe hang some vintage windows, securing them from the top and the bottom so that they don't swing. I saw something like this online. http://www.robomargo.com/window1.jpg345 days ago -
ARGH! Went outside today to shuffle some of my new birds around and my mother's **** horse ATE the tops off of all my heirloom tomatoes!!! I got nothin left but 3-4 " of stalk poking up on 6 out of 9 plants!!!!
Is there anything I can do to nurse them into growing new leaves and branches? plant food? penicillin shots?? LOL
407 days ago
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Hello! Any recommendations for planting the best shrubs, trees along a cement block wall that spans the backyard? Still not quite sure I have the east/west, north/south pluses and minuses.
606 days ago
Greg Peterson Caitlin, I like to use citrus for that. I'll be placing an order for citrus in the next few months if you want to join in.
On the solar aspect. If your garden is getting full sun from sun up to noon that is a eastern exposure and if it is getting full sun from noon till sundown that is a western exposure. Stand on the north side of a building right next to the building or wall and look north that is northern exposure. U should never see the sun. Southern exposure no matter the time of the year you should see the sun.
Hope this helps. Greg604 days ago -
I looked at the planting calendar and it doesnt pertain to me. I dont live in a low desert area. I am in Washington State. Any tips on where I can get information for my area?
670 days ago
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Just moved to west Phoenix. This will be my first real veggie garden since arriving in Valley of the Sun six years ago. We have a large back yard now (all gravel). I have a nice sunny spot and have been making compost since we moved here in March. I want to put in raised beds. What kind of soil should I get and will I have to lime it? Thanks.
671 days ago
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Rachel - hence the problem with some nurseries. THey have something to sell you and right time of year or not they are going to sell it to you. Onions and garlic you plant in the fall and let them grow through the winter. Please go to the main page of this site and download the planting calendar. It tells you what to plant when. Sorry they told you wrong on the planting. Come back here for the correct info.
672 days ago
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So Im new to this whole gardening thing and this year I had a bit of trouble. I planted my onions and garlic in early may since I was told I could do so by the nursery I had purchased them from. When I went to harvest them a few days ago, they came out of the ground rotten. Everything above ground was nice. There were great pretty green stalks that came up and everything but underground nothing happened. They were all pretty much the same size that I had planted and mushy and rotten. Any ideas where I went wrong?
672 days ago
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Where are the bees? My squash and honeydew melon blossoms are starting to open and I don't see any bees buzzing around them like I did last year. Could the bad freeze we had this winter be the cause???
744 days ago
Unsure what is plaguing your petunias? Did something not go as planned? Hit a wall with your farm? Use this group to discuss any problems, challenges or other misfortune you may have encountered. The goal is to help others learn from our collective mistakes in the process of urban farming.
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