"David Hare-Scott" wrote in
:

Gordon wrote:
Hi group,
Newbie here. Two years ago I moved into a new house and
for the first time in a long time, I have room for a garden.
So this summer I planted a garden just to see how things
would work out. Well, we didn't get steller results. But we
got something. Based on the results of or first season,
I have a bunch of questions.

Where are you, what is your climate?

Ah, yes. That would be a key bit of information. Wouldn't it?
I am in Portland, OR. We have two seasons: It's Raining, and
Rain's Coming.


For those who are currious; I planted:

Corn: The sqirrles ate about half the corn seeds out of the
ground before they could sprout. The stalks never got higher
than about 5 feet and the ears were very small. I had one
ear that had fully developed kernls but the ear was only a
few inches long.


Corn needs full sun, long warm or hot days and plenty of water. It is
a heavy feeder, requiring fertile soil rich in nitrogen, this does not
mean burying them in urea or ammonium sulphate. Failure of any of
these conditions will give reduced plants and cobs. Incomplete cobs
that have "bald patches" instead of kernels is due to inadequate
fertilisation. There must be one grain of pollen for every kernel.
Corn is wind pollinated so it is better to plant in blocks not rows to
make the precess more efficient. If you do get a good crop of corn you
will discover there are many birds and animals that like it very much
and they will race you to the ears unless you exclude them.

The corn was a big experiment. To tell the truth; I wasn't expecting
much. I may plant another cluster (yes, I planted in clusters) next
season just to act as a barrometer to see if I get any improvememt.

Tomatoes: 4 types, All did reasonable well.

Zuchinni (harvested 4 vegitables), Egg plant (3), Yellow
crookneck (3), PattiPans (about 12), Lemon cuces (about 12).


Those are fairly poor returns on cucurbits, I would expect to get a
dozen or two fruit from a zuchinni or a cucumber. Are they in full
sun, well watered and fed? Did they have room to get sun and full
root development? Do you have bees active?

I lost several fruits that fell off the vine while they were small.
I'm not sure why. Also, not every blossom developed fruit. Perhaps
this is a pollination issue? I wonder if planting some flowers
(marigolds?) in the garden would attract bees?

As far as feeding and watering; The soil was initially very poor
and I mixed in peat moss and the leaves that I used as winter
mulch to try and create a looser more loamy soil. I also mixed in
a bit of plant food as well. The plants were watered daily and
well soaked.


Sweet pea pods and Bush beans (both did well)
2 kind of Lettuce (continuous crop, not too big leaves.)

Radishes and carrots (did not develop well).

Strawberries: These just showed up. Squirrls ended eating the
berries before I could pick them.

Currently I have all the leaves from the yard raked into the garden
to provide weed control.

I think I'll ask my questions indiviually.

David