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Posted

Anyone else doing any vermicomposting?

Got a setup about 2 months ago, and 10dz worms to get started.

This is a bin I keep inside in the basement, for steady temps, etc.

So far so good. Building the population up and feeding them a good bit every 3-4 days. Seems ok so far. Probably won’t have my first casting harvest for another 4 months, but knew it was a waiting game when first starting.

Lotta plant trimmings, apples, pears, banana peels, egg shells, etc. All diced up fairly fine, so they can break it down a little quicker.

It’s about 2ft square and 3ft tall, give or take.

Top zips closed, collect castings from the bottom port.

Using this as an input for the top dress I put on top of the soil at certain times (after harvest/before new plants, and middle of growth cycle) which is a mix of worm castings, compost, potting mix, rice hulls, and nutrient components identified by soil tests.

 

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Posted

That looks interesting, and easy.  My compost pile is doing basically the same thing, but the castings just blend in with the decomposing stuff I guess.  Is there a huge advantage to using a bin like that?

Posted

In terms of end product vs standard compost, not really in the big picture.

It’s a little richer, but not significantly so. A bit easier on the input side to get specific things into the mix.

There’s no foul smell, no heating up from breakdown, and microbes galore.

It’s also convenient having it in the house, and being able to keep it going year-round. 

Posted

I did vermicompost with the 5 gallon bucket system for a couple of years. I kept them in the garage.  The compost was black gold but I had a hard time keeping them alive for some reason. I definitely recommend it if you have a constant temp.  I think that was one of my issues.

I ended up taking the compost and what was left of the worms and adding them to my spring plantings and they have taken off.  I will definitely do it again in the future if our next place has more space and I can have a different set up. Wife didn't want them in the pantry or utility room.  

I think the real benefit would come from making a worm compost tea and maximizing their power.  

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Posted
25 minutes ago, Post Oak said:

I think the real benefit would come from making a worm compost tea and maximizing their power.  

 

This is definitely a good use, and creates a ton of microbes.

I'll do those from time to time. Most of my teas are alfalfa, kelp, or a mix of the two.

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Posted

I'm living vicariously through y'alls food crops this season. We had and will have a number of things going on that made growing anything other than flowers problematic. I sowed some herb seeds among the flowers to have basil, dill, etc but bypassed the usual favorites of tomatoes, cukes, etc.

Given that the temps are rising pretty high this week, good luck with your plots and throw some shade cloth on them if the plants are tiny.

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Posted

Well at least I got one sungold tomato before the blast furnace.  I’m seriously considering hiring a Home Depot day laborer to sit out there and hand water my garden, trees and lawn full time on Wednesday. 

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Posted

I got a late start to the garden so it's only a month in, but my peppers are doing well. I was worried about the acidity of my compost because it received a lot more orange peels this year than before thanks to my kid, but apparently peppers like a good acidic soil. My cherry tomato has fucking blown up as well. 

This is the first jap I'm plucking. Pic doesn't do it justice. It's like one of those freaky huge HEB japs. The plant itself is barely a foot tall. 

 

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Posted

Alright, 2 month update.

Good: Dewberries yielded 3 berries, but the plant is expanding like crazy. Trombocino Squash has, at least until now, proven SVB resistant and setting some fruit. Roma, Better Boy, Sweet 100, and Brandywine tomatoes producing well. Canteloupe plants in fabric pots are taking over.

Ok: Pepper plants have yielded some fruits, but vegetative growth is below expectations.

Bad: Cucumbers, Green Beans, and green peas have been teh suk.

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Trombocino Squash:

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Brandywine Tomatoes:

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Posted

My cherry tomato leaves are yellowing, something I wouldn’t normally expect until later in summer. Is this from overwatering (lots of rain)? Should I just ignore it and go easy on the watering for a bit?

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Posted
9 hours ago, Masshole Horn said:

Alright, 2 month update.

Good: Dewberries yielded 3 berries, but the plant is expanding like crazy. Trombocino Squash has, at least until now, proven SVB resistant and setting some fruit. Roma, Better Boy, Sweet 100, and Brandywine tomatoes producing well. Canteloupe plants in fabric pots are taking over.

Ok: Pepper plants have yielded some fruits, but vegetative growth is below expectations.

Bad: Cucumbers, Green Beans, and green peas have been teh suk.

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Trombocino Squash:

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Brandywine Tomatoes:

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I’ve been trying to grow peas and beans (non southern pea/black eyed) and I swear it’s impossible.  Winter didn’t work, spring didn’t work, maybe I’ll try one more time in the late fall before I scrap it. 

Posted
11 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

My cherry tomato leaves are yellowing, something I wouldn’t normally expect until later in summer. Is this from overwatering (lots of rain)? Should I just ignore it and go easy on the watering for a bit?

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Could be too much water washing away nutrients.  I would hit it with a good fertilizer. 

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any one got an idea of what is causing theese yellow spots. Im thinking it is from insects? WhT eay you surly?

Posted
10 hours ago, USCATX said:

I’ve been trying to grow peas and beans (non southern pea/black eyed) and I swear it’s impossible.  Winter didn’t work, spring didn’t work, maybe I’ll try one more time in the late fall before I scrap it. 

A family friend does well with Kentucky Wonder pole beans; they get sun from dawn until about 2:00PM... i.e. east facing. She plants them as early as they can and they stop producing as soon as the highs are regularly above 95.

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Posted
2 hours ago, NorthLoop said:

That happens to me every year with cucumbers. Never seems to turn into a problem. 

Just wanted to make sure it won't become a problem 

Posted
On 2/3/2025 at 9:30 PM, Beer Drinker said:

Little help please. My 9 year old has the plant bug. He wanted an apple tree, so I bought him a Mollie's delicious. Got home and sounds like to produce fruit I need 2. So we went back and got another (Mollie's delicious). Now more reading and it sounds like you have to have different varieties?? to produce fruit. I'm confused as shit. Anybody know how the fuck this shit works? 

 

Nobody answered your question, that I saw. Yes, you need two trees of different varieties. 

And yes, it will take a number of years before you get fruit. If you do start to get fruit, you will probably want to cover with a bird net. 

 

 

On 3/9/2025 at 5:38 PM, Fred Garvin said:

I'm gonna try some gardenin' this spring. I am sure I will screw it up like the rest of my life but what the heck. Starting small (that's what she said). About 200 sq.ft.  I weedeated the crap out of an area that has been neglected forever, then did a little hoeing. Added some compost today. Planning to plant some corn, beans, and squash in a few weeks.20250309_124333.thumb.jpg.c439081c84214d8ee96f64bcbee293f2.jpg

 

Corn, being a grass, is wind pollinated. Which means you need to have a large area, square area. A row or two won't pollinate very well or at all. 

 

On 4/10/2025 at 2:08 PM, NorthLoop said:

Finally got everything in the ground. Pretty much all peppers, mostly japs, with a cherry tomato, strawberry, and some onions mixed in. I couldn't find any cucumber plants that didn't look like shit so I won't be growing one this year. Last year they were all bitter as fuck anyways. Will probably add another tomato to that spot. 

 

Yes those are rubber snakes. The crows and mockingbirds don't seem to be scared of the owl anymore. 

 

 

 

Soon enough they won't care about the snakes anymore either. Move em around, and trade em out with each other might help. 

Birds are smart yo. Especially crows and mocking birds. Seems the bigger and more obnoxious the bird, the smarter they are. 

 

Posted
1 hour ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

Nobody answered your question, that I saw. Yes, you need two trees of different varieties. 

And yes, it will take a number of years before you get fruit. If you do start to get fruit, you will probably want to cover with a bird net. 

 

 

 

Corn, being a grass, is wind pollinated. Which means you need to have a large area, square area. A row or two won't pollinate very well or at all. 

 

 

Soon enough they won't care about the snakes anymore either. Move em around, and trade em out with each other might help. 

Birds are smart yo. Especially crows and mocking birds. Seems the bigger and more obnoxious the bird, the smarter they are. 

 

I do move the sneks around. I put one intertwined with the tomato cage. So far about 6 weeks in I haven't had a bird problem yet. 

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Posted
1 hour ago, InkaUtexas said:

Came back from a work trip. Tomato horn worm raids. I will be up tonight to find that fucker.

Ate the young peppers down to the base.

Fuck I hate those fuckers. Pretty much have to check my plants at least twice a day because of how fast those fuckers work when they show up. 

Posted
18 minutes ago, NorthLoop said:

Fuck I hate those fuckers. Pretty much have to check my plants at least twice a day because of how fast those fuckers work when they show up. 

They are out at night. Go out there and listen. They are louder than a 747 when eating.

And then go fishing or feed a chicken.

Posted
Spoiler

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Not gardening per se, cherry laurel on the left has been yellowing over the last year. Smaller on on the right looks great. I have tried fertilizing about 6 weeks ago and it has not greened up. Any suggestions? Don't want it to die.

Posted

Blackberries are coming in strong. Also, these nightshade huckleberries are a total waste of time.  No flavor and hard to pick. 

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Posted

Nice! I got 4 tiny blackberries (native dewberries actually). I planted the cutting last summer and it didn't really take off vegetatively until this spring. So, hoping for a better harvest next year.

Separately, I found a huge mustang grape plant on one of my live oaks. Anyone have experience with mustang grapes?

Posted
7 hours ago, Masshole Horn said:

Nice! I got 4 tiny blackberries (native dewberries actually). I planted the cutting last summer and it didn't really take off vegetatively until this spring. So, hoping for a better harvest next year.

Separately, I found a huge mustang grape plant on one of my live oaks. Anyone have experience with mustang grapes?

They’re fine, don’t really like them fresh but they make a good jelly.  
 

Also picked some tomatoes and serranos for a weekend at the lake.  Tomatoes are producing a crop every day, but it’s still going to be two weeks or so until I’m completely buried in 30 plants worth. 

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Posted

The nightshade huckleberries have redeemed themselves as a pretty damn decent jelly.  One quart of berries to make 3 pretty concentrated 4 oz jars of jelly.  I’m more of a jam guy, but these things are too packed with seeds for that.  Next up will be blackberry jam or jelly because I’m getting a pint a day and they’re not even at their peak. 

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Posted

Nice haul today. Tomatoes are just barely starting to turn orange but the mockingbirds are picking them off despite my rubber sneks. Had to snag the onion early too as it's getting zero sunlight next to the 6 foot tomato plant. 

Also this is Sticks. My son named him that because he sticks to everything. Today he sticks his dick in his girlfriend. 

 

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Posted
9 hours ago, NorthLoop said:

Nice haul today. Tomatoes are just barely starting to turn orange but the mockingbirds are picking them off despite my rubber sneks. Had to snag the onion early too as it's getting zero sunlight next to the 6 foot tomato plant. 

Also this is Sticks. My son named him that because he sticks to everything. Today he sticks his dick in his girlfriend. 

 

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Solid pepper harvest, between us we could have a mean salsa. 

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Posted
9 hours ago, USCATX said:

Solid pepper harvest, between us we could have a mean salsa. 

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I have a ton of green ones right now. Just gotta snag em as soon as they start yellowing before the goddamn birds do. 

Posted

Them fuckin birds man. Dumb fuckers.

I tried all that shit. Rubber sneks, owls, cd’s on strings. Nothing held out very long.

 

Finally I took 18” sections of 3/4” pvc, and drove one in every 3ft, all around the outside footprint. The. took some long, 1/2” flexible pvc, put an end in one side, then the other across from it to make an arch. Then put bird netting over the arches.

My next garden, after we move, will get permanent fencing from 1” welded wire, hardware cloth, or similar. 

Posted
24 minutes ago, thunderlounge said:

Them fuckin birds man. Dumb fuckers.

I tried all that shit. Rubber sneks, owls, cd’s on strings. Nothing held out very long.

 

Finally I took 18” sections of 3/4” pvc, and drove one in every 3ft, all around the outside footprint. The. took some long, 1/2” flexible pvc, put an end in one side, then the other across from it to make an arch. Then put bird netting over the arches.

My next garden, after we move, will get permanent fencing from 1” welded wire, hardware cloth, or similar. 

They never go after the green tomatoes so I've done well the last 5 years or so just getting out there early and plucking the yellow/orange ones and having them ripen in the kitchen. 

Posted

Etiuda peppers that wouldn’t turn orange, Juliet, San Marzano and cherry tomatoes, huckleberries, big ass blackberries, blackberry jelly and pasta pomodoro with fresh tomatoes and basil.  
 

I’m living off the fat of the land. 

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Posted
On 6/3/2025 at 6:55 PM, USCATX said:

Etiuda peppers that wouldn’t turn orange, 

I have a red bell pepper plant and it takes forever for them to turn red. The first one was half rotten when it finally started turning. 

Posted
On 6/11/2025 at 8:12 PM, NorthLoop said:

I have a red bell pepper plant and it takes forever for them to turn red. The first one was half rotten when it finally started turning. 

Have you tried ripening in a bag?  That’s what’s happening to mine, they rot before they turn colors.  I’ve been picking them green because they still taste great me better green than rotten. 
 

Also, piles of tomatoes and blackberries with a pair of micro peen eggplants.  

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