Your Vegetable Garden

JoeR

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I can say I agree... kind of...
Here it is anyway. Non-native pests such as Japanese beetles and caterpillars can decimate massive plants in a short few days. Another example, My lettuce and spinach were covered in Aphids this year, and how do you safely remove those? The purpose of growing our own food is so we don’t consume as many pesticides and herbicides and although I don’t really think GMO’s have an impact on health, I don’t want to support them. Their impact on wildlife is devastating and it seems most people you ask don’t even know what a GMO is.

Man I’m sounding like a tree hugger now :oops:
 

JoeR

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@sorce .

Hello Unca Sorce, Nic here.
Organically grown, no pesticides.
My images.
Nikolaos

Roma
The iron mesh stops animals.

View attachment 191888

Fruit

View attachment 191895
local papaya - called paw paw down here
Bitter and used more as a medicinal

View attachment 191897
pomegranate

View attachment 191898
Almost ripe - yellow pineapple, much sweeter than the other types/

View attachment 191899
I would kill to be able to grow mangoes, pineapples, and avocados. Do you know if they’re a specific cultivar or where they came from? I have grown a pineapple plant from the top of a store bought one and it got big- probably 5 feet around- but got too cold one day and I never got a fruit. I did however get a dwarf pineapple from IKEA and this is the tiny fruit it produced. I’ve read they only produce one fruit and then die- do you have several planted for a continuous supply? I’ve looked into buying an avocado tree but there aren’t too many options online and they want a lot for them, same with mango.

Next you’re gonna tell me you grow coffee:rolleyes::p
 

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Starfox

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Here it is anyway. Non-native pests such as Japanese beetles and caterpillars can decimate massive plants in a short few days. Another example, My lettuce and spinach were covered in Aphids this year, and how do you safely remove those? The purpose of growing our own food is so we don’t consume as many pesticides and herbicides and although I don’t really think GMO’s have an impact on health, I don’t want to support them. Their impact on wildlife is devastating and it seems most people you ask don’t even know what a GMO is.

Man I’m sounding like a tree hugger now :oops:

There are definitely different levels of organic though, plenty will say chemicals based on natural oils and plant extracts are acceptable. Others draw the line on using nothing but amazingly they are content that vinegar and dishwashing liquid meet whatever organic requirements they have set themselves. I'm an admin of a local gardening group and it is amazing the crap some people post, as long as you don't get your scientific info via facebook memes from a guy who identifies as an avocado then all is good.

My favourite comments are the "I never use chemicals of any sort" despite the fact that literally everything is, in fact a chemical.

All that said the EU has banned most of everything else so half of the products recommended are not to be found here. Recently they passed a ban on pretty much all neonicotinoids for example. Which is probably a good thing.
 

JoeR

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There are definitely different levels of organic though, plenty will say chemicals based on natural oils and plant extracts are acceptable. Others draw the line on using nothing but amazingly they are content that vinegar and dishwashing liquid meet whatever organic requirements they have set themselves. I'm an admin of a local gardening group and it is amazing the crap some people post, as long as you don't get your scientific info via facebook memes from a guy who identifies as an avocado then all is good.

My favourite comments are the "I never use chemicals of any sort" despite the fact that literally everything is, in fact a chemical.

All that said the EU has banned most of everything else so half of the products recommended are not to be found here. Recently they passed a ban on pretty much all neonicotinoids for example. Which is probably a good thing.
I can’t say I’m not guilty of making the “chemical-free” comments before. But I’ve since realized the ignorance with that. You’re most certainly right about the levels of organic gardening. I’m trying to reach the point where I don’t have to apply anything to my garden besides water and organic fertilizer sources. I would be okay with anything I can safely consume like vinegar I suppose though. But it’s very hard to accomplish this living where I do surrounded by woods with all sorts of pests. I will say the EU is much more advanced than the US avout agricultural regulations and consumer food safety standards. I want to say even GMOs are banned there maybe?

Identifies as an avocado LOL
 

Starfox

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I can’t say I’m not guilty of making the “chemical-free” comments before. But I’ve since realized the ignorance with that. You’re most certainly right about the levels of organic gardening. I’m trying to reach the point where I don’t have to apply anything to my garden besides water and organic fertilizer sources. I would be okay with anything I can safely consume like vinegar I suppose though. But it’s very hard to accomplish this living where I do surrounded by woods with all sorts of pests. I will say the EU is much more advanced than the US avout agricultural regulations and consumer food safety standards. I want to say even GMOs are banned there maybe?

Identifies as an avocado LOL

Yeah I get it, the less the better and I think if you can get a garden where you don't need any sort of pest or weed control then that would be great. But like you say it isn't always an option that is viable. We are having this weird season swarm of leaf eating beetles, kind of like large, elongated lady bugs but evil. Some people are having huge trouble with these atm. They would strip a maple or oak bonsai in a day with the numbers I have seen posted. So far we only have a few and I leave them be mostly but if they turn up in numbers then I will not be adverse to chemical warfare.
I only use 2 sprays a pyrethrum contact spray and a dilute glyphosate when things get way out of hand, until now I have no need for anything else. The pyrethrum is great, you can spray it on vegetables and smokeables and practically within seconds the bugs are dead and then UV from the sun renders it safe, plus you are only targeting the bad bugs and not spraying the good ones. Although I would be interested to know if the dead bugs are safe for other bugs to consume, no idea on that. I hose the dead bugs off the next day.

I think what annoys me is the people who choose to do nothing, not so much that they choose to do nothing but when faced with a massive infestation of something that is severely detrimental to the plants health the advice they give is to let them live and go on to explain how much of a murderer you are and they don't kill a thing, which is BS because they do. Or they offer some home remedy that simply will not work type of thing but hey, at least it's not a chemical.:rolleyes:
But like I said I admin a group and this is almost a daily argument and it pisses me off because I can't really do anything but I swear I'm so close to banning the next person who says round up kills bees or causes cancer. It doesn't. Granted there are loads of things that do but I'm a science guy and it's much easier to simply say I don't want to use certain chemicals rather than spout utter nonsense reasons why they don't.
Sometimes just a simple spray with a hose works, and that is a good way of doing things but it wont fix everything.

lol, think I needed to get that off my chest.

Thrips are one that I used to spray but have given up on that, they generally only effect my ficus and in the warmer months so instead of panicing and bitching about the Thrips I just pluck the leaves off, it takes maybe a couple or so weeks of doing it before the cycle is broken but by the time they are gone you have partially defoliated the ficus which they love anyway. Thrips do land on you and bite though, those ones don't escape.

The EU is very progressive in the regulations, GM is highly regulated but allowed under certain conditions I think. Again that is another that I'm torn on, in principle it is a good thing and already everywhere but it is owned by big business which makes it a bad thing and the fact we don't know which is which is something I'd like to see changed, even here.
 

AlainK

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It's something like some French types of cheese which smell too strongly or as you put it "stink" like Brie or Roquefort or Camembert which I do love!!!
@AlainK don't they?

My! If you think these stink, you've never tried Livarot or Maroilles, or Munster.

This is the kind of cheese that can't be exported: the customs would be sealed off for sanitory reasons, and employees with gas-masks would incinerate them! :D

But it's the outer crust that smells like dirty feet, the inside is rather sweet, fruity and tasty actually.

"De gustibus et coloribus non disputandum" has become a very common french saying: "Des goûts et des couleurs, on ne discute pas", smthg like "Of tastes and colours, we don't argue". There must be an equivalent in English (?)
 

AlainK

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Where I live, at least in the small suburban town (8,000 inhabitants), no chemical weed-killers have been used for several years. It means more time needed to keep street plantings clean, so more time to spend on it, and more employees, and thus it costs more. But what is saved on chemicals goes to jobs. Fair deal I think. And most cities around, and in France, that's developping very quickly. So far, only benefits.

I'm not sure that we are 100% pesticide-free, but we're tending to that.

In my garden, for my vegetables, the only thing I use is "Bouillie bordelaise" (Bordeaux mix), which is accepted in organic cultivation.

I only use chemicals very sparingly on my bonsai, and as a last resort when everything else has failed.
 

Anthony

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@JoeR ,

yes we grow coffee - arabica.:)

We use no chemicals for spraying -------
[1] companion plantingo_O

[2] No wilting allowed

[3] Lots of sun and some breeze:cool:

Nic started off with garlic in water as a spray.
But the basil fixed the problem with a type of bug.

Still have the local 4 inch [ 10 cm ] brown grasshopper, but
these days the birds are hungry.

Pineapples - grow from the head produce a fruit and 4 or 5
new plants.
But for fun, not for too much sugar. Or Jam.

Nic's dad a heavy man, drinker [ alcoholic ] at 51 has diabetes,
so Nic has to watch his diet, especially since both parents
grew him as a fatty baby, fatty boy and now he has to take
off 100 pounds plus.
We stand at his side encouraging physical activity, but he is
not a greedy person.
Just slack alcoholic parents.

This type of fat is difficult to easily control, all the way down
to the toes. Massive stretch marks already showing.
Going to the beach ????????????
Good Day
Anthony
 

JoeR

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@JoeR ,

yes we grow coffee - arabica.:)

We use no chemicals for spraying -------
[1] companion plantingo_O

[2] No wilting allowed

[3] Lots of sun and some breeze:cool:

Nic started off with garlic in water as a spray.
But the basil fixed the problem with a type of bug.

Still have the local 4 inch [ 10 cm ] brown grasshopper, but
these days the birds are hungry.

Pineapples - grow from the head produce a fruit and 4 or 5
new plants.
But for fun, not for too much sugar. Or Jam.

Nic's dad a heavy man, drinker [ alcoholic ] at 51 has diabetes,
so Nic has to watch his diet, especially since both parents
grew him as a fatty baby, fatty boy and now he has to take
off 100 pounds plus.
We stand at his side encouraging physical activity, but he is
not a greedy person.
Just slack alcoholic parents.

This type of fat is difficult to easily control, all the way down
to the toes. Massive stretch marks already showing.
Going to the beach ????????????
Good Day
Anthony
I would LOVE to see more of your garden and how you do companion planting for pest control. And pictures of the coffee plants would be cool too, do you grow them ornamentally or do you actually make your own coffee from it?

Sorry to hear about him, I hope he can drop the weight he needs to! A long journey for him I’m sure but he can do it.
 

JoeR

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Yeah I get it, the less the better and I think if you can get a garden where you don't need any sort of pest or weed control then that would be great. But like you say it isn't always an option that is viable. We are having this weird season swarm of leaf eating beetles, kind of like large, elongated lady bugs but evil. Some people are having huge trouble with these atm. They would strip a maple or oak bonsai in a day with the numbers I have seen posted. So far we only have a few and I leave them be mostly but if they turn up in numbers then I will not be adverse to chemical warfare.
I only use 2 sprays a pyrethrum contact spray and a dilute glyphosate when things get way out of hand, until now I have no need for anything else. The pyrethrum is great, you can spray it on vegetables and smokeables and practically within seconds the bugs are dead and then UV from the sun renders it safe, plus you are only targeting the bad bugs and not spraying the good ones. Although I would be interested to know if the dead bugs are safe for other bugs to consume, no idea on that. I hose the dead bugs off the next day.

I think what annoys me is the people who choose to do nothing, not so much that they choose to do nothing but when faced with a massive infestation of something that is severely detrimental to the plants health the advice they give is to let them live and go on to explain how much of a murderer you are and they don't kill a thing, which is BS because they do. Or they offer some home remedy that simply will not work type of thing but hey, at least it's not a chemical.:rolleyes:
But like I said I admin a group and this is almost a daily argument and it pisses me off because I can't really do anything but I swear I'm so close to banning the next person who says round up kills bees or causes cancer. It doesn't. Granted there are loads of things that do but I'm a science guy and it's much easier to simply say I don't want to use certain chemicals rather than spout utter nonsense reasons why they don't.
Sometimes just a simple spray with a hose works, and that is a good way of doing things but it wont fix everything.

lol, think I needed to get that off my chest.

Thrips are one that I used to spray but have given up on that, they generally only effect my ficus and in the warmer months so instead of panicing and bitching about the Thrips I just pluck the leaves off, it takes maybe a couple or so weeks of doing it before the cycle is broken but by the time they are gone you have partially defoliated the ficus which they love anyway. Thrips do land on you and bite though, those ones don't escape.

The EU is very progressive in the regulations, GM is highly regulated but allowed under certain conditions I think. Again that is another that I'm torn on, in principle it is a good thing and already everywhere but it is owned by big business which makes it a bad thing and the fact we don't know which is which is something I'd like to see changed, even here.
We have the same beetle problem too, but they’re probably a different beetle- they’re Japanese beetles- and they will DESTROY a plant in a matter of hours if there’s enough of them.

I have never met someone who said killing crop pests makes you a murderer, I don’t need people like that in my life haha so that’s a good thing.

I think people are way too lenient with calling things carcinogens in general. But this may be left over hysteria from Agent Orange and the like, which my great grandfather was a victim of. I was just reading yesterday that aluminum antiperspirants are considered cancer causing by some people. I don’t know about that. But I avoid it not because I think it causes cancer but because I know it isn’t necessary. All natural products work just as good in most cases. Pretty certain it’s not cancer causing but it does force your body to work harder and it IS absorbed through your skin. I feel the same about pesticides. I doubt they’re carcinogenic BUT I still don’t want to be eating it. Whether it’s fast food grease or residual pesticides your organs have to work to filter them out and I believe it to be unnecessary to subject it to that when you have the option not to.

Don’t even get me started on GMO’s. I have a very strong opinion on that subject, I’ve written a few papers on them for various projects and in research Ive they need to be banned. Not for human health concerns, as science on that is beyond lacking to come to any reasonable conclusion, but for environment reasons.
 

Anthony

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@JoeR ,

what Nic is doing is difficult to image as there is a great deal of green.
The tomatoes are in concrete shapes - seen below and about
30 feet. He just put in the squash / melons and pumpkins.

Yes, the coffee is used [ in shh ] chocolate making.
Which Nic is getting into as a cash product.
Which is why for the last few years he has been learning how to
ferment cocoa, and then dry.

Brother-in-law K, bought him all the mini equipment to start his own
Cadbury situation.
Though Nic is training to be an Architect. Trinidad is small and
10 Architects, and you on overload.
So to protect his future, K started him learning many other occupations,
that fit Nic's personality, Jewellery, Pottery, Fine Art, Growing crops,
are also what he is learning. As well as cooking, just in case the Bed and
Breakfast house works out.

Nic is also a one man cement mixer, wall plasterer and a damn fine dog
trainer, all at 21.

Here is another shot from the yard.
Good Day
Anthony

These surround the house. This one is in the front yard and there are
three at this length.
Now has 3 J.B.pines in colanders for observation of growth [ speed ]
and trunk thickening.

trough.jpg

coffee a.

coffee.jpg

We call this saime ----- picked young and cooked.Tasty.

saime.jpg

Citrus - Valencia also have Seville and Mandarin

citrus.jpg

this was supposed to be a first generation Trintario, dna test showed it
is part Peruvian - still good flavour.

coca.jpg


On the extreme left at the bottom above the J.B.pine - Basil
More tomatoes .
About ten feet long and about 4 feet of space behind the
bonsai.

basil.jpg

side shot that would not come out properly,
Tomatoes
tomatu.jpg
 

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JoeR

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@JoeR ,

what Nic is doing is difficult to image as there is a great deal of green.
The tomatoes are in concrete shapes - seen below and about
30 feet. He just put in the squash / melons and pumpkins.

Yes, the coffee is used [ in shh ] chocolate making.
Which Nic is getting into as a cash product.
Which is why for the last few years he has been learning how to
ferment cocoa, and then dry.

Brother-in-law K, bought him all the mini equipment to start his own
Cadbury situation.
Though Nic is training to be an Architect. Trinidad is small and
10 Architects, and you on overload.
So to protect his future, K started him learning many other occupations,
that fit Nic's personality, Jewellery, Pottery, Fine Art, Growing crops,
are also what he is learning. As well as cooking, just in case the Bed and
Breakfast house works out.

Nic is also a one man cement mixer, wall plasterer and a damn fine dog
trainer, all at 21.

Here is another shot from the yard.
Good Day
Anthony

These surround the house. This one is in the front yard and there are
three at this length.
Now has 3 J.B.pines in colanders for observation of growth [ speed ]
and trunk thickening.

View attachment 192278

coffee a.

View attachment 192279

We call this saime ----- picked young and cooked.Tasty.

View attachment 192280

Citrus - Valencia also have Seville and Mandarin

View attachment 192283

this was supposed to be a first generation Trintario, dna test showed it
is part Peruvian - still good flavour.

View attachment 192287


On the extreme left at the bottom above the J.B.pine - Basil
More tomatoes .
About ten feet long and about 4 feet of space behind the
bonsai.

View attachment 192292

side shot that would not come out properly,
Tomatoes
View attachment 192295
Thanks for all the insight Anthony. You guys have quite a large operation going on, very well done IMO. Your brother in law, K, seems like a real Jack of all trades, a true renaissance man if you will. You and Nic also. So many diverse skills- Impressive!

So the basil protects the tomatoes from what pests? I have not had much success at all growing basil or cilantro, according to google they go to seed, “bolt”, when soil temperature is above 25C which is likely a part of the problem. Any tricks on keeping it happy?

Also what are the two-liter coke bottles on posts about in the last image?

I’ve been told marigold flowers when planted with your garden keeps deer away as they hate the smell.
 

Carol 83

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I have been pinching the flowering twigs off, but I didn’t know you use it from the top-thanks!
You can really pinch off the leaves anywhere, above another set, if it's a bushy plant and it should grow two more sets. It's when you quit pinching off the leaves, it wants to flower.
 

Anthony

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@JoeR ,

in the early days, there were red fat belly bugs - sap suckers.
Gone.
Of Basil -
In our climate, they slowly go to flowers, the one seen in the image
is about 2 years old.
Suspect the roots left in the soil, retain the protective qualities,
long after the top is dead.

Joe, Trinidad is a small island, either you get up and do or go
swing in a sugar bag hummock, hung between two coconut
trees and drink coconut water, all [ yawn ] day long.

@my nellie,

Alexandra. probably old needles getting ready to brown.
You can't see it but that is a 61 cm [ 2 feet ] extension and there
are three or four more. Fingers crossed - maybe the 8 cm [ 3 inch ]
trunk by Christmas.
Good Day
Anthony
 

sorce

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I have been pinching the flowering twigs off, but I didn’t know you use it from the top-thanks!

I have thyme from the ground last year that is still alive, but small...last year I had parsley in the ground well...

But Basil...Oregano...Mint, a couple years ago when I silled em in my baskets...they grew like mad! Small Highly draining.

Containers all year!

Sorce
 
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