First off, calm down. Look for local help if you can - kind of like a mentor to take you under their wing. Go for a walk in your neighborhood and watch the yards you pass. You'll see a garden unless you're in a weird place. Here's a secret - gardeners like to talk about their gardens. When you find a nice garden start talking to the gardener. Be polite and don't overwhelm them at first. Who knows you may make a new friend.
-great idea! I’ll try that.
Seed starting can be both an art and a science. I start hundreds of seeds a year. Humidity trays cause me nothing but problems. You need a LOT of light over seedlings. Window sills alone are not enough. Can you just buy a started tomato and pepper then use the pre done starts? It is more expensive in the long run but let's get you started.
-So I guess I didn’t give much information in my first post, I apologize. I have many tomato and pepper plants, grapes, blueberry bushes, apples, pears, bananas, kiwi, lime and oranges. All successful. My squash/cucumbers were thriving and then i woke up one morning and they weren’t. I got those from the nursery already started. I saw some life from my seedlings this morning. So that’s progress. I really just want to learn. Even if it’s little by little. I love my garden and I want it to thrive. Any advice on seedlings? I’m in zone 9 (central Florida)
How big are the pots / raised beds? It may be a case of it dries out and kills the plant but with no info we have nothing to go on. All these vines grow best in full sun - 6+ hours direct sun. Shade will reduce the growth and fruiting but not kill them outright or quickly.
-all my pots are 12-16 inches deep. I water daily in the summer, sometimes twice a day if it’s super hot. Researching a drip system or some automatic watering system. I live in Florida after all and it’s hot. All my plants are in full sun.
Zucchini, Squash, and Pumpkins can all be the same two species which can be targeted by the squash vine borrer. This moth lays eggs on the plant then the caterpiller eats into the hollow vine and eats the vine from the inside. I gave up on these plants as the vine borrer was sucha problem in my area. Now I only grow the squash species Cucurbita moschata which has a solid vine - butter nut squash is one of these and beyond that it is hit or miss on common names.
-all these plants I got from the nursery. I’m not sure the species. I’ll pay more attention to that. Thanks for that tip!
Compost is organic matter but not all compost is created equally. The "cure" for clay soil is adding organic matter. The garden will survive without it but will do better with it. Adding layers of mulch over time will add organic matter to the soil and, eventually, make really nice growing soil. This will be a years long process.
Don't till in sand as you can make something that acts like concrete when sand is mixed with clay.
Simple jerk answer is to grow healthy and unstressed plants... Sorry, I'm a jerk.
"little holes" can be caused by many many things.
Ants are usually benign to good in a garden. By making colonies in the ground they tunnel and aerate the soil. Leave them alone - unless they bite and sting you
-wow, I didn’t know that about ants. It’s fascinating. And I prefer not to use pesticides, organic or otherwise, the bugs are just frustrating.
