Need suggestions about how to start growing plants

Discussion in 'Fruit and Veg Gardening' started by andrew19, Sep 22, 2008.

  1. andrew19

    andrew19 New Seed

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    Hi, i am new to this site and new to gardening as well but i kind of want to try it out for a hobby. My Parents always had a garden back home but now i live in Hawaii and were i live we don't have soil. We have red clay that stains your shoes and socks and almost nothing grows in it. I would like to grow some peppers, tomatos,and onions. My idea was to start with buying a plant at home depot of each and putting it in some potting soil and setting it outside. The weather her is normally around 80 year round. It never gets below 68 and never above 90. My concerns are bugs, pests, water amounts, basically the whole deal. I have never grown anything before so im not real shure how to go about it. Anyways, that is my idea and concerns. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
    :) :)
     
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  3. dooley

    dooley Super Garden Turtle

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    Do you live in a house or an apartment? Do you have a place to make a raised bed or do you have to use pots? If you use pots you will have to make sure they do not dry out and you will have to feed them on a regular basis. Some plants benefit other plants. I planted tomatoes in big tubs this year and I planted a marigold in with them. They did well but I could have fed them more than I did because all my tomatoes were on a couple of inches. You can do the same with peppers. I have never grown onions in a pot but don't see why you couldn't. You should find and read the posts by Gardenmama. She has her garden above ground in tires. Maybe you can do something like that. I would like to grow a year around garden. But, alas, we do get frost and cold weather from Mid November thru March. I hope you will enjoy your gardening and visit here often. Others will have even more advice than I can give you. dooley
     
  4. playtime8978

    playtime8978 In Flower

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    Hi , I am a very inexperienced gardener, but this year managed to grow tomatoes in pots and had limited success with growing potatoes ( we had plenty of them just they were less than an inch wide!) i am wanting to grow peppers also in pots and my husband has grown chilli peppers from seed before now in pots my problem with my tomatos was not enough feed so they were a little bitter and I had to harvest the final lot green as they didnt ripen in our weather, I doubt you would have that trouble where you are, we found that they need a lot of watering the pots dried up quickly and the plentiful rain didnt get into them, at the end of the season one of my tomato plants got some kind of leaf spot which reminds me i need to look into what this is but the fruits were unaffected. We are hoping to build a raised bed for next year but have an issue with cats usuing our yard as a toilet which we need to fix before we grow in the ground, good luck I am sure anything nearly can be grown in pots as long as the pot is the right size for the plant and it is fed and watered enough.
     
  5. andrew19

    andrew19 New Seed

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    hmm, house or appt. thats hard to explain because its a 2 story house but its connected to other houses and we have a tiny little fenced in back yard area that dont get much sun. You speak of 'feeding' the plants, im not shure i know what you mean. Once again im new to this so im kinda lost
     



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  6. pigeontoad

    pigeontoad New Seed

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    Hi Andrew. To grow veggies, you need lots of sunlight. Do you have a deck or patio that gets a lot of sun? You can grow tomatoes in pots, but I'm not sure about potatoes. :stew1:
     
  7. kuntrygal

    kuntrygal Texas Rose

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    Hi Andrew...first of all why don't you go to 'Welcome to Garden Stew' and introduce yourself to everyone. Tell us about your hobbies, pets, and share with us any pictures you might have of your pets, etc.
    There are a lot of knowledgable folks here that can help you get started with your garden.

    BTW, I am from east Texas. I would love to trade places with you. What part of Hawaii do you live? I have been there twice and and loved every part of it.
     

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