Hello from the small town gardner =-D

[Maryann]

Greetings all!
My name is Maryann and I live in a very small town with an appox 90 growing season and soil that grows rocks (its the oddest thing I have ever seen) so of course I am doing raised beds. sqf. I didnt stay exactly on recipie with the mix, is that ok? should I put a little mulch to keep the ground a bit cooler?
I live in a zone 6 (ish) in Etna, CA close to Yreka. We have had sooo much hard rain (thundershowers) that I think I should reseed my lettuce and spinach.
I will probably ask a LOT of questions, many stupid. like
what is the most abuse will lettuce will take?
thanks
Maryann Paradise

[MoniDew]

:D Happy to have you here, MaryAnn. No such thing as a stupid question, except for the one that is unasked. :p

[Maryann]

good to be here! thanks!
it has been raining like crazy the last few days.. freak thundershowers. I think my peppers could be drowned. yellow stripe down the center of the leaves like when overwatering a house plant! what to do, what to do?
if I put mulch around each plant ... top the bed ...will I have a better go at it?
OH! started eating some of my red romaine last night. Boyfriend had never had fresh before. His eyes lit up! what fun!!

[Sinfonian]

Hey there and welcome.

Isn't it great to grow your own! I've pretty much stopped using salad dressing on my salads. They don't need it. The flavors are that tasty. Oh, lettuce will take a lot of abuse, especially with Mel's mix or the like for soil.

I'm not a pepper guy, but if it's extreme enough, you may consider using black plastic mulch (plastic bags) so no water gets to them except what you give it. Not sure if that will work.

Good luck and enjoy your garden!

[Maryann]

Thanks for your input and am loving your blog! I am trying to figure out how to do it right and then I will post a link. I spent the morning (after taking yummies to the library bake sale) digging and digging and tossing large rocks over my shoulder and put in a none raised sftg. I used most of the compost I have been cooking (isn't it amazing how corncobs ... just doesn't want to break down ..another good reason to not eat corn) I ended up with some nice soil and did the whole thing with assorted lettuce! have blossoms on one of the tomatoes!
woohoo!
Maryann

[Sinfonian]

Funny, I was just asking a gardening buddy the other day if corn cobs compost well. No was the answer. Thankfully we have a municipal wide private composting company for yard waste so they get whatever doesn't go int my bins. Let them deal with it, hehe. They don't care.

Great news on your tomato flowers. Make sure you give the vine a gentle shake to pollinate!

[plantoneonme]

Corncobs don't compost well but dried ones burn well. I like to toss them in my little firepit to burn up and then place the ashes in the compost bin. I hear it is really good for the soil. Kim

[gardengirl72]

Welcome to the boards! Thanks for your support.

[Garden Green]

You know, never thought about composting corn cobs, we always saved them to feed to my uncle's hogs. Never knew they didn't compost well.

Anyway, welcome to the forums.