SCButtercup said:I think my comments got lost so in asking again:

What to grow where I harvested garlic? I would like to grow bush beans but somewhere I heard that the beans can be stunted by garlic? Is that true? I have some dragon tongue bush beans is like to grow there, what is are your experiences?

I would plant the beans. I can't see why the beans wouldn't do well but then I have never grown garlic.

But it is in the onion family and no problems growing something else where there used to be onions so I don't think there would be any problems.

Hi Judy - I saw your question and then promptly forgot to get back to it

I've always thought that garlic was beneficial to pretty much everything, but apparently not; this companion planting chart shows it as being "combative" for those legumes: http://www.ufseeds.com/Vegetab...

I've never personally grown beans where my garlic came out, either; I usually put in some broccoli, Chinese cabbage, or that sort of thing for a fall harvest. With your longer growing season you should have lots of possibilities...

I am not sure what that chart means exactly, Sandy. Does it mean that you cannot/should not follow garlic with a crop of beans or that beans and garlic should not be grown side-by-side?

Companion planting means side-by-side. There are also risks involved with growing in the same space the following season mostly from disease transmission. My garden is small enough that rotation is difficult and some crops have to be close no matter how "combative" certain plants are to each other. Often one crop will deplete nutrients the following crop needs so a balanced fertilization plan for your soil is a good idea.

Companionship is a great theory but following this in practice is difficult and most do not notice much problem.

This entire raised bed used to be a daylily bed. Then last fall I moved the front row of daylilies to the back in among that back row that was already there. So now that back row is really thick but I have room for the row of tomatoes in front. Which was the intent of the move.

I have all sorts of cherry type yellow tomatoes there. Honey Drop, Big Sungold Select, Flaming Burst, Jan's, Golden Rave, Orange Zinger and Orange Parauche.

Thanks, @PaulF. So, as of now, it looks like I should be able to grow beans over the site where the garlic is being pulled/dug? My raised garden is also small, measuring approximately 13'x21'x38'. Since it is fenced in, I have paths established so that I can get to everything. Rotating crops would be nice, but the garlic is my only "cash-crop". Thus, garlic is planted year in and year out in the same areas. I don't know how to remedy or improve on that.

drdawg said:I am not sure what that chart means exactly, Sandy. Does it mean that you cannot/should not follow garlic with a crop of beans or that beans and garlic should not be grown side-by-side?

I'm not really clear on that either, Ken; as Paul said, companion planting does mean growing together, but I'm wondering if the garlic and onions might leave chemical compounds in the soil that beans don't like? At any rate, although I do aspire to use companion planting, it never seems to work out very well for me, either (I never do very well with crop rotation principles, either) . (But, if I knew that beans wouldn't grow that well if they followed garlic, I would probably avoid doing that; the key word there is "knew," though.)

Well, I had meant to plant lots of beans today but never got around too it. I did manage to plant this 3 foot section of trellis that I had made in some Northeaster Romano type beans.

I know I said I tend not to like the flat podded types but when I saw seed I was thinking that I shouldn't be so close minded. Give it a try and who knows, maybe I think it is the best ever. If not, I have plenty of friends that are wanting fresh beans from my garden.

I have spread the word that I am planting lots of fresh eating beans (string beans we used to call them) this year. And most everyone said they would love to receive fresh from the garden beans.

I haven't been out to buy any (planting) beans. Too embarrassed by the nose. I have more surgery tomorrow so things don't get any better esthetically. I could send my wife out to Lowe's and she could just grab a few kinds of beans and let me pick what I want to plant. Seed packets are cheap so I don't mind planting the beans. If nothing produces I won't have much investment flushed down the toilet and I will know that beans don't follow garlic. However, IF they do well, I will then know that beans can be planted in the same bed after garlic has been dug. Another experiment.

Sounds like a plan.

I don't grow garlic so I am not very familiar with its culture. Onions however I do grow. They have a very high demand for Nitates. There is usually too much still in the soil after harvest for beans to do well. Plants grow great, yields not so good. best to follow onions with an N loving plant.

drdawg said:I am well into digging up the garlic now. I have only two varieties yet to dig, the Chesnok Red (lots - for me at least) and Russian Giant (very little). I will probably dig those up in a couple of days.

The background of the second picture shows some of the garlic already hanging for the two-week curing. The other side of the greenhouse has an equal amount of garlic hanging.

Bringing in the Sheaves!

Bringing in the Sheaves!

We all come rejoicing, bringing in the Sheaves!


Harvest time in June.

I didn't think I had any tomatoes set as yet. In fact many plants don't even have flowers although most do at least have flowers. But today I was looking closely and my Indigo Ruby and Indigo Kumquat cherry tomatoes both have tiny tomatoes set. Made my day!!

Dillard, before I plant my garlic in the fall, I will incorporate 6 mo. Osmocote into the soil. This year, for the first time, I sprinkled dry fish emulsion fertilizer over all the plants/beds in March, and then watered it in. To tell the truth, I could not tell the difference using or not using this spring application of fertilizer. Garlic, since they grow over a 6-7 mo. time span, don't seem to require much nitrogen. I think that slow, constant feeding with the time-release fertilizer works well.

OK, so who's going to start the Summer/Fall gardening thread?

PaulF said:OK, so who's going to start the Summer/Fall gardening thread?

You want to start?

You got it. Summer/fall thread is now active (I think).

drdawg said:You got it. Summer/fall thread is now active (I think).

Come on everyone join us in the new thread.

The thread "What's going on in our summer/fall vegetable gardens?" in Vegetables and Fruit forum

I found my second gac fruit this morning. The first one dried up and died but it confirmed that I had both male and female plants. Today's fruit is small and orange.

My left wrist was stung by a hornet this morning and my whole arm is sore.

katie