Gardening Rules - Lessons Learned

I intend to learn a lot about gardening as the summer progresses. Assuming I have moderate success this year, my gardening and relevant edumacation should continue as long as we're in this apartment. 

This page will be my rule book. I am sure the 'rules' will evolve as my learning evolves. So any comments you have about these posts are welcome as well! Just keep in mind that what I put up here will be what works for me and my particular garden in my particular climate. Others may be different, but I'm not others.


GENERAL RULES

You need to fertilize! About once a week or so, depending on the plant. 
Hmmm, well, maybe not. Depends on who you ask. 

BASIL RULES

1. They attract bugs.
2. They smell wonderful.
3. They like more water than most herbs. 
4. At some point, basil plants will flower. Supposedly, the leaves start to turn bitter once they flower. To prevent this, pinch off the flowers (pruning) and the plant will grow out more, not up. If you want to create seeds that you can grow next season, let the flowers bloom and collect the seeds as they fall (or something like that).

BELL PEPPER RULES

1. Don't prune them until they're at least 1 foot tall. 
2. When you prune, cut the smaller branches and the suckers. 
3. Only prune at the beginning and end of the season.
4. Chipmunks and critters like peppers. 

 

CHIVE RULES

1. Chives are yummy herbs. That's about all I know right now!
2. Chives can essentially clone themselves and will grow really long if not cut/used. 
3. Since they mostly grow up, not out, you can pack them into a planting box fairly easily.

LILY RULES

1. Lily blooms don't last very long. The plant can blossom throughout the season, but 1 individual bloom won't last more than 2-3 weeks with proper care. 
2. Lily flowers supposedly come back year after year. We'll see....

PETUNIA RULES 

1. Petunias don't mind a lot of water.
   
2. The petals are fragile.

 

STRAWBERRY RULES

1. There are 4 types of strawberries and many, many varieties. The 4 types are June-bearing, ever-bearing, day-neutral and Alpine strawberries.
2. All strawberries need a lot of sun. In general, they also like straw or sand in the soil. Apparently that's not required though, they can still grow in just soil. I only have soil (no sand or straw, at least not yet) so we'll see how well they do this year.
3. For all types of strawberries, during the first year you own them, you should pluck off all of the blooms so that the energy from the sun can be focused on growing the root system.  Yes, this means pluck off the blooms that would have eventually turned into fruit. However, you can let them grow after a certain point in the season, depending on what variety you have.
4. The Quinalt variety of strawberry are ever-bearing. This is what I have. You should pick off the blooms until early July, at which point you can let them grow.
5. Strawberries are neat freaks. They like tidy soil beds and you need to be vigilant about removing all weeds you find. 
6. There are mother plants and daughter plants. Daughters grow from mothers (makes sense). Those daughters grow more daughters. You're supposed to kill the grand-daughters (my term). Seems harsh and I'm not sure why, but there it is.  
7. Birds like strawberries. It is best to buy netting for your plants. 

TOMATO RULES

1. Tomatoes need A LOT of space to grow. Put them in pots that are much bigger than the ones they come in from the garden store. (I have since learned a 5 gallon pot or larger is ideal. Mine are probably 3-4 gallons. I'll upgrade next year.)
2. Tomatoes enjoy a lot of sun and plenty of water. However, dry soil in the afternoon is perfectly okay. As an example, I watered my tomatoes one morning and by afternoon, I had medium damp soil on the top but the soil in the middle could drip liquid when squeezed. That was too much water. (This may seem obvious to some, but not to me!)
3. Do not water the leaves, water the soil instead. Water on the leaves, especially if watered at any time other than early morning, may contribute to blight.
4. WATER IN THE MORNING. Not mid-day or when the sun is blaring. Watering in the evening is acceptable, but morning is really best so the soil can dry throughout the day.