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[Trout Slayer]

In the back yard we have 3 tomatoe plants, allready some red ones....4 lettuces, 2 cucumber plants.

[Sam Salmon]

Rod-you should be growing Squash with your Corn-it fixes Nitrogen in the soil.

OOPPSSS!!
make that Beans fix Nitrogen in the soil.
See here for Three Sisters info.

http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/tips/27tip3.html

[leadbelly]

Used to.  Only have Rhubarb, Raspberries, Blackberries and Blueberries this year.  Working on it for next year though.  The kids are getting into more outdoor stuff and enjoyed growing

 so Grumman, trade ya some betties for a nice homemade pie  

[keithr]

I've tried the beans/corn technique that Sam Salmon mentions.  Notice in the picture there is also squash.

The idea is that the corn stalk makes something for the beans to climb, and the squash, with those prickly leaves keeps unwanted critters away.  I think this last part is mostly wishful thinking, since anything that wants to get at that corn isn't going to be slowed up much by some squash leaves.

Anyway, it's tricky to actually pull this off.  Your timing has to be just right.  If the beans get ahead of the corn, then the beans just smother the corn, and if the corn gets much ahead of the beans it shades the beans--in any case, you can only really get away with planting the beans on the outside and southfacing row; otherwise, at worst, one or the other ends up overcoming and drowning out the other one.  At best you have a tangled mass that's hard to penetrate for cultivating or weeding or for picking either the corn or string beans.

Squash, by the way, is another heavy feeder.

If you grow winter squash, here is something you might be missing out on:  those squash will keep setting fruit in the fall way past when they have any chance of maturing.  When your squash get to that stage, start picking the immature squash while they are really small.  Think of them as zuccinis, but better.  Also try this:  pick a bunch of the male blossoms early in the morning and add them at the last moment (say five minutes before it is done) to your favorite chowder base.  Tastey, and the pollen makes it a very nice color

[Koho]

Well, I just smoked up a bunch of humpies and old springs from the freezer this past weekend.  They turned out fairly well.

Since we are talking about veggies and gardening, I had a question about what to do with the alder ash that I've got from all the smoking.  Is it a good thing to add to the soil?  Does it help out vegetables?  I was thinking of adding it to the soil where the tomatoes are.  

[Steelhawk]

Perfect, as the ash is nothing but Potash, potassium oxide.  It is one great nutrient to supply potassium to the veggie.  Those plants like tomato which need strong stems or shoots will love the potassium.  It is the one element to promote healthy stem, which all fruiting veggies need.  Remember fertilizer like 6-8-6, it means 6% nitrogen (for healthy leaves), 8% phosphorus (for great flowers), & 6% potassium (for strong stems).  It is one of the 3 main nutrients plants need.  So wood ash is one great natural supplement for potassium.

[joedavis]

funfish:

The fortex seeds may or may not be available at your garden center, so you should phone West coast seeds to make sure and they will direct you to the nearest garden centre that carries them. Obviously it's too late to plant for this year, but give it a try for next season. Fortex pod grows to about a foot long, but it should be picked when it's about 9 inches long, it's stringless and it stays super tender. You won't regret it.

[Steelhawk]

Joedavis, thank you very much for the information.  I just email them through their web site.  Hope I get a reply.  Have a great gardening season.  Thanks.

[Rodney]

Looks like a gardener discussion board is almost needed. Thanks for the advice Sam. This is our first year planting corn and I just wanted to see what happens. I've heard of the bean and corn business, must try that next year. We also had peas this year. We have this patch that yields so much parsley, they just keep coming, and coming and coming....

[FisherWife]

Holy crap! All you men do that well gardening?!??! I think I tried to grow chives (yeah, I know...that's an herb) one year and I roasted them out in the sun. Came home and they were wilted and yellow. I just about killed my hanging basket (flowers) since I didn't water them. Hubby had to save it for me  

Just want to say that's cool. Maybe one day I will attempt it. My hubby gives our next door neighbors fish, and they have an amazing garden. So...they give us veggies.  

[Koho]

Thanks for the info Funfish.

Have you tried putting fish guts and scraps in the soil?  Its supposed to be a great fertilizer.  I once tried burying it but the racoons dug into it and made a mess.  
This past weekend, I cleaned some fish and put the guts and scraps in a double plastic bag and into the trash.  But of course the garbage truck does not come until Friday so I've got a real smelly can in my garage right now in this hot weather.