Who does gardens?

This is my second year. I have planted now, red and white potatoes, red and white onions and chives, Broccoli, Cabbage, romaine and buttercrunch lettuce, garden peas, and carrots oh and strawberrys. Later around mid april I'll plant squash, zucchini, tomatoes, okra, cucumbers and various peppers. I put about 40 bags of manure derived compost over a 30x30 size plot and tilled it in well. I've sprinkled miracle grow weed and feed over the soil, and I've started adding fish heads and guts. Everything I've planted minus a few lettuce are holding strong after 3 or 4 days. I've replaced some lettuce and am hoping for the best. I transplanted some things like the lettuce, cabbage and broccoli. I'd rather start planting seeds straight into the garden that way I can cull to proper spacing and they'd be established in the soil. Can anyone recommend a good place to order seeds from? Seems like I can never find a store around here that has everything I want.

Some does and dont's or possibly some secrets to a success full garden with these kind of plants would be much helpful? I learned a few things last year. My tomato's did well at first then went to down hill. First I found a few horn worms, and then they would get black spots and rotten spots on them before rippening. What few bell peppers I got were about the size of a babies' fist. Did well on jalapenos, okra, peas and taters. I got plenty of cucumbers but I planted them too close and had cross breeding going on along with the zucs and squash. Thanks for any help.

Brad

i would think all that you might need would be a little adg. lime ( 30/40 lbs) and rain at the right time, Be sure to read all the warning labels on all the chemicals that you use!
Weed and feed and roundup and product in that class i donot use anywhere near anything that goes into the food chain. Remember they said (us gov.) about agent orange, was not harmful to humans and we know so well how that has worked out.

I'm looking at my 2012 seed catalogs I got in the mail in the last 3 months are:

Seed saver exchange
Territorial
burpee
johnny's
Stokes
fungi Perfecti

I also buy seeds at a old hardware store inMorrisville. There you can play checkers by the pot belly stove and buy 10 seeds or 50 lbs from their open seed sacks, bins and barrels.

I' m focused on turning my red modelers clay into a veg garden soil.

Good luck

thanks guys, I'll try adding some lime. The miracle grow thing says it works for vegetables but I was wary about using it and only used it in places where I am planting in a few months and tried to keep it off the current stuff growing. Some of my broccoli is dead, some is going strong, but everything else is doing as it should. What about keeping pests out, like one of my dogs? I have a 40 lb dog that can get through anything. The area is in a fenced in yard, and she knows not to go into the garden so she tries her best to get in. She either goes under the fence or over. The fence is about 5' high and is stapled in at the bottom. I've heard of using ammonia. Would this be safe?

Scarecrow Sprinkler. 2 of the guys that I work with use them. They say it will keep anything out of the garden.
If I remember correctly you have a Lab and he or she may think this is a play toy. My lab will destroy a sprinkler.

Amazon.com: Contech CRO101 Scarecrow Motion Activated Sprinkler: Patio, Lawn & Garden

Good Luck with the Garden. BUZZZZ

Brad,

This is a very late reply, but I just saw this thread. One thing you can't garden without is a soil test. You can send in unlimited soil samples to NCState at no cost! I sent in 105 samples last Friday from my trials and production at Plant Delights Nursery. This spring, I sent in some samples from my own property. I had the same blossom end rot on my tomatoes and peppers that you were describing...which know to blossom end rot (a calcium deficiency caused by lack of calcium and/or incosistant moisture). My soil test showed that I had good pH, and low calcium and sulphur. So to maintain pH while adding calcium I added gypsum (calcium sulphate). It sounds like you're on point with adding organic matter. Your soil test will give a CEC reading, which is influenced by organic matter--this measures the soil's ability to hold and transmit nutrients, and can be a good indicator of the microbial health of the soil. Also, mulch your veggies--last year's leaves work well. Mulching keeps soil moisture and temperature more consistent. Let me know if I can help answer any more questions!

Jeremy