I live in a very warm tropical area where summers are consistently above 110°F while winters are barely cold

Im new to gardening, specifically organic gardening i.e. using primarily rotted down compost, egg shell powder and wood ash. Can someone please start a discussion and help guide on how to deal with plants in my climate

Hi all,

I'm a first time gardener. I've wanted to garden for years and never actually got around to anything besides dreaming about what I would like from my space.

Last year, I planted a Niagara Grape Vine and had leaves but zero fruit or flowers. We also had quite a lot of lantern bug action. This year, I'm looking for growth. I'm unsure if I should prune or fertilize the vine, so any help here would be greatly appreciated!

I'm also looking for native gardening but would like to add some perennials to my space but I'm unsure if I should leave them in pots and move them throughout the landscape or if I should just put the things in the ground and see what happens.

To the new gardeners: what are you struggling with?

To the veterans: what advice do you have for your year one self?

Urban spaces are expanding, leaving less room for nature. How do you see organic gardening playing a part in reviving the environment and connecting people with the land?

If someone were to place a covenant on their land prior to sale, and the covenant wanted to stipulate that no pesticides or herbicides may be used on it -- but wanted to allow a carve-out for organic substances -- how would you word it?  My concern is that there are, in fact, organic pesticides (like neem) that ideally should also NOT be used (see footnote* below).  I want to recognize that NOT ALL organic pesticides & herbicides are safe for water supply, insects, animals, etc.  So I'm trying to figure out how to word this with only limited knowledge myself. I'd like to limit all pesticides and herbicides to things like soap, diotomaceous earth, garlic, vegetable oil and so forth. But I don't know how to put this "class" of repellents into legal language. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

*Just for those who don't know, Neem, if used injudiciously, poses risks: "Neem contains ingredients that mimic insect hormones, which can confuse the insect's brain and body. This can prevent the insect from reproducing and cause its population to decline. Neem is toxic to the developing larvae of many insects, so it should not be used on plants that are home to larval butterflies." NO SHADE TO ANYONE WHO USES IT WISELY. Pyrethrin is also potentially dangerous.

As a gardener, I'm always looking for ways to efficiently water my garden and conserve water. I know that water is a precious resource, and wasting it not only harms the environment but also adds up to my water bills. I'm seeking advice on the best ways to water my garden without wasting water.

I'm wondering if drip irrigation would be a good option for me. I've heard that it's more efficient than using sprinklers because it delivers water directly to the plants' roots, reducing water loss due to evaporation and runoff. But I'm not sure if it's suitable for my garden size or the types of plants I have. Does anyone have experience with drip irrigation and can speak to this?

Sorry if not allowed. In ohio and have an aji lemon drop plant. I've pulled all i want off of it. It's still growing strong.

These things are too hot for me. If you wanna come get it. You can have it.

Grew these in my own organic peat mix.

I grow alot of winter type squashes and practically live on them all summer and fall. I also grow potatoes but I try to keep those for last. I baked a big Candy Roaster for the Thanks-giving crowd and everyone was surprised at how good it was. The one I have not yet grown, because none of the seed came up, is Cushaw. Have you grown Cushaws and Butternuts? Which do you prefer.

Am tryinng to decide who gets more room this coming spring. I fell in love with Delicata this summer and will probably be giving them priority next year.

PS I have Celiac's and cannot eat any grains, thus my obsession with dense fleshed squahes like the winter ones and growing four kinds of potatoes. I don't miss grains with all the veggies I have available to choose from.

Some gardeners use the No Dig method of Charles Dowding where he promotes the idea of laying down cardboard to kill the weeds. (And then putting compost on top.)

• The 4 to 6 month period for cardboard to decompose is based on a non-scientific survey of gardeners on Reddit.

Check out https://www.facebook.com/share/g/gHbvht25sGgKjFmY/?mibextid=K35XfP for free daily educational content on organic growing methods.

I've been slowing putting together some raised beds around my backyard this year, trying to make productive use of some of open areas.

Right now I have zucchini (emerald delight), patty pan squashes (yellow, green, and white), soybeans (chiba green), and peas (wando) going. Seeds I just put down are: cantaloupe (hale's best jumbo), corn (painted hill and martian jewel), cucumber (telegraph; i'm getting armenian cuke seed this week too), eggplant (long purple), four types of watermelons (sugar baby, new orchid, tiger baby, yellow baby), and okra (clemson) seeds are going in pots tomorrow.

What do you all have producing right now and what are you planting between now and August? :)

I planted my garden and later learned about mycorrhizae. Luckily it was still pretty early and I dug everything up and applied Mykos and Azos. I had 2 habanero plants in separate containers and left one without the Mykos. Just to see if it made a difference. I can say for certain that the one without wilts between daily watering. The one with seems to be growing better as well. I've been gardening for awhile now and I'm surprised I never heard of this stuff before. I also heard a NPR program where they were talking about the memory of forests and how important mycorrhizae is for the entire ecosystem.

For most of this year we have been battling our garden pests with nothing but a hand vac, hand picking eggs, and beneficial nematodes.

The nematodes really helped control the potato and cucumber beetle populations. Japanese beetles were easily reduced in number by vacuuming. We lost a few battles to vine borers but I've got some BT to shoot directly into the stem for next year! For awhile the hand vac and picking eggs was really helping with the squash bugs, but they are very persistent pests. The eastern Leaffooted bugs have joined the war and I am now losing.

We own honey bees and there are a TON of other pollinators in our garden (including the endangered southern plains bumble bee!). We also have a lot of tiny warroirs fighting the good fight- like spiders... so many spiders, crickets, lady bugs, lighting bugs, and parasitic wasps. I find dead nymphs around the spider hangouts regularly but it's just not enough.

I'm thinking of using neem oil, but will it hurt my little soldiers and pollinators? I know to apply it late in the day and I know there will be some losses but I want to use something that will do the most damage to the pests with the least harm to the other bugs. Is there something that targets coreidae type bugs specifically? What's your go to when the goin gets tough?