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Succulent Vegetable Garden
Succulent Vegetable Garden
Last edited by C And D on Sun May 29, 2016 4:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Succulent Vegetable Garden
Succulent Vegetable Garden
Succulent Vegetable Garden
I walk by our vegetable garden and spot a native bee on a flower of a large Alionopsis malherbei. The funny thing is that this plant is only about 3 months old, and far larger than some of my 3 year old potted plants.
How did it grow so fast? Rich soil, medium light intensity and lots of water, just like in nature on a favorable rain year. In fact, some mesembs grow so fast that I have to harvest them before they turn into weeds and take over the garden. It’s like growing lettuce or carrots, plant seeds and harvest full grown plants in a season or 2.
But it can’t be true! Succulents are too fuzzy to grow like vegetables, they need to bake in the sun and stay dry for long periods of time, otherwise they’re rot, right?
Wrong. They really don’t rot so easily when they‘re seedlings, and they’ll grow much faster in a rich wet medium. Well not all succulents will survive, most Mexican cactus species can’t handle the wet winters, and some winter growers can’t handle the wet summers.
How did this succulent seedling garden come about? It all started when we moved into our new house many years ago, my wife Denise wanted to use a small plot of soil next the house as a vegetable garden. We prepped the soil and planted some vegetables, and waited. The vegetables grew like normal but the rich soil attracted scaria flies by the millions, and I couldn’t have a breeding ground for bugs with my succulent collection nearby, so I poisoned the soil. To the least, Denise was Not Happy, saying that it was supposed to be an Organic Garden!, so she abandoned it.
We have succulent seeds coming out of our ears, so on a lark I threw some Gasteria seeds in it. Well we had seedlings coming up from almost every seed we threw in there. So we tried other succulent seeds: cactus, Lithops, Aloinopsis, Othonna, Haworthia, Aloe, Bulbine and just about everything we have extra seeds of. Almost all of them sprouted and grew faster than I’ve ever seen a plant grow. The soil dried out quickly, so I had to water it every 1-3 days, some days just a misting would be enough.
After a couple years we were able to figure out what types of plants grow best in the garden, winter growing succulents (most mesembs) and South American cactus. Since we get winter rain in Southern California, there would be no way to keep the garden from getting wet in the winter so winter sensitive plants would usually rot in the wet winter. As far as cactus go, Neoporteria and Copiapoa love the winter water apparently, and grow all year long in the Garden. Lithops seem to be able to weather the winter water until they are over a year old, but the winter growing Mesembs grow the best and seem to be able to weather the summer watering well if provided some shade. Most bulbs seem to do good, along with Othonna and Crassula. Some may need to be harvested before summer hits or will rot.
Some of the most difficult mesembs to grow seem to love the constant moistness and rich soil when small, Lithops, Conos, Lapidaria, Frithia, Dactylopsis, Fenestrata, and Gibbaeum grow better than any potted plant. Some Fenestratas turned into weeds after a year and were taking over. Gibbaeum esterhuiyseniae grow into 6 headed monsters after a full year, some of the potted ones I have had for 6 years only have 3 heads.
Dactylopsis digitata
Frithia and Titanopsis
Gibbaeum album and other mesembs
Gibbaeum esterhuyseniae
Plants with tuberous roots grow massive tubers quickly that can be repotted into a nice pot to show off the fat roots. Some of the tubers on Aloinopsis rosulata grew huge, but had rotted portions of the tuber that healed and regrew into these weird shapes with dead sections that peeled off. We stuck in some cuttings of Trichodiadema bulbosum and the roots up quickly fattened up way faster than any pot could manage.
Aloinopsis rosulata
Trichodiadema fergusoniae
Some plants need more moisture to germinate and I haven’t been able to get them populate the garden. Haworthia seem to be in this category and not a single one has germinated yet. Other plants can’t handle the constant moisture, like Astrophytum and Mammillaria which germinate well but rot quickly after the rains come.
How to create a Succulent Vegetable Garden:
Mix in many pounds of pumice, course sand and or perlite into your natural garden soil and mix to about a foot deep. You may want to add potting mix if your soil has too much clay or sand. You want about 20-40% pumice, and a soil mix that will be mostly dry in about 3 to 5 days, and the soil deep down to 6 inches will dry if you gave it enough time.
Water the soil down so the pumice forms a layer on top, I add course sand at this point to fortify the gravelly soil topping. You want this topping so the seeds will fall down in between the aggregate of gravel and be protected from the sun while they are small. The seeds need to touch the soil to root, so you don’t want too much top dressing.
You need to have some shading in the summer if you live where the summer sun is intense enough to cook seedlings. I take the shade cloth off from late fall to mid spring.
The garden only works if you water it way more than you would water your potted plants or any plants for that matter. I water every 1 to 2 days in the Summer, and every 2-4 days in the other seasons. The grown plants can handle less water, but for germinating and small seedling growth you need the constant moisture. All it takes is one hot day and all your seedling could die if completely dry.
Another reason to keep the garden constantly moist is if you are adding seeds willy nilly like I do, because then you have seeds germinating all the time. I had some Albuca seeds that took a full year to germinate, not sure why, but they came up when fall came around the second time.
Problems with a Succulent Vegetable Garden:
The most obvious problem would cold temperatures for everyone not living in a Mediterranean climate like I do in Southern California. But people all over the World are able to keep a garden in the warmer months of the years (well not everywhere, of course near the Arctic Circle it would be impossible). You would just have to grow seeds when it’s warm, and harvest before it gets too cold.
Critters can be a problem for many growers, those succulent morsels are too much for some rodents to ignore, and of course we will always have to fight insect infestations. A fence can keep out critters. Insecticide and fungicide may be needed on occasion to keep seedlings from succumbing to early death.
Weeds will be a problem but easily removed by hand, fast growing succulents become weedy in my garden.
Succulent Vegetable Garden
I walk by our vegetable garden and spot a native bee on a flower of a large Alionopsis malherbei. The funny thing is that this plant is only about 3 months old, and far larger than some of my 3 year old potted plants.
- IMG_8075.jpg (44.73 KiB) Viewed 4270 times
But it can’t be true! Succulents are too fuzzy to grow like vegetables, they need to bake in the sun and stay dry for long periods of time, otherwise they’re rot, right?
Wrong. They really don’t rot so easily when they‘re seedlings, and they’ll grow much faster in a rich wet medium. Well not all succulents will survive, most Mexican cactus species can’t handle the wet winters, and some winter growers can’t handle the wet summers.
How did this succulent seedling garden come about? It all started when we moved into our new house many years ago, my wife Denise wanted to use a small plot of soil next the house as a vegetable garden. We prepped the soil and planted some vegetables, and waited. The vegetables grew like normal but the rich soil attracted scaria flies by the millions, and I couldn’t have a breeding ground for bugs with my succulent collection nearby, so I poisoned the soil. To the least, Denise was Not Happy, saying that it was supposed to be an Organic Garden!, so she abandoned it.
We have succulent seeds coming out of our ears, so on a lark I threw some Gasteria seeds in it. Well we had seedlings coming up from almost every seed we threw in there. So we tried other succulent seeds: cactus, Lithops, Aloinopsis, Othonna, Haworthia, Aloe, Bulbine and just about everything we have extra seeds of. Almost all of them sprouted and grew faster than I’ve ever seen a plant grow. The soil dried out quickly, so I had to water it every 1-3 days, some days just a misting would be enough.
After a couple years we were able to figure out what types of plants grow best in the garden, winter growing succulents (most mesembs) and South American cactus. Since we get winter rain in Southern California, there would be no way to keep the garden from getting wet in the winter so winter sensitive plants would usually rot in the wet winter. As far as cactus go, Neoporteria and Copiapoa love the winter water apparently, and grow all year long in the Garden. Lithops seem to be able to weather the winter water until they are over a year old, but the winter growing Mesembs grow the best and seem to be able to weather the summer watering well if provided some shade. Most bulbs seem to do good, along with Othonna and Crassula. Some may need to be harvested before summer hits or will rot.
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Dactylopsis digitata
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Aloinopsis rosulata
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Some plants need more moisture to germinate and I haven’t been able to get them populate the garden. Haworthia seem to be in this category and not a single one has germinated yet. Other plants can’t handle the constant moisture, like Astrophytum and Mammillaria which germinate well but rot quickly after the rains come.
How to create a Succulent Vegetable Garden:
Mix in many pounds of pumice, course sand and or perlite into your natural garden soil and mix to about a foot deep. You may want to add potting mix if your soil has too much clay or sand. You want about 20-40% pumice, and a soil mix that will be mostly dry in about 3 to 5 days, and the soil deep down to 6 inches will dry if you gave it enough time.
Water the soil down so the pumice forms a layer on top, I add course sand at this point to fortify the gravelly soil topping. You want this topping so the seeds will fall down in between the aggregate of gravel and be protected from the sun while they are small. The seeds need to touch the soil to root, so you don’t want too much top dressing.
You need to have some shading in the summer if you live where the summer sun is intense enough to cook seedlings. I take the shade cloth off from late fall to mid spring.
The garden only works if you water it way more than you would water your potted plants or any plants for that matter. I water every 1 to 2 days in the Summer, and every 2-4 days in the other seasons. The grown plants can handle less water, but for germinating and small seedling growth you need the constant moisture. All it takes is one hot day and all your seedling could die if completely dry.
Another reason to keep the garden constantly moist is if you are adding seeds willy nilly like I do, because then you have seeds germinating all the time. I had some Albuca seeds that took a full year to germinate, not sure why, but they came up when fall came around the second time.
Problems with a Succulent Vegetable Garden:
The most obvious problem would cold temperatures for everyone not living in a Mediterranean climate like I do in Southern California. But people all over the World are able to keep a garden in the warmer months of the years (well not everywhere, of course near the Arctic Circle it would be impossible). You would just have to grow seeds when it’s warm, and harvest before it gets too cold.
Critters can be a problem for many growers, those succulent morsels are too much for some rodents to ignore, and of course we will always have to fight insect infestations. A fence can keep out critters. Insecticide and fungicide may be needed on occasion to keep seedlings from succumbing to early death.
Weeds will be a problem but easily removed by hand, fast growing succulents become weedy in my garden.
Last edited by C And D on Sat Apr 09, 2016 10:49 pm, edited 5 times in total.
Re: Succulent Vegetable Garden
It's so easy to create your own succulent seed garden, I'm surprised that not everyone has one in their yard.
Of course your home climate dictates if you can have one or not, some places are better than others, and some places it would be impossible of course.
It's hard to edit the above post, it takes to long to reload, and I'm afraid it won't come back
so I'll just add stuff below for now.
Of course your home climate dictates if you can have one or not, some places are better than others, and some places it would be impossible of course.
It's hard to edit the above post, it takes to long to reload, and I'm afraid it won't come back
so I'll just add stuff below for now.
Re: Succulent Vegetable Garden
Craig and Denise Fry
Check out our Website and our updated plant lists at:
http://www.CandDplants.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
For many days I've tried to access your web site and all I get is Server Not Found. Is the site down?
Thanks, Ron43
Check out our Website and our updated plant lists at:
http://www.CandDplants.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
For many days I've tried to access your web site and all I get is Server Not Found. Is the site down?
Thanks, Ron43
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esp_imaging
- Posts: 1503
- Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2015 4:27 pm
- Location: England
- Contact:
Re: Succulent Vegetable Garden
I don't have any problems accessiong the website.
Re: Succulent Vegetable Garden
The link on my signature works
the link Ron posted doesn't work
More Comments Please!!!
the link Ron posted doesn't work
More Comments Please!!!
Re: Succulent Vegetable Garden
Love this garden. Wish I lived in southern california. Do you lose any to birds or other critters? Those mesembs must look tempting when it's hot and dry out.
Re: Succulent Vegetable Garden
Portugal has a climate similar to southern california, I may well try this one day. I'm a bit worried with snails and slugs, though.
One other cactus genus you may wish to try is the former Notocactus, I keep them outdoors all the year and they don't mind at all.
One other cactus genus you may wish to try is the former Notocactus, I keep them outdoors all the year and they don't mind at all.
Z, in (mostly) sunny Lisbon.
http://jardineiroazelha.blogspot.pt/
http://jardineiroazelha.blogspot.pt/
Re: Succulent Vegetable Garden
When I click on the link in your signature this what I get -- Server not foundC And D wrote:The link on my signature works
the link Ron posted doesn't work
More Comments Please!!!
Ron43
Re: Succulent Vegetable Garden
I assume you don't have much in the way of winter frosts or at least occasional dips into the lower 30s down there? Up here in SJ we get the occasional dip below freezing, if only for a few hours on a few days (but enough to severely maim my A. attenuata for example).
As for summer shading, do you have a pergola like construction or do you just drape some shade cloth over the plants?
As for summer shading, do you have a pergola like construction or do you just drape some shade cloth over the plants?
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george76904
- Posts: 487
- Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 2:01 am
- Location: Americus GA
Re: Succulent Vegetable Garden
I really like the succulent bed! Are there any of those succulents that would be ok into the teens? If so I may just have to start one here.
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greenknight
- Posts: 4819
- Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2013 4:18 am
- Location: SW Washington State zone 8b
Re: Succulent Vegetable Garden
Cool garden. By the way, the organic treatment for those bugs in the soil is predatory nematodes. They're very effective.
Spence 
Re: Succulent Vegetable Garden
Like any vegetable garden... there are many particular problems that must be addressed
Too cold, big problem.
But most vegetable gardens can endure some frost, just like habitat plants.
It's the deep freezes that kill, few plants will live through a Michigan Winter.
So you have to experiment with your climate to see which plants will be able to handle your min. temps.
Predators and bugs.
You have to poison the bugs and keep the critters out
I haven't been completely successful in this area yet, mice have been nibbling and scraia flies are buzzing
So it's time for action.
I will use Thiazide on it next week.
When I prepped the new soil on the right side this fall, I soaked it with Physan 20, a fungicide
not sure if it helped or not.
Too cold, big problem.
But most vegetable gardens can endure some frost, just like habitat plants.
It's the deep freezes that kill, few plants will live through a Michigan Winter.
So you have to experiment with your climate to see which plants will be able to handle your min. temps.
Predators and bugs.
You have to poison the bugs and keep the critters out
I haven't been completely successful in this area yet, mice have been nibbling and scraia flies are buzzing
So it's time for action.
I will use Thiazide on it next week.
When I prepped the new soil on the right side this fall, I soaked it with Physan 20, a fungicide
not sure if it helped or not.
Re: Succulent Vegetable Garden
Try to get other bugs to eat your harmfull bugs.
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
Usefull against mealy bugs
Atheta coriaria
Usefull against root mealies (or however you call those in English)
Hypoaspis miles
Usefull against Sciara and mites, but probably against all bugs that pest succulents
Amblyseius andersoni
Usefull against red spider mites. Should survive easily, even if there are not bugs to feed on for a while.
All of these you should be able to buy them. Probably easier to keep them near the plants in a greenhouse than in a garden, though.
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
Usefull against mealy bugs
Atheta coriaria
Usefull against root mealies (or however you call those in English)
Hypoaspis miles
Usefull against Sciara and mites, but probably against all bugs that pest succulents
Amblyseius andersoni
Usefull against red spider mites. Should survive easily, even if there are not bugs to feed on for a while.
All of these you should be able to buy them. Probably easier to keep them near the plants in a greenhouse than in a garden, though.
Re: Succulent Vegetable Garden
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