I don't know about the bunching onions...I just buy onion sets and plant the individual onions in the ground...

Glad to read about the peas, the shoots are there for them to latch onto something to support them...They generally grow straight up and need something to latch onto to support the weight of the plant. I take 4 tomato cages, place them along the row of peas, string lines over them on every rung and let them hang on to those...

I have found tomato cages are perfect for the majority of pepper plants too...That's the main reason why I have to buy more...

The peas will soon find the trellis.. I have a 6' tall metal trellis with extra twine strung from to to bottom so they can climb at will.

The onions are called evergreen bunching onions and from what I can tell, you are meant to cut the green just below the surface for salads and such and they somehow spread underground and keep producing year after year. We'll see how that goes. So I guess I answered my own question!

Also, if anyone has ever grown hops in the DFW area any input is appreciated. Got some rhizomes last weekend that I plan to plant very soon.

I thought about growing them. I think Mother Earth News had an article about it some months ago. I'll see if I can find it.

Does anyone know where to buy (or even what it is) the black plastic sheeting "mulch" that goes beneath tomato and pepper plants?

this stuff:

Yes I do.

When I asked at Home Depot, they looked at me like I was speaking Russian

It's just black plastic landscape mulch sheeting...You can get it on Amazon.com and I'm sure most plant nurseries will have it...

They will keep coming back that's for sure. Nobody has lived on our farm for 20 years and they are still there. Try mowing them, gives the yard a nice onion smell. They are similar to your regular green onions, small white end and you can chop it up and use a portion of the green as well.

Planted a handful of items this past weekend in really large buckets (some washtubs and some black plastic containers that trees come in, about 3 ft diameter.) We only planted 4 Roma tomatoe plants (I like them best),2 jalapenos (I'm the only one in the house that will eat them), red/yellow bell peppers (4 plants) and yellow onion bulbs (80 bulbs). Obviously I like to make salsas and hot sauce on the weekends. We also planted about 30 cucumber seeds. My wife wanted to make pickles and teach the kids a little about canning.

We always have fresh rosemary, chives and oregano growing too.

For tomatoes , I let them get tall then dig a small trench and lay them on their sides. Gently bend the upper part straight up (support it with a garden staple, rock, whatever untils it stays in that position) then cover the root ball and most of the stem with soil. The best tomato cage I've come across is hog wire in 2' wide x 5' high cylinders.

I've had good luck "trenching" some of the taller chili varieties such as serrano , pequin , jalapeno and cayenne.

Can't say on the "bunching onions" but if they're the same as Egyptian or Gypsy (grow several bulbs then small bulbs on the crown that fall off and start another plant) I'd appreciate a source.

Ask for "landscape fabric".

What does this do for the plants???? Curious I am fixing to plant.

When I looked at Home Depot, they showed me a black "cloth-like" fabric with lots of small holes in it. But the picture I posted above appears to be solid plastic (no holes). I'll check Callaway's at lunch today, but they routinely disappoint, so I may head to the Mansfield Nursery tonight as well.

They showed you something that is to keep weeds from coming through...

What you are looking for is...




































THIS!

Roots will grow out of the buried stems, doubling or tripling the size of your root ball. The more roots the plant has the more nutrients (nitrogen, etc.) it can take up which should result in a stronger/ healthier plant. The better the plant, the better the yield.

As LoneStar said, you were looking at a non-porous black plastic meant for controlling weeds. It's good if you want to cut holes in it and then water each plant individually (drip systems are good) but it doesn't really do the job. Nut grass will grow up through it quite easily. You might as well buy some "painter's plastic" rolls.
Plus, you have to stake it down like crazy or it'll take off like a kite.
There's some really good/ heavy varieties out there. I bought some made of recycled soda bottles at Wal-Mart and it does pretty well. If you can find it, there's one that's like a light felt and it lasts for years. You need the stuff that'll let water and fertilizer reach the roots but keep the grass and weeds from coming up.

OK, got her tilled up today. Now for tiller questions. I've been fortunate enough to acquire loaners for the past three seasons. Alwyas making sure to return them in better shape than when I recieved them. Seems it's not that hard to do air filters, oil change, clutch cable, they always could use a little work. The ones I've borrowed have both been front tine Craftsman. The smaller one, 2.5 hp?, seems to be the better of the two. With one exception, it seems to run rich if tilted too far forward or back. I'm pretty good with a wrench, but have not been unable to adjust the carburator to remedy this problem. Reviews I've read indicate that this may be particular to this model. Used a 5.5hp this time, and when it's buried to the tine axle the belt begins to slip, even after adjusting the clutch cable. Just seems like too much tine for a belt drive front tine. Have kept the soil in good working condition for two yrs. now, and light tilling is all that is required. Would welcome any comments on front tine tillers that have worked well for the guys on the garden thread. I'm thinking of making an offer on the 2.5hp, even though it's carburator is problematic.

Sorry sputter, I have no advice on tillers; I broke one that I borrowed and ended up spending 2 hours fixing it, lol.

Yesterday I planted tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, rosemary, and green beans. Didn't have time to plant everything, so today I'll be planting corn, more green beans, squash, and strawberries.

Also, I finally found that black plastic landscapers "mulch." Ace Hardware had it

Bees.... looking for plants and flowers that bees will be attracted to. Last year I had to play match-maker with my cukes...

Not much help, but the honey hoarders were really working the arugula that had gone to seed. Probably need to look for some sort of perenial, come to think of it Mexican oregano attracts bees. Has lots of lavender trumpet shaped flowers, grows well even in poor soil, and is very drought tolerant. Need to find me some. I've had similar problems with cukes.

Anything that has bright, but not red, flowers...I'd plant Zinnias, Marigolds, and the like...

I hear bees can't see red and are most attracted to blue so, I got some nicely colored flowers including several blues. Thanks