The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: Trifle on December 05, 2019, 04:57:59 AM
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Hello gardeners! I didn't see a thread yet for the coming year, so thought I would get things started. Those of us in mild climates may still have some things growing in the garden, and our more northern friends are starting to get their seed catalogs and plan for the spring.
I'll start. I'm in North Carolina, US zone 7a, and still have some greens growing. We've had a few nights below freezing here and the chicory looks rough. I will be pulling that soon. The chard is going strong. I protect it with mid-weight row cover if it's going to get below 30 degrees or so. I put milk jugs 2/3 full of water next to the plants as heat sinks under the row cover. That extends the green growing season by 1-2 months.
I've also been taking advantage of the cool temperatures to plant and transplant a bunch of perennials. In the last week I've planted 4 apple trees (babies that I grafted last year), and transplanted 4 blueberry bushes inside the protection of our deer fence.
For the coming year's vegetable production I've got a brand new 4' X 24' in-ground bed coming on line, which brings me up to a total of 4. I'm planning the usual tomatoes, potatoes, greens, peppers, cukes, zucchini, and squash.
What are you up to with your garden?
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I have hardneck garlic that was planted in October for next year. These include several different varieties such as 'Music' and 'Chesnook Red' which are my favorite ones.
My sister and I created a new 30' x 40' garden that we intend to put a deer fence around in the spring. We will split this space in half for our vegetable garden next year. My sister also has a 8' x 10' unheated greenhouse (hoop house) that keeps lettuce alive from the first frost in October until it gets really cold and dark here in January.
A couple of months ago, my 2 year old apricot tree was taken out by a deer. I'm guessing it was a deer; all I know is that the tree was snapped in half in spite of the netting surrounding it. I have to decide if I want to buy another apricot tree or put something else in that spot.
Did you use a specific rootstock to graft the apple trees? I've grafted differed apple scions on established young trees but I've never grafted a scion on a rootstock.
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Thanks @Trifele for getting this started. I got my first seed catalogue a couple of days ago but was already dreaming and scheming of garden 2020. My 2019 garden ended poorly with me being too sick to finish harvesting. I left so much in the ground but you can only do what you do. Next year will be better!
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Did you use a specific rootstock to graft the apple trees? I've grafted differed apple scions on established young trees but I've never grafted a scion on a rootstock.
That's cool Eowynd! I haven't yet grafted onto an established tree, but I was thinking of trying that this winter. Yes -- I grafted onto "Geneva 890" rootstock, which is a hardy disease-resistant semi-dwarf. It was my first time grafting, so I talked to the guys at Cummins Nursery in New York -- http://www.cumminsnursery.com/rootstocks.htm -- to get their recommendation. I was really happy with the G-890. It's super vigorous.
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Just saw this thread and was quite excited to see it. Though the title has me wondering...are Canadians allowed to participate?
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Just saw this thread and was quite excited to see it. Though the title has me wondering...are Canadians allowed to participate?
Haha yes of course! Apologies to our Canadian/European friends! Will modify the title now. :)
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:)
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@Trifele You're way ahead of me. I haven't even started thinking about Spring. A few more weeks of cold weather, will get me dreaming about playing in the garden.
I've got radish, cilantro, mesculin, parsley, arugula growing under frost cloth and UV resistant tarp outdoors. Every weekend, I harvest enough to last for weekday salads. Indoors I moved grow lights to a 4 level rack with heat mats. I wrapped the rack with cinexpensive heat reflective blankets to bounce the light around and keep the seedlings warm. Growing basil, sunflower and amaranth greens. I usually have a few amaranth plants growing every year, but I'm thinking of expanding the growing space into where I let the chickens free range. With protection, when the plants get large enough, they should drop seed that the hens can graze on. Hoping the plan will work.
BTW, I wrapped the beehives with 5 layers of agribon. If and when polar vortex hits, I hope that will keep them warmer than the black landscape fabric I've used in the past.
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Did you use a specific rootstock to graft the apple trees? I've grafted differed apple scions on established young trees but I've never grafted a scion on a rootstock.
That's cool Eowynd! I haven't yet grafted onto an established tree, but I was thinking of trying that this winter. Yes -- I grafted onto "Geneva 890" rootstock, which is a hardy disease-resistant semi-dwarf. It was my first time grafting, so I talked to the guys at Cummins Nursery in New York -- http://www.cumminsnursery.com/rootstocks.htm -- to get their recommendation. I was really happy with the G-890. It's super vigorous.
Grafting is awesome! Apple trees seem pretty easy to work with; I got 4 takes out of 6 tries. I also tried grafting plum scions on a plum tree but it must have been too late in the spring or something because none of the 3 grafts took.
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HI, I would love to participate! I'm quite literally at ground floor currently--I've never grown a garden before and I'm intimidated by the thought of starting, but I'm very very determined to get at least one edible thing from my yard this year!! I'm in Georgia zone 7b.
My yard is extremely shady and forest-like, so I'm expecting that I can never grow much beyond some greens, herbs, and perhaps...berries? My goal is to start some lettuce, spinach, and maybe kale indoors in Februaryish. I don't really know when to start shade-loving herbs/fruits, but my guess is not until the summer months...which, around here, means March :)
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Welcome @lv2glrfy! Starting simple is the best! I would suggest researching how many hours of sunlight various plants need, and measure how many hours your various potential planting areas get. It'll help you decide what to put where. Here's an article: https://www.almanac.com/content/garden-plan-vegetables-grow-partial-shade
Hello @Indio! Wow, you're way ahead of me in terms of what you still have going in the garden. Very impressive!
Yes @Eowynd, I agree -- grafting is completely awesome. It's the biggest gardening thrill there is, imo. :)
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I'll be following along. I'm in Idaho, so we're fully done until at least March. I really should go get a couple truckloads of manure to compost though, as things haven't frozen up completely yet. I like to have the beds topped with partially composted manure and mulched over with straw by this time, but it just didn't happen this year. Oh well.
Next year I'm planning to grow plenty of squash, alliums and peppers, along with the usual 15-20 tomato plants, herbs, lettuces etc.
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Welcome back @horsepoor! I too meant to get another truckload of horse manure down this fall, but it doesn't look like I'll get it done before it snows. With the last load I did the same as you -- spread it thick and then put straw on top.
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Seaweed is my manure. :) A truckload was deposited upon my raised beds in late October, where it is currently slowly breaking down and imparting it's magical qualities to my soil. Quite notable is the fact that your garden smells a bit like low tide for a few days. ;)
Articles such as this opened my eyes as to how fortunate I was to have an endless supply of this on my doorbeach step.
https://learn.eartheasy.com/articles/how-to-use-seaweed-to-mulch-your-garden/ (https://learn.eartheasy.com/articles/how-to-use-seaweed-to-mulch-your-garden/)
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William Dam Seed catalogue arrived in mail yesterday - Garden porn......
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I need to get a start on garden planning for next year. Right now I'm just trying to keep my potted strawberries alive - I brought them inside once we were getting consistent frost, but they don't seem to like the window where I've placed them.
For next year, I need to plan the actual garden beds. I started building one bed in the fall, laying down cardboard and piling twigs and leaves on top. The batch of compost going in my tumbler should be ready to add before planting. Then I just have to decide if I'm going to try overseeding the seeds I already have, which are several years old but of interesting varietals, or buy new seeds. If the latter, I also have to decide what veggies to grow. I have a very small space, and so many things I would like to grow!
ETA: I'm in zone 7a.
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I'm in zone 6b. I started onions for a 2020 fall harvest in a cold frame in mid-October, thinking that they'd grow slowly over the winter and be ready for transplanting in early spring. So far they've survived several nights where temperatures are in the teens.
Seed catalogs are coming in and I'll be reading them cover to cover in the next month.
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I'm in and I'm starting literally below dirt level. After failing miserably trying to grow vegetables at the new location, I tested my soil this year (check your local extension service - my testing was free because I sent in my samples during the summer) and conditions are bad enough that my best option is to build raised beds with trucked in soil.
goal for 2020
step 1 - build raised bed frames using wood reclaimed from decking we plan to replace in 2020
step 2 - source soil
step 3 - figure out safest way to get soil from driveway to beds (15 foot drop along a 50 foot run with multiple obstructions in between)
step 4 - plant!!
It may take me all summer, but I really miss growing some of my own food.
I'm running into similar issues with building garden beds (our area is notorious for bad soil and possible industrial contamination, though we haven't tested it yet), with the added issue that we live in a rowhome and the only way to access the yard is through the house :P I'm hoping to get a lot of the fill soil by mixing home-made compost with dead leaves, if we have to buy in soil it's going to be a mess.
Wishing you luck!
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@Raenia A wise gardener recommended to me doing a germination test on old seed. Her method involved clear plastic bags and paper towel. Dampen the towel in the bag so that you have a moist "bed". Place your old seeds on the wet towel. Close up the plastic bag so that they stay moist. Set on a warm surface and check daily for germination. As soon as the seed breaks germination, plant into the soil. I now use this method for just about all my older seed - it is brilliant because I only have limited space and each seed tray only has viable seeds and I don't have a bunch of blanks.
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I'm in zone 6a and looking forward to getting our garden going in 2020. With Puglet's arrival last spring not much got done outside. Though we did take down some trees and will therefore have more sunlight for growing. We also have a gravel pit that we have slowly been empting of gravel. It takes up about 25% of our small yard so once we finish clearing that out (nearly there) we'll be adding a large chunk of growing space. I would love to get a fruit tree or two in the yard, peach and apple I think. Then for vegetables we usually try to plant way too many different things so this year I'd like to keep it simple and focus on some tomatoes, zuchinni, cucumbers, peppers, and lettuces for the most part. I know Mr Pug will want to plant 30+ different things though. Maybe I'll take my own section of the garden ;P
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Thanks @Frugal Lizard, I have heard some similar methods but that sounds like the easiest. I'll have to give it a try when we get close to planting season. And not let myself be taken in by the siren song of new seed in the meantime! :P
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William Dam Seed catalogue arrived in mail yesterday - Garden porn......
Yes! My garden porn this week is the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange catalog. Very nice . . .
I'm super intrigued to try a kale variety they have that they say can live for 3-4 years or more before going to seed. I'm used to thinking of kale as a biennial. I knew it could be perennial in warm places like Hawaii and Florida (seen it myself), but I'm surprised to learn people are doing that in zone 7(?) Interesting!
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William Dam Seed catalogue arrived in mail yesterday - Garden porn......
Yes! My garden porn this week is the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange catalog. Very nice . . .
I'm super intrigued to try a kale variety they have that they say can live for 3-4 years or more before going to seed. I'm used to thinking of kale as a biennial. I knew it could be perennial in warm places like Hawaii and Florida (seen it myself), but I'm surprised to learn people are doing that in zone 7(?) Interesting!
Knowing you live in WNC, can I recommend you check out Sow True Seed as well? They're local, organic, heirloom, and support local farmers. That and past catalogs have been full of local art.
Awesome! Thank you. :) I've seen their seed packets for sale, but haven't seen their catalog.
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I just signed up for Spikenard Farms spring beekeeping class Parts 1 and 2! Thank you @Indio for letting me know about that. :) This may finally be the year that I start with bees. https://spikenardfarm.org/store/category/classes/
Anyone want to join me? It's scheduled for the weekend of March 7 and 8 outside Floyd Virginia. I had never heard of Floyd but here's part of the Wikipedia article:
"The Town of Floyd is becoming known as a regional destination for music, especially bluegrass music, and old-time music. The Floyd Country Store's Friday Night Jamboree, which features local and area bands, has been held each Friday night for many years, gaining in popularity during the past decade. In fair weather, the indoor stage performances and dancing are joined by simultaneous banjo-and-fiddle-centered jam sessions in driveways and seating areas along South Locust Street."
Sounds fun -- I'll definitely check that out.
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I'm in. Last year I got excited about our first planting season in our new house and tried way too much. Then I got distracted by other home projects and neglected it. Classic overzealous first time gardener. :) Right now it's an overgrown mess, but letting it go for a couple months did reveal some really nice native grasses in that part of the yard.
This year we're going to focus on structures instead of plants. I want to put in some permanent deer fence around that whole section of the yard so I have space for a flower garden next to the veggie patch. I also want to rearrange the beds and make a flat space for a little greenhouse that's been sitting in a box since our wedding. (My favorite present) We also have a drainage issue where all the runoff from next door makes a stream across the lower part of the garden during heavy summer storms. So lots of work to set the foundation for future gardening.
The only thing I saved from last season are a bunch of strawberry plants that I covered with dried grass last week to keep off the frost.
A couple weeks ago I planted 6 apples and a couple pears across the front of our yard. We're really excited about having a mini orchard. That it might screen the view of our neighbor's multicolored uplighting is a bonus.
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I'm in and looking forward to understanding more what I'm doing in 2020. 2019 went well, but it was basically throwing seeds in the ground and watering and seeing what happened. We still got a few tomatoes up through last week with which we made some salsa, so it was super fun. But I did always feel bad that I had no idea what I was doing. I'm currently reading "Golden Gate Gardening" both for the specific recommendations for my area and for basics (like I learned mulch and compost are not the same thing! That's how much I don't know what I'm doing!). I'm finding the soil chapter particularly helpful for a beginner's understanding.
My husband is the one who likes to just throw seeds in the ground and water. TBF, he also goes out and weeds and he started a bunch of seeds a few months ago then recently transplanted them to the garden bed. We have a lot of cilantro, kale and broccoli poking their heads up already. We also went and purloined some blackberry canes from a nearby public right of way area and planted them along a fence about a month or so ago. So we'll see how that goes!
Otherwise, hopefully my education keeps pace and we'll be able to develop a more thoughtful approach to planting in the spring, and I'll feel more confident to get out there and weed, plant and dig.
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Makes me smile to see the joy folks here have in getting their hands on their preferred seed catalogues.
Got mine. :)
(https://i.shgcdn.com/914f5392-f214-43fd-911d-b5d4b2ffd974/-/format/auto/-/preview/3000x3000/-/quality/lighter/)
It is a wonderful publication, and probably serves as my garden "bible" every year - though the works of Linda Gilkeson are also always close by - her "Backyard Bounty" is EXCELLENT. Definitely focused towards the mild coastal Pacific climate it is packed with so much good info beyond the impressive seed collection itself.
Speaking of mild Pacific climate, my garden resides within a nice little micro-climate (Zone 9a) at the extreme Southwest of B.C., on a little island kept just a little bit warmer by the surrounding sea. Lots of folks have year round vegetable gardens here and while I have not expressly attempted this myself - most of my beds are now covered with mulch until Spring - there are still things in my garden which are thriving well into December.
It's a strange kale-oasis in the midst of a mostly slumbering garden. Oh, and those are collards in the immediate foreground.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49206488591_8e005868bf_z.jpg)
No definite garden plans for the upcoming season as of yet...but I'm pondering the idea of scaling back my usual routine of trying "new things" in the garden in favour of sticking with, and perhaps even doubling down on the things I know that grow well in this climate and things I seem to be good at growing and nurturing. Late Feb/early March I will be gearing up to get some spinach and peas planted out....so...that's not too long to wait!
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@Jon_Snow I'm jealous of your kale and collards! My kale is still standing, but not really in an appealing form for eating.
We are having a pretty mild winter so far. Two weeks ago I finally got around to planting garlic. I didn't count, but I'm guessing it was around 200 cloves.
This weekend the ground is thawed, so I'm going to dig up some horseradish - some to process and some to foist on an unsuspecting former co-worker I ran into a couple days ago.
The only seed catalog I've gotten so far is Pinetree. I've only glanced at it, but saw a few things I'd like to try. Usually Baker Creek is my go-to. We were granted the 24th as an extra holiday, so I'm looking forward to settling down with a cup of coffee and sorting through my existing seeds and putting together my seed orders.
Lighting is anyone else starting seeds under LEDs? I switched from T5 florescent to LEDs partway through seed starting season this year. By far my tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings were the best they've ever been. However, I tried to start some cole crops under them for fall, and it seems that they were just burnt to a crisp by the light intensity, even though I raised the fixtures about 3' above the seed cups. I've saved my TF fixtures to do the initial starting under this year, but their bulbs are going to wear out eventually, and it would be nice not to have to switch fixtures, and keep the newer and more mature starts separated.
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Lighting is anyone else starting seeds under LEDs? I switched from T5 florescent to LEDs partway through seed starting season this year. By far my tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings were the best they've ever been. However, I tried to start some cole crops under them for fall, and it seems that they were just burnt to a crisp by the light intensity, even though I raised the fixtures about 3' above the seed cups. I've saved my TF fixtures to do the initial starting under this year, but their bulbs are going to wear out eventually, and it would be nice not to have to switch fixtures, and keep the newer and more mature starts separated.
There is a lot of variety in LEDs available (both in terms of spectrum covered and overall intensity of the light); though it is hard to imagine that LED is causing a problem like you describe unless it is outputting dangerously high UV light.
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I am very new to gardening. I had success with a very small selection of plants in raised beds last year (tomatoes did great, got a few nice jalapenos, and had some lettuce that got about 3' tall), but I'm hoping to grow more variety, and possibly extend my growing season with some small covered greens beds next fall.
If anyone could recommend seed catalogs that would be good to get for a relative beginner, I'd appreciate it. (North American Zone 6b) I'm especially interested in perennials that produce something edible or useful.
Projects I'm hoping to do this year: install at least one rain barrel for free water source, start a compost heap. May be getting a garage addition built starting in the spring, but hopeful that it won't hinder me too much. I suppose that is partly a project, though I'm not really responsible for building it.
What I'm already looking to plant: loofah, tomatoes, soybeans, arugula, herbs
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In 2020, I'll be adding 200 pawpaw trees to my yard. My order at the Indiana State Nursery went through last week (http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestryexchange/default.aspx). At 30 cents a tree, it's one of the best deals around. Of course, the trees aren't very big (pencil diameter) so mortality rates above 50% are common.
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Welcome @MaybeBecca! Most seed catalogs contain more or less the same info about the seeds/plants. Everyone has their favorites. I like the companies that focus on heirloom variety preservation -- my all time favorite is Seed Savers' Exchange. Also Southern Exposure, Sow True Seed, etc. Johnny's is a great company to work with; good seeds and also tools/equipment. Baker Creek has a pretty catalog. (ETA: I see that Baker Creek charges $10 for their catalog -- yikes. Most seed catalogs are free.) Have fun!
@YttriumNitrate -- Whoa!!! 200 pawpaws is completely fantastic! Are you growing commercially? I need a pawpaw tree (to replace one of mine that died) and I will check out that link. Thanks!
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Baker Creek has a pretty catalog. (ETA: I see that Baker Creek charges $10 for their catalog -- yikes. Most seed catalogs are free.) Have fun!
Yikes, this must be new, because I've been getting the BC catalog for years, but not this year. They're doing free shipping now, which I'd rather have anyway.
@robartsd Thank you, maybe it's not the lights. I'll try to start some under the LEDs and some under the T5s and see what happens.
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Baker Creek has a free catalog AND they also have a $9.95 Extended Catalog like book with much more info. Lots of stories and history of some seeds, how they find some interesting new varieties, etc. I get both catalogs.
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Baker Creek has a free catalog AND they also have a $9.95 Extended Catalog like book with much more info. Lots of stories and history of some seeds, how they find some interesting new varieties, etc. I get both catalogs.
Cool, thanks @birdie55.
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Thanks for the 2020 garden thread @Trifele
I've been busy in the garden for the past three months, lots of clean up, cutting back and then finally taking out a monster tree in the back yard giving me space for what I hope will become a nice hedgerow.
This month we planted two apple trees (which lived in pots for three years) which have never produced, although they managed to survive in their huge pots - so I have great hopes they will do fine. They are Australian Pink Lady apples that are supposed to like the heat and hopefully will like it in my Florida yard.
Plus a Persian lime tree that I won at an auction a few years back which produced well and seems to be quite happy out of the pot - although the jury is still out on the apple trees, they may need some time to adjust.
A chaste tree - which isn't looking too happy at present - we'll see, it would be nice to mingle in the airy purple blooms.
I plan to add two kinds of edible Hibiscus - one bears fruit similar to cranberries in taste and the other I want for the tea that is made from its flowers, the springtime flowers are especially potent and healthy. Both hibiscuses are native and will run me only about $5 unless I can find some free. They love full sun and are super easy to grow - they don't mind our brutal summers.
I'm considering adding two hawthorns, a willow, definitely a fine black elderberry and potentially a redbud tree and maybe a paw paw or a stopper.
I added two big lemongrasses in the front, also formerly in pots. I'll be experimenting with African Blue Basil, to see if they like that area - I branched off two babies from my mother plant and they are going strong - well enough to plant.
I had about five different kinds of old dill seeds and tried them out in a big terra cotta pot - wildly successful:). So I'll plant some of those once we are past January - meanwhile, they can live in pots in the semi-open carport.
Other herbs I seeded are Calendula and Lime Thyme. Next, I plan on branching off a new lemon verbena from my mother plant and find seeds for lemon balm.
For ground cover I'm using sweet potatoes and if I can get it to grow - comfrey, but I doubt it in our zone 10. I may need to find something different - peanuts maybe?
In my excitement over having a new area to design and garden in, I admit I turned into a seed-a-holic and one late night succumbed to rare seed offers - all manner of strange tropical delights - utterly irresistible:) oh so tempting.
If nothing else I'd love for the five coffee seeds to sprout as I think I have the ideal conditions for five bushes and you know I'd love to grow my own organic coffee!
Anyway, there will be plenty of flowers, especially scented beauties. I'll be looking for a Macademia nut tree. I had one and it grew fast and well, but it was in the wrong spot, besides it was all spiny spikes and ugliness, not a good idea in the center of your flower bed:).
For the first time in a long while I have two new areas to plant one south - one north and actually a small, narrow strip facing west alongside the house - I'm considering seeding it with red clover and poppies (bread seed for baking and a couple of fun looking ones) and whatever leftover seeds I end up with.
During one of my deranged plant fevers, I devised a bed of salvias, mostly from seed, but I ordered a couple of rare plants online and I'm in love with those amazing salvia scents, can't wait for the blue flowers to appear.
Turns out one of the companion plants I hunted down for my roses does not just look beautiful in bloom but is actually an edible chervil called Raven's Wing.
Next on my list is a trip to the native plant nursery, hopefully I can manage to show at least a measure of restraint - now that I have a new garden plan:).
Next to be planted are about ten big Aloes, currently in pots, a thornless Blackberry and a Raspberry - yum.
Next big project is a new fence on one side of the property and three privacy screens on the other side.
Then there is a new path ... extra gravel ... leveling the ground in the backyard, setting up a new compost area and cleaning up the newly emptied big pots ..... oh and there are all those new seeds to try and existing plants to be divided or re-potted.
Celery and Swiss Chard are going strong, so is Garlic and young Endive - I'll see if they survive being transplanted, African Blue Basil and several Peppers and Garlic Chives are doing fine. Leek is looking promising, but still in the baby stage.
One Patio Tomato and one big Dill plant are also producing rather well.
We'll see how far I get in January - right now, I have three new beds started, some prepped some planted... some need borders, some need compost and leaves...
I am looking forward to having most of it done between January and March, so it all has a good chance to grow while it is still cool(ish) hopefully into June.
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Wow - now I have garden envy @Rosy. Thanks for sharing the tropic plans. Yes I would love to grow my own organic coffee.
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In 2020, I'll be adding 200 pawpaw trees to my yard. My order at the Indiana State Nursery went through last week (http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestryexchange/default.aspx). At 30 cents a tree, it's one of the best deals around. Of course, the trees aren't very big (pencil diameter) so mortality rates above 50% are common.
We've done forest service trees 2 years now. We planted about 200 the first year in the Spring and 100 this past Autumn. I ended up springing for flags and little rabbit guard tubes on the second run. We originally put 1 flag on the first batch, but they easily became difficult to see, and some trees lacked flags, or the flags got pushed down too low/flew away.
All new trees got a rabbit tube and two flags. All old trees that we could find got two flags. Our biggest losses in the first year were to lawn mowers and machinery from building our house. No one (including myself) could see the little trees as the grass started growing. The rabbit tubes help immensely to help spot the trees, and now I make a habit of mowing around the rows of trees to make them easier to see. It increased the cost per tree, but don't underestimate your labor! Planting 200 trees is hard work, and you may get discouraged if you don't set them up for success. I ordered by flags and tubes from the forest service, so they were not very expensive.
The Autumn trees came in much bigger than the Spring trees - I guess because they had a nice, safe nursery to grow in for longer. Our Spring trees also suffered through a drought. So despite the fact that the Spring trees are 18 months older than the Autumn trees, the Autumn trees went in the ground at the same size/some bigger. Most of the Spring trees seem to have hit a growth spurt in the past three months though, so they are now overtaking.
We lost only about 5% of Spring trees to drought/animals/environmental conditions. We lost an additional 30% to humans. Too soon to tell on the Autumn trees - a couple of them died immediately to transplant shock, but no others look dead.
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@YttriumNitrate -- Whoa!!! 200 pawpaws is completely fantastic! Are you growing commercially? I need a pawpaw tree (to replace one of mine that died) and I will check out that link. Thanks!
A few years back I got to the scale where I was selling at the local farmers market. It was a lot of fun, but horrendously unprofitable. Then I moved and had to start all over again. If I were aiming to get back into the hobby farmers market scene, I would focus exclusively on peaches. In my part of Indiana every few years (such as 2019) a really cold snap will kill off every peach fruit bud and no one will have a crop, so I'd have to sit the year out (not a problem when it's just a hobby). The flip side is that when the local peaches come in they sell so well that I don't think I every left the farmers market with an unsold peach.
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Wow - now I have garden envy @Rosy. Thanks for sharing the tropic plans. Yes I would love to grow my own organic coffee.
I do feel blessed to have a big garden space - about two-thirds of the property is well established and low maintenance. It's wonderful to have a nice place to sit or eat outside or have friends over.
Just watching the birds splash in their birdbath or laughing at the antics of the squirrels or enjoy the beauty of the butterflies dancing in the air or listening to the sound of the water from the fountain is like heaven to me.
I will be planting a couple of Honeysuckle on those garden screens I mentioned - looove that scent:).
The veggie garden was never on the top of my list, (mostly because it is so labor-intensive and it has taken me forever to reach a point where it functions like I want it to - a bit like a potager) although if nothing else I do grow a variety of peppers and different lettuces and at least one new vegggie every year.
I'm more into herbs - for cooking, tea and medicinal. Lately, I've been intrigued by rare herbs and interesting heirloom plants - luckily seeds are a lot more affordable than buying a plant.
It took me years to find veggies that grow well in Florida, like celery and potatoes incl sweet potatoes, things that we actually like to eat and are easy to grow in our microclimate. I hate to put in a lot of time and effort and money and have little to nothing to show for it - I always experiment and try something new each year, that's the fun part:).
Why I can't grow cucumbers is still a mystery to me after gardening in Florida for over twenty years. LOL
I swear gardening in Germany was a cakewalk compared to our climate here.
My newest endeavor is to try permaculture in one of the new garden areas. It is something that clicked with me the second I read about it, (besides I've always leaned toward a natural garden look and sharing some of the bounty with the critters) although I am determined to have plenty of flowers too. Sunflowers for the birds and us and who knew Turmeric had such lovely blooms. I've almost narrowed down which plants I will use in my "Apple Tree Guild" - we'll see how it all goes.
Took a while to find the right plants and nurseries and thanks to YouTube I finally found out more about permaculture in a more tropical setting.
I spent a fair amount of time this year reading garden books for information and inspiration - something I haven't done in years since I already have a nice garden book collection and was not ready to garden/design any new areas of the property. Now I have new favorites, tons of ideas and still hours of reading and re-reading ahead of me:).
My YouTube favorite is Morag Gamble "Our Permaculture Life" - she's genuinely awesome.
Books:
I highly recommend Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway and Perennial Vegetables by Eric Toensmeier if you are interested in reading up on Permaculture.
The Beautiful Edible Garden by Bennett and Bittner was also great for two reasons - these designer ladies came up with their own principles for successful edible gardening for veggies, fruits and herbs. It included great tips, good visuals and very well thought out garden planning for new gardeners especially. I found it refreshing to read, modern day gardening in new and unexpected ways and I particularly liked that the emphasis was on beauty, because sometimes veggie gardens end up looking downright pitiful.
I plan to join a local garden group and experiment with Moringa, Bananas, Papaya, but I'm still hesitant about planting the Moringa tree.
Orange and Mandarin are next to be planted along with the edible Hibiscus.
One of the main reasons that I'm intrigued by permaculture is that if you do it right it can, once established, be easily maintained by one person.
The plan is to try out a few perennial vegetables in the permaculture area which should be less time, less effort and definitely less money. I've no idea if we will like the taste of these perennial veggies from around the world but I'm willing to try.
I've become quite anti-tomato over the decades - tomatoes are like the prima donnas of my garden - needing excessive attention, feeding and water - constantly. Not that I haven't had bumper crops in the past, but they don't forgive if you don't water one single day in our hot climate and I'm tired of that white stuff which kills the leaves and eventually the plant. I garden organically and have very few pest problems.
Tomatoes seem to do better if I plant them in the fall or the first week of February - right now I have only the one which so far seems to be fat and happy - producing lovely tomatoes. I plan on only two or three plants this year, Mr. R. loves tomatoes and it's enough to cook up a few batches of homemade tomato sauce or make pesto and salsa a few times.
Anyway, what I actually wanted to share is
1. A great nursery in California that I've had wonderful results - experience with - they shipped a few plants to Florida and all of them arrived in great condition and are thriving extremely well.
I like their plant info - they also show the plant zones.
https://www.anniesannuals.com/
For seeds:
2. I've been happy with SmartSeedsEmporium on Etsy.com - good info and they always throw in a few extra seed packets. Highly recommended and fwiw I also ordered one rare plant which is doing well.
They also have their own website - although their offerings slightly vary from their Etsy store.
https://www.smartseedsemporium.com/
3. I also discovered that there is an Echo Global Farm in Florida which has their own seed bank and nursery which I plan to visit. They seem to be involved with some sort of global hunger - global small farming - ministry?. You can order seeds, books, and supplies online.
It's one of the few places I've found that has seeds suitable for Southwest Florida (which can be persnickety) among other things, they also have seeds for perennial vegetables and heirloom seeds that should be fun to try in my new permaculture area - I hope:).
https://www.echobooks.net/bookstore/seeds/ - they have a separate seed section as well
and
retail@echonet.org
We'll see what ideas I come home with after visiting our local native plant nursery (Wilcox) in Clearwater, Fl and our local University USF gardens/nursery this coming week.
I've taken some time off from gardening over the holidays - thank goodness the weather has cooperated and we were cool and a bit rainy and overcast.
But I really need to stick with the program if I want to be done by spring, so we can sit back and relax and enjoy the great weather and the beautiful garden from March to June.
One can dream - right?:)
But I must say, it is super exciting to design a new garden for a new decade:).
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In 2020, I'll be adding 200 pawpaw trees to my yard. My order at the Indiana State Nursery went through last week (http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestryexchange/default.aspx). At 30 cents a tree, it's one of the best deals around. Of course, the trees aren't very big (pencil diameter) so mortality rates above 50% are common.
We've done forest service trees 2 years now. We planted about 200 the first year in the Spring and 100 this past Autumn. I ended up springing for flags and little rabbit guard tubes on the second run. We originally put 1 flag on the first batch, but they easily became difficult to see, and some trees lacked flags, or the flags got pushed down too low/flew away.
All new trees got a rabbit tube and two flags. All old trees that we could find got two flags. Our biggest losses in the first year were to lawn mowers and machinery from building our house. No one (including myself) could see the little trees as the grass started growing. The rabbit tubes help immensely to help spot the trees, and now I make a habit of mowing around the rows of trees to make them easier to see. It increased the cost per tree, but don't underestimate your labor! Planting 200 trees is hard work, and you may get discouraged if you don't set them up for success. I ordered by flags and tubes from the forest service, so they were not very expensive.
Thanks to pawpaw bark and leaves containing neurotoxins (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimina_triloba#Phytochemicals) I haven't had issues with various critters eating them. While pests aren't a problem, they are quite difficult to get established (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwjywcquz93mAhWVLc0KHTG2DsUQFjAAegQIAhAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fag.purdue.edu%2Fhla%2Fpubs%2FHO%2FHO-220.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0MouA-8bsTc8BX-YFaZmg4) often suffering from shock, not enough water, and too much sun. Adding in the fact that I'll be grafting them over to named varieties also ramps up the stress and mortality rate on the trees.
I've used fluorescent marking tape in the past to make it easier to spot the trees, but these days I go one step further and put a 6-8" deep ring of wood chips around them to cut down on the weeds and help with water retention.
EDIT: A few years ago, I also got an order of persimmon trees from the state nursery. Those have had survival rates above 90% similar to what you've seen from other forest service trees.
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I'm really hoping to garden this year. I'm in 6b. Winter is just starting here.
I just moved to a condo which doesn't allow any vegetable gardening. My long term plan is to get on the board and change the rules. My short term plan is 3 fold.
1. Container gardening on the deck - which I've never done.
2. Stealth gardening. There is a long flower bed along the deck, but it faces east. I'm going to see what herbs and ornamental things I can grow in there. The front of the condo faces south and is perfect for beds. Right now there are huge old ugly bushes that I intend to replace with more stealth gardening.
3. I have a girlfriend with a big empty backyard that lives a mile away. She has invited me to garden as much as I want there. I'm not sure that will really work for me, because I'm a lazy gardener. I get really into in the spring, but once the summer gets hot, I like to just walk out the door, pick what I want, and return to A/C. Any work is done early AM and girlfriend is NOT a morning person. I do really want to grow garlic, so maybe I'll make it goal to get a garlic bed in next fall in her yard. I absolutely love scapes and grocery store garlic just skeeves me out now.
Jon_Snow, your kale oasis is awe inspiring. Reminded me of marksvegplot.blogspot.com - he grows year round in England. He's my favorite garden blogger.
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A couple of months ago, my 2 year old apricot tree was taken out by a deer. I have to decide if I want to buy another apricot tree or put something else in that spot.
I ordered an new apricot tree in addition to a peach tree and a Whitney Crabapple tree. The Whitney is supposed to be a sweet crabapple so I'm excited to taste those in a few years. If they turn out more astringent than advertised then the tree will still be useful as a pollinator for our regular apple varieties.
I'm especially interested in perennials that produce something edible or useful.
Consider planting a few blackberry plants for an easy perennial that produces something edible. Blackberries grow vigorously in full sun and taste so much better than the store bought ones. I would recommend the thornless variety: Triple Crown. Other berry plants are delicious too but blackberries have been the most trouble free of everything that I have tried. I am in gardening zone 6a.
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We're getting ready for 2020 around here, for sure. We're on the cusp of 7b/8a (just outside Atlanta), so I still have a lot of greens--turnips, mustards, kale, and arugula. They'll overwinter unless we have sustained temps in the teens.
I may spend some time today taking our seed inventory--we order from Baker Creek and Southern Exposure, and have a tendency to order more than we need out of excitement. I also save seed from tomatoes, peppers, and beans. So we need to get organized, and try not to go too far off the rails! New seeds are just so much fun, though.
We have 12 4' x 8' raised beds that my spouse constructed from corrugated metal and cedar. Two of them are not in rotation--one is an herb bed, and the other has asparagus (that we'll finally get to eat this spring!). We also have raspberry canes at the back of the garden, and something interesting always emerges from the compost bin, usually squash or pumpkins.
Our specific goals for 2020:
--convert the front yard into an edible/native plan garden. I'm especially interested in growing leafy greens out there in the summer. We have a very large oak, so the front yard gets dappled shade.
--create a composting system that works efficiently. We have a couple of garbage cans with holes punched in them. It works on a subsistence level, but I know we can do better than that.
--produce a tomato crop that isn't 50% lost to &%$#@-ing squirrels and raccoons.
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Yesterday I went through the seed drying rack and harvested the seed from the various pods that I had collected in the fall. I store my seeds in used paper envelopes in a big plastic bin. I am not sure what type of cucumber or squash I saved. I vowed that I would not set something aside to dry without a label ever again but oops, again.
I will now have to purchase cucumber seed so that I actually get all the types I want. Squash - I still have a couple of them in the cold cellar which I will collect from before cooking them. And I will label them for sure!
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For the past few years, I've gone all-out on home gardening, but life has gotten so busy with two active kids. Then when it comes time to harvest everything, there's no time to process it. I'm wondering if it's worth it at this point, or if I can somehow adjust to make things more efficient and demands less time.
Perhaps growing easier, less demanding crops is the answer? Only growing high-value produce that I know we'll use? I failed to get garlic in the ground this fall, but that's one of the easiest things I've ever grown, and we mow through a ton of it. What else is super easy? (I never do "easy" so I don't even know.)
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I confirmed with Mr Pug that we will get ourselves a peach tree this year. Normally we order seeds from Fedco, I've never ordered a tree before and in my quick research I see that I should plant a peach tree in the dead of winter if it is not in a container of soil. Anyone know of a place that ships in containers? I think we will need a little time to get the yard ready for the tree so probably wont get it in the ground during the winter.
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I confirmed with Mr Pug that we will get ourselves a peach tree this year. Normally we order seeds from Fedco, I've never ordered a tree before and in my quick research I see that I should plant a peach tree in the dead of winter if it is not in a container of soil. Anyone know of a place that ships in containers? I think we will need a little time to get the yard ready for the tree so probably wont get it in the ground during the winter.
My understanding is that bare root peach trees should be planted in the early spring, or at least the ones I've planted were always in the spring. I've had good success with bare root peaches, so I wouldn't bother going potted. If you can put together a larger order (at least 5 trees, 25 preferably), Adams County Nursery has amazingly good stuff (https://www.acnursery.com/).
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I confirmed with Mr Pug that we will get ourselves a peach tree this year. Normally we order seeds from Fedco, I've never ordered a tree before and in my quick research I see that I should plant a peach tree in the dead of winter if it is not in a container of soil. Anyone know of a place that ships in containers? I think we will need a little time to get the yard ready for the tree so probably wont get it in the ground during the winter.
My understanding is that bare root peach trees should be planted in the early spring, or at least the ones I've planted were always in the spring. I've had good success with bare root peaches, so I wouldn't bother going potted. If you can put together a larger order (at least 5 trees, 25 preferably), Adams County Nursery has amazingly good stuff (https://www.acnursery.com/).
My understanding is that you plant bare root anything as soon as you get it. It comes from a cooler and is dormant when the grower ships it and you get it into the ground ASAP. It comes out of dormancy planted. If you can't get around to planting the day it is delivered, you can hold it in dormancy in a cool dark garage with damp mulch over the roots. I have kept some plum trees "healed in" in the garage for a week by throwing ice in the garbage can with some mulch over the roots so that the roots still felt like it was winter. Usually they don't ship stock until you can get it planted.
My experience with bare root stock is that it grows really well if planted quickly and correctly.
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For the past few years, I've gone all-out on home gardening, but life has gotten so busy with two active kids. Then when it comes time to harvest everything, there's no time to process it. I'm wondering if it's worth it at this point, or if I can somehow adjust to make things more efficient and demands less time.
Perhaps growing easier, less demanding crops is the answer? Only growing high-value produce that I know we'll use? I failed to get garlic in the ground this fall, but that's one of the easiest things I've ever grown, and we mow through a ton of it. What else is super easy? (I never do "easy" so I don't even know.)
Winter squash and root vegetables might work for you. I love spaghetti squash because I can just pick them and chuck them in a pile in the basement until we're ready to eat them. No peeling, canning etc. Beets, carrots and potatoes are a close second since they can be stored whole. However, they do need a little more prep than squash, and require cold storage if you want them to last a long time. You might think about how to stretch the season as well, so you don't have a glut of stuff needing to be processed in late summer (ahem, tomatoes). For instance, I'm going to try to grow a bunch of cauliflower this year and rice it and freeze it by early summer. Cabbage can be pretty forgiving too, in that you can pick it whenever it forms a head, or leave it to grow until you need it.
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Thanks YttriumNitrate and Frugal Lizard for your tips.
I wish I had the space for 5-25 fruit trees maybe some day.
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Perhaps growing easier, less demanding crops is the answer? Only growing high-value produce that I know we'll use? I failed to get garlic in the ground this fall, but that's one of the easiest things I've ever grown, and we mow through a ton of it. What else is super easy? (I never do "easy" so I don't even know.)
Garlic is the most easy and high value crop that I've grown! Radishes are super easy but I don't eat them so there is no point in me growing them. Sunflowers are gorgeous and totally worth growing IMO but they are not a high value food crop. Cherry tomatoes are pretty easy too. Perhaps if you focus on just a couple of plants that you know you and your kids like to eat then it will be easier to get the most out of your garden.
Growing things in potting soil is super easy if you have some large containers and a sunny spot right outside the back door. It's easier to remember to care for the plants when they are close to the house and you don't have to wrestle with preparing garden beds. I grew carrots in large containers last year and that was surprisingly easy and the carrots were delicious. I also grew potatoes this way but the yields were less than stellar. Definitely look for early varieties of potatoes like "Red Norland" if you want to try this route.
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For the past few years, I've gone all-out on home gardening, but life has gotten so busy with two active kids. Then when it comes time to harvest everything, there's no time to process it. I'm wondering if it's worth it at this point, or if I can somehow adjust to make things more efficient and demands less time.
Perhaps growing easier, less demanding crops is the answer? Only growing high-value produce that I know we'll use? I failed to get garlic in the ground this fall, but that's one of the easiest things I've ever grown, and we mow through a ton of it. What else is super easy? (I never do "easy" so I don't even know.)
That sounds like a good approach @OmahaSteph -- grow easy, high value things you like. Great ideas by @horsepoor and @Eowynd below. I'll add that "value" can be not just what those items cost in the grocery store, but enjoyment as well. In a busy year, you could also consider the enjoyment factor. How old are the kids? Do they help in the garden?
+1 on potatoes. They are super easy fun to grow. I think they're often overlooked because they're so cheap in the store. But -- similar to tomatoes -- homegrown potatoes really do taste better than store-bought ones. The harvest is a treasure hunt. "Processing" is very minimal -- just let them sit (with the dirt still on them -- don't wash them) in a dark, dry, room-temperature place for a couple weeks. Then they go into a box in your basement where they sleep until you pull some out for dinner.
You can also focus on growing fewer things and just eating them fresh right off the plants. Think of it as your 'salad' garden?
'Sungold' cherry tomatoes are a great option -- they are mega-delicious and very heavy producers. They grow well in pots. Two plants last year provided us with more cherry tomatoes than we could eat -- we were constantly giving them away. Cucumbers are also easy, and can be grown in pots. If your family likes fresh green beans, those are also super easy and delish. Except that rabbits and deer think so too, haha. But if you have some protection against those guys (or don't have them around) -- beans could work.
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I save seeds year over year to build up the local terroir flavor in the veg, but yesterday decided to add in a little more diversity to the veg this year. I purchased disease resistant seeds from Baker Creek rareseeds.com. Summer squash usually only produces 4-5 veg and then the plant develops mold or a vine borer gets to it. I've tried all sorts of baking soda sprays to reduce the leaf mold and powdery mildew, foil around the plant stalk, switching up plant location to different raised bed but the squash and cucumbers invariably die prematurely. So this year I'm going to see if I can improve my odds with new varieties that are both early producers and disease resistant.
All of the discussion about paw paw trees has inspired me to locate another co-pollinator for my one tree. I had another tree but it died when a neighbors tree came down in my yard and I never replaced it. I don't usually buy saplings because I feel as if I want to enjoy the tree asap and I know they are slow growers.
If anyone has considered growing kiwi vine, I highly recommend it. My male and female vines are about 4 years old and last summer I got the most delicious crop of kiwis. They were a little bigger than grapes but quite sweet and not a lot of work to eat.
I've also been researching rebar and heavy duty fencing because I'd like to build an 8' high archway that I could grow pole green beans on. If anyone has any suggestions, pls share.
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I have one arctic kiwi - the other one never made it. I have been wondering why I don't get any fruit - now I know!
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we just moved into our fl house in June and had to get a fence and lanai installed. Just ordered raised beds for the side of the house and a few banana trees. Really trying to figure out what to do in the backyard. We have a nice lake view that I don't want to interrupt. Going to install a multi grafted citrus in the spring
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If anyone has considered growing kiwi vine, I highly recommend it. My male and female vines are about 4 years old and last summer I got the most delicious crop of kiwis. They were a little bigger than grapes but quite sweet and not a lot of work to eat.
Interesting @Indio! I've thought about those. Our local nursery says they need very sturdy support, because of the weight of the vines and fruit. I haven't quite figured out yet where I could put them!
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We had sauteed kale last night for dinner, fresh from the garden moments before. Kale is super high-value in our house. We had started the kale in late October, then transplanted in late November-ish. Really should start keeping a garden diary! The kale was delicious and it looks like our older plants from late spring are rebounding, too. I wasn't sure how long they produce, or whether we should pull them out at some point? But definitely not now, with some good leaves emerging.
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@MishMash sounds as if you might be in HI with the mention of a lanai. Whenever I go to the farmers markets there, I love the abundance of veg, especially avocadoes that can be grown in that zone. If you like papaya, they don't take a lot of space to grow.
@Trifele I planted the kiwi vine next to a shed that's 18x 8'. The two plants have almost completely covered it and I've encouraged them to grow up over the top by tying the vine down. That shed has southern exposure and used to be brutally hot inside in summer and now it's quite comfortable to go in with all of the shade on it.
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*snip
You can also focus on growing fewer things and just eating them fresh right off the plants. Think of it as your 'salad' garden?
'Sungold' cherry tomatoes are a great option -- they are mega-delicious and very heavy producers. They grow well in pots. Two plants last year provided us with more cherry tomatoes than we could eat -- we were constantly giving them away.
*snip
Hi, Trifele! What size pots did you use? Any advice on watering, fertilizing, staking? I love cherry and grape tomatoes, and my plan was to try them first on the deck. Greatly appreciate any advice.
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As we are now in the new year my mind is increasingly occupied with garden thoughts. Very soon I will get out my grow lights and get some onions starts going. Spinach and lettuce as well, to supplement those I will direct seed...which sometimes suffer some nibbling by insect pests when they are tender seedlings. One of the key things I have learned in these first 5 years as a vegetable gardener is to always have a good supply of starts on hand to provide “back up” for crops that have been directly seeded...because I’ve found that between robins pulling out small seedling by the roots looking for worms and wood bugs (aka wood lice, roly polys) deciding to have a snack....s*it happens.
General garden plans for this year:
-remove cluster of hazelnut trees which are throwing too much shade (cost one corner of garden an hour of sunlight). Also, I suspect the hazelnut shells might have a negative effect on the soil of the beds directly beneath.
-expand one in-ground bed, build one more 8x4 cedar raised bed
-avoid planting “experimental” crops/STICK WITH WHAT WORKS
-build self contained potato enclosure to compliment potato grow bags
-find high quality garden soil source and import 5 yards or so
-plant LESS tomatoes (I’m still tying to use up frozen tomatoes from 2 years ago)
-plant LESS cucumbers
-more spacing out of plantings, both in terms of physical proximity....and planting times. Regarding the latter...I tend to get caught up in the exuberance of planting time and max out my garden space too early. As result, so many things are ready to harvest all at once. I’m also thinking of entering some of my crops in a local Harvest Fair in the Fall...so I NEED to force myself to plant later in the season so that I have things ready for the produce competition in September.
-expand our mason bee colony and be more purposeful in attracting pollinators in general.
-cut back blackberry thicket which is steadily encroaching on my garden footprint. And do this soon before it comes out of it’s winter dormancy.
-build small greenhouse, mostly to give my peppers a better head start.
-consider using seaweed as a top mulch throughout the growing season.
There is more...but this is a good start I think. ;)
We had sauteed kale last night for dinner, fresh from the garden moments before. Kale is super high-value in our house.
Kale is the gift that keeps on giving! All Winter long!
This monster shows no signs of slowing down. For context, my DW is 5’7”
We are harvesting from the shorter plant on the left because we can’t bring ourselves to diminish to the majesty of the tall one. ;) What we are really enjoying lately I s putting kale in some hearty soups as its a great way to add great flavour, substance and nutrition. It really maintains it’s structure nicely in a soup.
It’s still a bit of a wait until March 1st when my spinach and peas get planted...and then March 15th for my first lettuce....but....
SPRING IS COMING
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@MishMash sounds as if you might be in HI with the mention of a lanai. Whenever I go to the farmers markets there, I love the abundance of veg, especially avocadoes that can be grown in that zone. If you like papaya, they don't take a lot of space to grow.
@Trifele I planted the kiwi vine next to a shed that's 18x 8'. The two plants have almost completely covered it and I've encouraged them to grow up over the top by tying the vine down. That shed has southern exposure and used to be brutally hot inside in summer and now it's quite comfortable to go in with all of the shade on it.
Tampa FL, just moved here about six months ago. But I have basil and tomatoes growing in the lanai, in January, and they are going nuts. I've lived in cold climates my whole life so to me this is just wonderful. There will be a couple nights it gets into the 40s this week so I just throw an old blanket over them and then remove it in the morning. Our daytime highs are 70s. I actually just ordered a dwarf papaya tree last week along with the ice cream banana and passionfruit vines.
Edit, and we dropped some fish off to a friends elderly parents today (he lives out of state so we check in on them) and his mother sent me home with all sorts of plants, galangal, turmeric, keffir leaves, a lemon tree, a papaya and some sort of what she called Thai oregano.
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Have you guys done a cost breakdown for your garden produce? Things like tomatoes are not worth it for me to grow when I can buy them for $1 a kilo in season. I just buy tons and process them into preserves then. On the other hand, basil for pesto is totally worth me growing. I'm saving a lot of money over buying basil, or pesto for that matter. Berries, also worth it.
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*snip
You can also focus on growing fewer things and just eating them fresh right off the plants. Think of it as your 'salad' garden?
'Sungold' cherry tomatoes are a great option -- they are mega-delicious and very heavy producers. They grow well in pots. Two plants last year provided us with more cherry tomatoes than we could eat -- we were constantly giving them away.
*snip
Hi, Trifele! What size pots did you use? Any advice on watering, fertilizing, staking? I love cherry and grape tomatoes, and my plan was to try them first on the deck. Greatly appreciate any advice.
Hi @DaMa -- they weren't anything special, just some big plastic pots someone gave me. They were about 20 inches across and 24 inches deep or so. I used a mixture of garden soil and potting soil, and I otherwise treated them just like tomatoes in the ground. I fed them some compost mixed into the soil, and mulched the top of the pot with about 4" of leaves (to keep the moisture in and the heat down).
Since tomatoes like humidity, high sun, and moderate heat, I think the big challenge growing in pots is to not let them get too hot or dry. So site selection is important. A deck could be a great place. But if it gets above 90 degrees there on more than a few days, I'd probably choose somewhere else. For staking, my plants got too big for cages, so I put three 6' metal garden stakes into the ground in a triangle around the pot, then strung twine in an ascending 'triangle spiral' around the pot. On a deck -- hmm. Not sure how I would stake them. You could try a cage. Might work, especially if you had a way to affix the cage to something solid, like the deck railing. Otherwise the plant might get so big or heavy it will topple the cage. Maybe put a pole of some kind into the pot before you put the dirt in, and then tie the plant to the pole as it grows? That might be sturdy enough.
Good luck! Sounds fun. I'm just remembering I stayed at a small hotel one time that had tomatoes in pots all over their patio and it was lovely to sit out there with them.
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Ordered seeds last night! I will be mostly growing my vegetables and flowers in containers this year, though I am planning to build a few raised beds for corn and pole beans. I'm looking forward to feeding my dog a mix of store-bought food and extra vegetables, should cut down on costs a fair amount for a few months. I was wondering if anyone has advice for using re-purposed deck boards for building raised planters, especially how best to prep the underside of said boards, as they haven't been stained. I was also wondering if anyone could suggest fruits or vegetables to grow on my front porch, it is west facing and doesn't get much direct sunlight. I typically have flowers in hangers that do quite well, but I'd like to have some edible plants out there too.
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Have you guys done a cost breakdown for your garden produce? Things like tomatoes are not worth it for me to grow when I can buy them for $1 a kilo in season. I just buy tons and process them into preserves then. On the other hand, basil for pesto is totally worth me growing. I'm saving a lot of money over buying basil, or pesto for that matter. Berries, also worth it.
I usually get to the point where I make a rough estimate of how much time I spent on growing stuff, realize that number multiplied by minimum wage is going to be quite large, and stop the analysis right there.
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Since I spent all my free time in my garden -often without really needing to spend that much time - and I can't possibly put a price on the sweetest taste of a freshly picked tomato or peas, or a handful of sun-warmed strawberries, I don't bother with any calculations. Too many in-quantifiable elements.
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Since I spent all my free time in my garden -often without really needing to spend that much time - and I can't possibly put a price on the sweetest taste of a freshly picked tomato or peas, or a handful of sun-warmed strawberries, I don't bother with any calculations. Too many in-quantifiable elements.
I agree with this point of view. Gardening is one of my favorite hobbies and it doesn't cost nearly as much as some other activities that I've tried. The fact that I can grow food which tastes better than anything in the grocery stores is just an awesome bonus!
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Since I spent all my free time in my garden -often without really needing to spend that much time - and I can't possibly put a price on the sweetest taste of a freshly picked tomato or peas, or a handful of sun-warmed strawberries, I don't bother with any calculations. Too many in-quantifiable elements.
I agree with this point of view. Gardening is one of my favorite hobbies and it doesn't cost nearly as much as some other activities that I've tried. The fact that I can grow food which tastes better than anything in the grocery stores is just an awesome bonus!
Yep. My husband has for years complained about the tomatoes we find in even the very best of our produce markets, so growing tomatoes is about being able to make dishes where they feature even somewhat prominently. It hasn't yet become a real hobby for me, but I do hope to grow into it and am also getting so picky about the horrible produce I find when I shop that I'm also getting more motivated to do so!
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@Jon_Snow, you naughty man, teasing us with more pictures of your garden paradise. :) That kale plant is incredible! How old is it? Good luck with the blackberries. Man, that can be some thorny work.
@Trifele I planted the kiwi vine next to a shed that's 18x 8'. The two plants have almost completely covered it and I've encouraged them to grow up over the top by tying the vine down. That shed has southern exposure and used to be brutally hot inside in summer and now it's quite comfortable to go in with all of the shade on it.
hahaha! This is awesome. How do you harvest the fruit? Get a ladder and climb onto the roof with a bucket? You're the second person I've heard do something like this -- the kiwis must really like it. I wish I could do it -- but our shed has a likely future as a tiny house (construction plans in the future), so I'd best not plant such big, long-lived things up and over it.
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Thank you for the suggestions, everyone!
Unfortunately, none of us really like root veg, and we tried potatoes in a trash can one year and it was an epic fail. We have clay soil, so everything else is in a raised bed (we have four). I think I'm just tomatoed out. DH makes amazing homemade sauce with them, but he insists on deskinning and hand-milling and if I don't initiate, it doesn't get done. We got more tomatoes out of our volunteers than the ones I was growing on purpose, lol. Yes, cherry tomatoes out the wazoo. I think I will not grow my own from seed this year, and instead buy starts from someone local. Cheaper in the long run and I just don't have the space to start indoors anymore. No more fancy heirlooms that require hand pollination with an electric toothbrush!
I was really pleased with our herbs this year, so I'll repeat that. I put them in containers and then sunk them into the ground. Hoping some of them survive the winter. Like I said, DH likes to cook and the home-grown herbs I dehydrate or freeze are SO stinking good.
I love the idea of turning our entire yard into an edible garden, but I have to be practical. My kids are amazing helpers and that's the only way I've been able to get as much accomplished as I have. DH ... well, he's not much for manual labor. Our deal is that I grow it, and he cooks it. :)
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Garden plans for this year:
-cut back blackberry thicket
ACK!!!!! :(
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We had sauteed kale last night for dinner, fresh from the garden moments before. Kale is super high-value in our house.
I agree @sui generis! Kale is also one of our staples. I grow it every year, pretty much year-round now. Love it. My go-to variety is Red Russian. It has flat leaves, quite different than the curly lacinato type. But both are delish!
It's also pretty easy to save seed and keep the kale love going indefinitely.
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My work had a healthy-workforce initiative yesterday that for some reason included planting tiny pots with herb seeds. So I now have a mini pot (seriously, it's probably 2-in diameter, it's minuscule) of cilantro/coriander seeds sitting in my kitchen window. Hopefully they germinate!
My garden now consists of two pots of strawberries and a mini cilantro. I'm a bit concerned that some of the strawberries won't survive the winter, though, they look very unhappy in my kitchen.
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I'm a big fan of the russian kale variety too. It makes delicious kale chips and is easy to coat with olive oil and parmesan.
Occasionally, it has gotten an aphid like pest on it so I rotate it around the garden and cover it with mosquito netting to trick the insects. Brassicas will stunt tomatoes, my favorite veg, so they can't be planted in the same spot the following year or near an existing plant. If I compost a big batch of chicken manure and mix it into the soil, in the same raised bed the kale was growing in the previous season, the tomatoes will thrive. Since I don't like hauling compost around the garden, my preference is to compost in the raised bed by digging a trench, putting food scraps lightly covered with leaves and burying it all by turning over soil shortly before planting season.
I cleaned out the chicken coop yesterday and have two bins of chicken manure that's ready to improve garden soil. Also, took out the bin of shredded paper (mail envelopes with the plastic window removed) to the cold compost pile. I'm already thinking about soil enrichment for this year.
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If I compost a big batch of chicken manure and mix it into the soil, in the same raised bed the kale was growing in the previous season, the tomatoes will thrive. Since I don't like hauling compost around the garden, my preference is to compost in the raised bed by digging a trench, putting food scraps lightly covered with leaves and burying it all by turning over soil shortly before planting season.
I cleaned out the chicken coop yesterday and have two bins of chicken manure that's ready to improve garden soil. Also, took out the bin of shredded paper (mail envelopes with the plastic window removed) to the cold compost pile. I'm already thinking about soil enrichment for this year.
I'm doing this too right now! I have a 'three pile' rotation for the chicken manure -- fresh, medium, and old/ready to go into the garden. I just put a big batch of the old stuff into one of my raised beds and covered it with leaves. In the spring I'll add compost and fork it all together gently shortly before planting.
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We had sauteed kale last night for dinner, fresh from the garden moments before. Kale is super high-value in our house.
I agree @sui generis! Kale is also one of our staples. I grow it every year, pretty much year-round now. Love it. My go-to variety is Red Russian. It has flat leaves, quite different than the curly lacinato type. But both are delish!
It's also pretty easy to save seed and keep the kale love going indefinitely.
I was wondering about that - well, not seeds exactly, but the longevity question. Should I just leave my kale plants going as long as they are giving me leaves? Am I supposed to pull the whole plant at some point? I've learned a lot from the book I am reading, but it makes some references to pulling up entire plants (in talking about rotation and preparing soil for new planting) but then doesn't ever really give guidance about this topic. Even in the chapter where it has a couple pages on each crop, it doesn't include "end-of-life care", just how to start them, grow them and then harvest them. Apparently, for kale, some people do harvest the entire plant (?) but I just pick a few leaves at a time.
Any guidance on when/how to pull plants generally (and kale specifically) is welcome!
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We had sauteed kale last night for dinner, fresh from the garden moments before. Kale is super high-value in our house.
I agree @sui generis! Kale is also one of our staples. I grow it every year, pretty much year-round now. Love it. My go-to variety is Red Russian. It has flat leaves, quite different than the curly lacinato type. But both are delish!
It's also pretty easy to save seed and keep the kale love going indefinitely.
I was wondering about that - well, not seeds exactly, but the longevity question. Should I just leave my kale plants going as long as they are giving me leaves? Am I supposed to pull the whole plant at some point? I've learned a lot from the book I am reading, but it makes some references to pulling up entire plants (in talking about rotation and preparing soil for new planting) but then doesn't ever really give guidance about this topic. Even in the chapter where it has a couple pages on each crop, it doesn't include "end-of-life care", just how to start them, grow them and then harvest them. Apparently, for kale, some people do harvest the entire plant (?) but I just pick a few leaves at a time.
Any guidance on when/how to pull plants generally (and kale specifically) is welcome!
Yes same here -- I usually just take a few leaves at a time. The only time I usually pull a whole plant out to eat is in the spring, when I'm doing a thinning. (Sometimes I plant more than I need to, close together. Then you pick the best plants to keep growing, and harvest all the rest in between, eat them young and tender).
I keep the plants going until they either aren't giving good tasty leaves any more for some reason, or they go to seed. The leaves change some in taste as the plant ages, so YMMV on what you consider 'tasty enough.' Some people don't like the more bitter taste of older leaves. Kale usually goes to seed in year two in places I've lived. Do you know what variety of kale you have planted? If it's a hybrid (labeled as "F1" in seed catalogs), then genetically they don't breed true and most people don't bother to save the seed, if it makes any. But an open pollinated variety breeds true and you'll get good seed. If you didn't grow your current plants from seed but you know their name, you can look up the variety online to see if it's a hybrid. You'll know kale is going to seed when it sends up a huge stalk, and then flowers and makes these skinny little seed pods, and then starts to wither and dry up. When the plant is all the way done, for whatever reason, I just pull the whole thing out of the ground and put it in one of the compost bins, after thanking it for its service.
I think kale's natural lifespan is variable, depending on the variety and the climate. In warmer places -- maybe in California? -- kale can live longer than two years. @Jon Snow is north of you, but I bet his climate is a lot closer to yours than mine is. Maybe he can chime in on this. I remember we were staying at an AirBnB once in Hawaii, and the owner had a ~8 year old big kale plant in the garden -- it was huge, like Jon Snow's -- and she said we were welcome to eat all the leaves we wanted. I guess it just kept going year after year, and never went to seed. (?)
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We had sauteed kale last night for dinner, fresh from the garden moments before. Kale is super high-value in our house.
I agree @sui generis! Kale is also one of our staples. I grow it every year, pretty much year-round now. Love it. My go-to variety is Red Russian. It has flat leaves, quite different than the curly lacinato type. But both are delish!
It's also pretty easy to save seed and keep the kale love going indefinitely.
I was wondering about that - well, not seeds exactly, but the longevity question. Should I just leave my kale plants going as long as they are giving me leaves? Am I supposed to pull the whole plant at some point? I've learned a lot from the book I am reading, but it makes some references to pulling up entire plants (in talking about rotation and preparing soil for new planting) but then doesn't ever really give guidance about this topic. Even in the chapter where it has a couple pages on each crop, it doesn't include "end-of-life care", just how to start them, grow them and then harvest them. Apparently, for kale, some people do harvest the entire plant (?) but I just pick a few leaves at a time.
Any guidance on when/how to pull plants generally (and kale specifically) is welcome!
Yes same here -- I usually just take a few leaves at a time. The only time I usually pull a whole plant out to eat is in the spring, when I'm doing a thinning. (Sometimes I plant more than I need to, close together. Then you pick the best plants to keep growing, and harvest all the rest in between, eat them young and tender).
I keep the plants going until they either aren't giving good tasty leaves any more for some reason, or they go to seed. The leaves change some in taste as the plant ages, so YMMV on what you consider 'tasty enough.' Some people don't like the more bitter taste of older leaves. Kale usually goes to seed in year two in places I've lived. Do you know what variety of kale you have planted? If it's a hybrid (labeled as "F1" in seed catalogs), then genetically they don't breed true and most people don't bother to save the seed, if it makes any. But an open pollinated variety breeds true and you'll get good seed. If you didn't grow your current plants from seed but you know their name, you can look up the variety online to see if it's a hybrid. You'll know kale is going to seed when it sends up a huge stalk, and then flowers and makes these skinny little seed pods, and then starts to wither and dry up. When the plant is all the way done, for whatever reason, I just pull the whole thing out of the ground and put it in one of the compost bins, after thanking it for its service.
I think kale's natural lifespan is variable, depending on the variety and the climate. In warmer places -- maybe in California? -- kale can live longer than two years. @Jon Snow is north of you, but I bet his climate is a lot closer to yours than mine is. Maybe he can chime in on this. I remember we were staying at an AirBnB once in Hawaii, and the owner had a ~8 year old big kale plant in the garden -- it was huge, like Jon Snow's -- and she said we were welcome to eat all the leaves we wanted. I guess it just kept going year after year, and never went to seed. (?)
My neighbour has silverbeet, cabbage and kale plants that have been alive for YEARS. The stalk is basically a trunk and several inches in diameter. She picks leaves off and lets the damn triffid things go to seed every year. The plant doesn't die after seeding.
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Zone 9b checking in! Goals for this year are to find and plant:
- longevity spinach
- seminole pumpkin
- blue spur flower / plectranthus barbatus (natural toilet paper!)
The first two are supposed to be good perennial ground cover edibles for dappled shade where sweet potatoes are not growing well for me currently. Haven't been able to find them yet, and I'll need to make an effort to do so.
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My neighbour has silverbeet, cabbage and kale plants that have been alive for YEARS. The stalk is basically a trunk and several inches in diameter. She picks leaves off and lets the damn triffid things go to seed every year. The plant doesn't die after seeding.
Whoa! Interesting and cool!
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Wow, great info and very interesting.
Thanks, @Trifele! (ETA: I just looked at our seed packet for the kale and it is "premier blend"! LOL)
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Zone 9b checking in! Goals for this year are to find and plant:
- longevity spinach
- seminole pumpkin
- blue spur flower / plectranthus barbatus (natural toilet paper!)
The first two are supposed to be good perennial ground cover edibles for dappled shade where sweet potatoes are not growing well for me currently. Haven't been able to find them yet, and I'll need to make an effort to do so.
@Roots&Wings
I know:) where to get several different types of perennial spinach and Seminole pumpkin seeds -
https://www.echobooks.net/bookstore/seeds/
This will be my first year trying a few perennial veggies, my very own first ever permaculture experiment. I'm planting a new area in my garden and since I just planted two apple trees (they are Australian-Pink Lady) and supposed to be able to survive our hot summers - and they have, while living in pots, but now that we've planted them I want to do what I can so they'll stay happy and healthy.
I've been researching apple tree guilds for a hot and humid climate - therefore the interest in Seminole pumpkins. It's supposed to be too hot for Comfrey.
I wanted to grow sweet potatoes as ground cover since they are the easiest thing to grow I've ever come across and we love them - but - in one of my garden books it was advised not to plant potatoes near apples or even store them together - potatoes effect the taste of the apples.
So I will be planting garlic chives - I have plenty to divide and plant and Dill - grew some from seed which is doing well and definitely Nasturtiums because apparently they protect the apple tree from certain diseases.
@Indio
I've also been researching rebar and heavy duty fencing because I'd like to build an 8' high archway that I could grow pole green beans on. If anyone has any suggestions, pls share.
The easy answer is cattle panels, cheap and easy to work with and cut - see this video on youtube from Roots and Refuge - good stuff:)
Here is the cattle panel archway projects - lots of good info
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXOX1nzCnaQ
@OmahaSteph
About easy veggies - have you tried celery? I do mine in a big, deep window box and mostly just harvest the leaves for salad and soups/stews for months on end. The young stems are great for munching with dip or peanut butter or melted hot pepper cheese:) ...
So no extra time for harvesting - no drama about "having to harvest" at a certain time - I get about five months worth of harvest. Easy:).
... and yes, you can just dry the leaves too and then keep them in a well sealed container for instant seasoning.
I do it on paper towels and then just crush the leaves by rubbing my hands together in a flat, prayer mode:) - easy:).
If you like spinach - try perennial spinach varieties - see my link for seeds above (to Roots and Wings). You prepare the bed once and then just keep it mulched and fertilized - easy.
I'm trying a couple of different varieties this year - no pressure to harvest - we like that.
I'm with ya on the tomatoes - a) they are the prima donnas of the garden, way too much work and b) I'm OK with one Roma and one cherry or grape tomato.
There is something to be said to stick with tried and true and whatever your favorite veggies might be. I'm still experimenting after decades of gardening, but I do try to keep it real - works well some years. Other years life gets in the way:) or I overestimated the effort required.
Hence my foray into permaculture - it makes sense.
I'm definitely doing way more this year and the past six months of last year then I've tackled in a long time - sometimes you are simply more motivated and excited to garden than other years.
I went from I'm too old for this to OMG I can't wait for my 2020 garden to be fully planted and grown - go figure.:)
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Whoa, away from the forum for a week and look at all the kale-talk I missed. Thanks for the heads up @Trifele!
Yes same here -- I usually just take a few leaves at a time. The only time I usually pull a whole plant out to eat is in the spring, when I'm doing a thinning. (Sometimes I plant more than I need to, close together. Then you pick the best plants to keep growing, and harvest all the rest in between, eat them young and tender).
I keep the plants going until they either aren't giving good tasty leaves any more for some reason, or they go to seed. The leaves change some in taste as the plant ages, so YMMV on what you consider 'tasty enough.' Some people don't like the more bitter taste of older leaves. Kale usually goes to seed in year two in places I've lived.
All of this has been my previous kale experience as well. Until this year my kale (and ALL my brassicas for that matter) usually goes to seed (in Canada we say it “bolts”, not sure that is used down South). Yet now, for whatever reason, I have this entire kale patch just going crazy into the winter months. Though, as documented in my Journal just moments ago, I’m worried about an usually frigid cold snap about to hit the British Columbia coast.
I think kale's natural lifespan is variable, depending on the variety and the climate. In warmer places -- maybe in California? -- kale can live longer than two years. @Jon Snow is north of you, but I bet his climate is a lot closer to yours than mine is. Maybe he can chime in on this. I remember we were staying at an AirBnB once in Hawaii, and the owner had a ~8 year old big kale plant in the garden -- it was huge, like Jon Snow's -- and she said we were welcome to eat all the leaves we wanted. I guess it just kept going year after year, and never went to seed. (?)
I’m in the mildest little climate pocket in the very southwest corner of Canada....zone 9a.
I’m pretty sure the kale patch I have going now was planted last Spring, March I believe...so it’s coming up to a year old. The thing is I have NO IDEA why this didn’t go to seed like everything else. It is true that the kale is in the shadiest corner of my garden....so could THAT be the reason? I just hope this cold weather doesn’t kill it because I LOVE the idea of a multi-year old kale patch. 😄
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All of this has been my previous kale experience as well. Until this year my kale (and ALL my brassicas for that matter) usually goes to seed (in Canada we say it “bolts”, not sure that is used down South).
Yes, I have heard the term "bolts" a lot, too. That's what our broccoli did last summer before anything really came of it...we have some coming up that we planted a couple months ago, so hoping for better luck this time!
This is pretty tangential, but quick story: one of my cats absolutely loves vegetables (so he will be a beneficiary of the brassicas we are growing/attempting to grow). He will actually abandon his own dish of meaty, yummy (presumably) cat food if he hears us start prepping kale, brussels, broccoli or other veg for our own dinner (he loves a good lettuce rib!). Apparently prep of those vegetables has a distinctive sound and he runs right over. I've had cats all my life and never had one who turned away tuna & turkey pate in favor of romaine lettuce!
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All of this has been my previous kale experience as well. Until this year my kale (and ALL my brassicas for that matter) usually goes to seed (in Canada we say it “bolts”, not sure that is used down South).
Yes, I have heard the term "bolts" a lot, too. That's what our broccoli did last summer before anything really came of it...we have some coming up that we planted a couple months ago, so hoping for better luck this time!
This is pretty tangential, but quick story: one of my cats absolutely loves vegetables (so he will be a beneficiary of the brassicas we are growing/attempting to grow). He will actually abandon his own dish of meaty, yummy (presumably) cat food if he hears us start prepping kale, brussels, broccoli or other veg for our own dinner (he loves a good lettuce rib!). Apparently prep of those vegetables has a distinctive sound and he runs right over. I've had cats all my life and never had one who turned away tuna & turkey pate in favor of romaine lettuce!
That's a very odd cat. He doesn't have the enzymes to digest any of that, so wonder why he likes it? Maybe just the crunchy texture?
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All of this has been my previous kale experience as well. Until this year my kale (and ALL my brassicas for that matter) usually goes to seed (in Canada we say it “bolts”, not sure that is used down South).
Yes, I have heard the term "bolts" a lot, too. That's what our broccoli did last summer before anything really came of it...we have some coming up that we planted a couple months ago, so hoping for better luck this time!
This is pretty tangential, but quick story: one of my cats absolutely loves vegetables (so he will be a beneficiary of the brassicas we are growing/attempting to grow). He will actually abandon his own dish of meaty, yummy (presumably) cat food if he hears us start prepping kale, brussels, broccoli or other veg for our own dinner (he loves a good lettuce rib!). Apparently prep of those vegetables has a distinctive sound and he runs right over. I've had cats all my life and never had one who turned away tuna & turkey pate in favor of romaine lettuce!
That's a very odd cat. He doesn't have the enzymes to digest any of that, so wonder why he likes it? Maybe just the crunchy texture?
Yep, he's an odd guy. I do think some of it is the crunchiness (his chewing is actually a big problem), but also he is a bit selective. Like he doesn't go for cucumber, but he does like a few stray brussels leaves, which aren't as crunchy as kale or lettuce stalks, so [shrug]. Just weird!
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All of this has been my previous kale experience as well. Until this year my kale (and ALL my brassicas for that matter) usually goes to seed (in Canada we say it “bolts”, not sure that is used down South).
Yes, I have heard the term "bolts" a lot, too. That's what our broccoli did last summer before anything really came of it...we have some coming up that we planted a couple months ago, so hoping for better luck this time!
This is pretty tangential, but quick story: one of my cats absolutely loves vegetables (so he will be a beneficiary of the brassicas we are growing/attempting to grow). He will actually abandon his own dish of meaty, yummy (presumably) cat food if he hears us start prepping kale, brussels, broccoli or other veg for our own dinner (he loves a good lettuce rib!). Apparently prep of those vegetables has a distinctive sound and he runs right over. I've had cats all my life and never had one who turned away tuna & turkey pate in favor of romaine lettuce!
That's a very odd cat. He doesn't have the enzymes to digest any of that, so wonder why he likes it? Maybe just the crunchy texture?
Yep, he's an odd guy. I do think some of it is the crunchiness (his chewing is actually a big problem), but also he is a bit selective. Like he doesn't go for cucumber, but he does like a few stray brussels leaves, which aren't as crunchy as kale or lettuce stalks, so [shrug]. Just weird!
My cat has a thing for sesame oil, discovered because he would help himself to veg if there was some oil on them.
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Garden plans for this year:
-cut back blackberry thicket
ACK!!!!! :(
Sorry, but it must be done as I’m steadily losing veggie growing real estate to the blackberries. But rest assured that ample amounts of your precious berries will remain within the garden....not to mention the virtually unlimited supplies outside the deer proof fence. Let’s face it...the entire island remains your blackberry oyster. 😊
ETA: And salal. Don’t forget the SALAL berries.
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starting to think about how to re-jig my seed starting zone.
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@Roots&Wings
I know:) where to get several different types of perennial spinach and Seminole pumpkin seeds -
https://www.echobooks.net/bookstore/seeds/
This will be my first year trying a few perennial veggies, my very own first ever permaculture experiment. I'm planting a new area in my garden and since I just planted two apple trees (they are Australian-Pink Lady) and supposed to be able to survive our hot summers - and they have, while living in pots, but now that we've planted them I want to do what I can so they'll stay happy and healthy.
I've been researching apple tree guilds for a hot and humid climate - therefore the interest in Seminole pumpkins. It's supposed to be too hot for Comfrey.
I wanted to grow sweet potatoes as ground cover since they are the easiest thing to grow I've ever come across and we love them - but - in one of my garden books it was advised not to plant potatoes near apples or even store them together - potatoes effect the taste of the apples.
So I will be planting garlic chives - I have plenty to divide and plant and Dill - grew some from seed which is doing well and definitely Nasturtiums because apparently they protect the apple tree from certain diseases.
ECHO of course! They (and Heart, https://heartvillage.org/village-nursery/) are such wonderful organizations. That’s where I’ll order seeds if I can’t find plants locally, thanks! ECHO would be an amazing field trip. Forgot to include Inca golden berries / cape gooseberries, in my 2020 list (have the seeds, just need to clear a new bed and start the seeds). Such delicious fruit.
That’s amazing you’re having apple success, hadn’t thought to check Australian varieties. Good luck with the guild building, didn’t know sweet potatoes are not a good combo with apple trees. Hopefully the Seminole pumpkins and garlic chives will work out.
If you need something more contained than the Seminole pumpkin, Cuban oregano might be another groundcover option (it grows well here, but unsure about the apple guild combo).
Cheers to 2020 permaculture experiments!
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@Rosy Thanks for the link to the vid. I found the cattle panels online at my local tractor store so will go check them out. We are going to have warm weahter this weekend which will be perfect for squeezing in garden clean up and prep.
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Garden plans for this year:
-cut back blackberry thicket
ACK!!!!! :(
Sorry, but it must be done as I’m steadily losing veggie growing real estate to the blackberries. But rest assured that ample amounts of your precious berries will remain within the garden....not to mention the virtually unlimited supplies outside the deer proof fence. Let’s face it...the entire island remains your blackberry oyster. 😊
ETA: And salal. Don’t forget the SALAL berries.
OK--if this is the price I must pay for more kale, taters, parsnips, carrots, beets, squash, peas, beans, etc., so be it. And yes, it is certainly true that the rest of JSI has enough berries that my blackberry (and salal) cravings *should* be satisfied...
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My dearest bestest Hubs is making a stand for my grow lights so I can have a nice table top and below table set up. Photos to follow
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I'm thinking of adding one or two camellia sinesis plants to he backyard homestead this year. Curious to hear from those who grew the tea plants last year.
How did your plants do?
Were you able to harvest any leaves?
What would you do differently?
If you pruchased plants online, would you buy them again?
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I'm thinking of adding one or two camellia sinesis plants to he backyard homestead this year. Curious to hear from those who grew the tea plants last year.
How did your plants do?
Were you able to harvest any leaves?
What would you do differently?
If you pruchased plants online, would you buy them again?
I put in two plants last year. I ordered online from Burpee, and the plants arrived looking good. They were very small -- about 6" tall. I planted in the sprint last year, and over the course of the year they grew to about 12" tall. I'm not sure how fast they are supposed to grow, but they looked happy, so I was satisfied with that. They were way too small to harvest anything, so I am just nursing them through the winter (I'm actually outside the recommended growing area, which is 8-10), and crossing my fingers for more growth next year. Too soon to tell whether I'll do it again!
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It's been a weird week weather wise -- cold snap followed by rain -- but I managed to get some comfrey planted. I went with the Russian (non-spreading) type, Bocking 4 and Bocking 14. Very interested to watch those guys grow -- I've read a lot about it over the years.
And hey y'all!! I just ordered my bees. :) After a good five years of thinking about it, I'm finally doing it this spring. Big thanks to @Indio, @SheWhoWalksAtLunch, and my uphill neighbor for the information and encouragement. Now we'll see if I can keep those ladies alive, happy, and un-eaten by bears. So excited!
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Wow so excited for you @Trifele Can't wait to hear how it goes. I'd love to raise bees at some point, but it won't happen anytime soon since I'm barely keeping the yard from being a shambles at the moment. I want to do native wood bees for my apple trees next year since those take less care. Wishing you much luck and pollen.
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My garden is getting bees this year. A neighbour is moving her three hives to another neighbour's house - and I have my vegetable garden there.
I bought a few packages of seeds yesterday. It was a two for one sale. I had a mental list of what I needed. I am going to start my onions really early this year. I also picked up some heavy duty trays. I start the seeds inside and need to make sure that the water and soil stays in the containers.
Hoping my DH finishes my grow table.
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Congratulations Trifele!! Beekeeping is an immensely satisfying hobby with sweet rewards.
When it comes time, we have a heated knife and hand crank honey extractor we will happily lend you in exchange for a taste of your harvest.
Deal! ;)
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@Trifele thanks for the insight into the tea plant. Think I might have to put it into a pot to bring inside for winter. Got a Burpee catalog via snail mail and I was admiring the leeks. That might be enough to push me toward ordering the tea plant.
That's great new about the bees. So excited for you. It's absolutely addiciting to watch bees. When I first got them, I kept peeking into the hive because I wanted to see what they were doing. Now some hives have side windows to encourage curiosity.
Did you see that Polyface and Mother Earth News are teaming up this summer? https://www.motherearthnewsfair.com/polyface-farm/ I think I may attend.
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Did you see that Polyface and Mother Earth News are teaming up this summer? https://www.motherearthnewsfair.com/polyface-farm/ I think I may attend.
Ooo. That looks really good. I may have to think about that too -- Thanks!
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That would be so much fun if you went to it the Polyface event too @Trifele . Any other gardeners near Polyface farm in VA who might want to meet up there?
I dusted off my Readers Digest Back to Basics How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills and Country Living books looking for herbal apothecary inspiration this winter. Want to attempt some new oxymels and infusions with all of the dried herbs I saved. Haven't tried it yet but was thinking of doing this one https://blog.mountainroseherbs.com/herbal-oxymels-methods. Anybody have any experience with fire cider?
@Frugal Lizard when I first got bees it was amazing how well my garden produced that year. I had a bee traffic jam on the squash blossoms almost every day for weeks.
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We've had such a mild winter, the ground has barely frozen. I think I might get my seed-starting operation up and running in the next few weeks, aiming at getting the cold weather crops outside in March. I think peppers and eggplants will get started mid-February, followed by tomatoes around March 1.
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Speaking of bees, we have the gentlest little super hard-working bees ever. They never buzz or sound angry and totally ignore my presence.
I've read somewhere that they get used to your scent.
My new neighbor gave me a little Papaya tree so I did some research online yesterday. Who knew Papaya trees are so short-lived, like 4-5 years.
Of course, then I fell into the rabbit hole and looked at a couple of Asian YouTubes on Papaya's - amazing:).
Decided to plant my tree facing south-west as recommended, tomorrow - I may well have my own fresh Papayas in nine to eleven months.
I want to finish my (too many) ongoing projects. I have a ton of seeds and plants, herbs, flowers, trees - I want everything in the ground by the end of next week and with luck maybe even see a seedling or two emerging.
The goal is to get enough done in Feb and March so that I can slow down a bit in April and enjoy the garden and the fine weather.
Besides I have a helper for a few hours here and there this week and I intend to make the most of it.
For me, the gardening season ends around June the 1st due to the heat and the humidity, no seedlings would survive our brutal summers.
I will be trying out the cardboard method of permaculture in parts of our garden - have y'all tried that?
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I will be trying out the cardboard method of permaculture in parts of our garden - have y'all tried that?
If this means you are laying down cardboard to suffocate the existing vegetation and then layering some leaves and soil and compost and such - then yes, I have done that quite successfully.
My little grow table is ready to start seedlings on. It is not so pretty but has a lot of capacity. First up for seeding will be all the onion family - leeks, storage, sweet spanish and bunching onions - actually will plant the bunching onions in four phases to spread out the harvest.
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I will be trying out the cardboard method of permaculture in parts of our garden - have y'all tried that?
If this means you are laying down cardboard to suffocate the existing vegetation and then layering some leaves and soil and compost and such - then yes, I have done that quite successfully.
Same here, but I've found it doesn't work well long-term for some things like live oak tree sprouts (which come right through) or oxalis weeds. Part of that might be my fault and needing to get more groundcovers planted.
Very inspiring to hear about the bees, I just have a small solitary bee house, and they are fascinating to watch!
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Pea shoots and radish micro greens are on grow racks in the basement with silver warmth blankets hanging around sides to add reflective light. Have been cutting the greens for use in salads and soups. Since they usually last us about two weeks, I start the succession planting as soon as I began harvesting from the first batch. It's such a treat to have access to fresh greens, that I didn't have to go to the supermarket for, in winter.
I'm not a fan of the T8 white grow lights because the light tubes seem to burn out so quickly and rarely last more than 8-10 weeks. The light spectrum that is the combo of red and blue LED light helps the plants to grow just as well.
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love the sprouts - I should try this. How deep is the growing medium and what type - potting soil or something else?
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love the sprouts - I should try this. How deep is the growing medium and what type - potting soil or something else?
Since the roots don't need to go very deep because they will be harvested before they get too large, I use about 1.5" of promix soil. Any seedling soil should work. I combine a small amount of worm castings into the soil to help with nutrients. I've got about 7 trays growing at the same time so I bought bulk seeds at High Mowing seeds.
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love the sprouts - I should try this. How deep is the growing medium and what type - potting soil or something else?
Since the roots don't need to go very deep because they will be harvested before they get too large, I use about 1.5" of promix soil. Any seedling soil should work. I combine a small amount of worm castings into the soil to help with nutrients. I've got about 7 trays growing at the same time so I bought bulk seeds at High Mowing seeds.
Thanks. I have room at the moment under my grow lights. I will do some experiments!
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I'm excited to join this group this year! I live in a suburban neighborhood and have a huge deer investation problem. Last year I worked on deer fencing my yard and grew a bunch of tomatoes in pots to test if they could get in. Well, they can't! I'm planning on putting in a raised veggie bed in a few weeks and start growing some stuff.
Suggestions? I live in southwest British Columbia, can't remember the zone but it's pretty mild. We definitely want kale and tomaotes.
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I'm excited to join this group this year! I live in a suburban neighborhood and have a huge deer investation problem. Last year I worked on deer fencing my yard and grew a bunch of tomatoes in pots to test if they could get in. Well, they can't! I'm planning on putting in a raised veggie bed in a few weeks and start growing some stuff.
Suggestions? I live in southwest British Columbia, can't remember the zone but it's pretty mild. We definitely want kale and tomaotes.
Welcome @sixwings! Congrats on the deer fence -- that's excellent. I totally feel you. Our deer fence is the only reason I can grow anything. As for what to grow, you could start with what you like to eat. Then figure out whether those particular things will grow in the space you have. Kale and tomatoes are a great start!
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I'm excited to join this group this year! I live in a suburban neighborhood and have a huge deer investation problem. Last year I worked on deer fencing my yard and grew a bunch of tomatoes in pots to test if they could get in. Well, they can't! I'm planning on putting in a raised veggie bed in a few weeks and start growing some stuff.
Suggestions? I live in southwest British Columbia, can't remember the zone but it's pretty mild. We definitely want kale and tomaotes.
Welcome @sixwings! Congrats on the deer fence -- that's excellent. I totally feel you. Our deer fence is the only reason I can grow anything. As for what to grow, you could start with what you like to eat. Then figure out whether those particular things will grow in the space you have. Kale and tomatoes are a great start!
Yeah that's a great point about growing what we eat, thinking carrots, radishes and maybe potatoes of some kind.
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I'm excited to join this group this year! I live in a suburban neighborhood and have a huge deer investation problem. Last year I worked on deer fencing my yard and grew a bunch of tomatoes in pots to test if they could get in. Well, they can't! I'm planning on putting in a raised veggie bed in a few weeks and start growing some stuff.
Suggestions? I live in southwest British Columbia, can't remember the zone but it's pretty mild. We definitely want kale and tomaotes.
Welcome @sixwings! Congrats on the deer fence -- that's excellent. I totally feel you. Our deer fence is the only reason I can grow anything. As for what to grow, you could start with what you like to eat. Then figure out whether those particular things will grow in the space you have. Kale and tomatoes are a great start!
Yeah that's a great point about growing what we eat, thinking carrots, radishes and maybe potatoes of some kind.
I love all those, especially potatoes! Are you going to start with 'seed potatoes'? That's best, but you can also just buy some organic eating potatoes (in the store), put them in a paper bag and let them sprout in a dark drawer or cupboard. Voila seed potatoes. :) You should only do that with organic potatoes, though. Non organic ones are sprayed with chemicals to inhibit sprouting
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I'm excited to join this group this year! I live in a suburban neighborhood and have a huge deer investation problem. Last year I worked on deer fencing my yard and grew a bunch of tomatoes in pots to test if they could get in. Well, they can't! I'm planning on putting in a raised veggie bed in a few weeks and start growing some stuff.
Suggestions? I live in southwest British Columbia, can't remember the zone but it's pretty mild. We definitely want kale and tomaotes.
Welcome @sixwings! Congrats on the deer fence -- that's excellent. I totally feel you. Our deer fence is the only reason I can grow anything. As for what to grow, you could start with what you like to eat. Then figure out whether those particular things will grow in the space you have. Kale and tomatoes are a great start!
Yeah that's a great point about growing what we eat, thinking carrots, radishes and maybe potatoes of some kind.
I love all those, especially potatoes! Are you going to start with 'seed potatoes'? That's best, but you can also just buy some organic eating potatoes (in the store), put them in a paper bag and let them sprout in a dark drawer or cupboard. Voila seed potatoes. :) You should only do that with organic potatoes, though. Non organic ones are sprayed with chemicals to inhibit sprouting
I'll probably do seed potatoes. Fresh potatoes prepared simply with some butter is just amazing.
My house used to have a pond that I removed last year (it was old, all the concreate was cracked, it looked awful), but there is an automatic sprinkler system installed so I will probably raise the sprinkers and then build my raised beds around them so I can have automatic watering. I'll probably start with one raised bed this year and expand gradually.
I also need to learn to prune and care for my apple, pear and plum tree. They are pretty amazing for fruit production (3 years ago I had 500 pounds of apples from the one tree!) and I make a really nice dry cider from the pears and apples, however I've always just had an arborist do it for me. I didn't get it done last year to save money and my arborist retired. All the quotes I have got this year have been like for like 2K, so I guess it's time to learn this. Any arborists around here have some resources to point me to?
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I'm excited to join this group this year! I live in a suburban neighborhood and have a huge deer investation problem. Last year I worked on deer fencing my yard and grew a bunch of tomatoes in pots to test if they could get in. Well, they can't! I'm planning on putting in a raised veggie bed in a few weeks and start growing some stuff.
Suggestions? I live in southwest British Columbia, can't remember the zone but it's pretty mild. We definitely want kale and tomaotes.
Welcome @sixwings! Congrats on the deer fence -- that's excellent. I totally feel you. Our deer fence is the only reason I can grow anything. As for what to grow, you could start with what you like to eat. Then figure out whether those particular things will grow in the space you have. Kale and tomatoes are a great start!
Yeah that's a great point about growing what we eat, thinking carrots, radishes and maybe potatoes of some kind.
I love all those, especially potatoes! Are you going to start with 'seed potatoes'? That's best, but you can also just buy some organic eating potatoes (in the store), put them in a paper bag and let them sprout in a dark drawer or cupboard. Voila seed potatoes. :) You should only do that with organic potatoes, though. Non organic ones are sprayed with chemicals to inhibit sprouting
I'll probably do seed potatoes. Fresh potatoes prepared simply with some butter is just amazing.
My house used to have a pond that I removed last year (it was old, all the concreate was cracked, it looked awful), but there is an automatic sprinkler system installed so I will probably raise the sprinkers and then build my raised beds around them so I can have automatic watering. I'll probably start with one raised bed this year and expand gradually.
I also need to learn to prune and care for my apple, pear and plum tree. They are pretty amazing for fruit production (3 years ago I had 500 pounds of apples from the one tree!) and I make a really nice dry cider from the pears and plums, however I've always just had an arborist do it for me. I didn't get it done last year to save money and my arborist retired. All the quotes I have got this year have been like for like 2K, so I guess it's time to learn this. Any arborists around here have some resources to point me to?
Call your local library and ask them if you have a regional *master gardener* program and/or a local agricultural college. Someone there can advise you or point you toward a program that can train you.
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Wow thanks for that idea! I just called them and there's a pruning class next sunday, so there we go!
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Wow thanks for that idea! I just called them and there's a pruning class next sunday, so there we go!
Oh I'm so stoked it worked out. Yay -- the Internet did something right for once.
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@trashtalk thanks so much for mentioning the Master Gardener programs! I had seen the one offered by me a year or two ago and didn't have time/money for it, but I'm so excited to take classes from them now! There's an online "certified gardener" program, and now I'm going to learn about care and pruning of fruit trees :)
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Just watched this incredible film Need to Grow about all of the different people involved in sharing their experience and knowledge about soil loss, regenerative agriculture, composting, seed saving, healthy eating, and the algae and mycelium connection.
If you're interested, it's streaming free until Feb 13. https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2020/02/08/how-industrial-agriculture-destroys-soil.aspx
I've used biochar in the past but will add it to all of my raised beds this year when I mix in the aged chicken compost. It's also inspired me to learn more about humic acid as a soil amendment or foliar spray.
If you watch it, would love to know what your takeaways were from the film.
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Thanks for the link @Indio! I just checked it out -- great video. My main takeaway is that I need to learn more. I've read such conflicting things about biochar -- what it does, how it does it, how to make it -- that I'm confused. How do you make yours? Or do you get it somewhere? What do you add to it before you put it into the soil?
Very busy in the garden here!
- Doing lots of bed prep, spreading compost and composted chicken manure.
- I've got quite a few chard and kale plants that overwintered in great shape, so I'm watching to see if they go to seed
- The comfrey I planted last month is up several inches and looking good.
- I'll probably be planting potatoes soon.
- I'm very excited that this year I have 4 large beds (4X24') plus three medium beds (6X10') to play with.
- I fired up my grow cabinet. I'm starting cabbage, lettuce and chard this week, and then I'll do the peppers and tomatoes in about two weeks. Yay seeds!
We're also doing intensive bee prep -- getting all the equipment I need for when my bees show up in about 5 or 6 weeks. Lots of front-loaded work. I picked a site for the two hives, and we'll be leveling the ground and putting up a bear fence. DH is an old hand at fencing (you name it, he's built it) so this little bee yard won't take him long. I just finished a 6 hour local class on beekeeping -- totally fascinating. And then I have the March Spikenard Farm two day class to look forward to. I find it especially interesting to hear the different perspectives; sometimes you hear diametrically opposed advice. I'm looking forward to learning more so I can develop my own opinions!
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@Trifele
I usually buy biochar and a little bit goes a long way. It's hard for a home gardener to make because the wood needs to be burned without oxygen. Most people take the ash from fireplace or firepit and consider that biochar. A few years ago I looked into making it myself but it looked complicated for the amount of free time I had available then. I bought it from Fedco seeds, when I visited their warehouse in the backwoods of Maine, and groworganic.com.
Congrats on signs of spring coming up in the garden, especially the comfrey, and the bee course. This morning I noticed daffodils peeking through the ground about three weeks ahead of schedule. Even the fruit trees are showing signs they are ready for spring. If this climate change keeps up, I won't have to move to a longer growing season locale when I retire.
When it comes to bees, you're right there are so many opinions out there. I mentored someone last year who would check with Reddit for every question he asked me. The problem was that Reddit isn't local and didn't know the location, climate and other variables, like nearby water sources, so when he followed their advice it mostly created more problems till he lost 1 of his 2 new hives. A local beekeeper who knows your environmental conditions - when there's a pollen dearth, local drought, etc -- is the best person to rely on but a lot of it is trial error too. A lot like caring for children. It isn't one size fits all.
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* put asparagus roots in the ground today; we demolished some concrete last year and it left us with a nice contained bed that will be good for asparagus
* planted a second grapevine that's more of a fresh eating grape
* need to get ginger and turmeric going next; the garlic and herbs in the same area are already well underway. And maybe this is the year I won't kill the thyme?
* Swiss chard, collards and sorrel are looking great
* tiny almond seedling has beautiful almond blossoms
* boysenberry and pomegranate appear to be starting up for the year
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Interesting mix of things you have growing @trashtalk! Where are you? If you have pomegranates in the ground, I'm guessing at least zone 8?
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Joining in. I'm in NC, growing zone 7a/7b- I'm on the line there. My favorite part of February is telling my hubs and kids to leave me alone so I can peruse seed catalogs and order green things. It's also the time when my garden plans are laid out beautifully and everything is still possible. The squirrels and birds haven't decimated anything yet. haha. Last year, I was able to produce 30% of our food and would like to bump that to 35% this year. It's always as test to see how far I can push it until the HOA Nazis crack down on my garden as not "being in keeping" with the aesthetics of our neighborhood. Anyway, this spring/ summer I plan to grow:
1. superball melons
2. 4th of July tomatoes- have found these to be really prolific and good canning tomatoes
3. carrots- short nanets b/c of the shitty clay soil we have
4. centennial sweet potatoes- had really good luck with them last year
5. ring leader jalapenos so my hubs can choke me out of the house again when he makes hot sauce
6. golden bush beans
7. strawberries
8. we still have blueberry/ black berry bushes in the yard
9. bunch of herbs in pots on the deck
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As a Valentines treat to myself, I went through the seed catalogue with my seed box and got my order sorted.
I am so excited about possibility.
@asauer I totally get your favourite part of February. My favourite season is a little later. At the very beginning of June everything is still possible but it more tangible. Direct sown seeds have germinated in the ground and all the transplants are in. Today our high temperature is -9C .
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I'm excited that we are going to get lettuce greens and bok choy in the ground this weekend. These are things we eat a lot, so would be a boon to grow. The broccoli is going well, though it's still not coming up like a big head like you see in the grocery store. Someone else in our neighborhood is growing broccoli and their plant looked really strong and beefy, and even theirs was not growing a bulky big head, but lots of more individual florets that were just bulkier than the ones we have so far. So that's surprised me, but I was so pleased that we had enough broccoli to make a cheesy broccoli pizza with last weekend, and we're just getting started! We also had a pizza with kale on it, and then had kale with dinner the next night - all from the garden.
One thing that isn't working out? The blackberries. Based on what I've read here and elsewhere I feel like we might be the world's first failed blackberry farmers. Maybe we just need to give it more time. The canes we planted don't look dead per se, but they haven't grown, no new leaves, etc.
It'll be a couple months before we can consider this year's tomatoes, but we're talking about them now and making big plans.
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Daffodils and tulips are emerging. I have come to take this as a sign that gardening season has officially begun for me. Growlights are up and running and onion plantings are situated under them. If conditions are mild enough I’ll be sowing spinach and peas in the next couple of weeks. In order to help warm the soil up a bit I’ve laid some clear plastic down in those areas which will be receiving the spinach and peas.
It has been an unbelievably wet (even for the PNW) Winter and my garden area is doing a great impression of a swamp. Rubber boots are mandatory right now. Hopefully some drier weather is coming. I have had a big leaf/seaweed mulch covering my beds for the Winter and it is all very nicely decomposed....and digging down just little bit reveals that the worm population seems to have been loving it as well. :)
As ever, excitement is mounting as to what this veggie growing season will bring.
And yeah, my overwintered kale patch is still growing rather epically. ;)
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Starting seeds this weekend!
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Interesting mix of things you have growing @trashtalk! Where are you? If you have pomegranates in the ground, I'm guessing at least zone 8?
Yes we are coastal Southern California, which has a "Mediterranean climate."
I think we are zone 10. It's not wet for most tropical edibles but we can get away with a few.
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Joining in. I'm in NC, growing zone 7a/7b- I'm on the line there. My favorite part of February is telling my hubs and kids to leave me alone so I can peruse seed catalogs and order green things. It's also the time when my garden plans are laid out beautifully and everything is still possible. The squirrels and birds haven't decimated anything yet. haha. Last year, I was able to produce 30% of our food and would like to bump that to 35% this year. It's always as test to see how far I can push it until the HOA Nazis crack down on my garden as not "being in keeping" with the aesthetics of our neighborhood. Anyway, this spring/ summer I plan to grow:
<snip>
Nice list of things you are growing @asauer! Lol about the HOA . . .
Sounds like we live in the same area -- I'm in NC on the 7a/7b border too. I hear you about the clay soil -- same here. I've been growing Danvers carrots, which do well: https://www.seedsavers.org/danvers-carrot.
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We're also doing intensive bee prep -- getting all the equipment I need for when my bees show up in about 5 or 6 weeks. Lots of front-loaded work. I picked a site for the two hives, and we'll be leveling the ground and putting up a bear fence. DH is an old hand at fencing (you name it, he's built it) so this little bee yard won't take him long. I just finished a 6 hour local class on beekeeping -- totally fascinating. And then I have the March Spikenard Farm two day class to look forward to. I find it especially interesting to hear the different perspectives; sometimes you hear diametrically opposed advice. I'm looking forward to learning more so I can develop my own opinions!
I suggest you join the BeeSource forums:
https://www.beesource.com/forums/forum.php
People are very nice and helpful to newbies. There are members from all around the world, and almost certainly some near you who can give local advice.
The biggest problem new beekeepers face these days is parasitic mites, varroa mites, that can quickly kill a hive. Read up on that topic and have a plan in advance how you will respond.
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Thanks @Tom Bri -- I will check out that forum! And definitely -- I'm all over the mite issue, trying to learn as much as I can. I helped my neighbor sugar roll her bees a couple times last year, so I've seen the monitoring process. In the class I just took they recommended rotating between several treatments. I'm attending an intensive beekeeping course in a few weeks at Spikenard. We'll see what they recommend!
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It's so exciting to hear about everyone's garden plans for the season and the overwintering progress for those giant kale plants. :)
Two of my mature 9+ year old hops plants are showing signs of slowing down so I'm adding three new ones to keep the beds viable with a succession planting. I train the plants to grow across a fence at the back of the yard and they end up looking a bit like an espaliere fruit tree with all of the growth guidelines.
Adding 4 gooseberry, Hinnonmaki and Invictus, plants to the fruit bush collection. Haven't grown gooseberry before and looking forward two years to when they are producing.
I've been saving amazon shipping boxes, removing the tape and labels, and will use them for weed control soon. Hoping to get a shipment of wood chips in April to spread around the beds and on top of the boxes to hide them.
Ordered 6 Rhode Island Red chicks to add to the flock this year. Unfortunately, the farm store has a minimum number, and we have town restrictions on how many hens I can keep. Will probably only keep 4 of the chicks and sell the other 2 on local chicken meetup board. I find RIR's to be bossy but I've added so many different breeds over the years that I need to get a different breed each year to remember their ages. This year I will need to dig out a lot of the "soil" from the chicken run. It's accumulated about a 5" compressed layer over the years. After letting it compost down a bit, it should be excellent garden soil.
Going to get started on the veg seedlings today. My next door neighbor and I share seeds and seedlings, and she is way ahead of me. She's already been testing germination rates for her tomato seeds and it's looking good.
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Planted out some sunflower starts and worked on some waterflow/drainage stuff for the new asparagus bed.
I need to hack back the oregano. This is me writing down that I need to hack back the oregano before spring gets underway.
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Basil and old lettuce is germinated!
Peas for pea shoots are moldy. The seeds are five years old when I made an ordering booboo and accidentally ordered double of large sized packets.
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I live in the Midwest (Zone 5A). This year I am going to experiment with the winter sowing method. Minimal work, and it gets great reviews.
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My tomatoes and lettuce in the grow cabinet are well up, but I'm waiting on everything else. The pepper and chard seeds were 2-3 years old, so I may end up with some poor germination.
The oldest ones I'm trying are these 4 year old 'Corinto' cucumber seeds. They're seriously awesome -- all female/self fruitful/nearly seedless/vigorous/tasty -- like the perfect cucumber. Years ago I used to buy started plants from a friend of mine, and then I decided to try sprouting them myself. They cost something like $0.70 per seed. I bought ten seeds and then life got busy and I never planted them . . . I hope at least a couple sprout.
UPDATE: SIX of the ten cucumbers are already up! That's unbelievable -- I only planted them 4 days ago! That is some crazy good seed.
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We have successful outdoor spinach germination! ( I also started some indoors as backup) I usually take this as a sign that gardening season has officially begun for me.
On a sadder note, I cut a few trees down in order to give my garden site more sun in the months to come....and in falling one tree I made an error in anticipating it’s trajectory of decent and it landed square on my magnificent overwintered kale and collards patch. It wasn’t pretty. So, with a deep sigh I pulled the plants (after a last kale/collard harvest) and put them in the compost. But as I’m typing this I have some kale and collard starts growing merrily under my grow lights, so the circle of (kale) life will continue on.
Getting itchy to plant some peas, but will probably wait until the weather is just a little bit warmer. And in a few days I will get some brassicas going indoors. If I were to pick my favourite things to grow, in part because I think my climate is perfect for them, it would be brassicas. I find it incredibly satisfying to grow ginormous cabbages especially. 😊
Is it apparent that I’m getting amped for the growing season to come?
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Is is apparent that I’m getting amped for the growing season to come?
:) oh yeah:)
* I noticed my last post said I'd be done with seeding in a week - ha ha - wishful thinking. I'm beginning to think I bit off more than I can chew.
So far the new bed in the front yard is in, but it didn't turn out how I saw it in my mind - I've redone it twice so far:) - I hate it when something doesn't look as good as I thought it would.
Re-shaped again this morning and I think the third time might indeed be a charm.
* Re-doing has slowed down that particular project and took time away from the one big project this year - an entire new garden section.
It is intended to be more natural, I'm attempting some permaculture and putting in a "mini food forest".
I've no idea how it will turn out but I think if I can get at least 75% to survive the first year it will be a success.
* Two Bananas - one vanilla ice cream banana (supposed to be very tasty and do fine in wind and even cold).
One dwarf banana that will only get six feet high or so.
Really looking forward to that harvest:).
* Chilean Guava - what a surprisingly pretty plant that is, quite suitable for landscaping - will have pretty flowers and of course fruit.
Wish I'd ordered two, but I'll wait and see how we like the fruit and maybe I can do a cutting?.
Planted it two weeks ago and it is growing happily.
* Four black Elderberries - I've always wanted to make Elderberry wine, cordial and medicinal syrup. They will be part of my windbreak hedge and oh la la they do have the prettiest pink flowers I've ever seen (online - new variety) - can't wait for them to get fat and happy.
** I do have wild elderberries on the property with pretty white blooms, but the foliage is light green and thankfully they do sucker as will the black Elderberry - so I will take advantage and between those two - (the wild ones are actually starting to bloom) I may finally have elderberry wine.
* Two dwarf Apple trees - the jury is still out, they were in a pot for many years, without ever fruiting, and are just now deciding whether they like their new freedom.
There is hope:).
* Edible Hibiscus - Florida Cranberry, it is native to Florida and a really pretty big bush suitable for a fence, with purple foliage and dark red flowers.
Planted two weeks ago - it got over the transplant shock and is looking good.
Couldn't find a live plant for the Thai Red Roselle - hibiscus but found seeds at Amazon. Hopefully, they will do well, I decided on planting six seeds.
Looking forward to hibiscus tea and pretty pink flowers.
* Found the prettiest landscape plant, a variegated umbrella leafed small bush. Surprise - it turns out it is a Cassava - Tapioca plant.
I hadn't ever heard of Cassava but in permaculture, it is widely used and appreciated for its many uses, but this is a variegated form, so I just hope it will be as easy to grow as the highly touted Cassava.
From what I read it likes it hot - so hopefully it will be a winner.
* One Persian Lime tree - I won it at an auction years ago and it has lived and produced fine organic limes while in a big pot in the yard.
I planted it about a month ago - it loves its new spot.
It is doing fine and blooming like crazy, I can actually see the new baby limes forming already - success:).
* Herbs - so far: Garlic, 10 Garlic Chives - I divided some existing clusters from other parts of the garden - they taste wonderful in an omelet, 8 Dill(s) - from seed, already about a foot high, Feverfew - found a lovely variety online, Rue - it looks particularly happy, Fennel, Angelica - doing so much better than I thought it would, maybe I found a good spot, Greek Oregano - within a week it is already stretching out in all directions, much better than the temperamental Italian oregano although I managed to keep the spicy Italian oregano alive and am trying it in a different part of the garden this year.
Lemon balm - I seeded a bunch of lemon balm which is just now raising its little green heads, I may try a couple underneath the lime tree so they get some shade. Not sure if they will make it though unless I'll make them a little umbrella:) JK. The rest will go into a shady side garden, but even there they struggle in the heat by the end of summer.
African Blue Basil - waiting for two more to grow roots from the mother plant so I can transplant them.
I picked up two variegated leaf Nasturtiums at the local garden center that are looking rather happy under the apple tree, but I am going all out this year, since I have a whole stack of seed packets of different kinds of Nasturtiums that is on my list to be seeded next - one of them can get six to ten feet tall - I'm most excited about those and the "Glorious Gleam" Heirloom variety I came across.
* Flowers - gotta have flowers:)
COSMOS - bright orange and sunny yellow cosmos - freebies - little selfseeders from other parts of the garden.
VINCA - white with dark red center - also freebies - happy little selfseeders ...
This morning I planted four Alocacea (think big green leafed tropical foliage) about a foot or more tall - also freebies that grow wild in the back forty and can get huge, like over six feet wide and tall. I'll probably add three more, but it started raining so I'm done for today. I also planted one in the front yard in a corner, it is a nice ornamental, we'll see if it likes it there - right near the Papaya tree which looks like it might do fine - I was having doubts about this gift from my neighbor.
I like the tropical look and it should work well with the bananas and I like that it is evergreen and will need no extra attention once it is established.
Mr. R. planted two Cannas (bright orange/deep yellow flowers - huge tropical foliage) three weeks ago, that were living in a pot - they look happy to be in the ground and are multiplying their little hearts out already.
They are flanking one of the entrances into this new garden area.
I'm sure I mentioned that I went a little nuts ordering seed online last year and added even more (for my birthday and Valentines - right?:).
I miss the Forget-me-Nots from my childhood and found to my delight last year that the Chinese forget-me-nots do fine here, I was thrilled.
I'll try the old fashioned kind under some bushes this year - maybe they'll like it in my garden after all.
COSMOS - oh my goodness - there is a lacy looking Rose Cosmos to die for and then I found some other interesting varieties - there will be blooms and possibly flowers for cutting everywhere this year.
ZINNIAS - who doesn't love Zinnias and who knew they've come out with all sorts of interesting new varieties.
The first batch of Zinnias and Cosmos were seeded a week ago and they are about an inch or two tall as we speak. The Forget-me-Nots and the Viola (King Henry) are also sprouting.
* Veggies - we are enjoying fresh Leeks and Lettuce, Celery and Swiss Chard. I'll have to move the Parsley soon as it doesn't like it past 80 degrees.
Peppers are doing well although the seeded pepper is taking its time - not showing up yet. I may buy another four-pack and actually try them in the new garden area or not:).
Tomatoes - I'll cave and buy two plants - one Roma and one grape tomato for Mr. R.
* Lots more to do - perennial spinach and Seminole pumpkin will be seeded next and I'm anxious to get my collection of different salvias seeded so they have time to grow fat and happy before June 1.
* I also put in another small new garden bed with nothing but scented herbs and scented flowers - there is still a bit of room for some seeds in there:).
If you've never inhaled the scent of a Pozo Blue Salvia you haven't lived:)...
Happy Gardening everyone!:)
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Put in lemongrass, turmeric and ginger today.
Purchased French thyme and catnip (I'm allergic to cats but my son wants one so I can at least offer him stoned neighborhood kitties rolling around our yard).
The black walnut is leafing out, and the cherry and the Concord grape are budding. (We don't really have enough "chill hours" to grow cherries but they were selling cherries at Home Depot and I said what the heck.)
Borage, nasturtium, calendula and lipstick sage are in flower. Milkweed should have blossoms soon.
Sprayed the blood orange and the lemon with neem oil.
Took cuttings of another color of milkweed that grows as a weed in an alley near here. Hopefully it will root and I can add it to the yard.
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Sorry to hear about the tree @Jon_Snow . How many more hours of sunlight did you add to the garden with the tree trimming? What are you doing with the hardwood?
@Rosy @trashtalk Your gardens and plans sound amazing. As I was reading your posts, I was wishing you would post pics of everything and share which zones you're in.
I follow a few gardeners, homesteaders and sustainability folks on IG to get inspiration and learn. Would love to know where everyone gets their ideas from... books, botanical gardens, blogs, IG? Are there any that you would recommend reading and following?
On my end, I just finished organizing the seeds for a seed lending library I started a few years ago at the local library. I added 80 new seed packets from Baker Creek to the collection. It was rewarding that the people who have "borrowed" seeds are now starting to actually save seeds year over year. We have a huge collection of zinnia seeds and will likely do a class for library patrons on how to make seed bombs just for something a little different.
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Sorry to hear about the tree @Jon_Snow . How many more hours of sunlight did you add to the garden with the tree trimming? What are you doing with the hardwood?
Well, the kale DID cushion the fall somewhat so my raised beds weren’t damaged too bad...so there is that positive spin to be put on it. 😊
As for sunlight gained by my tree falling misadventures...I’m going to estimate that I’ll have gained at least an hour of late day sun in the northwest quadrant of my garden. Won’t know for sure until the sun is higher in the sky over the coming weeks. It’s just getting high enough to send some filtered sun into my garden currently. It’s been enough for the spinach at least. The (now dearly departed) kale certainly didn’t need ANY direct sun over the winter at all.
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Sorry to hear about the tree @Jon_Snow . How many more hours of sunlight did you add to the garden with the tree trimming? What are you doing with the hardwood?
@Rosy @trashtalk Your gardens and plans sound amazing. As I was reading your posts, I was wishing you would post pics of everything and share which zones you're in.
I follow a few gardeners, homesteaders and sustainability folks on IG to get inspiration and learn. Would love to know where everyone gets their ideas from... books, botanical gardens, blogs, IG? Are there any that you would recommend reading and following?
On my end, I just finished organizing the seeds for a seed lending library I started a few years ago at the local library. I added 80 new seed packets from Baker Creek to the collection. It was rewarding that the people who have "borrowed" seeds are now starting to actually save seeds year over year. We have a huge collection of zinnia seeds and will likely do a class for library patrons on how to make seed bombs just for something a little different.
We have a tiny urban yard that's awkwardly situated and has too much shade to grow most annual food plants but I try to do right but the birds, bugs and butterflies, as well as saving us a little money but growing a few edible perennials and fruit trees.
I've been studying permaculture for years and that's the basis for what "design" we have.
I have too many kids and pests (raccoons, pocket gophers) and too little time to do anything high maintenance. It's highly imperfect but I do have enjoy building soil fertility and developing polycultures.
Pictures? No picturesque garden panoramas happening yet but here's a bee sexing up some borage (one of my favorite self-seeding annuals).
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200227/60a973b940a3c35ec315991652727637.jpg)
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Sorry to hear about the tree @Jon_Snow . How many more hours of sunlight did you add to the garden with the tree trimming? What are you doing with the hardwood?
@Rosy @trashtalk Your gardens and plans sound amazing. As I was reading your posts, I was wishing you would post pics of everything and share which zones you're in.
I follow a few gardeners, homesteaders and sustainability folks on IG to get inspiration and learn. Would love to know where everyone gets their ideas from... books, botanical gardens, blogs, IG? Are there any that you would recommend reading and following?
On my end, I just finished organizing the seeds for a seed lending library I started a few years ago at the local library. I added 80 new seed packets from Baker Creek to the collection. It was rewarding that the people who have "borrowed" seeds are now starting to actually save seeds year over year. We have a huge collection of zinnia seeds and will likely do a class for library patrons on how to make seed bombs just for something a little different.
We have a tiny urban yard that's awkwardly situated and has too much shade to grow most annual food plants but I try to do right but the birds, bugs and butterflies, as well as saving us a little money but growing a few edible perennials and fruit trees.
I've been studying permaculture for years and that's the basis for what "design" we have.
I have too many kids and pests (raccoons, pocket gophers) and too little time to do anything high maintenance. It's highly imperfect but I do have enjoy building soil fertility and developing polycultures.
Pictures? Nothing garden panoramas happening yet here's a bee sexing up some borage (one of my favorite self-seeding annuals).
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200227/60a973b940a3c35ec315991652727637.jpg)
(I think we are in zone 10 -- coastal Southern California.)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Just loving hearing all the southern gardeners plans. We are having snow squalls today. The 7 inches that fell yesterday and the day before is now blowing around creating white out conditions. I am dreaming about the wonderful smell of the soil.
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* Two Bananas - one vanilla ice cream banana (supposed to be very tasty and do fine in wind and even cold).
One dwarf banana that will only get six feet high or so.
Really looking forward to that harvest:).
@Rosy this all sounds amazing! Hope the new bed shape turns out just right this time :) Do you know the variety of dwarf banana? I'm about to harvest a 4th rack of dwarf Cavendish, which do well here, the fruit is delicious, and would love to find another dwarf variety in the 6 ft size range. The banana flower is also edible.
I've been harvesting starfruit, planted 18 more pineapples, prepping banana compost holes, transplanting banana pups (once you have one plant you have a lifetime supply) and planted 2 Surinam cherries from a neighbor.
Seminole pumpkin seeds have not yet sprouted. Cape gooseberry sprouts are now 3 inches tall! I'd almost given up on them.
Ordered perennial spinach cuttings on eBay (longevity and Brazilian sissoo), I'd never done cuttings before (or ordered plants on eBay!) but they rooted in water in about 2 weeks and are growing outside now.
Went berserk on eBay with 8 new baby fruit trees: blackberry jam fruit, peanut butter tree fruit, rainforest plum, miracle fruit, pitangatuba, 2 varieties of passion fruit, and a pink wampee, which is gorgeous!
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Went berserk on eBay with 8 new baby fruit trees: blackberry jam fruit, peanut butter tree fruit, rainforest plum, miracle fruit, pitangatuba, 2 varieties of passion fruit, and a pink wampee, which is gorgeous!
What an impressive haul! I've never even heard of most of those fruits. Guessing we live in very different climates :)
I'm having bad luck with the plants I tried to over-winter in pots. Half the strawberry plants are looking quite dead, and the other half are rather sad. And my brand new baby cilantro died - I was out of town for a week and took it to my mom to take care of while I was gone, and it did not appreciate the shock of change.
Still below freezing here, so I haven't been able to start garden prep yet. Hopefully my compost will be ready in time to fill the beds I want to build. Getting very tired of the cold wet weather, and envious of all of you in warmer climes.
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Wow @Roots&Wings - that pink Wampee looks so cool and tropical almost fake:) - now I'll have to google it.
I've never heard of Wampee before - they should call it Pink Princess fruit:).
Oh no, I wish you hadn't told me about plants from e-bay somehow that hadn't crossed my mind yet.
Here is the picture - information on both of my bananas from - Wellspring Gardens in Lakeland, Florida.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/WellspringGardens?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=508858981
Musa Dwarf Puerto Rican Banana Plantain fruit tree Live Plant Tropical
Dwarf Puerto Rican plantain plant is perfect for a tropical edible garden. This delicious fruit is perfect for cooking and is one of the more popular varieties in Puerto Rico. This dwarf variety of plantain tree is shorter than your average plantain, yet has a thicker trunk and is less likely to blow over in winds and can generally withstand the weight of its own fruit.
I purchased on Etsy, but they also have their own website. They ship in two-inch containers via Fedex and have the most reasonable price for shipping I've come across.
I also ordered the Vanilla Orchid plant - it is the real thing, the real vanilla bean - couldn't resist giving it a try. Our local newspaper had an article about growing them in Florida since Vanilla has become so expensive.
So this will be one of my experiments this year:).
Haven't planted them yet, may put in a container until the weather is consistently warmer, we've actually had one or two nights of 42 degrees and mornings in the low fifties - brrr - cold:)
- right now they are in the carport. They are supposed to climb vigorously and like shade.
Since you mentioned it - I also ordered two different edible passion fruit (from Annie's Nursery in CA which I highly recommend) although their shipping prices are atrocious.
What kind did you get? Do you already know what they taste like?
I got this one - Passiflora mollissima "Banana Fruit"
It appears to like it hot and has sumptious pink flowers
https://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/view/?id=4344
(https://www.anniesannuals.com/signs/p%20-%20r/images//passiflora_mollissima.jpg)
Not sure if I did it right to show the pic.
and this one Passiflora edulis "Frederick" - it looks a lot like the one I had in Germany eons ago - it fruited even there.
https://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/view/?id=2446
I have a bright red passionflower that loves it (a bit too much) in my yard - no fruit. I'll attempt to move it again, but so far it has been determined to stay where it is.
Question for ya - can you grow starfruit from seeds or is it better to buy one from a nursery? Do they change taste and appearance and go haywire?
The garden is calling me:) - I'll be back to reply to Indio next.
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@Raenia I hadn't heard of several either! The joys of subtropical gardening (zone 9B/10A), used to live up north and definitely understand the long wait for spring.
@Rosy thanks so much, I will check that out. Your passion flower is gorgeous!
Bought the fruit trees and passion flower (purple possum & a yellow variety which is supposedly more cold hardy but slightly more acidic) from a guy out of Jupiter, FL who sells on both ebay and Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/9waters.
My recollection is star fruit is best grafted from a nursery, rather than from seed, Kari and Bell are the sweetest varieties. Got a Kari from a local plant sale a couple years ago, it's now about 6' tall, and loaded with over 50+ fruits. I didn't know they're supposed to be wind intolerant, and it's doing fine in a moderately windy spot!
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You gotta be kidding @Roots&Wings - that Blackberry Jam Fruit tree really has blackberry jam ready made inside the fruit - courtesy of Mother Nature.
OK then, I had to have one.
But then, it's fragrant and evergreen and looks and smells like gardenia - so I got two:).
This thing checked all my boxes - it's a big bush - so easy to harvest.
It doesn't mind a container - so I'll try one in a container in case I kill the one in the garden.
In case you are interested: Found some good plant info at https://toptropicals.com/html/toptropicals/plant_wk/randia.htm
I'm smitten:). Imagine blackberry jam off the tree.
Makes me think of the saying attributed to Benjamin Franklin - Beer is proof that God loves us:)
Jam and no work involved is every bit as good - now where is that beer tree?
(https://i.etsystatic.com/12260520/r/il/b6d719/1983993891/il_794xN.1983993891_j6ag.jpg)
Had to let the star fruit idea go - not at all suited for my garden, unfortunately. Glad I did a bit more research on this.
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The DH and I finished filling the raised bed (12x3x2ft) with soil this weekend. Tired, dirty and in the rapidly approaching dark, I still couldn't resist planting peas, kale, beets & parsnips in the freshly filled bed.
Indoors, still tired, but cleaner and well lit, I planted tomatoes, cucumbers & brussels sprouts in homemade newspaper pots.
Homemade newspaper pots, that's brilliant - so spill, how do you do yours?:)
I have a few rare seeds (the kind where they only give you five seeds) and I thought that I might buy some pots that disintegrate since I don't want to disturb the young seedlings/plantlings too much when I put them in the ground or a bigger pot.
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Love the southern gardening discussion! It's surreal to read it while looking out the window at snow on the ground. Those plants are crazy cool.
My only tropical-ish planting this year is that my pomegranate tree has survived another winter in its pot, and I am finally going to put it in the ground. I'm out of zone, but I'm going to give it a go. I'm already growing banana trees, figs, and tea out of zone, so I think I can do it. Fingers crossed.
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Agreed @Trifele --we are recommended to wait until Mid-may to plant in my area (mountainous region) so it seems unbelievable!
I have happily set my goal for the day to inventory what I have, then order any necessary seeds from West Coast seeds. We only have two garden boxes (in a community garden) and some patio pots but it takes some planning since not much grows here. Would like to try a few new things like amaranth and wasabi arugula.
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Found a bunch of sprouting Russet potatoes in the cupboard; will try to make a "potato tower" with some huge pots I got from our Buy Nothing Group.
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Getting a little antsy to get going here. In the past I’ve planted peas in the last week of February a few times and here it is the first week of March and it just feels a little bit too cold, with overnight temps down in the low single digits, and highs struggling to reach double digit Celsius. I expect my spinach, which I haven’t seen in over a week (my garden is on an island, and I’m quite often not there), is probably not happy with this, as cold hardy as it can be. I’m sure my garlic is happy and around now my horseradish patch should be showing signs of life but I want to start planting things in earnest. Peas, most of all. As veggie gardeners we all know the joy of eating peas right off the vine. Just need a bit more warmth.
The good news is that I have a whole host of starts happily growing under lights indoors. All sorts of brassicas (kale, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli), onions, lettuce and some backup spinach. The spinach starts will go in soon to compliment the directly sown spinach (assuming it’s still alive) and for the rest, given some seasonable temps, will get transplanted out in early April.
*Jon_Snow goes back to examining the extended forecast*
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On a sadder note, I cut a few trees down in order to give my garden site more sun in the months to come....and in falling one tree I made an error in anticipating it’s trajectory of decent and it landed square on my magnificent overwintered kale and collards patch. It wasn’t pretty. So, with a deep sigh I pulled the plants (after a last kale/collard harvest) and put them in the compost.
ACK!! :(
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It's so interesting to hear all the things that are being grown in the sub-tropical climes!
Here it was 25F yesterday morning, though it's supposed to hit 65 by the end of the week. I planted peppers and eggplants 2 weeks ago and have lots of little sprouts coming up. Last weekend I did a flat of tomatoes and a flat of cole crops and lettuces. I have my cups of soil (re-using stacks of Sonic cups my co-worker brings me) ready to seed my alliums and assorted herbs.
Hoping I can get work squared away so I can take Thursday and Friday afternoons off to play in the garden (or more like pick up where I left off on cleanup last fall). I didn't get around to replenishing the horse poo in the fall, so I'm going to need to find some good compost to top up the beds.
Given that it's been a mild winter, I might also just toss some root vegetable seeds in the ground and see what happens, though it's about a month early. I'm keeping busy with two horses in training + might be taking a job that will increase my travel, so I'm trying to keep things fairly in hand and not overcommit myself. We'll se.
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I'm so confused...
In the fall I ordered King Tut (seeds were found in King Tuts grave) blue sweet pea seeds because the flowers looked amazing online and I hoped it would have a lovely scent - from the rare seed emporium on Etsy. Now that I'm belatedly ready to plant it (should have started it a few months earlier for a sturdier root system by now(:
Now - I realize this variety isn't really a climber like I thought but a ground cover which is supposed to be great at suppressing weeds. OK then that works for me in the permaculture bed...
But I still want to try one in a flowerbox to trail in the front - we'll see if that works.
This is not an edible variety either, in fact, you will die if you consume too much of it over a period of time - apparently people tried to eat it in times of famine.
It is supposed to be one of the rare annual variety which has a much stronger scent - I'm thrilled about that. The info on how to germinate is all over the place so I guess I'll try my luck using two different methods.
Unfortunately, I only have ten seeds so hopefully one of them will work and hopefully, they will reseed themselves or who knows they might turn into a nuisance plant - we'll see, first I have to get them to sprout.
Seeds are available from other places but from what I could discern there are a number of different varieties out there, some climbing, some perennial and even an electric blue one.
Looks like some species proliferate gardens in the UK - so surely this will turn out to be a lovely plant - right?:).
... and this is why a quick seeding project turns into two hours of research and mild frustration and surprising discoveries.
(https://i.etsystatic.com/6728015/r/il/3f91e6/1185860994/il_794xN.1185860994_5wjh.jpg)
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Thanks @SheWhoWalksAtLunch - you answered just in time:) I just started on my second seedling project.
I'll try it with the six really rare seeds that I only have five seeds for. I also came across one seed packet this morning that said the roots don't like to be disturbed so I'll use paper pots for them as well.
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Thinking about growing vegetables for the first time. Posting to follow! Maybe you all will inspire me. :)
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I just got back from my two day beekeeping class at Spikenard Farm in Virginia. MIND. BLOWN. Thank you thank you @Indio for recommending that. It was a completely different perspective about beekeeping than any of the classes I've done or books I'd read so far. Absolutely loved it! I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about starting with bees, or anyone who already has bees.
Their approach is biodynamic and much less invasive than the conventional thinking, especially on topics like pest monitoring/management, honey-harvesting, and swarming. It fits very well with my approach to gardening and chicken-keeping. I'm going to start with this biodynamic approach with my first two hives next month, and see how it goes.
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I’m posting most of my garden related stuff in my Journal lately, but this was just too cool not to bring over here.
I’ve been working in my garden for the past couple of days, getting the beds prepped, planting a few cold hardy things....and cutting back the advancing blackberry hordes. Yesterday I found myself working on last years carrot bed. I knew there would be some overwintered carrots in there. But I was not prepared for what I found.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49642185246_b0568ba006.jpg)
I pulled out some of the biggest specimens and a quick rinse revealed a pristine carrot crop. And incredibly tasty and sweet....much better tasting than I recall them being last Fall.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49642455952_779b24bfe0.jpg)
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Sweet carro...time! da da dahhhh
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Sweet carro...time! da da dahhhh
🤦♂️
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@Trifele That's so exciting that you got to Spikenard. When I first met Gunther, I knew I was in the presence of a bee whisperer. When do your bees arrive? I'm sure they are going to be thrilled living with you.
@Jon_Snow What a delightful surprisingly big load of carrots. It's like the Spring bonus round. I've always found that carrots that survived frost and Winter always taste sweeter. There's something about cold weather locking in the natural sweetness.
@Rosy That's a beautiful shade of blue. Fragrant and gorgeous is a fabulous combo. Too bad it's poisonous. It would look lovely in a salad.
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Love the carrots @Jon_Snow! Very pretty.
I planted two beds of potatoes today, one each of French Fingerling and Yukon Gold. Potatoes are such happy things. I also fed my 10 blueberry bushes. Most of them are budding; will hopefully be another good year!
And last but not least, I bought a black currant bush, which I'll plant tomorrow at the end of my row of gooseberries. I've never grown currants before -- interested to see what they are like.
Hope everyone is doing ok! Keep calm and garden on. :)
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We just planted our seeds for tomato, tomatillo, and pepper starts. Last frost here is sometime after Mother's day, so we've got a while for the tender things.
I also just bought 4 gooseberry bushes and 4 red currant bushes. We have a flower bed on the edge of our lawn before the rest of our acre starts that is bordered by 4x4s where we're going to put them. We have another area where we're planning on putting a firepit and a big low-water/native perennial area, so we don't need the beds for actual flowers, and I'm hoping that the gooseberry and currants are less invasive into our lawn than the raspberry bushes we're also planning to get. I know they're nowhere near as bad as blackberries in the PNW, but my parents have taken to just mowing down the raspberry suckers that pop up in their yard next to their row of raspberry bushes, so I know it's still a problem. As I was checking out, the cashier told me she has gooseberry bushes - she said "you basically have to gear up in kevlar to avoid the thorns, but it's totally worth it, they're delicious", which is great to hear.
We're in a new-to-us house as of last August, and we have a whole acre of Colorado plains to fill up (and irrigate). We're focusing on the base of the landscaping right now.
There's a lawn area of a decent size next to the house. Past that, we've put in a big old play structure for the kids, some horseshoe pits, and we're putting in a firepit and native plants (as I mentioned above). Past THAT, we've got about 3x as much garden as we used to, a giant mobile chicken run, and...grass? I'm going to just throw a bunch of wildflower seeds out there with some native grass seed and see what I get. We might use it for livestock or meat chickens eventually, but right now it's just sad, mowed-down, clumpy grass. Flowers will be infinitely better.
We also have a bunch of fruit trees (theoretically). They didn't actually have any fruit on them last year when we moved in, which seems odd, but I don't know WHY. Hopefully I'll get a better idea what is going on this spring, and we can prune and plant new trees accordingly. I'd love to have some fruit trees.
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Great update @chaskavitch! Twinsies -- I'm growing currants and gooseberries too. They're fun. I have one Hinnonmaki gooseberry that's so delicious I wish I had more. (the rest of mine are Pixwell). I'm trying to propagate that guy by tip rooting. I've read that that can be a slow process, but I'll let you know how it goes.
I'm also propagating elderberries right now. I have one bush that's putting up some good suckers, so I'm going to be digging those little ones up and relocating them. Love elderberries.
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@Trifele , it looks like my gooseberries are Pixwell as well. The currants are Red Lake Currants. The tag the nursery had on it said it was one of the most popular varieties and highly recommended in Colorado, so I figured it was a good bet :) I'm excited to see how they both turn out!
My almost-4-year-old is excited about the gooseberry bushes because he remembers them from the Tale of Peter Rabbit,but I think he's going to be sorely disappointed that he can't actually play in them. Hopefully delicious berries can make him not care as much, haha.
Has anyone ever had a Haskap berry? There was one variety available at my local plant nursery, the Yezberry Honeybunch Haskap Berry. It is supposed to taste like a cross between a raspberry and a blueberry, but I've never heard of it before.
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@chaskavitch -- I think @Jon_Snow and at least one other person are growing haskaps. I haven't tried them yet.
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@chaskavitch -- I think @Jon_Snow and at least one other person are growing haskaps. I haven't tried them yet.
Nope, not me. Until this moment I don’t believe I had even heard of them. ☺️
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@Trifele , it looks like my gooseberries are Pixwell as well. The currants are Red Lake Currants. The tag the nursery had on it said it was one of the most popular varieties and highly recommended in Colorado, so I figured it was a good bet :) I'm excited to see how they both turn out!
My almost-4-year-old is excited about the gooseberry bushes because he remembers them from the Tale of Peter Rabbit,but I think he's going to be sorely disappointed that he can't actually play in them. Hopefully delicious berries can make him not care as much, haha.
Has anyone ever had a Haskap berry? There was one variety available at my local plant nursery, the Yezberry Honeybunch Haskap Berry. It is supposed to taste like a cross between a raspberry and a blueberry, but I've never heard of it before.
We have gooseberries growing in a quasi-permaculture area in the front yard around a sour cherry tree, and ... they both impede human traffic to the tree (those thorns are BIG and sharp) and don't seem to slow down the deer at all. Sigh! Also, they're delicious, but the ones we grow have "tails" on the individual berries that need to be taken off, which is kind of a PITA. Perhaps yours don't?
The Haskap berry sounds fascinating! I'll have to have a look around here (50 miles or so to your south).
Perhaps I will add "start tomatoes, basil, and peppers" to my list of things to do in the next few days. I did get one of our 4X8 beds planted yesterday with snow peas, chard, carrots and radishes (I learned a while ago that I can plant a single row of mixed radishes and carrots -- the radishes come up first, marking the row, and are ready to remove before the carrots are more then tiny sprouts. I also discovered and dug up a few over-wintered carrots in there. Yum!
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@chaskavitch -- I think @Jon_Snow and at least one other person are growing haskaps. I haven't tried them yet.
Nope, not me. Until this moment I don’t believe I had even heard of them. ☺️
Hm. I know somebody was growing them last year but darn if I can find the posts. :)
I spent four hard hours in the garden today and I'm exhausted in a good way. DH dug me three new 12 X 3' beds, and I amended them all with some nice aged composted straw from the chicken run. This first year I will just plant wildflower mix in two of those. The third one will be a perennial bed with strawberries and borage. I also planted broccoli, cabbage and tomatoes in one of my main annual beds. (I know, a bit optimistic on the tomatoes, but what the hell.) My goal -- which should be fully accomplished in about a year -- is to have 2/3 of my garden planted with perennials, and to reserve 1/3 of the space for annual vegetables.
Today I also harvested some leeks, chicory, and some leftover potatoes I found in one of the beds from last year. I'm going to saute it all up in butter, add some of our chicken eggs, and bake a quiche for dinner. I'm enjoying a martini as I cook. Life is good!
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@chaskavitch -- I think @Jon_Snow and at least one other person are growing haskaps. I haven't tried them yet.
Nope, not me. Until this moment I don’t believe I had even heard of them. ☺️
Hm. I know somebody was growing them last year but darn if I can find the posts. :)
Haha, no problem. Don’t grow berries myself, since Nature supplies me more than I could ever handle in the form of blackberries and (the criminally underrated) salal berries.
I spent four hard hours in the garden today and I'm exhausted in a good way. DH dug me three new 12 X 3' beds, and I amended them all with some nice aged composted straw from the chicken run. This first year I will just plant wildflower mix in two of those. The third one will be a perennial bed with strawberries and borage. I also planted broccoli, cabbage and tomatoes in one of my main annual beds. (I know, a bit optimistic on the tomatoes, but what the hell.) My goal -- which should be fully accomplished in about a year -- is to have 2/3 of my garden planted with perennials, and to reserve 1/3 of the space for annual vegetables.
That sound’s like a great garden day to me. I’ve had many such all day sessions so far, and many more to come in the days and weeks ahead. Not feeling remotely as brave with tomatoes yet, but I am close to setting out my brassica seedlings (broc, cauli, cabbage, kale) as well as onions...will also be complimenting the brassica transplants with some direct seeding...in the hope that I get a nice spread of harvests over the course of the Summer. I still struggle with EVERYTHING being ready to harvest at the same time. The sight of 8 enormous cabbages suddenly ready to pick is far too common an event. At least with kale to can harvest-as-you-go...somewhat similar with broccoli as you can continue to harvest the side-shoots. Cauliflower, not so much. I’ve just received a big mail order of seed potatoes and I am going BIG with the potatoes harvest this year...and in the next few days I’ll be finishing off a big potato bin structure...and then I’ll plant those.
Given the current state of the world, my plans for my garden have become increasingly more ambitious as the days have progressed here. As we look for ways to find comfort, buffer ourselves from stress...I find the idea of growing a MASSIVE amount of healthy food for myself, my family and this year, for the wider community to be an extremely calming concept. My DW is now off work, for at least a month, so I will have some enthusiastic help in this endeavour this season, at least towards the start of the process.
I hope all you in this great thread find some peace and comfort in your own gardens!
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That sound’s like a great garden day to me. I’ve had many such all day sessions so far, and many more to come in the days and weeks ahead. . . . . . I am going BIG with the potatoes harvest this year...and in the next few days I’ll be finishing off a big potato bin structure...and then I’ll plant those.
Given the current state of the world, my plans for my garden have become increasingly more ambitious as the days have progressed here. As we look for ways to find comfort, buffer ourselves from stress...I find the idea of growing a MASSIVE amount of healthy food for myself, my family and this year, for the wider community to be an extremely calming concept. My DW is now off work, for at least a month, so I will have some enthusiastic help in this endeavour this season, at least towards the start of the process.
I hope all you in this great thread find some peace and comfort in your own gardens!
+1. Well said, @Jon_Snow The garden is a tremendous source of comfort. Hope you are all doing ok, and can get outside in these turbulent times.
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We harvested the first blackberry of the season! My 9yo will live on them for the next month.
Started some bean seeds today. Felt like getting back to the fundamentals. The kids helped me start some squash and sunflowers as part of "homeschool" the other day.
Tonight I was feeling blessed and fortunate so I made a point to do a little harvest. In came lemons, artichokes, oregano, rosemary, green garlic, chives, collards, sorrel and chard. All but the first two became toppings on homemade pizza. (The trimmings are simmering in a pot with some shrimp tails for a seafood stock I'll use tomorrow.)
We are so lucky to have a little soil and sunlight to nourish our bodies and souls.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Today I repotted my cucumber seedlings from their little starter cells into bigger pots. These are all "Corinto" variety, gynoecious (all female) and parthenocarpic (no pollination needed). The seed was very old so my hopes were low, but I had 90% germination. These little girls are beautiful!
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Trifele, those are gorgeous seedlings.
I put a clove from each of my homegrown bulbs of garlic in soil in the crisper last fall, then left for 3 months. I'm home and they have all sprouted, lots of roots and nice shoots. They have been moved into a big pot with lots of good soil. I doubt I will have access to a garden plot this year, 3x as many applicants as likely spots available, so all my gardening this year will be on an east-facing balcony. Totally new gardening experience for me.
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That's a neat way of growing garlic @RetiredAt63 -- I've never heard of that.
Busy day in the garden yesterday here. I repotted tomato seedlings -- "Delicious" open pollinated variety. If all goes well they should be ready to go into the garden in about two weeks. If those grow well for me this year I'll save the seed. I planted the three new garden beds with buckwheat, wildflower mix, and crimson clover. DH finished putting up the fence around the bee yard, laying landscaping fabric and pavers to keep the grass down. Don't want to do more trimming than necessary close to the hives.
Not sure if my bees will still come as planned in two weeks despite the epidemic? We are supposed to pick them up at an open-air bee yard. I haven't heard otherwise yet from the apiary so I guess it is still on? . . . I think livestock type-places are continuing to function, so maybe this falls in that category? Our local farm store where we buy chicken feed is still operating. I would think farm stores will have to fall into the category of "essential businesses" and stay open. Our local farm store already operates on a "drive through" basis -- you pull your truck right into the store, load, and drive out the back -- so that's good.
Hope everyone is doing ok! Hope you can get outside, or at least sit in a ray of sunshine.
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So I bought a 12 pack of native wildflower seeds from Spikenard Farm, and I'm reading about how to plant these. I'm a real beginner when it comes to flowers.
It's an interesting mixture of plants, and I had never heard of some of them. Wingstem? Cup plant? Etc. So it turns out more than half these guys need to be cold stratified to sprout. Who knew? Some of them need 30 days or more in the fridge, so I'd better hop on this fast. I know what I'll be doing this afternoon!
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That's a neat way of growing garlic @RetiredAt63 -- I've never heard of that.
So it turns out more than half these guys need to be cold stratified to sprout.
For the garlic, it was desperation. They are hard neck varieties, supposed to be planted in late October outside, they grow roots before the ground freezes. Nothing else to do when I had no outside garden. I was afraid they would freeze too much in a pot on the balcony.
In cold climates most seeds need cold stratification, no point germinating in the fall and being killed by winter. Trillium seeds need a minimum of 2 winters before germination, and many don't germinate until even more winters have passed. A lot of trees also have chilling requirements so they don't bud too soon - we get warm spells in February, but then it gets cold again.
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In cold climates most seeds need cold stratification, no point germinating in the fall and being killed by winter. Trillium seeds need a minimum of 2 winters before germination, and many don't germinate until even more winters have passed. A lot of trees also have chilling requirements so they don't bud too soon - we get warm spells in February, but then it gets cold again.
Yep, I've grown apples for years and know about chilling requirements for fruit trees. But putting seeds in the fridge is a new one for me! The only things I usually grow from seed are annual vegetables and I've never run across a chilling requirement on those. It makes perfect sense though for wild perennials from a biological perspective. There is no sense sprouting during a fluke warm spell in January or something. As a seed, you want to make darn sure that spring is really here before you sprout. There's no do-over!
And hey! I was just in the garden. Potatoes are up, looking fierce. And my 'Red Russian' kale plants from last year are going to seed. Yay! The last seeds I had saved are now 5 years old (still viable), but it's time to replenish the seed stock. RR kale is a true champ. It never lets me down.
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In cold climates most seeds need cold stratification, no point germinating in the fall and being killed by winter. Trillium seeds need a minimum of 2 winters before germination, and many don't germinate until even more winters have passed. A lot of trees also have chilling requirements so they don't bud too soon - we get warm spells in February, but then it gets cold again.
Yep, I've grown apples for years and know about chilling requirements for fruit trees. But putting seeds in the fridge is a new one for me! The only things I usually grow from seed are annual vegetables and I've never run across a chilling requirement on those. It makes perfect sense though for wild perennials from a biological perspective. There is no sense sprouting during a fluke warm spell in January or something. As a seed, you want to make darn sure that spring is really here before you sprout. There's no do-over!
And hey! I was just in the garden. Potatoes are up, looking fierce. And my 'Red Russian' kale plants from last year are going to seed. Yay! The last seeds I had saved are now 5 years old (still viable), but it's time to replenish the seed stock. RR kale is a true champ. It never lets me down.
Yay potatoes! And double YAY for the kale. Seeds from your own plants are great, they come from plants that do well in your conditions.
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Boo - none of my Italian basil mix seeds sprouted but, drumroll:) I was able to get three more African Blue Basil plants from my mother plant via bending a branch down into the ground, adding moist soil and weighing it all down with a rock and voila - new self-rooted plant.
You can't grow African Blue basil from seed - isn't that the weirdest thing?
Anyway, it smells delightful and has such a peppery, spicy flavor you can use it in a whole lot of dishes for seasoning and it looks like a pretty landscape plant - a small bush with arching purple flower stems.
About that blackberry jam tree @Roots&Wings - I ordered two plants and guess what, one pot had four seedlings, the other six seedlings and they are all doing well. Sharing some with my neighbor when they are bigger, she works and fosters cats so her gardening time is way more limited than mine.
Funny thing, it came with dire warnings and instructions on how to handle these exotic plants - pfft, they loved it in my garden from day one.
So thanks again for the tip:).
In light of the pandemic, I've decided to up the veggie production in our garden as well, perennial spinach and a variety of different peppers and sigh, definitely two tomatoes prima donnas that they are:) and I'm sticking every green onion root from every green onion bunch from the grocery store right back into the garden.
Bonus - found a self-seeded tomato in my flower bed - it will be interesting to see what kind of tomatoes it will produce, transplanting it next week - hoping it will like its new spot.
Still seeding flowers and herbs and veggies - the first round went relatively well. Already set up for round two - beginning tomorrow.
A few things didn't come up at all and some of the seeds I seeded in the garden settled in different spots than I intended, but I prefer inground sowing and overall I grew enough in pots to move to any open spots in the bed. If I were produce-dependent then I'd have to learn to be way more accurate and figure out how to keep the seeds where I need them to be.
Although I worried about the weather and how it would affect the seedlings worse than any mother-hen.
We are having a dry, unusually warm spring - so I had to water two, sometimes three times a day - but I didn't lose any plant babies, except a couple to the damn squirrels and other critters that keep digging up the beds at night.
While my coffee is brewing I'm out there in my PJs patrolling the garden:) for nightly damage so I can fix it immediately.
Yeah, it has come to that:).
We've been adding border stones to our new garden area and removing the temporary branches and small logs I've used for the initial layout.
I've decided to keep the logs and branches at the back of the border not just to save money but because it is a better transition to the wild back forty:).
I bet I counted thirty butterflies yesterday including two or three I haven't seen before.
A pair of ducklings came to visit out of the ditch, we have three kinds of woodpeckers making a racket all day long including the big one with the redhead, the hawk got harassed by the Blue Jays and my birdbath is a hit with everyone from the Red Cardinal pair to the birds that are just coming through on a fly-over and we now have a pair of yellow-bellied crested Titmousies nesting in the Bougainvillea.
The redheaded big woodpecker and the squirrels fought over the goodies in our neighbor's bird feeder, the woodpecker won:).
It was an intense fight, neither one was willing to give up easily - it must have been some extra tasty treat.
One of my last two trips outside the house will be to pick up a cashew tree, and I'm still deciding on the other two (Peach-Meyer Lemon-Orange?...) - debating about ordering a goji berry... I've only left the house twice in the past two weeks but I think it will be safer to stay home for good for a while.
Having a nice big outdoor space to enjoy incl a BBQ area and a gazebo to sip whatever is an asset and a joy.
Stay safe and happy gardening!
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Rosy, French tarragon doesn't come true to seed either, all plants are a clone. And of course all our named fruit varieties are clones also. That makes them consistent, but if one gets a disease all members of the clone are equally vulnerable.
Your garden sounds great. We are still in late winter/early spring. Sigh.
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We are giving up on broccoli. We thought it was just too hot last spring/summer (haha, you've heard what they say about summers in San Francisco) so we planted late fall and they grew like wildfire, but are just putting up individual scrappy florets the size of my pinky.
However, we may not be the world's first failed blackberry farmers - the canes we planted *do* have new leaves!
The bok choy and lettuce we planted don't seem to be doing well, although the arugula right next door is. I'm pretty bummed out as I was looking forward to lots of our own lettuce, and bok choy would have been fun and is a regular rotation of ours. We still had some seeds left, so DH did a bunch more but not knowing what went wrong the first time, I'm feeling a bit concerned about this round as well.
Basil is now in the ground as well as more kale seedlings, so there should never be a shortage of kale. Good ol' kale. It really is low maintenance and reliable and we use it so much!
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Yay for kale @sui generis! I agree -- what a great crop.
And I'm with you on the lettuce this year. I usually just seed it outside, but this year I planted a bunch inside in the grow cabinet and it sprouted but then died. I have no idea why. :( I'm going to re-seed it outside and see what happens.
And @RetiredAt63 -- that is really interesting about the garlic. Sounds like your desperation improvisation totally paid off!
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About that blackberry jam tree @Roots&Wings - I ordered two plants and guess what, one pot had four seedlings, the other six seedlings and they are all doing well. Sharing some with my neighbor when they are bigger, she works and fosters cats so her gardening time is way more limited than mine.
Wow, @Rosy how lucky! I was just thinking about ordering another one or two of the blackberry jam fruit (and pitangatubas, which stay small), can’t wait to see how they do.
Are your Seminole pumpkin seeds sprouting? I’m having no luck...maybe there’s some trick to it. African blue basil is lovely, that’s a great tip to bury the tips.
And a cashew tree, what fun! My peach tree (Florida Prince) has lots of baby fruit this spring, meyer lemon is flowering (the scent is heavenly), and orange tree is still loaded with fruit we’ve been eating all winter. You can't go wrong with any of those.
Next project is transplanting a couple pomelo trees (the 1 tree sprouted babies). I keep thinking I’m out of room, and somehow find more space :)
As far as going out to a nursery, perhaps you can call ahead/pay in advance and they can have it out and ready for pickup? There was an article about this in NWF recently, with so many plant sales this spring cancelled, and how to safely buy garden supplies. I know the garden is saving my sanity right now.
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Does anyone grow hazelnuts? I'm planning to start a hazel coppice in the wooded section of my lot. The ground is already clear from deer browsing and I want to bring back some understory. I also really want to have my own supply of bean poles in a couple years. As someone who's moved around a lot and has only owned a home for a little over a year it feels a little odd and wonderful to plan for 7 years down the road when the hazels will be ready to harvest and hopefully we'll finally have fruit from the pear and apple tress I planted last fall.
So far the only thing I've done in the garden this year is get the fence in, mulch the flower beds, and order a rose to climb one of the back patio walls. All the talk of seedlings has me inspired to start some tomato and cumbers and finally clear the weedy overgrown garden beds to get some kale in the ground.
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As far as going out to a nursery, perhaps you can call ahead/pay in advance and they can have it out and ready for pickup? There was an article about this in NWF recently, with so many plant sales this spring cancelled, and how to safely buy garden supplies. I know the garden is saving my sanity right now.
Our local nursery is doing free curbside pickup, delivery for a fee, and occasionally delivery AND planting. They didn't use to have an online inventory list at all, so they're working on it really quickly. I imagine a lot of nurseries will be in the same situation.
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Got home from my shortened vacation and my basil and lettuce seedlings need to be transplanted into bigger pots.
Hubs was not able to keep all the onion starts alive so I will start some more.
I like to pop down to the seed distributor to pick my own order, but I am in 14 day isolation will do a mail order tonight. So late starting my peppers, but it is what it is!
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About that blackberry jam tree @Roots&Wings - I ordered two plants and guess what, one pot had four seedlings, the other six seedlings and they are all doing well. Sharing some with my neighbor when they are bigger, she works and fosters cats so her gardening time is way more limited than mine.
Wow, @Rosy how lucky! I was just thinking about ordering another one or two of the blackberry jam fruit (and pitangatubas, which stay small), can’t wait to see how they do.
Are your Seminole pumpkin seeds sprouting? I’m having no luck...maybe there’s some trick to it. African blue basil is lovely, that’s a great tip to bury the tips.
And a cashew tree, what fun! My peach tree (Florida Prince) has lots of baby fruit this spring, meyer lemon is flowering (the scent is heavenly), and orange tree is still loaded with fruit we’ve been eating all winter. You can't go wrong with any of those.
Next project is transplanting a couple pomelo trees (the 1 tree sprouted babies). I keep thinking I’m out of room, and somehow find more space :)
As far as going out to a nursery, perhaps you can call ahead/pay in advance and they can have it out and ready for pickup? There was an article about this in NWF recently, with so many plant sales this spring cancelled, and how to safely buy garden supplies. I know the garden is saving my sanity right now.
Seminole Pumpkins
I, umm:) haven't seeded them yet, they are scheduled for my second and last batch of seeding this week. I'll let you know how they do.
Maybe you have to soak the seeds or nick them first?
Now that you said that I'll test mine in a wet paper towel to see if they sprout.
Thanks for the suggestion of pre-ordering, duh, of course they do that, at least at one of the nurseries I intend to buy at. The other has a new owner and I'm unfamiliar with what they carry now, but I saw the cashew tree on their list online.
I had to google pitangatubas - you've solved a mystery for me.
We have three (red fruit), they are over 60 years old (his dad planted them) and about eight feet high - they don't produce anymore except for a handful here and there - they are under the shade of an oak tree and a huge puffball tree, poor things. But they are evergreen and make a nice border towards the road, so I let them be.
Do you know of any sweet cherries that grow in Florida? seems they are all tangy, nothing like the sweet dark cherries I love.
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I put some cupboard-sprouted potatoes in a huge pot and the green leaves emerged today so we should have a potato tower to make us new potatoes.
The asparagus is up but it's too young to harvest. See you in 2022 for that.
A neighbor relocated her strawberry beds and shared extra strawberry plants with the rest of us. I dearly hope they survive!
I should be starting more seeds everyday but I think I need to relocate my potting bench so I can have more space.
I am still harvesting my usual small quantities of citrus and peppers, which is always heartening even if it wouldn't be enough to keep us alive during a real food shortage.
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Did a good yard cleanup session yesterday. It was a beautiful day and really what I needed mentally. There will probably be a lot of immaculate yards and gardens around this year! I got my three metal-sided beds and one other bed prepared and planted beets, carrots, lettuce, mesclun mix, kale, chard and collards. Now we are getting a bit of rain, so that should give them a good start. Tonight I transplanted about 45 tomatoes into bigger cups along with 18 cauliflowers, some cabbages and broccolis. My special strain of green chiles germinated almost perfectly, so it looks like I'll have 60+ plants if I can find room for them all. OTOH, I got zero germination on my eggplants, so I'm hoping I'll be able to procure some plants in another month or so.
With work travel being cancelled, this might be the year that I finally get the native garden planted in our side yard, which has been an unsightly mess most of the time we've lived here, though I've been chipping away at it little by little
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Hi green peeps! Been using the extra home time to get the garden expansion, compost bins improved and really organized on growing from seeds for tomatoes and basil to get early starts (Georgia Zone 7 to 8). The biggest score was asparagus bed is now planted (young plants so 2 years to wait... Sigh)! The other major addition was a roto tiller to do the garden expansion soil prep and a plot of sunflowers is on my list... And oh yeah, get the drip irrigation setup to the expansion bed. Sorry, too much to do... gotta go! ;)
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Convinced my bf to let me put in 2 raised beds in his yard for square foot gardening. I've always wanted to try this but didn't have the space. Resigned myself that I'm probably going to end up moving there with all the financial nonsense (he said it would be rent free for me, but it's $1000/mo mortgage in case things are really bad- he quit his job last month and then hasn't been able to find a job with all the coronavirus going on). Definitely need a garden in any place I live and this should be an investment for easy veggies over the long run.
Zone 7a, hoping it's not too late to put in greens. We didn't get it done with all the rain yesterday and now I"m back in the city until Friday, when it's supposed to rain for 3 days straight :( Started too late for seedlings but really happy we got the beds done at least and bought the mix for the "soil"
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Do you know of any sweet cherries that grow in Florida? seems they are all tangy, nothing like the sweet dark cherries I love.
Only one I've heard that is supposed to be similar to a sweet cherry is Cherry of the Rio Grande, which can suffer from "sudden die back" here in FL and why I've not tried growing it. Those red fruits might be Surinam cherry (related to pitangatuba, which has larger yellow fruit). There's a dark red/black variety Zells Surinam cherry that's supposed to be sweeter. I grow Jamaican cherry (tastes like cotton candy) and Barbados cherry (fairly tart, full of vit C).
I've heard about Australian beach cherry, but unsure about flavor profile (this place (https://www.logees.com/australian-beach-cherry-eugenia-reinwardtiana.html?)and another one say they taste like sweet cherries, with a hint of grape). There's Brazilian cherry/grumichama, but it's supposed to taste a bit more grape-like too.
UF might be working on a sweet cherry, but most need more chill hours. If anyone knows of any subtropical sweet cherries, would love to know!
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I placed an order for seeds online. I was going to pop over to their retail store and pick my own order when I got back from my vacation. Well, vacation was cut short but I am in 14-day isolation. Province declared a shut down so most retail is now closed. The seed supplier is operating as totally online and shipping is going to be 3-4 weeks. I will start the peppers and tomatoes that I have already. Hopefully they were under promising and will over deliver.
I need potting soil - my stock was about a quarter of what I thought it was. Need to call a friend and see if I can buy some off them and pick it up from their gate.
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Thanks for the link @Indio! I just checked it out -- great video. My main takeaway is that I need to learn more. I've read such conflicting things about biochar -- what it does, how it does it, how to make it -- that I'm confused. How do you make yours? Or do you get it somewhere? What do you add to it before you put it into the soil?
Allright - I'm dragging up an old topic because I haven't been keeping up with this thread, and I've been making biochar in decent volume for close to a year.
I agree - lots of information online for making your own biochar (charcoal) is confusing, over-engineered or just plain old too much WORK!
Fair warning, I'm stuck at home (PANDEMIC!) and have started in on the whiskey.
So, the basics:
Think of biochar as a rigid, lightweight, extremely porous sponge. When it's produced, it's a totally empty carbon matrix. Everything else was burned out. If you put it in the soil as-produced, it will suck up nutrients and water for a little while (year-ish? Depends on conditions) then after will be a net help to the garden. If you pre-treat your biochar with nutrients, it will be helpful to most gardens immediately.
So, what do you need to efficiently make biochar at home the lazy way?
Dry biological material. If it's wood - mostly not too thick. You can use corn stover, rice hulls, old fence pickets, pallet wood, almost anything - just make sure it's really dry and not too thick.
A container for your fire which will limit oxygen, but let you keep the burn going. Wider than it is tall, preferably with outward-sloping sides
A safe place to have your fire (note: If you're doing it right, there will be very little smoke after you get it going)
A method to quench the fire (I just use water from the hose - but in areas where water is limited, you can smother with wet cloth for less net water usage)
A method to break down the biochar, likely below half an inch ( ~1 cm) pieces
Now, onto some details:
I dug through all sorts of reports/sites/whatnot on biochar, and by far the simplest, most straightforward approach I found was the "flame capped kiln" - basically a container where you can have your fire, but limit oxygen from the bottom and sides.
Example: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&ved=2ahUKEwj_nda5mrnoAhUBOKwKHdvSCX0QFjAGegQIBRAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fforestry.usu.edu%2Ffiles%2Futah-forest-facts%2Fhazardous-fuels-reduction-using-flame-cap-biochar-kilns.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2yALqjhCh2KX76RDuVS2Mz
Unfortunately, the described version is too big and heavy for the usual home gardener - and likely too expensive as well!
I experimented with a variety of easy/cheap approaches. It really is critical to have it wider, preferably with outward-sloping sides. A metal 5-gallon bucket is quite finicky and problematic - too tall, meaning not enough air/oxygen. The best cheap solution I found was a steel washtub. Modern example linked below, though a more old-fashioned heavy galvanized (instead of electroplate) version would be better.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/behrens-17-gal-galvanized-sheet-steel-utility-tub
The whole idea is to get a good fire going, burn off the volatile resins from the wood, but leave a pure carbon matrix behind. Enough oxygen to burn the volatiles (make visible flames) but not enough to ash much of the charcoal/carbon matrix. The quickest production is from smaller sticks/twigs, under 1" (2cm) and cut to fit inside the kiln/tub. Of course, I also have larger wood that needs to be processed, but I limit it to 4 pieces of 2-4" (4-9cm) diameter. These larger pieces are used at the very beginning when making a "log cabin" style fire in the washtub to give them the longest possible burning time. I use small pieces between and around them, and periodically lever up the larger diameter pieces to the top of the fire. They also periodically get smacked with the poking stick to break off charcoal and expose the innards to the heat. Too many thick pieces? Split them before you get started!
So, key item: When to add fuel? Ideally, you are adding fuel when the existing burning sticks have blackened and are just starting to show ash. Ash is the carbon matrix burning away, so if you have ash starting - you've gotten most of the volatile components burned off. Add some more fuel so that it sucks up the oxygen and also provides heat to your semi-burnt pieces, driving off the rest of the volatiles.
I reserve some really small diameter twigs/brush/straw for the very end of the burn, because there are invariably a few larger chunks which haven't finished burning, but the rest of the washtub full of coals is going to start ashing away. The little twigs burn fast, using up the oxygen that would otherwise let your precious charcoal turn to ash.
At the point where you have a nice, even bed of coals filling your washtub most of the way and very little to zero flame - quench. Stir your nice charcoal and find the hot spots. Quench again.
After everything has cooled, I use a 1/2" mesh screen to screen out the large pieces, break them up, then rescreen. If a piece is still too big - it probably wasn't cooked enough. I set aside any material which doesn't make it through the second attempt at screening, get it dried thoroughly - and put it in the bottom of the washbasin for the next run.
Post-treatment: Critical item if you want to use this beneficially in the garden in a short timeframe. You need to get nutrients into that barren carbon matrix. You could use compost, manure, chicken droppings, urine... There was a great little study on capturing nitrogen from cow barns - mixing the cleanouts (of manure/urine/straw) with charcoal was better than straight composting at retaining nitrogen. However, the best approach (highest nitrogen retention) was to simply use the biochar spread in the barn to get that direct contact and absorption.
So, how to do this at home the lazy way? Put your charcoal in a 5 gallon bucket in a discreet area of your garden or porch, and add urine.
Where do you get the urine? Well.... make sure to hydrate well with tea, or beer or whatever while gardening. Spend a long time gardening. You don't need to go back inside. *hint* *hint*
Maybe you chicken folks will let me know if charcoal works well as chicken bedding...
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Does anyone grow hazelnuts? I'm planning to start a hazel coppice in the wooded section of my lot. The ground is already clear from deer browsing and I want to bring back some understory. I also really want to have my own supply of bean poles in a couple years. As someone who's moved around a lot and has only owned a home for a little over a year it feels a little odd and wonderful to plan for 7 years down the road when the hazels will be ready to harvest and hopefully we'll finally have fruit from the pear and apple tress I planted last fall.
We had a couple of hazelnut trees when I was growing up - I really enjoyed the nuts, though I think I was about the only one in the family who actually gathered and ate them, as with the gooseberries. OMG fresh gooseberries are the best! I mean, once you get the picking technique down so that you don't get stabbed. Haven't found anything remotely close flavorwise in the grocery store, and I cannot grow them in Austin.
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Great post on biochar @TomTX! Thank you!
Dumb question. You mentioned using old fencing. But you can't used treated lumber for this, can you?
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Great post on biochar @TomTX! Thank you!
Dumb question. You mentioned using old fencing. But you can't used treated lumber for this, can you?
Happy to help! I'd be thrilled to see more home biochar producers. It's something you can do to lock up carbon and improve soil fertility for thousands of years. Archaeologists frequently will carbon-date a site using the charcoal.
I would not use treated lumber. The process would make it very easy to release the metals used in treatment. Around here it's rare to see treated lumber for fencing, other than the posts in the ground. If you want something better than basic pine people usually either upgrade to cedar or stain/paint the fence.
I scored a pallet from next door this morning, so that's going to be turned into charcoal once I cut it up. If I had a planer I might try to use it for something. Pallets are typically relatively strong hardwood. I still have a bunch of fence pickets, mostly already cut up - plus a lot of sticks from pruning that I've been drying out. When pruning, I just take off all the leaves (dropped in the grass, mowed) and cut the sticks to 8-12" lengths while green, mostly with pruning clippers. Toss 'em in a pile off to the side for initial drying out. I havve a couple of bins in covered areas for final drying (shed, back porch)
I've got a batch from Wednesday which needs to be sieved and put into a 5 gallon bucket.
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One of the side effects of everyone staying home with social distancing and worrying about the food supply chain, is that more friends are looking at doing veg gardens this year. Two friends approached me about giving them advice. One is a newbie and the other has had a flower garden for years but never any veggies. When they placed their online seed orders, found out that many places were sold out. A phone call to Botanical Interests indicated that they usually had 500 orders a month at the high end and now orders were 3,000 month. I thought it was amazing that BI was even open. Dug into my seed stash and gave them seeds I've been saving over the years, in case their orders don't arrive on time.
Confirming my suspicion that food garden demand has increased, saw this article about Corona victory gardens. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/dining/victory-gardens-coronavirus.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article
Now I've started watching old shows about victory gardens on youtube.
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That's super interesting @Indio. I have extra seeds, and will have extra plants too. I could put an ad on the local 'hour exchange', or maybe Nextdoor and see if anyone needs them?
Good news y'all. I called the apiary yesterday and as of now they are still planning to deliver bees in 10 days or so. Fingers crossed! My bee yard and hive bodies are all done. Just waiting for the ladies.
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For sourcing seeds, I had good luck at the beginning of the week with Etsy (online), Home Depot and Tractor Supply Company (both local) - HD had both Burpee and Ferry Morse seeds, with a small selection from Seed Saver's exchange. I noticed the Ferry Morse packs tended to have noticeably more seed per pack. I went ahead and bought my fall/winter crop seeds (spinach, brassicas, carrots) and a 72-cell seed starter kit.
On the home biochar front: If you want smaller scale easy methods, you can either use a chiminea or fire ring with an approach similar to the washtub, or for really small scale - an old steel 1-gallon paint can.
What's the paint can method? Well, you fill the paint can with small diameter dry material (ie twigs), loosely put the lid on the can and build your fire around the can. Be ready for the edges of the lid to have fire coming out as the volatiles are boiled off from the material in the can.
For those who don't know what a Chiminea is:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/37-in-Clay-KD-Chiminea-with-Iron-Stand-Rope-KD-ROPE/207015023
If you want to combine biochar production with some cooking, a TLUD wood stove is another option. Actually, many options... Still with the theme of "wood fire with limited oxygen." As with the other methods, you need to be sure to quench it when your wood has converted to biochar. Very scaleable, from 1-gallon paint can size up to 55 gallon steel drum (55 gallon often is run with an upside-down 30 gallon inside, both full of fuel. Outer fuel burning heats the inner fuel, and the volatiles are forced to come up from the bottom of the 55 gallon and burn in the same zone as the outside fuel, again limiting oxygen)
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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/28/style/chicken-eggs-coronavirus.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
Panic buying chicks.
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I hate to think what will happen to all those chicks when life goes back to something more normal in a couple months and people decide they don't want them.
Planted a handful of tomatoes cucumbers and peppers in a seed tray for transplants. Last year I felt like I neglected everything by midsummer so I'm trying to cut way back on what I plant this year.
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I hate to think what will happen to all those chicks when life goes back to something more normal in a couple months and people decide they don't want them.
That's a good point. I was looking at having my usual spring work travel cancelled as an opportunity to raise some replacement pullets. Then the stay at home order was put in place, so I decided I wouldn't make a special trip to the feed store to buy them (already stocked on critter feed). There is a good chance that I can buy some hens cheap on Craigslist in a few months and skip the whole messy business of raising chicks.
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Funny story from the garden today. I was shoveling up aged compost from our chicken run to use in the garden, and I saw an egg. I thought it was one of our ceramic nest eggs, several of which have gone missing. I bent down, picked it up, and it went BANG! and exploded greenish yellow goo all over my shirt and shorts. A real egg that's been in the compost heap for 6-12 months. The smell was beyond horrific . . .something straight out of one of Satan's orifices. I thought I could keep doing my outdoor work, but I couldn't even breathe through the stench. It was a hot day, so I went to the hose and soaked myself down, but it didn't help. So I went into the garage, took my clothes off, and walked them straight to the washing machine. Family from 15 ft away were like, "WHAT IS THAT SMELL?" I've since taken a shower and washed my hair, and I can still smell it :)
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Funny story from the garden today. I was shoveling up aged compost from our chicken run to use in the garden, and I saw an egg. I thought it was one of our ceramic nest eggs, several of which have gone missing. I bent down, picked it up, and it went BANG! and exploded greenish yellow goo all over my shirt and shorts. A real egg that's been in the compost heap for 6-12 months. The smell was beyond horrific . . .something straight out of one of Satan's orifices. I thought I could keep doing my outdoor work, but I couldn't even breathe through the stench. It was a hot day, so I went to the hose and soaked myself down, but it didn't help. So I went into the garage, took my clothes off, and walked them straight to the washing machine. Family from 15 away were like, "WHAT IS THAT SMELL?" I've since taken a shower and washed my hair, and I can still smell it :)
Oh nooooo! Wow, this is hilarious, but sorry it's hard to get rid of, and sorry for your family that they won't be able to get very far away during this time. Hope you have a big house.
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@Trifele, The chicken egg story was priceless! It’s a small price to pay in the grander scheme at least.
Today we put quite a few egg shells from our compost bins to use and fenced a new garden expansion area we just planted. I find that the use of bright lime green compressor sprayed paint and almost neon red paint in the garden cages and fence panels is very therapeutic... Gives veggies a botanical garden vibe that just brings joy... no
matter the weather.
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Funny story from the garden today. I was shoveling up aged compost from our chicken run to use in the garden, and I saw an egg. I thought it was one of our ceramic nest eggs, several of which have gone missing. I bent down, picked it up, and it went BANG! and exploded greenish yellow goo all over my shirt and shorts. A real egg that's been in the compost heap for 6-12 months. The smell was beyond horrific . . .something straight out of one of Satan's orifices. I thought I could keep doing my outdoor work, but I couldn't even breathe through the stench. It was a hot day, so I went to the hose and soaked myself down, but it didn't help. So I went into the garage, took my clothes off, and walked them straight to the washing machine. Family from 15 away were like, "WHAT IS THAT SMELL?" I've since taken a shower and washed my hair, and I can still smell it :)
Oh nooooo! Wow, this is hilarious, but sorry it's hard to get rid of, and sorry for your family that they won't be able to get very far away during this time. Hope you have a big house.
Haha @sui generis -- husband said I smelled fine after the first shower, so I guess it was my imagination. :)
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We just bought some trees yesterday - a juniper, a Russian hawthorn, three Crimson Cloud hawthorn, and an Eastern redbud. Our backyard has some (unknown) fruit trees on the borders, but our lot is 100' by 450', and the we definitely need some more tall greenery back there. We're planning to plant on Monday or Tuesday this week when I'm WFH. We also bought them from a local nursery that is doing pickup/delivery orders. The man I spoke to when I was making the order ended our call with "and thanks for buying from us right now, we really appreciate it." I am glad that we're able to support a local business when it means so much to them.
I also threw a bunch of clover seeds out in the back 1/4 acre(ish) in hopes of tying down some more dirt. The grass out there now is a clumping variety, so over the winter, the wind has blown the dirt away from between the clumps, and now we have a zillion tiny hummocks that I keep tripping over.
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Is anyone growing Eugenia reinwardtiana (Australian Beach Cherry or Cedar Bay Cherry being common names)?
I've had success with Barbados Cherry (Malpighia glabra) here in Austin, but I don't really care for the flavor.
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I am trying the winter seed sowing method this year and am starting to see some shoots developing in my containers. I’m going to sow more this week.
I purchased onion sets and seed potatoes before we were quarantined, so now my taters are in a dark place chitting.
This is my first year in a condo so I have rented a city garden plot. I need fencing, plant supports and tools, but will wait three weeks and figure out how to procure those items then. We have an excellent farm supply store here, so I’m fine waiting to go out when the risk is lessened.
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@Trifele You have my sympathies. I know that smell of rotten eggs well.
It was a wet weekend, which made it ideal time for transplanting seedlings into larger containers. I've been saving half gallon milk cartons to put seedlings into. Fortunately, I bought enough sterilized soil in the Fall to get through seedling season without having to go out. All of the garden centers are closed here due to lockdown.
I'm planning a morel, maitake and hen of the woods mushroom patch in a small understory area in the front yard. I'm looking for ways to expand my growing area as much as possible on this 1/4 quarter acre lot.
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Funny story from the garden today. I was shoveling up aged compost from our chicken run to use in the garden, and I saw an egg. I thought it was one of our ceramic nest eggs, several of which have gone missing. I bent down, picked it up, and it went BANG! and exploded greenish yellow goo all over my shirt and shorts. A real egg that's been in the compost heap for 6-12 months. The smell was beyond horrific . . .something straight out of one of Satan's orifices. I thought I could keep doing my outdoor work, but I couldn't even breathe through the stench. It was a hot day, so I went to the hose and soaked myself down, but it didn't help. So I went into the garage, took my clothes off, and walked them straight to the washing machine. Family from 15 away were like, "WHAT IS THAT SMELL?" I've since taken a shower and washed my hair, and I can still smell it :)
Oh yuck! I once cracked open an egg that must have been hidden for a long time, and then uncovered, because it was black inside. It was so nasty I couldn't even look at an egg for a couple weeks. Can only imagine getting that vileness on yourself and clothing. Aaacckk!
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Funny story from the garden today. . . .
Oh yuck! I once cracked open an egg that must have been hidden for a long time, and then uncovered, because it was black inside. It was so nasty I couldn't even look at an egg for a couple weeks.
Whoa -- Black? That is beyond nasty. Ewwwww!
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In happier news, both of my olive trees are flowering like mad. We had a mild winter, so they didn't have any freeze damage (woo!)
Hopefully I'll have fruit this year - anyone have a preferred processing method? I've got plenty of salt for brining. I've just never done it. Looks like the easy method I see is starting with green olives:
Place in quart jars (lid while in storage) - store at 60-80F.
Medium brine for a week (1 cup salt per gallon of water), drain then fill with
Strong brine for 2-3 months (1.5 cups salt per gallon of water)
If less bitter olives are desired, change out the strong brine after a month.
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I'll just leave this here, the link is pretty self-explanatory.
https://insteading.com/blog/human-urine-fertilizer/
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I'll just leave this here, the link is pretty self-explanatory.
https://insteading.com/blog/human-urine-fertilizer/
I think I’ll stick with my seaweed fertilizer technique. 😄
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I'll just leave this here, the link is pretty self-explanatory.
https://insteading.com/blog/human-urine-fertilizer/
I think I’ll stick with my seaweed fertilizer technique. 😄
I'm 150+ miles from the Gulf, and there's very little seaweed to collect anyway.
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I needed some basil for my bolognese sauce and guess what? I had a bunch of basil seedling needing thinning. This has to be the earliest I have ever harvested something I grew from seed all by myself. I am pumped for this season.
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I checked on my winter sowed seedlings today and was encouraged with the progress. I planted up several trays of cold loving plants to add to the mix.
I spent a small chunk of the day on Facebook crowdsourcing free materials for our allotment. It seems that people’s’ sheds are overflowing with stuff they’re happy to part with. Friends have perused their sheds and left stuff outside for me to pick up. It works great and we can maintain proper distance.
Tonight on my walk I saw several tall, sturdy tree branches that I’m going to go back and retrieve tomorrow to make plant supports for my peas.
Avoiding retail for health reasons has worked out splendidly for my pocketbook and the environment.
Any hints on how to make a cheap, functional gate for our allotment?
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@Indio -- you're my hero with the mushrooms. Please let us know how those go, especially the morels. I've been meaning to try mushrooms for years and haven't yet done it.
Any hints on how to make a cheap, functional gate for our allotment?
@Trudie -- what's the fence itself like? That will probably determine some of the properties of the gate. We have several different homemade gates here, some of them made with scrap materials. I can take pictures if it's helpful.
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I was planning to go to the garden center today but my state is officially on lockdown. I guess I have no excuse not to start rearranging the vegetable garden. We put in a fence this spring so I want to move all the raised beds into orderly rows. And build one or two more with some spare lumber we have laying around. It's pressure treated but I can use it for pumpkins since we mostly grow those for Halloween carving. I still waffle back and forth on how concerned to be about pressure treated wood leaching stuff into the soil/plants.
@Trudie as long as you have two hinges gates are pretty easy to build. The typical method I've seen is horizonal top and bottom supports, one diagonal support, and then a bunch of verticals. I've seen some really cute ones online made completely from 2in thick sticks/cut saplings. You can make them without hinges but then they're a bit of a pain to open and close.
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Regarding garden gates — the fencing already there consists of t-posts and poultry caging, enough to keep out rabbits and small critters, but that’s about it. There aren’t good hinges, I think. I would be interested in seeing photos of other gates.
My husband is wondering if we’ll be able to garden at all as there is talk of restricting things further with even outdoor activities. This would be devastating to me.
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I’m still trying to source materials without walking into a store. The problem is, I usually buy tomatoes and certain veg in person. Any good sources for plants online?
The seed companies are so swamped right now and out of so many things.
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I’m still trying to source materials without walking into a store. The problem is, I usually buy tomatoes and certain veg in person. Any good sources for plants online?
The seed companies are so swamped right now and out of so many things.
Check your local nurseries. MY former local nursery is now selling all sorts of things online.
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Regarding garden gates — the fencing already there consists of t-posts and poultry caging, enough to keep out rabbits and small critters, but that’s about it. There aren’t good hinges, I think. I would be interested in seeing photos of other gates.
Hey @Trudie -- the rain stopped so I'll get you some pictures today. FYI -- our gate posts (where the hinges are attached) are wood, but you can also put hinges straight onto T-posts -- people make those. Just google "T post hinge kit". Here's an example: https://kencove.com/fence/Wedge-Loc+Gate+Hinge+Set_detail_HWG.php
If you hang your gate from a T-post you just have to build the gate very light, but that should work fine for rabbits.
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I was so excited to plant carrots and beets after work yesterday. Only 2 more weeks until I can plant my tomatoes, melon, peppers, beans and sweet potatoes. Question for you all: has anyone experienced a crazy amount of wasps this year? Our area (southeast US) has so many more than usual.
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I was so excited to plant carrots and beets after work yesterday. Only 2 more weeks until I can plant my tomatoes, melon, peppers, beans and sweet potatoes. Question for you all: has anyone experienced a crazy amount of wasps this year? Our area (southeast US) has so many more than usual.
Hey @asauer -- no I haven't here at our place, but I saw a couple posts on this on Nextdoor so others have seen it. Maybe the mild winter?
Wasps can be a big plus if they prey on the larva that eat vegetables (I'm looking at you cabbage moths)
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I’m still trying to source materials without walking into a store. The problem is, I usually buy tomatoes and certain veg in person. Any good sources for plants online?
The seed companies are so swamped right now and out of so many things.
I had good luck with an Etsy vendor - had a lot of what I wanted in stock.
Some in-person nurseries now let you order/pay in advance, then when you drive up they load into your trunk or whatever. No need to get out of the car, or even roll down the window - just show the receipt.
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Made another batch of biochar (charcoal) this week and thereby used up all my dried trimmings and a good amount of the old fence pickets. I processed about 5 gallons of the biochar through my 3/8" sieve.
Did a whole bunch of shrub and tree trimming to get better light into the garden areas, which means I am refilling my storage areas for trimmings ;) - got some beanpoles made as well with some of the long/straight sticks.
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@asauer, Yes! Seems a mild winter may be the reason for so many early bugs, and of course, their main predator the wasp. Tends to balance out as the migratory birds come through...
As for growing, today was crazy busy. Had an afternoon with perfect temps in ATL area so planted flat parsley seed (experiment), beans, arugula, corn and did a ton of other small tasks on irrigation, a fence and several bits of cleanup on the raised beds. The biggest win of the season so far is asparagus! I bought roughly 30 crowns at Tractor Supply thinking they would be iffy... NOPE! Almost every darn one has sprouted in 3 different patches I planted (old school in concave floored trenches with horse manure, compost, a thin layer of soil, the asparagus crown, then more soil, them more compost and top mulch layer. Darn things are 2 feet high already!
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Hi @Trudie
Here is the gate to our chicken field. It's basically a square wooden frame (untreated cedar, because we had it and it was lightweight),, two cross pieces, and covered with 2X4" welded wire. We used the welded wire because we don't care about rabbits getting in there, just keeping the chickens in. Our garden fence is similar to this, but has poultry wire instead to keep rabbits out.
DH says that if he needed a quick n easy fence to keep rabbits out he would get a pre-made lattice fence panel, either lightweight wood composit or vinyl (big box stores have them and will cut them for you) and hang it right from the T posts using a hinge kit. Just make sure the holes in the lattice are small enough to keep rabbits out. Rabbits go right through this 2X4" welded wire field fence, so the lattice would have to be smaller than this. You can order all that stuff online for pickup, or to be delivered. (At least here you can).
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We're in NC too. We were planning a big trip to Europe this Spring, so didn't plan to start a garden this year. But with the trip cancelled we've decided to start one. It's a new house & doesn't have a lot of level sunny spots, so I suggested to DW that we go the Square Foot Garden route. NC is in a lock down, but that hasn't seemed to close much beyond restaurants, bars, and hair & nail salons. We'll need a truck load of aged manure, which I'm hoping to get from a dairy in Union Grove that sold me some a few years ago.
I just found this thread, so have a few pages to catch up on. :)
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It's supposed to be warm today and I can't wait to get outside. Cucumber/tomato/herb seedlings are coming along pretty well under the grow lights. Yesterday, I planted two climbing roses along our privacy fence and a few ferns in the shady spot next to the side door. Today I'm potting a bunch of dalhia bulbs for basal cuttings. I'll also try out our new leaf mulcher on all the leaves we didn't quite get around to raking last fall.
Strawberries I planted last year are already growing crazy with new leaves. Hopefully we'll get a great crop this year.
Does anyone in zone 7 or warmer do spring kale or chard? I'm planning to start some peas and leaf lettuce today, but don't know if it's worth trying for kale or chard with the warm spring we're having. Do you think I'd get enough growth before the hot summer to make it worth trying?
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Does anyone in zone 7 or warmer do spring kale or chard? I'm planning to start some peas and leaf lettuce today, but don't know if it's worth trying for kale or chard with the warm spring we're having. Do you think I'd get enough growth before the hot summer to make it worth trying?
I've had a fall-planted chard survive the following summer in zone 8b. It did get late afternoon shade.
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Does anyone in zone 7 or warmer do spring kale or chard? I'm planning to start some peas and leaf lettuce today, but don't know if it's worth trying for kale or chard with the warm spring we're having. Do you think I'd get enough growth before the hot summer to make it worth trying?
Hey @coffeefueled -- yes, I'm in 7a and I plant both kale and chard both spring and fall. I also keep plants over the winter, to eat in the early spring and also for seed. I pretty much regard both of them as year-round plants here.
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A chipmunk (I think) decided to dig his burrow in my strawberry bed. It's uprooted and nibbled 2-3 plants. Is a small 2ft high chickenwire fence with bird netting over the top enough to keep chipmunks and rabbits out in the future? I'll have to trap and remove the one that's in there, but I want to have a good fence up first.
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A chipmunk (I think) decided to dig his burrow in my strawberry bed. It's uprooted and nibbled 2-3 plants. Is a small 2ft high chickenwire fence with bird netting over the top enough to keep chipmunks and rabbits out in the future? I'll have to trap and remove the one that's in there, but I want to have a good fence up first.
Chipmunks are small. They’ll go right through chicken wire. 1/2” hardware cloth would do the trick though. Keep in mind if they decide to climb, they will chew right through the netting.
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Hey welcome back @rabbitarian! I didn't recognize the new handle at first! All well up north? How did it go with your chickens and the city?
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Hey welcome back @rabbitarian! I didn't recognize the new handle at first! All well up north? How did it go with your chickens and the city?
I’ve been back here journaling for a while now but forgot about this thread until yesterday, lol.
Things are okay for the most part. Mental health went to shit for a long while but a medication change and fresh round of therapy has gotten me back to baseline for the most part. Back is not happy with me but usually able to get everything I need to get done.
Down to 4 chickens. If they catch me again I’ll lose my chicken permit altogether, so probably won’t risk it since they’re so good at turning scraps into compost. One of my projects lately, in fact, has been building a smaller coop for them and dismantling the larger one to free up yard space.
They also passed an ordinance restricting the number of rabbits but so far have not come by to enforce it even though it passed months ago. That one won’t hurt me too much the way they wrote it, but I would lose about 1/3 of my current production potential and it would be trickier to advance my breeding program.
Here’s a few pics of garden projects and that smaller coop. Built it for free with all materials repurposed from other things (mainly wood from al my raised garden beds I’ve decided to move away from. Not quite done yet but good enough that they’re in there and I’ll finish it once I’ve dismantled the old coop surrounding it so that I have more space and roof panels that are the right dimensions for what I need to make it weatherproof :)
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Hey welcome back @rabbitarian! I didn't recognize the new handle at first! All well up north? How did it go with your chickens and the city?
I’ve been back here journaling for a while now but forgot about this thread until yesterday, lol.
Sorry about the chickens, but hey nice construction projects! Whatcha got going under the grow lights in that picture?
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Hey welcome back @rabbitarian! I didn't recognize the new handle at first! All well up north? How did it go with your chickens and the city?
I’ve been back here journaling for a while now but forgot about this thread until yesterday, lol.
Sorry about the chickens, but hey nice construction projects! Whatcha got going under the grow lights in that picture?
Right now peas (will be hardened off today), broccoli, peppers, and just seeded some tomatoes. If the kale I forgot to order shows up soon (didn’t place the order until panic buying of seeds had started but at least I got in before my preferred vendor temporarily stopped taking new orders to catch up ) I’ll seed that too but otherwise I’ll wait until closer to last frost and seed some cucurbits and beans to get a head start. Might seed some flowers and herbs too, haven’t decided whether to do it now and juggle space under the lights or wait until the veg is all done.
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That's too bad about the chickens. @rabbitarian I was rooting for you. In my neck of the woods, my friendly neighbors are asking me for eggs because the supermarkets can't keep them in stock. Getting more growing space is always a good thing and with all of that chicken compost, I'm sure they will do well in that spot. I see you added a fence with cinderblocks to your front yard. Did you have to keep pests out?
In my little 1/3 of acre, I've done an assessment of laying to non-laying hens and decided that I've got to optimize the flock. The plan is to add more prolific layers and fewer beauty contestants, with the exception of one cream legbar. Will be giving away breeds that don't lay more than 200 eggs a year. Using movable fencing to keep the hens out of my flower and herb beds, I'm letting them free range around the backyard. Because we are in a C-19 hotspot, my goal is not have to go to feed store as often and let the chickens keep the grass mowed.
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After getting up early to bike over to a beach for sunrise I put in a full day shift in the garden. It was about 16 Celsius (60-ish Fahrenheit) and sunny...very little wind...an PERFECT day for garden work. Peas, both Snow and Snap, that were planted in the first week of March are doing great and are making their way up my the wire trellis. My kale seedlings are about 8 inches tall now and looking very healthy...though they have a way to go to catch my current overwintered kale monster - measured today at 7.5ft tall. Spinach is very close to being harvestable, and my lettuce isn’t too far behind either. Garlic coming along. Horseradish patch is coming to life...and a bit more ominously, so is the encircling blackberry thicket. I’ll have to keep a close eye on that. I keep digging up carrots from last years carrot patch - it’s almost like they are multiplying underground.
Things that went in the ground today...about 40 seed potatoes, about 3 dozen onion transplants (red, white and yellow varieties), a bunch of brassica transplants (two varieties of cauliflower, 2 types of broccoli, and 4 types of cabbage, both red and green). I’m a little worried about the cauliflower as the overnight lows are still a bit chilly, but I know in the past that even when the cauliflower seedlings appear to be at death’s door they can, and often do, pull through. I planted more peas, as I’m trying to do every couple of weeks in order to have a steady supply throughout June and July....rather the the pe-avalanche that has occurred in years past. I am incredibly pleased by the quality of my soil. Raking back the seaweed/leaf mulch (mostly leaf now, seaweed has been largely broken down) reveals beautifully black soil and some loosening of the soil with a fork reveals a wondrous amount of earthworms.
Tomorrow I will focus on some root crops....beets, carrots, turnips and parsnips...and maybe some rutabagas - even though my planting guide says to sow these later in the Summer.
I have tomatoes, tomatillos and peppers growing under lights and these will go out into the garden in about a month. My favourite varieties of squash (heavy on the spaghetti types) will be started indoors in a few weeks....cukes too.
For the past 5 years I have usually spent the bulk of April in Mexico - not happening this year for obvious reasons - and this has always been challenging. Basically I plant a bunch of stuff, then leave and hope for the best over a span of weeks. My family has been good about keeping tabs on things while I’ve been absent, but I never expected them to further the gardening process along. The global pandemic situation is awful. But one, minuscule little positive is that by having my travel plans cancelled I’ll be present in my garden for the entirety of the gardening season this year. I’m very interested and excited to see how this might affect the whole operation. One things for sure, I won’t return from Mexico and stare 3 straight days of weeding in the face. 😀
ETA: forgot to add that there is some activity in our mason bee house. 🐝
I love reading about everyone’s plans. Keep it going folks!
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I've had that thought too, @Jon_Snow, that for many this will be a unique garden year. Many people now have unprecedented time to devote to their spring gardens.
@Indio we love our cream legbars too. We have three of them -- so smart and sassy.
Here's a pic of my overwintered Red Russian kale plant that is flowering. Perfect timing, as I need to replenish my seed stock. Such a beauty! It's not as tall as @Jon_Snow's, more like a huge bush, about 4 feet tall.
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That's too bad about the chickens. @rabbitarian I was rooting for you. In my neck of the woods, my friendly neighbors are asking me for eggs because the supermarkets can't keep them in stock. Getting more growing space is always a good thing and with all of that chicken compost, I'm sure they will do well in that spot. I see you added a fence with cinderblocks to your front yard. Did you have to keep pests out?
Yeah I definitely feel a bit salty about not having the bigger because I could be giving away or selling at feed cost so many eggs right now. But I’m not keto anymore so a smaller flock actually still meets most of our own needs.
The fence is just for trellising. Works well for snap peas and pole beans. The cinderblock is just a retaining wall so I can raise soil level without it washing away onto the sidewalk. I’m hoping to use the holes as planters too, for small flowers and things like bush beans.
@Jon_Snow that will be a nice silver lining to all this craziness that you get to experience the whole gardening season :)
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Argh. Now I'm again considering chickens. Just saw some laying hens for free on Craigslist.
Except I'm not going to go all the way to the far side of Austin for chickens. OTOH, I guess I could put them in the trunk of the sedan...
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We had salad with our first harvest of arugula last night! I've been missing arugula and am so pleased it seems to be faring quite well!
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Staying very busy here. I'm hardening off cucumber, tomato, broccoli, and pak choi seedlings, hoping to plant over the weekend. I'm digging and potting up several elderberry suckers for my neighbor who wants some. I'm also giving her extra vegetable plants.
We're also planting some big things today -- skip laurel, mountain laurel, and a sourwood tree. Fingers crossed especially for the sourwood. It's my first time trying those, and I hear they are finicky.
And hey! Last but definitely not least my bees are coming the day after tomorrow! VERY excited.
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@TomTX I'd be careful about getting free laying hens from craigslist unless you're proficient at determing the age of a bird. Chickens slow down their laying when they are 2-3 years old. So they may be laying today but could slow down in the next couple of months leaving you with hens to feed and no eggs.
You might want to check your local feed supply place. This time of year they usually have chicks and young pullets for sale.
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@TomTX I'd be careful about getting free laying hens from craigslist unless you're proficient at determing the age of a bird. Chickens slow down their laying when they are 2-3 years old. So they may be laying today but could slow down in the next couple of months leaving you with hens to feed and no eggs.
"No pet chickens" was part of the preamble for the family discussion. If they're not laying, they're gonna be food.
Probably more than we should tackle right now anyway.
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Staying very busy here. I'm hardening off cucumber, tomato, broccoli, and pak choi seedlings, hoping to plant over the weekend. I'm digging and potting up several elderberry suckers for my neighbor who wants some. I'm also giving her extra vegetable plants.
We're also planting some big things today -- skip laurel, mountain laurel, and a sourwood tree. Fingers crossed especially for the sourwood. It's my first time trying those, and I hear they are finicky.
And hey! Last but definitely not least my bees are coming the day after tomorrow! VERY excited.
@Trifele I'm looking forward to seeing pics of your bees. Have you figured out how you are going to get them into the hive? If not, let me know. I have a very easy system.
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@TomTX I'd be careful about getting free laying hens from craigslist unless you're proficient at determing the age of a bird. Chickens slow down their laying when they are 2-3 years old. So they may be laying today but could slow down in the next couple of months leaving you with hens to feed and no eggs.
"No pet chickens" was part of the preamble for the family discussion. If they're not laying, they're gonna be food.
Probably more than we should tackle right now anyway.
Free laying chickens if they don’t lay become free soup birds or chicken sausage if it’s legal (or easy to conceal) processing them yourself but yeah if you don’t have a lot of spare time don’t stress it :)
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Staying very busy here. I'm hardening off cucumber, tomato, broccoli, and pak choi seedlings, hoping to plant over the weekend. I'm digging and potting up several elderberry suckers for my neighbor who wants some. I'm also giving her extra vegetable plants.
We're also planting some big things today -- skip laurel, mountain laurel, and a sourwood tree. Fingers crossed especially for the sourwood. It's my first time trying those, and I hear they are finicky.
And hey! Last but definitely not least my bees are coming the day after tomorrow! VERY excited.
@Trifele I'm looking forward to seeing pics of your bees. Have you figured out how you are going to get them into the hive? If not, let me know. I have a very easy system.
@Indio -- You mean the ones still in the nuc box after the frames are moved? I was going to do a gentle 'shake down and pour', but please do let me know your method!
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Some pics from today. Our current rooster is young, but he's a good guy and is doing a great job so far. He saved one of the hens from a hawk last week. He's an Easter Egger, and I have half a mind to let our broodies hatch out some of the fertile eggs being laid by our two Easter Egger hens. One of them lays green eggs, one blue. I'm curious what egg color genes the roo carries. Chicken genetics are complicated and interesting.
In the other pix you can see a Black Aussie hen and a Buckeye. Both really good layers with nice temperaments.
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@Indio -- You mean the ones still in the nuc box after the frames are moved? I was going to do a gentle 'shake down and pour', but please do let me know your method!
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@Trifele Are you getting a nuc with 4-5 frames of built out comb with queen and brood bees or a package with 3lbs of bees in a screened box and the queen in a cage?
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We are pretty much starting with a clean slate, and based on experiences from our last garden we will try to keep it simple and low maintenance. The last few days we've planted three red currant bushes, two blueberries (pink lemonade and patriot) and five raspberries (two yellow, two summer red and a autumn red). The raspberries can climb on the fence towards the road, and be available for kids passing by on the sidewalk. We have also prepared a raised bed for vegetables, and figured out where our potatoes should go. I could only find seed potatoes at the farmers' shop, and their idea of "hobby sized" was 5 kg, or enough for 20 m2. I need to find someone to share with. The neighbour's garage borders our garden, and that wall is rather ugly. We've planted some clematis, and are planning to add some roses and sugar snap peas. Hopefully that will be enough to cover it.
I don't really have the patience for planting seeds, but am giving it a go with tomatoes, peppers, chilli, and a few other things. We'll see if they survive.
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I am growing foods! I am not good at growing things. But I discovered that you can regrow some vegetables from kitchen scraps, and free food soothes my soul. I'm growing celery, onions, green onions, garlic, potatoes, and carrot greens from scraps. Going to try bok choy next. The green onions are the most fun. I can check them approximately 85 million times a day, and they've always grown.
I enjoy it too. The bok choy stub in a jar has grown 4 decent leaves and looks like it is about to bloom. The celery isn't doing much, but it's still alive.
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For those that are successfully growing broccoli...is there a secret you can share? I'm in zone 9b and tried growing over last summer and this winter and both times we just get little pinky sized stalks of broccoli. I can't re-check out the Golden Gate Gardening book, since my library has only a hard cover, but I know it recommended planting in November, which we did. But I don't have any other secrets it might have imparted. For now, we've torn most of it up to make way for more kale, which we can apparently never have enough of. But still would have loved to have had a pretty head of broccoli to eat someday.
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@Indio -- You mean the ones still in the nuc box after the frames are moved? I was going to do a gentle 'shake down and pour', but please do let me know your method!
@Trifele Are you getting a nuc with 4-5 frames of built out comb with queen and brood bees or a package with 3lbs of bees in a screened box and the queen in a cage?
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5 frame nucs with queen, built out comb, and brood
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Nucs are easy to install into the hive. Shouldn’t be a problem removing frames from nuc box and transferring to hive body. As long as you find the Queen and there is brood pattern on at least two frames, you should be all set. So excited for you and definitely want to see pictures of your new garden helpers. @Trifele
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For those that are successfully growing broccoli...is there a secret you can share? I'm in zone 9b and tried growing over last summer and this winter and both times we just get little pinky sized stalks of broccoli.
Hm. You're growing conditions are so different, @sui generis, but in general when things don't grow for me I run down my mental list of common causes: Sunlight sufficient? (broccoli needs quite a bit) Water? (ditto -- it needs at least an inch a week) Food? (it's a pretty heavy feeder. If the soil may be depleted you can try amending with compost, manure, or fertilizer) Temperature? (broccoli is a brassica, but because we're trying to get it to flower [the 'head'], I think it's pickier about temperature than other brassicas where we eat the leaves. If it's really cool or really hot it'll make leaves but not produce heads).
If the basics are all covered, then I try to think about some of the less common causes: Are they spaced far enough apart? (broccoli likes room, and doesn't seem to want to touch other plants) Is the soil ph ok? (Broccoli likes it slightly alkaline) Are any sneaky pests getting to them? Etc.
I'll be troubleshooting broccoli this spring too! I'm planting broccoli for the first time down south here. Should be educational, and I'll keep you posted. Moving here from Wisconsin was like starting over as a beginner gardener with certain plants; I had to learn a whole new way to take care of them because of the different conditions. Four years in, I've got most things figured out but I'm still struggling with peppers. They were so easy to grow in Wisconsin, and here it's the opposite. Soil issues, new pests (pepper weevils), etc. But because we love to eat peppers I'm giving it a go again this summer.
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For those that are successfully growing broccoli...is there a secret you can share? I'm in zone 9b and tried growing over last summer and this winter and both times we just get little pinky sized stalks of broccoli.
Here is a planting guide for the Sacramento area which is 9B. https://ucanr.edu/sites/sacmg/files/117117.pdf
We usually start seeds in July and transplant in September or you can start seeds in December and transplant in February for a spring crop. Make sure you have enough fertilizer in the soil before you plant. Vegetables require plenty of nitrogen which is only partially provided with compost in the soil.
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For those that are successfully growing broccoli...is there a secret you can share? I'm in zone 9b and tried growing over last summer and this winter and both times we just get little pinky sized stalks of broccoli.
Here is a planting guide for the Sacramento area which is 9B. https://ucanr.edu/sites/sacmg/files/117117.pdf
We usually start seeds in July and transplant in September or you can start seeds in December and transplant in February for a spring crop. Make sure you have enough fertilizer in the soil before you plant. Vegetables require plenty of nitrogen which is only partially provided with compost in the soil.
Compost provides plenty of nitrogen for veg. I never use any commercial fertilizer. However, if soils are cold (<55F) a quick release fertilizer can provide an extra boost because the soil biology isn’t making enough nutrients available to roots. Not a problem I experience here because I haven’t yet started doing season extension and spring/fall transitions are so abrupt where I live that by the time it’s safe to plant anything without protection soils are already fairly warm, and in fall we will have had a killing frost before soils cool down.
Worth also nothing that USDA zone is not nearly enough info especially in cases of zones 8+. 9b in CA is so different from 9b in TX and again from 9b in FL.
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For those that are successfully growing broccoli...is there a secret you can share? I'm in zone 9b and tried growing over last summer and this winter and both times we just get little pinky sized stalks of broccoli.
I’m in 9b and have had great success with broccoli...and all of the brassicas. Rabbitarian touched on it when commenting on the variations that exist between identically numbered Zones, but it could be that your 9b probably features much higher Summer temperatures than mine. It is considered to be a cool weather crop, and it’s fairly rare that we got temps over 30 Celsius (86F) here (southwest Canada), and I believe this is what helps broccoli thrive right on through the Summer months. Honestly, I think the climate here is just perfect for brassicas. Though what you described with your broccoli is not a “bolting” issue, which happens when things get too hot for broc. @Trifele offers some excellent advice in regards to possible issues, especially regarding soil fertility. Good luck in growing that lovely head of broccoli. It is truly one of the treasures of the home garden. (I tried to find a picture of one of mine from last year, but it proved elusive)
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For those that are successfully growing broccoli...is there a secret you can share? I'm in zone 9b and tried growing over last summer and this winter and both times we just get little pinky sized stalks of broccoli.
I’m in 9b and have had great success with broccoli...and all of the brassicas. Rabbitarian touched on it when commenting on the variations that exist between identically numbered Zones, but it could be that your 9b probably features much higher Summer temperatures than mine. It is considered to be a cool weather crop, and it’s fairly rare that we got temps over 30 Celsius (86F) here (southwest Canada), and I believe this is what helps broccoli thrive right on through the Summer months. Honestly, I think the climate here is just perfect for brassicas. Though what you described with your broccoli is not a “bolting” issue, which happens when things get too hot for broc. @Trifele offers some excellent advice in regards to possible issues, especially regarding soil fertility. Good luck in growing that lovely head of broccoli. It is truly one of the treasures of the home garden. (I tried to find a picture of one of mine from last year, but it proved elusive)
It is so good! There’s a nice delicate sweetness to truly fresh broccoli
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@Trifele Thanks for the gate photos and suggestions.
We’re still waiting on the city to till up our garden plot, but I do little jobs each day to keep me going. Today it was making plant labels. Tomorrow I will start more from seed. I’m also trying to safely gather materials to use in the garden.
My friend’s next door neighbor raises rabbits and so I have a source of rabbit poo for fertilizer. How long should I let it rest and dry before tossing it on the garden?
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For those that are successfully growing broccoli...is there a secret you can share? I'm in zone 9b and tried growing over last summer and this winter and both times we just get little pinky sized stalks of broccoli.
I’m in 9b and have had great success with broccoli...and all of the brassicas. Rabbitarian touched on it when commenting on the variations that exist between identically numbered Zones, but it could be that your 9b probably features much higher Summer temperatures than mine. It is considered to be a cool weather crop, and it’s fairly rare that we got temps over 30 Celsius (86F) here (southwest Canada),
Whereas I'm in 9b in Texas and only hitting 30C for a high in the summer would be noteworthy because it is so unusually low. I think we had 60 days over 37C (100F) last year and typical highs would be at least 32C.
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My friend’s next door neighbor raises rabbits and so I have a source of rabbit poo for fertilizer. How long should I let it rest and dry before tossing it on the garden?
From what I'm reading on multiple sources online, it appears you can just direct apply the rabbit poo to the garden.
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My friend’s next door neighbor raises rabbits and so I have a source of rabbit poo for fertilizer. How long should I let it rest and dry before tossing it on the garden?
From what I'm reading on multiple sources online, it appears you can just direct apply the rabbit poo to the garden.
That is my understanding. @rabbitarian bat signalling subject matter expert
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Yes from a nitrogen “burning” perspective rabbit manure needs no aging whatsoever. It’s also arguably the most balanced vegetable fertilizer out there.
From a food safety perspective it is also very safe (only one zoonotic pathogen shared with humans and that one is quite rare) but I personally avoid applying it closer than 60 days to any crop I’m eating raw.
I have multiple cubic yards of “bunny berries” to spread in the coming weeks :)
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For those that are successfully growing broccoli...is there a secret you can share? I'm in zone 9b and tried growing over last summer and this winter and both times we just get little pinky sized stalks of broccoli.
I’m in 9b and have had great success with broccoli...and all of the brassicas. Rabbitarian touched on it when commenting on the variations that exist between identically numbered Zones, but it could be that your 9b probably features much higher Summer temperatures than mine. It is considered to be a cool weather crop, and it’s fairly rare that we got temps over 30 Celsius (86F) here (southwest Canada),
Whereas I'm in 9b in Texas and only hitting 30C for a high in the summer would be noteworthy because it is so unusually low. I think we had 60 days over 37C (100F) last year and typical highs would be at least 32C.
Oh wow, yeah that's very different than my 9b. I'm in the Bay area, home of "the coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco" so I really thought broccoli would do ok weather wise. But yes, the soil questions especially I suspect, may be a prime factor.
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The strawberry fortress is in. DH made me a frame out of scrap wood that I covered with wire mesh. I have some bird netting thrown over the top for now, but plan on putting some wire mesh frames on butterfly hinges on so I can still get in easily to weed. We're pretty pleased with how it turned out. I'll finish weeding and put down a thick layer of leaf mulch/compost in the next day or two depending on the weather. I've also got a humane trap to hopefully evict the current chipmunk resident. To celebrate I ordered 4 new plants.
I also ordered two blackberry bushes even though it's way past the season. Who knows how they'll do planted this late, but we didn't want to wait until the winter/next year to get more fruit going. Seedlings are going great under lights, but it'll be weeks before I catch up to trifele and start hardening off. I think I got a late start on sprouting for my zone (7a).
I have a bunch of general tiding up to do to get rid of weeds and invasives that took over the space last summer. Part of me wants to bulldoze the whole area and start with a level plot so I can add nice walkways and beds in organized pretty grids, but I know I won't ever want to sit out a growing season to actually do it.
What is everyone's preference on walkway surface? Do you keep grass or use mulch or gravel? I tried chipdrop last year but the mulch size was too big to be comfortable on bare feet. I'm considering some kind of green cover crop like clover, but wasn't sure about how it would do with foot traffic or if it would get too tall. I've also thought about crushed stone, but I'm guessing it would be expensive.
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@coffeefueled I do free arborist mulch but I don’t garden barefoot. Could try some sort of eco lawn seed mix appropriate for your area depending on how much you want to work to keep it from growing back into the garden beds.
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Today I just needed to be gardening, so I called my favorite greenhouse and shelled out 45 clams for a flat of pansies. They look great... just in time for a cold front.
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What is everyone's preference on walkway surface? Do you keep grass or use mulch or gravel? I tried chipdrop last year but the mulch size was too big to be comfortable on bare feet. I'm considering some kind of green cover crop like clover, but wasn't sure about how it would do with foot traffic or if it would get too tall. I've also thought about crushed stone, but I'm guessing it would be expensive.
I'm still experimenting on paths. I have some wood chip ones, and also white clover. I don't walk on either barefoot. The wood is poky and the clover is usually full of bees. I let it grow out to its maximum height (about 8") and flower. I mow it once in a while between flowerings.
Nice job on the strawberry bed @coffeefueled! And FWIW I don't think it's too late to put in blackberries. I bet they'll do fine.
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Horseradish patch is coming to life...and a bit more ominously, so is the encircling blackberry thicket. I’ll have to keep a close eye on that.
Ack!! Please don't trim the thicket unless you are supervised (and restrained a bit) by a blackberry jam fanatic!! My hope is to harvest many many dozens of those delicious orbs later this year...
I planted more peas, as I’m trying to do every couple of weeks in order to have a steady supply throughout June and July....
I wholeheartedly approve of this InfinityPea plan.
Tomorrow I will focus on some root crops....beets, carrots, turnips and parsnips...and maybe some rutabagas - even though my planting guide says to sow these later in the Summer.
My favourite varieties of squash (heavy on the spaghetti types) will be started indoors in a few weeks....cukes too.
Just.......YUM!! :D
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Love hearing everyone's updates. Can't wait to hear about your bee arrival @Trifele I hope to do bees one day. If I could work this week on week off schedule forever I'd probably already have broken down and ordered ducks or chickens.
My dining room table is hosting 12 dahlias. I might do some basal cutting if they sprout enough.
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Bees! I brought them home Thursday morning, and put them in the hive bodies. I checked on them today, and the one on the left was absolutely booming. It seemed like that one wanted more space so I went ahead and added a second brood box (a deep). The topmost deeps for both hives contain a feeder, which I think will come off in a week or two. Both hives are totally digging the food, which is a mixture of local honey and Spikenard Farm "bee tea." They're also foraging their little hearts out. I see them coming in constantly with bright yellow and orange pollen in their baskets. Seems like they are finding good stuff somewhere.
I am totally loving the bees and learning so much. They're incredibly complex. I go down there multiple times a day just to sit nearby and watch them. <3
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Fascinating!
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Love hearing everyone's updates. Can't wait to hear about your bee arrival @Trifele I hope to do bees one day. If I could work this week on week off schedule forever I'd probably already have broken down and ordered ducks or chickens.
My dining room table is hosting 12 dahlias. I might do some basal cutting if they sprout enough.
Ducks are messy mofos. Cute but super messy. Chickens however are really easy unless you don’t have someone to tend them when traveling for 2-3 days or more (pretty simply to setup chickens to go a few days without any attention). 5 minutes once a day even for flocks of 20+ hens plus cleaning out a couple times a year (more frequently if you don’t use the deep bedding method, but deep bedding is a fantastic way to do it).
Edit: attaching a pic of my deep bedding run when I had my illegally sized flock of 30+ last year
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I mostly worked yesterday on shoveling rabbit manure and spreading it on the garden. Everything under the cages is spread but still have about 2-3cuyd in the compost bin to shovel out, but first I’m going to disassemble enough of my old chicken coop to move the blocks which make up the compost bin to their new spot as part of my overhaul of my animal yard. Started my broccoli too early so I should up-pot them soon. Today is supposed to be rainy so might not be able to do anything but we’ll see :)
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Spent a lot of time yesterday mowing and weeding. Sadly, we had a 30 degree night a couple nights past and my French fingerling potato plants took severe damage. They may all be goners, we'll see. I don't have any more FF seed potatoes, but I've got red, russet, and yukon I can replant with if necessary. My buckwheat sprouts also look deader than snot from that cold night. I'll replant that.
Say garden friends, can you please help me identify this? It's a shrub about 6 feet high and 6 feet wide that just started flowering. Is it weigela maybe?
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Looks like weigela to me.
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My ongoing experiment with seed-saving I'm documenting as a blog post:
https://plot-30.blogspot.com/2020/03/planting-witkiem-broad-beans-march-2020.html (https://plot-30.blogspot.com/2020/03/planting-witkiem-broad-beans-march-2020.html)
These were 'Witkiem' broad (fava) bean seeds saved from the 2019 crop:
https://plot-30.blogspot.com/2019/09/saving-witkiem-broad-bean-seeds-2019.html (https://plot-30.blogspot.com/2019/09/saving-witkiem-broad-bean-seeds-2019.html)
Which in turn I have been saving since 2018 when when dad first gave me these seeds, and from which he has been saving since time immemorial.
https://plot-30.blogspot.com/2018/10/witkiem-broad-bean-planting-october-2018.html (https://plot-30.blogspot.com/2018/10/witkiem-broad-bean-planting-october-2018.html)
Keeping heirloom seeds seems to have made sense, given this current coronavirus mania seeds of all kinds appear to have become as rare as hen's teeth, or there is outright profiteering (a fiver for about 6 courgette seeds I saw someplace. come on.)
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Looks like weigela to me.
Thanks @Trudie!
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My ongoing experiment with seed-saving I'm documenting as a blog post:
That is fantastic @happyuk -- they're beautiful! Are favas easy to grow? Are many of the varieties open pollinated, or is witkiem unusual?
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My ongoing experiment with seed-saving I'm documenting as a blog post:
That is fantastic @happyuk -- they're beautiful! Are favas easy to grow? Are many of the varieties open pollinated, or is witkiem unusual?
Good question Trifele I am assuming they are open-pollinated (eg by birds, bees, other mechanisms) and I have never given this thought much attention given that yes, I find them very easy to grow and prolific as well, provided I can get the mice to leave them alone for a sufficient length of time. I find Witkiem to be a smaller bean than average but they get much less woody than other types such as Bunyard's Exhibition, Aqua Dulce, Sutton etc.
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Favas apparently readily cross pollinate unlike common garden beans so isolation of 1/2 mile is recommended for pure seed.
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In 2020, I'll be adding 200 pawpaw trees to my yard. My order at the Indiana State Nursery went through last week (http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestryexchange/default.aspx). At 30 cents a tree, it's one of the best deals around. Of course, the trees aren't very big (pencil diameter) so mortality rates above 50% are common.
200 pawpaw trees went into the ground this weekend, and boy am I ever glad I get to spend the next five days recovering at a desk job. Grafting the trees over to improved cultivars starts next weekend along with the fun game of "how many times will I slice my fingers this year?" Three times is my guess.
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I think this year will be great for fruit production. I’m in the PNW and our temperatures this spring have been incredibly mild and warmer than normal.
My blueberries are flush with blooms, as are my raspberries and my plum tree. My bush cherries are full of blooms and it’s only their second year. My three year old goumi bushes are just loaded. I cannot imagine that much fruit! I moved one of my apple trees last year- it was getting too much deer pressure so I moved it to the inside of my fruit garden fence. It has a bunch of blooms on it so I think that was a good move.
Still not sure where I put the cranberry bush, as the apple tree took the bed I was planning on using.
Anyway, peas are up and starts of broccoli, cauliflower, onions, mustards and kales are all in the ground. My indoor tomato and pepper plants are pushing the boundaries of the racks. I’m hoping for a late April plant date, just because we are inching closer and closer to 50 degree nights.
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I'm happy I saw this thread, I'm starting a vegetable garden for the first time this year. Got some reading to do to catch up, but just wanted to say hi. I grow lots of plants just for fun already, so I hope the veggies will be successful. I started a bunch of seedlings inside and they have mostly sprouted and started to get bigger. I'm using a couple full spectrum fluorescent bulbs and a fan to make them strong. I hope to plant them outside sometime in May, got a lot of work to do outside to prepare the garden. I'd like to build raised beds if I can, seems like a fun quarantine project.
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Has anyone tried gardening in bags? I want to have as much as possible growing on my balcony, but pots are heavier than bags and I don't have any large ones for tomatoes.
Like this:
https://www.lowes.ca/dept/fabric--pots-planters-planters-stands-window-boxes-plants-planters-gardening-landscaping-outdoor-a2312-f6adee686a7?display=24&filters=material_s%3DFabric (https://www.lowes.ca/dept/fabric--pots-planters-planters-stands-window-boxes-plants-planters-gardening-landscaping-outdoor-a2312-f6adee686a7?display=24&filters=material_s%3DFabric)
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I'm happy I saw this thread, I'm starting a vegetable garden for the first time this year. Got some reading to do to catch up, but just wanted to say hi.
Welcome! Your plans sound great @PoutineLover. This thread has been going at least a few years now, so you can also check out the prior years if you have some down time!
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I haven't yet planted my seedlings outside, due to the iffy weather of the last week. Most of them are hardened off and raring to go. From the weather forecast it looks like we will be past the last freeze danger within three days. Perfect timing on the cucumbers -- they are about 8" tall and starting to send out their climbing tendrils. This is an all-female variety, "Corinto."
It was specifically bred for greenhouse growing (needs no pollination), but it grows great outside as well. Love these gals!
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I spent more money than I would like to admit on my fruit trees and garden seeds. Inside I have a fig tree, clementine, and lemon tree that go to the porch in summer. In the yard I have apple, pear, and peach tree. I have had bad luck with grapes but am trying again this year. They are indoors growing like weeds until they get to go outside.
For the garden I purchased too many seeds from a somewhat local company that specifically deals with this cruddy climate. Last year my garden was a pretty big bust so I am very much hoping this year will do better. I am pretty sure I under watered my garden for the first half of the season leaving my plants small and bare. But this year will be better. So far, I got many standard things like tomatoes and squash and added a few interesting things like special squash and small watermelon.
I usually participate in a local CSA that is amazing and try to eat many vegetables. With a small child at home I hope my love for all things green will get him exited about food, more importantly healthy food!
i hope for this year to be a success :)
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In 2020, I'll be adding 200 pawpaw trees to my yard. My order at the Indiana State Nursery went through last week (http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestryexchange/default.aspx). At 30 cents a tree, it's one of the best deals around. Of course, the trees aren't very big (pencil diameter) so mortality rates above 50% are common.
200 pawpaw trees went into the ground this weekend, and boy am I ever glad I get to spend the next five days recovering at a desk job. Grafting the trees over to improved cultivars starts next weekend along with the fun game of "how many times will I slice my fingers this year?" Three times is my guess.
Wow, that's amazing. What are your plans for the 200 paw paw trees? The fruit I've heard can be delicious.
Is anyone growing Eugenia reinwardtiana (Australian Beach Cherry or Cedar Bay Cherry being common names)?
I've had success with Barbados Cherry (Malpighia glabra) here in Austin, but I don't really care for the flavor.
Unsure how old your Barbados Cherry is, but apparently they can be pretty sour when young, and then develop a sweeter taste. Hoping that's the case with mine. I've been thinking about that Eugenia also, have read the flavor can vary significantly, but there are a few folks who sell them fairly reasonably with good flavor pedigree over on Tropical Fruit Forum, e.g. http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=6d8ad3840fcfb9a0bd5aab386c8ccf53&topic=38772.0.
Latest addition here is a yellow grumichama. Happy gardening all!
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Wow, that's amazing. What are your plans for the 200 paw paw trees? The fruit I've heard can be delicious.
Well, two-thirds of them are going to die either from natural causes or me thinning in favor of a stronger tree. I plant three per hole since they are so cheap. With 60 trees, I'll probably end up with a few hundred pounds of fruit per year, so not quite enough to make a farmers market worthwhile, but perhaps enough to make selling through another avenue worthwhile.
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@YttriumNitrate Interesting, even with 60 trees you should end up with a bumper crop, and maybe valid grounds for agricultural land use classification for property tax reduction! There's a local health food store here I've thought about approaching for possibly selling extra harvest. Good luck with all your trees, and look forward to future updates.
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Is anyone growing Eugenia reinwardtiana (Australian Beach Cherry or Cedar Bay Cherry being common names)?
I've had success with Barbados Cherry (Malpighia glabra) here in Austin, but I don't really care for the flavor.
Unsure how old your Barbados Cherry is, but apparently they can be pretty sour when young, and then develop a sweeter taste. Hoping that's the case with mine. I've been thinking about that Eugenia also, have read the flavor can vary significantly, but there are a few folks who sell them fairly reasonably with good flavor pedigree over on Tropical Fruit Forum, e.g. http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=6d8ad3840fcfb9a0bd5aab386c8ccf53&topic=38772.0.
Latest addition here is a yellow grumichama. Happy gardening all!
I think the Barbados Cherry went in 5 years ago - it's not a sour flavor (which is more when they're under-ripe) - it's just a lack of flavor and mealy texture once they turn fully red. Soil is good, and they get solid morning sun.
At this point I have enough going on that I shouldn't be ordering any perennials.
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It is snowing here today.
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It is snowing here today.
😬
I’ll keep quiet about the current scene in my garden to the West of you then. Let me just say that sunscreen may be involved.
@Trifele, I saw the picture of your flowering kale, and now mine are following in their footsteps. And I just took another measurement of my red lacinato specimen. It has now crested 8 feet. 😳
I have been busy in the garden, enjoying and making full use of a stretch of amazing, sun-soaked spring days here in the PNW. Today, the thermometer nearly hit 20 Celsius (70-ish Fahrenheit?), only coming a single degree short. More importantly, overnight lows have settled in at around 8C, and this means that any fears about cold damage to my current plantings has all but evaporated. Things are growing quickly now, I am getting antsy to get the heat lovers into the garden. But several weeks to go yet.
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Ugh. It's supposed to get down to a bit under 4C tonight. In Texas. Tomatoes are covered.
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I’m beginning to think that if my first year with the city garden plot goes well, I may want to double it. It’s part reaction to supply chain issues, part realization that when the shit hits the fan gardening is one of the few things we can enjoy, and part desire to start perennial crops. The location is close to our condo, and the water supply is good. I watch too many British gardening shows where people all have these great allotments.
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Ugh. It's supposed to get down to a bit under 4C tonight. In Texas. Tomatoes are covered.
Same here, covered again last night. I planted a few tomatoes early and have had to cover several times. They survived 30 degrees F/-1 C last week but weren't happy. Clearly I was a bit too eager this year . . . :)
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I’m beginning to think that if my first year with the city garden plot goes well, I may want to double it. It’s part reaction to supply chain issues, part realization that when the shit hits the fan gardening is one of the few things we can enjoy, and part desire to start perennial crops. The location is close to our condo, and the water supply is good. I watch too many British gardening shows where people all have these great allotments.
What kind of arrangement is it re: rental/tenancy?
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It is snowing here today.
Oh my, I forgot what snow feels like - it's 82 today, feels like 90 and it's very breezy to boot, sucking the poor baby plants dry.
Supposed to rain - ha, I believe it when I see it.
I'm bummed and a bit depressed that I had to stop gardening for other pressing projects, which means most of my remaining seeds will not be started until next spring. I plan on a bit of late fall gardening for a good start and if I feel up to it lots of early spring gardening.
The good news is that I planted a lot of perennials so this will be less work and it will be exciting to see how the new garden addition turns out in years to come.
Weather permitting I plan to make the last changes to the garden for this spring. One last row of stone borders, a few layout adjustments and reluctantly I have to call it quits - too hot - too dry - too humid and miserable to do anything but watering, weeding and maintenance - hoping that close plantings and mulching will pay off and reduce maintenance.
I will do a little seedling planting today - got basil to sprout in water for the first time ever, two dills that decided to come up weeks later - the other dills have already reached maturity - looking rather pretty with their fine filigree blooms.
Will transplant the last flower seedlings - white marigold and poppies and a couple that I lost the info on:).
The lemon verbena made a really nice comeback, I'll harvest the leaves as I cut it back so it can grow bushier.
The lemon balm I seeded is taking its sweet time, took over a month to get three/four inches tall. Today I'll plant a row of them in the ground, we'll see if they survive, normally I only keep two in a pot.
Other than maybe five specialty seeds that I really wanted I have no choice but to call it done for this planting season.
I'll draft Mr. R. to help with one big general clean up, organization of potting area and then finish with fertilizing, composting and mulching.
The only things I'll keep seeding into June are Cosmos and Zinnias, both heat lovers who have proven to do well in my garden without any attention.
My new absolute favorite is California giant Zinnia - wow, impressive size and beautiful blooms with a slightly bushy habit.
The bananas and the cassava are seriously starting to take off, everyone else is growing slowly, but steady and looking happy.
It may be too early to tell, but I think the Blackberry Jam fruit tree is doing better in the ground than in the pot - looking stronger and growing a wee bit faster - it is apparently a slow grower. I have one left that never got transplanted so I will put him into the ground as well. Can't wait to see and smell the scented blooms.
Oh, and those two dwarf apple trees I was worried about? They have both decided they like their new home after all, leaves and blooms are showing up. YAY:)
It is amazing to actually have a cutting garden - Mr. R. and I walked around the garden on Easter Sunday and picked a lovely flower bouquet.
The wild Elderberry is in bloom and I can't wait to see the first blooms on my store-bought elderberries - they were supposed to be black elderberries but their leaves turned green once they started growing - but maybe I'll get lucky and at least the blooms will be pink.
I wonder if it is my soil that changed the color or if this new strain simply reverted back to its original color?
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I'm trying vegetable gardening on my city patio for the first time - in previous years I just grew flowers, but since I likely won't be traveling this summer I wanted to try growing food. I planted seeds for scallions, cherry tomatoes, peas and some herbs a little over a week ago and almost everything has sprouted. I've got strawberry plants too. I'm planning to try to grow garlic, onions and maybe potatoes from leftover food. I have a southeast facing patio, so I get direct sunlight for a good part of the day. We've had warm, sunny weather here in Vancouver for the last two weeks - highs of 18 degrees Celsius - and all over the city the trees are in full bloom.
Looking forward to my harvest!
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I'm trying vegetable gardening on my city patio for the first time . . .
Looking forward to my harvest!
Welcome @raincoast and congrats on moving into food growing!
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The big difficulty with paw paws is that their shelf life is poor. But with 60 trees in full production I'd think you should eventually have ample supply for farmers market sales.
I certainly hope you're right. I sold peaches at a farmers market about five years ago, and it was a lot of fun, but far from profitable. The short season of the varieties I was growing made it far from profitable since there were so many costs (insurance, stand, market fees, etc.) that stayed the same if you sold 4 weekends or time a year or 20 weekends a year.
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I’m beginning to think that if my first year with the city garden plot goes well, I may want to double it. It’s part reaction to supply chain issues, part realization that when the shit hits the fan gardening is one of the few things we can enjoy, and part desire to start perennial crops. The location is close to our condo, and the water supply is good. I watch too many British gardening shows where people all have these great allotments.
What kind of arrangement is it re: rental/tenancy?
We rent from the city. In subsequent years we’ll always get right of first refusal on our plot. We can let them know if we’ll be doing winter gardening too.
Chances of us finding something closer to home are slim, and the location is great. I just think it would be nice to make some improvements and leave some semi-permanent structures.
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Yesterday might have been my favourite day in the garden thus far this year. Despite the forecast in nearby Victoria saying it was going to be 17C, the thermometer in my garden, at round 1pm read 22C (70F) in the shade. Truly amazing for mid April around these parts. The immediate geography around my garden, a large clearing surround by tall firs and cedars, can act as a “heat trap”, as long as there is little wind. This is certainly why I am able to successfully grow hot weather crops (ie peppers) in a region not known for scorching Summer heat. It is actually getting to the point that it is getting hard to remember the last time it rained here. We could really use some now.
Carrots and beets have now started to germinate. Another row of peas (the third) have just started to emerge from the soil. First spinach and lettuce were harvested. Growth is accelerating nicely on all the brassicas, and the onions are starting to really go now. A sibling reminded me that the pre-flowering bud-clusters on kale are delicious to eat. So I picked a few and munched on them....and they were very much akin to a sweeter broccoli. So I picked more, and put them on a fresh salad later that evening. The kale trees are now flowering epically and I was at times transfixed at the sight, but mostly the sound of squadrons of pollinators doing their frenzied work.
My 3000 gallon water tank has recently developed a leak in the main valve and the drip, drip, drip was distressing. Come August, water is a precious commodity here, so water any water dripping out now could potentially come back to bite me hard in August when the wells are low and my ability to refill the tank may be limited. I really need to fix this leak. But how to do it when there is 3000 gallons worth of water pressure in the tank....I am not sure yet.
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It is again snowing today - BUT - my seed order arrived.
I am gardening tonight. I am so late starting peppers and tomatoes but better late than never. woot woot!
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I’m beginning to think that if my first year with the city garden plot goes well, I may want to double it. It’s part reaction to supply chain issues, part realization that when the shit hits the fan gardening is one of the few things we can enjoy, and part desire to start perennial crops. The location is close to our condo, and the water supply is good. I watch too many British gardening shows where people all have these great allotments.
What kind of arrangement is it re: rental/tenancy?
We rent from the city. In subsequent years we’ll always get right of first refusal on our plot. We can let them know if we’ll be doing winter gardening too.
Chances of us finding something closer to home are slim, and the location is great. I just think it would be nice to make some improvements and leave some semi-permanent structures.
Hope it continues to be a good fit!
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My 3000 gallon water tank has recently developed a leak in the main valve and the drip, drip, drip was distressing. Come August, water is a precious commodity here, so water any water dripping out now could potentially come back to bite me hard in August when the wells are low and my ability to refill the tank may be limited. I really need to fix this leak. But how to do it when there is 3000 gallons worth of water pressure in the tank....I am not sure yet.
Perhaps something like this:
https://www.fernco.com/plumbing/pow-r-repair/pow-r-wrap
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I am full capacity for seed starting. Planted lots of seed last night.
Leeks, 4 types of peppers, at least a dozen types of tomatoes, two kinds of eggplant and about 10 tomatilloes. I still have to plant the zukes and cukes and squash, but I am going to do that by germination test as I am using some old seed from last year as well as some collected seed. I grow them in cow pots so transplanting is super easy.
I also seed a whole tray of greens for starting inside and moving into the greenhouse or even to the cold frame. We shall see if I can source some straw bales to make up a cold frame.
The chipmunks are digging in the greenhouse pots. Damned vermin!
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The chipmunks are digging in the greenhouse pots. Damned vermin!
Same problem here @Frugal Lizard. We have little cotton rats instead (similar to a chipmunk). I had planted a couple celery stubs (like @MonkeyJenga and @TomTX) that were doing great and then the little varmints dug them up and took them. I guess they dragged them off into their burrows.
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The chipmunks are digging in the greenhouse pots. Damned vermin!
Same problem here @Frugal Lizard. We have little cotton rats instead (similar to a chipmunk). I had planted a couple celery stubs (like @MonkeyJenga and @TomTX) that were doing great and then the little varmints dug them up and took them. I guess they dragged them off into their burrows.
Squirrels for us, they've been digging holes in my brand new beds! I transplanted some bulbs, and they dug some up and pulled all the leaves off. Fortunately I covered the strawberry bed with a screen, so I haven't lost any plants, but I'm worried about the seeds I planted. I may have to replant after we can put up some netting.
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I share the dislike of chipmunks and squirrels. So cute until they're eating things. I still haven't evicted the chipmunks from my strawberry patch and they're slowing mowing through all my plants. I put in some humane traps with peanut butter and bird seed which they are ignoring even though they happily steal seed from the back patio like little chubby cheeked hoover vacuums. Maybe they're too smart or maybe it's voles and not chipmunks. I'm ready to switch to some kind of trap that will kill them. As long as it doesn't include poison I can leave the bodies out for the local fox vixen who has pups right now. Do you think regular mouse traps will work? Any thoughts on bait?
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My 3000 gallon water tank has recently developed a leak in the main valve and the drip, drip, drip was distressing. Come August, water is a precious commodity here, so water any water dripping out now could potentially come back to bite me hard in August when the wells are low and my ability to refill the tank may be limited. I really need to fix this leak. But how to do it when there is 3000 gallons worth of water pressure in the tank....I am not sure yet.
Perhaps something like this:
https://www.fernco.com/plumbing/pow-r-repair/pow-r-wrap
Thanks for that @TomTX. I have tried various options in terms of trying to “wrap up” the leak. I’d be curious if that particular product would have worked, but it is unavailable to me in my present location. This image will show why executing a wrap fix would be extremely difficult, even IF I could get my hands on that product. You can see the crack in the metal below the valve itself and this makes it hard to get a tight wrap....and the fact that the surface isn’t smooth like a normal section of pipe or hose would be.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49775121108_388896134d.jpg)
I have a lead in terms of someone who has offered to let me go through their stash of various plumbing accessories to see if I can find the stuff I need....the priority being a new valve unit. I have some rudimentary plumbing skills from my old career so hopefully I can stop the leak today! Thanks again for the input Tom from Texas.
And while I’m here....my flowering kale trees.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49783417986_0f14661b55_z.jpg)
I’m actually thinking about staking these things as I’m worried that they may fall on my newly germinated carrots, which are under the white fabric immediately behind them.
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Holy Kale... who knew Kale could get that big.
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The chipmunks are digging in the greenhouse pots. Damned vermin!
Same problem here @Frugal Lizard. We have little cotton rats instead (similar to a chipmunk). I had planted a couple celery stubs (like @MonkeyJenga and @TomTX) that were doing great and then the little varmints dug them up and took them. I guess they dragged them off into their burrows.
Reminds me - I should transfer the celery stub from water in a rotel can into an actual pot.
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I have tried various options in terms of trying to “wrap up” the leak. I’d be curious if that particular product would have worked, but it is unavailable to me in my present location. This image will show why executing a wrap fix would be extremely difficult, even IF I could get my hands on that product. You can see the crack in the metal below the valve itself and this makes it hard to get a tight wrap....and the fact that the surface isn’t smooth like a normal section of pipe or hose would be.
Yeah, that looks like a "replace the valve" level crack. Condolences.
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Thanks for that @TomTX. I have tried various options in terms of trying to “wrap up” the leak. I’d be curious if that particular product would have worked, but it is unavailable to me in my present location. This image will show why executing a wrap fix would be extremely difficult, even IF I could get my hands on that product. You can see the crack in the metal below the valve itself and this makes it hard to get a tight wrap....and the fact that the surface isn’t smooth like a normal section of pipe or hose would be.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49775121108_388896134d.jpg)
I have a lead in terms of someone who has offered to let me go through their stash of various plumbing accessories to see if I can find the stuff I need....the priority being a new valve unit. I have some rudimentary plumbing skills from my old career so hopefully I can stop the leak today! Thanks again for the input Tom from Texas.
I think I'd be trying to figure out a way to temporarily plug the tank outlet from the inside of the tank. There is also a tool called a curb stop replacement tool (https://www.pollardwater.com/product/pollardwater-34-in-curb-stop-replacement-tool-pp645/_/R-4929954) that might be worth looking into. Good luck!
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I am full capacity for seed starting. Planted lots of seed last night.
Leeks, 4 types of peppers, at least a dozen types of tomatoes, two kinds of eggplant and about 10 tomatilloes. I still have to plant the zukes and cukes and squash, but I am going to do that by germination test as I am using some old seed from last year as well as some collected seed. I grow them in cow pots so transplanting is super easy.
I also seed a whole tray of greens for starting inside and moving into the greenhouse or even to the cold frame. We shall see if I can source some straw bales to make up a cold frame.
The chipmunks are digging in the greenhouse pots. Damned vermin!
Darn chipmunks. So cute, so destructive.
Would you have any tomato varieties that are small and bushy, for pots? The only one I've been able to order for my balcony garden is Tiny Tim. 2/3 seeds would do me. At least I won't have to worry about chipmunks. The only pest I have seen on the balcony is the odd pigeon.
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@Jon_Snow That kale tree is amazing. Are you saving seed from it?
I like how you stake your frost cloth. I use supports underneath in between seedling rows but your approach looks space efficient.
I'm hoping to get some gardening time in this weekend in between rain showers. It feels as if every weekend has been a downpour. The basement seedlings are coming along nicely albeit slowly. Whenever I review the growing rack progress, I wonder if there is a way to get more light or heat to encourage growth. I've been doing a light Dr. Earth organic fertilizer solution but feel as if there could be more that I do. Will start brewing compost tea and use that as alternating fertilizer.
I used to have a problem with chipmunks fitting through the chicken wire fencing around the raised beds. Installing vinyl coated hardware cloth effectively stopped them from eating the veg. They do however climb fruit trees to chow down on the fruit. I might try making a homemade a tree collar using hardware cloth to make it harder to get up the tree.
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We got ~6" of snow on Thursday, so our garden is white right now :) DH and my MIL are out getting an order of perennial plants right now, so we'll plant those once our snow melts in a day or two.
We did just get some new baby chicks! We'll have 12 once these are grown up. We got a lavender Ameracauna, Speckled Sussex, Gold Sex Link, Noir Marans, an Olive Egger, and either a Russian Orloff or a Brabanter - we had both, and one of the chicks died, but I'm not sure which one. We go for variety in our eggs and our chickens, so it's a fun little flock. We'll have dark brown, speckled brown, regular brown, very light brown, green, a few shades of blue, and maybe white eggs (if the Brabanter is the One Who Lived).
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I am full capacity for seed starting. Planted lots of seed last night.
Leeks, 4 types of peppers, at least a dozen types of tomatoes, two kinds of eggplant and about 10 tomatilloes. I still have to plant the zukes and cukes and squash, but I am going to do that by germination test as I am using some old seed from last year as well as some collected seed. I grow them in cow pots so transplanting is super easy.
I also seed a whole tray of greens for starting inside and moving into the greenhouse or even to the cold frame. We shall see if I can source some straw bales to make up a cold frame.
The chipmunks are digging in the greenhouse pots. Damned vermin!
Got a ton of varieties - I saved a number from different types last summer. Seems sad to not plant them all.
PM me.
Darn chipmunks. So cute, so destructive.
Would you have any tomato varieties that are small and bushy, for pots? The only one I've been able to order for my balcony garden is Tiny Tim. 2/3 seeds would do me. At least I won't have to worry about chipmunks. The only pest I have seen on the balcony is the odd pigeon.
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Holy Kale... who knew Kale could get that big.
😀
They are indeed something...8 feet 3 inches tall at last check. I’ve had success with kale growing and thriving over Winter before...but not on this scale. Given that I am likely not going to be going down to my usual warm weather haunt this Fall/Winter I am giving strong consideration in developing a Winter Garden plan this year. I’m going to be away from my garden for a few weeks now - family are going to tend things for me during that time - but I did manage to get a nice harvest of kale from the plants despite them starting the process of going to seed. Speaking of that....
@Jon_Snow That kale tree is amazing. Are you saving seed from it?
My hope is yes, that I will be able to harvest seeds from these plants. I’ll be honest, I’ve never had too much interest in saving seeds before, content to buy my seed packs from my favourite distributor. But now, given the state of things in the world and talks of disrupted supply chains...suddenly there is now within me a desire to not be quite as dependant on the retail infrastructure. And to know the ins and outs of savings seeds just seems like something that any gardener of note should possess knowledge about.
I’m not exactly sure when these kale plants will be ready to harvest seeds ...and this is rather important to know because I am going to desperately need the garden space these two monsters are occupying. I think a couple of tomatoes plants are destined for that spot....so I can perhaps wait until late May before I need to pull them out of the ground. I’d be curious if anyone might now what the timetable might be for these in terms of when they may be harvestable for seeds if they are now flowering heavily in late April?
Any melancholy I might feel when I finally pull these living pillars of kale out will be mitigated by the fact that the next generation of kale is on the way....perhaps at this time in 2021 one of these will become a giant of their own.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49787096418_759bef3e68.jpg)
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Wanted to share a picture of my little yard. The first raised bed is has beets and swiss chard just sprouting, second bed is empty but will soon have basil, cilantro, and marigolds, third bed has strawberries, and fourth has beans in half, undecided what to put in the remaining space. Maybe more beets.
Further work is waiting on rebuilding the retaining wall and taking down the trees at the back, but someday I will have a zigzag path through the yard with raised beds on either side, and flowers at the top of the wall.
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I can perhaps wait until late May before I need to pull them out of the ground. I’d be curious if anyone might now what the timetable might be for these in terms of when they may be harvestable for seeds if they are now flowering heavily in late April?
@Jon_Snow, I'm sure it depends somewhat on the kale variety and your climate, but late May might be tight. My Red Russian kale flowers in mid to late April, and I start to see the first harvestable dried seed pods early June/ish . . . Worth a shot for sure. You could leave it where it is as late as you can, and see if you can harvest any!
@Raenia your garden is beautiful! Love the pic. Sounds like you are growing a nice variety this year.
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I’ve not done it myself but I’m pretty sure you can pull the plants once the pods are a certain level of maturity and let them continue drying down hanging in a shed somewhere.
I know some brassicas suffer from inbreeding depression, not sure about kale.
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I checked one reference book and all brassicas it’s recommended to have 6 plants minimum to avoid inbreeding depression. I don’t have any others to double check because libraries are closed here.
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Lots of garden freebies - garden gifts I call them:). Cosmos in tones of vanilla cream, cheerful yellow and beautiful orange, a little fruit tree, Dill,
Onions that I started from the discarded onion roots of store-bought green onions,
Basil from cuttings and sweet potatoes that started sprouting,
tons of bright orange and bright yellow Marigolds - I just threw the seeds from last years, store-bought Marigold, on the ground - amazing.
I'll never be a straight row gardener:). Hoping I'll do ok with the perennial spinach and the cukes I'm about to seed, I am later than I wanted to be, so I'll keep some seeds for fall in case I fail.
There is also one mystery tomato plant - can't wait to see what sort of tomatoes those will turn out to be.
Yesterday, I discovered the prettiest deep cornflower blue and white, upright lobelia growing in a secluded corner. No idea how it got there.
Now it takes a new spot in front of the garden bed where I can see and enjoy its beauty.
We transplanted all but around eight seedlings this weekend and it is so exciting to see the colors of the zinnias as they open up.
I have several new favorites now, the California giants are awesome, so is a batch of big purple Zinnias and a fantastic fire engine red variety.
A batch of bright white, limey yellow and deep orange is beginning to show up in another bed.
@Trifele - I'd like to share some pics from my garden but I can't figure out how ... from my computer and my phone?
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@Raenia - you've got a lovely plot - lots of design options. I can see that elevated bed along the fence blooming and producing in profusion.
It is so much fun to plan and envision all the possibilities. It takes time for the bones of your garden to emerge so that it looks good all year.
Big bushes or small trees or climbing vines or roses take time to grow.
I'm wrestling a bit with that right now in one new area of my garden - I've decided to give it up to wildlife, so it will be Fire Bush and Elderberry mixed with small fruit trees/bushes.
It's funny, one day you will find yourself with no more room, standing in the middle of your garden wondering where can I plant this one?
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Bit of a late update on my leaky garden water tank....
Yeah, that looks like a "replace the valve" level crack. Condolences.
Rather miraculously, I found a valve that would fit, and I could simply replace the cracked one.
I think I'd be trying to figure out a way to temporarily plug the tank outlet from the inside of the tank. There is also a tool called a curb stop replacement tool (https://www.pollardwater.com/product/pollardwater-34-in-curb-stop-replacement-tool-pp645/_/R-4929954) that might be worth looking into. Good luck!
A good idea, except the tank was full of water and even if it wasn’t to plug it from the inside would be extremely difficult....and perhaps more unsafe than I’d be comfortable with.
With my new valve in hand, and with it in the “closed” position I unscrewed the faulty valve....and then came the gushing water, with a surprising amount of force...but then, there was about 8 feet of water above my head so probably shouldn’t have been surprised. I put some new plumbers (teflon) tape on the threaded pipe coming out of the tank, and then as quick as I could I screwed the new valve on, water spraying everywhere....and then it was done. And it didn’t seem to be leaking. Then I attached the hose end that leads down to my garden to the other end of the valve and it was done. And was I ever wet.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49787454081_69585bff9f.jpg)
As you can see, the new valve is a plastic one...which will make it even more important that I drain the system of water at the end of the gardening season. I suspect this is why the metal one developed that nasty crack. My garden location is on a small island and the surrounding ocean waters create a uniquely mild micro-climate (9a or 9b, where as nearby Vancouver is in zone 8), but sub-zero temps do occur occasionally. One serious cold snap could wreak havoc on this plastic valve. At the start of this year, my tank still had 3 feet of water in it, which makes it quicker to refill come the new season...but from now on I will have to empty the entire system of water when the garden season ends.
Thanks again to TomTX and robartsd for your efforts to help me out with this.
I know some brassicas suffer from inbreeding depression, not sure about kale.
I’ve done some reading this morning about saving seeds, and I’m not all that concerned with that particular phenomenon (fascinating to read about though)....but rather that these particular kale plants are hybrids (a blend of redbor and lacinato) and these are not considered candidates for seed saving. Otherwise, from what I’ve read all the conditions exist that it would be fine to save seeds from these kale plants. Bummer.
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Re the hybrid plants, if the ancestors are all good plants, you should be fine - or at least it's worth trying. Save the seeds, plant at the appropriate time, and see what you get. Weed out anything pathetic, anything that doesn't taste good, anything that is prone to insect damage, and over a few years you will have plants that are perfect for your garden.
There is good breeding advice in Carol Deppe's books.
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Holy Kale... who knew Kale could get that big.
😀
They are indeed something...8 feet 3 inches tall at last check. I’ve had success with kale growing and thriving over Winter before...but not on this scale. Given that I am likely not going to be going down to my usual warm weather haunt this Fall/Winter I am giving strong consideration in developing a Winter Garden plan this year. I’m going to be away from my garden for a few weeks now - family are going to tend things for me during that time - but I did manage to get a nice harvest of kale from the plants despite them starting the process of going to seed. Speaking of that....
@Jon_Snow That kale tree is amazing. Are you saving seed from it?
My hope is yes, that I will be able to harvest seeds from these plants. I’ll be honest, I’ve never had too much interest in saving seeds before, content to buy my seed packs from my favourite distributor. But now, given the state of things in the world and talks of disrupted supply chains...suddenly there is now within me a desire to not be quite as dependant on the retail infrastructure. And to know the ins and outs of savings seeds just seems like something that any gardener of note should possess knowledge about.
I’m not exactly sure when these kale plants will be ready to harvest seeds ...and this is rather important to know because I am going to desperately need the garden space these two monsters are occupying. I think a couple of tomatoes plants are destined for that spot....so I can perhaps wait until late May before I need to pull them out of the ground. I’d be curious if anyone might now what the timetable might be for these in terms of when they may be harvestable for seeds if they are now flowering heavily in late April?
Any melancholy I might feel when I finally pull these living pillars of kale out will be mitigated by the fact that the next generation of kale is on the way....perhaps at this time in 2021 one of these will become a giant of their own.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49787096418_759bef3e68.jpg)
My garden is less organized than yours, so my kale has self-seeded itself in random spots all over my garden. It is in bloom right now. At this stage I have to protect it from aphids, usually by blasting it with water. Then it keeps self-seeding. I'm in the Willamette valley, so hotter and drier probably than where you are.
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@Trifele - I'd like to share some pics from my garden but I can't figure out how ... from my computer and my phone?
Hi @Rosy -- when drafting a post, if you click on 'Attachments and other options' at the bottom of the window it will let you browse your computer to select one or more files to attach. I haven't done it from my phone, so not sure how that goes -- probably the same process?
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@Trifele - I'd like to share some pics from my garden but I can't figure out how ... from my computer and my phone?
Hi @Rosy -- when drafting a post, if you click on 'Attachments and other options' at the bottom of the window it will let you browse your computer to select one or more files to attach. I haven't done it from my phone, so not sure how that goes -- probably the same process?
On phone it is the same. Slightly easier if you switch the forum theme to the more mobile friendly one because the screen resizes better than the default forum theme.
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Thanks, Trifele - I used to have no prob with uploading pics, but I have all new tech and for some reason it is trickier to navigate.
I'll try it once I took a couple of pics.
Questions to all the veggie gardeners in mustache land
A couple of the roots of store-bought green onions that ended up in compost decided to establish themselves in my flower bed.
So now I have fat and happy white blooming onions.
Dumb questions - how and when do I harvest - pull them out or cut off above the ground - do they come back?
Do I need to chop off those lovely blooms? How long can/should I leave them in the ground before harvesting?
Context: Last weekend we planted some of the snipped off roots in the garden, on purpose this time, encouraged by those two volunteers.
I used to hate the taste of onions but over the years I've become tainted by Mr. R. 's love of them. It's not that I ever minded cooking with them - I just let them big enough so I could pick them out:).
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My blackberries finally arrived. I made a shallow raised bed from two old pallets to give them some good soil above my yard's clay. I have a Kiowa and 2 Navaho and a chester and prime ark freedom that haven't arrived yet. It's exciting to turn a bare unused part of the yard into something productive. They seem to be happy so far.
My kale, chard, and lettuces are sprouting. I did rows this year to make it easier to weed. My beds and flower borders sprout little green weedlings like mad that form a thick mass if I leave them more than a week - almost like a broader leaf grass. They're easy to get rid of by scraping as long as the plants are spaced or in rows that I can hoe around constantly.
Does anyone have advice on when to thin seedlings to the correct spacing in rows? I've got a nice row of chard seedlings, but I'm not sure how big to let them get before I cull to the right spacing.
Does anyone have experience building ponds? I'm considering putting in a wildlife pond similar to this one: https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/maintain-the-garden/how-to-create-a-wildlife-garden-part-one/ (https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/maintain-the-garden/how-to-create-a-wildlife-garden-part-one/) Stormwater from the neighbor's property and house funnels across the bottom of my yard. I'm considering carving in a swale to direct the water and putting in a little pond backed by a berm to keep the water off the driveway. I'm trying to figure out how to design the pond to deal with flooding and incorporate an overflow into a rain garden to absorb the excess water. Right now the water pools from both the neighbor's property and mine pools in a low part of yard and floods up over the driveway during heavy rains.
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A couple of the roots of store-bought green onions that ended up in compost decided to establish themselves in my flower bed.
So now I have fat and happy white blooming onions.
Dumb questions - how and when do I harvest - pull them out or cut off above the ground - do they come back?
Do I need to chop off those lovely blooms? How long can/should I leave them in the ground before harvesting?
If they're blooming, you are very unlikely to get onion bulbs from them. I would just keep trimming leaves for green onion. If you want onion seed or just enjoy them, leave the blooms. If you want more current leafy growth, cut 'em off.
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Does anyone have advice on when to thin seedlings to the correct spacing in rows? I've got a nice row of chard seedlings, but I'm not sure how big to let them get before I cull to the right spacing.
@coffeefueled I usually do two thinnings of kale and chard. The first one when they're 3 -- 4 inches tall, and the second when they're about 8 inches tall. Chard sometimes tries to grow in clumps (because of how their seeds develop), so I just use my judgement on them. Trying to thin by pulling up the whole plant can backfire and uproot the neighboring plants. If the clump seems happy I just leave it to grow as one plant, but if it seems like the plant would rather be thinned I clip off one or more of the plants with a scissors rather than try to pull them up. I aim for 16 -- 18" adult spacing between both Red Russian kale and Swiss chard plants. They're big.
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I have a community garden plot!!! Now we just have to persuade the powers that be that these are safe to open. BC has opened theirs. There are Covid19 guidelines that we would need to agree to. But the plots are large enough that we should certainly be able to manage social distancing.
Just started my pepper seeds in anticipation. Too soon for tomatoes.
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I have a community garden plot!!! Now we just have to persuade the powers that be that these are safe to open. BC has opened theirs. There are Covid19 guidelines that we would need to agree to. But the plots are large enough that we should certainly be able to manage social distancing.
Just started my pepper seeds in anticipation. Too soon for tomatoes.
BC's COVID shutdown has been much more relaxed than Ontario's. The garden centres and greenhouses are still allowed to open. The government seems to want us all to go outside.
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Harvesting kale seeds is relatively easy- the flowers bloom and the pods leftover from the blooms dry. If you can easily open the pods and the seeds come popping out, that’s the perfect time. If you have to scrape the seeds out then it’s too soon.
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Harvesting kale seeds is relatively easy- the flowers bloom and the pods leftover from the blooms dry. If you can easily open the pods and the seeds come popping out, that’s the perfect time. If you have to scrape the seeds out then it’s too soon.
Thanks for this. I’m going to give it a try.
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BC's COVID shutdown has been much more relaxed than Ontario's. The garden centres and greenhouses are still allowed to open. The government seems to want us all to go outside.
Being active outside a couple hours a day is good for health. As long as people maintain social distancing the risk of spreading disease is quite low. I haven't heard of any health professional saying that outdoor public spaces should be closed.
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Just a happy picture from our place. This is our alpha hen, a 4 year old Crested Cream Legbar. She is only about 3 pounds soaking wet, but she is in charge. It's funny to see huge hens just doing as they're told. All she has to do is look at them sideways. Our young rooster treats her like the queen that she is. She's probably the best chicken we've ever had -- ultra smart, friendly, sensible. CCLs don't lay nearly as many eggs as some breeds, but if you don't care about that they are wonderful.
If you look closely you'll see that she only has two toes on her right foot. She developed a very bad case of bumblefoot last year and had to have half her foot amputated. We normally provide our own chicken healthcare, but this was a special situation for a special hen, so we happily ponied up the vet care cost. It was a long recovery, and I changed her bandages and dressed her wound many dozens of times. She was patient, sweet and appreciative through the whole thing. What a gem.
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Just a happy picture from our place. This is our alpha hen, a 4 year old Crested Cream Legbar. She is only about 3 pounds soaking wet, but she is in charge. It's funny to see huge hens just doing as they're told. All she has to do is look at them sideways. Our young rooster treats her like the queen that she is. She's probably the best chicken we've ever had -- ultra smart, friendly, sensible. CCLs don't lay nearly as many eggs as some breeds, but if you don't care about that they are wonderful.
She is really pretty!! I'm glad she survived the foot operation.
Does she lay blue eggs? Are all Cream Legbars that small or just the crested ones?
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Just a happy picture from our place. This is our alpha hen, a 4 year old Crested Cream Legbar. She is only about 3 pounds soaking wet, but she is in charge. It's funny to see huge hens just doing as they're told. All she has to do is look at them sideways. Our young rooster treats her like the queen that she is. She's probably the best chicken we've ever had -- ultra smart, friendly, sensible. CCLs don't lay nearly as many eggs as some breeds, but if you don't care about that they are wonderful.
She is really pretty!! I'm glad she survived the foot operation.
Does she lay blue eggs? Are all Cream Legbars that small or just the crested ones?
Yes she does lay pretty blue eggs. I'm not sure about that! We have three CCLs and they are all that size, but it does seem a bit small. They all came from the the same local breeder, so it could be just her breeding flock that's small.
This breed also isn't supposed to go broody, but two of our three are. This hen, the leader, isn't broody but she manages the laying and the chick rearing for the flock. It's super interesting watching her work -- she patrols inside the coop every day.
When she first returned to the flock after being crated for three months last year (recuperating from surgery) she marched straight into the coop to see what was going on. We had two hens at the time that had been brooding for far too long. We had tried to break them (because we didn't want any chicks just then, and there is no point in them doing it unnecessarily). Where we had failed, she succeeded. She assessed the situation, had "a talk" with them, and both were up and broken within an hour. I saw one of the "talks" -- with a 9 pound Brahma hen -- and she never even had to touch her or raise her voice. The Brahma just got the message and got up.
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@Trifele That's a beautiful CLB. My new one seems to be on the small side compared to the other pullets the same age. Hope she can hold her own against the RIR chicks that will be joining the flock a few weeks after the first batch of chicks are acclimated.
After such a mild winter, it's disappointing to have such a wet and chilly April in zone 6b. Wasn't able to get much done outside over the weekend, even though every day is a weekend for me now.
Was trying to come up with another way besides liquid fertilizer to encourage a growth spurt for the basement seedlings. About 5 days ago, I decided to top dress 12 tomato seedlings with vermicompost to see if that would provide the plants additional energy. I'm going to give it about 10 days and decide if I should add it to the other seedlings. Next year I may mix up my own batch of seedling mix because the plants seem as if they are growing very slowly this year.
On rainy days, I've been watching "homesteading/cooking/gardening" videos by Liziqi, a chinese youtuber, with my Gen Z family members. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoC47do520os_4DBMEFGg4A
While youtube access is restricted in China, these idealized, highly edited and produced views of farming life contain some good ideas. I especially like the beautiful bamboo fence around the family compound.
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I have some LED full spectrum bulbs in a standard lamp to boost a houseplant in a darker corner of my house. I got them at home depot. Or do you mean something more like this?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Professional-Plant-Growing-Light-Photosynthesis-Lamp-LED-Clip-Plant-Growth-Light-Timed-5-Modes-Adjustable-Lighting/880142477?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=18988
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@Tinker
I use these LED lights from Amazon. They are $21.99
45W LED Grow Light, UNIFUN New Light Plant Bulbs Plant Growing Bulb for Hydroponic Aquatic Indoor Plants
I've had them about 4 years and haven't had a problem. The T5 bulbs on the first set of grow lights I used are always burning out and are expensive to replace, but these are still working.
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Lol Indio I've been doing the same. I recognize that it's borderline fiction but it's just so soothing!
I've been trying to figure out if it's even possibly for her to grow all the stuff that she harvest on camera. It's gotta be warmer than like zone 7, there's citrus and pineapple(?) at one point. But there's also snow at some points. And somehow she grows ginger outdoors?
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Ugh. It's going to get disgustingly hot in a few days. 36C. I hope the garden can take it.
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Does anyone here dig and bury veg scraps to compost? I’m looking for a super simple way to compost waste.
Also, pistachios are our snack of choice these days. Any good uses for the shells?
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Yesterday was a big day in my garden.
First off - I harvested 0.5lbs of shiitake mushrooms from the one little log I inoculated ages ago. I think this is the fourth time they have flushed.
I also was able to make dinner with garlic, potatoes, scallions and kale from my garden. And the greenhouse crops are coming along nicely. Should be harvesting more buttercrunch lettuce than I can use.
With the lockdown I have gotten back into sprouting and the kids are loving the crunchy bean mix. The bag of seeds is nearly gone.
I transplanted rhubarb that was now in deep shade to my veggie patch at the neighbours.
The onions and kale that I was too sick to harvest last fall have come back strong so we are able to eat fresh from the garden less than a month since our last snowfall.
I decided to plant seeds in the ground- the earliest I have ever tried. So far in the ground: fava, arugula, raddicchio, bok choi, snow and two types shelling peas, more kale, swiss chard, radish, five types of lettuce (small patches for lots of variety), dill, parsely, all the onions I didn't use this winter and spinach. I am just so excited about my garden this year. My kids and partner are starting to mock my enthusiasm.
The seedlings under grow lights are coming along. I decided to start some beans and soup peas under lights to get them going and then as soon as they are up I will move them to the greenhouse. It is about a month before frost free, but I am going to put them in the ground in two weeks under floating row covers. I have never tried orca beans or green split peas, but I just love garden experiments! Eggplant (2 types), peppers (4 types), tomatoes (15 types), leeks are coming along nicely now.
It is going to be 20C today but tomorrow night -3C. Gotta pace myself.
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FL, your gardening sounds wonderful. It is warm here but we are forecast for flurries next weekend!?!?!? At night I am guessing, highs of 5, lows of 0 and 1. Spring seems to be toying with us.
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Does anyone here dig and bury veg scraps to compost? I’m looking for a super simple way to compost waste.
I just throw them in the compost heap.
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This was a big gardening weekend here too. I put 22 tomato plants in the ground today. I'm sure I'll regret it when I'm canning in September. I think 19 was my previous high number of plants. Also put in 15 cauliflower and a couple cabbages, broccoli and about 50 onions and 25 shallots. Still lots of leek and red onion seedlings to get in over the next few days. Next weekend I'll probably get the cucurbit seedlings in the ground as well as 3 kinds of basil, Fortex beans, okra, eggplant and about 75 pepper seedlings. It's looking like we'll be able to harvest lettuce next weekend, and kale, collards and chard in 2-3 weeks.
Root vegetable germination has been pretty poor. I just took another run at carrots, putting a board over them this time, and seem to have better emergence. Now to keep those little buggers alive. Hopefully I can get some more beet seeds in the ground and do another planting of radishes. Not sure if it was seed predation or cool soils, because being stuck at home, I've been much more consistent than usual with watering.
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Does anyone here dig and bury veg scraps to compost? I’m looking for a super simple way to compost waste.
@Trudie, yes my dad did it this way sometimes. He would dig a shallow trench where he planned to plant the following spring, and bury the raw compost. For this to work you have to be able to wait awhile (maybe 3-6 months) because it's risky to plant on top of raw compost that hasn't broken down enough yet. Might make the plants unhappy or worse.
This was a big gardening weekend here too. I put 22 tomato plants in the ground today. I'm sure I'll regret it when I'm canning in September.
Same here @horsepoor -- I just finished planting way too many tomatoes (24). I got seriously carried away. Last year we were swimming in them from only 8 plants. I'm really in for it this year. Time to buy a lot more jars.
I also have broccoli, potatoes, cabbage, turnips, peppers, pak choi, chard, and kale going. Tonight I'm planting the last spring crops -- peas and beans. We had a slightly cool spring f(last freeze was two weeks after the average) so I'm just getting to those now.
My challenge right now is some herbs I'm trying to grow from seed. The mints are being really difficult. Sometimes they won't sprout, and then if they sprout they die. If anyone has done this, please give me pointers!
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Here in Indiana, I'm in the midst of grafting my fruit trees. I've slowly grafting over a god-awful Bradford pear over the last few years to turn it into something useful. Currently, it's about 20% edible pear (Bosc/D'Anjou/Bartlett) and I'm really hoping that this will be the year I'm hoping to get it closer to 80%. As of the last weekend in April, about 30 new grafts were done on the tree.
This past weekend was all about grafting American persimmons, and next weekend starts the pawpaw grafting.
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We have a light freeze forecasted for Friday 😱
Good thing I bought some row cover this year to try winter gardening- I'll throw it over my precious peach tree. I've been waiting 3 years for it to bloom and set fruit, I'll be damned if I let the blossoms freeze!
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Does anyone here dig and bury veg scraps to compost? I’m looking for a super simple way to compost waste.
@Trudie, yes my dad did it this way sometimes. He would dig a shallow trench where he planned to plant the following spring, and bury the raw compost. For this to work you have to be able to wait awhile (maybe 3-6 months) because it's risky to plant on top of raw compost that hasn't broken down enough yet. Might make the plants unhappy or worse.
I do this. It breaks down in a couple weeks here (the worms really go to town), and it makes beautiful rich soil.
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We have a light freeze forecasted for Friday 😱
Good thing I bought some row cover this year to try winter gardening- I'll throw it over my precious peach tree. I've been waiting 3 years for it to bloom and set fruit, I'll be damned if I let the blossoms freeze!
This certainly is the nerve racking time of year for fruit trees. Best of luck in your efforts to keep them warm.
https://extension.usu.edu/productionhort/files-ou/CriticalTemperaturesFruitTrees.pdf (https://extension.usu.edu/productionhort/files-ou/CriticalTemperaturesFruitTrees.pdf)
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Here in Indiana, I'm in the midst of grafting my fruit trees. I've slowly grafting over a god-awful Bradford pear over the last few years to turn it into something useful. Currently, it's about 20% edible pear (Bosc/D'Anjou/Bartlett) and I'm really hoping that this will be the year I'm hoping to get it closer to 80%. As of the last weekend in April, about 30 new grafts were done on the tree.
This past weekend was all about grafting American persimmons, and next weekend starts the pawpaw grafting.
That is super interesting @YttriumNitrate. What a fascinating idea. I've got several Bradfords, and multiple varieties of edible pear, but I never thought to go all Frankenstein. Hmmmm . . . [raises eyebrows and chuckles . . .]
So far the only grafting I've done is bench grafting, but I've already been thinking of trying field grafting to deal with an apple tree we have that isn't flowering. (It was a seedling we brought with us from up north, and given that it's now 9 years old and isn't flowering I'm concluding we are probably too far south for it/not enough chilling hours.)
Some questions for you if you don't mind: Do you agree grafting will deal with the issue of this tree being too far south? (I'm assuming the scion drives that aspect of the fruiting?) Do you think I should try bud grafting late summer, or do you think it's better to wait and use dormant scion wood next winter?
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Does anyone here dig and bury veg scraps to compost? I’m looking for a super simple way to compost waste.
@Trudie, yes my dad did it this way sometimes. He would dig a shallow trench where he planned to plant the following spring, and bury the raw compost. For this to work you have to be able to wait awhile (maybe 3-6 months) because it's risky to plant on top of raw compost that hasn't broken down enough yet. Might make the plants unhappy or worse.
I do this. It breaks down in a couple weeks here (the worms really go to town), and it makes beautiful rich soil.
Whoa, that's fast @Roots&Wings! That's fantastic -- are you doing it in the spring/summer it sounds like?
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That is super interesting @YttriumNitrate. What a fascinating idea. I've got several Bradfords, and multiple varieties of edible pear, but I never thought to go all Frankenstein. Hmmmm . . . [raises eyebrows and chuckles . . .]
So far the only grafting I've done is bench grafting, but I've already been thinking of trying field grafting to deal with an apple tree we have that isn't flowering. (It was a seedling we brought with us from up north, and given that it's now 9 years old and isn't flowering I'm concluding we are probably too far south for it/not enough chilling hours.)
Some questions for you if you don't mind: Do you agree grafting will deal with the issue of this tree being too far south? (I'm assuming the scion drives that aspect of the fruiting?) Do you think I should try bud grafting late summer, or do you think it's better to wait and use dormant scion wood next winter?
Being in northern Indiana, whenever I see "chill hours" being discussed, I immediately skip over that part since it's never been a problem for me. I am definitely not the right person to answer that question.
I'm a fan of grafting early and often. Assuming you have an ample supply of scion wood, and a bit of free time, you can do both bud grafting in the summer and dormant grafting in the winter.
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I'm a fan of grafting early and often. Assuming you have an ample supply of scion wood, and a bit of free time, you can do both bud grafting in the summer and dormant grafting in the winter.
Excellent. Thanks! :)
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OOOhhh grafting - an unexplored territory for me.
I had an excellent gardening weekend. And we have snow in the forecast for the end of the week. I too will be hauling out floating row covers.....
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My grocery store has opened its seasonal garden center. Not a lot of plants yet, but I now have 3 bags of potting soil for starting seedlings. Win!!!
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This certainly is the nerve racking time of year for fruit trees. Best of luck in your efforts to keep them warm.
https://extension.usu.edu/productionhort/files-ou/CriticalTemperaturesFruitTrees.pdf (https://extension.usu.edu/productionhort/files-ou/CriticalTemperaturesFruitTrees.pdf)
Thanks @YttriumNitrate! I'll keep this handy.
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Whoa, that's fast @Roots&Wings! That's fantastic -- are you doing it in the spring/summer it sounds like?
Burying food scraps year round works here (subtropical 9b/10a). When I lived up north (7a) things didn't break as quickly. Very location dependent!
We have a light freeze forecasted for Friday 😱
Good thing I bought some row cover this year to try winter gardening- I'll throw it over my precious peach tree. I've been waiting 3 years for it to bloom and set fruit, I'll be damned if I let the blossoms freeze!
This certainly is the nerve racking time of year for fruit trees. Best of luck in your efforts to keep them warm.
https://extension.usu.edu/productionhort/files-ou/CriticalTemperaturesFruitTrees.pdf (https://extension.usu.edu/productionhort/files-ou/CriticalTemperaturesFruitTrees.pdf)
Good luck protecting the peaches! If you have holiday lights, those might help too. I've lost all but 2 peaches so far this year to critters (guessing raccoons or possums), I didn't know to protect them.
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I too will be hauling out floating row covers.....
Same here @Frugal Lizard -- hauling it all out again, freeze warning for this weekend. Dang it, we are almost a month past the average last freeze date, and I just folded it all up . . . .
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Our average last freeze day is May 20 so I should just stop whining, but hell, I am somewhat calmer overall if the weather is my thing I can't control. The others are too scary.
ETA - there was ice on the bird bath
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We just planted all of our perennials on Sunday, because the 10 day forecast gave overnight lows of at least 37 or 38 F, but it definitely frosted last night. Our average last freeze day is May 15. I shouldn't be surprised, but I always am, haha. It's always so nice for a few weeks, and I think "surely this year it will last", and then I get overconfident and all of my plants are sad.
I didn't have time to go check on them before I left for work, so fingers crossed that they didn't all die :'(
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Prepping for a possible freeze here too. I saved a bunch of plastic containers to cover the dahlias (they're only about an inch tall). My large unplanted dalhias will go into the shed for the night. I had started hardening off my cucumbers and tomato seedlings, but avoided planting once I heard the weather prediction. Those will go under a clear plastic tote to keep warm. Somewhere I think I have some scraps of weed block fabric that will go over the strawberries.
My raised bed has kale, chard, and peas that are all about 2-4 inches tall. Do I need to frost protect them too? I wasn't sure if the cooler weather crops would be fine with a possible frost.
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How hard of a frost are you getting? I’m not covering mine, but then again I also just let my stuff overwinter.
I have had to hold off putting my tomatoes out and will cover my seedling that don’t have two set of true leave yet.
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Yesterday morning there was ice on the bird bath until 10:30. It is going to be colder all weekend.
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My raised bed has kale, chard, and peas that are all about 2-4 inches tall. Do I need to frost protect them too? I wasn't sure if the cooler weather crops would be fine with a possible frost.
My kale and chard are good down to a 28 degree overnight low with no protection. Peas are more tender and I cover if 32 or under.
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My kale and onions came up in the garden on their own so I think they can take it chilly. Peas aren't up yet, so I think they aren't as tolerant of the chill.
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Goodness, it’s been a while since I’ve updated my own garden progress here. Great to see everyone still pursuing their respective garden goals....despite what appears to be some challenging climactic situations....both in terms of heat AND cold.
Due to the pandemic I have been keeping my travel over to my garden (requires ferry travel) at a bare minimum so today was actually the first time I had seen my garden in a couple of weeks. I have family that were keeping tabs on things and were prepared to water if necessary, but so far the Spring has been perfect in terms of conditions. Sunny, warm days, interspersed with occasional showers had me quite optimistic as to what I would see when I opened my garden gate and walked into that space. But there is also trepidation....and usually this is how I feel when I return from my usual Spring trip down to Baja. First thing I noticed - not surprisingly - was the immense, blossoming mass of my overwintered kale plants trees. If I end up saving seed from these things I might be able to supply all of this islands kale lovers with seed. 😉 Even from 20 feet away I could hear the frenzied drone of pollinators amongst the yellow kale blosssoms. Later I would see that not only insects are fond of the kale blooms.
I took my time wandering around the garden space, making note of the shin high grass that I will cut tomorrow and soaking in just how green and lush everything is....but I also delighted in seeing that my brassicas are all doing wonderfully....though one red cabbage had been assailed by some pest and I put a replacement seedling in it’s place. You see, I brought “back up” seedlings with me on this trip for just such an occurrence. My first planting of peas, sowed in early March are about 3 feet high on the trellis...and later plantings are well on their way up their own trellis structures. The first peas of the season are not far away now. Seed potatoes are up and about 6 inches high. Parsnips and turnips and carrots are looking good. Onions are looking great...garlic too. Rows of beets that I sowed a few weeks ago exhibited largely successful germination....though there were a few gaps in the rows due to woodbugs (pill bugs, roly polys) I suspect. I planted some new seed in these bare spots. Rhubarb looks like it will be huge this year. But the highlight has to be my edible greens....spinach and lettuce. I planted a new spinach variety this year (along with some of my tried and true favourites) called Monstrueux de Viroflay and I cannot believe the scale of the leaves. Really tasty too, as I ate it after I snapped the pic. I have some ideas kicking around in my brain as to how I’m going to use up all this spinach.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49865141497_dc611792b2_z.jpg)
My hands are rather huge so that gives you an idea of the scale of this spinach variety. 😊
Lots of gorgeous lettuce ready to harvest - actually harvested some for a salad tonight - especially the romaine, a variety called Coastal Star. I cannot properly express just how beautiful things are becoming in my little forest garden grove. Blackberries, salal, ferns are literally exploding with growth....as well as our fruit (pear, apple, plum) and nut bearing trees (walnut, hazelnut).
The next week of weather is looking to be truly perfect...highs in the low to mid 20’s Celsius and overnight lows staying in the 10 Celsius range (50F) so I’m thinking I may just go all in and get everything else in the ground, squash, tomatoes, tomatillos...and just MAYBE my peppers if I provide them a bit of a greenhouse plastic cover until June. If I don’t get tomatoes and squash in tomorrow, I’m DEFINITELY planting my beans tomorrow, both bush and pole varieties. Cucumber starts are probably a few weeks away from planting out as I got a bit of a late start with them.
I mean, it’s not unheard of to have this kind of weather in early May here on the balmy West Coast of Canada, but it is still a bit of a gift and should aid me in getting a further jump on my garden this year.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49865004141_183b4398d7_z.jpg)
I know I’m not alone here in possessing an increased desire to have an especially successful garden this year of all years. If Mother Nature can serve up just a bit more of this, and then ramp up the heat a bit in June for my transition into the heat loving crops....I will be endlessly grateful to Her. I’m hesitant to even say this in case I jinx myself, but the signs are there for this to be my best garden ever....this being my 6th garden in my 6th year of FIRE.
I might post some more garden shots here soon...once I cut the grass and do a bit more weeding....both of which I actually enjoy doing.
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That spinach! Did you know it was a monster when you planted?
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Wow, that is some spinach. I find harvesting spinach a pain but the picking time to yield of that variety is fantastic.
I am not going to post our forecast. IT is too depressing. But I am going to run over and turn the heat off in my greenhouse. At least there wasn't ice on the bird bath this morning at 7.
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That spinach! Did you know it was a monster when you planted?
I did not. But perhaps I should have been tipped off by the variety name, Monstrueux de Viroflay? 🙂
I am not going to post our forecast. IT is too depressing. But I am going to run over and turn the heat off in my greenhouse. At least there wasn't ice on the bird bath this morning at 7.
You won’t post it, so I looked. Yipes, those overnight lows. Perhaps the weather gods of Eastern Canada need to be told we are now in the second week of May? Sheesh.
I have toyed on and off with building a greenhouse, but can’t quite bring myself to pull the trigger. What is the size of yours, Frugal Lizard?
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Ha! I definitely read it as “monsieur” in your post!
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I put a slice of zucchini in a little growing pot with earth, made it wet, covered it with plastic and put it on a warming tray in the kitchen for one and a half week. Nothing green is visible. I did this, in the hope that a slice of zucchini contains seeds for a new plant.
I have a few questions:
- Should this method above have worked and should I try again, maybe with better earth from our own composting bin?
- Should I rather use seeds from the shop?
- Is it still not too late in the season to start growing a zucchini plant from seed?
My goal is to have one 1 plant only this year.
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- Should this method above have worked and should I try again, maybe with better earth from our own composting bin?
- Should I rather use seeds from the shop?
- Is it still not too late in the season to start growing a zucchini plant from seed?
I doubt that the zucchini would have matured enough to develop seeds. Usually eating quality vegetables are picked while they're young and tender. Once they have developed seeds they're quite tough and woody.
I'd buy a seed packet. It should be cheap. If you store the packet in a cool dry place (fridge works well) you will keep it fresh for next year too.
It is almost certainly not too late, unless you have very short cool summers. Put it in the ground and see!
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- Should this method above have worked and should I try again, maybe with better earth from our own composting bin?
- Should I rather use seeds from the shop?
- Is it still not too late in the season to start growing a zucchini plant from seed?
I doubt that the zucchini would have matured enough to develop seeds. Usually eating quality vegetables are picked while they're young and tender. Once they have developed seeds they're quite tough and woody.
I'd buy a seed packet. It should be cheap. If you store the packet in a cool dry place (fridge works well) you will keep it fresh for next year too.
It is almost certainly not too late, unless you have very short cool summers. Put it in the ground and see!
+1 -- I would get some seeds.
Zucchinis like it warm -- more than 15 degrees C -- so once it gets to that temperature you should be good to put it outside.
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I say "my greenhouse" which to mean, 'my dear neighbour's greenhouse that I have free access to'. It is a model from the eighties. 10x12. Not the best location as it is too close to trees on the west. It is single pane glass.
If I were to get my own greenhouse, I would have it sunken into the ground a little (even 18" would be good) to get some more thermal mass around the plants and use the fancy new polycarbonate panels with higher R-value.
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Snow in the forecast tonight ($$*##(@!!!)
Here's my plan - appreciate any input on if it's a dumb idea or not.
First, everything in pots will be moved into our mudroom, where it's 50-55ºF (10-12ºC). Should be warm enough.
After that - I've got just one raised bed planted, and those are all starts 2-3" in height. Since it's a 3.5' x 7' bed I'm thinking I'll just put a 2" sheet of XPS foam over the entire bed and weight it down with bricks. It won't be an air-tight seal but my thinking is it'll be close enough of one to 1) keep the snow off and 2) let the plants stay warm from the soil below.
It's supposed to climb back into the 40s (5ºC+) within 24 hours, so this would just be at night and during the actual snowfall.
Ok idea? Other suggestions? Thought about stapling plastic sheeting to get a more airtight seal, but that seems overkill. Or is it...?
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Snow in the forecast tonight ($$*##(@!!!)
Here's my plan - appreciate any input on if it's a dumb idea or not.
First, everything in pots will be moved into our mudroom, where it's 50-55ºF (10-12ºC). Should be warm enough.
After that - I've got just one raised bed planted, and those are all starts 2-3" in height. Since it's a 3.5' x 7' bed I'm thinking I'll just put a 2" sheet of XPS foam over the entire bed and weight it down with bricks. It won't be an air-tight seal but my thinking is it'll be close enough of one to 1) keep the snow off and 2) let the plants stay warm from the soil below.
It's supposed to climb back into the 40s (5ºC+) within 24 hours, so this would just be at night and during the actual snowfall.
Ok idea? Other suggestions? Thought about stapling plastic sheeting to get a more airtight seal, but that seems overkill. Or is it...?
Sounds reasonable. I would go with the plastic or an old sheet over the foam and draped down the sides of the bed to make a better seal. Unless it is supposed to be windy it should be OK with just a few things holding it down to make sure it doesn't blow off.
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Snow in the forecast tonight ($$*##(@!!!)
Here's my plan - appreciate any input on if it's a dumb idea or not.
First, everything in pots will be moved into our mudroom, where it's 50-55ºF (10-12ºC). Should be warm enough.
After that - I've got just one raised bed planted, and those are all starts 2-3" in height. Since it's a 3.5' x 7' bed I'm thinking I'll just put a 2" sheet of XPS foam over the entire bed and weight it down with bricks. It won't be an air-tight seal but my thinking is it'll be close enough of one to 1) keep the snow off and 2) let the plants stay warm from the soil below.
It's supposed to climb back into the 40s (5ºC+) within 24 hours, so this would just be at night and during the actual snowfall.
Ok idea? Other suggestions? Thought about stapling plastic sheeting to get a more airtight seal, but that seems overkill. Or is it...?
Plan sounds reasonable. You can also fill up milk jugs (half gallon or full gallon) with water, cap them, and lay them on their sides in the bed, ensuring good contact with the soil. They act as a heat sink and help keep the temperature up under the cover.
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Sounds like a plan.
Our forecast frigging sucks for most of the week.
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I’m worried about our plants over the next few days. Record lows coming for our area and the seedlings have JUST taken hold! We’ll cover of course but we’re crossing all fingers and toes that we won’t lose anything.
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I am a bit confused now as to which gardening thread to post in. How do you folks choose?
This one has longevity going for it, as I believe there has been a thread like this going for at least the 6 years I’ve been talking garden matters with the fine folks here. But the other one has its own fancy sub section.
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I am a bit confused now as to which gardening thread to post in. How do you folks choose?
I part in both and then I’m routinely confused as to which I should be responding to. It’s not a strategy I recommend.
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I am a bit confused now as to which gardening thread to post in. How do you folks choose?
This one has longevity going for it, as I believe there has been a thread like this going for at least the 6 years I’ve been talking garden matters with the fine folks here. But the other one has its own fancy sub section.
Now you have replaced my ignorance with confusion.
What other thread?
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I am a bit confused now as to which gardening thread to post in. How do you folks choose?
This one has longevity going for it, as I believe there has been a thread like this going for at least the 6 years I’ve been talking garden matters with the fine folks here. But the other one has its own fancy sub section.
(http://[/url)
Now you have replaced my ignorance with confusion.
What other thread?
http:// https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/gardening-diy/gardening-2020/]bit confused now as to which gardening thread to post in. How do you folks choose?
This one has longevity going for it, as I believe there has been a thread like this going for at least the 6 years I’ve been talking garden matters with the fine folks here. But the other one has its own fancy sub section.
[/quote]
Now you have replaced my ignorance with confusion.
What other thread?
[/quote]
http:// https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/gardening-diy/gardening-2020/
There is a baby sub forum now...
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I think this shall remain my preferred spot for this season, in part due to @Trifele’s
picking up throwing down the gauntlet to get this long running thread up and running for 2020...big thanks to her....and because my roots are rather deep in here at this point.
I’m actually curious as to the rationale for getting that other thing going as I’ve always found this thread to be a great resource over the years and not, uh, difficult to find...which as I understand it MAY have been a reason for starting the other garden community on the forum. Now that it exists....I could see the Gardening 2021 talk being focused in the new sub forum...rather than the dilution of content to be found in both places currently.
Hit 27C (80F) here today....unusually high for May here on the Left Coast. There is no doubt my garden will continue to get a boost from this....beans and squash have been planted out in the past few days. The only thing that has shown displeasure with this heat is the spinach....which looked decidedly droopy today. Back to more seasonal temps and a bit of precipitation for next week. Which is good as I’ve not had to water my plants to this extent in May....ever I don’t think.
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Hmm, I was also unaware of the new sub-forum, but the link to it is dead for me, so I'll stick with this thread.
Busy today out in the garden. It was one of those perfect sunny, 72 degree days with a gentle breeze. Planted 32 green chile plants and another 16 peppers of other varieties (Macedonian, Serrano and Paprika). There are about 25 more pepper plants waiting in the wings, but the seedlings have been taking their sweet time to get any kind of size, so I'm keeping them in the greenhouse for now. Planted Fortex beans and relocated the pea plants that the squirrels apparently dug up and moved for me.
The Tomato Fortresses are up, and all beds are ready for cucurbits as soon as the seedlings get a little bigger. Doing more than I had planned back in February, B.C. and wishing I had a couple extra beds now to accommodate the winter squash, but they'll test their luck in an area that will eventually be xeriscaped. I might toss some dent corn out there too, if I'm watering the area anyway.
Sadly, I had to dig up some milkweed rhizomes, as it has a pesky habit of trying to establish in exactly the wrong place. I'm hoping I can get it established in some more viable locations and lure in some butterflies.
Harvested the first lettuces this week, and kale, collards and chard look to be well on their way. There are some random alliums getting harvested as well, as they volunteer or re-sprout from last year.
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Interesting about the new sub-forum. I think actually the gardening thread may be better off in a general location like this, to have wider appeal. But either way, I can't handle posting in two places so I'll stick around here for this year!
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I am sticking here.
and it is f*cking snowing here. I haven't been to the greenhouse yet today because I didn't want to let out any heat.
I haven't started squash seedling yet because I have no room under grow lights because I can't move the tender tomatoes and eggplants and peppers into the greenhouse.
Damn weather.
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I am sticking here.
and it is f*cking snowing here.
But is it sticking? 😉 sorry
I haven't started squash seedling yet because I have no room under grow lights because I can't move the tender tomatoes and eggplants and peppers into the greenhouse.
Well, I started my squash seedlings almost 2 weeks ago and I have had some terrible germination results. Did my seeds go bad? They are only 2 years old and the seed packet says they are good for 3. I thought it might be my seedling mix, but my cukes germinated like champs. I HATE buying seedlings but I may have to brave the ludicrous lineups at the local garden centre to pick up some. Grrrr.
One last word from me in regards to the other forum gardening spot. I will likely do some reading there - currently enjoying the tomatillo talk, as I’ve grown them for 6 years now. Last I learned to NEVER plant them next to cucumbers - but I will only be posting here as well. As some others have mentioned trying to post in both places would be a challenge...especially for this old brain. 😊
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I casually partook in this thread last year, and casually had a garden, but baby arrived mid-August so the garden was mostly weeds and my internet participation nose-dived. This year will be better!
Harvested: rhubarb from a friend. Made it into a rhubarb crumble and a rhubarb syrup to doctor up gin and tonics. Both so good.
So far, on the 'impossible to kill' front I've got chives, chinese onion, walking onion, lemon balm and mint galore, with new additions of horseradish, strawberries and a raspberry cane that migrated over from the neighbour.
In the ground and thriving: spinach, pac choi, swiss chard, kale, radishes.
In the ground and never to appear: carrots (confirmed), lettuces (confirmed), beets (TBD). I've never done the seed germination test, and as I attempt to use the same seeds for a few years... I should probably start.
In the ground and struggling: a gifted tomato seedling (too early?), and calendula, basil and onion seedlings that I started without a proper light set up... they struggled on the window sill and continue to struggle in the ground. We'll see.
Getting rotated in and out of my house all day: zucchini! I'm determined to have fruitful zucchini this year.
Still to plant: beans (from seed), cucumbers, tomatoes and maybe peppers (seedlings.)
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Getting rotated in and out of my house all day: zucchini! I'm determined to have fruitful zucchini this year.
Same here @Off the Wheel -- I grow cucumbers in pots, and they have been in and out of my house for the last month. Currently inside, as we had another freeze last night one full month past the last historic average date. Crazy.
The tomato and pepper seedlings have been outside in the ground for weeks, and so far are doing ok through multiple freezes, with row cover and milk jug buddies. DH (engineering type) tells me I am using the term "heat sink" wrong; the water-filled milk jugs I put under the covers with the seedlings are actually "heat reservoirs", and as long as they're in good contact with the soil they bring that heat up. This past winter they worked great and helped me overwinter a bunch of kale and chard. The jugs never froze, even when the temperature was far below freezing. In a more northern zone in the depth of a real winter I think you'd need a much bigger reservoir, but here in 7a the jugs work beautifully.
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Hope everyone survived the cold snap and is into warmer weather!
I have this mystery plant that showed up in large numbers on the edges of my vegetable garden this year. Anybody know what this is? It's clumpy and about a foot tall, and sends out runners. It has a few tiny pink flowers here and there. Thanks!
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My plant ID app (PlantNet) suggests it's some kind of geranium.
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My plant ID app (PlantNet) suggests it's some kind of geranium.
Thanks @Dee_ ! That's where I was leaning too, based on the leaves. Some type of hardy geranium, but the flowers don't seem to match up with anything I'm finding online. There's one plant in the hardy geranium group called Bloody Cranesbill (kind of a gross name) that might be it. I'll know in the fall if that might be it if/when the leaves turn red (?)
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My plant ID app (PlantNet) suggests it's some kind of geranium.
Thanks @Dee_ ! That's where I was leaning too, based on the leaves. Some type of hardy geranium, but the flowers don't seem to match up with anything I'm finding online. There's one plant in the hardy geranium group called Bloody Cranesbill (kind of a gross name) that might be it. I'll know in the fall if that might be it if/when the leaves turn red (?)
Based on the leaves and small flower I also thought true Geranium (the annuals we call geraniums are actually Pelargonium).
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@Trifele I thought it was a spiny buttercup
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@Trifele I thought it was a spiny buttercup
Thanks! I just looked at that plant @MudPuppy, and it does look similar, except the flowers are pink instead of yellow . . . and wow, that is interesting about spiny buttercup being a host plant for certain crop diseases. I often look at weed plants growing near my crops and try to figure out if they are friend or foe. This one looks like it's in the "foe" category!
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We are getting plenty of Swiss Chard, Spinach, lettuce, green onions and sugar snap peas. We have chickens so also more eggs than we can eat. I made 6 Quiches this weekend ( each one uses 4-5 eggs) and froze them. My kids love them and they are nice when we don't have many eggs in the dead of winter.
Everything else seems to be growing pretty good. We have some tomatoes that have blooms on them and some teeny tiny peppers growing. It's pretty slow for now, another month and I'll be so busy I won't know what to do.
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Sounds like your garden is doing really well @rachellynn99! I make loads of quiche too. Chard, potato, and leeks are frequent ingredients.
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I agree that looks like a geranium. From what I can see, the flowers look similar to some geraniums I have along the front walk, though the leaves on yours are much more deeply dissected. I kind of hate mine, but they are tough as nails in a site that gets little to no watering, so I let them live.
It seems like we're getting a slow start here. Yesterday we had our first proper salad of mixed lettuce leaves. The radishes aren't even growing very quickly. Finally some carrots are established, but patchy. Next week I'll be harvesting collards. It's cool and rainy the rest of this week, then I'm traveling for work next week, so it looks like the last few things (okra, cukes, tomatillos) things aren't going to get out into the garden until the end of the month, which is about two weeks later than usual.
In the front yard, the penstemons, Greek yarrow and Apache plume are blooming, and some bluebunch wheatgrass I transplanted to up near the sidewalk are over 2' tall and looking spectacular (to this plant geek; no one else seems impressed when I show them), and my Thurber's needlegrass has children. There is a great drift of California poppies blooming on the side yard, and my 15' Enigma rose is just starting to show off too. However, I've been too busy moving rock mulch, stacking wood and burning things in the back yard to pay it much attention. The pandemic is leaving me time to get to some cleanup and organization that has slipped over the years with my spring travel routine.
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This year I tried out an ultra-cheap grow light setup for starting various things indoors. The lights were standard bright white LEDs that my local big box store was basically giving away last year, the fixtures were $2/each outdoor floodlight fixtures (https://www.menards.com/main/lighting-ceiling-fans/outdoor-lighting/security-lights/sigma-white-par38-security-lamp-holder/14330whm/p-1444430907437-c-7544.htm), and the frame for the lights was made from scrap lumber. I had the electrical cord/connections left over from previous projects, so the only new stuff I got for the project were the light fixtures and a timer. Total cost was under $15.
There were a few hiccups with figuring out the right amount of water to give them, and the hardening off process, but so far things are going pretty well. Plants are starting to get transferred outside, and it looks like I'll have a bumper crop of lettuce, collards, basil, and tomatoes. The peppers and dill decided they did not want to grow this year.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49894224116_8c52dd97a5.jpg)
Picture taken a month or two ago, the plants are much bigger now.
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Mr. Z thinned the radishes yesterday, and brought in about a dozen small ones. The leaf lettuce survived the late frost and is ALMOST ready for picking. All of the tomato plants that took a beating from the late cold weather seem to be putting out fresh green, so they survived. Have tiny shoots of cucumber, golden zucchini, and yellow squash coming up. Assorted green, jalepeno, banana and cowhorn peppers all looking good. The parsley and cilantro already need to be cut back, so I need to plan some meals that will use up the clippings!
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This is probably a dumb question but last year I had the most fantastic tomatoes. I still have some frozen bags of them in the freezer that I will have till my next harvest this August/September. I saw this demo on youtube where you could take a slice of a tomato and lay it in to a pot of potting mix and the seeds would grow a new plant. I was wondering if I took a tomato slice out of my freezer and planted it, would it grow since it was frozen?
I just saved the root end of my scallions and have them in water and they are growing. I will plant them soon! Looking forward to regrowing certain vegetables!
I would love to regrow my tomatoes from last year. They were awesome! But since they have been in the freezer, not sure they would grow.
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This is probably a dumb question but last year I had the most fantastic tomatoes. I still have some frozen bags of them in the freezer that I will have till my next harvest this August/September. I saw this demo on youtube where you could take a slice of a tomato and lay it in to a pot of potting mix and the seeds would grow a new plant. I was wondering if I took a tomato slice out of my freezer and planted it, would it grow since it was frozen?
Seed banks generally freeze the seed - but typically the seeds are dried first.
Give it a shot! All you're risking is a tomato slice...
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Lots of progress in the garden this weekend.
Some heavy lifting of well rotted sheep manure from the pile at the farm to my garden in town.
Then back at the farm with an empty trailer, I worked on restoring some sprawling red raspberry canes back into neat and harvestable rows. They didn't bear well last year. Hopefully with some reduced competition and a good application of some of the manure next weekend, they will yield well.
I sorted through the remainder of the potatoes from last year to save a few for dinner Sunday night and had the kids sort them as best as they could into variety and size to plant as seed potato next weekend. I have about 1/2 a bushel. The russel burbanks are really slow to set up eyes. They need to be eaten last.
My brother cultivated the big plots at the farm that was fallow last year (AKA, eight feet high in weeds) with the tractor. There are four bays between the raspberry bushes. I want to move it to no till from now on. I am going to plant the potatoes, tomatoes, cukes/squash and beans, beets, carrots in each one. This will be the basis of a crop rotation plan for future years. I will cover them with a super thick layer of very much still straw manure and then pull back enough space to plant seeds into. Hopefully I can then get the weeding under control. The tomatoes will also get a roll of red plastic mulch so that I don't bother with staking. I am hoping the big mounds of straw between the plant will help direct the moisture to the roots and reduce rot. I got about 21 plants from the packet of seeds - Pony Express. They are supposed to be a disease resistant paste tomato hybrid. Hopefully that is enough plants to yield 8 bushels of fruit for our canning needs.
I have a lot of different types of beans and not enough space in town so hopefully there isn't too much of a bunny problem. I would like to harvest two cups of seed for next year and enough black beans for us to eat them all winter. The fresh eating beans will be planted in town, as I can't keep on top of harvest out at the farm. I would also like to grow a bushel of beets and carrots for pickling and storage. I have had good luck with storing them in the ground under a big bale of straw and lift the straw with the tractor to harvest them around Christmas.
Things in the greenhouse are coming along nicely
Germination is mixed on the squash on the heat mats.
Transplants from starter trays to pots are doing really well. I think they are ready for the greenhouse and the blast of sunlight. Am I ready for the watering chores>
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Most everything is in the ground at this point, and with the exception of the pumpkins everything is up. I have a few struggling tomatoes that I might pull and replace with something else.
Gonna try "double planting" my 5 gallon potato buckets and see if I can get a double crop per bucket- they're almost ready for their first hilling! Crazy how much growth happens in a few weeks. Pea greens are almost ready, if the stupid sun would come out I could probably pick them by the end of the week.
Folks, a word to the wise- I've been seeing a few reports of people's soil getting Grazon poisoning from mulching or composting with hay or animal manure. Always, always check with something fast germinating (e.g. peas) before planting your whole crop in it.
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In addition to our vegetable garden, this year I'm planting a tea/herb/'pollinator goody' garden. It's all an experiment -- I'm growing most of the things for the first time PLUS it's outside the deer fence with no protection. So if the deer decide they want to eat it, there's nothing I can do.
So far in the new "Tea Garden":
-- Lemon balm (third year plants doing crazy well, deer don't touch it -- yay!)
-- Spearmint (first year, so far so good)
-- Peppermint (first year, so far so good)
and the rest of these I just planted out, so too soon to tell:
-- Chamomile
-- Calendula
-- Bee balm
-- Hyssop and Anise Hyssop
-- Yarrow
-- Rue
-- Echinacea
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All my stuff is in the ground. It’s rainy and a little cool this week, but stuff is really poised to take off.
I am so relieved to have my community garden plot this year. Good for my physical and mental health and sense of purpose.
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Finally finished building my third and final raised bed today. Only... I’m out of soil. So I’ll have to make another run to the farm to get another cubic yard.
Really want to get all these plants in the ground... jealous at reading how everyone elses seems to be.
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Don’t get too jealous, my squash seeds are being little bitches about sprouting
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Don’t get too jealous, my squash seeds are being little bitches about sprouting
Ingrates. My pumpkin seeds never sprouted in their seed cups... not sure why.
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I have given up direct sowing pumpkins and squash and now germinate test them on a wet paper towel in a zip lock on the heat mat. The variation in germination is astonishing.
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I have given up direct sowing pumpkins and squash and now germinate test them on a wet paper towel in a zip lock on the heat mat.
I figured out that the top of my water heater is warm enough to kick start germination on the heat lovers. Gotta utilize that waste energy!
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I have given up direct sowing pumpkins and squash and now germinate test them on a wet paper towel in a zip lock on the heat mat. The variation in germination is astonishing.
I usually just plant 3 to a space and let the best man win, but i've had to resow several of my spots more than once. I'm beginning to suspect foul (or fowl) play.
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- Should this method above have worked and should I try again, maybe with better earth from our own composting bin?
- Should I rather use seeds from the shop?
- Is it still not too late in the season to start growing a zucchini plant from seed?
I doubt that the zucchini would have matured enough to develop seeds. Usually eating quality vegetables are picked while they're young and tender. Once they have developed seeds they're quite tough and woody.
I'd buy a seed packet. It should be cheap. If you store the packet in a cool dry place (fridge works well) you will keep it fresh for next year too.
It is almost certainly not too late, unless you have very short cool summers. Put it in the ground and see!
+1 -- I would get some seeds.
Zucchinis like it warm -- more than 15 degrees C -- so once it gets to that temperature you should be good to put it outside.
I bought a pack of zucchini seeds and a pack of lovage seeds. A week ago I planted one of each in a big pot, filled with earth and our own compost. Kept it nicely moist. The pots are standing in the house on a heated floor, in front of a window. So far, some tiny mushrooms have popped up on the outside. But no green plants are starting in the middle of the pots. I'll wait some more days to see if anythimg happens.
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I have given up direct sowing pumpkins and squash and now germinate test them on a wet paper towel in a zip lock on the heat mat. The variation in germination is astonishing.
I do this for tomatoes (in the oven with the light on for warmth) and it is so efficient. I hadn't thought of it for cucurbits, I thought they don't like transplanting. Do you sow them directly in the garden once a root is showing? I have only a few seeds left for some varieties I really like, and want good germination.
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@RetiredAt63 -I plant them in a "poo" pot as soon as I notice them breaking germination. They can vary ten days in the same bag of damp paper towel - and some germination rates are as low as 20%. (I use collected seeds) I really like the cow pots. They aren't good for eggplant and peppers from germination as they only stand up for about four weeks. By the first week of June the roots are bursting out the sides of the curcubits and tomatoes. They work great for the church garden where (in past years) the children have planted the seedlings.
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Does anyone here dig and bury veg scraps to compost? I’m looking for a super simple way to compost waste.
@Trudie, yes my dad did it this way sometimes. He would dig a shallow trench where he planned to plant the following spring, and bury the raw compost. For this to work you have to be able to wait awhile (maybe 3-6 months) because it's risky to plant on top of raw compost that hasn't broken down enough yet. Might make the plants unhappy or worse.
I do this. It breaks down in a couple weeks here (the worms really go to town), and it makes beautiful rich soil.
I did it with my first ever raised bed this spring - put down cardboard over my regular soil (in this part of the garden it is actually semi-decent soil) then added some garden soil maybe five inches, then spread compost which had been in my new, first ever compost bin.
... - aka just a big old pot that I used for veggie scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells and weed free clippings.
Every few days I'd add a layer of leaves from the garden, sometimes even sprinkle in a bit of leftover potting soil, tried to remember to keep it moist and turned:).
It never stank (I suspect the leave layers helped with that).
Anyway - I added about three more inches of garden soil and voila well composted raised bed.
It was a hit with everything I planted there.
I am about to repeat that process in another section of my garden since it worked so well.
PS -
1. I also threw some four-week-old compost on the ground in a (at that time) shaded area and just topped it off with a layer of leaves. I wasn't sure whether this might be a bad idea and attract rats, but since it was mostly in the back forty:) I went ahead with it and just made sure it stayed moist for a while longer.
Some critters did root around there but it wasn't a big nuisance since I didn't plant anything right away - I just wanted to improve the soil for planting later, may have been birds looking for worms too.
2. Added some four-week-old compost at the bottom of a plant hole for a tomato that self-seeded itself in said compost area - it took the move and only semi-composted "fertilizer" in stride and is now producing well - waiting for them to turn red any day now.
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Does anyone here dig and bury veg scraps to compost? I’m looking for a super simple way to compost waste.
@Trudie, yes my dad did it this way sometimes. He would dig a shallow trench where he planned to plant the following spring, and bury the raw compost. For this to work you have to be able to wait awhile (maybe 3-6 months) because it's risky to plant on top of raw compost that hasn't broken down enough yet. Might make the plants unhappy or worse.
I do this. It breaks down in a couple weeks here (the worms really go to town), and it makes beautiful rich soil.
I did it with my first ever raised bed this spring - put down cardboard over my regular soil (in this part of the garden it is actually semi-decent soil) then added some garden soil maybe five inches, then spread compost which had been in my new, first ever compost bin.
... - aka just a big old pot that I used for veggie scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells and weed free clippings.
Every few days I'd add a layer of leaves from the garden, sometimes even sprinkle in a bit of leftover potting soil, tried to remember to keep it moist and turned:).
It never stank (I suspect the leave layers helped with that).
Anyway - I added about three more inches of garden soil and voila well composted raised bed.
It was a hit with everything I planted there.
I am about to repeat that process in another section of my garden since it worked so well.
PS -
1. I also threw some four-week-old compost on the ground in a (at that time) shaded area and just topped it off with a layer of leaves. I wasn't sure whether this might be a bad idea and attract rats, but since it was mostly in the back forty:) I went ahead with it and just made sure it stayed moist for a while longer.
Some critters did root around there but it wasn't a big nuisance since I didn't plant anything right away - I just wanted to improve the soil for planting later, may have been birds looking for worms too.
2. Added some four-week-old compost at the bottom of a plant hole for a tomato that self-seeded itself in said compost area - it took the move and only semi-composted "fertilizer" in stride and is now producing well - waiting for them to turn red any day now.
We have a large composting bin, full of veggy scraps and worms. The worms have multiplied to great numbers. The compos5 is breaking down. But last time, it hadn't turned to earth yet. Then we mixed it with purchased earth, which becomes a nice, rich soil.
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It has been so nice here. I have started hardening off a number of the trays of seedlings. Some of them are for the community pantry garden and some are for me.
Squash and cukes and zukes are coming along. There is a huge variation in the number of days germination takes.
I harvested asparagus, kales, green onion, lettuce and rhubarb.
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Does anyone have any idea what's wrong with my cucumber and solutions for saving them? I google and all I find is powdery mildew, but it doesn't look like that IMO. I first noticed it on a couple leaves when they were still seedlings, but I was hoping being in the ground for a few days would help. It has not.
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Looks a big like sunburn
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I have given up direct sowing pumpkins and squash and now germinate test them on a wet paper towel in a zip lock on the heat mat. The variation in germination is astonishing.
I do this for tomatoes (in the oven with the light on for warmth) and it is so efficient. I hadn't thought of it for cucurbits, I thought they don't like transplanting. Do you sow them directly in the garden once a root is showing? I have only a few seeds left for some varieties I really like, and want good germination.
Thanks, this trick worked for my zucchini seed. After one day, it had a 1 cm long sprout.
Than I placed it in a big pot, but put the pit on the heat mat. It looks like the sprout has grow and has started to stick up.
The other seeds that I tried didn't function at all.
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I thinned my chard and beet seedlings yesterday - doubled as my first harvest! Almost a third of a pound of greens between them. I whipped up a red wine vinaigrette and we had a big salad for dinner.
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Need some input! I split this basil last week, and they look really sad to be apart from each other. I left them in my 3 season porch because Michigan weather has been a bit up and down. I put it outside 2 days ago as the weather is more consistent and warm. Still droopy. Are they salvageable? Is it a good idea to plant them in my garden bed?
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I wonder if they’re too chilly?
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That's what I initially thought, but they should have been fine in my 3 season porch. It's been in the 70's here since I put them outside.
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Thirsty? They do look sad to be apart.
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Fireant, I would try to salvage them by cutting them, leaving a long stem and cutting off some leaves where new roots will grow and place in water. I just rerooted some myself and just replanted in potting mix. Look on youtube for a tutorial, that's what I did. My plants were from the grocery store and I cut some off to get more plantings.
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Argh. 38F last night, it's been cold and rainy. I have the ONE work trip in eons scheduled for next week, and temps are supposed to be up to 99 when I get back on Friday. I guess I'll plant out the rest of my seedlings this weekend and just water the heck out of them before I leave and hope for the best. They'll be in several different areas, so I can't just set up shade cloth over them.
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Fireant, I would try to salvage them by cutting them, leaving a long stem and cutting off some leaves where new roots will grow and place in water. I just rerooted some myself and just replanted in potting mix. Look on youtube for a tutorial, that's what I did. My plants were from the grocery store and I cut some off to get more plantings.
I am going to have to look this up because I can't envision what you're saying. I'll look it up on YouTube. Thanks!
Thirsty? They do look sad to be apart.
I don't think so. I've been watering it every other day.
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@FireAnt I'd move them out of the heat, put them somewhere where they'll get light but not heat. A bright window inside or under some shade outside. When you split them they lost a lot of root mass, so they're struggling to support the leaf canopy and can't utilize the light and heat you're giving them. They'll look sad until they rebuild root mass again, which is invisible work. Once they perk up a little move them back into full sun.
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@FireAnt I'd move them out of the heat, put them somewhere where they'll get light but not heat. A bright window inside or under some shade outside. When you split them they lost a lot of root mass, so they're struggling to support the leaf canopy and can't utilize the light and heat you're giving them. They'll look sad until they rebuild root mass again, which is invisible work. Once they perk up a little move them back into full sun.
+1. This happened to me when I dug up and potted an elderberry sucker (baby plant) recently. It drooped alarmingly and it looked like it was going to die. I put it in a mostly shade location and watered it gently, and now three weeks later it is finally turning the corner. It just needed time to grow roots.
@FireAnt, I would try to move them somewhere out of full sun and heat for a while and water them, try to nurse them through it.
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Fireant
Vid on rooting basil:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyLuuE7XpFk
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@FireAnt I'd move them out of the heat, put them somewhere where they'll get light but not heat. A bright window inside or under some shade outside. When you split them they lost a lot of root mass, so they're struggling to support the leaf canopy and can't utilize the light and heat you're giving them. They'll look sad until they rebuild root mass again, which is invisible work. Once they perk up a little move them back into full sun.
Thanks guys! I will try this. Crossing my fingers.
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Anybody familiar with plant breeding, snow/snap peas specifically? I have a super early variety that I don't enjoy the taste of, and a more standard length that I like eating. The goal is an earlier, tasty landrace of some sort. I'll probably hand pollinate to mix genetics as much as possible for F1, but how do I select for earliness? If I let the plant finish maturing a pod it'll be done for the season right? Does taking early season fruit get me the same genetics as later season fruit?
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Anybody familiar with plant breeding, snow/snap peas specifically? I have a super early variety that I don't enjoy the taste of, and a more standard length that I like eating. The goal is an earlier, tasty landrace of some sort. I'll probably hand pollinate to mix genetics as much as possible for F1, but how do I select for earliness? If I let the plant finish maturing a pod it'll be done for the season right? Does taking early season fruit get me the same genetics as later season fruit?
Hey @Dee_ -- check out this paper, which looked at the genetics/heritability of pea earliness: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292932596_Genetic_Analysis_For_Earliness_And_Yield_Traits_in_Garden_pea_Pisum_sativum_L. This paper studied garden peas specifically, but you may find something useful for snows/snaps.
It looks like they measured "earliness" several different ways -- first flower, 50% flowering, and first harvest. Interesting! I assume they were working in a greenhouse (?), so it may be different working outside, with weather variations. I would think the genes of the fruited legume will be the same (from the same plant) whether you pick it early from the plant or late, as long as the plant was mated the same way.
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I worked very hard on my garden all weekend. We went from damned cold to brutal heat. I have been struggling to get everything hardened off in time to plant out. And some seedlings have gotten a little too big before I had the chance to get them out. And it is really difficult to get them hardened off when the heat is unbelievable. I think it is going to hit 30C today. May 6th it got down to minus 6 overnight. I need to walk over to the green house and water everything again - it is so hot the trays that are outside hardening off will be dried out again.
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I worked very hard on my garden all weekend. We went from damned cold to brutal heat. I have been struggling to get everything hardened off in time to plant out. And some seedlings have gotten a little too big before I had the chance to get them out. And it is really difficult to get them hardened off when the heat is unbelievable. I think it is going to hit 30C today. May 6th it got down to minus 6 overnight. I need to walk over to the green house and water everything again - it is so hot the trays that are outside hardening off will be dried out again.
When I went to Lowes for gardening equipment I also bought some herbs. All the plants were drying out so fast, there was one employee doing nothing but watering, and he wasn't able to keep up! The ones I bought were not wilting, but they still soaked up an incredible amount of water when I got them home!
My baby plants would normally stay inside a good while longer, but at this rate I will start hardening them off on the balcony and then plant them in a week or so.
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Anybody familiar with plant breeding, snow/snap peas specifically? I have a super early variety that I don't enjoy the taste of, and a more standard length that I like eating. The goal is an earlier, tasty landrace of some sort. I'll probably hand pollinate to mix genetics as much as possible for F1, but how do I select for earliness? If I let the plant finish maturing a pod it'll be done for the season right? Does taking early season fruit get me the same genetics as later season fruit?
What I would do is hand-pollinate F1 to ensure self-pollination, so that the seeds/peas will have the same(ish) genetics as the parent plant. Keep track of when flowers appear, when they are ready for harvest, etc. Then take the seeds from the plants you were most satisfied with to plant next year (can be the later seed pods, as they should all have similar genetics if self-pollinated), and cross pollinate those. Rinse and repeat.
If you don't self-pollinate the F1's, you may find a plant you like, but the seeds you plant the next year could be quite different if they have half their genes from a different plant that was less favorable. There is some risk of this even with self pollination, as any traits the parent is heterozygous for could go either way in the seeds. Expect a long process, with occasional setbacks.
Or search around for other early varietals already on the market :)
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I bought a hoe this weekend and I don't know how I ever lived without one. I weeded all the raised beds and the patio flower borders in about 15 minutes.
Time to start eating the lettuce. I think I'm going to do head lettuce next year since my leaf lettuce rows get a bit it of hand. I think it'd be easier to harvest a while head at once.
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I bought a hoe this weekend and I don't know how I ever lived without one. I weeded all the raised beds and the patio flower borders in about 15 minutes.
Time to start eating the lettuce. I think I'm going to do head lettuce next year since my leaf lettuce rows get a bit it of hand. I think it'd be easier to harvest a while head at once.
Hoes are wonderful. Which kind did you get?
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@FireAnt I'd move them out of the heat, put them somewhere where they'll get light but not heat. A bright window inside or under some shade outside. When you split them they lost a lot of root mass, so they're struggling to support the leaf canopy and can't utilize the light and heat you're giving them. They'll look sad until they rebuild root mass again, which is invisible work. Once they perk up a little move them back into full sun.
Thanks guys! I will try this. Crossing my fingers.
UPDATE: I put them in my 3 season porch, but didn't notice much of a change. We've had some real humidity so last night I put them in my house, although not as much direct sun. 24 hours later and one has completely recovered and the other is working towards it. Thanks! :)
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Just reporting in on some of my tropical plant and fruit results since I planted them in Feb/Mar/April.
BANANAS - doing fantastic!:)
1. The vanilla ice cream banana - mature size 10 ft plus ... from a 2-inch plantling to currently almost five feet. Fat and happy - surprisingly wind hardy, no slashed leaves yet. It seems to like a lot more shade than they said - thankfully the sun pattern is such that it does receive a few hours of shade from a huge old Paper Bark Maple about fifteen feet away.
I always assumed bananas would like full sun, but a visit to the local Botanical garden showed me that they prefer shade - tag said sun/part shade.
Guess I lucked out by planting it where I did:).
2. The dwarf banana - mature size about six feet - from a 2-inch plantling to now two and a half feet. I planted it behind some intensely orange Cosmos which grew five feet tall and three feet wide and is providing enough shade to keep it happy.
It is looking fat and happy too.
PAPAYAS - three freebies from the neighbor were about ten-twelve inches, looking a bit straggly with slightly yellowed leaves, except for one.
1. The best-looking one is in the front yard in well-composted soil planted in mid-March is going on five feet with a fat trunk and a good size canopy of leaves already.
It is in full sun with only a couple of hours of shade which it seems to love. The roots are shaded by zinnias and cosmos - it seems to like the company in the flower bed.
2. The one in the backyard is just beginning to look really fat and happy and super healthy - it has reached three feet.
Not sure about the soil - more sandy, but not too bad. Surrounded by green onions, and a ton of different flowers.
3. I decided to put one of the papayas in a big pot with good soil in case the other two didn't make it - ha ha - it is the smallest by far. Only about 20 inches tall but beginning to gain strength and a bit thicker trunk - still a very small canopy.
SOIL ..... If you put a spade in the ground in our yard - you'll find it is pure sand like at the beach then you reach limestone rock after about a foot or so with plenty of seashells and embedded encrusted sea critters.
I used the mammoth rock we excavated when I first started gardening as a landscape feature:) - we still laugh about that never-ending rock:).
TROPICAL - BLACKBERRY JAM BUSH/TREE - a huge disappointment so far. Supposed to do well in zone 10 and 11 - it can take the heat, but it is barely growing. Google says it is a slow grower - the understatement of the year - at this rate it will reach one foot in a year - maybe:).
These are not blackberries - but a bush that produces a fruit which when cut open you scoop out - ready to eat blackberry jam:).
I experimented with sun - shade - pots - in the ground.
Result: it is OK with the heat, doesn't droop but seems to prefer growing in the shade of another plant. Doesn't care for good moisture soil in a pot - prefers to be in the ground.
The only truly happy one has actually grown two inches and has added more leaves since the cosmos that it is surrounded by have grown taller and are providing lots of shade - it doesn't mind the heat.
I ordered two plants online when they arrived each 2-inch pot had about five thin seedlings. So it is possible they just need a whole lot more time.
We'll see maybe it just needs a full growing season to take off - slowly.
GUAVA - grew from a 4-inch plantling to two feet since March and is now branching out another foot. It is a winner in my garden book:).
A truly lovely small-leaved evergreen bush. It is supposed to have fragrant white flowers and may produce fruit within a year.
It seems to like its spot, hasn't drooped from the heat - so I'm happy - wish I'd ordered two, but they are sold out of this particular variety from Chile.
APPLE - Boo:) - these were transplanted in February from a pot into my new garden area. Not working out too well so far, although they have leaves.
I will give them some extra compost and hope for the best - if they don't come around by next Feb I'll rip them out.
FENNEL - I tried for the first time and it is doing so great that I will plant more next year.
So I guess I'll need to find some recipe inspiration - I've never had or fixed fennel. All I know about fennel is that makes a great tea for colicky babies.
Do you sautee the stems? like for a Mediterranean dish?
DILL - huge success - the Mammoth Dill seed packet was the only one that survived and thrived. I have dried some dill, used plenty fresh and I'm saving the dill seeds both for seasoning and some for next year.
Looked positively lovely - a small forest of giant lacy dills, now turning coppery with all the huge seed heads.
LETTUCE - finally found the perfect lettuce. Planted in the late fall - six months to maturity and now there are only three heads left, still hanging in there at 88 degrees each day. Will harvest Saturday and call it done.
PEPPERS - tried some new heirloom seeds - planted in March. Sweet red peppers, long twisty shape - just turning red - looking forward to our first taste.
Pepper harvest overall has been steady since the last week in April.
I plant mine in pots after about five years of trying to grow them in the ground I gave up. I now give each pepper a 16-inch pot and they produce fine until August.
BASIL - managed to kill the two Italian basil I bought at the nursery. Tried seeding my own - not one came up:(.
African Blue Basil - is doing wonderful. It has a peppery, slightly spicy great flavor and grows into a 3-4 ft bush covered in bees.
The leaves go from green to purplish and in bloom it looks like a landscape plant - awesome scent.
All six cuttings that I took from the mother plant are slowly taking off - they can deal with the heat and don't seem to mind poor soil as long as they get water. Almost a foot tall and branching out now despite the heat.
Oh and the PASSION FRUIT - looks like I killed one and the other is doing OK so far - training it along the fence. We'll see how it goes.
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Love the tropical update @Rosy!
Here's the PERMACULTURE/PERENNIAL news from our place in mountainous Zone 7a. I'll do a vegetable/herb update another time.
Apples. We have 15 trees, 10 of which I grafted three years ago. All doing very well except for the seedling we brought with us from up north which is now 9 years old and still not flowering. I think that one may be too far south for its (unknown) variety and I'm going to try field grafting a local variety onto it this year to see if we can get it to fruit next year.
Pears. 4 fruit-bearing, different varieties, all doing extremely well. It'll be a huge bumper crop of fruit this year. We also have 4 large Bradford ornamental pears which the pollinators love.
Cherries. 4 sweet cherries, all doing well. Three of them are now 4 year olds and this will hopefully be their first year bearing any significant fruit. We also have ~10 wild black cherry trees which the pollinators love, and 3 Kwanzan ornamental cherries which they ignore.
Paw Paws. Rough year. Despite the mild winter it looks like one of my two remaining trees may be dying. The site is not ideal (possibly too sunny). :(
Figs. We have three figs, and it looks like the two smaller/younger ones did not make it through the winter, which is very weird. They were four years old and should have been past the danger point, plus our winter was extremely mild. I'm scratching my head over this one.
Elderberries. These guys are inside the deer fence-protected garden and are doing fantastic! They have formed a thick hedge about 8 feet tall and are making tons of babies. Their flowers are nearly open, and then it'll be pollinator party time. I've yet to see another plant or tree that gets so many different insects excited. I also made some super-delicious elderberry syrup last year from their fruit. Go elderberries!
Raspberries. What can you say? They're impossible to kill -- even by our deer -- and are doing great outside the deer fence. Yum.
Blueberries. Doing so-so inside the deer fence. We have 10 plants, and they look a little peaky this spring. Not as much fruit as last year. i fertilized and applied ph-reducer as usual, so not sure what's going on.
Persimmons. Not good. It looks like I lost 2 of our 4 trees. Very strange, given that we had such a mild winter.
We also did quite a few new perennial/self-seeding plantings this spring. Most of them I bought, but a few I grew. The stay-at-home order has been great for our gardens, but a bit hard on the pocketbook!
Sourwood tree
2 Serviceberry trees
Rhubarb
Spearmint
Peppermint
Chamomile
Beebalm
Borage
Calendula
Echinacea
Rue
Yarrow
Anise Hyssop
And finally, the bees are doing great! It's a steep learning curve and not cheap to start, but I'm loving it. We have two hives which have completely different personalities; I never get tired of watching them. Very addictive!
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Man - Am I ever jealous of the tropical (to my zone) plants. My garden is doing great but it is going to go down to just above freezing overnight this weekend.
My plan is to keep hardening off the tender seedlings that are getting a bit leggy during the day - being out of the greenhouse really slows them down.
Eggplants, squash and peppers are just going to stay in the greenhouse for a whole week longer. If they start to get a little leggy, I will put them out in the shade. I douse them liberally with my organic red hen fertilizer. I have discovered that the squirrels and chipmunks do not like it. It does stink way too much to use in my planter pots near the dining table. However since it is effective as a fertilizer and repels squirrels as well, I use it just after doing some transplanting and don't water before we eat - water makes it even more stinky!
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All my babies are on the balcony so most have been outside since germination. They grow fast these hot days. They get sun all morning, shade in the afternoon. And breezes, which means theoretically they should have strong stems.
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@Trifele - I really envy you the apples and cherries - I may try one more time to find a cherry that might survive our climate - zone 10.
When I was on vacation in Turkey years ago there were cherry trees that did well - the sweet dark kind that I love so I keep thinking there has to be a variety that will work here.
Elderberries - I planted four and one died - poor thing - everyone kept stepping on it and the lawn guy razed it to the ground twice thinking it was a weed.
The three remaining ones are doing very well. Their wild brethren in the big ditch behind them are blooming pretty, but I can't reach the berries, although there are two suckers that I'll try transplanting.
The cardinal and the bluejays think they have first dibs on the one I transplanted into the yard years ago - but this year I am determined to dip a few blooms to fry up.
I plan on making elderberry liquor this year - got a very old recipe that I've always wanted to try.
Mystery plant - got something coming up that looks like a melon or squash. A garden gift from the birds?:)
I'll water it and see what happens.
The leaves are fuzzy underneath and rather thick and have white veins on a medium-sized, medium-dark green leaf.
Rue - since I snipped off the flower head it has started to fill in on all sides. I've always thought that it makes a cool looking landscape plant.
I bought one on a whim, surprised to see that it is happy and thriving.
Another useful herb for my herbal apothecary.
Feverfew - ordered a plant online and it is doing fantastic. Beautiful white flowers - perfect for a bouquet.
I plan to use it medicinally in my herbal apothecary.
Aloe - finally potted a Medusa leaf Aloe my son got me last year. Gave it an Aztec sun - Kokopelli pot and a spot of honor.
Looks good at already about two feet tall.
Next project - cutting the Bougainvillea - that will take up a whole weekend maybe more, thankfully it is only once a year.
The front yard - new garden area - is an epic failure. Not at all what I had in mind, but the bones aka the perennials I planted are all doing well.
So it will be just a matter of some serious cleanup and removing weeds and grass.
It is all one hot mess - the Cosmos has taken over ...
It is already so hot, I may let it all be and just keep it all alive throughout the summer then tackle a redo in the fall.
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Man - Am I ever jealous of the tropical (to my zone) plants. My garden is doing great but it is going to go down to just above freezing overnight this weekend.
My plan is to keep hardening off the tender seedlings that are getting a bit leggy during the day - being out of the greenhouse really slows them down.
Eggplants, squash and peppers are just going to stay in the greenhouse for a whole week longer. If they start to get a little leggy, I will put them out in the shade. I douse them liberally with my organic red hen fertilizer. I have discovered that the squirrels and chipmunks do not like it. It does stink way too much to use in my planter pots near the dining table. However since it is effective as a fertilizer and repels squirrels as well, I use it just after doing some transplanting and don't water before we eat - water makes it even more stinky!
@Frugal Lizard - there's gotta be something else the squirrels hate.
https://www.offthegridnews.com/survival-gardening-2/7-garden-plants-that-really-do-repel-squirrels/
Here is a list of plants that repel squirrels which should do well in your area - I'd love to grow daffodils and hyacinths but no dice, it doesn't get cold enough for the bulbs in the winter. Don't believe the one about planting geraniums - those pesky critters have dug holes in my geranium planters.
At the end of the article they mention sprinkling cayenne pepper and hot chili pepper powder - I have heard that it is supposed to work quite well.
Google says so anyway - it may well be the ingredient in the fertilizer that they hate.
I think I may try the peppermint oil spray method - smells good and I happen to have a bottle.
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Busy weekend here as well. Our weather has also been vacillating wildly, and things have been slow to really get going, so I waited a few weeks later than usual to plant out the remaining peppers, as well as the eggplants, okra anc cucurbits. Suddenly, we have loads and loads of lettuce, as well as lots of kale and collards. The chard will be there too once it gets ahead of the leaf miners. Peas are behind because the birds have been munching on them, which is a new issue. A new tomato variety for me, Burke's Backyard, has grape-sized tomatoes on it, well ahead of the rest of the plants.
I'm going to take another run at getting some beet seeds going since I had terrible germination on the first sowing in March. I'm also hoping I can get some of the leek seedlings planted; they're really densely planted in a small container and might be stunted at this point.
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@horsepoor your garden is gorgeous! So neat and orderly. Is that your tool kiosk in the background there? We're still thinking about building one.
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Gorgeous garden.
My garden is coming along....despite really cold overnights. No blooms on plum trees but saskatoons have set fruit. Harvested basil lettuce cilantro kale scallions and asparagus and rhubarb.
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Harvested chard, basil, cilantro, oregano, and thyme over the weekend. Several of the strawberry plants are starting to set fruit. One of my four pole bean plants looks a bit stunted, but the other three have all found their trellis poles. One of my marigolds got dug up by the squirrels, but two others are close to flowering.
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No blooms on plum trees but saskatoons have set fruit.
We just planted two serviceberries (saskatoons) this spring and I love them! The birds do too. Ours are fruiting and our two resident brown thrashers are picking them clean. I covered one branch with tulle just to get some fruit haha. Thinking about going back to the nursery to get another one.
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@RetiredAt63 I wanted a dutch hoe, but couldn't find them anywhere in my area which I thought was kind of odd. It seems to be the standard option on the british garden tv shows I watch. I ended up with a scuffle hoe that's doing the job just fine even if it's not as pretty. ;) I also bought a cheap border spade that I really like. It's a lot easier for getting into tight spaces than our standard big shovel.
We're in year two for our apples and pears. I haven't done any spraying. I didn't think about it because we pulled the few flowers to help the trees focus on root and branch growth. Turns out not spraying since we didn't have fruit was a bad assumption. Three of the apples have cedar apple rust and one of the pears has blister mites. I pulled the mite affected leaves, but I read that you can't spray for it until the fall. Next year I'll have to start getting serious about a spray routine. It should be the first year we have enough trees in bloom for fruit.
I ordered dirt/compost for new raised beds. We'll have a total of 6 4x8s and 3 4x4s. I also got gravel for the greenhouse foundation. I'm back to work fulltime so digging the foundation is on hold until the weekends. I was really getting used to feeling retired. It's a bit of a shock to be back in the office.
Veg Update - pumpkins and butternut squash are up, peppers are doing great but no flowers yet, cucumbers are hitting the bottom of the trellis, lettuce and peas are going mad, and we should have a good crop of chard for the first time. I put basil seeds in any empty spot and have a bunch of 1 inch tall seedlings.
Blackberry update - The pallets I used as mini-raised beds are working great. The plot looks really tidy. All but one of the varieties I ordered blooms on year two canes so nothing until next year, but the plants are looking strong. Does anyone bother to trellis their semi-erect berry bushes? I heard it makes the bushes more productive.
My favorite local seed supplier has herb seeds in stock so I ordered parsley, cilantro, borage, and two kinds of fennel.
@Trifele how big were the serviceberries you bought? We want to put in a couple and were planning to buy some more mature/bigger plants, but weren't sure if they would be too expensive.
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@Trifele - one of my favourite memories is of my 5 and 2 year olds eating Saskatoons off the small bush and the robins eating the ones higher up. The birds were not perched but would fly through and grab a berry mid flight and eat it from either the clothesline or the spruce tree branches. The kids ate oblivious to the three or four robins flying back and forth across the garden.
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@horsepoor your garden is gorgeous! So neat and orderly. Is that your tool kiosk in the background there? We're still thinking about building one.
Thanks! Yes, that is the tool kiosk. I am 500% more likely to put my tools away now. It's super useful.
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Well past time for a garden update on my end. But where to start? Things have...escalated...since I was last here. Absolutely PERFECT Spring growing temperatures (low to mid-20 Celsius highs, comfortably double digit night lows) and conditions (ample sunny days with occasional showers) has meant that my garden is well beyond where it normally is at this time.
Though things are looking great, there have been a few issues...there always are, right? Let’s get these out of the way first. A Spring that has been a bit more damp than in recent years has meant more slugs. Thankfully, these are tiny ones, no bigger tan the nail on one’s pinky finger. They leave small holes on my lettuce and spinach. Irritating, in that it prevents my greens from being “market quality”, but it hasn’t prevented us from harvesting and enjoying a ton of different lettuce and spinach varieties over the past several weeks. My “monstrous” spinach variety was the first to go to seed....so I have made a note of that for next year. As ever, the Olympia variety is the most long and bolt resistant variety I have found. It’s still going strong.
(Olympia is on the right in my spinach patch. Seed stalks visible on the Monstreaux de Viroflay to the left)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49950210843_b0b434ac96.jpg)
I expanded my garden operation this year hoping to grow extra and share more of my bounty with my family, friends and the island community where I have my garden. I must say that early on my spinach and lettuce was accepted with enthusiasm. But it has come to the point now where there appears to be, in particular, spinach-fatigue. ;) But new crops will be coming on line soon!
One other issue has been some shoddy beet germination...though I suspect it has been more a matter of the newly emerged beets being munched on by wood bugs. The wetter Spring has meant the wood bugs that hide in the sides of my raised beds have been a bit more bold in terms of making forays into my seedbeds. They have also shown an ability to chew through my young bean plants at the base, causing them to fall over onto the ground (like lumberjacks falling trees) where they then chow down at their leisure. The above scenarios have caused me to sow backup beets and beans (as well as plot the wood bugs demise).
But apart from that, everything is going great and everything has been planted out for weeks now, the tomatoes, tomatillos peppers, and cucumbers being the last wave. I took great pains this year to harden off my warmer weather plants this year, so they have all done wonderfully with some cooler than ideal conditions. I’ve got peppers forming already!
But as ever, the brassicas lead the way. Kale (not pictured) is going bonkers as well in another bed close by.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49958011086_bee5621d42.jpg)[/url]
Broccoli heads forming. (Trust me, it’s in there)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49955814402_e933b00740.jpg)
Peas looking amazing, and the pods are just starting to form within the blossoms. This is the first of 5 separate pea plantings. I hope to have a steady supply of peas right on through July.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49957513553_4e7a9c3f77.jpg)
Potato patch looking great. I must be very attentive of the blackberry thicket which is quite determined to engulf it. Of course I am tolerant of the blackberries in general due to the berry bounty itself and the fact that the blackberry blossoms attract legions of pollinators to my garden.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49957541763_28cf9d9b6b.jpg)
Great to read about everyone’s progress here and I’ll have more to share here soon.
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@Trifele how big were the serviceberries you bought? We want to put in a couple and were planning to buy some more mature/bigger plants, but weren't sure if they would be too expensive.
These are 'Autumn Brilliance' variety, about 7 feet tall. They came in big 18X18" pots and have four or five main trunks, more "shrubby" in habit than tree-like. The nursery guy said they would get 10-15 feet tall at maturity. They were $70 each.
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@Trifele how big were the serviceberries you bought? We want to put in a couple and were planning to buy some more mature/bigger plants, but weren't sure if they would be too expensive.
These are 'Autumn Brilliance' variety, about 7 feet tall. They came in big 18X18" pots and have four or five main trunks, more "shrubby" in habit than tree-like. The nursery guy said they would get 10-15 feet tall at maturity. They were $70 each.
I keep seeing references to serviceberries, and I'm very interested - but in Austin it seems to be too hot, too dry and the soil is too alkaline.
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Love seeing everyone's pictures of their garden!
Planted most things May 16th. Oregano is growing rapidly as usual- so much I don't know what to do with it all. Garlic should grow the stem/scapes soon. Zucchini, spaghetti squash, and tomatoes are also growing quick! Bok choy was given to me for free and even though I've never ate it, why not? Planted green onion from kitchen scrapes a couple years ago and now it's gigantic. Also have kale, acorn squash, green beans, snow peas, basil, parsley, and bell peppers.
Not pictured: asparagus in its own bed which for the first time in 4 years, is growing spears of an appropriate size :)
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I planted zuchinni and watermelon in my new raised beds. I think it's probably a little late in the season?
The dog got a case of the zoomies and ran through the beds the next day. Hopefully the seeds weren't pushed around. Fingerscrossed.
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Guys I'm SO MAD. Our local park has a ridiculous population of Canada geese, and at least one family group has discovered my garden. I woke up this morning to my lettuce and sweet corn razed to the ground, a good third of the growth on my peas eaten off, and my tomatoes trampled. Assholes.
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@Dee - that is beyond infuriating. I am so sorry.
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I'm so sorry @Dee_ ! That SUCKS
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Guys I'm SO MAD. Our local park has a ridiculous population of Canada geese, and at least one family group has discovered my garden. I woke up this morning to my lettuce and sweet corn razed to the ground, a good third of the growth on my peas eaten off, and my tomatoes trampled. Assholes.
Damn. They are deer with wings. With messier poop.
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@Dee_ ....on behalf of all Canadians I’d like to officially apologize for the existence of those b*stards.
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@Dee_ As gardeners, we all feel your frustration. Maybe the tomatoes will bounce back with a few support posts? If it isn't already done, can you put fencing to protect the plants?
Every time my veg garden is attacked by a critter, I search for the way they got in. It's been years of trial and error to fence off underground and 12 ft above the garden to keep squirrels and other climbing critters out. My worst garden pest used to be the large extended groundhog family that lives in the neighborhood, now it is squirrels. The combination of climber and extended jump range makes it hard to keep the fruit and veg protected. I used to think it was alright if they got a few tomatoes here and there but that's only led to an explosion of the squirrel population.
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Thanks guys. I'm still really annoyed but the rage has mostly subsided. The peas will probably bounce back, the tomatoes will be fine with a little TLC (no main stems were broken, as far as I can tell). There's probably time to try again on the sweet corn (and tbh I expected the raccoons to get most of that anyways) And they didn't want any of my brassicas, cucumbers, or zucchini. I put together a quick makeshift fence with chicken wire (advantage of raised beds) and I see some untouched new growth, so maybe it'll do the trick.
I've always had the gardening philosophy that stuff needs to be low effort, and prolific enough that I can share a little with the critters. I've never begrudged the squirrels a few tomatoes because there's always plenty left, and they seem to go for the hyper-prolific cherry types anyways. I just don't have the bandwidth to make a critter-proof fence. BUT, I'm starting to rethink that. I guess the critters have never been destructive enough to make me want to assert my position in the food chain, heh.
Also, there's a certain level of irony here...I was just telling a new and enthusiastic gardener that it's an awesome hobby, but sometimes all your hard work gets crushed by something you have no control over. A virus, a pest, bad weather at the wrong time, critters eating your harvest etc. And it always seems to happen just as hope peaks and you're days from reaping the rewards of your work. That's why farming is such a hard life. Guess I should be listening to myself. Sigh.
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Thanks guys. I'm still really annoyed but the rage has mostly subsided. The peas will probably bounce back, the tomatoes will be fine with a little TLC (no main stems were broken, as far as I can tell). There's probably time to try again on the sweet corn (and tbh I expected the raccoons to get most of that anyways) And they didn't want any of my brassicas, cucumbers, or zucchini. I put together a quick makeshift fence with chicken wire (advantage of raised beds) and I see some untouched new growth, so maybe it'll do the trick.
I've always had the gardening philosophy that stuff needs to be low effort, and prolific enough that I can share a little with the critters. I've never begrudged the squirrels a few tomatoes because there's always plenty left, and they seem to go for the hyper-prolific cherry types anyways. I just don't have the bandwidth to make a critter-proof fence. BUT, I'm starting to rethink that. I guess the critters have never been destructive enough to make me want to assert my position in the food chain, heh.
When I gardened in the forest, electric fencing added to a 4' chicken wire fence kept out everything but deer. I mulched the beans with dog fur and that stopped the deer. Or there is relatively inexpensive 7' deer fence - that plus 2 strands of electric fence would be pretty secure. I would have been fine sharing the harvest, but my wildlife had a "winner take all" approach. ;-)
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When I gardened in the forest, electric fencing added to a 4' chicken wire fence kept out everything but deer.
I might have to extend the electric fence. I have a setup already for the chickens, would be low-ish effort to expand it.
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I planted out a number of tomatoes, tomatillos and basil plants this morning.
I have finally moved all the trays out of the basement and am storing away the grow lights and tables. It is nice to be able to open the freezer door the whole way!
I still have a ton of seedlings to get into the ground and my goal is to have that done by Sunday night. And all the extra seedlings to be rehomed.
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TROPICAL - BLACKBERRY JAM BUSH/TREE - a huge disappointment so far. Supposed to do well in zone 10 and 11 - it can take the heat, but it is barely growing. Google says it is a slow grower - the understatement of the year - at this rate it will reach one foot in a year - maybe:).
Sorry to hear that @Rosy, several plants here have been decimated by giant orange grasshoppers (these lubbers (https://www.yoursun.com/coastal/boatingandfishing/thats-no-tank-its-a-grasshopper/article_6c398774-55a0-11e9-8a94-3fc9be892a48.html)), but the blackberry jam fruit has somehow survived. It's almost a foot now and seems pretty happy in dappled shade. My guava has died :( Glad your bananas, papaya and guava are doing so well.
Been harvesting early avocados, a bumper crop of Jamaican cherries, and another rack of bananas. Persimmons are setting fruit for the first time, hope they make it to ripening.
If you figure out that Turkey cherry tree variety, would love to know. Found this cherry farm in Turkey that grows Ziraat / Napoleon variety: https://www.bascherry.com/home. Looks like it grows to zone 9.
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several plants here have been decimated by giant orange grasshoppers (these lubbers (https://www.yoursun.com/coastal/boatingandfishing/thats-no-tank-its-a-grasshopper/article_6c398774-55a0-11e9-8a94-3fc9be892a48.html)), but the blackberry jam fruit has somehow survived
Holy cow, I clicked on that link and flinched. What is it with giant bugs in the south? :|
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Climate too hospitable 😭
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Vegetable garden is going great here! We're beginning that lovely time of the year where there's always something fresh to eat. This week we're eating:
Broccoli -- it did great! I'll definitely plant a fall crop.
Kale -- Curly and Red Russian flat leaf
Strawberries
Cucumbers
Next up -- beans, potatoes, and tomatoes(!) in a few weeks. Can't wait. I ate a store-bought tomato the other day and there really is no comparison. Home grown is SOOOOO much better.
@Jon_Snow -- were you able to get some seed from your kale before you had to pull it? If I remember right your kale and mine were flowering at the same time back in early/mid May. My seed is not ready yet -- pods still green. Hope you got some!
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Does anyone have any idea what's wrong with my cucumber and solutions for saving them? I google and all I find is powdery mildew, but it doesn't look like that IMO. I first noticed it on a couple leaves when they were still seedlings, but I was hoping being in the ground for a few days would help. It has not.
It looks a lot like a thing I saw here one year when we had a really cold wet spring. It was infecting basil and squash - plants that like to be warm. The white didn't come off when you touched it, unlike powdery mildew. We plucked the leaves and when it warmed up the white didn't come back.
I never found out what it was - fungus, virus, or water mold.
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@Jon_Snow -- were you able to get some seed from your kale before you had to pull it? If I remember right your kale and mine were flowering at the same time back in early/mid May. My seed is not ready yet -- pods still green. Hope you got some!
Sadly no, @Trifele. A combination of factors prevented me from getting my act together and doing it. But mostly it was that I couldn’t wait any longer and had to pull the kale plants to create space I needed for tomatoes. And, as someone who might have a seed purchasing problem....I still had several unopened kale seed packets. But at least I refrained from buying kale seeds this year. Next year I will be saving seed for sure. I have a ton of kale growing this year so I will pick a few candidates let overwinter and hopefully I’ll have a repeat of my massive kale trees next Spring. I just need to plan things better.
Please let us know how your own kale seed harvest goes!
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I am still planting out seedlings. First off - way better at planning how much to grow from seed this year. I have way too many eggplants and only a few too many peppers. I am hoping one of my brothers can re-till the land at the farm. It was so full of weed last year I am thinking it needs to be fallow for a full year before I can reasonable think about gardening in it. It is too large to lasagne style without some tractor assistance...although I am thinking about it.
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I had a huge harvest (for June 10 in my zone) basil, asparagus, spinach, mustard green, a head of lettuce, rhubarb, kale flowers and cilantro. The rhubarb will be used to make a syrup for sodas, while the rest is going to be a massive salad for supper. It is going to be hot and humid today and I can't order in again tonight....
A few more seedlings got planted out into the greenhouse this morning: three peppers and three eggplants.
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My neighbor spotted a flea beetle infestation that killed her first batch of eggplant seedlings. Since our gardens are fairly close together, I did an inspection of my veg and noticed small holes on the bottom leaves of my tomato plants and an insect that looked like a flea. They haven't attacked my eggplants yet so I got neem oil spray and lures to put up. I'm hoping that this will be enough to eradicate or slow them down. This is a garden pest that I have had to deal with before.
Other than that, everything is growing well and the bush beans should be big enough to harvest soon. I pulled out over-wintered kale and will amend the area with chicken compost to do a succession planting of squash and bush beans. Most of the cilantro (my favorite herb) is starting to bolt and will also need a succession planting this week.
On the chicken front, the 3 red cross pullets I added to the flock in late April have begun to lay. We were getting about 1 egg a day because the flock was getting too old and the chicks I added last year weren't good layers. It was getting to the point where I thought I might have to purchase supermarket eggs. I'm going to give away 3 of the older hens this week to reduce the flock size again with the goal of making it as efficient as possible.
The bees are cranking happily along.
I hope everyone's gardens are getting the rain it needs and the heat to grow.
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Sorry about the flea beetles @Indio -- hope you can get the upper hand.
Busy here in the veg garden. This week we're harvesting and eating broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, onions, turnips, and spring kale. Fruitwise we're picking cherries and blueberries -- yum. Tomatoes are looking really good. Lots of green fruit on the vines -- should be ripening up in a few weeks. It's going to be a great year! Peppers -- :/. Just as in the past few years they don't look great and I can't figure out why. At least this year their color is good (nice dark green), but they're not growing as big as they should. So strange.
Guys! This is year 2 for this garden since the deer fence was built. I'm noticing more great predators like ladybugs and wasps this year, and so far many fewer pest insects. I leave parts of the garden fallow, and thanks to the fence I can now grow a big variety of plants and flowers. I think that's paying off with more balanced insect life. Yay predators! It makes me so happy to see the wasps patrolling over the cabbage leaves and the ladybugs crawling on the milkweed.
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Great update @Trifele!
And can I say that I’m a bit jealous of your wasps? I was away from my garden for a while, and in returning to it yesterday I saw the telltale signs of cabbage worms on about a third of my brassicas....with the exception of the kale. Wasps don’t really appear here until things get dry in July and August...so this meant that I had to engage in some old fashioned find-the-worm-on-the-cabbage. Some of them prove to be quite devious in their hiding.
It’s been a much wetter Spring than we’ve had in a while here in the PNW, which has meant a little bit more of a slug issue...but the damage has been mild. Apart from these pest problems things have gone to the next level. First plantings of brassicas and peas are now ready for eating. In what has become a tradition for me, I measured the height of my sugar snap peas....and they have now topped 9ft. The lettuce train continues on....though I’m calling the spinach patch done. Sad...but it was amazing while it lasted. The first beets, turnips and onions I will harvest today. Potatoes are flowering and looking amazingly healthy. Squash is just starting to flower so won’t be long for them. Bush and pole beans coming along, I won’t be eating beans until July. I would have thought that the peppers and tomatoes might be cranky with this cool, grey weather....but since I’ve kept them covered with a bit of red-hued plastic, and thus keeping them a bit warmer with a greenhouse effect...they look really good with fruit development coming along nicely. Looks to be a great year for tomatillos as well. It is all very, very promising.
A few scenes from my garden....
A nice head of broc after a Spring shower....
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49999804532_2cbcfd806e.jpg)
A wall of snow peas...not quite as vertically impressive as the the snap peas....but so sweet and crunchy in their own right.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49999825908_601a014a82.jpg)
Very happy kale.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49993677807_dd4e91eb74.jpg)
Collards anyone? Please....someone take some collards.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49999831103_01acc1de96.jpg)
Speaking of deer fence Trifele...I need to remember that it loses its effectiveness if you forget to close the gate.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50012434878_e61228d569_z.jpg)
Okay....back to work in the garden now. Keep it up everyone!
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I hope you like Calde verde - a collards and potato soup with spicy Portuguese sausage!
Gotta run back over to my garden and move the hose. It was cold overnight but very sunny and windy for the last four days, so everything is really dry.
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@horsepoor - now that's an awesome veggie garden. I'm impressed - my gardening efforts never look this good, I'm always a bit on the wild side:).
@Jon_Snow - oh my, that deer looks mighty interested in your veggie smorgasbord.
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Here are a few garden pics of
1. The "two inch" Banana I planted in March - it is looking fat and happy - growing about two leaves a week now that we've had some rain.
Already taller than me, so it is well over 5 foot:).
2. There is a Papaya growing next to it - started in February, now about four foot - also looking fat and happy. I have one in another section of the garden that is doing even better - so we may actually get papayas this year or at the latest, next spring.
3. To the right - you can just see a bit of the Moringa tree - it is blooming now and shot up to seven foot.
This garden area is new this year and a bit on the wild side - with lots of Marigolds, Cosmos and Zinnias that I seeded in Feb-Mar-Apr.
(https://i.imgur.com/awlxfDd.jpg)
Below is wild Taro - I planted three in this section and they are growing like weeds:). I wanted that tropical look.
They grow wild near the ditch so I dug up some baby plants back in March - freebies and they are perennial too.
I doubt we'll eat any, (the roots are supposed to be similar to potatoes) but I might try to use one of the leaves to make a concrete birdbath.
(https://i.imgur.com/2tcJonl.jpg)
This is the Moringa tree in bloom. It developed two more side branches so it is actually rather bushy instead of the usual very tall straight tree.
It was already chopped down to the ground when I bought it so I'm happy to see it can be cut. At seven-plus feet tall already I'm thinking of cutting it before too long, I don't want it to become a 40-foot tree.
I haven't harvested the leaves or chopped any branches yet because I wanted it to have some time to be happy and grow, but I am looking forward to it.
The flowers will eventually have pods with seeds which I also plan to harvest.
Initially, I was a bit scared to plant this tree, afraid it might turn into a monster, but it is pretty and airy, not a heavy shade tree.
(https://i.imgur.com/hehrZ2D.jpg)
Some of my Lilies of the Nile have already finished blooming, but I've got more coming.
Couldn't resist sharing a pic of one of the buds slowly opening.
I love them because you have green, tropical looking leaves all year round and they always bloom at least two months or longer.
Even the spent flowers look cool and artistic, better yet, they are undemanding and just multiply on their own.
My kind of plant:).
(https://i.imgur.com/3NdiNjK.jpg)
... and to include at least one veggie ... this was supposed to be a sweet pepper - but it is hot - hot - hot as hades!
Now I need to find someone to take them off my hands - we grew three plants!
These took a long time to mature, about four months.
Thankfully I have two other pepper plants - which are and have been producing plenty - enough for eating and freezing a little bit.
Obviously they mislabeled the seed package - bummer and they look so good too:)!
Mr. R. chopped some - do not get these on your hands or anywhere else on your body!
(https://i.imgur.com/zTnEHy8.jpg)
Happy gardening everyone! I'll post a few more pics soon, now that I've finally figured out how.
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Love seeing all the picture and descriptions of gardens! I'm so jealous of you that are able to grow the tropicals. Oh, to pick guavas and bananas! But I'm here in Zone 6 where it's heading toward 100 degrees and the soil is all red clay.
My little urban garden has exploded. The mystery plants are doing quite well, and there are about 20 of them. They aren't all the same thing, but they're definitely cucurbits. Some smaller bush varieties with little star-shaped blossoms, some sprawling plants with long trumpet blossoms. Had ONE cream cheese and chive stuffed squash blossom last night after I knocked it off while watering. Delicious! The chives came from the garden, too.
Radishes and lettuces bolted last week. I didn't harvest the radishes until they were bitter. The last salad of the season was bitter, too. I didn't save seeds because I still have several packets from overbuying in a pandemic panic. There was a worm infestation over the last couple of weeks, so disappointing lettuce harvest overall.
I'm regretting not planting any tomatoes. I might still, as I've had tomato plants produce well into October here before. It's just so *satisfying* to eat tomatoes straight off the vine. I did plant a single potato that sprouted in the veggie bowl.
The pinto beans are tiny little plants but have beans and blossoms. The popcorn is about three feet tall, and the sunflowers are taller than that.
If all goes well, I'll have quite a harvest. But I know it could all go pear-shaped (or squirrel-shaped)! My dog spends quite a bit of time guarding the garden, so my hopes are up.
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The garden pics look fabulous. Love seeing all of the different food for each zone.
@Rosy I've got a small moringa plant, not a tree, too. The leaves are so tasty and healthy. Saw a video on youtube about how moringa is used to purify water. It's such a versatile plant. That taro leaf is huge. Agree it will make a beautiful concrete birdbath. Even the banana leaf would look good in concrete. I tried that once with a giant rhubarb leaf and then wanted to keep making concrete planters because they looked so amazing.
@Jon_Snow That's too funny to see the doe watching you in the garden. Good thing your fence is high enough to make it hard for her to get in.
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@Indio my main reason for getting the Moringa tree is because I am immune-compromised (Sjogrens/Lupus). It is said to increase your energy level and strengthen your immune system.
Of course, the prepper in me likes that it works as a water purifier and if the S ever HTF I am gambling that most people don't know you can eat the leaves and make tea with it. It has plenty of medicinal uses too - I like that!:)
Multi-purpose plants that camouflage as landscape and take care of themselves it doesn't get any better than that.
The other thing I planted for my health is edible Hibiscus. You can buy tea, but it was recommended using the fresh flowers in season only - for potency reasons and to know for sure that it is indeed grown organic.
I got lucky and stumbled onto a truly beautiful species with reddish leaves like a Japanese Maple and pretty dark red flowers. Not sure if mine is a rare one, but I had trouble locating a live edible hibiscus of any variety.
My little bush wasn't looking too good when I got it but it grew and blossomed from Feb-mid May, the calyx was fascinating and I ended up watching Jamaican u-tubers making their holiday drinks with it. It was still way too small to harvest but I am looking forward to the next bloom - I should have gathered some seeds for planting at least, ugh:).
This picture doesn't do it justice - the sun was out so the color saturation isn't right even though I edited it a bit, but you get the idea.
It is now about 2.5ft x 2.5 ft or so - I think it looks so pretty:).
(https://i.imgur.com/pMFFQhb.jpg)
Hibiscus make good landscape plants so I also hunted down some reasonably priced seeds for a pretty Thai Roselle from a reliable source (also edible and prized for drinks) .
It looks totally different from the plant I have and has a different bloom.
I haven't planted the seeds yet, but read that there are differences in flavor and size of the calyx.
We'll see.
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A little photoshoot from my garden.
No, you can't eat it, it's too pretty to eat. Actually it is toxic, perennial from zone 10 upwards, blooms in the summer, dies back in the fall to return around the first of June.
GLORIOSA SUPERBA - mine is called Gloriosa Rothschildiana - aka glory lily, fire lily - tiger claw, cat's claw .......
I was in love with this plant from the second I saw it in my friend's garden - a climbing tropical lily.
Years later I actually found the seeds at the Botanical Garden in Frankfurt, Germany during a visit there.
Took forever to show up totally unexpected in an old pot planted with basil - I bet it took more than a year to come up - I forgot about it long ago.
I had no idea what it was but left it alone and then one day it bloomed - wow!:)
TROPICAL BEAUTY - Gloriosa Rothschildiana
Here is a shot of the trellis to give you an idea of the actual bloom size - the leaves have tendrils at the end.
(https://i.imgur.com/Dgas4I5.jpg)
IN FULL BLOOM a good five inches across
(https://i.imgur.com/6Lecm1R.jpg)
The next stage is just as pretty:).
(https://i.imgur.com/CasdBdT.jpg)
Then they turn upside down - flat as a pancake, you'd think it was another flower altogether.
(https://i.imgur.com/qizM0XC.jpg)
Finally, they change color again and fade away into the greenery.
(https://i.imgur.com/Sf8bCEq.jpg)
If you look close you can see all three stages in this shot.
(https://i.imgur.com/2MyPTnL.jpg)
Apparently it is temperamental and doesn't like to be messed with.
I dug up a couple of tubers and a baby plant and transplanted them out into a different spot in the garden, but it doesn't look like I'll get any plant/flowers from it this year.
I got lucky and there must have been enough tubers left in the pot, I was trying not to disturb the old basil bush in the pot either,
because next time I looked there it was, already three feet in the air:) hiding amongst the basil.
(https://i.imgur.com/OpI8QKN.jpg)
Anyway - enjoy the pics, it really is as pretty as in this picture. I'll be glad to share some seeds if you like.
UPDATE: My goodness, I am oh so thrilled - turns out that little baby plant I moved a month ago decided to grow six feet tall and is thinking about blooming soon. I had to untangle it (gently) from the seven-foot tall Cosmos giant that it was hiding in and attach it to a once fancy, now rusty ole plant support.
Looked this morning all is well - looking forward to more blooms... sweet:).
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@Rosy
Gorgeous rothschild lily. I've seen them used in a lot of expensive flower arrangements, ie wedding bouquets and boutonnieres, but have never seen them growing as a plant. I know if I had something sitting in a pot for long time that never bloomed when it started to come up, I probably would have thought it was a weed and pulled it.
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What a great lily, @Rosy!
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I have about 15 plants currently. Did you have a specific questions?
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There are a lot of tomato growers here!
Maybe those that are in your growing zone would be most informative for you. What zone are you in?
I am in zone 5b CAN. We had snow 6 weeks ago so my tomatoes haven't been in the ground for very long. I struggle with getting a harvest of any kind do to some predation from squirrels checking to see if the tomatoes are edible and various wilts and rots from previous poor crop rotation. This is actually the first year in the ground for this particular part of the garden. Last year I grew them in pots to some success - but moisture regulation is always tough in a pot.
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Yep, seems like most on this thread grow tomatoes. I've got about 25 right now, in the ground and in pots. Let us know where you're located @tanokosohana and what your questions are.
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Thanks, Mudpuppy and Indio:).
Much depends on what zone you are for growing tomatoes. There are some great veggie gardeners on this thread.
I bet they can answer pretty much anything.
Tomatoes and I are not on the same page, generally speaking, they are such demanding prima donnas:).
I'm in zone 10 and long ago decided to plant mine in big pots, except for this year, one came up in the compost and it is now living in the garden. It sits next to one of my basil plants alongside a lemon balm - shaded a bit by Cosmos or it wouldn't survive this heat.
It is producing and surprisingly, slowly, growing taller.
I do wish I had seeded some tomatoes this year or at least bought a couple of plants, it is my first year not planting tomatoes since I started a little potager. Hard to admit I actually miss them, but I do.
My favorite tomato is the Roma - it is wonderful for sauces and over the years I tested all sorts of recipes, roasting them in the oven is awesome too.
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There are a lot of tomato growers here!
Maybe those that are in your growing zone would be most informative for you. What zone are you in?
I am in zone 5b CAN. We had snow 6 weeks ago so my tomatoes haven't been in the ground for very long. I struggle with getting a harvest of any kind do to some predation from squirrels checking to see if the tomatoes are edible and various wilts and rots from previous poor crop rotation. This is actually the first year in the ground for this particular part of the garden. Last year I grew them in pots to some success - but moisture regulation is always tough in a pot.
And I'm in Austin where it's on the edge of being too hot for them to set fruit. Cherokee Purple and the volunteer cherry tomato seem to have given up on new fruit (still plenty of green ones ripening), but the Sweet 100 cherry is still setting some new fruit. Also seems like the Sweet 100 is the least demanding for supplemental water.
I'll need to decide how to handle the Cherokee Purple once all the current fruit is ripened - do I cut them back and keep them alive til fall, or just root some cuttings for a fall crop?
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Just to toss in a thought - if you have an indeterminate tomato you like, you can start a new one by snapping off one of the suckers (those side branches that come out where the leaf joins the stem) and rooting it. Not much point doing this for determinate tomatoes since they all stop growing at some point.
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Ooooh...tomatoes. I’m on the “balmy” west coast of Canada, zone 9b and have grown them with amazing, and sometimes what feels like alarming productivity. My goal is to grow enough Romas so that I do not have to buy canned tomatoes from the store from an entire calendar year. Didn’t QUITE make this goal last year...so I just planted more this year. Like MudPuppy, around 15 plants....6 of these being Roma’s, the rest a combo of beefsteaks, Oregon spring, and cherry varieties.
I usually start seedlings in mid to late March, grow them under lights and get them planted out in the garden in mid-May....and depending on nighttime temps I may cover them in these really handy mini tomato green house bags. Our Summers can sometimes lack true “heat” (temps range from 75F to 85F) so ripening can be a bit slow...but this just means that I’m usually still picking tomatoes of the plant on October 1st.
Picking Sungold’s right off the vine during Summer is one of the simple, wonderful joys of Summer in my garden....amongst many though.
In another update....I should be harvesting the seasons first potatoes in the next few days. Garden taters....there’s another of life’s true pleasures.
@Jon_Snow That's too funny to see the doe watching you in the garden. Good thing your fence is high enough to make it hard for her to get in.
I’m never truly suffer a lack of company when I’m gardening. Though...the intensity of their interest in the garden proceedings can be a bit unnerving.
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Picking Sungold’s right off the vine during Summer is one of the simple, wonderful joys of Summer in my garden....amongst many though.
So true! I dream of Sungolds in the winter, and the summer when they're producing is the best! Out of my ~25 plants, I've got 8 Sungolds that I grew from seed (started indoors under the lights). One of life's true pleasures -- they're not sold in stores as far as I know, so you need to grow 'em yourself or know a neighbor. :)
The rest of my plants are big slicer/beefsteak types. Mostly "Delicious" variety indeterminate, open-pollinated. Because they're open-pollinated and not a hybrid I can save their seeds for next year.
I'm in Zone 7a and like @Jon_Snow I usually have tremendous success with tomatoes; they're one of my no-fail crops. Last year I had so many tomatoes I canned and froze all I could handle, and was then giving them away to neighbors by the bucketful. Love, love, love tomatoes.
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Are you talking about the variety of yellow cherry tomatoes?
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I'm growing Peacevine which is an open pollinated version of Sweet 100. Plus another 3 varieties of cherry tomatoes. Most will never make it out of the garden.
We are having a heat wave, several days over 30C in June is just crazy. I'm watering my transplants twice a day. They would probably prefer 3 times a day.
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Tomatoes - I've got 22 plants this year. Sungolds are fabulous, but I haven't grown them in a couple years. It seems I keep finding Sungsugar instead. I always grow Black Cherry, and I have some other type of cherry I can't remember this year. For canning, grow San Marzano and Opalka. My other favorites are Pierce's Price, Kellogg's Breakfast and Black Krim. I think we're at least a month out from ripe tomatoes, but I recently devised a killer fried green tomato recipe with the slices "breaded" with crushed pork rinds and finely grated Parmesan after being liberally dusted with potato starch and left to sit for an hour or so before the egg wash and breading process. Seasoning is some Old Bay, black pepper and chili powder.
On the non-vegetable side, my garden is looking pretty good this year. My inner plant geek is more excited about the winterfat and native grasses that are proliferating, but everyone else loves the flashy blooms. In order here - a yarrow cultivar and "blonde ambition" blue grama; showy milkweed with lavender and coreopsis in the background, sulphur buckwheat with sagebrush, fernbush and native grasses in the background; mock orange (Syringa, the state flower of Idaho) hosting a butterfly.
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^^ ooh a tiger swallowtail, pretty.
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Are you talking about the variety of yellow cherry tomatoes?
Yes, it's a variety of dark gold cherry tomato. It's special -- a really delightful taste. Mine are still green on the vine, but I'll take a picture when they get further along.
@Rosy and @horsepoor -- absolutely gorgeous pictures. Thank you for my garden porn of the day!! I feel like I want to hire you both to consult with me on my flower plantings.
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Those are popular here, too! Some of the first plants to sell out at the nursery.
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Beautiful photos. I should share some of my garden.
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This year I planned to seed a ton of different salvias/sages including some rare ones.
Guess how many I actually seeded?
One!:)
This pretty little white salvia - it has been blooming for six weeks now.
(https://i.imgur.com/L3IihvD.jpg)
I seeded only about five so I could test it in different locations and see how I liked it.
It's a winner in this location - it loves it there and is beginning to spread.
The Day of the Dead skeleton head is actually a small Mexican Chiminea - open in the back.
I used it at Halloween with a candle inside.
The plan is to build a column and place it by the entry to our "party central" area of the garden.
@horsepoor - I just love your garden all those drifts of flowers and grasses - very well done:). I tried two grasses for the first time this year, from seed, a Swedish "blue" wheatgrass - it is actually turning blue as we speak, but I can already tell that it is not my thing, doesn't work in my garden at all.
The other one is the cutest looking white "Bunny Grass" - I killed it all somehow.
No more of that ...
I'm envying you the false orange - I ordered an old fashioned variety online, but it is only limping along growing slowly. It has nodding leaves and flowers and my only two blooms were positively uninspiring.
I am not quite sure what the problem is.
Nevertheless, the garden and the house:) smells wonderful at present since the Jasmine Tree is in bloom.
It blooms off and on all year long.
This year I moved an old rocking loveseat under it. That thing is super comfy.
(https://i.imgur.com/RQWknvS.jpg)
Here is a shot showing the wild Elderberries with the light green leaves in the back.
They mostly live in the ditch, but the county crew came through last week and chopped down everything but these two.
The frogs make a huge racket at night:).
(https://i.imgur.com/ujRTuM1.jpg)
You can see the Banana is adding another leaf - at the rate of two a week, this baby should be pretty big by August.
... and while I'm at it - Florida is the bug capital of the world after all - from this morning:
A little green one visiting the Cosmos.
(https://i.imgur.com/yS3OQgH.jpg)
Lubbers (Grasshoppers) - I hope it is not killing my Cosmos, they certainly cut razor-blade-like through the leaves of my bulbs, the little buggers.
(https://i.imgur.com/mI0aWch.jpg)
Yes, I am a plant geek too and love my garden.
The lockdown has renewed my interest in photography so it will be fun to track how year one of the new garden area fares.
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I hope you like Calde verde - a collards and potato soup with spicy Portuguese sausage!
I looked up that dish and saw a bunch of recipes that looked really good. Can’t wait to try one. Thanks for the recommendation FL...I had never heard of that soup. And I love spicy food too.
I have been really enjoying some kale/collard based meals of late. Just recently I became aware how truly amazing these can be when sliced “chiffonade” style. I made a coconut curry with some finely shredded collards and just slightly large kale slices a few nights ago and it blew my mind.
Are you talking about the variety of yellow cherry tomatoes?
Boom. (Pic from last year...at least a month to go before I pick my first of the season this year) A very striking yellow-orange,
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48688950142_a8307616a9.jpg)
Tough to say what has the edge in terms of garden “candy” between sweet sungolds or sugar snap peas...but I’m content to call it a tie.
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I'm growing ground cherries this year for the first time and have been absolutely delighted. I think I might try for even more next year.
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Tough to say what has the edge in terms of garden “candy” between sweet sungolds or sugar snap peas...but I’m content to call it a tie.
Yes! These are my two favorite snacking items in the garden, YUMMMMMM.
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Stunning @horsepoor! Love seeing the pictures. Those tomatoes look delicious.
Here's more subtropical zone 9B, should have fresh pineapple and starfruit soon. Banana is putting out the "flag leaf" signaling a new rack of fruit will soon form.
(https://i.postimg.cc/VNDHVQTC/IMG-20200622-125704-881.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/fWF1ssb7/IMG-20200622-125300.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/2yRkVZwm/IMG-20200622-130808.jpg)
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That’s downright dreamy!
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I got all my taters and tomadders into the ground. My garden at my Dad's farm is going to be a super weedy patch so am modifying my no-till approach for this season.
I am using a combination of weed barriers and mulch. There is so much twitch grass, I am going to keep some areas uncovered and closely mow it with the weed trimmer and then rototill with a small rototillor as often as I can this summer. Hopefully I can keep on top of it so that next year I can plant it more intensely and reduce the weed pressure with good cover.
I have six rows of potatoes - about 10 different types, 8 collected from last season and 2 bags of seed potatoes. It was half a bushel at least. This could be way too many for our family of four. 26 tomatoes. half are roma-type. 10 hills of cukes and squash of different types. They are all doing well. But man, we need some rain.
I was hoping to plant two packages of beet seed for pickling beets and winter storage and all the black bean seeds, but with the weeds, I don't think I can beat the weeds. I still might go out on Wednesday morning and see what I can pull off! I really don't want to do without beets and black beans.
City garden is coming along fine. It is so nice to have a fresh salad with basil, cilantro, parsely, onion, radish, lettuce, radicchio, kale flowers, asparagus, spinach and mustard greens. DH said: this tastes like a salad you would get at a fancy restaurant. I just about burst. Makes it all worthwhile, and my garden nurtures me so much.
I just love the photos of those beautiful plants and cool insects. I am a proud garden nerd.
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Sounds like an amazing undertaking @Frugal Lizard, planting two full gardens!
Makes it all worthwhile, and my garden nurtures me so much.
Well said :)
Does anyone grow turmeric or ginger? Turmeric is blooming here, have to figure out harvesting.
(https://i.postimg.cc/VkKmRc62/Screenshot-2020-06-24-at-2-10-55-PM.png)
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thanks @Roots&Wings
We had rain off and on all day yesterday. So needed.
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I never knew what turmeric looked like blooming! It’s lovely!
Punk pups have been eating all my ground cherries. Looks like we’ll get our first squash sometime next week.
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Sounds like an amazing undertaking @Frugal Lizard, planting two full gardens!
Makes it all worthwhile, and my garden nurtures me so much.
Well said :)
Does anyone grow turmeric or ginger? Turmeric is blooming here, have to figure out harvesting.
(https://i.postimg.cc/VkKmRc62/Screenshot-2020-06-24-at-2-10-55-PM.png)
I grow turmeric in pots, and we planted ginger this year (pots and in the ground near the downspout)
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Beautiful plants.
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I grow turmeric in pots, and we planted ginger this year (pots and in the ground near the downspout)
From what I've read, you can start harvesting in year 2, will see how it goes! There's a large patch of some type of ginger here that gets a small pink flower (below), the roots are quite fragrant. If anyone recognizes the variety, would love to know (plant ID apps are coming up short).
(https://i.postimg.cc/pXYSPDJb/Screenshot-2020-06-25-at-12-13-45-PM.png)
Punk pups have been eating all my ground cherries.
I did a double take on this, hope you're able to get some before the next raid!
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I moved the pots to the patio table so they couldn’t reach them, much to their dismay.
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Last night we had some steamed green orca beans for supper. I have never ever harvested beans this early. There weren't a lot ready yet and usually peas are first. I pre-germinated them in a plug tray because we had a super cold week in May - with snow and everything. It worked out really well - mostly by luck. But am I ever feeling like a gardening master.
We have been having super salads about as much as we want. I am continuing to give away a lot of the harvest - first to the homeowners where the garden is located. Since they are not gardeners, I pick stuff and drop it at their front door (or else it gets overripe). And to other neighbours who live alone, and might not want to buy a whole container of arugula or spinach, but are delighted with a handful of freshly picked greens.
Now hive: what do you do with garlic scapes? I probably let them get too far along. I have been using one or three in my cooking as I have no garlic cloves at the moment. I have a lot.
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I sautee them in my asparagus or green beans for extra flavor
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Now hive: what do you do with garlic scapes?
I have pickled them. Tasty.
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Now hive: what do you do with garlic scapes?
I have pickled them. Tasty.
Very timely topic as I just cut off a few dozen of these literally an hour ago. But as someone who has never pickled - and I’m really not set up for it where I am - any other slam dunk ways to use it up? Worth freezing?
In other news...the produce avalanche has truly begun over here on the left coast. Wouldn’t know where to properly begin to illustrate this fact...but my sugar snap peas, which were once 9 feet tall are now 6ft as they collapsed on themselves from the weight of the pea mass - a bit of rain didn’t help nor my cutting of a few corners when I built their support structure. I worry that the remaking peas won’t get the proper nourishment now that the stalks/vines are so creased.
😐
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50045167507_2c975576a5_z.jpg)
Yet another learning moment for me in what seems to be a never ending series of learning moments.
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What happened @Jon_Snow?
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What happened @Jon_Snow?
Oh, I guess I didn’t whine in as coherent a manner as possible a few posts up. 😉
The top third of my peas decided to detach from the trellis sturcture and are now flopped forward on themselves....pinching their vines (as pictured a few posts back). A 1st-world gardening problem to be sure....and most everything is doing wonderfully, even my hot peppers are coming along despite a cooler start to Summer than we have been used to in recent years. I’m thinking of putting my tomatoes under plastic to help speed the ripening process. I guess I could just got with the tried and true green fried tomatoes for now. 🙂
Zucchini is now reaching the stage where I will have to step up efforts to either use it in a lot of meals, shred it up and freeze it for future use, or give it away. Actually, in regards to the latter, I’ve got four households who have been taking my excess produce. I sensed some relief when I told the various parties that the spinach pipeline has now ended, lol. Because my garden has never been bigger than this year - thanks pandemic - I need to top up my 3000 gallon water tank today. Even though it hasn’t been hot enough to require a ton of watering I’m already down approximately 25% in the tank. So I’ll set up my Honda gas-pump and siphon water from our underground wells and into the tank, which is about 12 feet above the garden grade - to allow for gravity water flow...as my garden is off-grid and literally in the middle of a forest clearing.
Probably time for some updated pics.....
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here are two of my favorite use-up-zucchini recipes
Zucchini Gyros (https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/grilled-zucchini-gyros-with-sun-dried-tomato-tzatziki/) (we don't typically add the mushrooms, since my spouse is not a fan)
Cream of zucchini soup (https://www.skinnytaste.com/cream-of-zucchini-soup-1-ww-point/)
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Now hive: what do you do with garlic scapes?
I have pickled them. Tasty.
Very timely topic as I just cut off a few dozen of these literally an hour ago. But as someone who has never pickled - and I’m really not set up for it where I am - any other slam dunk ways to use it up? Worth freezing?
In other news...the produce avalanche has truly begun over here on the left coast. Wouldn’t know where to properly begin to illustrate this fact...but my sugar snap peas, which were once 9 feet tall are now 6ft as they collapsed on themselves from the weight of the pea mass - a bit of rain didn’t help nor my cutting of a few corners when I built their support structure. I worry that the remaking peas won’t get the proper nourishment now that the stalks/vines are so creased.
😐
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50045167507_2c975576a5_z.jpg)
Yet another learning moment for me in what seems to be a never ending series of learning moments.
I always bind sugar pees to sticks for support. That works well.
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@MudPuppy That zucchini gyro recipe and sun dried tomato tatziki looks delectable. I'm overloaded, I mean blessed, with a lot of oregano so I'm definitely going to try that if and when the zucchini starts producing. My favorite way to preserve zucchini is to make it into relish. Fabulous way to add a little zip to winter salads.
I'd like the zucchini plants to be as prolific too. Tp prevent the usual attacks from vine borers, I've put the plants in different spots in the veg garden and seeded them at different times to sort of have a succession of zucchini. With 8 winter/summer squash plants, I'm going to try wrapping the base stems with recycled aluminum foil this year to see if that reduces the attack vector. I've also planted varieties that are disease and powdery mildew resistant.
My broccoli plants have already been attacked by cabbage moth and I didn't notice it in time. The plants are in pots which made it easy to move them next to the blueberry bushes under the mosquito netting for extra protection. Hopefully, that will work. The neem oil treatment for flea beetle stopped the pinprick holes they made in the tomato leaves but wasn't effective for the cabbage moth.
On a different but related topic, read a fascinating article about a Moroccan food forest that fed villagers for generations. I thought permaculture enthusiasts might be interested in it.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-is-permaculture-food-forests
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Thanks @Indio I'll definitely give that a read!
We are also on the cusp of produce overload here. Tons of collards and lettuce, snap peas, bulb fennel, carrots big enough to harvest, and zucchini starting to produce at a ridiculous rate. I harvested some garlic and a few new red potatoes from a volunteer potato plant last night, and ate a handful of raspberries straight from the plants.
Peppers are kind of uneven - the green chiles are getting some good size to them. My dog has been favoring laying right on top of some of the other pepper varieties, so they've been kind of stunted, but seem to be picking up a bit now.
The horseradish has gone nuts. I'll be supplying everyone I know with horseradish this fall, then I'll need to figure out some way to contain it to a smaller section of the bed.
Tomatoes seem to be getting a late start. Only a few varieties have fruit set, even though all the plants are really vigorous and bushy. Hopefully in a few weeks we'll at least have salad tomatoes.
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Great article @Indio! Thanks
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My tomato and bean plants are flowering like crazy, but not setting fruit - the flowers just dry up and fall off. Really hoping it was just because of a dry week and I didn't water enough, and not a pollination issue, since it's a bit late to plant more flowers to bring in the pollinators :( Hopefully I get at least a little produce from them.
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I saw a new (to me) wasp yesterday and identified it as a Great Golden Digger Wasp. They are big (the one I saw was more than 1.5 inches), solitary, mild mannered, and considered beneficial to the garden because they prey on pests and also pollinate. What a beauty. I watched her for a long time excavating a tunnel in the ground. I read that they then drag their paralyzed prey in there (grasshoppers, crickets, etc) in there and lay an egg on it. The young then hatch out and dine on the insect meal.
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I saw a new (to me) wasp yesterday and identified it as a Great Golden Digger Wasp. They are big (the one I saw was more than 1.5 inches), solitary, mild mannered, and considered beneficial to the garden because they prey on pests and also pollinate. What a beauty. I watched her for a long time excavating a tunnel in the ground. I read that they then drag their paralyzed prey in there (grasshoppers, crickets, etc) in there and lay an egg on it. The young then hatch out and dine on the insect meal.
Oooh she is as pretty as a bronze birch borer and a lot less destructive.
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@Trifele
Haven't seen that pollinator before. How did you identify it? Is there a photo app that can detect it?
I come across so many insects that I'd like to identify.
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@Indio -- plain Google got me there with this wasp, because she's unusually big and has distinctive orange legs and golden areas. There are other insects and plants I haven't yet identified because they're more nondescript.
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My favourite garden produce has to be shelling peas. And I got picking last night. Almost a 3L basket. The best.
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This is my first year gardening, so I'm doing a lot of experimenting to see what grows well here (tomatoes), what is a good ROI (peas), what gets destroyed by bugs (broccoli), and what is not worth the hours of shoveling endless dirt onto giant vines (potatoes).
Successes
* Tomatoes - We have 20-something plants, and even the ones in mostly shade are doing better than expected. Look at these beasts, two months apart:
(https://i.imgur.com/xQ9V246.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/CjR7ddU.png)
* Peas and pole beans - Fresh snap peas are the best, and the pole beans are 8 or 9 feet tall. We had to extend our trellises to the roof.
* Potatoes - They have grown crazy high despite my active neglect and rough transplantation into shade. Hilling is a pain in the ass, especially when they're planted on a slope.
(https://i.imgur.com/fI5XMJ9.png)
* Corn - at least so far, they're growing despite shady spots. (Shade is a common theme in this garden.)
* Kale - again, so far. Some plants are looking strong and avoided total destruction.
* Lettuce - I've been able to harvest enough for a few side salads. This is success relative to the rest of the greens.
* Our gardening group - Their generosity has made up for quite a few failed plants.
* Oregano - Oregano eeeeverywhere.
* Scallions - We've been able to harvest for a few meals, including chilaquiles yesterday:
(https://i.imgur.com/epKrTJZ.png)
Fails Learning Experiences
* Cabbage and broccoli: aphid central, I had to pull our biggest plant today. I've been meaning to spray neem for weeks, but I've either been too lazy or used the chance of rain to justify my laziness. This is Portland, there's always a chance of rain.
* Bush beans - none have sprouted. I was so excited about the orca beans, too... The bush beans that did sprout turned out to be a pole version, necessitating an emergency trellis operation.
* Peppers - Oh god. This overcast, rainy weather made them moldy and stunted. Out of maybe a dozen attempted plants, we currently have two baby peppers on one plant.
* Spinach - growing super slowly, one bolted, and another is brown and shriveled.
* Beet tops - I should've kept them in water, they died in the soil.
* Catgrass - The cats could care less.
* Oregano - I didn't plant any oregano. Please someone come take our oregano.
?????
* Onions- we "harvested" three baby onions with gigantic tops that grew out of one grocery store onion bottom. It is... an underwhelming amount of onion considering how tall they got. 'm holding out hope for the Walla Wallas grown from sets.
(https://i.imgur.com/VSnarJI.png)
* Garlic - planted these at the wrong time and didn't let them grow before a test harvest over the weekend.
* Celery - the stalks are thin, but they grew taller than I hoped for.
* Bok choy - produced slowly but reliably, and didn't get munched or infested. A few dry, hot days killed if off. The baby bok choy regrowing from a grocery store base got moldy.
* Squash/cucumber - some plants got munched to death, but some are starting to flower.
@Jon_Snow - same thing happened to our snap peas. We took too long to secure them to the trellis when they were tilting
(https://i.imgur.com/gGXTCua.png)
and they fell over.
(https://i.imgur.com/RLJmZ0s.png)
They're still alive, at least, and seem to be growing.
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My coworker offered me two plants from her garden that she had too much of, and I gladly accepted! Now I just have to figure out what to do with celery leaf and garlic chives... Has anyone grown those before?
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My coworker offered me two plants from her garden that she had too much of, and I gladly accepted! Now I just have to figure out what to do with celery leaf and garlic chives... Has anyone grown those before?
Garlic chives (presuming it's the same "garlic chives" is a bunchy perennial which acts as a groundcover here in Central Texas. I use scissors to harvest leaves whenever we want some.
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Great post @MonkeyJenga! That is an impressive first year garden. One thing I've learned is that sometimes successes and fails can change year to year. Last year I had aphids and cabbage worms out the yingyang, but this year not many. (I'm attributing it to the insect balance between pest/predator getting better.) So you never know -- broccoli may work for you if you plant it this fall, or next spring. As for the potatoes, if you don't like hilling with dirt you could use straw or leaves.
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My coworker offered me two plants from her garden that she had too much of, and I gladly accepted! Now I just have to figure out what to do with celery leaf and garlic chives... Has anyone grown those before?
Garlic chives (presuming it's the same "garlic chives" is a bunchy perennial which acts as a groundcover here in Central Texas. I use scissors to harvest leaves whenever we want some.
How do you cook with them? Any particular uses, or just substitute for regular chives?
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Thanks @Trifele ! Thankfully there was a good setup already, since I moved in with my bf and inherited his yard. He hadn't done this much before, though, just tomatoes and corn and some failed broccoli. We're considering a hoop house so we can do greens over the winter and keep bugs out.
I wanted to hill the potatoes with dirt so more tubers would grow along the stems. We're probably at the point of having more potatoes than we can eat if everything produces, so I'll put less effort in if we try again next year.
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I quit hilling potatoes and still get a pretty good yield. If I have extra straw, I might pile some around, but I'm pretty lazy about it.
I've also discovered that leeks grow just fine without being planted into a trench that is slowly filled in, which is how I initially learned to grow them.
Lazy gardening FTW!
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That's good to know about leeks! I got a bunch of free starts, and I was not thrilled about the maintenance.
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I picked the greens hard this morning as it is so hot and things were getting very mature. I then donated the excess to our local food pantry. 0.55kg of delicious greens.
We have been eating beans, peas, basil, onions, garlic scapes and rhubarb in addition to the greens and radish. Peas are like candy in my opinion.
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We have been eating beans, peas, basil, onions, garlic scapes and rhubarb in addition to the greens and radish.
Nice haul FL!
Peas are like candy in my opinion.
If peas are indeed garden candy then I am a veritable Willy Wonka these days.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50070701876_2c3718cb64_z.jpg)
The Great Pea Collapse of 2020 didn’t do much to stop this train after all.
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My coworker offered me two plants from her garden that she had too much of, and I gladly accepted! Now I just have to figure out what to do with celery leaf and garlic chives... Has anyone grown those before?
Garlic chives (presuming it's the same "garlic chives" is a bunchy perennial which acts as a groundcover here in Central Texas. I use scissors to harvest leaves whenever we want some.
How do you cook with them? Any particular uses, or just substitute for regular chives?
Usually just chopped and sprinkled on something like potatoes, sometimes added to soup/stew. The kid will just eat it straight out of the garden.
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We have been eating beans, peas, basil, onions, garlic scapes and rhubarb in addition to the greens and radish.
Nice haul FL!
Peas are like candy in my opinion.
If peas are indeed garden candy then I am a veritable Willy Wonka these days.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50070701876_2c3718cb64_z.jpg)
The Great Pea Collapse of 2020 didn’t do much to stop this train after all.
Hail Wonka!
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@Jon_Snow Jealous of that pea crop - do you recall what variety this is?
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@Jon_Snow Jealous of that pea crop - do you recall what variety this is?
Good question @Frugal Lizard. I’ll have a look at my little garden I.D. markers to be sure, but it’s either Sugar Lace II or Super Sugar Snap or some such thing. I’ll re-edit this post once I know for sure. Super Sugar Snap. 😊
I’ve been posting the vast majority of my garden stuff in my journal, but since I’m often here to read about others garden adventures and hopefully see some pictures.....and since I’m here now....
....here’s a tater harvest from yesterday...should have many dozens of such bounties right on into the fall.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50073922527_80c78caf64_z.jpg)
Cooked up some of these last night and...oh my...just like pretty much everything else in one’s own garden, kicks the living crud out of store bought.
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Love the pix @Jon_Snow ! Gorgeous peas and potatoes. Totally agree that homegrown potatoes are super delicious -- so much better than store bought.
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I harvested about half of my garlic today. It's interesting - all the garlic in one bed has been about a week ahead of the garlic in another bed about 4' away. So I'll let this dry and then get the rest from the other bed next week. Also picked almost a quart of beautiful raspberries, lots of sugar snap peas, a nice cabbage, and easily the biggest broccoli I've ever grown. I have another one just like it still out there in the garden. I'm curious to see how bit it will get, since they don't seem quite near flowering yet. I'm also super excited that the hollyhocks I started from seed are finally blooming. I think they've been in the ground for 3-4 years, but largely neglected, so it probably took them longer to get to this stage. AND, I spotted a few black cherry tomatoes that look like they'll be ripe in a few days.
On the other hand, my Thai basil is just not growing. I have purple and Genovese basil right near it that is growing really well, but the Thai is just tiny and sad looking. I might need to try starting some more plants because Thai basil pesto is to die for and I really need to stock the freezer with a bunch of that stuff.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50077391467_df4a24fbe5_c.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50077136221_3494598fe7_c.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50076569298_0e52e6da55_c.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50077136126_1f02f66339_c.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50076582458_d711d4dfc9_c.jpg)
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Beautiful pics @horsepoor. And your garlic talk reminded me to go pull mine up.
And I’m a bit late in complimenting you on the garden pic you posted a while back. That kind of garden order appeals to me and one day it will be my horticultural reality. Currently, Nature is getting the upper hand on the degree of order I prefer. 🤷🏻♂️
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Thanks Jon, but I think it might be a function of environment. We don't have enough moisture here to have much takeover, aside from the really weedy things. And I do the raised beds with soaker hoses because of the need to get as much water to its target as possible. Sunken beds would probably be even better, but I'm not a fan of stooping down that much.
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Wow - lovely pictures. I will be ordering some of those super sugar snap peas next year. They look so lovely.
I spent a good portion of the weekend in my gardens. It is so stinking hot here. We need rain so a lot of time is spent moving sprinklers around.
Out at my weedy field at the farm, everything that is close to the hose/sprinkler is doing well. I am still on top of the weeds.
The black bean seeds I planted 11 days ago are up. I planted them very close together as I was tired and hot and have been having really poor germination rates. They all came up. They are short rows but there are six of them. Hopefully they are in soon enough to get a great crop.
Tomatoes are setting fruit, as are the squash and cukes. Potatoes are up and so far - no potato bugs. I had heard that planting them late reduced the insect pressure. Perhaps the potato beetles need potato when they are out and about in the late spring - and because I was so late planting the potatoes, there were no potato leaves around? If we get through another two weeks with no bugs - I am going to be thrilled. Mind you I have no delicious potatoes as @Jon_Snow does.
If all this grows - I am going to have way too much food. WAY TOO MUCH.
Three tomato plants wilted in my city garden. I cut back some of the growth around the base to get some air between them and the ground and got everything staked up and pruned. Hopefully it was a watering issue not a soil fungal thing. Tomatillos are setting fruit.
Harvested a huge handful of beans and my next crop of peas - Grundy are ready. I picked a number of the flowers on the older onions for a weird type of bouquet - and a variety of greens for a salad tonight.
The bok choi, kale, spinach, arugula and radish went from tiny to bolted before I really got much of any harvest, while the bok choi in the green house was fine. The second planting of arugula in the shade of the orca bush beans is not bolting. I planted some beet seeds in the shade of onions ie not much shade. They are up and pretty good germination. Very spotty germination of the carrots. I am probably going to have to purchase beets for pickling and carrots for storage. I just don't have enough space.
My neighbour who so graciously lets me garden at her house is agreeable to planting along row of strawberry plants along the edge of the garden. We will have to protect them from the chickens, but I think it will be enough plants to produce a good crop. I would be interested in what varieties are the best for the home gardener - taste is the most important consideration followed by yield. I like to make a couple of batches of jam, so would prefer a traditional plant over everbearing , I think.
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My coworker offered me two plants from her garden that she had too much of, and I gladly accepted! Now I just have to figure out what to do with celery leaf and garlic chives... Has anyone grown those before?
Garlic chives (presuming it's the same "garlic chives" is a bunchy perennial which acts as a groundcover here in Central Texas. I use scissors to harvest leaves whenever we want some.
How do you cook with them? Any particular uses, or just substitute for regular chives?
Usually just chopped and sprinkled on something like potatoes, sometimes added to soup/stew. The kid will just eat it straight out of the garden.
The garlic chives are awesome in omelets and salads or sprinkled on top of chili and soups and tacos, fajitas or anything you would use regular chives for but would appreciate the extra potent garlic flavor.
Great in soups and stews of course, with pot roasts and of course in any salad.
If you have no basil to eat with your tomato/salad - celery leaves are a great substitute.
@Indio thanks for that awesome article link about the Moroccan Food Forest.
For me in Florida, gardening seasoning is over. Just harvesting herbs and peppers.
My basil had the most interesting visitors - a whole squadron flying in formation, metallic green bee looking insects, same size as a bee.
They came for two weeks or so and only visited this one particular basil plant. They could stand still in midair.
While they visited no bees came around.
As of yesterday, they are gone and my regular bees are back - odd.
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Stunning @horsepoor! Love seeing the pictures. Those tomatoes look delicious.
Here's more subtropical zone 9B, should have fresh pineapple and starfruit soon. Banana is putting out the "flag leaf" signaling a new rack of fruit will soon form.
(https://i.postimg.cc/VNDHVQTC/IMG-20200622-125704-881.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/fWF1ssb7/IMG-20200622-125300.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/2yRkVZwm/IMG-20200622-130808.jpg)
Oh, that pineapple looks awesome.
I didn't know about the flag leaf for bananas - now I know what to look for. Mine still have some growing to do although I can't get over how thick they are becoming at the bottom.
My guava suddenly got all yellow leaves only a bit of green remaining, not sure what happened.
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Fun to see pictures from other gardens around the world!
We need some sort of weed trimmer, but the string trimmers never last. This weekend I tried a small handheld electric trimmer, but it was better at combing the weeds than cutting them. So today I went off and bought a small scythe instead. I was wondering if it would be better to get a sickle, but the short scythe covers both needs.
Scything is just as much fun as I remember from my youth! If it wasn't for my hayfever, I would buy a full size scythe and convert the lawn into flowering grassland.
On the negative side, there was a bit of wind yesterday, and the sofa swing fell over my jostaberries. Luckily, it missed the newly planted fruit trees. And one of the glass panes on the green house broke.
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For me in Florida, gardening seasoning is over. Just harvesting herbs and peppers.
My basil had the most interesting visitors - a whole squadron flying in formation, metallic green bee looking insects, same size as a bee.
They came for two weeks or so and only visited this one particular basil plant. They could stand still in midair.
While they visited no bees came around.
As of yesterday, they are gone and my regular bees are back - odd.
@Rosy -- was this your visitor? If so, they are bees -- Agapostemon, a/k/a sweat bees. I see them too sometimes. They are so shockingly green, they don't look real:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Agapostemon_texanus.jpg/330px-Agapostemon_texanus.jpg)
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I don't think so, they were entirely green. No striped bee body at all. It had two body parts both were metallic green, there was a very little bit of black near the eyes I think.
I only managed one rather poor shot. I'll see if I can upload it later.
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Hi! Thread lurker and very novice gardener here. I just wanted to say that I appreciate all your stories and photos that you've been posting. It's nice to see what other people are doing and I find the geographical differences fascinating. Thank you for sharing your tips with others. They are encouraging to others.
I do have a quick question. We have a lot of Cilantro right now and I can see it's about to get flowers on top so I want to harvest a lot of it and replant some for the fall. We have been using it for tacos and salsa. Have efforts to freeze worked well for you? Do you recommend dry freezing or using the oil/cube method?
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Oil is the best way I’ve found for any herb. Consider pre makin things like chimchurri
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Hi! Thread lurker and very novice gardener here. I just wanted to say that I appreciate all your stories and photos that you've been posting. It's nice to see what other people are doing and I find the geographical differences fascinating. Thank you for sharing your tips with others. They are encouraging to others.
Welcome @Need2Save!
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I have been thinking about next spring and starting seeds this year. I don't really have the room inside the house but do have a deck. I also have some chrome carts that I use during the summer to put planter boxes on and right now have 4 boxes of basil, 2 boxes of lettuce, scallions, rosemary and a few experimental things like the bottom hunk of some store bought lettuce and one big root end of an onion.
Thinking about using my chrome cart which has about 5 shelves in April to start growing seeds. The only problem is that it is very cold in CT at nights and I can't figure out how to keep them warm. I can buy a plastic cover that will fit the cart and it has an opening in the front for easy access. It is clear in the front but not sure about the sides or back. I have read that some people put a container of boiling water on a shelf to keep some heat in the 'greenhouse'. I don't think boiling water would last too long in cold weather.
The plants I would be interested in would be peppers, basil, lettuce, herbs, impatiens, possibly green beans, marigolds. Maybe other things. Anyone know of a way to keep the plants from freezing? I have an electrical outlet on my deck but the Hub might frown upon heaters and such catching fire. I know people have innovative tricks for doing things and hoping someone will share.
This is what I am talking about. I have the shelf but would need to buy the cover: https://www.amazon.com/Formosa-Covers-Storage-Shelving-Through/dp/B08999BBGK/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=shelf+cover+30x14x62&qid=1594744102&sr=8-2
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Some seed starting heat mats would keep them warm enough. It really does depend on which plants you go with - peppers and basil are needing way more warmth than lettuce and beans.
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I have done the bring the stuff in and out thing before and it is a royal pain. This cart has wheels on it but I have a glass patio door and no way to roll the cart over the step.
I have seen three other suggestions:
1. place a pot of boiling water in the unit. I could put it on the bottoms shelf.
2. place milk jugs filled with water and during the day they will absorb the sun's heat and will keep the area warm at night. Painted black is supposed to absorb more heat
3. place a crockpot in the unit filled with water and keep it heated all night.
My Hub is paranoid about electrical stuff being used in a non conventional manner so he would hate the crockpot idea.
I was also thinking if I did the milk jug thing, I could have them in a Styrofoam cooler on the bottom shelf and that might keep the jugs warmer longer.
I was also wondering if I could make bags out of old jeans, fill them with rice (sewn shut) then warmed up in the microwave to keep the jugs warm all night long. So that set up would be the jugs in the Styrofoam cooler then rice bags tossed all around to insulate the jugs.
But, would even eight 1 gallon jugs keep this set up warm enough. I was thinking to maybe using rubbermaid totes like the ones that go under the bed for planters, then I could put the lid on at night (with some holes in the top) to keep the dirt heat in. Another container I considered was the ones you get for Christmas paper storage. I guess I should be concerned with the type of plastic, if it is the type you can store food in. Those Christmas paper ones I doubt the plastic would be for food. Probably not the under bed storage ones either.
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@Roadrunner53
Have you considered using the same concept as a cold frame? That traps in enough passive solar to keep the plants from freezing at night. If you put the rack next to the house or a stone wall that should also transfer ambient heat.
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Garden is doing great here! We're definitely into the peak of summer, with the temperatures up and the heat-loving plants going wild. I just harvested my kale seed (it took 2 months for the pods to fully dry).
This week we're eating:
-The last cabbage
-Loads of cucumbers
-Green beans
-Blackberries
-Kale
-Chard
-Bulb/storage onions
-Sungold cherry tomatoes
By next week we'll have slicer tomatoes and peppers. Yummm!!!
This week I'm starting some broccoli and cabbage seeds indoors for fall planting. I'm also going to direct-seed fall plantings of carrots, turnips, broccoli, cabbage, kale, lettuce, and peas. I've never tried peas in the fall but I'm going to give it a go.
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Nice update, @Trifele
We are on the cusp of peak harvest season here.
Pole green beans tendrils are climbing all over the fencing and guide lines. The abundance of beans is just beginning and almost every meal includes backyard veg now or it is the star of the meal. This morning I ate about a half pound of roasted beans with sesame oil and soy sauce for breakfast. It was heavenly. The other uncooked beans from the same harvest, were put into a leftover jar of pickle juice to absorb pickle flavor. Lunch was a roasted zucchini. Dinner was sauteed tofu with green peppers and fajita seasoning. Yesterday, for lunch I made a turkey bacon half sandwich with avocado and homegrown cucumber and sliced cherry tomatoes. Taste buds are dancing in anticipation of every meal. The goal for this week is to make chamomile and honey flavored ice cream.
Cilantro bolted a few weeks ago so I added more seedlings to the herb bed yesterday. Once the tomatoes start ripening, I will need lots of fresh herbs including cilantro. Second seeding of kale has started to pop out of the earth. Broccoli is a bust this Summer but I've reseeded for Fall. Squirrels have eaten every stone fruit, apple and pear in the garden.
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The goal for this week is to make chamomile and honey flavored ice cream.
Wow, this sounds so delightful @Indio !
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@Roadrunner53
Have you considered using the same concept as a cold frame? That traps in enough passive solar to keep the plants from freezing at night. If you put the rack next to the house or a stone wall that should also transfer ambient heat.
Yes, my plan it to put the rack right near the sliding glass door next to the house. It gets pretty warm there during the day.
Painting the milk jugs black will definitely help them to get warmer. On cold days, I put a black board at the back of my shelf (inside the plastic) and it really captured the heat. To the point that I had to watch the temperature and remove it when it got above 60C.
Black board is a good idea. I was also thinking about lining 3 sides with cardboard. Maybe at night rigging up a blanket for the clear front draped over the top with velcro to hold it in place.
My hub, whom I thought would be horrified to put anything electric in it, suggested a mechanics under the hood type light and put a 40 watt light bulb in it. We have one in our garage but here is a picture of what I am talking about:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Southwire-Metal-Work-Light-with-Switch/21286769
Also thinking about using rubbermaid containers, #5 food grade, and placing the lids on the plants at night. Maybe putting some holes in the container tops.
On another note, here is a video from youtube of container gardening. This lady is so bubbly and cheerful. She brought a smile to my face and hope she brings one to you too. She has many, many video's. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g61ZzWZ-Wg&t=2s
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Great updates @Trifele and @Indio. I’ve been away from my garden for several days, and in that time temperatures have finally started to get closer to seasonal normals, so I’m hoping to see some significant progress with my tomatoes. I suspect my peas will be on their last legs, but the beans should be picking up the slack now. Hope to see some nice cucumber and squash (esp. spaghtti) development as well.
I harvested about 40 pounds worth of harvest last week and distributed it among 4 grateful households, including my own. It feels great to help out during these challenging times, even in this small way.
One quick note....the carrot crop this year is by far the best I can remember - granted I’ve only been doing this for 6 years. As with many things that happen in the garden, I don’t understand the reason for it. 🤷♂️
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Note to self : plant garlic in a better drained bed. Harvest it earlier.
Still have enough for the winter but I think I will buy some seed garlic for this fall. I know it is not mustachian but I am concerned about some really mushy bulbs. I am going to construct a special bed closer to the greenhouse this fall that is kind of raised up so that I can keep it all a little drier.
I am also definitely growing orca beans next year. They are the most delicious buttery packets of beany deliciousness ever. I am torn between picking them at peak and eating them right now or just letting them mature on the plants for seed collection. There are still some flowers on them...but decision time is quickly approaching.
I have way too many of the purple pole bean type. They are collected seed from friends and gardening acquaintenances so I have no idea what type. I do need to be a little more rigourous in my methods. @RetiredAt63 can attest to my naming practices (yellow slicing tomato from Z. garden, sweet)
Any recommendations from the group on the beetle control front? They are decimating my squash plants at the farm and then a very similar looking striped species is going nuts on the tomatillos. I have been picking them off the tomatillos every morning but I only get the farm garden once a week.
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Note to self : plant garlic in a better drained bed. Harvest it earlier.
Still have enough for the winter but I think I will buy some seed garlic for this fall. I know it is not mustachian but I am concerned about some really mushy bulbs. I am going to construct a special bed closer to the greenhouse this fall that is kind of raised up so that I can keep it all a little drier.
I am also definitely growing orca beans next year. They are the most delicious buttery packets of beany deliciousness ever. I am torn between picking them at peak and eating them right now or just letting them mature on the plants for seed collection. There are still some flowers on them...but decision time is quickly approaching.
I have way too many of the purple pole bean type. They are collected seed from friends and gardening acquaintenances so I have no idea what type. I do need to be a little more rigourous in my methods. @RetiredAt63 can attest to my naming practices (yellow slicing tomato from Z. garden, sweet)
Any recommendations from the group on the beetle control front? They are decimating my squash plants at the farm and then a very similar looking striped species is going nuts on the tomatillos. I have been picking them off the tomatillos every morning but I only get the farm garden once a week.
And it's catching. I am growing a variety called "red baseball sized slicer from FL".
I'm growing 2 different wax pole beans. They all just started climbing. What do the purple ones taste like?
Orca beans - you eat them at the smelly bean stage, like limas? Or snap beans?
Send bean seeds?
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Been making good use so far of our harvest. We didn't plant many veggies this year, but we have been enjoying fresh cucumbers, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes. Only one larger tomato so far, but many green ones so we should have an abundance soon. I also only have one green pepper so far. boo.
Sad to report that I found three horn worms on the tomatoes yesterday. They completely ruined our tomatoes last year and we fought them for about six weeks straight before they finally stopped showing up and then we got tomatoes late for around here at the end of August, September, and early October. I thought we may have made it this summer without them so I was so bummed to find a few. I will have to be diligent to look for them every morning now.
I'm baking zucchini bread right now and also making zucchini meatloaf tonight. Both for the first time. :-)
Will be replanting some Cilantro probably next week to replace the first batch.
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Been making good use so far of our harvest. We didn't plant many veggies this year, but we have been enjoying fresh cucumbers, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes. Only one larger tomato so far, but many green ones so we should have an abundance soon. I also only have one green pepper so far. boo.
Sad to report that I found three horn worms on the tomatoes yesterday. They completely ruined our tomatoes last year and we fought them for about six weeks straight before they finally stopped showing up and then we got tomatoes late for around here at the end of August, September, and early October. I thought we may have made it this summer without them so I was so bummed to find a few. I will have to be diligent to look for them every morning now.
I'm baking zucchini bread right now and also making zucchini meatloaf tonight. Both for the first time. :-)
Will be replanting some Cilantro probably next week to replace the first batch.
I had those damn worms towards the end of my tomato growing season last year. I read that there are several natural things you can plant around the tomatoes to ward off the worms. Dill, basil or marigolds. This year I planted marigolds around the tomatoes. I can't say it worked but have not seen any worms yet. It is early yet for us in CT. I have tomatoes on the vine but not abundant yet.
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Finally we're starting to get a slow trickle of tomatoes. Most of the plants have just small green fruits so far, although the plants are big and robust. Not sure if it was the weather, or too much N in the compost I added to those beds this spring.
However, the eggplants and peppers are taking their sweet time setting fruit as well.
Of course we're bombarded with summer squash. My spaghetti squash quickly set and sized up fruit, and then promptly died. I harvested the squash and I'm hoping they're mature enough to keep for a while. Meanwhile the butternut type growing 5' away looks perfect. Winter squash always seem to be a crapshoot in that way.
We're getting some hot weather now, and the okra are finally starting to grow and not look like they're at death's door.
Cukes coming in as well, so I'll be starting a pickle ferment soon.
Snap peas are done, and green beans are getting going.
Seeded some beets, and need to try starting some fall cole crops indoors this weekend. Typically if I can get them out under shade cloth in early August, there's hope for a fall harvest.
Still kicking myself for getting lazy and not putting in leeks. However, I do have probably 30# of garlic harvested. Dug up a few blue potatoes last night too (4# or so) and picking a quart of raspberries every couple days. Apparently giving them some compost and water helped!
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Been making good use so far of our harvest. We didn't plant many veggies this year, but we have been enjoying fresh cucumbers, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes. Only one larger tomato so far, but many green ones so we should have an abundance soon. I also only have one green pepper so far. boo.
Sad to report that I found three horn worms on the tomatoes yesterday. They completely ruined our tomatoes last year and we fought them for about six weeks straight before they finally stopped showing up and then we got tomatoes late for around here at the end of August, September, and early October. I thought we may have made it this summer without them so I was so bummed to find a few. I will have to be diligent to look for them every morning now.
I'm baking zucchini bread right now and also making zucchini meatloaf tonight. Both for the first time. :-)
Will be replanting some Cilantro probably next week to replace the first batch.
I’ve had good success with dipel and diatomaceous earth on horn worms.
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I'm eating my first summer squash tonight.
The tomatoes are flowering but seem to have stopped setting fruit. It has been hot and humid but little rain, they are looking healthy, just no baby tomatoes. There are tomatoes that set a few weeks ago, the race is on between Candyland and Indigo Rose to be ripe first.
Beans are growing well but no flowers yet, peppers have buds but no flowers yet, cucumber and winter squash are male flowers. I expect to see a big change over the next week or two for them.
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First year gardening in a community plot, close to home. When not working in my plot I live in a condo in a renovated historic building in the city, close to a university campus. I am FIREd 2 1/2 years now.
My plot recently doubled in size when my garden neighbor threw in the towel, so now I have 800 square feet to explore and putter in. So far, so good. Nearly everything we have grown has turned out well. The tomatoes are producing like crazy, onions and shallots ready to harvest, and potatoes seem to be growing happily in grow bags. I also think my plot is beautiful. I’ve planted generously with edible flowers and am getting pollinator friendly perennials on end of the season sales. I’ve invested considerable time in trying to make soil improvements, opting for no till and covering large swaths with cardboard and a thick layer of mulch. Because I don’t have access to compost (working on it and wondering if I should buy stuff grown in bags from an adjacent municipality?) I use milorganite (organic slow release fertilizer) and rabbit poo, when I can get it.
I am learning to garden in a slightly warmer zone (5A) and trying to develop ways of extending the season. Because this was our first year, we didn’t get in early to do cool weather crops, and I have missed them. Cruciferous vegetables are my favorites, so we are preparing to second crop and I will grow things I don’t have much experience with. We also need to get better fencing up on the small inherited plot. I’m putting up a mini poly tunnel this week.
I’ve always been a massive gardener. I am a Master Gardener in my state and also volunteer on a few gardening projects. I just enrolled in an online urban agriculture certificate program, partially to have something to do right now, and particularly because I am absolutely smitten with the process. I want to learn all I can and continue to develop my space. I like the idea of taking vacant, disused areas and making them productive and beautiful. It seems that when I’m not actually gardening I’m either reading about it or watching videos on it. In my working life I was an accountant and financial manager, and I’ve managed people and projects, so I know I have the skills to build a business with it if I wanted to and I’ve thought about it, but I don’t think I want to. Even though I enjoy garden people a lot. I think this is because the whole enterprise is basically a creative process for me. My late working career was all about making difficult people happy at the expense of my own happiness, and now I just want to make myself happy. I’m not used to doing things for their intrinsic value.
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Great update @Trudie! So glad it worked out for your gardening space this year.
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These are truly the halcyon days for my garden. Once I pick my first cuke in a day or two it will mean that pretty much everything I planted this year will all be harvestable at the same time. Peas are still hanging in there pretty well, the lettuce too. But the writing is on the wall for both as the heat has arrived. Well, what passes for heat in the PNW...ticked 30 Celsius in the shade of my garden today.
Wouldn’t know where to begin in describing just how well the garden has been this year....with the exception of tomatoes slower to ripen than normal, this has been my best garden since I started doing this 6 years ago.
Pictures do a better job I think.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50062447383_969ff76809_o.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50070952712_5833108202_o.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50128180701_150a0d7014_o.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50130434692_fbe57a9e7e_o.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50128169926_aab90c5af9_o.jpg)
That’s my DW posing with the cauliflower in the last shot there. Had not the local Harvest Festival been cancelled, I do believe that magnificent curd of cauli coulda been a contendah.
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I love your update @Trudie - I totally feel the same way about gardening. I am not FIRE'd or I would be spending more time and growing more food in my garden.
@Jon_Snow - veritable garden porn those photos.
Farm Report
I spent a good chunk of time Sunday morning sweating out at the farm. I was a weeding machine. (By 11 am, it was 25C but with the humidex, it was 31C)
Everything is coming along nicely. We got a torrential rain at lunch that was about 1/2 an inch. It was so badly needed. I was hoeing dust.
I picked my first half -basket of pickling cukes and they are now soaking in brine. The two larger ones are in a vinaigrette in the fridge to make a quick pickle (or cuke salad). The balance will become dills. I am only going to do three bottles of dills in attempt to match storage with consumption. I am the only dill pickle eater. I make a nine day sweet gherkin type recipe that the kids love. It doesn't take much each day to do the step, but there is a step or two every day for nine days. If I am going to the effort for this, I want to have at least four baskets of cukes (12L in total). Last year I did 7L of cukes into gherkins and had to ration them. I paid $27 for the basket. I spent about $5 on two different types of seed because neither said they were specifically for sweet gherkins. (Last year I grew one hill and turned them into dills and relish - as I missed picking them small). There are so many cucumber beetles - but I killed as many as I could by hand but they are certainly going to be a problem. And I hope the plants will be bountiful all at once!
The black beans are coming along really nicely - I hope they start flowering soon. I did a good hand weeding. There is still a lot of twitch grass in the bed. I am hoping I can keep on top of it and then this fall get it tilled again and pull out the roots.
The raspberry canes were neglected last year as it was our first year without my Dad cracking the whip on raspberry maintenance. The crop is going to be way less as a result. I have been keeping them weeded a lot better this year and have a plan to get them back in top performance. I think we let them get to thick and did feed well enough. I am keeping them from suckering and am going to feed them heavy with a thick layer of rotted manure once they are finished picking. I didn't get to that in the early spring and thought that I shouldn't. There are large sections of rows that have completely died out. I plan to do some propagating once I get the weeds under control. The golden berry canes are almost entirely died out. I also suspect that we have a pollination problem - this spring the beekeeper moved his four hives off the farm so we didn't have the same number of pollinators.
The potatoes are all up over a foot high and I did not see a potato beetle. I have gotten them really well hand weeded. I need to keep working on the hilling.
Tomatoes are fruiting nicely or have an astonishing number of flowers. This is good because the plants in my city garden are 50% withering with wilt. I am coming to the conclusion that the soil in the city garden is contaminated with wilt in the soil and it is going to be 10 years before I should be growing tomatoes there again. Next spring, I am going to plant 6 plants on my front lawn for day to day eating and go big at the farm with the rest. I will just have to commit to going to the farm twice a week to pick. This might also mean that I could grow beets and carrots out at the farm as well. And reserve my garden in town for peas, herbs, greens and beans.
Another frustration or novice mistake. I have a huge harvest of basil right now. But no paste tomatoes for sauce making. I have all the pesto I need in the freezer. I have dried all the basil I need for the spice cupboard. I need to get the planting of the basil timed better so that the harvest coincides with canning time.
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Thinking about using my chrome cart which has about 5 shelves in April to start growing seeds. The only problem is that it is very cold in CT at nights and I can't figure out how to keep them warm. I can buy a plastic cover that will fit the cart and it has an opening in the front for easy access. It is clear in the front but not sure about the sides or back. I have read that some people put a container of boiling water on a shelf to keep some heat in the 'greenhouse'. I don't think boiling water would last too long in cold weather.
dchild=1&keywords=shelf+cover+30x14x62&qid=1594744102&sr=8-2
Water is the best known substance for retaining heat - water would retain about 3000 times more heat than dry air it displaces (the thermal capacity of the air would increase with humidity, so it might only be 1000 times better than humid air in a greenhouse) - so using water for thermal mass is a great idea. The more thermal mass you add, the more heat can be absorbed during the day and lost at night without changing the temperature too much. I don't know that putting boiling water in in the evening is too great of an idea though - most of the heat would be released quickly, then lost during the earlier night hours - more thermal mass is much better than hotter thermal mass. Fill that bottom shelf with water. Dark containers (or dyed water in clear containers) could help absorb more daylight as heat.
Your husband is right - a light could be a good source of heat and once your seeds sprout, they should have more light than they would get through the cover. Figure out how you will provide right intensity of light without worrying about the energy efficiency since making lighting more energy efficient is all about reducing the heat the light puts off. Run your lighting during the coldest hours to provide extra warmth. I think the types of heat sources your husband would be worried about would be way too intense for such a small space.
The idea of covering at night is great. I'd also pay attention to sheltering it from the wind.
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These are truly the halcyon days for my garden. Once I pick my first cuke in a day or two it will mean that pretty much everything I planted this year will all be harvestable at the same time. Peas are still hanging in there pretty well, the lettuce too. But the writing is on the wall for both as the heat has arrived. Well, what passes for heat in the PNW...ticked 30 Celsius in the shade of my garden today.
Wouldn’t know where to begin in describing just how well the garden has been this year....with the exception of tomatoes slower to ripen than normal, this has been my best garden since I started doing this 6 years ago.
Pictures do a better job I think.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50062447383_969ff76809_o.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50070952712_5833108202_o.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50128180701_150a0d7014_o.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50130434692_fbe57a9e7e_o.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50128169926_aab90c5af9_o.jpg)
That’s my DW posing with the cauliflower in the last shot there. Had not the local Harvest Festival been cancelled, I do believe that magnificent curd of cauli coulda been a contendah.
@Jon_Snow that's some fabulous looking veg you've got there. I can't get over that summer squash plant -- so compact with so many veg on it. what seed did you use for it?
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@Jon_Snow that's some fabulous looking veg you've got there. I can't get over that summer squash plant -- so compact with so many veg on it. what seed did you use for it?
I believe it’s the “Goldy” variety of yellow zucchini. It’s been my go to for many years now. It’s prolific-ness is often quite alarming. 😦 And you’d think I’d learn my lesson and not plant so much of it. There are...several more such plants just like that one scattered about my garden. And that’s just the yellow ones. Then there are the green ones, which are just as prolific. But I know I’m not the only gardener out there drowning in a cascasde of zucchini. But I do like shredding and freezing the excess for use in all sorts of recipes throughout the year.
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Thanks, Boris. Thankfully we have not spotted any more horn worms. I'm checking every morning for them.
Yesterday I harvested more of our fresh herbs and dried some, as well as froze some in oil and stock for future use.
Today we made refrigerator pickles and tomorrow we are planning to make fresh pesto and fresh salsa. While I have the processor out for the pesto, I'm going to shred up some more zucchini and stash in the freezer for another day. We really enjoyed the zucchini bread a week back, but don't want to overdo it and I plan to make another two loaves next week probably. I'll also freeze a little of the pesto for future use.
I did also replant some cilantro. We'll use the rest of our first harvest in the fresh salsa tomorrow.
All this at-home time has really allowed us to take better care of our veg and herb plants and make sure none is wasted. This is a major win for us.
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This week I started second cropping — beans, peas, beets, carrots, fennel, and brassicas. We just got our plot this year, and by the time we were able to get in it got hot super fast, so our first cool season crops failed. I am learning to grow in a warmer zone, in an urban area (heat island effect), and in new soil (sandy loam... good stuff). So, I figure that some of these failures are learning opportunities in disguise and will help me learn more about succession sowing and season extending.
I also rescued three six foot tall by 18 inches wide wire panels from the trash heap at a local business. They must have been used as shelves. Took them right across the street and power washed them and they are perfection for trellises. They are now firmly affixed to t-posts, awaiting to be used.
I love the whole garden ethos of rescuing other people’s trash and up cycling it in the garden.
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I am getting some beds ready for second crop.
My tomatoes in my town garden are suffering from wilt. I think I am going to have to just give up.
Pickling cukes are coming along nicely. I am going to match a batch of bread and butters.
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Me too @Frugal Lizard -- I did several hours of bed prep yesterday. Later today I'll start planting the fall crop of carrots, peas, turnips, cabbage, and broccoli. The spring cabbage and turnips did fantastic; looking forward to round 2. I've never done peas in the fall so that is a total experiment.
Tomatoes are coming along very nicely. We're getting 3-4 ripe slicers a day plus a couple handfuls of Sungolds. Once production takes off and we start getting buckets full of big slicers, I'll start canning and/or freezing.
Pepper crop is pretty sad again this year. :( Again it's the one-two punch -- the plants are small and slow growing, then when they finally produce fruit the weevils spoil at least half of them. It's been four years of this. I have to either come up with new ideas (test the soil for some deficiency? covered beds to deal with the weevils? mini greenhouse?) or just give up on peppers here. So frustrating!
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late shelling peas are ready!
And I harvested the fava beans last night. I had an upset tummy so I just picked them and hope to eat them tonight. Something had started to eat them so I needed to get them into my fridge.
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My wife has a large garden, even more this year with covid. We have had a greenhouse for over 20 years, I'm the handy man. I think some may be interested in how we protect our greenhouse plants from frost. We get from zero to 5 or 6 frosts a year, but we have tropical fruit trees and must protect them from the frost. The method I use; I pump water from a shallow well into the greenhouse and spray it out through 3/4" pvc pipe that I have installed misters every 12" along both sides of the green house. I have a thermostat in the greenhouse that controls the pump, it is set at about 36*F. When the pump starts, it pumps 55*F water into the greenhouse to warm it and prevent any
frost. We only cover the greenhouse with plastic Nov 15 to the end of Feb.
BTW, for years we bought plastic film from Lowes, it only lasted one season. One year we tried the 6mil greenhouse plastic from an online Mega greenhouse store and it's been over 10 years and we are still reusing the same piece.
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@BTDretire I am definitely interested in how your manage your greenhouse.
I am hoping to gut the inside of my (neighbour's) greenhouse to make it more functional this fall after I get ready to take a winter break. One of the things I was thinking of doing was making mini hot beds within the house for the winter to further limit how much heat is required. We get much colder than you but it is usually really sunny during the coldest weather so if I had more thermal mass and a smaller area to keep warm, it might be doable. The reason is: I long to grow figs.
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I don't do much management, I have the water (heat) wired so that just a flip of a switch and rotate a valve or two and it's ready for winter, flip it back and she can water the plants.
The greenhouse we have is 25ft x 40ft. I have the 3/4" pvc pipe with misters, running the full 40ft length on both sides, set in about 4ft from outside walls
My wife has sugar apple, starfruit, lychee, longan, and more that I don't know the names of. Plus some herb'y stuff in smaller pots.
If you want to use heated beds, I have several ideas, but they all seem very involved. Run plastic tube in coils under the beds. Flow pumped water through them. But, pumped water is not really warm, it just prevents our trees from freezing. You could paint several 50 gallon drums black and let them heat by the sun and greenhouse warmth, then have an inline heater to heat the water anytime it is not at the desired temperature to pump to the heated beds. I our greenhouse, the water just falls to the ground, and is absorbed, not sure where your water would go, unless you just have a sealed system heated my solar.
I'd be happy to help, but not sure what info you need.
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A challenge with growing stuff, is that you need to be homebound when it needs to be harvested. I still have my squash plant which had one young squash. Then som male flowers appeared open. I collected the spores and waited forcthe female flowers to open before I went on vacation. But no luck, we ate the young vegetable, but I am affraid the female flowers won't be pollinated while I am gone.
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Dog days of summer here, and still so few tomatoes. I found one Kellogg's Breakfast today, and it was less than 1/4 of the average size for this variety. One partly ripe black krim is about 1/2 the normal size. My black cherry and other cherry variety have very few fruit, and I've only gotten a handful of the black cherries so far. Can't figure out what the deal is, but hopefully it will turn around. At least my canning tomatoes have a pretty decent fruit set on right now, so I should be able to put up some sauce and canned tomatoes in September.
On the upside, getting some okra now, and had a bumper cauliflower harvest. Now that the cukes have started, they are really cranking. I found a couple big'uns hiding in the greenery today that I'm thinking I'll hollow out and stuff with tuna salad.
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That is beautiful @horsepoor!
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That is beautiful @horsepoor!
fantastic
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What a beautiful harvest @horsepoor!
Fresh from the subtropical garden, various greens, pineapple, and monstera deliciosa (the weird prehistoric looking pinecones). Monstera is one of the best fruits I've had, a tropical fruit salad blend of strawberry/pineapple/banana. Best of all, its completely toxic and critter proof until ripe!
(https://i.postimg.cc/XJyhj4zJ/IMG-20200804-093323-264.jpg)
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wow @Roots&Wings
I just love this thread! I have never heard of so many things. When I have traveled I have tasted really fresh pineapple....man that is good stuff.
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Tomorrow is a big harvest day. It’s been in the mid seventies, which is very comfortable for Iowa in August. I’ve had tons of snacking tomatoes, kale, onions, and herbs. Other than kale and tomatoes nothing has been producing heavily. I suspect it has to do with our hot, dry weather. Since this is our first year on our garden plot, we’ve spent a lot of time preparing the site. Next year we can grow more efficiently and take better advantage of cool season spring weather.
I harvested a few Brussels sprouts today and roasted them. This is the first time I’ve grown them. They tasted okay, but I’m wondering if I should wait until cooler temps to harvest them in the hope that they will be sweeter.
Also, my Malabar spinach is doing well? Any noticeable differences in how it tastes compared to regular spinach?
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This is my favorite time of year when you plan dinner based on what's ripe and abundant in the garden. Cucumbers, toms, zucchini, new potatoes, and lots of basil are in almost every meal. Breakfast was leftover cucumber feta salad, lunch was cucumber mint smoothie with a dash of yogurt and I'm making ice tea with cucumber slices in it. Eggplants will be ready for picking in the next 10 days. Been browsing Italian recipes to figure out how I should cook/prepare the eggplant. Haven't grown it in years so want to make sure that its put to good use. If anyone has receipe suggestions, pls send them over.
Saw an IG challenge to preserve veg from the garden everyday so I've been drying herbs, dehydrating cherry toms and saving seeds. I've been drying mint, chamomile, lemon balm and tulsi for winter teas. The more I harvest the faster these plants regrow. Infused 1/2 gal of olive oil with fresh calendula, chamomile and comfrey to use in soap. It takes about 6 weeks to be ready but it will very soothing with all the handwashing that's going to be happening in a few weeks.
I hope everyone's gardens are getting the right amount of water to keep them growing away.
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For another fun way to preserve your mint, I highly recommend freezing mint-cilantro chutney in an ice-cube tray. It's a heavenly Indian condiment that I put on everything other than oatmeal.
That sounds delicious @Sun Hat! Care to share the recipe?
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Just wondering if anyone has tried this before. I bought store bought scallions and cut the root end off but leaving a little stub of white attached. Then I soak the roots in water till a green sprout appears. Then I plant them in potting mix. I have some giant scallions grown this way. I kept buying store bought ones and kept planting them. They grow so easy and pretty quickly. Love them. You can keep using the same ones over and over! All these years I have been throwing them away!
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Thanks @Sun Hat!! What kind of mint works best? I've got peppermint and spearmint in the garden. Would either of those work?
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@Sun Hat
Sounds delish will have to try it out. I agree with you about garlic. I always load pesto up with garlic because it tastes better. The spicier the garlic the better.
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Would you believe it? We got four inches of rain last weekend and none since and the soil is drying out again. (nervous already because I did a whole lot of planting just before the rain and not everything is up yet)
I am feeling pretty chuffed: I made a traditional cornichon recipe with my own cukes, tarragon and onions. I probably don't need to harvest another cucumber this season! Donated another 8 pounds of cukes to the food bank.
Some of the potatoes are now bigger than golf balls.
Tomatoes are starting to ripen.
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Thanks for the tip @Sun Hat -- I'll try it with the peppermint! I actually just picked a bunch this morning. DD wants to use it to flavor homemade toothpaste, and DH drinks it as tea.
I'm really enjoying the garden the past couple of weeks. Grateful to my past self for planting a big variety of things this year. Just when the kale is finally succumbing to cabbage moths, the chard and the Malabar spinach (which seem to be immune) are looking beautiful. I just ate a delicious lunch entirely from the garden/chickens -- stir fried French Fingerling potatoes, Malabar spinach, Sungold cherry tomatoes, and eggs. Yum!
My fall plantings are doing well so far. Sugar snap peas are up about two inches, as are the turnips, broccoli and lettuce. Carrots were a little slower -- they're just peeking above the soil. Those carrot seeds were old (5 years), so even though they were pokey I was just happy to have germination.
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I am interested in a dwarf cherry or slightly bigger type (Roma) tomato plant that is early bearing for next year. Does anyone know a variety or place to buy maybe two plants? I want to put it on my deck and don't want it to grow 12 feet tall. Something like 24 inches tall would be ideal.
I am looking for something that will bear tomatoes early while waiting for the later tomatoes to become ripe.
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My pony express roma types seem to be staying short but some have so many branches they are six feet in diameter.
I harvested 3 liters of purple beans and another 3 of orca beans. These orcas are the tastiest and have started to rebloom.
Beets are struggling...tomatoes and eggplants and peppers too. Gave everything a generous dose of fertilizer. It is supposed to rain today!
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I am interested in a dwarf cherry or slightly bigger type (Roma) tomato plant that is early bearing for next year. Does anyone know a variety or place to buy maybe two plants? I want to put it on my deck and don't want it to grow 12 feet tall. Something like 24 inches tall would be ideal.
I am looking for something that will bear tomatoes early while waiting for the later tomatoes to become ripe.
I'm growing a dwarf cherry on my balcony. It is a hybrid, Siderno. Seeds are expensive but easy to start.
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Where did you buy the Siderno seeds?
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Where did you buy the Siderno seeds?
William Dam at damseeds.com They are pricey but I had 100% germination, 2 of 2 planted. Hybrids so I can't save the seeds darn it.
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Just wondering if anyone has tried this before. I bought store bought scallions and cut the root end off but leaving a little stub of white attached. Then I soak the roots in water till a green sprout appears. Then I plant them in potting mix. I have some giant scallions grown this way. I kept buying store bought ones and kept planting them. They grow so easy and pretty quickly. Love them. You can keep using the same ones over and over! All these years I have been throwing them away!
Yes! Mine are going on their third year :) They started flowering this year so I thought they would go back, but new scallions are growing!
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Also, my Malabar spinach is doing well? Any noticeable differences in how it tastes compared to regular spinach?
Hey @Trudie -- To me, cooked Malabar tastes very similar to spinach. It holds up much better in stir fries and soups, thanks to its meatier texture. I sometimes eat it raw, but it took me a while to get used to the semi-succulent-ness; I'm not used to eating leaves like that, and at first I felt like I was eating a house plant. It's a fantastic vegetable -- it thrives in the heat, so it fills in that gap between spring and fall greens for us. And! From what I read it has a great nutritional profile -- very high in vitamin A and C, iron and calcium.
@Roadrunner53 -- that's great about your free scallions! I do that with celery and turnips, works great.
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Where did you buy the Siderno seeds?
William Dam at damseeds.com They are pricey but I had 100% germination, 2 of 2 planted. Hybrids so I can't save the seeds darn it.
Thanks for the information!
In regard to scallions, does anyone grow them inside during the winter? I do not have a covered porch and don't really have any good windows to put them in. I have florescent lights under my kitchen cabinets that basil seems to like but not a lot of room either. Any ideas on what people do to harvest a little bit of stuff in a small amount of room? I was thinking about doing something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s4hDJcPMiw
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Where did you buy the Siderno seeds?
William Dam at damseeds.com They are pricey but I had 100% germination, 2 of 2 planted. Hybrids so I can't save the seeds darn it.
I went to damseeds.com and it seems they only ship to Canada. I am in USA. Do you know if they ship to USA? That Siderno tomato plant looks perfect!
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Where did you buy the Siderno seeds?
William Dam at damseeds.com They are pricey but I had 100% germination, 2 of 2 planted. Hybrids so I can't save the seeds darn it.
I went to damseeds.com and it seems they only ship to Canada. I am in USA. Do you know if they ship to USA? That Siderno tomato plant looks perfect!
I looked and they talk about supplying Canadian farmers and gardeners, so I am guessing no.
Check out victoryseeds.com they are in the US and have OP tomato seeds. They are sold out for this year.
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Where did you buy the Siderno seeds?
William Dam at damseeds.com They are pricey but I had 100% germination, 2 of 2 planted. Hybrids so I can't save the seeds darn it.
I went to damseeds.com and it seems they only ship to Canada. I am in USA. Do you know if they ship to USA? That Siderno tomato plant looks perfect!
I don't think they do. I am sure you could find something very similar at a USA supplier.
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Two days ago we were in the path of a derecho — basically an inland hurricane. For about three hours we had pelting rain and 80 mph straight line winds. The destruction was horrendous, but fortunately our home (a condo in a brick historical building) was fine. And surprisingly, my garden was fine...even my little poly tunnel wasn’t too mangled and could be put back into place.
The tomatoes are producing like crazy. I’m trying to decide if I should just start canning in small batches, or if I should stockpile my paste tomatoes for awhile and do canning in about a week. I was excited, but these past couple of days of heat have me wondering how much hot indoor work I want to do. I don’t have much freezer space, so canning and drying are my best options.
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@Sun Hat I know what you mean about standing around a pot of boiling water. The humidity is so high the last thing I want to do is heat up the house. I tired canning outside using the gas grill but it isn't hot enough to get the water boiling. Thought of trying to can on my camping cook stove but the fuel is so hard to find in my area, while propane is easily available.
I'm out of freezer space so I'm using the deydrator to preserve some of the veg. Set it up in the basement since it's so much cooler than the rest of the house. Made zucchini chips with olive oil and fajita seasoning. They were so tasty that they were eaten right away. The bland, unseasoned zucchini chips will be used in soups this winter.
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My paste tomatoes are just starting to come....
I hear y'all about the hot kitchen. I bought a gas ring for maple syrup and it is fantastic for canning - I just need a heavier bottom canning kettle to be truly set. I have also used a fairly inexpensive IKEA pot on my induction cook top. Again, to be good for tomatoes, I need to get a lower rack inside to allow for enough water over the jars. The brilliant part of the induction cook top, I can plug it in on the front porch.
I ordered a dehydrator off amazon. It is going to take ten days to arrive. I need it now - the second crop of basil is perfect, right now. The first attempt at drying in a paper bag in the greenhouse resulted in a light brown/grey herb. It seems ok but doesn't look particularly appetizing.
I made salsa verde out of 8 tomatillos. It is so fresh and delicious. I have had really mixed results with cilantro so I am trying again. It would be a shame to have too many tomatillos and no cilantro.
The green beans are the much vaulted orca beans.
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Here in northwest Indiana, my tomatoes are starting to come in full force. I'm growing roma and tasty treat this year, and it will probably be the last year for romas. I get that they are primarily used for sauces, but goodness are they ever bland compared to the tasty treats.
Also, after three years of trying we've finally got pumpkins growing in the yard. Planting pumpkin starts in the yard resulted in lots of pumpkin leaves, but no pumpkins. Last fall, we just let the Halloween pumpkins rot where they were (deer ate them too), and now we've got at least a dozen pumpkins in three separate pumpkin patches.
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We did our second harvest of pears today, and they are looking good. The red ones are Ayers, and the green ones are Kieffer. We'll keep picking, a basket at a time until we can't keep up with them. Then I'll start puree-ing, freezing, and -- in the case of the Kieffers -- wrapping them for root cellar storage. If I get really ambitious I'll try making pear cyser. I've been meaning to do that for years.
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Tomorrow is a big harvest day. It’s been in the mid seventies, which is very comfortable for Iowa in August. I’ve had tons of snacking tomatoes, kale, onions, and herbs. Other than kale and tomatoes nothing has been producing heavily. I suspect it has to do with our hot, dry weather. Since this is our first year on our garden plot, we’ve spent a lot of time preparing the site. Next year we can grow more efficiently and take better advantage of cool season spring weather.
I harvested a few Brussels sprouts today and roasted them. This is the first time I’ve grown them. They tasted okay, but I’m wondering if I should wait until cooler temps to harvest them in the hope that they will be sweeter.
Also, my Malabar spinach is doing well? Any noticeable differences in how it tastes compared to regular spinach?
There is a kind of spinach flavor, with a overlay of being thicker and some Okra characteristics.
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@Trifele Those are beautiful pears.
We need rain badly. We got a little sprinkle but barely wet the ground. I was worried I was losing the crop so started watering, but Mother Nature does a much better job!
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@Trifele Those are beautiful pears.
We need rain badly. We got a little sprinkle but barely wet the ground. I was worried I was losing the crop so started watering, but Mother Nature does a much better job!
We had a downpour this afternoon, showers tonight continuing into tomorrow. We really needed the rain, I hope it rained equally hard at the garden.
My bush beans are nearly finished but the pole beans are starting production. So much easier to pick, and each bean is so much larger. Next year I will still plant some bush beans because they are earlier, but will definitely plant more pole beans, on taller supports.
Recycling: the cardboard carton my freezer came in is now "mulch" at the garden. It should keep the weeds down.
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Spent some time today cleaning up and preserving my latest veg haul. I blanched two ginormous bunches of kale and tossed it in the freezer. I’m now wondering how else to fix it, other than throwing it in soups. I prepped some Malabar spinach for a salad.
The paste tomatoes and small cherries are being slow roasted and turned into sauce in a food mill. I’m kind of shocked at just how many it takes to make sauce and am now wondering if I will be canning much. Depending on how the rest of the season goes I may end up making chow chow or something.
I guess I would say that so far my garden has been an eat as you go endeavor. I’m of two minds about this... on the one hand it’s nice to have enough plus a little extra to share. On the other hand, I think we should be trying to produce enough to have lots preserved. But then when faced with it, I kind of dread the work of anything that can’t be done in small batches. After all, we’re just two people.
Last night I created a slow roasted sheet pan of yellow summer squash, onions, cherry tomatoes, and sweet red peppers with Italian seasoning and took it to a family cookout. Everyone raved, and I was shocked at how much produce I used in just one dish.
Our onions and shallots were fully cured, so I finally cleaned them up and stored them. They won’t last long. We use a ton of them in cooking, and imagine they will be gone in another couple of months. This bums me out. I know onions are cheap and easy to buy, but we love every manner of them and next year want to devote more space to them.
This is our first year gardening in a new location and I’m learning a lot. Some plants (kale and tomatoes) have produced heavily. But, it’s been hot and weird this summer, so our cool season crops have been nothing to write home about so far. We’re doing second cropping, learning to contend with bunnies, and trying to figure out what warrants more space next year. I’m also growing lots of veg I have zero experience with.
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I love kale chips - it meets my need for a salty snack just fine. I would think it would keep for a while if dried enough.
My garlic crop is cured but a large part of the harvest is not going to store well. It is going mushy and mealy. Should I just toss it now? I left it too long in the ground.
This fall I am going to start with seed garlic in case this is a disease thing. I am also going to plant it out at my parent's farm where there was never been any garlic. I decided to reserve my city garden for crops that I harvest daily and all storage crops will go into the farm where picking can happen once a week. I have staying on top of the weeding so I think I can plant onions, garlic, carrots, beets and the black beans out there with the potatoes, curcubits and roma tomatoes.
My city garden has a soil problem. This fall I am going to have to undertake a massive amendment effort. I used a commercial fertilizer on a bunch of the struggling tomatoes and peppers. Boom, they all perked up.
My plan is to:
dig a trench 18 inches wide and six inches deep
fill trench halfway with leaves, manure, compost, straw
place half of excavated soil back
add another couple of inches of well rotted manure
add remaining soil.
I will try to do all the rows I currently have (12) but if this is too much, I will start with a few and work my way across the garden.
Good news: all the seedlings that I plunked into the ground beyond the garden fence are thriving and setting fruit. They look better than the ones in the garden which is demoralizing on one hand, but at least I might get a few more tomatoes!
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Paraphrased from the Ball Book of Canning and Preserving:
In a food processor or blender, add:
1 garlic clove (I used 3 because no one gets to tell me how much garlic is too much)
1 hot green pepper
1 tsp grated ginger
Blend until it's all in really little bits, then add:
1c mint
1c cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c lemon juice
1/2 tsp cumin powder (optional)
Blend until smooth. You can add a wee bit of water if necessary. I've also followed a recipe that calls for apple cider vinegar, so if you don't want to literally water down the goodness, add a splash of that. Pour/smear into an ice cube tray. Clean food processor with naan (or your face if you can get it in there - just don't waste the goodness).
So I just made a batch of this using peppermint @Sun Hat -- and I cannot. stop. eating. it. So delicious! I'm smearing it on naan and topping with slices of avocado. YUMMMMM . . .
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@Trifele I'm so glad that you're enjoying it as much as I do. I've been encouraging my mint to grow faster just so that I can make more! Next year I have to try growing cilantro too.
Me too! I didn't grow cilantro this year and I regretted it. There are two or three things I make regularly with cilantro, so next year I need a good size patch of it.
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How is it going gardeners? Anyone having good luck with fall harvest crops. We are having a lot of heat and little rain so most of the sowing that I have been doing have not been very successful.
The pole beans have been crazy productive. Since we can barely keep up, I have been letting some of the beans ripen to the point that they will be eaten as shelled beans. Last night I added 1/2 cup to fried rice last night. They were delicious.
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Going well here! Most of the fall crops are doing well. We've been lucky with some moderate weather -- not too hot or dry. The sugar snap peas look really beautiful, as do the kale, spinach, chard, and lettuce. The carrots look healthy, but they're growing very slowly for some reason.
Exceptions are the cabbage (which is being munched to death by the cabbage worms, way worse than in the spring) and the pak choi, which is falling victim to the flea beetles. I guess it was just too early for those two? I'm going to do a succession planting this week and see if they do better. Ah well, that's why I planted a big variety this fall -- you gotta figure not everything will do well.
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Too damn hot to garden - can't wait for late October to start living in the garden again.
AVOCADOS - harvest time!
Ripe and glorious - from our 40ft - 70yr old tree.
We'll be sharing with the neighbors and co-workers.
BANANAS - one dwarf and one full size
Tried for the first time this year - growing well but no sign of bananas yet.
The Vanilla Ice Cream Banana Tree grew from two inches to 12 feet since April - and drumroll - has a two foot pup, super exciting:).
The dwarf banana grew from two inches to three feet so far - will reach six feet, no pups - yet.
MORINGA TREE
WOW - grew from 12 inches to over 20ft since April. Turned into a slim, pretty, lacy leaved tree.
Lovely scented creamy white blooms and plenty of seeds.
My plan is to harvest and dry the leaves from one branch (testing) and save the seeds - in the next couple of weeks.
TROPICAL BLACKBERRY JAM BUSHES
Grew between 4 inches to 8 inches since April.
Talk about slow growers, I do hope they will survive the summer - started out with 12? seedlings - four are still alive and looking good.
AFRICAN BLUE BASIL - Bees love it and it smells heavenly!
I now have seven bushes - three mega-sized four to five foot bushes and four regular-sized - two to three foot.
All planted from 4 to 6in baby plants taken from the six year old mother plant.
You can hear the buzzing of the uber gentle bees whenever I cut a bit for cooking.
TAPIOCA PLANT - CASSAVA - YUCA (Manihot)
My, what a pretty plant this is. Lovely bright green and cream, variegated, umbrella leaves with deep-red side branches.
Yes, you can eat the roots and it is apparently a huge crop around the world, but I planted it for it's beauty. Grew from two inches to three feet.
I noticed how now that the heat index is over 100 it droops in the day time - I really want to keep it alive and hopefully grow more next year.
It was rather expensive since they touted it as a rare tropical plant but Youtube says it is easy to propagate, just stick the main stem in water and be sure to protect it from the cold. I'd like to try several in different locations in the garden - maybe I can find the perfect spot to make it happy.
Fingers crossed it will live until October even if I have to baby it a bit in it's first year.
This season so far:
The weeds have taken over and everything needs cutting, attention or water. I lost 50% of the new plants that I tried this year, I'm not happy about that.
I gained some lovely perennial beauties and even a few rarities - so it is not all bad.
All in all I think my experimentation paid off, but I suppose if I had a sprinkler system and more help it might actually look great:) despite the heat.
The TARO plants I dug up and replanted were a huge success and are now between five and seven feet.
Looking back, I tried over one hundred new varieties from trees to bushes to flowers and veggies, fruits and rare tropicals.
So much fun:).
Next round will be more about duplicating successes, playing with a ton of seed packages, trying other varieties of passion fruit since I killed my two new plants and finding the honeysuckle plants I want. The rest will be - replanting, dividing, cuttings.
Coffee and Nuts were on my list but didn't happen this year, but they will top my very short wishlist of new things to try this fall and next spring.
LOOKING FORWARD TO FALL
Year two in my newest garden area might just turn into a tropical haven - I can't wait.
Just trying to keep things alive until then.
How does your garden grow? ..... :).
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Wow @Rosy, that is a massive amount of experimentation this year -- love it!
I have a tree question for you and everyone else: So I have a three year old dwarf Japanese persimmon tree that didn't come through the winter very well. It leafed out in spring, but then we were hit with a freakishly late freeze and the whole tree died to the ground. Then in late spring it sent up shoots and made leaves from the roots. It's a little thing now, about a foot tall. I realize we are right at the edge of where it is possible to grow these guys climate-wise, but I have another one that is doing well so far, so I'd like to keep the little damaged dude alive if I can.
I think I have two choices for saving the damaged tree, (1) leave it in the ground and just insulate it to the max this winter, try to bring it through without any further top death, and (2) dig it up, put it in a big pot, and overwinter it inside. Nurse it along and then re-plant it outside next spring.
What do you all think?
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@Trifele - I'd leave him in the ground and uber protect him - give him some extra TLC until he is strong again.
My thinking is he must like the spot or he wouldn't have resprouted so let the roots get stronger and leave him be.
Since my last post
We have almost ripe PAPAYAS!!!
In April I planted two in the ground and one in a pot. They all look good.
The one in the pot is still quite small - maybe three feet, the other in the ground is tall about ten feet - no sign of papayas.
The one with our first papayas has a thicker trunk and immense leaves - it is ten feet plus.
These were plant babies from the neighbor who got them from her dad who is an avid gardener. None of hers - she planted five have papayas yet.
I'll see about posting a pic of the Papaya tree - I feel like a proud mom showing off her new baby.
Looking back I did more experimentation this spring than I realized. Bonus - I still have enough seeds for fall and next spring.
I discovered that my favorite Zinnias reseeded themselves en masse - so now I have to figure out how to transplant the seedlings without killing them.
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We got our very first egg today! 20 weeks after our chickens were hatched, and boy did they let out a little dance party when it happened, too!
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We got our very first egg today! 20 weeks after our chickens were hatched, and boy did they let out a little dance party when it happened, too!
Congratulations! That is special. Lots of us have chickens, so you're in good company here @Mrsweisass!
Thanks for the tree help @Rosy! I will do that. And can't wait to see pictures of the papaya tree -- so cool!
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AVOCADOS - harvest time!
BANANAS - one dwarf and one full size
MORINGA TREE
TROPICAL BLACKBERRY JAM BUSHES
AFRICAN BLUE BASIL - Bees love it and it smells heavenly!
TAPIOCA PLANT - CASSAVA - YUCA (Manihot)
Coffee and Nuts were on my list but didn't happen this year, but they will top my very short wishlist of new things to try this fall and next spring.
wow. this is amazing. you have a veritable food forest!
what recipes do you use with moringa? isn't it really difficult to process coffee fruits/beans?
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Papaya tree - planted in April
The three bottom ones look ready for harvest.
Look at all those blooms turning into papayas:)
[img(https://i.imgur.com/axqa1iy.jpg)][/img]
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Wow - those look stunning
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I've got horsetail popping up in my garden, so the battle starts. I'm going to be doing a massive remediation effort this fall to create more healthy soil which horsetail doesnt like.
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It's fun reading about everyone's experiments and successes! Those are beautiful papayas forming, and congrats on the chicken success @Mrsweisass!
Several things ripening here. Miracle fruit (turns sour food sweet):
(https://i.postimg.cc/d3R752hF/IMG-20200901-135657-490.jpg)
Banana progress the past three weeks, from flower to fruit formation:
(https://i.postimg.cc/3JSrYf56/IMG-20200820-121301-445.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/qqmrBqYn/IMG-20200820-122624-594.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/JnxVKtRg/IMG-20200902-131325-585.jpg)
@Reader I use morninga leaves fresh in smoothies. Apparently every part of the plant can be used for something, lots to experiment with!
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Wow, @Roots&Wings - your bananas look fantastic. I'm green with envy:).
Do bananas fruit in the first year? What, how, and how often do you feed yours?
Your pics made me feel even more excited about our first crop.
@Mrsweisass - congrats on your first eggs!
I would love to have some chickens or other critters in the yard, but it is more daily work than I want to do.
Gardening is all I can handle.
@Reader - the fresh flowers from the Moringa make a lovely tea. You can sprinkle dried leaves ontop of your food or into your smoothie.
Fresh leaves can be part of a salad. I like that - salad on a tree:).
The long seed thingies look like green beans on steroids and you can fix them like green beans as long as they are green (you have to scoop out parts) when you let them dry on the tree you can then use the brown seeds to roast - supposed to taste like peanuts.
You can dry the seeds or plant a new tree.
In our climate it seems to bloom all year around. I really like the scent of the flowers so I want to try to make flower water - like Rosewater only this will be from Moringa.
I bought a small book which includes many Indian and African recipes for stew and sauces ... I bought it because I wanted info about how to grow and harvest Moringa which was well presented, but it also has a fair amount of general info, incl a couple of medicinal recipes and recipes for other products.
The author is a grower and involved with non-profits around the world - so the book is slanted that way.
Moringa by Sanford Holst - published 2011 - I would recommend as an introduction because it covered all the bases. It is a simple book, but I found it very helpful and practical.
Thanks for asking because it made me read up again on what I need to do and I definitely need to cut it down to six feet for one thing. The book explained how to cut and shape the branches too.
Maybe I will try to make some Moringa powder - we'll see.
... most of all I can't wait to use it to filter water - more experiments. This is really an interesting tree.
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That is fantastic moringa information @Rosy, I've learned so much here. Also read somewhere it can be used as plant fertilizer. And water filtration? Hope you keep us posted if you try this!
Do bananas fruit in the first year? What, how, and how often do you feed yours?
Your pics made me feel even more excited about our first crop.
The first crop is very exciting, this'll be crop 5 for me (and crop 6 flower is just starting!) and I still get excited :) Mine fruited after 1.5 years starting out as small 1' plants, this probably varies by variety and conditions, not an expert, but they seem to do really well here.
What I've heard is the best things to feed a banana are 1) another banana (peels, chopped leaves) 2) wood ash and 3) urea. I try to do at least one of those once a month or so, but don't always remember, and now have 15 patches of bananas (the pups multiply fast..."going bananas" is a real thing, this is year 3).
Need to cut off the flower next (this can be eaten too). Be prepared with something to prop them up, they'll topple over from the weight of the fruit (40+ lbs), I just use scrap 2x4 lumber.
One other plant/ experiment I'd like to try is growing yaupon holly (North America's only native caffeinated plant, related to yerba mate) for tea. The local yaupon tea I've had is really good, loaded with antioxidants. Heck, even fancy Harney & Sons is making yaupon tea. Always more to learn :)
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@Roots&Wings thanks for the information on the bananas. My garden friend told me she ended up with 21 plants incl the pups but apparently she ended up with a disease effecting the fruit - so they haven't eaten any, although they produced well.
She uses lots of chemicals - I garden organic, so I wonder if I should even ask her for a pup. I thought it would be fun to have different varieties, but I don't want to bring disease into my garden.
Yes, Moringa does make a great fertilizer - which is good to know since I doubt I'll eat all the leaves on the tree:). We've gotten really good at making compost and right now we have lots of Avocados falling from the tree that the critters have munched on - so I think I'll feed the papaya and the bananas with that.
Here are three shots of our Moringa Tree to give you a better visual.
Bees love the Moringa - this one is a rather large one, not like the small slightly fuzzy ones that are like a buzzing cloud on the Basil bushes.
A ton of different insects like the Moringa - although it seemed like it took about three months before everyone discovered it.
(https://i.imgur.com/2D0b9ra.jpg)
See the fat, long seed pod? Not all of them get this fat, some seed pods are skinnier.
My book said that no matter how many flowers bloom on one branch only one of them will turn into a seed pod.
That means I can use the others for bouquets and to make flower water.
(https://i.imgur.com/OhFszHx.jpg)
This is the top of the tree. I feel bad about cutting it in half,
but the book says if you trim it properly you can train it into a different shape - wider,
with more branches. Uncut it would reach 40ft.
(https://i.imgur.com/i7LcGL0.jpg)
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That is gorgeous @Rosy, I had no idea moringa flowers were so pretty! This is a new plant for me this year.
Sounds like a good move to pass on your neighbors bananas, I don't use any chemicals either (if your neighbor is growing Raja puri, I believe they are known to have some disease issues, Dwarf Cavendish are the ones that have fruited for me). Hoping your banana does well!
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Thanks @Rosy and @Roots&Wings for the moringa tips! Have ordered the book, and would try to see if i can grow a container version of the tree. i live in an apartment, and a room with a particularly sunny window where i grow my basil and mint. will see if i can get a moringa cutting and go from there.
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@Reader - it will grow just fine in a container, but you might not get any flowers, therefore no seed pods either.
Give it as much sun as you can - it loves the heat.
If you can get basil to grow in that window - the Moringa will grow for you too:).
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Down here in South Mississippi we’ve been experimenting with container gardening in the tiny back yard of our townhouse. Mostly in 5 gallon buckets. One thing I have noticed is that lots of plants that say they need full sun still get crushed by ours anywhere close to the summer so I’ve started reading “full sun” as “full sun somewhere farther north”. We’ve just been trying things to see what works well for us. Sweet potatoes, peppers, and tomatoes have done the best so far although we’ve tried a bunch of other stuff with mixed results - started another round seeds (indoors) yesterday - cooler weather plants this time. Also trying out a worm bin but it’s going slow sincethe population is small since I just add worms when I find them in the backyard. All-in-all, it has been a rather expensive but fun way to have fresh jalapeños and tomatoes available with inconsistent timing.
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My one tomato plant was looking very sad and yellow, and possibly diseased. As a precaution, I picked all the green tomatoes and canned salsa verde (I know traditionally it should be tomatillos, but I have a recipe in my book that uses green tomatoes so why not?). Now if the plant dies, I won't be losing any fruit.
I've been getting a slow but steady stream of strawberries - not enough to do anything with, but they're certainly delicious to eat one by one. I've also made several pints of pesto from the basil plants.
My watermelon vines have given up. I can't blame them, after being stepped on repeatedly by careless contractors. They crushed all the baby fruits, and I think it's too hot for the plant to put out more flowers. The cucumber plant is still drying in spite of some of the same treatment, I think we'll get at least 1-2 cucumbers off it.
I also seeded some more chard and beets for a fall crop of greens. Hoping it's not to early and hot for good germination, but we'll see.
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I am having very poor luck with fall crop seed germination. We had some more rain last night, so hopefully something sprouts. The late July beets and greens were a bust.
But the kale I cut back to almost nothing is fully leafed out. I am going to make some kale chips - after carefully inspecting each leaf for caterpillars.
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RAIN - glorious rain - giving the garden a reprieve from the worst of the summer heat.
I am relieved, I think my Cassava-Tapioca Plant is going to make it just fine through it's first year in my new garden area.
It is a tropical plant that will be perennial in our zone 10.
Love the red stems of the branches and the bi-colored leaves.
(https://i.imgur.com/wea1tbd.jpg)
Planted in Mar/Apr at two inches tall - it is now close to 3ft x 3ft tall and wide.
The cream and ivory really makes it pop in the landscape.
My cosmos, the yellow flowers in the background, are still going strong - between five and seven feet tall.
They keep reseeding themselves like crazy:).
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Frost warning tonight - covered what I could. Brought in my house plants.
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Frost warning tonight - covered what I could. Brought in my house plants.
The forecast low at my community garden is 4. I picked a bunch of stuff today. If the rest frosts it frosts. A lot of the gardens have already had everything cleared out.
I have nothing super tender on the balcony, the date palms can take the odd frost. plus I figure the concrete will radiate some heat, and the overhanging balcony will hold some heat. The Norfolk Island Pine and the orchids never go outside.
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Hi all! I'm an avid gardener but haven't posted in this thread because life has been too overwhelming. BUT, I had a Mustachian Tip to share for those who are currently getting tomatoes about making the most of your harvest.
If you, like me, can any tomatoes that requires you to remove the skins (whole peeled tomatoes, diced, etc.) don't throw away the skins! If you make sauce you can add them to the sauce, then put the whole thing through a food mill (if you have one) and then discard. Alternatively, you can dehydrate the skins and pulse them into a powder and add that to soups, stews, pastas that need more tomato flavor.
I wonder if you could take the solids out of the food mill, dehydrate that, and then use in the same way as the last part? Just to get the very most out of your harvest and not waste even the smallest part.
Anyway, happy harvesting!
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We didn't have frost Monday night, the sweet potatoes in a plot near mine were fine. They turn to black slime when frosted. The garden is nearly finished, though. Most tomatoes have been picked. I'm not seeing any baby zucchinis and almost no flowers. Two varieties of squash are all picked, delicata and sweet dumpling, the butternuts are next. I'm leaving the last few pole beans to set seed. The second planting of bush beans is up (pathetic germination) and if the weather warms up like the forecasts are predicting, I might get a bit of a crop. The popcorn silks are all brown so they are pollinated, a month of decent weather should give me a crop. If not, it was a gamble, the corn went in late. They are interesting to look at, instead of one big ear like sweet or field corn, the plants have 2-4 really small ears.
Now my main job is cleanup, get the weeds into the compost bin, get the plant remnants to the main garden collecting point.
Next year I may go back to sweet potatoes instead of squash. They are more compact. The downside is more digging. But I saw squash beetles and cucumber beetles this year, so that makes it iffier to have healthy squash. This year my squash and zucchini were fine, but my cucumbers weren't.
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I wonder if you could take the solids out of the food mill, dehydrate that, and then use in the same way as the last part? Just to get the very most out of your harvest and not waste even the smallest part.
I'd just blend the sauce and call it good, though tomato powder for soups does sound a bit handy to have.
My attitude toward preserving is do whatever is easiest to preserve the most first. If that means more scraps end up in the compost than the 100% best preserving plan would, that's fine - it's better than having larger portions of the harvest end up going to the compost because I had difficulty getting to preserving it.
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I wonder if you could take the solids out of the food mill, dehydrate that, and then use in the same way as the last part? Just to get the very most out of your harvest and not waste even the smallest part.
I'd just blend the sauce and call it good, though tomato powder for soups does sound a bit handy to have.
My attitude toward preserving is do whatever is easiest to preserve the most first. If that means more scraps end up in the compost than the 100% best preserving plan would, that's fine - it's better than having larger portions of the harvest end up going to the compost because I had difficulty getting to preserving it.
Oh, definitely. Tomatoes are just such a high value thing in my house that getting the most out of them is generally worth my while. Other things I'll do whatever's easiest because that's going to be the most efficient use of my time.
This year I am trying to do more canning than freezing, however. The way we've been pandemic shopping, freezer space is at a premium. So far so good. I don't even feel like I've been slaving away unduly over the canner, more's the miracle.
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We are four nights of frost predicted. I am going to give up trying to protect the garden - except for the newly sprouted greens. Damn it is over too soon.
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We are four nights of frost predicted. I am going to give up trying to protect the garden - except for the newly sprouted greens. Damn it is over too soon.
We were forecast frost last night and tonight, I am also giving up. Everything dead (except the corn, I hope) means easier garden cleanup. Then plant the garlic around Halloween and I will be done for the year.
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Overdue for an update here. Fall garden is going really well here in Zone 7a. It's my first time doing a serious fall garden, rather than just one or two things. It's fun -- like a whole second growing season -- and a great learning process. Very grateful for my retired status to have the time, and my growing region for the mild weather. We're probably 3-4 weeks out from the first frost.
Lettuce -- Going nuts! It looks great, and nothing is eating it but us. How can that be? I've got four different varieties going. So tender and beautiful.
Cucumbers -- Just finished. The 41 degrees we had the other night did them in. They did great this year.
Carrots -- Doing well. I think I missed the timing on them somehow. Not sure they're growing fast enough to finish before hard frost, but they look good.
Spinach -- Looks good too. I tried a new variety (Winter Giant) and it's a winner. The germination wasn't super strong, but the plants are champs. Huge and can withstand cut-and-come-again. I'll definitely plant again.
Cabbage -- I first planted out plants at the beginning of August, and that was too early. The cabbage moths mowed them down and the crop was a loss. I replanted September 1 with some plants I bought and that seems to be about the right timing. Plants are doing much better now that we've had a few cool nights. Seems to have knocked back the cabbage moths.
Broccoli -- Plants look good, but they're not growing very fast. Not sure they'll have enough time to bloom before hard frost. I think maybe I messed up the timing on those.
Turnips -- Look fabulous. You can't get a turnip down. :)
Kale -- Doing great. Grows like a weed.
Sugar Snap Peas -- Are going bonkers! Star of the fall garden so far. They are 7 feet tall and look super happy. Looks like I hit the timing exactly right with them. They're covered with flowers and we should have a good crop. This is my first time ever doing fall peas, and it's going great!
In about a month I'll probably start to clean up, fertilize, plant garlic, and get ready for winter.
What a great season!
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crikey - @Trifele - am I ever jealous. My fall peas look anemic. None of the many sowings of green germinated. I am going to sow some more seed in the greenhouse and hope for the best. We are getting 26C today. And have had zero rain for two weeks.
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All of our tomatoes are picked. I have a large sheet pan full of ripe tomatoes and not sure what to do with them. I don't can and have no more freezer space. Any suggestions? I know the usual spaghetti sauce which I have made and I make a mean roasted tomato sauce with garlic sauce. Anyone make tomato soup? Some kind of tomato casserole?
I also have a big box of green tomatoes that I am hoping will very slowly ripen so I can have them for at least a month or even better two months! Th box has a lid that I close 3/4 of the way. I have not done this before, so no idea how slowly they will ripen.
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Forgot to add -- I've been harvesting tons of herbs this year for the first time. I've been drying peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, anise hyssop, and lavender for tea, and thyme and oregano for cooking. I've dried them by laying them out on the counter on newspaper and covering with a thin layer of paper towel to keep the dust off. It's kind of a slow process because I'm limited by the counter space.
I've been thinking of possible other ways to do it. I have some window screens that I use in the garden for shade. I could spread the herbs on those and lay them out in the garden shed. That should work if the weather is fairly dry, but I'd have to figure out how to keep them clean. Maybe a bed sheet . . .
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Dehydrator. I had a great time with mine, it's still out because I want to try apple slices coated in cinnamon.
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I too have been dehydrating herbs. Way superior to the dusty/sometimes moldy/bleached ones I got the old fashioned way.
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Ok! Two votes for a dehydrator. I’m off to search Craigslist. :)
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Forgot to add -- I've been harvesting tons of herbs this year for the first time. I've been drying peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, anise hyssop, and lavender for tea, and thyme and oregano for cooking. I've dried them by laying them out on the counter on newspaper and covering with a thin layer of paper towel to keep the dust off. It's kind of a slow process because I'm limited by the counter space.
I've been thinking of possible other ways to do it. I have some window screens that I use in the garden for shade. I could spread the herbs on those and lay them out in the garden shed. That should work if the weather is fairly dry, but I'd have to figure out how to keep them clean. Maybe a bed sheet . . .
I just tie them in (small) bundles and hang them from my curtain rods and also from a couple of those narrow photo display shelves in the dining room and kitchen.
I like how that looks and it works well.
Regardless, this time a year, half my kitchen counter always holds trays layered with paper towels stacked on top of each other crosswise for drying something (lemon balm at the moment) including pods full of seeds I harvested.
Maybe I should finally try out the dehydrator I picked up at Aldi three years ago:). Pitiful - I know...
I found the shed too dusty, not enough air circulation.
@Trifele - your garden sounds so bountiful!
I've been weeding for a week, clearing space and evaluating how year one faired in my newest garden area. As long as I start between seven and seven thirty I can work until ten, before it becomes too humid - unfortunately the heat is back after a couple of days of reprieve.
Today I had some serious help from Mr. R. so I think in two or three more days I can declare that part of the garden ready for fall gardening.
Well, as soon as I composted and mulched and said good-bye to the dwarf apples - I hate to give up on them, but I concede defeat after six years.
Trouble in paradise - whitefly
It spread from the Canna Lilies to the dwarf banana - damn - damn.
So I cut as much as possible from the banana and cut down 90% of the Canna Lilies, then hosed off each remaining leaf meticulously.
I'm holding off on using soap and water on the leaves since it is still way too hot, I'm afraid it will kill off my banana.
So I've resigned myself to whitefly vigilante duties for a while.
The big banana lives in the back and so far has not been attacked - thank goodness for that.
If anyone has any experience with fighting off whitefly please tell me what else I can do.
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@Rosy — we have banana trees, but I’ve never heard of whitefly, so I don’t think we have those here. It sounds nasty — sorry you are having to go through that.
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All of our tomatoes are picked. I have a large sheet pan full of ripe tomatoes and not sure what to do with them. I don't can and have no more freezer space. Any suggestions? I know the usual spaghetti sauce which I have made and I make a mean roasted tomato sauce with garlic sauce. Anyone make tomato soup? Some kind of tomato casserole?
I also have a big box of green tomatoes that I am hoping will very slowly ripen so I can have them for at least a month or even better two months! Th box has a lid that I close 3/4 of the way. I have not done this before, so no idea how slowly they will ripen.
Well, the one year that we had a bumper crop of tomatoes:
Sauces
1. I made five different sauces, the Vodka sauce and the Florentine sauce with spinach were a huge hit, my favorite was a very fine, simmered for five hours Bolognese Sauce. Delish.
Soups
2. I don't remember which recipe I used for the tomato soup it called for whipping cream and Vodka.
Something like this Rachel Ray Creamy Tomato-Vodka Soup
https://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/creamy-tomato-vodka-soup
I also tried a Tomato Puree Soup with lots of carrots which was excellent - strangely enough you couldn't taste the carrots at all. It was way more work than a soup should be:).
Don't forget about Minestrone - best with a quarter cup of wine:) - you can hide plenty of tomatoes in there along with your garden produce and white beans.
OR one of my favs - Tomato Barley Vegetable soup (you only need half a cup of barley and of course half a cup of red wine:) (Zucchini, Cauliflower, Onions)
I like Thyme and Chili Flakes in mine along with Celery seeds - but some recipes call for fennel seeds and cumin seeds if you prefer that.
3. Stuffed Tomatoes
Mozzarella and basil stuffed tomatoes
... or fill with sausage and rice ... plenty of recipes on google
pair with rice/beans and cucumber salad.
4. Tomato Frittata
The tomato frittata was so fun and colorful - it is essentially a big skillet omelet, the secret is that you add milk/cream to the eggs and sautee on medium then change to low heat and add a heavy well fitting lid.
Big tomato slices arranged in an eye-pleasing pattern as if it were a cake. Add anything you like, green onions, Italian seasoning or Herbs de Provence, even kernels of corn for color and sweetness and of course your favorite Italian cheese or Feta or goat cheese - your options are endless.
Serve with home made bread or on a bed of rice.
5. Instead of a casserole - consider a quiche!
You could keep it pure with just tomato and onion maybe with Ricotta
or use spinach or whatever is growing in your garden.
My old, beloved Quiche cookbook suggests a filling of:
6 large tomatoes
100g Mascarpone Cheese or Cream Cheese
3 eggs
50g Gruyere Cheese flakes
Key is that you slice the tomatoes in half and roast at 200 degrees for 40 min first - on a grate atop a cookie sheet. Then cool off a little and remove the skin. Cut each half in four slices.
The remaining ingredients are slowly beaten into the eggs. Fill your quiche and place the tomato slices on top. Bake for 20 minutes.
They suggest adding herbs to your quiche crust like garlic chives and parsley.
*** Personally, I am very fond of smoked gouda or smoked white cheddar which when slightly melted with tomato slices on toast -
is simply divine, quick and easy too. Love that paired with a special salad.
6. Bake your own - tomato-basil bread or add cheese/eggs and make breakfast muffins.
Garden fresh croissant with cream cheese, garlic chives, basil and tomato, cucumbers.
Then there is always the classic Balsamic Brushetta.
Salad - Pesto - Salsa
Pico de Gallo-Salsa or Caprese Salad
Of course a spicy tomato juice drink or an awesome home made Bloody Mary for Sunday Brunch at home is a winner in my book too:).
Hope that gives you some ideas - sorry, didn't mean to write a book, but hey, I like to cook.
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I spent three and a half hours out at the farm preparing the garlic bed. I have 3 kilos of garlic to plant this year. Given the sad state of the harvest - a lot of mushy buggy bulbs, I decided that I would be planting only at the farm and only with brand new seed garlic. There have been no onions planted there ever so I should be great!
The soil is really compacted so I worked the fork in as deep as I could go for four double rows. I have some lovely loose trenches ready for the cloves to go in on Sunday. I will then mulch heavily with some old straw.
I found a stray acorn squash and dug two potato plants. The potatoes are plentiful.
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I spent three and a half hours out at the farm preparing the garlic bed. I have 3 kilos of garlic to plant this year. Given the sad state of the harvest - a lot of mushy buggy bulbs, I decided that I would be planting only at the farm and only with brand new seed garlic. There have been no onions planted there ever so I should be great!
The soil is really compacted so I worked the fork in as deep as I could go for four double rows. I have some lovely loose trenches ready for the cloves to go in on Sunday. I will then mulch heavily with some old straw.
I found a stray acorn squash and dug two potato plants. The potatoes are plentiful.
Can you plant garlic that early? When I talked to a bunch of growers here (we had a garlic festival 2 years ago) they said mid-October at the earliest, Halloween is perfect. It gives lots of time for root growth but prevents much top growth until spring. And you are warmer than we are.
My raised beds should be nice and loose. My garlic in the pot made tiny bulbs, so it is all getting planted, not eaten.
Yay potatoes!
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My garden has just been kind of on its own lately, but somehow it's doing OK. Needless to say I did not get fall crops in like I wanted, but it looks like we'll have collards, kale, chard, celery leaves and parsnips for the next couple months anyway.
Tomatoes continue to be lackluster. I've canned one batch of tomato soup and cooked down some sauce that went in the freezer. I'm hoping the weather holds long enough to get enough tomatoes to can. My tried and true varieties are just less productive and smaller than usual, but at least they taste good.
OTOH, all the cucurbits have been cranking. This was my first year growing Canada Crook(neck) squash, and I've got loads of it. We at the first one the other night, and it was delicious; sweet and cream roasted under a chicken. I've already fermented 3 1/2 gallon jars of pickles, and most of the rest of the cukes are going straight in the compost, as did the 7# zucchinis I harvested the other day.
I'm hoping I can figure out what variety of broccoli I have, because it's been producing side sprouts all summer. I only had two plants, but will put in more next year and we'll eat broccoli all summer.
The green beans were producing empty pods for a while, but now they're back to normal, and doing one last hurrah before they shut down.
Project for this fall is to dig up ALL the horseradish and try to get it contained in a smaller area. Right now it's taking up about 6x16' of bed space, and no one needs that much horseradish.
One of my two apple trees produced well this year. A few days ago I picked about a bushel of apples, and have a nice apple crisp baking as I type this.
And figs! I got a handful of delicious ripe figs yesterday. Hoping some more have a chance to ripen in the next couple weeks.
Clearly it's fall, because my okra are struggling to produce pods suddenly. I'm hoping for enough to do one more batch of gumbo. Sadly the pretty red variety I grew this year was not productive, but my other one (Eagle Pass, I think) produced pretty well. I just need to put in more than 3 plants next year.
For this fall, the big projects will be replacing the roof on the greenhouse, and the afore-mentioned horseradish containment.
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All of our tomatoes are picked. I have a large sheet pan full of ripe tomatoes and not sure what to do with them. I don't can and have no more freezer space. Any suggestions? I know the usual spaghetti sauce which I have made and I make a mean roasted tomato sauce with garlic sauce. Anyone make tomato soup? Some kind of tomato casserole?
I also have a big box of green tomatoes that I am hoping will very slowly ripen so I can have them for at least a month or even better two months! Th box has a lid that I close 3/4 of the way. I have not done this before, so no idea how slowly they will ripen.
Well, the one year that we had a bumper crop of tomatoes:
Sauces
1. I made five different sauces, the Vodka sauce and the Florentine sauce with spinach were a huge hit, my favorite was a very fine, simmered for five hours Bolognese Sauce. Delish.
Soups
2. I don't remember which recipe I used for the tomato soup it called for whipping cream and Vodka.
Something like this Rachel Ray Creamy Tomato-Vodka Soup
https://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/creamy-tomato-vodka-soup
I also tried a Tomato Puree Soup with lots of carrots which was excellent - strangely enough you couldn't taste the carrots at all. It was way more work than a soup should be:).
Don't forget about Minestrone - best with a quarter cup of wine:) - you can hide plenty of tomatoes in there along with your garden produce and white beans.
OR one of my favs - Tomato Barley Vegetable soup (you only need half a cup of barley and of course half a cup of red wine:) (Zucchini, Cauliflower, Onions)
I like Thyme and Chili Flakes in mine along with Celery seeds - but some recipes call for fennel seeds and cumin seeds if you prefer that.
3. Stuffed Tomatoes
Mozzarella and basil stuffed tomatoes
... or fill with sausage and rice ... plenty of recipes on google
pair with rice/beans and cucumber salad.
4. Tomato Frittata
The tomato frittata was so fun and colorful - it is essentially a big skillet omelet, the secret is that you add milk/cream to the eggs and sautee on medium then change to low heat and add a heavy well fitting lid.
Big tomato slices arranged in an eye-pleasing pattern as if it were a cake. Add anything you like, green onions, Italian seasoning or Herbs de Provence, even kernels of corn for color and sweetness and of course your favorite Italian cheese or Feta or goat cheese - your options are endless.
Serve with home made bread or on a bed of rice.
5. Instead of a casserole - consider a quiche!
You could keep it pure with just tomato and onion maybe with Ricotta
or use spinach or whatever is growing in your garden.
My old, beloved Quiche cookbook suggests a filling of:
6 large tomatoes
100g Mascarpone Cheese or Cream Cheese
3 eggs
50g Gruyere Cheese flakes
Key is that you slice the tomatoes in half and roast at 200 degrees for 40 min first - on a grate atop a cookie sheet. Then cool off a little and remove the skin. Cut each half in four slices.
The remaining ingredients are slowly beaten into the eggs. Fill your quiche and place the tomato slices on top. Bake for 20 minutes.
They suggest adding herbs to your quiche crust like garlic chives and parsley.
*** Personally, I am very fond of smoked gouda or smoked white cheddar which when slightly melted with tomato slices on toast -
is simply divine, quick and easy too. Love that paired with a special salad.
6. Bake your own - tomato-basil bread or add cheese/eggs and make breakfast muffins.
Garden fresh croissant with cream cheese, garlic chives, basil and tomato, cucumbers.
Then there is always the classic Balsamic Brushetta.
Salad - Pesto - Salsa
Pico de Gallo-Salsa or Caprese Salad
Of course a spicy tomato juice drink or an awesome home made Bloody Mary for Sunday Brunch at home is a winner in my book too:).
Hope that gives you some ideas - sorry, didn't mean to write a book, but hey, I like to cook.
Wow, thanks! What a lot of ideas!
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@RetiredAt63 the packaging recommended planting before October 15th and I have time this weekend....so that is why I was going to do it tomorrow.
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@RetiredAt63 the packaging recommended planting before October 15th and I have time this weekend....so that is why I was going to do it tomorrow.
Aha, makes perfect sense. I'm holding off, we can see how things turn out. Or, we could be scientific, both plant half now and half late October. Mine are tiny, I'm sure your bought ones are much larger.
Other thought, are yours soft neck or hard neck? Mine are hard neck, they do better in cold climates.
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My coffee plant seeds arrived today!:)
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@RetiredAt63 the packaging recommended planting before October 15th and I have time this weekend....so that is why I was going to do it tomorrow.
Aha, makes perfect sense. I'm holding off, we can see how things turn out. Or, we could be scientific, both plant half now and half late October. Mine are tiny, I'm sure your bought ones are much larger.
Other thought, are yours soft neck or hard neck? Mine are hard neck, they do better in cold climates.
No idea - I think it is called music...I am not so good at being scientific.....I would probably forget to plant the second batch!
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@RetiredAt63 the packaging recommended planting before October 15th and I have time this weekend....so that is why I was going to do it tomorrow.
Aha, makes perfect sense. I'm holding off, we can see how things turn out. Or, we could be scientific, both plant half now and half late October. Mine are tiny, I'm sure your bought ones are much larger.
Other thought, are yours soft neck or hard neck? Mine are hard neck, they do better in cold climates.
No idea - I think it is called music...I am not so good at being scientific.....I would probably forget to plant the second batch!
Music is a hard neck.
I can be scientific for both of us if you want to try it. You plant 1/2 now, I'll plant 1/2 soon as I have the spot ready. Then when I plant the second half I remind you.
Of course it's a lot easier to plant all at once, no gaps, no overlap.
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Oops...I was on a roll and planted it all. I have a lot going on and can't be certain I would get it in by the 15th as recommended by William Dam.
I planted all three kgs. Soil is so dry. Very little rain forecast.
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Oops...I was on a roll and planted it all. I have a lot going on and can't be certain I would get it in by the 15th as recommended by William Dam.
I planted all three kgs. Soil is so dry. Very little rain forecast.
3 kg, that is a LOT! I have 6 tiny bulbs with about 2 cloves each. They really didn't like the pot.
They are dormant now, they will get going once the rains come.
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Oops...I was on a roll and planted it all. I have a lot going on and can't be certain I would get it in by the 15th as recommended by William Dam.
I planted all three kgs. Soil is so dry. Very little rain forecast.
3 kg, that is a LOT! I have 6 tiny bulbs with about 2 cloves each. They really didn't like the pot.
They are dormant now, they will get going once the rains come.
half is for me and half for my neighbour who owns the land of my in town garden.
I planted way too many potatoes. I dug about 50 pounds today and that is probably only a fifth of what I grew. Lots of long rows still to dig. They are huge potatoes this year.
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Oops...I was on a roll and planted it all. I have a lot going on and can't be certain I would get it in by the 15th as recommended by William Dam.
I planted all three kgs. Soil is so dry. Very little rain forecast.
3 kg, that is a LOT! I have 6 tiny bulbs with about 2 cloves each. They really didn't like the pot.
They are dormant now, they will get going once the rains come.
half is for me and half for my neighbour who owns the land of my in town garden.
I planted way too many potatoes. I dug about 50 pounds today and that is probably only a fifth of what I grew. Lots of long rows still to dig. They are huge potatoes this year.
Wow that’s a lot of potatoes @Frugal Lizard! Fabulous. If you can’t eat them all yourself, maybe a local food bank that takes farm produce donations?
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@Trifele - I have three brothers with families and the family on whose land most of the food grows, is six in size, but I truly think I was way too ambitious. Yesterday I gave my stepmom, her mom, her brother, their friend and my stepbrother bags of potatoes. And two neighbours. So that took care of about 12 pounds! I took a picture of my three year old nephew holding one of the larger potatoes and it is almost as big as his head.
I do have a food pantry I have been donating to all summer whenever the harvest allows. They are thrilled. Two weeks ago, all the tomatoes went off happily to them.
Also I have been "selling" to the neighbours and then donating the cash to the food pantry. So far the cash collection has been $110 dollars for the beans, greens and tomatillos.
I also grew over 100 pounds of squash. I want to store the correct amount! I want to try making some squash leather with my dehydrator
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Wow your production is amazing @Frugal Lizard! Very impressive.
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Oops...I was on a roll and planted it all. I have a lot going on and can't be certain I would get it in by the 15th as recommended by William Dam.
I planted all three kgs. Soil is so dry. Very little rain forecast.
@Frugal Lizard How many bulbs/cloves is 3 kg? I'm looking at my garlic (several varieties) and thinking most weeds I small it will take 2 years to get them back to a good size. So I'm going to order from William Dam today. I'd like 15-20 cloves, which means 3-4 bulbs if each bulb has about 5 cloves.
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Oops...I was on a roll and planted it all. I have a lot going on and can't be certain I would get it in by the 15th as recommended by William Dam.
I planted all three kgs. Soil is so dry. Very little rain forecast.
@Frugal Lizard How many bulbs/cloves is 3 kg? I'm looking at my garlic (several varieties) and thinking most weeds I small it will take 2 years to get them back to a good size. So I'm going to order from William Dam today. I'd like 15-20 cloves, which means 3-4 bulbs if each bulb has about 5 cloves.
One kilo had at least 24 bulbs. The bulbs ranged from in size, but some had six-seven cloves. Some had four huge cloves. The bag was about four cups of cloves once they were all separated.
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Oops...I was on a roll and planted it all. I have a lot going on and can't be certain I would get it in by the 15th as recommended by William Dam.
I planted all three kgs. Soil is so dry. Very little rain forecast.
@Frugal Lizard How many bulbs/cloves is 3 kg? I'm looking at my garlic (several varieties) and thinking most weeds I small it will take 2 years to get them back to a good size. So I'm going to order from William Dam today. I'd like 15-20 cloves, which means 3-4 bulbs if each bulb has about 5 cloves.
One kilo had at least 24 bulbs. The bulbs ranged from in size, but some had six-seven cloves. Some had four huge cloves. The bag was about four cups of cloves once they were all separated.
Thanks, that is really useful.
I gave away quite a bit of my garlic harvest last year. Not sure if that will happen this year, who knows with Covid. But planting more is better than not planting enough, so 500 gms is the order.
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@Frugal Lizard - you are my new hero. Feeding people is awesome. You garden is unbelievably productive.
Not only are you blessed but you are a blessing to many:).
For 2020/2021 I've decided to keep developing the new garden area into a food forest aka tropical garden with permaculture influences.
New this fall.....
SWEET CHERRIES:) - yay!
Cherry of the Rio Grande Eugenia Involucrata aggregata
White blooms, dark(ish) red cherries. Columnar -10-20ft
At this point I don't care what shape or size they are I am just happy to find cherries that might survive and thrive in our climate, especially since the apples failed.
COFFEE ARABICA
I bit the bullet and ordered three coffee plantlings. I also have seeds but they take 60-90 days...
We'll see. I would have done this years ago if I had only known that you can grow coffee in my region.
GINGER
1. Common Ginger - for cooking and tea.
To fill in spaces in the back as an understory plant - so it can spread and be easily harvested.
2. Yellow Turmeric Ginger
For that tropical garden feel. Beautiful and scented - who can resist?
"Scented", "white" flowers and tropical foliage, the rhizomes are a staple in Indian cuisine so I might try them once I have a nice patch.
(https://i.imgur.com/AW06iFz.jpg)
3. Shampoo Ginger - Zingiber Zerumbet
I had to have this one the minute I found out it existed.
Yes, it is instant shampoo and conditioner.
Paul Mitchell made it famous - it is used in his Awapuhi Shampoo.
(https://i.imgur.com/mE7Gzza.jpg)
A preppers deam plant:) - It has several medicinal uses, good for your skin and no, you can't eat this ginger, but it is used as perfume in some products.
It smells nice, looks pretty and is a trouble free, spreading tropical - will do well under the bananas.
My kinda plant, it is useful, takes care of itself and is perennial.
4. Adding a different BANANA
That will give me three different bananas and one freebie banana pup already almost five ft high.
5. ORNAMENTAL - TROPICALS
Love-in-a-Mist Passionflower Vine - what's not to love?:).
(https://i.imgur.com/JDEmJjA.jpg)
There is no way I could resist this scented beauty once I saw it, besides I needed something to cover my new double garden arch.
Strictly speaking this one also has edible fruit too, but it is being grown for it's scent and its beauty, so I will leave the fruit for the birds.
HELICONIA - for that tropical look.
I only bought one - we'll see how it does. I've tried years ago but none ever survived the hot summers.
Maybe this new garden area is better suited to them in a partially shaded area.
https://i.etsystatic.com/5812231/r/il/86aa4c/997214309/il_794xN.997214309_9n43.jpg
LOBSTER CLAW - I have several already in other areas of the garden, so I'll just be moving a couple, this stuff can become invasive.
Anyway - it is a freebie and in the right spot it is a beauty to behold.
(https://i.imgur.com/IfH7XQs.jpg)
FINAL TREE DECISIONS
I wanted something evergreen, easy no care:) with cool tropical blooms. These are the last two additions, I'm officially out of space.
That means I ended up with
PRODUCTIVE
Papayas (3), Bananas (3), Blackberry Jam bushes (2), Cherries (2), Moringa (1), Florida Cranberry (2), Elderberry (2-4), Avocado (1), coffee bushes (3)
ORNAMENTAL - new this fall
WHITE POWDERPUFF - soft like a kitten:)
I am so excited I finally found a white one. We have two 'red' powderpuffs in other parts of the garden. So I know they are easy care once established and they bloom practically all year long - even in the winter.
The leaves are so feathery and airy and it stays a small tree that is easy to shape if you wish.
(https://i.imgur.com/8YjnN8m.jpg)
PRIDE OF BARBADOS - a rare beauty, gorgeous blooms in a great rose color fringed with a creamy vanilla. Small tree/bush.
I had to settle for seeds, could not find a plant anywhere. I searched for this one specific color ever since I spotted it at the Ford Estate botanical garden in Ft. Myers fifteen years ago.
More about that later.
VEGETABLE
I've wanted Egyptian Walking Onions like forever - the bulbs arrived yesterday, to be planted tomorrow.
They look so cool - hopefully they will do fine in our climate.
It is time for choosing which seeds to plant. I changed my mind a million times already.
All I know is I have more seed packets than space:).
So there you go - moving right along with fall gardening.
I'm out of space and out of budget, except for hardscape and maintenance.
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First signs of fall this morning - it is, wait for it! - only 70 degrees at almost ten a.m. and will only get up to 80 today and tomorrow.
Cooler, drier air - Northwind.
Even better, last night we had rain come through! We can open all the windows in the house this morning.
Of course it will not last, but maybe it will last until this weekend, before the heat and humidity returns.
For now - life is good, it is a pleasure to work in the garden:).
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@Rosy - you make me blush. I am indeed blessed in so many ways. Gardening has been my solace through PTSD symptoms and deep grief. Harvests are a byproduct of caring for my mental health. I am fortunate to have this outlet.
Those tropical plants are so very gorgeous. I love sour cherries but it is too cold here. I love the vicarious gardening!
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@Rosy - you make me blush. I am indeed blessed in so many ways. Gardening has been my solace through PTSD symptoms and deep grief. Harvests are a byproduct of caring for my mental health. I am fortunate to have this outlet.
Those tropical plants are so very gorgeous. I love sour cherries but it is too cold here. I love the vicarious gardening!
Sour cherries are hardier than sweet cherries. I had sour cherries in zone 4a,and some of the newer varieties are pretty sweet (Romeo and Juliet, for example). Maybe there is more than one kind of sour cherry?
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The trees seem to be ok but they always seem to blossom when it is too cold and fruit doesn't seem to develop.
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The trees seem to be ok but they always seem to blossom when it is too cold and fruit doesn't seem to develop.
They are hardier than the bees, I guess.
Actually honey bees are special snowflakes at times. You need these:
https://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/what-we-do/resource-centre/featured-species/insects-and-spiders/blue-orchard-mason-bee.html
You are warm enough that you can grow sweet cherries. I was in too cold an area for them. I definitely lost more cherries to birds (and the odd raccoon) than I did to failure to pollinate. I did lose more apples to failure to pollinate, but that was just in years that nothing that bloomed early got pollinated due to long cold wet springs.
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I love the sweet, dark cherries but the few tropical cherries that grow here are all tart.
So I'm hoping the Rio Grande cherries will do fine and survive the summer heat especially if I put them in the ground now.
Pics from this morning of our two
PRIDE OF BARBADOS
This is the orange variety - we love it. We planted one on each side of the Royal Poinciana Tree.
One of many blooms on the baby plant I planted this spring - grown from the seed of the mother plant last year.
It is already about three feet tall and full of blooms. I'm thinking of selling or trading some of my seeds.
(https://i.imgur.com/CzQUm69.jpg)
To give you some context - this is the mature bush or small tree up to 10-12 feet.
About 10 or 15 years old.
I cut it back drastically in February, because it was growing wider and taller than we wanted.
(https://i.imgur.com/Iwcuyst.jpg)
It is a butterfly magnet.
A Gulf Fritillary stopped by this morning. I've counted at least ten different varieties of butterflies if not more.
We have more Monarchs this year than ever before.
(https://i.imgur.com/QUOxK0B.jpg)
They do get blousy looking blooms around this time of year and they start setting lots of seed pods.
We love the exuberant bright colors of the orange variety but the pink/rose/magenta looks like a completely different species,
more elegant and fragile somehow.
I started the seeds for the pink variety with vanilla cream fringes today - I tried two different methods - wish me luck.
This is a difficult plant to photograph and do it justice. A few years ago I made a project out of
capturing as many different butterflies on the blooms as possible.
(https://i.imgur.com/0ID75YP.jpg)
Enjoy your fall gardening everyone!
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those are gorgeous
I picked enough beans to shell and make a minestone soup with. I shelled them during a lunch break.
I have a sweet cherry in a bush form, but so far (four years) haven't gotten a fruit set. In fact, none of the fruit trees I have planted have yielded any pears, plums or nectarines. The nectarines died in fact.
I am ever hopeful though....
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Gorgeous pictures @Rosy! Surreal!
@Frugal Lizard, sorry if I missed it but do you grow apples? I would think your location would be good for those? I used to live in Upstate NY, and they did really well there.
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Kudos to William Dam Seed and Canada Post . I ordered my garlic online the evening of September 29 and it arrived today. Now I know why shipping was expensive, it was Priority Post.
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Okay, I need some help! We have two raised garden beds and they are galvanized cattle water troughs. Quite large and perfect to grow my tomatoes. I plant marigolds around them to keep bugs away and it seems to work. This summer was hellish hot and we had weeks and weeks of 90+ temperatures. We watered and watered and due to the galvanized containers getting super hot and the hot weather, the soil always seemed dry. We have a well so we try to be frugal. Plus, this summer we had a drought and it barely rained.
I am been thinking and thinking on how we can prepare the beds next spring so we can keep the soil moist but be as frugal as we can be with the water. We use potting mix and peet moss mixed together in the planters now. Each year, we dig about half of the soil out of the beds and replace it with fresh. To keep more moisture in the beds, I am thinking of adding lots of newspapers and or cardboard sheets. Then poke holes in the cardboard, cover with the new potting mix and peet moss. However, not sure if that will keep it moist enough.
I was also thinking about buying baby diapers and using them to line the bottom of the beds but read that the beads that collect moisture are not good or safe in the soil.
Then I even had a crazier idea to buy lots of sponges to line the bottom of the beds.
So, does anyone have a tried and true moisture idea?
I don't think the hub will go for a drip irrigation thing. It is all I can do to get him interested in gardening. That is another story. His father made him pull weeds every single summer as a kid, day after day.
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Egyptian Walking Onions - planted twelve bulblets - most in the ground, four in a planter together with the Mesclun Lettuce Mix.
Really enjoyed watching this youtube garden lady - all enthusiastic about her Egyptian Walking Onions - entertaining how-to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YASVTIZ4_8M
Lettuce - Mesclun Mix - 2 small plant boxes
Lettuce - Paris Island Cos (Heirloom) - One small planter box
Both seed packs were freebies I got with online orders - now all I need to get is some Buttercrunch and Endive.
More weeding and composting... - cleared:) a walkway that was chock full of self seeded cosmos - up to seven feet tall.
Sorted all my seeds - soaking four sets later today.
@Roadrunner53 - I'm thinking insulation is your best bet to offset the heat from the metal. Along the sides of your container - anything you can get your hands on - packing peanuts or pieces of styrofoam from packaging.
Florida is hot in the summer so I use moisture soil in my pots and a good layer of leaves at the bottom - sort of a combination of built-in compost but the leaves do a good job of holding on to the moisture and preventing the water to run out. You can also place a piece of terracotta in the holes of the bottom to keep the water in. Cardboard might help at the bottom, but it actually deteriorates quicker than the leaves.
As far as the water there are a few age old tricks used around the world - unglazed terracotta container filled with water set into your bed or container - it releases the water slowly through evaporation because it is unglazed.
Even those pretty glass water globes that you stick into your pots work.
Tomatoes are water hogs in my opinion so I do mulch generously with leaves both on the top and the bottom.
I'm wiped out. The only other thing I'm doing today is trying out a new recipe for a pear dessert.
Easy and quick - Caramelized Pears served hot w/Vanilla Ice Cream. https://www.marthastewart.com/925572/caramelized-pears#reviewSection
One of Mr. R's co-worker gave us a batch of pears from his dad's garden.
We've been sharing our avocadoes...
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@Roadrunner53 -- I've dealt with big containers of tomatoes in hot weather, and what works for me is to (1) makes sure it's sitting right on the ground (so it can act as a heat sink) (2) put some rotten wood in the bottom as a water reservoir -- it absorbs like crazy and soil microbes love it, and most importantly (3) mulch the hell out of the soil surface with leaves or straw. Like 5 or 6 inches deep covering the whole surface. Keep the mulch a few inches from the stems themselves, but cover everything else tightly.
Tomatoes like cool roots, so that soil mulching is really critical. It's insulation that is keeping the temperature down and the moisture up in the soil below.
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Ugh, the heat and humidity is back with a vengeance.
Regardless fall gardening will continue to commence - took advantage of three rainy, overcast days.
Planted all my kitchen windowsill babies - it looks strangely bare now:).
Rosemary cutting, just in time, since all my Rosemary's died, they only last about five years or less.
African Blue Basil - starting one more plant/big bush - it's not like I don't already have seven giant bushes of it:), all five that I planted in the spring survived and thrived - the bees love it and it smells oh so good. Oh and yes, I do cook with it.
Rue - this was an experiment, but it grew roots in water (wrapped in a papertowel in a spice jar). This spring I purchased a live plant and it liked it's spot, partly shady. So this summer I cut the flowering part and voila, it worked.
Next year I'll see if it selfseeds - but I just didn't want to spend another $5.95 for one little herb that isn't noticeable in my big garden - hopefully it will survive, maybe I should have planted it in a pot first.
MYSTERY PLANT
It showed up in my garden one day in a flowerpot under the oak tree - birds maybe? I called it my mystery plant and I'm so glad I waited for it to grow, curious to see what it would turn out to be.
It has lovely blooms on sturdy tall spikes, blooms for almost three months. Over the years I've divided the clumps thinking it was a lily or an iris.
I shared it with my garden friends.
We all love it and it was easy to grow - leave it alone, fertilize when you think of it and water during the heat of the summer.
Mystery solved - it is a NUN'S CAP ORCHID
The exciting part is that I just learned on youtube that you can cut the stalks into sections and get several new plants from the flower stalk once it is done blooming. Wow - I'm definitely propagating that way.
Too late for this year though since they already turned black - I cut them this afternoon. You can even propagate from seeds which might be how I ended up with mine - thanks to the birds.
For now I am dividing my 18-inch big pot into half, maybe even thirds. Gorgeous freebies.
It looks like this - when all the spikes are in bloom.
But what I really appreciate is that it has good size green tropical looking leaves all year long.
It always looks good - in bloom or not. (Sorry, the pics of the blooms are on my phone and I haven't figured out how to upload pics from my phone)
(https://i.etsystatic.com/20350629/r/il/cc1436/1952486559/il_794xN.1952486559_nbdq.jpg)
Here is what is what my orchid looks like when it is not in bloom. Shot today.
The leaves show a little stress from the summer heat.
But fertilizer, water and some TLC will perk it right back up.
Easy care plant - evergreen - gorgeous flowers - it doesn't get better than that.
(https://i.imgur.com/3dhJE9U.jpg)
...and yup, the lettuce I planted four days ago all showed up already - thanks to the reprieve we had in the weather no doubt.
LETTUCE MESCLUN - two window boxes. Mr. R's fav.
LETTUCE - Parris Island Cos - One window box and mixed in a planter with Egyptian Walking Onions.
EGYPTIAN WALKING ONIONS - yup, I can see the green shoots, a couple are two inches already - trying in two different garden areas.
I really want some celery - it does so well here and is so versatile. Hoping to just get some six-packs locally.
Several of the online plants arrived today but it is still too hot, so they will all have to be transplanted from two and four-inch pots to six-inch pots or larger until they've acclimated and have a stronger, better root system.
Ginger/Tumeric roots arrived, I will plant those in the ground tomorrow.
I'm excited about my new dwarf banana. I thought I had one, but oops, I ordered a dwarf plaintain instead. It grew well since Spring and we are happy to have a plaintain since we both love them. Happy accidents ...:).
My one big banana just started a second pup - the first pup is already almost six foot and looking happy.
We'll see how it goes tomorrow. I do have garden help from Mr. R. come Friday thank goodness - I need to get our Potager in shape.
It is a hot mess right now.
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Rosy, your photos are gorgeous, especially the orchid! Such a different gardening environment from Idaho, it's fascinating to read about. :)
What I'm lacking in tomatoes this year is being made up in hot peppers. There are plenty more where these came from, including some other wicked-looking habanero type that hasn't ripened yet. I'm hoping to get more of the lemon drop peppers, because they make a delightful fresh-tasting hot sauce. The chocolate habaneros will go in the freezer and be used one by one to make blistering hot pots of chili into the forseeable future.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50429961022_0ba6daac80_c.jpg)
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Wow @horsepoor ! That photo is so pretty. A work of art.
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Gorgeous! @horsepoor and @Rosy
Last night's supper was a harvest feast of:
bean casserole made with shelled purple pole beans, onion, tomato, garlic and basil with some slices of chicken from a mystery container in the freezer
steamed beet greens with my maple syrup and garlic
roasted heirloom carrots and yellow beets.
Very colourful and tasty. The carrot harvest turned out ok unless you consider that I sowed four times and use nearly five packets of seed. I think three packets of beet seed generated three beets - I kept sowing and sowing and getting the measliest germination and then the plants do nothing. Hopefully the second to last planting will plump up into something. They are currently hidden from view under floating row covers.
For lunch yesterday I had a little salad with the first red bell pepper this year. Hopefully the green house is warm enough that the rest of them ripen.
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I've got lettuces, spinaches, and mustard greens, growing in a big shoe box on the balcony. Also, my strawberries are still producing. I've got beet greens and radish greens growing from scraps. And my broccoli seeds for sprouts are coming in the mail today! So excited to grow sprouts. I'm mostly doing microgreens since I don't have tons of room. Thinking of doing a lemon tree indoors too. I bought a growlight.
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DD and I have spent the last three evening shelling beans. I really wanted to harvest enough black beans to store a full winter's supply. So I saved a cup of seed (I think it started as a full cup of fresh juicy seed) and planted the whole supply out in my farm garden. The soil is beautiful out there. Full sun. Barely enough rain. The plants grew twice as tall as they do in my city garden. I pulled them last Friday. Monday morning DD and I picked 3/4 of the pods off the plants. Some of the plants had over 30 plump pods. About five times what the yield was last year. Needless to say - I have way too many beans. But I have to say, I like having something to do with my hands while I watch shows. And my brain is too tired to do anything else at the end of the day.
I have saved two cups of seed - 1/2c for me and the rest for the seed library. Everyone in my family is getting a jar of dried black beans for Christmas.
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I love hearing about your beans @Frugal Lizard -- what a great harvest! They're so satisfying to grow.
I came across this big guy (gal?) while picking peas yesterday. What a beauty! Almost five inches long. I've been seeing a lot of praying mantises in the garden, so hopefully I'll be seeing some egg sacks, and lots of babies next year.
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ALMOST THERE ...:)!
FOUNTAIN IDEAS - PROJECTS
I have been looking at low budget fountain ideas for a while. This is the year I hope to make three different water sources with wildlife in mind. I also want/need to do some maintenance and spruce up the ancient, hopefully salvageable, one big fountain we already own. I really wish I hadn't cheaped out on that fountain, I should have gone with concrete, expense be damned because we are always in the garden and it is in a prominent spot.
Surprisingly it still works but I doubt it will survive another storm or next year for that matter.
The first fountain is 'almost' assembled
from an old pedestal (from a small fountain that was destroyed by the avocado torpedos falling off our 30 foot Avacado tree).
For the top fountain bowl, I'm using a low but wide planter.
The pedestal has plenty of that "old garden - been there forever appeal' and will work famously since it has all the openings and notched exit point for the electric cord at the base already.
This wide, low planter had fissure break lines which we fixed this weekend, but we didn't close the hole in the bottom since I wasn't quite sure yet how it would ultimately be put together - I was considering other alternatives until this morning I discovered the old pedestal and VOILA:).
Yesterday amazon delivered the pump I scored on prime day. I'll post a pic once it is all placed and functional.
CONUNDRUM
I'm still mulling over the construction of the second fountain. This is one of those projects I'd really like to complete before I die.
The problem is that it uses a 4x4 or 6x6 square lumber pole (the design calls for three copper spouts-V-shaped copper sheets - on top of each other - mounted on this pole - water flowing into a basin below) - nice and simple and attractive - a rustic look) BUT no way can I use wood in humid Florida it might not even last the season before the termites and the humidity destroy it.
The trouble is using different materials totally changes the look and the vibe.
POSSIBILITY ONE
I'm contemplating going contemporary-Meditteranean-Mexican by using half-size concrete blocks - stacking them to the desired height and perhaps stuccoing them and/or either using my tile collection as a unique design element or use my collection of mosaic tiles.
If I did that I could still use some old weirdo shape pieces of copper we already have as (mismatched) spouts.
OPTION TWO
The other idea I have would be more funky - colorful - artsy-whimsical ... using a leftover white six-inch or so PVC plumbing pipe that I already have.
Paint it in wild tropical colors, possibly up the ante by gluing on some rocks or other shiny objects for fun.
I could use up my second shorter piece of white PVC plumbing pipe as the waterfall spouts (you know slice the pipe in half and let the water drip from it).
I'm definitely giving a version of this a go - making something beautiful, fun, and unexpected out of stuff I already have is so utterly satisfying.
I could use an old pot as the basin in the ground and I think we have enough chicken wire stashed somewhere to use as a leaf filter.
Now I wish I had ordered two pumps, but I do have an old pump that might work, which would only require new tubing and some cleanup. May go for a new pump anyway because the old one doesn't have enough oomph to pump the six-seven feet I need for this project - it barely did OK for three feet.
Maybe I can come up with an idea for a small, scrappy fountain using that old pump - maybe something with rocks and rusty tools or car parts?
Anyway - don't mind me I'm just thinking out loud.
I plan to build three fountains for under one hundred and be surrounded by the sound of splashing water.
I'm dreaming - drooling - of a large stone rectangle filled with water graced by a water lily - built to seating height so I can sit there and draw my hands through the water... dreaming on...
This is what happens when you are a passionate gardener and watch too many youtube vids.
PLANTINGS
Progressing nicely - I even managed to keep a (rooted) rose cutting alive and thriving so far.
Besides one plant - Australian Mint Bush with lovely purple flowers that seems to love our heat, five more Egyptian Onions, and one Heliconia rhizome -everything is either potted or planted.
FAILURE
I think I may have killed the cherry cuttings, with luck I might save one.
Apparently growing things from cuttings is not my thing.
CRAZY SEEDLINGS
The craziest thing happened, my Zinnias grew seedlings themselves - right in the seed pod still on the plant.
I couldn't believe my eyes, it happened while we had three days of drizzling rain, overcast - green seedlings EMERGING FROM INSIDE THE POD!
So I cut them off and scooped up the seed pods into pots and after two weeks they are ready to go into a permanent pot - most will go into the ground.
Sometime this week...
PROJECTS - ARCH - MOCK-GATES - TRELLIS
Today I am seeding highly scented old-fashioned sweet peas into the ground and some in pots too, to climb around the arch Mr. R. moved from another part of the garden yesterday. This arch is the iron skeleton of an old indoor bookcase - those rattan ones with glass shelves from the sixties - it has held up in my garden for at least fifteen years - one repair and many coats of paint.
Thanks to my neighbor I have plenty of clips to hold it into the ground. Now I need to find the chickenwire to attach to the frame to help them climb.
THE ARCH LOOKED LONELY
SO - I have two narrow gothic arch trellis (from an old room divider tryptic) that I am using as an "open gate illusion" on either side of the arch - for more sweet peas of course:).
Funny how doing nothing but seeding a packet of sweet peas can turn into a full-fledged garden project.
Oh and well, there was the small matter of enlarging the entry and path, but it is done and looks good - so onward to the next project.
... and we decorated the house and premises for Halloween!
AMARANTH - seeds
One for a stunningly beautiful tropical-looking big bush with amazing red foliage and red striking blooms which grows well in colder climates too, because I spotted it on a visit to Germany.
The other looks like Coleus with green leaves marked with red - edible leaves that can be eaten raw in salads or cooked like spinach, an evergreen veggie.
Very excited to see how these two work out in my garden.
It took me forever to track down the "Carmencita" Amaranth, I saw it once and fell in love - five years ago. The other is an Heirloom rare seed (Baker Creek?) I'd never heard of - but I think it will look great in the salad bed and in the landscape - we'll see.
Still working on the POTAGER.
Mostly herbs, veggies, flowers - all in pots.
Right now I'm still cleaning up the mess from summer - weeding, repairing, cleaning, organizing, and deciding on this year's final plantings which are changing by the minute as always.
I'm only about 25% done and then it is on to Party Central and the Secret Garden.
The Secret Garden has one major project that I've been avoiding - taking down a huge Bougainvillea. UGH
The Front Yard has to happen somewhere in between mostly alongside other projects.
The new Tropical Garden remains an ongoing experiment - most of my projects will happen there.
Then there is the true Backyard which needs hardscape - professional hardscape that we can't handle.
Difficult to find a good contractor since the pandemic they are all in-demand non-stop - everyone wants a nice backyard:).
So it goes...
... there was an early morning breeze and it was so nice to have coffee in the garden this morning.
I'm so ready for the temps to at least go down to 80.
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That's really cool about your zinnias @Rosy! I'm going to check mine this morning for seed pods.
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Rosy, your photos are gorgeous, especially the orchid! Such a different gardening environment from Idaho, it's fascinating to read about. :)
What I'm lacking in tomatoes this year is being made up in hot peppers. There are plenty more where these came from, including some other wicked-looking habanero type that hasn't ripened yet. I'm hoping to get more of the lemon drop peppers, because they make a delightful fresh-tasting hot sauce. The chocolate habaneros will go in the freezer and be used one by one to make blistering hot pots of chili into the forseeable future.
Thx @horsepoor - that hot pepper photo of yours is swoon-worthy too:).
We got some very fine hot peppers this year - due to a sweet pepper seed packet that was mislabeled by the seed company:). I've dried some for the capsaicin for a natural arthritis relief medicine that I'm concocting myself - hence my interest in growing Turmeric this year which just so happens to have lovely tropical foliage and pretty pink and white blooms:).
Yay for happy accidents.
TOMATO VOLUNTEERS showed up via the compost pile two weeks ago, so I let them get to about two-three inches high in the Papaya tree pot and transplanted them into three pots this weekend - we'll see what happens.
OH, THE MANY FLAVORS & SCENTS OF BASIL and LEMON BALM - FASCINATING
This morning I seeded 'Mandarin' scented/tasting Lemon Balm called 'Mandarina' - a new variety.
I am trying it out in two of the tomato pots as well as in the garden.
Later, I'll seed the tried and true Italian Sweet Basil into the third tomato pot.
Then I need to find my saved Marigold seeds from last year and this spring to add to the trio.
Lately, I haven't been able to find spicy globe basil - one of my absolute favorite basils. Such a neat, small globe growing habit and it is sooo tasty with goat cheese, feta cheese, or Mozzarella - Yum!
Tracked down some holy basil seeds, the Krishna variety is supposed to be particularly effective medicinally. We'll see how it likes my garden this fall. Came across 'clove basil' seeds - can't wait to plant that one in the early spring. Curious to see what it tastes like.
Extremely long time to maturity.
I really don't want to wait 180 days - like for the Endive, but sometimes good things are worth waiting for.
"CUCUMBER - Lemon. A gardener's favorite since 1894 but hard to find in grocery stores, this unusual, eye-catching, lemon-sized cucumber has excellent flavor and is a great slicer or pickler. It is scrumptious eaten with the skin and all just like you would an apple; non-bitter and burpless. Plants are more drought tolerant than other varieties."
Source: Botanical Interests
https://www.botanicalinterests.com/product/Lemon-Cucumber-Seeds
Why am I just now finding out that cool veggies like that even exist???
LEMON BALM - GOLDEN
(https://www.rareseeds.com/media/catalog/product/cache/c47cc5acc2b9ab2a357f100ee4780008/L/e/Lemon-Balm-Golden-Gold-Leaf-Melissa-Officianalis-LSS-000_7277.jpg)
Seeded this morning together with the cucumber - if it works they should look great together - on the plate and in the garden.
"Golden - Lemon Balm" with golden yellow leaves instead of plain green. Cool looking new variety from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
In the pictures, it looked a bit like a Coleus to me - golden yellow leaves with a slightly greenish tinge here and there. Reviews said some had white, yellow and green leaves. Should be fun to try.
I am testing it in various areas of the garden, in the ground and in pots.
The leaves should look cool in a glass ice tea pitcher too or any cocktail or salad.
@Trifele and all you veggie gardeners - if you didn't know about this place I think this one might be of interest to you.
... waiting impatiently for my latest seed order from a place called Victory Seeds in Oregon.
Clunky website but I loved their interesting, amazing heirloom veggie selection and they had a pencil that is supposed to work on metal garden markers, yay.
Apparently, they are part of a global heirloom seed project - I was thrilled to find the Kohl Rabi and Sugar Snaps I wanted and a Turnip variety I remember from my childhood.
Of course, I caved and ordered several more interesting veggie varieties like one of their celeries.
Good thing that Florida has two growing seasons in Spring and again in the Fall.
I may become a true veggie gardener yet:).
Oh and Trifele - my Zinnias are reverting back to wildflowers, probably because these were not Heirloom varieties.
But I ordered enough new Zinnia seeds to last me at least three years so I'll get to play with new combos.
Only one variety looks promising and may have seeded true, we'll see. I just put all the others in an out-of-the-way area and let them be wild.
Anyway, it's 92 degrees here today - heat index 100 degrees - so I'm chilling with endless youtube garden videos and learning more about food forests and tropical gardening to implement in my newest garden area.
With luck, we'll have some decent temps, nice weather this weekend.
Can't believe poor Louisiana is supposed to get hammered by yet another hurricane.
My garden fountain project is stalled but I need to use what little time I can tolerate outside for actual gardening.
I just wish I were done with the weeding in the potager/veggie garden, it is coming along though.
Not sure about planting my other cucumber 'Beit Alpha' - how am I supposed to magically produce some afternoon shade?
I'm really glad I didn't try to transplant the Cucumber volunteers from the compost. They all have their tongues hanging out - this heat and sun intensity is just awful - although surprisingly the tomato seedlings/transplants are hanging in there without a drooping leaf in sight.
Glad the new banana baby just happens to be shaded by the huge Alocasia in the afternoon, still, it is struggling every afternoon.
I should have waited and ordered the banana in the spring to give it a better start - I always thought planting in the fall was better.
Should have paid attention to my Florida garden book - in Central Florida - Bananas should be planted in the spring.
I am discovering that Australian plants do very well in my particular sub-tropical not tropical:) micro-climate.
California plants only work 25% of the time.
Expensive mistake!
One silver lining though - this beautiful scented Philadelphus 'Mock Orange'(https://www.anniesannuals.com/signs/p%20-%20r/images//philadelphus_mexicanus_fp.jpg)
It barely made it through our hot summer only with extra attention and water, but I moved it Saturday and found the perfect spot!
It shook off all it's leaves and is covered in new green growth already, finally looking happy!
It isn't the spot I would have chosen, but hey, if it looks good and smells amazing right by my potting table - I can live with that.
Hope you are all having fun gardening or dreaming up your spring garden!
Send me some cool air blasts!!!
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@Rosy - so green with envy up here in the North. Our forecast high today is 7C - which the google machine converts to 45F.
I was pretty chuffed with myself picking a few peppers and tomatoes from the greenhouse yesterday. But I am going to have to wind that down for the season shortly - the plants are looking a little unhappy from the cold.
I still haven't finished digging my potatoes at the farm but only part of one row left - about 25 feet. The soil is so heavy with moisture, I gotta do it sooner next fall. And I am only planting a third of the seed next spring.
I have been collecting seed and giving away food. And freezing. And drying. A couple of weeks ago I felt gardened out, but now I feel sad.
So sad, that I might just set up some grow lights and the heat mat for some salad greens....Can't wait till spring.
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@Rosy - so green with envy up here in the North. Our forecast high today is 7C - which the google machine converts to 45F.
I was pretty chuffed with myself picking a few peppers and tomatoes from the greenhouse yesterday. But I am going to have to wind that down for the season shortly - the plants are looking a little unhappy from the cold.
I still haven't finished digging my potatoes at the farm but only part of one row left - about 25 feet. The soil is so heavy with moisture, I gotta do it sooner next fall. And I am only planting a third of the seed next spring.
I have been collecting seed and giving away food. And freezing. And drying. A couple of weeks ago I felt gardened out, but now I feel sad.
So sad, that I might just set up some grow lights and the heat mat for some salad greens....Can't wait till spring.
I'm still doing cleanup in my garden, the wet weather is definitely slowing things down.
I brought my 2 potted dwarf tomatoes inside. As soon as the last tomatoes ripen I will cut them way back. Houseplants get me through the non-gardening seasons.
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That golden lemon balm is beautiful @Rosy, hadn't heard of it or cucumber lemons before. The pop of yellow color and the fragrance would be lovely.
Should have paid attention to my Florida garden book - in Central Florida - Bananas should be planted in the spring.
I am discovering that Australian plants do very well in my particular sub-tropical not tropical:) micro-climate.
My bananas were all planted in fall/winter! Hope yours establishes well. Have a bumper crop this year, six racks are now fruiting and flowering.
Hoping your luck with Australian plants rubs off here, recently picked up an Australian finger lime, aka "fruit caviar".
Sent moringa seedlings to my nieces up north, they're excited to grow them indoors for the winter ahead.
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@Roots&Wings - where did you get your Australian finger lime? It is still on my wish list:) along with Star fruit.
Australian Mint Bush
The latest Australian additions were two Australian mint bushes. Very pleasant scent, more aromatic than just minty. Pretty and useful for tea and culinary.
They will be covered with blooms in deep lavender for several months. Mine came in four-inch pots and I can't believe that they do fine in the heat - no drooping even in the sun. Up to six foot tall...:) - it doesn't like the relentless wind we have had today though.
https://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/view/?id=5413
Moringa
I found seeds for an Indian dwarf Moringa at Baker Creek rare seeds. We'll see how it does.
I did not cut down my Moringa - it is full of scented blooms, but I have been eating and saving the seeds.
I got a little carried away and picked up some extra seeds to experiment with - like Strawberry Spinach.
Schwartzenbeeren Blackberries - I know they are perfectly sweet only once they are baked/cooked - like in a cake or pie or as a filling in dumplings or home made ravioli. I noticed some of the reviews were complaining about the taste fresh of the bush - just don't. They are great for making wine/liquor though - I remember them from my childhood.
Chinese Muli Color Spinach - never heard of it, but the pic looked so enticing it just called my name:). At $2.75 a seed packet - I was willing to splurge and give it a chance in my garden.
Right now I am totally thrilled that my Pride of Barbados (bush/small tree) seeds sprouted - I already have two orange with yellow blooming ones.
These are the cherry blooms with vanilla cream variety - took me forever to find seeds. I tried three and they all came up in less than a week.
What new things are you trying? and do report on how your Finger Lime does. I missed your posts:) - it is nice to have a tropical gardening buddy.
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@Rosy, I wish you (and several others here!) had a garden journal :)
@Roots&Wings - where did you get your Australian finger lime? It is still on my wish list:) along with Star fruit.
Stumbled upon the Australian finger lime at a local nursery (Greens). It's a red variety, I think are 5 different colors, and a true red finger lime, not a FL hybrid that's more rounded. They said it fruited previously and was quite good, I'm hoping that's true.
Is your Chinese multi color spinach a type of amaranth? I tried growing red amaranth from seed, and so far, it's only fed the pests. Bugs have decimated the sissoo spinach and mulberry leaves too, but I'm still 100% self-sufficient for greens, it's good to have backup (longevity spinach, Okinawa spinach, moringa, katuk, cranberry hibiscus, and sweet potato greens).
Latest projects here are growing moringa and New Zealand spinach from seed (moringa's easy, NZ spinach not so much). It's been fun giving away and trading the moringa seedlings, such a healthy plant, I wish everyone had one. I'll look into the dwarf moringa! Also have a new black Surinam cherry that I need to plant.
The native yaupon holly tea is a success! Found instructions from both UofF (http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/smallfarms/2018/09/28/yaupon-a-native-florida-tea-is-making-a-comeback/) and in an old library book for brewing. Gotta have caffeine after all :) And picking it from the yard is a heck of a lot more satisfying than buying something from halfway across the world.
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Dwarf moringa is only $3.50 and free shipping?! https://www.rareseeds.com/store/herbs/moringa/moringa-dwarf
Ordering it next :)
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First freeze of the fall is likely for us tonight (Zone 7a). Most of what I have still going in the garden is quite cold hardy (broccoli, kale, carrots, lettuce, spinach, cabbage). But the freeze will kill the sugar snap peas and the basella (Malabar spinach) so today I'm harvesting all I can. Those plants are much too big and tall for me to cover, unfortunately.
It's too bad about the sugar snaps -- they were just hitting their stride and bearing heavily. This past week I've been picking a quart a day.
The other thing I'm working on is to put my banana tree leaves to good use as winter garden mulch. I have a 15' tree that has crazy huge leaves, like five feet long.
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Well, duh:) - @Roots&Wings the Chinese Multi-Color Spinach is indeed an Amaranth.
(https://www.rareseeds.com/media//amasty/review/resized/580//i/m/img_20200905_102220_862_1.jpg)
That means I already have some seeds, double duh! I'll try them both and let you know.
I already have one called Amaranth Edible Red Leaf from Botanical Interest - for $1.89
and the one called Chinese Multicolor Spinach from Baker Creek rare seeds - for $3.50.
Who knows, maybe there are different strains - one reviewer at Baker Creek said it loved the heat and tasted great, another said the bugs ate it all.
I think I only have a small window of time to plant - package says 49-63 days (Bot Int) the other hasn't arrived yet.
If I plant only half of the seeds I ordered and ahem, the plantlings 4-pk that I just picked up at my favorite nursery we will have our first true veggie garden.
Not playing around no more...:).
I discovered
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First freeze of the fall is likely for us tonight (Zone 7a). Most of what I have still going in the garden is quite cold hardy (broccoli, kale, carrots, lettuce, spinach, cabbage). But the freeze will kill the sugar snap peas and the basella (Malabar spinach) so today I'm harvesting all I can. Those plants are much too big and tall for me to cover, unfortunately.
It's too bad about the sugar snaps -- they were just hitting their stride and bearing heavily. This past week I've been picking a quart a day.
The other thing I'm working on is to put my banana tree leaves to good use as winter garden mulch. I have a 15' tree that has crazy huge leaves, like five feet long.
Sugar Snap
I feel your pain, @Trifele - I LOVE sugar snaps - tried some years ago so I know they do alright here, but didn't plant enough and around here they are not easy to find.
But this year - probably because of Covid - there was a MOB at the nursery on Saturday, I found one four-pack of seedlings - the only one left,
plus I ordered three different kinds/seeds from three different sources.
There will be sugar snaps!
Really looking forward to that harvest.:)
Taro - Giant Alocasia
I'm going to replant another one of the wild Taro - Alocasias into my garden, (it is already growing on our property but the county people keep cutting it down since it is near the ditch in the back).
With some TLC they get to seven feet. Tropical freebie and truly an easy plant to grow.
I'll see if I can shoot a pic of my garden chair in the shade underneath the canopy of the giant Alocasia.
Kinda cool to be able to do that:).
The butterflies, I mean the caterpillars, are decimating my Fennel -
first there was one, then two and now there are four.
(https://i.imgur.com/kmrVY2g.jpg)
I don't mind sharing with the critters.
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VEGGIE CONTAINER GARDENING is progressing nicely.
Just a few more live herbs and flowers to plant this weekend. I'd love to get a few more herbs, flowers and veggies seeded on Monday but with ETA on the way who knows what the weather will do this coming week - so I may only pot up and continue with garden clean-up and garden projects.
If the rain and/or storm gets too bad I can shelter the smallest seedlings in the carport for protection.
Then it is back to seeding like crazy, both in the Potager and the Tropical Food Forest area.
Really, really would like to be 'completely':) done with seeding and planting by next Sunday.
We'll see how it goes.
Debating whether to plant the coffee bushes in the ground or leave them in the pots I transplanted them to. Then plant them in the ground next spring.
I've thrown over my garden plans a million times, wrangling with the placement of the fruit and ornamental trees and bushes.
TOMATO MAYHEM - I blame the pandemic...
I'm adding one more Tomato variety - a wild, native to Florida Tomato called Everglades cherry tomato. You Tubers in Florida are talking about how it grows like a weed. I discovered it last year but forgot about it.
This wild Florida tomato doesn't mind our brutal summer heat at all - grows in plain sandy soil and yeah, it is perennial.
Supposed to be super-tasty and sweet.
Since I'm already growing three mystery tomatoes from the compost plus I picked up two Romas and a Celebrity and plan to seed two Heirloom varieties from Baker Creek Seeds - I may as well go hog-wild and try this wild, native Tomato too.
We have enough space to just let it grow wild, apparently, it does just fine with very little water - no pests either.
I can't resist such a wonder.
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I'm a little envious of the ambition level of many of the posters on this thread! Such interesting plants being grown.
With a fulltime job and now training two of my horses, the garden has taken a back seat. I thought teleworking would give me more garden time, but somehow that hasn't happened, so next year I'll be planting with an eye towards low-maintenance, high-reward, especially for the warm weather crops. I am missing spending time in the garden as I have in previous years, but that's how it goes for us non-FIREd peeps.
Yesterday I dug up the parsnips and just a fraction of the horseradish. I will hopefully dig up more of it before the ground freezes, and will also plant about 200 garlic cloves. Otherwise, I am calling it a wrap for 2020.
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Nice update @horsepoor! I love parsnips.
My cold-tolerant crops are still going in the garden here. It wasn't a great fall for cabbage and broccoli (cabbage worms) but everything else did really well -- kale, carrots, lettuce, spinach are all still chugging along. We've had one freeze so far this fall, but it didn't bother them. The freeze finished off the peas and the basella (Malabar spinach). Sad to see them go. By the way -- I discovered that basella freezes really, really well. It's an excellent vegetable -- definitely growing it again next year.
I'm spending time on fertilizing, cover-cropping, and mulching. I have about 40 garlics to plant, and then I'll be done for the year. Maybe in 3-4 weeks.
My bees made it through their first summer here, despite lots of drama. One hive lost its queen and I successfully re-queened them, and the other hive swarmed twice despite having plenty of room. Last month we had some serious robbing attacks -- I had to close them both up for a couple days as an emergency measure -- but luckily both hives pulled through. With all the difficulties both hives faced, I let them keep all their honey and did not harvest any this year. Next year, knock on wood, they can start sharing with me. :)
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(https://i.imgur.com/zvkGESV.jpg)
Brand new day - brand new life. The colors were really intense.
The wings of this Monarch fluttered in the breeze as it was drying off.
STORM ETA
Well, ETA wreaked havoc in our new garden area but life goes on. Just as I was tearing up, my eyes caught sight of this beauty.
Deep breath.
He was just resting on palm debris from the storm. We got sustained high wind while it was still a cat one hurricane and then got drenched.
@horsepoor - love parsnips too - I'm actually growing some for the first time this year.
If it makes you feel any better - the gardening ambition is waning a bit:), between the relentless heat and one full day of storm and another day of torrential rain, I haven't got much done or so it seems.
In reality, the seeds are sprouting, the projects are coming along, all but one garden bed has been 'done', the container veggie garden aka 'potager' is close to done, and other than one leaning papaya tree the storm damage was remedied in a couple of days.
That wraps up the truly time-consuming and most labor-intensive parts of the garden.
Next year will be so much easier if all goes to plan.
PARTY CENTRAL
Next week, it is onward to the 'party central' area of the garden. That entails only a bit of weeding and general clean-up. Nothing compared to the rest of the garden. Lots of trimming, maybe a new flowerpot, fertilizing the azaleas, Lily of the Nile and the palms.
Doing that once or twice a year is about as low maintenance as you can get - two-three days max unless there is a project and there is always a project:).
This year it is the fountain that requires some TLC incl. painting.
Even if we can't party during the pandemic, we always use our gazebo a lot for dining or a brew or a cocktail or for Sunday Brunch in the garden from the end of November all the way into late spring, early summer.
The tough part of gardening is nearing the end - soon it will be time to celebrate and enjoy.
Maybe I'll finally get a chance to make that birdbath or fountain.
@Trifele - I had no idea bees could get into that much trouble:).
I'm intrigued about keeping bees, we have honeybees everywhere, the basils in particular are always buzzing with honeybees and some new metallic (hard shell?) green bees that fly in formation and what looks to be a metallic green bodied fly or maybe it is a type of bee as well.
Since I planted an edible hibiscus (Florida Cranberry Hibiscus) I now have a hibiscus bee - that thing is big and fuzzy-pelty in golden beige. Who knew there was such a thing?
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I have been picking the odd items and using up the produce I brought inside to ripen. The cherry tomatoes are done but I have three more slicers on the window sill. The last of the tomatillos are turned into fresh salsa...with green peppers, hot peppers, garlic and scallions from my garden (from frozen)
I haven't been to the garden yet today to see the damage from the wind storm last night. Hopefully I still have some floating row covers!
I need to go through all the seed I have collected and get my order ready. I really hope my seed purchasing is way down!
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I have been picking the odd items and using up the produce I brought inside to ripen. The cherry tomatoes are done but I have three more slicers on the window sill. The last of the tomatillos are turned into fresh salsa...with green peppers, hot peppers, garlic and scallions from my garden (from frozen)
I haven't been to the garden yet today to see the damage from the wind storm last night. Hopefully I still have some floating row covers!
I need to go through all the seed I have collected and get my order ready. I really hope my seed purchasing is way down!
Are you buying seed already? The new catalogues aren't out yet. I will order ASAP when they do come out because I need to get sweet peppers started really early (January) or I have too short a season. Out of 7 plants this year I only picked 3 ripe peppers, the other 20 were picked with some orange/red showing and ripened in the kitchen. I had no idea they would do that, but they were fine.
Community garden = diseases. I am unhappy to say it but my seed choices for next year are going to focus a lot on disease resistance, ahead of flavour. In good news the Indigo Rose cherry tomatoes were tasty, productive and healthy. They made great "sun-dried" tomatoes.
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I have been picking the odd items and using up the produce I brought inside to ripen. The cherry tomatoes are done but I have three more slicers on the window sill. The last of the tomatillos are turned into fresh salsa...with green peppers, hot peppers, garlic and scallions from my garden (from frozen)
I haven't been to the garden yet today to see the damage from the wind storm last night. Hopefully I still have some floating row covers!
I need to go through all the seed I have collected and get my order ready. I really hope my seed purchasing is way down!
Are you buying seed already? The new catalogues aren't out yet. I will order ASAP when they do come out because I need to get sweet peppers started really early (January) or I have too short a season. Out of 7 plants this year I only picked 3 ripe peppers, the other 20 were picked with some orange/red showing and ripened in the kitchen. I had no idea they would do that, but they were fine.
Community garden = diseases. I am unhappy to say it but my seed choices for next year are going to focus a lot on disease resistance, ahead of flavour. In good news the Indigo Rose cherry tomatoes were tasty, productive and healthy. They made great "sun-dried" tomatoes.
Not buying....planning what to buy so that moment I can order, I will. I too want to get the peppers going as soon as possible.
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I have been picking the odd items and using up the produce I brought inside to ripen. The cherry tomatoes are done but I have three more slicers on the window sill. The last of the tomatillos are turned into fresh salsa...with green peppers, hot peppers, garlic and scallions from my garden (from frozen)
I haven't been to the garden yet today to see the damage from the wind storm last night. Hopefully I still have some floating row covers!
I need to go through all the seed I have collected and get my order ready. I really hope my seed purchasing is way down!
Are you buying seed already? The new catalogues aren't out yet. I will order ASAP when they do come out because I need to get sweet peppers started really early (January) or I have too short a season. Out of 7 plants this year I only picked 3 ripe peppers, the other 20 were picked with some orange/red showing and ripened in the kitchen. I had no idea they would do that, but they were fine.
Community garden = diseases. I am unhappy to say it but my seed choices for next year are going to focus a lot on disease resistance, ahead of flavour. In good news the Indigo Rose cherry tomatoes were tasty, productive and healthy. They made great "sun-dried" tomatoes.
Not buying....planning what to buy so that moment I can order, I will. I too want to get the peppers going as soon as possible.
I should dig out the 2020 catalogues and start planning. A lot of my saved seeds won't get used because things that grew fine in a home garden didn't do well in the community garden. It's like being a market gardener, so many different varieties and so many diseases. I know I will have tomato diseases next year because I saw plants in other people's gardens that were sick. I know I will have insect transmitted diseases because I saw the beetles and bugs. I'm really glad to have my plot, but it does present challenges.
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I have been picking the odd items and using up the produce I brought inside to ripen. The cherry tomatoes are done but I have three more slicers on the window sill. The last of the tomatillos are turned into fresh salsa...with green peppers, hot peppers, garlic and scallions from my garden (from frozen)
I haven't been to the garden yet today to see the damage from the wind storm last night. Hopefully I still have some floating row covers!
I need to go through all the seed I have collected and get my order ready. I really hope my seed purchasing is way down!
Are you buying seed already? The new catalogues aren't out yet. I will order ASAP when they do come out because I need to get sweet peppers started really early (January) or I have too short a season. Out of 7 plants this year I only picked 3 ripe peppers, the other 20 were picked with some orange/red showing and ripened in the kitchen. I had no idea they would do that, but they were fine.
Community garden = diseases. I am unhappy to say it but my seed choices for next year are going to focus a lot on disease resistance, ahead of flavour. In good news the Indigo Rose cherry tomatoes were tasty, productive and healthy. They made great "sun-dried" tomatoes.
Not buying....planning what to buy so that moment I can order, I will. I too want to get the peppers going as soon as possible.
I should dig out the 2020 catalogues and start planning. A lot of my saved seeds won't get used because things that grew fine in a home garden didn't do well in the community garden. It's like being a market gardener, so many different varieties and so many diseases. I know I will have tomato diseases next year because I saw plants in other people's gardens that were sick. I know I will have insect transmitted diseases because I saw the beetles and bugs. I'm really glad to have my plot, but it does present challenges.
indeed it does. It is nearly impossible to do crop rotation. The super wilt resistant tomato hybrids are super expensive seeds. Mountain merit and mountain spring do really well in our church garden. But the seeds - kaching! Although they are now much less than a buck a seed.
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I've been considering starting a non-profit similar to earth share in Canada to solve some of the community garden problems. Where I live in Canada there are huge waiting lists for community gardens and there's lots of other problems with them. Meanwhile lots of people have yards that just go unused for anything because the homeowner doesn't want to do the work to make a garden to grow food. I think a service that connect homeowners and gardeners looking for a small plot to grow some food could do well where I live.
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Speaking of pepper seeds:
Found a new place to buy organic veggie seeds for 55 cents.
https://www.littleshopofseeds.com/Garden_Seeds_/cat5068480_4567891.aspx
Thought I'd share.
Just a garden guy on youtube who has two websites worth of veggie seed selections.
They are cheap because they don't come in a fancy package nor do they have planting info/instructions.
Seed bombs
Oh my, the seed pods I just harvested are exploding on the kitchen counter as I write this:). It is warmer in the kitchen than outside-our first day of cooler weather. Gives new meaning to seed bombs for the garden - LOL
(from my Pride of Barbados small tree/bush)
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Getting a hard frost tonight, so it's time to cut the last of the cilantro and pull any carrots that have some root to them. Not expecting much from the carrots, they were seeded pretty late and did not enjoy the hot summer. I'll be happy to have a few to eat with hummus.
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More garden progress:).
Today and tomorrow will bring a bit cooler weather below 80 - yay. So I'm trying to plant and seed out the last of my veggies and herbs today.
SUGAR SNAP PEAS
More varieties of sugar snap peas arrived in the mail this weekend - looking forward to that harvest already:).
The other sugar snaps are already growing well.
FAILURE
Mr. R. ripped out pretty much everything I did last year in the front yard.
It wasn't a total failure - the papaya is dripping with fruit and looking awesome.
I moved some of the surviving plants into another garden area, my new favorite ornamental bush and a lovely scented rose will stay. I can't believe the African blue basil bush died ...but one lavender survived and I made potpourri from the one that did not.
Even the fountain was a failure - it quit working and the paint and coating came off in entire sheets. A piece of crap all around. It proved to be a huge pain to take apart and clean. I will keep the pump and I might be able to use part of the ornamental lion somehow, tossing the rest.
We still have two more small areas to clean up in front but I cleaned up the porch and the furniture, washed the front window and doors, changed the decor, cut back greenery... ready for the holidays.
SUCCESS
The herbs I planted in with the veggies in the Potager are all slowly showing up - yay-relief - with luck I'll have plenty of extra sprouts to plant out into other areas of the garden when they are a bit bigger. Fingers crossed.
TREES - MINI TROPICAL ORCHARD:) incl. a couple of tropical ornamental beauties:
All the trees and bushes now in pots are going into the ground, three coffee bushes, one yellow cashew tree, two Rio Grande Cherries, three Pride of Barbados, one Puffball tree, one Papaya, one more Blackberry Jam bush, one more Australian Mint Bush.
TREE SEEDS
Three of the five dwarf Moringa seeds I planted last week have already sprouted - amazing:),
but none of the dwarf Tamarillo seeds have come up - ugh - so far anyway, maybe they just need more time?
PEPPERS
Were being temperamental but are starting to look better.
BUSH CUCUMBERS-WOES
Something is eating (lacing) the leaves of the four-pack plantlings I bought at the local nursery - DANG!
The Cucumber (Lemon variety) that I planted from seed is doing just fine - hoping it will not spread to them. They are in a pot only 12 feet away.
RADISHES - are taking off like wildfire.
SAVOY CABBAGES - looking happy now that we had a bit of rain and cooler nights and mornings.
KALE
I took the plunge and got some seeds for Kale which arrived this weekend.
Planting those today - Dinosaur and Red Russian.
I am not sure whether we will like the Kale but everyone is raving about Kale and Kale chips so I caved and I'll give them a try.
I doubt very much that in our climate they will look anything near as fantastic as the pics I've seen from you guys - we'll see.
All the other veggies are still too tiny but looking promising.
Whatever I don't seed this week is simply not happening - there is always next fall.
I've already set aside seed packets for early spring - although I plan to keep things minimal and simple in spring.
HAPPY GARDENING EVERYONE!:)
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Had a very tropical Thanksgiving, harvested bananas, starfruit, oranges, and cherries and shared with neighbors. Loved seeing your post about community gardens @sixwings, we're looking into starting a community fruit tree program and/or community garden for the local food pantry here. More about community fruit trees here (https://www.robgreenfield.org/communityfruittrees/#:~:text=In%202018%2C%20the%20Community%20Fruit%20Trees%20program%20launched,of%2071%20fruit%20trees%20in%20four%20more%20states.).
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Christmas came early, 2 catalogues in the mail. Veseys and William Dam.
Forget I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas, I'm dreaming of my 2021 garden.
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Christmas came early, 2 catalogues in the mail. Veseys and William Dam.
Forget I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas, I'm dreaming of my 2021 garden.
Still waiting on mine!
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Does anyone use rabbit manure in their gardens, specifically tomato plants and cucumber plants?
I read that it is superior to chicken manure and cow manure. I never use either.
I see Etsy sells it and farmers markets could be a source.
One way to use it is to put in the hole before you place your plant in the hole or making a 'tea' out of it and water plants with it.
I have no experience with it.
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@Roadrunner53 I haven't used rabbit poo specifically, but have used goat manure, which is similar in that it's not a "hot" manure that requires composting. The year that I collected a truckload of goat poo from a goat farm, I had the BIGGEST tomato plants ever, and they were productive, not just foliage with no fruit. If I could source a large amount of rabbit poo, I wouldn't hesitate.
Hmm, things are thawed out here, which makes me think I should take the truck out and get a load of horse poo to compost. I have access to unlimited amounts. :D
I still haven't gotten around to planting garlic, but I did separate cloves this afternoon, and plenty are still in good shape for planting. It's supposed to be warmish the next few days, so I need to get that stuff in the ground. Probably don't need 200+ like I did last year.
Looking forward to the seed order; one of my favorite winter activities! Next year I'm planning on fewer peppers and more alliums. I'll probably do about the same number of tomato plants and just hope that I have more normal production and get enough to can. This year I've had to purchase canned tomatoes; the horror!
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@Roadrunner53 -- I agree with @horsepoor. Rabbit poop = good stuff. Much "cooler" (less hot nitrogen) than chicken poop. I've never been fortunate enough to have a bunch, but our thread friend @rabbitarian has. He hasn't posted much lately but maybe he will see this batsignal and comment.
And haha Horsepoor -- I haven't planted my garlic yet either. Hope to finally get that done in the next few days. We're supposed to have a couple days in the 50s which should be nice for outdoor work.
Hope everyone has a restful and safe holiday.
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I’d forgotten my account was even active still, but I guess I can sign in to answer this. (I am only at OMD and will only see things that @ me).
Rabbit manure is a “cool” manure, which means it can be applied without composting first. That said, it WILL heat up in large amounts, especially if urine-soaked. It’s supposed to be one of the most balanced fertility sources as well. Goat and sheep are kind of next best. If the rabbits are fed hay in addition to pellets, plan on lots of weed seeds.
I wouldn’t, however, go out of my way to buy it. I know rabbit breeders that get prices for manure that really surprise me. It’s worth, say, a .5x premium over other manures or manure based composts, but some people pay like 5x the price or more. I do notice a difference between my rabbit manured beds and commercial compost (mostly cow manure based here) but it’s hard to quantify what the improvement is.
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What is OMD?
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What is OMD?
I think we have to @rabbitarian so he sees the question ...
(I don’t know what that is either ...)
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Someone once told me that rabbit manure is the best. I wouldn't use fresh sheep manure because it is too much. Rabbit manure disappears really quickly and isn't a gooey mess.
Sheep manure can be too high in nitrogen so you have to be careful when you apply and how much, particularly for tomatoes, potatoes and other crops that like a little hardship to fruit.
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Longtime reader, firsttime poster... rabbit manure is amazing. I used to put a scoop into the hole before planting and I never had such tomatoes. Even when I top dressed, no odor and broke down quickly.
Now I have chinchilla manure, which is good, but smaller and slightly less magical.
I put up a greenhouse over the summer so am still figuring out what works - looking forward to a full planting season.
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Longtime reader, firsttime poster...
Welcome @elsie ! Same here -- sooo looking forward to next growing season. We all need something happy to look forward to at this point.
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What is OMD?
I believe he means that he posts at O My Dollar (https://forum.ohmydollar.com/) now and does not maintain a presence on MMM.
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And . . . that's a wrap folks! I planted my garlic yesterday, and that's it for the garden season for us. It was a pretty good year! Some big winners did better than usual -- bacella, peas, carrots, lettuce. Some things were so-so/average -- tomatoes, kale, turnips, chard. And some things struggled a bit this year due to pests or non-ideal weather -- peppers, potatoes, cabbage, broccoli.
Now begins the lovely couple of months where the garden sleeps, I thumb through seed catalogs, and plan for next season. Fun!
Enjoy the winter (northern hemisphere) gardening friends! See you next spring. :)
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Cheers @Trifele! I planted my garlic on Monday as well, and not a moment too soon since the ground is rapidly freezing. Not sure how it will do since I usually plant it in early fall and it has time to put down roots.
Looking forward to putting my seed order together on a quiet, snowy day in the near future!
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Cheers @Trifele! I planted my garlic on Monday as well, and not a moment too soon since the ground is rapidly freezing. Not sure how it will do since I usually plant it in early fall and it has time to put down roots.
Looking forward to putting my seed order together on a quiet, snowy day in the near future!
Cheers back atcha @horsepoor! Yeah, I was about a month late on the garlic, compared to when you're supposed to plant it in this zone. Not sure what it will do!
Happy holidays to you.
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Hi everyone
I'm going to start the 2021 Planting and Growing Your Own thread over in the new DIY Gardening subforum. Hope to see you there!
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/gardening-diy/planting-and-growing-your-own-2021/
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