are you raising a garden this year?

[Fern]

Re: are you raising a garden this year?

SO used pesticide all over the lawn, so i refuse to plant a veggie garden this year, especially as he wants to put it where an old pressure-treated wood playset stood. (The wood leaches arsenic and other niceties.)

We're so busy anyway, but i do love homegrown anything, so am settling for some dwarf variety tomoato plants in pots.

[markio26]

Re: are you raising a garden this year?

i had to transplant 5 tomato plants today... so, i cut off the tops of 2 plastic milk containers and made holes in the bottom, filled with compost and transplanted... one set of tomatoes stood right up straight after about 10 minutes in the sun.... my butternut squash is growing all over the place...my garlic is doing great.. my marigolds and wild flowers are taking off..i have been watering once a week with left over coffee or tea....i am crushing my egg shells, and coffee grounds, tea bags and adding to the soil also.... dead old leaves are turning black in my compost, turned them over today.....all is well in my container garden...

[kealina]

Re: are you raising a garden this year?

we have been thinking of it but had to clear out the back porch and tiny, tiny enclosed yard first... wanted to try some container gardening but have been trying to figure out what to grow in our climate...will probably have to ask somebody next time i'm anywhere with a nursery... am starting to look for and save containers... so far we have a few old pots and i am keeping my eye out at summer yard sales, hoping to get enough to start a small container garden... all we have is some trees (his parents planted them) and an aloe plant that we put in...green onions will probably grow well and i was hoping to find some other small, easily maintainable fruits and veggies... we'll see about that.... the pots and stuff from yard sales...

[markio26]

Re: are you raising a garden this year?

my dad always planted 3 huge gardens on his property, untill he passed away 3 yrs ago.. my family of origin always lived off of it... we did not.. i helped him put it away and occasionally he gave us something...there is always someone in our family of origin that needs something more than us..my dad used to tell them, she doesn't need it... lol...

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Re: are you raising a garden this year?

In my whole life --and I'm approaching fifty-- there have only been about four years when I did not have a garden. Gardened through college, even. In the last 10-12 years, I've gardened in a way to make it easier on myself as I get older. It's a good thing I did, too, because I've already encountered health problems that make heavy work difficult. I was headed out the back door just a few days ago to check on beans when I stepped off into mid-air and broke my ankle when it turned out that I was incapable of even short duration flight. Garden will be okay in the mean time, but someone else will have to harvest those beans. I still had a few things to plant as well.

[Pollyanna]

Re: are you raising a garden this year?

Yes, we garden. We have over 1,000 sq feet in raised beds, plus a 2 acre 'field' garden. We raise sweet corn, field corn, popcorn, tomatoes, peppers, onions, beets, carrots, cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, chard, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, peas, green beans, wax beans, lima beans, drying beans for soups, potatoes, pumpkins, canteloupe, watermelon, rhubarb, asparagus, strawberries, red and black raspberries, peaches, pears, apples, sweet and pie cherries, grapes, plums, apricots, nectarines, black walnuts, hickory nuts, and a variety of herbs. 1/2+ acre of the two acre plot is planted in sunflowers each year for the wild birds. We also plant 3 or 4 other feed plots for the wild critters. And flowers - lots and lots of flowers!

We begin planting in containers in December - see www.wintersown.org for more information about starting seeds in recycled containers. This year, I planted my first garden bed on Feb 1st, and we began eating radishes, and then lettuce from that bed in mid March - in zone 5/6. I make succession plantings of many crops; using simple covers over the beds to extend the season. I overwinter some plants - spinach and chard, for example - for late winter/early spring salad greens. I also use long trough type planters to grow some lettuce and other greens indoors in late winter.

We put up our crops in a variety of ways - canning, freezing, dehydrating, simple drying (herbs); we also make a variety of pickles, sauces, salsa, ketchup, jams, jellies, preserves, syrups, and wine. We supply probably 75-80% of our produce needs. Besides what we use ourselves, we supply a variety of produce to our families, neighbors, friends, co-workers, the local homeless shelter, food pantry, and domestic violence shelter. Produce not fit for human consumption, or processing leftovers goes to feed our chickens, or the neighbor's stock, or is composted. No waste allowed!!

We use a minimal amount of synthetic fertilizer, but depend mainly on animal or green manure crops and compost for fertility. We use a very minimal amount of home orchard spray on our peaches and nectarines; in the years that we don't spray, we invariably lose our entire crop. I'd just as soon spray my own fruit as buy fruit that someone else has sprayed - I know what is on it, and how much/how often.

The garden is a lot of work, but it is work that I enjoy; my hobby, I guess you'd say.

[JBinKC]

Re: are you raising a garden this year?

I usually plant tomatoes and peppers and edible herbs. Then I usually can salsa and/or tomatoes with the excess harvest. This year I planted triple the amount of tomatoes the same amount of herbs but no peppers. I did this because of a potential bird flu outbreak.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Re: are you raising a garden this year?

You planted tomatoes but no peppers because of possible bird flu? Do you mean you are stocking up and the tomates took up the room you would like to have given to peppers but that you see tomatoes as more necessary than peppers?

[PrincessPerky]

Re: are you raising a garden this year?

my dad always planted 3 huge gardens on his property, untill he passed away 3 yrs ago.. my family of origin always lived off of it... we did not.. i helped him put it away and occasionally he gave us something...there is always someone in our family of origin that needs something more than us..my dad used to tell them, she doesn't need it... lol...

He was proud of you, sign of success in a a kid is when you do NOT have to help them!

[markio26]

Re: are you raising a garden this year?

thanks pp... the rain is raging havoc on my container garden.... we have transplanted 20 more tomatoes, flowers into other containers, for more room... but, nothing is blooming well.. we need more sun and drier weather....garlic is thriving......

[DivaJen]

Re: are you raising a garden this year?

My compost pile didn't kill the tomato seeds in it, so I have another 7 volunteer tomatoes growing now where I had spread some compost. They'll probably be the best ones, lol! We're getting some warm weather again - finally - so I'm hoping things will kick into gear. I have some green tomatoes that need some sun to finally ripen. I have the beginnings of some sugar snap pea pods, and DD picked a handful of raspberries this morning. We don't have many of any one plant, but it's nice to get a little bit of fresh food here and there. When I made lasagna last week the basil all came from my plants.

[markio26]

Re: are you raising a garden this year?

Chase Is Wearing Cruisers Now.. So, He Is Gonna Tear His Diapers Apart, Remove The Lining And Use It In The Planters So He Only Needs To Water Once A Week Or Even Two Weeks. I Think It May Work, Because Of The Absorbancy... Will Let You Know.
Everything Is Blooming Beautifully Right Now... Flowers, Are Everywhere... Very Colorful... Squash Is Blooming And Growing Everywhere.. Tomatoes Have Fruit On Them, Garlic Is Trying To Take Over...

[markio26]

Re: are you raising a garden this year?

thanks for all the comments... my green peppers are just now beginning to bud, lots of tomatoes, too many, garlic has taken over.. flowers are everywhere... lol.