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Other Topics => Off Topic Discussion => Topic started by: Andrew on April 22, 2007, 07:39:42 AM



Title: Gardens
Post by: Andrew on April 22, 2007, 07:39:42 AM
Does anyone else keep a garden?  Even when we lived in the apartment in New York, we had one on the deck.  These are some pictures of the garden.

The garden in July of 2006:
(http://www.badmovies.org/common/forum/garden_2006_1.jpg)  (http://www.badmovies.org/common/forum/garden_2006_2.jpg)
(It eventually became a jungle.  You could barely move around on the deck to pick the vegetables and water.  Also, we had beans growing up a trellis outside the front door).

Jenna with a pepper and a zucchini in 2005:
(http://www.badmovies.org/common/forum/jenna_pep_2005.jpg)  (http://www.badmovies.org/common/forum/jenna_zuc_2005.jpg)
That zucchini went a little too long. I think Katie made zucchini bread with it.

We live in a townhouse, but our present landlord does not want me planting a garden (I wanted to in the area around the deck, it is missing grass anyway).  So, we are in pots again.  However, this year I can use a hose to water and am not restricted so much by space.  In years past, we would have:

4 pots of zucchini and yellow squash (1-3 plants per)
6 tomato plants
2 grape tomato plants
6 pepper plants
2 long containers, 1 with romaine lettuce and 1 with spinach
2 pots of cucumbers (1-3 plants per)
1-2 long containers of beans

A lot of years, we would give away some cucumbers and tomatoes, because we had so many.  I know that one time I filled a bucket with extra tomatoes to give away.

I am trying to grow a number of tomato plants from seed this year, because you can get a lot of varieties.  We have Pineapple, Brandywine, Grape, Black Prince, Tigerella, Rutgers, and a few others for tomatoes.  For peppers, we have California Wonders (these are awesome), Red Bell, Green Bell, and Whoppers. 

We've found that the flavor is much better for the vegetables we get from our garden.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Snivelly on April 22, 2007, 08:38:36 AM
I wish I had enough direct sun where I'm living to grow some veggies.  I had to settle for some shade plants this year.  I live in a townhouse too, and we're allowed to plant as we like.  So in our front courtyard I have phlox, hostas, and some impatiens, and since I have a sunnier spot in the back, I potted some herb plants and put them on our wall.  I've got rosemary, cilantro, oregano, and basil going, but I still wish I had a spot I could at least grow tomatoes.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: RCMerchant on April 22, 2007, 10:26:13 AM
We just got our house in August of last year...it's already got a climbing rose bush in back,and all sorts of different types of flowers ( I don't know they're names,but Tara Sue does), but I plan on putting in a small garden,'cause I love freash veggies. I'm thinking of peppers (bell,jalapeno,and habenero), radishes (I like to put them in the freezer for a little,to get them ice cold),maybe some wax beans,and some squash and cucumbers. I used to have poppys growing at the little place I used to live at on the out skirts of town some years back...but people always wanted to show me how to make opium...but I wasin't really interested. We got some wild blackberries here too. I'd really like to have some horseradish,too. My ex-brother in law...(the one in prison) had pot plants growing in back of the old place...and he got p**sed at me for yanking them out...I told him I wasn't going to go to jail for growing pot,and if he want's pot so bad,to get off his ass,get a job,and go buy it...!


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Andrew on April 23, 2007, 11:26:24 AM
Had a problem with the tomatoes I have been growing from seed.  I put them outside for about 6 hours yesterday as part of hardening them up and they appear to have been scalded by the sun.  That is weird, because it was not the first time they were left outside to harden up (though it was the longest).  Still, tomato plants that could not take direct sunlight?  All of the peppers look like they are doing fine.

I have grown tomatoes in partial sun.  They do not get as large and it takes longer for the fruit to ripen, but you can do it.  I would suggest going for smaller types, like grape tomatoes or mid-sized ones like Brandywines.

RCMerchant, I love fresh squash and zucchini - along with cucumbers.  The only problem is, if you do not have a lot of pollinating insects, you end up having to be a pimp daddy for them.  Up in New York, I would take a small paintbrush (get a cheap one at Michaels or another craft store with painting supplies) and transfer pollen from the male flowers to the female ones.  Tomatoes and peppers pollinate themselves.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on April 24, 2007, 11:52:44 AM
I usually plant a huge garden in my limited space backyard.  I love growing different varieties of hot peppers (habenero, cherry, etc).  I usually do one or two cucmber plants and grow them up a wire cage to contain them.  Tomoatoes I've had luck with although for some reason where I live they don't rippen until late August. 

This year I'm trying sugar snap peas, beans, a bunch of different hot peppers, cucumbers and maybe one tomoato plant.

Last year I took on horseradish.  It was fun to watch it grow but a pain in the @ss to harvest.  Has anyone ever done any root crops like that?

I also do a small flower garden next to my blueberry bushes outside my house.  Oh and I also have rasberry bushes.  Everyone keep me updated how their stuff is doing and I'll do the same.  I just planted my peas this past weekend because I've read they do much better in the cooler temps. 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Trevor on April 25, 2007, 03:52:23 AM
 :bouncegiggle:

Thanks, RCM, that story about your brother and him growing pot made me smile.  :teddyr:

I arrived home one day and found a very strange looking plant growing in one of my pots. I called my mom and asked her what she thought it was after describing it to her, after being saddened that it wasn't a triffid.  :teddyr:

Her answer was that I had a marijuana plant growing there ~ apparently someone had put marijuana seeds into the pot a while back and one of them had sprouted.

After the shock of finding out that my mom knew what a marijuana plant looked like died down, I found out that my grandmother used to legally grow pot in her back yard back in the 1930's and she used to make a tea out of it, which she administered to my mom's two sisters, one who had chronic asthma and the other who had cancer. The pot tea (teapot???  :drink: ) alleviated the symptoms greatly.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Jack on April 25, 2007, 08:30:34 AM
We have a small garden out behind the house.  Two regular tomato plants and one cherry tomato plant (that thing spread out all over the place last year and made it a real pain to mow the lawn around it).  Beans - way too many beans.  We had them every day for two months and I think I gave a big bag of them away.  Peas - usually had problems with them but last year I stuck some old tomato cages in the ground for them to climb on and they did great.  They don't produce like the beans though;  with peas after you pick them for a couple of weeks they die, unlike beans which just keep growing more beans and more beans and then yet more beans.  And we had a few onions that we grew from seed, so they were pretty small.  They got lost under all the bean plants too.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Ed, Ego and Superego on April 25, 2007, 03:12:12 PM
We grow basic veggies..tomatoes, peas, squash, herbs.  We also have strawberries and bluerries. 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Newt on April 25, 2007, 07:11:40 PM
We are on our very own horsefarm...lots of garden space and endless fertilizer!  I freeze and can a lot in the fall.

Incredible how the flavour of everything improves with freshness.  One of the advantages of having acres of space is that we can plant sweet corn in the garden steps from the door: put the pot on to boil and then go out and pick it.

Not sure what we will plant this year - it will be a few weeks yet until the soil is warm enough (southern Ontario, Canada we usually wait 'til the end of May)  tomatoes are a must (usually two dozen plants - several types) beans (green, yellow and purple), broccoli, carrots, potatoes, peas, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, radishes, lettuce, cauliflower, pop corn (for fun), sweet corn (several varieties to stagger the crop), peppers, snow peas...hmm...any suggestions?   Lots of greenhouses in our area so we can buy the plants already started (short growing season), but most we do grow from seed.

We are in the fruit belt so we also have trees - apple, pear, cherry and plum - and berry bushes (raspberry, gooseberry, blackberry, red and black currants and elderberries).  Lots of canned fruit and jams and jellies.  No grapes ...yet.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on May 09, 2007, 08:08:02 PM
I planted some peas a few weeks ago and they're currently coming up.  Probably will start everything else by Memorial Day.  Hows everyone else doing?


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Scott on May 09, 2007, 08:34:55 PM
Great avatar and quote Darksider. Worthy of karma.

I spent the last two weekends off working on the yard. Last year we had a desert in the back of our new home's yard and this year it's looking green. By fall I hope to fill in all the barren spots little by little. The new home construction here only puts grass in the front and nothing in the back. Leaving it up to the owner to plant backyard grass. The rest was just basic edging, mowing, watering, setting the front sprinkler system for the summer, and putting dark colorado mulch around the bush areas. Added some accents like a solar light near the front porch, some wild flowers near the porch, and humming bird feeder in the back. No veggies yet. Maybe next year. Considered putting a fruit tree in the back yard, but I have to do a little more research.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Andrew on May 10, 2007, 07:56:18 AM
Ours is coming along.  The beans are breaking the soil, same with the spinach and romaine lettuce.  My tomatoes and peppers from seed are not doing well.  I think that starting them indoors worked against them when I moved them outside.  They appear to be permanently stunted.  I am doing another planting and keeping them outside the whole time.  Tomatoes and peppers grow pretty quick in warm weather, so I don't think I'll be too far behind.

We almost had frost the other night.  I see a tiny amount of leaf curling from that.

Going to get some more medium sized plants from the nursery/Lowes too.  The ones I had gotten are all doing great, the tomato plants already need cages.  Well, except for one pepper plant.  We had a windy day and I think the wind cracked its central stalk.  It died.

Jenna is begging to plant her sunflower seeds.  I am used to putting them in the ground around the middle of May, so I think she may get her wish this weekend.

I have been meaning to mention a trick for growing tomatoes that I know.  First off, mix in some calcium lime with the soil.  That helps to prevent blossom end rot on the fruit.  Second, dig your hole for the tomato plant when transplanting and then break an egg in the bottom (shell and all).  Plant the tomato on top of it and fill in the hole.  The shell provies the plant with calcium and the yolk/white provides sulfer.  I found this trick on the web a few years ago and did some testing.  All of the plants that we planted with eggs underneath grew better.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Newt on May 10, 2007, 08:12:40 AM
Another tomato trick: put some epsom salts in the hole when planting them.  The tomatoes will be sweeter (less acidic) - it works.

I'll be digging in some lime - thanks Andrew!



Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on May 10, 2007, 11:49:17 AM
Great avatar and quote Darksider. Worthy of karma.

Thanx, people seem to be digging it so far. 

I'll have to mention the egg technique to my neighbor.  The guy literally plants over 20 tomato plants but last year he had a problem with rot on some.  Some guy on the radio told him he had to plant something else there to cure the rot which I didn't quite understand.  I think it could have very well been the ridiculous amount of rain we had last year.

The better half's grandfather owns a strawberry field in town and is loaning me some land.  When he says "some land" its usually 20 feet by 20 feet.  Last year I was washed out from the rain there but I'm hoping for a better yield because he's giving me a dryer patch of land.  Probably will plant 5 or 6 cucumber plants there and let them go wild. 

I actually prepared the strings for the peas last night.  I was told they like to climb so hopefully my contraption will work out. 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on May 14, 2007, 11:52:39 AM
I decided, much like everyone else  in  my general area, to put all plants in the ground this past weekend.  Official tally;

4 rows of sugar snap peas
3 rows of green beans
1 row each of;
Habaneros
Red Chillis
Giant Hot Portuguese
Bush Tomatoes

Side note to hot pepper lovers, if you can find the giant Portuguese hot peppers nab them.  They grow huge (hence the name) and are very productive.  I notice the bush tomato variety is perfect for limited space gardens much like the one I have.  They don't get too high and are great producers.  Anyone else ever try them? 

I'm saving the cucumbers and squash for my patch of land at my wife's grandfathers farm.  Perhaps put in more of the above crop as well.  I'd have to say this is one of my favorite times of the year, primarily for this reason. 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Andrew on May 14, 2007, 12:07:40 PM
I notice the bush tomato variety is perfect for limited space gardens much like the one I have.  They don't get too high and are great producers.  Anyone else ever try them? 

Did some more planting ourselves, though all of ours must be in (as said, rental home) pots.

I have tried some of the bush variety tomato plants before, but we did not enjoy them as much as other red tomatoes.  They seem to lack flavor (all of the ones we tried).  I do have two Yellow Pear tomato plants that are going nuts.  They are so large and full (probably 28" tall already, and bushy) that I am going to stop pinching off the blooms and let them fruit.

My Black Prince plants appear to be bouncing back after their shock from being transplanted (they were started inside from seed).

For flavor, I have always liked some of the classics like Brandywines and Rutgers (I have three Brandywine plants).  Grape tomatoes are another favorite, especially for Jenna.  She eats grape tomatoes right off the vine.  I am trying out a variety called Pineapple that we started from seed.  Also, I am hoping my Tigerella's get over their transplant shock.

We have two Jet Star Hybrids, a type I have never tried before, that are growing well.  The proof will be if the fruit is a good flavor.  I did not plant any this year, but we have done Better Boy (another hybrid, I think) and those tasted good.

Both of my long planters full of beans are looking great.  I need to trellis them soon - going to make jute lines for them to run up the side of the deck.  The cucumbers are starting to break the ground too.  The early planter of zuchini we planted is already putting out the secondary (mature) leaves that are about 4" across.  My California Wonder peppers are getting over their transplant shock (those are great peppers).


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Snivelly on May 14, 2007, 01:18:14 PM
Andrew, I'm jealous!  My plants haven't fared well this year.  The Easter freeze combined with bad soil and squirrels has ruined what I was trying to do in my front courtyard, and I don't know what to do to fix it.  The herbs I have in pots are doing so well that they all need bigger containers though, so at least something is growing.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on May 14, 2007, 07:00:06 PM
Tomoatos I've done the beefseak celebrity and sweet cherry 100.  It seems every year I come across a different hybrid that I hadn't seen the year before. 

Beans are great producers.  I usually end up giving them away towards the end of their run because I get "beaned" out. 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: raj on May 15, 2007, 02:20:29 PM
I grow those little red chili peppers.  I've been using the seeds from the previous year's crop for about 8 years now.  The first two years here in Toledo (2004 & 05) I got bumper crops but the last couple of years nothing.  The plants never even matured.  I start them off inside, in big pots (where they've always stayed I had been living in apartments) with a good grow light.  This year I made an indoor greenhouse for them in the basement, and they've just recently come up.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Andrew on May 16, 2007, 11:07:43 AM
I grow those little red chili peppers.  I've been using the seeds from the previous year's crop for about 8 years now.  The first two years here in Toledo (2004 & 05) I got bumper crops but the last couple of years nothing.  The plants never even matured.  I start them off inside, in big pots (where they've always stayed I had been living in apartments) with a good grow light.  This year I made an indoor greenhouse for them in the basement, and they've just recently come up.

Could they be a hybrid variety that is not viable after a generation or two?  I know that some are that way, but will usually not sprout at all from what I have seen.  Also, always be careful of overwatering plants.  A lot of times when I give other gardeners help, it turns out that they water too much.

You probably know all this anyway.  Maybe the weather has just been poor for that sort of plant?


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on May 16, 2007, 11:15:59 AM
I've noticed peppers are delicate in the colder weather.  Thats why I'm sitting on the edge of my seat whenever I notice a drop in the temperature lately.  I usally buy the plants already started.  Luckily I have several garden shops in 5 minute traveling area that sell seedlings 6 for below $3.00.  Beans and peas I usually do from seed.  How much do you folks play for you plants?

Anyone ever do corn?  Any tips would be appreciated. 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Andrew on May 16, 2007, 11:39:23 AM
Around here most plants are $2 - $3, depending on maturity.

I have had mixed results with corn.  It seems to like a lot of water, but you also have to give it some shelter from the wind.  You know, Native Americans supposedly grew the "Three Sisters" in clumps.  At the center would be corn, then climbing beans around the base, and finally squash a little farther out.  Apparently, this helped to conserve water around the plants and provided the best bang for the buck.  Everything worked together.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: raj on May 16, 2007, 03:43:43 PM

Could they be a hybrid variety that is not viable after a generation or two?  I know that some are that way, but will usually not sprout at all from what I have seen.  Also, always be careful of overwatering plants.  A lot of times when I give other gardeners help, it turns out that they water too much.

You probably know all this anyway.  Maybe the weather has just been poor for that sort of plant?

I got about 6-7 generations out of them, the last two were real good.  Of course now the seeds are about 2-3 years old.  Last year the plants were inside, with the grow light and they sprouted & pretty much died.  I'm trying not to overwater, thanks.



Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on June 07, 2007, 11:20:32 AM
I just finished up my big garden at the farm the other day.  I'm actually sharing it with my grandfather in law.  So far we've got;

two rows of onions
5 rows of corn
one row of hot portugual peppers
one row of summer squash
two rows of cucumbers
one row and a half of green beans
half a row of tomato plants
 
the rows are generally about 10 feet in length so I'm hoping for major production.  The strawberry fields at the farm are popping.  Hopefully they'll start picking this weekend.  The stuff behind myself is doing good although it has been cold the past few nights.  How is everyone else doing in your area?


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Andrew on June 07, 2007, 11:55:04 AM
Wow, I wish I had that much room to play with.  Everything of mine is in pots, though I have a lot and big pots.

My two Yellow Pair tomato plants are heavy with fruit.  We'll probably start getting some mature ones off of those in about two or three weeks.  I've never tried this sort of small, sweet tomato before, but am looking forward to them.  The plants are huge, like 3' high!

I am a little disappointed in my two Jet Star Hybrid plants (another variety I had never tried before).  They got big and now seem to be having problems.  I don't think that they like hot weather and full sun.  I'm moving them to see what I can do.

The two Black Prince tomatoes are having issues, but we had a problem.  I caught Andy and Jenna watering them with bubble stuff.  We had a talk about that.

All of the other tomato plants seem to be doing pretty good, especially my Brandywine plants.  One of the Brandywine plants is almost the size of the Yellow Pears.

My zucchini are not doing too well for some reason.  I might have planted them too early.  The other pot with all yellow squash is great, as is the third pot with zucchini and butternut.  I'm thinking that we will have some yellow and zucchinis before the end of June.  Those fruit grow like crazy on hot days.

The beans and cucumbers are all growing well.  I have the beans trellised and they are going up fast.

We've already harvested much of the spinach and will take the rest this week.  Then I'll replant that long pot with spinach again.  Katie used the first batch of spinach in a really good pasta dish with italian bacon too.  I'm going to start cutting romaine lettuce this week for salads as well.





Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on June 10, 2007, 06:03:47 PM
Odd thing happened today at the farm.  I was raking up the land a bit in between plants and my grandfather in law came over with some of the strawberry pickers.  He lets them plant a garden in or around the same area of land that I do.  These ladies know little English but believe me, they are expert farmers. 

Anyhow, my neighbor gave me some cucumber plants to put in over there a few weeks ago.  Or at least I thought they were cucumbers.  The lady took one look at them and stated saying "zucchini, zucchini".  Apparently I am going to have zucchini but its still up in the air.   So long story short, I have a mystery crop on my hands. 

Once things catch on a little more, I'll take some pics and post them in this thread. 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: raj on June 11, 2007, 12:48:58 PM
If you're going to have zucchini, be prepared to have lots and lots of zucchini.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Snivelly on June 11, 2007, 02:30:47 PM
I accidentally killed my cilantro.  I didn't know you're not supposed to transplant it, apparently that sends it into shock, it sends up flowers, then dies off to seeds.  Ooopsies!  Everything else I have in pots is doing well, especially the cherry tomatoes I planted, as they have lots of fruit starting already.  The plants I have in the ground have been through a late freeze, squirrel damage, and now a semi-drought, so I'm close to giving up on those.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Jack on June 11, 2007, 08:27:11 PM
Our garden is kind of a mixed bag this year.  I got a ten pack of those onion sets, only four came up so I planted radishes in the extra space.  Then three more onions came up.  Oh well, I didn't plant a radish directly on top of any of them.  Kind of weird the way some took a full month longer than others to come up.  I've got a whole bunch of onions I planted from seeds as well.  They didn't come up in the back one-third of the garden so I replanted that area.  Got two rows of sweet peppers, but when they didn't come up I planted three hot pepper plants in that area.  Then of course the sweet peppers came up.  I guess they'll just have to fight it out amongst themselves.  The sweet peppers are only about an inch tall - if they're going to grow into bushes they better hurry the hell up.  The beans are only doing okay, about a quarter of them didn't come up so I replanted them and they just grew into these two inch tall stalks with no leaves.  Maybe I'll try replanting them yet again.  The other three-quarters of them are coming along pretty well, we got pole beans for the first time and they're climbing their poles.  The peas are doing great, I planted a whole pile of them and they've got 9 tomato cages to climb on.  Some of them are 2 feet tall already.  We've got two regular tomato plants and one grape tomato plant, all of those are doing just fine.  They're about three feet tall or so.  We've got a few small tomatoes but it will be at least a month before they get ripe. 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: CheezeFlixz on June 11, 2007, 09:39:24 PM
our garden is about a acre I wide row plant so I can till and not hoe. We grow about everything you can grow in a garden. Then we spend most of summer and fall canning or freezing. We also do a kitchen garden and a herb garden.

For those of you over run with Zucchini's  and Sumer Squash try this ...

Slice about 1/4" to 1/2" thick dip in garlic oil salt pepper assorted spices if you want and grill both sides until done. It's great for those too big to do anything with Zucch's if you make bread with it you can also grate it and put it in freezer bag and safe it until fall or winter and have fresh zucchini bread then too. We also dehydrate a lot of stuff too.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on June 21, 2007, 08:50:02 AM
Has anyone on this board have trouble with corn before?  I tried it last year but the rain pretty much washed out that idea.  I planted it again this year and its been over two weeks and it hasn't come up.  I'm assuming the birds could have gotten it.  Other than that the cucumbers are taking off big time already stretching to about a foot on any give side from the original seedling. The first tomato is coming in on one of my plants and everything else is flowering. 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Andrew on June 21, 2007, 01:21:58 PM
I have had problems with corn, but it did come up (vice not sprouting at all).  I've only grown it a few times and the last was a few years ago, so I cannot be of much assistance.

We already finished out spinach and have gone through a lot of the lettuce (Romaine).  My yellow pear tomatoes are heavy with fruit.  I started counting on one of them and stopped at a hundred.  If those taste as good as they are supposed to, we might get fat from eating tomatoes.

Picked our first zucchini yesterday.  We have two more coming and it looks like this weekend will be a bumper crop of yellow squash.  Some of my pepper plants are going nuts with fruit too.  I would have more zucchini, but the darn plants went nuts making male flowers and didn't have any female (fruit) ones.

My cucumbers are big and full of flowers, but all of them are male.  The plants should unscrew themselves soon and start making fruit.  The darn things look like China (all boys and no girls).

The other tomato plants are all blooming and going to fruit too.  The German Queen and Brandywines are huge plants, around 4 to 4 1/2 feet. 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Jack on June 21, 2007, 02:34:46 PM
My sweet peppers are making some progress, they're gone from 1" to almost 3" tall in the past few weeks.  Apparently they like the hot weather.  The hot peppers have some teeny-weeny peppers on them already, maybe 3/4" long.  The beans are doing really well, though I had to rip out what I thought was a a 4' tall pole bean because it turned out to be a weed  :teddyr:  That was the first one to come up too!  Once the other beans started climbing up their poles I decided that first one wasn't a bean.  The bush beans have got lots of baby beans on them about 1/4" long.  The peas are awesome, about 3 1/2 feet tall and getting some flowers.  The tomatoes are doing well too, they're over 4' tall and they've got a dozen or so tomatoes, but nothing ready to pick for a while.  No tomatoes on the grape tomato plant, but it's getting quite a few flowers.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on June 30, 2007, 01:57:06 PM
These are pictures of my garden behind the house which were taken this morning.  I'll try to get around to pictures of my bigger garden at the farm once it really takes off.  From left to right peas, beans, red chilies, giant Portugal hot peppers, habenero, bush tomatoes. 

(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/darksider66/gardentopview.jpg)

(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/darksider66/gardensideview.jpg)


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Fishasaurus on July 01, 2007, 01:32:43 PM
I wish I had enough direct sun where I'm living to grow some veggies.  I had to settle for some shade plants this year.  I live in a townhouse too, and we're allowed to plant as we like.  So in our front courtyard I have phlox, hostas, and some impatiens, and since I have a sunnier spot in the back, I potted some herb plants and put them on our wall.  I've got rosemary, cilantro, oregano, and basil going, but I still wish I had a spot I could at least grow tomatoes.

I'm in the a same boat as you, but it's squah Id like to grow.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Snivelly on July 01, 2007, 03:52:09 PM
Squash would be cool too, actually growing any produce would be nice if it helped cut down on the grocery bill.  I did buy some cherry tomato plants, and the tomatoes are just starting to ripen. 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on July 26, 2007, 11:30:40 AM
So how is everyone making out?  I have been picking literally 20 each of squash and cucumbers every other day.  I've been keeping my coworkers happy by brining in my access.  Beans are more than plentiful seeing I have a ten foot row of them going.  I have been grilling the squash mixing it with beans and zucchini.   :thumbup:

The peppers are doing pretty good.  I tried some of the red chilies which have a pretty good kick to them.  Mind you they're still green.  I hope to start drying some up once I get a few tomatoes to ripen.  Speaking of that, most of my tomato plants have a good yield but they're still green. 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Andrew on July 26, 2007, 12:09:49 PM
Had a deer that poached some of my tomatoes, but I put rags soaked in my cologne around and that has kept him (it was a small buck) away.  We've been picking about a quart of Yellow Pear and Grape tomatoes every other day.  The larger ones, like the Black Prince, Tigerella, German Queen, and Sunmaster are coming in now.

Beans didn't do so good.  We did get some, but not as many as I would have liked.  The kids picked and ate most of them right where they grew.

I had to pull out and replant two of the pots of squash after the plants were wrung out.  I think that I need to limit myself to two or three plants in each of those big pots.  Four was too many.  We did get a number of zucchini and yellow squash.  The cucumbers have been producing, but I think that I needed to limit how many of those were in each pot down to three from four.

The peppers are just starting to ripen and we are going to have a nice crop of those.  Some of the red bells are big enough that my fist would fit inside of them and each plant has half a dozen or so.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: CheezeFlixz on July 26, 2007, 12:55:48 PM
Had a deer that poached some of my tomatoes, but I put rags soaked in my cologne around and that has kept him (it was a small buck) away.  We've been picking about a quart of Yellow Pear and Grape tomatoes every other day.  The larger ones, like the Black Prince, Tigerella, German Queen, and Sunmaster are coming in now.

Beans didn't do so good.  We did get some, but not as many as I would have liked.  The kids picked and ate most of them right where they grew.

I had to pull out and replant two of the pots of squash after the plants were wrung out.  I think that I need to limit myself to two or three plants in each of those big pots.  Four was too many.  We did get a number of zucchini and yellow squash.  The cucumbers have been producing, but I think that I needed to limit how many of those were in each pot down to three from four.

The peppers are just starting to ripen and we are going to have a nice crop of those.  Some of the red bells are big enough that my fist would fit inside of them and each plant has half a dozen or so.

Want to keep deer away from your garden or fruit trees? Pee around it, morning pee is best it's more smelly. :buggedout: But might not be the best idea if you are in an urban, populated area, could give the neighbors a bit of a start.

And if you need tomatoes come pick as many as you want I have 1000's of them, same goes for squash, zucchini's, cukes, the hot dry weather has been a mixed blessing some plants have thrived and other not so well, but I've had to run a soaker hose everyday to keep the ground moist as we're nearly 16 inches below normal for the year on rain.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: raj on July 26, 2007, 02:27:14 PM
My red chilis all up and died -- never got to be more than sprouts.  And I tried not watering them too much. :bluesad:

One bush that I planted last year is dead.  And now the dogwood I planted this spring is in sad shape.  I've never had such problems with plants before.  Wonder if it has anything to do with the Indian bones I dug up and threw in the trash.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Fishasaurus on July 30, 2007, 08:12:22 AM
Had a problem with the tomatoes I have been growing from seed.  I put them outside for about 6 hours yesterday as part of hardening them up and they appear to have been scalded by the sun.  That is weird, because it was not the first time they were left outside to harden up (though it was the longest). 

They probably have the fungus disease called, you guessed it, "sunscald."  The tomatoes should still be good if the plants live at all.

When I bought my condo I finally had a sunny spot to garden, and now the neightbors have let their volunteer box-elder trees block out every drop of sunlight.  Soon I'll be restricted to ferns and toadlilies, unless I get out there with a vhainsaw and some Round-Up...


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on August 04, 2007, 07:36:03 AM
Odd story.  It seems almost overnight two of my squash plants have bit the dust.  I'm not sure if something like a deer trampled through the garden.  I had my wife's grandfather look at it and he thinks it could have been a fungus. 

On a bright note, the tomatoes around here are finally turning.  That an my row of onions are maturing nicely.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Andrew on August 06, 2007, 11:54:31 PM
Darksider: you could have a grub problem. I lost some squash plants just like you describe and found that large, white grubs were in the pots and had chewed deep into the taproots. 

Dinner tonight was stuffed peppers, with the Borntreger twist.  We used all yellow and red bell peppers from the garden.  The tomato in the stuffing was a mix from our plants.  Instead of ground beef, we use sweet sausage that is removed from the skin and mozzarella cheese.  The reds are sweet when stuffed and the yellows have that great yellow flavor to them.  Mmmm, good!

Now, the tomato report:  (we are buried in tomatoes)

These are the ones I will be planting next year:

Sunmaster
These are great!  Tennis ball sized and almost perfectly round, producing lots of fruit, not tempermental at all about heat or watering.  They make great slicers for club sandwiches and burgers.

Sugary
These will replace grape tomatoes as my favorite little sweet tomato.  They are larger than a grape tomato and more fleshy, which I like, along with being sweeter.  The plant is making plenty of them.

Yellow Pear
Lots (like 200 per plant) of little tomatoes that look cool and taste like regular tomatoes.  Only a few problems with cracking and that is about 1 out of 40 fruit.

Mr. Stripey
I like their size, about the same as a ping-pong ball.  A little tart on the taste, but a good tomato to cut in half for your salad.  I'm looking forward to these in Katie's homemade salsa.

Pineapple (maybe)
The one plant is full of big fruit, no cracking (a deer has been raiding the other plant).  They are supposed to be big, sweet beefsteaks.  If they do well, I will replace my usual Hillbilly plants with these for our sweet beefsteak requirement (for the salsa, etc).


These will not be planted next year:

Black Prince
Interesting color, interesting size, a little different taste, but they crack too much!  All of them crack the moment they start to ripen.

Jet Star Hybrid
Meh.  Plants are problematic with yellowing and the Sunmaster is a much better tomato. I would plant a Celebrity before these.

Grape Tomato
The Sugary is a better choice

German Queen
They crack too much.

Brandywine
I am having a problem with them in pots.  The plants get too big for pots.  If I didn't have to use pots, I would do these again.  I like Brandywines.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: CheezeFlixz on August 07, 2007, 09:08:25 AM
About the only 'mater we grow is Roma's, they're great for salsa as they are meaty and not full of pulp. I just get other kinds from friends, we trade's em out.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on August 07, 2007, 11:27:23 AM
Quote
Darksider: you could have a grub problem. I lost some squash plants just like you describe and found that large, white grubs were in the pots and had chewed deep into the taproots. 

Perhaps it was a grub and oddly it was only one plant of five that went down.  I had a bush tomato plant that fell on the ground at the farm and something has been eating the tomatoes right off the vine.  I'm assuming a woodchuck or rabit.  Probably the same animal that were eating the baby cucumbers off the vine. I staked up the plant and I'm hoping it may deter ground feeders if they are in fact that. 

The bush variety tomoatoes have been giving out a nice yield.  I picked the first one a few weeks ago and it was very sweet.  Thats the only variety I tried this year.

Beans I have too many of and squash is still plentiful.  I'm hoping to harvest the hot peppers for drying this weekend.  I picked an onion or two which are about the size of baseballs right now. 





Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on May 18, 2008, 04:58:20 PM
Has anyone started planting or planning yet?  I decided to try celery this year along with radishes.  I'll probably be harvesting the radishes in a few weeks.  I planted two tomato plants as well this weekend.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: CheezeFlixz on May 18, 2008, 06:04:03 PM
Has anyone started planting or planning yet?  I decided to try celery this year along with radishes.  I'll probably be harvesting the radishes in a few weeks.  I planted two tomato plants as well this weekend.

My garden is out and I've already harvested greens and other early crops. Corn, cukes, beans, squash, zucchinis and others are all up. Tomatoes planted, as well as potatoes, and other root crops. I'll likely grow two gardens this year and all spring, summer and winter crops. We'll canning, freezing, preserving, drying and storing most of it. I have a few peppers out but I need to plant more. 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Killer Bees on May 18, 2008, 07:13:48 PM
In my last apartment, I lived on the top floor with a large verandah, so I had heaps of pot plants - ferns, palms etc.  I did think of growing my own food, but the verandah was in shade all day and that's not ideal for food growing.

In my new apartment, I'm on the ground floor, but there's no real access to the yard.  I have a concrete walkway that only I use and I can put pots and stuff on that, but the common path as right next to it so if I get a little plant happy, any passer by can knock the pots over if they're not careful.  And it's on the shady side of the building as well. 

I was thinking about putting in wire shelving underneath my large dining room window and putting plants and stuff there.  That window gets sun all day so it would be ideal for growing things, but I think the food growing option is out of the question.  I can just image the property manager's face on inspection day when she sees tomatoes and beans growing in the dining room!  I don't want to do all that work and have her order me to get rid of them.


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: RCMerchant on May 19, 2008, 06:04:59 AM
Me and my son Jed planted tomatoes two weeks ago. Me and Tara Sue planted all sorts of flowers yesterday. We also pulled LOTS of weeds around the Rose vines in the back of the house. I hope my 'maters come in better than last year. Tara's son Tooie (yes....TOOIE) planted a mess of potatoes in the late fall.....hopefully will be digging up some spuds outta the backyard this year!!!


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Jack on May 19, 2008, 07:19:24 AM
That's what I spent my weekend doing, planting flowers, vegetables and herbs.  And some grass seed too.  The stuff in the yard, not the other grass.  We got pole beans since we liked those last year.  Peas, it says on the package that they only grow 4' tall.  Last year they grew about 7' tall.  I put up cages, they grew past them.  Put up posts and tied the plants to them, they still tipped over.  Then I was trying to get peas out of this giant gnarled mass of plants.  Lettuce, first time we're growing that.  Onions, radishes, and 5 kinds of hot peppers (variety pack).  It says on the package you're supposed to start the pepper plants indoors, let them get started for a few weeks and then put them outdoors in a protected area for a week, then put them in the garden.  Well, I didn't read the package until I was kneeling next to the garden, ready to put the seeds in the ground.  The peppers we planted last year took forever to sprout, so long in fact that I planted some other stuff in that area.  Of course then they came up. 

Got some sweet corn, but I didn't plant that yet.  It says you're supposed to plant it in 4 rows, next to each other, to ensure proper pollination.  Well, it's going in one long row dammit.  I'm putting them behind the garage, because I'd love to spend an extra 15 minutes trimming around them when I mow the lawn every week.  Haven't got the tomatoes yet. 

Also planted the wife's herb garden, hopefully this year she'll actually use some of the herbs instead of just pulling off an occasional leaf to comment on how pretty they smell.  Then I planted about three dozen impatiens and petunias in all the numerous little niches around here. 

The apple tree is in full bloom too, it's gorgeous, absolutely covered in white blossoms.  Soon our back yard will be absolutely covered in apples.  If anybody wants some, like a hundred pounds worth every week, just let me know  :teddyr:


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: asimpson2006 on May 19, 2008, 08:05:46 AM
My mom and dad usually have a garden of some sorts.  Usually it's just flowers, but my dad loves to plant stuff for fruits and vegetables now and then.  My dad loves to plant strawberries, hot peppers, blueberries,  and sometimes cantaloupe though the last one is become a rarity since we have so much trouble with rabbits and other small animals eating the plants.
 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Ed, Ego and Superego on May 19, 2008, 11:29:33 AM
I have peas, carrots (purple ones!!!) and tomatoes in so far.  Need to get the squash srtarted ASAP.  Blueberries and strawberries are shaping up nicely.
-Ed


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on May 25, 2008, 06:29:32 AM
I just planted at my grandfather in law's farm yesterday.  Final count; 4 zucchini plants, 6 egg plants, 12 tomatoes, 12 jalapenos, 6 hot cherry pepper, 6 scotch bonnets along with a few rows of beans and radishes. 


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Mr. DS on July 13, 2008, 06:18:32 AM
This year's garden is doing phenomenal up here in the NE.  I have been picking at least a half dozen zucchinis a day along with tons of beans.  My tomato plants at the farm have at least a dozen tomatoes on them a piece.  On the way also are eggplant and peppers.  How is everyone else doing?


Title: Re: Gardens
Post by: Jack on July 13, 2008, 07:26:18 AM
My pole beans are up to the top of their poles, sending out feelers in every direction like some B movie monster  :teddyr:  No beans yet, but once they start producing I'm sure we'll be buried.  My peas are doing horrible this year, must have gotten some bad seeds.  Only about 20% of them came up, I planted about 15 more and two of those came up, they're about an inch tall.  Even the ones that are growing well look kind of sickly.  My peppers are about 6" tall, they grow pretty slow (I guess Minnesota isn't the ideal climate for them), but they're doing well.  I'm interested to see what kind of peppers we'll get, it was a variety pack of seeds and I have no idea what they'll be like.  Lettuce - one little packet of seeds and we've got enough lettuce for about three families.  Onions are about a foot tall, they're doing good, maybe not quite big enough to pick yet.  Tomato plants are full of tomatoes, nothing even close to being ripe yet.  Last year they didn't seem to be growing as well as I would have liked, so I dug holes and filled them with fresh potting soil and planted them in that.  Seems to have done the trick.  One of them is over the top of its cage already.  We've got one little runt, I planted it in a new spot where I'd never grown a tomato before, I thought the soil would be nice and fertile there, but I guess I was wrong.  Poor little thing is only a foot tall, but it's got several tomatoes on it.

I planted five sweetcorn seeds, nothing came up.  Oh well.

And the wife's herb garden?  All flowered out.  Another year of pulling the occasional leaf off and saying "Doesn't that smell pretty?", but I don't think she's actually used them for anything.