The annual gardening thread

[Jack]

Anybody planted their garden yet?  I'm probably going to buy some plants and seeds today and get started on ours.  It's supposed to get down to the mid-thirties this weekend, but it was 75 yesterday.  Dammit, I wanna plant some stuff 

I got the soil all tilled up yesterday (with my shovel).  My big thing this year is compost manure.  My Aunt has this gigantic rhubarb plant, and she credits its size with the fact that she put a circle of compost manure around it.  I did the same for our puny little rhubarb plants.  And since I was buying the stuff anyway, I put 80 pounds of it in the garden and 20 lbs. in each of the spots for the tomato plants.  I think the soil is pretty burned out where I put the tomatoes, the first year I planted them there they were huge, probably 8-10 feet tall.  Each year they get shorter, last year they were barely 5' tall.  So we'll see if this stuff helps.

I'm going to plant tomatoes, peas, beans, lettuce, a red pepper plant, and onions.

[Mr. DS]

I've decided to do a lot from seed this year to save money. I started broccolli indoors and planted them outside...only for them to get trounced by a freak rain storm.     I did sow some seeds outdoors and am currently waiting for them to come up. 

In a few weeks I play to start the squash seeds indoors.  I'm also doing bell peppers, tomatoes and beans.  Kind of a light but productive plant year for me...hopefully. 

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

I got somepotatoes in, but nothing else yet. I need to get peas staerted ASAP.  We have the house up for sale, so its hard to commit, but theres no guarantee we won't behere this fall, so I may as well plant

[ChuckSplatt]

It was around 90 in my area of CA today.
Our current garden has purple Spanish lavender in full bloom,
our 4 or 5 sweet broom plants are over 30' high, all yellow in full bloom.
Our first batch of bright orange CA poppies are very healthy, but not yet in bloom as I just planted 'em 2 months ago. Our giant star jasmine will bloom next. It's growmn a lot in the past 2 years. Last year I grew sky blue morning glories from seed that put on an amazing show for around 3 months.

cheers to all thriving garden lovers

We have lots of garden gnomes and (wife's) faeries all over our garden in hidden places.

[Jack]

I got all my seeds planted - peas, beans, onions, chives, lettuce plus some colored lettuce (last year we had more lettuce than we knew what to do with, but my wife spotted some pretty colored lettuce, so this year we'll have twice as much), and carrots.  No tomato plants yet, the stores that sell them aren't open yet here in Minnesota.  Hmmm...I fondly remember my days living in California 

[Paquita]

I bought a clematis plant and a hanging strawberry plant from the grocery store - I know it's probably not the best place.  I plan on putting the clematis in a pot on my psuedo-patio.  I already anticipate failure and have read that the best time to plant clematis is in late fall, but so what! I'm gonna do it anyway!  I've had a lot of luck with strawberries in containers but my cats keep eating them, so since this one is hanging, it should be OK, right?

I'm not very good at gardening, so if anyon has advice I'm open to it!

[Jack]

I've had a lot of luck with strawberries in containers but my cats keep eating them, so since this one is hanging, it should be OK, right?

I predict many hours of jumping and climbing fun for the cats 

[Mr. DS]

I hope to start my squash seeds this weekend in pots.  My broccolli seeds have yet to spring outside but I'm thinking with the near 80s degree weather, they may just pop this weekend. 

[AndyC]

Still too cold up here for at least a couple more weeks, but I'm already getting impatient to start on the yard. No vegetable garden, but my wife has some flower beds. I've got trees to prune, weeds to pull, cattails to keep under control at the shoreline, and a lawn that needs lots of attention this year. For a start, I need to roll it, as it's getting pretty lumpy. Then there's a lot of mole damage from the winter to fix, aeration and topdressing, and overseeding. The soil is not great for growing Kentucky bluegrass in my backyard, particularly in the sandy, sunny, high and dry parts, so I've got a big bag of white clover seed to spread, which should do better around here while helping the grass as well.

[Mr. DS]

Well I'm officially planted for the season as of Memorial  Day.  Current count is;

Half Row each of green and yellow bush beans
4 cucumber plants
4 zuchinni plants
6 celebrity tomato plants
18 bell pepper plants (3 different varities)

I gave them generous room so I'm expecting big plants as always.  I know I said I was doing seed but I bought seedlings.  I came in under 20 bucks which to me is rather awesome for a summer full of produce.

[Jack]

We picked some lettuce for the first time today.  Washed it, put it in our new salad spinner, and then I found out that the water comes out the bottom of the salad spinner.  I was under the impression that it held the water inside.  Oops    Tasted great with some raspberry and walnut vinaigrette.  Pretty much everything else is doing well, the beans took their sweet time coming up but now they seem to be growing.  Peas are doing fantastic.  Onions grew about two inches yesterday.  Weeds are really doing super as well.

[Mr. DS]

Weeds are really doing super as well.

I misread that and though you had something illegal growing.   

Weeds kill me the first month and a half until things really catch.  I spend at least an hour hoeing them out every week and some grow rather deep. 

[Mr. DS]

So the past couple of weeks have been ticking me off.  All we have had is rain lately and the temps aren't really enough to make things pop in my area.  I actually was able to hoe things out a bit but found myself sinking into the ground here and there literally.  The plants are doing pretty well considering.  I am finding a lot of cucumber beetles this year.  My grandfather in law was able to treat the problem with some of the good stuff.  

Here is the start thus far...myself and Offspring

[Rev. Powell]

Nice looking crop!  How long do little boys take to raise from seed?

[Mr. DS]

Nice looking crop!  How long do little boys take to raise from seed?

Not long, the harvesting is a pain though.