BYC gardening thread!!

[hippiestink]

I suggest keeping a notebook and be prepared for changes from one year to the next, I think it's a bit cyclical. I've had really variable yields from year to year. With the same number of plants I sometimes end up canning tomatoes every weekend for two months straight. Then, this year not even enough tomatoes to keep us supplied over summer but I'm pickling peppers like a crazy person. Same goes for other stuff. It's kind of fun that every summer is a surprise but also don't give up on something after just one year.

I kept a photo log this year. I'm too lazy to write every day but it's easy to pull out my phone and take a photo.

Still harvesting... Got tomato plants that yield about a 3.5 gallon trug every few days, so making lots of sauce.

Our village has an annual fundraising Harvest Festival happening this weekend. Got a call that one of the growers had bowed out and did I have anything I could provide for the "Taste of Corrales" table. Luckily I planted late (and, ergo, harvested late). They'll be getting lots of colorful sweet peppers, assorted summer squashes, a bucket of Juliet tomatoes and a crate of picked-today apples. Too bad the grapes from last week are juiced and on their way to wine... (well, too bad for them. Great for me!)

OOH! I love those peppers, they look gorgeous! Our Thai chilis are just starting to ripen up, so it's almost time for a new batch of nuoc cham (Vietnamese spicy fish sauce).

 

[cupofJoelene]

I have to join! I started my first garden last year and completely fell in love with every bit of it, but we moved during the spring/first of summer this year so I missed out this season. I plan on starting on the garden of my dreams soon so that by spring I'll have everything set!

 

[hennible]

Awesome

 

[Birdlover 13]

I planted basil, loads of fennel and jelly melon (also known as the horned cucumber). We have got tons of beans sprouting up now but I just can't wait for the jelly melon to grow.

 

[lazy gardener]

I planted basil, loads of fennel and jelly melon (also known as the horned cucumber). We have got tons of beans sprouting up now but I just can't wait for the jelly melon to grow.

What do you use jelly melon for???

 

[Birdlover 13]

Well I heard that its actually healthy for you and you can eat the flesh inside. It can also be used as a normal fruit in fruit salads and such.

 

[hippiestink]

Uh oh, looks like my late carrots may not have shoulders before the first frost. Only got knee-high greens so far. Harvested a lot of radishes and still got some coming in. Corn is pretty much done, I need to go into the garden, wade through the weeds, and harvest the last of the potatoes.

Next year I'm going to just make a few raised beds. Easier on my knees and hips and if I put down paper or cardboard it's supposed to help more with weeds. Also, anyone know a good method of mulching gardens? Every time I tried it it never worked, weeds and grass still got in.

 

[lazy gardener]

Check out this video.

I also deal with hip and knee problems... and shoulder problems. If it's real hard for you to get down to ground level, you might try one of those gardening stools. Raised beds will help some, but not a lot. Have you looked at hay bale gardening? They require intensive watering, but make a great raised bed for a lot of crops. News paper and cardboard in the paths will help immensely. You can then cover that with mulch of choice. As far as the beds go, if you plant them intensively, the veggies will out compete the weeds. YOu can interplant a lot of the smaller crops: Onions, carrots, radish, lettuce, spinach, etc. It makes for a very colorful bed, and as the greens get harvested, it leaves room for the onions.

 

[Guvnah]

Uh oh, looks like my late carrots may not have shoulders before the first frost. Only got knee-high greens so far. ..

In my garden, I cover my carrot patch with a thick pile of leaves once frosts start coming. At least 6-8 inches deep, and often more. Then when I need more carrots, I go out and rake back leaves from one end and harvest the exposed carrots. (So the pile of leaves on the remaining patch gets thicker and thicker as the winter progresses and the remaining patch gets smaller and smaller.) This keeps the soil from freezing, and I get fresh carrots well into winter. Last year they only lasted until Christmas (but, oh, those fresh carrots with our Christmas feast!!!....) Some years I have carrots into February.

 

[lazy gardener]

In my garden, I cover my carrot patch with a thick pile of leaves once frosts start coming. At least 6-8 inches deep, and often more. Then when I need more carrots, I go out and rake back leaves from one end and harvest the exposed carrots. (So the pile of leaves on the remaining patch gets thicker and thicker as the winter progresses and the remaining patch gets smaller and smaller.) This keeps the soil from freezing, and I get fresh carrots well into winter. Last year they only lasted until Christmas (but, oh, those fresh carrots with our Christmas feast!!!....) Some years I have carrots into February.

No issues with mice or voles? They move in on all of my root crops.