Garden thread

[21hens-incharge]

Ok, thank you very much @21hens-incharge. I will look into it more.

When we get a harvest I am sure we can help each other through preserving it for winter use.
I plan to dehydrate a bunch of things too.

 

[so lucky]

Yes, @cluckmecoop7 . Buy yourself the Ball Blue Book. You will refer to it often, and make you confident in what you preserve.
Kale is easy to grow and will probably stay alive all winter in any southern garden. It has stayed alive for me here in zone 6. I suggest dinosaur kale if you are growing it to eat. (not to just look pretty beside your food, lol) The dinosaur kale grows long sword-like leaves, and is mild flavored. Also called Lacinato Kale.

I am on The Easy Garden. The members are nice and helpful. Not too bossy, lol. It is a great resource; you can search past subjects and get good info. It's always good to know a tiny bit before you start asking questions, I think.
Count me in on the gardening thread.

 

[Rooapalooza]

Ooooohhhh my favorite veggies depend on the year and what does the best . I like growing corn because it grows so fast, even though I don't like to eat it! I do love cucumbers, especially the little pickling ones, so they're always a favorite too. My top favorites are probably okra and eggplant. Their flowers are so beautiful, and it's nice to grow things that actually enjoy the heat here.

I'm trying to do more greens since I eat a lot of them, but the sprouts are so tempting to my chickens that I almost never get any full grown plants, lol. I also have a hard time keeping them from bolting.

I love the foliage of potatoes but I've never been good at getting any big ones; not sure what I'm doing wrong there. I've just started some in big ceramic pots last week, we'll see how that goes this year.

 

[Rooapalooza]

I just threw the seeds in the soil and watered. Kale likes cooler temps, so down here they will bolt quickly and peter out as soon as the hot summer starts, probably about the time you would be planting them! The chickens and ducks absolutely love it they hardly leave enough for me, so today I threw some more seeds out. Hopefully they will soon sprout

I dug up my healthiest Dino kales last spring and brought them in the house for the summer, and they lived! They are happy back outside now. Has anyone else over-summered green plants inside before?

 

[Melodychick]

Has anyone else over-summered green plants inside before?

I’ve thought of that, but haven’t tried it, hmmm... Do you put them under lights, or a sunny window, or what?
It’s a rainy day here today, so I’m getting out my supplies to set up my mini greenhouse in my spare bathroom. Just some shelves in the bathtub with heat mats and lights, but it gets the seedlings started well enough. Here’s a pic of the set up with some chicks in a brooder alongside

 

[21hens-incharge]

We are still about 3 months away from starting seeds inside.

We cannot plant anything outside until after mothers day due to our first cycles.
I will be completely nuts by then!

 

[Melodychick]

But this summer when most of my plants quit producing because it’s too hot and humid, you’ll be enjoying fresh produce. Im going to try planting the tomatoes in a spot that gets some afternoon shade this year to see if I can extend their production.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I plant where things get some afternoon shade too.
The full sun and dry air here can be brutal.

I read to grow the more expensive to buy produce..........my family won't eat that stuff. I focus on the things we use a lot of.
Yup a bunch of cheaper stuff.

Onions, squash, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, lettuces, radish, carrots and strawberries are all on my list.

Last year I planted strawberries in this thing.

Suspended off the ground on the 2 wooden tomato cages. It is 2 liter soda bottles, big pvc pipe and cotton wicks for the self watering aspect.
While it worked ok the plants required a daily refills of the tube and sent off tons of runners. I transplanted them into a raised bed after getting the onions out. Maybe lettuce will do better in that contraption.

It was a fun experiment.

I grow carrots in pots and have decent luck.

 

[Melodychick]

That strawberry contraption is cool! Every time I try to grow strawberries the opossums and raccoons get them before I do. I’ve tried fencing them off but they just took the fence down
I guess I need to build something along the lines of my predator proof coop for them, but your idea is also a possibility

 

[Farmdog267]

I'm wondering how to grow kale! Could you please tell me about it? That would be great if you could! I want to try growing it this year.

Kale is pretty easy to grow. Growth pattern similar to spinach or other greens.