Gardening for Old Folks (Adaptative)

[lazy gardener]

I have plenty of containers of various sizes including the drilled buckets and old decorative planters that are already full of soil. the big barrier is lack of appropriate outdoor temp! Maybe I'll put a cuke beside front door, with a few nasturtiums for my summer "welcome" planting.

 

[rjohns39]

Well, I'm the odd ball... My tomatoes and peppers grow in five gallon buckets, one plant per bucket in pearlite. I grow them hydroponically. It never fails that a bird or something will spread seed to my raised beds and I'll end up with some volunteers. I just stake them and let them grow. Even if they show up in the isle. I plant herbs, lettuce and spinach in both soil and soiless mediums. I've been doing it for maybe 10 years and there is no telling who will do best in any year. But which ever one fails, the other thrives. So it works for me.

 

[lazy gardener]

Doesn't everyone have tall volunteers growing in all the walking paths?

 

[rjohns39]

I often think the volunteers grow the best fruit.

 

[R2elk]

Doesn't everyone have tall volunteers growing in all the walking paths?

Nope, the season is too short here to waste time on volunteers. I can only think of one tomato volunteer that actually produced a couple of ripe tomatoes before the fall freeze.

 

[GardenTillers44]

We recycle the black pots from the local nursery, 5 to 15 gallon for container gardening. They always have a pile of old used ones they let us scavenge for free. We have used them partially buried as a raised bed option, and they work as hydroponic containers with pea gravel in the bottom and a layer of soil on top. The black pots have drain holes already built in and absorb heat early in the season as well. If we get a late frost, empty pots inverted over the started garden plants are a quick save and easier on the plants than sheets.
Some of our best volunteers grow out of the compost bin. A well-placed squash or tomato volunteer is always welcome. We gave the girls a watermelon last year that volunteered a 20 foot vine that yielded 7 nice watermelons.

 

[igorsMistress]

We planted a cherry tomato in an area in our backyard and never planted again, but we had great tomatoes there every year for a long time. I miss California for only that reason.

 

[deepbluesea]

My tomatillo volunteers every year--four and counting at this point. I just stick a bamboo teepee around it wherever it is, and plant lettuce or spinach underneath. Slacker gardening at its best!

 

[henless]

It's been nice here for the last week. Cool mornings but warming up by mid day.

Worked the soil in one of my beds this morning. All the rain has really compacted it down. Going to have to add to it so that it doesn't get so hard. Hoping to put up another bed this weekend.

My pear & fig trees are leaving out. My 2nd plum tree is starting to flower. I may have to get a 3rd plum since the Santa Rosa isn't blooming at the same time as my Methley. The Methley is almost finished blooming. I was hoping the Methley could be used to cross pollinate the Santa Rosa.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My yard still looks like this.