Gardening for Old Folks (Adaptative)

[TooCheep]

has anyone decided what they're planting yet this coming spring? think i will go with the basic's again, the tried and true for me and maybe, just maybe, one of two new veggies
since we've been down here in defuniak, i planted english peas, well a dozen plants and six cucumbers, have to transplant the cucumbers yet, did the peas yesterday, planted some hot peppers but they haven't come up yet, thinking i will try the paper towel method so i can check to see whats going on with them
anyone else doing anything?

I have some regulars in my raised beds- Anaheim (semi-hot) and bell peppers, tomatoes, muncher cucumbers (mostly pickled) and a couple of types of lettuce. I always try one or two new things each year to see if I like them.

Luffa was semi-successful last year and grew well on the same trellises as the cucumbers. I'm going to try them again and see if I can get some more productivity. They are edible when smaller and can be used as a sponge if grown to full size.

I also grow a number of perennials- several fruit trees, a number of berry bushes, asparagus and some mints.

 

[sharron]

I have some regulars- Anaheim (semi-hot) and bell peppers, tomatoes, muncher cucumbers (mostly pickled) and a couple of types of lettuce. I always try one or two new things each year to see if I like them.

Luffa was semi-successful last year and grew well on the same trellises as the cucumbers. I'm going to try them again and see if I can get some more productivity. They are edible when smaller and can be used as a sponge if grown to full size.

I also grow a number of perennials- several fruit trees, a number of berry bushes, asparagus and some mints.

i will start the biggest part of my garden when we get back to pa. down here i just play, who would have thought i would get bored? not me, but you can only visit family so much before you say, "i've seen them enough " so husband puts up a portable greenhouse for me, not very big but big enough to play and if i do start something i want to keep, just drag it back home with us. right now i have four little cherry tomato's started, transplanted them yesterday they're new F1's on the market, mountain magic from burpee, if i like them they will be good to have down here for salads

 

[jvls1942]

I had to check the dates on these last few posts.. We are not even thinking about a garden yet. the ground is frozen at least six inches deep, maybe more..
wind chill is minus 20F. actual temp at night in the single digits..
.......jiminwisc.........

 

[TooCheep]

Garden planning starts as soon as the old garden dies off.

But yeah, some seem to want to start very, very, very early.

 

[jvls1942]

right after the garden is done, the last thing I want to think about is another garden. That is why God invented winter , so we can forget the hard work and go at it again in the spring.
.........jiminwisc.........

 

[Kusanar]

has anyone decided what they're planting yet this coming spring? think i will go with the basic's again, the tried and true for me and maybe, just maybe, one of two new veggies
since we've been down here in defuniak, i planted english peas, well a dozen plants and six cucumbers, have to transplant the cucumbers yet, did the peas yesterday, planted some hot peppers but they haven't come up yet, thinking i will try the paper towel method so i can check to see whats going on with them
anyone else doing anything?

I am going to have 1 garden which is roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, mini bell peppers, thai hot peppers, carrots, leaf lettuce, beets, basil.

Another which will be summer squash (yellow crookneck and zucchini).

Then an experiment I want to try, I have seen conflicting information about using sunflower plants to grow beans up. Some people say it works great, some say the sunflowers produce something that keeps the beans from producing. So, I am going to make 2 identical small gardens modeled off of a 3 sisters garden but leaving off the squash and the only difference being one will have popcorn and beans and the other will have sunflowers and beans. I will harvest them into different containers and try to keep a running tally of how each method works and see if there is any significant difference.

interesting, i've bought iris's that were cloned but never thought about trying it myself, with my brain, might be to involved for me, as i age i tend to forget

Tomatoes are EASY to clone. Look at the stem of a tomato plant, all of those little hairs and bumps on the sides of the stem are potential roots, all they need is to touch soil and it will sprout roots where it touches. You can simply wait to remove your suckers until they are 6 inches or so and then cut them off and put them in moist soil to root, or, you could try air layering which involves putting a ball of moist media (usually sphagnum moss) around the stem and wrapping it with cling wrap with a loose twist tie at top and bottom, you check it every so often to make sure it stays moist (if it dries out just open the top and add water) and when you can see roots growing and bumping into the cling wrap you can cut it off right below the root ball and plant it.

 

[Molpet]

So, I am going to make 2 identical small gardens modeled off of a 3 sisters garden but leaving off the squash

the purpose of the squash was to act as a living mulch......along with squash lol

 

[Kusanar]

the purpose of the squash was to act as a living mulch......along with squash lol

Understood, but, that only works if you combine a dry style bean, a field or popcorn style corn, and a winter squash so that all are ready to harvest at nearly the same time.

I'm not growing a dry bean, which means I need to be able to get up to the bean plants to pick daily or nearly daily once they start producing. If I have to walk through the squash every time they won't survive very long anyway, so, the squash will be a summer squash and grown separately and the beans will be accessible due to normal mulch at their base rather than squash vines sprawling around.

 

[sharron]

I had to check the dates on these last few posts.. We are not even thinking about a garden yet. the ground is frozen at least six inches deep, maybe more..
wind chill is minus 20F. actual temp at night in the single digits..
.......jiminwisc.........

i'm talking spring this coming year,seeing what people are going to plant, i've been getting seed catalogs and what i've started down here in the panhandle of florida

 

[sharron]

Garden planning starts as soon as the old garden dies off.

But yeah, some seem to want to start very, very, very early.

couple of weeks rest from the harvesting and i'm good to go again