Gardens, anyone? What are you growing this year?

[DaveMN]

we hope to plant part of the garden in the next week, we have lots of seedlings but the temps have been in the mid 30s at night so we have been holding off.

we have peppers, cellery, peas, corn, tomatoes, onions, carrots and beans to plant.

If they survived the transplanting last fall we have purple and red raspberries and grapes.
this is in addition to the apple, crab apple, and cherry bushes that have been here for many years.

question: okra, i love the stuff but what is it like to grow? easy or does it take a lot of care and water?

 

[barney]

Let me know how it goes! I've had spine surgey recenty and I need to get out of this chair . Good night!

 

[nccountrygirl]

Okra is not hard to grow, just keep it weeded and fertlized, also Okra loves HOT weather. when it starts making keep it cut every day or it will get woody. Oh and make sure to wear long sleeves and gloves when cutting Okra it will make you itch.

 

[silkiechicken]

Bok choi and peas are in the ground along with the potatoes and have just broke the surface. Corn, beans, squashes are going to be planted in a week or two. Tomatoes go out as starts 2-3 weeks from now. I heard Okra's optimal soil temp is 70-85F... that's our summer highs so I doubt the dirt will ever get warm enough for them to be happy.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

We are starting all of ours right now, we still have snow on the mountains near us. We are growing john deere ornamental corn, popcorn, 2 types of hybrid sweet corn, brussel sprouts, giant pumpkins, white pumpkins, giant sunflowers, egg gourds, bird house gourds, spaghetti squash, acorn squash, tons of tomatoes, sweet onions, potatoes, bush beans, peas, carrots, raspberries, and some other things. The mint and lemon balm came back and the mint had quadrupled its area which is ok, I like stepping on it and smelling the minty smell.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

I forgot the salad greens, yellow squash, and cucumbers.

 

[Slike]

Utility; corn, string beans, 5 different types of tomatoes, 6 or 7 different heritage potato strains, tomatillos, jalepeños, green bell peppers (still looking for other varieties), sweet peppers, 2 diff kinds of onion, garlic, chives, celery, cantaloupe, honeydew, pumpkins, artichokes, 8 acres of blackberries (lol), white blackberries, a bzillion different types of plums, strawberry trees, 2 kinds of grapes, apples, lemons, limes, peaches, apricots, pears, squash, nectarines, walnuts, figs, passionfruit, rosemary, sage, thyme, parsley, cellantro, prickly pear, roses (use the hips to make tea), lavender (also for tea making), California poppies (tea, again), strawberries, and several different fruiting trees that I can't identify by name, but have been eating for the last 8 or 9 years. I know I'm forgetting some seasoning herbs but if you can think of it, other than nutmeg or cardamum, I probably have it growing here =p
Edit: forgot kalo (taro)

Ornamentals; oleander, ornamental plums, a house full of orchids, bottlebrush and I can't remember what else. The ornamentals are more my friend's department, the edibles / medicinals are mine.

Looking to get some buckwheat going also, I've always wanted to grow my own wheats and make my own pasta. Almonds, cashew, raspberries, okra, carrots, kumquats, blueberries, cherry, oranges, sugar cane, coconut and avocado are all on the "to-do" list currently. We've done avocado/blueberry/cherry plants up here in the past, but they all seem to be more finicky up here than they were in SoCal, so this will be attempts 2 to 4 for them. Cherries have especially bizarre personalities. Fine for 3 years, then over night it just up and died.

There's really nothing else in existence to me like being self-sufficient, and knowing what you have is direct result of your own labor, knowledge and time put forth. Guess you could say I'm not a grocery store type person

 

[Beekissed]

Slike, that is truly impressive and I echo your feelings about growing your own food! Do you get Countryside mag? If you don't, you should! Homesteaders bible, I swear! Sort of what Mother Earth News USED to be.

You are truly wise and fortunate to have all those varieties of fruits already mature and producing. This is my first year here and I only rent, so I am unsure of what to plant that I may get the use of. I can just see someone moving in after I leave and saying, "I'm cutting down all these vines, trees, and shrubs so we can have a big lawn! Too much to maintain!" All that hard work....

 

[Slike]

Nah I don't get that mag, is it available on the West coast?

If you don't have any edibles started, I'd recommend tomatoes, even if you don't like to eat them for starting out and learning. If you have chickens, they go nuts for em. They're extremely forgiving as in they can be wilted and totally limp fallen over on the ground, but as long as they aren't crispy crunchy and are still pliable (live tissue), they can be resuscitated with enough water. Of course I wouldn't recommend letting them get like that, especially during fruiting but its an example =p

Melons are also nice and easy, you can pretty much toss the seeds onto a mound of dirt in a sunny spot, give a little water and that's about that. Same with potatoes, however they do best if totally submerged in the ground and sandwiched between 2 layers of horse dung.

And about the "new tenant" possibility, I totally understand the sentiment... I lived in the same place in LA for 11 years, had invested all that time and sweat for my garden there over the years. Then when mother died, dad split, I moved up to Sonoma with some friends and had to leave all my garden behind. I really loved that place, it was where I first got into gardening. Anyhow, I have been back down there to visit ex-neighbors who still live there, but I can't bring myself to even let my eyes glance in the direction of my old house. I don't even want to know what the new owners have done to it. Despite that feeling, I would still say go for it; there is so much joy to be had in getting your hands dirty and learning. At least you can take your knowledge with you. And tomatoes can probably be uprooted and transported if you have a large enough pot, thanks to their resilience.

Gonna stop rambling now, heh. If you'd like any help with info on getting started with your garden I can help out.

 

[dangerouschicken]

I have planted over 100 varieties of crops this year. It's going to be a good season!