RE: Oh the gardening bug

[dawnwinds58]

I noticed dill was in that list.

I recommend it as a planter herb on a patio. It is a vicious, arrogant, invasive herb.

I spent 2 years at war with it. It grew to an 8x8 ft spread taking out roses, day lilys, butter cups, and near killed a Rose of Sharon. It spread by seeds and ground sprouts. Every morning and every evening I went out and snapped off flowers to prevent it from producing seed, ALL flowers off an 64 sq ft spread!! It still took two years to get rid of it and have flower smells stronger than the dill smell.

Caution IS very much recommended unless you are just mad for dill smell.

 

[sonjab314]

I've already ordered my seeds and received them. I am going to start my broccoli and brussel sprouts in about 3 more weeks in my greenhouse. The only that that didn't ship to me yet is my new strawberry plants and my potato tubers. I am putting out the usual stuff: beans, peas, lettuce, tomatoes, corn etc etc. I did do a lot of research prior to picking my varieties this year. I found a website for my state that tells what particular variety does well where. I ordered all I could from this list. I'm gonna see how it compares to my last couple of gardens.

 

[KenK]

Spring garden:
Brocolli, cauliflower, cabbage, collards, spinach, potatoes.

Summer:
Green beans, corn, yellow and zuchinni squash, hot peppers, zipper peas. Two or three kinds of tomatoes.

On the deck, in containers, lettuce, onions, garlic, basil and thyme. When the lettuces give out will plant sweet potatoes in the boxes.

I've got several truck loads of leaves on my garden right now, sure wish it would dry out enough to till them in, may give it a shot tommorow. The weather we are having today makes me want to get some dirt between my toes.

 

[galanie]

You folks made me plant some tomato seeds today. Now if only I had some bell pepper seeds too. Ah well, I'll buy them. One thing I want to try this year is Chickpeas.

 

[NanaKat]

We are in zone 6b and 7a
We don't spray with chemicals.
We have 16 4 foot by 16 foot raised beds. These beds are for veggies and flowers. Eight of these beds have a16 foot cattle panel supported down the center of each bed for tying up tomatoes and tall growing peppers. Cages are used in the other eight. Crops are rotated every year to keep down virus , blights, or insect problems.
Then because one side of the garden is on an angle we have 6 5 foot by lengths going from 8 foot to 25 feet. These beds have the "permanent" plantings like berries and asparagus.
Next there is a 20 by 16 foot bed. This bed is rotated with vining plants (watermelon, cantaloup) and squash or corn.
The garden is then surrounded with a border of dwarf fruit trees set 15 feet apart. (Peach, apple, cherry, plum, apricot, nectarine...several of each)

This year all the beds get a French double dig with compost made from aged cow manure and hay and manure/leaf mix from the hen house. ( To keep our hens warmer in the hen house in winter, hubby throws in several bags of dry leaves on the floor and the hens crumble these as they search thru them. This layer composts with the hen waste and makes a great addition to the garden in the spring.)
We will have to have help from local high school boys because both hubby and I are getting up there in age and have old age frailties. The local FFA group is willing to help us for a nice donation to their chapter. The boys also love homemade jelly.

We use soaker hoses with snap-on connectors. With a four spout connector at the faucet, we can water four beds at one time.
Tomatoes and peppers purchased from a favorite nursery will supplement those few I start here at home. Used to start everything from seed, but sometimes we change what we do as we get older.
Suggestion: increase your germination on some veggie seeds by soaking them overnight in buttermilk (raddish, okra, corn, peas)

As for planting:
English peas, onions, brassicas, cabbage (Flat dutch, red cabbage and Pak Choi), carrots, beets go in in late February.
Potatoes (Yukon Gold and red Pontiac) by March 15
Tomatoes: Rutgers, Roma and Heinz for canning and catsup, Beefsteak, Parks Whopper and Celebrity for slicing.
Peppers: Big Bertha Bell, Yellow and Red Bells, Jalapeno, Anaheim, Chili, Yellow Banana.
Lima beans, Flat Italian green beans, Whipperwill peas, Purple Hull peas, Jacob's Cattle beans.
Lettuce, spinach, (Bloomsburg and New Zealand), radish, garlic are planted in small rows or sections between other plantings.
Sweet corn (Buttons and Bows)
Squash: zuccinni, yellow straight neck, Patty Pan, Butternut, pumpkin
Okra: Old German and a saved seed.
Egg plant, asian and Black Beauty.
Turnips (Purple Tops), Collards, Mustard, Garlic will be planted in the fall with another crop of beets and carrots.
We like to try new varieties and different veggies where space permits.

For color thru out the seasons in the garden and for pulling in those needed pollinators, we have flowers planted at the ends of each bed...Asian lilies, rose bushes, day lillies, Yankee soldiers, Carnation Poppies, dill, spearmint, iris, marigolds, Lantana, daffadils, mums, Naked Ladies, allysum, Bachelor Buttons, etc. Anything that free sows, we pull out where we don't want it.

Whew!!

 

[KenK]

The cattle panels make a great trellis, I cut mine in half so they would be easier to handle by myself. I put them about 16" apart and plant the tomatoes between. Use 6' sections of 3/4" rebar driven into the ground to tie them to.

I got the tiller fired up today and ran over the garden very lightly, it's still too wet but tried to chop the leaves up and barely scratch the soil beneath. We have more rain on the way this week and warmer temps so they should start decomposing a little quicker.

Measured off where I'm going to build my new coop and marked it with stakes. Oh my, it will be like Shangri La around here when it warms up. : )

 

[Moabite]

I hate it when the garden bug bites in January! I've decided I'll go to the recycle center tomorrow and get a truck load of pallets to dismantle. I want to build a raised bed/cold frame and start a crop of arugula, lettuce, corn salad and spinach in it. It feels like spring outside now, but can't last. I wont be growing squash this year cause of the bugs

. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, tomatillos, peas, carrots, beets but I haven't decided which ones yet.

 

[oldchickenlady]

Oh you all make me sooooo jealous. I haven't had a garden since moving to Tennessee. I have 7.35 acres but all of it is wooded except where the house sits and the horse pasture. Even if I didn't have horses, the deer, rabbits, and rocks would thwart my efforts to grow much. I used to have a big garden every year and I really, really miss it. One year I planted one package of Better Boy tomatoes and I think every seed came up 3 times. Even after giving away a lot of baby tomato plants I still ended up planting 72 plants at the end of February. I was very lucky and had no frost after I planted (I had planned on covering them) and I ended up having waaaay more tomatos than I could possibly eat, can, or give away. I wanted to stand by the highway and throw them at cars just to get rid of some of them! I figured that would get me in trouble, though. Anyway, I hope all of you have a great garden this year! Don't forget to share with others if you can.

 

[KenK]

I gave up gardening for several years because of the deer and the time constraints imposed by my job. A couple years ago I tried an experiment. I "fenced off" a 20' square spot with an old dog kennel and some corral panels. Even though it's only 4' tall it keeps the deer out, my theory is that the deer see it as a trap, not a normal fence to be hopped over. I've had a few things get nibbled off from where they poke their heads through but so far none have jumped in.

You can grow a whole lot of food in a 20' square spot.

Another idea is the Earthbox (tm). These things are expensive but work very well for some things, especially lettuces. I'm sure similar could be built with found materials. We have three of them that stay on our back deck and they keep us supplied with all the salad greens we can eat. They are a bear to move around but my wife and I can bring them in if an unexpected hard freeze is forecast.

 

[KenK]

When I was a youngster I was forced against my will to work in my dad's garden. When I say forced I mean to say my dad told me we were going to go work in the garden and it never occurred to me that there was any other option than doing what he said. I guess these days I could report him to the authorities. I hated it worse than anything.

I sure do miss my dad, wish he could see my garden, I think he would be right proud.