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| gardening
Posted: 5/9/2007 12:56:18 PM | i dunno if there has been a thread on this before...there is now tho...
obviously we all like to cook and with that we all like to use the freshest ingredients possible...gardening season is upon us once again and i for one intend to make use of my back yard garden plot...i am in the process of expanding it by 2' on all sides...instead on 12'x32' its gonna be 16'x36'...
anyone else plant their own veggies?...if so what do you like to sow?...
any tips or suggestions for other gardeners to share are more than welcome here...lets get posting...(and turning that soil over)... | |
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Posted: 5/9/2007 1:01:13 PM | | My parents plant enough maters to supply a small army. and there is so much available here, I don't bother. About July you can buy sweet corn a dollar or 2 a dozen, and about that time, everyone is coveting that first tomato.Then in August they are trying to give them away. | |
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Posted: 5/9/2007 1:07:49 PM | Fistncuffs,
Best gardening book I own far and away is the square foot gardener. Always got way more produce and flowers versus conventional gardening, used little to no pesticides, also since crops rotated in each square foot, I didn't have to worry about giving the soil a chance to rest and not plant a certain crop.
For anyone with smaller kids, this is a GREAT way to garden. They can grow multiple things in 1 square foot at the same time.
It also got rid of my rabbit problem. Flowers along the edge kept them buggers out...of course the deer thanked me very much and ran off with the rabbits lion's share...until hunting season, and then it was ....be vewy vewy quiet....hahahaha.
Cheers! | |
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Posted: 5/9/2007 1:17:30 PM | yes rk...those first tomatoes of the year go like crazy...myself...i dont care for raw tomato...another thing ppl line up for is freakin strawberries...*makes note to self...self...make more ice cream when the berries ripen*
and need...i will scope out that book | |
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Posted: 5/9/2007 1:21:14 PM | Slice them puppies up , salt and peppper and I can eat a bushel. If on a sandwich, doesn't matter what the meat is...homegrown maters makes a cheap bologna as good as steak... But my Stepfather usually jumps the gun and has a batch of fried green tomatoes, which to me, are just bland. | |
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Posted: 5/9/2007 1:53:21 PM | With the exception of last summer, I've been gardening pretty much every year for the past 7-8 years. My garden's around 15'x26' or so -- maybe a bit bigger.
This year I intend to grow plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, jalapeno / hot banana / cayenne peppers, swiss chard, kale, a variety of lettuce, zucchini, string beans, maybe lima beans, onions, garlic, pickling cucumbers, radishes, and maybe more things, depending on time and space. I already have well-established rhubarb, chives, savoury, oregano, thyme, sage and lemon balm growing in it and will probably add some more herbs this summer, to dry in the fall. I'd really been hoping to grow tomatillos, but forgot to put in a seed order and nobody sells the stuff in this city. | |
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Posted: 5/9/2007 2:39:32 PM | If you can find them some of the weirder tomatos are very cool. Yellow cherry tomatos, yellow pear tomatos, orange tomatos. Striped ones. They usually lower in acid than the red ones.
I gew some as a lark and once year one of my children took them in to the county fair and got a first place ribbon. I felt like a bit of a jerk as we hadn't been out here in the country too long and they actually grow food here in this area. Like, for a living. | |
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Posted: 5/9/2007 2:42:21 PM | Tomato, love them straight off the vine with a salt shaker...yum. Bradleys and Better Boys.
I saw where you can use old CDs and hang them and they will help keep birds, rabbits away, maybe even deer. Sounds like a good deal. I wonder if that DEVO cd I burnt will work?
EugeneW | |
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Posted: 5/9/2007 3:47:17 PM | i got a few beefsteak tomato plants for my dear old mother...and i have about 20 more of some other type...dont recall the name off hand but i will be using those for green tomato pickles(relish)...
same with the cukes...a few for eating...the rest will be dills and bread and butters | |
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Posted: 5/9/2007 4:37:19 PM | It is now called "the all new sqaure foot gardening" by Mel Bartholmew, at Amazon there are some reviews too.
Cheers! | |
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Posted: 5/9/2007 4:53:14 PM | I plant tomato's: cherries, early girl (for slicing), yellow ones, Romas for paste, and some of the more acidic older varieties just because the relatives like them. I make my own tomato sauce, etc, and freeze it. My handy ziploc hint: boil down to V8 consistency & freeze; when frozen, the watery liquid part separates, and then when you thaw, if you want paste (or thickener) pour off the liquid and use it in something else you're cooking, and if you want to make a V8 or other tomato based juice, leave the liquid part...I call it my 2 for 1 special, lol- (either that or I'm realllllly getting lazy.)
I also plant several varieties of beans, limas, regular peas & snow peas, chives, peppers (different types, green & hot), pumpkin, squash, cukes, zucchini, and sometimes corn.
I like the little new potatoes, so when I plant them, I use an old round plastic garbage can that has a broken/cracked bottom. Put the dirt in, plant the potatoes and it has a pretty vining container look to it. The cracked bottom lets any excess water drain out. When I'm ready to harvest the potatoes, I take a tarp and dump the can contents onto it, pick out the potatoes & return the dirt for next year. (The next year I always add some extra potting soil & compost.) Easiest way I've ever done potatoes, I haven't used my potato digging fork in years, hahaha.
Onesimpleneed> I have to agree, square foot gardening is THE way to go. It saves sooooooo much space over conventional gardening. I read it many years ago and it's the best gardening book around! | |
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Posted: 5/9/2007 5:41:47 PM | Organic Gardening Magazine is really good, I got it for years when I did have a big garden.
It's amazing how much we throw away that can be used. I still microwave dry eggshells and powder them up in the blender or food processor and feed them to all the plants. Tomatoes, especially, and those dark greens will benefit.
For pest control planting horseradish, onions, garlic, chives, or marigolds(the old fashion kind -- the stronger the smell the better). Also throw the little end pieces of soap out there. I hear irish spring works especially well.
I grew some unusual stuff like jerusalem artichokes, yukons(now they are common), boy choy, horseradish, peaches,basil, various greens...etc
"Sugar Baby" variety Watermelons would be my best suggestion for all. I grew them by a typical metal mesh fence and hung the watermelons in women's nylons tied to the fence. These ripen quick and even if they do not look ripe they are wonderfully sweet. They are also more in a decent size range -- roughly basketball size. Very manageable. They also ripen in a quick way which is necessary this far north. Try the Sugar Babies! | |
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Posted: 5/9/2007 6:56:05 PM | I've ordered the new square foot book. He's updated and has a really cool soil recipe, only need 6 inches of this soil to grow anything. The really cool thing about this method is that if you know someone who is in a wheelchair, you can build a square foot garden up off the ground so that they can garden from their normal sitting position. This is really great for elderly people who love to garden but can't stoop.
One thing though, his new super soil refers to an agricultural grade vermiculite so make sure you have a local source. This stuff is a little expensive.
It is really cool though because when my kids were young they grew something like 12 carrots, pole beans and something else in 1 square foot. The thing is you go up, you go out, you go down.
Mel did a show on PBS if I remember right on this method.
Still have some of my Dad's old gardening books ala Ortho. 'Member those? Have a tomato problem? Bo Weevils? Cabbage Issues? One eyed one horned flying purple people eaters? Doesn't matter the problem, there was one answer...DIAZANON!
(I'm hording it BTW...good stuff...will sterilize an entire yard and the person that sprayed it! ).
Yeah, without a doubt, Organic Gardning magazine is tops. I used to spend a lazy Saturday reading that and Vegetarian Times...geeze I've fallen so far...at least I'm getting back in line...me back in line...ladies and gentlemen...we ARE living in the end times!
Cheers! | |
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Genrae
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Joined: 11/10/2006
Msg: 14 | |
| gardening
Posted: 5/9/2007 7:19:46 PM | I like planting different varieties of tomatoes like Roma, Early Girl, Mr. Stripey, and my absolute favorite, Sun Gold’s. I love mixing the varieties when I make tomato-based sauces or salads. Although, I have problem getting the Sun Gold’s into the house. They are so sweet and full of flavor, I eat them before I can get into the house with them. I know…gross, but Oh so good! I also make the sauces adding squash. It really adds to any tomato-based sauce.
I also plant different varieties of bell pepper, cherry peppers, cayenne, kale, string beans, onions (Walla, Walla is my favorite) chives, oregano, spearmint, cilantro, zucchini. Haven’t had much luck with garlic and peas, but I’m going to try again this her. In addition, I bought Kohlrabi seeds for the first time this year, and I’m going to try my hand at potatoes. My mom and dad have been very successful with potatoes.
Great post Fistncuffs. Thanks!
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Posted: 5/9/2007 7:28:31 PM | First off...I have a veggie patch but the folks also have their own little bits of gardening yum yums. My dad has his roses. My mom has her hostas and tulips. We have established rhubarb and blackberry cane. We also have everbearing raspberry cane. We get raspberries throughout the summer and last year we had them into october! It was sweet!
In my old veggie patch I have some established peppermint, chive and spearmint plants...which are the remains of my natural slug barrier. In my new one I have peppermint, chive and spearmint again...as a natural slug barrier. My chive plants are so pretty and established even though they're a year old! I also recently transplanted my oregano to the new veggie patch. Usually I'll grow a nice eating tomato or a beefsteak tomato. However, over the last few years I've taken to also growing a few heirloom tomato plants. I love the heirlooms not just coz they look cool and apparently taste pretty cool....but because the way they're germinated and passed on is traditional. By growing heirlooms we're keeping traditional vegetable varieties alive. I grow tomatos for my family and coz i'm good at it. I don't eat them myself.
I do love growing green beans, cucumbers and fresh basil! Nothing beats a handful of fresh picked genovese basil tossed into a pasta sauce in the summer time.
Now y'all want a garden? Don't even get me started on my oma's garden in it's heydey. Pear trees, raspberry and blackberry cane. She lived on 1/3 of an acre and the entire back 3rd of her backyard was a giant garden. She grew potatoes, onions, sweet peas, snow peas, green beans, red currants, greens, tomatoes, cucumbers... you name it and if she didn't grow it she tried to. Whenever I visited her in the summer we had to "go down to the garden". I don't know what happened to the garden after she died. Probably sod by now. It's sad.  | |
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Posted: 5/9/2007 8:34:41 PM | | The landscaping in my front yard has lots of perennial herbs – peppermint, sage, thyme, oregano, rosemary, fennel, and more. In the back I have artichokes, rhubarb, blueberries, raspberries, plums, horseradish, lemon mint, chervil, and blackberries (when I don’t keep up with the pruning). Depending on how much time I have I like to plant zucchini (even though the dog eats half the flowers I still get tons), tomatoes, and basil. Tomatoes are so hard to grow in my area, but I looooove them and can’t buy a good one in the store. They go from green to brown mush around here, but we all plant them every year for that very occasional warm and sunny summer. I also don’t have much luck with the basil, but I try. | |
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PHK
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Joined: 12/14/2006
Msg: 17 | |
| gardening
Posted: 5/9/2007 9:29:34 PM | few suggestions...
consider installing a green house... where you can also try out ponics (hydro, aero) more production for the space
also search for local master gardener programs, great resource :)
and of course the nearest A&M university/college website is a jewel for info and sometimes sales too! | |
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Posted: 5/10/2007 3:43:18 AM | lol@ the dog eating the zuchinni flowers...he woulda gorged himself in my garden last year...i had kinda forgotten how "prolific" zuchinni were and last year i planted 4 bedding out plants...(%$#@&* stupid zuchinni)...
actually thr flowers can be eaten by people too...you can batter them and deep fry them...i hade one HUMUNGO zuchinni last year...the sucker was 30 inches long...and weighed about 25 pounds...
(will post a recipe for zuchinni parmagianna later)...
i will likely plant spaghetti squash this year too...and maybe pumpkin...
leaf lettuce, radishes, and green onions will go in the salad section...
almost forgot...spinach this year...or swiss chard...
i got orders from my customers at the market for more pickled beets this year so i gotta do them too...i have two dy-no-mite recipes for regular pickled beets and harvard beets i will share...there is a "cylindrical" beet on the market as of late the grows...well...cylindrically...makes for more uniformed sized slices...
doh...gotta plant peas too...and bush beans...
dill is a must this year...side note...if you freeze your dill for winter use...make sure it is hermetically sealed...then hermetically seal it again...if it is exposed at all in your freezer it will permeate its taste into most everything in your freezer as i found out one day when i grabbed an ice cream outta my freezer and instead of vanilla it tasted like dill... | |
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Tramp
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Joined: 2/8/2007
Msg: 19 | |
| gardening
Posted: 5/10/2007 3:50:25 AM | FistnCuffs, Zicchini flowers are great, if you have the time and patience to pick them early in the morning, only have to do is add an egg and fry.
Anyway. Plenty of herbs here, basil, sage, parsley, onion, garlic, some tomatoes, cucumbers(eat them only)...
Gardening is good, relaxing time... can sing to the plants and they do not laugh at me. | |
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Tramp
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Joined: 2/8/2007
Msg: 20 | |
| gardening
Posted: 5/10/2007 3:54:23 AM | | onesimpleneed, you bave babitt problem?.. Hmm they are good, not to upset anyone, but it's one of my favorite meat. | |
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Tramp
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Joined: 2/8/2007
Msg: 21 | |
| gardening
Posted: 5/10/2007 3:57:45 AM | | Rabbit, rabbit....... | |
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Posted: 5/10/2007 5:55:08 AM | I've heard you can stuff a zuchinni flower by putting a little piece of cheese in the blossom and then batter and deep fry. What? Did someone say deep fried, cheese and gourmet? Why yes yes I did....
I knew there was something I forgot to mention! Gardening near a wood lot (it's too small to be woods or a forest) is hazardous. If it's not the fricking groundhog it's the ****ing racoons or the evil rabbits eating my fresh produce! And do they ever eat the whole thing? nooooooooooo! they take a tiny bite and then leave the rest! and of course they do this to the choicest bit on the vine! ****ERS reduced my cuke plants to stems several years running! Anyone got a recipe for hassenfefer? | |
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Posted: 5/10/2007 7:48:58 AM | | the only wild animals in my garden is me...lol...(and my cat) | |
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Posted: 5/10/2007 9:15:41 AM | Trinity >>> have you tried putting Chicken Wire around your veggies ?? Use stakes or bamboo stakes to hold the wire up. If you have a dog, put dog hairs around and in between your veggies. Cats don't like the smell of orange peels so I don't know if that will work with raccoons/skunks/groundhogs.
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I love growing my own veggies! That's the only time that I eat Tomatoes........ I never eat them off-season. Tomato and Avocado sandwiches --- yummyyyyyy . They're fed with organic fertilizer. I spread crushed egg shells in my veggie beds especially around the newly planted veggie plants -- it helps against Cutworms and Slugs.
This summer, I'm growing --
Tomatoes (Early Girl, Early Cascade, Purple Prince, Persimmon, Riesenstraube);
Sugar Baby Watermelon (one summer I had 5 or 6 of them...... I think that was the most longest warm sunny summer that year). It has been downhill for a couple of years now. The summers weren't too warm enough.  ...... Read in the newspaper that this summer will be hotter and dry weather.
Montreal Melon -- my first time growing this year
Zucchini (Romanesco and Dark Green)
Dill -- very easy to grow -- just sow them outside. (found that out last year.. )
Basil (Lemon and Pesto)
Gourd (Birdhouse) -- my first time growing this year
Scarlet Runner Beans -- I never have luck with growing a large crop of beans/peas so I'm growing them for the red flowers that attracts Hummingbirds.
Then I have my perennial veggies --- Chinese Green Onions and my Peppermint.
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Posted: 5/10/2007 10:42:52 AM | i feel like the father of a newborn again...last week i started my cukes and tomatoes from seed for a change...(also cuz bedding out plants are a buck fifty each)...guess what?...probably 75% of my *babies* germinated already...WOOOOO HOOOOO...
*hands out PoF cigars*
my *babies* are outside right now basking in the warmth and drinking lots of water in my mini greenhouse...i'm all excited now...lol...
(i need to get out more)  | |
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