On Gardening
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@gentlygently I'd love to see a photo of your London garden, if you ever have the chance to post it. I am such a garden voyeur! @zdyb23456 what was your problem with the squash plants? I have had mine get killed by squash vine borers. When we have co-planted radishes into the hills (and leave them there--don't harvest) we haven't gotten borers, but even if you notice the tell-tale sign of wilting leaves, you can sometimes locate the borer, kill it with a pin/wire, and heap soil over the wound in the stalk. This has worked for the me the couple of times I tried it. I have no tip for beans, because our beans (in the community garden) get tag-teamed by the rabbits and the deer.
They haven't discovered my home garden, possibly due to our scary, stinky, deaf old Boxer. Good luck with the garden while your spouse is deployed. Just remember--when it gets hard--you're burning calories! 0 -
@jmbmilholland I just saw you posted to me. I am in high desert. I love all forms of cabbage (it's my fave), daikon radish, zucchini, any leafy greens... those kinds of things. I think we are a great area for potatoes and onions. We are known for potatoes, actually. But, alas, I am on a ketogenic diet and I don't eat starchy veggies or most fruits. I do eat avocado, coconut, and olives. An occasional tomato, dark and flavorful, is a worthwhile treat. Those puny orange things in the store make me sad and feel wasteful to eat.
Rosemary is growing in my yard from way back and sage. I am allergic to most of what grows in my yard. Even lavender which grows so well here breaks me out in a rash over prolonged contact (as with trimming).
My boss tells me we have a lot of clay.
I am meeting with someone to clear out all the weeds which make up my front and back yard. I'd like to get sprinklers installed in the back along with some new grass but in the front I will probably lay down net and mulch and have a few plants interspersed. Maybe that would be good on the side of the house to grow things?0 -
We had several bad tries with squash which bums me out cause I love summer squash.
What was the problem with your squash. We have had problems in the past with powdery mildew but you can prevent that by spraying the plants with milk. It works better as prevention than a cure so I spray mine regularly from the time they are small. We haven't lost any squash since.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »We had several bad tries with squash which bums me out cause I love summer squash.
What was the problem with your squash. We have had problems in the past with powdery mildew but you can prevent that by spraying the plants with milk. It works better as prevention than a cure so I spray mine regularly from the time they are small. We haven't lost any squash since.
Milk spray for powdery mildew? You got me googling with that one. Interesting, thanks for the tip. https://www.growveg.com/guides/using-milk-to-prevent-powdery-mildew/
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[img]https://us.v-cdn.net/5021879/uploads/editor/00/dsov1251yah9.jpg[/ Getting going...including sorting stones for the patios! [[/img]
A few years ago:
[img]http://cd8ba0b44a15c10065fd-24461f391e20b7336331d5789078af53.r23.cf1.rackcdn.com/mfp- en.vanillaforums.com/editor/75/5ter2k9twjva.jpg[/img]
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Ok they are not all showing - but gives you some idea we really started from scratch, and managed to squeeze a lot in.. Restricted the colour palette as a small space and had fun doing all the hard landscaping ourselves...
Including sorting all the stone shapes..
And doing cordon and step over fruit trees.. I love it...
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DorkothyParker wrote: »@jmbmilholland I just saw you posted to me. I am in high desert. I love all forms of cabbage (it's my fave), daikon radish, zucchini, any leafy greens... those kinds of things. I think we are a great area for potatoes and onions. We are known for potatoes, actually. But, alas, I am on a ketogenic diet and I don't eat starchy veggies or most fruits. I do eat avocado, coconut, and olives. An occasional tomato, dark and flavorful, is a worthwhile treat. Those puny orange things in the store make me sad and feel wasteful to eat.
Rosemary is growing in my yard from way back and sage. I am allergic to most of what grows in my yard. Even lavender which grows so well here breaks me out in a rash over prolonged contact (as with trimming).
My boss tells me we have a lot of clay.
I am meeting with someone to clear out all the weeds which make up my front and back yard. I'd like to get sprinklers installed in the back along with some new grass but in the front I will probably lay down net and mulch and have a few plants interspersed. Maybe that would be good on the side of the house to grow things?
For most of the things you like, except radish (and I am assuming avocado, coconut, and olives won't grow in Boise, nor Indiana, alas), you should be able to find plant starts at a local gardening center, although you can grow for seeds if you want to take that step. You just sounded nervous about it, so buying starts helps you keep things as easy as possible while you dip your toes in and give it a try. I would also recommend longer gardening gloves even for dealing with tomatoes and zuccs and such, as they can have strong oils in them, and little tiny hairs or spines that can irritate sensitive skin. Veggies will grow great on clay soil but you will want to amend it with lots of compost, which you can get in bags. I generally mulch my veggies with grass clippings over the summer (just add an inch at a time, and it will dry instead of going slimy) but if I really want to preserve moisture, I put down straw. That way you can get by with a week or longer between waterings in a dry spell (but make sure you water deeply when you do). Sometimes the straw will sprout, so just make sure you stay on top of the sprouting (easy to pull as long as the soil has been worked up and is moist).
Good luck with your yard project. If you have questions, Garden Web is an outstanding site just to browse; I looked for Boise-area gardening, and there was this interesting thread recommending Zamzows as a good local nursery. http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1983136/moving-to-the-boise-area
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »We had several bad tries with squash which bums me out cause I love summer squash.
What was the problem with your squash. We have had problems in the past with powdery mildew but you can prevent that by spraying the plants with milk. It works better as prevention than a cure so I spray mine regularly from the time they are small. We haven't lost any squash since.
Milk spray for powdery mildew? You got me googling with that one. Interesting, thanks for the tip. https://www.growveg.com/guides/using-milk-to-prevent-powdery-mildew/
Oh, you are welcome. I read about it in Grit magazine. It was an eye-opener for me too.1 -
gentlygently wrote: »
Ok trying to work out how to load up photos here.... Has this worked?
Thanks for the pictures! Your yard is beautiful, and I especially love the idea of the espalier fruit trees. So far I've been able to fit several dwarf fruit trees into my yard, but I have a board fence and a 1 foot strip of soil that would be an excellent place for some espaliers. Once I'm confident enough with my knowledge and maintenance of the dwarves, that might be my next challenge.0 -
Go for it - they are fun! I like the pruning. Cant say mine are massive fruot produvers - but they look so good and edge my veg patch nocely. Inalso have some autmn raspberey canes in a thin strip (aboit 4 inchess wide) against a fence .. They produce tons...might that work?
I also grow nastursiums and sweet peas up the same wires etc and this year am trying clumbing french beans (worryingly slow to germinate, might need to try some more and geminate inside!)0 -
Here's your debate. Gardening must be bad for you, because I can raise the blood pressure of anyone with tomato plants with this image:
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@Kamikazeflutterby... agreed! But planting some basil and marigolds by your tomatoes help. And seeing them while they are smaller helps with the shock/ jump back reaction when you see these nasty buggers!
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liftingwateringcan wrote: »@Kamikazeflutterby... agreed! But planting some basil and marigolds by your tomatoes help. And seeing them while they are smaller helps with the shock/ jump back reaction when you see these nasty buggers!
Our tomato plants are surrounded by basil this year. So much pesto is in my future. And basil butter, herb bread, and caprese salad...
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Kamikazeflutterby wrote: »liftingwateringcan wrote: »@Kamikazeflutterby... agreed! But planting some basil and marigolds by your tomatoes help. And seeing them while they are smaller helps with the shock/ jump back reaction when you see these nasty buggers!
Our tomato plants are surrounded by basil this year. So much pesto is in my future. And basil butter, herb bread, and caprese salad...
Our tomato seedlings are ready to go.. but waiting for the wind to calm down before we plant them. Yum on the basil made foods, I can't wait to try making pesto... I've only dried my basil so far.0
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