Grow your own veggies?

bugtrain

I bought some tomatoes at the store the other day and was thinking to myself that I will be glad when I can pick some fresh ones from the garden.This got me to wondering how many people here grow their own vegetables.I already have a few things planted....lettuce,onions,broccoli,cabbage and some carrots.........can't wait til I can plant those tomatoes!

bugtrain

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JPDad

We started growing our own veggies last year. Can't wait to give it another try this year. Probably start the seeds in another few weeks.

Eureka175

My husband is the gardener in the family - usually peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, lettuce, onions, squashes, etc.

nikkilou1978

I plant a garden every year. I love fresh veggies, especially when I know exactly how they were grown.

shovav91

I love growing fresh fruits and vegetables... so much more delicious than store bought.
We grow cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, hot peppers, bell peppers, broccoli, lettuce, kale, eggplants, various spices, okra... I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but you get the idea

MoLove2025

Only if i had a yard to plant some veggies....my veggies would be fresher and cheaper.

cheshirequeen

i started my own garden for the first time last year. i did pretty good considering its st. louis and it was my first year. im trying for different veggies and more variety. hopefully i can grow a bunch. i grew mainly carrots and zucchini. huge ones. this year corn, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, etc. we will see. good luck.

DrPepperLeigh74

I do, I cannot wait till summer!!!! I did cabbage, okra, cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, squash, strawberries, raspberries, cantalope, watermelon, lettuce, onions, green beans last summer. It is fun and healthy

Aleciajones

YES!! I was able to grow a few last year in 5gal buckets. This year I am ripping up my lawn to make more garden beds. Cauliflower, and broccoli are started, onions in the ground, garlic is doing fantastic. Its exciting being able to grow as much as possible of what your family consumes. After growing it the second best is canning it.

dkubicek922

I grow some veggies in the summer, but love keeping green onions year round. You can put the white part with the roots in a glass of water inside and they grow back. Just rinse the onions and change the water every 5-7days and you're set! Its nice not only having a constant fresh supply (because I eat them on almost everything!), but they are also so, so much better than what you can get from the store.

Kasya007

I hear ya, Bugtrain. Oh, those pithy Mexican things that we have to put up with all winter. Why, it makes a girl want to build a hot house! LOL.

Anyhow, it's great to meet more gardeners on the boards. I also grow my own vegetables & herbs every summer, as well as sprouts & micro-greens in the winter. You have perfect timing with your post, as I've spent all week browsing seed catalogues, planning this year's gardens & garden projects. As well as, browsing through last year's garden diary to decide how I'm going to deal with last year's issues.

I have no idea what all I'm going to grow yet, as my list hasn't been finalized, but I do know that my end of winter projects are as follows:

-Build an inexpensive indoor grow set up for this year's seedlings, as I'd like to grow more from seed, rather than purchase.
-Design & build a bee house to bring those pollinators into the garden with some scrap wood & old broken bamboo poles.

I look forward to seeing what others are growing, maybe we'll all get some ideas.

Cheers & happy cultivating!

xraychick77

this past year i started a small garden to see how it worked out..it was awesome..i grew huge squash. cucumbers, beans, carrots, small tomatos.

gonna make it bigger and i've learned from my mistakes, so hopefully this year it'll be better

RoanneRed

I do, but it would be much more productive if I was ever home to take care of it - I must remember to go out and check for ripe tomatoes in the morning, I'm sure there are some by now!

lisakyle_11

i do! depending on the season, my family and i grow: carrots, tomatoes, peas, beans, potatoes, various lettuces, spinach, kale, onions, radishes, leeks, garlic, beets, and artichokes. not much beats a garden!

(forgot a few: cucumbers, brussels sprouts, and zucchini)

mab33

I grow them every year. They're absolutely delicious and I've caught my mom stealing from my garden. And squirrels. In fact, I hardly ever get to eat my veggies. But at least the neighborhood squirrels are happy...

kbw414

I love to grow heirlooms! I have an herb garden I can walk out to from my kitchen, which is great. My husband has made me tons of cool trellises and arbors for my long Asian beans. Can't wait for the snow to melt!

mjsmith1223

A little jealous of those of you that can plant already...

We grow several varieties of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, kale, lettuce, spinach, peas, green beans, potatoes, onions, carrots, and broccoli. There's nothing like a salad of veggies still warm from the sun.

wreath7

if you plant zucchini, cilantro or radishes, they will be low maintenance and produce a lot, usually. Love growing vegetables...

beckys19

Only if i had a yard to plant some veggies....my veggies would be fresher and cheaper.

If you have a patio or balcony (as long as it is not facing north) you can have a container garden. Google "bucket garden" for ideas, though personally cukes didn't work good for us. But we've gotten good results for beans, peppers, and tomatoes.

Miss_dannii

I'd love to but I can't with my dogs lol

frugalmomsrock

I only grow a few things. I grow green onion year round (FL), and I do peppers part of the year. The other stuff varies. I have done eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce, but nothing took off real well. Three years ago, I got a promise of a garden box for my anniversary, and I'm still waiting. *rollseyes*

I have blueberry, red raspberry, black raspberry, golden raspberry, and blackberry bushes.

MrsBlobs

I would love to grow my own veggies but, I'm scared. Whenever I've looked into it it seems that every bug under the sun will come and attack them! And I wouldn't know where to start.

I planted a minature apple tree last year and it barely survived the green fly attack and I had to resort to spraying which I really didn't want to do. I may give onions ago this year as I love 'em.

Sweet_Potato

My parents have a fairly large garden and they grow lots of things. I live in a rowhouse with a brick patio for a backyard, so I'm somewhat limited with what I can grow.

Last year I tried growing a few things in pots: basil, mint, parsley, thyme, oregano, sage, banana peppers, jalapeno, and container tomatoes. The basil, thyme, oregano, and sage did really well (unfortunately the squirrels stole all my tomatoes). We also got a few figs from the neighbor's tree which hangs over our fence. Next year I'll definitely do the herbs again.

Hezzakiah

I love fresh fruits and veggies. Since we moved out to the family farm, we have been planting a garden. Each year it has been getting larger with more varieties. This year we plan to add plum and nectarine trees to the apple, peach and pear trees. I also plan to add strawberries and grapes. My husband has already order the chicks (both for meat and eggs) which should be here next month. The baby calves should be delivered sometime during the summer. We are hoping to have to spend very little at the grocery buying food with additives and preservatives.

kd_mazur

Somehow the tomatos grown in the back yard just taste better:)
For those who don't have good soil or just not much room, check into the book
"All new square foot gardening : grow more in less space!" Mel Bartholomew

I found using these suggestions I could have a very good harvest without much space.

marquesajen

My mom (and by extension me since I live nearby) grow tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, herbs, and a couple years ago I grew tomatillos. At my apartment we just grow herbs usually, not enough sun for many things, though we pick our own food at some nearby farms.

SammiAnne11

I can't wait to have my garden going again! We are now vegetarians, and it will be nice to pick my own stuff!

beckys19

Somehow the tomatos grown in the back yard just taste better:)
For those who don't have good soil or just not much room, check into the book
"All new square foot gardening : grow more in less space!" Mel Bartholomew

I found using these suggestions I could have a very good harvest without much space.

Anyone else try out these methods, and how did they work for you? We always have so much we want to grow, but not much space! We're in NE Wisconsin, so input from people in a similar zone would be helpful!

mjsmith1223

We've grown herbs, tomatoes and peppers in containers on our patio in the past. They always did fine. We live in the northern lower peninsula of Michigan. Last summer we had roses in the containers. They do well as long as we move them around to maximize the sun exposure.

Our yard is kind of small, so we rent space at our local community garden every year. It allows us more growing space without much cost. For those dealing with limited space it might be something to look into.

Mel2626

I do too! My bf and I started a few years ago and everything tastes so much better from our little organic garden.!! We just moved recently so we can't have an actual garden where we live now but we're planning to do it bucket style for the items that did the best for us. We found the most success with tomatoes (we've done all kinds: tiny, big, multicolored etc and they all come out amazing!), red skin potatoes (yum yum), sweet potatoes (yum again), sugar snap peas, all sorts of peppers (multi-colored bell peppers, all sorts of spicy ones), all sorts of spices (rosemary, basil, cilantro, sage etc), pole beans, watermelon, cucumbers (we've done all sorts of these including lemon cucumbers), and some more I can't think of. We've also done bok choy (too many bugs and we don't use pesticides), broccoli, carrots (they usually grow in funny shapes~we've done multi-colored which are awesome!), zucchini, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, radishes, spinach, eggplant, rhubarb, chard and the list goes on!!!
What we usually do is plant a bit of the ones that we know grow great and then add a few other new things to test. Some years are better than others because of weather conditions but it's always worth the effort. We even have a pot of strawberries and we had blackberries and raspberries as well (we only brought the strawberries with us to the new house).
Anyway, just wanted to say that I do hope you decide to have your own garden. It's a great way to get outside in the spring-fall and nothing beats home-grown organic veggies. It will bring you such pride!! We've had so many people come to our house and eat our food straight off the plants! lol

Best of luck!!
Oh and come on spring~ I've got some plating to do!! (I get a little excited for our garden, can you tell?! lol)
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