Any gardeners out there?

kelly_e_montana
kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
in Chit-Chat
Hello! I have been into gardening for a couple of years and find it's a great way to know where my food comes from and also stay active. I would like to get more into canning and preserving this fall, so am looking for new ideas for my garden. Also, the seed catalogs are starting to come. Now granted, I can't plant for a few months, but I am starting to day dream.

What are some of your favorite crops? I'm zone 4 and I love kale because it's so hardy and another favorite of mine is lemon cucumbers.

I would also love to add any gardeners from areas with shorter growing seasons.

Replies

  • jenniferlynn2477
    jenniferlynn2477 Posts: 39 Member
    I love gardening myself. I only started it when we moved to southern Tennessee as I became a stay at home mom. I live for the summers where I can spend a lot of time in my garden. I do a lot of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, all kinds of peppers and strawberries. This year we are going to try Tomatillo's (not sure of spelling), and I'm really excited about it. We tried for the last couple years carrots but the bugs kept getting them. I do my herbs in containers and they do real well on my front porch. I'm already making up my spreadsheet for where I'm planting what!
  • dtreg35
    dtreg35 Posts: 93
    I enjoy gardening. Im in south Louisiana. My favorites are cucumber, bell pepper, eggplant, and strawberrys.
  • AmyEm3
    AmyEm3 Posts: 784 Member
    I used to garden up north in zone 3 but recently moved to zone 6. I'm excited to have a longer growing season --especially b/c my favorite thing to grow is hot peppers. I always grow a bunch of different kinds of hot peppers--eat some fresh, or dry them, or make my own hot sauce. I also love growing pumpkins--unfortunately we don't have anywhere near as much space here as we did at our old house so I might not be able to do that this year.

    I grow a whole bunch of different things but hot peppers and pumpkins are my favorites.

    I can and preserve too.
  • jenniferlynn2477
    jenniferlynn2477 Posts: 39 Member
    I would love to grow things on a vine, but they take over my garden. I don't know how to grow them outside of the garden either, something to think about before planting season. I'd love to try and grow pumpkins again and other squash. Anyone ever try growing them on something?
  • sd_dilligaf
    sd_dilligaf Posts: 146 Member
    I am in San DIego so I grow veggies and other plants all year long. Lettuce, chard, snap peas, herbs, rhubarb in the winter/spring, and beans, eggplant, tomatoes, cukes, squash, boysenberries, carrots, parsnips in the summer/fall. Citrus is also a given, and now i am growing merlot for an arbor cover.

    We use raised beds and a dedicated irrigation system. I have a cistern to store 4,200 gallons of rainwater for the dry season. The landscaping is mostly natives and drought tolerant plants.

    Love gardening..
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    I live in the Inland Empire, CA and it will be prime growing season soon. My favorites are broccoli, squash, grape and roma tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, and peppers.

    I will be building raised beds and doing the Square Foot gardening method this year.
  • lisadiane41
    lisadiane41 Posts: 141
    I used to grow tomatoes but not anymore. It seems now anything I grow I kill. LOL
  • mustardseedmom
    mustardseedmom Posts: 4
    I just planted carrots, lettuce, spinach, grape tomatoes, and green beans in my 4x4 raised bed today. I live in East TN. It rained just a couple of hours later. I have a small 2x4 frame that we need to place and fill... my backyard is sloped so it's harder to find a level spot than you might think. I am hoping to grow some cucumbers and tomatoes, and have other seeds but no idea where I will plant them.
  • HiKaren
    HiKaren Posts: 1,306 Member
    This is what I have planted. (Armenian Farmers Daughter Here) We used to have 5 ranches when my Dad was alive.. So ... In my little tiny backyard I have the following going.

    1- Yellow Crookneck Squash
    2- Green Zuchinni
    3- Red Bellpepper
    4- Green Bellpepper
    5- Yellow Bellpepper
    6- Cherry Tomatos
    7- Cucumbers
    8- Cilantro
    9- Rosemary
    10- Pomegranate Lots of flowers on it (Don't over water that tree!)
    11- Apricot tree..... Lots of little apricots
    12- Blood Orange. Nothing on that sucker
    13- Mandrin Orange - Lots of little flowers
    14- Corn Stalks - First time to grow those
    15- Okra - First time to grow those
    16- Watermelon - Its getting bigger
    17- Thompson Grapes - You should see those little bunches.
    18- Strawberries - In one of those topsy turvey hanging planters

    Im going to plant a Pumpkin in June..

    Im constantly out in my yard... Pulling up weeds. Yes my back hurts. Its the curse of the Farming God.

    (Revised) To add the strawberries
  • HiKaren
    HiKaren Posts: 1,306 Member
    I also would love to have a Walnut or Almond tree.... :happy:
  • Bentleymama86
    Bentleymama86 Posts: 89 Member
    I live in southern cali and am currently growing cucumbers, tomatoes, grapes, oranges, marigolds, sweet peas, boxwood basil, hot oregano, rosemary, cinnamon basil, cilantro, corn, jalapenos, carrots, turnips, radish, and beans :)
  • angelcurry130
    angelcurry130 Posts: 265 Member
    i don't have a balcony to plan on, but i'm trying an indoor SIP system. so far, i have zucchini, one pumpkin vine, cucumbers, peas, okra, radishes, and lavender. only have sprouts for eggplant, tomato, and spinach. i'm trying to see what does and does not work inside (hand pollination) before i actually DO get some outdoor space to work with.
  • kathott
    kathott Posts: 72 Member
    Hi there. I am an avid gardener. we live in Zone 4...but live in a micro-environment where alot of different things happen with our
    weather. We plant vegetables but I have alot of perennials. Please feel free to add me - always great to chat with another
    gardener!!
    Kathleen
  • Kmanouchehri90
    Kmanouchehri90 Posts: 81 Member
    I also love lemon cucumbers! My favorite is probably lemon guavas, passion fruits, and tomatoes. Feel free to add me, my husband and I grow everything you can possibly grow in our zone.
  • skinnylynnie74
    skinnylynnie74 Posts: 154 Member
    Love to grow and freeze and can my own food! I have plants started under lights, but it snowed today, so they aren't getting hardened off anytime soon! Add me if you want a gardening friend!
  • nytefalle
    nytefalle Posts: 63
    I started canning after moving into a place with a gigantic fig out back. I love canning, but I honestly eat very little of what I preserve, so some days it just seems like a waste. Marmalade is the only thing I'll definitely eat, mixed into Greek yogurt. I tried growing veggies the past few years, but was never home for long enough stretches to maintain the garden. Or my MiL would go on a harvesting binge while I was away & not eat anything.

    This year, I'm going to focus on flowers & herbs, although that plan is also on hold since my MiL wants to do some pretty major renovations this year which will destroy every flower bed I've already planted. I just took all the plants we'd just bought and shoved them into pots. I have no idea what she's going to do with the half dozen irises and five rose bushes she bought since the flower beds are officially off limits.
  • maiaroman18
    maiaroman18 Posts: 460 Member
    I also would love to have a Walnut or Almond tree.... :happy:
    I have a black walnut tree in my yard. The squirrels enjoy sitting on the branches and dropping pieces of shells on me as I walk by.

    I don't grow any fruits/vegetables. I have two black thumbs.

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