Gardening
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I planted several types of hot peppers last year. When the frost was near, I potted several and brought them into the house. Some I placed in my basement, because I read they'd go dormant and could be take outside in the spring. Others I have in my bright family room. So far all of them seem to be surving pretty well.
I learned how to do fermentation pickling and have several jars of delicious pickled hot peppers in my fridge now, as well as fermented ("half-sour") pickles I've made. Going to try fermented dill green beans next and maybe ginger beer. I've never done any canning but might have to learn how.0 -
shifterbrainz wrote: »goddessofawesome wrote: »Saw some comments about rabbits and here is something that has worked for me for years. Take a bar of the most fragrant soap you can buy and tie it to a stake every 5 yards around the perimeter of the garden.
The rabbits associate the odor with people and in 20 years I have seen rabbits in our yard frequently and never had one to eat any plants EVER or even seen one in the garden.
We use no other prevention method for animals around our garden.
Unfortunately the rabbits around my house aren't that afraid of people. I can get pretty darn close to them -- maybe a yard away -- before they hop away.
I know first hand that moth balls are no deterrent to rabbits. I'd place one ball at the base of each plant and in the morning, the plants were chewed and all the moth balls were lying outside the garden. It looked like them durn bunnies were kicking them out like soccer balls. I'd put the moth balls back and the next morning, the plants were chewed some more and the moth balls were outside the garden again. Curses!!! :grimacing:
Are moth balls safe to put around food??0 -
I just bought my first house this last summer. Can't wait to start a garden although i have no clue where to start.
Check out www.motherearthnews.com It might seem a little overwhelming at first, but there is a lot of good information on there. And good forums for asking questions.0 -
I wouldn't want moth ball chemicals near my food.0
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daymonalisa wrote: »I wouldn't want moth ball chemicals near my food.
Me either. I've heard of people putting them around the perimeter of the garden, but I doubt it's safe to put near the plants. Even around the perimeter I'd be afraid of runoff. I'll stick with a fence.0 -
Was thinking about changing out a little area in my backyard for a garden this year. Looking foward to woking in the yard again. Waiting for DayLight Saving Time
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goddessofawesome wrote: »We had an awesome garden this past summer. We were freezing (we had to invest in another freezer just for our produce) and canning pretty much every single weekend. This year we are going to invest in grow lamps and start things in the basement. We tried it last year but with the absence of grow lamps it was rather difficult. We got a lot of our veggies from this guy that we dub the "Crazy Tomato Guy" and he told us how to plant our stuff and did it ever grow! Basically you want to dig a hole (duh lol). Fill it up with cow manure. Put in a scoop of garden tone, a scoop of alfalfa pellets, dirt, put the plant in and cover it up. We did this with all our vegetables and when those roots hit the manure they took off! We used all heirloom seeds in our garden and unfortunately we were a bit late in harvesting the seeds. Most of the items we didn't know HOW to harvest. This year I will do more research and figure out how to harvest them to replant. We lost tomatoes to a baby bunny who only nibbled on the ones closest to the ground that were ripe. We didn't use any pesticides or the like and didn't have any issues with bugs. I think the fact that we planted marigolds around the perimeter of the garden helped.
These were our tomatoes:
We had a ton of stuff:
Tomatoes
Lettuce -- romaine, spinach, red leaf and green leaf
Carrots
Beets
Potatoes
Leeks
Green onions
White onions
Kale
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Peppers -- lots of different kinds, hot, mild, bell
Squash - regular yellow and patty pan (which is an awesome squash!)
Zucchini
Eggplant - two different kinds again. Regular and some funky kind that I think is called Japanese eggplant
Cucumbers
I think that's it. We had so many tomatoes I was canning a few times a week. We made a ton of tomato sauce with them since that's what we end up doing any way, canned a bunch, froze all our cherry tomatoes for use in soups and stews.
This year we are expanding the garden and plan on growing corn (hopefully we can find non-GMO corn), making a nice herb garden, and a few other items that are big and/or viney and come back every year. I'm actually getting excited about it!
Try roasting the tomatoes in the oven. I did this last year and they are my new favorite way to preserve tomatoes. They are AMAZING and have such a sweet deep tomato flavor. They freeze well too. I put them in my salads instead of fresh and this year I am going to try them as a bruschetta topping. I mostly used big slicing tomatoes but I think they would work with any, just have to experiment.
Slice the tomatoes in thick slices and crush garlic cloves maybe 3-4 a tray
Sprinkle with olive oil and a little bit of salt and spread them out on a foiled cookie sheet
Roast for a long time (I used my convection roast mode and maybe cooked them for 2 hours give or take) until most of the water comes out and they turn dark brown, I like them almost black
To freeze, lay them out on a cookie in a single layer so they don't all stick together on wax paper (my cookie sheets are so old I always cover them) and place in freezer until frozen then place in a ziplock bag (similar to freezing blueberries).0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »shifterbrainz wrote: »goddessofawesome wrote: »Saw some comments about rabbits and here is something that has worked for me for years. Take a bar of the most fragrant soap you can buy and tie it to a stake every 5 yards around the perimeter of the garden.
The rabbits associate the odor with people and in 20 years I have seen rabbits in our yard frequently and never had one to eat any plants EVER or even seen one in the garden.
We use no other prevention method for animals around our garden.
Unfortunately the rabbits around my house aren't that afraid of people. I can get pretty darn close to them -- maybe a yard away -- before they hop away.
I know first hand that moth balls are no deterrent to rabbits. I'd place one ball at the base of each plant and in the morning, the plants were chewed and all the moth balls were lying outside the garden. It looked like them durn bunnies were kicking them out like soccer balls. I'd put the moth balls back and the next morning, the plants were chewed some more and the moth balls were outside the garden again. Curses!!! :grimacing:
Are moth balls safe to put around food??
Apparently the bunnies didn't think so!
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shifterbrainz wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »shifterbrainz wrote: »goddessofawesome wrote: »Saw some comments about rabbits and here is something that has worked for me for years. Take a bar of the most fragrant soap you can buy and tie it to a stake every 5 yards around the perimeter of the garden.
The rabbits associate the odor with people and in 20 years I have seen rabbits in our yard frequently and never had one to eat any plants EVER or even seen one in the garden.
We use no other prevention method for animals around our garden.
Unfortunately the rabbits around my house aren't that afraid of people. I can get pretty darn close to them -- maybe a yard away -- before they hop away.
I know first hand that moth balls are no deterrent to rabbits. I'd place one ball at the base of each plant and in the morning, the plants were chewed and all the moth balls were lying outside the garden. It looked like them durn bunnies were kicking them out like soccer balls. I'd put the moth balls back and the next morning, the plants were chewed some more and the moth balls were outside the garden again. Curses!!! :grimacing:
Are moth balls safe to put around food??
Apparently the bunnies didn't think so!
LOLOL! good point.
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I'm a total veggie growing lover. lol. I can't imagine not having a garden. Food just tastes incredibly better when they are home grown. Love that if I want a salad, I can just pick it from my yard.0
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I'm loving this thread and hoping to make new friends that have a passion for gardening to share tips and yummy recipes. Thanks to everyone for responding. This will be fun!0
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I love my garden! I harvested 300+ pounds last (I'm a big nerd and keep track). I will hopefully add another bed this spring and add to my berry patch and orchard. My son and I just started some small pots of herbs and flowers because I love to have fresh picked food and something growing. I've gotten to the point that's about the only way I can eat fruit. I actually enjoy canning- it's like a reminder of summer every time I open a jar
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I love gardening! There's something to be said about eating a tomato right off the vine in the middle of Summer. Heaven!! Our yard is 1/5th of an acre (kinda small) and a lot of it is lawn (which I plan to remedy), but we're usually pretty prolific with tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash and strawberries. We also have raspberries, Granny Smiths, Macintosh, cherries, peaches, apricots and pears as a permanent residence. 0
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For all of the gardeners in winter regions... I live in Pennsylvavia and decided this year to bring five pepper plants inside for the winter to see what happens. I transplanted them in large pots before the first frost (early October). I brought them into our foyer, which faces south and has many windows and a sun roof. I tried to pick pepper plants that had a number of smaller peppers already started. I received a yield of peppers around Christmas time. It does not appear that any new peppers are going to come out, but they are still alive. I am going to plant them in the spring and see if I can get early pepper yield out on them. I will update to let you know what happens.0
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So we lost our house and now rent a place. I want to do some container gardening and plan on tomatoes and lettuce but not sure what else just yet.0
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I love gardening, both flowers and vegetables. Started using Epsom salts a few years ago and they really do make a difference toward having the vegetables produce.
I also started canning a few years ago and I love it. Right now, when the weather is horrible, cold, and snowy, it's great to take out a jar of peaches or green beans or sauce and eat them. And I love seeing them in my pantry, knowing that I grew them (or at least bought them locally) and that all the ingredients are wholesome. If you've never canned, don't be intimidated- there are a lot of easy recipes that don't require a lot of time or equipment. Check for Ball canning recipes.
Container gardening is wonderful! Did that for years when all we had was a deck at our old house. As long as the container is deep and wide enough, plants should thrive. Most people who wonder why their tomatoes and such didn't do well is because the containers just weren't big enough. Those Topsy Turvy tomato planters can be used for a bunch of things, too, not just tomatoes.0 -
BillCaramana wrote: »For all of the gardeners in winter regions... I live in Pennsylvavia and decided this year to bring five pepper plants inside for the winter to see what happens. I transplanted them in large pots before the first frost (early October). I brought them into our foyer, which faces south and has many windows and a sun roof. I tried to pick pepper plants that had a number of smaller peppers already started. I received a yield of peppers around Christmas time. It does not appear that any new peppers are going to come out, but they are still alive. I am going to plant them in the spring and see if I can get early pepper yield out on them. I will update to let you know what happens.
I live in Western PA and have always thought about trying that, so glad you posted your results. We have a large, heated sun room that faces due east and would get sun, but I've always been skeptical about how well vegetable plants would do. Thanks for the post.0 -
tekkiechikk wrote: »I love gardening, both flowers and vegetables. Started using Epsom salts a few years ago and they really do make a difference toward having the vegetables produce.
I also started canning a few years ago and I love it. Right now, when the weather is horrible, cold, and snowy, it's great to take out a jar of peaches or green beans or sauce and eat them. And I love seeing them in my pantry, knowing that I grew them (or at least bought them locally) and that all the ingredients are wholesome. If you've never canned, don't be intimidated- there are a lot of easy recipes that don't require a lot of time or equipment. Check for Ball canning recipes.
Container gardening is wonderful! Did that for years when all we had was a deck at our old house. As long as the container is deep and wide enough, plants should thrive. Most people who wonder why their tomatoes and such didn't do well is because the containers just weren't big enough. Those Topsy Turvy tomato planters can be used for a bunch of things, too, not just tomatoes.
Hi tekkiechikk, Can you elaborate on the Epsom Salt? How do you use it? Is it good for all vegtables? thx0 -
We have been having a super cold spell again, and it is currently snowing and blowing. I think hubby and I can both be caught staring out the window at the snow filled garden! I just want to be warm again, for so many reasons. Not as bad here as last year, but this week has been awful again.
This year I need to plan ahead more for fungus control. We had a rainy summer last year, which my horses loved...the pasture grass was spectacular all summer, no late summer die off at all. And I never watered the garden. But fungus was among us and it really reduced yield on some things. Keeping the viney stuff separated enough is always a problem, so I am looking to take more of that vertical this year, to keep the air movement. Hoping that will help. Would rather not be doing a ton of spraying...0 -
I love love love gardening. I want to start canning this year, I had an overflow of tomatoes last year!
I just extended my backyard this winter by buying more land around my house and now have a full acre to play with! Looking forward to lots of veggies this summer and I would like to plant a couple of peach, pears and apple trees.....now all I need is to win the lottery, those trees are expensive!0
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