Garden thread

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Replies

  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    hesn92 wrote: »
    Here are my garden beds. my husband build them and the trelises. The one closest to the camera is for green beans and the one on the other is for cucmbers

    I am a total amateur by the way, no idea what I'm doing. My plan of action every year is throw some stuff in and hopefully it makes me food lol

    zoslhtmm6i11.jpg

    Great trellises!

    A tip on tomato growing - you can use the small cages for determinate / bush/ patio tomatoes, but a healthy indeterminate tomato in good soil needs a huge cage or support.

    I use the small tomato cages for bell peppers.

    https://www.tomatofest.com/tomato_questions_s/128.htm

    Thanks, Yea I know every year I say "these tomato cages don't work, I need to do something different next year" and then next year rolls around and I never did anything so I just use the stupid cages again LOL. I'm still thinking of how I want to support them next year, but I know I'll do something different this time. My tomato plants were out of control. They got so big I had to grow the stems sideways and tie them up along that little chicken wire fence I have around the bed. Again, I have no idea what I'm doing lol.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    hesn92 wrote: »
    what about grapes, does anyone have a grape vine? I also would really love to have one of those.

    I had one when we first bought the house (18+ yrs ago) but it got mold every year so I finally pulled it out. Never did get grapes good enough to eat off of it.

    Based on the effort the wineries put into grapes, I think they are pretty finicky.

    Darn. I got grapes from a farmers market once that were so delicious, they tasted like candy. Have never been able to find grapes that good since then. Home grown food always seems to taste better.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    I'm in an apartment, so I try grow bags on my balcony every spring. I garden like @hesn92 just throw 'em in the soil and hopefully something grows :lol: I try to buy seeds that specify a bushing plant, and "easy to grow".

    I have had great luck every year with swiss chard. With two plants in one bag I can usually get a serving or two out of it a week. They'll even last through an intermittent frost, I just pick the leaves a little younger towards the end. I planted cherry tomatoes last year and had tomatoes for weeks, but this year we had a super wet and very hot summer and they just were NOT happy. Sweet peppers crapped out on me two years in a row. I tried yellow summer squash for the first time this year and they did not do well. It said the plant would bush, but it did not, so it was a trailing/vining mess with no support. I got lots of flowers that turned into little tiny baby fruit, but most got soft and brown before growing beyond a couple of inches. I love yellow squash and they don't get that cheap around here for some reason, so I will try it again next year with a support.

    I try to grow stuff that I typically don't like the look of and/or is expensive at the grocery. I love all the pictures, an actual in the ground garden is #lifegoals for me!
  • OvershareUsername
    OvershareUsername Posts: 36 Member
    hesn92 wrote: »
    hesn92 wrote: »
    what about grapes, does anyone have a grape vine? I also would really love to have one of those.

    I had one when we first bought the house (18+ yrs ago) but it got mold every year so I finally pulled it out. Never did get grapes good enough to eat off of it.

    Based on the effort the wineries put into grapes, I think they are pretty finicky.

    Darn. I got grapes from a farmers market once that were so delicious, they tasted like candy. Have never been able to find grapes that good since then. Home grown food always seems to taste better.

    I am in the South and here there are Muscadines/Scuppernogs that grow wild. They have a super thick skin and big seed, but the flesh is so sweet and delicious!! I see people growing them in their yards, so they must do alright! I don’t think they are super cold hardy though...
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    edited November 2018
    @kshama2001 a house by me ties sheets to the branches and catches the berries.

    @hesn92 i have a catawba. this second growing season it's been hardier. the first season i thought i'd lose it completely. it's not a heavy producer yet but it's only been in my yard for a full year. they are sweet but do have seeds.
    i don't think the muscadines or scuppernogs grow up here (SE Wi zone 5b)-well, not perennially.

    we have wild grapes too but not edible.

    re: tomatoes i'll be getting something for them this coming growing season. they were unruly uncaged.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I'm in an apartment, so I try grow bags on my balcony every spring. I garden like @hesn92 just throw 'em in the soil and hopefully something grows :lol: I try to buy seeds that specify a bushing plant, and "easy to grow".

    I have had great luck every year with swiss chard. With two plants in one bag I can usually get a serving or two out of it a week. They'll even last through an intermittent frost, I just pick the leaves a little younger towards the end. I planted cherry tomatoes last year and had tomatoes for weeks, but this year we had a super wet and very hot summer and they just were NOT happy. Sweet peppers crapped out on me two years in a row. I tried yellow summer squash for the first time this year and they did not do well. It said the plant would bush, but it did not, so it was a trailing/vining mess with no support. I got lots of flowers that turned into little tiny baby fruit, but most got soft and brown before growing beyond a couple of inches. I love yellow squash and they don't get that cheap around here for some reason, so I will try it again next year with a support.

    I try to grow stuff that I typically don't like the look of and/or is expensive at the grocery. I love all the pictures, an actual in the ground garden is #lifegoals for me!

    I highly recommend Swiss chard for new gardeners. It isn't bothered by any of the normal New England garden pests. I can put it in April and even after several frosts, it is still alive now, although no longer growing. I mulched the heck out of it and some will survive the winter. Next years' leaves will be small, and I'll just use one or two with the red stems as ornamental plants.

    I eat small leaves in mixed green salads, and mature leaves in smoothies or steamed. Many people use it interchangeably with spinach, which is harder to grow here, as most varieties bolt as soon as the weather gets hot.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    hesn92 wrote: »
    what about grapes, does anyone have a grape vine? I also would really love to have one of those.

    I have concords, which are delicious for eating, make the best pie ever (high effort though), and are dead easy (US/MI USDA Z5). The only trouble is that raccoons love them about 3 days before optimal ripeness for humans.

    Tip for caged tomatoes in raised beds: Set the plant in a 3' or so square at suitable planting time, possibly with Hotkaps or equivalent as needed. Direct seed basil somewhat thickly in 1' bands all around (1-2" centers).

    By the time the tomatoes are threatening the basil's sun (here in MI anyway), the basil is near to flowering and plenty big enough to cut. Make pesto (ask about Ann's dumb easy recipe if you care) or just blenderize with olive oil. Freeze in small jars, thaw by sitting jar in hot tap water, mixing by cutting with knife as thawing proceeds - takes 15-20 minutes, total. Yum.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    @GottaBurnEmAll

    I built raised beds and a potato bin last year. For the raised beds, I used cinder blocks. I did this so if I decided to rearrange things, I could pull it apart easier then if I used wood.

    Narrow blocks (1/2 sized) so they are not too heavy to move around and two rows. My beds are actually sitting on pieces of plywood so about 4ft by 8ft. I built three but am adding a couple for next year. I ran drip irrigation to my beds. We grew corn, tomatoes, peppers, carrots and some other stuff my wife eats. She managed the raised beds.

    My potato box is about 4 ft square. The trick with it is you have it mostly empty and plant your potatoes. Then when you start to see them (when you would normally hill them) you add 6 inches of dirt. Keep doing that all year. This was my responsibility as my wife can't eat potatoes. The key is to make sure the layers all get water. I didn't have the watering set up well so I only got them around the middle and near the bottom. I have to figure something else out for next year.

    I'm going to have to do some research on this because I need to find the laziest way to do this. I know, I'm pathetic.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I'm in an apartment, so I try grow bags on my balcony every spring. I garden like @hesn92 just throw 'em in the soil and hopefully something grows :lol: I try to buy seeds that specify a bushing plant, and "easy to grow".

    I have had great luck every year with swiss chard. With two plants in one bag I can usually get a serving or two out of it a week. They'll even last through an intermittent frost, I just pick the leaves a little younger towards the end. I planted cherry tomatoes last year and had tomatoes for weeks, but this year we had a super wet and very hot summer and they just were NOT happy. Sweet peppers crapped out on me two years in a row. I tried yellow summer squash for the first time this year and they did not do well. It said the plant would bush, but it did not, so it was a trailing/vining mess with no support. I got lots of flowers that turned into little tiny baby fruit, but most got soft and brown before growing beyond a couple of inches. I love yellow squash and they don't get that cheap around here for some reason, so I will try it again next year with a support.

    I try to grow stuff that I typically don't like the look of and/or is expensive at the grocery. I love all the pictures, an actual in the ground garden is #lifegoals for me!

    I highly recommend Swiss chard for new gardeners. It isn't bothered by any of the normal New England garden pests. I can put it in April and even after several frosts, it is still alive now, although no longer growing. I mulched the heck out of it and some will survive the winter. Next years' leaves will be small, and I'll just use one or two with the red stems as ornamental plants.

    I eat small leaves in mixed green salads, and mature leaves in smoothies or steamed. Many people use it interchangeably with spinach, which is harder to grow here, as most varieties bolt as soon as the weather gets hot.

    It would figure that the easiest plant is the one green I actually can't stand. Swiss chard tastes too much like beets. :::shudder:::
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    I actually do have a grape vine -- the prior owner of my house put it in, and it grows like crazy.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    mbaker566 wrote: »
    i plopped my blueberries in the ground with no specialness. so far so good. planted it at the beginning of 1 season and had it for 1 more year. not a lot of berries but it's a young plant
    i think it will be a year or two before i get significant berry harvests on all my berries. i want a couple of marionberry vines too and plant near my water spout (they are from the PNW)

    i plan on having my berries on the chainlink fence to discourage fence testing and jumping by the foster dogs. however, my lab just barrels thru the roses on the other side of my yard. i'm always pulling thorns out of her.

    i also have 2 arkansas black apple trees. though i think only 1 will make it thru the winter. i don't know if it will recover from the shock it suffered when we planted it (dad and i).
    i want to plant a few more apple trees in back and 1 or two small cherries in front of the house.
    also kinda want a mulberry plant

    Mom is up to three mulberry trees. We have mulberry pancakes and mulberry pie around the 4th of July. Mulberries freeze well. Some people complain that they are messy - I always had purple feet when I was a barefoot child.

    Ah mulberries are the best
  • MoveitlikeManda
    MoveitlikeManda Posts: 846 Member
    edited November 2018
    Just found this when catching up on the other thread.
    my husband got me 2 big veg trug and 2017 we grew strawberries, cucumber, peas, radish, small potatos, peppers, tomatos, carrots and broccoli.....butterflies got the brocs though.

    didnt grow anything this year as we have a Dalmatian (was 1 year old last month) and he managed to dig up and eat everything I tried so I gave up.

    its funny I came across this as we were just sat in the garden having a *kitten* and talking about how we can protect the trugs from the daft dog so we can grow next year.

    anyway, when I have a few mins to myself will read through this whole thread x
  • spinnerdell
    spinnerdell Posts: 230 Member
    Just found this when catching up on the other thread.
    my husband got me 2 big veg trug and 2017 we grew strawberries, cucumber, peas, radish, small potatos, peppers, tomatos, carrots and broccoli.....butterflies got the brocs though.

    didnt grow anything this year as we have a Dalmatian (was 1 year old last month) and he managed to dig up and eat everything I tried so I gave up.

    its funny I came across this as we were just sat in the garden having a *kitten* and talking about how we can protect the trugs from the daft dog so we can grow next year.

    anyway, when I have a few mins to myself will read through this whole thread x

    Ok, just gotta know the nature of the *kitten* being had in your garden.
  • Heidijens123
    Heidijens123 Posts: 289 Member
    This post just reminded me that I need to remember to fertilize my garden very well this year. We just moved to a new house and after having a huge successful garden every year in my old place I could hardly get anything to grow here. Even my zucchini that I usually end up with massive amounts of wouldn't grow in my new garden.
    Things I enjoy growing are zucchini, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins and anything else that will fit.
    Oh, the people here before us planted rhubarb and that did beautiful this year, I even got 1st place at the fair. Unfortunately I hate the taste of it. 😂
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    How's the sun? We had a block party recently and ended up looking at people's houses and back yards since when they were originally built (around 1907-12, depending on the house, all part of one development), they were basically the same but have had different levels of reno/expansion. One thing we noticed was that a few people had huge beautiful trees and those shaded most by the trees said they had a lot of problems getting things to grow. My own yard is not shaded, and things seem to grow quite well (although I moved too late and didn't do anything new this year). I'm kind of happy that I get to appreciate the trees (especially the ones in front), but seem to not be overly affected by the shade from them (or responsible for trimming them).

    Rhubarb is a great idea -- my grandmother used to grow that, and it should grow well here.
  • rcreynol3090
    rcreynol3090 Posts: 174 Member
    For tomato cages, I cut sections from a roll of concrete reinforcement wire, and bend into a tube about 2 ft in diameter, and 5 ft tall (6 ft tall if I can find that size wire). It holds up well and lasts for years.

    I'm fortunate to have a few acres to play with for gardening. My budding orchard contains apples, crabapples, pomegranates, plums, a peach, apricot, pear, jujube, and pie cherry trees. Also elderberries, goji berries, blackberries, and muscadine grapes. Everything is young enough that some just started bearing this year, the rest not yet. Hopefully my beehives will help fruit set next year.

    I grow peppers, basil and chard in large pots on the deck. That keeps them out of reach of the rabbits.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    @rcreynol3090 I've thought about an apiary but I'm slightly allergic to bees but it seems like such a good thing for those capable
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    Hydroponic Swiss chard made my day!!!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    This post just reminded me that I need to remember to fertilize my garden very well this year. We just moved to a new house and after having a huge successful garden every year in my old place I could hardly get anything to grow here. Even my zucchini that I usually end up with massive amounts of wouldn't grow in my new garden.
    Things I enjoy growing are zucchini, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins and anything else that will fit.
    Oh, the people here before us planted rhubarb and that did beautiful this year, I even got 1st place at the fair. Unfortunately I hate the taste of it. 😂

    Assuming you have enough sun, how fertile is your soil? In my county we have people selling horse, chicken, and donkey & sheep manure in bags on the side of the road, but you can also get 50 # bags of Black Kow manure at Home Depot for under $6.

    My mom started with really poor soil in 1993 but every fall composted with leaves and added tons of horse manure and her garden has been amazingly productive for quite some time.