Garden thread
Replies
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kshama2001 wrote: »Also, funny your link mentions a soil thermometer, which I may get. I realized I have no personal thermometer, so am trying to get one, and in searching on amazon I realized I need a new meat thermometer (I have a questionable one), so ordered that. It's thermometer week!
I have a 3-in-1 that gives temp, moisture, and pH. I really just got it for the pH so I can make sure the soil around my blueberries is a bit acidic. I like the temp part since this year I plan to spread beneficial nematodes as soon as the temp is warm enough.
@earlnabby I want one too! What's the brand?
Where do you buy your beneficial nematodes, which plants get these, and at what temperature?
Apparently they don't make them anymore. All the 3-in-1 I see these days are light, pH, and moisture.
I haven't bought the nematodes yet since you usually have to distribute them within about 2 weeks after purchase. I am still pricing out which ones I want to get. They are mixed with water and applied to the entire garden soil area when the soil temp reaches 44° or higher.2 -
Gardening is something I can do without being around others, but I have no idea how to get started other than I'd like to plant things I'd like to eat.
I'm horrible with plants, though. Any suggestions for how to get started and what resists killing? There's so much information out there and it's kind of overwhelming.2 -
clicketykeys wrote: »Gardening is something I can do without being around others, but I have no idea how to get started other than I'd like to plant things I'd like to eat.
I'm horrible with plants, though. Any suggestions for how to get started and what resists killing? There's so much information out there and it's kind of overwhelming.
Start with checking your space to see how much sunlight you get and become familiar with your growing zone. Pretty much any vegetable needs at least 6-8 hours of direct sun daily.
If you are in the US, check the website for the agriculture department of the closest university to you. Many have extensions in various counties. They can give you great advice as to what veggies, or variety of common ones, do well in your area. Pick out a couple of things to try from a local garden center. Start small and build on that.
I am sure other countries have similar helpful sites to get gardeners started.3 -
clicketykeys wrote: »Gardening is something I can do without being around others, but I have no idea how to get started other than I'd like to plant things I'd like to eat.
I'm horrible with plants, though. Any suggestions for how to get started and what resists killing? There's so much information out there and it's kind of overwhelming.
Swiss chard is pretty indestructible. Pests here in MA don't bother it, and it is good with very cold - very hot temperatures (it will wilt in the summer sun, but bounces back.)
I grow it mostly for smoothies, but also steam it, throw it in soup, and if it gets out of control, make casserole, which I just posted about here: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/44829157/#Comment_44829157
(Another garden pic there too.)
Not sure where to start with you - do you already have garden beds or should we start there?
We put in some 4 x 8' raised beds before I moved in with my OH in 2016, and then Fall 2018 put in another 2 x 12' bed.
That 18" fence was enough to keep out one wild rabbit - if you have rabbits, they may be more aggressive. My woodchuck oddly did not notice the kale but if she had, 18" would not have been nearly enough. Now that I have a cat, neither tunnels into my yard anymore.
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Another option for new veggie growers to dip a toe in the water is to start with 2-3 big pots. Some good candidates for growing in pots (in most areas) are cherry tomatoes, bush forms of things like zuchini or cucumber, hot or sweet peppers, and herbs (direct seed easy ones you like, maybe annuals (mature to flowers first year) like dill, basil, cilantro/coriander . . . ).
You still need the hours of sun, but you don't necessarily need to commit to a growing bed right off . . . unless you want to.
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Herbs are super easy, and I agree that tomatoes are easy in pots too. Before I moved to my current house with a little back yard, I was in a condo with a roof deck and in some years very successfully grew tomatoes and herbs up there. You just had to water the tomatoes A LOT in some year -- one I was having to do it twice a day during a hot and dry spell. Wind could be an issue up there too, sometimes.
My herb garden now consists of a couple of carts on my back porch with separate sections. I'd planned to try to bring one of them in to keep going during the winter and maybe I will in a later year but I couldn't figure out a good way to make it work in time this year.1 -
There are a wide variety of grow bag sizes as well for a low commitment option to try!Another option for new veggie growers to dip a toe in the water is to start with 2-3 big pots. Some good candidates for growing in pots (in most areas) are cherry tomatoes, bush forms of things like zuchini or cucumber, hot or sweet peppers, and herbs (direct seed easy ones you like, maybe annuals (mature to flowers first year) like dill, basil, cilantro/coriander . . . ).
You still need the hours of sun, but you don't necessarily need to commit to a growing bed right off . . . unless you want to.
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Got my two 3x8 beds built along the fence and bee hive set up! Bees coming soon, sometime between now and May.
Our neighbor’s are from Cuba so English isn’t their first language (the husband speaks more than the wife, the daughter will sometimes translate... I make feeble conversation attempts in Spanish
most definitely have lost most of the vocab I used to know)... he was unloading a trailer of dirt into his new garden beds yesterday and I asked him what it was - topsoil! Though it looked a bit dark, but ok. Asked him where he got it - I could use some for my new beds. his brother’s farm. Hmmmm... he offered to get as much as I needed for free which was super sweet. Very nice family. Soon it started to rain/sleet so he told me to grab a wheelbarrow and get what I wanted, he could get more later, because he wanted to unload it while it was dry. Definitely not topsoil, rich, earthy compost from his brother’s cow farm! I got enough to do a couple inches base in each bed, but definitely have to layer news paper on top to prevent weed seeds from sprouting and taking over. Hubby and I helped unload the rest of the trailer so he didn’t have to stay out in the cruddy weather as long. Going to top it with some different topsoil/compost mix that should be a bit more predictable content wise.
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clicketykeys wrote: »Gardening is something I can do without being around others, but I have no idea how to get started other than I'd like to plant things I'd like to eat.
I'm horrible with plants, though. Any suggestions for how to get started and what resists killing? There's so much information out there and it's kind of overwhelming.
Start with checking your space to see how much sunlight you get and become familiar with your growing zone. Pretty much any vegetable needs at least 6-8 hours of direct sun daily.
If you are in the US, check the website for the agriculture department of the closest university to you. Many have extensions in various counties. They can give you great advice as to what veggies, or variety of common ones, do well in your area. Pick out a couple of things to try from a local garden center. Start small and build on that.
I am sure other countries have similar helpful sites to get gardeners started.
I agree with this, great tips! I've found at one of our local centers (not one of the hardware ones but the gardening centers with healthier plants and more variety) the people that work there love to talk gardening and usually give great tips. I've had an embarrassing amount of conversations with people about plants, no one wants to go with me there anymore! I agree with others about herbs, for the most part they're pretty strong plants. The only one I've struggled with is dill and that's due to aphid infestations. I currently have rosemary, lavender, parsley, tarragon, marjoram, oregano, mint, thyme, chocolate mint, and have basil and thyme in my aerogarden inside, about 30 mixed basil seedlings and 4 sage ones (had old seeds and didn't think they'd grow), plus just started stevia seeds and a few are popping up. Cherry tomatoes are real easy too. I have radishes growing and they grow fairly fast and I don't have to do anything but wait for them to grow.1 -
Easy to start and can provide meal iscut and come again lettuce. You densely sow lettuce seeds and then aboutv6 weeks later start being able to chop it back to 1 inch high. Think fancy spring mix lettuce.
For sees my favorite online source is migardener.com0 -
Easy to start and can provide meal iscut and come again lettuce. You densely sow lettuce seeds and then aboutv6 weeks later start being able to chop it back to 1 inch high. Think fancy spring mix lettuce.
For sees my favorite online source is migardener.com
One problem I used to have with lettuce was rain splashing the dirt all over it. I started using straw to mulch strawberries and realized it makes excellent mulch for lettuce as well, and no more dirt splatter! (And less watering.)
For mulch made from grasses, you want something that was sterilized, so there aren't any seeds that would sprout and defeat a main purpose of mulching - weed reduction.1 -
clicketykeys wrote: »Gardening is something I can do without being around others, but I have no idea how to get started other than I'd like to plant things I'd like to eat.
I'm horrible with plants, though. Any suggestions for how to get started and what resists killing? There's so much information out there and it's kind of overwhelming.
Start with checking your space to see how much sunlight you get and become familiar with your growing zone. Pretty much any vegetable needs at least 6-8 hours of direct sun daily.
If you are in the US, check the website for the agriculture department of the closest university to you. Many have extensions in various counties. They can give you great advice as to what veggies, or variety of common ones, do well in your area. Pick out a couple of things to try from a local garden center. Start small and build on that.
I am sure other countries have similar helpful sites to get gardeners started.
I agree with this, great tips! I've found at one of our local centers (not one of the hardware ones but the gardening centers with healthier plants and more variety) the people that work there love to talk gardening and usually give great tips. I've had an embarrassing amount of conversations with people about plants, no one wants to go with me there anymore! I agree with others about herbs, for the most part they're pretty strong plants. The only one I've struggled with is dill and that's due to aphid infestations. I currently have rosemary, lavender, parsley, tarragon, marjoram, oregano, mint, thyme, chocolate mint, and have basil and thyme in my aerogarden inside, about 30 mixed basil seedlings and 4 sage ones (had old seeds and didn't think they'd grow), plus just started stevia seeds and a few are popping up. Cherry tomatoes are real easy too. I have radishes growing and they grow fairly fast and I don't have to do anything but wait for them to grow.
Something else I thought of for @clicketykeys See if you have a local garden club. Members are often happy to mentor a brand new gardener and you should be able to find someone to offer advice and even help pick out a space, whether you choose in-ground or start with pots/grow bags. Gardeners love to talk plants and gardens. Even beginners and small scale ones like to talk about whatever they are growing.
The biggest issue I have had growing herbs is with cilantro. I planted it two years in a row and we got a June hot spell which made it bolt each time. I gave up.
Time to start pots. I just brought up my Caladium bulbs and Alstromeria from the basement. I might have let the Alstromeria dry out too much so it may be dead, but we'll see. I have some begonia bulbs on order so I can start them as soon as they arrive.
ETA: the Alstromeria last summer with a bumblebee butt sticking out.
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(snip)
The biggest issue I have had growing herbs is with cilantro. I planted it two years in a row and we got a June hot spell which made it bolt each time. I gave up.
(snip)
It is fast to bolt, for sure, even for me here in the North. I hope it at least grew on enough to give you the coriander seed? Toasted in a cast-iron pan, it's so tasty (aromatic, citrus-y) in rice/grain or mild-flavored veggies like zucchini. Also a staple spice in Indian cuisine. Home-grown has so much more flavor - a flavor not at all like cilantro leaf/plant - compared to anything I've ever gotten commericially. Thinking much of its goodness must be volatiles.0 -
(snip)
The biggest issue I have had growing herbs is with cilantro. I planted it two years in a row and we got a June hot spell which made it bolt each time. I gave up.
(snip)
It is fast to bolt, for sure, even for me here in the North. I hope it at least grew on enough to give you the coriander seed? Toasted in a cast-iron pan, it's so tasty (aromatic, citrus-y) in rice/grain or mild-flavored veggies like zucchini. Also a staple spice in Indian cuisine. Home-grown has so much more flavor - a flavor not at all like cilantro leaf/plant - compared to anything I've ever gotten commericially. Thinking much of its goodness must be volatiles.
Yes, I collected the seeds. I love coriander, I even have a peppermill with a special mix of black pepper, coriander, allspice, and Szechwan peppercorns. I need to pick through the allspice because some berries are too big for the grinders.2 -
clicketykeys wrote: »Gardening is something I can do without being around others, but I have no idea how to get started other than I'd like to plant things I'd like to eat.
I'm horrible with plants, though. Any suggestions for how to get started and what resists killing? There's so much information out there and it's kind of overwhelming.
Start with checking your space to see how much sunlight you get and become familiar with your growing zone. Pretty much any vegetable needs at least 6-8 hours of direct sun daily.
If you are in the US, check the website for the agriculture department of the closest university to you. Many have extensions in various counties. They can give you great advice as to what veggies, or variety of common ones, do well in your area. Pick out a couple of things to try from a local garden center. Start small and build on that.
I am sure other countries have similar helpful sites to get gardeners started.
I agree with this, great tips! I've found at one of our local centers (not one of the hardware ones but the gardening centers with healthier plants and more variety) the people that work there love to talk gardening and usually give great tips. I've had an embarrassing amount of conversations with people about plants, no one wants to go with me there anymore! I agree with others about herbs, for the most part they're pretty strong plants. The only one I've struggled with is dill and that's due to aphid infestations. I currently have rosemary, lavender, parsley, tarragon, marjoram, oregano, mint, thyme, chocolate mint, and have basil and thyme in my aerogarden inside, about 30 mixed basil seedlings and 4 sage ones (had old seeds and didn't think they'd grow), plus just started stevia seeds and a few are popping up. Cherry tomatoes are real easy too. I have radishes growing and they grow fairly fast and I don't have to do anything but wait for them to grow.
Something else I thought of for @clicketykeys See if you have a local garden club. Members are often happy to mentor a brand new gardener and you should be able to find someone to offer advice and even help pick out a space, whether you choose in-ground or start with pots/grow bags. Gardeners love to talk plants and gardens. Even beginners and small scale ones like to talk about whatever they are growing.
The biggest issue I have had growing herbs is with cilantro. I planted it two years in a row and we got a June hot spell which made it bolt each time. I gave up.
[snip]
Yes, cilantro has always been a short-lived annual for me, and I'm just not used to the need for regular replanting/resowing, so gave up as well.
@clicketykeys - I have a wonderful local facebook gardening group which is just a delight. In addition to advice, we give away extra plants and pots and things.2 -
last year my cilantro came up all by itself. i see my mint but i do not see the cilantro yet.1
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We had such a mild winter my parsley made it and is growing new from the base! Last year it survived until a bigger snowfall that nipped it, guess it was buried too long (dustings would wilt it, but it would survive). Chives are already back and several inches long as well!1
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My chives are back too.2
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Going to try rhubarb for the first time, my son really likes the jams and jellies my uncle makes with it so I figured it would be worth a shot (good way to stretch other pricier ingredients as well)... bonus that it’s a perennial! (For some reason I didn’t know that until recently)1
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I am so happy I just made a salad for lunch with garden lettuce, radishes, and italian dressing made from home grown herbs. It makes me happy.4
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last year my cilantro came up all by itself. i see my mint but i do not see the cilantro yet.
Ya, my cilantro-self seeded itself one year, but the basil hid the seedlings, which I found when I harvested the basil before a frost. I dug up the cilantro seedlings and tried to winter them over inside, but promptly killed it 2 -
moonangel12 wrote: »We had such a mild winter my parsley made it and is growing new from the base! Last year it survived until a bigger snowfall that nipped it, guess it was buried too long (dustings would wilt it, but it would survive). Chives are already back and several inches long as well!
Parsley is actually a biennial plant so second year growth is common if the roots aren't dug out.2 -
Anyone else live in zone 9?
Besides citrus, what fruit trees do you find the most productive and low maintenance?
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From my gardening group on FB:
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Hey gardeners! We are hovering around 50 degrees in NYC...my forsythia bush burst into color today! We needed that pop of color here.
My mini outdoor space is saving my sanity. Can’t wait to get a few degrees warmer. I started watering my lavender bushes today and took the ferns and Bougainvillea back outside. Hoping to get things out of hibernation again.
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clicketykeys wrote: »Gardening is something I can do without being around others, but I have no idea how to get started other than I'd like to plant things I'd like to eat.
I'm horrible with plants, though. Any suggestions for how to get started and what resists killing? There's so much information out there and it's kind of overwhelming.
Start with checking your space to see how much sunlight you get and become familiar with your growing zone. Pretty much any vegetable needs at least 6-8 hours of direct sun daily.
If you are in the US, check the website for the agriculture department of the closest university to you. Many have extensions in various counties. They can give you great advice as to what veggies, or variety of common ones, do well in your area. Pick out a couple of things to try from a local garden center. Start small and build on that.
I am sure other countries have similar helpful sites to get gardeners started.
I agree with this, great tips! I've found at one of our local centers (not one of the hardware ones but the gardening centers with healthier plants and more variety) the people that work there love to talk gardening and usually give great tips. I've had an embarrassing amount of conversations with people about plants, no one wants to go with me there anymore! I agree with others about herbs, for the most part they're pretty strong plants. The only one I've struggled with is dill and that's due to aphid infestations. I currently have rosemary, lavender, parsley, tarragon, marjoram, oregano, mint, thyme, chocolate mint, and have basil and thyme in my aerogarden inside, about 30 mixed basil seedlings and 4 sage ones (had old seeds and didn't think they'd grow), plus just started stevia seeds and a few are popping up. Cherry tomatoes are real easy too. I have radishes growing and they grow fairly fast and I don't have to do anything but wait for them to grow.
Something else I thought of for @clicketykeys See if you have a local garden club. Members are often happy to mentor a brand new gardener and you should be able to find someone to offer advice and even help pick out a space, whether you choose in-ground or start with pots/grow bags. Gardeners love to talk plants and gardens. Even beginners and small scale ones like to talk about whatever they are growing.
The biggest issue I have had growing herbs is with cilantro. I planted it two years in a row and we got a June hot spell which made it bolt each time. I gave up.
Time to start pots. I just brought up my Caladium bulbs and Alstromeria from the basement. I might have let the Alstromeria dry out too much so it may be dead, but we'll see. I have some begonia bulbs on order so I can start them as soon as they arrive.
ETA: the Alstromeria last summer with a bumblebee butt sticking out.
Here's my first bumblebee of the year. My cat will be so happy the bees are back!
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Where's my 'Wow' reaction? XD2
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For a little cheer:
- the forsythia just after sunrise
- the magnolia blooming far too early...
We were planning on buying lettuce seedlings. All shops closed, so we'll be trying to use the old seeds we found in the back of the cupboard. Wish us luck.
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Ladyreva lettuce is pretty easy you want to sow rather dense and do cut and come again2
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