Garden thread

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  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
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  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    edited April 2021
    @lx1x Nice! Hope we get to see the bonsai'ed maples. :)
    My sister had a bunch of lilac tree shoots growing on her lawn so she replanted a bunch and sold them at a yard sale she had. Who knew how popular they'd be? :)

    Sorry about your tomatoes. :(

    Trying to be patient here in Vt. because planting isn't recommended until after Memorial Day. After having 60-70 degree weather a couple weeks ago, it's even harder to wait now. :(
  • eijaj
    eijaj Posts: 20 Member
    This is some hard core and long term meal planning, when I have to have everything I want to eat in July ready and growing now :D Also many work outs planned out months ahead, as this and that project have to be done during this summer around the garden.
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    SuzanneC1l9zz wrote: »
    My sister accidentally wound up with a lot of extra strawberry plants thanks to an unclear website, so she's giving me some. I need to measure the bed today and let her know how many I want.

    Nice for you!! My sister brought me a bunch of plants a couple years ago and the first year they didn't do that well. But last year, wow!! I had quarts and quarts of them! This year I have to make a second bed and somehow cut them apart.

    Good luck with your plants; fresh strawberries are the best!
  • SuzanneC1l9zz
    SuzanneC1l9zz Posts: 464 Member
    I envy you. I love artichokes, but hubby Will Not Eat them.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,887 Member
    edited May 2021
    Nice!

    I've been doing some planting this weekend -- various greens (a couple types of lettuce, spinach, arugula, kale, chard, all started already), strawberries, since I think my existing strawberries got eaten/pulled up by something and I always lose most of the fruit I decided to replant in my raised bed, fennel, and then a variety of herbs (in my herb carts, instead of my actual garden, plus I'm trying an inside growing system). I started some other seeds inside, but have some more seeds I want to add outdoors. I also think I'm going to try to work on the landscaping of my backyard (small), although the fact it's dominated by a big raised bed in the middle makes that more challenging. I'm currently sitting outside in the nice weather trying to focus on a landscaping book for inspiration. I would really like to have a flowering garden and not only vegetables. Also, I could happily lose all my grass and replace it with other plants.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,421 Member
    SuzanneC1l9zz wrote: »
    I envy you. I love artichokes, but hubby Will Not Eat them.

    That your sweetie doesn't eat them shouldn't prevent YOU from enjoying them.

    I was going to dig up one or two plants to give to a neighbor last fall, but they looked like they might be on the decline. Nope. So I'll dig some out this year. I started with an appropriate number of plants, then divided them every few years, and now..... I've given lots away. They seem to be mutating, but are delicious. I eat them only about six to 12 weeks a year when I have them and that's it. One of the easiest things in my garden to grow except the years I need to divide them. A few years ago, I dug 'em all up and set them aside and covered the bed with plastic to kill off weeds. Then I divided the little plants and sorted into groups like, "These will live for sure," "These are almost sure to do ok," "These might struggle," and "If these survive, it will be a miracle." I planted small rows with one from each category. Well; only a few died, so in just a couple years they need to be thinned again. Argh. Sometimes success is annoying.

    I really need to amend my soil soon, but I don't till, and there's always something growing. I reckon the best thing would be top dressing with compost. In season we get mint compost, and it's pretty nice. Maybe I'll get a load this year.
  • SuzanneC1l9zz
    SuzanneC1l9zz Posts: 464 Member
    Well, I think my veggie bed's about ready to plant, which I'm hoping to do this weekend. It's not raised and I haven't used it for a couple of years. It looked like a weird 6' x 6' sunken patch of lawn. Pulling up sod solo with just a spade is a workout!

    Mom and I are headed to the garden centre, probably Thursday. I want a Roma tomato, a zucchini, and an eggplant. Gardening is apparently the new pandemic thing and a lot of places are already selling out, so we want to get there fairly quickly.

    I'm also wanting to saw down a couple of bushes I hate on either side of our front gate and put baskets of flowers on the stumps, but that's going to wait a few weeks until I can steal hubby's truck to get them to the city composting site. They're taller than me and spiky so setting them out for collection seems kind of mean!

    I'm getting a few strawberry plants from my sister and I'm already watering the raspberries. We've had quite an early spring. I think this is the earliest I've ever had to mow the lawn!
  • southkonahi
    southkonahi Posts: 137 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    Well, today was the day. I got out my shears and cut off the first artichokes of the season.
    That's one thing I've never had fresh from the garden. I bet it is extra delicious.

  • southkonahi
    southkonahi Posts: 137 Member
    edited May 2021
    Hi. I have discovered this thread, and want to jump in to enjoy your gardening adventures. I do not grow vegetables, but am thinking of doing some herbs.
    I usually have (depending on the season) banana, mango, Hawaiian chili peppers, and papaya.
  • MsCzar
    MsCzar Posts: 1,073 Member
    edited May 2021
    Started my seeds indoors mid-March. Most are progressing as expected - but I think I have Jack's magic beanstalk variety of beans (saved from last year). Five of the bean plants I started in March are not only 2' tall - but beginning to flower! Ready or not - outside they will go!
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    @kshama2001 your mother will love the shovel. It kicks butt.
  • SuzanneC1l9zz
    SuzanneC1l9zz Posts: 464 Member
    I am indeed the proud owner, since Thursday, of a Roma tomato, a teeny zucchini, and an eggplant, as well as four strawberry plants that I picked up from my sister yesterday. All of which I had to figure out how to bring inside last night and protect from the dog and cats since the temperature got down to 3C. I managed that and everything's back outside already this morning. And after two days of steady rain they're growing like crazy! The strawberries are going into the bed today since last night was a one-off, and everything else will be in the big pots as soon as I pick up more soil. The eggplant already has some small roots growing through the drainage holes of its pot so I'd better hurry!
  • southkonahi
    southkonahi Posts: 137 Member
    A big project was accomplished today, the netting of my favorite fruit tree. I net it to catch the ripe fruit so it doesn't fall into contact with the ground. The bugs immediately attack when on the ground (but cause no problem while on the tree). The solution... net the tree so the fruit stays above ground level. It took 3 of us about 2 hours, but will be worth it soon when the fruit is ripe.
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    I don't have a garden but only a tiny balcony. For some reason I just bought three berry shrubs: gooseberry, red currant and honeyberry. I have no idea whether I'll be able to grow them on my tiny space, and whether I'll keep up with watering them, but it's worth a try.

    Hope it's successful for you! There's something about spring that plants hope in our hearts for fruitfulness. :) DH tilled a bigger garden for us yesterday. So here's hoping to both of us!! Course I find it kind of funny he was on board with that because out of last year's bounty, he probably ate 2 cucumbers and 4 tomatoes, and had green beans for 1 meal. The rest was mine, all mine. Lol
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,993 Member
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    I don't have a garden but only a tiny balcony. For some reason I just bought three berry shrubs: gooseberry, red currant and honeyberry. I have no idea whether I'll be able to grow them on my tiny space, and whether I'll keep up with watering them, but it's worth a try.

    Hope it's successful for you! There's something about spring that plants hope in our hearts for fruitfulness. :) DH tilled a bigger garden for us yesterday. So here's hoping to both of us!! Course I find it kind of funny he was on board with that because out of last year's bounty, he probably ate 2 cucumbers and 4 tomatoes, and had green beans for 1 meal. The rest was mine, all mine. Lol

    Thanks a lot. I thought about this last late summer when I found out that gooseberries are so super expensive and difficult to get here (like 8 berries for 4 Euro), and red currents aren't cheap either. Never heard of honeyberries, thus lets see. Mind you, while my balcony is rather sunny, this year has been totally *kitten* with regards to weather. The coldest April and May in ages, and this might very well be the third week with rain. Ho hum...
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    @yirara I don't know anything about those kinds of berry bushes but hope the weather turns; maybe a grow-light until then?
    Are they bird attracting bushes? Most berries are, right?

    I covered my strawberries from birds last year and it worked pretty well. For the birds. But the slugs attacked instead. :( So this year I'm using hay instead of mulch because someone here said slugs don't like hay. We shall see. :)
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,421 Member
    southkonahi wrote: »
    A big project was accomplished today, the netting of my favorite fruit tree. I net it to catch the ripe fruit so it doesn't fall into contact with the ground. The bugs immediately attack when on the ground (but cause no problem while on the tree). The solution... net the tree so the fruit stays above ground level. It took 3 of us about 2 hours, but will be worth it soon when the fruit is ripe.

    We have a "new" (last several years) invasive fruit fly called the spotted wing drosophila. Instead of attacking over-ripe fruit, this little pest attacks fruit that isn't even quite ripe. I am likely to have a HUGE abundance of cherries this year based on what seems to be setting on the tree. The birds get some; in most years I can get a bunch. But with this new pest, they all have little holes in them and rot within two days of being picked. One of my favorite things is to rinse them, dry them (stem and seed still in) and soak in brandy for six months, then drain, dry, and dip in chocolate. I haven't been able to do that for years.
    yirara wrote: »
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    I don't have a garden but only a tiny balcony. For some reason I just bought three berry shrubs: gooseberry, red currant and honeyberry. I have no idea whether I'll be able to grow them on my tiny space, and whether I'll keep up with watering them, but it's worth a try.

    Hope it's successful for you! There's something about spring that plants hope in our hearts for fruitfulness. :) DH tilled a bigger garden for us yesterday. So here's hoping to both of us!! Course I find it kind of funny he was on board with that because out of last year's bounty, he probably ate 2 cucumbers and 4 tomatoes, and had green beans for 1 meal. The rest was mine, all mine. Lol

    Thanks a lot. I thought about this last late summer when I found out that gooseberries are so super expensive and difficult to get here (like 8 berries for 4 Euro), and red currents aren't cheap either. Never heard of honeyberries, thus lets see. Mind you, while my balcony is rather sunny, this year has been totally *kitten* with regards to weather. The coldest April and May in ages, and this might very well be the third week with rain. Ho hum...

    I have a gooseberry and a red currant. They were here when I bought my house a couple decades ago. I used to have a friend who would pick the red currants and make jam. She moved away. I don't even use them. The gooseberries only produce a little, and they're not my favorite. I've seen honeyberry, and I thought about planting some. I do have lots of blueberries and raspberries that do great, marion berries that do pretty well, and lots of Interlaken green table grapes.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    I don't have a garden but only a tiny balcony. For some reason I just bought three berry shrubs: gooseberry, red currant and honeyberry. I have no idea whether I'll be able to grow them on my tiny space, and whether I'll keep up with watering them, but it's worth a try.

    When I had an apartment in Florida I had good luck with herbs on my balcony. I did have to make sure I kept up with watering.

    My concern with your shrubs is that they won't have enough soil in the pots they came in so perhaps research that and consider bigger pots.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    L1zardQueen wrote: »
    @kshama2001 your mother will love the shovel. It kicks butt.

    She hasn't tried it yet but loves the idea!

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