The Garden is IN! What's in yours?

RaisingArizonainNH · Jun 6, 2011

I finally got the time, and the weather to plant my garden this weekend! I headed out Saturday to our local farmstand/ plant stand .. and got some great veggies and herbs. I have 4 kinds of tomatoes in,2 kinds of cabbage, lettuces, zuchs and 2 kinds of cukes. I already had the bean and peas planted and they are on the way. I also got parsley, basil and golden sage to add to my little herb patch. 
 My garden was tilled and I added a nice layer of compost dirt to it. We had another notable crop of winter rocks in there too. DS may be 16 but he still enjoys splashing them into the pond. I have covered most all the garden space with black plastic. ( Mine is cheap.. water pipe covers that I slice up the side - 2lengths covers the whole place. I do SO love not having to worry about weeds.
 
 Who has a garden ? What's in it ? I may need help with the peas.. I have the base for an old yard windmill thing for them to climb.. but I think I need to put some strings down and around it to let them wrap on ???? I keep thinking the beans need to climb .. but I have bush beans.. so they shouldn't need a trellis .. or do they? I'll try to post pictures soon.

4boysmom · Jun 6, 2011

Three kinds of tomatoes and hot peppers in the front garden. Also trying hostas to see if I can get ANYTHING to grow under the tree (poor soil, lots of tree roots). Rounded out with some annuals.
 
Back garden I'm trying perenials. Several kinds of sedum (stone crop) are doing very well. Added a bunch of unknown stuff that's supposed to like full sun. All tenderly planted, only to be pounded by marble sized hail.
 
Hosta garden is doing very well. Split 'em twice and you can't even tell.

Tech Tee · Jun 6, 2011

Three kinds of tomatoes roma, beefsteak and some hybrid "early girl" which should produce (I hope) in 50 days. Three types peppers bell (multicolored), jalapeno, and habanero. Broccoli, red lettuce, burpless cukes, wax beans. All crammed into a 5 x 9 plot. I hate waiting. 
I have to build a trellis for the cukes, otherwise they'll take over the whole garden. A trellis is pretty easy. I usually take two furring strips and make a hinged type of a thing, then just staple string to the top and bottom. Makes it easy to make, and easy for the plants to vine. 
I hate waiting! I should have had the broccoli and lettuce in a month ago, since the can tolerate frost. But, I waited like a dope.

wherestheportojohn · Jun 6, 2011

two ginormous veggie gardens on the farm porperty....which are in DESPERATE need of rain
 
(We have our own well, but watering these gardens takes HOURS and miles of hoses!)
 
two kinds of taters
two varieties of winter squash
muskmelon
three varieties of tomatoes
sweetcorn
two kinds of fall pumpkins...not for eating...
sugar snap peas
zucchini
string beans
cucumbers
broccoli
cauliflower
I think there's bok choy...not sure...
three kinds of lettuces
spinach
four varieties of peppers
parsley
basil
carrots
onions
beets
rhubarb
 
...I bet I'm forgetting something...
 
Sadly, the domestic rasberries and asparagus are old [like me] and no longer producing [like me]...so we put in nine new berry bushes this spring, and will till/replant the two asparagus beds nex spring.
Hopefully, the wild blackcaps and blackberries will have a productive year! <img alt="cool.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/cool.gif" style="width:16px;height:16px;">

wherestheportojohn · Jun 6, 2011

I heart hostas. I slap 'em everywhere that other plants won't grow....they seem to do well! 

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by 4boysmom <a href="/forum/thread/74111/the-garden-is-in-what-s-in-yours#post_2002191"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border-bottom:0px solid;border-left:0px solid;border-top:0px solid;border-right:0px solid;"></a> Three kinds of tomatoes and hot peppers in the front garden. Also trying hostas to see if I can get ANYTHING to grow under the tree (poor soil, lots of tree roots). Rounded out with some annuals.
 
Back garden I'm trying perenials. Several kinds of sedum (stone crop) are doing very well. Added a bunch of unknown stuff that's supposed to like full sun. All tenderly planted, only to be pounded by marble sized hail.
 
Hosta garden is doing very well. Split 'em twice and you can't even tell.
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gretriever · Jun 6, 2011

My wife decided to try to plant corn (it's a Nebraska thing - I don't understand <img alt="razz.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/razz.gif" style="width:15px;height:15px;"> ) and has a small area in front of our deck with about 50 seeds put in about a week ago. She also has peas, green beans, rhubarb, and cukes.
 
We have wild and domestic blueberries in the back yard, and it appears we also may have some blackberries as well. When we first got the house, there were some tiny wild strawberries in the front, but I think they're long gone.

Grizzly · Jun 6, 2011

We got ours in the week BEFORE Victoria Day which is a real gamble here in Alberta. But it was a move that I think will pay off. It's been rainy ever since and we'd likely not have gotten the garden in yet.
 
What do we have? Let's see. In addition to the Rasps and the Strawbs, in herbs we have chives and dill, we have onions and garlic, we have lettuce and snap peas and carrots and beets, likely to have zucchini and maybe squash (not decided yet), we dispensed with the potatoes, not because they don't grow but because I can't eat 'em. we do have broccoli though.

RaisingArizonainNH · Jun 6, 2011

Yum -- some good gardens going here!
 
 Hostas.. I LOVE them.. I put them everywhere a few years ago... I have only lost one ( Dang dog... kept digger dogging it all spring after Chipmunk or something... ) which will easily be replaced/
 
 Tech .. I put lettuce seeds in over a month ago with a couple of windows over them to keep it warm and not too wet.. They are just leafing out this week... Early does not always mean you get the worm or the salad!
 
 WT{J= you industrious demon you! LOTSO stuff there. You can? I freeze what extra there is ....
 
 Grizzly We have ablueberry bush I cropped back to the nub last year it had way over grown - I hope it produces this year. We also have red raspberries and out front the tiniest sweetest wild strawberries.

markalan · Jun 6, 2011

I didn't have time to put in a big garden this year, so I took some old garbage cans that had holes in the bottom, cut them in 1/2 and used them as planters - . Got a nice crop of tomatoes going, some strawberries, and just planted some red and yellow peppers

Tech Tee · Jun 7, 2011

OK. Here is is. Small, 9 x 5. But I have a small yard. Of course, we're only two weeks in also. In another month, I expect the tomatoes and cucumbers will be going crazy. Still have to build the trellis. 
Now. Post yours. <a class="bbcode_url H-lightbox-open" href="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/88452/width/1000/height/800/flags/"><img alt="500" class="bbcode_img lightbox-enabled" data-id="17046" data-type="61" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/17046/width/750/height/500" style="width:750px;height:500px;"></a>

RaisingArizonainNH · Jun 8, 2011

Here is my garden. I have added cross country ski pole tomatoe supports.. and have string on the frame of the kids old soccer net for the cukes to climb!
 
 
<img alt="may 2011 014.jpg" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="17049" data-type="61" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/17049/width/563/height/422" style="; width: 563px; height: 422px"><a class="H-lightbox-open" href="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/88540/width/1000/height/800/flags/" target="_blank"><img alt="may 2011 013.jpg" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="17050" data-type="61" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/17050/width/538/height/403" style="; width: 538px; height: 403px"></a>
 
<a class="H-lightbox-open" href="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/88542/width/1000/height/800/flags/" target="_blank"><img alt="may 2011 012.jpg" class="lightbox-enabled" data-id="17051" data-type="61" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/content/type/61/id/17051/width/557/height/418" style="; width: 557px; height: 418px"></a>

fox-runr · Jun 8, 2011

I know there are beans. 
Ds2 has taking over the garden this year. 
Tomorrow we are doing tomatoes plant...hanging style

Tech Tee · Jun 9, 2011

Noice pics! 
I need to buy some hay for my garden after I prune the broc and lettuce.

Buxtehude · Jun 9, 2011

Garden porn!
First, let me say that my snail eradication program has gone well. I handpicked buckets of the bastards and baited the rest, using Sluggo, a bait that is safe to use around wildllfe. Just say no to Corry's! Snail picking is like Easter egg hunting. So fun! Just drown them in a bucket of soapy water and dispose of them however you want. I use biodegradable Dr. Bronner's soap. Anyway, the snail population is much lower now, thank god. They were on the march, like tiny foot-soldiers.
 
New Summer Edible Stuff
Chard (red and rainbow)
Tomatoes (Early Girl and Sungold mini yellows)
Cucumber
Purple Sage
Basil
Mixed basils
Bush beans
 
New Summer Non-Edible Stuff
Cerestiums (grey groundcover with white flowers)
Heurechas (squat, brownish-burgundy with white flowers)
Penstemons (?)
Salvias, "Hot Lips"
An annual I cannot recall the name of, tall purple, orange and yellow flowers
Gourds, I guess. Not my choice.
Silver lavender
 
Old Edible Stuff I'm Rehabilitating
Peppermint
Lemon Tree
Persimmon Tree
Thyme (scraggly bastard, but a nice ground cover, of sorts)
A very old and woody rosemary monstrosity
 
Old Non-Edibles I'm Rehabilitating
Three rose bushes, two of which are covered in rust and black spot. The non-diseased rose is infested with earwigs
A hydrangea that a hard frost may have killed last winter
A pendulous datura or brugmansia (Wedding Bells? It's toxic but lovely looking) which is decades old
Lambs ears
Purple irises
A 4 foot Japanese Maple, so beautiful
5 abandoned bonsai
 
Other stuff to rant about:
-I'm jerry-rigging some old trash cans into compost bins.
-I'm considering manure
-I want to solarize a field of weeds in the backyard (covering with a plastic sheet, moistening and letting the sun boil all of the weeds dead)
-The front yard is overwhelming, and I really just need to forget about rehabbing the back yard.
-My dream is to get rid of the lawn/sod and replace it with other stuff
-I want to rip out the "Heavenly Bamboo" but I've been out-voted
-I want to try some sulfur on the roses. I've cut off all the rust and spots and would prefer a more..."natural" fungus inhibitor

Tech Tee · Jun 9, 2011

Holy crap Bux! That's a lot of stuff. 
By the way, I have heard (never tried them, not sure i ever will) that Lamb's Ears ARE edible.

Buxtehude · Jun 10, 2011

I love the DIY feel of this thread and how many of you are re-purposing objects for your garden. LOVE IT. 

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by Tech Tee <a href="/forum/thread/74111/the-garden-is-in-what-s-in-yours#post_2002790"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border-bottom:0px solid;border-left:0px solid;border-top:0px solid;border-right:0px solid;"></a> 
Holy crap Bux! That's a lot of stuff. 
By the way, I have heard (never tried them, not sure i ever will) that Lamb's Ears ARE edible.</div>
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Yeah, it is! Lamb's
Ears are pretty fuzzy, not sure I'd want to hear it. But it does seem like something that Victorian/Edwardian era folks would've had in their salads.
Hm.

Buxtehude · Jun 10, 2011

Funny Freudian slip I made there with "hear" instead of "eat."
 
'Cuz they're...lambs EARS.
 
<laughing> 

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by Buxtehude <a href="/forum/thread/74111/the-garden-is-in-what-s-in-yours#post_2002795"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border-bottom:0px solid;border-left:0px solid;border-top:0px solid;border-right:0px solid;"></a> 
I love the DIY feel of this thread and how many of you are re-purposing objects for your garden. LOVE IT. 

 
Yeah, it is! Lamb's
Ears are pretty fuzzy, not sure I'd want to hear it. But it does seem like something that Victorian/Edwardian era folks would've had in their salads.
Hm.
 

 
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RaisingArizonainNH · Jun 10, 2011

What did you say?
 
 Repurposing ? That is the only way!
 
 My husband made out compost bin from an old 55 gallon plastic drum from work. He cut a half circle opening on top and made a small door at the bottom. I put in the garbage all year with some leaves and other stuff and in the spring it is DIRT! I love it .
 
 We had a wicked t-storm earlier.. but now we are getting a nice steady rain. The frogs are thrumming and I KNOW my grass seed would be singing .... if it could.

Buxtehude · Jun 10, 2011

Regarding my on-the-fly composter, I've been thinking about it for a week.
I couldn't justify buying a fancy plastic compost tumbler and further cluttering up the house. And buying more plastic crap seemed contrary to the composting ethic of re-using stuff. But I didn't want to waste time making a flimsy chickenwire "cage" to hold the compost either.
 
This house has lots of crap lying around, including old Rubbermaid garbage cans. Eureka!
 
So, I sawed off the bottom of a can for drainage. I need to find a way to drill holes into the sides for more air circulation. Tonight is the composts' first night of existence. It's sleeping outside alone, under the persimmon tree.
 
I hope racoons don't get into it. Or my poodle.
 
It's interesting that you put it in the garage. So, did it ever get warm or was it a cold compost?
<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by RaisingArizonainNH <a href="/forum/thread/74111/the-garden-is-in-what-s-in-yours#post_2002804"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border-bottom:0px solid;border-left:0px solid;border-top:0px solid;border-right:0px solid;"></a> What did you say?
 
 Repurposing ? That is the only way!
 
 My husband made out compost bin from an old 55 gallon plastic drum from work. He cut a half circle opening on top and made a small door at the bottom. I put in the garbage all year with some leaves and other stuff and in the spring it is DIRT! I love it .
 
 We had a wicked t-storm earlier.. but now we are getting a nice steady rain. The frogs are thrumming and I KNOW my grass seed would be singing .... if it could.
 
 
 
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Buxtehude · Jun 10, 2011

Oh, and my first batch of pre-compost is a lot of dry persimmon leaves, non-meat kitchen scraps, coffee grounds. And a few pages of torn up newspaper. I also dampened it with the hose.
 
 
It's become the center of my life, as you can see.

The Garden is IN! What's in yours?

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