2013 Gardening Thread (Read 239 times)


jules2

    Nothing much going on for me yet.  It has been a cold March so not much has greened up.

     

    Potatoes go in in two or three weeks.

     

    the same this side of the pond, last year was wet, wet, wet and i was flooded five times, previously Ive only had one flood in 30 years.

     

    Where i dug in the Autumn has slumped back down because of the water and I need a good couple of weeks of dry warm weather before I can do anything.

     

    Its been a cold and wet start to the year and currently it is snowing, flooding and just above freezing so we have January weather in late March.  I was supposed to be lead bike for a charity run tonight but its just been abandoned thank goodness.

     

    Started the tomatoes, peppers etc in the propagator and other stuff such as beetroot in the greenhouse.

    Old age is when you move from illegal to prescribed drugs.


    Village people

       

      Good luck, and please thank your husband for his service!  Sending good vibes that he arrives home safely.

       

      +1 My dad was in the army and I remember him being away. This is a great thing to do with your kids.


      flatland mountaineer

        Planning 122 ac of pinto beans, pass the beano, hopefully 5-6 semi loads, my popcorn processor was working me pretty hard also but passed for this year in favor of reg field corn and of couse our main human food crop wheat.......and maybe sneak some gmo bT sweet corn in a field corn field for personal consumption if my seed dealer will give me seed. :-)

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        skygazer


          It's going to be a rest year for the vegetable garden so I am and will be focused on other parts of my backyard and front yard. Going to plant two hardy banana trees and some fruit trees (persimmon and almond) that have both nice foliage and fruits. It'll be interesting to see how the banana trees hold up through winter here in zone 7. I have also been working on a backyard project since the late fall. But haven't gotten much progression as it's been raining way too much this winter. The ground was too wet to work on.

           

          I actually haven't had much success on my veg garden yet. The only thing that had grown well was baby bak choi. I don't understand how they can sale b.b.c. for more than $1/lb at Kroger or Publix. All the seeds I planted (even with old seeds) have  a 100% germination rate and would grow from early spring through late fall. Other than not to start them outside, because birds love the baby plants much much more than they do the berries, they are pretty care free (easier to grow than basil).


          tomatolover

            For my north NJ school garden, I  started the super-early seeds (artichoke, leek, celery, korean onion) and some early perennial flowers under lights in my now very crowded classroom.  I've got a shipment of 5 dwarf apple trees that will be espaliered against the fence we put up last year (an apple fence within a fence) that should be coming next week, though it's been too cold to bring my students outside to dig some holes.

             

            This year, I'm going to try gardening in straw bales for one test area....I read an article in the NYtimes last week and it's got me all intrigued and feel i have to give it a shot....Here's the article.

            http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/garden/grasping-at-straw-a-foolproof-vegetable-plot.html?pagewanted=all


            Imminent Catastrophe

              Snow on the ground today, in Georgia! Tomatoes, tomatillos and peppers are started indoors but it'll be awhile before they're in the ground at this rate.

              "Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"

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                Does "Farmville" count?   Big grin   (My wife plays that ridiculous game.  I hope she tires of it soon. )

                 

                ---I am a simple gardner.  I have a garden in the back yard and plant only Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and a few Bellpeppers.   I eat much healthier in the summer season when these things are getting ripe...

                The Plan '15 →   ///    "Run Hard, Live Easy."   ∞

                  There's about six or eight inches of fresh snow on my garden as of yesterday.  My garden's an old, fenced-in dog run.  I spent last spring digging the gravel out of it and putting down a few loads of dirt.   Had a pretty good yield last year (corn, beans, peas, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, onions, pumpkins, and other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting).

                   

                  Looking forward to adding in my own compost this year and making better decisions about what to plant.  The "ruby red sweet corn" variety I tired last year was delicious...but the yield was terrible.  Conversely, I will be planting far fewer Super Sweet 100 plants (what can you do with that many tomatoes?) and fewer Kung Pao peppers.  They're delicious, but I still have a couple dozen in my freezer despite using them a lot.

                   

                  ...it's snowing again right now.

                   

                  Grumble.

                  "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." 
                  Emil Zatopek


                  Wandering Wally

                    Still more than a foot of snow laying over our gardens.  It'll be awhile until anything happens.

                     

                    We planted some native wild strawberries last summer.  We're hoping they start bearing this year.

                     

                    Plans include kale, spinach, lettuce, onions, peas, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and summer squash.  We did some potatoes last year just for fun.  They were small but tasty.  It was a very warm and dry summer for us so that may have affected the tater crop.

                    Run!  Just Run!

                     

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                      Yeah!  The 2013 Gardening Thread!

                       

                      I have a LOT of work to do.  Have to take down the "fort", and turn it into a raised garden.  Then dismantle another one and move it closer to the new one.

                       

                      Hope I can get it all done by mid-May (when frost ends)

                       

                      I can NOT start by seed this year because of the eff-ing cat.  He's too interested in plants.  And I think that's an issue.  Two years ago, I had a bumper crop of tomatoes, and last year, because of the cat, I had to go all plants, and it didn't turn out as good.

                      Jeff


                      Running Chick

                        We live outside of Boston........ and I have a small garden - that the SNOW JUST MELTED OFF OF...... SIGH......  I do love a bit of gardening - at least I love the IDEA of gardening.  I start off really well, plant herbs galore, some tomato, pepper, and lettuces.  Plus I have blueberry bushes.

                         

                        But by the end of the season, I still have my plants but also a whole lot of weeds.  By the end, I am like 'forget it, I  will just forage through the woods/weeds  to get my peppers"...  yep, there is something fantastic about local, home grown, organic veggies.  but the best laid plans.......... Wink  love.

                          After posting on the 26th of last month that my garden was covered in snow...it's 82 today.  Maybe I will be planting soon.

                           

                          Tearing out the dead peach trees in my front yard, too.  Only two of them.  They got smashed up (by a falling oak tree) in a storm last summer, and it looks like they're not even budding, so it's time for new trees.

                          "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." 
                          Emil Zatopek


                          Tiefsa

                            It's been cold in WI this spring.  I'm planning on planting in early may.  I did potatoes last summer, and they were fabulous.

                             

                            This year, I want to try and grow my own pumpkins to carve for Halloween.  Any tips on that.  We tried pumpkins last year and failed miserably.

                              It's been cold in WI this spring.  I'm planning on planting in early may.  I did potatoes last summer, and they were fabulous.

                               

                              This year, I want to try and grow my own pumpkins to carve for Halloween.  Any tips on that.  We tried pumpkins last year and failed miserably.

                               

                              I tried pumpkins last year, too.  I had a ton of vines...but only two pumpkins.  They were some "Jack O' Lantern" variety.  They only got about six inches in diameter, and only one turned orange.  I would love pumpkin advice, too.

                              "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." 
                              Emil Zatopek


                              Feeling the growl again

                                 

                                I tried pumpkins last year, too.  I had a ton of vines...but only two pumpkins.  They were some "Jack O' Lantern" variety.  They only got about six inches in diameter, and only one turned orange.  I would love pumpkin advice, too.

                                 

                                Pumpkins don't do drought well.  If you have the drought as bad as we did last year, there was nothing you could do.  Trust me, I've tried everything.

                                 

                                I have had problems with all gourds and melons.  They get a certain size and then the vines die.  I think it is insect, I am going to try insecticide around the base of the vine this year.  My boss told me that in our area there is a worm that gets in there at the ground level and kills it.

                                "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                                 

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