Gardening 2012

Winchester

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I posted in the Gardening Group, too.......

This year's garden is approximately 45' x 20'. It was tilled last weekend and today, we planted:
 
2 kinds of corn

12 tomato plants (4 beefsteak, 4 roma plums, and 4 century) We'll probably add a few more.
8 pepper plants (4 long peppers and 4 bell peppers) We'll probably add a few more
6 broccoli plants, but we'll need a few more
3 cheddar cauliflower plants (called cheddar because the heads will be yellowish in color) We've never tried to grow cauliflower.
9 cucumber plants (two hills have 3 plants each, we tried a bush-type cuke plant, too) Love my pickles!
1 pack of green beans
1 pack of yellow wax beans
1 pack of red beets (Our beets did not do well last year, but I'm trying again)
1 pack of carrots (We tilled the soil again and added a bit of peat moss to help the carrots grow through the soil)
12 June-bearing strawberry plants
 
We still must buy some zucchini plants (we'll plant them in amongst the corn like we did last year; they did very well in the corn rows) and I'd like to try some onion sets. We're going to plant a few potatoes, too, but in a large planter on the deck, just for the fun of it more than anything, as our garden isn't big enough for potatoes. I'd like to get some lettuces, too, if there's enough room.

Still didn't get the blueberry bushes. We went to the store for blueberry bushes, but then we bought some knock-out roses instead; they were on sale at 50% off. (That happens to us...we go for one thing, but come home with something else. But I wanted roses for around that fountain by the pool, so it was good anyway.)
 
We also got the fence around most of the garden....must buy a bit more fencing, since we enlarged the garden this year. And we have the holey garden hose around the tomatoes and peppers. We put a bunch of holes in an old garden hose and we snake the hose around the garden. Then when we want to water, we connect the good hose to the holey hose and turn the water on. That way, water gets directly to the plants and the soil instead of evaporating into the air. It worked out well last year and we found another old hose that leaks, so we're going to put holes in that one, too, and add it to the garden area.

With the strawberries, I was told to pinch off any flower blossoms that might grow on the plants this year....that will help the plant become stronger and next year, we should get a nicer yield. Oh, and these strawberries propagate by runners (some do, some don't). When the plant shoots a runner out, I can stake it to the ground about 12 inches or so away and the runner will grow another plant. Good way to propagate the plants. I'd like to have a nice patch of strawberries eventually....well, between me and the birds, that is!  :)
 
We had a hard time finding strawberry plants and it's getting too late for them. Thankfully we were able to find the 12 that we purchased.

We're working on a grape arbor, too, and would like to grow some grapes. I don't know if we'll get it finished and ready to go this year or not. We need to get the arbor finished first. Last year, my sister ended up with a ton of grapes and we made almost two dozen jars of grape jelly for my BIL. I've always wanted a bit of grapes in the garden; my grandmother grew grapes and I have fond memories of sitting at the base of her arbor, eating green grapes....and then getting a bellyache!

And this year, I'm doing a garden diary. I drew a diagram of the garden and am including the prices we've paid for everything related to the veggie garden. That should be interesting. As we harvest, I'll include the information for that as well. (Thank goodness, I'm not including how many hours we're working in the garden.) Last year, we bought the food dehydrator and the pressure canner, so I'm good to go there....all I need are some extra canning jars and the lids and I'm ready to go. Believe it or not, we've used most of the stuff we put in the freezer. And all I have left from our canning is a couple jars of salsa and some honey-glazed red onions. And one jar of Chow Chow, which I'm opening on Memorial Day for our picnic.

Rick's grandfather was an avid gardener; he tended a gigantic truck patch in his back yard. And my grandmother was the same way. Her vegetables were the best veggies around and her flowers were always beautiful. We like to think that, in a way, they'd be proud of us for keeping up with tradition.
 
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calico2222

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Sounds good! We debated getting blue berries but we have wild black berries here plus a HUGE mulberry tree in the back yard (which is really a pain, I'm constantly cleaning off the dogs' paws in the summer or else I get red paw prints all over the house, but the berries are delicious!) so with the strawberries we planted I think we're good.

I really hope we can get a decent yield this year. I would love to can some green beans and stewed tomatoes and freeze a lot of zucchini and green peppers. 
 

margecat

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Winchester, I'm impressed--and a tad jealous! 

I've grown potatoes in pots for years--they do well in pots.  I just harvest some of the baby ones to allow the others to grow larger, and harvest those much later.  You could also save some for next year's seed potatoes.  Guess how I save money with seed potatoes? Supposedly, most store taters (I'm tired, and will from now on, use the word "tater"--easier to type!) are sprayed with anti-sprouting stuff. Not the ones at my local Giant store! I just let a few sprout, then plant the cut-up chunks (always leave at least 1-2 eyes on each chunk--the more, the better). I have to biy seed taters via mail--and the postage is so expensive. This way saves a lot of money. I enjoy growing them--scrabbling under the soil to find the taters is like treasure-hunting!

About the strawberries--you said you had troubel finding them in your area? Do you have Home Depot, Lowe's, Kmart or Wal-Mart there? That's where I get mine. Also try eBay. I've bought many seeds and plants there. If you buy plants, wait until after the last frost date for your area (should be around May 15th).  They could get killed by cold in the mail room. I've had that happen, but in January.  You often can get a seller to hold your plants until then, too.

Grapes: I've planted about 20 vines in the past few years. Usually, one buys 1-2 year-old ones; be aware that it usually takes a vine at least 3 years to produce any grapes, and that will usually be a small crop that year.  I also bought mine on eBay--it's really the best place to get more mature vines, and you usually get at least 2-3 vines for that price. In fact, all of mine were from eBay. Don't buy those dessicated sticks in a box that the stores often sell.  You get get 2-3 older, and better quality vines for that price on eBay.  Ensure you're buying seedless varieties if you want seedless, etc.  Some grapes are better for wine; some for eating out of hand; some for jelly.  Also, you can pull off the individual grapes, and freeze them, unwashed, in a freezer bag. I do this. Be prepared to lose a nice amount to the birds!
 
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calico2222

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I've grown potatoes in pots for years--they do well in pots.  I just harvest some of the baby ones to allow the others to grow larger, and harvest those much later.  You could also save some for next year's seed potatoes.  Guess how I save money with seed potatoes? Supposedly, most store taters (I'm tired, and will from now on, use the word "tater"--easier to type!) are sprayed with anti-sprouting stuff. Not the ones at my local Giant store! I just let a few sprout, then plant the cut-up chunks (always leave at least 1-2 eyes on each chunk--the more, the better). 
Well crap! You mean all those potatoes that spouted and I threw out could have been planted? I shop at Martin's, which is own by Giant, and apparently they don't spray their either. I usually get them by the bag at BOGO and by the time I get to the second bag I have spouts. Now, I have no problem with cutting eyes and small spouts out but when the sprouts actually have leaves then I thought it was time to throw them out. Of course, this usually happens in the middle of winter when planting is impossible. How can I save them to plant the next spring? 
 

MoochNNoodles

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Oy.  You make me tired just reading all of that!! 


With having a newborn I decided not to expand my garden this year.  I did change up what I planted though.  I just yesterday got everything in the ground; and that only happened because my mother in law is still here helping me with the kiddos.  It felt good to get outside like that though. 

Last fall DH and I just left a bunch of tomatoes in the garden to rot.  Well apparently the re-seeded themselves!  I had no idea they'd do that.  I intended to get 2 tomato plants but I didn't have to.  I actually pulled out probably 2 dozen of them (who needs that many tomatoes!?) and transplanted 3 of the biggest into better spots.  I'm praying they take; they looked good today.  I also planted peas, carrots, cucumbers and cantaloupe.  But honestly I am scared of the cantaloupe (or muskmelon as I'm reading they should be called!).  I've been warned how viney they are and how they like to go in all directions.  DH may have to help with that!  I'm hoping to train the cucumbers to grow up a trellis.  Which I still need to go buy/make.  I need it for the peas too. 
 
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Winchester

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I really hope we can get a decent yield this year. I would love to can some green beans and stewed tomatoes and freeze a lot of zucchini and green peppers. 
A word of warning....I was not pleased with the way the frozen zucchini worked out last year. Somebody told me to try freezing zucchini in slices on cookie trays in between pieces of waxed paper until frozen. Once frozen, I picked the slices off the trays and put them into freezer bags and then into the freezer. But when I tried to cook the slices, they were terrible. Way too watery and runny and the texture was very rubbery....even when I tried to saute them. If you decide to freeze zucchini, shred it first and then freeze it. That way, when you thaw it (for baking muffins and breads, for example), you can treat it like thawed spinach.....wrap it in paper towels and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze to get all the liquid out. OTOH, we froze a lot of green beans last year, both whole and cut, and boy, they are good! I made tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes, but froze it instead of canning. This year, I may try canning the tomatoes. My mother canned tons of stewed tomatoes and I hated them when I was young. But now, I love stewed tomatoes. I love having sliced/chopped green peppers in the freezer....makes things so easy when you're cooking and pressed for time.

Has anybody tried to dry zucchini? I'm thinking about trying that.
Winchester, I'm impressed--and a tad jealous! 

I've grown potatoes in pots for years--they do well in pots.  I just harvest some of the baby ones to allow the others to grow larger, and harvest those much later.  You could also save some for next year's seed potatoes.  Guess how I save money with seed potatoes? Supposedly, most store taters (I'm tired, and will from now on, use the word "tater"--easier to type!) are sprayed with anti-sprouting stuff. Not the ones at my local Giant store! I just let a few sprout, then plant the cut-up chunks (always leave at least 1-2 eyes on each chunk--the more, the better). I have to biy seed taters via mail--and the postage is so expensive. This way saves a lot of money. I enjoy growing them--scrabbling under the soil to find the taters is like treasure-hunting!

About the strawberries--you said you had troubel finding them in your area? Do you have Home Depot, Lowe's, Kmart or Wal-Mart there? That's where I get mine. Also try eBay. I've bought many seeds and plants there. If you buy plants, wait until after the last frost date for your area (should be around May 15th).  They could get killed by cold in the mail room. I've had that happen, but in January.  You often can get a seller to hold your plants until then, too.

Grapes: I've planted about 20 vines in the past few years. Usually, one buys 1-2 year-old ones; be aware that it usually takes a vine at least 3 years to produce any grapes, and that will usually be a small crop that year.  I also bought mine on eBay--it's really the best place to get more mature vines, and you usually get at least 2-3 vines for that price. In fact, all of mine were from eBay. Don't buy those dessicated sticks in a box that the stores often sell.  You get get 2-3 older, and better quality vines for that price on eBay.  Ensure you're buying seedless varieties if you want seedless, etc.  Some grapes are better for wine; some for eating out of hand; some for jelly.  Also, you can pull off the individual grapes, and freeze them, unwashed, in a freezer bag. I do this. Be prepared to lose a nice amount to the birds!
Thanks! As to Giant potatoes, I already have some Giant potatoes that are sprouting, so I'm going to cut and plant them. (I just love our Giant store, BTW....big Giant fan.) We wanted to grow potatoes in the garden, but it's just not big enough, not with everything else that's in there. Til we get the zucchini plants in the corn and plant some onions sets, I think the garden is going to be full. We tried not to over-plant; last year, we had so much in that small garden that it's a miracle we were able to get anything out of it all. We did plant potatoes years and years ago and it was fun to dig them up.

I never thought about trying eBay for plants....thanks for the tip! We do have Lowe's and Home Depot, but both stores are out of strawberry plants; evidently the best time to buy them is in April. We went to Lowe's on Friday and there were three strawberry plants left and they were at 50% clearance! Some woman beat me to the clearance cart, though; she was putting them in her cart as I walked up. Darn. And all of the area nurseries are out of them, too. Never thought about KMart.

Grapes....my sister has four different varieties of grapes. They're more interested in growing for wine, whereas I want to grow to eat them. Love frozen grapes! I will check eBay for those, too. We plan on getting some bird covers, both for the strawberries and for grapes; my sister lost a lot of her grapes to birds. I hear those buggers like blueberries, too!

Back around the beginning of May, we bought two flowering trees. The nursery wrapped them well in a netting. As the guy was wrapping the trees for me, he asked me if we had a garden. When I said that we did, he said that I could re-use the tree netting for over my strawberry plants or berry bushes to keep the birds away. We kept the netting to use for the strawberries.
Oy.  You make me tired just reading all of that!! 


With having a newborn I decided not to expand my garden this year.  I did change up what I planted though.  I just yesterday got everything in the ground; and that only happened because my mother in law is still here helping me with the kiddos.  It felt good to get outside like that though. 

Last fall DH and I just left a bunch of tomatoes in the garden to rot.  Well apparently the re-seeded themselves!  I had no idea they'd do that.  I intended to get 2 tomato plants but I didn't have to.  I actually pulled out probably 2 dozen of them (who needs that many tomatoes!?) and transplanted 3 of the biggest into better spots.  I'm praying they take; they looked good today.  I also planted peas, carrots, cucumbers and cantaloupe.  But honestly I am scared of the cantaloupe (or muskmelon as I'm reading they should be called!).  I've been warned how viney they are and how they like to go in all directions.  DH may have to help with that!  I'm hoping to train the cucumbers to grow up a trellis.  Which I still need to go buy/make.  I need it for the peas too. 
Aw, geez, I just love tomatoes! When I was little, I'd go into my grandma's garden and sit and eat tomatoes like apples. I did that with rhubarb, too, in my aunt's garden. Love to munch on raw rhubarb stalks, but I don't really like it cooked. Go figure. One time, my uncle couldn't find me anywhere and my aunt told him to go down to the garden and check the rhubarb patch. And there I was.

I'd love to grow cantaloupe, but with me being the only one who eats it, I'm not going to try, not this year anyway. When Banshee was alive, all I had to do was cut into a cantaloupe and she'd be in the kitchen so fast....she dearly loved for me to share my cantaloupe with her and would meow, meow, meow for more than her share. They are very viney and those vines will snake around the garden fast. I know they're really supposed to be called muskmelons....I still call them 'lopes though.

Last year, we planted the cukes right next to the fence and as the vines grew, I'd bring them into the fence and they used that instead of a trellis. Did you know that there's a bush-type cuke plant? I planted a few of them....the cukes are still fairly nice size. I hope they produce. If not, we also planted several cuke vines.

Is anybody trying asparagus?? Asparagus is a perennial, so once it's established in a nice bed, it will come back every year. I have to admit that I'm tempted to try it. Nothing says spring like asparagus.

MargeCat, do you have a favorite eBay seller that you would recommend for me to try? It's nice to know that a seller is really good sometimes.
 
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MoochNNoodles

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I'd love to grow cantaloupe, but with me being the only one who eats it, I'm not going to try, not this year anyway. When Banshee was alive, all I had to do was cut into a cantaloupe and she'd be in the kitchen so fast....she dearly loved for me to share my cantaloupe with her and would meow, meow, meow for more than her share. They are very viney and those vines will snake around the garden fast. I know they're really supposed to be called muskmelons....I still call them 'lopes though.
See thats why I'm so scared of growing it!  All the vines!!  I'm tempted to tear them out actually....  Oy!  I'd offer to buy some from you if you were growing them nearby!  My Grandpa said melons are good to grow if you have a fence like you can just let them grow against.  I have a fence; but grass up to it.  I wonder if I can prune the vines off I dont want?  Hmm....

Asparagus grows very well down here (sandy soil, super sandy in my yard actually, but I have a raised bed garden we purchased soil for) but I wont be trying that anytime soon. 
 

margecat

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Well crap! You mean all those potatoes that spouted and I threw out could have been planted? I shop at Martin's, which is own by Giant, and apparently they don't spray their either. I usually get them by the bag at BOGO and by the time I get to the second bag I have spouts. Now, I have no problem with cutting eyes and small spouts out but when the sprouts actually have leaves then I thought it was time to throw them out. Of course, this usually happens in the middle of winter when planting is impossible. How can I save them to plant the next spring? 
Yeppers! I save mine to plant when it's within a month or so of spring planting time.  Another option would be to start them indoors, like houseplants, then transplant befoe they start forming potatoes. However, the leaves and flowers are poisonous to humans, and I assume, cats.  If you have cats that eat/play with plants, you may not want to do this. I can't due to my herd!
 

margecat

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See thats why I'm so scared of growing it!  All the vines!!  I'm tempted to tear them out actually....  Oy!  I'd offer to buy some from you if you were growing them nearby!  My Grandpa said melons are good to grow if you have a fence like you can just let them grow against.  I have a fence; but grass up to it.  I wonder if I can prune the vines off I dont want?  Hmm....

Asparagus grows very well down here (sandy soil, super sandy in my yard actually, but I have a raised bed garden we purchased soil for) but I wont be trying that anytime soon. 
You can trellis (on a sturdy trellis--wire is best) melons and pumpkins.
 

stephanietx

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When you plant your potatoes, be sure to cut them up a day or two before planting.  There should be at least 2 eyes/section when you cut them up.  I coat mine in wood ash to help keep disease at bay before planting. 

If you trellis your melons, you can use old t-shirts as slings to hold the melons.  You can also use panty hose if your melons aren't going to get too big.  We use cattle panels for our vining veggies such as beans, cucumbers, and peas.
 
 

Draco

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i am jealous. I want to garden! I live in an apartment with no balcony, so I can't even grown in pots.. an indoor gardening is hard because Monet would just eat the plants. My poor Pothos is getting so crammed in the display case!

I do have two containers of cat nip that's not growing, lol
 
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