Vegetable gardening!

[RevQu]

So I got off topic in another thread where someone mentioned veggie gardening and not being great at it, which led me down the rabbit hole of how gardening is like the Nerd Fitness philosophy.

 

The only way you get better at it is to start. You try, you succeed and you fail, you reevaluate and try again differently.

 

I LOVE gardening, and figured I'd start a thread and see if anyone else here wants to chat about what they're planning to grow this year! Planning the spring start always helps me get through the February blahs.

 

I'm super excited about the fact that the asparagus I started from seed a couple years ago will finally be a full crop this spring! And I'm thinking about growing potatoes this year, which are one of the few things I haven't tried yet.

 

Anybody else need to talk about spring and gardens?!

 

 

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[Fenyx]

I'm all for it!

 

My asparagus is looking lovely and bushy already, but way too young to harvest yet. Both grape vines have started budding out, which is terribly exciting lol, and I've got garlic and shallots growing strong so far.

 

Thinking about going for potatoes as well, and possibly planting a whole bed dedicated to some more asparagus. Little unsure of what else to do this year since I'm constantly moving about and unsure of what I have time to dedicate to.

 

I've also debated planting a box of herbs to "go nuts" on its own. I use a lot of herbs, especially to freeze for making stocks from scratch.

 

Gets a little difficult when I'm the only one in the house enjoying a variety of vegetables lol.

[Defining]

Ooh, ooh, me, me! I just started rehabbing a piece of the backyard to start this year, and need to start thinking about my sprouting/planting schedule. We get snow well into May/June sometimes though, so it's tricky to time things to stay alive but get them into the ground early enough.

[Frost of the Gloaming]

my garden is about two feet under snow but my one daughter is excited about the strawberry plants we planted last year that looked like the runners were spreading and rooting fairly well before the first frost, so hopefully we will have a bunch of cloned plants this spring. Strawberry fields forever.

[White Cedar]

I am sooo excited about this thread...fresh from the garden tastes so much better, not to mention safer, healthier, therapeutic. Thanks for starting it RevQu and very impressive starting the asparagus from seed.

 

We live in the south but because of a nearby large lake, we get a funky micro climate and lake effect weather. In the wintertime, we can be 80 degrees one day and get a freeze the next night. We do a lot of covering, uncovering to get through the first few weeks in the spring.

 

Mmmmm strawberries. Did you plant everbearing or single crop? We had to fence off our patch because our dogs kept eating them. They'd wait until the berries were ripe - never ate the green ones. They also love Brussel sprouts and will nip them off the stalks. 

 

 

 

[Trixie Falsae]

I'm going to give gardening a go again this year. Last year I let my oldest plant some broccoli but we hardly watered it so  it never grew enough for her to eat. I've got more focus this year so we shall see.

[White Cedar]

We also used to have problems watering enough in the dry seasons. We've amended our soil but we're still pretty sandy so need to do more frequent waterings. What finally worked was to have a permanent watering system that I could just walk out and turn on. I don't know what kind of set up you have but you could try a drip system or even just a garden hose with a sprinkler on the end that you leave set up all the time. It's like the fitness/weight loss - make it as user friendly as you can and remove as many barriers as you can.

 

I don't know how old your daughter is but maybe she would enjoy being the official weather person. Get a rain gauge and an outdoor thermometer (any box store should have these) and something to keep notes in. Each day, have her note the temperature when she gets up and whether or not the gauge reached an inch of water. Plants need about an inch of water a week if your soil is typical. If you don't reach the inch, it is a reminder to water. Temperature and how much you mulch affects evaporation. If she really gets into it, she can note whether it rains or snows, is windy, cloudy. Maybe learn the basic cloud types and note those. It can be as simple or involved as you want. Have fun with it.  White Cedar

[Fenyx]

@white cedar, oh that is a really cool idea! I'm going to snag that for when my daughter is old enough to do that too lol, she just turned 1. What a great way to introduce little ones to meteorology, botany, and science in general!

[RevQu]

I'm all for it!

 

My asparagus is looking lovely and bushy already, but way too young to harvest yet. Both grape vines have started budding out, which is terribly exciting lol, and I've got garlic and shallots growing strong so far.

 

Thinking about going for potatoes as well, and possibly planting a whole bed dedicated to some more asparagus. Little unsure of what else to do this year since I'm constantly moving about and unsure of what I have time to dedicate to.

 

I've also debated planting a box of herbs to "go nuts" on its own. I use a lot of herbs, especially to freeze for making stocks from scratch.

 

Gets a little difficult when I'm the only one in the house enjoying a variety of vegetables lol.

 

That is super exciting!!!

 

I want grape vines someday. I've slowly created a pretty nice raspberry patch, and have a big blackberry bush, but I've held off on too many permanent things since I plan to move.

 

I want a big asparagus patch in my next garden. Growing them from seed was pretty fun, and I'm so excited to cut the first ones this year.

 

 

 

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[RevQu]

Ooh, ooh, me, me! I just started rehabbing a piece of the backyard to start this year, and need to start thinking about my sprouting/planting schedule. We get snow well into May/June sometimes though, so it's tricky to time things to stay alive but get them into the ground early enough.

 

I'm in a pretty cold spot too, and I usually have to put a lot of time into seedlings, moving them into bigger containers bit by bit because it's a while before they can go in the ground. It's definitely more work but doable.

 

 

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[RevQu]

my garden is about two feet under snow but my one daughter is excited about the strawberry plants we planted last year that looked like the runners were spreading and rooting fairly well before the first frost, so hopefully we will have a bunch of cloned plants this spring. Strawberry fields forever.

 

 

Yay strawberries!! I have a few plants but I think they aren't getting enough sun where they are and I need to reassess.

 

 

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[RevQu]

I'm going to give gardening a go again this year. Last year I let my oldest plant some broccoli but we hardly watered it so  it never grew enough for her to eat. I've got more focus this year so we shall see.

 

You could try something easier too, like beans or peas? They're pretty tough and you get to pick and enjoy for a longer period!

 

 

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[RevQu]

We also used to have problems watering enough in the dry seasons. We've amended our soil but we're still pretty sandy so need to do more frequent waterings. What finally worked was to have a permanent watering system that I could just walk out and turn on. I don't know what kind of set up you have but you could try a drip system or even just a garden hose with a sprinkler on the end that you leave set up all the time. It's like the fitness/weight loss - make it as user friendly as you can and remove as many barriers as you can.

 

I don't know how old your daughter is but maybe she would enjoy being the official weather person. Get a rain gauge and an outdoor thermometer (any box store should have these) and something to keep notes in. Each day, have her note the temperature when she gets up and whether or not the gauge reached an inch of water. Plants need about an inch of water a week if your soil is typical. If you don't reach the inch, it is a reminder to water. Temperature and how much you mulch affects evaporation. If she really gets into it, she can note whether it rains or snows, is windy, cloudy. Maybe learn the basic cloud types and note those. It can be as simple or involved as you want. Have fun with it.  White Cedar

 

Second the setting up a permanent system. I put a sprinkler somewhere it could hit the whole garden, so I could just turn it on and go about my business. We had a suuuuuper dry summer last year and it was impossible to stand around watering long enough to give it what it needed.

 

 

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[Fenyx]

 

That is super exciting!!!

 

I want grape vines someday. I've slowly created a pretty nice raspberry patch, and have a big blackberry bush, but I've held off on too many permanent things since I plan to move.

 

I want a big asparagus patch in my next garden. Growing them from seed was pretty fun, and I'm so excited to cut the first ones this year. [emoji4]

 

 

 

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All my plants are in a "traveling" garden . We travel a lot for business and personal fun, so I made sure to make the plants easy to transfer

 

The grapes are in deep planters with large stones at the bottom, to help with drainage. And the asparagus, garlic, and shallots are all in "self watering" moving bed! I highly recommend it for anyone who is moving about often, it's really helped me through that exact conundrum. I love gardening, but moving made it near impossible. Couple it with changing climates of the many places we end up and you've got a sad me. I'll pop some pictures of it all, though I can't guarantee they'll be the best lol

 

 

That's the lot of em a few weeks ago or so.

 

Oh, and I have a pineapple that is a fourth generation of one I planted years ago. It's predecessors have met with our Husky, Atlas the inferno kilgannon lol, but it has otherwise been groomed to survive in some pretty cold temperatures.

[RevQu]

 

All my plants are in a "traveling" garden [emoji4]. We travel a lot for business and personal fun, so I made sure to make the plants easy to transfer [emoji3]

 

The grapes are in deep planters with large stones at the bottom, to help with drainage. And the asparagus, garlic, and shallots are all in "self watering" moving bed! I highly recommend it for anyone who is moving about often, it's really helped me through that exact conundrum. I love gardening, but moving made it near impossible. Couple it with changing climates of the many places we end up and you've got a sad me. I'll pop some pictures of it all, though I can't guarantee they'll be the best lol

 

 

That's the lot of em a few weeks ago or so.

 

Oh, and I have a pineapple that is a fourth generation of one I planted years ago. It's predecessors have met with our Husky, Atlas the inferno kilgannon lol, but it has otherwise been groomed to survive in some pretty cold temperatures.

 

What a fantastic idea!! I would be super sad if I couldn't garden too, I love that you came up with the traveling beds!

 

Winter is looooong here so I finally embraced house plants a couple years ago so I can still play with green things all year, haha.

 

 

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[RevQu]

Last year was my first time growing broccoli and cauliflower, and we didn't do great.

 

I'm thinking it was the heat (really really hot dry summer last year). A lot of the broccoli never really formed a full head.

 

I'm thinking about putting them out earlier this year and just covering when frost threatens. They really didn't seem to like waiting until the danger had passed!

 

 

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[Fenyx]

Indoor gardening is such a great option too. If only I could keep my herbs alive. I recently abandoned em on my last trip when they were already going downhill. Can't keep em alive in that climate for some reason lol.

 

Broccoli and cauliflower almost intimidate me. I want to try to grow them, but I worry I'll kill em before they get a chance

[RevQu]

They were my one new thing last year...I always try to grow something I haven't before and just see how it goes!

 

They actually GREW exceptionally well, seemed pretty tough considering the weather sucked, got really big...just didn't produce much!

 

I got one good head of cauliflower. A couple shoots of broccoli, but those plants never formed a real head, and tended to bolt to flower even on the little shoots they did produce.

 

I'm blaming excess heat (because it's my only explanation, lol).

 

 

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[Fenyx]

Ah the heat, life giver and destroyer of the things lol. Well perhaps I will take one some cauliflower and broccoli this year as a tester. Technically, my grapes are the new plant (and asparagus, but that one is needing a lot less of my attention it seems). The grapes were a gift from@manarelle !

 

Old gardens I had 10x5 raised boxes in the back yard wrapped in chicken wire and bird netting with sheets pivoting over the top for those that needed it. Survived through locust season even. All the typical plants: cucumber, peppers, beans, tomato, squash, and a handful of others I can't even remember. Then I had surgery to put some hardware into my hip after fracturing it (at the age of 23ish, awesome lol) and it all went wild over 6 weeks. Produced, and took a while to prune it all back down, but man that was a fun summer lol. Eventually moved, and I miss that big garden.

 

Woah, got all nostalgic hah. I'm thinking now I'm gonna look into some more variety instead of more asparagus. Or both, who knows, it's nice to have greenery again!

[Trixie Falsae]

The only reason we tried broccoli is because my oldest is obsessed with broccoli. I have seeds for radishes, beans, lettuce, squash and peppers. This will be the first year that I don't work full time so I will, in theory, have more time to garden. I'm still looking for some indoor plants. I have bamboo already, and the hobbits are growing some marigolds and lettuce on the kitchen windowsill. I would really like some pothos, but I have a cat that likes to chew on plants. I also need to get my herbs started. I've pretty much been saving all my plastic containers to use as pots for the past few weeks. I've the beginnings of a compost pile going.

 

My biggest hurdle right now is living in Texas. The weather is hot and dry and the soil is poor. It will probably take a few years to get a decent patch going but I think I can manage.

 

This year the hobbits are studying biology and right now a lot of their projects include seed starting and composting. Its helping motivate me to get the stuff done. I like the idea of having my oldest track weather.

[Fenyx]

The only reason we tried broccoli is because my oldest is obsessed with broccoli. I have seeds for radishes, beans, lettuce, squash and peppers. This will be the first year that I don't work full time so I will, in theory, have more time to garden. I'm still looking for some indoor plants. I have bamboo already, and the hobbits are growing some marigolds and lettuce on the kitchen windowsill. I would really like some pothos, but I have a cat that likes to chew on plants. I also need to get my herbs started. I've pretty much been saving all my plastic containers to use as pots for the past few weeks. I've the beginnings of a compost pile going.

 

My biggest hurdle right now is living in Texas. The weather is hot and dry and the soil is poor. It will probably take a few years to get a decent patch going but I think I can manage.

 

This year the hobbits are studying biology and right now a lot of their projects include seed starting and composting. Its helping motivate me to get the stuff done. I like the idea of having my oldest track weather.

 

Our cats made it impossible to grow indoors too lol we now have a standing indoor greenhouse to compensate.

 

And lettuce and marigolds in the windowsill? That's pretty cool lol. There's a way to consider doing it!

 

And now I need to remind myself to learn to compost. Not a single clue how to do it. Google, here I come!

[White Cedar]

I love how creative you all are - there's always a way to get things to grow. And I'm big on snagging anything that can be a container. Someone put an unwanted toilet at the curb in town and I talked my husband into grabbing the tank part (not the bowl). The tank is a nice shape, painted ceramic - great for an outdoor planter, right?

 

My first wave of seeds are in their little pots waiting to germinate. I've taken over a bathroom that has a south facing window and the room stays around 80 degrees so I don't have to use warming trays. About 100 pots on temporary shelving. Once they germinate they'll go under full spectrum florescent lights until ready to harden off and transplant.

 

And the newest member of the family...I talked my husband into NOT getting me candy for Valentine's Day. So he got me a beautiful Begonia Rex. I've grown begonias but never a Rex. Seems to be similar to the needs of African Violets.

 

Picking the last of the fall mustard greens to go into the freezer and planting onion sets today.

 

Have fun all,

White Cedar

 

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.  Shakespeare

 

 

[Frost of the Gloaming]

One thing that worked well for us last year that we are going to do again is plant cucumbers by a fence, the vines grew up the fence which saved us a lot of ground room so that we were able to plant more plants

[RevQu]

I love how creative you all are - there's always a way to get things to grow. And I'm big on snagging anything that can be a container. Someone put an unwanted toilet at the curb in town and I talked my husband into grabbing the tank part (not the bowl). The tank is a nice shape, painted ceramic - great for an outdoor planter, right?

 

My first wave of seeds are in their little pots waiting to germinate. I've taken over a bathroom that has a south facing window and the room stays around 80 degrees so I don't have to use warming trays. About 100 pots on temporary shelving. Once they germinate they'll go under full spectrum florescent lights until ready to harden off and transplant.

 

And the newest member of the family...I talked my husband into NOT getting me candy for Valentine's Day. So he got me a beautiful Begonia Rex. I've grown begonias but never a Rex. Seems to be similar to the needs of African Violets.

 

Picking the last of the fall mustard greens to go into the freezer and planting onion sets today.

 

Have fun all,

White Cedar

 

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.  Shakespeare

 

 

 

 

100! Wow! Sounds like a great system, I wish I had a south-facing bathroom!

 

(My house is actually pretty short on south-facing windows at all, enough light for seedlings is always a battle).

 

 

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[RevQu]

One thing that worked well for us last year that we are going to do again is plant cucumbers by a fence, the vines grew up the fence which saved us a lot of ground room so that we were able to plant more plants

 

 

Yes! We don't have a fence in the right spot so we built trellises and the cucumbers loved it! We got tons of them and saved so much space.

 

 

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