club The Great Gardening Thread of 2023

[KB Girl]

Hullo!

 

This thread is for sharing our plans for gardening, details of our gardening work and of course the fruits vegetables of our labour. Oh and let's not forget general gardening excitement, processing our harvest and cooking/eating with our home grown produce. We can share tips, tricks and resources and maybe help answer each others questions. 

 

Every garden counts! A giant food forest, a small corner in your backyard or even just one pot on your windowsill. 

 

If you're joining in or just following along, please say hi and introduce yourself your garden

 

I'd prefer a picture of veggies over one with flowers, but the text is very accurate!

[KB Girl]

I’ll start!

 

I’m gardening on a rented community plot of 100 square meters. 2022 was our first year so I’m still learning a lot

 

We use permaculture and no-dig principles and I’m hoping to test out some companion planting ideas.

 

This year we will also help a good friend start a garden on her property. It’s all grass now, so we’ll start with cardboard and buy compost to go on top. Probably also 100 square meters. 
 

I am very very excited, if you couldn’t tell  

 

Our community plot and my two little helpers.

 

Last week I made a map of the raised beds we’ve put in so far so I can start planning what to plant where. The bottom left corner is our asparagus bed and the empty stroke on the right is currently a field of strawberries. 

[Artemis Prime]

I always have such careful plans for my garden, and then end up throwing things in haphazardly and letting it turn into a jungle. I never did get my fall cleanup done last year, so my first step this year will be clearing out old vegetation. Might also buy some mushroom compost or something along those lines to put down since I didn't get any fresh compost on it in the fall.

 

I don't have any pictures at the moment, but I'll be sure to snap some once the cleanup begins.

[Klutch]

Hello! I try to have a vegetable/native plants garden in my relatively small front and back "yards" (about 60 and 80 square feet respectively), but the feral cats on my block have different ideas for the use of my tiny plots of earth.

 

I live in the mid-Atlantic, so it's still freezing here overnight. I have my gardens covered in cardboard in the hopes it will kill some of the weeds. I need to get on my planning game so I can order plants and seeds soon.

 

My dad helped me build a retaining wall in front last spring. I need to do that in the back as well. 

 

Definitely excited for the coming green season!

 

[Sepherina]

Good morning from southwestern Pennsylvania.  The last 3 summers we have had two 8 ft by 4 ft cedar beds, although I feel like last summer the wildlife ate more of our harvest than we got. I would love to put in a permanent solution that I can “fence” off but we are soo busy up until mid spring this year that  it may have to wait until fall or even next year.

 

Currently the plan is to do tomatoes and peppers in one bed. For the tomatoes normally use the “French” string trellis method to tame them rather than cages. It makes it much easier to maintain them.

 

https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/turns-im-never-really-satisfied-anything-including-tomatoes/

 

 

Peppers never really work out for me, which makes me sad cause I love all peppers. I need to figure out why they don’t do well though (where as my tomatoes thrive).

 

Our second bed is about 75% strawberries (more of which I need to buy/replace this year) and the rest of the bed I grow lavender and rosemary.  

 

We also have 4 blueberry bushes that should bear fruit on their canes this year (I need to set up a net structure to keep critters out so we actually get to enjoy them).  We struggled with our bushes not doing well, but this last summer I tried using sawdust as part of their soil amend and laid down a weed mat to keep them weed free. The bushes grew well.

 

https://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/smallfarms/composting-and-blueberry-production

 

Lastly we have several large pots that I grow other herbs like mint, basil and parsley in as well as flowers.  We have success with growing green onions from the white root part of green onions.  I would love to be successful with some greens like romaine.

 

 

So lots of grand dreams of playing in dirt this next growing season.  I thought I had pictures of our beds from prior years….but I must have deleted a bunch of unwanted photos.  So instead here is a picture of three rhododendrons we have that bloom in late May.  The bubble bees love it! (I didn’t plant these one, they came with the house).

 

 

 

 

[Elastigirl]

Spring will come!  I dug up  some of our front lawn and have been  growing vegetables/herbs there. I used to have raised beds in our backyard, but we have lots of cedar trees, and it was way too shaded, and I had trouble growing anything (except weeds, those grew great) We also have blueberries and an apple tree. And I also enjoy pretty flowers. The last several years I have enjoying Dahlias. 

[Elastigirl]

10 minutes ago, Sepherina said:

Good morning from southwestern Pennsylvania.  The last 3 summers we have had two 8 ft by 4 ft cedar beds, although I feel like last summer the wildlife ate more of our harvest than we got. I would love to put in a permanent solution that I can “fence” off but we are soo busy up until mid spring this year that  it may have to wait until fall or even next year.

 

Currently the plan is to do tomatoes and peppers in one bed. For the tomatoes normally use the “French” string trellis method to tame them rather than cages. It makes it much easier to maintain them.

 

https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/turns-im-never-really-satisfied-anything-including-tomatoes/

 

 

Peppers never really work out for me, which makes me sad cause I love all peppers. I need to figure out why they don’t do well though (where as my tomatoes thrive).

 

Our second bed is about 75% strawberries (more of which I need to buy/replace this year) and the rest of the bed I grow lavender and rosemary.  

 

We also have 4 blueberry bushes that should bear fruit on their canes this year (I need to set up a net structure to keep critters out so we actually get to enjoy them).  We struggled with our bushes not doing well, but this last summer I tried using sawdust as part of their soil amend and laid down a weed mat to keep them weed free. The bushes grew well.

 

https://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/smallfarms/composting-and-blueberry-production

 

Lastly we have several large pots that I grow other herbs like mint, basil and parsley in as well as flowers.  We have success with growing green onions from the white root part of green onions.  I would love to be successful with some greens like romaine.

 

 

So lots of grand dreams of playing in dirt this next growing season.  I thought I had pictures of our beds from prior years….but I must have deleted a bunch of unwanted photos.  So instead here is a picture of three rhododendrons we have that bloom in late May.  The bubble bees love it! (I didn’t plant these one, they came with the house).

 

 

 

 

That bush is gorgeous!

 

What did you use for the weedmat for the blueberries?  And any special kind of  sawdust?  My husband engineered and built this wonderful enclosure made of netting and PVC pipe that kept out the birds. And then the rabbits came and dug up the netting and made holes in it. Last year, I just used very wide bird scare tape, and that semi worked. 

[Ranger Hal]

I'm not much of a gardener. I have two 4 ft by 4 ft raised beds that are full of weeds and get something planted in them every 2-3 years. However, Facebook has been showing me a lot of gardening ads (this is a new thing, not sure where it got the idea that I'm a master gardener), so maybe I'll be motivated to plant something this year. No guarantees though. I might just lurk around here.

[Sepherina]

1 hour ago, Elastigirl said:

That bush is gorgeous!

 

What did you use for the weedmat for the blueberries?  And any special kind of  sawdust?  My husband engineered and built this wonderful enclosure made of netting and PVC pipe that kept out the birds. And then the rabbits came and dug up the netting and made holes in it. Last year, I just used very wide bird scare tape, and that semi worked. 

I didn’t keep the label for the weed mat, but it looks like a standard black fabric ground cover.  As for the sawdust I used a red cedar pet bedding that I found at one of the local farm stores.  Pics of both below.  When I did the blueberries, I dug a trench, filled the trench with some dirt and the cedar, laid the fabric and then cut a decent size hole for the canes and planted them. It seemed to do a really good job at keeping the weeds out as well as some other critters.

 

 

[Everstorm]

This thread makes my nerd heart so happy ? 

 

I never did much gardening until we bought this house 4 years ago, but it has become my obsession.  I currently have 4 flower beds I am building up, one area we cleared to build standing-height raised beds for veggies, and another area which used to contain a pool, but will be a garden now since the pool got destroyed.  I am going to have to get creative about filling the new flower bed, since that is an expense I was not anticipating this year.

 

The raised beds will also be new this year.  We are planning to use well-rotted logs (which we have in spades) to fill the bottom and sort of make an internal compost, so that we only have to fill the top with dirt for planting.  Previously,  we had a couple of rolling trays for growing veggies that limited us to a few tomato plants and some herbs, so this will be a big jump.  I have crabapple and blueberries in one of the flower beds, but they don't produce much.  The bugs get the crabapple blossoms before they become fruit and the birds and bunnies eat the blueberries.  I have a new spray to ward off the bugs and I might move the blueberries to get more sun, so maybe we will get something off of them this year.

 

Here are a couple of the current flower beds (or at least how they looked in the summer ?

 

[KB Girl]

4 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

I always have such careful plans for my garden, and then end up throwing things in haphazardly and letting it turn into a jungle. I never did get my fall cleanup done last year, so my first step this year will be clearing out old vegetation. Might also buy some mushroom compost or something along those lines to put down since I didn't get any fresh compost on it in the fall.

 

I don't have any pictures at the moment, but I'll be sure to snap some once the cleanup begins.

I find the jungle look very charming though  I'll try to create that chaos on purpose this year, to confuse pests. 

 

4 hours ago, Klutch said:

Hello! I try to have a vegetable/native plants garden in my relatively small front and back "yards" (about 60 and 80 square feet respectively), but the feral cats on my block have different ideas for the use of my tiny plots of earth.

 

I live in the mid-Atlantic, so it's still freezing here overnight. I have my gardens covered in cardboard in the hopes it will kill some of the weeds. I need to get on my planning game so I can order plants and seeds soon.

 

My dad helped me build a retaining wall in front last spring. I need to do that in the back as well. 

 

Definitely excited for the coming green season!

We also still have frost, but it is time to sow things like peas. What do the cats do to your garden? And what is a retaining wall exactly?

 

2 hours ago, Sepherina said:

Currently the plan is to do tomatoes and peppers in one bed. For the tomatoes normally use the “French” string trellis method to tame them rather than cages. It makes it much easier to maintain them.

I've been wanting to try that! Maybe I will this year  

That rhododendron looks amazing! Pretty close to our community plot there is a hiking path that has huge rhododendron bushes on both sides for at least a mile- it's aptly called the rhododendron lane  I'll snap a picture in may. 

 

2 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Spring will come!  I dug up  some of our front lawn and have been  growing vegetables/herbs there. I used to have raised beds in our backyard, but we have lots of cedar trees, and it was way too shaded, and I had trouble growing anything (except weeds, those grew great) We also have blueberries and an apple tree. And I also enjoy pretty flowers. The last several years I have enjoying Dahlias. 

You know I think it's so cool that you grow vegetables in your front lawn. My new house has a very tiny front yard so it's not really an option now anyway (plus we have enough to get on with) but I would worry about 'what would the neighbours think' which is silly but still. Are you going to try any more mulching this year?

 

2 hours ago, Ranger Hal said:

I'm not much of a gardener. I have two 4 ft by 4 ft raised beds that are full of weeds and get something planted in them every 2-3 years. However, Facebook has been showing me a lot of gardening ads (this is a new thing, not sure where it got the idea that I'm a master gardener), so maybe I'll be motivated to plant something this year. No guarantees though. I might just lurk around here.

We'll try to add to the motivation  

 

5 minutes ago, Everstorm said:

This thread makes my nerd heart so happy ? 

 

I never did much gardening until we bought this house 4 years ago, but it has become my obsession.  I currently have 4 flower beds I am building up, one area we cleared to build standing-height raised beds for veggies, and another area which used to contain a pool, but will be a garden now since the pool got destroyed.  I am going to have to get creative about filling the new flower bed, since that is an expense I was not anticipating this year.

 

The raised beds will also be new this year.  We are planning to use well-rotted logs (which we have in spades) to fill the bottom and sort of make an internal compost, so that we only have to fill the top with dirt for planting.  Previously,  we had a couple of rolling trays for growing veggies that limited us to a few tomato plants and some herbs, so this will be a big jump.  I have crabapple and blueberries in one of the flower beds, but they don't produce much.  The bugs get the crabapple blossoms before they become fruit and the birds and bunnies eat the blueberries.  I have a new spray to ward off the bugs and I might move the blueberries to get more sun, so maybe we will get something off of them this year.

 

Here are a couple of the current flower beds (or at least how they looked in the summer ?

 

Those flower beds look amazing I love the little stone border. 

Sounds like you've got some serious raised beds, what are you planning to grow in them? 

[Sepherina]

17 minutes ago, KB Girl said:

Pretty close to our community plot there is a hiking path that has huge rhododendron bushes on both sides for at least a mile- it's aptly called the rhododendron lane  I'll snap a picture in may. 

That has to be stunning when they are all in bloom. I think someone in our neighborhood encouraged people to plant these several decades ago. I have seen 3 different varieties all very large. There was one house where the rhododendron was as tall as the second story windows. 

[Elastigirl]

23 minutes ago, KB Girl said:

You know I think it's so cool that you grow vegetables in your front lawn. My new house has a very tiny front yard so it's not really an option now anyway (plus we have enough to get on with) but I would worry about 'what would the neighbours think' which is silly but still. Are you going to try any more mulching this year?

I was reluctant to grow them in our front yard for the longest time. But, my neighbor does. And I've actually had several neighbors say how they like it. In the last yard mow of the year, my husband bagged a bunch of grass, and put it in the compost pile. My plan was to put it out in late winter, or early spring, which this thread reminds me is about now. 

[Artemis Prime]

I like rhododendrons, but there are multiple houses I drive past where the bush is almost the same size as the house (they're small houses, but still) which I think would unnerve me if I was inside those houses. I'm not sure what it is about them looks so menacing to me, I have bushes of my own that I like, although they're smaller and not right up against the house. Maybe I watched too much Darkwing Duck as a child with the villain Dr. Bushroot, although I'll admit he's not exactly what I'd call threatening.

 

 

 

[Everstorm]

41 minutes ago, KB Girl said:

Those flower beds look amazing I love the little stone border. 

Sounds like you've got some serious raised beds, what are you planning to grow in them? 

Thanks!

 

I haven't completely decided what will go in the raised beds, but tomatoes, peppers, squash,  basil, and cilantro will definitely be on the list.  Probably some lettuces, too.

[Darciana]

Hiya

 

So we just moved into this house a year ago (well, in 8 days, it'll be a year) and I just got a garden space sorted, thanks BF. He helped me fence an area off inside our fenced yard to keep the dogs out. I've only ever done container gardening which I'll likely do some in containers just for comfort. Baby steps! Plus I don't have a way to cover my poor plants to help shade from the vicious Texas Summer Sun so my more fragile ones will need to be migrated into shady areas eventually. 

 

Only plans I have are my usual: tomatoes, bell peppers, hot/spicy peppers (jalapenos, habaneros, etc), herbs. I'm the pepper queen - I had jalapenos outside on my porch during Storm Uri with only a very thin garden blanket and the dang thing gave me peppers until I killed it in spring trying to repot. Everything else died a miserable frozen death, including my aloe and money tree, but the jalapenos made it through that! I do have a "make your own hot sauce" kit and I think it comes with seeds. Might have to dig that out and try it.

 

The old lady who lived here (may she rest in peace and bless my garden) had asparagus planted elsewhere in the backyard. The new pup has since dug up that area, but before he arrived, even 3 years after her death they were growing so I'll likely add those to my list. Asparagus is a favorite veggie side (I'm the only one who actually likes veggies, but asparagus is in the "begrudgingly accept it" group)

 

I've failed at growing cucumbers 3 years in a row now so I'm not entirely sure if I'll attempt again. I might. I might also try a variety of green beans. I had one last year but we left on vacation and they unfortunately were juuuuuust out of reach of the sprinkler and died. Oops. 

[Everstorm]

@Darciana Asapargus would be a great one to grow if you have the patience for it.  I have never tried it myself because I have heard there is no harvest until the second year, and that feels too long to wait for yummy asparagus lol

[Darciana]

15 minutes ago, Everstorm said:

@Darciana Asapargus would be a great one to grow if you have the patience for it.  I have never tried it myself because I have heard there is no harvest until the second year, and that feels too long to wait for yummy asparagus lol

 

I'm seriously hoping that at least a couple of the asparagus that popped up this year from the old lady survived the pup. He dug up that area, but not all of it so fingers crossed. If that's the case, I may try to dig them up to move them over to my dedicated garden space. If not, I guess patience will need to become a virtue! 

 

It's 2 years after planting crowns, but 3 years after seeds. And the first year of harvest (year 2 or 3) can only harvest for 2 weeks. The following year, 3 weeks, and add one week of harvest for every year they've been available for harvest. It's frustrating for sure. 

[Artemis Prime]

Are you not supposed to harvest the first spear of asparagus from each crown? My dad always leaves the first one because he says you're supposed to and it leads to a stronger plant, but it seems to me that all of the plant's energy goes to growing that one spear instead of producing additional ones. My preferred strategy would be to pick all the spears as they grow and then leave at least one on each crown at the end of the harvest to feed back down into the roots, but I'm reluctant to go against the way I've been told it's supposed to be done.

[Darciana]

7 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

Are you not supposed to harvest the first spear of asparagus from each crown? My dad always leaves the first one because he says you're supposed to and it leads to a stronger plant, but it seems to me that all of the plant's energy goes to growing that one spear instead of producing additional ones. My preferred strategy would be to pick all the spears as they grow and then leave at least one on each crown at the end of the harvest to feed back down into the roots, but I'm reluctant to go against the way I've been told it's supposed to be done.

 

Once it's been established, I imagine your method could work. I haven't researched that far into it. I simply know that planting crowns requires 2 seasons to establish a strong enough root system to harvest and seeds require 3 seasons. The limited harvest in the first few years of actual harvest season lends me to believe it's to allow a larger amount of spears to feed into the roots and over time you can lessen the spears because the root system is stronger and more established. Just my engineer brain trying to comprehend without doing the actual research haha!

[KB Girl]

23 minutes ago, Darciana said:

And the first year of harvest (year 2 or 3) can only harvest for 2 weeks.

That's where we're at- I am very much looking forward to my first spears

 

17 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

Are you not supposed to harvest the first spear of asparagus from each crown? My dad always leaves the first one because he says you're supposed to and it leads to a stronger plant, but it seems to me that all of the plant's energy goes to growing that one spear instead of producing additional ones. My preferred strategy would be to pick all the spears as they grow and then leave at least one on each crown at the end of the harvest to feed back down into the roots, but I'm reluctant to go against the way I've been told it's supposed to be done.

From what I've seen and read it would be better to pick everything for a certain period depending on the age of the plant and then leave them to grow. 

 

7 minutes ago, Darciana said:

he limited harvest in the first few years of actual harvest season lends me to believe it's to allow a larger amount of spears to feed into the roots and over time you can lessen the spears because the root system is stronger and more established. Just my engineer brain trying to comprehend without doing the actual research haha!

That's exactly it though, from what I've been reading. 

[RES]

Oh wow, I'm so behind, this is an awesome thread though!

 

So I live in GA (south of Atlanta) the house we bought when we moved here in 10/2021 has a lot of flower, bushes, and was very well kept, the woman who lived her before obviously loved rosebushes....I am not a fan so we cut them out. I'll try to post some pictures in the next few days if I get a chance but I want to put in a herb garden for the first year, since I don't have good luck with anything beyond that yet, in the area she had the bushes...and maybe do something with an area my wife despises in the front yard that has bushes and stuff...we had some trees removed and I want to try to do a fairy garden/succulent garden with the stumps. 

 

[Sepherina]

14 hours ago, Darciana said:

 

I'm seriously hoping that at least a couple of the asparagus that popped up this year from the old lady survived the pup. He dug up that area, but not all of it so fingers crossed. If that's the case, I may try to dig them up to move them over to my dedicated garden space. If not, I guess patience will need to become a virtue! 

 

It's 2 years after planting crowns, but 3 years after seeds. And the first year of harvest (year 2 or 3) can only harvest for 2 weeks. The following year, 3 weeks, and add one week of harvest for every year they've been available for harvest. It's frustrating for sure. 

I knew asparagus took forever, but didn’t realize it took that long. 

 

10 hours ago, RES said:

Oh wow, I'm so behind, this is an awesome thread though!

 

So I live in GA (south of Atlanta) the house we bought when we moved here in 10/2021 has a lot of flower, bushes, and was very well kept, the woman who lived her before obviously loved rosebushes....I am not a fan so we cut them out. I'll try to post some pictures in the next few days if I get a chance but I want to put in a herb garden for the first year, since I don't have good luck with anything beyond that yet, in the area she had the bushes...and maybe do something with an area my wife despises in the front yard that has bushes and stuff...we had some trees removed and I want to try to do a fairy garden/succulent garden with the stumps. 

 

I would love rosebushes/color.  Outside of the rhododendron everything else around our house is green pine shrubs.  The curb appeal is very bland.  We have been slowly removing them, but those suckers are hardy and hard to kill.  

[Artemis Prime]

So I had forgotten until you guys made me think about it here, but I had decided to test out the Three Sisters gardening method this year. A plan that is intended to turn into a jungle - one I might actually be able to follow!

[Klutch]

19 hours ago, KB Girl said:

I find the jungle look very charming though  I'll try to create that chaos on purpose this year, to confuse pests. 

 

We also still have frost, but it is time to sow things like peas. What do the cats do to your garden? And what is a retaining wall exactly?

 

 

I personally love the jungle look. My neighbors don't, and I live on a block of rowhomes (I think others may know these as "townhomes", but imagine a full block of connected ones) so I have many immediate neighbors I must be considerate of.

 

A retaining wall is basically just a regular garden wall, but with the express purpose of retaining the soil where it is, instead of allowing it to erode elsewhere. So, I guess, like a raised bed but my house is one of the sides and we just added a few layers of wood on the other 3 sides of the plot. Sort of like this:

 

 

The cats think my yards are their litter boxes, mainly. Which would be fine if it was just a couple, but there are probably about 6 that I am aware of that roam the street, so this means they essentially tear up anything I put down. I've tried row covers (they somehow get inside and think it is their house) and once a layer of chicken wire (makes it difficult for me to work in the soil). 

 

Also, one squirrel will occasionally bury a single peanut shell. ?‍♀️

 

I think, realistically, I will cover crop both plots with a mix of clover and maybe some low-height wildflowers and grow any produce in containers. I just need to be proactive about mulching the containers as well - the cats are relentless. ??‍⬛

 

Loving all of the garden pictures, everyone!