I challenge you to grow some...

[I-Jo]

i'm a sad panda- the mosquitos are so bad- I can't go outside for more than like 30 seconds- I get eaten SO badly (literally less than 2 minutes- 18 bites WTF FACE)

 

so I think I've written off my garden. Depressed jo is depressed.

[Vector]

The skeeters are bad here, but as long as I do the garden when the sun is on it, they are fine. Now, going outside at night just isn't safe...

 

Finally started getting Tomatoes and Patty Pans, and the Delicata and Baby Butternuts are coming in nicely. Oh, and I 'harvested' a timber rattler from the garden the other day as well. He had to go as he was hassling the dogs, otherwise I would have let him hang out to control the bunnies. Hopefully the black snakes have that covered.

[Tateman]

i'm a sad panda- the mosquitos are so bad- I can't go outside for more than like 30 seconds- I get eaten SO badly (literally less than 2 minutes- 18 bites WTF FACE)

 

so I think I've written off my garden. Depressed jo is depressed.

HATE mosquitos.  We use to get some really big ones too when I lived in Missouri.

[rketterman]

also: a little off topic [maybe?] but i really want to start doing some herbal wildcrafting this summer and fall! not really sure how to get started though. anyone have any experience in this area or advice on a good first few steps to take?

i like the idea.  I have a book called backyard medicine somewhere I may have to find.  I haven't really used it but I'm very interested.  

 

My wife and I finally got moved and unfortunately we were unable to do as much as we were wanting to.  And our apartment is much smaller than the place we were living before so our space is very limited.  BUT I do have a dwarf Lemon tree in my window!  Hopefully I can keep it going for a long time and get some fruit from it eventually

[Fonzico]

So one of the bonuses of the rental place we moved into this spring is a big apple tree out front - where I am (zone 3) you mostly see crab apples, but this is a real, live honest-to-goodness apple tree! I think they're sunrise (cross b/w golden delicious and Macintosh) and they're huge and delicious! We picked a bushel on Friday (and there's still lots left, but they're mostly too high to reach) and I canned 10quarts of apple pie filling. No clue what to do with the rest - we never eat apple sauce or drink apple juice. I'll have to give them away, I guess!

 

Next up is salsa, as the tomatoes have done really well also! And I've been harvesting and drying chamomile blossoms... it's slow going, I think I only have enough for a couple of cups so far, but I'll keep at it.

I also made pesto with the basil, and froze it.

 

The peas are ripe now too, and the beans are on their way. I don't think the rutabaga or the onions are getting very big, but I suppose they've still got time.

 

Very exciting for our first year growing a garden. I've learned a LOT and I'm looking forward to doing a better job next year

[Anduril]

Hard apple cider comes to mind ...

[Tateman]

Harvested 17 tomatoes from the Garden yesterday

 

Todays harvest.  17 tomatoes by Will Tate, on Flickr

[Anduril]

Ooo, pretty!

[I-Jo]

le sigh

 

I had one cucumber- I failed to eat it in time- so I had to toss it. 

 

I picked my one tomatoe (I had 2 or 3 others- they went bad on the vine) and ate it immediately- delicious.

I have few more coming- can't for them to ripen!

[Matt_72]

This is a selection of peppers I grew last summer

Most seem to have survived the winter ok (I'm in Melbourne ,Australia) so I hope to yield even more in their second season.

I have parsley, sage, coriander, rosemary, mint, chives, rocket, spinach, thyme, spring onions, lettuces, strawberries and am hoping to try to grow some Roma tomatoes this season.

[UltanBoyd]

Oooh I missed this. Full time job and full time degree until May ruined my planting season. Got a few things in, cucumbers, tomatoes. courgette, french beans, haricot beans to go with the Raspberries, Blackberries and Gooseberries.

Have a few herbs running round as well. Need to clear out more space in the garden from the wild blackbubs which have taken over and just aren't as good as the cultivated ones in the shade. The soil's also poor and unconditioned at home, The tonne of horse muck I got a couple of months ago only really did one flower bed. My allotment has been neglected this year so only the perrenials and the stuff the retired gentlemen next to me grow on my spare space. Need to relocate some raspberries home really and give the allotment to someone with the time and drive now to get on with it.

 

Having said that my allotment was a god send when I wasn't so steady a place as I am now. It kept me sane!

[Tateman]

Brought in a red and yellow water melon yesterday

[Vian]

This spring I got 5 organic heirloom san marzano tomato plants from a friend of mine. This past weekend I finally felt I had enough ripe tomatoes to make something with them. I picked 5.5 pounds of tomatoes, blanched and peeled them, then found a proven canning recipe for marinara sauce, made it, then canned it! My first experience with canning! The sauce turned out really tasty. I'll probably make another batch in a few more weeks when more tomatoes are ripe, or just can plain tomatoes for use in chili and stew over the winter.

 

As much tomato products as I go through in a year, however, I'm going to need a lot more tomato plants next year! I wanted to make ketchup too! But I don't think my plants have enough time left in the season, or enough oomph to give me any new fruit, just to ripen what they already have. There's probably another 4-5 pounds of unripe fruit left on the plants still.

 

[Vian]

I'm getting excited for next year now....Last year we got raised beds installed and grew some things, but didn't pay enough attention to the veggies, so they didn't do so well and got over-run with weeds. This year we totally ignored them. I think before fall, I'm going to cover each bed with plastic tarps and weigh them down with bricks or something to kill all the weeds over winter, then till them with manure in the spring and try again.

[UltanBoyd]

This spring I got 5 organic heirloom san marzano tomato plants from a friend of mine. This past weekend I finally felt I had enough ripe tomatoes to make something with them. I picked 5.5 pounds of tomatoes, blanched and peeled them, then found a proven canning recipe for marinara sauce, made it, then canned it! My first experience with canning! The sauce turned out really tasty. I'll probably make another batch in a few more weeks when more tomatoes are ripe, or just can plain tomatoes for use in chili and stew over the winter.

 

As much tomato products as I go through in a year, however, I'm going to need a lot more tomato plants next year! I wanted to make ketchup too! But I don't think my plants have enough time left in the season, or enough oomph to give me any new fruit, just to ripen what they already have. There's probably another 4-5 pounds of unripe fruit left on the plants still.

 

 

Bring the green fruit in just before the frosts hit. Then either keep them cool, dry and dark (wrapped in newspaper) and some may ripen or throw them next to a few bananas. They'll ripen. Or use them green for ketchup!

I like throwing green tomatos, onions and chillis/herbs in a blender. Whizz it up and pour over beans for home made awesome baked beans.

[Vian]

It will be another month or so before we get a frost.

[rketterman]

I know we have some folks that aren't getting hammered with snow right now (I'm looking to the southern hemisphere right now) so I'm sure there's someone out there that's still doing their best to grow some food. 

 

That being said, thanks to my aerogardens I've had cherry tomatoes practically all winter.  I have about 20 now that need picked.  It's not much but hey it's beats going to the store and paying for a product that is out of season, transported from another country (no offense to those countries but I like to cut back on the amount of pollution my food causes), and tastes like cardboard.  I need to get my other system going with some lettuce.  I could go for some salads. 

[Matt_72]

Small but tasty collection of tomatoes. We have had ridiculous heat for the past month so hopefully with some moderate weather forecast we will see some more flowers on the tomatoes.

Chillies should be in full flight in about a month or so.

[rketterman]

So how did this past summer rate? I've been taking advantage of local farmers markets since my wife and I moved to PA last year. We don't have as much space as I was hoping so this year I just had a few herbs. But hey better than nothing right!

[Steppinon D'Arrows]

I've been keeping some basil in a pot that I grew from seeds and using the leaves whenever things look good to keep them alive. I don't know much about plants, but what I've been doing has worked so far. I've started to grow some thyme as well. They're cute little baby plants, right now, with teensy weensy little leaves. And I plan to maybe grow some parsley as well.

It's my own little herb garden!

[rketterman]

Love to hear that! Nothing like fresh herbs in a dish to really brighten the flavor. Thyme doesn't get to large but the flavor is fantastic!

[Tzippi Longstockings]

I hadn't heard of the Aerogarden! I live in an apartment with really dismal light, nowhere near enough to grow most food crops, even in a windowsill. Something with the lights built in, though . . .

[rketterman]

I hadn't heard of the Aerogarden! I live in an apartment with really dismal light, nowhere near enough to grow most food crops, even in a windowsill. Something with the lights built in, though . . .

  I have 2.  I don't have anything in them at the moment but I've grown everything from herbs to green beans in mine.  I LOVE the Mighty Mini cherry tomato kit they sell.  It is, in my opinion, the most flavorful tomato they carry.  It's been great for me.

[Matt_72]

Tomatoes, strawberries and some herbs for our Southern Hemisphere summer which is on its way.

[Quill]

I couldn't grow anything this year for health reasons. So now I have garden boxes that I will fill up with dirt and I will turn into lots and lots of veg...I seriously have some gardening space up the wazzoo that needs filling with raspberry canes and corn and tomato's and pepppers and squash and oh have you seen glass corn? its gorgeous! a popping corn, i believe!