Gardening Anyone?

[MountedGoat]

It is about that time of year in the Northern Hemisphere that the seeds are going in and whatnot. I am reading a book on gardening called "The Green Gardeners Guide". It is totally a hippie book, though it really makes some interesting points. Without too much writing a couple of the useful tips are:

1. Rain Barrel - to collect the water from rain which will then lessen your reliance on using drinking water. Interesting point is that if you collect all the runoff from one inch of rain from an average roof (approx 1000sqft) you will have some 6,500 gallons over the course of a year!

2. Watering - early in the morning or late at night. With wind and temperature of the day, evaporation can almost half the amount that plants recieve. Then in order to promote healthy plants and lawns, water deeply and less often. This means don't water a little every day, rather water every two or three days. Then when watering, spray a little on and then wait a half hour so that you aren't just creating runoff.

Anywho, I am doing tomatoes, four types of peppers, chard, onions, basil, dill, mint, type, oregano, sage, garlic and various other edibles. Anyone else?

[punkin]

The tomatoes have just finnished (cupboards are full of jars of Tomatoe Relish, freezers full of Pasta sauce). Snow Peas and Broccolli are in and up, also onions and Cauliflower. More carrotts to go in in a fortnight when i get back from holidays and the herbs are looking and tasting tops. Just coming into the cool weather here.

[wineo]

I put in tomatos last week.I also have 6 kinds of hot peppers,still in pots in case it got cold.
The onions are up,and Ive got some cabbage going also.The grapes,and elderberrys are looking good so far.Its been a wet spring around here.It hit 81 today.

[blanikdog]

We are off to India and Europe in a few weeks so the garden has been left to fallow over winter, maybe even let the chooks have a rummage through it while we're away. But, I did plant sixty garlic bulbs so we will have them well under way when we return. We put garlic and cumin in everything except maybe ice cream. We are still using the last of the capsicums, carrots, tomatoes and still have tons of mizuma and rocket.

During the summer months - when everything is dirt cheap - we live out of the garden.

Nothing quite like home grown veges!!

blanik

[theholymackerel]

I have alot of perennials. Two types of cherry tree, two types of pear tree, a nectarine, an apple, two types of grape, rosemary, Spanish Broom, a couple types of sage, and a bunch of different types of hops. I also have a few perrenials that only provide flowers like wisteria, lavender, honeysuckle, and some bulbs.

I enlargened my garden a bit this year by makin' two new small beds.

My annuals in my vegetable beds this year are two types of tomato (mostly roma), four types of pepper, Cukes, Dill (Cukes+Dill+Salt=Pickles), oregano, tomatillos, garlic, two types of onion, radishes, carrots, canteloupe, sugar baby watermellons, and pie pumpkins. I'm also growin' two types of poppies around my wifes patio.

I wish I had more room.

[junkyard dawg]

I wish I had more room.

I wish I had more time. I put up new 7' fence around my garden space this year. The deer left it alone for years with nothing to keep them out. A couple of years ago they discovered that there was good stuff growing in there and have taken everything... until now..

I have a few tomatoes. The sweet 100's produce crazy amounts of little cherry toms here. There are some romas and some other big ones too. Serrano and jalapeno are planted with some habaneros. I like hot peppers and curse the assholes that engineered the 'mild' jalapeno. Since the introduction of the 'mild' jalapeno, there is no heat in most chiles that you commonly get. I hope the habanero might add a little fire back into them. Growing hot peppers next to mild ones will give you hot mild chiles and mild hot chiles. (ain't gardening fun?) A hillbilly chefs garden for sure.

[MountedGoat]

Ever since I was introduced to the thai chilly, or what a guy I work with calls Chili Del Diablo, I just can't get enough! Little devils are hot as hell and flavorful. I will have at least one plant in my garden to make all my foods burn going in and coming out

[wineo]

I have some thai hot sprouting now.They are some hot little bas****s.I grow them every year from seed because I can never find the plants around here.

[punkin]

I have some thai hot sprouting now.They are some hot little bas****s.I grow them every year from seed because I can never find the plants around here.

I've got one bush of little thai 'birds eye' chilli's that has been going for four years now.
It's about two inches across the stem and every winter we strip and dry the fruit, then cut the bush back to about six inches high (from three foot).
The frosts don't seem to worry it too much and it just comes back again in the spring. We have a capsicum or bell pepper the same too.

[wineo]

It gets too cold over here for mine to survive.I wish I had a greenhouse cause I would keep im going.

[MountedGoat]

Just toss it into the garage/shed/top shelf of your kitchen for the winter time and it will keep. That's what I do for my rosemary that I have in a pot I have always wondered if peppers lasted multiple years. I have cut them back to nothing once they finish fruiting and they always start sprouting little green arms...I will try to keep one through the winter this year, see what happens. They are great dried, seeing as they produce so much, gets em good and smokey!

[EuroStiller]

I started in on my gardening a couple a weeks ago. Most of my garden is given over to spices and herbs that I use for making liqueurs and of course cooking with. Many of them are perennial and I really don't have much to do except wait and see what does not come up then quickly throw down seed. I cut back the dead branches on my dwarf pear and dwarf apricot. I did put in garlic, potatoes, plum tomatoes, Genovese tomatoes, eggplant, fava, and cechi (chick peas). In the front my fiancé and I pulled out all the crap that was obstructing the first floor bay window of our brownstone. In its place we went with 2 Italian Cypress Trees. They are only about 4 feet tall now, but I can only imagine what they will look like in the future. Between them we planted Elderberry. To cover the basement window, because half of it is above ground, and so I can have the flowers and fruit for my liqueur. For a ground cover we went with Roman Chamomile, hoping that it will spread into a nice green carpet and fill in the gaps. The rest of the space in the front is occupied by my "rock" collection. Basically when my folks were building out in the burbs, I took all the nice looking, bowling ball sized rocks to use as border. Now we have an iron fence and gate, so my "rocks" got moved around. My fiancé hates them. I have not brought out my Oleander trees yet. I'm too unsure about our unstable weather here. Last thing I need is to wake up and find a stick in a pot with a bunch of leaves all around it! I have not un-buried my Fig tree either. I want to wait a bit on that. That's my, sorry, my fiancé and mines gardening so far. It’s a never-ending thing for us, considering we both come from farming families. If I had a little more space it would be nice. Downside of having to live in the city!!

EuroStiller- The Doctor

[wineo]

I planted a concord grape vine last week,and have a reliance seedless vine thats on its 4th year.I cut it back hard this winter.I was looking at all my plants today,and that reliance vine already has baby grape clusters,and it just started growing leaves 2 weeks ago.I guess I did a good pruning job.I have a small yard so I dont have lots of room.Those grapes are growing on wires on the inside of my 6 ft dog ear fence.I have a elderberry plant in the corner of my yard that is already 10 ft tall after a good fall pruning.It beared fruit last year,but I let the catbirds eat most of them.They were also having a party on my grapes.

[EuroStiller]

Wow you have grape clusters already! I would have been out there with my CO2 pellet gun shooting those birds eating those elderberries! Then I would have put a screen over it. I don't think many people realize the health benefits of elder. If your congested, you can take the flowers and drop them into boiling water and then inhale the steam. It will open your sinuses better and much safer than pseudoepedrine or phenelephrine. The berries can be boiled into a syrup and stored for the flu, for which it has already shown it is more effective than the flu shot. They also have diuretic properties, anti-gout, and fever lowering potential. The leaves can be made into a decoction to clear the skin of acne. And of course, the obvious use of the berries: wines, beers, preserves, and bird food, LOL.

Misses and I were outside late yesterday covering the newly planted delicates because there was a mild freeze warning put into effect. I told here not to even bother taking the burlap layers off because it was cold today too. Tonight is no better. The weather will just not break here. Usually it just goes from 30 below to 90F!! LOL. Tomorrow she's gotta uncover them though, even if only for a few hours. I was at Home Depot over the weekend and found seeds for Edelweiss!! I bought 6 packets. Were gonna put some in along the gangway between us and the neighbor, since it is always sunny, but cool. I hope they come up. The last time I saw one was climbing in the Apennine Mountains a few years ago. I also wanted to try getting some to sprout, at least, in a pot on the porch. What can I say, hope springs eternal! I also got some seeds from my brother for an ornamental Poppy called a Black Peony Poppy (Papaver somniferum var. paeoniflorum). He brought them to me from the UK. I love Poppies, but again lack of space. If they do come up, keep your fingers crossed, I hope to transfer them to some decorative pots and move them around. Who knows with this damned weather! All we need now is another earthquake

Well, that all folks!

EuroStiller- The Doctor

[wineo]

I planted the elderberrys for the birds.I know where there is so many plants,that I pick all of mine in the wild.I picked 40LBs of them last year,and quit.I could have gotten alot more.Ive been using elderberry for medicinal stuff,and wine for years.I have only had the flu 2 times in 10 years,and got rid of it in 3 days both times with elderberry tea,and wine.

[MountedGoat]

I have just put out some coffee grounds around my tomatoes that are getting knocked back by some sort of tomato predator. I have no freaking clue what is "eating" them as they look like someone is going out with pruners in the middle of the night and just clipping off the leaves as well as one full plant. I thought snails or worms, though it just seems like birds at the same time. I just don't know. Any ideas? Other than that my bromeliad is starting to push out some flowers...nice to me.

Lastly, just harvested my first basil, mint and dill for a delicious pesto dinner last night

[Uncle Jesse]

Caterpillars? I have had that happen and they chomp huge parts of leaves at a time.

[wineo]

Sounds like Caterpillars or birds.Time for a little seven dust,and a fake owl.

[Old_Blue]

Cut worms

[EuroStiller]

MG: Do you have any malicious neighbors? Or maybe did ya forget to give your postal carrier something nice at the holidays? LOL Could be some type of insect. Perhaps even a rabbit. I know it sounds awful, but that’s why I bought my CO2 BB pistol. I was getting tired of the squirrels eating my sunflowers. So every year I was planting more and more hoping they would leave me with at least one decent sunflower head. Rotten little creatures, but good for target practice!

Wineo: Did you ever make/ have you ever made "Opal Nera" Black Sambucca Liqueur from any of your elderberries? If you have not I have a good and somewhat easy recipe I'd be more than happy to share with everybody. Just let me know if you want it and I'll post it, somewhere! I was talking to my great- aunt in Italy about the uses of the plant; she is a doctor as well. 80 years old, sharp as a razor, and wont slow down! Apparently I forgot a few. Not that I'll ever need it, and hopefully none of our readers will either, but being a medical practitioner I found it quite funny. Apparently a paste made of the flowers and leaves can be applied to hemorrhoids to reduce the swelling and discomfort. When I looked back on it, no pun intended, it does make sense because they contain vasoconsrtictive alkaloids. I was just dying laughing when she told me that. So add that to the useless knowledge list!

I'm home today; I have to attend a seminar in the early-afternoon hours. This evening I have to go to a wake for my father’s cousin. Tomorrow is the funeral; however, I’m not going. My sister is going in my place. She lives closer to my parents anyway.

More Later

EuroStiller- The Doctor

[wineo]

I made some sambuca a while back,but it was the macerated kind.I used some dried elderberrys,and they didnt impart as much flavor as I wanted so I added some black cherry extract,and a pound of dried cherrys.It turned out great.I think you need to use fresh elderberry juice,pressed,and possably reduced to concentrate the flavor.

[theholymackerel]

My soil has warmed up nicely so I sowed more seeds in the garden today: some canteloupe to replace the ones the dogs trod on and the ones killed by a freeze, some more cukes for more pickles, more dill, two types of bush beans, and some North and South okra.

My poppies that I sowed a couple weeks ago are all up and sproutin'... about a centemetre tall right now, not big enough to look cabbagie yet. My first flush of radishes are ready and I brought inside a big bunch of 'em. My carrot is just barely comin' up...most of it didn't take so I'll have to plant more seed tomorrow mornin'. My garlic is doin' better than anythin' else in my garden. Folks here have been tellin' me how wonderfully it grows here for years, I wish I would have tried growin' it here long ago. Next year I'm gonna try growin' some of the Egyptian Walking Garlic. If regular garlic does that well here in the desert, I bet an Egyptian garlic will thrive... it's a fun type of garlic too as it self-spreads quickly, is sweet and mild and it's one of the weird garlic types where the whole plant is usable.




I hope yalls gardens are doin' well.

[Ricky]

why dont yall plant some food? i got peas,butterbeans,and corn up. just planted the okra yeasterday. onions got planted late. will be frying tomatoes on a coupla weeks. gonna transplant some homeplace garlic this weekend. yall can have the spices for now. i will get the wife on these when the greenhouse is done.

[MountedGoat]

Just about to put in the beans, cucumber, squash (save the crookneck, it is being genetically modified into extinction for better yield on a straight neck), beats and chard. Start with the stuff I know how to grow and then moving onto the new things that I haven't done yet. Last year, a friend wanted pickles so he got about 25 plants and put them in. Turned out to be zuchini we had enough through the summer to make a zuchini brandy (jk). Zuchini bread daily, that's what I am talking about.

Fennel too! Delicious. Sadly they only make one, I want multiple flowering things. Saves space you know.

MG: Do you have any malicious neighbors? Or maybe did ya forget to give your postal carrier something nice at the holidays? LOL Could be some type of insect. Perhaps even a rabbit. I know it sounds awful, but that’s why I bought my CO2 BB pistol. I was getting tired of the squirrels eating my sunflowers. So every year I was planting more and more hoping they would leave me with at least one decent sunflower head. Rotten little creatures, but good for target practice!

Sadly it is in a little fenced in yard, so I have to guess that it is maybe cutworms, caterpillar or birds. I think birds. I put the cages on the remaining two and sprinkled the hippie coffee around for the crawlers. Fingers crossed. I have harvested my first 4 strawberries and they are beautiful. I haven't had a strawberry (due to pesticides) in over two years.

[As-Ol-Joe]

Finally finished getting my garden in. The wife better be a bean picking machine.

We have:
5 rows of onions
32 heads of cabbage
1 row radishes
3 row purple hull peas
3 rows brown crowder peas
3 rows butter peas
3 rows lima beans
2 rows kentucky wonder green beans
26 summer squash
26 cucumbers
30 tomatoes
6 rows okra
2 rows sunflowers
24 cantalope
24 watermelon

$hit, no wonder I'm so tired.

[Still_Tinkerin]

I been thinkin bout puttin in 2 or 3 acres of sugarbeets.. (In what used to be a garden spot) but never really got a still to work right, so kinda lost interest. Too bad, too, cuz y'all seem like you have a good amount of fun.

I'm kinda guy can make anything, but as for cookin.. can't even make a cake from a box!

oops! wrong hobby! (But forums are fun..)

[EuroStiller]

MG

For some reason I have not been getting notification that there are response to my posts. I just checked my settings in the control panel, and all looks fine. At any rate, my yard is not that large either and my neighbors complain that it is a jungle! I don’t know if you know how big a Chicago city lot is. Well, it was a lot smaller when my house was built. Then they built a garage on the property in the late 70’s, making the lot even smaller! I sympathize! Now you see why I try to get out of the city and back to Italy as often as possible! All my seeds that I planted have come up, despite some rather cold nights. The rest of my garden is coming along, slowly. I hope you get more strawberries this season!!!

EuroStiller-The Doctor

[MountedGoat]

Little update:

Strawberries are great and still producing. Just got some more dill and basil, then transplanted into larger pots to make even more. I might well have saved my tomatoes as they are now growing again, including one that I thought was dead! I have just pruned the bottom "branches" from my tomatoes to promote a taller plant. Peppers are coming along slowly but surely, though still growing quite a bit.

I am super excited that everything is growing well right now and am happy to see that others also are fans of the garden too. A lot more enthusiasm on a large variety than I expected. Keep posting along the way this summer so that we can see how you are doing it.

Cheers

[theholymackerel]

Now that we are mostly in the 80's temp-wise, my garden is growin' quickly.

I had to pick about two quarts of radishes this mornin' 'cause they were gettin' kinda big and I didn't want 'em woody, or too hot/spicy.

[punkin]

Tomatoes are down to their last couplea fruits, broccolli and cauli's have been in for a few weeks now and are getting to be good size plants ready for the cold. Snow peas are up and racing, herbs are nearly finnished .

Passionfruit vine got covered in ready for the frosts, picked four buckets of Limes and pulped em y'day, then went to the neighbours and pulped a few buckets of lemons.

Ended up with 6 litres of lemon pulp, 10 litres lemon juice, 5 litres Lime pulp and 10 litres lime juice. Still got more limes on the tree too, nice and juicy but past their very best for flavour (nice and sweet now, like lemonade). It's Lemon and Lime wash for me next time

We'll be putting down some more preserved Limes this year too, the skins are beautiful in cooking.