OT -- Any gardeners out there?

pinballLooking

We did square foot gardening for a while. The weeds took over and it was too much bending over for my wife. She takes care to it.

Last summer I started an Aquaponics system. No weeding and no bending over.

YukonRon

northGAcock said:

YukonRon said:

Anybody got recommendations for varmints? Rabbits, ground squirrels, and others, slaughtered our harvest. MBW won't let me have target practice, and we don't have a dog yet. Any organic options?

Do I have a dog for you...

Originally, that was my idea. Too soon though, we have not gotten over losing our golden. It floored us all when we had to put her down.
Soon though......

Chubbs

@YukonRon, I feel your pain. We lost our beloved Shar-pei, Clemmie, this past July. She was the best dog I have ever had. We were originally going to get another dog shortly thereafter but held off as it simply wont be as good as her. It killed me recently when my 3 year old asked where Clemmie was. RIP Clemster!

Chubbs

@pinballLooking, nice setup sir. Would love to have an aquaponics system one day, but have too many other "projects" to do before I redo the garden I just built 2 seasons ago!

fishlessman

didnt get the apple trees in the ground last year so they are in full bloom in the kitchen

Chubbs

Nice @fishlessman! I am going to be late this year as I am in middle of kitchen renovation. Yard and garden have gotten fully neglected. 

CodyA88

I guess this would be appropriate to ask in this thread, but I have actually been meaning to get in to the hobby and work on my green thumb.  I have 2 iron pot holders hanging over my deck that get plenty of sun.  Each will probably hold 2 pots.  Any suggestion of easy plants/herbs that grow well without a lot of experience?  Was looking to do some jalapenos, tomatoes, green onion, and basil.  Thoughts?

Chubbs

CodyA88 said:

I guess this would be appropriate to ask in this thread, but I have actually been meaning to get in to the hobby and work on my green thumb.  I have 2 iron pot holders hanging over my deck that get plenty of sun.  Each will probably hold 2 pots.  Any suggestion of easy plants/herbs that grow well without a lot of experience?  Was looking to do some jalapenos, tomatoes, green onion, and basil.  Thoughts?

Tomatoes and peppers are too large unless I am not picturing the area correctly. Herbs are easy. Thyme and parsley and rosemary are as easy as it gets and they last long time. Rosemary plants can get large over the years. Take a picture of the area and I can probably help more. 

fishlessman

CodyA88 said:

I guess this would be appropriate to ask in this thread, but I have actually been meaning to get in to the hobby and work on my green thumb.  I have 2 iron pot holders hanging over my deck that get plenty of sun.  Each will probably hold 2 pots.  Any suggestion of easy plants/herbs that grow well without a lot of experience?  Was looking to do some jalapenos, tomatoes, green onion, and basil.  Thoughts?

all the hers are really easy and you can pack a bunch in one container.
never grew tomatoes upsidown but have seen it
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/containers/upside-down-gardening.htm

gdenby

CodyA88 said:

I guess this would be appropriate to ask in this thread, but I have actually been meaning to get in to the hobby and work on my green thumb.  I have 2 iron pot holders hanging over my deck that get plenty of sun.  Each will probably hold 2 pots.  Any suggestion of easy plants/herbs that grow well without a lot of experience?  Was looking to do some jalapenos, tomatoes, green onion, and basil.  Thoughts?

Google "growing tomatoes upside down." Can be done hanging, but the bucket/container needs to be several gallons volume in size.

Some pepper plants are fairly small. Cayenne plants I've grown are about 2' tall. Typically, smaller peppers are hotter, and grow on smaller plants. They like hot soil. Bell peppers can bush up pretty big.

As above, most herbs are easy, and many are suitable for containers. Most herbs can be pinched back without killing the plant.

Containers tend to have warmer soil that ground plantings. Fast bolting plants like leaf lettuce and spinach will grow, but may go to seed too soon.

There are small bean and pea plants, others that might be trained up lines to the hanging hooks. FWIW, all parts of pea plants are edible. Tendrils and leaves make good salad fare.

If you want to try onions, look for "scallions," which only grow to green onion size. Other onion will grow in containers, but a full grown onion may have a flower stalk up to 3' tall.

Elijah

Have some tomatoes and cukes going now. 

Herbs are a very easy grow. I've had a rosemary plant in a pot for two years now without much attention.

nolaegghead

I like to eat gardens.

Chubbs

nolaegghead said:

I like to eat gardens.

You going to post pics of your Mary Jane garden?

kl8ton

One pic is a gate that i built for the garden.  I need the fence to keep the deer and my own chickens out.   The woodchucks just dig under.  I have a pic here of one of my helpers who does quality control, eating all the tomatoes she can.  Another pic of a hen being a hen.  I guess I didn't take a whole garden shot ever.  Shown in one pic is the "tomato" side of the garden.

Dredger

@kl8ton nice garden area. Your helper is a real cutie. A lot going on right now, but I've gotta make a decision on starting my own seedlings or buying them. We do mostly tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.

kl8ton

@Dredger  - thanks.  We did most of our plants from seeds last year.  We are adding on to our house this year and moved out until rennovations are complete.  So.... no garden this year. 

I really want to try straw bale gardening.  No weeds, elevated plants, no tilling.
http://strawbalegardens.com/

Chubbs

kl8ton said:

One pic is a gate that i built for the garden.  I need the fence to keep the deer and my own chickens out.   The woodchucks just dig under.  I have a pic here of one of my helpers who does quality control, eating all the tomatoes she can.  Another pic of a hen being a hen.  I guess I didn't take a whole garden shot ever.  Shown in one pic is the "tomato" side of the garden.

Looks great but around here we call that a farm not a garden?!

Chubbs

kl8ton said:

I really want to try straw bale gardening.  No weeds, elevated plants, no tilling.
http://strawbalegardens.com/

Just do raised bed gardening. Very little weeds in fact I haven't weeded them in 2 years and there are only a few. Plus with raised beds you have them and don't have to get bails of hay every year and there is no need to till. 

Dredger

@kl8ton we looked into straw bale gardening awhile back, but went with Earthboxes instead. Infinitely re-usable, no weeding, and has an automatic watering system available that we'll get around to installing this year. Also you re-use the potting medium for several years.


They work incredibly well and produce a lot in a small footprint.

kl8ton

@Chubbs  "Looks great but around here we call that a farm not a garden?!"

Ha Ha.  I don't have a tractor. . . yet. . . so i am sticking with garden.  :-)

nolaegghead

Chubbs said:

nolaegghead said:

I like to eat gardens.

You going to post pics of your Mary Jane garden?

It's harvest time...even got some free labor to pitch in....