OT -- Any gardeners out there?

Scottborasjr

@Eggcelsior this is the absolute novice in me coming out, is that something you can easily procure at a Home Depot or Lowe's? When you say small greenhouse I'm not quite sure what you are bringing up. Are we talking a temporary thing to set over the soil, or something that goes in the yard?  Is this something that can be reused yearly? Or is it a once a year thing. 

Sorry for all the stupid questions, I've had a few cocktails, and wasn't thinking gardening til about 15 minutes ago. 

caliking

 I'm jealous of everyone's gardens! I built 2 large raised beds when we lived in Iowa (80 sq ft) and we grew tons of stuff - tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, herbs, pumpkins, and other stuff I can't remember. I was the labor, SWMBO was the brains behind the operation. Only things we can get to grow here in Houston are peppers and herbs. I had bird's eye, habanero, and jalapeno's last year.

UrbanForestTurnings

Scottborasjr said:

See @UrbanForestTurnings you are talking zones and I have no idea what you are talking about. I'm in Eastern Nebraska. Would love to plant earlier, but we don't have a very long season for your typical garden fare. Tomatoes, Peppers and Cucumbers are the usual suspects and planting too early means losing your plants. 

Check out the USDA zone map. . Your probably 4.a you need to get thinking fast with a short season

Scottborasjr

Thank you sir, I will start planning better on my next day that I'm not on a cooking forum at 1am. I just know how much I enjoyed having tomatoes and peppers at my disposal the first two months we lived here. 

UrbanForestTurnings

2am my time 8-}

Durangler

@pagman, 

That's not a banana tree! 

) )

But the rest of your vegetables look great!

Bananas grow bottom side up! 

Chubbs

If anyone wants drip irrigation supplies, check out sprinkler warehouse online. I am in now way connected to the company but they sell DIG corporations products at great prices with free shipping once you go over. $149. Which I did because I bought a time,etc.

If you don't have room for a greenhouse, start seeds indoors in a grow box made from Tupperware with a 1600 lumens bulb. Excellent results last year and come last freeze transplant away.

gdenby

Been gardening off and on most of my life. At present, have a space about 25' x 15' w. some containers here and there.

A few years ago, I bought a small cold frame,which has proved very useful. I can set p[lants out well before the last frost, and have harvested spinach in December.

Weeds have become more and more of a problem. W. age, its harder for me to pull them up. And for the past decade, open fires have been banned in the city. Used to burn off some leaves every spring on the garden, which kept the soil pretty clean. Last summer, I covered most of the plot w. black plastic, and am hoping the heat will have killed off the weed seeds and some of the grass roots.

Note, be careful of what you plant. Some herbs can grow like weeds, and it will be very hard to control them.

I would recommend an herb garden to anyone that has at least a little space and good light. Fresh herbs are not common in most of the stores around me, and those that have them charge ridiculous amounts for tiny batches.

While I do grow some vines each year, cukes and zukes for instance, I really don't have that much room for them. Have been learning to do garlic, shallots, leeks which are always good to have, and typically are rather expensive. Or things that don't show up often at the markets, like golden beets or salsify.

Chubbs

I agree @gdenby, I have a few herb beds as well. I do a lot of herb crusted pork and makes it real easy to get from yard. I want to try shallots. I have not had luck with onions going from seed or buying sets. When I buy sets they just don't get big bulbs. I like to tell others I grow "cocktail onions"

anton

I am the worst gardener, but I love the benefits, I have quite a wild yard, but it gives me free Meyer lemons,  navel oranges, Gala apples, avacadoes, pomegranates. I have not experimented with any other crops yet, other than an unmentioned one that is grown in Ca a lot, nod wink.
>-

gdenby

Chubbs said:

I agree @gdenby, I have a few herb beds as well. I do a lot of herb crusted pork and makes it real easy to get from yard. I want to try shallots. I have not had luck with onions going from seed or buying sets. When I buy sets they just don't get big bulbs. I like to tell others I grow "cocktail onions"

I've never had great really big onions. A friend said they need lots of sun, and my plot doesn't get early morning light, and a neighbors tree now shades it in late afternoon. But I have grown them both from sets and seeds. I let 1 or 2 go to seed each year.

I've only done shallots a couple of times. 1 year I got nothing, I suspect maybe a squirrel ate them during the winter.

Garlic has been a little easier. Hard neck garlic also yields scapes, the immature flower heads. Those are good by themselves.

NPHuskerFL

We had a very large garden in NE when I was a kid. The wife and tried several times here to have a garden. Our property is not flat by any means (it slope with different elevations which adds to its natural beauty). The last time we tried we spent a small fortune and at the time we were hit hard that year with a drought, crazy bugs and relentless critters. Thus ixnay the ardengay. Now we plant some select herbs and occasionally tomatoes in pots close to the house.

Legume

We have about 2" of soil on top of limestone and a sloping yard, so we cut shallow terraces into the limestone and put in a simple platform ringed by landscape stones and filled with crushed rock. On top of that, we installed 2x2x6 galvanized livestock tanks that are lined with poly sheeting, filled 1/3 with rock and 2/3 with soil. Each tank has drip setup in it on a timer and drain holes punched in the bottom.

This is the west side of the house, so with the light brick, it gets stupid hot over there during the summer. The height of the tanks has helped with rabbits and other pests. The volume helps keep the soil from overheating and cooking the roots during the dog days. Tomatoes, peppers, squashes, lots of herbs. We just crowd it in which also helps with the heat.

I have never liked fresh tomatoes but have started eating some of the small sweet ones we've grown. Not what you get in a store by any means.

Eggcelsior

@scottborasjr you can find small ones at home improvement places. They can even be put on tabletops.

Chubbs

@Legume -- I like it. Great idea

paqman

@Sardonicus - @Durangler is right, this is not a banana tree :^o

I took this picture as a joke in another thread this summer.

SWMBO would like to have a raised bed garden. It may happen this summer but I would need to cut 3 large pine trees... For now, growing in pots works well. We get more cherry tomatoes than we can eat. Hot pepper plants are amazingly productive. I was disapointed with the jalapeños but in October the plant produced non-stop for 3 weeks in a row...

logchief

I grow really hot peppers and tomatoes.  I usually start from seed but haven't this and last year because I was working out of town. 

One year I grew some of these

Dredger

We got a late start last year. We had to figure out what to plant the veggies in since an in-ground sprinkler system ruled out the yard. We went with Earthboxes since they are a complete system. Once you plant them, all you have to do is manage pests and water them. We started with 2 and ended up, so far, with 12. We had to put them on the driveway since all porch areas were shaded by either a roof or trees. This year will be tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. We will also be growing from seeds. We fell in love with Heirloom tomatoes, so we'll be planting a lot of those this year. We're adding the automatic watering system this year to make it even easier.

gdenby

Just one more small note.

I learned last year all parts of the pea plant are edible.They can be planted as soon as the soil is soft, but well before the last frost or even snow. My sprouts survived under an inch or 2 of snow last year.

The stalks are, erm, chewy. But the leaves and tendrils make fine salads. There is a dwarf variety called "Tom Thumb" which can grow in a flower pot. I haven't had many peas from them, but now that I know the leaves are good, that's not much of a problem.

Firemanyz

Decided since it was 60 outside today I wanted to get what will be the garden this year covered in black plastic. Hope it works in killing some of the weeds.

Firemanyz

I was using anything and everything I could find in the shed to hold it down.

paqman

@dredger would you recommend the earthbox system?

Dredger

@paqman absolutely. This is the first year that hubby and I have been wildly successful growing in containers. As stated, the yard wasn't an option, so this worked great. You need to follow instructions and use the recommended potting soil and fertilizer, but the website has videos on how to set them up. The great thing is you can re-use the potting mix for several years without having to replace it. For each new planting, you add dolomite and fresh fertilizer and you're good to go. You can pick that up at any garden center or Lowes. If you go to their website, click on the link for the forum. Just like this place, everyone is very helpful and willing to help. If you noticed in the pictures, there is a little opening at the front bottom and you add water through the black tube until it runs out of that opening and you know you have just the right amount of water in there. That was one of my problems, I always over watered other container plants. This system overcomes my black thumb, lol. The cover is part of the system that maintains the correct level of dampness to the mix and that also keeps weeds out. You really only have 2 things to do. 1. water through the tube and 2. control garden pests.

Sea2Ski

Growing up, we always had a good sized garden. I learned from my parents that if you have good soil, nature will let you know what you can grow. When bought my house, I thought I would have a great garden. I had the space and everything, but was worried about lack of light.

First year - I fed the local deer, rabbits and chipmunks really well. They ate everything. Bastards.
Second year, wire mesh for first 2 feet, and other fencing for the deer. I was successful against the deer and rabbits. I could not beat the other rodents. Any plant not eaten by a rodent, did not produce, so I gave up vegetable gardening.

But I loved to garden. So I hired a landscaper to regrade, and place any stone you see in the pictures that you do not think you could move yourself somehow. The rest I did over the last 4 years - first year all stone work, the stream, and brought in and hand mixed soil and other organic material for top notch planting soil. Second year was plants. Third year was lighting and last year I replaced a few plants and enjoyed it. This year deck support posts will be like the railing posts - covered in natural stone.

So now I put a few pepper plants on the deck in containers, and some herbs. I get all my peppers the last 2 weeks in August. Everything else I get year round at the store.

Here are a few pictures from last winter early spring and late spring. While I love what I have, I miss growing vegetables more.

Chubbs

@Sea2Ski I am super jealous of that flagstone. Been planning mine for a few years. Every time I save the money something comes up. One day.

Sea2Ski

Chubbs said:

@Sea2Ski I am super jealous of that flagstone. Been planning mine for a few years. Every time I save the money something comes up. One day.

@Chubbs Thank you.  If you are in any kind of physical condition (I have no idea if you are) you can do it yourself. 
The walkway is 26 feet long, 5 ft wide, and It cost me $160 for the flagstone, ~$80 for stone dust, ~ $40 an angle grinder, ~$20 masonry blade, and finally 2 bags gator dust (I forget.that cost).  That is less than $400 if you do not count your time and assuming you have other common tools like a hand tamper and 4 foot level etc..  One of the most satisfying projects I have done.

Chubbs

@Sea2Ski, yes I like to think I am in good shape but wife may tell you otherwise . Kind of have a bad back. I am planning on doing it myself. Where you live to get flagstone that cheap?? I have priced every place in my town and I can't get it anywhere near that. Lucky

Sea2Ski

I am lucky to have a quarry about 20 miles away. They sell it by the the square foot, not the ton. If you can find that, you are golden. You only need something 2-4" thick, depending on overall surface size (the larger the thicker). If I can do it, so could you.

tarheelmatt

Love to garden!  Hope to add another raised bed this year.  

Chubbs

Nice @tarheelmatt. Looks good. It's hard not to go bigger every year.