Actual real-life gardening

[Tammy]

How many of you out there are planning to plant actual gardens in the Spring? Do you start any plants from seed ahead of time? If so, when do you start your seeds? In the past, I have had some problems with "damping off" and was wondering if any of you had suggestions on how to prevent that. I think I'm going to plant some seedlings within the next week or two; tomatoes, peppers, etc. Our last frost date here in Oklahoma is mid-April, so I should have some good, strong plants by then. I'd like to hear about your efforts for your gardens. Let's share some tips and tricks.

[April]

I've never gardened anything myself, but my boyfriend has this absolutely wonderful garden in his backyard, one section of roses and rosettes, and herbs of every kind imaginable! He's even got both and apple tree and a cherry tree growing as well, and we were going to save up for a peach tree to buy this year too, I can't wait, I love peaches! He has wild strawberries growing just by the bottom landing of the porch, and wild catnip all over the place along the slate walkway, my kitty looooves it, though I gotta keep an eye on her, or she'll eat herself into a coma with it! Lol!

By the back fence he has a large lavender bush growing, and there's lilies in the koi pond, though we haven't gotten any carp or other koi fish to put in it yet.

We're hoping to plant tomatoes this year, maybe other veggies too, and fruits if was can manage it! I'd like to get ahold of a root of wild spearmint and plant some near the AC unit outback and wait for it to flourish, as spearmint for some reason flourishes near high-voltage units. Lol, lotta goals for the summer, lets see if I can keep up with them! <3

:wink:

[Flying Eggplant]

How is the soil where you are in OK? I lived in Denver for a while and visited OKC and remember it to be very sandy and VERY red.

[Tammy]

April, your boyfriend's place sounds absolutely beautiful! I have lots of flowers and an herb garden, too. I have some spearmint. Would be happy to share, but I wonder how a person could ship that without it dying?

We have 40 acres here, and lots of trees. Tons of pecan trees. We also have a young walnut tree that produced its first walnut this last summer. It was only one walnut, but very exciting! We have a crabapple tree that was loaded this year. I canned every kind of crabapple jam and jelly imaginable and still didn't use them all, but I worked through about 50 pounds of them! We planted three cherry trees last Spring and I'm hoping to add apple, pear and peach trees in the near future.

Our veggie garden didn't do too well last summer because the deer kept eating the plants. This year I plan to put up a tall net fence to try to keep them out. I have high hopes...I love my fresh veggies!

[jcschopper]

I love to garden, but I take the easy way out. I live in WI in a small house with 3 kids and 3 cats. Starting seedlings is out of the question. No space, they would get knocked over or eaten! I buy everything at Steins Garden center. I use alot of perenials. I do have a ton of roses. I have the most success with those. All of my gardens have flowers if we do do veggies, we have a few pots of tomatoes and peppers on our deck.

[jcschopper]

We have 40 acres here, and lots of trees. Tons of pecan trees. We also have a young walnut tree that produced its first walnut this last summer. It was only one walnut, but very exciting! We have a crabapple tree that was loaded this year. I canned every kind of crabapple jam and jelly imaginable and still didn't use them all, but I worked through about 50 pounds of them! We planted three cherry trees last Spring and I'm hoping to add apple, pear and peach trees in the near future.


You make crabapple jam and jelly?!? Are you talking about those little 'apples' on the trees? I was always told as a child not to eat them! So I assumed they were bad for me! I'm always yelling at my kids to not put those in their mouths! Is there a special kind that you can do this with?

[Tammy]

How is the soil where you are in OK? I lived in Denver for a while and visited OKC and remember it to be very sandy and VERY red.

It is red...thus the name of my farm here...Red Earth Farm...LOL

The soil is good as long as you work in compost and manure. We have been at this place for three years now and the garden area is getting better every year. Prior to our moving here, most of the land was used for cattle grazing, so it wasn't too bad to start with...you just have to work it!

[Tammy]

You make crabapple jam and jelly?!? Are you talking about those little 'apples' on the trees? I was always told as a child not to eat them! So I assumed they were bad for me! I'm always yelling at my kids to not put those in their mouths! Is there a special kind that you can do this with?

Crabapples are no good for eating right off the tree like an apple. They are hard and sour. BUT...you can can them and make delicious jams and jellies. Once they are cooked and sugar is added, they taste great! My two favorite things to make from crabapples are Cinnamon Crabapple jelly and Crabapple Butter...yummy!

[April]

April, your boyfriend's place sounds absolutely beautiful! I have lots of flowers and an herb garden, too. I have some spearmint. Would be happy to share, but I wonder how a person could ship that without it dying?

We have 40 acres here, and lots of trees. Tons of pecan trees. We also have a young walnut tree that produced its first walnut this last summer. It was only one walnut, but very exciting! We have a crabapple tree that was loaded this year. I canned every kind of crabapple jam and jelly imaginable and still didn't use them all, but I worked through about 50 pounds of them! We planted three cherry trees last Spring and I'm hoping to add apple, pear and peach trees in the near future.

Our veggie garden didn't do too well last summer because the deer kept eating the plants. This year I plan to put up a tall net fence to try to keep them out. I have high hopes...I love my fresh veggies!

It is, I'm a -very- lucky girl and he's a wonderful man. It's a 4-bedroom 2-bathroom house in a quite little neighborhood about an hour's drive from Denver where he works. he's got a nice little 2-tier backyard with the pathway to walk through the garden. I'd take pictures, but in winter it;s not very flattering looking! Lol. Maybe in spring.

Though I dearly miss the flowering Cherry-tree back at my grandmother's house in Massachusetts. Damn thing wouldn't produce a SINGLE cherry, but it made the most beautiful blossoms! XD ?

I miss the Oak and Maple trees too, and willow trees. I wish we could get a willow and and ebony. T_T I've seen SOME willows out here in CO, rare, but not unheard of.

And Eggplant, where I am, the soil isn't very red, it's actually rather normal-looking, but it's very clay-like. >.o; I was going to ask John if we could clear some room for a blueberry bush, but WAY too much soil-maintenance right now to begin with, and plus...it takes them three YEARS to bear their fruit. Don't feel like waiting that long for pie and muffins. :T Pfft.

[Flying Eggplant]

And Eggplant, where I am, the soil isn't very red, it's actually rather normal-looking, but it's very clay-like. >.o; I was going to ask John if we could clear some room for a blueberry bush, but WAY too much soil-maintenance right now to begin with, and plus...it takes them three YEARS to bear their fruit. Don't feel like waiting that long for pie and muffins. :T Pfft.

Lol.... My name is Dan (You added me in Pirates.. heh)

I was asking if it was red in Oklahoma. That soil is even worse than Denver. Where I was in Denver was sandy and terrible. Now, it did make for excellent drainage. Which would be nice if you actually got enough rain. The opposite was usually true in Denver. Oh, and April... try Ladybugs in your garden if you get a lot of those nasty Denver Ants. There is a gardening place over on the West side where I used to get them and they work great.

The farmers market at Cherry Creek Mall (west side by Bed Bath Beyond) on Wednesdays is an excellent place to pick stuff up if you don't feel like waiting.

[Medigal]

Well I had the whole of my garden patioed - not a blade of grass to be seen and now I just do the pots and baskets.

[Flying Eggplant]

Sadly, I do not have any gardening skills whatsoever. I think the only thing I'd be able to take care of, is a cactus.

Wait ... now that I think about it, that's not entirely true ... I received two Orchid plants as gifts, and they seem to be thriving. Must be doing something right. I am surprised, trust me :girl_wacko:.

Orchids are more difficult than most gardening plants, really....

You should try it. Do you have any place for it? Also, what state are you in? I can look up which climatic zone you are in to try to give you a better idea of what to plant.

[Henny Penny Farm]

I have a small farm, with a great herb garden, several mint varieties, peppermint, spearmint catnip, 2 types of basil, 2 types of sage, rosemary, 3 types of thyme, oregano, chives, horseradish, parsley,chamomile, nasturtiums, (they taste like pepper), red and golden raspberries, wild berries; black caps, wine berries, black raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, red currents, elderberries, mulberries, rhubarb, American chestnuts, butternut and hickory nut trees, asparagus, horseradish, and fruit trees, 3 apple varieties: romes, macs and a Japanese yellow apple,white and clingfree peaches, anjou and bosc pears,and cherries. The vegetables I grow are tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, summer and winter squash and many varieties of lettuce and spinach.
I raise different breeds of chicken for eggs and meat, rabbits, ducks, guinea hens and sheep/lambs. Had turkeys, quail, pheasants and pigs, but I am alone so I can't handle the last four. Myfarm is so much easier and the weather is better!!
Happy farming!!

[Flying Eggplant]

I have a small farm, with a great herb garden, several mint varieties, peppermint, spearmint catnip, 2 types of basil, 2 types of sage, rosemary, 3 types of thyme, oregano, chives, horseradish, parsley,chamomile, nasturtiums, (they taste like pepper), red and golden raspberries, wild berries; black caps, wine berries, black raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, red currents, elderberries, mulberries, rhubarb, American chestnuts, butternut and hickory nut trees, asparagus, horseradish, and fruit trees, 3 apple varieties: romes, macs and a Japanese yellow apple,white and clingfree peaches, anjou and bosc pears,and cherries. The vegetables I grow are tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, summer and winter squash and many varieties of lettuce and spinach.
I raise different breeds of chicken for eggs and meat, rabbits, ducks, guinea hens and sheep/lambs. Had turkeys, quail, pheasants and pigs, but I am alone so I can't handle the last four. Myfarm is so much easier and the weather is better!!
Happy farming!!

Holy Cow! Oh wait... thats in India.

Regardless...wow. ::bows::

[Flying Eggplant]

This is what I've "heard" - I guess by not knowing that, nothing has stopped me from keeping it alive (i.e. I didn't go into it thinking, I am probably going to botch it up) :jester:.

I'd love to try my hand at gardening (thank you very much for offering tips :thank_you2:) but: a) Though originally from California/New York, I am living in Israel at the moment; and b) I live in the city ... I don't have a garden.

Though I could try for a little mini garden somehow ...

Container gardens work well. Get a couple of pickle buckets. When I worked at Subway, we had to throw pickle buckets out, so ask a local sandwich shop if they can save a couple for you. Pop a few holes in the bottom with a 8 penny nail and viola! Container garden!

[Flying Eggplant]

Well, you are in Israel? That's a pretty arid climate. Let me do some looking.

What kinds of things do you like so I get a direction to go in.

[kiah]

its the summer here, and i have since starting myfarm, planted tomato's of varying sorts , corgette's, squash, lettuce, cucumber and parsley in a new little vege garden that i got my hubby to make! i also have herbs of all sorts growing up againt the wall, and a old wheel barrow full of strawberries. we have a lemon tree a lime tree and a madarine tree growing. we only moved here in april so there just starting to produce there first lot of fruit!! very exciting!
its been so nice to read about peoples gardens :) :smile:

[Tammy]

I have a small farm, with a great herb garden, several mint varieties, peppermint, ..........

My goodness! You DO have an actual farm! Kudos to you! It all sounds so wonderful. I have an herb garden, too. I just got it started last Spring, so I have a long way to go, but I have rosemary, thyme, oregano, two kinds of basil, parsley, sage, spearmint, wintergreen, tarragon, chives, and lavendar. I plan to go to the annual herb festival in a nearby city in the Spring to add to my collection. I love to cook with fresh herbs.

I'm jealous that you have so much fruit. That's another area where I want to expand. And I'm hoping for better luck this coming year with my veggie garden (pesky deer!). And, of course, the flowers....lots and lots of flowers. I'm trying to expand my beds with perennials so I don't have to plant the same things every year. I love the anticipation of waiting for them to peek up through the ground each year.

I'm not much into the livestock. Not enough time to do that and the gardens. I don't know how you do it. Ahhh...I long for warm weather!

[Tammy]

This is what I've "heard" from quite a few - I guess by not knowing that (for sure), nothing has stopped me from keeping it alive (i.e. I didn't go into it thinking, I am probably going to botch it up) :jester:.

I'd love to try my hand at gardening (thank you very much for offering tips :thank_you2:) but: a) Though originally from California/New York, I am living in Israel at the moment; and b) I live in the city ... I don't have a garden.

Though I could try for a little mini garden somehow ...

Kaylor, if you are living in Israel right now, why does your location show as Oklahoma City, OK? Is that a glitch?

[Henny Penny Farm]

Tammy;4091]My goodness! You DO have an actual farm! Kudos to you! It all sounds so wonderful. I have an herb garden, too. I just got it started last Spring, so I have a long way to go, but I have rosemary, thyme, oregano, two kinds of basil, parsley, sage, spearmint, wintergreen, tarragon, chives, and lavendar. I plan to go to the annual herb festival in a nearby city in the Spring to add to my collection. I love to cook with fresh herbs.


I also have thousands of perennial bulbs, I put some pictures on my profile page of the animals, flowers and garden are next.The fruit trees are about 15 years old, the berries are from the forties. My husband's grandmother never cut a flower or berry bush down so we inherited them with the property. I only eat what I grow or organic,I'm from a longtime family of dairy farmers!

[Tammy]

I also have thousands of perennial bulbs, I put some pictures on my profile page of the animals, flowers and garden are next.The fruit trees are about 15 years old, the berries are from the forties. My husband's grandmother never cut a flower or berry bush down so we inherited them with the property. I only eat what I grow or organic,I'm from a longtime family of dairy farmers!

Those are great pictures of the animals. I'm looking forward to the flower pics. I posted a few pics of my flowers on my profile page. If I can locate my wildlife pics, I'll post some of them later.

[Tammy1010]

I have a garden every year, started out with just 1 in the back yard, then turned into 2- 1 beside the house and as the trees grew in my yard and neighbors I have 3...I have planted everything, tomatoes, summer squash, lettuce, onions, peppers, strawberries( animals ate those) even planted white pumpkins...sad to say with all the trees growing I'm back to just 1 section now...just Love those fresh tomatoes..One year I had so much even my neighbors stopped taking veggies cause they couldn't eat it fast enough- took all extras to where my Mom used to live at the Old Folks Home, man they loved it...
Now I'm starting lilacs, have 2 small cuttings so far getting them ready for spring..I just love plants...to bad I'm running out of room, lol....Happy Planting All...

[Henny Penny Farm]

The pics were approved, so you can see them now!

[Henny Penny Farm]

I have some spearmint. Would be happy to share, but I wonder how a person could ship that without it dying?

We have 40 acres here, and lots of trees. Tons of pecan trees.

Tammy,

I'll trade chestnuts for pecans!!
Love pecans!
You can ship spearmint-gently pull it up or dig it with soil intact, dampen it and wrap w/ paper towel, plastic wrap and pack it in a box with newspaper. It should last a week, enough time to replant.
Good luck
Diane

[Asspony]

Herbs do well in container gardens. I like to add a little sand to the potting mix to help with drainage. With most herbs, they're OK if you forget to water for a couple of weeks.
Tomatoes also do well in containers, but they need to be watered often.

[Asspony]

Virtual gardening is great, but nothing says summer like home grown tomatoes!

[Asspony]

Alright, maybe tomatoes don't have quite the vocabulary that I give them credit for.
But they are yummy!