Gardeners of AW, unite

Amadan · May 18, 2013

I started a 4x4 square-foot garden this year. So far things seem to be popping up pretty good. I have:

Green beans
Peas
Basil
Tomato
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Bell peppers
Onions
Lettuce
Spinach
Carrots

I over-seeded a few squares, so I just had to do some culling (and I probably still need to thin out the carrots). As an experiment, I have transplanted some of the "excessed" vegetables to other locations in my back yard to see how well they do - not well, I suspect, since the unamended soil here is very dense and full of clay.

I have never gardened in my life, so I figure if I get anything edible out of this on my first try, it will be a success.

I have already realized one mistake: I placed the garden under power lines. Which means it gets pelted with bird crap. :rant:

So far all the plants seem to be thriving nonetheless, but leaves keep withering after the unwelcome dose of "fertilizer."

sunandshadow · May 18, 2013

milkweed said:
Do you cook with them as well? One of the food shows recently cooked the greens, apparently they are quite tasty sautee'd

I don't actually like them myself, the spiciness bothers me. But some of my relatives eat them baked and smothered in cheddar cheese. I had sauteed beet greens (chard, but from the kind of beets grown for the roots, not the greens) that were quite good. I made them with olive oil and lemon juice.

Hip-Hop-a-potamus · May 18, 2013

My gorgeous World Peace tulips opened today. This made me happy.

Will post pix soon.

Also plucked, then leveled a layer of dandelions and tilled the living snot out of the rest, pulling out nasty roots and remnants. So I have a new bed. Yay! I also continued my line of stones for edging as I worked. Now I have to work in compost and peat moss. I have a root peony to put in, and I have some other various stuff to try in that area (convolvulus, decorative kale, etc).

I bought some annuals today to put into my various baskets and containers, but I couldn't find any moss while we were out, so I need to do that tomorrow. I think it's going to rain, but it'll by sunny again Monday, so will use my holiday for planting. At last!

milkweed · May 18, 2013

Hip-Hop-a-potamus said:
Also plucked, then leveled a layer of dandelions and tilled the living snot out of the rest, pulling out nasty roots and remnants.

Sobssssssssssssssssss and violently... did you just say you massacred the dandelions??? :Wha:

Hip-Hop-a-potamus · May 19, 2013

milkweed said:
Sobssssssssssssssssss and violently... did you just say you massacred the dandelions???

My next book is going to be called "The Dandelion is My Mortal Enemy."

My problem is that most of the people in this neighborhood don't give a crap about their lawns, so their little friends always end up in my yard. Grrr.....

shakeysix · May 19, 2013

Inside for a cold iced tea and Neosporin break. Just dumped out a flower pot that held an ant fortress. Had no idea they were in there. Thepissed off little bastards swarmed up my pant leg, into my sock and sneaker and under my gloves. I managed to carry the majority of them to a new home in my perennial bed because that is the kind of Christian I am, but I did slap a few into oblivion before my better angels too over! --s6

milkweed · May 19, 2013

It rained, it rained!!! :snoopy:

JustKia · May 20, 2013

Yesterday:
With the help of my 3 little furry friends I transplanted chilli seedlings and one surviving bell pepper seedling into the greenhouse (well, they were already in the greenhouse but in cellular seed trays -- now they're in the actual greenhouse soil). I had wondered why some seedlings had suddenly died off -- turns out that some orange ants had made their home in some of the cells of the seed trays.

Transplanted my tomato seedlings to their new "grown up" home beside the fence. Unfortunately I don't know which are cherry tomatoes and which are regular size as one naughty little furbag tipped over a seed tray while I was at a wedding a few weeks back. Next I transplanted a cauliflower (did plant 4 but between a naughty furbag and the poxy ants...), Brussels sprouts and celery into garden beds.

Potatoes are growing like weeds -- I planted the seed spuds into 10" deep troughs in the garden beds. Kept topping up the troughs which are now 10" high mounds and the haulm is a good 6-7" tall above the soil/compost mix.
Peas and radishes are coming through nicely, beets are starting to show and a few little sweet-corn seedlings popped their heads out to see the sun.

I'm pretty sure the rhubarb is plotting world domination, so I used the excuse of "Rhubarb Taming" to make rhubarb crumble for tea!

Granddad's broad beans and kidney beans are doing great.
I grew up with this garden -- Granddad used to grow enough to keep us all fed -- but I've been without a garden for over 10 years.
I'm back "home" now. The garden is too big for Granddad and so I've dived (dove?) into the deep end and seeing what I can manage to grow all by myself -- don't I feel like a big girl now ROFL

I was really impressed when I returned from church to find hubby had used his own initiative and had done a bucket-load (or 4!) of weeding the pathways -- Yippee!

Chris P · May 20, 2013

sunandshadow said:
What variety do you grow, Clemson? I'm trying Emerald Velvet this year - had too many woodiness problems with Clemson. I was recommended to try Cowhorn for least woodiness problems but I haven't seen it for sale either locally or in the catalog I usually order seeds from.

The packet says "Burgundy." The stems and pods are red, but turn green when cooked.

I don't have much problems with woodiness until they get beyond about eight inches long. We have a lot of fungus/disease problems here, but they seem to hold up pretty well to them. I'm just now getting some problems on the older pods that I'm letting go to seed. The seeds look fine, so I'm not sure if what I'm seeing is just part of the normal senescence of the pods or a disease coming in. The young pods and stems are all fine.

I got them from Echo, which is a food security charity in Florida that gives free seed samples to development workers. The okra and mung beans have been the success stories so far. The sorghum and millet are looking good, as is the jicama and lablab. My cowpeas started off great, but then got hit by a disease when the rains came back. The tarwi (a type of lupine) was a total failure. Jury's still out on the chickpeas; they're starting to look affected by something. I think my biggest problem was the spacing was too close together for such a humid environment that the diseases went bonkers.

Chris P · May 20, 2013

milkweed said:
Do you cook with them as well? One of the food shows recently cooked the greens, apparently they are quite tasty sautee'd

Or even just boiled like spinach. I love radishes, and yes, they are easy and fast.

mrsmig · May 20, 2013

Don't know how I managed to miss this thread after months of browsing the forum, but here I am at last. I love to garden although I admit to being lazy about weeding.

I have two big gardens: one is my annual veggie patch (8 ft x 20 ft) and the other is a fan-shaped ornamental garden on the opposite side of our house. The veggie patch went in early this year and my reward has been a bumper crop of lettuce and spinach, along with some lovely little French Breakfast radishes (if you want to read about the whole shebang, I blogged about it here). The ornamental garden is getting a complete makeover after two years of neglect. A few weeks back my husband and I pulled nearly everything out of it, including two scraggly Japanese hollies and an invasive trumpet vine (I planted it in a moment of insanity years ago). We are slowly reorganizing and replanting. It's about half-done; right now we're waiting on a shipment of plants my mother ordered for me as a birthday gift. The centerpiece of the ornamental garden is a dwarf weeping cherry, currently only a few feet high and wrapped in netting against our projected Brood II cicada outbreak.

My husband and I just celebrated our 20th anniversary and in lieu of gifts, we bought ourselves two more cherry trees - these ones are for the fruit, rather than ornamental. We also bought a fig tree at the same time. Two days ago we planted those in the yard - they're no more than twigs right now, so we'll have a long wait before we enjoy the fruits. Those are also wrapped in netting.

Looking forward to reading about everyone's gardening projects!

Hip-Hop-a-potamus · May 20, 2013

Argh. Thwarted by a rainstorm at 2:00.

Having to give up for the day. If I go back out, I'll be mauled by mosquitoes, and I don't feel like showering with Off again, so I'm hoping that tomorrow afternoon I'll be able to get the rest of my stuff sunk in-- strawberries, my Sarah Bernhardt peony, some herbs, and some violas.

I got the stuff into the top of my gorgeous antique stove, with a layer of moss, a layer of foam peanuts, and then soil, but I watered them in, and they all sank below the top of the stove opening, so I'll have to add some more soil tomorrow too. Grrrrr....

Chris P · May 22, 2013

I've got millet and sorghum nearing readiness, and I'm paranoid of the birds coming. They completely trashed the sorghum another guy here was trying to grow. The seeds are still juicy and sweet, so it's way too early to cut them in the hopes they'll dry hanging inside.

mrsmig · May 22, 2013

Vexed that nearly a month has passed since I planted my green and yellow wax beans, and only a few of them - all yellow wax - have sprouted. I believe the culprit is a cute little chipmunk family that lives under my kitchen stoop. Nothing for it but to replant, and perhaps lay netting over the new attempt to thwart my little striped friends.

Fenika · May 27, 2013

Hellllllllllpppppppppppppp.

I need to make some decisions for my garden. I am, as far as my garden is concerned, assuming I will be getting a job elsewhere and selling the house soonish. (Step one- get job. I should hear back soon on that).

So I need to plan for me (I could be here 2-3 months still, or until forever) and for any potential buyers. I need plants that are easy to care for but should produce something for me in the meanwhile.

Here are my raised beds:

From lower right, counterclockwise: Strawberry patch (non-runnery), 10x4 bed, two 4x4 beds with a nice stairstep effect

, 4x5 bed, and 2x5ish bed (yeah, don't ask).

Here's a better shot of the left side:

Hopefully these imgs aren't massive.

Okay, so the eight peppers are going to go in ground. If I put the blue one from the corner back by the red one, I'll still have two feet for something (you can see the rear six are already sitting in the holes they'll be going into.) I want to mix some cosmos and buckwheat and basil in with the peppers for the pollinators (well not the basil until later). The other pots there I can take with me.

The back of the four by four beds have sweet peas and brocolli (the lower one having the back half taken). There's a bit of spinach in there, and some abused celeriac which I think I shall give up on. So those are two more beds that could use something. Maybe herbs for the lower one? Ideas?

The 4x5 with the metal fencing arched over it will hold 6 zucchinis which just sprouted a few hours ago indoors

I also have some other squash that needs to go somewhere- maybe in front of the peppers? That corner is the last to get morning sun though.

And then the 2x5 needs something. Maybe summer greens? Mustard greens? Anything?

Ion, my raspberry patch went crazy and I should have dug up the babies months ago :\ But if they don't get sick: Raspberry palosa!

shakeysix · May 27, 2013

Take lots of pix. I moved four times and had great gardens each time--so now I have albums of past gardens. More than for my kids--my kids say. About even I'd guess. ==s6

mrsmig · May 28, 2013

Fenika, have you thought about green beans and yellow wax beans? If you're near Hershey, PA, you're in the same growing zone as me, and I've always had really good luck with them. The yellow wax in particular germinate quickly and produce well. Both varieties of garden bean seem to be bug- and disease-resistant - I just plant the beans, water and provide some kind of support, and they do very well.

Did a little blogging about my ornamental garden today, if anyone wants to take a look.

milkweed · May 28, 2013

Flooding here, central Iowa, so no planting of anything because it never stops raining long enough for the soil to dry out. :rant:

Fenika · May 28, 2013

shakeysix said:
Take lots of pix. I moved four times and had great gardens each time--so now I have albums of past gardens. More than for my kids--my kids say. About even I'd guess. ==s6

I always take lots of pics

mrsmig said:
Fenika, have you thought about green beans and yellow wax beans? If you're near Hershey, PA, you're in the same growing zone as me, and I've always had really good luck with them. The yellow wax in particular germinate quickly and produce well. Both varieties of garden bean seem to be bug- and disease-resistant - I just plant the beans, water and provide some kind of support, and they do very well.

Did a little blogging about my ornamental garden today, if anyone wants to take a look.

Pole beans would be fun- I've only grown bush beans. What are yellow wax beans like taste wise or cooking wise?

I could put some beans in the north 4x4 and add supports.

mrsmig · May 28, 2013

To my palate, green beans and yellow wax beans are nearly indistinguishable. The yellow wax beans have a slightly milder taste and don't have the slight "fuzz" of fresh green beans. I like to use both together in dishes because the contrast of colors is so nice.

mccardey · May 31, 2013

I think this is my first time here

In about two weeks, we're moving down to NSW's Southern Highlands, to a lovely 1880s farm manager's house on .6 of an acre of established gardens. Which includes (be still, my heart) a vegetable garden (!!!) and adjacent chicken run. (Also a landscaped front garden all trees and lavender and bulbs. And a little creek. And a cubby-house and hedges and stuff. Heaven!)

To prepare, I've been sourcing heritage seeds, and as of today I have 50 seedlings up and ready to jump and about another 50 just mulling along under the earth. It's winter here, so I'm starting with beans (two varieties) peas (two varieties), lettuce (Australian yellow leaf), kale, beetroot (three varieties), carrots (ditto), cabbage (ditto) capsicum (mixed) and broccolini.

I can't wait. I really can't. It's like Christmas.

ETA: The vegie garden already has orange, lemon, apple, bay, berries - all sorts of stuff. It's been owned for almost 20 years by a landscape designer who specialises in edible gardens. So that's a pair of very big wellies to fill! I'm so excited!

Hip-Hop-a-potamus · May 31, 2013

mccardey said:
I think this is my first time here

In about two weeks, we're moving down to NSW's Southern Highlands, to a lovely 1880s farm manager's house on .6 of an acre of established gardens. Which includes (be still, my heart) a vegetable garden (!!!) and adjacent chicken run. (Also a landscaped front garden all trees and lavender and bulbs. And a little creek. And a cubby-house and hedges and stuff. Heaven!)

To prepare, I've been sourcing heritage seeds, and as of today I have 50 seedlings up and ready to jump and about another 50 just mulling along under the earth. It's winter here, so I'm starting with beans (two varieties) peas (two varieties), lettuce (Australian yellow leaf), kale, beetroot (three varieties), carrots (ditto), cabbage (ditto) capsicum (mixed) and broccolini.

I can't wait. I really can't. It's like Christmas.

ETA: The vegie garden already has orange, lemon, apple, bay, berries - all sorts of stuff. It's been owned for almost 20 years by a landscape designer who specialises in edible gardens. So that's a pair of very big wellies to fill! I'm so excited!

Sounds beautiful, McCardey! So excited for you!!

Fenika · Jun 1, 2013

We demand pics! And welcome

mrsmig · Jun 1, 2013

Green with envy, mccardey!

Fenika · Jun 1, 2013

Me again

I spent the morning in my garden, weeding and tidying up a little and weeding and planting some pattypans. So first, some more showing off the progress, with apologies for the pic heavy post and I still can't figure out how to resize.

Green basil is coming up nicely. The purple hybrids are scarce and slow.

Zucs transplanted last night:

And looking much better with straw:

Rain barrel with the critical water bowl beneath it.

Thornless blackberry (look at all the flowers!), some feral cosmos around it, and downhill a cap on the two pattypans on a mound. I think I'll put another pattypan mound where the long white pot is sitting.

Mass raspberries! There's a few strays I can safely dig up but I don't know where to put them atm. (Somewhere where the damn roses are, after I dig up some roses).

Gardeners of AW, unite

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