Gardeners of AW, unite

shakeysix

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Hey, Caleb,--I bookmarked it. It looks like something I would follow. I also have some acreage. Most of it is productive but there is a corner that was once the homestead. Just a pasture now but from time to time we talk about building there and putting up some grape vines for a vineyard. We are in Kansas. Have you ever thought about grapes? --s6
 

CalebJMalcom

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I have thought about grapes before. Use to be friends with a few winery owners that grew their own grapes. One of them had to retire due to health and the others moved but it isn't overly difficult.

I know some winery owners in Platte City, MO that use miniature sheep to mow under their vineyards, chickens to keep the bugs in check, and an akbash to keep the deer away. The chickens and sheep also fertilize the vineyard.

I will probably do a few trellises with both eating and wine grapes because I love making wine and mead.
 

CoffeeBeans

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We have grapes in our garden, trellised in a way that makes weeding impossible :rant: I always thought they'd be harder to grow, but they did well!

Started putting the garden out yesterday. Woke up this morning to temps barely in the 40s. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for no frosts...

The beginnings

All the blank spaces are for the seeds I've started that aren't strong enough to go outside. The rows at the bottom are loose-leaf lettuce, carrots, radishes, carrots, lettuce. Then, four squares of onions. I had bad luck with them last year, so I might have over-compensated.

We had wild hops growing in the garden. I wanted to keep them, and make beer with them, but they were pulled as weeds :cry:

CalebJMalcom, I'll be following along too! Keep us updated!
 

shakeysix

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I saw wild hops growing in Illinois. They were pretty as well as useful because they were used in brewing. I've thought about trying them but the my garden is hot, dry and very sunny. Not sure how they would do--s6
 

CoffeeBeans

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Basil is already half-dead, and the cherry tomatoes are struggling. I guess as much as I wish it was time to plant, the garden has other ideas.

I supposed I'm happy I kept the other seedlings inside...

On my first two days out in the garden, a bunch of neighbors started to poke their heads out to ask if it was time to plant already. It's nice to know people care about our little lot.
 

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Last year I tried an experiment planting the leftover seeds i had from the preceding year. I had a lot of success, and have done the same thing this year, with similar results. Cabbage family plants from year-old seeds seem to sprout very well. Likewise lettuce and peas and beets/swiss chard.

I feel like an idiot that I never thought of doing this before last year. But if you have leftover seeds in packets, don't though them out. Lots of good left in there.

caw
 

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This weekend I got to play in the dirt. Took all of my old planters and dumped them into a large barrel, mixed with some new dirt and river sand then started everything new. Thankfully I don't think the little freeze will do anything to the seeds I started Saturday. I've got everything centrally located so that a quick toss of a tarp will keep everything safe from frost once it starts to sprout.

Felt so good to get things started. Next project will be getting straw bales into place so that I can get them prepped for gardening. B is going to break down some pallets for at least 2 beds for me then we will fill those for onions and wild flowers. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get a strawberry patch going too.
 

shakeysix

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Saturday was hot--94* registered on one digital thermometer, 89* according to my car. My sister and I visited Garden Centers. Many tempting items but I didn't buy anything. Sunday cold and windy, hovering at about 33*. This morning we have a nice 2 inch blanket of snow and a howling wind! I am waving at my violas and daffodils from my kitchen window. They might pull through. The pear trees in the area are in full bloom. My apricot and peach are just beginning to bloom. Probably going to kiss my peaches and apricots goodbye, again this year. Kansas. --s6
 

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I feel for you Shakeysix. We now have snow though it isn't sticking yet. Fruit trees have just begun to bloom but I don't think it will be too cold this time. Just weird weather. Perhaps we will get snow in May again. *sigh
 

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This morning we have a nice 2 inch blanket of snow and a howling wind! I am waving at my violas and daffodils from my kitchen window. They might pull through. The pear trees in the area are in full bloom. My apricot and peach are just beginning to bloom. Probably going to kiss my peaches and apricots goodbye, again this year. Kansas. --s6

Same feelings here - no snow, but three nights into freezing are coming up. I'm going out with a cardboard box this afternoon, and trying to insulate the struggling tomato plant, the near dead basil, and the hardy spearmint. It goes without saying - I'm glad I kept the other seedlings inside. At least they are looking healthy in the living room. I'm hoping this will be our last frost.

We had our first garden meeting for the year. Suffice to say, I will be "working" or "away" for most of the subsequent meetings...
 

blacbird

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My earliest vegetable seed starts are up. It's tough here in Alaska to get started much earlier, unless you have a heated and growlit space to work in, and this year, I don't, my basement being remodeled.

But things like lettuce, swiss chard, cabbage, a few others are beginning to go.

BUT, one of my major projects this year is to start a huge number of plants from seed, and donate plant starts in a few weeks to the local community garden, where people can grow their own veggies free. Some years ago, when I lived in Texas, I used to bring produce into the coffee room of the major corporate office where I worked, and give it away. I always grew way more than I could eat, just because it was fun. So giving it away, was one of the most satisfying exercises in gardening I ever had.

I no longer work in an environment where I can do that, but I can provide free plant starts for anybody who wants such, so that's what I'm aiming to do.

As an aside, I like to try unusual plants in the garden, and last year I tried something called orach. It's a relative of spinach, used in much the same way, but is dark red, slower growing and more tolerant of heat and dryness. My attempts last year didn't work all that well, I think because where I put it didn't get enough sun. This year I'm starting it in little pots and transplanting in a more sunny place. We'll see.

The stuff I get the most out of in a given summer here is leafy greens (lettuce, bok choy, spinach (and relatives), mizuna, mustard, etc. I eat a lot of fresh salads in the summer. And snap and snow peas, which thrive in my northerly climate.

Plus raspberries and strawberries. And, later in summer, potatoes, which do magnificently up here. Those I'll plant in about a month.

caw
 

Hip-Hop-a-potamus

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More snow here yesterday. Initially, they'd predicted a lovely Easter weekend (we have a long one here), but now it's looking like the snow will stay for a few days.

I LOVE Alberta. :cry:
 

dirtsider

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The only things I planted over the past week or so are the peas and carrot seeds. But they're seeds so they haven't poked their heads above ground. I don't plant anything else until May when the farmer's market opens. Then I buy plants from the local farmers and it's warm enough to plant them outside. I try to get the hardened plants rather than the ones just recently sprung from the green house. But my plot's done, with the exception of the fertilizer that I'll rake in. The soil must be good since I've been seeing a lot of worms this year.
 

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Two inches of ice and snow, and four nights below freezing. My poor garden...

So far, the basil is dead-dead, the cherry tomato might recover, and the spearmint looks like it did when it was first put out. Everything else, thankfully, is still underground except for the onions, but the ground isn't at risk of freezing.

The seedlings in the house are getting too big for their egg carton. Oh well, another week won't hurt, right?

Anyone grown Brussels sprouts before? I've got two seedlings going.
 

Hip-Hop-a-potamus

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Two inches of ice and snow, and four nights below freezing. My poor garden...

Anyone grown Brussels sprouts before? I've got two seedlings going.

We got a heavy HEAVY snowfall this morning. I think around 10 centimeters. :(

I'd be curious about Brussels sprouts too. Haven't tried growing them before. Don't know if I've ever seen them at any of our gardening centers, but would love to try them now that I've become a fan. I wouldn't touch them when I was little because my mother didn't know how to cook them.
 

shakeysix

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Coffee--I did Brussels sprouts. They took off like weeds and I was still cutting them at Thanksgiving time. Jade Cross was the variety, I think. They take a lot of space and the grandkids who stay with me all summer hate them so I will probably do peppers, tomatoes, onion sets and cilantro in their place, so the g-kids can make their own quesadillas and pico de gallo.

Hop-- My mom used to cook them until they were squishy. She used them in a horrible Shepherds Pie that still makes me shudder but my sibs remember fondly. The sets are better than the seed and they don't mind the cold. I like them in rice. If you are doing B. sprouts why not try peas too? So very cold this morning but NO SNOW. --s6
 
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Hip-Hop-a-potamus

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Hop-- My mom used to cook them until they were squishy. She used them in a horrible Shepherds Pie that still makes me shudder but my sibs remember fondly. The sets are better than the seed and they don't mind the cold. I like them in rice. If you are doing B. sprouts why not try peas too? So very cold this morning but NO SNOW. --s6

Yep, overcooked. Blegh. I've since discovered roasting them with olive oil and a little Parmesan. Yum!!!

I could try peas. I'm very much a vegetable newbie, and we have a super short growing season up here. I just want things to look pretty. I don't want ugly rows of just vegetables. I'll mix them in if they look interesting, and the flowers and herbs take precedence. I know there are some good planting combos to keep pests away etc. :)
 

shakeysix

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But you can do nasturtiums, which are hard here because it gets so hot, and maybe scarlet runner beans--pretty red flowers and beans! They are pretty, tucked between rows of vegetables. So are snapdragons. They do well in the cold and come in lots of colors and heights. I have seen sweet peas grown on bean poles. Won't work here--100+ by June. Here in Kansas zinnias and marigolds fill in between vegetable rows. Sunflowers too, but they are invasive--s6
 
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Hip-Hop-a-potamus

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But you can do nasturtiums, which are hard here because it gets so hot, and maybe scarlet runner beans--pretty red flowers and beans! They are pretty, tucked between rows of vegetables. So are snapdragons. They do well in the cold and come in lots of colors and heights. I have seen sweet peas grown on bean poles. Won't work here--100+ by June. Here in Kansas zinnias and marigolds fill in between vegetable rows. Sunflowers too, but they are invasive--s6

Yep, I'm a full-on believer of the power of nasturtiums! Those and cosmos will fill out any blank spot quite nicely.

I learned last year that I need to stake sweet peas. Had never grown them before, and planted them too close to my clematis trellis thing that I bought. I have to see if it made it thru the growing season! I only trimmed them back this past month, since I didn't get a chance to do my winter cleanup last year before snow hit.

And I planted my first sunflowers here last year. Our over the alley neighbor is this crazy freak guy who won't leave me alone, so I purposely planted something LARGE in front of our piece of lattice, which he usually comes and leans on to talk to me. This year I'll have a bit more of a barrier.
 

mccardey

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This is - unbelievably - the THIRD day of no rain in a row! :Sun: Yesterday I weeded most of the vegie circles and put in lots and lots of different kinds of heritage garlic (it's autumn down here) and brought in all the last tomatoes, an obscene amount of jerusalem artichoke, a tub of potatoes of various kinds (all heritage) and oh loads of sweet chillis. And the chickens got out and pecked around in the mulch. It was lovely.

As soon as I've finished my morning coffee, I'mma be out there again - putting in more garlic, some broadbeans, cleaning and mulching the tomato bed for later and moving my hot chili into a container because it's being silly.

It's so lovely to be out in the garden again. :Hug2:
 

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We got lucky today, up here at 61 degrees north latitude, and had a very pleasant 50F day with sunshine. I sat out on the front steps and planted a mess of seeds (broccoli, kale, swiss chard, three kinds of squash, three kinds of lettuce, kohlrabi, a couple of other things). All in transplant pots.

Now, if only it doesn't snow on May 18, like it did last year.

caw
 

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It's time for me to recommend my favorite herb: chervil. You will probably never find this at your supermarket, because it wilts too quickly. But it is dead easy to grow, and fresh chervil is fantastic on fish, in eggs, in salads, and a variety of other uses. It has avery light sweet anisey flavor and a great aroma. I grow it in small pots every summer, multiple plantings every two or three weeks.

caw
 

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The spinach, lettuce and water cress are sprouting. Now to wait on the rest of it.
Yea for veggies!
 

mccardey

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Made chutney with all the green tomatoes and sweet chillis, and hot chillis and apples and some other stuff - all of it from the last of the autumn garden. The house smells amazing!