Does anyone like to garden?

[ally99]

Does anyone else here like to grow your own veggies? I have a spring/summer, and a fall garden every year. It's a hobby I learned to love from my father-in-law, "Dad", about 3 years before he passed away last September.
This year I'm growing corn (his seeds he gave me last spring...and the corn is beautiful!), cucumbers (slicing and pickling), and 5 varieties of tomatoes. The tomatoes are doing awesome! Look at this picture of a nearly 3-pounder I just harvested! And yes, it was delicious!
Plans are to double the size of my garden bed for next spring. What do you all like to grow, if anything?

[whiteboy]

I like fruits... So I grow strawberries and such which are mainly inside. I try every once in a while to do tomatoes and squash. But since I move alot I haven't had a chance for a real garden like yours. Nice tomato by the way. But il be out soon and will be buying a house in about 2 months so I will get a chance to make a green house like iv always wanted.

[Johnnyscoots]

My girlfriend has a small 4' x 20' plot at her apt. We're growing swiss chard, peppers (hot and sweet) tomato, peas, and eggplant. So far the chard has yielded some very flavorful leaves! Looking forward to a place together with more land (bigger garden).

Johnny

[Racer x]

I have a small veggie garden with watermellon squash cucumber doing well .in pots I have mint sage strawberry and tomato. By the fence I have blueberry rasberry and fig.but the fig s not doing so well. My squirrel planted sunflowers next to a power pole . I just do it to fill odd spots in the yard. I also like to plant trees. I made a groove of five trees .the city was giving them away so I took them . They are two years old and sprouting all over. In a couple years a hammic will hang between them nicley.

[CC Cowboy]

I have an herb garden.

[ally99]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

I have an herb garden.

Nice. Herbs are good.

[Honko]

That....is a magnificent looking tomato.

[bluepoof]

Nice tomato!!! I tried to grow tomatoes last year and they wound up with some sort of fungal disease.

This year I'm lazy and am primarily doing flowers. I have a porch garden with about a dozen pots and a 8' by 1' raised "square foot garden" type planter that my husband made me.

Here's last year's garden; I don't have pics uploaded this year yet:

[CynicalC]

I live in a pretty small apartment and gave up my balcony when I moved, so indoor gardens only for me. I had 6 houseplants and 4 of them just outgrew their pots and died :/

[ally99]

Originally Posted by Honko

That....is a magnificent looking tomato.

Thank you! It was one of the best I'd ever tasted. If you grow tomatoes, I highly recommend the heirloom, Brandywine. This is my first year growing them, and now I can see why everyone raves and raves about its taste. Beautiful and makes a delicious BLT!

Originally Posted by bluepoof

Nice tomato!!! I tried to grow tomatoes last year and they wound up with some sort of fungal disease.

Here's last year's garden; I don't have pics uploaded this year yet:

Carolyn, is that the view in your backyard? OMG, it's beautiful! So are your beautiful flowers! Wow!

[Jiggles]

I am growing some Ghost Chili's and then I am going to attempt to make some of the spiciest food on earth

[wtfh4xx]

Be careful... those things can send you to the hospital.
No joke, been there done that. And my friend still grows the damn things lol.

[Indy250r]

From last years crop. No garden this year, we're trying to move!

[CThunder-blue]

Awesome looking tomato Ally. I don't care for them much myself. I just planted a Meyer lemon tree, a Mexican Sweet Lime tree, and a Japanese Satsuma Plum tree. Between work and projects, it's difficult to find time to do any gardening. When we bought our house, it had 2 fruit trees already. It has a Loquat tree in the back and a white peach tree in front. Very sweet! I want to do a watermelon plant and some basil. I love fresh basil.

[ally99]

Thanks Tri! I never was a huge fan of raw tomatoes myself until I started growing them. A summer hobby of mine is canning them so I can use them in my soups and pastas all year long.
Fresh basil is wonderful. I recently uprooted 2 basil plants because I let them start flowering, plus my garden bed was just too small to accommodate them along with my maters, cukes, and corn.
Do you just have one peach tree? Does it produce well?

[CThunder-blue]

I only have the one peach tree. It produces small fruit maybe the size of an apricot, if not a little bit smaller. However, they are really sweet . I've never been a fan of peaches, since I prefer nectarines, but free is free . It's been sprouting some fruit, but it's still all green. I don't think they ripen until the fall. It does produce a good amount though. I'm on the fence about planting an apple tree. I love the smell of apple blossoms but it requires another tree to germinate. I'm pretty much out of space in my back yard. LOL

Now, canning the tomatoes to use for pastas and stuff sounds like a great idea! I just don't cook enough to want to grow them. I may try a bell pepper plant though. How did you grow the corn? My family had a small patch of land when I was really young and my mom planted corn one year. Delicious! I love corn in just about any dish.

I'm getting hungry.

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by wtfh4xx

Be careful... those things can send you to the hospital.
No joke, been there done that. And my friend still grows the damn things lol.

Ah, but what if that's the point?

[ally99]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

How did you grow the corn?

I have always heard that peach trees also need a companion to help pollinate, but if you've had success with just one tree, then maybe you should try an apple tree too! I have a plum tree that just started producing over the past 2 years (it's only 5-6 years old). The birds always beat me to most of its fruit though.
I use compost in my garden, so it keeps the soil nice and fertile. I just plant 4-5 rows of Silver Queen corn and watch it grow! Corn is pretty easy to grow, much more so than tomatoes in my opinion. Fewer pests seem to disturb my corn, and since I grow organic, fewer pests = much less work for me! Corn is delicious, you're right on!

[CThunder-blue]

I think it's because here in CA, if you don't have at least 1 fruit tree on your property, you're a whacko. LOL. I think someone nearby has a mate to the peach tree.

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

I think it's because here in CA, if you don't have at least 1 fruit tree on your property, you're a whacko. LOL. I think someone nearby has a mate to the peach tree.

I thought CA was full of whacko fruits. The mate to the peach tree would be a pear tree.

[CThunder-blue]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

I thought CA was full of whacko fruits. The mate to the peach tree would be a pear tree.

Can a pear tree pollinate an apple tree? I've read that an apple tree can pollinate a pear tree.

We're not all fruity in CA .

[mrlmd]

There's nothing as good as going out to the garden and picking really fresh veggies, better than you get in any store. Tomatoes, peppers, bay, thyme, carrots, beets, radishes, scallions, arugula, lettuce, lemons, limes, cilantro, mint, rosemary, and sh*t, we even got 2 cantelopes growing out of a plant coming out of our compost heap. The best thing is to get $100-200 worth of fresh food from $5 of seeds, and only have to walk 10 feet or so. It occupies my S.O. also and keeps her very happy and out of trouble (like in the stores) while accomplishing something worthwhile.

[CynicalC]

I am thinking about getting some pepper plants for my indoor pots! I would use the peppers, but they would be mostly decorative I guess. I hear they can be very resilient and maybe my cat would stay away from them.

[mrlmd]

Some of those little red peppers are REALLY hot, Don't touch them and then put your fingers near your eyes.

[ally99]

Originally Posted by mrlmd

There's nothing as good as going out to the garden and picking really fresh veggies, better than you get in any store.

I wholeheartedly agree!

Originally Posted by mrlmd

The best thing is to get $100-200 worth of fresh food from $5 of seeds, and only have to walk 10 feet or so. It occupies my S.O. also and keeps her very happy and out of trouble (like in the stores) while accomplishing something worthwhile.

Do you do raised beds? I feel I spend more than I get out of my garden, even though I preserve my tomatoes and corn to use all year. However, after buying garden soil, lime, and any other amendments my soil may need, it all adds up. I make my own compost, so I don't have to spend much on fertilizer other than blood meal and bone meal here and there. If all you buy are the seeds and you have a successful garden, that's admirable!

[mrlmd]

I built one raised bed out of 2'x12'x12' lumber left over from the building of my house a few years ago, made it 4 ft. wide, then filled it with a combination of dirt and compost in bags from Walmart, It worked out so well that I had to expand it, double the length and size, this past year as a gift to my SO who was having so much fun going out and picking our dinner salad each day, not to mention weeding and planting, etc. We use an organic fertilizer every once in a while and some compost now and then, and I would estimate the biggest cost was the initial investment for the soil which was probably recouped in the first year or so for the value of the crops we harvested. If you get good soil to start with it really pays off, instead of just "dirt" or "fill". which you cannot ever really get right.
I forgot to mention, she also planted some zucchini, which if you are not careful, grow humongous and want to take over the whole space. Don't waste time and effort and space with things like cucumbers. Although they have some taste, they have almost 0 nutritional value.
We had a little problem with some critters eating our green peppers (and seemingly not anything else) when the plants were young, and I think it was marsh rats. A cube or two of rat poison scattered around between the plants seemed to do the trick.
The only really important thing you have to do is to water it every day so it doesn't get too dried out in the heat down here. And full sun all day is a good thing if you have the space.

[rockNroll]

When I was a kid I had to till the garden. My dad would then plant. I would then maintain the damned thing from then on. Watering, weeding - etc. People would be over at our place for dinner and talking up how great the stuff from the garden was... my Dad's garden! His chest would be all swelled up with pride.. pfft! Oh, and I hated most of the stuff I grew

[ally99]

Originally Posted by mrlmd

Don't waste time and effort and space with things like cucumbers. Although they have some taste, they have almost 0 nutritional value.

Cucumbers take very little time or space if you let them grow up a trellis. I know the nutritional value is naught, but they sure are a low-cal, cool snack on a hot summer day, and I put very little effort or time into my cukes. I plant, mulch, and harvest.

Originally Posted by mrlmd

The only really important thing you have to do is to water it every day so it doesn't get too dried out in the heat down here. And full sun all day is a good thing if you have the space.

I wouldn't say watering is the "only really important thing you have to do". If only a prolific, healthy garden were that easy! Soil preparation (most important!), adequate pollination, and minimizing pests are also pretty crucial. One thing to be careful of is watering too much. I'm in Ga, so our heat level isn't too far away from yours in Florida. Watering every 2-3 days deeply is much better for your garden than watering daily. It allows the plants to grow deeper root systems whereas shallow watering keeps the roots, well, shallow. I've seen the results of shallow watering. It will allow for several tomatoes (or whatever you're growing) per year, but your more prolific "jungle-type" of garden is grown in well-prepped soil by watering deeply more often.

[mrlmd]

I don't have a bug or slug problem or any other pests with the raised beds, other than what has been chewing off the peppers and that's only when they're young and small, and I think that's been solved.
With my raised beds, if I don't water just about every day, they get pretty dried out in the sun and heat, so I do water them just about every morning, and more than just superficially.
I started out with good soil and just add a little organic fertilizer when we plant a new crop or every once in a while if we have really good growth, and the stuff we use does not burn or overdose the plants. We really do very little maintenance other than water, pick an occasional weed (mostly Dollar Weeds that pop up down here in FL), or pick veggies and cut off lettuce or arugula to eat. It's very little work tending our garden.
I wish there was some way to see the size of the carrot before you pull it out of the ground.

[ally99]

Do you mulch? If not, a thick layer of mulch would help keep the water from evaporating from the soil. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with daily waterings. I've got family who does it and gets enough from their garden for them to enjoy, however, I like to preserve what I grow, so I like to grow a LOT! Compare my jungle of a sprawling garden with ample fruit to their more skeletal plants which may bear 10-15 tomatoes each throughout the season. To each his own in regards to the "right" way. I can only say what works for me. Plus, I don't live in Florida, so I'm sure that makes a difference.
Yeah, I agree, carrots are a pain since you can't see them before you pull em!

[mrlmd]

Is your garden in the ground, or a raised bed? How big is it?
My tomato plants right now are about 5' tall and have stopped bearing flowers and fruit because of the heat, but I heard if you keep them alive, they will start making tomatoes again when it cools off. I'd like to see that. (more tomatoes AND cooling off). There are also a fair number of fig trees around here and you can pick them off when you go by, we have planted a few little ones and got 2 figs this year so far. We have an olive tree growing we planted 2 years ago and got about 30-40 olives off of it last year, and also have a few small banana trees that pop up in the early spring and die back in the winter.
If it grows and you can eat it, I'll try and plant it.

[Nemesis]

I actually like it but I'm ready to do away with all my flowers/fruits/veggies cuz it attracts way too many bugs.

I really dislike bugs.

[CThunder-blue]

Has anyone grown a watermelon from a store bought watermelon? I have a seedless watermelon I just opened up (very sweet!) and it has a few seeds. Just curious if it's worth trying to grow. Should I just buy a plant instead? Watermelon is probably my favorite fruit. I do like asian fruit a lot, but they're not easy to grow in this climate.

[GeneJunkie]

It's not worth trying to grow watermelon from seed that came from the grocery store. They are often hybrids (actually seedless have to be hybrids) and would probably taste awful if you were able to get the seed to germinate and then produce fruit.

I would suggest buying seed or just seedlings ready for transplant. Since seedless watermelons don't produce their own pollen you would have to plant a seeded variety with the seedless so cross pollination can occur.

... or just continue to buy watermelon from the grocery store or local farm stand lol

[CThunder-blue]

LOL. Thanks Cindy. Nice to see you're still alive . I guess I'll have to find a place that has a watermelon plant.

[GeneJunkie]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

LOL. Thanks Cindy. Nice to see you're still alive . I guess I'll have to find a place that has a watermelon plant.

Wow I was missed

Good luck with the hunt

[CThunder-blue]

Of course! I haven't found anyone that's as good as you on the Words game yet

[mrlmd]

I had a cantaloupe grow out from my compost bin, extending about 4-5 ft. out on the yard and we let it grow and it produced 2 really good melons, only about the size of a softball, but really good. The the intense heat got to the plant and it stopped flowering. That thing sprouted from seeds that were scraped out of a melon we bought in the store and were put into the container we keep in the kitchen for scraps before dumping it into the pile every few days.

[Honko]

If only all the surprises we came across in life were that delicious.

[CThunder-blue]

Do you think they make hybrid cantaloupes? I think Cindy's point was that the seedless watermelon variety is a hybrid and they don't grow right unless you have the right setup for it.