Garden thread.

[Daddymem]

Try Earthboxes:
http://www.earthbox.com/

If you are handy, make your own and use Earthbox for planting guide:
http://www.josho.com/gardening.htm
Add the Earthbox self waterer or make your own and you have a pretty low maintenance system.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7458996@N06/sets/72157603652656573/

[Daddymem]

My seedlings.

I've got yellow tomatoes, red tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, asters, sweet basil, and soon Cape gooseberry under my lights in anticipation for this growing season.  I used the coffee filter method to germinate my seeds.

The tomato seeds were saved from last years crop and I expected very low germination...boy I guessed wrong.  So when I transferred the germinated seeds to the soil-less mix under lights I thought perhaps some would not push up through the soil...again wrong.  I'm going to have tomato seedlings coming out of my ears soon.  So much for the second germination round to space crops out....
Can't wait to go play in the dirt.

[glenn kangiser]

That's great, Daddymem.  You are quite the farmer.

If you had them close last year, you may end up with some interesting new varieties, but they should still be good.

Our broccoli and kale crossed and made a broccoli/kale  that is edible - looks like broccoli with colored leaves but gets tough soon if it gets too big.

[tanya]

My tomatoes are big already and I repotted a bunch yesterday.  I still have a bunch more to do.  HUndreds, literally and I must admit I am already bored with it all.  It is great at they are big and really good healthy plants but I am ready to get outside!!!  OK I shouldn't complain and it isn't like I am in a hurry to do that raking I need to do.  Still I find my thoughts wondering right past the garden on to the beach. 

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Daddymem, if you want some tomatoes with a terrific germination rate, get some Matt's Wild Cherry.  I think every single seed of every little tomato that the chipmunks took off with the last two years in Wisconsin germinated.  We had tomatoes coming out our ears, but thankfully they were the tiny ones that end up in each day's salad... they also have such a good flavor, I didn't pull out any of the volunteers, even the ones that took over the stair rail on the back porch.

[glenn kangiser]

Seems that would give you hearing problems, Homegrown, but quite novel. hmm

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

   OK, Glenn, that was pitiful.

[glenn kangiser]

Sorry 'bout that, Homegrown.  I suppose that once you've removed them and put them in the days salad, you can ketchup on the things you didn't hear earlier. [deadhorse]

[Sassy]

Took a couple pix of the garden today while weeding & watering...  yep, already have to start watering things 

[Redoverfarm]

Can't believe the difference in climate of yours as compared to mine. Had a few bulb flowers starting to come up. Got the ends of their leaves burnt by the snow and cold. But it won't be long now. God I still have to find some ever-bear strawberry plants.  Hate to order them as the shipping will cost me double what they are worth.

[glenn kangiser]

Our conditions are exceptional even for here, John.  People in the valley 1/2 mile below us may still be freezing once in a while. Fresh carrots and fresh broccoli soup today.

[PEG688]

Sorry 'bout that, Homegrown.  I suppose that once you've removed them and put them in the days salad, you can ketchup on the things you didn't hear earlier. [deadhorse]

  You put ketchup on your salad You are wierd , well either way 

[glenn kangiser]

I have to keep trying, PEG to stay a step ahead of you.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Girls and I finally couldn't stand it any longer.  We planted some spinach, tomatoes, basil, and carrots in containers and will see what happens.  I bought tomato plants rather than starting them from seed because it is so late already.  We also bought a few pepper plants to put in the front flower beds.  I'm terrible with containers because I tend to let them get too dry.  Hopefully I'll remember to water them.  When I build a garden, I always try to do it where I won't have to water too often and make the most of the rain we get.  With my raised beds, I put drip hoses underneath to water them deep down, so I don't have to do it all that often because the things like tomatoes and peppers often get root systems larger than the above ground part of the plant.  Most of the front flower beds (the best growing location at our rent house) are full of cannas.  I'm looking forward to them blooming and to see what colors they are.  It's hard to be motivated to clean out the flower beds here since it's not even our dirt.   Or our choice of plants.  But cannas are cheerful and easy, so I think they'll be pretty when they do bloom.  I just wish that it was a veggie garden instead.  I am also going to plant some perilla because my Korean MIL is going to be here most of the summer and would like to have it and leaf lettuce and peppers on hand at all times for making Korean food.  (MIL announced to DH the other night that she now wants to stay three months instead of two, if she can get her doctor to give her 3 months worth of her BP meds!)  Oh boy.  I'm looking forward to it, really.
No, seriously.

[glenn kangiser]

Great on starting the garden.  Ya' all will enjoy it.   

MIL will be a great help, I'm sure. 

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Hope so.  She's a good gal, but VERY opinionated and often without any reason to be so... stubborn doesn't even begin to describe her.  And also pretty superstitious.  DH and I think that probably the reason she miscarried more than 5 times before she was able to carry him to term was because of superstitions about different foods... she was most likely malnourished.  Sometimes I am really surprised that DH survived to adulthood.     I'm both looking forward to and dreading her visit.  I wish that FIL was coming too... he and I can really connect in the realm of growing things and fishing... stuff we both enjoy and have in common.  Plus, he thinks I'm the greatest thing since steamed rice.  He has a drinking problem, but other than that is the most likeable person you could hope to meet.  MIL is practical, a good people-person, but awfully hard-headed when it comes to some things.  My FIL could probably teach me a lot about container gardening... when I lived with them in Korea, he grew a lot of chilies and tomatoes, green onions, and lettuce in the street in front of their house.  He used styrofoam containers (like the packing material around electronics, etc.) as flats for growing the lettuce and peppers.  He recycled old buckets, etc., for the tomatoes, etc.  He used to make the neighbors all mad by taking up all the street in front of the apartment with his plants... they didn't like not having a place to park.  Didn't stop them from helping themselves to the vegetables, though.

[muldoon]

We are also doing a container garden this year, we made some earthbox clone type setups and used whatever pots were laying around.  With the exception of some starter plants it hasn't really cost us a dime.  I got my family involded with the building and planting process and have added some more plants to it over the last 5 weeks since starting this.  I have some pictures posted of the first weekend where we got started.  Since these I have added summer squash, radishes, eggplant, and just this past weekend 6 centennial hops rhyzomes (the flowers to be used for beer brewing)...  my garden time is probably the most stress-free hours of the week for me. 

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

I think we're going to plant some Asian melons and cukes on the trellis between our house and the place where it meets our neighbor's place.  And we're going to try the yard-long beans again.  We tried in Wisconsin but didn't have a good season for them there... they like the heat. 

[glenn kangiser]

Good container garden, muldoon.  Cute kids.  Great that you got them going on it too. 

We also have some hops a friend gave us.  I think I need to take better care of them - maybe some fertilizer to grow better this year.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Muldoon, good pics.  Keep me posted on how the containers work out... looks like a pretty good setup.   Might have to try something like that, though at the moment I'm in no condition to be lugging stuff around. 

[PEG688]

Well we had our first nice spring day , sure hope it wasn't summer , ya never know here in the PNW , that/ this could have been it 

I've had things covered for a few weeks due to some cold mornings , I pulled the plastic last night and planted a few more rows of spinach , lettuce, radishs from seed. And some more buy-um at the store started plants .

The stuff I planted last month is coming in really nice , garden salad will be had soon.

 


 



     

[glenn kangiser]

Looks great PEG,  and you recorded that sunny day here so you can come back and look at it whenever you want.

[MountainDon]

I'm always taken with the sight of black dirt. 
Here in the suburban desert it's a light tan sandy color.

Uh, well, it is sand. 


My mountains have regular black dirt though. It's very reassuring. I grew up with black dirt.

[glenn kangiser]

I was going to suggest putting a layer of it in your trailer to take home each trip then I remembered your grass is astroturf.

[MountainDon]

 

When we had real grass it did grow well, if watered a lot. Probably would have done better with several inches removed and replaced with real dirt though.