How does your garden grow? (1 Viewer)

  • Welcome to the Roundtable! If you have an account already, please sign in, otherwise feel free to register. Note that you will be unable to post or access some boards and information unless you sign in.

Stargazer

Collected Consciousness
Retired Moderator
Jul 28, 2016
2,815
8,420
USA
rememberinginfinity.wordpress.com
Tons of fresh new flower seedlings are popping up everywhere! I think I went a bit "nuts" with the wildflower seed packets a few weeks ago. Photos to follow--when they start blooming. :)
 

Snowmelt

Snowmelt
Staff member
RT Supporter
Board Moderator
Aug 15, 2016
5,325
13,885
Perth, Western Australia
I like growing succulents in pots, since they can thrive on the smell of a water vapour rag, and you tenderly speak to their needs about once a month by directing some loving words to them. They are hardy little souls, which in this semi-arid country is a great boon.
 

Angela

Roaming Contributor
RT Supporter
Jul 28, 2016
701
1,890
I have pretty much all my sprouts getting ready for the transfer into soil. Every day i hope I don't kill them. Haha this is only my second year trying for a garden; the first year I didn't even see it to the end because we had to move.
I'm trying hard to not get too much into my head about how it's going and trust the process. Heh
 
OP
Don Hicks

Don Hicks

Involved Wayfarer
Mar 19, 2017
263
786
Virginia
www.facebook.com
I like growing succulents in pots, since they can thrive on the smell of a water vapour rag, and you tenderly speak to their needs about once a month by directing some loving words to them. They are hardy little souls, which in this semi-arid country is a great boon.
Have you tried sweet potatoes in a container? They serve multiple purposes. You can grow them indoors, they have a beautiful vine, produce fresh oxygen, and... of course... after about 6 months you have some nice sweet potatoes. Plant now and have them with Thanksgiving. :)
 
OP
Don Hicks

Don Hicks

Involved Wayfarer
Mar 19, 2017
263
786
Virginia
www.facebook.com
I have pretty much all my sprouts getting ready for the transfer into soil. Every day i hope I don't kill them. Haha this is only my second year trying for a garden; the first year I didn't even see it to the end because we had to move.
I'm trying hard to not get too much into my head about how it's going and trust the process. Heh
Gardening, for me, is such a spiritual activity. It takes time and care to keep out the weeds and be sure the plants are nourished and feel loved. But once it gets in your blood, it's one of those jobs that isn't really "work". Best of luck, Angela. What are you growing?
 

Snowmelt

Snowmelt
Staff member
RT Supporter
Board Moderator
Aug 15, 2016
5,325
13,885
Perth, Western Australia
Have you tried sweet potatoes in a container? They serve multiple purposes. You can grow them indoors, they have a beautiful vine, produce fresh oxygen, and... of course... after about 6 months you have some nice sweet potatoes. Plant now and have them with Thanksgiving. :)
Thanks for the idea, Don. I've been advised sweet potatoes are excellent for diabetics, as well. What a great idea.
 

Angela

Roaming Contributor
RT Supporter
Jul 28, 2016
701
1,890
Gardening, for me, is such a spiritual activity. It takes time and care to keep out the weeds and be sure the plants are nourished and feel loved. But once it gets in your blood, it's one of those jobs that isn't really "work". Best of luck, Angela. What are you growing?
A ton of garden vegetables. Broccoli, tomatoes, celery, cucumber, pumpkin, lettuces, a bunch of herbs. Honestly, the herbs came up really quick and beautiful, and aside from the basil, they seem to be looking the most anemic. Also the onions all kind of died. Heheh.
Last year I had a fish emulsion that I used on the onions, and it worked to keep them going into transplant. I just didn't get to it this year.

It's okay though. I work at a CSA farm through the summer as well, and we get plenty of produce through that too. :)
 
OP
Don Hicks

Don Hicks

Involved Wayfarer
Mar 19, 2017
263
786
Virginia
www.facebook.com
Thanks for the idea, Don. I've been advised sweet potatoes are excellent for diabetics, as well. What a great idea.
That's some helpful information, HM. Perhaps that's part of the reason I don't have diabetes (?)... because it does run in my family. Last year I planted 28 hills of sweet potatoes. What I didn't know was, my neighbor had been given over 100 plants, and about a month before my potatoes were ready to dig, I traded him a bushel of sweet corn for a bushel of sweet potatoes. Hadn't even finished them when my own were ready. Needless to say, I had sweet potatoes for several meals.

But hey... when you can eat a full meal right out of your garden, who can complain? :)
 
OP
Don Hicks

Don Hicks

Involved Wayfarer
Mar 19, 2017
263
786
Virginia
www.facebook.com
A ton of garden vegetables. Broccoli, tomatoes, celery, cucumber, pumpkin, lettuces, a bunch of herbs. Honestly, the herbs came up really quick and beautiful, and aside from the basil, they seem to be looking the most anemic. Also the onions all kind of died. Heheh.
Last year I had a fish emulsion that I used on the onions, and it worked to keep them going into transplant. I just didn't get to it this year.

It's okay though. I work at a CSA farm through the summer as well, and we get plenty of produce through that too. :)
I absolutely *love* the way broccoli tastes straight from the garden. It's soooooo much better than the stuff from the grocery store. Green beans and cantaloupes are way better too. :)
 

Lila

Collected Consciousness
Staff member
RT Supporter
Global Moderator
Board Moderator
Jul 28, 2016
4,804
10,196
I absolutely *love* the way broccoli tastes straight from the garden. It's soooooo much better than the stuff from the grocery store. Green beans and cantaloupes are way better too. :)
I remember as a kid not understanding why anyone could ever enjoy peas. Then we grew them and I understood.
Strawberries are a little bit like that for me too. I like them from the store too, but looove them fresh from the garden. For strawberries the variety reeealy matters too. Those tiny 'forest' ones are miniscule but a flavour burst that the big ones rarely have.

Here's a few pics I took today:
The mushroom is growing on the manure and straw underneath the soil, mulching as we go...
 

Attachments

OP
Don Hicks

Don Hicks

Involved Wayfarer
Mar 19, 2017
263
786
Virginia
www.facebook.com
I remember as a kid not understanding why anyone could ever enjoy peas. Then we grew them and I understood.
Strawberries are a little bit like that for me too. I like them from the store too, but looove them fresh from the garden. For strawberries the variety reeealy matters too.
I have peas and strawberries. And I really LOVE strawberries. So much so that I have a 5x8 foot hotbox filled with them, plus two large planters. Mine are Ozark Beauty, Quinault, and Allstars. Not sure which is my favorite... but I'd lean toward the Allstars.

Each summer I go through a series of "garden snacks". That is, fresh treats to nibble at while I take breaks from working the garden. The first is strawberries (I had some today). Next the blueberries will ripen, then blackberries (I have a huge patch), and finally, after the blackberries are mostly gone, my cherry tomatoes ripen. This tides me over until the cantaloupes are ready.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stargazer and Lila

Snowmelt

Snowmelt
Staff member
RT Supporter
Board Moderator
Aug 15, 2016
5,325
13,885
Perth, Western Australia
I remember as a kid not understanding why anyone could ever enjoy peas. Then we grew them and I understood.
Strawberries are a little bit like that for me too. I like them from the store too, but looove them fresh from the garden. For strawberries the variety reeealy matters too. Those tiny 'forest' ones are miniscule but a flavour burst that the big ones rarely have.

Here's a few pics I took today:
The mushroom is growing on the manure and straw underneath the soil, mulching as we go...
What beautiful black soil you have. Have you built that up?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stargazer

Lila

Collected Consciousness
Staff member
RT Supporter
Global Moderator
Board Moderator
Jul 28, 2016
4,804
10,196
What beautiful black soil you have. Have you built that up?
Yes, though I had help.

I was able to obtain some great soil from a man who clearly understood what 'living soil' was. Then we moved and I did my best to bring what soil I could to the new place. The garden is multi-layered so this soil is just the top layers on top of logs+sticks, hay, manure (feeding the mushrooms like pic 1), leaves and then the soil. I am delighted to see that some of the lamb's quarters (pic 2) which the original soil contained have made the transition. They are known to be nutrient-rich, as are the purslane (pic 3).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stargazer

Lila

Collected Consciousness
Staff member
RT Supporter
Global Moderator
Board Moderator
Jul 28, 2016
4,804
10,196
Each summer I go through a series of "garden snacks". That is, fresh treats to nibble at while I take breaks from working the garden. The first is strawberries (I had some today). Next the blueberries will ripen, then blackberries (I have a huge patch), and finally, after the blackberries are mostly gone, my cherry tomatoes ripen. This tides me over until the cantaloupes are ready.
I hope you don't mind if I imitate this?!
It sounds divine:-D
Some day I'd love to come visit your garden<3
 

Stargazer

Collected Consciousness
Retired Moderator
Jul 28, 2016
2,815
8,420
USA
rememberinginfinity.wordpress.com
Yes, though I had help.

I was able to obtain some great soil from a man who clearly understood what 'living soil' was. Then we moved and I did my best to bring what soil I could to the new place. The garden is multi-layered so this soil is just the top layers on top of logs+sticks, hay, manure (feeding the mushrooms like pic 1), leaves and then the soil. I am delighted to see that some of the lamb's quarters (pic 2) which the original soil contained have made the transition. They are known to be nutrient-rich, as are the purslane (pic 3).
That sounds a lot like the practice of hugelkultur...I learned about it from one of Clif high's recordings. I've tried it on some flower beds and it's very helpful. Plants respond very well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Don Hicks and Lila

Lila

Collected Consciousness
Staff member
RT Supporter
Global Moderator
Board Moderator
Jul 28, 2016
4,804
10,196
That sounds a lot like the practice of hugelkultur...I learned about it from one of Clif high's recordings. I've tried it on some flower beds and it's very helpful. Plants respond very well.
Yes, I think that is the term. Another is 'wet composting', basically the same idea as far as I can see... that of:
providing constant organic matter for mulching back into the soil for the microbes, mushrooms, etc to turn into usable matter for the plants we eat.
It also provides warmth for plant roots since composting creates a lot of heat.
It attracts worms that leave their casting which are some of the best fertilizer around.
The layers of composting matter also retain water really well, so there is less need for watering and watering can be less frequent.
It allows the microorganisms that we know so little about to make their little superhighways for nutrient transport. I recall reading (sorry, can't recall where) that fungal rhizomes can carry nutrients, e.g. magnesium, 10 feet to where they are needed by a specific plant. We disrupt these when we mess with our gardens. I find the layered garden to be really easy to weed as the soil is very loose and individual plants stand out so I can specifically pull out the plants I don't want.

The simplest form of doing this that I have heard of is that of leaving the trees/plants one wants to eat in place and just enhancing their growth in small ways specific to the needs of the local environment. Apparently the Amazonian tribes mastered this by, for example, adding fish skeletons to the soil around their favourite plants (I read that in the book "1491" by Charles Mann) 0r adding metal cans at the roots of mangrove trees to allow them to recreate their microenvironment (again, I think magnesium was the 'missing element' mentioned) that supports shrimp and other human edibles (can't recall where I read that one).

Or one can just leave the trees in the garden, rather than raking them:ROFL: Or move them to where they seem to be most needed.
 
OP
Don Hicks

Don Hicks

Involved Wayfarer
Mar 19, 2017
263
786
Virginia
www.facebook.com
I worked Monday-Saturday of this week, so today has been Garden Day ( :) ). I love it. My cabbage is huge and ready for harvest (tomorrow maybe?). Tomatoes, corn, turnips, beets, squash, eggplant, peas, lima beans, green beans, zucchini, broccoli, sweet and yellow potatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions, cantaloupe, watermelons and carrots are all growing well.

What is everyone else growing?

Any favorite varieties of anything? For me: I love "Lieutenant" broccoli, "Blue Lake" green beans, and "peaches and cream" corn.

cabbage.jpg squash.jpg turnips.jpg
 

Lila

Collected Consciousness
Staff member
RT Supporter
Global Moderator
Board Moderator
Jul 28, 2016
4,804
10,196
That is one beautiful cabbage! And greens too<3
What is that second row?

Herbs are what I travel with wherever I go.
Love my berries. They take time so sometimes pick them, sometimes buy them.
Zucchini is awesome to have growing in the garden, and all kinds of lettuce and greens.
 
OP
Don Hicks

Don Hicks

Involved Wayfarer
Mar 19, 2017
263
786
Virginia
www.facebook.com
That is one beautiful cabbage! And greens too<3
What is that second row?

Herbs are what I travel with wherever I go.
Love my berries. They take time so sometimes pick them, sometimes buy them.
Zucchini is awesome to have growing in the garden, and all kinds of lettuce and greens.
I'm a berry person too. Love the "foraging" type of grab-and-go fruits... especially sweet ones. . I was picking strawberries yesterday.

The second picture is Butternut squash. It's a meaty winter squash with lots and lots of uses. It almost has the taste and consistency of Yukon gold potatoes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lila and Stargazer
OP
Don Hicks

Don Hicks

Involved Wayfarer
Mar 19, 2017
263
786
Virginia
www.facebook.com
Wow! I went to the garden this morning and began harvesting cabbage, broccoli, and a few onions, when I was just overwhelmed with such a deep sense of gratitude it nearly brought tears. So thankful! :) <3 :-D

In the prep sink: 5 heads of cabbage (26.5 lbs) and some broccoli. I still have like 15 or 16 heads of cabbage in the garden. Gonna have lots of Sauer Kraut and Cole Slaw this fall and winter. :) :-D

broccoli.jpg cabbage2.jpg
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)