How does your garden grow: 2012 Edition!

by **Tank Woman** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:41 pm

ZombieGranny wrote:there are potatoes that will not grow in potato towers because the stems only get to a certain length.
The potato tower ones need to be the kind that keep on growing.

We didnt know this. Thanks for the heads-up.

by **Dawgboy** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 12:45 pm

The Wienerdawg strikes again! Morning snack of a crow...

by **gardening_momma** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:13 am

This is my first year gardening. My husband built me 2 8x4 foot raised garden beds, and I felt very overwhelmed when I saw how much space there actually was. So we did some research, and decided to go with the square foot gardening plan. It was implemented a little late, but I don't think we got off to a bad start. Right now I have cucumbers, sage, rosemary, oregano, parsley, leeks, pablano peppers, jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, green beans, celery, yellow squash, broccoli, carrots, green onions, yellow onions, acorn squash, pumpkin, watermelon, cantaloupe, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, peperchinis, big tomatoes, corn, sugar snap pees, dill, lavender, lettuce, radishes, and a few flowers to help with the bees and butterflies.
Here is a pictures of what I have so far

by **ashleigh11** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 5:42 am

gardening mama--nice job your first year. you picked a great size to get started . i'm a gardening evangelist of sorts and this is the size i suggest to anyone interested. most people are overwhelmed with the thought of a GARDEN and don't realize when you get past the "long-row paradigm" that you grow a ton of food, put a lot less work into it during the hot summer than you did in your parents' garden, and growing a huge variety is pretty doable without the need for acreage.

i've notice a few " i didn't get around to it" comments on this thread. it's not too late. a flurry of activity in the next week will give you a fall garden and have you all ready for spring of 2013. here in zone 5 i have at least 90 good days of growing before the first frost. i would start a small (4x4 or 4x8) raised bed. seeds are discounted right now. you can get 30-40 seed packets for less than $15 on ebay or 1/2 price in the stores. ask some gardening friends if they have leftover seeds-i have a ton and am always willing to trade or give them away. find some early (short) season varieties and get them started. germinate them in peat discs, pots or soil blocks, outside in the heat. bring the seedlings inside during the hottest months. transplant them out in about 6 weeks when the weather starts to cool down and you've got a fall garden in the ground. put a pvc pipe/visqueen hoop house (<$20)over your small raised bed and you can grow well past the first frost date and harvest well into the winter--even in northern zones.

i live in zone 5 and i just transplanted in the last two weeks: tomatoes, pumpkins, cabbage, pickling cucumbers, heat resistant spinach and greens to replace what the dog and the 2 year old have destroyed and replace what has been harvested. i planted shard, lemon cucumbers, tomatillos, melons, beans, peas, and a ton of brassicas and greens in soil blocks last week. i also planted pots of herbs for overwintering in the house.

i've enjoyed this thread

peace.

by **slannesh** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 11:42 am

gardening_momma wrote:This is my first year gardening. My husband built me 2 8x4 foot raised garden beds, and I felt very overwhelmed when I saw how much space there actually was. So we did some research, and decided to go with the square foot gardening plan. It was implemented a little late, but I don't think we got off to a bad start. Right now I have cucumbers, sage, rosemary, oregano, parsley, leeks, pablano peppers, jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, green beans, celery, yellow squash, broccoli, carrots, green onions, yellow onions, acorn squash, pumpkin, watermelon, cantaloupe, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, peperchinis, big tomatoes, corn, sugar snap pees, dill, lavender, lettuce, radishes, and a few flowers to help with the bees and butterflies.
Here is a pictures of what I have so far

Looks great so far! I have much the same thing going on, but just the one 8x4 bed this year. I'll be building a few more and changing what I plant where next year.

by **Silent Kube** » Sat Jul 07, 2012 12:27 pm

Okay, finally making a post. I got a bit of a late start this year due to a back injury and then once I got everything planted I let the weeds get away from me due to another injury. I'm starting to catch up on the weeds but there still a lot of them so don't laugh. Along the rock wall there are three types of cukes, green beans, peas, and acorn squash. There are also way too many zucchini plants, red & green bells, two types of tomatoes and jalapenos. I also planted watermelon seeds and cantaloupe seeds but haven't seen much from either of them. Anyway, here's the main bed.

This morning I couldn't sleep so I made this.

I'll plant some hanging tomatoes, cucumbers, and summer squash in them tomorrow. (The light blue bucket is broken because I filled them with water to test it for strength and while the arms were plenty strong, my weld at the bottom cracked and the whole thing toppled over. It's fixed now.)

by **Dawgboy** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 11:50 am

My morning haul. This is about a twice weekly haul. The black beans are just covered in pods which is good. All my other seedlings are going strong now. Got at least 100 Spanish onion seedlings about 2" tall ant the last crop of green beans and broadband are going strong. I have run out of garden bed...

by **curryman** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:24 pm

What the hell is wrong with that squash???

My haul today:

Not enough tomatoes so I'll add a couple of these:

Cheaper than tomatoes:

Yes, that says 14 cents.

Squash and cukes are slowing down for the heat. I have vowed to never again buy a basil plant. Cut a chunk of a basil bush, stick it in the ground and watch it grow. Off to make spaghetti sauce from almost scratch. Peppers, tomato, garlic and basil. YUMMMMM

Curryman

by **Dawgboy** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:33 pm

Nothing wrong at all. That's what crooknecks do when they mature. I am saving a few of these for seed, that's why I let them get so big... Nice haul of peppers. I have a bunch of tiny little peppers now, and am happy about that.

by **ZombieGranny** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:41 pm

When they are still young enough to be smooth you can eat the peels.
By the time they get bumpy the peels are hard.

by **curryman** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:50 pm

Thanks for the info. I've been eating my squash early and raw because they are so sweet small. I didn't get heirloom seed stuff so no seeds. I have decided that tomato growing is not for me. Cucumbers and peppers are so easy.

Curryman

by **Dawgboy** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 4:58 pm

I would be happy to share some of these seeds with you curryman. Remind me in a bit, I have to harvest them and let them dry. Also, once they go hard shell, they bake nicely...

by **silversnake** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:01 pm

Well, I went out in the garden this evening to pick a few things. Tomatoes are still green but growing, more flowers on the bell pepper plants so I'm hopeful for more than just the two I've already picked (though they were tasty), and the peas have slowed down such that I only picked about a cup or so tonight instead of the 6+ cups of peas each time the past couple of weeks. Anyway, here's tonight's modest harvest:

By the looks of things, I should have about 50 more cucumbers by next weekend. Anyone got some good recipes for making bread & butter pickles that someone who's never done it could follow?

Of course, I did have to suffer for my harvest this evening by tripping over a stake at the corner of one bed:

by **williaty** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 12:53 am

Looking at all your pictures makes me a sad panda. This year, we finally won the fight to be allowed to put up a vegetable garden. We built a 6x8x1 raised bed and filled it with leftover soil from the house building. It had way too much clay, so we cut it with peat moss and "top soil" from the hardware as we filled the bed. Then we planted tomato starters and a bunch of things from seeds. My wife calls it her "taco salad garden" because that's all the stuff it has in it. We planted a little over a month ago, I think. Sadly, this was right before the terrible heat wave and dry spell started here. Already a month gone and the bed is still basically just dirt in a box. The tomato starters actually grew some, maybe doubled in size. They have tomatoes on them, small ones, and they aren't ripening at all. The stuff we planted from seed sent up a leaf or two each and has given up. We've watered a little every day at the coolest time but I think the extreme heat has just made all the plants give up.

by **Dawgboy** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 8:07 pm

Hubbard squash is trying to eat my garden! I went away for a few days and have 6 foot vines.

by **silversnake** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:18 pm

Had to share since I feel so accomplished with my little achievement. This evening I canned something for the first time ever. I now have three quart jars of bread and butter pickle slices made by me from cucumbers I grew myself in my back yard. I realized after the fact that I could have packed the jars a bit tighter, but I'm still quite happy with the results. This is a major step forward for me as, until now, I've always just picked stuff from the garden and used it directly in salads or in cooking within a day or so. It was fun and I'm looking forward to trying more.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I've got my first yellow squash getting close to picking size now. Of course, the quarter-sized hail yesterday didn't help the tomatoes any. Now they're beaten down by ice and buried under cucumber vines and still green. Here's hoping I get some soon as I've got plenty of herbs and would like to make some home made sauce this summer.

by **Silent Kube** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 4:34 pm

Today I harvested my first tomato but I eated it. :oops:

by **NoAm** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 5:56 pm

Silent Kube wrote:Today I harvested my first tomato but I eated it.

Dat's what you're supposed to do sweetie! Just take a pic first, next time. :lol:

by **GraphicWave** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 6:15 am

This year I started a garden too. I already harvest some potatoes, some were big as my hand, some really small tomatoes (they are perfect with some "mozzarella", it's an Italian type of cheese). Now I'm waiting for the eggplants.
There are a couple factors to consider when deciding to pick eggplant:
Size – I like to pick my eggplant when they get to be a little bigger than my hand. As with other vegetables, it is better to pick eggplant when they are young and tender. Picking them early will also encourage the plant to grow more, and will help to extend the growing season. Remember, they don't need to be as big as you see at the supermarket

Shine – An eggplant is ready for the picking when it gets a nice reflective sheen to it. Grasp an eggplant you might think is ready, and carefully hold it up to the light – if it appears to be very shiny, it is ready.

by **wee drop o' bush** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 7:36 am

I planted two apple trees close enough to cross pollinate in Spring '11. I had a small crop of tasty apples from them then but none this year.
I'm thinking that it's probably because they are still getting established and also the late frosts we had.

by **wee drop o' bush** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 7:37 am

Silent Kube wrote:Today I harvested my first tomato but I eated it.

bet it was nice

by **Silent Kube** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:00 am

wee drop o' bush wrote:
Silent Kube wrote:Today I harvested my first tomato but I eated it.

bet it was nice

Oh it was. I picked it and just couldn't resist. I just rubbed the dirt off and ate it there in the middle of my garden. Store bought produce just doesn't compare. Now I just need to figure out what to do with all my zucchini. I gave away two yesterday and ate one myself and I have four more ready to be picked. :clownshoes:

Fortunately NoAm shared a recipe with me on FB that looks pretty yummy.

by **wee drop o' bush** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 11:09 am

Is that the Zuchinni with melted cheese topping? If so Nom

I love fresh tomatoes with a shake of salt in them. You must have green fingers 'Kube, I am hit & miss with plant growing.

by **Dawgboy** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 12:51 pm

Went to Mt. San Gregornio camping for 3 days and came back to garden in full revolt!

Hubbard squash vines grew 2 full feet while gone and I have 13 squash set on the 6 plants. Shovel is for scale.

Okra is budding

Grapefruit sized watermelon

Mother of all Crooknecks(for seed) this thing is more than a foot long and big around as my thigh...