Posted on 12/07/2012 11:18:15 AM PST by greeneyes
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
Are your tomatoes and peppers in pots?
Not to mention a food item that isn't going to be handled by/exposed to other people before I eat it...creepy; if you think about it.
Sounds like a good type of onion to have, and very versatile.
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That's a good point. I didn't even think of it, but anything that is touched by human hands can carry disease, which supports the idea of washing any fruits and vegetables gotten from the grocery store or farm stand.
When we grow our own, we also know what is in the soil, and whether or not pesticides or chemicals were used.
Thanks for your support. Just keep working at it. I used to joke about having a brown thumb, cause all my house plants died.
Then I discovered this thread, square foot gardening, and Mel’s mix. Even I the famed “Doom the Bloom” gal had more successes than failures. Who Knew??????
I really enjoy having some homegrown fresh from the garden all year round now. Keep in touch.
Who may have coughed on the ‘fresh produce’ in the store or at the market? It’s ‘flu season’, after all...
While the local non-gardening liberals and marxists will be ordering Domino’s tonight; my wife and I will be enjoying home-made pizza featuring sauce made from (OMG) home-grown tomatoes from the garden...there’s ten bucks in our pocket for bills or whatever. :-)
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That Ten dollars could also buy a handy dandy sterno stove. It folds up kinda small, and easy peasy. Perfect for the backpack or emergency coffee when the electricity goes out, which is kinda often here where we live, or 5 or 6 silver war nickles, or........fill in the blank.LOL.
Thank you for maintaining this thread. I know how much it means to all of us to have this resource, inspiration, and gardening community here on FR.
That’s exactly why I wanted to start gardening. That way I know if pesticides have been used or not(not in my case), and I don’t have to worry about E-coli on fresh spinach.
Now, I have expanded to actually become a little more self-sufficient, and it helps on the grocery bill too.
It’s all good!
Thank you for the kind words!
Husband took several pieces of guttering and brackets and hung the guttering on the side of the garage in three rows. He put a little dirt in it; but, so far, I don’t recommend it. Soil’s too shallow; it’s messy (dirt goes down the side of the garage when you water it). I’ve indulged him in this. Only one gutter row actually sprouted. I think it’s a mess and a waste; a lot of trouble to water, but I’m keeping an open mind
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Exactly right! I'd love to have a greenhouse, but have no place to put one. At one point in our old house, I had trays of seeds with grow lights in the basement, but that was not really as successful as I had hoped. There's nothing like natural light, imho.
:)
Inventors learn from their endeavors. Who knows what your husband may eventually create from his experience with his gutter garden?
Thanks for posting that! I know we had them when I was a kid and couldn’t for the life of me remember what they were. Love those things because they are so versitile.
Please add me to the thread. My tomatoes did not do well this year, generally I have bushels.
I once had a little herb garden off the kitchen, but the thyme took it over. I now have a thyme forest!
I have to argue with dad to borrow his big tiller (which he hasn’t used in years) so we recently bought a little Ryobi tiller attachment. Mr. b enjoyed using it for the fall garden so hopefully it’ll last a while. The garden is 900 sq ft so a little tiller works fine. YMMV.
I understood the freeze is going to be Sunday night and Monday night in Central Texas and I’m constantly checking the forcast hoping for better news. Crossing my fingers, toes and eyes that it doesn’t because the tomatoes are finally producing. It was just too hot this summer for anything. Watering well on Sunday might help a bit.
The peppers and greens are happy right now but may have to harvest Sunday and bring in the dried out green beans. This week, I put some Romas in the freezer and dehydrated a gallon of Yellow Pear tomatoes which made the house smell like baking bread, yummmm. There’s a few Husky Cherry tomato seeds in a jar of water on the kitchen window so they can be started in a couple weeks. None of the slicers did anything this summer.
The stores are saying they won’t get their seeds in until Feb/March and some won’t until April. What?!? Tomatoes, peppers and cabbage need to be started indoor at Christmas and most everything else but okra needs to be in the ground in March. So, I broke down and ordered heirloom tomato seeds at the Victory Seeds site. I’m not associated with them and haven’t ever used them before but my order arrived in 4 days so that’s a good sign. Their seed packages are $2 which is way cheaper than Burpee’s at $4-$6. I have been using seeds saved from previous years but it’s time to find something new that might be more heat tolerant.
Instead, maybe we should be chatting about Justin Bieber, lol.
Thanks for sharing about the stevia. Who would have thought to grow it. It would be a great addition to a prepper's garden. Keep us updated on it, please.
Well, Greeneyes, I live on three and a quarter acres, most forested, but I do have a greenhouse and have thought abt trying to grow “hot house” tomatoes this year...we’ll see.
This thread gives me hope!
I’ve tried stevia powder and found it bitter enough I haven’t tried growing it. But, on another forum someone said they make a tincture of it using vodka, and that gets rid of the bitterness. I’m putting it on my “maybe, someday, if I have time” list.
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