[Red_Devil 232]

Weekly Gardening Thread

FReeper djf posted a thread about canning a few days ago and I thought some of you would find the article interesting. A link to the thread is below.

Canned foods??? Forget everything you've been told... Hat Tip to Freeper djf

Weekly Gardening Thread

FReeper djf posted a thread about canning a few days ago and I thought some of you would find the article interesting. A link to the thread is below.

Canned foods??? Forget everything you've been told... Hat Tip to Freeper djf

[Red_Devil 232]

Ping to the Weekly Gardening Ping List.

I hope all of you will stop by.

This is typically a low volume ping list. Once a week for the thread and every once in a while for other FR threads posted that might be of interest.

If you would like to be added to or removed from the list please let me know by FreepMail or by posting to me.

[cripplecreek]

I was hoping to get out and put some plants in the ground this morning but we’ve got rain.

[Thermalseeker]

Second round of “Augusta” SE corn is up, okra is up, my green beans are starting to climb the fence, my squash is already blooming and we have a light rain falling today. It’s going to be a good year for filling the pantry and freezer......

[o_zarkman44]

I picked my first radishes this week between rains. Afraid that blight will get my tomatoes. They have been in ground for over a month and seem to be stunted from the cool, rainy weather. Same for zuchinni and squash.
Turnips are going wild. Cukes and melons are just sprouting.
But i have lots to transplant. Eggplant, brussell sprouts, peppers,sweet potato and more late heirloom tomatoes. Ground is too wet and will take several days, especially if the sun bakes the top.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

Is it too late to plant veggies in the Phil area?

Also, what’s the best source to tell you what vegetables to plant when? It seems like I’m always getting my garden ready and everyone else is done planting.

[gramho12]

I've expanded my garden this year. In my old raised beds I have onions, lettuces, spinach, beets, broccoli, cabbage, peas, tomatoes and carrots. Carrots are not doing much but I have had lettuces for salad and spring onions for the past couple of weeks. My "new" garden has potatoes (4 different varieties doing well so far), peas, bush and pole beans, summer squash, zucchini, cukes, corn, pumpkins and melons.

We have plenty of room so I thought I'd add on - seemed like the thing to do since food is so expensive and you don't know where it comes from anymore.

Spring is the season of hope and when gardening is fun. When the hot and muggy Maryland summer gets here, not as much.

But gardening is good for the soul and body, and is always worth it, particularly that first yummy tomato.

Happy hoing!

[kacres]

Peas are all harvested..Garden re-tilled, tomatos and peppers, squash, cucumbers, pole beans, and kale all in the ground. Huckleberries coming up nicely, and I have been harvesting strawberries the last 3 weeks. My new compost pile is composing nicely, and 2 ten gal. buckets of compost tea ready to go. God I love the Gardening season. And by the way chickens are laying once again. We threw some golf balls out there, and that old snake got one..so no more snake stealing the eggs.

[RoseyT]

Here we are a week later and we’re still waiting for rain. We got a tiny shower a few days ago but it wasn’t even enough to settle the dust.

The good news is that our squash and zucchini are producing like crazy. I am hoping to have the energy to attempt a batch of squash pickles. We shall see.

The photos above are lovely!

Happy gardening!

[KosmicKitty]

I know for all the long time gardeners, this isn't much, but this is the first time I've really got veggies growing well.

Had our first salad of the year this week. I was so excited, I had my husband document it :-)

[pyx]

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map shows the minimum outdoor growing temperatures indicates that I live is a Region 5a type environment.

1.) What are the best types of Heritage Tomato plants to grow.

Other questions you might consider addressing in this thread are below.

2.) If there is lots of room for an outdoor garden available, what would you recommend as a good layout for edible plants and herbs and what sizes by square footage for these types of gardens would be needed and how much edible food using examples could be in the expected to harvest ?

3.) If a limited amount of space is available or if someone lives in an apartment or condominium how will the direction a balcony or direction the windows face effect the types of edible plants grown ?

4.) What are examples of good edible plants which can grow in containers or even using UPSIDE-DOWN suspended container gardening along with how this can save room for a garden ?

5.) What types of edible plants and materials and mediums would you recommend for growing indoors and what sort of sunlight would be needed ?

6.) Please discuss the materials needed to preserve using jars and cans for vegetables and fruits grown or bought in bulk and how putting up preserves would save a lot of money ?

[texanyankee]

Despite getting about 0.7" of rain earlier this week, we NEED more!

Right now I got the soaker hose going. We're already harvesting lots of yellow squash, some zucchini and green beans.

Can't wait for those okra plants to get as tall as our son.

[Silentgypsy]

Thanks! Especially appreciated tip re: imported canned foods w/lead-soldered seams.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Good morning all. I took the morning off to work in the garden and it is RAINING. There is still so much weeding and transplanting to do in my flower gardens that I am a little overwhelmed. I’ve spent all my time (and squandered all my hubby help) in the new veggie garden, and that’s still not finished.

Tasks for this week is to finish those raised beds and plant everything not in the ground yet.

Get a timer for my hose so that I can be sure that the garden is watered when we are gone over Memorial Day. Even if it gets watered during a rain storm.

Get the blueberry bushes in, which means cleaning out the winter damage (broken evergreens) and the weeds, adding soil amendments and planting the bushes. It looks like I should plan to put down weed cloth — or what about planting zucchini around the bases of the bluebarries to cover the bare ground and keep the weeds away until the berries are large enough to provide their own shade?

Clean out another bed in what I call my “arch garden”. This means lifting a whole bunch of irises, pulling weeds, and adding new soil — then putting everything back.

I’ve got about 6 days to accomplish all of that, an all of those tasks require muscle help from my husband who will whine about it.

When I lived in WA State, I used to garden in the rain. I might have to learn to do that here too. :(

[tubebender]

Light rain on Humboldt Bay this morning and our ten day Forecast

>:(((

[JustaDumbBlonde]

We've gotten a couple of beneficial showers in the past days and the garden is starting to take off ... so the real work begins.

The peas and beans are beginning to flower:

The mustard and turnip greens are really kickin':

I've gotten most of the larger tomato plants staked:

The peppers are coming along nicely and starting to fruit:

I've got another flat of tomatoes that are ready to be set out, but it may be a little wet this morning. What I need to do most is my least favorite task ... WEEDING!!! Ugh! But, before that, I think I'll pick a mess of turnip greens and surprise one of my favorite little ladies down the road. ;)

[alarm rider]

Greetings all,

We are getting estimates on tree (Ginko) removal, and trimming of a large Oak. Pricey.

[stefanbatory]

Sorry I’m late. Family is down from up north for my wife’s and my second wedding. (The first was unplanned a few months ago due to a horribly stupid immigration agency.)

One of my tomato plants shed half a dozen of its fruit following the massive rainstorm we had on Monday here. They were turning red but weren’t quite ripe yet. I think I have finally found them all now.

[Mad Dawgg]

Not sure How I missed this thread. But better late then never my Great Granny used to say!

So here goes:

I live in a downtown setting (no lawn whatsoever no windows to speak of either.) I love fresh tomatoes. Is there anyway to plant tomato plants in movable pots (say like 5 gallon buckets) and move them outside during the day for sun and such and put them in at night for safekeeping from the Drunks and Pill Poppers?

Will they do any good planting them in such a fashion or am I better of just buying some each few days from the Amish in the area?

Also, are these upside down tomato plant systems any good that I see advertised on TV all the time?

[PROTESTBYPROXY]

How do you post a picture.

[Ellendra]

Replanted my cucumbers and watermelons yesterday, they'd been eaten just after they sprouted.

I also got out to my land again yesterday, but I was chopping things out instead of planting them. I had recently discovered what I am now 98% sure is just a sulphur cinquefoil infestation. In and of itself, that's harmless, the whole 5 acres is covered with invasive weeds of some kind or another. The problem? Well, this is what sulphur cinquefoil looks like:



I have a dispute with a neighbor (his house is for sale, please buy it?) who would love to use something like this against me. So, this is one of the few weeds for whom my gut reaction runs along the lines of "KILLITKILLITKILLITDIEDIEDIE!!!!!!!"

And that's how I got my blister yesterday.

Any advice would be appreciated.

On a more cheerful note, my indoor tomatoes, which I've been growing for nearly a year and a half, have produced their first ripe tomato!!!