Homegrown is the way it should be.......Gardening!

[aMillionDreams]

Last year I did a small raised bed and filled her up with my compost. It did really well, and I'm hoping to have similar success this year. Do you guys think I should empty it out and put fresh compost in or will it be fine for another year?

Don't empty it just put a 1/2 inch or more of compost of top, till it in a little bit and plant away!

[dcdub]

Last year I did a small raised bed and filled her up with my compost. It did really well, and I'm hoping to have similar success this year. Do you guys think I should empty it out and put fresh compost in or will it be fine for another year?

Don't empty it just put a 1/2 inch or more of compost of top, till it in a little bit and plant away!

Will do, thanks. I can't wait to get some herbs going. I mean real herbs, not herb herb. I would be perfectly happy to plant only tomatoes and basil and eat nothing but caprese salad all summer long. I gotta learn how to make my own mozzarella!

[mjkoehler]

Last year I did a small raised bed and filled her up with my compost. It did really well, and I'm hoping to have similar success this year. Do you guys think I should empty it out and put fresh compost in or will it be fine for another year?

Don't empty it just put a 1/2 inch or more of compost of top, till it in a little bit and plant away!

Will do, thanks. I can't wait to get some herbs going. I mean real herbs, not herb herb. I would be perfectly happy to plant only tomatoes and basil and eat nothing but caprese salad all summer long. I gotta learn how to make my own mozzarella!

Plant extras herbs. Seriously. You can dry them for the winter. We did that with our basil. Sure fresh is always best, but our dry is light years better then the stuff from the store and got us through. If you go with cilantro, plant a lot extra and let it go to seed for your own corriander. Our local farm store has some amazing looking rosmary starter bushes. Picking up a bunch of them to start a large half barrel planter just for rosemary. I used to hate the stuff, but I'm quite hooked.....like with basil.

[dcdub]

Last year I did a small raised bed and filled her up with my compost. It did really well, and I'm hoping to have similar success this year. Do you guys think I should empty it out and put fresh compost in or will it be fine for another year?

Don't empty it just put a 1/2 inch or more of compost of top, till it in a little bit and plant away!

Will do, thanks. I can't wait to get some herbs going. I mean real herbs, not herb herb. I would be perfectly happy to plant only tomatoes and basil and eat nothing but caprese salad all summer long. I gotta learn how to make my own mozzarella!

Plant extras herbs. Seriously. You can dry them for the winter. We did that with our basil. Sure fresh is always best, but our dry is light years better then the stuff from the store and got us through. If you go with cilantro, plant a lot extra and let it go to seed for your own corriander. Our local farm store has some amazing looking rosmary starter bushes. Picking up a bunch of them to start a large half barrel planter just for rosemary. I used to hate the stuff, but I'm quite hooked.....like with basil.

Drying is a good idea, I should have thought of that last year because we couldn't eat enough basil, cilantro, and dill. What's your technique for that? We have a rather large rosemary plant. We don't use a whole lot of it in our cooking, but it's nice to have around because it smells so darn good

[mjkoehler]

Last year I did a small raised bed and filled her up with my compost. It did really well, and I'm hoping to have similar success this year. Do you guys think I should empty it out and put fresh compost in or will it be fine for another year?

Don't empty it just put a 1/2 inch or more of compost of top, till it in a little bit and plant away!

Will do, thanks. I can't wait to get some herbs going. I mean real herbs, not herb herb. I would be perfectly happy to plant only tomatoes and basil and eat nothing but caprese salad all summer long. I gotta learn how to make my own mozzarella!

Plant extras herbs. Seriously. You can dry them for the winter. We did that with our basil. Sure fresh is always best, but our dry is light years better then the stuff from the store and got us through. If you go with cilantro, plant a lot extra and let it go to seed for your own corriander. Our local farm store has some amazing looking rosmary starter bushes. Picking up a bunch of them to start a large half barrel planter just for rosemary. I used to hate the stuff, but I'm quite hooked.....like with basil.

Drying is a good idea, I should have thought of that last year because we couldn't eat enough basil, cilantro, and dill. What's your technique for that? We have a rather large rosemary plant. We don't use a whole lot of it in our cooking, but it's nice to have around because it smells so darn good

We used a standard food dehydrator. Rosemary and Basil plants smell incredible.

[pawpaw]

I cleared and tilled out our vegitable garden space over the weekend, and we'll be planting our first garden tonight! We bought (our first) house last Spring, but with a newborn and plenty of other home improvement stuff to do, didn't have the time to start the garden. This summer's going to be great!  :)

[TheBigChicken]

I cleared and tilled out our vegitable garden space over the weekend, and we'll be planting our first garden tonight! We bought (our first) house last Spring, but with a newborn and plenty of other home improvement stuff to do, didn't have the time to start the garden. This summer's going to be great!  :)

sweet....get that baby those fresh veggies !!!!!! :)

[pawpaw]

I cleared and tilled out our vegitable garden space over the weekend, and we'll be planting our first garden tonight! We bought (our first) house last Spring, but with a newborn and plenty of other home improvement stuff to do, didn't have the time to start the garden. This summer's going to be great!  :)

sweet....get that baby those fresh veggies !!!!!! :)

Man, he's been growing so quickly, I don't know if we can legitimately call him a baby for much longer! It's been great though, since the weather has been nice and we've been doing a lot of work outside on the weekends, he can just kind of walk around and play in the dirt while we tcb. He loves being outside, always has.

And he loves veggies too!

[pawpaw]

We got a lot of our garden planted this weekend: tomatoes, corn, bell peppers, banana peppers, jalepenos, zucchini, crookneck squash, cucumber, eggplant, string beans, snap peas, artichoke, lettuce, basil, cilantro...probably some other stuff I'm forgetting too. We're going to clear a little more space out for melons, and get some berries going soon too.

Plus, I put in all the irrigation in my front yard too, will be ready to plant the weekend after Easter. I was outside working all weekend, didn't get to see any basketball, but it felt great. Callused hands, sore muscles, red neck = contentment.  :)

[mjkoehler]

We got a few weeks before my area is safe to plant outside. However I've started most of my maters and cucs. Within a few days, I already have an overload of seedlings. It's going to be in the 70's this weekend so I need to much the leaves down before I till and I need to set up posts for the plants. We're going to try lines instead of cages this year to see it that makes it less like an Amazonian rainforest.

[TheBigChicken]

I worked in the yard all weekend with my AM radio hoops 8-) 8-) 8-)

[ALady]

My boss brought in a bunch of planters for our office this week.  Any thoughts on what plants might grow well in an office environment?  We get a decent amount of natural light thanks to a west-facing wall of windows.  We're thinking herbs and maybe spinach or salad mix.

[mjkoehler]

My boss brought in a bunch of planters for our office this week.  Any thoughts on what plants might grow well in an office environment?  We get a decent amount of natural light thanks to a west-facing wall of windows.  We're thinking herbs and maybe spinach or salad mix.

we had a hydroponics one here for a while. Herbs did surprisingly well. You might try a grape or cherry tomato plant. Might be too cold inside?

[ALady]

That's an idea.  I think it should be warm enough.  We have lots of other plants here that do just fine, we've just never tried edibles before.

[mjkoehler]

If you like chilies, there are several mini thai chili that are nice potted and the fruits are hotter then a mofo too.

[ALady]

Hm, that's an idea.  I'll look into it.  Thanks!  They'd look nice, too.

[aMillionDreams]

My boss brought in a bunch of planters for our office this week.  Any thoughts on what plants might grow well in an office environment?  We get a decent amount of natural light thanks to a west-facing wall of windows.  We're thinking herbs and maybe spinach or salad mix.

Spinach and salad mix would do fine in an indoor environment.  Peppers would look nice and be edible, of course, but I doubt you'd get a lot of production with moderate temperatures.  You could do peas, They look pretty cool as they grow.

I also spent all weekend out in the garden.  I built yet another raised bed.  I planted radishes, three kinds of potatoes, turnips, onions, and peas.  I started maters, peppers, marigolds, zinnias, broccoli, and two kinds of cauliflower indoors a week ago.  It's a little late on the cold weather crops but hopefully not too late.

[mjkoehler]

Just inventoried the seeds, a dozen cucs are up and 50 maters up (5 varieties.)

[TheBigChicken]

Beans are in the ground(about 6 in high) .Tomatoes are blooming along with my peppers and my turkeys are ...well...let's just say I could probably ride one to the St Augustine show ;D ;D Going to start my okra this weekend alondg with my sunflowers.....pics are coming soon...........

[Bigsky]

We're in a new house this year, so we have to create some new gardens. We just got done with record rain fall and the water is starting to drain out of my yard...I am hoping to get the dirt turned this weekend...sunny and 70. The new yard doesn't get enough sun for vegetables, so we will mainly do flowers...I am so happy it's spring..