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

[mjk73]

*like*

Chicago Park District organic plant sale this weekend!  I'm gonna stock up on herbs and peppers.  No tomatoes this year, methinks.

I'm about to sacrafice a live chicken (or a bucket of the Colonial) as we planted a lot of maters Sunday, then it got flipping hot and they are not looking good right now. My seedlings are strong and good looking when they went in.  :-\

That's my thing, I always plant tomatoes and they never really do that great.  I think they need more space than what I have.

Good luck with yours!

It's normally never an issue for me. about 3/4ths of them I think will make it. My chilies are loving this heat. My green beans and cucs seeds have all broken through ground and my herbs are like a forest.

[Jon T.]

nice work everyone! i have harvested gobs and gobs of cucs.  eating them in salads and i've pickled a ton (slices).  picked some collards last weekend and whupped me up some greens.  first time i've even made them (i've even only just started eating them).  those turned out nice.  harvested one crook neck squash that was delish sauteed with zucchini and onion.  picked a bell pepper that we are going to eat soon on kebobs.  i think thats about it.  i'm loving this shit out of "livin' off tha fatta the land".  Oh i've picked several peaches and plums that are the best they've been since i've been in that house.

i'd love to hear a good pickling recipe if anyone has one.  i'm a big fan of garlic and i like some heat.  they have to be sliced, though.  too big to pickle whole.

[mjk73]

whew. Garden looks much better now that it's not Africa hot out there. Only lost 12 mater plants. All my bean seeds have busted through and look great. Cucs coming through niclely okra is coming up. I already have fruits on my jalapenos. WTF?!??!!

[iLikeBeer]

I wish I could just get a nice freaking weekend to be able to plant my garden?!   ::)

Went out and bought some plants on Saturday, but it rained ALL FREAKING WEEKEND so once again, no plants in the ground?! 

So far, the forcast looks favorable for this weekend so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed!   8) 

The thing is, I know once I get my garden planted, the rain will stop?!   :P

[ALady]

I got a million kinds of basil, some tarragon, thyme, oregano, a sofrito pepper, one gold and one black cherry tomato plants at the sale  :)

Too cold to even have them outside, though   :'(  Come on already, Spring...

[woodnymph]

Holy moly everyones' gardens sound incredible!!!  I harvested my first little baby broccoli floret yesterday!  It was so tender and scrumptious, and I can't wait to watch the plants flourish!!  My porch is like Noah's Arc over here, two of my 6 tomato plants have made it through, 2 of 6 pepper plants have made it, 2 of 6 basil plants have made it, and 2 of 4 fennel plants have stayed strong, through my long work weeks of not being home and my learning curve of container gardening  8)  But all 6 broccolis and 6 greenbeans are cruisin strong, my mints are all happy, my chamomile is OUT OF CONTROL, my lavender is sitting pretty, and my lettuces and kale are doin' their thing  :)

Oh PS! Congrats Lady!! You've grabbed up an awesome selection!! Black cherry tomatoes are SO NEAT! And basils are always useful through the summer!!  Congrats congrats! :-D

[ALady]

Thanks Miss Woody! It's supposed to get up in the 70s this weekend, so hopefully I can get them outside and into pots...

Your broccoli sounds like it's going gangbusters!  Mmm, my very favorite vegetable...I'd eat it every day if I had my way  :)

And chamomile! Wow!  Are you making tea?

[bluesky]

Woody are you going to Mnt Jam? if so we can talk container gardening! 

Holy moly everyones' gardens sound incredible!!!  I harvested my first little baby broccoli floret yesterday!  It was so tender and scrumptious, and I can't wait to watch the plants flourish!!  My porch is like Noah's Arc over here, two of my 6 tomato plants have made it through, 2 of 6 pepper plants have made it, 2 of 6 basil plants have made it, and 2 of 4 fennel plants have stayed strong, through my long work weeks of not being home and my learning curve of container gardening  8)  But all 6 broccolis and 6 greenbeans are cruisin strong, my mints are all happy, my chamomile is OUT OF CONTROL, my lavender is sitting pretty, and my lettuces and kale are doin' their thing  :)

Oh PS! Congrats Lady!! You've grabbed up an awesome selection!! Black cherry tomatoes are SO NEAT! And basils are always useful through the summer!!  Congrats congrats! :-D

[woodnymph]

I do hope to make tea with my chamomile!  The flowers smell unreal...  so rich and velvety!!

I've got a bunch of lil "fungus gnats" cruisin' around the porch, but they don't seem to be doing too much (hopefully)...... from what I've read, I just have to let my plants dry in between waterings pretty well and make sure the soil isn't sitting wet all the time.  I think I might move the beans out to the front porch, where other predator bugs can help out in the process hopefully  :)

Val I hope to make it to at least one day of Mt. Jam! (Sunday of course!)  I will say it's looking slightly less likely than I'd like, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!  :-D  I'd love to chat about gardening with ya!!  Now that I see those August dates posted up, I may be shooting more for then!!  I'll keep ya posted!  (Any suggestions for fungus gnats, btw???)   ???

[mjk73]

Updated pics of the garden. It's made a massive comeback.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1931288686536.111699.1371835020&l=d5837c9fec

[jones]

http://www.theagitator.com/2011/07/07/does-michelle-obama-know-about-this/

[Taterbug]

Updated pics of the garden. It's made a massive comeback.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1931288686536.111699.1371835020&l=d5837c9fec

Wholly smokes,  you got one hell of a green thumb 

[mjk73]

Updated with pics from this week. The extreme heat seems to be agreeing the plants as they are out of fucking control. I have quite a few mater plants that are as tall as me. But because we haven't had rain (or cluds for that matter) in over 3 weeks I'm having to hand water the Ho Chi Minh Trail every night.  It might just be this area, but everyone has a shitton of maters but they are not turning. I'm guessing it's the weather. Anyone else have that issue?

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1931288686536.111699.1371835020&l=d5837c9fec&type=1

[woodnymph]

For pete's sake!!!  Beautiful beautiul gardens pics!!!  You've got some real green monsters growing there!!! :-D  *jealoush*  :P

My container garden experiment has yielded me some very baby broccolis (very baby-small) and 3 of them have gone to flower, so I'm down to the final 3 survivors....

My neglect of many of the plants proved too poorly for them I am sad to report.  But my bean plants weren't necessarily a product of my neglect, those little flies got to them pretty ferociously  >:(  Same with my parsley...  the most microscopic little white flies attacked my two parsley plants too...  so I am now down to 2 pepper plants, one super-thriving comfrey plant, 1 tomater plant that needs repotting, 1 lavender, 1 white sage, 1 MONSTROUS lemongrass plant, and.... I think that's all.  Not counting 2 free mystery plants that I rescued from work.  And my lil terrarium is still going strong, considering my overall neglect!  (I'm a sad excuse of a gardener this year!!)  I strangely think I just find it not as fun though!!!  I loooove having a garden in the ground to tend and feel connected to!

I should also add that the porch doesn't get nearly as much sun as it did in March.... that's been a real weak spot, and I think it's why I had some fly problems, cause the soil in the pots wasn't heating up enough to dry between waterings....

Ok that's it, I want my own little parcel of land with goats and chickens and a garden + fruit trees and solar or hydro energy PRONTO!!!!   :o   :P

[e_wind]

Hey friends...

I have absolutely 0 knowledge of growing food, but I have recently moved into a house and out of an apartment. Can you all help a little? Shouldn't it be about time to put bulbs or seeds or whatever into the ground? What kind of stuff grows easily in KY? Any help, without wasting all your time, would be appreciated!

[touchingmept2]

For starters, Home Depot has an aquaponics kit they sell for $300. It's pretty legit, I've been looking into growing hydroponically but recently caught on to the aquaponics craze. It's amazing, you can grow produce along with fish! How awesome is that?
::) :o

[e_wind]

That is pretty damn cool

[Jon T.]

Hey friends...

I have absolutely 0 knowledge of growing food, but I have recently moved into a house and out of an apartment. Can you all help a little? Shouldn't it be about time to put bulbs or seeds or whatever into the ground? What kind of stuff grows easily in KY? Any help, without wasting all your time, would be appreciated!

I have no idea what you can grow in your area.  It does seem like it might be a little early up there.  I would start simple though and make sure you're going to want to keep it up before you go digging up your yard.  Maybe a raised bed and  some transplants rather than seed for starters.  Good luck.  Life's a garden.  Dig it

[Fully]

Hey friends...

I have absolutely 0 knowledge of growing food, but I have recently moved into a house and out of an apartment. Can you all help a little? Shouldn't it be about time to put bulbs or seeds or whatever into the ground? What kind of stuff grows easily in KY? Any help, without wasting all your time, would be appreciated!

It's a little late to put bulbs into the ground. Usually November - December is bulb planting time. Here's the hardiness zone map that the USDA puts out. It is good to know your climate zone as you purchase seeds or plants.  You will find information on the labels of seed packets and plants that will indicate what zone they are suited for.  I grow lots of herbs: rosemary, thyme, exotic basils, bergamot to attract butterflies etc. Annuals will only grow for the year that you plant them unless they reseed themselves; perennials will come back year after year. Find things you like and experiment. Here's a catalog that I enjoy: [url=http://gurneys.com/Default.asp?sid=501457]http://gurneys.com/Default.asp?sid=501457[/url]

I also get plants from the Nashville Herb Society's yearly plant sell. I'm sure that is too much of a drive for you to make, but I'm sure Louisville will have something similar. Nurseries are also great places. Just make sure that you purchase healthy plants. It can be a real investment, but it can also be very rewarding. Since I've had kids, I tend to do more container gardening just because it's less work in some ways and the kids enjoy helping me plant.

If you love fresh tomatoes and basil, plant those. I guarantee that you will be thrilled by the results. Just make sure that you don't let the basil go to seed or you will have bitter basil.

[tdb810]

This is a great thread! I read some of the helpful info about composting, and I am going to try to set up my own little pile.  Someone at work mentioned a kit you can buy to set up a compost.  Does this seem necessary? 
I am definitely not a gardener.  The most I have really done is plant impatiens and pansies in the spring, but I am going to do a "salad" garden this year.  I am thinking of doing it in containers.  We have a small backyard, and most of the area that's in direct sunlight is covered by our patio, so I think I'm just going to do some pots. 
SO -- here's my ?? Do we sow the seeds inside first and then put them out? I was looking at some seeds, and I guess I should just follow the directions, but what advice would you give a first time veggie gardener?