Random/GTKY: any gardeners? veggies, flowers, etc?

cakergirl · July 2014

Any other gardeners or farming families in M15? We (and by me, I mostly mean my husband) grow a back yard garden. Currently we have about 5 tomato plants, 3 pepper plants, a few rows of potatoes, a few rows of corn, a squash and zucchini plant, and some herbs. Earlier this year when it was cooler we grew some lettuce, spinach and broccoli.

It is a TON of work, and my husband does most of it. I occasionally water, pull weeds, pick veggies, etc, but he does most of the planting, tilling, shoveling etc. but it's super fun and it helps us eat healthier.

Any others?

herbavein · July 2014

yes! we have three raised beds and another one. My husband is a teacher, so he's off for the summer and on garden duty. We have 20 (!) tomato plants, plus snap peas, lettuce (done for the summer), different kinds of beans, zucchini, garlic, onions, potatoes, and popping corn (my husband is crazy). And we have flower gardens, too. Our house is on one-half of a double lot (total .5 acre), so despite being in the suburbs, we have a lot of space (and would love to have no grass someday). Our 3 year old loves to get dirty, so that's a bonus

kschref · July 2014

I do roses - we have 27 bushes right now of 11 different varieties. We also have 2 pear trees, though they don't take much work. I wanted to start a veggie garden this year, but that may have to wait until after this LO gets here as the roses take up a ton of time as it is. DH and I have a back/front yard arrangement where he is in charge of all grassy areas; weeding mowing, reseeding, fertilizing as needed, etc., and I do all garden beds (we have a ton) and do all the mulching, fertilizing, pruning, etc.

DS was born in January so I wasn't quite in the busy season yet, but since this LO will be due in March when things are starting to go crazy, we may have to hire a gardener so everything doesn't go to crap.

cakergirl · July 2014

That's awesome... You reminded me that we had peas earlier a d are doing green beans, Lima beans and bacau beans. Totally forgot about the beans. Haha. We planted asparagus and garlic for the first time this year too, but they take forever. Hmmm, I am fairly sure it has never occured to my husband to grow corn of the popping variety, we just do sweet corn. He LOVES home made popcorn, you guys may be onto something here.

cakergirl · July 2014

@kschref‌ oh no, the timing of birth hasn't even crossed my mind yet. UhOh. I take care of our flower beds, too but they are all various perennials that the previous owner planted and they come up at various times of the year. I would love to do some roses, we just have a few knockouts, they are hardy and showy, but I would love a very fragrant rose. Any suggestions on variety?

herbavein · July 2014

@estamos_tomamos I would *love* goats! Unfortunately, I don't think we're zoned for them

Gardening next summer is going to be a bit of a challenge, since DH will be in charge of garden and baby, but maybe we'll just stick to easy things? This year's garden is triple the size of last year, so I think DH was just experimenting, and we'll do basics next year. Who knows. Weeding is my favorite activity.

The bummer part of getting pregnant now is that I have NO desire to eat any of the delicious things that are in season

kschref · July 2014

@cakergirl - Yeah, it hit me a few days ago that March was going to be crazy. A garden/lawn service might be worth it for 6 weeks or so. I don't have anything with a super strong scent as I grow them mostly for looks, but Belinda's dream is an engineered rose and smells lovely. It's also drought resistant and black spot resistant so it doesn't take much work. Here's a picture of one from last year (this year the drought has been kicking their butts a little, so they're growing well but not blooming as large)

For looks, my faves are the Electron and Gingersnap roses, though they don't have as strong a fragrance, but they are stunning(and do take work):

AshleighW13 · July 2014

Me usually although we moved into this house too late in the season to plant. Next year though we will have squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, watermelon, pumpkins, herbs. And then on front of the house I will have a flower bed.

cfattig · July 2014

@kschref those roses are gorgeous!

We have some gardens with flowers, herbs, and veggies (especially herbs...I LOVE fresh herbs) that I've tended for the past four years or so. When my son was a baby last year, they looked their best...I would set him in the bouncer in the shade and get all the planting and weeding done. This year, you can't see the actual plants in one garden....sigh. There's always next year.

Edit for formatting

Lady Leigh · July 2014

I love tomatoes, if I had a house I would have a billion tomato plants XD

I currently have 2

zagagirl04 · July 2014

I'm actually just starting my first veggie garden. Basically praying that they don't die.

cherylanddoug · July 2014

We do. Mostly my husband's work but Ipuck and cook it. We have 15 tomato plants of various kkinds. The cherry ones are coming in now, next week we should have some of the big ones. Just can't beat Jersey tomatoes!!! We have raspberries, blackberries, and some pathetic blueberries. Our peach tree is disappointing... Someday... Plums, basil, eggplant, cucumber, sweet potato, water melon, and cantaloupe.

ChristianMomma1980 · July 2014

Yep. One raised bed with broccoli, cucumbers, and green beans. Peas will be planted soon. I also have some tomato plants and more cucumber plants in containers.

tlz2010 · July 2014

Me! It's a lot bigger thsi year because my mom planted quite a bit too, but I'll name off what I can remember! We have green/yellow/Italian beans, sugar snap/garden peas, carrots, dill, about 15 tomato plants, corn, green peppers, two hot peppers my mom planted, spaghetti/acorn squash, pumpkin, watermelon, eggplant, beets, cauliflower, green onions, a sweet onion, turnips, cucumber/pickles, and lettuce. We also have a 44 tree orchard. Mostly Apple, but a few pest, plum, and cherry as well. Oh! And asparagus patches!

kaydedid · July 2014

@chrain‌, I'm right there with ya! 3 gardens, about 100 tomato plants, 50 cucumber, 20 amaranth (first time growing, and they are awesome!), tons of melons/squash, peas, beans, garlic, broccoli, eggplant, husk cherries, sweet peppers (all colors), jalapeños, lettuce, herbs, and some marigolds and zinnias for pretty. No carrots - forget that tiny seed shit this year. It's a lot easier to deal with the veg if you can avoid thinking about eating it. Had some gorgeous purple peppers ripen this weekend, but took 1 bite and NOPE.

EDWHIP · July 2014

We moved into our house in December and the family before us had planed garlic bulbs. They produced the most delicious garlic scapes, but I am unaware of how to harvest the garlic when it's ready. Any tips?

We grew lettuce, carrots, and peas from seeds. We planted sun gold cherry tomatoes from starts, as well as basil, thyme, dill, and rosemary. I love gardening!

meowkitten · July 2014

We live in an apartment right now but we have a balcony garden...we have a few tomato plants, herbs, raspberries, and strawberries right now...plus some flowers. I can't wait to buy a house so we can plant a huge garden, I love it! So relaxing

kaydedid · July 2014

@chrain melons are the best! i have 8 little watermelons that are a daily source of greedy stalking.

Baker Creek seems to have a lot of awesome seeds, but I've ordered through Fedco for the last couple years. They're in Maine and I'm in central Wisconsin, so if they can grow it we probably can too. The catalog is also a hoot.

kaydedid · July 2014

@chrain omg, you made me drool - there it goes...

Will give Baker Creek a try next time. Do they have a good selection of heirlooms?

Speaking of weeds, an Indian lady was picking some weeds in my community garden plot. She said they were lambs quarters, a commercial crop in India, and great in a stir fry. So I harvested some, made a nice ginger chicken stir fry and included the weeds. Holy crap were they gross. I guess Indian people are way tougher than me to eat that shit.

chucktgirl · July 2014

Wow, you ladies impress me! I have only a meager vegetable garden: tomatoes, peppers (that NEVER produce well), string beans, lots of lettuces, herbs, cucumbers, asparagus, edamame, and more stuff I can't remember and will probably kill before I can eat it!

I love the fresh veggies, but I hate weeding. DH does it out of necessity, and secretly hates me for making him do the distasteful work.

kaydedid · July 2014

@chucktgirl‌, you might want to look into mulching with grass clippings or leaves. It's a pain to lug them out and spread them, but then weeding and watering are minimal/nonexistent. Great if you have a lot of grass to mow or lots of (non-oak) trees. Sometimes you can buy spoiled hay for this too.

wolfmoon139 · July 2014

Right now my garden is all in pots since DH and I are living with my parents, until we get our apartment. But I have 3 tomato plants, an avocado, LOTS of peppers, stevia, strawberry, blueberry and a mint plant.

I cannot wait til we get to actually use the round pen my stepdad won't use for the horses. Mom said that's our garden plot next year (and it already has a blackberry and raspberry bush!)

cakergirl · July 2014

kaydedid said:

@chucktgirl‌, you might want to look into mulching with grass clippings or leaves. It's a pain to lug them out and spread them, but then weeding and watering are minimal/nonexistent. Great if you have a lot of grass to mow or lots of (non-oak) trees. Sometimes you can buy spoiled hay for this too.

Do you mulch your vegetable garden or just the flower beds? Never occured to me to mulch the garden, but seems like it would be great protection and fertilizer.

PuppyLove84 · July 2014

We started our first garden last year, but our small backyard is so shaded that not much will grow. We even hired a company to come in and cut down a bunch of tree branches in the hopes that our garden would grow better, but it didn't really work because our neighbors on both sides have a lot of trees too and they shade our yard.

This year we've managed to grow a few tomatoes (mainly the cherry ones... the big ones never grow very big), a few snap peas, and some peppers (serrano and jalapeno). For the last few weeks we kept wondering why our biggest pepper plant wasn't blooming, and today I realized looking closer that it's not a pepper plant, it's a weed. I have watered that damn weed and cleared other little plants away from it for weeks! Grrrr.

tomhod · July 2014

I'm by no means a gardener, but this is my 4th year growing veggies and my plants have never done so well. Unfortunately, even watering them makes my stomach turn. Everything is just starting to produce and I'm sure I'll be giving a lot of it away. Damn you morning sickness!!

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