Hi, hope this doesn't get too wordy!
Prior to my incarceration I became acquainted with gardening due mainly to home ownership. As time progressed and I learned more about plants and techniques I found myself spending more and more time with 'my hands in the dirt!'

During my incarceration I was lucky enough to be able to work in a prison nursery and through a correspondence course studied Landscape Design while in prison. Today we (no longer I!!) spend many a day enjoying our 'dirt' from flowers & herbs to a 1/3 acre vegetable garden that has provided wonderful, healthy food for our family and friends.

My thoughts for this thread are that I would like to, on an ongoing basis, offer some of my tips, trials, pitfalls, and successes that I have learned and experienced along the way. Join in with anything you can offer or ask any question you may have.

Ok, so can we start digging yet???

Follow the posts and let's get our hands dirty together.
Mike

Yesterday we started over 500 seedlings for our vegetable garden that is still covered with snow, yuck. They will reside in our dining room for the next 6 weeks until Mother Nature tells us it's time for them to venture out on their own. There is still plenty of work to be done once our ground can be worked including drafting a layout of where they will all reside. We try to rotate these locations each year which aids in keeping overwintering disease and insects from getting too comfortable.

Right now our focus will be on providing the right amounts of heat, light, and moisture to our soon to be emerging seedlings. The table they reside on consists of a couple of wooden sawhorses and 2x6 boards. I cover this with plastic and set the seed trays on top of the plastic. Underneath there is a small radiant heat heater that will provide the warmth necessary for survival and growth. Each of the seed trays has a clear plastic lid to emit light and retain moisture, as well as keeping our two cats from munching our future salad. Overhead we have suspended a shop light with plant bulbs, coupled with a timer, that will provide 14-16 hrs of light.

Once the seedlings outgrow their lids, we'll suspend clear plastic over them to again afford protection, retain heat and moisture. This plastic must be easily removable as the seedlings will now require more frequent watering and the occasional turning of the tray to promote upward growth, they tend to lean towards the sunlight. We don't fertilize during this time as the seedling provides most of its own nutrition, the soil we use, however, contains a small amount of time release fertilizer just in case.

Each cell in the tray is seeded with several seeds and once they grow their second set of leaves they will be thinned to just one plant per cell. Linda has a tough time during the thinning process as she wants to plant them all!! The cats, however, have other things in mind!

We will utilize our plant table over the next couple of months to add additional seed trays so that we have seedlings for sucessive plantings. This is normally every two weeks and the additional seedings will ensure that we have lettuce, etc. all throughout the growing season.

So, let the games begin and let's get winter over with!!
Back with more........
Mike

(feel free to PM me if you don't want to post yr ? here)

This is a wonderful idea Mike and that's great that you were able to study Landscape Design in prison! I can't wait until we can plant our vegetable garden too. We have been starting our tomatoes indoors for years but don't think we will this year. It was heartbreaking a couple of years ago to have discovered our dozens and dozens of seedlings demolished overnight prob. by mice seeking refuge from a bitter winter. (We were in-between cats then:p )Have not had much luck with the Heritage Tomatoes the last couple of years-they seem very tempermental:rolleyes: ! What kind of seedlings are you growing?

Hi, since we do a lot of canning we use mainly Roma tomatoes. For salads we grow the Sweet 100 cherry, herbs for favoring, peppers (sweet), several types of lettuce, broccoli and carrots.
We direct sow pole beans, summer squash, and cukes. Every year we also try a couple of oddball's. Last year we tried pattypan squash which was fantastic and easy. Our corn was a bomb though.
This year it's eggplant and swiss chard. In another garden we also have blueberries, strawberries, and rubarb that we use for jelly.
Mouth is watering already!!!
Mike

Yummmm.... you're making me hungry!

I'm excited that you started this tread because I'm an amateur gardener of sorts. I try! I don't really know much, just the basics and there's so many times I have questions and no where to turn!

For me, digging in the dirt helps my stress level tremendously.

I just bought a house and it's basically a blank canvas. So far I've planted Azaleas and 150 bulbs of various kinds. Everything starting to come up and it's very exciting!

Tomato season is coming up really soon. Can you give me any advice to get my little bed ready? I only have room for about 8 or so plants.

Also, can you give me the names of some of those big old tomatoes that you make sandwiches with? You know what I mean, where one big slice fills the bread?!? MMmmmm I cannot wait until summer!!

Thanks very much, Mike, for volunteering to share your time and knowledge with all of us... again... great idea!
Tia

Tia- The large tomatoes you make sandwiches with are called Beefsteak.If you only have room for 8 plants try different varieties with different maturing times(just check the tag in the plant) so you can have them throughout summer.I add new black soil and some cattle/sheep manure every year to the planting area and make sure you fertilize regularly. I find Miracle Grow is a good one to use.
Mike- I have never had any luck with carrots or broccoli.My zucchini didn't do well last year either for some reason.Herbs,peppers,tomatoes,beans,lettuce flourished though. Maybe you'll be able to show us some photos later on in the summer!

Tia: hope we can share lots of info. Another big tomatoe is the SuperTasty, its a hybrid, not an unruly plant like most big tomatoes, and it is tolerant of most growing conditions.
Tip: when selecting seeds look for VF, which indicates disease resistant.

Considering the size of your plot I would add a couple of 40lb bags of manure found at most garden centers, even Walmart. Like DLM I also use Miracle Grow.
Tip: when watering, try not to splash the plant. Minimizes disease spread and mulching helps retain moisture.

DLM: last year was a crazy year for weather, too cool, too wet, and the weeds had a banner year! Some of our zukes weighed in at over 4 lbs., tomatoes were so so. This year we're going to try some black plastic as a mulch to try and stay ahead of the weeds, I'll keep you posted on our results.
Have you grown Cilantro? We love it in most of our food dishes, dries easily and can be used fresh. We use basil mainly as a companion plant to control insects, along with lots of marigolds throughout the garden.

We still have snow on the ground here and have not seen any signs of growth yet. Normally the first is our Lilacs which have not started to bud. Hopefully soon.

Mike

Mike- Still have snow here too:( I have been meaning to try the black plastic mulch for the last few years and never get around to it -should do that this year and see if it makes a difference. Lilacs:) - always look so forward to seeing them in May-they really are one of my favorites!

Gosh it's getting nice here. Daffodils are coming up! Woooo hoooo! They always make me smile because they're so bright and sunny.

Mike and DLM: Thanks for the names... super tasty and beef steak! Got it! I will get a plant of each kind that's in the store! I don't do seeds. I just go to Home Depot and buy the little plant and stick it in the ground.

It's going to be 80 (not normal for this time of year) this weekend and I've bought some Elephant Ear bulbs and a few other bulbs so I'm going to get them in this Saturday.

As soon as the tomato plants hit the store I'm going in!!! I can't wait!!

Is there anything in particular I can do now to get the tomato bed ready? Or should I just wait till I get the plants and then start digging?

Tia,preparing your soil a week or so ahead of time is a good idea. Any soil amendment should be done now too, adding manure(composted), humus, peat,etc. is good. I always dig or til mine in at least 8 inches deep. You can mulch now too or wait until you plant, I avoid pine straw, pine bark mulch, attracts bugs. Cedar is good since it repels them. Mulch will help retain moisture and minimize water splashing onto the plant (spreads disease).
When you plant think about adding some marigolds in you bed, they are good for repeling insects, called companion planting, looks nice too.

Your weather sounds wonderfull, ours may be in the low 50's this weekend, come on snow, MELT!!!!

Mike

Mike- Haven't planted cilantro yet but maybe this year I will. I had lots of luck last year when I decided to plant herbs in containers instead of directly in the ground and they thrived! Parsley,tarragon, oregano, basil, rosemary did really well.
tia- I envy you- 80 degrees!! The weather here is like where Mike is- still snow and cold but at least the sun is shining so Spring has to get here sooner or later although we have all been warned it will be cooler than average.I see some of the stores getting their Garden Center areas ready which makes me hopeful!
Another deterrant for bugs is sprinkling broken egg shells around plants- I put them around lettuce esp. and tomatoes (and hostas) as the slugs don't like them.

DLM: containers for herbs is the way to go, ease of care. Eggs shells work great and they're good for the soil. I use diatomatious earth for slugs and ants, organic and they die a horrible death as a result of coming in contact with it. Yeah!!
Down side is rain and irrigation washes it away so have to apply often. Can be found in pool supply stores (filter medium) and I just sprinkle it around the plants or wherever else I need it.
Did you know that ants are the number 1 transporter of weed seeds into a garden? Wind and birds can't even compete, some university study I read a long time ago. They are also responsible for disease tranmission among plants and we do all we can to make sure they are not welcome in our garden.

Mike

Here I am five days from my original post and the seedlings we planted have emerged in force. Everything we planted has come up and the broccoli is already pressing against the top of its plastic cover. I suspect they enjoy their environment.

Technique: when planting or transplanting I always take a moment to consider the plants typical growing environment. Too often plants are put where we would like to see them vs. where they want to be. i.e. putting a sun loving plant in a shady area and vica versa. They just won't do well!
Sunny vs. shady is just a start, think about soil conditions: don't put a ph nutural plant under a pine tree. Most plants don't like 'wet feet', so consider drainage conditions. Sandy vs. loamy soil is another consideration. Read the tag that comes the plant, it will usually give you basic planting information. There are also many good reference books at the local library and of course the internet is a wealth of information.
So take the time to think like a plant and choose the ideal growing environment as you would in choosing a new home. Your plants will reward you with the best they have to offer.

Mike

Did you know that ants are the number 1 transporter of weed seeds into a garden? Wind and birds can't even compete, some university study I read a long time ago. They are also responsible for disease tranmission among plants and we do all we can to make sure they are not welcome in our garden.Mike
Had no idea Mike that ants can cause so many problems in the garden! We have more than our share of them in our yard:(. The white powder and ant traps we use don't seem to be working very well anymore. Wonder if they are becoming impervious to the toxins...

Glad the seedlings are sprouting so vigorously Mike!!! Do you ever take your produce and sell it at a farmer's market? Do you freeze any of the vegetables that aren't canned?

I hear you on the sun/shade situation. My tomatoes are going into a real sunny spot. Thanks for the pine bark vs cedar mulch information. I had no idea! I did put the pine bark around the azaleas because they're acid loving so I thought that would be a good idea.

My crocus, tulips, daffodils, iris' and hyacinths are all coming up! I live in zone 7 so Spring is on it's way!

I love this tread!

DLM, we have actually been lucky enough to be able to sell some of our excess produce at a local supermarket. They can't get enough of the 'locally grown' produce as it seems to fly off the shelf.
We do freeze things like carrots (blanched), strawberries and blueberries, peas and beans. I also dice up peppers and freeze so I can just grab a handful for any recipe that calls for them. They last several months this way as opposed to a few days.

Weather update: we may (crossed fingers) hit upper 60's maybe 70 this weekend (YES!!). Lilacs showing signs of budding and sap is starting to flow, now these are the kinds of signs we like.
Mike

Tia, pine bark or pine straw is ok for your other acid loving plants, just not for the veg. garden or around the house. The ants don't typically cause the same problems with ornamentals as they do with vegetables and the only damage we've seen has been to our peony's, they love the new buds (loaded with nectar).
Happy to hear you'll be planting this weekend, if our weather holds up for a few more weeks we'll be getting started as well. Enjoy.
Mike

Mike,
Great idea for a thread! I have not heard of cilantro being a deterent to ants. Last year I planted it but it went to seed really fast. Another question about freezing your bell peppers...do you just dice and freeze or do they have to be blanched? Have you ever done any raised beds? I am thinking about that this year. I am also considering some grape tomatoes in containers on the patio.

I am thinking about that this year. I am also considering some grape tomatoes in containers on the patio.
I plant some of my cherry tomatos in really large containers (like the old whiskey barrels they sell at garden centers) and they do really well.

Saturday AM here and the temps are rising, yeah!
My earlier post on cilantro was just an inquiry about having grown it, not as a deterent for ants. In the garden I use diatomatious earth for slugs and ants.

Raised bed gardening can be both formal and informal, we use this technique in our veggie garden informally. All of our rows and bedding areas are raised by mounding surrounding dirt usually 8-10 in. higher than the area around it. You can also construct formal raised beds using lumber/landscape timbers. Be wary of pressure treated materials (PT) since chemicals used in this process can leech into the soil causing a whole other host of problems for your plants. Cedar and redwood are the ideal materials and there are a lot of new processed materials available that work just as well and often look nicer.
Raised beds provide a managable area for your plants to grow, they promote good soil drainage and when constructed can add a unique landscape feature to the overall design of your yard or garden. They are easy to irrigate, limit insect migration, and cleanup at the end of the season is a breeze. Container gardening enjoys these same benefits and even less labor is required for maintaining them. Both allow you to direct water and fertilizer exactly where needed thereby reducing resources and there are many testimonies about increased yields from raised beds and containers.
In larger applications, merely mounding the soil where the plants will reside achieves similar benefits. (we'll be covering our mounded rows this year with black plastic in an effort to minimize weed growth)
Formal raised beds are also ideal for displaying specimen plants, rose gardens, and cut flower beds.
In summary, raised bed gardening either formal or informal, offers many more benefits than traditional methods and it just makes more sense!!! From planting, to weeding, to watering, to fertilizing, to clean up, raised beds make life a lot easier in the long run.

Can we plant yet???

Mike

Galgrif: I freeze cut up peppers raw, when used in cooking you cannot tell the difference from the fresh ones. Carrots need to be blanched however.

Mike

Hello Everyone,

I do peppers that way for the freezer and I also do a zip lock full of onions! I love to be able to reach into the freezer and pull out my pre-chopped onions and peppers! It's the only way to go!

Mike thanks for the visual of the lilacs budding and sap flowing! That was nice.

Also, I was going to ask about raised beds. Thank you for taking the time to cover that subject.

Thank you so much for this tread! I can't tell you how much I enjoy being prison free for these few precious minutes while I'm outside in the garden with yall.

I love this thread!! Thank you.

I will start doing the pre-cut veggies, any others that can be done so easily? Also, do you freeze them on a tray and then put them in bags or just put them in bags?

There is big, fluffy white stuff falling out of the sky here...no lilacs yet!

Hi Everyone!

Gosh for the longest time I couldn't find this thread, but I've got it now!

Well... wouldn't you know it?

I was at the store the other day and bought 4 different tomato plants, a rosemary plant and a tiny lavender bush. I left them outside on a tray and gave them some water.

I went to work that night and when I got home (I get home at 1 o'clock in the morning), I looked at them, they seemed fine and it didn't feel all that cold.

As soon as I got up the next day around noon, I immediately looked at my new babies and they had all froze except one tomato plant. I was very sad!

Moral of the story, don't leave your babies outside unless you're absolutely certain of the temperature!

Great thread! Last year was the first year we have had a garden in years. This year we will have another. I love the fresh veggies in the summer. We usually have tomatos, green beans and a couple of others. This year we are gonna try blueberries and strawberries.

Last year for the first time my husband had the chance to plant some veggies where he is... he was so proud of himself! :)

Tia- Very good advice-esp. when you are living in an area where the temperature can fluctuate quickly during Spring. If you are unsure if there's going to be frost try and bring the plants into a sheltered area or a room in the house at night.At least you have one tomato plant left-it must be very hardy- what kind is it?

Hi everyone, sorry I left for a few days, new job, getting ready to move in the next few weeks as well. Yuch!

So no big garden this year. We had been trying to buy this house but the woman who owned it passed away and the children have decided to get rid of it. It is very old and in need of some major repairs that don't fit their plans in life, so off we go!

Found a new place on a local lake that is very much to our lifestyle, relaxed and casual. The down side is no garden, but the fishing is said to be great.

What we are presently planning is to grow what we can in containers. There is a local grower that we can buy from so we'll be able to can what we usually do, just at a higher cost. I'll post some of our canning adventures later for you to enjoy.

Anyway, I'm glad some of you like this thread and in time I'm sure others will also join in our joy of the garden. Be back soon.....

Mike

DLM....

Actually... I have no idea at the moment what kind of tomato plant it is because I'm on a 3 day visit with Lee, (wooooohoooooo!!!!) however; when I get back home I'll let you know!

I'm home and the nonfreezing tomato was "Husky Cherry Red".

Mike... good luck with your move! I've done 5 major moves in the last 3 years so I can relate!

yes Mike good luck with the move and come back with more adventures in container gardening!! (A place on a lake sounds pretty darn inviting!)
Tia- I have had the Husky Cherry Tomatoes and they did really well with the amount of tomatoes-let us know how yours does. (Hope you also had a good visit:)!)

So how's everyone doing with their garden? I guess Mike must be in the middle of moving.
Tia -how is that one tomato plant doing? Have you been able to plant anything yet? I won't be doing any planting until prob. the last week of May but I have dug up the veg. bed so it's ready to go!

I just planted my very first plant..It's a flowering plant called cannas..I planted them in a sunny area which has 3 hours of shade as well during the day..I water them about every other day if they look dry..Theywere prev. planted at a friends house and she told me to dig them up and plant em at my house..I'm having fun anyone know a beautiful house plant thats easy to take care of I want to so more planting in pots for my house.Thanks god bless

Hi people, so sorry to have been away for so long, I really do miss PTO, good people, good advice, and good place to be.

To bring you up to date, still in the middle of moving, half here, half there and can't find a thing. Spring finally arrived and have had cut flowers in the house for several weeks now, their wonderful smell hits you the minute you walk in the door. Hummingbirds showed up last week right when the lilacs began to bloom and they have been swarming our apple trees along with the honey bees.
All in all, just a picture perfect spring here.

Recently, I came across some information on the internet while searching for oriental seeds. We had had Japanese food the other night that had those miniture corn on the cobs and I wanted to see how they were grown. Just like regular corn we grow except in a smaller version and seeds are available on the internet. Each stalk will only produce 4 cobs so it takes a lot of plants to get even enough for a meal. You can buy a jar in most grocery stores, very expensive, but a real treat. Don't think I'll be trying to grow these in a container!!!

Anyway, I did find some very interesting plants I may experiment with later on. For now though, we plan on just some basic stuff. I have several wine barrels we have earmarked for tomatoes and herbs, all still sitting in our dining room under grow lights.
They finally got too big for the cats to munch on, and basil is not to to their liking. We will use empty milk jugs in the wine barrels so that it won't take as much soil to fill them (tip). We have had good luck with MiracleGro potting soil, but it can be pricey if you have a lot to plant so the milk jugs take up space and won't affect the plants growth. Unlike a garden, these containers will be easier to care for, less weeding, fewer bug issues, but more attention to watering is needed. And in the fall when the plants are finished producing we can replant the barrels with flowers. More time for fishing this year!!!

So how is everyone elses garden doing? I'll be here (PTO) for a short while until we make the final move and will post until then.
God I love springtime!
Mike

Hello Everybody,


First, I apologize for the above. I went to edit (reword) my original post and when I saved changes and posted it - it put the whole thing in here 3 times. I tried to delete the extras but they wouldn't go away.

Anyway--

What a great thread! I live in a log house in the woods. Any forest gardeners here?
We recently bought this house and never even had a need for a lawnmower before now. I love the trees..poplars, oak, dogwood, sweet gum, hickory etc. but there
is not a lot of sun for gardening with all this shade.

I started some seed indoors early April..and I'm finding out that I can't just water everything the same..some things like lots of water and some drown ( Cilantro, and hot peppers don't seem to like a lot of water).

I have lima beans, green beans, yellow squash, mustard greens, okra, white sweet corn, and watermelon in a very tight, small garden. I didn't follow the directions on spacing except to have room to get a small rotitillar between rows. BUT, it's close enough to the house to water with the garden hose (lol).

I am now looking for organic pesticides. I have no idea what I'm doing but found the following site for anyone interested. I have tomato and cucumber plants in large pots
and the cucumbers are being eaten by some pest. I saw ladybugs on them and pushed them off, came in the house and read on the internet that ladybugs are good for a garden so I don't know what's eating the cucumbers.

http://www.ecolivingcenter.com/articles/organicinsectrecipes.html

Here is another interesting site that came up.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/sanders98.html

I think the tire idea is interesting for potatoes. Seems like it would be great especially if the ground is still cold. It may be an eyesore (hard to make old tires look good) but in my case I could hide them in the woods.

This is getting long so I will shut up for now! Nice to meet you all.

Demi

Mike- Filling those whiskey barrels with empty jugs is a great idea! I put the cherry tomatoes in those and they do well.Our lilacs are in blossom and this year has been the best for them in a long while for some reason. Our tree peonies all have large buds on them too which I didn't see last year.
Demi- Welcome to this thread! (Don't worry I got rid of the blank posts for you). You are growing a lot of interesting things-let me know how the watermelons do.Too cold up here for me even to try watermelons and the growing season is too short. I have planted Burgundy beans for the last few years and I love them-wish they would retain their purple color after they are cooked but they are still good. Am going to check out those sites that you listed now! Hope to see you back here and keep us posted please:)

Great thread. Just stumbled on it and thought I would brag on my little garden I have in my backyard. I rent, so I have to put up with a cranky maintence man who loves to ride the John Deere over everything....he actually weedwacked a few tomatoe plants I had growing in the front of my house the first year I was here just as they were flapping their little yellow bloomers for the world to see. He said it looked like a weed.

Being on medical leave from work, I have a ton of time on my hands. I got my brother to till up a nice little plot for me on Earth Day....best day to get your garden tilled over, in my opinion. He did 4 runs with the tiller, then I made him stop and spread out some Humus and Manure fertilizer I got from Pet Food Center for 3 40 lbs bags for $10. Then he tilled that under twice. He was having so much fun with the tiller....his first time....that I just let him have at it all he wanted.

The next weekend we planted after making sure all the little rocks and other things were weeded out. We unearthed a small crock that had broken, a lot of broken glass, some marbles, a barbie head that had no hair, and we even unearthed a glass Pepsi bottle from the late 70's---the one that had the twist off metal cap and the foam wrapper. So cool.

I have Celebrity, Beefmaster, Big Boys and Better Boys tomatoes. I have 18 bell pepper plants, 4 red cabbage (for German cooked red cabbage and a little slaw), 9 Romaine lettuce plants, 12 green cabbage plants, corn, french breakfast radish, marketmore 80 cucumbers, okra (for my neighbor who is in his 70's and miss Alabama), spincach, and not but not least...I have my dill, parsley, cilantro, chives, scallions, and a banana pepper plant in moveable pots.

This is just my spring planting. I will keep rotating my plants...adding carrots when the radishes are finished off, more spinache when the first batch is finished, then when the cabbages are done with I will be planting kale and brussel sprouts for the winter harvest. Come July when the corn stalks are over 4 feet tall I will be planting pole beans between them so the stalks can act as support columns.

If anyone is interested in how to grow potatoes in cages, let me know and I'll add the instructions here. I've been researching gardening for a long time, but never had space for some serious planting, or the time before now. Glad I have this place. Can't wait for my tomatoes to come through!!! I got addicted to tomato sandwiches with butter, salt and pepper....oh yummmm.

Sorry so wordy...
Morganna

P. S.
I also freeze copped up bell peppers in zip lock bags. I also pre-measure them as well for my chili, spaghetti sauce, goulash, etc too and put them in the sandwich size or the snack size. But what is pretty easy to do is to stuff them with your stuffed pepper meat recipe and wrap the whole pepper in foil and freeze them inside a big gallon zip lock bag for an easy and tasty dinner when you rather not be bothered. Thought I would pass that along.

Morganna

DLM thanks for the welcome. I'm in TN now, I moved here last year from VA. I don't think we can grow the same crops either. I would love to grow lettuce! I paid $2.00 for a head of lettuce today to go with our grilled hamburgers tonight. I got it home and opened it up and it's all brown on the inside. Mike's posts makes my back hurt just reading how much he is planting. He's got me interested in those little Oriental corns now. I will never have a garden that big. I've got to many aches and pains to tend it. I also can't imagine planting 150 bulbs like Tia (she's definately younger than me). I bet it will be beautiful.

Morganna, I would like to see how you grow potatoes in cages if you find time. You also sound like a professional. When do you plant potatoes anyway?

I worked in the garden today. I was surprised to see so many little frogs in it. There are even teeny, tiny baby ones hopping around. I made some organic pesticide (it's just rubbing alcohol and water) and sprayed everything and did some weeding.

I wanted to tell you all about my dirt. We were in our yard one day visiting with a neighbor who was telling us what kind of trees etc. we have when he asked us if we knew we had an asphalt road buried on an acre of our property. No we didn't know it so he took us to it, started digging into around 2 inches of dirt and underneath was a road (complete with yellow stripes and everything). It's an old residential road used before they re-routed everything and built a new one. It's been there long enough for a very determined tree seed (nut or whatever) to push it's way up through the asphalt and grow. You can see the broken asphalt coming up like a small wave around the trunk of this 30 ft tall tree. To think of this little seed breaking through and growing so tall is absolutely amazing. Everytime I look at it I am reminded of the Bible verse that says we just need the faith of a mustard seed. ANYWAY, we pulled up the rich, black, topsoil off of that buried road and sifted it through chicken wire to use in our flower garden.
I "hope" that was a good idea. (lol)

The road would make a fun track for ATV's, there is still a lot of clearing to do (not to mention poison ivy/oak to deal with). Whatever..that tree will "never" be cut down while I live here. One day I'll get a pic of it for the internet.

I went back and read all the posts on this thread. I'm going to copy and paste them into a text file because I can't remember all the questions I wanted to ask when reading them and there are sooo many great tips! Thanks All!

Demi

Demi....I still have the clipping from years ago that Organic Gardening posted. I'm taking a guess and saying it's been over 8 years now. But I will give all the info they have on the little piece I have, will make it better for you.

OG:
Even gardeners with extremely limited space can grow potatoes, by growing tehm in a "container". In fact, such growers can expect extra big yields, because you increase the "tuber zone"---the vertical space between the seed piece and the soil surface in which potatoes grow---in this system. And harvesting couldn't be easier: you just dump out the container and sift through the soil for your spuds at the end of the season. Here's how to do it:

Form a circle out of chicken wire about two feet in diameter and put six inches of soil and compost in the bottom of this cage. Place two or three seed potatoes on top of that, then cover it all with four more inches of soil and compost.
Wrap the entire container in burlap or an old sheet to block the sun. Each week for the next six weeks put another inch of soil and mulch on top. Water twice a week (if it doesn't rain) to maintain even moisture, and feed your spud crib with compost tea every three weeks.
When the foliage that has been continued to grow over and above your added mulch shrivels, your spuds are ready. Just dump and eat.[There are three pictures to show how the cages are made, the first is a round cage of chicken wire, the second has a burlap cover covering the sides only, not the top, and the third has the round cage opened on one side and the dirt has fallen in a little mound with the potatoes mixed in the soil.]

Like I said...I'm actually an amateur at actually growing a large garden, I'm just a nut who researched a whole lot before I began "digging in the dirt". I've never planted potatoes myself yet, but when I do this how I will try them the first year. It seems so easy to do and I love fresh potatoes.... but while dieting I got to curb it a bit. On your dilemma about growing lettuce...ever thought about having a window box inside to grow maybe some romaine lettuce? This way you can control the heat and also don't have to fight the rabbits for it, like I do now. And romaine tastes just as good as iceberg on hamburgers (the cook in me).

When I lived in a little apartment in Washington DC I had three windows in my kitchen on the 4th floor and I put in shelves to plant a mini garden of tom thumb carrots, radishes, lettuce, spinache and other veggies that didn't need too deep for roots. I used those three basket kitchen (ya know the small-medium-large hanging wire basket?) to plant strawberries in....had a boyfriend who kept asking if he could pick them.

Hope this help...
Morganna

Morganna,


I'm so glad you have a garden. I can just imagine the fun of growing one in an apartment in Washington DC. NOT !

Thanks for the directions on growing potatoes. It sounds easy enough and I could attach the cages to my back wooden fence. I'll look into it more and may try to plant some like that. It reminds me of visiting my parents one day. My Dad went out and dug the little red potatoes and gathered the greens we had at lunch. It doesn't get fresher than that!

I got a couple of nice surprises today. I found grapes growing behind the garden. We will have to get them onto a trellis! Also, the morning glorys I planted in April are blooming.

I'm being very distracted as I write. There is a mouse caught on the other side of the room I am in. There is just about nothing that scares me more than mice. I know how stupid and irrational it is but it's one of those life long things I've had. I even saw a psychologist about it years ago in College when I was suppose to handle lab rats for a college course. When I first saw this mouse run across the room tonight I got my husband out of bed and made him go to Walmart for mouse traps. The selection was limited and the one that caught this mouse is mouse-friendly (like I really care). It doesn't kill them and your suppose to skip out and gently release them unharmed when they get trapped. He is over there trying to get out now. He is scratching and rattling the little box.

I've got to go get my husband back up (lol). I'll have to make this up to him.

Demi

Demi....
You're welcome about the tater cages, let us know how they turn out. As for your mouse problem....trust me, it could be worse.

I have Maine Coon cat name Morpheus who catches them and then brings them into the living room, or wherever I happen to be, and play with it until it dies. Then he will continue to "play" with it by picking it up and tossing it in the air....like THAT is going to revive it. Once he tossed it into the air and it landed in my coffee cup. I threw the cup away with the mouse as well.

Happy Gardening...
Morganna

OMG, that is awful. I'd have nightmares over it. I'm afraid Morpheus wouldn't last at
my house. I'd be a basket case (you seem pretty cool about it!) LOL

I thought about getting a cat and actually posted some questions on the PETS forum but you pretty much made my mind up with this story. No cat! My husband disposed of this mouse and I guess we will just get lots of traps. There is a cat that comes around some times. I think I'll put out some milk next time I see it. Maybe it will take his catch to his real home.

On the garden front my green snap beans are filling out.

Demi

Morganna- You grew all those veg. indoors in your kitchen- that is amazing! Did you have grow lights or was the light from the windows enough?
Morpheus- what a beautiful name for a Maine Coon- love those cats!
Demi- I have a very bad mouse phobia too-almost as bad as my snake phobia. Leave out some water anyway for the neighborhood cat- his scent around your house might keep the mice at bay. Our neighbor used to borrow one of our cats just for that purpose-they would let them inside their home for a couple of hours regularly!
Well I have my tomatoes in the ground now that I think the risk of frost at night is over, as well as hot peppers,lettuce,oregano,rosemary,thyme and parsley. Never had any luck with carrots or potatoes here.
Lilacs are still looking beautiful:).How's everyone else's garden?

It has been hot and muggy in TN the past week. My garden looks so sick.
The cukes and tomatoes are in really bad shape. I have them in containers but today I'm going to a place which actually has a sign (FREE HORSE MANURE). I'll fertilize and then transplant the cukes and tomatoes into the ground (hope it works).

DLM, YES there is a neighborhood cat that has been hanging out. I took an
old bowl and wrote with magic marker on the inside bottom "goes good with mice"..then I poured Milk in it and set it out. LOL

Have a good day..I'm off to literally shovel sh*t!!

Is anyone following this thread anymore? I wanted to see how your gardens are doing. I have had fun but I think the beans are to much work! When I get in from the garden I don't like having a pot of beans to shell before I can cook them. I have pulled some huge horn worms off the tomato plants but other than that and having to hoe to irrigate when we had near flood conditions most everything is growing.

I hope all of you are knee deep in veggies!

Ooh.. do not like those hornworms:eek: but I read that birds do, so if you don't have a birdbath you might want to think about getting one. We are way, way behind you! We are only just beginning to see signs of our beautiful purple beans now and tiny tomatoes. Zucchini plants have large blossoms but that's about all so far. Lettuce and herbs are doing very well. Right now we need some rain.

DLM,

The birdbath is an interesting idea..maybe next year. There are entirely to many projects going on around here now! This year has given me a feel for what I really am enjoying and what I can do without.

I wrote before about the birds making a nest in a tub on the porch. They have gone a step farther. I had some dirty jeans hanging on a nail outside to
put on again when I went back out to the garden. I was just going to be inside for a couple of hours but stuff happens and it was over a week those
jeans hung there. When I did go to put them on one day a bird had started building a nest inside of them!

You must be in the North. Do you have any blueberries? There is a type that can be grown in the South (rabbiteye) but getting them started is a very long process and I think it's 10 years (honest I read it!) before you get anything from them.

I've been getting beans from the garden for 3 weeks, now I have tomatoes (cherry type) and bpth bell and hot peppers ready. In July I can plant for a
fall garden.

ttyl,

Demi

Greetings, gardeners! From here in lower NY, this report - very strange weather this sprint . . .it's still June but the raspberries are already ripe and I actually picked a ripe tomato yesterday. I have NEVER had tomatoes before mid-July 'til now. Lettuce is already gettin to bolt stage (time to resow), corn is drowning from all the rain. Some beast got all my melon plants - I think it was the chipmunks - nibbled them all off at the ground.
My garden plot is 25 years old (or maybe more), and is suffering now from anthracnose infestation. The only cure I've found by reading up is to bake it -180 degrees - or bromine gas. Neither one is practical, so I'm spreading out my plants that are susceptible . . . all around the house and grounds. I worry about deer/rabbits, but I'm hoping the dog will chase anything away.
Flowers have been amazing for so early - lilies and dahlias are massive and very bright this year, but the morning glories and moon flowers are discouraged by this weather - too much moisture for them.
As I type the rain is falling for the 9th day!!! My horses are about to mildew!
Hope your weather is a little more moderate - ciao.

Demi- I loved your story about the birds making a nest in your jeans!! I hope you took a picture; I am still laughing:D !! Yes I am up North in Canada, but I am not growing blueberries although I look forward every year to going to the farmer's markets and getting the wild ones- they are so good! My peppers still only have blossoms but there are finally tiny zucchini. What do you plant for your Fall garden?

nimuay- raspberries already and ripe tomatoes? That is amazing and aren't you lucky:). I love moonflowers but only got one blossom last year so gave up. We got a bit of rain yesterday but really could use some of yours! You must have acres of land- how many horses do you have?

DLM - I live on an estate, and run the barn here. 6 horses, and a lot of teaching. It doesn't really leave me much time for gardening, and besides, the estate manager is jealous of all the lawns, so there's not enough planting space to make me really happy. Not to mention the deer and bunnies that ravage my crops if I try to plant without fencing.

DLM-
I live in a suburb of Memphis. We moved here from Alexandria Virginia where we paid outrageous rent on a 1 bedroom apartment 6 miles from the White House. Here we have 4 acres in a serene, forest setting but we are only 12 miles from downtown. Today I visited an elderly couple who rented a house to us the first 3 months we were here while we looked for a house. They showed me their blueberry bushes. I will plant those in the fall if I can. He said they are rabbiteyes which is the only kind we can grow this far South.

I don't know what all I can plant yet for the fall..just read that I can in July, lol.

The people we bought this place from left a large dog kennel here. I guess that is what it's called. It's around 4ft by 8 ft (maybe 10 ft). Anyway, my husband bent some pipes over the top and secured them to give it a rounded top..kind of like a rib cage. Over this he is putting plastic and WALLA..instant greenhouse! He's still working on it but it's really cute.

I didn't take pictures of the bird nest but I was told some kind of small wren always builds around houses instead of in trees.

nimuay-

Mildewed horses --lol, that's a picture. Tell me your joking! It sounds like a beautiful place if it stops raining. I've been watching the weather and it's unbelievable. I think they had 12 deaths last week up you way due to storms. 2 truckers were killed when the road just collapsed in the rain and unknowingly they drove into a 20 ft pit. Forget the garden, I pray you will stay safe!

I planted moonflowers in pots but they haven't bloomed. But, I also have morning glories and they totally rock! They are growing on 4 ft trellis'es (msp?) that surround the pool. I have 4-5 different colors growing. They are soooo pretty. It's hard to believe but I read morning glories are considered a pest to farmers in Mississippi.

Demi - make sure to prepare your soil for those blueberries - they usually like a very acidic soil.
Yes, I'm kidding about the mildewed horses, but they can get rain-rot, a skin fungus. Mine don't have it, because I curry them daily.
Today the SUN IS OUT!

nimuay- your lifestyle sounds almost idyllic: living on an estate, running the barn, 6 horses,teaching.I really want to hear more :)!

Demi-I had never heard of the rabbiteye blueberries so looked them up and saw that they are called that because the unripe fruit resembles the white eyes of a rabbit-now that makes sense! Converting a dog kennel into a greenhouse- that has to be one of the most innovative,creative ideas I have heard in a long while:thumbsup: . Hope we can see it when it's finished.

DLM - It's idyllic, if you discount the facts that I work 7 days a week, and in the summer start at 6 am and finish at 8 pm.
I do love it, though. Just had to get accustomed to full self-reliance and a good network of friends to lend a hand in emergencies like sprained ankles and pneumonia, or the occasional vacation. Which I'm taking next week, incidentally - Vermont, on Lake Champlain.

I'm here to confess!

Last week I said screw it and pulled up every bean plant ( 2 types-5 rows).
Between the weeds and heat I just gave up. Amazing I don't feel one bit of regret. I still have corn, peppers, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers but no bean rows! I feel FREE..lol

Demi-I know how you feel! I have given up on the weeds (I swear they grow inches while I watch them:p ) and my beautiful burgundy beans have only produced a few beans this years. Think it's too hot. Have some zucchini, tomatoes at last:yay: , lettuce has bolted, lots of herbs though. I think I will try cucumbers next year. Did you plant the seedless English ones or just the regular ones?