Spring Gardens
 

Hi everyone! Spring is right around the corner. It's time to consider what we are going to plant. It's easy to set up a small "bucket garden" anywhere. Get a few buckets or pots and hand mix some potting soil with some humus, and chicken or cow manure. It's amazingly easy to grow your own veggies and greens in a simple bucket or pot on the patio. Spinach and swiss chard grows well, and any time you want to supplement a salad, just go out and snip a few leaves and they grow right back. Radishes grow quickly, and a favorite of mine is radishes, carrots, potatoes, tossed in olive oil and roasted in the oven. A patio or deck garden is a great way to include children and other family members without a whole lot of work. Everything you grow is fresh and healthy. Mothers can sit with their children and say," what would you like to grow this year?," and write down their suggestions in a notebook, and then when you feel able, go buy the seeds and materials. It's a good way to get out into the sunshine and get a little exercise. Go do it! Why not? I expect to hear stories of wonderful bucket gardens come this spring and summer. Love, Bill

OMG, Bill! I want so badly to grow my own food, but I just feel like I would screw it up... tell me more, tell me more! And if I don't have access to manure, what is good in it's place? How much sunshine? Full sun, partial sun? Do the buckets need holes in the bottom? Hummus like I eat on a pita w/ falafel? In the soil?

Bill and Brenda,

I am laughing - not at this great idea, but at two of the comments.
Bill, spring is not right around the corner for a lot of us. Planting my
garden is a long way off. Brenda, your humus vs. hummus comment
has me giggling.

This is a great idea. I plant a veggie garden every summer. I grow
carrots, cucumbers, swiss chard, tomatoes, parsley, chives, leaf lettuce (which likes to grow in the shade) and pumpkins. I grow the pumpkins for fun - we have a short growing season and my pumpkins don't get very big.

Gardening is a lot of fun and quite easy if you do it in containers. I have a small garden which is a lot of work, but I enjoy it.

This is me and my pumpkin from 2005.

Attachment 278

PinkGirl
I used to have a huge garden when my children were small...like you I grew tomoatoes, carrots, beets, peppers, onions, potatoes, green beans, okra, parsley, lettuce, radishes....it was a huge garden, and I canned alot for use later on...my Mom still has a huge garden....I once grew a carrot that was as big as my twin girls...seriously, it weighed more than either of them, their picture was in the papaer and UPI picked it up off the wire and the picture went all over the USA,Canada & Europe....I have 2 scrapbooks filled with pictures from all over....each has a different caption...14K Carrot, Twins as big as a carrot, it is funny to look back at them...they even made Farm Wife News (never knew there was such a magazine)....people would just send them to my name and the town I lived in and I would get them...
So, after all that we are expecting some phenomenol veggies from you this year...and pictures!!!!

Wow, Pinkie, you got me laughing, too. I thought spring was right around the corner, but I guess in Canada maybe it comes in late, like maybe August or something, I don't know that much about Canada. (Do you have June, July, and August up there, or do you just jump straight from May to September?) It looks like you really are an awesome gardener, though, I love your picture of you with your pumpkin. Sheila, you sound like Queen of gardening! That sounds like one awesome carrot! Did you eat it? Just curious. I wasn't trying to imply that nobody knew anything about gardening, I just thought that alot of people think of it as hard back-breaking work, and it doesn't have to be. And, last but not least, Hucklebuck, all you really need to do is get a few 5 gallon buckets or pots, and get some potting soil. They sell composted cow manure at most Home Depots or large hardware stores, if not get some miracle grow. You can't mess anything up, trust me. It's best to just plant 2 or 3 things at first, just to get the hang of it. I see you live in Texas, just make sure if you plant seeds, that they stay moist all the time until they sprout, and maybe keep your pots where they get some shade during the hot afternoons. And, yes put some holes in the bottom of your containers. It's important not to try too much all at once, just a few containers to start off with. You can do it. Take care and good luck, Bill

I love to garden. This year in Idaho we may not get spring because winter has decided to return to Boise after a 10 year or more absence. Boise is basically in a banana belt with very mild winters (probably because we are basically in a desert.) (OMG, I must love the word "basically".) Anyhow, I am 69 years old and still run the rototiller and do all the gardening myself with "old whats his name" sitting on the deck telling me how to do it and my dog following my every step barking at the noisy machine. I plant mostly tomatoes and then freeze them whole or in sauce. Sheila, I also plant okra as I really love it. I am so glad I learned to to like it in spite of its gooeyness. Cucumbers, peppers, and beans pretty much cover the rest of it. Oh, and lots of herbs too. Root vegetable don't do particularly well in my soil as it is pretty much what they call "hard pan" around here and no amount of compost, rototilling, and gypsum has really impacted it.
I think it would be fun to keep this thread going until we harvest and compare our goodies.
Sheila, I love the carrot story and PinkGirl, I have observed, at least above my part of the world, that Canada may grow late but it sure does grow big.
Bill, I thank you for starting this thread & don't feel guilty about remembering Nicole and sending her messages.
Oh, and "old whats his name" goes by Ken.
Love & hugs,
Marlys

Cute story to add
 

A Dear Friend with MS came from the other side of the state to surprise us at chemo. In her arms was a pretty planter with berried Juniper branches, holly, some wooden fruit and a giant Amaryllis bulb. As we were called for our chemotherapy she got up to leave and handed me this treat. Just her coming so far to see us (like it is a huge state..hehe) made my day and then the planter....complete joy. Now I can have something alive to represent her friendship and vibrant personality.

Ed did not say anything about the flower planter because he did not want to insult her, but he did not know what it was. As our nurses were admiring the craftiness of our mutual friend who grows her own flowers to help her stay limber, Ed replied:

"What is that Marie?? A TURNIP??" Needless to say he provided us with his innocent humor and we were crying tears of laughter.

Long story short, I have started my growing season. In the months to come I will be planting all fresh herbs. I do not stop here because even basil is complex...Lemon basil, Chocolate basil (this year I will plant it in honor of our PinkGirl), etc. Thyme...Italian thyme, lemon thyme and so on. Ed is Italian so he needs his fresh herbs or food just is "disgustoso" (disgusting)!! We do alot of container planting and I perfer to do so, it is so fun to watch things grow and flourish. There will be containers of tomatoes, peppers, carrots and YES....turnips!! LOL!! Let's keep this thread 'GROWING'. Thanks Bill>>Believe51

OK Pink Girl, you want me to do some work....the picture occured in 1975, OK so I am getting old....I went to google Twins as big as a carrot 1975 , you can see part of the picture, artical in the Sheboygan Press , (a Wisconsin paper it was in) at the bottom of the first google page....I will have to get to my kids to retrieve and take a picture of the article.....I remember it was in the Winnepeg Free Press???, also Colorado, Idaho, California, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Kansas, Missouri....can't remember all of the papers....my kids live 45 miles away...my next trip I will retrieve!!!!! Yes, they were babies....like a couple months old...

Sheila, I've been googling and I can't
find anything about your 1975 carrot.

Here's a pic of the biggest pumpkin I've
ever grown. It was in 2005. I don't include
2006 and 2007 pumpkins because you wouldn't
be able to tell the difference between the
pumpkin and my head.

Attachment 279

http://www.google.com/url?q=http://s...FTNZCucm3L8vmQ

Pink


I hope this links it
It worked for me....love the pumpkin...great carving, will you carve mine this year???

Thanks Sheila - I could open it. Cute babies, nice carrot.

spring gardens
 

Hi,
I started with basil and garlic. I am ready to get some more things that I can grow in pots in a sunny location.
Any ideas?

no garden for me except a flower garden. that is if they aren't all flooded out.

Elaine, I planted a pot of Greek Oregano about 6 years ago in a big pot outside and it comes back fuller each year. I like Swiss chard and spinach in pots, too. They do well and you just go out to the patio and snip a few leaves whenever you want to supplement a salad. Carrots and radishes do well in pots, too. If you've never had a roasted radish, you don't know what you've been missing. First, throw some good cooking music into the CD player. Then crack open a beverage of your choice. Next, take a large baking pan (I prefer Pyrex) and throw in some Olive oil, and pour some into the dish with one hand while you sip your beverage with the other. It's important to think about whatever you normally think about when you pour olive oil at this point, or the recipe just doesn't seem the same. Next, snap your fingers, shake your hips and twirl around in a tight circle, stopping right at your cutting board, and start dicing potatoes, and flip 'em into the pan, covering the bottom. Next, take a sip of your beverage, and grab a bunch of carrots and cut them into 3 inch chunks, and throw them into the pan, (most of these ingredients should be in your bucket garden, except for the potatoes- you must steal them) Clean up your radishes and throw them into the pan too. Take a spatula and stir/flip the veggies to coat them. At this point you take a sip of your beverage, admire your work, and say "damn, that looks good". But wait, it's not over yet, you must take another sip of your beverage and take a deep breath and focus. The next step is very important. You must go back out to your bucket garden and harvest just the right amount of basil and oregano to add to the pan. Mix it in and add a little freshly ground pepper and bake in the oven at 350 degrees F until you think it's done, sipping and stirring occasionally. It's really good.

Spring gardens
 

Hi,
Thanks Bill. Yum. Yum. The veggies sound great. I will try your recipe.

what is good cooking music?
 

Bill, that does sound good (although I guess I can't do it as sipping my favorite bevvie is off limits for now). But I do have a question...What is good cooking music? does it vary by dish? I sort of like to cook to "low rider", and of course any ZZ Top is good for really rockin the skillet but on the other hand, sometimes "Cheeseburger in Paradise" is in order...

Just curious

Cooking music- Boiling crabs, steaming shrimp, etc.- Bob Marly, or any decent reggae, Jimmy Buffet. Making stews or soups should be Neil Young or Gordon Lightfoot. Baking a turkey, chicken, game hen or anything that winds up in your Ojibwa bird-snare- Beethoven or smooth, mellow jazz. Making home-made spaghetti- jazz or India Arie. Chili- classic bluegrass or Old Crow Medicine Show is acceptable. Roasting/grilling of red meats with side dishes- Sinatra, Tony Bennet, etc. Slicing/cutting large amounts of vegetables should be Seal followed by Santana's Abraxas. I hope this helps.

Finally - garden bounty.
 

So, how is everyone coming with their gardening this year?
This is for You, Bill, to show you that it is not all ferns and pines here in the misty woods, though we have those too...

Everything is quite late this year due to cooler weather, but it is finally breaking into the high 80's today and may hit 90 tomorrow. It will be short-lived here, however.

Just wanted to show a couple of my early summer bounty that we can finally enjoy. My rose bushes are getting a healthy first bloom and the strawberries are good eating now. Lilies, raspberries, etc. are on their way.

We've had a cool, rainy Spring and everything is
late. The lilac trees are still in bloom and should be finished by now.
Attachment 466

Nice StephN!
Also, like your selection of cookn music BBB...Marley and Santana!!
I have been talking, talking, talking about starting a veg garden. Have never gardened in my life but really want to give it a try.

But...we are going to bbq tonight and speaking of veggies I do have a good suggestion for the bbq: You cut up and toss with EVOO and whatever seasonings you like: onions, zuchini, mushrooms, cherry tomatos, peppers, and then I put them in this bbq pan and throw it over the fire. Turns out GREAT!! Kinda like a shishkabob without the stick!

Harriecanarie

Wow, Steph, that is a beautiful rose and some deliscious-looking strawberries. You definitely have a green thumb. Thanks for sharing!

spring gardens
 

Hi,
I started a garden about a month ago, but I can't figure out what my arugula plant wants. Does arugula like full sun, partial sun, a cool place or a hot place? How much water does it want?
I have a little struggling basil, arugula, some radishes, a tiny cherry tomato plant, some rosemary, some chives, some green onions, one garlic and a couple leeks. I also have an aloe plant and a Christmas cactus. We use aloe for minor skin burns in our part of the world. Some Asians here take it in warm water it minor constipation or stomach aliments. I haven't tried that though.
I have a funny story about leeks. I planted the bottoms of some leeks I got a the supermarket in some potting soil in a plastic container and they started growing. My Canadian aunt who is really into gardening said it couldn't be done and I wasn't doing it properly, but the leeks have been growing pretty fast. I need to take some photos to send to her. Smile.
Is there anything else I can plant in plastic pots in a hot, kind of humid sunny climate?

Elaine, carrots, Oregano, swiss chard, and spinach does well in pots also. Pinkie, here in Va, I like to cook soups and stews when it's cold and miserable outside, and there's frost on the windows, so I guess without realizing it, I just gravitated toward earthy, folksy, Canadian-type tunes. Harriecanarie, you really should start a garden. Just start with a few plants and pots/plots and work your way up if you feel like it. Most people go crazy early in the spring and work themselves have to death and then by mid-summer, they're sick of it and wind up with too many plants and a lousy-looking garden. Just go out tomorrow and get some 5-10 gallon pots and some potting soil and a pack or 2 of seeds and do it. Don't even think about, just do it.

It that IT???? I just need the 5 - 10 gal pots, soil and seeds? Wow, if it is THAT easy, I will do just that! Will go out next weekend and get started!

It is that easy, Harrie, just go do it. You don't need to plant a hundred acres and slave in the hot sun all day, just a bucket or two of greens, and when they come in, just go out on the porch and snip a few here and there with a pair of scissors and throw it in your salad. Actually, Harrie, my "people" are steering me to Alaska real soon, but after that I'm free for a month or so. I've got a real sweet sea kayak, and some close buds in San Diego, so after my Alaska trip, I could throw some rich VA soil and a few pots and seeds aboard and just paddle it all out to you, if that would help. Just let me know, Bill

BBB, so you get to go to both Alaska and then San Diego? Awesome!
Hawaii (and CA) both have some very strict ag restrictions. One day.....a few yrs ago, we have this lichee tree growing in our yard (also grow Mountain Apple, pineapples, oranges, tangeringes, lemons, limes, pamalo,) I did not plant these and I don't do a thing to the trees other then pick the fruit when I feel like it, so I was not kidding when I said I have never grown anything dispite the fact that we have all this growing in our yard. ANYWAYS...to get on with my story, we had a bumper crop of lichee so I wanted to send a small sample to my aunt in Calif. So I picked this small tiny branch with maybe 3 -4 lichee on it so she could sample it and after I mailed it out, I got this notice from the ag inspector at the PO that said they confiscated the fruit (was smelled out by their dog) and were fining me $100.00 for trying to mail it out to CA without having it agriculturally inspected!
What do you think of THAT!!??

I'm sorry, Harrie, that sounds messed up. I'm not sure what a lichee plant is, but next time you want to send some to your aunt, take a few snips, wrap them in a moist paper towel, and then put that in a zip-lock bag. Then, tape the zip-lock bag to the left side of your face with gauze and medical tape. From your computer, print out a card which you carry with you that says, "I am an experimental TMJ patient. I cannot speak", and then just fly the Lichee to your aunt in CA. You won't have any trouble, but if you do, just flash the card. Trust me, it will work.

Elaine
 

All greens like sunny coolness. Usually in NJ (where we have the 4 distinct seasons) greens are planted in early April and are done now (although I still have some Swiss chard but that goes during the long weekend and I will plant some pole beans then).

Can't give any advice on root vegetables because I have never done them, ever - except for carrots.

This year the flowers are great. In my veggie garden I did mesclun greens, spinach, romaine and Swiss chard (all done but the chard. I have about 7 heads of romaine left in the frig). I will start pole beans in a couple of days. I have 13 tomato plants (different kinds) and 12 pepper plants (all different), acorn squash, cucumbers, thyme, oregano, basil and parsley.

I love this time of year even though its been really hot early.

spring gardens
 

Thanks for the tips. I will move the greens, to a sunny, but cooler location.
My friend who lives on Oahu gave me some lychee. Sweet with lots of juice!! Yum. Yum. I heard they are healthy too. Sorry to hear about your experience with the ag folks Marrianne. Those people should let small amounts of fresh goodies meant for personal consumption go through. I guess they want to segregate pests. You should be able to grow a few veggies in your yard in Hilo Marriane.

Elaine...Thanks for the correction...it is lychee, not lichee!
The fruit industry is so huge in CA, that they don't want to take any risks. Hmmm.....what about the fruit from other states on the mainland or Mexico, yea???

Becky and Elaine, are you growing your in pots or in the ground?

Where we live use to be a sugar plantation area, so in contrast to most places on the Big Island that is mostly lava with minimal dirt, our property is fortunate to have lots of dirt.

Maryanne

Spring Gardens
 

Hi,
Marrianne, you should be able to grow things if you live near sugar cane lands and your place has alot of dirt.
I have had fresh veggies from the Big Island which were delicious.
I went to the Star Market Garden Shop and bought a few of the biggest plastic pots I could find. Then I got some organic potting soil and a couple packages of seeds. I also bought a couple plants already started for $1.29 each. My friend who has one of those rented city garden plots near the Ala Wai Canal gave me a couple other things to plant. I have my plants in the big pots in front of my living room window, but I think I will move the arugula to a sunny, but cooler location. I am anxious to get more, but I want to wait and see how successful I am first. I will go to City Mill or Home Depot to see what they have next. Good luck. Let us know how your garden is coming along.

Thanks Elaine and Bill,
Am very anxious to give my hand at growing veggies. I think I will be super excited when I see my very first crop of whatever I decide to grow. I plan to go out maybe on 4th of July and get started!!!!
Thanks for your help. Oh...do I need to get fertilizer?
Maryanne

Yes, get some organic compost to mix in with the garden dirt and some bone meal or something as a growth booster.

Get plants that are not TOO small as these need a lot of tending to get going.

I think they also have Miracle Grow for vegetable gardens and that way you can really impress your neighbors!

My Dahlia area in my back garden is starting to look like something now, but it will be a while before I get flowers in late summer. I planted a little "patch" of tubor varieties and put a brick border around it.

o.k., Harrie,
I will get started this week too. So far, I have only purchased a few organic herb plants at Whole Foods and they are hanging out in my kitchen. I will now get more serious about growing things, with all of this inspiration (including Steph's beautiful pictures).
karen

Yes, Sheila, PinkGirl and Steph all posted some great pics!! So Let's GO Karen!! Maybe someday everyone can see my cute little fresh cherry tomatoes!!!

o.k., Harrie,
I am in- I start this Friday too!!
And a trip to Hawaii to view crops sounds good to us all!
karen