Vegetable Gardening Anyone?

[thelox714]

Hello to all,

I know there are many other forums for gardening but wondered how many people here on the DIS had their own vegetable gardens, regardless of size. I am only in my second season but enjoying every minute of it.

Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are just the tip of the iceberg. What are other DIS members growing out there?

Luis

[LockShockBarrel]

I don't grow veggies (pretty much just keep some orchids around) but if you ever go to Epcot you should check out the Behind the Seeds tour. It's an hour long guided walking tour of the greenhouses you see during the Living with the Land ride.

[mybestieismickey]

We haven't planted yet, but will get to it in probably April. Our garden changes. This year we will likely do carrots, corn, green beans, green onions and tomatoes. We may try yellow onions again, but they didn't do too well last year and while our peas were great, we weren't too good about remembering to use them. Although my dog was more than happy to snack off the plant once she figured out what was there. :rotfl: Our goal this year is to be much better about using the produce. We garden box it, but we get lots of produce from our 6x6 box.

[thelox714]

I don't grow veggies (pretty much just keep some orchids around) but if you ever go to Epcot you should check out the Behind the Seeds tour. It's an hour long guided walking tour of the greenhouses you see during the Living with the Land ride.

I love orchids. I think they are my favorite flower but they are not easy to care for and are too expensive to buy. I actually took that tour on our December trip and I loved it. Heck, I loved the boat ride.

We haven't planted yet, but will get to it in probably April. Our garden changes. This year we will likely do carrots, corn, green beans, green onions and tomatoes. We may try yellow onions again, but they didn't do too well last year and while our peas were great, we weren't too good about remembering to use them. Although my dog was more than happy to snack off the plant once she figured out what was there. :rotfl: Our goal this year is to be much better about using the produce. We garden box it, but we get lots of produce from our 6x6 box.

I haven't tried corn yet but I have tried yellow onions from seed and they are a hard bunch. I know I can buy the "sets" but I get more satisfaction from seeing it grow from something so small.

I tried growing snow peas last year and loved them but my issue was getting them into the house. I would drop one into my basket and eating one. I never really got much but they grew really well.

I'm lucky enough to have about 100 sq ft of actual garden space and much more room for as many containers as I please. I am looking into doing more vertical gardening to get more out of it.

[bobbiwoz]

I grow mostly tomatoes and cucumbers. Even though I've lived in our present home for 18 years and tried, I cannot get asparagus to grow here. They are perennial, and I had a wonderful crops when we lived in NJ or PA, but here, no.

I have raspberry plants and they are easy to grow and very prolific.

I have a small herb garden, and I love fresh basil and parsley and I do grow onion sets. I haven't had luck with rosemary and thyme, but I'll try again. Celantro grows well, but I'm not crazy about it.

Bobbi:thumbsup2

DH and I enjoyed the Behind the Seeds tour . I always go to F&G at Epcot.

[PrincessInOz]

I don't have a vegie patch but I grow my vegetables in amoung the flower beds. Whilst it doesn't look as pretty or neat, I find that I lose less crop to the insects this way.

My garden soil is sandy loam; so I've found that lettuce of all sorts grows well, cherry tomatoes (no luck with any other variety), zucchini and squash seem to thrive. Potatoes also grow wild in my garden.
I've had moderate success with corn, pumpkin and eggplant.
Little or no luck at all with beans, cucumber nor snow peas.

I've got a number of (small) fruit trees - apricot, cherry, apple, black currant and practically every type of popular citrus (orange, mandarin, cumquat, grapefruit, lemon and lime). We also have a smattering of strawberry plants that we use as border/edging plants as well.

Herbs also do reasonably well in my garden. I use them as border/edging plants so I have various varieties of thyme and oregano.

I'm Asian - so I also have a curry leaf plant, galangal, Vietnamese mint and kaffir lime in my garden as well.

Sadly, cilantro, basil, parsley, lemon grass either bolt to seed or die in my garden.

Last year, we were away a lot; so I've not put in any vegies. Because we had so much rain, the fruit trees all seem to be growing well; but with very little fruit. I'm very hopeful for a better crop this year...and more time to plant the veg. Unfortunately, that probably means less time on the Dis for me...:rotfl:

[bobbiwoz]

Princess, you reminded me! Mint grows very well. I have spearmint and peppermint, lots of it! Your garden sound wonderful!

[donaldduck352]

Hold on to your tiller posters.Give me another month here in FLA,that way I know no more freezing,and I'll start posting pictures of my garden!! :thumbsup2

[DebºoºS]

It's still way too cold here in the Garden State for planting but I am starting to plan. I'd like to try some new grapes and plant more lavendar. I plant herbs in between the flowers and also in large pots on the deck for easy access when I'm cooking.

We have flower gardens both annual and perrenial. An ever growing/expanding vegetable gardens with tomatoes, peppers, squash, asparagus, pumpkins, cucumbers, onions, melons, lettuce, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, herbs and a mini vineyard with chardonnay grapes.
:)Looking forward to everyones pics and growing tips this season.

Here are links to my pics:
Click the sunflower pic for more from our edible gardens.
http://debspix.smugmug.com/photos/1024457183_Dw3os-M.jpg (http://debspix.smugmug.com/Hobbies/The-Edible-Gardens/12789120_6ZRZF#1024457183_Dw3os)

click the Disneyland rose for more from our flower gardens
http://debspix.smugmug.com/Flowers/My-Blooming-Place/Copy-of-DEB0719/463559562_fhsBB-L.jpg (http://debspix.smugmug.com/Flowers/My-Blooming-Place/7215023_75xUB#463559562_fhsBB)

[SGMCO]

I get excited for gardenling after the first of the year because I have to start planning out what veggies I want to plant (we have a short growing season here)

I have been doing reserch for seeds that are perfect for colder shorter seasons and was able to order some of these. I hope they will grow easier than the generic brand seeds that you get from Home depot.

I will be able to plant brocolli, snow peas, carrots and lettus (these all do well here) in april and will have to wait on putting out tomatoes (roma--love fresh maranara) until late May early June depending on weather. I also will be planting summer squash (I like pattypan--they did great last year) and I'm going to try my hand at growing cantalopes (seeds especially for shorter season)and a Watermellon (created for shorter seasons) I can't wait.

I have established Herb Oregano plant that thrives and I usually plant sweet Basil(brought my basil plant in my strawberry pot inside over the winter and it's did great--yum fresh basil every week) and thinking about Rosemary.

I tried to plant asparagus with the dried roots (they didn't take) but from what I've read you can plant seeds in a section in your garde just devoted to the aparagus (so it won't be disturbed) and seeds tend to take better than the dried roots. Asparagus still takes up to 2 years to establish but can live and produce for up to 20 years once established.

We have Strawberry plants, raspberry plants, blueberries (male and female for pollenating) wild currents.
Hope everyones Garden is a Success this year--there's nothing better than fresh veggies from your own garden.

[hopemax]

I had to post when I saw where the previous poster lived. I am also in Arvada. :goodvibes This will be my 2nd year gardening. Last year, the lettuce, carrots and zucchini did really well. Also, herbs and my cherry tomato plant. Not so much the Roma or the larger tomato plant. Actually, it's funny. I had one Roma, that the main stalk snapped in the wind. I was so disappointed. But I staked really tightly around the broken area, because I read that it could heal itself. But I bought a second one. The 2nd one did terrible. Produced 3 fruit, and all rotted at the bottom. The one with the broken stalk recovered, and I got about a dozen or so, but they were small. I tried cucumber, onions and corn, but I don't think I had enough fertilizer in their part of the garden because while they all grew, they were stunted. I waited too long to get the peas started, so I am looking forward to growing some this year.

This year, I have some containers that I actually got from Disney, leftover from Food & Wine. We got them here, because I had a bunch of stuff stored at my parents that we had to move, from FL to CO anyway. But I have a large pot that I plan on using for potatoes. And some smaller boxes that I will use for the lettuce this year, and probably the tomatoes.

[SGMCO]

I had to post when I saw where the previous poster lived. I am also in Arvada. :goodvibes This will be my 2nd year gardening. Last year, the lettuce, carrots and zucchini did really well. Also, herbs and my cherry tomato plant. Not so much the Roma or the larger tomato plant. Actually, it's funny. I had one Roma, that the main stalk snapped in the wind. I was so disappointed. But I staked really tightly around the broken area, because I read that it could heal itself. But I bought a second one. The 2nd one did terrible. Produced 3 fruit, and all rotted at the bottom. The one with the broken stalk recovered, and I got about a dozen or so, but they were small. I tried cucumber, onions and corn, but I don't think I had enough fertilizer in their part of the garden because while they all grew, they were stunted. I waited too long to get the peas started, so I am looking forward to growing some this year.

This year, I have some containers that I actually got from Disney, leftover from Food & Wine. We got them here, because I had a bunch of stuff stored at my parents that we had to move, from FL to CO anyway. But I have a large pot that I plan on using for potatoes. And some smaller boxes that I will use for the lettuce this year, and probably the tomatoes.

Hi Neighbor:flower3: We'll have to compare how our gardens turn out and what was a success.

[PrincessInOz]

Princess, you reminded me! Mint grows very well. I have spearmint and peppermint, lots of it! Your garden sound wonderful!

My garden is a mess at the moment. We've had so much rain that the weeds are taking over the flower beds. Murphy's Law. I figured it was going to be a year where the drought in Oz might break and thought to give the beds a chance to recover. So, I deliberately didn't plant any summer veg this year...and also we were going to be away.

I have wild cherry tomatoes growing and a heap of couch grass. I also turned around the other day and there is a complete pumpkin vine taking over one corner of the garden.

Whilst my list of fruit trees sounds impressive, they are really only about 1 - 1.2 m high at best. But I might see if I can get out this weekend, weed and then take some shots to show you.

princess::upsidedow

[shinysparklybubbles]

We are in the process of buying a house and I can not wait to see how the sun hits the back yard so I can start a very simple garden. This will be my first attempt so it's going to be a big learning experience. I will be going with the motto keep it simple stupid! I guess I should starting read about growing stuff in NJ!! We have wonderful farms around us but would really like to grow some stuff on my own.

[SGMCO]

We are in the process of buying a house and I can not wait to see how the sun hits the back yard so I can start a very simple garden. This will be my first attempt so it's going to be a big learning experience. I will be going with the motto keep it simple stupid! I guess I should starting read about growing stuff in NJ!! We have wonderful farms around us but would really like to grow some stuff on my own.

I'm sure your garden will turn out great! we all had to have a start in gardening and it's a learning experiance and each year you learn more and more. :flower3:

[bobbiwoz]

...
I have wild cherry tomatoes growing and a heap of couch grass. I also turned around the other day and there is a complete pumpkin vine taking over one corner of the garden.

...princess::upsidedow

Most of the tomatoes that I get are volunteers, and last fall, I had 3 small, but perfect pumpkins growing under them. The pumpkins may have come from the compost heap.

I must have had old seed, but finally after my second planting, I have parsley and basil germinating. I'll put them in the garden when it warms up. I love fresh basil and parsley!

[Noah]

Here in California, I am growing Nasturtium, Radishes, Kale, Collard Greens, Potato, Mint, and Tomato. My only problem is that the caterpillars kept eating the Kale and now it's the aphids.

I'm going to read a book to find out the best solution.

[tinkergrumpybuns]

Had a back yard garden for years, even added a trio of ducks for bugging and "fertilizing". Of course best to keep them out of garden until established! I use raised beds.
Cukes, try making a half hoop over the raised bed ( mine are 4"x12") I staple the coated wire with the bigger rectangles to the edges and put a few stakes thru center so they don't sway in wind. I grow the cukes over them. Under I put stuff like lettuce what likes it cool so I can grown in heat of summer and reach under the hoop to pick hanging cukes!
For fast crop, try bok choi. Only plant a few at a time and keep adding as you pick.

I keep one area for herbs, the ducks run thru and it smells like stuffing, so I told them to knock it off! 8)

[CustomCartoonChecks]

I like growing tomatoes, because there are so many varieties that can be used in so many different dishes from salads to soups. I grow various herbs, green beans, and just last year I started banana peppers. I will try out more red, orange and green peppers this year, as they are pretty easy to grow and are very flavorful. I grow spinach, also, because it is way more flavorful from the garden than from the local store (but it goes pretty quickly).

[BernardandMissBianca]

Started talking about the garden with my mom today, we plant at her house because she has more usable acreage.
The rhubarb is starting to sprout, they look fabulous already.
We typically plant yellow squash, pumpkin, hubbard squash, tomatoes (grape, cherry and beefsteak), corn, green beans, and cucumbers. And DD grows sunflowers, those do really well.

we've tried green peppers but they don't take well.

I have a huge front yard and I'm considering digging up the majority of it for a garden, A) so I can have more fresh veggies, and B) so I don't have to cut it! :rotfl2:

I'd like to try potatoes this year, sweet potatoes and red potatoes.

Our school's head of maintenance is starting a community garden this year at the school. We have big plans! We will be doing ground plantings and roof top gardens. Hopefully we can get plenty of people to help out over summer.

[PrincessInOz]

As previously threatened...er......promised. Pictures of my fruit and vegie gardening.

When I open my front door, this is the view I normally see. This summer, all we've had is rain, rain and more rain...so this rain is pretty normal too.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots025.jpg


That area around the Japanese maple looks sad at the moment, but in spring, the Echium is in bloom.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/DisBoard%20Photo%20of%20the%20Day/1009GardenShots014.jpg


To the left of that area, I have a weeping mulberry and a grapefruit. I have Salvia as an underplant, Snow in Summer, oregano and thyme as groundcover and border edging there.

I have hibiscus and buddleja bushes growing around the corner for flower power.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots138.jpg


The grapefruit is doing well.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots140.jpg



Here's that wild pumpkin, with my 1600L water tank kinda in the back ground.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots121.jpg


Beneath my bedroom window, I have 3 lavender bushes that are in serious need of a cutback. The rains have been kind to them this year.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots122.jpg


Looking to the right of my front porch is the duo apple 'tree'. It has granny smith on it in the picture. The golden delicious side of the duo didn't do so well this year. There is a lemon verbena on this side of the house as well. I love the smell and on a balmy night, I sometimes go out and crush the leaves for the smell.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots137.jpg


My house and my son's 'house'. No prizes for guessing which is which. The cherry tree sits on this side as well...I think I seriously placed it in the wrong spot (the tree, not the cubby). This bed also has a chinese money tree that is incredibly prolific no matter how hard I cut it back. I also have a delightful yellow daisy bush in this bed. The border consists of seaside daisies. This is one of the beds that lettuce grows really well in.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots136.jpg

(Yes, I have 2kW of solar panels on my roof)


On the right side of the Japenese maple, I have a very sad camellia (not in shot), a cumquat and the lime.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots141.jpg


My limes get stolen a lot, but there is more than enough to keep me happy.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots143.jpg


The lemon sits on the other side of the front gate (the lime on the other).

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots115.jpg


We don't suffer from scurvy in my household!



The garden bed on that side of the house looks like this. I tend to grow cukes and zucchini in this bed; and use lettuce as an edging plant. It usually works well.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots135.jpg


Potato plants grow wild and mix about with the rose geranium under the lemon.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots145.jpg

The orange is reasonable this year; but the poor gardenia is not coping well. Come to think of it, gardenia does not do well at all in my garden.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots146.jpg




This is the Asian side of the house, down the side behind the cubby. The banana actually has fruit this year, the kaffir lime has heaps of gall wasp, you can see the galangal growing out and the taller bush at the back is the curry leaf plant. I use strawberry for the edge here. There is a taller tree right at the very back. It is a jacaranda and I love the purple hues in Spring.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots110.jpg


The fence side is all English plants - azeleas and camellias. The interesting plant here is a soap plant groundcover (the green leaves) that you soak the flowers in water overnight for a soapy liquid that you can use.


On the other side of the gate is an area just wide enough for a small table and a very basic fish bath. That bath was in the house when we bought it. It is exceedingly small; but the goldfish are happy there!

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots130.jpg


This is the back of the house. I have a little fernery area and am constantly amazed that the ferns are alive!

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots108.jpg



The cherry tomato self seeded in the recycling bin that I've used as a vegetable potting container this year.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots128.jpg


They were delicious!



My backyard is very small; and dominated by the apricot tree. Apricots were good last year; but way too much rain this year.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots125.jpg


This back bed is a mess. DH started putting roses in there...everyone of them has died, except for the Lincoln rose. It has a lovely scent and I'm waiting for it to fall over. I have a couple of asparagus crowns, a grapevine and a couple of chilean guava shrubs that live in this mess. None of them very productive.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots107.jpg



I have an olive tree on the other side of that bed. Olives are looking halfway decent this year. The jacaranda sits on the other side of the olive.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Mar%20Garden/11-MarGardenshots106.jpg


I have an Italian lavender bush and a rosemary; both about 0.5 meters high and they grow under the jacaranda.



That's the extent of my garden. Hope you enjoyed the pictures.


princess::upsidedow

ps. Deb MickeyEars....Not sure if you remember but we met last year at the DisMeet organised by TinkinLouisian at SAB. Nice to cross paths again.

[BernardandMissBianca]

I'm so jealous of all your fruit trees!!! I would love to have fruit trees here.

[hopemax]

I'd love fruit trees too, but I have no idea what they'd do. There is a cherry tree the birds get. I hear you can grow blueberries if you plant directly in a bale of peat moss, and use rain water (our water is too alkaline).

But I've started! Sort of. Last week, I bought the peat moss, today it was the compost and the potato and onion starters. And I bought some seeds. I went outside and started cleaning up all the dead stuff that has blown everywhere. This week, I will continue clean up, and get the soil amendments in the main garden and set up my new boxes and potato pot. I'm anxious to start planting the lettuce and peas. April, is just around the corner.

[PrincessInOz]

I'm so jealous of all your fruit trees!!! I would love to have fruit trees here.

When we moved into the house, we didn't have fruit trees. The previous owner had geraniums all over the garden and it was more of a traditional cottage garden.

Is your climate suitable for fruit trees?

I'd love fruit trees too, but I have no idea what they'd do. There is a cherry tree the birds get. I hear you can grow blueberries if you plant directly in a bale of peat moss, and use rain water (our water is too alkaline).

But I've started! Sort of. Last week, I bought the peat moss, today it was the compost and the potato and onion starters. And I bought some seeds. I went outside and started cleaning up all the dead stuff that has blown everywhere. This week, I will continue clean up, and get the soil amendments in the main garden and set up my new boxes and potato pot. I'm anxious to start planting the lettuce and peas. April, is just around the corner.

I've tried growing blueberries twice in different locations of my garden. Like the gardenias, the blueberries pretty much die. I've got some Chilean guava "shrubs" (for want a of better word) and they aren't dying; but they aren't blossoming either. They were better this year because of all the rain we have had....but I'm going to need to try the peat moss on them to see if it works.

It's autumn over here....time to clean up, prune and keep the weeds down.



On the other hand, it's the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (http://www.melbflowershow.com.au/) this weekend. I'm hoping to go on Saturday morning. Maybe I'll get some ideas for winter vegies.

If I go, I'll probably take my camera to take some shots of the display gardens. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll happily post the pictures (assuming that I get there!).

princess::upsidedow

[bobbiwoz]

You have a lovely garden, Princess...lots of variety.

Today I planted some vegetable seeds indoors. I do have parsley germinated that I'll transplant once the weather gets warmer. We have huge snowflakes coming down right now.

Bobbi:goodvibes

PS. I've had blueberry bushes. However, as soon as there's even a hint of color, the robins would eat them. I tried covering with a net and caught a robin's wing. The birds do not bother the raspberries, thank heavens!

[PrincessInOz]

Thanks Bobbi! More snow???


I can't wait to hear about all your vegies and plantings in your spring/summer. My garden is heading towards hibernation.

Do you know what sort of soil your garden has? I love the thought of having blueberries but they never seem to work out in mine. My soil is a bit on the acidic side and sandy....supposedly perfect conditions for the bluebs; but I guess there must be something else needed....

[bobbiwoz]

Thanks Bobbi! More snow???


I can't wait to hear about all your vegies and plantings in your spring/summer. My garden is heading towards hibernation.

Do you know what sort of soil your garden has? I love the thought of having blueberries but they never seem to work out in mine. My soil is a bit on the acidic side and sandy....supposedly perfect conditions for the bluebs; but I guess there must be something else needed....

Sandy and acidic is the sort of soil that blueberries are supposed to need. We grew the blueberries in PA and our soil was not sandy, but the bushes did thrive.

None of the snow we had yesterday stuck, so today our roads are clear for my commute!:yay:

[hopemax]

I planted today!

Potatoes in my giant pot from Disney, peas in one of the boxes I brought from Disney, onions and the first batch of lettuce in the main bed.

It's been so incredibly dry in CO this spring, I've been watering the bed all last week, trying to get the moisture meter to register as something other than dry. I think, I've got it, but I'm going to have to watch it like a hawk. I think I under-watered last year, and I don't want to start out at a disadvantage.

[Noah]

Because we've had a lot of rain in CA in the last few months, our garden is thriving. My forst time to harvest broccoli and what a joy they are.

I love the picture of the lemons blooming on the previous post.

When I have a chance, I will start reading my new veggie gardening book. Hopefully it willl teach me some trick with the aphids.

[tnkr mom]

So excited, just taking a break here in PA from cleaning up our garden mess! Beautiful day FINALLY! Rain is coming tomorrow!

We have 5 raised beds one for herbs and lettuces
one various tomoatoes - lots of grape & big ones!
one for peppers - green, banana & hots!
one has strawberries, lemon balm and mint - pretty but WiLd ! By the time mint & balm are big berries are gone!!( great pollinator and easy keeping.
one for zucchini & yellow squash - even tried brussel spouts last year - looked cool-kids didn't like!

Every year I talk about going bigger and BIGGER! I love the "jam it in there to prevent the weeds" method, LOL!

[PrincessInOz]

I hope you vegie growers out there are gonna post some pictures soon??? :goodvibes

[bobbiwoz]

We are so far away from having veggies! Temps are going back into the high 20s tonight! June (maybe late May) will be planting time for me. If we grew peas or broccoli, that would be different.

[PrincessInOz]

My banana plant has bananas on it. :yay: I'm going to try to get out this weekend and take a picture of it. Sadly, it's getting really cold here; so I don't know if the banana will ripen or survive the cold before they are ready.

[bobbiwoz]

My banana plant has bananas on it. :yay: I'm going to try to get out this weekend and take a picture of it. Sadly, it's getting really cold here; so I don't know if the banana will ripen or survive the cold before they are ready.

That is so wonderful! I hope it makes it. When DS lived in New Orleans their neighbors had some banana plants.

Yesterday I put in some onion sets. We'll visit DS in Pittsburg next weekend and I'll give him the rest. I want a small herb garden. I've begun parsley and will put it outside soon. Will transplant to a larger pot tomorrow.

[mommytotwo]

My gardens have different veggies growing along with flowers, and WEEDS. The bugs are also getting to my plants :(. Does anyone know of any homemade bug spray I could make to keep the bugs away from eatting the leaves? Not sure what type they are. Could be bettles.

[PrincessInOz]

That is so wonderful! I hope it makes it. When DS lived in New Orleans their neighbors had some banana plants.

Yesterday I put in some onion sets. We'll visit DS in Pittsburg next weekend and I'll give him the rest. I want a small herb garden. I've begun parsley and will put it outside soon. Will transplant to a larger pot tomorrow.

Its turned cold here. Don't think the banana is gonna make it through.

:cheer2: for onions and herbs! How are they going?


My gardens have different veggies growing along with flowers, and WEEDS. The bugs are also getting to my plants :(. Does anyone know of any homemade bug spray I could make to keep the bugs away from eatting the leaves? Not sure what type they are. Could be bettles.

We get Neem, which is commercially available in the hardware/garden shops. Its organic and natural.

Sometimes, I try a light soapy water and splash a little over the leaves. It works with aphids; don't know if it will work for the beetles.

[mommytotwo]

Its turned cold here. Don't think the banana is gonna make it through.

:cheer2: for onions and herbs! How are they going?




We get Neem, which is commercially available in the hardware/garden shops. Its organic and natural.

Sometimes, I try a light soapy water and splash a little over the leaves. It works with aphids; don't know if it will work for the beetles.

Thank you for that tip. My husband makes that as well.

[moburg]

I'm growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, potatoes and pineapples. I think I'll be adding beans, lettuce and watermelon too, if I can finish the garden expansion. This is my 4th year, and the garden has gotten bigger every year.

[BernardandMissBianca]

Getting ready to till sometime in the next 2 weeks.
We've had weird weather so I'm trying to wait.

the plan is:
tomatoes
pumpkins
green beans
yellow squash
cucumbers
hubbard squash


I think that's it.
The last few years corn and green peppers have not been working out so we are skipping those.

The rhubarb is ready!! It looks fabulous! I will try to take a pic tomorrow. We are supposed to get rain this weekend so I'll try to get that done before the rain starts.

[mommytotwo]

Sounds like everyone is planting alot of great veggies this season.

[BernardandMissBianca]

Getting tired of the rain!!

The garden is plowed but nothing has been planted yet. We are behind!

We did however discover 10 pumpkin plants that grew back up on their own (mom always tosses rotten pumpkins back in). So we dug those up and put them in a bucket before we tilled.

[bobbiwoz]

I may be late, but I did plant my tomato plants today!:banana:

Planted cucumber and pumpkin seeds too!

Thank you Dh for helping!!!!:love:

[hopemax]

I finished the rest of the planting yesterday.

The onions, lettuce, peas, and potatoes I planted in April are coming along very nicely.

Then over the last two weeks I added: 3 tomato plants, carrots, beans, zucchini, cucumbers, basil, parsley, cilantro, oregano, rosemary and one pepper plant (since I have everything else for homemade pico de gallo)

[bobbiwoz]

The basil plant that I planted 2 weeks ago is thriving in the heat. I love fresh basil and tomatoes from the garden. Have a long time to wait for the tomatoes!

mommytotwo, are you harvesting already?

[mommytotwo]

The basil plant that I planted 2 weeks ago is thriving in the heat. I love fresh basil and tomatoes from the garden. Have a long time to wait for the tomatoes!

mommytotwo, are you harvesting already?

Just cherry tomatoes. I have Japanese chives all year long but the rest of the things are not growing well :( . Weird weather doesn't help.

[bobbiwoz]

We were away for 11 nights and the raspberries have matured! My first harvest, a few cups!

[mommytotwo]

Bobbiwoz....how did those raspberries taste? Wish we could grow berries here.

[bobbiwoz]

Bobbiwoz....how did those raspberries taste? Wish we could grow berries here.

They are red raspberries, and taste like the Driscoll raspberries you can buy in the store. This year our Kroger has had the little containers of Driscoll raspberries for $1 or $2 for a few weeks recently!

[mommytotwo]

They are red raspberries, and taste like the Driscoll raspberries you can buy in the store. This year our Kroger has had the little containers of Driscoll raspberries for $1 or $2 for a few weeks recently!

Wow what a great deal. At our stores, they are usually four or five something for a little container.

[bobbiwoz]

How is your garden these days, Patsy?

I have basil and parsley to pick and a few pumpkin vines that make me think I'll get a pumpkin or two this year!:thumbsup2

[mommytotwo]

Not much going on in my garden other then Japanese chives, and weeds. My dad, and husband are actually putting together another garden for me, so I am looking forward to when that is completed. Our dog keeps taking my garden decor :(. Might have to do another garden exchange one day soon. :flower3:

[pamelaz]

Hi all,

I'm new here. :)
But I'm a garden girl! We have a rooftop garden on our apartment building here in NYC. What work it is to get all that soil, materials, etc to the roof, but how great it is to have corn, tomatoes, beans, pumpkin, strawberries growing on your urban roof!!

Right now this is part of our garden (doesn't show the strawberries, watermelon, pumpkins):
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6007/5915821139_d989979fca_z.jpg

And here's our harvest today:
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6127/5916413074_76dfd453ef_z.jpg


Our tomatoes are starting to turn (beef, roma, cherry) and I'd say we have about 150 tomatoes on our plants... going to be eating alot of tomatoes soon! :rotfl:

[missesdisney]

Hi! I'm an old dis-er but a new gardener. My son (10) has taken an interest and we started a little late and I'm a little clueless.

To catch up....I live in Southern NJ. We tried to grow from seeds but when we replanted it didn't work out well (every last one died so any suggestions for next year on that would be greatly appreciated). So we bought plants and planted them. In our very small garden we have Roma tomatoes (with some green ones on there now), basil which seems to be doing well, a zucchini plant that is getting big and has flowers but no veg yet, a canteloupe plant with a ton of flowers but no fruit and a watermelon plant without flowers.

Then on the side of the house we have 3 pumpkin and/or gourd plants (I planted seeds in November and they popped up!). Had a few flowers which are now dried out (while we were in Disney last week). Dunno if they were pollinated or not or how to tell.....:( Have been reading on 'helping' with pollination but need to wait for more flowers. Thinking the same on the canteloupe but I can't tell if the flowers are girls or boys :lovestruc

And lastly out front along our garage we have 3 grape plants. Planted them 4 years ago and it's the first year they did well (no idea what we did right). Only one has grapes (the one in the direct sunlight) and there are 7 bunches of grapes on it. I have no idea what kind they are or how to tell when they are ripe but they don't look ripe to my novice eye yet.

So any advice from the pros would be so appreciated...(I have scrapbook tips in my head..not great for gardening :)) and what resources have you used to learn how to do basic gardening?

I'm also trying to grow Jolokai peppers from seeds inside (they all died the first time we replanted so those buggers are staying in for now as they are tiny), have four fig twigs that don't appear to be rooting despite my efforts to follow instructions and magnolia tree seeds that are still just dirt after a month.

Took on a lot of new things at once as I figured if my son is very interested and this is a great thing to be intersted in - then let's go in 100%

Thanks and look forward to seeing the gardens (BTW that NYC rooftop rocks!)

Maria

[pamelaz]

Hey there,

Some questions:
How are you planting them? In what kind of containers? What kind of soil? Any nutrients?
Also when you plant seeds inside and transport outside - are you taking precautions (little bit at a time, bring back inside, repeat) or are you just putting outside and that's that?

Per pollination, we definitely assist in this by hand pollination. That can be as easy as just slightly shaking the tomato flowers a bit, or going in there at 6AM with a qtip when the pumpkin flowers are open.

This is a great book: http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-guide-gardening-updated-color/dp/0895778297

[missesdisney]

Hey there,

Some questions:
How are you planting them? In what kind of containers? What kind of soil? Any nutrients?
Also when you plant seeds inside and transport outside - are you taking precautions (little bit at a time, bring back inside, repeat) or are you just putting outside and that's that?

Per pollination, we definitely assist in this by hand pollination. That can be as easy as just slightly shaking the tomato flowers a bit, or going in there at 6AM with a qtip when the pumpkin flowers are open.

This is a great book: http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-guide-gardening-updated-color/dp/0895778297

Thanks for responding!

We planted them in small plastic containters or clay pots with miracle grow seeding soil. The first time we just planted them outside (wrong move!) then we read some and figured out that we needed to do it a little at a time and after the first time they sat out for a few hours they all wilted and when we brought them back in they never recovered. I think maybe we started too late.

[pamelaz]

Thanks for responding!

We planted them in small plastic containters or clay pots with miracle grow seeding soil. The first time we just planted them outside (wrong move!) then we read some and figured out that we needed to do it a little at a time and after the first time they sat out for a few hours they all wilted and when we brought them back in they never recovered. I think maybe we started too late.

It's possible.. :(
When we transplant from inside to outside we usually do it for a few days, the first day just 1 hour, the next day 2 hours, etc etc. We have a green house (that we built on the cheap) that is great to start things early as well. I always get worried though when transplanting! :grouphug:

Also per containers, try using potting mix (not soil) - it makes a huge difference. :)

[pamelaz]

Here's our harvest today.. first green peppers of the season!
The end of the broccoli and carrots too.. will be planting more carrots this weekend.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6148/5931741068_d37ba7a2a0_z.jpg

[mommytotwo]

:wave: Hi pamelaz, and missesdisney.

pamelaz, great garden, and harvest! :thumbsup2

[pamelaz]

Tomato insanity is starting...
Tonight I'll be making some roasted tomatoes!

Last 2 days:
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6029/5937941197_8239decc96_z.jpg
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6027/5934849295_5fc3007d41_z.jpg

[hopemax]

Nice pictures. I am jealous of the peas. I grew some this year, and got a nice first batch. Then the weather hit the mid-90s for a week, and I thought the peas were goners. But today, I looked, and one of the plants has new flowers, so maybe they are not quite done yet.

Lettuce is done. I was afraid the cold, hot, cool hot had caused the onions to bolt, and some of them did, but not all of them. The rest look like they are developing into good sized bulbs. The cilantro bolted early too. Everything else is too early, because we have to plant the tender vegetables so late. But the tomato plant has a ton of green tomatoes, so they're close. Cucumbers have flowers, and I think the zucchini aren't far behind, based on the size of the plants. Oh, and the green beans are starting to flower too.

[mommytotwo]

It is very nice to see new gardeners posting here! :flower3:

[missesdisney]

Loving the Disney friendly forum for the not so good gardener newbie!

Ok I have a canteloupe plant with a bazillion flowers for like 2 weeks. They are mostly open. I wanted to 'help' with pollination but I can't tell a boy flower from a girl flower OR they are all girl flowers. Anyone have pics of the two flowers for canteloupe?

Have now 4 pumpkin or gourd plants (I am not sure but they look like pumpkin leaves - I planted both last fall) but don't think any pollinated when we were on vacation. So I'm hoping for new flowers and to help that along too.

Thanks for tips!

[bobbiwoz]

Pamelaz those are beautiful veggies!

[bobbiwoz]

Harvested dill, onions and cucumbers yesterday.:thumbsup2

[mommytotwo]

I have some dill planted in my garden, and had planted it before, but not used it. Do you have any recipes to share in using dill?

[bobbiwoz]

I have some dill planted in my garden, and had planted it before, but not used it. Do you have any recipes to share in using dill?

I use the dill primarily in a cucumber salad, that is a Polish tradition. It's just cucumbers, sour cream, white vinegar, salt, dill, and maybe onions. The dill and onions are optional. My mother didn't use either, DH's mother used dill, so I've used it and have grown to like the flavor.

We peel and slice the cucumber and then add salt, and put something heavy over the cucumbers. The purpose is to drain lots of the water out of the cucumbers. After 1/2 hour or more or less, I squeeze whatever water I can, then add white vinegar, dill, sour cream to taste. Served chilled. It is a Polish dish and brings me back to my childhood.

I love to use my garden grown cucumbers, so for us, it's mostly a summer dish!

Bobbi

[mommytotwo]

Thank you for the recipe Bobbi, sounds refreshing.


I was also thinking of adding dill to salmon, and then baking it. My sister uses it at times on her salmon as well so will ask her for her recipe.

[bobbiwoz]

Thank you for the recipe Bobbi, sounds refreshing.


I was also thinking of adding dill to salmon, and then baking it. My sister uses it at times on her salmon as well so will ask her for her recipe.

Oh yes, I use dill on my salmon, I just sprinkle it on as I broil it. DH likes a more spicy flavor, so I use a Cajun or blackened bought mix on his, and lemon and dill on mine.

[mommytotwo]

Yum, I want some salmon right now.

[bobbiwoz]

Yum, I want some salmon right now.

We had some on Friday! DH had a hankering, and I was happy to oblige!

[PrincessInOz]

Nice harvest pictures everyone. They've certainly provided a great incentive for me to get back out there and start preparing my soil.

Spring is springing in Melbourne and I got out to weed my garden at the weekend. The area near where the banana plant is growing....took me 2 hours to clear away the wilderness that had sprung up over the winter. I swear....someone hit me next year if I don't get out in the garden and do some weeding during the winter months.

Oh well....only another 90% of the garden to weed. :scared1:

And I have a picture of the bananas we've harvested. I'll post it when I load it up.

Salmon? Did someone mention salmon and dill?

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2010%20Christmas%20Food/Christmas2010142.jpg


Take some salmon cutlets and make a stuffing by crumbing some bread and mixing with toasted pine nuts, sultanas, DILL and parsley.

Debone the cutlet and 'truss' up the salmon with some kitchen twine. (I've obviously not de-boned the cutlet in the picture....I forgot!)

Stuff the middle with the stuffing and bake in an oven (180 C) for about 15 - 20 minutes.

I love salmon and dill together!

[mommytotwo]

Yes, I mentioned about salmon, and dill. Looks yummy!

My kids, and I picked some basil just before school to give to one of the staff members. The smell of fresh basil-can't beat that.

[bobbiwoz]

Yes, I mentioned about salmon, and dill. Looks yummy!

My kids, and I picked some basil just before school to give to one of the staff members. The smell of fresh basil-can't beat that.

I use my basil on home made pizzas. The taste and fragrance is wonderful! We have homemade pizza often when the tomatoes ripen!:thumbsup2

[PrincessInOz]

This weekend is the first weekend in Spring for us that live downunder...:upsidedow. Most definitely time to think about vegetable gardening.

I've spent close on 3 hours in the garden yesterday and DH and I spent another 2 hours in the garden today. All we've done is pull up weeds. I figure I've cleared out 2/3 of the garden beds; and will probably spend another 3 hours next weekend doing more of the same.

How I wish I hadn't been so lazy over the winter months and gotten in there to keep the weeds under control.

Still....it was such a pleasure to feel the soil and to work with it again.

I'm going to get some Wettasoil, Blood and Bone, Dynamic Lifter and Organic Compost either later today or tomorrow to rejuvenate the soil.

princess::upsidedow

[bobbiwoz]

That sounds like a good plan, Princess! What sort of temps, have you had over the weekend. Here in Ohio, we went from 96F on Saturday and today, Monday, the high was only 70F, if it reached 70 at our house. We had a chilly day, but DH and DSon worked hard at chopping down an invasive honeysuckle. They got about 1/2 of it, and DS promises to come again and help DH finish.

We'll soon be putting our beds to rest for the winter!

[mommytotwo]

I just picked some bush beans. Does anyone have any preperation styles or recipes they could share?

[PrincessInOz]

That sounds like a good plan, Princess! What sort of temps, have you had over the weekend. Here in Ohio, we went from 96F on Saturday and today, Monday, the high was only 70F, if it reached 70 at our house. We had a chilly day, but DH and DSon worked hard at chopping down an invasive honeysuckle. They got about 1/2 of it, and DS promises to come again and help DH finish.

We'll soon be putting our beds to rest for the winter!

We had a lovely weekend last weekend, with temperatures in the 60's. Perfect for gardening.

Sadly, we're back to just on 50 today. Going to be low 50's for the rest of the week and possibly a showery weekend next weekend.

Ah.....Melbourne.....don't like the weather? Wait 5 minutes!

[PrincessInOz]

I just picked some bush beans. Does anyone have any preperation styles or recipes they could share?

I saw your thread on the CB but thought I'd answer here instead. :cutie:

I've used this recipe for string beans and for snow peas. Figure it will work with the bush beans as well. Coincidentally, I made it with snow peas this last weekend and was going to share the recipe on the What's For Dinner Thread but haven't gotten round to downloading my pictures yet.

Ingredients:
String or bush beans (or snow peas)
Cherry tomatoes, 1 punnet
Sweet Chilli sauce, 2 tablespoon
Soya sauce, 1 tablespoon
Water, 1 tablespoon
Garlic, minced - 1 clove or more
Ginger (optional) - sliced
Oil

Mix the sweet chilli sauce, soya sauce and water together to form the 'dressing'.

Wash the beans and either steam, blanch or cook in the microwave until tender.

In a wok or frying pan, heat a little oil and fry the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds. Add the cherry tomatoes (you can either cut in half or leave them whole). Toss for 1 - 2 minutes.

Add the dressing to the wok or pan and when hot, add the beans.

Toss together for another 1 - 2 minutes.

Makes a nice side dish to a fish meal.


And an alternative recipe to try. I love this at my local middle eastern eatery:
http://www.whats4eats.com/vegetables/fassolakia-recipe

[mommytotwo]

I saw your thread on the CB but thought I'd answer here instead. :cutie:

I've used this recipe for string beans and for snow peas. Figure it will work with the bush beans as well. Coincidentally, I made it with snow peas this last weekend and was going to share the recipe on the What's For Dinner Thread but haven't gotten round to downloading my pictures yet.

Ingredients:
String or bush beans (or snow peas)
Cherry tomatoes, 1 punnet
Sweet Chilli sauce, 2 tablespoon
Soya sauce, 1 tablespoon
Water, 1 tablespoon
Garlic, minced - 1 clove or more
Ginger (optional) - sliced
Oil

Mix the sweet chilli sauce, soya sauce and water together to form the 'dressing'.

Wash the beans and either steam, blanch or cook in the microwave until tender.

In a wok or frying pan, heat a little oil and fry the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds. Add the cherry tomatoes (you can either cut in half or leave them whole). Toss for 1 - 2 minutes.

Add the dressing to the wok or pan and when hot, add the beans.

Toss together for another 1 - 2 minutes.

Makes a nice side dish to a fish meal.


And an alternative recipe to try. I love this at my local middle eastern eatery:
http://www.whats4eats.com/vegetables/fassolakia-recipe

Thank you for the recipe, and tips!

[bobbiwoz]

We pulled out the vegetable plants over the weekend. Our garden is resting for the winter now. We haven't had a frost yet, so the parsley and basil are still OK. I've enough tomatoes for 1 or 2 more homemade pizzas, then I have to make do with the store varieties.

[PrincessInOz]

I've finally gotten most of the weeding done, pruned back the lavender and have put down some Blood and Bone, Dynamic Lifter and Saturaid. The lavender will get a nice watering of liquid fertiliser every day or so for the next 3 weeks to help it kick start growth. If I'm lucky, I should have it nicely in bloom for Christmas.

There's a nice patch of garden bed that I've been watching for the last 3 weeks just to check the sun exposure and it looks like it gets quite a nice amount of sunlight. I'm going to dig in some compost there before November and turn it over a bit. It might be the perfect spot for the tomato to go in this year. The general rule for here is to NOT plant tomatoes before November. So, I'll wait til then.


One the bonus front, I was in the local Safeway this week and just happened to hear an announcement about free seedlings! Turns out no one watered about 20 trays of seedlings for a while and they were all looking really sad. I bypassed the tomatoes and parsley...and checked out the cukes and eggplant. Cukes were too far gone to save but there was one lovely punnet of about 6 eggplant seedlings that looked semi decent. I've come home and watered them in the punnet. They have come on quite nicely.

Looks like I'm in the garden again tomorrow to do some planting!! :yay:


If the weather is nice, I'll take a couple more pictures of the garden. The cherry, apple and the mulberry is coming along nicely. I need to get some netting to keep the birds off.

[bobbiwoz]

I've finally gotten most of the weeding done, pruned back the lavender and have put down some Blood and Bone, Dynamic Lifter and Saturaid. The lavender will get a nice watering of liquid fertiliser every day or so for the next 3 weeks to help it kick start growth. If I'm lucky, I should have it nicely in bloom for Christmas.

There's a nice patch of garden bed that I've been watching for the last 3 weeks just to check the sun exposure and it looks like it gets quite a nice amount of sunlight. I'm going to dig in some compost there before November and turn it over a bit. It might be the perfect spot for the tomato to go in this year. The general rule for here is to NOT plant tomatoes before November. So, I'll wait til then.


One the bonus front, I was in the local Safeway this week and just happened to hear an announcement about free seedlings! Turns out no one watered about 20 trays of seedlings for a while and they were all looking really sad. I bypassed the tomatoes and parsley...and checked out the cukes and eggplant. Cukes were too far gone to save but there was one lovely punnet of about 6 eggplant seedlings that looked semi decent. I've come home and watered them in the punnet. They have come on quite nicely.

Looks like I'm in the garden again tomorrow to do some planting!! :yay:


If the weather is nice, I'll take a couple more pictures of the garden. The cherry, apple and the mulberry is coming along nicely. I need to get some netting to keep the birds off.

Glad you were able to save the eggplant!
Enjoy your garden work. Today I found a few raspberries. Sweet! I shared them with Belle, I have to be careful about doing that, because she then goes over and eyes the ones still on the bush! Don't want her to get stuck by their thorns.

[PrincessInOz]

So after saving the eggplant, I didn't manage to get in the garden til today. Which was probably just as well....DH had a Bokashi bin of food scraps that we could dig into the one spot that I'd cleared for the vegies. I made a trip out to the local plant nursery and bought some seedlings.
So, after he finished digging in the scraps, I managed to put down:


9 - 10 corn "stalks?"
7 snowpeas seedlings
6 eggplants seedlings (the ones I saved)
3 zucchini seedlings
16 lettuce seedlings



I've left enough space for two tomato plants; which should go down after the first week of November.


Next on my hit list will be herbs. They make really good ground cover and I have space for about 6 - 7 herb bushes in the front.

I'm also planning on getting some strawberries, I think. I just need to take a look at the back and work out if I have space for them.

The lavender bushes are coming along. I've been watering them with a liquid seaweed fertiliser every 2 - 3 days for the last 2 weeks. Looks like some green buds coming up but there looks like some branches that I might need to chop off at some stage.

[PrincessInOz]

Today I found a few raspberries. Sweet! I shared them with Belle, I have to be careful about doing that, because she then goes over and eyes the ones still on the bush! Don't want her to get stuck by their thorns.

Are the raspberries still fruiting?

Bobbi - the local nursery is selling raspberry. Are they easy to grow and what sort of soil/conditions do you need?

[PrincessInOz]

It looks like its been a month since I planted.

Here's what some of the plants look like:


Zucchini are flowering and starting to develop into zucchini...

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/2011November14Misc073.jpg


The corn is coming along. The wire fence in the back is where I planted the snow peas. I'm going to go get some more snow pea shoots and get another lot going.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/2011November14Misc074.jpg



Lettuce?

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/2011November14Misc076.jpg


http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/2011November14Misc077.jpg


http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/2011November14Misc079.jpg



We're already picking leaves...

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/2011November14Misc082.jpg




I have about 7 or 8 branches on my cherry tree that more or less look like this!!! Should be ready in a couple of weeks.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/2011November14Misc078.jpg



And the apples are developing nicely too.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/2011November14Misc081.jpg



I got my tomato plants today. Probably about 1 week later than I like; but I didn't have time last week end to go get it. I'll be in the garden tomorrow (assuming the rain lets up) planting them.



We've been having a reasonable amount of rain, which has helped the vegies a lot!


princess::upsidedow

[bobbiwoz]

Updates, Princess?!

[PrincessInOz]

We are cropping lettuce! :cool1:

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/IMG_0812.jpg




And some of the Zucchini is ready. I need to take a picture. But this is what it looked like last weekend.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/IMG_0815.jpg



The corn is coming along.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/IMG_0810.jpg




The eggplant is flowering.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/IMG_0809.jpg




The snowpeas are not doing so well.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/IMG_0811.jpg



But the cherries.....:lovestruc

We've had rain and sunshine; so whilst I think the cherries needed another week or two on the tree, they were starting to go mouldy....

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/IMG_0857.jpg



....so I picked as much as I could; and left about 1/3 of the crop (mouldy) on the tree for the birds. We got about 20 lbs.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2011%20Food/2011%20Miscellaneous%20Food/IMG_0862.jpg




The apples are looking good and I've put in some tomatoes. I'll try to get out in the garden later tonight or tomorrow and take some pictures.


princess::upsidedow

[PrincessInOz]

Just a quick update....


We're cropping 2 - 3 zucchini every 2 - 3 days.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/Various%20food/2012-01-012012Jan01Hedgend004.jpg




I'm picking beans like this every 3 - 4 days.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/Various%20food/2012-01-012012Jan01Hedgend001.jpg



The second lot of snowpeas are doing much better! :thumbsup2

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/Various%20food/2012-01-012012Jan01Hedgend002.jpg



I've pulled up my first lot of lettuces. They were shooting upwards and starting to go to seed. I'd like to plant a 3rd set; but it is way too hot here right now. Temps were in the high 90's and 100's early this week. Might see how the forecast goes...


princess::upsidedow

[mommytotwo]

GREAT PICTURES!!!

It is neat to see how cherries grow. They don't grow over here, and I like seeing pictures of the different fruits, and pine/Christmas trees that we do not have here.


Anyone ready for the Gardening Exchange? :flower3:

[PrincessInOz]

I'll check out the Gardening Exchange...but if seeds are involved, Australian Customs won't let them through.

[mommytotwo]

I'll check out the Gardening Exchange...but if seeds are involved, Australian Customs won't let them through.

I will post it this week or next week on the Exchange Board :)

[PrincessInOz]

More pictures. :upsidedow



I've pulled up the first crop of lettuce from the garden. They were shooting upwards and heading for the sky. The second crop of lettuce is probably about ready to start cropping. But I put in a third round of lettuce as well. I'll probably be set for lettuce until late Feb to mid March now.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/Various%20food/2012-01-092011Jan09Garden008.jpg



Tomatoes are not very prolific. But then I've hardly fed them at all; so I guess it is a case of not reap what you sow here!

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/Various%20food/2012-01-092011Jan09Garden001.jpg



This particular zucchini plant is very prolific. It's grown to the size of 1 m high by about 2 m wide and I've got 2 - 3 zucchini every 2 days or so.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/Various%20food/2012-01-092011Jan09Garden002.jpg



My second planting of snow peas is coming along well.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/Various%20food/2012-01-092011Jan09Garden005.jpg



Eggplant that I got for free is also going reasonably well.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/Various%20food/2012-01-092011Jan09Garden004.jpg



Beans are short and stumpy....but I'm getting crop from them.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/Various%20food/2012-01-092011Jan09Garden009.jpg



I didn't take a picture of the corn; but there is definitely 1 corn per plant and in some cases 2 corns per plant. I think they might be ready to harvest soon.


My harvest from 6 Jan.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/01%20January/Jan%2006%20Garden%20Stir%20fry/2011-01-062011Jan06Gardenstirfry002.jpg



This is the crop from 9 Jan. Not shown are 3 zucchinis. Anyone want some zucchini? And I suspect I'll be saying the same about eggplant in about a week or so.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/Various%20food/2012-01-092011Jan09Garden012.jpg




So, what have I done with the vegetables? In the last week....this is what we've had for dinner.

Stir fry with some leftover roast chicken.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/01%20January/Jan%2006%20Garden%20Stir%20fry/2011-01-062011Jan06Gardenstirfry014.jpg



Zucchini boats, stuffed with risotto.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/01%20January/Jan%2008%20Zucchini%20Boats/2011-01-082011Jan08Zucchiniboats029.jpg




I've also been making pita pizzas and topping them with grilled zucchini. I thought I had a picture; but it seems like I didn't take any of that meal!



princess::upsidedow

[bobbiwoz]

It all looks delicious, Princess!:goodvibes

[mommytotwo]

Posted the Garden Exchange on the Exchange Board. Come, and check it out!!!:flower3:

[PrincessInOz]

Patsy - I'm interested in the exchange. Just let me know if there's anyone interested to post overseas and I'll sign up.

[mommytotwo]

Patsy - I'm interested in the exchange. Just let me know if there's anyone interested to post overseas and I'll sign up.

Will do :thumbsup2

[bobbiwoz]

I was away when the exchange was mentioned.

Princess, I came here looking to see if you've posted any more pictures!

[PrincessInOz]

My garden is looking sad at the moment. Lots of heat and not a lot of water. The zucchini is still going and we're getting a few more eggplants. Tomatoes are just starting to peak about now.

We got about 8 - 9 corn; and the 3rd crop of lettuce didn't do too well.

I can't complain. We've gone for about 2 - 3 months without buying lettuce so far. :goodvibes

[bobbiwoz]

My garden is looking sad at the moment. Lots of heat and not a lot of water. The zucchini is still going and we're getting a few more eggplants. Tomatoes are just starting to peak about now.

We got about 8 - 9 corn; and the 3rd crop of lettuce didn't do too well.

I can't complain. We've gone for about 2 - 3 months without buying lettuce so far. :goodvibes

I love it when the tomatoes come in!:goodvibes

[PrincessInOz]

Some of my meals....


The Zucchini, 1 tomato, eggplant and snow peas are from my garden.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/01%20January/Jan%2021%20Ratatouille/2012-01-212012Jan21Ratatouille017.jpg



From this...

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/01%20January/Jan%2021%20Ratatouille/2012-01-212012Jan21Ratatouille026.jpg




...To Ratatouille.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/01%20January/Jan%2021%20Ratatouille/2012-01-212012Jan21Ratatouille039.jpg




Yet more zucchini!

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/02%20February/0202%20Chicken%20Mediterranean/IMG_3486.jpg



To...Chicken Mediterranean, of sorts.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/02%20February/0202%20Chicken%20Mediterranean/IMG_3505.jpg





Still trying to get rid of zucchini....

From this...

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/02%20February/0212%20Roasted%20Capsicum/IMG_3681.jpg



To Stuffed roasted Bell Peppers.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/02%20February/0212%20Roasted%20Capsicum/IMG_3807.jpg

[bobbiwoz]

You inspire me!:goodvibes

[mommytotwo]

That looks yummy!


I will soon have peas....any recipe ideas out there?

[PrincessInOz]

Peas? As in peas in a pod, green peas? That sort of peas?


I used to make a salad with peas, cauliflower and onion.
Saute the onion.
Cook the peas and cauliflower (boiling it in water) until just tender. Drain.

Add all the ingredients together and make a dressing with english mustard, vinegar and oil. Season to taste.

I liked adding dill to the mix. Thought it needed a little lift and dill was my herb of choice for this recipe.

[PrincessInOz]

We're cropping eggplant and tomato at the moment. I took a picture. Will try and upload on the PC and post this weekend. :goodvibes

[mommytotwo]

Thank you for those suggestions.

I tried finding for eggplant today at Costco, but they did not have any.

[PrincessInOz]

Have some of mine!


http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/Various%20food/0301Gardenproduce003.jpg

[bobbiwoz]

Beautiful pictures!
Our garden area is under snow today! Our pond has a thin layer of ice.

[PrincessInOz]

Another round of cropping this weekend.


http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz82/PrincessInOz/2012%20Food/Various%20food/0305Vegetables003.jpg



I think that's the last of the beans.


I made some tomato marinara sauce today. Had about 4 - 5 kilos of tomatoes that were red and ready. So, I cooked it with an onion, garlic and some oregano and basil (herbs from the garden). Will be freezing it for pasta sauce for the next couple of weeks.

[usnuzuloose]

How big of an area do you need to grow beans?

[PrincessInOz]

I only grew them in one of the flower beds. Probably a meter or so...and then stakes and/or trellis for them to grow.

They do need some well fed soil to begin with.