Gardeners, what are you planting?

[Jaime4004]

I plan to plant:

Tomatoes
Bell peppers
bush beans
cucumbers (first time)
mini pumpkins (letting them climb the fence)
pumpkins - only if I can find netting to protect them from the deer
lots of flowers this year - kid's request

All of this (except the big pumpkins) is going in a 6x6 raised bed. My fence is 3' tall, and last year the deer pushed the top down and ate over the top lol. This year I used taller, stronger fence posts and might string fishing line over the top to keep them out. The big pumpkings I'm going to try and plant on a little hill near my driveway. My kids really want to grow pumpkins, but they take over the garden! I'm looking for some sort of netting to lay on the ground over the plants, because once the flowers grow the deer will have a feast!

My only problem so far this year is my seedlings. I've planted pepper and tomato seeds inside, and they sprouted beautifully, grew to about an inch, and then all died! My last pepper plant is drooping as we speak. I've planted them all again (along with some cucumbers) and have my fingers crossed!

It's been around 70 during the day here, but nights are down to 40 so I can't plant anything in the ground yet
I would have planted lettuce and spinach, but my lettuce always gets soggy in July so I skipped it this year.


Oh, I almost forgot, I'm doing potatoes in buckets this year! First time with potatoes, and I'm so excited to try it!! I can't really grow anything underground because my soil is pretty hard, so I'm going with the buckets.

Same things happening to my tomato and pepper seeds! They all sprouted, now about half of them have shriveled up leaves. They are still alive so i'm hoping that they'll come around. Don't know what happened this year, I plant them every year!

Besides those, I have cucumbers, garden beans, lettuce, broccoli and carrots started. Have 3 new raised beds this year that DH just built this weekend. Dirt to be delivered this week. My thumb is not green, but I keep trying. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Sandy61]

Oh, I forgot, last summer my kids planted the seeds from a watermelon they were eating and it actually sprouted.

We do this every year with pumpkins when we carve them for Halloween. We let the seeds dry and then put them in an envelope to keep for spring planting.

I went out today and found my tulips chomped to the ground. And now we are expecting snow!

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

well, we live on a farm, but due to dry summers we tend to have problems in our garden.
So we tore it all up this year and are putting in raised beds (4 x 8 and 26" tall).
That's going to take a while considering everything else we have going on (we both work full time off farm and then farm pecans, goats, chickens).

But I just finished up a really big bowl of fresh asparagus from our 20 year old asparagus patch, so I highly recommend that as the best perennial veggie. So I guess our garden is active even now, without the raised beds in.

My biggest excitement, garden-wise, is working with local community partners to bring a community garden to a local public housing complex.

We just got a $400 grant to start a container garden for youth.
I have 8 master gardeners coming to teach the kids all about gardening.
My part is the nutrition education and physical activity and teaching them how to use their harvest.

SO excited how God is pulling all of the pieces together- volunteers, apartment manager approval, funding, camp counselors- the whole thing!

I can't wait to watch the kids harvest some pole beans and tomatoes!

It's going to be a busy summer

 

[Colleen27]

My biggest excitement, garden-wise, is working with local community partners to bring a community garden to a local public housing complex.

We just got a $400 grant to start a container garden for youth.
I have 8 master gardeners coming to teach the kids all about gardening.
My part is the nutrition education and physical activity and teaching them how to use their harvest.

SO excited how God is pulling all of the pieces together- volunteers, apartment manager approval, funding, camp counselors- the whole thing!

How did you go about getting that started? My DD is interested in doing something similar at our church in support of the newly-established food bank and she's going to raise the issue at an NJHS meeting later this week but she's a little overwhelmed by the planning involved.

 

[pocomom]

How did you go about getting that started? My DD is interested in doing something similar at our church in support of the newly-established food bank and she's going to raise the issue at an NJHS meeting later this week but she's a little overwhelmed by the planning involved.

The post you are referrencing is awesome, and I don't have info specific to that, but if she is overwhelmed by the planning she could organize something like this among other people in your church who garden: we plant a row every year for the hungry in our area. We just bring a bag or two (or a lot more when zucchinis and tomatoes are in!) down to our food bank on distribution day. Little tougher this year because they are only open one day a month now. But I think in most areas every week or every other is more normal. If everyone who gardens commited to a row/ or even a few plants you could really have a big harvest to donate!

Just wanted to add more than half of the people receiving food at our food bank are seniors- but I see the real value, especially if you have a large youth population, receiving the instruction on gardening, getting physical, getting connected to the food they eat etc. Mine is just an alternate lower stress idea.

 

[sugarnspicex4]

We have planted WAY too many tomatoes. Like 100 plants. DH got a little carried away. We started them out as seedlings in the garage under flourescent lights, but then March came around and he panicked, thinking our seedlings were too little. So on a trip to Home Depot he bought a few flats as well. He loves his tomatoes! Good thing I have a canner and a saucer to preserve the surplus.

We also should have a decent blackberry patch this year. The plants have been in the ground for 2 years, but last year's harvest was pretty pathetic. I've also planted some lettuce, zucchini, peppers and basil.

 

[MissBritt]

I am 2 hours from WDW and started all but tomato from seeds in March. We have a small plot in the yard that we tried to work with in the fall but we lost all but carrots and spinach to frost. I know next to nothing about gardening but am excited to be caging things this weekend if it ever stops raining. We have 7 tomato plants (lost the 8th when transplanting), a single bell pepper plant in a pot, green beans, carrots, a few rows of spinach and mixed romaine, 8 or so broccoli that sprouted and survived transplanting (they were heartier in the fall when transplanting), and a row each of squash and zucchini. I'd like to add pumpkins in the fall, and more tomatoes. I also would like onions but the ones last fall were crap and I'm not sure I want to waste the time or space.

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

How did you go about getting that started? My DD is interested in doing something similar at our church in support of the newly-established food bank and she's going to raise the issue at an NJHS meeting later this week but she's a little overwhelmed by the planning involved.

The first thing I would say is that planning something like this can be overwhelming as you said, but it's a lot like commuting to work.

You don't wait to leave until all the traffic lights between work and home are green.
All the lights will never be green at the same time- you have to start somewhere.
You get to the first light and wait for it to turn green. maybe the second light is green already. But you continue on your way, thinking ahead and addressing each concern as it arises.

I would suggest you start by contacting your local Cooperative Extension and asking about community gardens in your county.

I work for our state Cooperative Extension, so I am plugged into an ongoing research study via my supervisor.

My part is to teach nutrition education to limited resource kids.
But I have learned through the years that so much more can be accomplished if you partner with others.

The kids at this particular site asked about gardening last summer, but it was far too late to do anything about it then.

It's taken TWO MONTHS of lead time to get a green light from the apartment complex corporation, even though the site manager was two thumbs up from the get-go.

So first, you need permission from the site owner.
Second, you need volunteers to teach if teaching is the goal.

If this is a project to donate the produce you are looking for volunteers to work alongside your DD. It helps to start the volunteer ball rolling early.
I had 8 teaching volunteers by the second week of the planning process, but am still looking for my camp counselor volunteers to help with the rest of my educational programming.
I know God will provide.

For the record, in our on site community garden, the kids will be keeping up the garden, with help from their parents. We're going to recruit a community member to help folks with weighing in their harvest and logging it- another part of this research project

I had no idea how in the world we would fund a container garden.
The site manager offered that if we got a green light on an in ground garden, her husband would plow it, and she would help with a rain barrel and some fencing- things she already had at home (we are in a rural area).
Master Gardeners volunteered seeds.
We would need tools but I figured to bring mine from home if I had to and use them there.
But funding pots and soil and seeds and plants? No earthly idea where the money would come from.

I am getting a lot of help because of where this garden is located and what its purpose is- to teach not just nutrition but self-sufficiency, and hands on life science, and to help reduce grocery costs for the families who get involved.

But the grant money is because of the research project that is associated with my program.
The researchers from our land grant university are looking for correlations between kids and gardens and reducing obesity, especially within the limited resource populations where access to fresh produce is limited.

To me, it really is a God thing. He has provided it all, and will continue to do so.

For your DD's purposes, I would ask the congregation if anyone has any extra or old seeds they want to donate.
Many gardeners hold onto seeds they didn't use from past years, the germination rates are lower but often they do well enough.

If she gets permission and can publicize at church what she is trying to do, other members of your congregation might well be willing to come help rototill or plow or donate their time or resources.


Good luck!

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

The post you are referrencing is awesome, and I don't have info specific to that, but if she is overwhelmed by the planning she could organize something like this among other people in your church who garden: we plant a row every year for the hungry in our area. We just bring a bag or two (or a lot more when zucchinis and tomatoes are in!) down to our food bank on distribution day. Little tougher this year because they are only open one day a month now. But I think in most areas every week or every other is more normal. If everyone who gardens commited to a row/ or even a few plants you could really have a big harvest to donate!

Just wanted to add more than half of the people receiving food at our food bank are seniors- but I see the real value, especially if you have a large youth population, receiving the instruction on gardening, getting physical, getting connected to the food they eat etc. Mine is just an alternate lower stress idea.

YES! This is a fantastic idea- with less hoops to jump through, this late in the year.

 

[rev02a]

If it ever stops snowing (I'm in Colorado and we are having an extended winter ):
- Corn
- Lettuce and spinach
- An assortment of beans
- Squash (assortment) and zucchini
- Potatoes
- Cucumbers
- Carrots
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Asparagus (but the snow keeps killing it... )

And for the first time: Brussels sprouts... any one had experience with these?

 

[DizneyDogs]

No vegetable garden this year but planting 60 roses this weekend in my new rose garden

 

[Colleen27]

The post you are referrencing is awesome, and I don't have info specific to that, but if she is overwhelmed by the planning she could organize something like this among other people in your church who garden: we plant a row every year for the hungry in our area. We just bring a bag or two (or a lot more when zucchinis and tomatoes are in!) down to our food bank on distribution day. Little tougher this year because they are only open one day a month now. But I think in most areas every week or every other is more normal. If everyone who gardens commited to a row/ or even a few plants you could really have a big harvest to donate!

Just wanted to add more than half of the people receiving food at our food bank are seniors- but I see the real value, especially if you have a large youth population, receiving the instruction on gardening, getting physical, getting connected to the food they eat etc. Mine is just an alternate lower stress idea.

I do like that idea, but she's really focused on the community aspect of it. She's an Honor Society member at a parochial school/parish with very large campus, and she thinks it would make a good service project for the group to get things going. Right now, she's working on getting the approval of the site plan they drew up in their last meeting - our parish priest recently resigned so no one seems to know who has the authority to grant permission but she touched base with her NJHS advisor last week and they came up with a couple of ideas/contact people who might be able to point them in the right direction.

The first thing I would say is that planning something like this can be overwhelming as you said, but it's a lot like commuting to work.

You don't wait to leave until all the traffic lights between work and home are green.
All the lights will never be green at the same time- you have to start somewhere.
You get to the first light and wait for it to turn green. maybe the second light is green already. But you continue on your way, thinking ahead and addressing each concern as it arises.

I love this comparison, I'm going to have to share it with her.

I would suggest you start by contacting your local Cooperative Extension and asking about community gardens in your county.

I work for our state Cooperative Extension, so I am plugged into an ongoing research study via my supervisor.

My part is to teach nutrition education to limited resource kids.
But I have learned through the years that so much more can be accomplished if you partner with others.

The kids at this particular site asked about gardening last summer, but it was far too late to do anything about it then.

It's taken TWO MONTHS of lead time to get a green light from the apartment complex corporation, even though the site manager was two thumbs up from the get-go.

So first, you need permission from the site owner.
Second, you need volunteers to teach if teaching is the goal.

If this is a project to donate the produce you are looking for volunteers to work alongside your DD. It helps to start the volunteer ball rolling early.
I had 8 teaching volunteers by the second week of the planning process, but am still looking for my camp counselor volunteers to help with the rest of my educational programming.
I know God will provide.

For the record, in our on site community garden, the kids will be keeping up the garden, with help from their parents. We're going to recruit a community member to help folks with weighing in their harvest and logging it- another part of this research project

I had no idea how in the world we would fund a container garden.
The site manager offered that if we got a green light on an in ground garden, her husband would plow it, and she would help with a rain barrel and some fencing- things she already had at home (we are in a rural area).
Master Gardeners volunteered seeds.
We would need tools but I figured to bring mine from home if I had to and use them there.
But funding pots and soil and seeds and plants? No earthly idea where the money would come from.

I am getting a lot of help because of where this garden is located and what its purpose is- to teach not just nutrition but self-sufficiency, and hands on life science, and to help reduce grocery costs for the families who get involved.

But the grant money is because of the research project that is associated with my program.
The researchers from our land grant university are looking for correlations between kids and gardens and reducing obesity, especially within the limited resource populations where access to fresh produce is limited.

To me, it really is a God thing. He has provided it all, and will continue to do so.

For your DD's purposes, I would ask the congregation if anyone has any extra or old seeds they want to donate.
Many gardeners hold onto seeds they didn't use from past years, the germination rates are lower but often they do well enough.

If she gets permission and can publicize at church what she is trying to do, other members of your congregation might well be willing to come help rototill or plow or donate their time or resources.


Good luck!

Fortunately, the 4H urban gardens coordinator is a friend so we've been in contact with her about extension service resources. DD has been in that program since kindergarten and now that she's aged out will be volunteering in a leadership role as the coordinator's assistant.

Because this is going to be an Honor Society sponsored project (the kids loved her idea, all but one member voted to pursue it) we'll have most of the volunteers we need right from the start. We will also be publicizing it in the church bulletin to generate interest/support from the congregation and solicit donations of needed materials. And my husband and I are able to provide some things as well. He's a licensed builder and is sort of a jack-of-all-trades and he's working as the "plumbing guy" doing sprinkler installation for a landscaping company that allows employees to borrow the light equipment like tillers for home use on the weekends. I'm a garden addict with a lot of seeds to spare, not to mention tools and grow lights and empty flats and trays and all of that. And we live in a rural area where a lot of people have big gardens, backyard greenhouses, etc. so we should be able to get some donations from the community as well.

I think DD will do okay getting things started once we get the site approval. I think her first lesson in this is persevering through all the delays and waiting. She knows it'll mean starting small this year but that I'll help her look into grants and schoolyard garden programs for next season when they have more time to plan/expand.