***What's growing? The official garden thread***

Leezestarr313

Awesome :thumbup:

Our garden has become a magical place of veggie abundance This is what our corn looks like right now:


This was the harvest in one of the other nights
. Two days ago, we had the first 100% homegrown salad. It was delicious!

We have been blessed with the weather and the soil here, and we are already talking about what to do different next year. We had to get rid of one zucchini plant, because it just took too much space and light of the cucumbers. We re-placed some other plants for spacial and light reasons too. But overall, this garden turned out really really good

derbydave

jlaustin wrote:

Here's my bounty! Good thing there is only two of us!

Good JOB!!
Got your PM...always happy to help out
Glad you figured out how to post the pictures...it really can be a PAIN in the @$$ to get them up!!
Would love to hang out with you & Jason up in Pittsburgh / Buffalo...We'll probably be in town by 2 or so!!
Did you get GA or RESERVED for the shows??
We're GA for Pittsburgh & RESERVED for Buffalo!!
C'mon OCTOBER!!
:ugeek:

morello

^^^ awesome harvests everyone. I think I'm going to begin the prep for spring in my garden here next weekend, pull out weeds cut down manure crop, spread around weed & manure tea(liquid fertiliser I've had festering away for months), top up with compost then in a month or so all will be ready for planting! Woohooo!

riotgrl

I've had a decent harvest this year. My jalapenos probably did the best of everything I planted. I now have 4 quart jars of pickled jalapenos and my two plants show no sign of stopping! My zucchini and cucumbers were a total failure - not enough bees/too little pollination, I think. My Roma's did pretty good but not as prolific as I'd like. Already looking to put out garlic in the fall and make some improvements in my garden for next year!

Enkidu

This thread makes me hungry. We had fresh tomatoes the other night and you practically cry because they have some much taste versus the crap tomatoes sold at the supermarket.

We got a lime tree a couple years ago and we finally almost have limes.

jlaustin

Oops - duplicate post!

jlaustin

Leezestarr313 wrote:

Awesome :thumbup:

Our garden has become a magical place of veggie abundance This is what our corn looks like right now:


This was the harvest in one of the other nights
. Two days ago, we had the first 100% homegrown salad. It was delicious!

We have been blessed with the weather and the soil here, and we are already talking about what to do different next year. We had to get rid of one zucchini plant, because it just took too much space and light of the cucumbers. We re-placed some other plants for spacial and light reasons too. But overall, this garden turned out really really good

WOW! Looks like a farm! We just planted tomatoes and peppers in pots on our deck, because our yard is too shady. It is so cool that you are able to have such a variety. We tried corn one year and we only got 4 of the tiniest cobs ever. They were tasty though! Looking forward to meeting you in Pittsburgh/Buffalo! :wave:

jlaustin

derbydave wrote:

jlaustin wrote:

Here's my bounty! Good thing there is only two of us!

Good JOB!!
Got your PM...always happy to help out
Glad you figured out how to post the pictures...it really can be a PAIN in the @$$ to get them up!!
Would love to hang out with you & Jason up in Pittsburgh / Buffalo...We'll probably be in town by 2 or so!!
Did you get GA or RESERVED for the shows??
We're GA for Pittsburgh & RESERVED for Buffalo!!
C'mon OCTOBER!!
:ugeek:

10c reserved for Pittsburgh and public sale nosebleeds for Buffalo... I don't want summer to end, but come on October! :thumbup:

Leezestarr313

jlaustin wrote:

WOW! Looks like a farm! We just planted tomatoes and peppers in pots on our deck, because our yard is too shady. It is so cool that you are able to have such a variety. We tried corn one year and we only got 4 of the tiniest cobs ever. They were tasty though! Looking forward to meeting you in Pittsburgh/Buffalo! :wave:

Yeah, we feel like farmers too It's amazing. Our back yard used to be swamp land, the landlord says. That's why the soil is super rich and fertile. We really don't have to do anything besides weeding a bit here and there. It's our first attempt to have a garden, I grew up with my grandparents' one, but never had one on my own. It's like a miracle and so much fun. We have a lot of variety, because we were so keen on trying everything And dinner has just gotten better in the last couple of months...

See you in Pitts/ Buff - we can have a proper farmer talk :wave:

MayDay10

Just harvested some great looking jalapeños. Many more on the plant. Have a lot of nice looking tomatoes that are still green. Red and yellow bell peppers... huge but need to turn color. Waiting for some mexibelle and habanero peppers as well

bluegrace

No mulberries this year And my dahlia keeps on growing, but no buds as yet

MayDay10

I think my mouth is bleeding from my jalapeños

jlaustin

Here's bounty number 2!

jlaustin

MayDay10 wrote:

I think my mouth is bleeding from my jalapeños

I can't eat spicy foods anymore sadly... :(

But my husband eats habaneros like green peppers, so he is loving our bumper crop of jalapenos this year!

Leezestarr313

Slowly but steadily fall is arriving We lost a couple of corn ears to birds :evil:, encountered some powdery mildew on the squash and zucchini plants (I successfully treated them with a baking soda water soap mix), and still enjoy picking bell peppers, radishes, carrots and tomatoes.


Yesterday, I took this awesome pic, they are sitting on the corn


I cannot wait for next spring to start project CavLeeze-garden 2.0!

justam

As far as edible plants go, this year I planted an orange tree (this hasn't gotten any fruit yet!), some oregano, some basil, some rosemary, some cilantro (this died!). I've been enjoying all the herbs except the cilantro.

Leezestarr313

justam wrote:

As far as edible plants go, this year I planted an orange tree (this hasn't gotten any fruit yet!), some oregano, some basil, some rosemary, some cilantro (this died!). I've been enjoying all the herbs except the cilantro.

Nice :thumbup: We have mostly basil (5 or 6 different kinds we really love it!), dill (didn't turn out as strong as I wanted, but maybe next year), bean herb (don't know what that is in English, we use it for green bean soup), lots of parsley and nasturtium.

I don't like cilantro, I think it tastes like pasrley that has been washed with dish soap :P

Will you dry some of them too? I thought about making pesto with all that basil, but I have never done it before :think:

justam

I haven't tried to dry them yet. Do you know how to do that?

I put some of my extra basil leaves into a plastic bag and they just got moldy! :?

morello

Ooooh, definitely make you're own pesto Lisa, it's so easy & yum yum. I always grow heaps of basil & make my own pesto & it lasts all year until the basil's growing in my garden again. I don't put the parmesan in until I want to use it, it keeps better that way + I keep a layer of olive oil on the top to help keep it as well & sometimes I use almonds instead of pine nuts as they're cheaper.

Almost time to get seeds going for my spring & summer garden here. I expect I'll grow the same as usual - basil, tomatoes, eggplants/aubergine, capsicum/bell pepper, courgette/zucchini, coriander/cilantro, beans - runner & dwarf. + I always have parsley, rocket/roquette & other salad + silverbeet/chard in my garden. Oh & hopefully I'll get fruit off the mystery tree that sprung up in my backyard that looks very much like a peach tree. I'd been wanting a peach tree but didn't know where to put one. Looks like one has decided where it wants to grow in it's own. Now I'm just hoping it's this extra yum heritage variety we have here that a few stones would have gone in my compost.

Leezestarr313

morello wrote:

Ooooh, definitely make you're own pesto Lisa, it's so easy & yum yum. I always grow heaps of basil & make my own pesto & it lasts all year until the basil's growing in my garden again. I don't put the parmesan in until I want to use it, it keeps better that way + I keep a layer of olive oil on the top to help keep it as well & sometimes I use almonds instead of pine nuts as they're cheaper.

Almost time to get seeds going for my spring & summer garden here. I expect I'll grow the same as usual - basil, tomatoes, eggplants/aubergine, capsicum/bell pepper, courgette/zucchini, coriander/cilantro, beans - runner & dwarf. + I always have parsley, rocket/roquette & other salad + silverbeet/chard in my garden. Oh & hopefully I'll get fruit off the mystery tree that sprung up in my backyard that looks very much like a peach tree. I'd been wanting a peach tree but didn't know where to put one. Looks like one has decided where it wants to grow in it's own. Now I'm just hoping it's this extra yum heritage variety we have here that a few stones would have gone in my compost.

Sounds awesome! Good luck with your mystery tree I guess I will attempt to make pesto then!

Justam - We have a drying line in my office and we usually just bind little bouquets together and hang them on it. When they're dry-dry, I put them in zipper bags or little jars. dill and parsley is a little different, I always put them in a blender and freeze them in plastic boxes. That would probably work for basil too. Fresh herbs for everyday use I always keep in a glass with water, like flowers I change the water every day, they keep fresh a couple of days. I think you can also dry herbs in the oven. But I haven't done that ...

guitar59

guitar59 wrote:

Nothing yet...we don't plant until after May 20th up here in Calgary... could still snow. When the time comes we will go with tomatoes, lettuce, herbs, peas, carrots, potatoes and green beans. We only have a small plot in the community garden, the soil in the yard is awful (lots of clay) and barely grows anything.

Out of the garden we have eaten a lot of peas and beans. The carrots were all tiny and delish...the beets didn't do so well. They didn't get thinned enough. The onions were doing great, but some one nicked them out of my plot right as they were getting big enough to harvest and enjoy. Went to grab them one night for fajitas and they were gone! The tomatoes need to ripen, I have a lot, however, I am very worried that right as they start to turn someone will will pick them before I have a chance to. The plot is privately planted and should be mine to enjoy, but my yummy produce keeps going missing. Today I am going to dig up the potatoes, as I've noticed someone is breaking into the hills and taking the yummy little fingerlings that grow!

Leezestarr313

What a bummer, guitar59! People are assholes :(
We managed to leave the groundhogs out od the garden by proper fencing, but the squirrels get in all the time and they seem to love tomatoes :fp: We have enough, but I would never have thought they like that kind of stuff. On the other hand, I have seen a squirrel chowing down on a huge slice of salami (from the neighbours trash, I guess ), so you never know.

Best of luck for your harvest, I would be so pissed if somebody took our hard-grown veggies :evil:

Our carrots stayed kinda tiny too, the beets as well. I guess next year, we will mix some sand into the soil to make it more fluffy. They were tasty though No beans and peas here, but I think I will plant some beans next year. I love green beans...

jlaustin

Leezestarr313 wrote:

Slowly but steadily fall is arriving We lost a couple of corn ears to birds :evil:, encountered some powdery mildew on the squash and zucchini plants (I successfully treated them with a baking soda water soap mix), and still enjoy picking bell peppers, radishes, carrots and tomatoes.


Yesterday, I took this awesome pic, they are sitting on the corn


I cannot wait for next spring to start project CavLeeze-garden 2.0!

Leeze - that is the coolest picture. You should submit it to Grasshopper Monthly! They look like they are in love!

All of our "crops" are pretty much done now sadly. Just a few peppers left. We'll probably plant some more lettuce, but we'll have to wait until after the 90 degree temperatures go away.

AELARA

I've got a big big garden in my house, a heritage from my grandparents. There are many fruits and vegetables.
To name a few, every year I grow tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, pumpkins, cucumbers and zucchini. I've also got plenty of levander, basil, oregano and mint.
My trees are also quite a lot, most of which are newly planted by me. I've got 3 fig trees (they are my favourite), 4 peach trees, 3 plum trees, 2 olive trees, 2 cherry trees and 1 quince trees. I also have many many flowers.
I really love my garden!

Leezestarr313

Wow, that sounds like a dream garden :thumbup:

Here, fall seems to have finally set in. We are still harvesting a little bit every other day, but the big garden time seems to be over :(

However, I took pics of some cool stuff during the last couple of days:
This is a radish, super delish and so pretty!


And this is something that I only knew from the zoo so far :shock: A little scary, but so elegant and beautiful! A praying mantis. We found another one with a really big lower belly. She must be preggers. She looks like an alien, this one here is nothing It was freaky when she turned her head to look at us...

jlaustin

Leezestarr313 wrote:

And this is something that I only knew from the zoo so far :shock: A little scary, but so elegant and beautiful! A praying mantis. We found another one with a really big lower belly. She must be preggers. She looks like an alien, this one here is nothing It was freaky when she turned her head to look at us...

Are you a nature photographer? First, the grasshoppers in love and now a preggers praying mantis!

All we got in our yard this year was a couple of cicadas!

Have a great week! Talk to you soon to firm up the Pitt/Buff. plans! :thumbup:

Leezestarr313

jlaustin wrote:

Leezestarr313 wrote:

And this is something that I only knew from the zoo so far :shock: A little scary, but so elegant and beautiful! A praying mantis. We found another one with a really big lower belly. She must be preggers. She looks like an alien, this one here is nothing It was freaky when she turned her head to look at us...

Are you a nature photographer? First, the grasshoppers in love and now a preggers praying mantis!

All we got in our yard this year was a couple of cicadas!

Have a great week! Talk to you soon to firm up the Pitt/Buff. plans! :thumbup:

:thumbup: We had cicadas too, and lots of them! But this was a highlight! And I took my pics with my phone

jlaustin

Your phone? Amazing - I can't take pictures like that with a camera. :fp:

You must know your lighting!

Leezestarr313

jlaustin wrote:

Your phone? Amazing - I can't take pictures like that with a camera. :fp:

You must know your lighting!

I dunno, I just try to make them as interesting as possible. My stepdad is a photographer, maybe I got something from him after all And my phone cam is amazeballs...

AELARA

Butterfly in my garden