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

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  • However, I took pics of some cool stuff during the last couple of days:
    This is a radish, super delish and so pretty!
    radish_zpsa9345b4d.jpg
    It's been a long time since I grew radishes but I remember that the taste was so sharp! Absolutely nothing like the ones you buy at the grocery store.
    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 :lol: It was freaky when she turned her head to look at us...
    mantis_zps65734f97.jpg
    If you find a praying mantis in your garden, that's a good sign! It means pesticides haven't been used in your yard, or at least not for a long time. Praying mantises are good to have around. They eat lots of harmful insects.
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • AELARA wrote:
    Butterfly in my garden
    blgt6.jpg

    Pretty! Looks big too!

    WhoPrincess - yep, we haven't used any harsh stuff in our garden, we wanted an organic garden :) Some of the corn got corn smut and we had some powdery mildew on the yellow squash and zucchini plants, but I was able to cure it with a mix of water and baking soda... Our garden is a little eden for all kinds of animals and plants :D

    I love radishes, one of my childhood memories is eating buttered bread with radish slices (with a pinch of salt) in the garden of my grandma. Soo good! I loved these because they looked so cool. We had some regular ones too. I will never buy the ones from the supermarket again. That's like a waste of money...
  • morellomorello Posts: 6,212
    ^^^ Wow everyone. What gorgeous pictures.

    The weather's warmed up here now. I'll be doing my spring/summer seeds very soon & getting my garden going!! Let's get this year's garden started!!
    <hr>
    PJ - Auckland 2009; Alpine Valley1&2 2011; Man1, Am'dam1&2, Berlin1&2, Stockholm, Oslo & Copenhagen 2012; LA, Oakland, Portland, Spokane, Calgary, Vancouver, Seattle 2013; Auckland 2014
    EV - Canberra, Newcastle & Sydney 1&2 2011
  • morello wrote:
    ^^^ Wow everyone. What gorgeous pictures.

    The weather's warmed up here now. I'll be doing my spring/summer seeds very soon & getting my garden going!! Let's get this year's garden started!!

    :thumbup: Pretty cool that now that our season has ended, you can keep this thread alive :mrgreen: Happy gardening!
  • morellomorello Posts: 6,212
    morello wrote:
    ^^^ Wow everyone. What gorgeous pictures.

    The weather's warmed up here now. I'll be doing my spring/summer seeds very soon & getting my garden going!! Let's get this year's garden started!!

    :thumbup: Pretty cool that now that our season has ended, you can keep this thread alive :mrgreen: Happy gardening!
    My community garden is getting cranking now too. I haven't been along much recently as people have been meeting on a Friday afternoon when I'm at work. I'll post some pics from there sometime soon. :)
    <hr>
    PJ - Auckland 2009; Alpine Valley1&2 2011; Man1, Am'dam1&2, Berlin1&2, Stockholm, Oslo & Copenhagen 2012; LA, Oakland, Portland, Spokane, Calgary, Vancouver, Seattle 2013; Auckland 2014
    EV - Canberra, Newcastle & Sydney 1&2 2011
  • Cool :thumbup:
  • shortstackshortstack Posts: 2,339
    can anyone recommend a good organic/heirloom seed supplier?
    did you see me? i saw you.
  • shortstackshortstack Posts: 2,339
    just spent about two hours looking through and adding seeds to my cart only to find after the window closed down due to an "error" that the cart will not save unless you click a save button that is not explained until you lose everything in your cart. boo. thanks baker creek. =D>
    did you see me? i saw you.
  • SPEEDY MCCREADYSPEEDY MCCREADY Posts: 25,522
    Well after sitting out all winter I was thrilled to see the lawn mower start with only one pull of the cord. That was a bonus!
    We planted some tomatoes, a few varieties of peppers, beans, lettuce, and zucchini.

    I played in the dirt, on and off, for 6 hours yesterday.
    Take me piece by piece.....
    Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
  • OMGkatwomanOMGkatwoman Posts: 3,230

    can anyone recommend a good organic/heirloom seed supplier?

    I was going to say gurney's but, didn't see any there, burpee organic seeds are available at just about any garden center and saw johnnyseeds.com on the internet. I got some nice heirloom tomato plants already started last year at a local farm/feed store at their garden center so maybe check out some place like that if you have one near you.

  • Leezestarr313Leezestarr313 Posts: 14,352
    edited May 2014
    We fenced in the garden patch over at our new house today and planted some flower seeds and veggie seeds. On Tuesday, I go to a garden center with my MIL, we will be looking for a magnolia tree and some bell pepper plants and tomatoes. This is about the only gardening that will happen this year, the inside of the house is more important :) But it made me so happy digging in the ground again!
  • Cliffy6745Cliffy6745 Posts: 33,801
    Got my herbs and peppers going on my deck yesterday. Pretty pumped. Did okay last year, but hoping for a better outcome than last year.
  • shortstackshortstack Posts: 2,339

    We fenced in the garden patch over at our new house today and planted some flower seeds and veggie seeds. On Tuesday, I go to a garden center with my MIL, we will be looking for a magnolia tree and some bell pepper plants and tomatoes. This is about the only gardening that will happen this year, the inside of the house is more important :) But it made me so happy digging in the ground again!


    congrats on the new house! :)
    did you see me? i saw you.
  • Leezestarr313Leezestarr313 Posts: 14,352
    edited May 2014
    Thanks, shortstack! I got some pretty cool plants on tuesday. Lots of funky looking tomatoes, like this one, a Black Krim: image

    Then I got some bell peppers, bush cucumber, a lovage (a herb that I love, just the smell makes me drool and think of a hearty potato soup), a lemon mint, and an elderberry plant. Elderberries are a common sight in Germany. When i was a kid, we would venture out and collect either the blooms (they are an awesome dessert dipped in beer dough and deep fried) or the berries. My mom made elderberry soup (fantastic with sweet semolina dumplings), juice, wine and jelly. The blooms can also be made into a syrup. I'm very excited about this :D Didn't find a magnolia though, but this can wait.
  • SPEEDY MCCREADYSPEEDY MCCREADY Posts: 25,522
    60 days until I plant.
    60 short days.
    I have to do it different this year. Peat Moss and manure, plus fertilizer. The 1st 3 summers here, my tomatoes and everything else kicked ass! Last year not so much. Guess I need to turn over the dirt and get some nutrients back in the soil.

    60 more days.
    Take me piece by piece.....
    Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
  • Who PrincessWho Princess Posts: 7,305

    can anyone recommend a good organic/heirloom seed supplier?

    I know this is an old post but I get catalogs from 2 suppliers of heirloom seeds: Seeds of Change and Select Seeds. Seeds of Change is mostly vegetables and Select Seeds is mostly flowers but they both have a good selection. I've bought seeds from both places. I mostly grow flowers and Select Seeds is just about my fave.
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • QuarterToTenQuarterToTen Posts: 3,636

    60 days until I plant.
    60 short days.
    I have to do it different this year. Peat Moss and manure, plus fertilizer. The 1st 3 summers here, my tomatoes and everything else kicked ass! Last year not so much. Guess I need to turn over the dirt and get some nutrients back in the soil.

    60 more days.

    I'm thinking of putting in some cold weather crops, broccoli, cabbage, beets in the next few weeks.

    I simply can't wait to get my hands back into the dirt.

    :)







    Nice shirt.
  • Leezestarr313Leezestarr313 Posts: 14,352
    edited March 2015
    I cannot wait either! I ordered a nice bunch of seeds from highmowingseeds.com, some fingerling seed potatoes and seed garlic from another website and my grandparents sent me a bunch of flower seeds, herb seeds and simple veggie seeds from Germany too. We covered the garden with old leaves before the snow came, so hopefully this will get the soil going. We are planning a lot this year, now that we have moved in it's gonna be awesome to go out and dig in the dirt whenever we want to. I got two "greenhouse" shelf units that I will set up in our sunniest room in a couple of weeks to get the baby plants going. We still have snow on the ground, so I guess I have to be patient...
    I am most excited about the Belgian endives/ chicory. I hope it works out just as easy as it sounds.
    Here's my seeds :smile:
    image
  • RKCNDYRKCNDY Posts: 31,013
    I'm building my planter box rack, should be done tonight. Will grow organic herbs in there. Then this weekend, will build the larger planter box for the larger veggies.
    Everything is already blooming (the tulips are 2 weeks early), so I'm not sure if I want to get seeds for starts, or buy them at the farmers market-the starts there are all organic/heirloom.
    The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

    - Christopher McCandless
  • Leezestarr313Leezestarr313 Posts: 14,352
    We had great experiences with the starters last year, we might stock up a bit if the seeds don't behave as they should :lol:
  • frozenwithsaltfrozenwithsalt Posts: 765
    edited March 2015
    RKCNDY said:

    I'm building my planter box rack, should be done tonight. Will grow organic herbs in there. Then this weekend, will build the larger planter box for the larger veggies.
    Everything is already blooming (the tulips are 2 weeks early), so I'm not sure if I want to get seeds for starts, or buy them at the farmers market-the starts there are all organic/heirloom.

    Have you tried pallets? I'm a Pinterest lover and I tried pallets for small veggies and herbs and it worked great.

    This year I'm keeping it simple. Onions, jalapeños, bell peppers, tomatoes and cilantro because I like to make home made salsa. My boys usually try their hand with strawberries and we have a giant peach tree that must have had 200-300 peaches last year.
  • RKCNDYRKCNDY Posts: 31,013

    RKCNDY said:

    I'm building my planter box rack, should be done tonight. Will grow organic herbs in there. Then this weekend, will build the larger planter box for the larger veggies.
    Everything is already blooming (the tulips are 2 weeks early), so I'm not sure if I want to get seeds for starts, or buy them at the farmers market-the starts there are all organic/heirloom.

    Have you tried pallets? I'm a Pinterest lover and I tried pallets for small veggies and herbs and it worked great.

    This year I'm keeping it simple. Onions, jalapeños, bell peppers, tomatoes and cilantro because I like to make home made salsa. My boys usually try their hand with strawberries and we have a giant peach tree that must have had 200-300 peaches last year.
    Oh, I'm practically done with my rack (I don't even know where to get pallets)...I'll post a pic when I'm done with it. We don't have a lot of room, so everything has to be small. There are lots of urban gardeners...our neighbors even have chickens. I kinda want to get a duck so she can eat all the slugs...and give me eggs.

    We had great experiences with the starters last year, we might stock up a bit if the seeds don't behave as they should :lol:

    I'm thinking I'm a little late for certain plants...I was reading the seed catalog, and it says 'start seeds 12 weeks before transplanting'...so, "oopsie"
    The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

    - Christopher McCandless
  • Leezestarr313Leezestarr313 Posts: 14,352
    Yeah, about the starting time... Oh well. I always just get started at one point and then go from there. Something always grows and I have some fun :) Now that this thread is deactivated and we are having temps above freezing point, I feel the urge to dig my hands in soil. I might just get some spoil at one point this week and get the seeds going.
  • deadendpdeadendp Posts: 10,434

    can anyone recommend a good organic/heirloom seed supplier?

    I know this is an old post but I get catalogs from 2 suppliers of heirloom seeds: Seeds of Change and Select Seeds. Seeds of Change is mostly vegetables and Select Seeds is mostly flowers but they both have a good selection. I've bought seeds from both places. I mostly grow flowers and Select Seeds is just about my fave.
    Baker Creek Seeds is where I buy my seeds. Wonderful people. No GMOs. No frankenfoods. NO Monsanto!

    No growing here yet. I haven't seen my lawn since right after Christmas. We're on a slow thaw right now. Just this evening, we went on a walk. Most sidewalks were clear. Still, I'll get to planting tomatoes, peppers and flowers in my garden window in a few weeks.
    2014: Cincinnati
    2016: Lexington and Wrigley 1
  • QuarterToTenQuarterToTen Posts: 3,636
    Happy Almost Spring! I am just like a little kid at Christmas with anticipation.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_ERbQ1p2Ic
    Nice shirt.
  • RKCNDYRKCNDY Posts: 31,013
    I already bought a vase of forced tulip bulbs. They lasted a week, now I'm waiting for the foliage to die back and then I'll store them until November and see if I can force them again next spring.

    Stupid dahlias, I bought 12 tubers last spring, planted them and I only got 3 little puffballs-they were supposed to be dinner plates. I was gonna move them, but when I started digging around, I only found one.
    The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

    - Christopher McCandless
  • Leezestarr313Leezestarr313 Posts: 14,352
    My grandparents have sent me bulbs from Germany. Last year, we didn't have a lot of time for the front yard, but this year, we're gonna do a little more there. We have some outgrown roses that we will probably move, and trim of course, and then want to go with some wildflower seeds mixed with the bulbs. I don't want a circled accurate garden, but a nice mix of wilderness, flowers and some kind of order.

    My seeds have been sitting in their greenhouses since last week now and I can see the first sprouts. Kohlrabi, basil and thyme are out :grin:
  • We've had a quite a bit of rain, more than usual in fact. I'm considering throwing out some bluebonnet seeds. I love blue flowers.
  • Who PrincessWho Princess Posts: 7,305

    We've had a quite a bit of rain, more than usual in fact. I'm considering throwing out some bluebonnet seeds. I love blue flowers.

    Fellow Texan, bluebonnet seed must be planted in September or October. After the first fall rains. Save your seed until then.
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • Who PrincessWho Princess Posts: 7,305

    My grandparents have sent me bulbs from Germany. Last year, we didn't have a lot of time for the front yard, but this year, we're gonna do a little more there. We have some outgrown roses that we will probably move, and trim of course, and then want to go with some wildflower seeds mixed with the bulbs. I don't want a circled accurate garden, but a nice mix of wilderness, flowers and some kind of order.

    This is what old ladies like me call a cottage garden. That's what I have in front of my house and I love it.
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
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