Vegetable Gardening

[Tuckervill]

I've never heard of this before, but I have a pot of petunias that come up year after year. It's a pot that I planted at least 2 years ago, bought the plant from Lowe's, and it has been hanging out there on a shepherd's hook all that time. It dies back and then every spring as soon as it gets rainy, it starts coming back. It's blooming like crazy right now!

I would like it in another place but I'm afraid to move it, for fear of disturbing its perfect environment.

Karen

[GLC1968]

Starting tomatoes from seed can be hit or miss. We started a bunch in January in our basement under an old florescent light (and sitting on a heating pad set to low). They did wonderfully and by the time we could safely put them in the ground (we too have a short growing season), they were 3 ft tall and already sprouting tomatoes. We had to transplant them twice as they grew and we pinched off most of the early flowers. They are doing very well right now after two weeks in the ground.

The tomatoes we started in Feburary never sprouted. The ones we started in March sprouted and then died (our own fault, they got fried in the greenhouse when our temps went above 80 degrees too early in the season).

Our peppers also died in this heat wave, so we had to go buy some starts at the farmer's market.

It's SOOO much more satifiying to grow from seed! This is the first year I've ever had luck growing tomatoes from seed and it's so exciting!

[tulip]

I did set up a grow light in the basement, and I used it for the seeds, but what I really need is a greenhouse...so maybe next year...(kayak?...greenhouse?...kayak?...greenhouse?...)

[Blueberry]

The putting in the beds and figuring out what in the world we're doing was enough for us this year! We might try seeds next year. All of our plants came from locally owned garden supply places and the farmer's market (plus a few we picked up on a farm tour). We have some great varieties - and yes, our first sungold is almost ready to pick!!

CA

[papaver]

I did set up a grow light in the basement, and I used it for the seeds, but what I really need is a greenhouse...so maybe next year...(kayak?...greenhouse?...kayak?...greenhouse?...)

get a plexi see through kayak that you can use as a greenhouse.

[OakLeaf]

You'll need someplace to store your 'yak anyway. Why not in the greenhouse?

FWIW, I never had any trouble with my tomato seeds (or the other nightshades). The soil has to be maintained at 80-90°F (27-32°C) until germination, and the pots and soil should be sterile.

If the ambient temperature is low, to maintain the soil temperature, the heating pad should be set on high and the flats should be loosely covered (and if you're using a household heating pad, make sure it's one that's rated for moist heat!). With a tight cover you could probably get away with setting the pad lower, but then you'd run into troubles with moisture control and ambient molds. I never did invest in a thermostatically controlled seedling heat mat, but I always kept a soil thermometer stuck in one of the cells.

My sweet corn's up . Pre-sprouting the seeds indoors under a damp paper towel for 36-48 hours gives me close to 100% germination of untreated seed, even when the soil temperature is only 60°F or so. I haven't done sweet corn in several years just because it's so resource-intensive - and it's not in the best spot in the garden - so we'll see how it does. I'm going to kidnap some horse manure from my new neighbor.

[tulip]

Ah, well I'm sure the soil wasn't and isn't so warm. My basement, which is a wonderful wine cellar, is about 63F year round. Next year I'll get the heating pad. This year, I'll just buy some plants. It's getting late already!

I love the plexi kayak idea!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Call me lazy, but no way I am doing all that stuff to start seeds in my basement! Our basement is fairly well used already, space wise.
Me, I get intense satisfaction from picking up some great heirloom tomato plantlings from my local nursery a little before Memorial Day weekend. It's fun to pick them out!
I do like planting faster growing things from seed though!

I think if I planted corn I'd have every raccoon in the neighborhood climbing over my fence! (at least that's what the locals tell me)
Happily, organic corn is fairly obtainable and reasonably priced around here now.

Made tuna salad for dinner tonight, which we'll have over a bed of our own lettuces just picked an hour ago.

[short cut sally]

CA in NC
I can tell you what's in my pesto, I just can't give you specific measurements as I just throw it together
Basil, pine nuts (some people use other nuts), olive oil, real grated parmesan cheese, and garlic (use either whole cloves or that chopped stuff from a jar)
I usually put my pine nuts in the food processor first, then add the rest of stuff with the grated cheese absolutely last. You can add as much oil as you like. you want it so it spreads fairly nice but not runny.
From what I hear, in order to make good pesto, basil is to be picked before it flowers. I've used it both ways, When I set up to make pesto, it all goes in the processor. I can't tell one basil leaf from another.
Good luck, it really is simple. Once you get the hang of it..store bought just isn't the same.

[OakLeaf]

I've read that you shouldn't add parmesan to pesto that you plan to freeze; instead, mix it in after it's thawed.

Honestly, I've frozen it both ways and haven't really noticed a difference.

What I do get is a lot of oxidation and discoloration on the top couple of mm. Doesn't seem to affect the flavor though, if it's not too ugly we'll go ahead and eat it.

Any opinions on either of those?


Also, electric fence is mainly for groundhogs, but it keeps the raccoons out too. That's why I have a ground wire between the two hot wires, in case they try to climb it. They did walk off with most of my tomatoes one year. I tried to get a picture of two raccoons raiding my bird feeder last night, but it was too dark to shoot through the window, and when I opened the door, they took off. A friend of mine is having trouble with crows stealing his sweet corn seedlings this year - says this is the first time in years of gardening that that's happened to him. So far they've left mine alone, touch wood.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

This morning I took a few pix of my little tomato patch- that has now become way more than tomatoes!
Thanks to suggestions here, I rearranged the stone path to take up less space and planted quite a few rows of new seed up and down along every single available space...lots of lettuce (leaf and romaine), 3 kinds of radishes (cherry red, white, and French Breakfast), bok choy, scallions, and more chard. As you can see, things are happening!
We've been eating some lettuce and chard in salads already, and I'm now thinning radish seedlings. Today I saw a 1" toad hopping around under the lettuces.
I am so pleased with how much more I am growing (and hope to harvest) from my little space now! It's been about 20 years since I last grew my own lettuce, in Puerto Rico. Interestingly, the same variety- Black Seeded Simpson!

Here are some "Before and After" pictures:

From May 9th (pre-redesign):


From today June 4th:

(Some of the seeds like the scallions and bok choy have not come up just yet)

Views from the other end:

[tulip]

Looks great, Lisa! If you want to squeeze even more room out of your space, you could remove every other stepping stone and plant low things (lettuce) in between each stone. Or you could remove some of the stones and space the remaining ones farther away from each other and plant lettuce or mesculn mix in between them. Or thyme. Or creeping oregano. Or all of the above.

You could also plant pole beans and/or cucumbers to grow up the fence, although the critters might get the low hanging fruit.

You may not need to bother with that big garden in back after all!

PS: is that rainbow swiss chard that I spy in the last photo? I love that! So colorful and delicious.

[Jolt]

Yesterday my roommate and I spent the afternoon weeding and turning the soil in the part of our garden that doesn't have anything planted yet. I wish we had taken before/after pictures because you should have seen the weeds!! There were quite a few dandelions so I took the greens and cooked them up last night with olive oil, lemon juice and garlic--not bad. Now we need to plant tomatoes, squash, carrots, lettuce, arugula, eggplant and peppers, set up the watering system (sprinklers and soaker hoses) and put the fence up around the garden to keep out the critters. I'm enjoying reading about everyone else's gardens!

[smilingcat]

Lisa, your garden looks beautiful. And getting a lot more use out of it too. Raddishes all around the stepping stone?

Lettuce looks yummy.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Looks great, Lisa! If you want to squeeze even more room out of your space, you could remove every other stepping stone and plant low things (lettuce) in between each stone. Or you could remove some of the stones and space the remaining ones farther away from each other and plant lettuce or mesculn mix in between them.

Can't do it I'm afraid. I'm already having a hard time balancing myself without tipping over on the path while I work over the plants as it is. I can't space the stones further apart without losing my footing or my balance. The photos make the garden look a bit larger than it really is, I think. I feel like a bull in a china shop when I'm in there!

Hey, wait a minute!... If I hoist myself up on a pulley system hovering over the garden like Peter Pan (or "Bruno"!) then I can get rid of the stone path completely by tending to the plants while suspended over them in the air. I could plant more lettuce! ;D

You could also plant pole beans and/or cucumbers to grow up the fence, although the critters might get the low hanging fruit.

I'm afraid that would cut half of the day's sunlight out for all the plants inside, considering how they are so close to the shed and the sun mostly comes in from that fence side.

You may not need to bother with that big garden in back after all!

Awww...but I want to grow more food! Waaaaaaah, waaaaah!!!!!

PS: is that rainbow swiss chard that I spy in the last photo? I love that! So colorful and delicious.

Yes sir-eee- you can see it along the right fence in the first two photos, closest to the camera. I love swiss chard, both raw and cooked. There are 'normal' white stemmed, yellow, and red stemmed.