What will you be growing this year?

[MissyLouWho?]

I absolutely LOVE gardening.  I have a 900 square foot vegetable and fruit garden that I can't wait to get started in.  Winter never fully showed up and I don't think it will (I don't care what that scaredy cat groundhog said ), so I am eagerly anticipating my start!  I know when I read the hobbies/interests thread a lot of you said you liked gardening.  So what are you all growing this year?

I only really plant things I can eat, so I am growing:

Red potatoes in trash bags  , tomatoes (both cherry and slicing), green beans, asparagus beans, peas, cucumbers, radishes, 3 different lettuces, spinach, green peppers and habanero peppers, parsley and basil, dill, carrots, blackberries, yellow squash, zucchini, grapes, blueberries, two different raspberries, strawberries, apples, corn (early, mid and late), sunflowers, marigolds (for pest control), watermelons, cantaloupe, and honeydew.

I was too tired and busy to clean up my garden from 2 years ago  , so I have major work to do before I can start.  Hubby will help a lot, and since it's a major workout, I will get some of his friends that want to join the gym to come help too  .  The worst is digging up the stray blackberry shoots that like to run underground and then POP! just show up in the middle of my tomatoes or strawberries or whatever.  The dang little Houdini's will grow through or under whatever barrier I sink down around their bed.  The seagulls usually get most of the berries before they even ripen, so the thorny buggers might have to leave my garden of zen.  Have to pick and choose my battles, ya know?   

So let's share what we're planting and get in the mood for spring!

[Joe S.]

I will have to rely on others to do my garden. The sun burns my skin.

[MissyLouWho?]

Joe, last year I was too tired to do my big garden so I put a few little pots on my back deck right near the back door so I didn't have to walk far. I only planted basil, habaneros and transplanted my parsley from my garden to a pot.  I even put them up high on plastic coolers with wheels so I didn't have to bend over  andcould move them easily.  If you put them on dollies (flat board with wheels on the bottom) you could pull them out of the sun when you want to weed or water (or harvest), then push them back into the sun when you're done so YOU don't have to be in the sun, but they can have the sun they need to grow.  If you like to garden and can't because of the sun, it might be an option to get around it. 

Dear SJS~ we have ways around you  !!!

[A66eyroad]

So tell me all about growing potatoes in trash bags!   

[Madison Granny]

I going to try and grow some flowers.  We've tried to grow tomatoes several years,  But here is Oklahoma it's either too hot for them like last summer or to wet.  Maybe we'll try them again once my husband retires.  It get to be too much for me when I have to drag the hose.

[MissyLouWho?]

So tell me all about growing potatoes in trash bags!   

I take thick heavy black trash bags (the contractor bags work best), roll them down and put about 6 inches of good black dirt or compost in it.  I take my potatoes that I cut up* and let scab over in the warm window until they sprout and then plant them about 6-7 pieces per bag (one in the middle, and the rest in a circle around it) and cover them with about 2-4 inches of more compost then water well.  Potatoes are heavy feeders, so straight compost is best.  I cut out quarter sized holes all over the bottom and up to the roll for the water to drain quickly (the bag will spread out as you keep adding more compost and then the holes will eventually make their way under the bag so you need a lot of holes).  You just water when they look dry, and as the plants grow 6-8 inches, you cover the stems and lower leaves with more compost but be sure to let most of the leaves stick out the top.  Keep doing it over and over, unrolling as you go until they fill the bag.  Once they grow out of the bag and you have no room to add more compost, just water and watch for flowers.  After the flowers die and the plant dies back, rip open the bag and watch your taters spill out!  Potatoes grow on the roots of the plant, so it's very important to keep adding dirt or compost or they will come up out of the ground.  They also will turn green if exposed to the sun for a few days (and I believe that the green is poisonous?) so adding dirt every so often is essential, plus the more height they have to grow, the more potatoes you get.  My kids call it "potatoes treasure hunting" and we get so eager that we often end up opening bags before August  .

I find that since I'm in a windy area, it helps to use hair clips (the big jaw ones) to keep the bag from unrolling.  You can even plant them before your last frost since they are cold tolerant, but I never have.

* when you cut your potatoes, make sure you use a clean knife and leave 3-4 eyes per piece.  Small potatoes can be left whole.  Just let them sit in a pan in a warm sunny window and their cuts will dry out and scab over.  This prevents them from rotting in the cold wet ground.  When the sprouts start to grow, you have a few days to get them planted or they get too long and risk breaking when you plant them.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

[Meld256]

Missy,

That's a great idea for potatoes!  I might just be able to handle that. 

Like you, in February my thoughts turn to what I might plant.  Two years ago it was only 2-3 hanging baskets on the porch; I was too ill for more. Last year, we had many more flowers and I loved it! 

We plant basil, spearmint and rosemary in pots. I would really like to have some veggies and fruits, but between my health and hubby's work hours, we haven't done it yet.  I think I could work it out to plant in containers. 

Like many of us, I need to be out early in morning or late evening; the sun makes me sick. But as you say, there are ways to adapt to do what we can! 

p.s. Do you know if blueberries would do well in a container? 
Melinda

[A66eyroad]

Sounds easy and fun! I think I'll try it! 

[MissyLouWho?]

p.s. Do you know if blueberries would do well in a container? 
Melinda

Yes!  I believe a good one is called Top Hat blueberries. They are compact, but prolific and don't need a pollinator. I had one once for a week in a pot.  It was blooming a ton of bells then they fell off and it died.  I didn't realize until too late that my lab peed on it every morning  . My mom got one from the same company at the same time and hers is doing great!

[genko_b]

The coastal Pacific Northwest doesn't build up enough soil warmth to support decent peppers or melons, and tomatoes can be borderline. But there are lots of other edibles we can grow.

I have 2 ancient apple trees, a yellow transparent and a gravenstein, both heirloom varieties. Also three varieties of blueberries, tons of raspberries, black currants and concord grapes.

Tons of herbs - rosemary, parsley, thyme, sage, oregano, many different varieties of mint, dill, tarragon, and cilantro, plus some more exotic things to try. I grow rose geraniums and lemon verbena to flavor tea.

For veggies peas, many kinds of lettuce (I get seed mixes and broadcast them), cucumbers, tomatoes (they have water jackets to keep them warm in the beginning), cauliflower, broccoli, kale, chard, sweet onions, and carrots.

These are all mixed into the flower beds - the flowers are too numerous to count. I also keep a lot of pots in and around the deck, and move things mercilessly depending on conditions. My garden is my refuge.

If you are wondering how I manage a huge garden, I don't. We have someone come in each week to mow the lawn and edge it. Once a year a gardening service I like comes in and preps everything for winter - trimming, mulching and so on. Makes a huge difference. We also pay someone to prune the fruit trees.

I'm out there every day I can manage it first thing in the morning, and make the rounds with a weed bucket, pruners and a weeder. In about 20 minutes I see how everything is doing and can catch problems before they turn into something big. I move things around and plant new thing, but try to hold myself to an hour at a time out there.

In the summer I'm out in the shade garden with a cup of tea, just sitting. That's the most important part for me, to be able to hear the birds, smell the soil, and enjoy the breeze. When I can't even do that we'll need to move. I've missed being out there this month as I've been too ill, but have been making a list, from what I can see out the window. My bulbs are all coming up!

Take care,

Genko

[eye2dry]

hello everyone.

I will make jelly and pies from our apple trees, make jelly from our grapes. I plant tomatoes and hot peppers in pots for the patio.

I plant annuals, have hanging baskets, honeysuckles growing over our pergola off the patio. I have way too many perennials for hummingbirds to mention.
I have rambling roses on my trellis, lots of flowering shrubs ( Azaleas, crepe myrtle,weigala, butterfly bush, virburnum, lilacs...........) I grow minature roses.

I have flowering trees for hummers too....tulip poplars, catalpa and mimosa. Yes..I love hummingbirds (really all birds).

We have a 2 acre pond and I have planted pink, yellow and red water lillies.

I am tired just typing all that I have planted, tended, watered ,weeded and pruned. It really gives us a work out doesn't it?

I live in central ohio.

Alright now...I am excited for Spring, bring it ON.

eye2dry

[slccom]

How I miss my blackberries from our house in Pennsylvania! They were so wonderful. Pesky little devils with the shoots, as you say, but I would love to have some to grow here in Colorado. I did get some German blackberries, which are more like small blueberries on a stem. They are tough to kill, too, and keep growing up wherever they get a bit of water. I have some seeds if anyone wants some. I also have hollyhock seeds, red with ruffled petals. I also have a whole bunch of yarrow seeds, one is a sunshiny yellow that grows about 2 feet high, and the other is a triple-colored flower on the same plant. Yarrow don't take much water.  If anyone wants some seeds, you are welcome to them!

Once I planted my potatoes that sprouted. I harvested them in the fall by sitting in the dirt, sifting them through my fingers.

Normally I plant scallions, tomatoes, mild peppers and that's about all. I need to get a lot more energy to do that this year, though. 
Sharon 

[season]

I like different ways of raising vegetables. I can't fully grasp the concept of planting potatoes in a garbage bag but i love the idea. I would like to know more.

My neighbor throws his potatoes on the ground and then he covers them with straw. At the end of the growing season, he removes the straw for the new potatoes.

[vtmommy]

I've only recently gotten into gardening after we moved into a new house back in May (2011).  Our new house is on a large chunk of land (31 acres) and right in the middle of farm country (but still have about 20 acres that are wooded).  Gardening was kind of thrust upon me and I decided to experiment last year with the following veggies:

tomatoes, jalapenos, green peppers, potatoes, lettuce, peas, green beans, carrots, onions and corn.  There were already garlic and asparagus planted when we moved in.

I thought it was a good idea at the time and didn't think we'd have much luck, but I I found it hard to keep up with it.  We have amazing soil and the plants did well, but so did the weeds.  We had only used half of the garden space too, but had so many veggies we had to give a lot of it away.  I really enjoyed it though, more than I thought I would.

We have an amazing amount of wild blackberries and some raspberries.  It's a short hike to reach them, so I couldn't physically pick ask many as I wanted.  On top of that, we also have about 20 or so apple trees.

We have plans to have the garden again this year, but I'm worried since I've started to have issues with the sun starting back in November.  The garden gets full sun and I'm not sure if sunblock and a big hat will cut it...

Oh well, at least we'll be well-fed. 

Thanks,

Susan

[hootyhu1]

we have moved around so much that we haven't planted anything at all for about 3 years, we did have  a lemon tree that we had in a pot that moved with us from state to state, but someone stole it!!!!! Our neighbors actually baought us another lemon tree and it made the move from TX to Fl but out place is in almost full shade!!!!! Our Lemon tree hasnt done great but it does have flowers on it

We will be moving to WA state so I doubt that the lemon tree will make it but we will have a house there so I can get back into gardning my flowers and atleast an herb garden, yipeee