What's in your garden?

[cncpro]

I'm on year #2 for gardening. I spent a fortune last year on fencing (around $300) and a really sweet Ariens tiller for $700. I busted up a 24 x 36 section of my lawn and I am pretty proud of myself. If I keep this up for 10 or 15 years I may actually break even on this whole garden deal... :-S

The soil is so much better this year. I tilled all the grass into it last year but it takes time for all of the clumps to break down so finally the dirt is looking really appealing. I put a nice load of manure in there this year and a huge pile of compost (grass clippings & kitchen waste from the past 7 years).

A few weeks ago I put in some lettuce, spinach, peas, and carrots which all came up nicely. Planted potatoes 1.5 weeks ago (not up yet) and this past weekend I planted basil, cilantro, squash, cukes, pole beans, and a little corn. I'm staggering the corn planting this year hoping to extend my harvest. I'll plant a bit each week for 3 more weeks.

This weekend I'll plant the tomatoes which are hardening off in the garage now.

Last June...

[IMG=http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/228/garden2009001.th.jpg][/IMG]

And today... A bit fewer rows but more organized this year. I left room in between each row to run the tiller down and take care of some of those weeds. I also left a path at the end of the rows because last year maximizing the space seemed like a good idea at the beginning of the year but hopping over the rows was getting real old by August.

[IMG=http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/1379/garden2010002.th.jpg][/IMG]

Oh, I also planted asparagus last year in an area separate from the garden and got to sample a bit this year. Should be a nice crop for many years now. I added a separate bed of 15 strawberry plants last week as well.

 

[laynes69]

I have 3 small rows of radishes, 3 full rows of potatoes, 300+ onions dill and a row of snow peas in so far. I only had 10 broccoli plants germinate out of 48 (bad seed) so I will get those in the garden in the next day or two. I want to put out a small 10'x10' patch of corn and experiment. I have some 60 day yellow corn that would be nice to have close to the 4th of july. I figure something that small can be covered in case of a frost.

 

[Dix]

I'm restoring the raised beds I let go for the past few years. 2 8 X 12 beds installed by the Dixettes Dad almost 16 years ago.

I cleaned out the debris, added winter manure, added leaves & more maure, then dumped some ashes over the winter. It was stirred, not shaken More leaves, composted horse manure (think worm city), and stirred it all up. It's looking good. We plant after Mothers Day.

I'll put in some tomatoes, peppers, zucch's ( timed planting to avoid the borers), and what ever else might strike my fancy.

I'm also renovating the flower beds, and dividing day lilies, irises, etc. Might as well use what I have instaed of buying more ;-) The manure is free, so WTH

 

[fossil]

...The manure is free, so WTH

Maybe it's free comin' out, but I bet you paid for it goin' in. %-P Rick

 

[Dix]

...The manure is free, so WTH

Maybe it's free comin' out, but I bet you paid for it goin' in. %-P Rick

You betcha. And it's primo coming out ;-)

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I have yet to till anything- including when I started the garden. layed down several sheets of newspapers, layered on compostable material, and planted. The worms did the rest. I just add shredded leaves, compostables/etc. and plant every year. Blackest richest soil you ever saw- only issue is that it's soft so that good cages/staking is required for peppers/maters.

 

[mikeyny]

Looks like we will have frost in the garden tonite here in upstate NY. I will have to set up a few box fans at the ends of the garden to keep it from settling in. We took a chance and planted on easter sunday. So far so good. carrots, swiss chard summer sq. acorn sq. cukes, and beets so far.

 

[begreen]

You might want to temporarily tent the squash. It can be sensitive to cold.

 

[vvvv]

sensitive includes a dormancy state= didnt freeze but it aint gonna produce as quick?

 

[Delta-T]

I live in townhouse condo so no "yard" in which to plant....so....we have the largest potted veggie garden in the complex. Some 16, 18" pots are strewn about our walkway and steps. Strawberries,Green Onion, Peppers,cherry tomatos,and some assorted lettuces, and a pineapple. PLanted pretty early this year, but its cool cuz we just bring everything into the dining room on cold nights. Yes, its unsightly, and smells of earth, but I will be the envy of my suburban neighbors in a few months. Have done this for a few years and the only critters we have are humans (classless next door neighbor most assuredly steals from us in the middle of the night). I'm sure the landscapers think we're silly people, and we are, but I've been called worse things.

Good luck all on all you vegetative endeavors, be they eatable or "medicinal".

 

[jlasserton]

In my small garden, I have snap peas, squash, carrots and tomatoes. It's a small yard, but my garden fits nicely in there!

 

[woodsman23]

no garden yet, still a frost each night it is clear..

 

[dvellone]

Garlic from last fall's planting and strawberries, carrots, beets, radishes, shell peas, and a few rows of lettuces and greens. Pretty much everything that will take a frost though I just put in pole beans but I don't mind if I have to cover a bit if we get a frost. Our season is so short here that if you wait until after the last general frost date to plant the less than hardy varieties you'll have little growing season to get a decent harvest.

 

[mikeyny]

Yep, that frost the week before got my squash plants. They are still living but have a whitish haze on the leaves. I left them in and re-planted more around the same hill.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I felt safe to pop in the tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and some herbs last night. My peas, lettuce, beets did crappy for some reason.

I planted oregano, and found a good bunch of it that survived from last year. Huh. It sometimes comes back spicy/minty I've found.
The parsley is doing great from last year as well.

Strawberries are going NUTS and the garlic is really up there- looks like a great garlic year.

 

[Gooserider]

Got lots of weeds, looks like that's about all I'll get too, as I didn't plan on making my garden wheelchair accessible when I laid it out, and no way for me to do anything with it the way it is now...

If there is anyone local to me that would like to take over 75' or so of raised beds filled w/ leaf compost, partly sunny, w/ some fencing, I'd be open to offers....

Gooserider

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I put in a small garden this year, probably 8 feet by 20 feet. I like to garden but I have so many trees it is hard to find a sunny enough spot. I keep cutting down trees but still not enough for a larger garden. I have 3 kinds of tomatos, 2 kinds of peppers, zucchini squash, parsley, basil and mint coming up stong from last year. I am sure I am going to fight with the deer and the ground hogs to harvest anything. But giving it a shot.

 

[timfromohio]

Started setting stuff out Thursday - herbs are out and will start on the tomatoes today. Potatoes are going strong, onions, lettuce, spinach, raddishes, and the perenial herbs. Unfortunately, it's still too wet in the main garden area to do much other than wheelbarrow in composted manure, so all planting is being done in our raised beds and pots for now. In years past I was always in a hurry to get stuff out - this year I'm trying to be more relaxed about it - better to get them out a week later than possible but under the best conditions.

Gooserider - I'm sure somebody in your area will take you up on the offer! That would be an ideal place for a newbie to learn with a pre-prepped site.

 

[DBoon]

I envy everyone that has been able to do a lot of planting by now. In Central NY, we are in a "finger" of Zone 4 that works its way down from the Adirondacks. Just last week, there was a very hard frost of 22 degrees that even killed back some oak tree buds.

In any case, I have a plot of ~500 square feet, plus about another 1000 square feet of plots borrowed from older neighbors who are no longer able to garden much themselves anymore (I garden, and split the produce with them - Gooserider - you should negotiate that deal!) and I've already put in potatoes, onions (red, yellow, white) garlic (from last fall), lettuce, spinach, leeks, snow peas and carrots. To come - tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers (pickling and slicing), winter squash (blue hubbard, butternut, buttercup), zucchini, green beans, rutabaga, and turnips. This fall, I'm going to be more aggressive about getting a second harvest with some fall vegetables including broccoli, brussel sprouts, and cabbage.

I also have a pretty good strawberry patch (mixed in with native wildflowers on a sloping area) and some black and red raspberries nestled in against the property line under a treeline. The black currants aren't producing yet.

Every year, I expand it a little bit, and turn some of the grass into planted areas. We only have a 1/4 acre to start with, and much of it is too shaded for vegetable gardening, or too close to the house (lead risk), or near the cesspool. Someday, that medium-sized Norway Maple will come down, but I'm going to let it continue to grow into more firewood until it starts shading my existing space.

My wife has planted a lot of flower gardens and herb gardens as well. Goal is hardly any mowing of grass.

 

[Bobbin]

I am not the "annual" gardener (save the windowboxes); but I can tell you that radishes, a variety of lettuces/"greens", peas, and a few other items are already showing signs of vigorous growth in the raised bed of Vegetable World. More tender seedlings are "hardening off" on the south side of the bahn and will likely be interred in the next few days.

From the perennial perspective: peonies are nicely budded up and the plant next to the south side of the house has begun to bloom. Baptisia australis is going to be lovely this year. Iris germanicus are beginning to open, and the "old-fashioned" variety I have is emitting the heavenly fragrance sadly missing from "new" varieties on the market. Hostas are impeccible as the slugs have yet to exact their inevitable toll. A few late Narcissus are still in flower, and we await the Rhodos, the Dogwood, and the beautiful Stewartia. Magnolia stellata was magnificent and Magnolia soulangiana, v. "Butterflies" had many more buttery flowers than it did last year... in spite of late frost.

 

[Tom Pencil]

Just have 4 tomato plants right now.

Have about 11 Atlantic Giant Pupmkins in pots. Hope they sprout as some seeds are old. Heres a picture of one I grew in 2005. This one was only 554 pounds.
Not even close to the largest one ever grown.