so how about that garden?

[Heidi3]

well mine is crazy ...I have a hillside of rhubarb but will not pull it until next year so the crowns can get thier roots deep....and my collards and chard are going mental ....garlic looks good the tops are starting to die...strawberries are almost filling the box they are in so that is good maybe next year I can have enough to enjoy!....the flowers and vines and trees are all taking root (for those of you who do not know I have four distinct garden areas that had nothing in or on them I am trying to erradicate the grass except for two areas for sitting and playing bacci ball)....anyway the most interesting plant in my yard has been the cardoon it grew to over 10 ft and produced the most spectacular flowers...well have a look!.... I am not sure what to do with all of them I am going to try to dry a few and let some go to seed the bees seem to love them so that is good..they are kind of unsightly plants so I am rethinking where I should put them next year!!!!
how is your garden growing?

[Heidi3]

Re: so how about that garden?

ok see how unsightly these things are? ..I never did eat it btw

[2big4mysize]

Re: so how about that garden?

well with the summer heat the greens are bolted until the new crop in Sept and my garlic was havested in June too we will replant in Sept for next yr, but the tomatoes are taking over everything. I've got 6 kinds but not the black ones this yr, the late frost got those plants. I understand there is a native one called Cherekee I should try.
The egg plants are producing the lovliest cresent moon white ones and the milder japanese version. I got Peppers that say how hot can you stand us ans sweet ones that are longer then my forearm.
Just harvested a bunch of okra and might just have to try Megs blossom recipe as I'm getting tired of eatting it.

The spice garden is doing well but the basil bolted too so i need to get some new plants going as the leaves hav gotten bitter.

[not2late]

Re: so how about that garden?

Let's see...

The Winners:
Sugar snap peas: they're still stupid plants, but I was able to harvest about 2 pounds of snap peas from them.

Cucumbers: I'm still harvesting those.

Basil: Doing great. I had to cut them back this weekend (and I made alot of pesto).

Onions: I plant them only for the greens, and they did very well. I'm going to plant more for fall.

Swiss Chard: Did better than I thought. Everytime I went to the store and saw Swiss Chard for $2.45 a pound, it made me happy I wasn't paying those prices.

Strawberries: These were June-bearing---and boy were they bearing in June! I'm letting training the runners into another box, so hopefully next year I'll increased my harvest.

Broccoli Rabe: Did really well. I, unintentionally, allowed a couple of them go to seed. Well, this is one time when laziness is rewarded because I have little broccoli rabes growing for a fall crop.

Watercress: Did great too. I'm planning to grow it again, next year.

Romaine lettuce and arugula: Did well too.

Other herbs: parsley, cilantro, dill, all did well.

They came in second:
Tomatoes: The weather's been weird, so I have only 2 plants growing. No tomatoes yet, but they are flowering.

Okra: 1 plant grew and I've been able to harvest 2 pods from it so far.

Beetberry: They grew and grew very well, until that heat wave and then they stopped growing and started wilting no matter what I did. The leaves were edible so I was able to harvest the last remaining plants and they tasted a bit like spinach.

Corn: It's growing. But I really didn't grow it to eat---I like the look of cornstalks in the yard (yeah, I'm weird that way) and they hide an ugly corner of the yard too.

And the Losers:
Squash: They grew, but the heat wave we had killed them.

Spinach: none of it grew.

Eggplant: Heat wave victim.


Hope springs eternal:
The dwarf blueberry: I'm hoping they aren't dead. I'm really, really, really keeping my fingers crossed that they aren't dead.

[womanpraised]

Re: so how about that garden?

OOOHHHH am i jealous! Your gardens sound wonderful! Nursey, those are the most beautiful purple flowers. I am researching container gardens.. sigh... but not sure how well that will go over in the desert. We will see!

[not2late]

Re: so how about that garden?

OOOHHHH am i jealous! Your gardens sound wonderful! Nursey, those are the most beautiful purple flowers. I am researching container gardens.. sigh... but not sure how well that will go over in the desert. We will see!

Don't be jealous!

Everything in my garden is in a container except for the corn, squash, okra, tomatoes, parsley and broccoli rabe.

Containers are easy to do. You will need large containers. Knock out the drainage holes. I put about an inch of gravel in the bottom to help weigh it down and to improve drainage. I also mix the potting soil with sand (the play sand stuff you can buy at the garden center) to help with drainage as well. Between plantings, I add fertilizer to the boxes and fluff up the soil.

Try planting one container for starters.

[womanpraised]

Re: so how about that garden?

That is cool... I am off to the library this weekend, as I believe that the next planting season is coming... I am excited... as a side note, we have this super narrow aquarium type thing that you plant carrots and radishes and such in, so that the kiddos can see how they grow... and a friend has a dwarf ornage tree on her patio that really grows oranges.. so we are excited to see what we can grow on our patio...

[not2late]

Re: so how about that garden?

Radishes do well in containers. Carrots too (just make sure the container is deep enought).

But go ahead and give the container a try.

[Heidi3]

Re: so how about that garden?

have your purchased soil tested I bought soil and was lucky enough to have a fir end who has a lab who can test...well the dirt was loaded with heavy metals ...so it is worth it if you are going to eat root or leaf veggies to have the soil tested .."organic" does not mean not contaminated with heavy metal...you can do it at the health dept and also ..if you have kids especially test for lead!

[womanpraised]

Re: so how about that garden?

Thank you. I would not ever have thought of that - that sounds like it could be dangerous!

[Heidi3]

Re: so how about that garden?

don't live in fear of buying soil...just be aware I was so stunned at the amt of crap in the stuff I bought that it kind of made me leary but I do not have all my soil tested and I do eat stuff out of the garden ..if you add lime to the soil inhibits the plants from sucking the lead and stuff up ..there is a lot of info online that tells you just keep the pH about 6.5 (I believe) and you should be fine.

ok I have a question can I dry my garlic in the sun? I have been growing garlic for years and always dried it in the rafters on the back porch...it is so sunny and dry and I just pulled my garlic can I just spread them out on tarp on the lawn and let them dry ..does it matter?