Gardening Time - 2015

[drmike]

Growing season is up and going strong at this point.   Weather has stabilized even in the most rugged northern environments.

Folks out there tending their gardens?  What are we growing this year?  

I haven't ground seeded yet.  Still cleaning up gardens and getting things in place.  

 

[Coastercraze]

Tomatoes, some green and red peppers, and squash. Might add some eggplant to it.

 

[Hxxx]

CPUs and RAM.

...

 

[drmike]

CPUs and RAM.

...

If only we could.   Silicon, I mean sand is a good growing medium or amendment to soil though.

 

[fatboy]

My veggie patch has been on the go for a couple of months after sowing and growing in the conservatory for a month or so - this means the veggie patch is looking quite green at the moment.

Only problem is, due to the crappy weather, there is some funky growth problems going on - my runner beans, broad beans and peas have only grown to 18 inches tall before flowering, the peas already have pods on them! I did check to make sure I hadn't bought dwarf varieties but nope, regular ones, just stunted. Could be down to wet weather, followed by about a week of nice warm weather where everything thought it was mid summer and went for it!

Apart from that, apart from fighting off cats and foxes who want to sit in the middle of everything, I am currently growing:

• Tomatoes (Ildi, red pear and money maker)
• Peas
• Runner beans
• French climbing beans
• Broad beans
• Cauliflower
• Kale
• Pumpkins
• Courgette (you guys call them zucchini or something?)
• Petit pan squash (UFO shaped things)
• Sweet dumpling squash
• Butternut squash
• Rhubarb
• Aubergines (egg plants?)
• Beetroot
• Cucumbers
• Cucamelons
• Kole Rabi
• Lettuce
• Carrots
• Figs (yup, get a few in the UK)
• Lemon tree (had 7 or 8 lemons last year)
• Radish
• Strawberries (alpine and normal)
• Corn (failed already due to wet weather)
• Lots of herbs. I even have an old wheelbarrow full of different mints - spearmint, french mint, chocolate mint, lemon mint, grapefruit mint)

Not bad for a small back garden with some raised beds made from old scaffolding planks and pallet wood. Think I have just under 130 sq foot of veggie patch and use square foot gardening.

Keeps me out of trouble, the family in veg and my wallet is saved from buying VPSes. In fact, as growing season hits I get rid of some VPSes just to afford more seeds and plug plants! I think through winter I spend about 40 bucks a month on playing with stuff and now I am down to 7 bucks a month for a mail server and a cpanel reseller with BuyVM. No doubt that will go back up at the end of the season and the crapper than normal weather comes back

I now have a Pi powered by solar and a 7Ah battery to keep an eye on my chickens as well. Just need more batteries to keep it going over night (the battery is also used for lights etc in the shed).


One day that small holding will become a reality!

Jeez, I sound like an old fart, but at least I am a happy(ish) old fart

 

[William]

no garden in our flat :'(

 

[PureVoltage]

Not as much this year however got some little tomatos growing, crapton of mints from the years past. Some other herms and a bunch of snap peas

Also a bunch of fruit tree's growing.

Sadly my Lemon tree didn't pass winter last year.

 

[MannDude]

My tomato plants are doing okay. The ones I've placed in large containers and used store bought soil don't look as good as the ones I've planted directly into the ground though. I may move them as I think they may get too much sun. The others are shaded part of the day and they look much healthier.

Though, I do have two little tomatoes on one of the potted tomato plants. I've got about 8 plants in total now.

Other than that, all I've got is a LOT of mint that is doing well. I need to transplant that stuff into larger, longer containers. That stuff grows quite well and smells good

I got some seeds for other goodies... just need to find the time.

 

[drmike]

Random fact: Mints are 25%~ of all herb seeds in existence by variety.

Glad to see mint going strong in gardens.  In old Europe such was very common as base for tea (especially prior to importing tea from China).

Varmints hate mint.  So it makes a good barrier for varmints (properly vermin)... The mint relationship here is interesting word play.

I am still prepping and cleaning up from ugly winter.  Seems like all my roses (planted last year from 2 foot~ established) didn't make it  Last time I bother with roses.

On my onion and garlic kick... Every year I plant thousands of both, usually from seeds or bulbils.  They are good for perimeter lining beds - natural deterrent for some pests.

Yesterday I planted a small bed adjacent to building that is a cement and brick surrounded heat zone... first annual seeds I've sown this season.  Tomatoes + chives + basil.

Hopefully this week I get a lot done as the season is flying.

 

[AuroraZero]

Not sure what you mean by stabilized though. We had some frost here last week. Seems like it goes from one to the other here lately. Confusing some of the plants it seems.

Thinking about building a small greenhouse where I can grow almost year round. Getting sick of the store bought stuff and I can alot of of food during the fall anymore. Just makes sense to me anyway.

 

[drmike]

Not sure what you mean by stabilized though. We had some frost here last week. Seems like it goes from one to the other here lately. Confusing some of the plants it seems.

Thinking about building a small greenhouse where I can grow almost year round. Getting sick of the store bought stuff and I can alot of of food during the fall anymore. Just makes sense to me anyway.

Been a strange season here so far.  Frost at this point is pretty late... Typical frost ending date there normally this late?

Greenhouses are fun, but have a bit of cost and need some thoughts for your place.

Best idea likely is a hoop house.  Lots of folks use them to get seed starts going then they take coverings off when things stabilize.  Can use PVC pipe or electrical metal conduit.

(I have a greenhouse, but it tends to end up filling role as a junk collection area).

I'm slowly trying to get things going still.  Transplanted a few self grown flower starts so far.  Waiting for some random peppers (very spicy) and tomato starts to get up to size.

 

[PureVoltage]

Great idea on the hoop houses, I've seen a lot of people using those with great success! I've got a large green house a year ago but haven't had time to get it all setup.

Going to hopefully get it setup next year and play around with some hydroponics.

 

[drmike]

Hoop houses are nice also because they can be moved around.  Not exactly portable, but way moreso than a greenhouse.

There are more and more hoops houses being put on commercial fields each year.   Starting in field placed hoop houses gives crops at least 2-3 months head start which is mandatory when growing is a business.

 

[AuroraZero]

Might make a semi perm hoop house. I know that frost and snow here at this time of the year is just crazy. Have had to keep the wood stove going some nights. This is supposed to be summer!

 

[MannDude]

My tomatoes are insane. Mainly due to a lack of good sun they've grown all wild, but today I had to go tie them back as they had mostly fallen over and were creating a giant bush. I'll take another photo in a day or two after they've recovered from their forced realignment. Gonna have a ton of tomatoes though. Already producing.



It looks bad as I've just tied them up so the leaves and stuff are all flipped over. It'll fix itself in a day or two.

My other tomato plants were eaten by a ground hog but did actually continue to grow and produce. I just picked and harvested this tiny little batch of maters:





Pretty weak...

I've got some pepper plants I am trying to start off indoors but they've not sprouted yet. Hoping to get a mess of peppers harvested before it's too late.

I really wish I had taken gardening more serious this year as everything so far is pretty weak and compared to what I've done in years past. But it's still better than nothing I guess, and I'll get enough tomatoes for me, my neighbors, and anyone else who wants some. Can't wait to make some BLTs!

 

[Jive]

@MannDude I wish I still had as much garden space as you.


I've tried to get some winter herbs growing, but over the last few weeks the leaves have started browning. Not sure if it's the weather or I'm just a bad father.


Got a decent mix of coriander, thyme, rosemary, oregano, mint and parsley. Nice to add some flair to the dinner table.

 

[MannDude]

Nice garden @Jive!

BTW, I'll go back out tomorrow and see how they've handled being tied up and re-arranged. They should look better then.

 

[Jive]

Nice garden @Jive!

Just miss having space for cabbages and carrots and strawberries and the likes. Downsized a few months ago so stuck with little planter boxes for at least the next year or so.

 

[Bruce]

excellent year for strawberries in the UK. also just harvested my garlic. planted isle of wight garlic last autumn. results are promising so far.

been a slow start for peas, tomatoes, peppers, chilli, but all growing nicely. enjoying having a polytunnel

 

[Tyler]

Not a full-on garden, but an herb garden consisting of:

• Mint
• Cilantro
• Basil
• Rosemary
• Chives
• Parsley

Would love to get some tarragon too, but it's tough to find around here. 


Growing herbs has been so much fun that I'm considering doing some other plants, likely tomatoes and zucchini (good for beginners, they're easy, and so versatile in the kitchen)