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I will be trying my hand at a fall/winter garden. I'd read about it and always proposed to do it, but after we dug up some carrots from under a light snow last winter, I decided we'd do it for sure (and on purpose) this year. I haven't really planned it out yet, but know I want to try lettuces and cabbage, carrots, and other stuff. We have a plastic that we can use to cover if need be. I have a printout from our county extension office with plants that do well at different times of the year, so I'll be consulting with that.

 

I have a book called "Grow all you can eat in 3 square feet," and I got the idea to do a stand-up herb garden using a wood pallet. We picked up a (free- we asked) pallet at Home Depot yesterday, and finished prepping it tonight. Now, I just need the herb plants. The grocery story usually has some, but when I went shopping today, there were none.

Oh, I will check my library for that book! We have such little gardening space, but I know we could do more. Thanks for the rec.

 

We have a freeze early Sept., but then we can sometimes grow to middle October covering here and there. I'm really interested in trying to grow past Sept. this year. I've heard some frost can make veggies taste better too

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I've enjoyed everyone's posts. It's always interesting to me to see how people garden north of where I am.

 

I'm not doing a veggie garden this year. I was just tired of dealing with weeds and bugs. We are letting all four of the raised beds lie fallow this year...keeping the weeds out is about all I'm doing. I regret not having fresh tomatoes....gotta find a better farmer's market.

 

My perennials are doing spectacular--we had a cool, wet spring after a mild winter. I have a dozen or more varieties of daylily--and, oh my, have they been blooming their heads off. Love, love, love.

 

I'm in zone 7B. A mild winter meant some tender zone 8 plants that I plant as annuals came back this year. LOVE bonus flowers.

 

We happened upon a clearance rack at Lowes a few weeks ago...got a couple of ornamental trees for less than $5 dollars each....so those will have to be babied through our hot summer. A trickle of water a couple of times a week until they have roots under them. One is a weeping cherry--I have no idea whether it will grow here, but I planted it where I can see it from my office window.

 

Everything is so green...including weeds. Wow, I was on top of those then we had a week of wet weather...time to beat the weeds back again. It's so hot that you have to get up early and do a little weed patrol before the heat gets going.

Loved reading about your garden break and flowers. The weeping cherry tree planted outside your office window sounds lovely.

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You can stir-fry the flowers and stalks of Pak Choi if it bolts...

 

I have bolting Swiss chard.  Again, we've had wide temperature variation this spring (late snow then sudden warmth then cooler with rain now warm again).

 

We had our first meal of salad.  I should have planted more - with an extra adult in the house this year (my mum) we need more per helping.

 

The peas and beans are looking good, as is the Brokali.  I grew four plants of that last year but have doubled up this year as it worked so well.  I have it covered with net to keep out the pigeons and caterpillars (I hope).

Ugh. No freezing the last few nights, but now my pak choi bolted. They were so healthy and beautiful! That must be a cold weather plant too? This was my first time growing it. Time to make some kimchi with what I can harvest.

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I started a spur of the moment container garden a couple weeks ago that looked great for awhile...and I don't know if it was the heat over Memorial Day or what, but things just...stopped. My cucumbers looked awesome for awhile, but have not flowered yet and don't seem to be getting bigger anymore. They have a great amount of leaves and such that got big, but then nothing. Same with my peppers. They don't look dead at all, so something might still happen. Maybe I didn't spend enough time on hardening my starts. :( I might try to put in some carrot seeds and see what I get, though.

 

Since we rent and can't really till up the yard or destroy the grass with beds maybe next year I will try an Earthbox or similar system.

That sounds like maybe you did not harden off enough. It can stunt plants growth a little if they survive and set things back maybe 2 weeks. Edited by MistyMountain
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I am in a low garden zone but because of global warming the zone has been adjusted very conservatively recently and may even be higher. I know people here who have hardy nut trees, cherries or apricots. I have an apple tree that does well but they are small apples that taste much different then store brought.

 

This year out season was 2 weeks earlier then most years. I go by the when the leaves on the tree are fully grown rule and checked the lows forecasted for 10 days before planting in mid May. I was able to even leave my hardening off plants outside in a shady spot without needing to bring them in for a possible frost. Some people use row cover and plant earlier and extend the season.

 

I have a community garden plot and some sheet mulching beds and hugekulture beds at my house. I planted broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kohlrabi, swiss chard, zucchini, pumpkins, and strawberries at my house. We planted potatoes, rhubarb, garlic, lettuce and lots of strawberries at the community plot. A mouse is taking bites out of some of my strawberries at my community plot.

 

I got a lot of rhubarb from the community plot that I need to figure out what to do with it.

 

Any time I planted bok choi it bolts really easily but then I get plants that come up in the next years without needing to plant.

Edited by MistyMountain
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I have started adding plants to the pallet to the pallet this morning, but need more to fill another 4 slots.


 


Our work-in-progress: https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing. It's leaning against the fence between our yard and and the guy in the middle (we're in a triplex, we're on one end).


 


Left column so far: strawberries (can't see), sprouting broccoli, parsley.


Right column: Mexican midget tomatoes (  :lol: that name trips me out), Italian oregano, and waaay at the bottom are scallions.


 


We went to a different nursery this morning and picked up rosemary, thyme, marjoram, and two types of basil. . I bought nasturtium and echinacea seeds. I still want to find sage and nasturtium plants. Dh wants to make another pallet garden.My 5 year old picked out some impatiens and another flower that I'll be planting in different larger pots. I think I'll be planting the rosemary in a large pot as well.


 


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I'm having success with my grocery store vegetable stubs.  2 bok choy plants, 3 celery and and few lettuce stubs are growing well.  I've never done this before and it is very satisfying!  Not a large yield but enough to cut some off and cook with my eggs or soup. 

 

I am interested in trying this. What did you do to get started?

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I have started adding plants to the pallet to the pallet this morning, but need more to fill another 4 slots.

Our work-in-progress: https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing. It's leaning against the fence between our yard and and the guy in the middle (we're in a triplex, we're on one end).

Left column so far: strawberries (can't see), sprouting broccoli, parsley.

Right column: Mexican midget tomatoes ( :lol: that name trips me out), Italian oregano, and waaay at the bottom are scallions.

We went to a different nursery this morning and picked up rosemary, thyme, marjoram, and two types of basil. . I bought nasturtium and echinacea seeds. I still want to find sage and nasturtium plants. Dh wants to make another pallet garden.My 5 year old picked out some impatiens and another flower that I'll be planting in different larger pots. I think I'll be planting the rosemary in a large pot as well.

So neat! Ă°Å¸ËœÅ½

Edited by ifIonlyhadabrain
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You can stir-fry the flowers and stalks of Pak Choi if it bolts...

 

I have bolting Swiss chard. Again, we've had wide temperature variation this spring (late snow then sudden warmth then cooler with rain now warm again).

 

We had our first meal of salad. I should have planted more - with an extra adult in the house this year (my mum) we need more per helping.

 

The peas and beans are looking good, as is the Brokali. I grew four plants of that last year but have doubled up this year as it worked so well. I have it covered with net to keep out the pigeons and caterpillars (I hope).

Thanks for the stir-fry tip. I would have never thought to cook the flower!

 

My boys just helped a neighbor net her raspberries, and I was given a large start. Just not sure where to put it as my only other available space is ground squirrel vulnerable, and I haven't figured out an inexpensive way to keep them out. Not sure what to do!

Edited by ifIonlyhadabrain
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Arg. I have to cover again tonight. Come on summer! I've had a break and this shouldn't last long though. It probably won't get that cold, but I'm not taking chances. I just replaced some cucumber plants that I lost late spring and searched every where for them, only to find some pretty sad plants. Ha!

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I realized I just kinda jumped in without an intro.


 


Our gardening story: we've pretty much had the same small plot for almost as long as we've been here (which is a pretty long time). We have a very small space and are trying to maximize as much as possible. It is a triplex (659 sq ft apt.), and we live on the larger corner end.  Had a couple of years hiatus from gardening around the time Gymnast was born and a bit after. Got the raised beds last year. Added another corn bed this year, as well as the pallet garden. We've had hit-and-miss flowers in pots or on the ground throughout the years.


 


Here's a part of our garden plot. It's fenced in to keep the dogs out. https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing. Imagine that area without the raised beds (both sides are the same size, just part is cut off on the right), and that's where we planted in the ground. This bed has carrots, cilantro, cucumber, watermelon, and one round squash that grew.


 


This is the other side of the bed, and where dh decided to plant more corn. https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing. There isn't as much compost or mulch on that side because it was a last-minute decision, so we'll see how that corn side fares. The bed has zucchini, three types of chiles, tomatillos (hopefully), and two types of tomatoes. Amongst all this are quelites and verdolaga growing wild. I only pull those close to the cultivated plants.


 


We're trying our hand (again) at container gardening, having a mix of herbs and flowers. We have not found nasturtium anywhere except seeds, so we'll plant those amongst other stuff I guess.


 


Our pallet how it looks now: https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing. You can see the midget tomatoes on the top right.  :D. The two bottom slots are still empty. There's alpine strawberries, thyme, purple basil, marjoram, green basil, walking onion (will it leave???), Italian oregano. sprouting broccoli, and parsley. I've never done herbs, so I'm curious if it'll turn out well. 


 


This container is by the porch and has verbena and other flowers. It is close to the pallet garden: https://drive.google...ew?usp=sharingĂ¯Â¿Â½


This one is coming into the gate to our yard (and front door) and contains rosemary and the same flowers as the other pot. You can see the corn and raised bed behind it: https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing


 


Oh, there's also pots in the fenced garden with sugar snap peas growing, but so far there are only 1-2 feet of leaves.


 


I think that's it. We found tires when walking through the river yesterday, and I'm thinking of repurposing one to plant flowers in (not edibles). It will be interesting.


 


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I love everyone's pictures and will try to upload some if I get a chance.  We have a large garden (4000 square feet) with cold frames and a small hoop house. I try to work in it almost every day of the year but there is always more to do than I can manage.  We grow tons of vegetables and herbs and six different kinds of berries. We also have flowers now that we no longer have free-range (or any) chickens, especially peonies, lavender, and cottage-garden self-seeders like echinacea, verbena, columbine, and four o'clocks.  I bought some pink turtlehead and false blue indigo plants at a sale and can't wait for them to bloom next year.  I would like to get fruit trees, especially unusual ones like pawpaws and persimmons.  And I really want some Montmorency cherry trees.

 

My strategy is to grow a wide variety of edibles because if one type of plant doesn't do well due to weather, insects, soil, or bad timing, another plant will thrive that year or season.  We eat something out of the garden every single day of the year.

 

It's a lot of work, though!  Sometimes I think I'm crazy for working on it so much, and long for a nice little yard in a neighborhood.

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I love everyone's pictures and will try to upload some if I get a chance.  We have a large garden (4000 square feet) with cold frames and a small hoop house. I try to work in it almost every day of the year but there is always more to do than I can manage.  We grow tons of vegetables and herbs and six different kinds of berries. We also have flowers now that we no longer have free-range (or any) chickens, especially peonies, lavender, and cottage-garden self-seeders like echinacea, verbena, columbine, and four o'clocks.  I bought some pink turtlehead and false blue indigo plants at a sale and can't wait for them to bloom next year.  I would like to get fruit trees, especially unusual ones like pawpaws and persimmons.  And I really want some Montmorency cherry trees.

 

My strategy is to grow a wide variety of edibles because if one type of plant doesn't do well due to weather, insects, soil, or bad timing, another plant will thrive that year or season.  We eat something out of the garden every single day of the year.

 

It's a lot of work, though!  Sometimes I think I'm crazy for working on it so much, and long for a nice little yard in a neighborhood.

I would love to see your garden!

 

Fruit trees are my love, I planted both a paw-paw and a persimmon this year (I had two paw-paws planted a couple of years ago but one got accidentally cut down so I had to plant another!) Other less common trees that I love are mulberries, figs, and pistachios (no nuts from those yet but they seem to be thriving so I'm hoping for some next year.)

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I had to google paw-paw. The first site I went to talked about the fruit, and in the comments some guy posted the lyrics to a song, part of which goes "Pickin' up paw-paws, put 'em in your pocket." OMG, I sang that song when I was little and never knew what it was!

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Whew, I'm finally getting back to this thread. I'm so envious of those of you with space/sun for berries and fruit trees! We have 1/3 acre, so plenty of space, but we also have four huge oak trees that aren't going anywhere. Really, they're ideally placed for maximum shade on the house and yard; however, that does not work in the garden's favor *sigh* We do the best we can with what we have, and because we have a good amount of square footage in the beds, we can grow enough plants to net enough food, but we're maxed out, sun-wise.

 

We have two little blueberry bushes to the side of the garden, but they're not growing very rapidly (planted last summer) or producing much at all--especially considering what the birds steal (we need to cover those better, DH ran out of time before our vacation this year). And we planted some little raspberry starts given to us by a friend last summer, but I realized this summer that they're only getting a couple of hours of morning sun, then they're in the shade all day. So I don't have a lot of hope for those. And there's definitely nowhere we can work in fruit trees. Someday...

 

I would also consider rats, or birds - crows might do something like that.

 

Well, I discovered what ate our peas, carrot tops, and beet tops. As I suspected, it was one of our yard bunnies. I saw her in the bed last week, munching down on the straggly pea plants. I shooed her out very aggressively, but wow, she really tried to stand her ground! She let me get very close, and stood up and faced me before finally backing down. I'm just glad it wasn't a groundhog  :smash:

 

And unless the bunny could jump that high, I suspect the lettuce bed was eaten by the squirrels. DH spotted one in the bed, noshing on lettuce leaves. Between the carnage and the fact that I moved that small table to the back of the yard for more shade and then proceeded to forget all about it, our greens are kaput. We did manage to get three VERY nice heads of lettuce in the table closest to the house though! DH ate one as a huge salad tonight and said it was delish. 

 

No pic! I'd love to see. Thanks for sharing!

 

 

I couldn't get them loaded, and now there's been lots of progress, so I'll take more tomorrow. I managed to actually mulch under the tomatoes this year, and they look better than they ever have! No blight/viruses at all, and by this time I'm usually fighting hard. The leeks and eggplant are growing like gangbusters. The garlic is nearly ready to be harvested--I think maybe two more weeks. And we had a hot week here, so the pepper plants are suddenly growing like crazy. My cakes and squash are growing well, but I'm trying to figure out how to stay ahead of the squash vine borers and cucumber beetles, which hit us HARD last year. Anyone have any suggestions? 

 

Either the bunny or the squirrels seem to love soybean leaves, though. Hardly any of my soybeans sprouted, and half of those that did got snipped off as tender sprouts. The remaining 8-10 plants were doing well, but when I went out there today, I found the leaves eaten off half of those! So I have maybe 5 soybean plants that are viable. I have a half bed reserved for a second planting, and I'll plant more when the garlic is out, but I'm SO frustrated. I have some alternate plans for the next planting of peas/carrots/beets, but I don't know what to do to protect those soybeans!

 

In other pest news, I found Colorado potato beetle larvae on a couple of my potato leaves. They are nauseating creatures! Last year I had one or two. This weekend I killed probably 15-20. I don't see anymore, but I'll keep watching.

 

And in spite of my self-proclaimed prohibition on buying anymore plants of any kind...I bought more basil at Home Depot yesterday  :rolleyes: I thought two plants would be enough, but I want to freeze some pesto this year, and those two lovely little plants just aren't going to cut it. The pot I bought has 6--SIX!-- little plants in it. I have just the place for them  :D

Edited by ILiveInFlipFlops
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I would love to see your garden!

 

Fruit trees are my love, I planted both a paw-paw and a persimmon this year (I had two paw-paws planted a couple of years ago but one got accidentally cut down so I had to plant another!) Other less common trees that I love are mulberries, figs, and pistachios (no nuts from those yet but they seem to be thriving so I'm hoping for some next year.)

 

I want a fig tree SO badly, but we have nowhere to put it! I've always hated dried figs, so I assumed the fresh ones were gross too. But then I had some at a friend's house and just loved them. She had a huge fig tree in her yard that was somehow destroyed--she was told that deer would eat the tree down that way, but I have a hard time seeing that. I'm so sad for her though, she adored that tree. 

 

Occasionally we toy with the idea of removing an oak and adding a few fruit trees, but in the end, given the cost and the loss of the shade, it doesn't make sense. You're so lucky to be able to have so many!

Edited by ILiveInFlipFlops
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I had to google paw-paw. The first site I went to talked about the fruit, and in the comments some guy posted the lyrics to a song, part of which goes "Pickin' up paw-paws, put 'em in your pocket." OMG, I sang that song when I was little and never knew what it was!

So funny! I've been learning from you all and looking up things posted in this thread too.

 

Thank you all for posting! We just need more pics. ;)

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Around here you see a lot of deep till and RoundUp.

 

Turns out deep till can CAUSE more weeds... So now a little research is going to be necessary.  Ya'all would be boggled at the amount of weeds in my garden this year.  Between the weekend and today we filled a 35 gallon garbage can nine times.  It's not done.  

 

I know this is a young garden, but this is a crazy amount of work.  I'm putting mulch on it as fast as the grass will grow in the yard, lol, and we *ARE* winning but I don't think I'm ever tilling again, or at least not deep.

 

On the good hand, because it is a new garden, and because we've put five truckloads of compost on it - my vegetable plants are looking amazing.  I can't even imagine how they'll grow next week when they aren't competing with the weeds anymore.  

 

Disappointed - Planted strawberries from root and from plant.  The ones from plant did great.  The ones from root were a total waste of $$.

 

We planted a couple more apple trees, a peach, and four more blueberry bushes this weekend.  The local farm store marked their nursery stock half off - a Reliance Peach (zone 4), and two apple trees - Zestar and Sweet Sixteen.  We already have cross pollinators for all of them.   I'm especially excited about the peach.  It says it is good right up to the Canadian border and I had previously been told that peaches can't do well in Iowa.  Let's hope the old farmers don't know about newer hybrids, shall we???

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My ground cherries have little lanterns now. I never grew them before, but they look healthy. Bugs are chomping some basil worse than others, so I'm gonna move some and see if they're happier in pots on the patio. I've discovered rooting hormone so m trying to propagate rosemary. My herbs actually look nice since they don't mind or foresty yard. Tomatoes are getting their first blossoms. I ripped out the bolted mesclun and spinach and just planted some lettuce. Zucchini and cucumbers look healthy. Pole beans look buggy.

 

For the front yard I'm trying to landscape with perennials. Artemesia looks nice, so I'm attempting to propagate that and get more going. I potted some caladium bulbs and they're looking pretty. The deer ate my Hostas and petunias, but the impatiens look good. Daisies, coreopsis, and something-I-can't-remember is up. Houseplants are vacationing outside. On a whim I put out some mixed flower seeds. I also started some in plugs to see which works better. I'm toying with the idea of morning glories, but some say I'll regret it. I'm also perpetually at war with the English ivy. This year my goal is just to lessen it and push it back.

 

I wish I'd developed this interest when we moved here 15 years ago. I think I'm going for the cottage garden look at this point. I like the wilder, clumps-of-interest look.

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I've picked enough cucumbers the last 3 days that I can now make a giant bowl of cucumbers and cream and since the teen boys left for camp this morning, I can eat the entire bowl myself (my girls don't like them and DH only eats a little of them).  I picked a handful of cherry tomatoes to give the boys before they left this morning since they hadn't gotten any yet (younger brother ate them all) and then forgot to give them to them so younger brother got to eat all those too (girls don't like those either).  My black raspberries are starting to ripen.  I've only got 3 canes with berries on since they are still young plants but they are loaded for what's there and I got a good handful to eat for breakfast.  Raspberries are starting but I suspect most of them will ripen while I'm at camp next week.  Bummer but at least I'll be around for the later crop. I bought bird netting this morning since the birds have picked off almost all my blueberries and I haven't even got to try them yet.  I just planted the bushes a few weeks ago (they came with berries on them) and was really hoping to at least try them.

 

My garden of tomatoes is growing nicely.  I put cardboard down to keep the weeds under control.  I haven't tried this before but I'm hopefully it will help.  There is so much thistle seed/roots in that area that it's hard to keep ahead of them.  Hoping the cardboard will tone that down some. I should have slicing tomatoes in another week or two.  There is quite a few in the 2-3 inch diameter size and with the heat we are having they are growing by leaps and bounds.

 

I really need to find time to make pesto.  My swimming pool is "swimming" in basil and the kale will soon be choked out by the basil if I don't get it under control  I've been picking a handful or more everyday but it's just really taking off.

 

 

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My ground cherries have little lanterns now. I never grew them before, but they look healthy. Bugs are chomping some basil worse than others, so I'm gonna move some and see if they're happier in pots on the patio. I've discovered rooting hormone so m trying to propagate rosemary. My herbs actually look nice since they don't mind or foresty yard. Tomatoes are getting their first blossoms. I ripped out the bolted mesclun and spinach and just planted some lettuce. Zucchini and cucumbers look healthy. Pole beans look buggy.

 

For the front yard I'm trying to landscape with perennials. Artemesia looks nice, so I'm attempting to propagate that and get more going. I potted some caladium bulbs and they're looking pretty. The deer ate my Hostas and petunias, but the impatiens look good. Daisies, coreopsis, and something-I-can't-remember is up. Houseplants are vacationing outside. On a whim I put out some mixed flower seeds. I also started some in plugs to see which works better. I'm toying with the idea of morning glories, but some say I'll regret it. I'm also perpetually at war with the English ivy. This year my goal is just to lessen it and push it back.

 

I wish I'd developed this interest when we moved here 15 years ago. I think I'm going for the cottage garden look at this point. I like the wilder, clumps-of-interest look.

 

We grew ground cherries last year and we have in the past, but we decided to not grow them this year.  Ground cherry seedlings are coming up everywhere in the garden!  They are hard to keep from being weedy.

 

You don't need rooting hormone to root rosemary.  Just break off stems that aren't too woody and stick them in a jar of water.  They should root in a couple of weeks.  Don't delay planting them, though.  You should plant them while their roots are still short and actively growing.

 

Morning glories and their cultivated ilk like cardinal climber are not too weedy.  They are related to bindweed which is horrible and extremely difficult to get rid of.  English ivy is terrible, too.  You may make some progress by covering it with black plastic for a season.

 

I wish I'd planted fruit trees 15 years ago!

 

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So, my tiny container garden is plugging along, albeit late.  My cukes have tons of male flowers and just a few little female sprouts.  I'm really having a hard time finding a balance with keeping them watered vs. drowning them.  I would really, for my kids' sake, like just even 1 or 2 edible cucumbers to be harvested this year.  Since we moved so late in the Spring the garden was more of an after thought, but they are unreasonably excited about eating vegetables from our own plants so I want to deliver for them.

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We grew ground cherries last year and we have in the past, but we decided to not grow them this year. Ground cherry seedlings are coming up everywhere in the garden! They are hard to keep from being weedy.

 

You don't need rooting hormone to root rosemary. Just break off stems that aren't too woody and stick them in a jar of water. They should root in a couple of weeks. Don't delay planting them, though. You should plant them while their roots are still short and actively growing.

 

Morning glories and their cultivated ilk like cardinal climber are not too weedy. They are related to bindweed which is horrible and extremely difficult to get rid of. English ivy is terrible, too. You may make some progress by covering it with black plastic for a season.

 

I wish I'd planted fruit trees 15 years ago!

 

 

I actually didn't put the ground cherries anywhere near my garden. They're in a bucket by a fence I don't mind them climbing. Someone warned me that they'd self-seed and advised me to give them their own space.

 

The ivy IS my whole back yard. I didn't mind the looks of it when we moved in. I've only decided to fight it over the last few years when I learned what it was. Now I'm trying to keep it off the fence and trees and plant a tiny patch of garden and a little lawn. A huge oak fell a few years ago and gave me just enough sun to hope for something other than forest floor.

 

This is my third attempt at potatoes. I'm about to give up on those. They looked great, but now they're dying. It seems to early for them to be done for the year :-/

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My ground cherries have little lanterns now. I never grew them before, but they look healthy. Bugs are chomping some basil worse than others, so I'm gonna move some and see if they're happier in pots on the patio. I've discovered rooting hormone so m trying to propagate rosemary. My herbs actually look nice since they don't mind or foresty yard. Tomatoes are getting their first blossoms. I ripped out the bolted mesclun and spinach and just planted some lettuce. Zucchini and cucumbers look healthy. Pole beans look buggy.

 

 

What is "rooting hormone?"

 

So, my tiny container garden is plugging along, albeit late.  My cukes have tons of male flowers and just a few little female sprouts.  I'm really having a hard time finding a balance with keeping them watered vs. drowning them.  I would really, for my kids' sake, like just even 1 or 2 edible cucumbers to be harvested this year.  Since we moved so late in the Spring the garden was more of an after thought, but they are unreasonably excited about eating vegetables from our own plants so I want to deliver for them.

 

I've got a lot of containers at the house and they're late as well. Still waiting for blossoms on the tomatoes and peppers.

 

I've got peas planted in containers and they are slowly starting to climb our front railing. They aren't getting as much sun as they should though. I just planted some scallions and mesclun in pots. We've also got various herbs and greens coming along in various pots. I sort of don't know what's what. When I started them out as seeds, I had the rows in the tray labeled. DS got helpful and moved them around, so I guess we'll just have to figure it out as they grow.

 

Our community garden plot is coming along as well (we share it with another family). We've got basil, lettuce, and spinach ready to pick. 

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We have fifty million little baby grasshoppers rampaging around the yard and eating stuff. I've never seen so many of them. Wonder if dragonflies eat baby grasshoppers? We have a few of those around but maybe we need a few thousand more.

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I'm curious, since we're chatting.  Does any do no-till without having raised beds?  I was reading the other day that it is deep tilling that brings so many dormant weed seeds to the top and then you have to fight that.

 

Charles Dowding, a market gardener in the UK, is a big proponent of no-till on-the-flat gardening.  He calls it "no dig," and has written a book on it called Organic Gardening the Natural No-Dig Way and several other books besides.  He has a website:

http://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/

and he has several Youtube videos.

 

I love his book, How to Grow Winter Vegetables and use it often.  Even though his latitude and climate are very different from my mid-Atlantic garden, his timing works for me.  I also love Salad Leaves for All Seasons.

 

Ruth Stout, a lady who gardened in the mid-20th century, published several books on no-till gardening.  I believe she inspired the movement toward this type of gardening.  She is very funny to read, and was quite a character.  If you can find her interview on Youtube you'll see what I mean.

 

I have made several permanent beds without tilling.  I put down newspaper or cardboard and mulch on top, and it works well.

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We are taking down a big pine tree so most of my garden got moved and is kinda...not pretty.... but I'll get a pic later. I erected a little bunny fence after the evil things started on my carrots. 

 

We had an early heat wave this year and I lost my zuchini and summer squash.

 

Spring plantings:
Snap Peas - 3/4 have been harvested. The rest soon.

Carrots - a couple weeks left and recooperated well after a bunny invasion.

Onions - doing great

Tomatoes - lots of tiny and medium green tomatoes have arrived in the last week. 

Kohlrabi - doing great

Eggplant - had a hard time through the heat wave but I kept them going.... but no blossoms yet so I don't know :/

 

Will compost the carrot bed after harvesting as it will be empty to prep it for fall plantings, same with squash beds that didn't make it:

(In the carrot bed) plenty of fall greens and garlic

(In the squash areas)

 

 

I also picked up some more "scrap" treated lumber today. Can't beat $5 for another 2x6 bed! I just need to get the boys to take down the pine tree so I can move the beds back there before fall planting...

 

 

I'll get some pics (again, my garden is kinda sporadically placed due to plans to fall a tree this summer)

 

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Is lasagna gardening the same or similar to the no-till idea?

 

I believe there are many versions of the same theme.

 

Ruth Stout, Lee Reich, Patricia Lanza, and others make gardens using deep mulch, which they don't till (there is a new version of this called Back to Eden, a variation of permaculture I believe).  They use all kinds of things as mulch, including non-decomposed matter that composts in place; this is called sheet mulching or sheet composting. Stout favored hay, and continually added it.  When a gardener using sheet mulching plants seeds he pulls back the mulch to expose the soil, which contains what's composted from the mulch.  Stout did not construct raised beds and I'm pretty sure Reich does not.

 

Charles Dowding begins his gardens by mulching with cardboard and other materials like compost, but then he switches to applying homemade and purchased compost.  He does not construct raised beds, either. The main difference is that Dowding uses finished compost, probably because he has limited acreage and sells to markets and gardens very intensively.  He also walks on his beds, which I find shocking.  I try to never walk on my beds because I believe it compacts the soil.  To each his own.  :)

 

 

 

 

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Jumping in...I think I'm moving to a place with a long walkway (which is wood. Odd) and arbor at the end. Climbing roses and clematis for the arbor, I think, but any great long pathway plans? I like to stagger things that there's something blooming always...zone 5.

I really should hire a landscaper but I'm a more throw stuff around and be surprised next spring kind of gal. I had forgotten some peonies I planted 3 years ago that just bloomed :)

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Oh, I will check my library for that book! We have such little gardening space, but I know we could do more. Thanks for the rec.

 

We have a freeze early Sept., but then we can sometimes grow to middle October covering here and there. I'm really interested in trying to grow past Sept. this year. I've heard some frost can make veggies taste better too

 

We are in Iowa and I use cold frames - my summer garden is all square raised beds. Simply add old windows on hinges when winter rolls around. 

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Jumping in...I think I'm moving to a place with a long walkway (which is wood. Odd) and arbor at the end. Climbing roses and clematis for the arbor, I think, but any great long pathway plans? I like to stagger things that there's something blooming always...zone 5.

I really should hire a landscaper but I'm a more throw stuff around and be surprised next spring kind of gal. I had forgotten some peonies I planted 3 years ago that just bloomed :)

 

There are all kinds of things you could use, I think.  I like lavender for along a path - even by itself, it can be very dramatic and the foliage is beautiful. 

 

Along my path I also have some phlox (the tall kind) daisies, black eyed susan, cranesbill geranium, sage, a small rosebush.  And some succulents where the ground is really dry where the path changes direction. Some things self seed like rose campion. It's a very sunny path though, no shade with a southern exposure.

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There are all kinds of things you could use, I think.  I like lavender for along a path - even by itself, it can be very dramatic and the foliage is beautiful. 

 

Along my path I also have some phlox (the tall kind) daisies, black eyed susan, cranesbill geranium, sage, a small rosebush.  And some succulents where the ground is really dry where the path changes direction. Some things self seed like rose campion. It's a very sunny path though, no shade with a southern exposure.

 

Oooh, I love your choices.  I am especially fond of rose campion.  It's easy to start from seed, and self-seeds with out becoming weedy.  The foliage is pretty and I like the color of the flowers.  You can get a white-flowered color as well, but I like the rose better.

 

How do you keep tall things from flopping into the path?

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Excited today... working on raspberry beds.  We actually planted raspberry canes this spring and killed them deader than dead.  

 

So, working on a new plan (really labor intensive) but I think it will be great long term.  Plus, it seems like the more work something is, the more I like it, lol, must be that "investment" thing.

 

Will try to take pictures as I work.

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Excited today... working on raspberry beds.  We actually planted raspberry canes this spring and killed them deader than dead.  

 

So, working on a new plan (really labor intensive) but I think it will be great long term.  Plus, it seems like the more work something is, the more I like it, lol, must be that "investment" thing.

 

Will try to take pictures as I work.

 

What a coincidence. I just finished listening to a lecture on Great Courses Plus, and she spent a lot of time talking about raspberries. Seems kinda intense. Have fun!

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Oooh, I love your choices.  I am especially fond of rose campion.  It's easy to start from seed, and self-seeds with out becoming weedy.  The foliage is pretty and I like the color of the flowers.  You can get a white-flowered color as well, but I like the rose better.

 

How do you keep tall things from flopping into the path?

 

I try and plant anything floppy back far enough that it only covers the path at the very edge.  If they get out of hand I cut them back, or sometimes I use some kind of wire or stakes to hold things upright, if it can be done without looking messy.

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What a coincidence. I just finished listening to a lecture on Great Courses Plus, and she spent a lot of time talking about raspberries. Seems kinda intense. Have fun!

 

 

What lecture?

 

And I wish I had a back-hoe.  I got about six feet done this AM so far (removing sod only, no depth to it yet) and wow! What a workout.

 

My thoughts are if I remove the sod, DH and DS can dig down.... Maybe.  :)

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Oh! And this is the method if anyone is curious.

 

http://thepatchylawn.com/garden/the-very-best-way-to-plant-raspberries/

 

I love raspberries but serious that is way too much work.  I live in clay soil.  I dug little holes (because it's clay it's too hard to dig more than the absolute minimum), I stuck the the little roots in, watered everyday for the the first month or so and that's all I've ever done.  I don't even bother to cut down the old canes.  Perhaps because I grew up harvesting the "wild" berries on the farm but the whole appeal of raspberries was that I could pretty much ignore them and still get fruit.  Mine has only been in a few years but has expanded to the point where we just mow off the runners because we don't want them taking over the whole yard.

 

I guess if you really want to try it that way but personally I'd just try replanting before going through that much work to establish a bed. It just seems really like overkill. 

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What lecture?

 

And I wish I had a back-hoe.  I got about six feet done this AM so far (removing sod only, no depth to it yet) and wow! What a workout.

 

My thoughts are if I remove the sod, DH and DS can dig down.... Maybe.   :)

 

The course is "How to grow anything: Food gardening for everyone," lecture 7 "Small fruit cultivation and care."

 

I usually have to start doing something in the garden first before dh decides to take over because he can do it better. :D

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My ground cherries have little lanterns now. I never grew them before, but they look healthy. Bugs are chomping some basil worse than others, so I'm gonna move some and see if they're happier in pots on the patio. I've discovered rooting hormone so m trying to propagate rosemary. My herbs actually look nice since they don't mind or foresty yard. Tomatoes are getting their first blossoms. I ripped out the bolted mesclun and spinach and just planted some lettuce. Zucchini and cucumbers look healthy. Pole beans look buggy.

 

 

If I were a good grand-daughter I'd be growing the horrid little things. My grandpa grew them (and loved them for years) and it never failed that he would talk me into trying them EVERY year.  Blech. I still hate them, but I know he loves them.  Maybe I'll hit up the big farmers market next weekend in hopes of finding him some.  I may not like them but I adore him.  Thank you for making me think of them!

 

 

 

I wish I'd planted fruit trees 15 years ago!

 

 

This is why DH has insisted we plant trees as one of the priorities of moving here.  With 1,000 things to do and fix and remodel, trees seemed like they should take a back burner, but he insisted.  Now that they are in I can see the wisom in it.  We had two tiny apples this year (and pinched everything else off) but I was sad to see the wind knocked one of them off.  Looking forward to the years where the trees are so loaded  we have to remove some for their own good. ;)

 

We are in Iowa and I use cold frames - my summer garden is all square raised beds. Simply add old windows on hinges when winter rolls around. 

 

I'd love to hear more.  Ya know, we are neighbors. ;)

 

 

We finally have had some sun, and things have taken off.  My peas are blooming now, and also the peony.

 

I am, however, down to the very bottom of my three rain barrels.  I am going to get dh to get me some more.

 

The variety of seasons across the nation make me smile... our peony is long bloomed and all the flowers are gone. 

 

I love raspberries but serious that is way too much work.  I live in clay soil.  I dug little holes (because it's clay it's too hard to dig more than the absolute minimum), I stuck the the little roots in, watered everyday for the the first month or so and that's all I've ever done.  I don't even bother to cut down the old canes.  Perhaps because I grew up harvesting the "wild" berries on the farm but the whole appeal of raspberries was that I could pretty much ignore them and still get fruit.  Mine has only been in a few years but has expanded to the point where we just mow off the runners because we don't want them taking over the whole yard.

 

I guess if you really want to try it that way but personally I'd just try replanting before going through that much work to establish a bed. It just seems really like overkill. 

 

 

You know... I may lose heart.  I've removed all the sod.  I have all the logs.  But now we've gotten some very heavy rain.  Still, I'm always up for an overkill project.   I, for the life of me, cannot figure out WHY I prefer things the hard way, but for some reason I appreciate things that are hard, lol.  I think sometimes I equate more difficult with superior?  Every last raspberry cane, with the exception of one, is as dead as dead can be.  It's fairly depressing.  And, my favorite food of all is raspberries.... I would go to any length to make sure they are happy and growing nicely. ;)

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I had family visiting from Mississippi over the fourth and am just now catching up. Loved reading about how your gardens are coming along! Since we've been getting warm nights things have taken off here. Amazing what some warm weather will do. I really need to thin my beets and carrots asap and replant where a few of the green beans seeds didn't sprout. It I don't do the latter soon, they won't make it to harvest before our growing season ends or at least for the warm weather veggies.

 

I took some pics today:

 

This is just a month after the pic in my OP. I have 48 corn plants (3in a square) and am hoping for 96 ears of corn. The middle row is mostly carrots and beets.

tmp_7683-20160707_165651_Burst0347392651

 

Lots of male flowers and I was beginning to wonder it any females would bloom. Finally!

tmp_7683-20160707_165748_Burst01-9377777

 

I have 8 pickling cucumber plants in 4 squares. Some are growing much faster than others.

tmp_7683-20160707_170238_Burst02-2123800

 

tmp_7683-20160707_170200_Burst01-1184739

 

The back of my garden. 4 cabbage and 2 broccoli plants. 3 pepper plants, which I will dig up and plant in 5 gallon buckets when it gets cold. We'll see how they transplant. 3 yellow crookneck and 3 zucchini. I still have 3 squares empty for basil and need to plant that!

tmp_7683-20160707_165949_Burst0119854577

 

Tomatoes are doing well. I have 2 slicing and 3 cherry plants. I'll bring them in at night again when the weather cools in the fall. My slicing fumes didn't make it. :(. They froze just before summer and I replaced them with the only plants I could find, which were subpar and probably diseased. Bummet. Next year!

tmp_7683-20160707_165902_Burst0119199015

Edited by ifIonlyhadabrain
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Managed to take some pictures! Keep in mind we bought our house in December and I have spent the past 6 months dealing with 3 years of composting leaves EVERYWHERE, a rotting rose garden that was huge, rotting plants ....everywhere.... and working on the deck lattice replacement, tree trimming, retaining wall, building a firepit and SO much more.

 

I managed to get another bed put together yesterday (strawberries) and will do another tonight (asparagus). Update: got the asparagus bed built!

 

 

 

 

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/ksez29rg3s25q5m/AABDtWu9AEQE1kyrNKdo1a0Na

 

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/3lbz9uat9w1mx14/AACFsWc5vosULUm1JD5jXojQa

 

 

 

-I've got 6 tomato plants, 3 have good sized tomatoes growing, 2 have small ones and 1 is tomato-less.

-about 60 onion plants, all long-term 12-month storage plants

-harvested two 5 gallon buckets of snap peas so far (there are only a couple plants still in the ground as they needed a couple more days to grow)

-carrots will be ready for harvest beginning in about a week

-debating what to replant next to the house (there are some perennial flowers, hostas, etc right now.... I love the idea of a wildflower bed next to the front porch... but I won't be digging them up this week in this heat!

-kohlrabi is doing exceptionally well --- this is actually a cold frame with removable windows (read: hail storms are common here)

-I've got 4 eggplants total.... one looks like it WANTS to flower... but I had to replant them due to soil issues so they are a month behind schedule

-my first attempt at herbs: thyme! 

-an amber julienne shrub in an area i gutted and redid in the front has been growing beautifully and has started turning red and beautiful

Edited by againstthegrain
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All our plants are stunted. It's like they just stopped growing. The chile plants are growing chiles, but the plants themselves never got taller. When dh went to check the ground a little while ago, it was dry - even 6-8 inches down. It was like all the water just evaporates, or goes who-knows-where. He said the dirt is way too porous, and is now down at the river to look for some good dirt to add to the bed. :(

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