How Does Your Garden Grow?

[olbriar]

I strongly encourage you to try to garden some time. Start small with stuff you really love to eat. It makes the work all seem worth while. Go to a nursery and have an employee help you select plants that are known to grow well in your area and take their sound advice to heart. They will want you to have a positive growing experience and gain you as a regular customer. They will steer you right.

It is great fun to baby your plants and to reap what you sow. The real fun is when you share some of your fresh veggies with friends and coworkers. It's very rewarding to bring a seed or plant to something yummy on your plate. It always tastes better.. especially when it's YOUR veggie

Patio tomato plants in a pot are an easy entry into gardening. Pepper plats do well in a pot as well. You don't need to mess with tilling or having the ground tilled. You don't have to sacrifice some of our established yard for potted plants.

Whatever you do.. don't let another season go by without attempting something. You never know just how green your thumb might be and I assure you that you will enjoy the experience.

 

[gbiggie]

I strongly encourage you to try to garden some time. Start small with stuff you really love to eat. It makes the work all seem worth while. Go to a nursery and have an employee help you select plants that are known to grow well in your area and take their sound advice to heart. They will want you to have a positive growing experience and gain you as a regular customer. They will steer you right.

It is great fun to baby your plants and to reap what you sow. The real fun is when you share some of your fresh veggies with friends and coworkers. It's very rewarding to bring a seed or plant to something yummy on your plate. It always tastes better.. especially when it's YOUR veggie

Patio tomato plants in a pot are an easy entry into gardening. Pepper plats do well in a pot as well. You don't need to mess with tilling or having the ground tilled. You don't have to sacrifice some of our established yard for potted plants.

Whatever you do.. don't let another season go by without attempting something. You never know just how green your thumb might be and I assure you that you will enjoy the experience.

+1^^^
I didn't know what I was doing first starting out years ago-but quickly learned from friends and some the local farmers around here. Its a passion for sure-and as olbriar said there is nothing more satisfying than eating what you grew from a little seed
Man now I'm craving some acorn squash

 

[olbriar]

It did not seem like a good deal when I was a kid with a hoe... working my way through my mother's garden. It was just something I was expected to do. But I did learn a lot from my mother and I certainly gained a love for gardening. She always had a huge garden but it wasn't a hobby. What we didn't eat, we put up to eat later. That was a different time. I have always had a garden as an adult. It's not out of necessity but a love for it.

I happened by the house where a school buddy of mine grew up. His father, who has to be in his nineties, has his garden out and looking good. It's much smaller than when I was a child but none the less.. the guy is still after it. I guess you never lose that love of working this great earth.

 

[gbiggie]

Sunflowers I planted in a pot for the nice elderly lady next door:thumbup:

 

[breadnatty08]

Just about to head off to the local farmers market (I have 3 within walking distance!). I'll let you know if there's anything great just coming in.
And I just got back. Picked up some strawberries (delicious!), garlic scapes (never used, I'll give em a shot tonight), few different summer squash and some beautiful looking broccoli. Also, my pastry chef told me about some leafy celery she's seen and tried to describe it. Has anyone used these before:

 

[DblDragon]

I strongly encourage you to try to garden some time. Start small with stuff you really love to eat. It makes the work all seem worth while. Go to a nursery and have an employee help you select plants that are known to grow well in your area and take their sound advice to heart. They will want you to have a positive growing experience and gain you as a regular customer. They will steer you right.

It is great fun to baby your plants and to reap what you sow. The real fun is when you share some of your fresh veggies with friends and coworkers. It's very rewarding to bring a seed or plant to something yummy on your plate. It always tastes better.. especially when it's YOUR veggie

Patio tomato plants in a pot are an easy entry into gardening. Pepper plats do well in a pot as well. You don't need to mess with tilling or having the ground tilled. You don't have to sacrifice some of our established yard for potted plants.

Whatever you do.. don't let another season go by without attempting something. You never know just how green your thumb might be and I assure you that you will enjoy the experience.

this is a very nice and encouraging message. you're right i should give it a try and maybe the curse will be gone. lol! but seriously, reading it makes me want to grow a plant. thanks a lot!

 

[olbriar]

this is a very nice and encouraging message. you're right i should give it a try and maybe the curse will be gone. lol! but seriously, reading it makes me want to grow a plant. thanks a lot!

Plants are meant to grow and reproduce. That's the scheme of things. All you have to do as a gardener is try to make it's growing conditions ideal and let it happen. With the internet you can easily find the information you need to improve the chances of your plant's success. It's fun.. it's rewarding.

 

[olbriar]

I will be picking the first of my veggies tomorrow. I have a half dozen Macho Nacho peppers that are just turning red and three zucchini that I will harvest tomorrow. I have a bunch of serrano peppers on but they aren't ready to pick. Most of my tomato plants are blooming and so are my cucumbers. The rest of the stuff is looking good. I hope it doesn't get way hot like last summer and burn everything up.

 

[gbiggie]

I will be picking the first of my veggies tomorrow. I have a half dozen Macho Nacho peppers that are just turning red and three zucchini that I will harvest tomorrow. I have a bunch of serrano peppers on but they aren't ready to pick. Most of my tomato plants are blooming and so are my cucumbers. The rest of the stuff is looking good. I hope it doesn't get way hot like last summer and burn everything up.

Macho Nacho peppers? Never heard of them-have a flower on my lonely jalapeno plant:thumbup:

 

[DblDragon]

Plants are meant to grow and reproduce. That's the scheme of things. All you have to do as a gardener is try to make it's growing conditions ideal and let it happen. With the internet you can easily find the information you need to improve the chances of your plant's success. It's fun.. it's rewarding.

i guess i'll just have to try and try until it comes out great. i kinda know that feeling. after all the hard work you've put into and someday you'll be able to get it. it feels very nice

 

[olbriar]

I'm letting the Macho Nacho peppers grow another day or two. The first one I picked and tried was not hot at all. I've never grown them before. They are supposed to be a bit hotter than a jalape

 

[olbriar]

i guess i'll just have to try and try until it comes out great. i kinda know that feeling. after all the hard work you've put into and someday you'll be able to get it. it feels very nice

You can blame it on the weather when your garden doesn't turn out perfect... that's what I do Even on a bad year you will get something that turns out well. Last year was just murder with the heat. I managed to keep my plants alive but they didn't produce much or not at all. What I did harvest was smaller than normal. But, I had one of the best sweet potato crops I've ever had. I can't tell you why.. but I had fantastic sweet potatoes.

All you do is try your best and cope with the elements. Something usually makes you proud. It's always worth the effort.

 

[DblDragon]

You can blame it on the weather when your garden doesn't turn out perfect... that's what I do Even on a bad year you will get something that turns out well. Last year was just murder with the heat. I managed to keep my plants alive but they didn't produce much or not at all. What I did harvest was smaller than normal. But, I had one of the best sweet potato crops I've ever had. I can't tell you why.. but I had fantastic sweet potatoes.

All you do is try your best and cope with the elements. Something usually makes you proud. It's always worth the effort.

that's also one of my problems, it's kinda hot here and i'm afraid the plants will just die but who knows, i just gotta try it

 

[olbriar]

that's also one of my problems, it's kinda hot here and i'm afraid the plants will just die but who knows, i just gotta try it

If you buy your seeds/plants from a nursery, they will be more than happy to suggest plants that do well in your area. They can tell you if your selections will do best in full sun or partial sun. They will know how much water and care each plant needs. They are a wealth of information and they want you to be successful. Count on them to steer you in the right direction before you purchase and rely on them through out the growing season if you have any problems. That is their business and they enjoy helping.

My garden is coming along nicely. I've been picking zucchini for the past week or so.... a very nice crop. My tomatoes are putting on but they are still small and green. I just started picking okra and my green beans have bloomed but no beans yet. I have baby cucumbers... largest one is around three inches long. My peppers are putting on like crazy. They like the hot weather. My onions are looking good as well as my garlic. The sweet potatoes have just started to vine out. ... looking good!

 

[gbiggie]

If you buy your seeds/plants from a nursery, they will be more than happy to suggest plants that do well in your area. They can tell you if your selections will do best in full sun or partial sun. They will know how much water and care each plant needs. They are a wealth of information and they want you to be successful. Count on them to steer you in the right direction before you purchase and rely on them through out the growing season if you have any problems. That is their business and they enjoy helping.

My garden is coming along nicely. I've been picking zucchini for the past week or so.... a very nice crop. My tomatoes are putting on but they are still small and green. I just started picking okra and my green beans have bloomed but no beans yet. I have baby cucumbers... largest one is around three inches long. My peppers are putting on like crazy. They like the hot weather. My onions are looking good as well as my garlic. The sweet potatoes have just started to vine out. ... looking good!

Just pm'ed you my address-when should I expect my delivery
Note the one lonely pepper-with the hot weather here this baby will be throwing jalapenos at me soon
I had to put it into the grounds as it rooted the entire pot.
Can't wait till next season when I have a bit more dirt to play in:thumbup:

 

[olbriar]

I've fallen into a excessive heat nightmare! The same thing happened here last year. Temps have been over 100F since last Friday and they have the next five days forecasted to be the same. Just as everything is in bloom and looking fantastic... scorch city. Last summer everything just shut down. The veggies that were in mid maturity finished out but all of the plants stopped putting on. I got some fall tomatoes, okra, and peppers. No green beans, no snow peas, no cucumbers, etc. It will just rip me a new one if it's another killer summer.

 

[cwhatever]

Here in florida the past couple years been having a hard time too. either we have a frost in the winter which is our best growing time, and the summers here are really hot too, and have really bad bug problems in the summer. But I don't give up, I just keep on planting.

 

[olbriar]

I will never give up. I have too much fun trying to beat the odds lol. It's supposed to be double digit hot here for next ten days.. maybe more. That will shut everything down. It will be a matter of trying to keep plants alive. If all else fails... I might just till most of it up and plant a fall crop. Turnips, cauliflower, broccoli, etc do well here if planted in August. I had planned on planting turnips all along. It's not my garden if I'm not pulling turnips and digging sweet potatoes in the fall.

 

[Rachel A]

We just started small this year with a few herbs. The mint took off wonderfully but it really hates this oppressive heat. I watered it at 7AM and it was already looking sad and wiltered by 5PM. I hope it makes it through the next few days...

 

[olbriar]

I've never grown herbs. My sister is the herb grower of the family. I understand the plants are tender and don't like a lot of sun. She has most of her stuff here and there in her flower beds.

I started a patch of dill many years ago and it outlasted that garden spot. I moved my garden let that area return to grass. That dill survived for a number of years being mowed weekly and seeing no care. I learned to be careful what you plant lol.

I do hope we survive this weather. If it stays this hot through July and August we will return to the dust bowl days.

 

[DblDragon]

If you buy your seeds/plants from a nursery, they will be more than happy to suggest plants that do well in your area. They can tell you if your selections will do best in full sun or partial sun. They will know how much water and care each plant needs. They are a wealth of information and they want you to be successful. Count on them to steer you in the right direction before you purchase and rely on them through out the growing season if you have any problems. That is their business and they enjoy helping.

My garden is coming along nicely. I've been picking zucchini for the past week or so.... a very nice crop. My tomatoes are putting on but they are still small and green. I just started picking okra and my green beans have bloomed but no beans yet. I have baby cucumbers... largest one is around three inches long. My peppers are putting on like crazy. They like the hot weather. My onions are looking good as well as my garlic. The sweet potatoes have just started to vine out. ... looking good!

wow! that's really true. reading your post really encourages me. i mean it.
i just have to trust myself and some people who are willing to help me.
congrats on your garden! that's a great news! it's nice to have tomatoes and potatoes in a garden.

 

[olbriar]

wow! that's really true. reading your post really encourages me. i mean it.
i just have to trust myself and some people who are willing to help me.
congrats on your garden! that's a great news! it's nice to have tomatoes and potatoes in a garden.

It's crazy easy to get hooked on gardening... be careful
My son caught the bug last year. This year he has three tomato plants and a variety of pepper plants. He's having a ball. I hope whatever you decide to try works out and you enjoy the rewards of growing your own goodies.

 

[imnotmikal]

I grow tomatoes and pepper in pots every years. Never had any luck with actual soil, unless I wanted to take to time to bring in a lot. Top like 6 feet of the ground is just red clay where I'm from.

I'm not sure what kind of peppers they are. They look like a Thai Chile, but only grow to a little over an inch long. They're much hotter than any of pepper I've eaten in my life.

There's a story with them.
When I was about 8 years old, I went to a farm market with my grandmother. I found a plant with a single white bloom on it, and couldn't keep my eyes off it. My granny said she wouldn't buy it, so the cashier actually gave it to me. She said "I'll let you take it home for no charge if you promise to take care of it forever."

So, I do. 10 years later, and I still replant them each year. On average, I harvest about 500 of the little guys each year. I make a mean hot sauce with them. Although, over the years they seem to have lost some heat. Or maybe I've just grown more used to them...

 

[cwhatever]

my tomatoe plants are doing pretty good this year at summertime due to having them in pots and locating in mostly shadey areas which is working out good this year.

 

[olbriar]

I grow tomatoes and pepper in pots every years. Never had any luck with actual soil, unless I wanted to take to time to bring in a lot. Top like 6 feet of the ground is just red clay where I'm from.

I'm not sure what kind of peppers they are. They look like a Thai Chile, but only grow to a little over an inch long. They're much hotter than any of pepper I've eaten in my life.

There's a story with them.
When I was about 8 years old, I went to a farm market with my grandmother. I found a plant with a single white bloom on it, and couldn't keep my eyes off it. My granny said she wouldn't buy it, so the cashier actually gave it to me. She said "I'll let you take it home for no charge if you promise to take care of it forever."

So, I do. 10 years later, and I still replant them each year. On average, I harvest about 500 of the little guys each year. I make a mean hot sauce with them. Although, over the years they seem to have lost some heat. Or maybe I've just grown more used to them...

That is a really neat story. Thanks for sharing.

my tomatoe plants are doing pretty good this year at summertime due to having them in pots and locating in mostly shadey areas which is working out good this year.

I've never grown any garden plants in pots. I'd love to move my tomato plants to the shade right now. There is a definite advantage of them being potted over planted this year.