How does your garden grow?

[foamy]

Way, way late this year. Finally got it finished (vegetable garden) over the weekend. Actually, didn't plant the whole garden this time 'round, only a bit over half, but it's going to have to do.

I had big plans this Spring, but no time to get it all done. So, I've modified my usual ways of planting, abbreviated what I had planned to plant and made what little I did plant more conventional and I'm hoping it kicks in soon. I took a walk around the neighborhood to see what the other veggie gardeners are doing and how far along they are and don't feel too bad about it. It's wait and see now.

All I got in were four Rutgers and four Super Sonic tomatoes (typical Jersey toms). Eight Carribbean Red habaneros, four Cayenne, four Thai Dragons, four Red Cherry hot peppers and four Kirby-like cucumbers. Pretty slack for me. But, I will at least (hopefully) have a good batch of hot pepper sauce this winter to keep me and the missus warm. A (very) small batch of pickles, of some variety and some tomatoes for sandwiches and suppers—perhaps enough to freeze for future sauces. We'll see.

There just wasn't enough time between work and sailing to get the whole garden dug-up and fertilized, etc. Let alone plant. I have to stop being such a devoted employee and crew (up at 4:30, home at 7:30, work on the boat and crew on the weekends). They've been getting in the way of everything else I like to do. Haven't launched yet, this year. Not good.

But, anyway, I know some of you folks have gardens. How are they doing? What'd ya plant?

[Blushingmule]

That's great!

Roughly 4 years ago I made a 4'x4' "square foot" garden lined with 2x4's.
The flowers grew like weeds, the veggies yielded 1 or 2 little toms here and a Jalapeno there.
2 more years of that, I stopped wasting my time.

I finally realized that the "Square Foot Garden" guy was full of it. 6 (!) corn plants in 1 square
foot of space? In retrospect, I new better. I've done corn as a kid at my grandfather's farm, etc.

Bob

[stefanj]

My yard is a sandy, rocky, shadowy patch the size of some of your living rooms.

So, my gardening takes place in boxes. I could probably grow tomatoes or herbs, but I decided to grow some flowers. Shade-tolerant ones in window boxes on the front of the house, two big pots for the balcony that gets good afternoon and evening shade.

[jeffyjeep]

Our tomatoes, Swiss Chard, spinach, catnip, cukes, peppers, chives, cilantro, basil, and flowers were all destroyed last night in a golf ball sized hail storm.

We'll have to replant everything this weekend when I get home from Pittsburgh.

[Scott6060842]

I plan to plant my garden on Memorial Day Monday, when I get back from the Indianapolis 500 ... last week I had to scrap the frost off of my windshield.

[foamy]

snip... golf ball sized hail storm.

We'll have to replant everything this weekend when I get home from Pittsburgh.
When I was a young kid, I went out to my Uncle Hobie's farm with my Grandparents (my stock comes from a very long line of farmers). They and my Aunt and Uncle were devoted Canasta players.

Not long after dark we had a hailstorm with hail of a size that rivaled what you described. I stood under the back porch's tin roof and watched and listened; the clanging of the hail on the roof and the lightening lighting up acres of tomatoes as far as I could see. Between flashes, it appeared that the plants were all slowly wilting. Bits of leaves from the trees flew around in the storm's wind.

My Uncle came out to see. He wore an expression on his face I'd never seen before. An expression of complete and total dismay. He didn't say anything. He went back in and they finished playing, but it was a very quiet and un-animated game from then on. I haven't seen that look too much since then—but I know what it is now, when I do see it.

[foamy]

That's great!

Roughly 4 years ago I made a 4'x4' "square foot" garden lined with 2x4's.
The flowers grew like weeds, the veggies yielded 1 or 2 little toms here and a Jalapeno there.
2 more years of that, I stopped wasting my time.

I finally realized that the "Square Foot Garden" guy was full of it. 6 (!) corn plants in 1 square
foot of space? In retrospect, I new better. I've done corn as a kid at my grandfather's farm, etc.

Bob
I have a friend who's did the "square foot garden" thing last year. When I saw it, about mid Summer, it seemed to be doing fine. It's not what I do (I micro-garden tomatoes, but not this year), but he was happy enough. I wish I'd seen the end results.

I believe a good amount of sunlight is key. I wish I had a bit more. My very small backyard is a veritable forest, except where I cleared it for the garden.

[jeffyjeep]

When I was a young kid, I went out to my Uncle Hobie's farm with my Grandparents (my stock comes from a very long line of farmers). They and my Aunt and Uncle were devoted Canasta players.

Not long after dark we had a hailstorm with hail of a size that rivaled what you described. I stood under the back porch's tin roof and watched and listened; the clanging of the hail on the roof and the lightening lighting up acres of tomatoes as far as I could see. Between flashes, it appeared that the plants were all slowly wilting. Bits of leaves from the trees flew around in the storm's wind.

My Uncle came out to see. He wore an expression on his face I'd never seen before. An expression of complete and total dismay. He didn't say anything. He went back in and they finished playing, but it was a very quiet and un-animated game from then on. I haven't seen that look too much since then—but I know what it is now, when I do see it.
The Vixen and I are so passionate about the veggie garden that it hurts us badly when it gets destroyed. It's not the first time. We've had deer and rabbits come through and wipe out everything, but this is the first time with hail. The chard is the biggest loss for me because it was about 2 weeks from picking and it's nearly impossible to get decent Fordhook Giant chard in a store.

The (3) bright spots about the hail storm:
1) It's not too late to replant
2) Mary's Jeep didn't take any hail damage (I don't know why) and my Jeep is in covered parking at Midway Airport.
3) We have a few chard seedlings protected in the garage to replant with.

If we're lucky, we MAY have ripe tomatoes by October! :rolleyes:

[sandman]

Living in rural Michigan, it's a treat to go to the local farmer's markets. There are 3 of them within 10 mile of my house.

The local Amish and Mennonites families really know how to grow a lot better than I can!

Although it is a bit early in the season.

[ghrocketman]

BELIEVE me Jeffy, you CAN most certainly live without any abomination of lettuce known as "Chard".
My grandfather used to grow a ton of what I call "old geezer" vegetables that NOBODY normal under the age of about 85 NOW could stand.
Those include: Parsnips, Rutabagas, Turnips, and Swiss Chard....yuck.
Even Grandma wouldn't eat that Crop-O'-Crapola. :D
Most of the "hideous four" listed above would ROT IN THE FIELD as nobody but he would eat them.
They were great for the Annual end-of-season "Rotted Veggie War" with about 20 of my cousins. The rotted-to-almost-black tomatoes were the best to splat someone with.
EVERY YEAR, someone during the war would fall in the "Irrigation Hole/pond" that was 10 feet deep below the 2' high walls of sand...it was COLD too. Inevitably someone would start chuckin' green tomatoes that never ripened too...my cousin Joel would seemingly always get blasted in the head with one of those and pout. What we used to call fun back in the 70's/early 80's would now certainly get somebody arrested now due to the sissification of society.


Sorry for your loss though.

[dlazarus6660]

The Vixen and I are so passionate about the veggie garden that it hurts us badly when it gets destroyed. It's not the first time. We've had deer and rabbits come through and wipe out everything, but this is the first time with hail. The chard is the biggest loss for me because it was about 2 weeks from picking and it's nearly impossible to get decent Fordhook Giant chard in a store.
:


My brother plants a veggie garden every year and lines it with flowers. Last season he lost it both to deer and rabbits. This year he has a big chain link fence around it with 3 feet of the bottom lined with plywood. That should keep those buggers out!

[jeffyjeep]

We haven't had a problem with Lepus Paininthebuttiust since our calico DSH cat "Ginger" (a.k.a. "The Stomach") developed a taste for them. Even with bells on her collar she manages to bushwack the bunny and then eats only the head. (eeew!)

[jeffyjeep]

BELIEVE me Jeffy, you CAN most certainly live without any abomination of lettuce known as "Chard".
My grandfather used to grow a ton of what I call "old geezer" vegetables that NOBODY normal under the age of about 85 NOW could stand.
Those include: Parsnips, Rutabagas, Turnips, and Swiss Chard....yuck.
Even Grandma wouldn't eat that Crop-O'-Crapola. :D
Most of the "hideous four" listed above would ROT IN THE FIELD as nobody but he would eat them.
They were great for the Annual end-of-season "Rotted Veggie War" with about 20 of my cousins. The rotted-to-almost-black tomatoes were the best to splat someone with.
EVERY YEAR, someone during the war would fall in the "Irrigation Hole/pond" that was 10 feet deep below the 2' high walls of sand...it was COLD too. Inevitably someone would start chuckin' green tomatoes that never ripened too...my cousin Joel would seemingly always get blasted in the head with one of those and pout. What we used to call fun back in the 70's/early 80's would now certainly get somebody arrested now due to the sissification of society.


Sorry for your loss though.
Thanks. I have approximately the same view of okra and zuchinni in ANY form of preparation. I've tried to like it, but I just can't get it down.

....and that about completes the list of veggies I won't eat.

[foamy]

I think girlie-girl is a rabbit. There's not a veggie she won't eat/cook and serve to me. If there's an opportunity to put a vegetable in something—she will. She has served me suppers where there's meat and four or five different vegetable dishes. No kidding.

The only veggie I'm not over keen on is artichoke. I'll eat them if they're served to me, I just wouldn't bother if given a choice. I'm sure not going to grow them.

[ghrocketman]

I should have added Artichokes and Brussels Sprouts to my 'never eat' list. Those are both awful.

[jeffyjeep]

I think girlie-girl is a rabbit. There's not a veggie she won't eat/cook and serve to me. If there's an opportunity to put a vegetable in something—she will. She has served me suppers where there's meat and four or five different vegetable dishes. No kidding.

The only veggie I'm not over keen on is artichoke. I'll eat them if they're served to me, I just wouldn't bother if given a choice. I'm sure not going to grow them.
(1) meat and (5) different vegetables?

No problem!

20 oz. Ribeye (meat)
baked potato (vegetable)
Swiss chard (vegetable)
dinner roll (vegetable)
beer (vegetable)
chocolate (vegetable)