They're ALIVE!!!! 2012 Edition -- Garden growing tips, tricks, pron

[HankB]

My spring bulbs bloomed about a month early here near Chicago - and that was before our string of 80° days in March. Temperatures seem to be a little closer to normal now but everything green got at least a month's advance.

Rhubarb is just about ready to pick and walking onions have been for a couple weeks now.

I even direct seeded broccoli which is about 4" tall now.

Yesterday I picked the first radishes. I could be thinning lettuce and spinach any day now.

I've got some tomatoes and basil in the ground and I'll have to cover them if we get any risk of frost.

But who knows what weather the summer will bring. At least we've had some recent rain and now the weeds are really taking off!

 

[BBQ Bacon]

Can't really do much here in Calgary until after the May long weekend. We usually get a nice dump of snow on the May long weekend. My garden usually consists of a couple jalapeno and basil plants. I plant a short row of green onions and about 6 tomato plants. I have horseradish in a pot buried in the garden (damn stuff spreads like wildfire) and spearmint (that also spreads like wildfire, but I can control better). I also have chives growing in a half wine barrel on the deck that I cut into when ever I need.

 

[expatpig]

I hate all of you guys, we still have 6" of this stuff on the ground:mad2:

 

[palehorse]

First Garden here. Been renters for too long, and a new home (to us) affords us a lot of learning. So glad this thread is here.

We removed a fence and repurposed the wood for planter boxes. Not being to familiar with the micro climate, we planted about 25 different varieties to see what works this year and what doesn't.

I'll report soon on crops and the like. And yes, you'll see this garden goodness in the pr0n and throwdowns soon enough.

 

[morgantm]

Got the irrigation setup all last weekend, stuff is starting to fly up here. Tomato plants are really starting to take off, same with the beans and lettuces. This warm early spring really helped to jump-start everything.

 

[Deep South]

Fourth year for our garden. Tomatoes, peppers and herbs are kept close to the house to cut down on Deer damage. Eleven rows of corn, four rows of beans, Okra, radishes, potaotes and squash are over the hill in the row crops and doing well. We also planted about an acre of Sunflowers and an acre of purple hull peas we broadcast and tilled into our deer greenfields.

Pics to come!

 

[mmmmeat]

We also planted about an acre of Sunflowers and an acre of purple hull peas we broadcast and tilled into our deer greenfields.

Pics to come!

What do ya do with that much sunflower and peas? Do ya sell it or use it all?

Sent from my fancy android fone

 

[Wampus]

We're SOOOOOO farkin behind on our gardening this year. Well, to me more exact....we've not even STARTED! :tsk:

We did just have a couple of hard freezes last week though. Still.....I wish the beds were at least prepped!


Y'all are lookin good! :thumb:

 

[Deep South]

What do ya do with that much sunflower and peas? Do ya sell it or use it all?

Sent from my fancy android fone

We will eat the peas if they produce, the sunflowers were just to see if they would grow in our soil. Both will be plowed back into the soil this fall if the deer don't destroy them.

 

[GQue]

Mine is going in this weekend....Rosemary,sage,sweet basil,thyme,parsley - Cant wait!! May have to try mint also....

 

[Piggy_Tummy]

I fail at growing things I was so proud when I grew some herbs..then come the following year..find out Mint is a rampant weed...and consumed my yard..:mmph:

 

[jrtexas]

My first square foot garden:

 

[razrbakcrzy]

we are taking a different approach this year. I think we are going to do the plastic buckets and pottery thing. Tomatos, cucs, squash, peppers(hot) lining the edge of our deck. KISS approach...

 

[1FUNVET]

My Trinidad Scorpion peppers are just now starting to poke their leaves out of the seed starter soil,

 

[mmmmeat]

We will eat the peas if they produce, the sunflowers were just to see if they would grow in our soil. Both will be plowed back into the soil this fall if the deer don't destroy them.

neat. i'd love to grow a field of sunflowers too, but dont have the space now, how do you water that, (or is there enough moisture in the area not to worry bout it)

 

[Spicy-Meat]

My Trinidad Scorpion peppers are just now starting to poke their leaves out of the seed starter soil,

That is a serious pepper. I saw pepper joe was selling the seeds.

 

[Hozman]

So glad to have this thread. Just started planting but thought I would share some pics of last years garden

Tomatoes in straw bales. 1st time doing this. They reached almost 8'

Things starting to take off

My jungle. If you have never grown stuff in straw bales I highly recommend it. No digging, weeding.

 

[BobBrisket]

I hope to have at least 10 Chile Chihuacle plants this year both red and green varieties. Thanks to Smokejumper for hooking me up with seeds two years ago. I put the seed directly in the ground three weeks ago and already have em shooting up!

Planted an orange tree out front. They grow well here, just gotta take extra care to insulate it during the winter. Already has some fruit going.

Son's radishes

I make the most of the space I have: out back are maters, onions, squash, peas, garlic/onion chives, rosemary, pineapple mint, tepin chile, and my desert chocolate daisies are coming out from seed they dispersed last year. I also have some chile and tomato plants that srpung up for seeds I tossed in last year. I don't know how many of you do this, but any time you prep/chop stuff like peppers, maters, etc toss the seeds, scraps etc into your planting area. Every year I have plants come up from seeds that were leftover from dinner prep that I tossed out there. Peels, etc are good mulch fertilizer and you will get lucky with seeds sprout up too. Back neighbor's honeysuckle smells fantastic right now.

Also got some Italian broccoli sprouting. That is some werid stuff, hope it grows. Google it.
Here are some of the wild mater plants that sprouted from some kitchen scraps I tossed out some time last summer, winter, who knows. I'll be moving soon.

One thing I really stuck to last year was saving ALL of my lawn clippings. That is about a 1.5 think layer of clippings and leaves. It's making for some great fertilizer and great mulch. In the desert you gotta hold that moisture in as much as possible. I need my lawn to really take off so I can replenish the clippings that all of the wind blew away from the plants in the frontyard.

 

[smokeyokie]

got my tomatoes going got some heirlooms with jalapenos companion planted with them, some oregeno, basil and cucumbers. My garden is small but still alot of fun

 

[NBBD]

Garlic and artichokes anyone?

damn you californias growin chokes...

(Zone 6B)
peas, beans, onions, beets, radishes and broccoli rabe all sown in the main garden

three varitieys of lettuce, spinach, garlic, oregano, cumin, rosemary, thyme, sage, mint in our herb garden all consumable already...

Strawberries and Rasberries goin strong...

One week and we will start on the rest! Happy Planting