Growing your own food

[vsoy]

I was wondering how sucessful people were growing their own veggies and herbs. I've been growing tomatoes and cantaloupes for the past 3 years with improvements each year. Miracle Gro with the hose sprayer is my best gardening friend.

I've tried growing chinese eggplant with very poor results, pathetic yield, small size and insect infestation. It has pretty purple flowers though. I'm also branching out and giving swiss chard, arugula,sweet peppers, butternut squash and cucumbers a go this year from seed. I would really love to grow some delightful leafy veggie like pea sprouts or gai lan some year.

I'm trying garlic and scallions by sticking some I bought from the supermarket in the ground and seeing what happens. I stuck a scallion in last summer and I was able to snip off a leaf or two whenever I needed a small amount for a recipe all through summer and most of the winter. It's quite dead now, not sure why. I'll have to look into scallion seeds ellen, I had no idea, I always thought they were bulb propagated.

I think it would be pretty cool to grow ginger, I have a vague inkling that it likes a more sandy soil. I've got my basil, oregano, marjoram, sage, thyme in seed pots for the herb garden. Hopefully something will sprout.

[Taliesin Stormheller]

I grow food to eat, and so do most folks around these parts. I mostly grow tomatoes since we eat lots of them, and will be growing various mints as well as scallions and garlic this year.
Try not to use chemical fertilizers on food you eat. It's not good.

[ric]

I was wondering how sucessful people were growing their own veggies and herbs

Sorry :lol:

I think where you live plays a BIG role in your soil contents, which of course is one of biggest determining factor on how well you can grow veggies, etc.

The pH level of soil as well as water you used for your plants plays a big difference

[vsoy]

When I harvesting basil last year, I had so much it, I was thinking, wow, with this much yield, I could really make a lot of $$$ growing other types of plants.... muhahaha. I would imagine it's against my subdivision's covenants but if it ain't in there, lol.

I had a soil test done on my vegetable garden last year. pH was actually fine but low in the 3 elements, hence my dedication to miracle gro. What a difference! I had something like 10 tomatoes the first year(w/o Miracle grow) and over 300 tomatoes last year when I was religiously using miracle grow! I don't think miraclegrow is bad for you, I don't use herbicides or pesticides, yuck. I've been lucky with the lack of pests attacking my tomatoes. I've got a ton of marigolds scatter throughout the garden like a force field driving away those insects.

TS, how will you be growing and harvesting your scallions and garlic this year? I've read that you harvest garlic when the green tips (which can be snipped off and used in cooking but I guess will kill your bulb) die, you can harvest.

In regards to water, are you suggesting soft water to improve growth and yield?

[Taliesin Stormheller]

I'm going to be growing scallions in a big clump and picking off bits for dinner daily. I really don't know when to start pickin' garlic but I will look it up. I started them in pots when the garlic in the garlic garland (it's a Chinese thang) started to sprout.

[bumb1ebee]

Right now my mom grows leeks, peppers, and mint leaves. She used to grow plums, cucumbers, banana leaves, and honeydew when we lived in Texas. When I was younger I absolutely refused to eat the veggies she grew even though she was so proud of them. I feel guilty now :(

I grew some cherry tomatoes just for fun (not to eat) but the birds and gardeners destroyed them -_-

[awong]

lets see what is currently in my yard. I shall take pics of if it isn't raining.

But outside my house and my uncles house that we rent out but the people let us take the fruits. There are star fruit trees, Pineapple plants (a few soon to be ready), a couple of orange trees naval and another kind of orange., not sure if there is grapefruit, lemon or is it lime I am not sure tree.

My mom bought one star fruit from the supermarket and use its seeds to grow them. THey are expensive at the supermarket and don't look good either.

My mom used to grow peppers, and egg plant. I guess living in Florida helps with growing these foods. A few years ago chinese melon were grown in my backyard. I love that soup.

Oh yeah I think my mom grew some lemon grass that she used to cook with too.

I found this pic, it was after the hurricane, but theres the orange tree in the front yard.
http://dubs.unixprohost.com/albums/album57/DSCN0370.sized.jpg

[ellencho]

I always wanted to have a home with lots of fruit trees around, especially lemons and limes. It's cool that the weather around where you live lets your mom grow interesting fruit awong.

At the present moment, I've got two passionfruit vines that I hope will flower this year, I've also got a bunch of scallion as well as parsley growing. I wanted to grow some cherry tomato plants but Pat gave me a "are you kidding me" look when I was looking at the seeds rack at the supermarket, so I didn't buy them. We live in an apt and we don't have that much windowsill space so I have to sacrifice until we have a real home.

[kimtae]

I always wanted to have a home with lots of fruit trees around, especially lemons and limes. It's cool that the weather around where you live lets your mom grow interesting fruit awong.

At the present moment, I've got two passionfruit vines that I hope will flower this year, I've also got a bunch of scallion as well as parsley growing. I wanted to grow some cherry tomato plants but Pat gave me a "are you kidding me" look when I was looking at the seeds rack at the supermarket, so I didn't buy them. We live in an apt and we don't have that much windowsill space so I have to sacrifice until we have a real home.Contrary to what many outdoor gardeners may think, tomatoes are a perennial and will continue to blossom amd produce fruit sporadically throughout the year if kept indoors. Cherry tomato plants are quite small and don't need much more room than any other indoor plant.

[ellencho]

Contrary to what many outdoor gardeners may think, tomatoes are a perennial and will continue to blossom amd produce fruit sporadically throughout the year if kept indoors. Cherry tomato plants are quite small and don't need much more room than any other indoor plant.
I dont' doubt that but I've got SO many plants in our apt we literally don't even have room for another plant. In addition to our edible plants, we've got lots of other greenery around, a huge schefflera, aloe, jade plants, lots of pots of freesia corms for blooming in spring, orchids and some sort of monocot that i have yet to identify. I'm the equivalent of a crazy cat lady, only I take in wayward plants that need homes.

[kimtae]

eat your aloe, seriously.

[cattygurl]

Aloe can give you diarrhea in large amounts (some ppl are more sensitive than others). It often tastes downright NASTY. There are aslo aloe that's inedible so make sure your aloe is the edible kind.

I think checking soil texture, ph and adjusting it for the plany goes far in terms of success. Also, giving them plenty of the right kind of fertilizer helps.

I give my plant copious worm compost, and an occasional weed tea. That's pretty much it.

Worm compost have been the best thing to happen to most plants since dirt. Seriously. Also, weed tea is a free (and very good) fertilizer.

To make weed tea: Just gather some weeds, throw it in a bucket with non-cholorinated water, and toss in a aquarium pump for aeration. Once the weeds start to dissolve, dilute and give to plants.

Weeds have amazing plany growth hormones, so weed tea is like steroid for plants (in a good way).

There are gardening boks that I cannot live without... but I'm not at home. I will list them when I get back.

[awong]

I've only used the aloe in my yard to use on cuts

[kimtae]

I should have said to check but if it's the right kind it's very healthy. I want to grow grass inside my apartment but I can't find grass seed here in Pusan. I thought I would fill some buckets with soil and grow the grass as cushions for seats. Just a thought.

[cattygurl]

some aloe info:

Aloe gel
The conventional pharmaceutical approach to the question ``How does it work?'' is to determine which individual chemical component of a plant is contributing to its healing activity. This opens the door to commercial extraction and refinement--processes that can be patented. In regard to aloe, however, investigation hasn't yet provided clear-cut answers. The gel comprises more than seventy-five compounds, including polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates), steroids, organic acids, enzymes, antibiotic agents, amino acids, and minerals. One enzyme found in aloe gel has been suggested as the primary component responsible for the gel's ability to heal burns.

Since the first clinical trials of the gel in the mid-1930s, subsequent trials have produced similar, positive results. However, evidence from those experiments and from many favorable case histories is inconclusive because much of the work suffered from poor experimental design and small test samples. Although recent, more thorough research has confirmed the likelihood of useful physiological effects, the gel's properties still haven't been ascribed to specific components. Among some of the recent findings:
Researchers at Tokyo Women's Medical College in Japan have shown that certain lectins (a type of protein) in aloe gel may stimulate the immune system to increase production of killer cells, or naturally occurring lymphocytes that kill bacteria and tumor cells.
Studies in Japan and the Netherlands suggest that constituents in aloe gel can enhance the workings of the immune system by containing the killer cells' lethal chemicals, preventing them from damaging healthy, functional cells.
A research group at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio is studying the effects of aloe extracts on normal and tumor cells in humans. Although aloe probably will not emerge as a new cancer drug, such experiments provide more information on how aloe gel heals wounds and burns.
A review of the medical literature by a group at the University of Texas in Galveston concluded that aloe gel clearly promotes wound healing and prevents progressive skin damage caused by burns and frostbite. It works by penetrating injured tissue, relieving pain, reducing inflammation, and dilating capillaries to increase blood flow to the injury.
A review of the scientific literature on aloe shows that while many cosmetics containing aloe claim to stop the aging of skin, they actually only moisturize it, thereby temporarily diminishing blemishes. However, aloe vera extracts have the potential--as yet undemonstrated--to stimulate synthesis of collagen and elastin fibers, which could stop the degenerative skin changes associated with aging.

Aloe as laxative
As in ancient times, drug aloe (prepared from the bitter yellow juice of the leaf) and its derivatives are used extensively today as active ingredients in commercial laxative preparations, most often in combination with other botanical laxatives such as cascara sagrada bark and senna leaves or pods. Aloe leaves are cut at the base to release the juice, which is then heated to evaporate the water. The remaining dark brown mass is drug aloe. Commercial aloin is a refined form of drug aloe that contains high concentrations of barbaloin, aloe's main laxative constituent. In Germany, concentrated extracts of dried aloe leaves are used as laxatives preceding rectal surgery and as a hemorrhoid treatment.

Despite their widespread use in commercial preparations, drug aloe and aloin are considered the least desirable of plant laxatives for home health care. Besides being extremely bitter, they produce cramping and irritation in the digestive tract. Overdose or other misuse can cause abdominal pain, gastrointestinal bleeding, or even kidney disorders. Pregnant or nursing women should not take products containing drug aloe or aloin because they stimulate the uterus (which can bring on premature labor) and because they pass readily into the mother's milk, sometimes causing gastrointestinal distress in the nursing infant.

[ellencho]

I should have said to check but if it's the right kind it's very healthy. I want to grow grass inside my apartment but I can't find grass seed here in Pusan. I thought I would fill some buckets with soil and grow the grass as cushions for seats. Just a thought.
That's an awfully clever idea. Just make sure your guests don't slide on the seats, they'll end up with green streaks, and make sure your grass seats haven't been recently watered!

I have a feeling that grass seeds are sold in mass quantities for things like lawns and golf courses. Maybe you could contact a landscaping place and see if you could buy some seed or some flats of grass off of them.

[vsoy]

I remember seeing an ad for a home and garden show and they "upholstered" a chair with sod, it was a fun whimiscal pic, new meaning to the phrase, "outdoor living"

If the home improvement stores in Pusan don't sell grass seed, you might want to try buying a roll of sod. Maybe you can get a small remanent for free. Another idea would be growing those wheat grass flats that people use to make those nasty juices that are good for you or maybe those kits for grass for cats.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11568&Ntt=cat%20grass&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2002&Nty=1

On the way to work, I drive by an interior decorator who works out of her home. She has an old iron bed painted purple outside on her property and every spring, she'll plant colorful flowers in the mattress area- flower bed, lol

[ric]

When I harvesting basil last year, I had so much it, I was thinking, wow, with this much yield, I could really make a lot of $$$ growing other types of plants.... muhahaha. I would imagine it's against my subdivision's covenants but if it ain't in there, lol.

I had a soil test done on my vegetable garden last year. pH was actually fine but low in the 3 elements, hence my dedication to miracle gro. What a difference! I had something like 10 tomatoes the first year(w/o Miracle grow) and over 300 tomatoes last year when I was religiously using miracle grow! I don't think miraclegrow is bad for you, I don't use herbicides or pesticides, yuck. I've been lucky with the lack of pests attacking my tomatoes. I've got a ton of marigolds scatter throughout the garden like a force field driving away those insects.

TS, how will you be growing and harvesting your scallions and garlic this year? I've read that you harvest garlic when the green tips (which can be snipped off and used in cooking but I guess will kill your bulb) die, you can harvest.

In regards to water, are you suggesting soft water to improve growth and yield?

In regards to water, are you suggesting soft water to improve growth and yield?


Well not sure about that, but here in socal the water tends to be little too basic so I use a little acetic acid to my daily watering of plants. Buy a big bottle of water and make it about 0.5uM

[kimtae]

I'm trying to get some putting green quality grass. Maybe some crabgrass for people I don't like to sit on.

[cattygurl]

Well not sure about that, but here in socal the water tends to be little too basic so I use a little acetic acid to my daily watering of plants. Buy a big bottle of water and make it about 0.5uM


I've also found that slapping a filter to remove the chlorine helps for me.
I've added a bit of apple cider vinegar (or even plain white vinegar) to adjust ph.

[lynjess]

I don't eat aloe, but its GREAT for my skin. I mix a dab of aloe gel with some coconut oil and rub my hands together to rub on my face. My face doesn't get greasy nor dry.

Putting some on scars and marks on your face works great as well.

Besides my mega bottle of aloe vera gel, I have an aloe plant in my kitchen, I just snip off a leaf and dab the gel on my face or a sore. Sometimes under my eyes to rid myself of circles. You can get an aloe plant anywhere. But make sure you divide it into different pots because it grows and your pot can topple over constantly.

[cattygurl]

^^ D'oh! That's why my aloe plant is constantly toppling! GAAAH! Will re-pot to a nice big pot when I get home.

[vsoy]

How's everyone's crops doing?

I got 5 inches of rain last week and some of the crops are going gang busters! The tomatoes are blooming and on some of them, I see ittty bitty tomatoes forming. The butternut squash is growing like crazy, busting out of the wire fence I made to keep those 'wrasky 'wabbits out. Some of the sweet and spicy pepper plants are ok, not that great and the cantaloupe are slowly coming into their own. Eggplants are hanging in there.

I planted some onion bulb medleys and those are growing but I have no idea when to harvest. I threw some leafy Chinese vegetable scraps into my makeshift compost pile and it's growing new leaves! Hopefully I can get it to grow well and not have to buy it at the Asian food store that is a long drive away. :D

[awong]

citrus season is over.

I was talking to my mom, she is trying to grow peppers again. Its going to take longer since its mostly sand in my backyard, and not dirt. She says she has a tamborine (sp?) thos sour brown fruits I think she wants to grow or has. And She has a lychee tree growing

[inferno]

I was wondering how sucessful people were growing their own veggies and herbs

Sorry :lol:

I am quite perplexed as well, ric :shock:


I want to grow grass inside my apartment but I can't find grass seed here in Pusan.
I'm trying to get some putting green quality grass.
it grows and your pot can topple over constantly.
I have a feeling that grass seeds are sold in mass quantities for things like lawns and golf courses.
Hmmm ... this guy is having a hard time finding his ball in this "golf course":

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/03/05/6nat_hempwide.jpg

[kimtae]

^ I wanted putting green quality, that would qualify as being in the rough, of course, if I lost my ball in that kind of rough, I'm not too sure I would care if I found it or not. :wink:

[ellencho]

Oddly enough, with kimtae being in Korea and all, he could go to min suk chun (that folk village, which is actually closer to Seoul than Pusan) and pick some himself? I remember being there years ago, and it was everywhere, growing alongside homes and in gardens.

[Taliesin Stormheller]

My scallions are coming up nicely, and the peppermints are doing well. Here's a tip about growing seasonings: don't water them too much or else their flavors won't be as strong. I skipped watering my mints for a week and they got SO minty that the area smelled of gum.

[kimtae]

Oddly enough, with kimtae being in Korea and all, he could go to min suk chun (that folk village, which is actually closer to Seoul than Pusan) and pick some himself? I remember being there years ago, and it was everywhere, growing alongside homes and in gardens.Putting green quality as in golf courses. Do you golf at all? The grass on putting greens is a very special blend that results in an incredible density per square inch. This also has the effect of holding soil in place much more tightly and so is less likely to result in dirt spilling out onto the floor or clothes getting dirtied from sitting on the "grass cushion". I am completely serious about this by the way. You know in Korea there is a very strong culture of sitting on the floor, especially in winter since the heating comes from under the floor. I have some 3 inch high 18 inch diameter plastic pans that would be great for planters.
Getting back to food, anyone ever grow those little ornamental oranges? I was wondering if they were the same as 낑깡 (kkingkkang) also known as 금귤 (geumgyul) in Korea that are edible. You eat the skin which is really surprisingly sweet. The inside is sour like a lemon and the seeds are regular orange size even though these little things are only the size of pin-pong balls. They're completely delicious, the skins are soft and succulent and the insides so tart. I've never seen the little trees here so I'm not sure if ti's the same thing.

[vsoy]

Are you refering to kumquats? (I smirk when I think of that word) They do seel them here in the US, sometimes a little hard to find. The fruit is about the size of grape tomatoes though.
http://www.kumquatgrowers.com/


When I lived in San Diego, I went on a walk with my mom in the neighborhood and she freaked out when we came upon a kumquat tree in someone's yard. The owner was outside and I asked him if we could pick a few. He was ok and we stuffed out pockets and untucked our shirts to make a "basket" to carry more. Oh man we were in heaven. The tree was maybe 8-10 feet tall.

[kimtae]

^ Thanks, that's exactly it. I've seen people in the States grow them as small potted plants in their homes but nobody I ever knew ate them so I didn't know if they were the same as the ones here in Korea. Man, are they freaking delicious.

[vsoy]

I don't think the owner ate them either, there were so many on the tree and on the ground. I have noticed sometimes the ones you buy in the supermarket are not as good as the fresh ones on the tree, I get a stomach ache sometimes. Perhaps I am buying unripened kumquats.

[vsoy]

I've been meaning to ask people how their crops are doing this summer. I harvested 35 Better Boy tomatoes on Saturday! I made a big batch of homemade spaghetti sauce and froze it. I didn't take any pictures because, well, sauce looks like sauce. With the exception of the sausage, tomato paste and sugar, everything came from the garden- 30 tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil and oregano.

The only good thing about this miserably hot weather we've been getting is that the tomatoes are ripening like crazy. The shock of $3.99/lb tomatoes this past winter is a distant memory. Take that PriceChopper supermarket, I'm not buying any more of your $1.29/lb tomatoes until Thanksgiving, godwilling!

I sprouted 3 butternut squash and 8 cantaloupe seeds and they are taking over my garden. Here's a pic of my "vegetable garden gone wild"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/Vegetable_garden_gonewild2005.jpg
In forefront, It's cantaloupe trying to scale the rabbit fencing and attacking the tomato plants behind them. I had some tomato seeds that didn't germinate right away so I used the same dirt to sprout cantaloupe. I planted the cantaloupe seedlings in May and for some reason, the tomato seeds decided to sprout so I have tomato plants in the middle of my cantaloupe patch. I couldn't bring myself to rip out the tomato (plus I'm lazy) so I'm letting them duke it out. As if you can tell, behind the cataloupe, is the butternut(large yellow/orange flower) and it is insane. I've given up threading the runners back into it's cage, every square inch has been taken up.So now it's making tracks in between tomato and pepper rows. I've got a couple of butternut that are already a nice tan color but I am not supposed to harvest until September.

My first attempt with garlic- planted 4 cloves from the supermarket last fall and I got 4 decent sized cloves:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/IMG_0008.jpg
I dug them up when the leaves turned brown and fell over. They were then allowed to dry in the basement for 2-3 weeks and I used them for garlic bread and sauce. The cloves were more "moist" than what you get in the supermarket, making it quite sticky during peeling. Definitely worthwhile growing garlic and a lot of fun.

Japanese eggplant from store bought seedlings:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/IMG_0001.jpg
For once I got to harvest them before they got all holey. I still have another one growing, but what do I do with one small eggplant?

Funny tomato:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/IMG_0009.jpg
At first it reminded me of a penis and I was going to dedicate it to inferno, but the more I looked at it, it looks more like Pinocchio. I have never gotten weird tomatoes like this before. I am quite surprised with the artistic shot of this tomato, the shadow lining up with the tomato's err, appendage. :lol:

[ellencho]

I'm so jealous of your garden. So much space and sunlight.

That tomato is funny as hell. I still have a bunch of purple scallions growing but I haven't picked them yet.

[awong]

here are some pics...my mom made me take some of the banana tree growing to look at in different stages. I asked her if we could grow plantain since I don't eat bananas, she said it might be too warm and miami/sofla is probably better suited.

I haven't taken any of the pineapple yet...might grow soon a few of them. there are tons of lemons on the lemon tree too, citrus season is over so its waiting time until fall.
http://tinypic.com/9g8rqa.jpg
http://tinypic.com/9g8sj6.jpg

[vsoy]

Finally got around to uploading some pics. Here's the cutest cantaloupe that came from the garden:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/baby_cantaloupe2.jpg

and here it is cut in half with my trusty butcher knife for reference:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/baby_cantaloupe.jpg

It was ok tasting, not as sweet as the other ones but pretty darn cute. The others were bowling ball sized.

[ellencho]

Sorry, I couldn't resist.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/everythingelse/baby_cantaloupe2.jpg

[vsoy]

*creak...*
*resurrects old thread*

Summer's in full swing and it's hasn't been terribly hot like previous years. What's growing in your yard/pot? Sorry about the crappy cameraphone pics. I need to get a new camera battery so I don't have to charge it up overnight for one pic.

Same standbys and new ones- Better Boy, Brandywine and Plum Dandy(Roma) and Red husky cherry tomatoes. Those Brandywines are almost as tall as me! Note my not so fashionable but anti-sun ensemble. Most people camwhore with beautiful people in trendy places, I find myself camwhoring with tomato plants. :|
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/LF_brandywine2006.jpg

Garlique!
I had so much fun last summer, I ramped up production this past fall. The fruits of my labor:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/garlic2006.jpg
Begone vampires!

My new obsession-cucumber.
I ate so many the past couple of days, all I had left is this little guy. Just grow some more and I'll eat you up! Looks like I'll be getting a shitload of cucumbers later so any ideas for 101 ways to make cucumbers? :lol:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/cucumber2006.jpg

Another new obsession- yard long beans.
These guys are crazy, vining all over the place. With regular string beans, I only get maybe 4 or 5 beans at a time. Can't do much with 4 stringbeans, but I'm thinking with yardlong beans, 4 or 5 may actually provide enough for a meal. That is, if that damn bunny doesn't eat the ones poking out of the cages :x
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/yardlongbean_canopy.jpg

closeup:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/yardlongbeans2.jpg
I'll be eating you with spicy black bean and tofu, muahaha.

[cattygurl]

Damn, vsoy!

Your garden pics look great. I wish I had time to garden because nothing beats fresh produce straight from your own back yard. I'm so jealous!

[ellencho]

Goddamn is that your house in the background? Jeez lady that's some fancy shit!

How long ago did you begin planting? A lot of our things have grown, but it all looks stunted compared to your lot. Our watermelon died btw, but Pat's mom told us those are really hard to grow up north. The cool thing is, our passiflora vine that was neglected this winter has really made a comeback and has begun curling its tendrils around our fence. Same with our cukes, they're beginning to send out tendrils but they're too short and too far away from our fence.

Your wire cages are awesome. I have a super ghetto stake set up for my tomatoes with only one actual stake, our wire fence and lots of pieces of string. I'll have to photograph it later this week. It's supremely pathetic.

The garlic looks awesome. Do you use it immediately or do you cure it before you start using it?

[cattygurl]

BTW vsoy, are you in Cali?

[vsoy]

I'm in suburban midwest hell with heavy clay soil- the Kansas City area. I used to live in San Diego five years ago, but had to go where the job was located. I would love to have a garden in SoCal, think of all the citrus and tropical fruit you can have in your backyard!

Ellen, does your passiflora produce edible passionfruit? That would be so cool! The wire cages for my 'maters is made from bunny fencing that you can get at Home Depot or Lowes. You can use tin snip clippers to cut the wires and then just bend the ends around each other to close. I usually end up with a bunch of nasty scratches, so it's much better to have someone help roll the fencing out and bend wires. Heavy work gloves is a big help. I've had a couple of these cages for a couple of years now, they last. I leave them outside all year round. They make interesting icicles in the winter.

Plants like cucumber, canteloupe, tomato,watermelon do not like cold weather at all. If it's been cool on East coast, the plants will grow very slowly. Your plants will start growing like crazy once it's consistently warm. It's been a little bit cooler than the past 3 spring/summers but still warm in KC area so the warm weather plants have been growing like crazy. We had record temps in mid April so I got my transplants in the ground in the third week of April. Of course the week after I transplant, the temps hovered around the mid 30's at night and the plants didn't like that at all. It wasn't till the past 3 weeks or so the plants have really taken off. I started seeds around March. Weirdly, some of the butternut and tomato seeds I threw into my informal compost pile this winter (which is also my melon patch) started sprouting bastard butternut and tomato plants. I had to spend some time this weekend pulling out bastard plants because they were crowding out my cukes and canteloupes. The bastards seemed to be slightly more mature than the designated transplants.

The plant guide says curing helps with storage so I think I could use the garlic right away. I would think uncured garlic would be very sticky/wet and difficult to peel. It rained recently so the garlic has big clods of mud and I rather wait until they are dry before attempting to clean them. I only have to cure for 2-3 weeks in the basement.

[ellencho]

I planted 3rd week of May so you're an entire month ahead of me in terms of growth. I was thinking about chicken wire for my tomatoes and even my cukes, but I'm worried about the stakes damaging the roots of my plants.

Also, the weather's been sort of wonky around here, one week of pure 90 degree heat, and then the next week is in the 70s and humid. Generally in this area, from July to mid september is pretty hot and humid so we'll see what happens to my plants by the end of the summer.

The passiflora is only 2 years old this year, and it was seriously abused this winter so I'm not sure if it'll bloom or fruit this summer. It would be nice if it did, but it's not the end of the world if it doesn't. It's passiflora edulis btw so if it does ever bear fruit it'll be whatever the type is you find in supermarkets. I had a passiflora seemanii but it didn't make it through the winter. It was always less hardy than edulis to begin with so I'm not surprised.

This is my first "on my own" garden, so I'll pretty much be excited no matter what grows.

[vsoy]

I forgot to mention landscaping pins for securing the bunny fencing cages. The pins are U-shaped and they are about 4-5 inches long. If your cage is centered about 6-10 inches around your plant, you really won't have to worry about stabbing the roots. Anyways, you can get a bag of something like 20 pins or a box of 75. I don't know how many plants you have but go for the box. You'll need minimum of 3 pins to secure a cage down. Plus they get all rusty over time, so they could be useful if you want to stab someone.

In my limited gardening experience, the adage, "First year sleep, second year creep, third year leap" is very true. Most of the perennials I've planted do nothing, maybe grow a little bit the first year. The second year is a little bit, but by the third or fourth year, the roots system has really established and the plants are doing really well and maybe start blooming. I have a couple of exceptions like the wisteria, rhodededron and tulip tree. Neither has bloomed and it's been over 3 years and I'm pissed.

[cattygurl]

^^ As for wisterias, have you checked with your local extention? If you feed flowering plants too much nitrogen, they grow like a motherfucker at the cost of blooms. For flowering plants, you want something high in phosphates most of the time.

You're in Kansas City, eh? Yeah, I'd love to have a garden here and try my hand at growing stuff like muscadine grapes, carambolas, lychees, etc. I already have a loquat tree that's thriving in my yard. However, my very favorite fruits don't do well in so-cal- like cherries. They require a lot more chill hours to fruit reliably.

I'm living my gardening dreams vicariously through you, vsoy. Man, I wish I had time to garden. The last few times, I started, but then got so impossibly busy that my plants got neglected and died. ARGH.

[vsoy]

Sprouting ginger from the store:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/ginger_sprout_1.jpg

Ginger plant:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/Ginger_plant2006.jpg
I was lurking on some gardening forum, and people really do grow ginger from the store. The hardest part apparently is getting the damn thing to sprout which I seem to have no problem doing.

Yardlong beans that aren't really 3 feet long (A regular stringbean for reference):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/yardlong_ruler.jpg


Parsley bed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/parsley_bed_2006.jpg
When the parsley in my herb garden started sending up flower stalks, I cut them down at the end of summer and threw them in this bed last year. That furry looking thing on the right is asparagus I just put in this year.

Onion flower:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/onion_flower_closeup_1.jpg
See, if you're really lazy, you end up with weird stuff like this. For some reason, I was very surprised, but an onion flower REALLY does smell like an onion.

Cute catepillars:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/catepillar_parsley_4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/catepillar_parsley_2.jpg'
I was going to cut down the parsley flowerstalks, but these little guys were so cute once I got over my initial screaming fit when I was about to grab one.

[cattygurl]

Those adorable caterpillars turn into butterflies! :D

I was so happy when a few of them showed up on my parsley patch a few years ago... but the local birds ate them all :x

Lots of gingers don't sprout well because many veggies have sprouting inhibitors sprayed on the produce for extended shelf life- looks like your ginger supplier does not do that (which is good, IMHO). Your plant looks happy and healthy! :d

I love onion flowers- I think they're like pom-poms and very cute. They make great cut flowers as long as you don't mind the smell of onions. They're also edible, too.

[vsoy]

Holy cow, summer's here...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/IMG_0086.jpg
and
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/IMG_0080.jpg

and soon running out of counter space:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/IMG_0083.jpg

Starting two weeks ago, I've picked 199 Roma tomatoes ALONE so far. This isn't counting the Brandywines or Better Boys. *drowning in tomatoes*

[vsoy]

So what does one do with 199 Roma tomatoes? Make spaghetti sauce.

I only used 70 of them, along with 10 Better Boys that were getting soft and 2 supermarket tomatoes I found shivering in the vegetable drawer. The supermarket tomatoes were disgusting in comparison to homegrown tomatoes. The taste test is unbelieveable.

The garlic, basil, oregano and tomatoes were all from the garden. If I could circumvent local zoning laws, I could raise my own hog and make pork sausage. What a freaking nightmare.

Spaghetti Sauce with pork sausage tutorial:
A shitload of peeled tomatoes.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/IMG_0088.jpg
Romas really do have less water than other varieties and it's a less messy process to boil and peel them. I just boil 20-30 at a time in a big pot for 1 min, cool in running water and peel when not so hot.

Lightly saute a lot of garlic with some salt and pepper.
Dump peeled tomatoes in along with 3-6 cans of tomato paste. Rinse cans with an equal number of cans of water and mix.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/IMG_0090.jpg

Dumping in a lot of basil and oregano
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/IMG_0093.jpg

Dump in 2-3 pounds of cooked, drained pork sausage and mix.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/IMG_0095.jpg

Simmer for several hours and enjoy!
When I use canned tomatoes, I usually put in a couple tablespoons of sugar and a lesser amount of salt, but homegrown tomatoes are so sweet, they don't need it.

[cattygurl]

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=44040&cat=2,40733,44734&ap=2

My friend swears by the contraption above. It might help you out w/ using up all your tomatoes!

[vsoy]

Uh oh, I smell Xmas present idea... :P
*looks at tomatoes on vanishing counter*
Crap, I need this NOW.

[vsoy]

Oh, this is just sick:
http://www.creativecookware.com/electric_toamto_machines.htm

0.5 horsepower, 600-800 POUNDs/hour. It's not clear to me if that's pounds of tomatoes or pounds of processed tomatoes. Either way, just sick, sick, sick.

Just wondering, does anyone one know how this is different from a food mill?

[ellencho]

How many plants did you get all those tomatoes from? We only have one plant with one grown tomato on it. It's brother was knocked off during a rather violent thunderstorm a couple weeks ago. However, there's hope for more tomatoes because I noticed one eensy tomato growing and four new yellow flowers growing a couple inches above. Oh, and my one grown tomato? It's like 2.5 inches in diameter. It's teeny and pathetic.

[vsoy]

The 199 Romas (Plum Dandy variety) came from 9 plants! When I first attempted growing tomatoes in 2003, I tried the Better Boy variety with 12 plants. I got 12 tomatoes that year, 10 of them in October and they were moldy and cracked. While the yield was pathetic the tomatoes were delicious and we were hooked.

But you learn a little each year and try different things like mulch, fertilizing every two weeks, different varieties, amending soil with compost material, picking tomatoes when they just turn orangy, etc. I would highly recommend getting a soil test from the PA extension and get a good sampling from different parts of your veggie patch. I was convinced that my soil would have this issues requiring lots of chemicals, but it was quite eye-opening to find out it needed lots of nitrogen, hence my dedication to Miracle-Gro.

Plus, weather conditions have a big effect on yield. This year, I had Better Boy tomatoes two weeks earlier than previous years, I think because it was such a relatively mild spring/summer.

Over the past 2 years for me, Better Boy tomatoes averaged 9-22 tomatoes/plant for the summer ending in early September. Cherry tomatoes are ridiculously prolific, I got 150 from a yellow cherry plant one year and more than 300 from a red cherry tomato. It was sick.

[ellencho]

These are two peppers I grew this summer. I haven't tried them yet. Watching them turn from green to red is pretty cool. First they're green, then they're purple, and then suddenly one day it's red.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/august06everyday/IMG_1896.jpg

Here is my one eternally lame tomato. So sad. I could only get myself to take a taste of it. The holes in it really put me off.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/august06everyday/IMG_1854.jpg

Speaking of gross, here's a giant slug we found on our back steps.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/july06everyday/IMG_1841.jpg

[cattygurl]

Ellen the peppers are too cute!

I've made purple salsa with purple serranos and jalapenos! They're quite tasty (and not as hot as when they're red).

The slug... oooh I wish I had ducks and geese (they looooooooove slugs- at least my friend's par, Dafft and Diasy, love slugs. They'll fight to get to them...). My hostas have been decimated thanks to the slugs... One day, I will have ducks and geese, but not anytime soon.

[ellencho]

Lots of people I know have trouble growing hosta because of slugs or deer. Funny, because everywhere I've lived we've had exceedingly overgrown hosta with huge leaves and huge inflorecenses. I must be some sort of hosta good luck charm.

[vsoy]

I like to pick my tomatoes when they're around that orangy color too and let them ripen at room temp in the house. I've found when I let them ripen on the vine, some critter gets to it and pecks holes or if there's a rain deluge, they'll crack from the huge change in water availability. Just let it ripen on its own and it'll be delicious. Just don't make the mistake I did and leave them out in the blazing hot sun when it's 104F. They'll get "cooked" but never ripen and smell kind of funky.

I don't mind the holes in home grown produce as much because it's going to happen and you just cut it out. Something about homegrown, you think it's "free" and you don't mind imperfections as much. Though your time, the expense for seed, dirt, fertilizer and everything else adds up and it really isn't "free". But it funny when you're buying produce from a store, you want it to be perfect and not cut away stuff because you're paying for it.


*shiver* Slugs gives me the creeps. I once lived in a ground level/sublevel apartment with a patio and it had the biggest slugs. I never went out on it except for the one time. I was hanging out there with 2 friends and I casually looked over to my hand and saw the biggest slug I've ever seen in my entire life about to run into my hand. I let out the biggest, blood-curdling scream. I'm a wimp, I know.

[vsoy]

Peaches from one of my peach trees earlier this summer:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/peaches.jpg

Peach trees are really fussy trees prone to disease. I really didn't like them very much, but they've redeemed themselves this year. I'll grudgingly spray next year because they were some of the best peaches I've ever had.

[ellencho]

Peaches/nectarines straight off the tree do not compare to anything you find at any supermarket, with the possible exception of a farmers' market, where everything is fresh picked. The flavor of freshly picked fruit is way more intense than supermarket crap. So jealous of your fruit tree.

[cattygurl]

I'm also super jealous of your fruit tree! Fresh peaches are the BEST.

[awong]

some animal ate a few of the pineapples that were being grown, only around 2 of them were eatable in my house, have to wait another year

[vsoy]

Deer or some kind of animal has been hitting my vegetable garden HARD. They've been eating tomatoes (green and ripe fruit along with leaves and stems) and the 1 cantaloupe that has been growing.

I was really mad, but I feel kind of bad now. A deer ran into my car tonight. The hubby was driving and I was the screaming passenger. It seems just a broken mirror, and maybe a few scratches on the door panel but no serious damage. I just feel bad for the deer who probably has a really bad headache. We drove back to look for it but it probably went off somewhere to die. Poor bastard. If he's not starving and eating green tomatoes, the deer is going through heat or freaked out by hunting season. Sucks to be a deer.

[ellencho]

Speaking of green tomatoes...
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/september06everyday/IMG_2260.jpg

Sorry about your garden and your deer problem. My good friend really likes hostas but is never able to grow them because the deer come and nibble on their inflorescences. The funny thing is that while I love the foliage that grows from hosta, I think their flowers and stalks are ugly, so I wouldnt mind having some deer over for some hosta blossoms.

[vsoy]

Last year I planted some asparagus crowns all over the garden and I found a few that actually survived. I'm pretty excited.
Must...be...patient...I only have 4 spears so far. Wh00t!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/03-18-07_1922.jpg

[awong]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v243/aw614/DCF_0030.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v243/aw614/DCF_0028.jpg

[vsoy]

Jeez, I don't check on things for 2 weeks and this is what happens:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/garden/IMG_0154.jpg
23 cucumbers and I really don't like this variety. Too big, seeds have to be scooped out and tough skin. I have no friggin clue what to do with all it.

Weird cucumber that grew in between the bars of rabbit fencing:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/garden/IMG_0156.jpg

Huge behemoths:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/garden/IMG_0157.jpg

with considerable girth:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/garden/IMG_0159.jpg
Too bad most sex ed classes are abstinence based. I could have donated them to schools so they can use them in condom demonstrations.

[DONKEY]

grew a lot of okra and serrano chilis this time. zucchini too.. got potatos in there but not gonna pull them out yet.
okra is a spiny plant that hurts you when you pick it. son of a bitch.

[vsoy]

Use those leather work gloves from the hardware store when you pick okra. These cucumbers have these spiny, prickly things which piss me off, but the leather gloves solved that problem. I rub the cucumber a couple of times with the gloves to get the spines off.

[awong]

see if a chinese grocery will take them for some cash

I think another pineapple may come out, but thats if the ants and other bugs dont come out first and take it over