any gardeners?

“And everything from them is an arm and a leg. I do love the catologue though.
Ever tried any of their weed killers?

Spirit, I talked to my dad (master gardener) about it and he said they'd have already been in the soil. Best thing to do is to make sure I don't plant them in the same place next year. I hope they don't get to our pumpkins, we've got two baby's that should make excellant jack o' lanterns (although probably scared jacks as there's no possible way the squirrels will leave them alone).”

“I'm not sure how much you paid for your soil tester but I got one done professionally for about $10 at my local extension office. They gave me a pretty detailed 2 page report including what would grow best, average, and not so well in my soil and exactly what I needed to do to amend it.”

“The short report I got on my general area from the local extension office was pretty funny; add everything. You live on sand.”

“OMG, she turned CMB into some flowers.”

“Thats Datura, fool :) Its a really pretty plant.”

“mmmmmmm

Just made some fresh salsa, roma tomatoes, miniature yellow pear tomatoes and jalapeno...the onions were store bought. Good stuff!”

“WOHOO! I won!!! I won a mini rose from a contest I entered by mail in the spring. COOL!!!! The rose will be coming from Nor'East Miniture Roses. Yesterday I found a quarter on teh ground (the oregon state one) and I won a free soda from a bottle cap....WOW! I should go play the lotto LOL”

“Nope, you used up all your luck. You could have had millions of dollars, but now you've got a rosebush, a quarter, and a free soda.”

“hey thats ok, it dosent take much to make me happy :)”

“Oh. Well then it's all good.”

“wow this was so cool
i was taking a pic of a flower and a bee flew into it. I got the shot without trying!!








”

“I have some very attractive okra blossoms.”

“lol me too, or at least I did. Now they are okra.”

“you know what this is?
i have no idea. it is one of the bulbs twignut came back from Holland with last year. I could not read the Dutch packag LOL”

“It is a flower.”

“gee thanks bit
remind me to hit you when we meet”

“I have bags of okra also.”

“I have some very attractive okra blossoms

uuummmm...uuuhhh...is this a metaphor? (insert appropriate ball or boob joke)
last edited: 8/26/05 5:05:20 PM”

“so this is a okra?
i thought that was a veggie”

“Okra is a type of hibiscus/ mallow. It's something that grows like gangbusters here. Funny thing is I don't grow it. I guess I ought to.


Maple, that looks like it's in the mallow family.”

“looks almost like a holly hock flower. Mapes does it grow on a tall stalk?”

“

Check out my snake gourd :D I have two growing and am considering making a digerie-doo (sp?) with them”

“

My Black-eyed Susan (rudbeckia) in my garden really brings a lot of long-lasting color in the late summer.”

“I'd give ya some of these!
”

“SpiritCoyote that is a B-U-T-Full garden collection. What state is that in?
It must be organic to look so healthy, am I right?

Trek Lightly
http://www.mytrekkingpoles.com”

“two days ago I cleared out all our dead veggie plants (zukes, peas ,beans etc...). Today we will get more seeds and plant another round of lettuce, radishes and peas.”

“Beans, corn, cucumbers, squash, sunflowers, soybeans and okra still bearing big. Way to much rain for tomatoes and peppers although should get a few more in a couple of weeks.

Sweet potatoes soon to dig.

Peas, a dozen different greens including root crops, radish, carrot, beets and turnips, are up and growing.”

“Yup, totally organic. Not a DROP of chemicals enters my garden :)”

“I use no pesticides

but do use and hope to eventually get away from using a very little maufactured fertilizer

and wonder, why

people waste tons of scarce hydrocarbon based fertilzer on their lawns and then spend even more hydrocarbon based fuel to power expensive machines to 'cut all that prolific grass'?”

“anyone ever heard of growing your plants upside down. This site shows you how. Kind of neat if you live in an apt and just have a patio/deck or balcony
http://www.topsyturvys.com/index.html


last edited: 9/05/05 12:34:13 PM”

“yeah I've heard of it...I think i'll keep mine in the ground. Lone, compost, compost, compost! I make my own and have never used chemical fertilizers in this garden. However once in a while I do use fish emulsion and soil sulfer...”

“how many of you have the typical in ground veggie garden vs the raised veggie garden.

I am leaning towards a raised veggie garden next yr. One reason is I don't have a tiller and don't want to buy one. Yes I will have to buy the landscape timbers and various products to make the soil (using what is described on Sq Foot gardening)

pros and cons on both ways is appreciated”

“you can always rent a tiller :)

I do inground, but then, by soil is good from all the organic goodies I put in there :)”

“I am so bummed... :-( no tomatoes or zucchini this year-- we put in a deck instead... Ready to landscape for next year!

I try to garden as organically as possible--we occasionally add a little miracle grow, but that's only maybe once a season. Otherwise we go the route of adding compost and manure to our soil to improve it (we have clay soil, so it's kind of a pain.) I usually plant my tomatoes close to the house-- the brick keeps the plants warm and they just go haywire!”

“inground garden

I don't use any fertazliers either. I have the best soil in my backyard.”

“I have never used a drop of miricle grow (and never will as it kills soil organizems that support a healthy soil) and use compost and compost tea and occasionally fish emulsion to feed my garden :)”

“what Sq Ft gardening recommends for soil

Fill frame with a mixture of 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 coarse vermiculite (no dirt needed). A blended compost made from many ingredients provides all the nutrients the plants require (no chemical fertilizers needed). Peat moss and vermiculite help hold moisture and keep the soil loose. It's best to make your own compost from many ingredients but if you have to buy it, make sure it is truly compost. Some stores sell mulch or humus and other ground covers but call it compost. Most commercial compost is made from one or two ingredients so to be safe, don't buy all of one kind but one of each kind until you have enough for your garden.

It's really best to make your own compost, then you know what goes in it. When buying vermiculite, be sure to get the coarse grade, and get the more economical 4 cubic foot size bags”

“I have very sandy soil so it drains too fast as is. Raised beds tend to dry out faster - not good for my soil.

I add compost and use only organic fertilizer. Miracle Grow is poison.”

“Raised beds do get warmer earlier in the spring season and stay warmer longer into the fall season. That helps in extending your growing season.
last edited: 9/07/05 12:22:44 PM”

“Ewker, you could always try lassana (sp?) gardening..... :) you wouldnt have to till OR raise the bed then.

Todays garden view-







”

“i'm so jealous of your yard SC...i need to get started on ours...we built a house in what my wife calls a "vinyl village", you know the type, all the houses look alike...my yard has now character...one of those guys was chillin out on my rain coat this morning in my back yard too!!”

“I just found out why I never see the praying mantises around here. The things are nocturnal. I walked out to the back porch the other night to take bottles to the recycle bin and walked into a cloud of about 30 of them. About 4 inches long, and pinioning up my arms and legs. Dang that hurt.”

“Can someone tell me how to upload pics. I have a few beautiful flower pics.”

“My basil grew with small leaves this year. What a pain it is going to be to harvest them! I wish I kept the bag they came in so I know what not to buy next year. It's always good to keep the pkg to know what was good and what was not so good for anything you grow.”

“I have an inground garden I make tons of compost from leaves and grass clippings from the whole neighboehood.”

“lipstick-- do you pinch off the basil often? it encourages leaf growth!

BTW-- I think I've only used the miracle grow maybe once or twice over 13 years. I usually don't think about it until after I water... :-)

Mostly, we try to compost our veggie scraps, leaves and grass clippings. In general, we try not to fertilize or even water our lawn if possible, but due to local regulations, we have to maintain a certain percentage of grass vs. weeds, so I think we've used the weed and feed maybe once over 13 years in our lawn (I try to stay away from pesticides if possible, too.)

Our garden usually does well because we add compost and peat into it every year... Of course, we didn't have the chance to grow a garden this year, but I have one small basil plant growing indoors on my window sill... :-)”

“I got a special blessing these last couple of summers. I work part-time at a nearby organic farm(certified). Mostly it is in-ground. Some of it is truly no till and the herbs are in raised beds. I keep a pot of oregano, basil and thyme within easy reach of the kitchen.

Go Trekkers
http://mytrekkingpoles.com”

“pink, I didn't do any pinching.

When I left NY to live in WA, I grew an unbelievable crop of basil in a box in my apt and I babied it and carried it from the front window to the back to get all the sun it could every day. It had huge beautiful green leaves, untouched by bugs or any brown spots.

Then we found out we were moving to WA. They were full grown, so I just cut them off by the bottom stems and put them in my luggage and pureed them with oil and froze them when I got to WA, which is what I do with basil at the end of the growing season.

I tried freezing whole leaves, but only a few. I was afraid they would turn black or get freezer burn.

I love when you shake basil that's growing and the aroma comes out into the air!”