any gardeners?

“Well, a trip to the grocery store and seeing the prices on peppers and tomatoes has inspired me to get moving on my garden now. I had a large cube of peat moss that's been sitting in the side yard for 4 years just rotting away...I just put all that black gold along one side of the house where the tomato and pepper plants will go. I have lots of bamboo to fashion trellises from, now I just need to get some plant netting and I'll be in business. If it gets too cold I can just throw plastic over the whole area to make into a teepee style hothouse.”

“My crocuses are blooming already and the tulips are coming up out of the ground. I've also got one pink azalea-type bush that's in bloom also. That helps knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel. It's been a relatively frost -free winter in Seattle, but LOTS of rainy days.”

“I have a blank slate new yard. :-) But not a blank slate gardening budget.

First I must measure and determine fencing needs but I have a south facing side yard (kitchen garden?), a small backyard with existing patio (lounging/dining?) and a decent space on the other side of the garage with a big tree (Shane space?). The garage yard has no grass right now as it was a play area previously.

It's almost overwhelming to start from scratch but exciting just the same. I plan to use this evening to start pouring over books in anticipation of warmer weather. Has anyone used online planning tools to lay out their yards?

Anyone have some lower cost ideas that they have used and enjoy? Oh and with my calendar filling up easy and quick would be great too :-)”

“I’m doing something new this year. I’m basically doing away with the whole garden and going to raised beds and canister gardening. The garden I started was too big and in a bad location. So I’m moving it and going to do some beds with 2x10s as borders.”

“I have a power saw not but am afraid of it :-( I need guidance.

I did some raised beds at the last house and am thinking of that for the kitchen garden. I had the Home Depot guys cut the boards to length.

Have you seen birch and sass's done with the logs instead of boards. Sorta thinking about that cause it's formal but rustic.”

“I'm pretty limited as far as raised beds because of termites in the yard. :( I can use stone and paver bricks though. I haven't tried trex or related materials yet, although a master gardener I know uses them for raised beds.

I'm cultivating one of the southfacing beds next to the house today to start some speckled butterbeans and next month tomatoes and maybe cucumbers or something like that. Some of the tomato seeds I started in a bio dome seed starting thingy are already sprouting only 3 days after I put them in there. That's amazing, considering those particular seeds are 4 years old.”

“Wow treebait! info on the dome seed starter thingy?

I do have some of those rounded edging bricks that the previous owners used. I may utilize them in the dining area for a little more formal look. Also I was thinking about making a fountain/pond out of a galvanized horse trough. I have instructions out of a magazine. Has anyone tried a fountain?”

“http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10101&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&mainPage=gateseedstarters&scChannel=Popular%20Search%20Main

The first item listed is what I use.”

“Cool, thanks!”

“dhutch, when we come out this month I will show you how to use the saw.”

“Yikes!

but seriously, I'd like that.”

“Im working on expanding my garden into the dog area....a couple fruit trees to provide the pups with shade and more privacy and still be usefull to me by shading the house and providing flowers in spring and fruit later. THEN while the trees are small, I will have wildflowers for birds, bees and bugs along the fence where it is sunniest. That will still leave the dogs room to potty and run. I will also work on creating a stone pathway through the existing garden and having NO GRASS at all to mow. I plan on using one of those pathmaker things and do it in sections at a time. :) Oh, and I am also planning on building a chicken tractor to have a couple of chickens for fresh eggs.”

“You need to check city ordinances regarding chickens, SC. They may not be allowed within city limits.”

“TB, I already have. Quite a few people in the neighborhood have chickens. And I know of two with roosters (I can hear them) though they are not allowed to have roosters.”

“I'll show my ignorance but don't you need roosters to produce eggs?”

“Heck no. You only need a rooster if you want fertilized eggs and chicks. the birds will still lay eggs without haveing them fertilized.”

“Well, there goes my farming career :-)”

“I can kill astro-turf.”

“So can I cats, but I don't give up.”

“My dad has used fast food salad containers (on top of the refridgerator) to start seeds for years. If it has a clear lid, can hold a couple of inches of soil you're good.”

“Oh, and I am also planning on building a chicken tractor

what's a chicken tractor?

my wife and i are planning on having our first garden(vegtible) this year...we've never done one...i helped a lot with my grandparents' when i was younger but have never had one of my own

can anyone give some advice on starting one for the first time?...i know this is a little vague...what types of plants are the easiest?, what techniques are full proof?, that sort of thing

also i was thinking about laying out a tarp now where i want my garden to kill the grass, will this work?

is it easier/better to start w/ seeds or plants?
last edited: 2/06/06 7:45:17 AM”

“Chickens are nasty.
You ever kept chickens before?
Only thing worse than chickens are turkeys.”

“My dad until his dying day would not eat chicken as it was his chore to take care of the beasts when he was young on the Iowa farm.”

“It's always easier to start with plants rather than seeds, but much more expensive. Using the tarp is a good idea, if it's a dark color. That technique is called "solarizing," and also kills lots of bugs and disease in the soil. Tilling the soil to about 7 inches is good too, and work in some compost (if you can find it, otherwiswe peat moss) and lots of organic fertilizer.
If you plant tomatoes, get determinate varieties. They reach a certain size and stop growing. Indeterminates don't stop growing. Ever. I had tomato vines that were over 20 feet long and all over the dang place a few years ago. That tomato variety was called "currant," and produced tiny tomatoes that were like candy. Bell pepper plants are usually easy. Pimento peppers are very easy too, can be used like bells, and are tougher heavier producing plants. Mine are still going, in fact.”

“Thanks for the fridge tip sass. I've heard of that and will start saving containers. Much cheaper. Maybe I'll do an experiment between the dome and the salad container :-)”

“thanks tree...i was thinking of tomatos and peppers

what about melons, which ones are easiest to grow...i was thinking about doing some water melons, maybe some cantelope...any other fruit ideas?”

“Melons never grow well down here for me due to diseases and fungi I can't seem to control. I'm going to try growing cucumbers vertically on a trellis this year though, to keep them away from the soil. I've been told this helps.

Actually, I take that back. Watermelons grow like gangbusters, wherever the spit seeds land. The problem is they get trampled since they're all over the back yard rather than the garden.
When looking at seeds and seedlings, look for any comments about disease resistance.”

“I always had problems with my pumpkins that way in Michigan. They would grow like wildfire, bloom and sprout fruit, but then never develope and rot. Maybe it was pests, but the soil looks better here than in my old yard. With a little compost maybe I'll have better luck here in IL.”

“Sweet.

The 10 year old tomato seeds I found in a box are sprouting in the seed starter amazingly well.”

“A chicken tractor is a small moveable coop that you move every couple of days around the yard....the birds eat your weeds, bugs, and weed seeds, all teh while churning good manure into your dirt. :)

On indeterminate tomatoes, It is best to stake them with tall stakes or tall wire cylinders to keep tehm off the ground. I pinch teh side suckers off so I get less fruit but still have loads. Determinates may not get so big BUT they ripen all at once and dont produce anymore while indetermintes will produce tomatoes untill frost kills the plants. They are VERY easy to start from seeds. Its rediculous how easy. I have never bought a tomato plant. Same for sweet peppers, hot peppers need higher temps to grow but still fairly easy. Once the seeds sprout remove the clear covers or you will get fungas taht may kill your seedlings. they need good ventilation after sprouting. If you use a small fan to blow air on them your seedlings will be sturdier but for tomatoes, dont worry if they get too leggy, when you plant them in the garden plant them deep...up to the top few sets of leaves.”

“anyone plant Swiss Chard or another type of greens.

I got some mustard greens last night and will try this recipe tonight.

2 tablespoons vegetable or other light oil, 2 turns of the pan
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 1/2 to 2 pounds red or yellow Swiss chard, stems removed and tops coarsely chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and onion. Sear onion and mustard seeds, 2 minutes. Add greens and toss with tongs in oil. Sear greens 2 to 3 minutes. Add vinegar to the pan. Remove pan from heat and season greens with salt and pepper.”

“That sounds good. I like them with just olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper too. I grew a lot of them last year, but none this year.”

“mmm sounds good!

Ive planted it in the past but never really did anything with it except throw it into veggy soup.


I jsut ordered a 5-n-1 apple tree from a catalouge. I cant wait! :)”

“can't wait to start the cool weather crops here. Hopefully by the 1st or 2nd week of March I can”

“My folks used to grow Swiss Chard all the time, preferred it over spinach or kale. Pick it fresh, cook it in a steamer.”

“I grow chard. And lettuce, and mesclun (sp?), and spinach. I like greens...

It's about time to start the tomato and peppers plants.

I sure would like a REAL tomato about now.”

“I put purple coneflower seeds in 4" of soil and set them in the refrigerator over the weekend. Seems early but in 4 weeks they go into the ground (6 weeks prior to last frost) Peppers go on top of the fridge next weekend. I play by the seed packet rules.

I had to put all this stuff on a calendar to keep track! But it's fun to have a little garden chore to look forward to each week.”

“anyone shop at Publix grocery stores? I was at their store and found out they carry quite a few herb plants. They had basil, chives, sage, thyme and oregano plants. they sure did smell good”

“Never heard of Publix. Maybe a southern chain?”

“Publix is unique to the South East....good chain, prices are so so....”

“their prices are higher than Krogers but the attitudes of the people working there is a lot better.”

“Oh, No! Arctic freeze coming tomorrow to Seattle. Temps expected to dip into the single digits possibly. Bye bye, cherry blossoms. Honeysuckle and roses already have leaves which will all be toast. Oh lord, the damage will be devastating.”

“Ooh, that's sad USA. I hope your garden rebounds quickly.”

“i picked up a book of cross word puzzles this weekend and on the back of it was an ad for a "tomato tree"...anybody ever grown one of these?...it says it grows up to 8' and grows large tomatoes 9 months out of the year, or year round inside...what are the tomatoes like?, are they as good as ones from a regular tomato plant...i found this:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/home/orl-tomatotreebar2606feb26,0,5768619.story?coll=orl-shoppinghg-headlinesforthe”

“Don't do it. It's a rip off. It's just seeds for a tomato variety that gets big plants.”

“this ad said they ship an actual plant, not seeds”

“That's what the ad said for my in-laws too. But they got a little packet of maybe 20 seeds and a note saying they were out of plant stock, tough luck, here's the seeds.”

“interesting...what was the plant like?...were the tomatoes good?”

“The seeds never germinated. No refunds either.”

“If you really want a tomato tree, just get seeds or plants for an indeterminate variety and keep it in a pot. Indeterminates never stop growing (I had 20' vines on one variety) and consistently produce fruit, rather than all at once. Just be sure to heavily stake/ trellis that sucker.”