New Member

Hi all!

I’m new to Dave’s Garden and to gardening and so thought I would introduce myself. My name is Madeleine and I live in Boston, Massachusetts – Zone 6A – in a neighborhood with big, sunny back yards. This is my very first year growing vegetables – with two 4x4 beds raised 2½ feet high (because I’m starting to get too old for kneeling) and one 2x10 bed raised 1 foot high for tomatoes and asparagus. Next year we hope to build two more 4x4 raised beds.

I’ve made a lot of mistakes this year – mostly over-watering and failing to watch for bugs before they ate the spinach – but the garden is starting to look good. We’re already eating the lettuce and kale, and the carrots and cherry tomatoes are looking promising. So far we haven’t used any pesticides, but are experimenting with companion planting. I was hoping that the Mexican marigolds would be good bug repellants, but they haven’t bloomed yet.

It was hard choosing a nickname because my first two choices, “City Garden” and “Frenchie” were already taken. So I tried putting “City Garden” into French and it worked.

Welcome Madeleine! LOTS of friendly folks here at Dave's! You'll learn a TON of things here. Any questions just ask away! Your gardens look fine!

Welcome from Tucson! Your garden looks fantastic. I'm newish also; here is my garden album if you're interested:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/media/set/?set=a.1996451437952.2120991.1443475978

Mindy

Your garden looks great. Welcome and ask away. I've found there is always someone with an answer.
Vickie

Welcome!!!

For a new gardener you are doing a good job.

Belle

Welcome,.. I too am a first year gardener. I have about a 40' by 40' garden.

I have found a lot of good advice here,.. BUT,... I have found the best advice comes from people in my growing region, as the weather, pests, disease, etc,.. are very similar and so are the remedies, treatments, results, etc..

My garden is looking awesome now,.. although there were times this spring I was wondering?... so far I have harvested: new potatoes, lettuce, Brocolli, radishes, snap peas...

my bush beans, squash, cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, peppers, celery, fennel, herbs, peas, onions, garlic, cukes, zucchini are all doing fine with all this warm weather...

I have had an infestation of the cucumber beetle which is wreaking havoc with my cukes and squash,.. I am picking the buggers off morning , noon and nite and am using spinosad, which seems to be working but needs to be re-applied regurlaly,... I apply in the evening at dusk, just before it gets too dark to see my way around,...I could use some more advice with these beetles, ... there are several gardens in the area,.. I know a couple are not well maintained and a couple others appear to be well maintained,.. I wonder if the ignored gardens are a breeding ground for these pests?

....I had a problem with the ants carrying off my beets,... I used some Diatomaceous Earth to get their numbers down,.. now the beets are finally coming (3rd planting)

jardindeville - looks like you're off to a great start. Your garden is beautiful.

I'm a seasoned gardener - been getting dirt under my nails for 59 years and counting!

When you have gardening questions, just post them and they shall be answered.

Happy Gardening!

What a beautiful garden, jardindeville! I'm also brand-new, so I'm enjoying seeing others starting this adventure at the same time.

Honeybee, I may have to come beg wisdom sometime. :)

TeacherAmy - I see we are in the same zone. How's your garden doing in this terrible heat?

My tomatoes are doing great despite not being watered for at least two weeks.

The sweet peppers have given up!

Sweet potatoes seem to be doing well - the tops are staying green and not wilting.

I have melons coming out of my ears - I haven't watered them either.

This is my year for experimenting with relying on rain for irrigation. Last year my water bills were so high, I decided it was not cost effective to keep watering the garden.

Honeybee,.. I have yet to get a water bill,.. but I expect it to be high as I have been watering every second or third day....

I am in the process of installing rain gutters and plan on getting a couple rain barrels....

I also am planting some of my rows in "trenches" and I use my hand rake to create a crater around the base of my plants,.....rather than mounds, hills or flat ground,... this helps keep the water where I want it rather than run off into the lawn... or the neighbors lawn..... my garden is doing great this year,... it really liked the recent heat wave.....

Maine_Garden - my May water bill was a little high, but that was because I had to water the transplants every three days or so when it didn't rain. Since they became established, they've been on their own.

I have one rain barrel, but don't find it to be much help. The water drains out of it so slowly, it's not worth attaching a hose to it. I tried filling a bucket with water from the barrel, but I wrenched my back - so that was the end of that idea!

Greetings from Florida, Madeleine. I hope you enjoy your garden. Remember, you will gain more gardening know-how from the mistakes you make, trial and error, than you will ever learn from reading about it. Happy gardening!