I can imagine. So, it's kinda like being in a car wash with those thingys whapping up against the car.
Veggie garden friends of Mid-Atlantic.
Exactemente! Except the fingers are more separate.
Today I planted my 4 tomatoe plants in my tomato self-watering containers, 2 Early Girls and 2 Plum Dandys, also sowed some mixed salad green seed in the front of each container.
Peas have been up for a while in the regular garden, the bunnies have not found them yet, keeping fingers crossed.
When did you plant your peas? Lots of luck with those tomatoes! At least you don't have to worry about cutworms in containers.
I planted the peas March 1st., they have really not taken off yet.
I have 2 of the Tomato Success Kits from Gardeners Supply, got them in 2007 when I was going through Chemo. and surgery. I knew I could not do a traditional garden that year but I have to have home grown tomatoes. They are one of best investments I ever made as a gardener.
I planted mine on St. Patrick's Day, and they're growing but slowly. Nothing like buds yet.
Good for you for figuring out how to garden despite all the medical stuff! Gardening is truly chicken soup for the soul, or something. I'm sure that helped you heal! I have looked at those kits, but I grow thirty to fifty tomato plants every year, and the investment would have been exorbitant. We freeze a lot of tomato purée and also just like having lots of different types.
Glad those planters work well for you.
My peas went out 3/17 also, but they seem pretty small to me. Not like I remembered what my folks had in their garden.
Every thing seems small to me this year. Except the weeds, How can I spend so much time weeding and still have so many huge weeds? Ric planted our peas between March 18th & 20th. I think these are about 8 inches.
It's a very weird year.
That's about the way my peas look, HollyAnn. They'll probably be about ready to pick just when my beans, which I just planted, are producing!! The beans have really taken off; nothing like warm soil....
All the seeds and seedlings being S-L-O-W and small seems, almost, global this Spring....
Isn't it odd that we all are having the same issues???? Like--WHAT IS GOING ON????
I keep thinking about the "Old Farmers Almanac" and all their advice on planting things by the phases of the Moon....Maybe there's something to it!
--My Tomatoes (except the Mortgage Lifter) are still in a stage of trying to grow real
leaves--honest! Maybe 2'-3" tall stems--Not much on the top.....
--Just transplanted my Basil seedlings to cell packs today---they are about 1" tall!
--Also transplanted my Angelonia seedlings--they are so minute you can barely see
them--but they sure had a long filament-like root system.....
--My "Brent's perennial Salvia" is still less than an inch! Doing Ok, though.....
--My Daturas--even though they have grown at least one set of true leaves, are all still under two inches tall.....and the Swap is less than 2 weeks away!!!!
AND--My Manager keeps asking me when he will get his Daturas I am growing for him!!!
Weird! That's what it is-----WEIRD!!!!!
Gita
I thought I was doing something wrong with my seeds. (Well, a did a few things wrong, but still). I am sorry that other people are having trouble, but relieved that it wasn't just me. Nevertheless, I am adding lights to a storage shelf for wintering plants and starting seeds. Now that they are outside, some seeds that I had given up on are starting up.
It is alright that they aren't ready to transplant, I keep hitting large rocks wherever I want to plant anything.
AAHHH, after this rain, I went out to look at the zucchini and broccoli and lettuce. That's all the veggies I have planted and saw the lowest leaves on most of the zucchini were chewed on and so I lifted the leaves to look at teh underside and saw itsy, bitsy slugs. i picked them off as best I could and then looked at the hosta and found some there as well. When I looked at the broc. in the ground, some leaves were chewed, but looked different than the zuch. I looked real close - no slugs, but then I saw some little green worms. I picked them off as well. ICK!!! The broc. in the container looks great. What should I do? dust them? with what? I will be on slug patrol from now on. I AM thankful that I don't live in the PNW where they have banana slugs. Double ICK!!
Jan, I always have slugs, too many places for them to hide at my house.
Thank you, Greenhouse Gal for the additional kitchen garden books...I will check them out. Sounds like they may be helpful to me as I plan out my space. Thank you.
For those of you that use tripods out of bamboo or sticks...how tall do you make yours? Do they work well? Do you tie them onto the sticks as they grow, or does the tripod itself give it support? Last year, my stakes that I put up were not strong enough and with a windy day, some snapped off near the end of the season. I certainly like the look of the tripods.
RatherB, I have 8' poles; some I ordered from A.M. Leonard and some I cadged from a friend with an over-enthusiastic bamboo grove. I sink them maybe a foot into the ground, tie the tripods at the top with baling twine, and then run more poles across the top to strengthen the setup. The tomatoes themselves are pruned and tied to the poles; I grow indeterminate varieties so they get tall and quite full, so they need the support.
Here's what the setup looks like, from a photo I took in Southwest France:
And here's my garden, about a week ago; you can see the poles and behind them the bean fence, but it's a bit hard to make out the details.
They look so fabulous as well as very sturdy...I strive for a garden that looks good, but is truly functional...yours really fits the bill! I love it!
Thanks! It will look even nicer once the flowers start blooming more - and before the weeds start trying to take over!
Greenhouse gal your garden is a dream come true just not in my yard. It is beautiful. I would have to use my whole front yard LOL (I get the most sun there). Someday maybe.
Wisdomskr, we have about twenty acres, so there's lots of room for gardens and pastures. That said, the potager is really only about 70x80' all around; it just looks big from that angle, and the pasture beyond and the pond in front help to give the impression of space.
We have also lived here almost forty years, so we've had lots of time to play around with it and manicure it.
I am always amazed at the amount of produce people get from those raised beds, though, and they can look really gorgeous. Have you thought of that? A mixture of flowers and vegetables could be stunning.
We have two raised beds on the south side of the house with daylilies,siberian and german irises and herbs around them. I would like to put another bed and possibly extend one side into just an herb garden. I have alot of trees in the back and I am not sure I will get enough sun. I planted onions this year (white and yellow) from sets which are doing great. I also planted some red onions and shallottes from seed but along with most everything else I planted from seed, everything is slow growing this season. (zucchini, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, tomatillas)
Here is a pic from yesterday, my garden certainly isn't near as nice as Greenhouse gal's, This is the first pic I've posted as it has been so bad that I wouldn't even take before and after pics. LOL It's taken us 3 years to reclaim most of it from the years of neglect, waist high perennial weeds and wild raspberries. We still have a lot of work to do but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
HollyAnn, you can definitely see the potential, there! Looking good! It will be fun to see what it looks like when you have it all planted out.
Hollyann it is a great plot. Your aparagus plants look great. It is going to be a great garden soon.
It is improving even as we speak. Ric is out there planting and mulching. LOL
The Plot is approx 40 X 32 at one time 20 years or so ago we had a pretty nice garden there. With full time jobs, 4 kids and a barn full of animals it died a slow death. Then we just let it go with the occasional (once every couple of years) walk through with a weed whacker or we would clean out a small spot to grow pumpkins, gourds or just a small strip with tomatoes and peppers.
The Asparagus bed is what really got me going in the garden again. I realized about 3 years ago that if I didn't make an effort to clean up the Asparagus bed that I would lose it. That is where the reclamation began.
This space between the Asparagus and the peas growing on the fence wasn't passable when I first started. It was filled with all kinds of nasty weeds and raspberries.
That tall leafy plant at the end of the Asparagus is a horseradish plant. We planted the tomatoes and peppers that we received at the plant swap last Saturday. Some are a little rough but they all look like they will be fine once they settle into the garden.
This area Ric tilled up yesterday is for the wonderful Daylilies that Ruby and John gave us at the swap. They will be quite happy here in the garden until I have a proper bed in the backyard for them. Hard to see but there is a row of onions on the right of the Daylilies. That's my temp chicken coop sitting there and the Chicks are enjoying their runs through the garden. The gray barrels have potatoes growing in them and notice the green clipped hew at the edge on the right side of the pic
The Veggie garden is on the side of the house, there is a small grassy yard next to the house and then the garden runs down to the old corral. It's fenced on two sides one side the lower fenced yard for the dog run and the corral at the end. Just go thru this clipped hew to the side yard to access the garden.
Or down take the path around the edge of the hew and walk between the garden and the evergreen planting.
Looking good, Holly! I can't tell you how much I loved walking through the arch of your yew hedge... magical!
Those irises with the white-edged purple falls are really special, too. :-)
Critter, Would you like some of those I can mark a clump for you. I love going thru that arch and one of these days Ric is going to turn that little side yard into some type of formal garden. I think he should do espalier with fruit trees on the side of the house but I don't think that is what he has in mind.
Holly, your veggie garden is looking good, you and Ric did a lot of work since the swap. Lots of good eats coming your way.
Another rainy day, great for the garden not so for the gardener! If things don't dry out a little I'm going to have to use more potting mix to mound my potatoes. They are growing as fast as the weeds.
I am going to put on a rain coat and plant me grass seed and spread the straw over it . Then I guess it's work indoors "YUCK" or do some house work," DOUBLE YUCK" Ric
LOL, Just got back from the gym, Ric is out seeding the pasture where the truck got stuck last week. He is spreading some hay over the grass seeds. I just but on some warmer and darker clothes to go out and dig a few plants for some friends. I was thinking it might be a good time to do a bit of weeding in the garden and was hoping that Ric would do a bit more work on the Laundry room. He is doing a beautiful job back there but he is taking his time always the yard calling him first. Here is a pic of his potatoes, they are looking real good. Holly
Well, so far we have had onions, radishes and asparagus from the garden. I asked about harvesting the horseradish on the Veggie Forum so now I know what to do come fall.
My dad just digs a root as needed... grinds it in the blender, I think.
Holly, what are your potatoes planted in? That looks like a good idea.
Critter, this is one of the rumex from your seeds ^_^
He has them growing in three plastic barrels. There is a couple of discussions about this process on the Veggie Forum.
Here they are after Ric added more soil and straw to the barrels.
