I know what you mean, Allison. I think the varieties have really expanded these days. I also believe that ANYONE can grow veggies, given my tiny Fla. patio and how many tomatoes, green beans and broccoli heads we've enjoyed this winter, along with dill, rosemary and basil. All it takes is some big pots and a garden hose. My NH garden space is a different story, and I'm trying to convince my back that it can do it again! LOL
By the way, many of you might remember my terrible battle with the gallant soldier weeds in NH. They have been my nemesis in terms of my bad back, as they spew 8 generations of weeds around the garden by the thousands in one growing season. Well, I have been in communication with the people at Preen and they are looking into the possibility of including the GS weeds in their array of weeds that Preen can prevent from germinating. That would be so terrific!!
Edibles - '09
I've done potatoes and peas in containers, and plan on doing more vegies this year in containers, and even have blueberries going in containers.
you going to keep the blueberry container outside over the winter?
That's the part I'm still thinking about. I have to figure out the best protection for them.
I had raspberries in a container that I dug and potted to give away last year, and this one was leftover - it is sprouting now and it was a small pot with no protection.
I do have a few perennials in pots that survive - I move them between the fence and a small shed for the winter. The blueberry pots will be bigger and heavier. Maybe just next to the house will be enough.
I had blueberries in pots a couple of years ago and left it out.
I have tried snow peas but had similar troubles. I think I always plant too late or something. Everything else grows like crazy, just not the peas. I haven't tried them here yet though, so maybe I'll have better luck.
What is gallant soldier weed?
Chard is very easy to grow, and very tasty. Cook it like you would cook spinach or beet greens.
Sherrie - gallant soldier doesn't have large leaves; it grows to about 3 feet high if you dont' pull it; it has small yellow flowers and once they have bloomed they spray about 1,000 seeds around the garden. They grow so quickly that they have many "generations" of flowers/seeds to contend with. Also, I've never had swiss chard raw...no clue about that.
galles - I'll bet your problem is planting the snow peas too late. They really like the cold start. I have had light snow on them and they were just fine.
The only problem I've had in NH with keeping some plants in pots over the winter is having the pots crack if there's much moisture inside that freezes.
Gallant Soldiers sounds too noble for a nasty weed like that!
It's the nastiest weed I've ever encountered anywhere!! I have tried every method from covering the entire garden with plastic over winter (didn't do a thing!) to just being a slave EVERY morning to the little devils that would spring up overnight.......nothing works so far!
No sprays work on it, Louise? Even Brush - B - Gone?
Donnie...wonder if purslane would crowd it out. Never saw a sign of purslane until I carved a 40' x 30' garden out of the lawn. Birds must have brought it in the first year. There are no weeds or grass in the garden. It's all purslane and vegatables. I never weed but now and then pull up some purslane (its easy to pull up) to compost or eat. Likes full sun and can't take shade so it grows right up to the vegatables and then stops. Doesn't hurt the growth of squash, beans, tomatoes, eggplants and peppers at all. Don't know if I would recomend it tho because the plants throw out thousands of seeds and they remain viable for over a decade. Do it and there is no going back .
Victor, did you eventually plant your blueberries?
Interesting, David. I'm not familiar with purslane. It sounds somewhat similar to the GS in terms of its abundance of seeds. Maybe I should just let it go!!??
Victor - I can't use sprays because the GS is too proximate to the veggies. Last year I did what I never do out of desperation - I tried to use roundup on a section of the weeds. It drifted and killed some of my veggies. I don't typically use any kind of sprays in my gardens. I tend towards organic whenever possible. The soldiers cover the entire garden, walkways and rows of veggies if you don't pull them.
Yes, Deb, I did. Louise - you can paint it on.
It does sound rather like purslane. We were afflicted with purslane at our last place. We did the same thing - turned a section of lawn into garden. By the following year, it was a carpet of purslane. Sure, it's edible, but how much purslane can two people eat? All those little seeds bursting out and all over the place.
Worse than that though, was the creeping charlie/ground ivy. The sheep would eat purslane - they won't touch creeping charlie.
gallesfarm...purslane was hot a few years ago at top NYC restaurants. Guess we should have know we were headed for trouble when people were paying serious $$$ for weeds on a plate.
Has it crowded out any of your crops? So far, purslane has been like the moles who enjoy living with me. When moles and purslane moved in, I took it as an insult and tried to evict them both. But, as neither seem to harm anything, I gave up.
David_Paul, if I'd know that, I would have carefully harvested the purslane and found a buyer. :-)
Somewhere I read that it is a major food crop in parts of India. Apparently it is high in nutrients and is really good for you. I used to nibble it sometimes, and even took some in to cook.
I guess it didn't really hurt the crops too much. It was just an affront to ego and my desire for the perfectly weeded garden. ;-)
If I remember correctly, purslane is very high in Omega 3s. I can hardly wait for it to come up! Free salad!
How do you identify it? I would be afraid to try anything I didn't recognize. Is there a weed field guide?
Robindog...here's some good shots and info:
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Purslane.html
Think everyone has seen one form of the other of it. I remember it from the beach when I was a kid. Didn't know what it was until three years ago when it showed up in my garden.
You can also buy seeds for upright kinds - green and gold. I think I have som e. . . now where did I put those seeds?
It tastes good and is good for you and is FREE. I also eat Lamb's Quarter and Sheep Sorrel when I find it in my - or my neighbor's - yard. Kind of like lemons from lemonaide - but salads from weeds.
LOL YankeeCat, I got a funny mental image of you sneaking around the neighbourhood at night with a flashlight eating people's weeds.
LOL DN
OMG will you be able to eat them?
I washed my hands 2 times now and the heat is still there, just from the seeds! The only way to get it out of your skin is - baking soda, a few drops dish soap and then mix it till its a soupy paste with hydrogen peroxide. This will also work on skunk pee on your animals or yourself - yikes.
This was on myth busters and we started doing it with the dogs 4 years ago. It works.
good to know... Randy mixed something up like that when I had spray foam stuck on my hands.. I think ajax & windex
I finally planted my pepper, zucchini and cherry tomato seeds today.
I'm running out of room in my dining room(the sunniest room) and I just realized my one tray was leaking so it warped the hardwood under it...hubby is gonna KILL me.
OOppS flowerjen :/ Been there/done that; not that it's any consolation. Could you claim it was a shift in the matrix? Would that work for you? Another option is to scream really loudly 'OMG LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENED!!!" Sometimes when you scream really loud the culprit gets lost in the shuffle. These are weak, cowardly things I have done cuz I screw up quite alot. After the brew-haha dies down I admit total responsiblity but after the brew-haha it is a minor issue in the overall scheme of things.Oh sigh I'm probably being a bad influence AGAIN.
schickenlady
....they can't train lab rats to eat the bhut jolokia peppers you are growing and you say "yak" about eating purslane?
^_^
Dnut, I like how you think!
I too have had a leaking plant on the hardwood... not warped but took the finish off.
It leaked right into the crack and warped(for lack of a better word) the edge of the one plank. Hubby hates that floor(light pine) we'd like to replace all the carpeting in the lvg rm, dining rm and bdrms with something like this...
http://www.penningtonhardwoods.com/hs_wal.htm
Maybe I can talk him into using our tax refund for it.
Walnut is beautiful. Nice choice flowerjen.