3FC Garden Party-2009
 

There have been a couple of threads so far about gardening and such, but it seems like a good time to get the Official Garden Thread going for 2009. So, I guess I'll start.

ON THE VEGGIE SCENE:

I got my veggies started indoors. I've been wanting to get a Veggie Garden going for the past couple years and I think this year I should have more time for taking care of it. I'm going with the Square Foot Garden http://www.squarefootgardening.com/ since it is above ground and uses clean soil. That way it should be easier to deal with. I'm planning for 2-8x4 beds and 4-2x2 boxes for berries since they like to spread.

I got the longer harvest veggies started now and in about a month I'll start the others. The ladies at Albertson's gave me three large cake boxes for $.99. Way better than having to eat my way to the cheap greenhouses. ;)

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...eggiestart.jpg (Any comments concerning the butt-ugly, burnt orange countertops will result in :boxing:)

I'm also doing a 3 Sister's Garden, so I started the corn. Once it reaches 4 in. tall, I'll get the beans and squash going. There are Tomatoes, Peppers, Arugula, Spinach, Broccoli, Carrots and Cucumbers in there also.

ON THE FLOWER SCENE:

Hyacinths and Crocus have been blooming. Tulips and Daffodils have sprouted. Roses are beginning to bud. I do have some major work to do to my lawn. It has almost completely been takin' over by weeds and Morning Glory.

CAVEAT to ALL GARDENERS: Watch out what you plant. Some really pretty "flowers" are actually weeds and once they get a foothold, it is he!! trying to get rid of them.

HAPPY SPRING EVERYBODY!!!!! :congrat:

Why don't you move somewhere where you can grow stuff outside?

If I wanted to grow nuts I could move to Southern California. There's all kinds of 'em thare.:p

you two crack me up.
no wonder you're so sassy operator- 10 days no cigs!! :)

i have a yard for the first time and i have no idea what to do. i am thinking i'll just plant some dahlias and zinnias they are my favorite. i don't want to do a lot because well i'm lazy and i won't do upkeep and this place is a rental anyway. won't be here next spring.
what are some good low maintenance garden items?

Check out that Square Foot Garden site. Heck, you could even take it with you when you get a home of your own. Just do 4x4 gardens, unscrew them and off you go.

Oooh, oooh, me me me!

I'm another Square Foot Gardener, in CA so I have plants in the ground and going strong already. The Amish Snap Peas, particularly, are coming up so nicely.

So far, I have in the ground and germinated (in 2 3'x8' beds):
Scarlet Nantes Carrots
5 Color Silverbeet Chard
Leaf Lettuces
Amish Snap Peas
Early Scarlet Globe Radishes
Green Beans (Kentucky Wonder Bush)
Purple Green Beans (Red Swan Beans) (both beans are the first of 3 successive plantings...one every 2 weeks...so I get a continual harvest throughout the season)
Yellow Crookneck Squash

Planned to grow, but not yet in the ground:
4 kinds of tomato (Early Girl, Green Zebra, Gold Medal, and a cherry variety called Mexico Midget
2 sweet bell peppers (2 purple pepper plants, 1 red pepper plant)
1 jalapeno
2 eggplant varieties (one Japanese, 1 additional variety)
Genovese Basil
Lemon Cucumber
Small-size watermelons (Shining Light)
Waltham Butternut Squash

Herbs, on my patio, are:
Rosemary
Peppermint
Thyme
Chives
Cilantro
Parsley

uuh duh! I checked that site out and that is freaking awesome. i love it.

We were gardening today too. Dh made be four boxes 4x10 and I covered the bottoms with cardboard we've been collecting this winter. Over that goes all our yard waste, compost, shredded paper, old straw ... and some purchased soil.
I've done that for a couple of years in a heap but DH likes the tidy box idea better.

We will have potatoes, onions, tomatos, peppers, herbs, beets, carrots, salad greens ... and I always come up with something last minute.
I have started two kinds of parsley and basil.

I ordered seeds from a heritage seed company this year.

I'm going to try peas that will climb on a trellis up against the house. And I always grow little squashes and zucchini in the flower beds.

i'm building a garden in my yard...going to be a raised bed using a combo of topsoil, decomposed horse manure, and peat moss. Just placed some of my veggies in the indoor growing to get them started. I'm planning to plant cukes, squash, kentucky bush beans, cherry and regular tomatoes, basil, swiss chard, spring mix lettuce, and large leaf lettuce...i can't wait until fresh veggies arrive. I did start my indoor planting about 1 - 2 wks late but i was waiting for a growing mat. Oh well..they'll be out there end of april or beginning march. can't wait

and come fall i think i'm going to plant some asparagus root crowns so we can enjoy that in a few years. we'll see (:

Oh really? :nono:

Well, I do have a lot of stuff in my winter garden right now -- radishes, green onions, cilantro, spinach, parsely, mint and broccoli.

My baby stuff for summer is mostly in the ground -- tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and seeds for basil, dill, "ronde de nice" zucchini. Doing the cucumbers and zinnia seeds today. We don't do that starting-in-the-house thing here. I start everything where it's going to end up!

I have to say my square foot garden is by far the easiest gardening I do....my inground stuff constantly needs attention for some crisis or another!

I really recommend the sq. ft. gardening to people with limited time. Here in L.A. we can keep it going all year -- it's like a live salad bar in the winter!

Operator 265, thanks for that link!
I have a tiny garden, but for Amsterdam even tiny is sheer luxury, and I really want to grow some veg. This is going to work for me, I think.
WONDERFUL

it gets too cold here to grow veggies year round....but i have been thinking of doing some year round container growing next winter...the cold is why i do start the seeds indoor. We get so very hot in the summer, it helps to get the seedlings to a certain point then in the ground and started prior to the heat of the summer. i wish i lived some place where we could grow plants year round.

Oh, oh, oh!!! My Arugula has sprouted and I can just see a little teeny tiny corn sprout about to come out. I'm so excited I could pee my pants!:o :carrot: (too bad they don't have a dancing ear of corn. Anyone else think the carrot might be a perv?)