Vegetable Gardens: Tips, Advice, Questions, Tales, Pictures

[FoolKiller]

Second weekend in May = first planting weekend in my climate zone. So, a quick stop by the local farmer's market and I got basil, sage, cilantro, oregano, Roma tomatoes, and early girl tomatoes.

I had the best timing. I planted them and went in to wash my hands before watering them and a storm came up and rained for a good 30 minutes. Yay! Nature's doing my job for me.


The tomatoes. Romas are on the sides and early girls in the middle. I opted for early girl because they are a good slicing tomato that is supposed to produce fruit early and in large quantities. Roma tomatoes are just very versatile.

Basil....and what might be a returning stevia plant...or a weed. Wait and see.

Oregano with chives that survived the cold winter.

Cilantro and sage.

I still need thyme. I also have to get rosemary. For the first time in years it didn't survive. And I'm thinking about getting more basil...because I love basil.

 

[photonrider]

Oh! My! We are finally on a new page again? Guess a year must have gone by.

That deck and those pots are beginning to look familiar to me, heh heh.

Okay - the usual story:
Neighbor comes over all bubbly like she's got the latest news and starts burbling about 'sugar plants' and how she ate the leaves and 'they were sooooo sweeet', etc, etc - and I'm trying to imagine what a 'sugar plant' looks like. So anyway she tells me where she saw them, and the next day I happen to be passing that area so I stop and check out the outdoor 'greenhouses' that this giant grocery store has set up in their parking lot; basically a whole bunch of tables loaded with plants, netting overhead, and the area surrounded by plastic wallboards set up as temporary enclosures.
So I'm rounding the tables looking this way and that for 'sugar plants' (I don't even know what the hell I'm looking for - I just thought that I'd recognise sugary-looking plants when I see them - I know, silly me.)
Finally I pick up some basil, thyme, chives and a really nice lemon verbena - the place is chock-full of veggies, but I just wanted to get some herbs to start with.
Came back home, bumped into her the next day, asked her about these 'sugar-plants' and she goes raving on about them again saying she munched on the leaves, and tried to describe them.
Now I have a fair idea what it looks like, so I go back there, start browsing the tables, and then I'm looking at a whole bunch of stevia, quite blank-headed, before it struck me - MG - she was talking about the stevia!
Did I have a good laugh. Sugar plants! Of course I had to grab a few leaves and start chewing, remembering all you had written about last year, and yup - that's what she was talking about.
Grabbed a pot to take home, and maybe this year I might try some in a chocolate-mint blend and try to make a tea blend, as well as a blend that's heavier on the stevia for sprinkling over desserts.
Will definitely use some with regular green or black tea and see how it goes.

As for the basil and other stuff - I've prepared some photos so that I can put in a little 'how-to' here for those less initiated (and who don't have gardens) on how to prepare some pots for a kitchen window sill (I will make that post later):

 

[FoolKiller]

It has been a perfect growing summer here. I lost two banana pepper plants and a tomato to a huge aphid invasion, but salvaged the rest. I had a close call on root rot when a tomato pot's drain holes got clogged, and had to add lime to stop a case of blossom bottom rot. The herbs have been a fresh source all summer long, I even rooted a cutting from my basil to start a second plant.

Now the first large harvest.

My Roma tomatoes are going insane for just two bushes.

The green one fell off in a storm. I caught a worm inside one tomato. He's in pieces now.
I'm going to dry these and pack them in olive oil with herbs. I have some slicer tomatoes getting ready to come in. Once my plants are done a I'll by in bulk from the farmer's market and freeze them.

And my peppers from just two plants:

I'm pickling massive batches of banana peppers to get through winter. I hate running out by November. The grocery charges $3.99 a pound. I'm going to buy out the farmers market, where I pay $2 for 1-2 pounds.

 

[phillgt2002]

Well look at Mr. Chef & gardener here.

I'm kinda jealous, of the growing of course. Have you caught any animals going in for a taste?

 

[FoolKiller]

Well look at Mr. Chef & gardener here.

I'm kinda jealous, of the growing of course. Have you caught any animals going in for a taste?

Squirrels have nibbled a tomato or two when I changed bird feeders to a style they can't get into. Raccoons have been trying to get at anything, but one is confirmed dead by animal control for being suspected of rabies, one was taken about 15 miles away, and the third quit showing up after it escaped the live creature trap that I had baited with cat food blended with a double-maximum-human dose of a beta blocker. No critter issues since, mainly because it's a fenced in area for the dog. Deer would have to be willing to get on my patio after smelling dog urine and feces and possibly some human urine in the potting soil.

I love living in a rural area.

 

[phillgt2002]

Yeah, I've always wanted to produce my own food. Gardening flowers to me sounds boring, but my own food sounds like a ton of fun. Would you really call it a challenge to keep up with?

 

[FoolKiller]

Yeah, I've always wanted to produce my own food. Gardening flowers to me sounds boring, but my own food sounds like a ton of fun. Would you really call it a challenge to keep up with?

It depends on how much you oppose chemicals. Want a beautiful, spotless crop? Spray, fertilize, and anything else you can find. Don't like putting poisons on your food? Check it every day, look for signs of disease, dehydration, root damage, pests, etc. Then you have to fix it. Some days I feel like the Dr House of the garden.

 

[photonrider]

But of course you are.

What are you doing this year? My garden lies fallow, 'cept for the roses which are starting to bloom madly. And there's a runaway mint patch taking over some of the yard.

 

[FoolKiller]

Banana Peppers, pepperoncini, tomatoes, and herbs.

I only have pictures of the pepper plants on me right now.

 

[photonrider]

Looking good, looking good. 👍

Those leaves look like they have been photoshopped with healthiness - though, of course, knowing you, they aren't. Amazing that you could bring them up like that with not a spot of any blight.

I promised quite some time ago to throw some tips in here for those without gardens but some space on a windowsill and never got around to it. Now I'm drowning in photofiles as I search for those pics..

The outdoor 'garden centers' have been a blaze of color and swathes of various greens, potted herbs (judging from the quantities on display, and being bought by enthusiastic (and hopeful ) gardeners.)

I have been enjoying myself way too much outdoors with friends and not really paying attention to my garden.
I do hear some sort of 'silent screaming' thrown my way when I walk through it - but that's just a hallucination, eh?
Either that, or I don't have the proper antennae to catch their transmissions.

One noticeable thing this year - a sad lack of spring lilacs. I know that plants are very sensitive to atmospherics, and I'm wondering if they know something I don't.

The weather's been kind of strange, anyway.

 

[FoolKiller]

I'm fighting a white fungus on my tomatoes, so it hasn't been a perfect year. It isn't too bad though. I just need to mx some vinegar and water to spray it once the rain stops.

 

[photonrider]

Hope it doesn't spread. I have noticed that the fungus appears especially after lots of moisture.

 

[Mrs Wolfe]

Ah! A gardening thread! Hello!

I had Septoria leaf spot on my tomatoes last year, and they were a near total loss. This year I planted in a new location, put down newspaper and mulch, and I'm hoping the problem won't repeat. They're looking good so far, even if the newest are a bit dry. I had to tie them up after our most recent storm system flattened them though. I started with 16 plants, but I convinced a friend to come take the peony camping that part of the garden and was able to expand to 25. Flowers are lovely, but I can't eat them.

My onions are green onion sized and ready to harvest, my peppers and basil are fine in a nice sunny spot, my watermelon and pumpkin are growing, if slowly, and my various herbs in their pots are thriving. I potted them because I didn't want to mow mint as my parents do or have to dig out lemon balm again. I planted catnip with them to keep the chipmunks out this year. But rabbits ate my cucumbers, and I'm wondering if it's too late to replant.

Best part is @Wolfe and my wee giant of a brother cleared half the brush pile the previous owners left us with. It comes chest height to my brother who is just short of 7'. I was impressed!

 

[photonrider]

Ah! A gardening thread! Hello!
..........................This year I planted in a new location, put down newspaper and mulch, and I'm hoping the problem won't repeat.

That's one way to spread the news. Maybe the tomatoes will run true to type this time around.

They're looking good so far, even if the newest are a bit dry. I had to tie them up after our most recent storm system flattened them though. I started with 16 plants, but I convinced a friend to come take the peony camping that part of the garden and was able to expand to 25.

25 is a lot of plants. If they all survive and you have even an averagely good crop you'll be begging the neighbors to take away part of the harvest.

Flowers are lovely, but I can't eat them.

Right. I've had the same temptation myself. Satisfy the craving with pumpkin flowers - if you can get 'em. Pumpkin flower and rice soup is a great I-wanna-eat-flowers fix.

My onions are green onion sized and ready to harvest, my peppers and basil are fine in a nice sunny spot, my watermelon and pumpkin are growing, if slowly ----

Wait! Did you say 'pumpkins'? There you go.

. . . and my various herbs in their pots are thriving. I potted them because I didn't want to mow mint as my parents do or have to dig out lemon balm again. I planted catnip with them to keep the chipmunks out this year.

Potted herbs are all the rage, though, IMO, harder to maintain than grown in-ground during season. I've had my battles with mint - yeah, a very strong plant, and can be invasive even left neglected.

But rabbits ate my cucumbers, and I'm wondering if it's too late to replant.

Stlll early - you could try for a late harvest; if the plant centers are still selling seedlings go for it - starting from scratch may be too late.

Damn rabbits. I do have some friends who are Rabbit Hunters . . .

Best part is @Wolfe and my wee giant of a brother cleared half the brush pile the previous owners left us with. It comes chest height to my brother who is just short of 7'. I was impressed!

My regards to your bro and the Wolf for helping out. Score one for the gentlemen of the world.

Enjoy your garden and do update us when you wish 👍



_______________________________________


As for me - nothing spectacular, but I wish I could find the shots of the potatoes I grew last year. Being a 'mini' potato farmer was quite an experience. I want to do it again. Nothing like scrabbling in the sand and finding large clumps of fresh potatoes.
The flowers were pretty, too, but the poisonous purple cast to them put me off having a chew.

 

[Mrs Wolfe]

25 is a lot of plants. If they all survive and you have even an averagely good crop you'll be begging the neighbors to take away part of the harvest.

I make big batches of tomato sauce with them, and I can do several very large pots at once. I cool it, freeze it in bags, and I have fresh sauce in the winter. Last year, with the sad harvest, I only made two or three small batches, much to @Wolfe 's and my disappointment.

Stlll early - you could try for a late harvest; if the plant centers are still selling seedlings go for it - starting from scratch may be too late.

I seem to have missed the seedlings boat. I'll just have to trade tomatoes for cucumbers with the neighbors or some such. They are overly prolific plants, so I'm hoping someone will be glad for it.

As for me - nothing spectacular, but I wish I could find the shots of the potatoes I grew last year. Being a 'mini' potato farmer was quite an experience. I want to do it again. Nothing like scrabbling in the sand and finding large clumps of fresh potatoes.
The flowers were pretty, too, but the poisonous purple cast to them put me off having a chew.

Potatoes are fun! What type did you plant? None of my crops have ever flowered, and I've read that they can, rarely, produce seeds. Did yours? My seed potatoes rotted in the ground this year though, so I won't have a crop. It was a strange spring.

 

[photonrider]

I make big batches of tomato sauce with them, and I can do several very large pots at once. I cool it, freeze it in bags, and I have fresh sauce in the winter.

Makes sense now. Foolkiller, and, IIRC, Omnis, too, are gurus on this 'preserving' stuff. I look at a mason jar and I get paralyzed.

Potatoes are fun! What type did you plant?

They were Russet Burbanks, and the potatoes at the bottom of the sack had started to sprout. I dislike waste, so wondering what to do with them decided to do a good deed and throw them into a corner of the garden.
My conscience clear, (and the revenge of any potatoes) averted, I forgot about them till I saw little shrubs start to appear. Now I began to worry - because now I had to take care of them.
I didn't have to do much, though - IIRC, it was quite a rainy summer and nature looked after them.
The shrubs grew to about 20 inches tall, and then sprouted pale purple flowers with bright yellow stamens and pistil, very pretty but somehow also very dangerous-looking.
By this point i was merely a bystander - just watching them grow, then start to wither and wilt. I never expected any potatoes. The plants finally turned brown and collapsed with exhaustion.
So happened that my neighbor's son came around to ask me whether I had any 'odd jobs' for him - he helps out sometimes and I give him some money for his trouble. He asked me whether we should clear the dead plants, and I said okay - let's check it out - and while we were uprooting them out came clumps of potatoes. Not all were attached to the plant.
In fact, as we excitedly scrabbled around, we found more and more loose potatoes - they were all within 3 - 8 inches of soil. Ultimately we harvested about 5 pounds from 4 scraggly plants. I gave it all to him and later on his mother met me to say thanks and that they were the most delicious potatoes she tasted.
I guess the potatoes got their revenge after all - I threw out four spuds and never got five pounds in return.

None of my crops have ever flowered, and I've read that they can, rarely, produce seeds. Did yours? My seed potatoes rotted in the ground this year though, so I won't have a crop.

Here's a link for making Bait Balls, in case you are going to try, and come up against wireworms. I was lucky - not one of the potatoes were soiled - they were all perfect.
It did tempt me to try again.

It was a strange spring.

Well, I wasn't hallucinating then; it was a strange spring. My lilacs never bloomed - and I missed the fragrance as I used to walk past them. The year should be interesting.

 

[Mrs Wolfe]

Makes sense now. Foolkiller, and, IIRC, Omnis, too, are gurus on this 'preserving' stuff. I look at a mason jar and I get paralyzed.

I haven't talked myself into canning yet (although my best friend, her mother, and my uncle do), mostly because the initial supply purchases are a bit steep, but I do have a standing freezer that I fill to the brim. It's nice to have fresh tasting veggies when the weather is miserable!

They were Russet Burbanks, and the potatoes at the bottom of the sack had started to sprout. I dislike waste, so wondering what to do with them decided to do a good deed and throw them into a corner of the garden.
My conscience clear, (and the revenge of any potatoes) averted, I forgot about them till I saw little shrubs start to appear. Now I began to worry - because now I had to take care of them.
I didn't have to do much, though - IIRC, it was quite a rainy summer and nature looked after them.

Anything that takes care of itself in my garden is my new favorite plant. Mine grew mostly unattended save for the occasional watering, but they did acquire some sort of small pest bug towards the end of the season. Didn't harm the tubers any though.

The shrubs grew to about 20 inches tall, and then sprouted pale purple flowers with bright yellow stamens and pistil, very pretty but somehow also very dangerous-looking.

Potatoes are in the nightshade family, so dangerous-looking flowers make sense. I probably won't be frying any up.

In fact, as we excitedly scrabbled around, we found more and more loose potatoes - they were all within 3 - 8 inches of soil. Ultimately we harvested about 5 pounds from 4 scraggly plants.

I had planted mine in pots, lacking actual yard space, and it was easy to dump them and fish out various wee spuds. Out of six pots, I had one that had rotted, a few green ones, and a myriad of tiny soup-sized spuds. I suppose if I had waited for the plants to die I'd have had more, but we expected a hard frost, and I erred on the side of caution. (As a side note, my carrots that overwintered grew enthusiastically this spring, as did various onions. None of the roots were edible, but they took off, and I was sad to pull them. But, our yard is small, and my tomato planting needs are great.)

Here's a link for making Bait Balls, in case you are going to try, and come up against wireworms. I was lucky - not one of the potatoes were soiled - they were all perfect.
It did tempt me to try again.

Bait balls? They look pretty straightforward. I plan to try potatoes again next year, and I'd be planting in the ground this time so worth checking. This year, half my potatoes (to be fair, ones that were left from my fall purchase of a huge bag), rotted before I planted, and the rest didn't so much as flex a leaf in the ground.

Well, I wasn't hallucinating then; it was a strange spring. My lilacs never bloomed - and I missed the fragrance as I used to walk past them. The year should be interesting.

I suspect it will be! Our lilacs put out a few, paltry blossoms, and I was rather disappointed. With the storm systems that blew through yesterday evening, I'll have to go and re-stake tomatoes this morning. It didn't look like much damage overall though. I'm just hoping the winter is good. I like it to freeze hard to kill the mosquitoes and pests, but I prefer to not skate to work or shovel hip deep snow. I think that's leaning a bit towards greedy though.

 

[Slash]

This years garden. Seems to be doing alright so far. No major beetle issues this season yet.

 

[Mrs Wolfe]

This years garden. Seems to be doing alright so far. No major beetle issues this season yet.

It looks like you're a lot more enthusiastic about weeding than I am.

I found an orange tomato today, first of the year!

 

[Slash]

It looks like you're a lot more enthusiastic about weeding than I am.

I found an orange tomato today, first of the year!

With a garden thus big it's easier to get the rotor-tiller out and get rid of them that way

 

[Mrs Wolfe]

That would be far easier. More ammunition for my case for Getting a Rotor-Tiller.

 

[photonrider]

It looks like you're a lot more enthusiastic about weeding than I am.

I found an orange tomato today, first of the year!

You ate it, right? 'Fess up!
I never let that first tomato get too large. Must sample it and get a taste of what flavour the plant is going to produce.
Sometimes I think (like Ogden Nash once said) this sticking things into the ground and then stuff comes out of it and we eat it is sheer hocus-pocus.
Though I think at that moment he was thinking more of crocus.

With a garden thus big it's easier to get the rotor-tiller out and get rid of them that way

Nice forest. Can you just walk right into it? Is it Crown land? Do you own it? Does Sasquatch live in there?
Sorry, Slash . . . all these questions . . ..

That's a heck of a garden you got there, mate. 👍

 

[Mrs Wolfe]

You ate it, right? 'Fess up!
I never let that first tomato get too large. Must sample it and get a taste of what flavour the plant is going to produce.

Not yet, but only because @Wolfe suggested I wait until it was all the way red and not just yellowish orange. I hear they taste better that way.

I have to get my lazy rump outside and harvest my green onions. They're ready and are starting to tip over, but I keep sitting and reading instead. Worst gardener ever. I chop them up and freeze them for cooking later, and I'll plant a new set for later in the season.

 

[photonrider]

Not yet, but only because @Wolfe suggested I wait until it was all the way red and not just yellowish orange. I hear they taste better that way.

He's right. Deadly nightshade, remember? Actually the plant and fruit have very low levels of tomatine, so not poisonous enough to be significant, but when it comes to taste, as he said, a young tomato can make you pucker-faced awfully fast, been there done that, never again.
I wait till that first one is just plump enough to start looking translucent, turning carmine and deep apricot, and if I cradle it in my fingers and it comes off easy, that's it - the plant is offering me its fruit. I stand there exuding gratefulness and so the tomato is indulged, somnumbulistic.

Satori.

________________


A typical outdoor garden center around here:

____________________


@FoolKiller - how are things sprouting at your end, mate?


Dang. I can't believe I just asked you that.

 

[Mrs Wolfe]

But... but... where are the vegetables?

 

[FoolKiller]

A typical outdoor garden center around here:

That's cute.

This is my local one:

That doesn't even show the area out back with all the trees, pond supplies, and outdoor playground equipment. It's also one of the largest in Kentucky.


@FoolKiller - how are things sprouting at your end, mate?[/QUOTE]
Good. I'll get a picture later to show you. Stuff is getting ready to start picking.

 

[photonrider]

QUOTE="FoolKiller, post: 10836010, member: 56473"]That's cute.[/quote]

But... but... where are the vegetables?

All gone. The zombies got them. (I'm talking about the common-or-garden variety zombies. )
The veggies are the only thing on display from around mid-May - by mid-June there's only a few stragglers left tucked in the back. Meanwhile all the pretty flower plants start blooming all around the center. That pic is just the tip of a giant iceberg - taken maybe a few years ago as I passed through.
I may have posted some a few pages back.
If you go back a few pages you may even catch the pictures of the botanical gardens that is close to where I live.
Haven't taken much pics of any Garden Center this year - but I think I may have a couple that shows long lines of tables with herbs and veggie seedlings. Will see to upload them later.
Soon the flower plants will be gone, and the colourful carnival atmosphere around the center turns different as the saplings and trees come out to stand in the sun and call out to hapless gardeners that pass by.

I did drop into a garden center yesterday in search of some plant to bonsai - another bit of horticulture that I love too. I gave away all my bonsai, but now have caught the bug again.

Good. I'll get a picture later to show you. Stuff is getting ready to start picking.

I was thinking that you might already be harvesting the early goodies. 👍

 

[FoolKiller]

I was thinking that you might already be harvesting the early goodies. 👍

I picked the first few banana peppers and added them to a bunch I bought at the farmer's market to pickle. Now the plant is full of peppers. I picked my first tomato yesterday. Once they started forming we have had more rain than sun, so they are being slow to ripen.

After I make my next batch of chicken broth I am going to save and dry the bones to make bone meal (phosphorous and calcium) to add to them to help them along with fruit production. Some of them have had what appears to be blossom end rot. I am guessing because the plant is full of tomatoes that aren't getting picked, so hopefully the calcium will help.


I lost my cilantro when the weather was really hot while I was on vacation. I'm not surprised though, I can never grow cilantro more than a month before it tries to become coriander.

 

[photonrider]

Some of them have had what appears to be blossom end rot. I am guessing because the plant is full of tomatoes that aren't getting picked......snip....]

That makes a lot of sense; the plant is curtailing its reproductive activity and focusing on the fruit already needy of energy. The reverse with the peppers - they have found someone who harvests and takes away their seed so they are producing more. Super symbiosis there.

I lost my cilantro when the weather was really hot while I was on vacation. I'm not surprised though, I can never grow cilantro more than a month before it tries to become coriander.

That seedy coriander . . .

 

[FoolKiller]

I got some pictures for you last night, but unfortunately we had a storm yesterday, so the plants look pretty beaten.

This is a full view of my containers.
Left: Banana Pepper, 2x thyme, chives, rosemary.
Center: Pepperoncini, Sage, Dill, garlic chives, now-dead cilantro.
Right: Roma tomato, 2x basil, Italian oregano, Greek oregano

The sunflowers behind them are volunteers from the bird feed. They draw butterflies and bees, so I let them grow.

Closer look at the banana peppers. Ready for picking.

Closer look at Pepperoncini: plenty of peppers, not turning yellow yet.

Closer look at the tomatoes. Not a hint of red. Bring on the sun!

Chives and thyme

Rosemary and thyme

Sage and dill. The dill is hard to see because it is tall and slender. I should have gotten a bushier variety.

Basil beaten down by the rain, and laying on top of Italian oregano.

Greek oregano

The other basil. It's flowering. Time to cut it back.

My first batch of banana peppers (2 quarts), about 1/4 my own and the rest are from the farmer's market.

My only ripe tomato. It's so cute.

And 100% not from my garden, but I think I finally got a sodium-free dill pickle recipe figured out, so I am showing off my first batch of dill pickle slices using farmer's market cucumbers.