Gardening in "The Sandbox"

I turned the soil in my garden today, and I thought I’d start this thread to find out if anyone gardens and, if so, if you’d like to share your experiences: past and present; good and bad.

I’ve had a vegetable garden for about 20 years now. Some years certain plants do great, others don’t, and vice versa. It’s, sometimes, mind boggling with all the variables involved: plant selection, disease, pest infestation, varmints, weather, soil, micro-climate, and anything else you can think of.

I know quite a few of the girls garden, either vegetables and/or flowers. So, if anyone would like to share, please do so. Maybe we could keep this an on-going discussion as the season progresses.

…just a thought.

TD

I do a lot of gardening. Tomatoes, beans, squash, potatoes. I can and freeze with the family, and even shared with a few SP. I buy fruits out in the sticks, and can peaches, and do applesauce. We are getting better and growing a years worth of veggies. I make my own tomatos sauce, it is the best, but I am biased.

I am a new homeowner and am starting my garden. I have decided to go with containers for now, until I see what is growing around this house, which is small and modest. I'm not ready to tear up what lawn I have, but there was a grassless stretch in the back with roses of all things. I moved and replanted the roses, if they die they'll open up space, started some compost and am working on sunflowers to fill the area in.

Gardening is a big project with many variables and I look forward to some hints. I'm a big fan of my tomato sauce, hopefully I'll be making it with my own stuff in a few months.

Thanks, LFK and JC for responding.

LFK, you’re like my Sicilian grandmother. She canned pears and peaches from a couple trees she had in the backyard. She grew and canned tomatoes for sauce, and even made ketchup – never made applesauce though! Cool!!!

It was a lot different back then in my grandmother’s day when I was a little boy. In hindsight, it seems people had more stuff on hand in bulk. They stored semi-perishables in a “fruit cellar” which most all households had.

And good luck with the garden, JC. It’ll improve every year as you gradually amend the soil. A compost pile is a great thing. You can get rid of a lot of kitchen byproducts, peelings, coffee grinds, eggshells, etc. and, when ready, the compost is a great addition to the garden soil – safer and better than any fertilizer. Someday, I’d like to build one of those three-bin compost setups!

I’m sure you’ll be making your own tomato sauce with your home-grown tomatoes soon!

Thanks TD

I'm doing my first garden alone this year! plus 2 flower boxes! I'm super excited!

I love to garden I just cant show anyone mine!!! LOL

One of the most enjoyable parts of gardening is when the major work is over and you can go out, day after day, to just sit and enjoy the environment – have a beer or, if you don’t drink, invite Vern over!

You see and hear some strange shit that Mother Nature has to offer.

One time, I was doing some light weeding and I got buzz-bombed by a huge bird. I thought it was a flippin’ airplane for a second. It was so big the sky got dark. I had to run into the basement and have a smoke to decompress – and I don’t even smoke!

After I regained my wits, I remembered seeing just a glimpse of dark brown. I’m thinkin’ it was a Turkey Vulture, but still not quite sure. Now when I’m out there, I always keep an eye on the sky!

I LOVE to garden! I grew up in the country where we grew potatoes, corn, peas, tomatoes, rhubarb, zucchini, yellow squash, beans, lettuce and spinach. Most of what we ate came straight out of the garden.
It was awesome eating fresh veggies, but man, those potatoes are a pain in the ass to turn out!
I was getting dirty yesterday planting some bleeding hearts, dahlias, zinnias, and cornflowers.

I use a mix of good potting soil and peat moss to mix with my slightly clay-type soil. My flowers always grow incredibly large and tall!
As for bugs, even in the country with our big garden, my family always tried crazy natural ways to get rid of bugs (like those awful Japanese beetles that were eating our potato leaves). Like keeping basins around the garden filled with water and dish soap. The beetles go in and die and when they smell, it repels other insects and animals as well....

Wish I had room for a veggie garden now. I'm jealous of all you that have nice gardens
Getting dirty is fun!!

I'm doing my first garden alone this year! plus 2 flower boxes! I'm super excited! Originally Posted by Lexxxy

Go get 'em, Lexxxy!

I have vegetables, but one of these days I'm gonna plant flowers around the house.

Good luck and have fun.

TD

I LOVE to garden! I grew up in the country where we grew potatoes, corn, peas, tomatoes, rhubarb, zucchini, yellow squash, beans, lettuce and spinach. Most of what we ate came straight out of the garden.
It was awesome eating fresh veggies, but man, those potatoes are a pain in the ass to turn out!
I was getting dirty yesterday planting some bleeding hearts, dahlias, zinnias, and cornflowers.

I use a mix of good potting soil and peat moss to mix with my slightly clay-type soil. My flowers always grow incredibly large and tall!
As for bugs, even in the country with our big garden, my family always tried crazy natural ways to get rid of bugs (like those awful Japanese beetles that were eating our potato leaves). Like keeping basins around the garden filled with water and dish soap. The beetles go in and die and when they smell, it repels other insects and animals as well....

Wish I had room for a veggie garden now. I'm jealous of all you that have nice gardens
Getting dirty is fun!! Originally Posted by TheRedMonroe

Hey,

It sounds like you know what you're doing!

Yeah. The worst part is the pest thing: bugs, birds, four-legged vermin, etc. and disease.

I've learned throughout the years that various forms of pest control work for some people some of the time, but not all people all of the time. The insects and plant diseases are terrible. After all the hard work of nurturing, it could become quite discouraging.

When I was a kid, I grew pumpkins. I didn't do a thing to them -- just let 'em grow, and they turned out beautiful. Now for the past several years, every season the plants start out great then develop a type of fungus -- maybe powdery mildew, fasarium wilt, or some damned thing. The leaves first turn white then eventually brown and dry up. Som bitch!

I've tried every reactive measure I could think of. It must be a soil-borne thing.

Happy Gardening, RM.

I'm exited I'm doing primrose, hostas, hydrangeas, and lemon lilies!

Lemon Lily

I love to garden I just cant show anyone mine!!! LOL Originally Posted by Vern0065

errrr you planting rope again

I too started my first garden. Bought a house with an acre of property in the "boonies" of Westchester. Having the space, I have so far planted tomatoes, squash, eggplant, celery, herbs, flowers and few trees.

Any experienced gardners have any tips for keeping the deer away? I'm thinking chicken wire might do it.

Chicken wire, cayenne powder, and a big sexy ass gun