anyone here into edible gardening?

[franzb69]

A couple added advantages are being able to garden without stooping or squatting

i always get a small stool for me to sit on before i start playing around in the dirt (as i would call it). me and my bad back!

 

[Lucretia]

I hear you about the bad back! We're on glacial till--horrible stuff to dig. There are rocks, rocklike clay, and some more rocks. When we moved here before I started digging I looked like this:




Now after of few year of digging rocks:

 

[franzb69]

Now after of few year of digging rocks:

i started out looking like that, i only got worse =D

 

[franzb69]

just some trees i have in the garden

lemon tree

kaffir lime

calamansi / calamondin

these trees i planted, my family has a few other like a couple mango trees, jambul / black plum / duhat / java plum, my tamarind tree died (dunno why)....

 

[Mrmnms]

Great shots from half way around the world. Waiting for the snow to start again. No garden for another month or so.

 

[Craig]

I envy you people in warmer climes. The growing season is so limited in Canada, and you really can't grow a lot of things. I would drink so much gin if I could grow my own limes, for example.

Last year I was in an apartment, so all I had was potted plants. This year I moved into a house, so I'll have space for real veggies. Here's last year:

Basil:

Parsley, Oregano, Thyme are in the background on the left. Tarragon and Rosemary on the right. This was early in the season, so the new shoots were starting to pop up among the old. A month or so later it was bushy and amazing, but I don't have pictures of that.

Chinese 5 colour peppers,all still on colour 1. The one in the middle is just starting to turn:

Early Jalapenos, some are close to ready to harvest:

A couple of cherry tomato plants in the back. One was a red, the other a black. Black cherries are nice, but they don't have a yield like I expect from tomato plants. Which is actually kinda nice, if you normally drown in tomatoes.

 

[Craig]

I'm eagerly awaiting this spring, as I'll be putting in a garden where there was no garden before. The fiancee has given me the green light to rip up half the back yard, which is currently all grass. I'll have to tear it all up, then stir up the soil a good bit and probably fertilize somehow. I don't even know what kind of soil I've got and I don't really (at all) know what I'm doing. It's going to be so much fun.

edit: Until the raccoons show up and ruin it, of course.

 

[franzb69]

i envy you guys that you can grow the kind of herbs and vegetables i wanna grow. lol. and access to all that organic this and that to grow with. there aren't any organic pesticides here, just have to make your own and get creative if you wanna be completely organic.

I'm eagerly awaiting this spring, as I'll be putting in a garden where there was no garden before. The fiancee has given me the green light to rip up half the back yard, which is currently all grass. I'll have to tear it all up, then stir up the soil a good bit and probably fertilize somehow. I don't even know what kind of soil I've got and I don't really (at all) know what I'm doing. It's going to be so much fun.

from what i've learned from youtubers out there who love to garden, you can have your soil tested. find out what kind of pH it is, what kind of soil it is, what it lacks and what needs to be added to. and then you can go to your local office and ask about what varieties grow well within your area. you could look out for heirloom varieties that grow well for you so you can save the seeds and grow them the next year if you so choose. if you have access to compost, compost is the best stuff you can use. used coffee grinds, dolomitic lime, glacial rock dust, etc.

this stuff i can't do since i don't have access to that sort of stuff. heirloom varieties here have almost but disappeared except for a few people who stick to what they know and do well.

i have a b!tch of a time trying to grow herbs. well, herbs that seems to hate to grow here. like thyme, rosemary, western / european stuff. i don't really like eating or growing stuff that's local since it's all the same old boring stuff for me. i like having stuff that are hard to find.

 

[Craig]

Part of the plan for the spring involves putting in a composter and rain barrel. To start with, I'll have to use purchased compost.

I've heard of the soil tests, but I honestly don't think I'll bother. I should be able to spot what type of soil I've got by eye, and from there I should be good.

 

[Lucretia]

If you live near a Starbucks, they will give you used coffee grounds for your compost pile. They call it "Grounds for Gardeners". I don't drink Starbucks, but I get grounds pretty regularly. It'll really get your compost perking!

 

[Craig]

If you live near a Starbucks, they will give you used coffee grounds for your compost pile. They call it "Grounds for Gardeners". I don't drink Starbucks, but I get grounds pretty regularly. It'll really get your compost perking!

That's good to know, thanks.

 

[franzb69]

i ask for coffee grounds from starbucks all the time. i ask for the whole bag. hehe.

 

[Sara@JKI]

I love edible gardening! it's so exciting and rewarding. we tried tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, pimans, and shishito peppers last year. I really want to try some herbs, strawberries, carrots, turnips.... but when i actually have a garden/backyard, my first choices will be sweet potatoes, corns, potatoes, peach trees, cherry trees, water melons, and some awesome herbs.

 

[Dream Burls]

I've heard of the soil tests, but I honestly don't think I'll bother. I should be able to spot what type of soil I've got by eye, and from there I should be good.

This may not be such a good idea. Soil tests show the chemical composition, something you can't see with the eye. Based on the chemical composition you can find out what supplements you need to add to have a better soil.

 

[Duckfat]

Soil tests are essential for any garden that is larger than a planter box. With out soil tests even Rye and Brassica can be hard to grow. You can tell what type of soil you have by eye but certainly not the composition. Soil tests are not expensive and you can get them done through several State Universities with Ag programs like Michingan State. Any one else have a tractor?

 

[SpikeC]

Show off!

 

[Craig]

People have gardened for thousands of years without soil tests. You need them if you want to maximize yields, but I'm just doing it for fun. Chemistry isn't fun.

 

[Duckfat]

It's not a lot of fun when nothing grows well either. If your turning a new garden just dumping fertilizer and compost may work, it might also make things worse. A soil sample is uber easy. Just scoop up some of your soil and send it in along with a list of what you want to grow. You'll get back a breakdown of your soil and what you need to add. It doesn't have to be overly complex. Just take your test result to the garden center your going to buy supplies from and give them the measurements for the area you are working with and then they will be able to tell you what fertlizer and how much. Saves a lot of time, $$$ and frustration. IIR a test here is about $20.

 

[mkmk]

People have gardened for thousands of years without soil tests. You need them if you want to maximize yields, but I'm just doing it for fun. Chemistry isn't fun.

Do you cook?

 

[franzb69]

Do you cook?

oh don't get that started. that's another long stemmed debate on using exact amounts and "winging it"

 

[Lucretia]

Chemistry isn't fun.

Yes it is. So is math.

 

[mkmk]

oh don't get that started. that's another long stemmed debate on using exact amounts and "winging it"

Oh, I cook more by feel than by a kitchen scale -- but either way, it's most definitely chemistry.

 

[franzb69]

Oh, I cook more by feel than by a kitchen scale -- but either way, it's most definitely chemistry.

okay i can agree with you on that. just unmeasured and less scientific chemistry. =D

 

[Craig]

Oh, I cook more by feel than by a kitchen scale -- but either way, it's most definitely chemistry.

Not that this was a point that ever needed making (I mean seriously, do you honestly think soil samples and baking bread are the same thing?) but cooking in the vast majority of cases is not actually chemistry. Chemistry is the study of the composition, properties and behavior of matter. Cooking is almost never that, especially for a home chef like me. Cooking is the application of that science, which would make it a form of engineering.

 

[mkmk]

My point is that one can be a much better cook if you actually have some basic understanding of why an egg thickens in the presence of heat and acid, or why a yam roasted at high temp is not as sweet as one done at a lower temp. Being a good cook is not just a matter of following a list of instructions, since things go sideways very quickly. That doesn't mean that you need to have an electron microscope in the kitchen -- but a little understanding of the chemistry involved is invaluable.

There are multiple paths to those insights, of course. In my garden, I've been at it long enough that I can tell a lot about the soil without sending it to a lab. If I were starting someplace new, I'd probably go ahead and get a test.

 

[boomchakabowwow]

i'm into it.

mostly tomatoes since we learned how to can them. and peppers! this year, i am giving away homemade hotsauce as holiday gifts.

then i grow chinese bitter melons and winter melons in the annual melon size contest against my mom. my stepdad just passed, so she may opt out this year....hopefully, she is game on next year!!

 

[Duckfat]

Yes. 24 4x10 raised beds.

Salty is that behind the restaurant? If you ever make it to ME you should stop by Arrows. They've gone a very similar route and you can wonder the gardens. Food was pretty darn good as well (foie gras slider was awesome). They have a small page about the garden on their web site.
Last year I started growing and pickling Jalapenos. Super easy and they take very little space. I always grow Pablanos in pots as well then smoke them on the BGE before freezing.

http://www.arrowsrestaurant.com/garden.cfm

 

[franzb69]

anyone here do worm farms? vermiculture? i've recently been getting into it and would want to get some advice.

thanks

=D

 

[maxim]

Now where i am not chef anymore i have time for my garden But still lazy gardening

 

[boomchakabowwow]

chili peppers. do the pods get hotter as the season progresses?

i just made some mexican shrimp cocktail from my garden. four tiny jalapenos made the stuff HOT!! i now have a roll of toilet paper stored in the freezer, just in case.