I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Off-Topic => Off-Topic: Talk about anything you want. => Topic started by: Bajanne on July 10, 2008, 04:24:18 AM
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This thread is an off-shoot of the 'Summer Fun' thread - http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=8959.new#new. I thought we needed a thread where we can talk about what we are growing.
I only just started recently. I have seasoning peppers ( 6 plants in pots). I can't wait until they start bearing. Seasoning peppers are fantastic. They smell as if they would burn the roof off your mouth, but they have no fire, just flavour. I also have some spinach which I am training on a fence, and I have some more in pots that i will soon take to the fence. My thyme seeds just started to burst and I am waiting on chive and parsley to emerge. Bought a pot of thyme yesterday that I can use until mine are viable.
I grew up with lots of gardens, but this apartment dwelling has turned me into a pot gardener (even the spinach by the fence is in a pot!).
So, what are you growing?
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I am growing cycsts PKD they grow bigger and bigger
and I am good at growing kids -- 3 very tall children
otherwise, I can not even grow weeds
had some berry bushes for years and this year they never came back so my son and husband cut down the host tree when I was in the hospital
it was my signal school was almost out- when the berries came in
Yogi would eat them right off the bush - we had to beat him to them ( I was proud of my berry crop)
I wish I could grow flowers and gardens but I have no luck
neither does my husband
good thing we decided not to farm
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I love hostas. I have many varieties and their different colors make my garden so pretty. And then I mix impatiens amoung them for bursts of colors. I just got a jasmine plant and want to start training it on a trellis. I like to plant both annuals and perienials. It makes me happy to see things come back year after year. Don't plant vegetables anymore. Go to the Farmer's Market once a week instead! But I love the colors of peppers and tomatoes growing together. Bajanne, how do you cook with the peppers? They sound good.
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I grow lots of things! In my veggie garden I grow tomatoes, onions, garlic, cucumbers, rhubarb, asparagus, beans, squash, basil, catnip, saltwort, and parsley. In my yard I have two plum trees, mint, oregano, cilantro, rosemary, beebalm, and lots and lots of trees and flowers! My climbing roses are my babies. A redbird couple even built their nest in one of my rose bushes this year! Gardening is my favorite thing to do. (I also grow kids, too, Twirl.) :)
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I'm over in the corner with Twirl killing plants. Our yard is weeds right now, clover filled in winter with water on it. With Ca's water drought I feel guilty running water to do dishes now. I guess we will keep the weeds.
I get urges to garden now and then. Maybe this thread will encourage me
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I have a couple of tomato plants in pots and some peppers. I also like growing flowers. I have apples growing on my 4 apple trees (lots this year) There seems to be a lot of cherries on my tree too. I also have onions and a rhubarb patch. Post some pics of the stuff guys!!
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Photos? I have photos. This photo is my main bed with corn in the back (the stalks to the left should come in two weeks later than the rest). In front of the corn from left to right is lettuce, then three rows going left to right that I just planted 2 weeks ago: a row of spinach, a row of lettuce, a row of carrots, then a patch of carrots and all the way to the right is potatoes.
And yes I can really grow the grass. heh I grow grass and bajanne is a pot gardener.
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I'm with Kitkatz & Twirl in the I kill all plant's corner, but like Kitkatz, I can grow weeds, Twirl can you tell us how you manage not to grow them!!
(oh just realized Kitkat and Twirl are chocolate bars so now I'm happy in this corner :ROFL;)
Wish I could grow things though, that would be nice.
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Here's a picture of my rhubarb patch. The climber is a bittersweet vine not a clematis
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This one shows my barrels. I have real good store bought soil in these - designer soils with moisture retention properties and impregnated with miracle Grow. I mixed a bag of Mircle Grow in with a bag of moisture retention soil and then toped it off with fill from the yard. If I have a secrete that's it - start with good dirt.
The closest barrel has a tomato plant going nuts, a artichoke and right in front in the picture is my cantaloupe which was a slow start but now looks promising. The back barrel has a cherry tomato plant coming back after being dropped on its head during transplanting - I broke the main stalk but it has recovered nicely - I think it'll be late August into September when I have tomatoes. In the back barrel are two pole pea plants just about to climb and another artichoke plant.
I just noticed that on the right side you can see the head of my scare cat - a stuffed WSU cougar that I hope keeps the birds away.
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Pictures didn't work last time . Let's try again.
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And yes I can really grow the grass.
All well and good BP - but what about cutting the grass (it looks a little long in the photo) Or maybe you can get a sheep to graze in your back garden (Cairny would like a pet)
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And yes I can really grow the grass.
All well and good BP - but what about cutting the grass (it looks a little long in the photo) Or maybe you can get a sheep to graze in your back garden (Cairny would like a pet)
There must be some kind of environmental rationale for keeping the grass long and the parkway full of dandelions.
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Here is my Strawberry pot with my scare bee (come to think of it both my
dog toys stuffed animals are actually scare crows) The scare bee (I like that better) was a souvenir from a visit to the B Braun facilities in Bethlehem Pennsylvania. Unfortunately while the B Braun is a great dialysis machine the bee does a bad job protecting my strawberries - something is filching them when I'm not looking. Could be raccoons but I'm thinking a bird.
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I'm not a gardener; in fact, one time I killed a cactus plant! Marvin won't even let me keep artificial plants or flowers in the house -- he's afraid I'll kill them, too.
What am I growing? I'm growing old and fat. (I've also got a pretty good crop of dust coming off daily around here!)
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Petey I forgot but dust is the crop I grow best :rofl;
Twirl is a chocolate bar?
Del and Bill ---- beautiful pictures
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Twirl is a chocolate bar?
Oh yes, here in the UK Cadbury makes Twirl chocolate bars - have a look here http://www.britsuperstore.com/acatalog/Cadburys_Twirl_2_Fingers.jpg
very nice they are too :thumbup;
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I look pretty good
thought I was only a baton
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Oh, rhubarb! I love rhubard pie, stewed, and way you want to make it. Yummy :2thumbsup;
Nice garden, Bill. Nothing says summer better than fresh corn on the cob and tomatoes. That was my lunch yesterday, and my husband joked that I looked like I was having an out of body experience! Just let me know when the corn is ready to eat! :rofl;
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I don't have a digital camera anymore but I do have a photo of my garden from last year.
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Bill, I love your scare bee! We have rubber snakes.
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I can send you some real snakes
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YIKES! No thanks, Twirl! I got my own out back in a lot of rock we have here in TN.
BTW, I spent the 1st part of my life in Texas, in Hurst and Alvin. Left in '67 (my father was military).
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Bill, I love your scare bee! We have rubber snakes.
Do your snakes work? What are you growing this year Anna?
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Yes, the snakes work really well to keep birds out. I'm growing a lot (posted above) but I forgot to add strawberries and bell peppers and banana peppers. You might try the rubber snake idea for your strawberries. Move it every other day so the birds think it's real.
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Short term memory? What short term memory. Your first post was hours ago Anna
... jeez I need to pay closer attention.
Off to buy rubber snakes.
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I have a rubber snake that sits on my desk here in the office. Will it help my mustard plant weeds grow better?
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i have had gardens over the years, but nothing recently. last was tomatoes in a very large pot. hoever i understand my new yard has raspberries!!!!
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Short term memory? What short term memory. Your first post was hours ago Anna
... jeez I need to pay closer attention.
Off to buy rubber snakes.
Bill, just make sure you remember your snakes aren't real! :rofl;
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I really like that soil that Bill mentioned with added water retaining properties and fertilizer. I also like SmartCote pellets which is what nurseries use in hanging baskets and containers. These pellets also come in formulas for shrubs and for perennials. On top of that I also use a liquid fertilizer for annuals that are heavy feeders. I find that really good soil preparation is the key to lush gardens so every year I dig in the left over soil from my pots and I also dig in peat moss mixed with manure (composted weed free sheep manure is my favorite) on a regular basis and also compost that I can get for free from our city recycling program. I like to spread a good ring of sheep manure around each hosta, peony, flox clump in the early sring and I have on occasion added worms to my beds for good soil aeration which aids root growth. I've also bought ladybugs for natural pest control as I use no pesticides or herbicides. Anything too high maintenance, I give away or toss. I LOVE SOIL and digging and growing stuff. Used to grow a lot of veggies but no more. I get good locally grown stuff at the cottage.
Mulch is good for keeping down weeds and for retaining water but I find it can get in my way so I use it under shrubs or trees (like my new Katsura tree in photo no.2) but in my beds I rely on lots of overlapping plants.
Happy growing all. Love all the garden pics.
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Bill, I love your scare bee! We have rubber snakes.
My mother is an expert flower-growing -- all kinds of beautiful flowers and plants in pots and holders all over her back porch. She, too, likes to "hide" rubber snakes in her plants. The first time I discovered one, I thought it was real and chopped its head off with a hoe! The rest of the family still picks on me about that one (and that was about 25 years ago). Ohhhhhhh, I hate snakes -- live ones, dead ones, rubber ones, pictures of snakes, thoughts of snakes....and on and on.
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I'm with you petey, snakes in any form are enough to keep me away.
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Nice pictures people!!! No snakes at all in Newfoundland!! Only live ones I have ever seen are in pet stores and they scare the crap out of me!!!
Paris I have a really good recipe for heavenly jam - it has rhubarb, crushed pineapple and strawberry jello in it. Let me know if you want the recipe.
Here's a couple more pics of my garden. The first is of a red prince weiglia that one of my students gave me the last day of school. The second is my bridal wreath spirea.
I use a lot of compost. Mostly our own. I also use a lot of miracle grow. I use bone meal around plants too especially iris. I like those pellets too that monrein was talking about. I used a little too much on my alberta spruce last year and almost killed it!! It has bounced right back this year though!!
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Great pictures everyone. I can't grow anything right.
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Great pictures everyone. I can't grow anything right.
You can grow a mustache!
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sluff that is so not true, you grew your personality just right
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I am growing leaves ... We have 22 trees on less that a 1/4 acre that grow leafs all summer long
then drop the darn things all fall .....
We have birds and squirrels in the yard though
Katonsdad
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I grow a little bit of everything (no comments please). I plan on taking some new pics this weekend. I may even update my avatar.
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Del, I would LOVE the recipe. Thank you!
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We are sun limited in our yard, but manage to grow tomatoes, summer squash, green beans, peppers and basil.
I would love to know more about "seasoning peppers" from Bajanne and saltwort (?) from Annabanana.
We have the real thing too, so we don't need rubber snakes. And we have three cats that happily co-exist with the snakes...
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i've been trying to grow myself for 42 years, no joy,help wanted any ideas, :bow;
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We are growing a shed this summer too. Anybody wanna help???? :rofl; just joking!!
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pelagia,
saltwort is a Japanese herb used a lot in sushi, I hear. I use the new shoots in salad, stir-fry or in marinade or just on top of salmon or other fish when I grill.
I've also used it in sandwiches. It's full of good things, but I'm not sure it would pass the special diet test. It's got a very fresh taste and a good texture.
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Last year was my first at growing tomatoes & bell peppers. This year I have about 6 Big Boy tomato plants, 1 cherry tomato, also growing red bell peppers, tai hot peppers, cucumbers and strawberries and basil. All are coming in so well, I am psyched. My basil plant just keeps flourishing so nicely and it smells divine. I have given so much away and have made many dishes with it, yum! The only one I am iffy with is my cucumber, when the flowers come off, I haven't seen anything blooming...I need to see if cucumbers are coming. Next year I want some grow more herbs.
I'm having so much fun with this! It's very addicting.
Bill - I'm curious as to how viney the canteloupe plant is? I don't want it to take over my backyard, but I would love to grow them, yum!
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All melons are viney and take a lot of space to grow. Strawberries need a lot of attention in order to bear fruit year after year.
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The only one I am iffy with is my cucumber, when the flowers come off, I haven't seen anything blooming...I need to see if cucumbers are coming.
We are having trouble with our squash this year - not much fruit is setting. I am wondering if this is because there aren't many bees around. I don't think I've seen any honey bees in my yard this year at all. And we live in the country where there should be plenty. We don't use any pesticides. I've heard that the bee populations have been affected by disease. Are you seeing bees where you live?
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The bee population is down and it does affect pollination. Bees need to make several visits for good pollination. You can hand pollinate with a q-tip if it gets too bad.
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I'll give it a try. thanks
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My husband always asks why I plant "all those flowers" near the veggie garden and I tell him: to lure the bees in! It's true that the population is not what it used to be, but I've had some bees.
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I always plant a few marigolds to ward off the bugs and insects.
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Not many bees around here yet this year. Are cucumbers like pumpkins and you get male and female flowers? (I've grown cucumbers but can't remember). I know I've had the problem with pumpkins getting either all male flowers or females flowers. With pumpkins I usually have had to pollenate them myself when I have gotten a male and female flower. Just break off the little piece in the male flower and put it on the female flower (make them have sex :rofl;)
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ahhh...maybe THAT'S why I love gardening so much! All that sex! :rofl;
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Tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and peas are the most commonly grown self pollinating vegetables. They will also cross with other varieties if they are too close together. One years I planted 7 different varieties of tomatoes without enough separation. I had a bumper crop of tomatoes but they were all identical.
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Here are some picturs of my white and yellow roses that are just starting to bloom. The last picture is a gardenia that one of my students gave me at the end of the year.
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The white one looks especially good. I keep forgetting how far north you are. My roses have already bloomed several times but I still don't have a white one that compares to yours. Maybe we can work out a trade.
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Those are very nice Del. I hope you'll forgive me for correcting you on the "gardenia" picture but I'm pretty sure that it's actually a gazania. They're great plants, tough, tolerate drought fairly well and are bright and cheerful. They come in several different shades, all "hot" colours like yellow, orange and rust.
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You're right monrein it is!! I made a mistake. I even looked up gazania on the internet to see if it was a perenial or annual!!
Flip I don't even know the name of that white rose. A friend gave me the tree. It has white roses, yellow roses and roses that are mixed white and yellow. The picture of the yellow roses is from a different tree.
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We had the first real tomatoes from our garden for dinner tonight :yahoo;
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I used to love to take a salt shaker to the garden with me and chow down on a big juicy ripe tomato.
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also good in the watermelon patch :2thumbsup;
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Bill - I'm curious as to how viney the canteloupe plant is? I don't want it to take over my backyard, but I would love to grow them, yum!
I grew it from seed, it has taken a while to get going. So far there isn't a vine or fruit. It is growing up - about 8 inches tall so far. This is the first time I've tried cantaloupe so I'll let you know what happens. At this rate it'll be the end of summer before I get anything. Next year I'll start it sooner - I think it is about a month and a half behind where it should be. I bought a cantaloupe from Safeway last week - it was perfectly ripe - oh so good.
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I'm fighting aphids - there was some aphidcide, mass aphidcide, going on last weekend. I sprayed a mixture of dish soap and vegetable oil on them. I'm repeating the application daily. I hope that will do the trick. They started out on my artichoke plants and have moved onto one of my tomato plants. Here is a picture of one of the artichoke leaves.
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Add some tobacco juice. Just get a little smokeless tobacco and let it soak in water. Nicotine is a natural insecticide and it won't harm you or the plants.
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Bill wow
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Jerry Baker was on PBS for years with his concoction of dishwashing liquid, tobacco juice and water for pest control. I think his books and videos are still available online.
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Aphid Antidote Tonic
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 med cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp liquid dish soap
2 c water
Blend ingredients on high. Strain out pulp through pantyhose and pour the liquid into a hand held mist sprayer. Douse flowers at the first sign of trouble.
more here http://groups.msn.com/GabriellesGarden/jerrybakergardening.msnw (Jerry Baker gardening tips)
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Aphid Antidote Tonic
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 med cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp liquid dish soap
2 c water
Blend ingredients on high. Strain out pulp through pantyhose and pour the liquid into a hand held mist sprayer. Douse flowers at the first sign of trouble.
more here http://groups.msn.com/GabriellesGarden/jerrybakergardening.msnw (Jerry Baker gardening tips)
Jerry Baker was on PBS for years with his concoction of dishwashing liquid, tobacco juice and water for pest control. I think his books and videos are still available online.
I suppose I could ask my neighbor, who has been getting a lot of lettuce, for a pair of pantyhose but I'd have to write to a friend back in the town I went to college - in Ellensburg - for chewing tobacco. The aphids seem to find soap and oil incompatible with life but if some hang on I'll keep adding things to the mix. I hearing that I shouldn't expect any artichokes this year - that you have to wait for the second year.
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Does anyone have a trick for pulling carrots? I pulled a few today and a couple snapped off on the way out. After the first one snapped half way I watered which seemed to help but I still lost one or two. The carrots were very good - sweet.
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Bill, catch some ladybugs and put in your garden!!!
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Just got back to this thread (internet problems). I also use Miracle Gro. I am so jealous of those pictures where you guys have real gardens. But i am taking pleasure in my pot gardening (!!) as well.
Seasoning peppers look Scotch bonnet peppers (very hot, used in jerk seasoning), but they have no heat at all.
But as someone said earlier, you have to be very careful. If you grow seasoning peppers along with hot ones, cross fertilization can occur and they can become hot.
I brought 6 spinach plants to dialysis for a patient who is starting some growing as well.
I will be posting some picts soon.
I am very happy that they don't seem to be many pests here, but some time ago, i saw some slugs. They were a menace to gardening in my home country. i remember my father going out at night to deal with them. i was told that tobacco is very effective. I must get some. don't want them getting to my spinach which is growing nicely on the fence.
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Don't go chewing tobacco to keep the slugs from your "pot" plants!! :rofl;
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Bajanne, to get rid of slugs get a beer can, pour out half the beer, bury the can almost flush to the ground around the garden, and the slugs flock to the beer and get trapped in the can and drown. It really works!
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They also won't crawl over ashes from wood or sawdust. They don't like stuff sticking to them. the beer really works too!! You can also buy stuff called slug bait at the store. It looks like pellets and really gets rid of the slugs.
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This is a great site for all sorts of gardening information and lots of lovely photos. I used to live here until I found and needed IHD.
http://davesgarden.com/
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I finally have 2 cucumbers growing, yeah!!!
Big problem with my tomatoes though. I had to throw more than half of the ones growing away due to the bottoms rotting out. I have no idea why this is happening. Any ideas?? I was so bummed, this didn't happen to me last year.
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Don't go chewing tobacco to keep the slugs from your "pot" plants!! :rofl;
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Just saying "High!" to all you pot gardeners like me!
Now I finally have the picts of my pots.
This picture is of some seasoning peppers I just threw outside to dry and get the seeds.
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POT PICTS
In the first pict, there are my seasoning pepper plants coming along nicely, with some broad-leaf thyme and a spinach.
[The little brown pot is a disappointment of mine. I bought what I thought was a thyme plant at the garden store. it turns out to be lemon basil, and I have no idea what to do with it. I cannot just throw it away, so I am just letting it grow there]
Second pict is my thyme (along with some that I bought already grown). My parsley and chive are yet to appear properly.
My spinach growing on the fence
A pot of aloes - looking for somewhere to let it grow in the ground.
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blossom end rot maybe skyedogrocks??? Has something to do with the watering I think.
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It's a moisture problem. Water early in the morning and make sure you have good drainage. A little mulch would help.
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i am soooooo jealous of all of you. i can hardly wait to move. mmmmmmmmmmm raspberries (so i'm told at least)
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Bajanne, LEMON BASIL--- I grow it to make tea. I also cut it, wrap it in kite string, let it dry, and put it in the bathtub! (I do this with chamomile, too, which is my favorite and great for the skin. Also a really good tea.) Lemon basil is great in salads, pesto, on top of fish or chicken esp. grilled. Yummy!
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Forgot to say thanks - the lemon basil just went up in my estimation. I used it in a fish sauce the other day!
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does this count
my nep doc says my polycystics cysts are growing :'(
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does this count
my nep doc says my polycystics cysts are growing :'(
:rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; :rofl; Girl, you are :urcrazy;
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My seasoning pepper plants are doing so well! Two of them have flowers, and the three others have buds. I must take a picture for you guys tomorrow.
And I ate spinach from my spinach in the pots three times. And I used the thyme from the plant I had bought, and my thyme plants that I grew from seeds are doing very well. I could use some if I wanted! Abd my parsley is ready for replanting, but I haven't got the pots as yet!!
And I just planted some marjoram seeds. And I have another pot with 5 seasoning pepper shoots that came up from seeds!!!
:bandance; :bandance; :bandance;
gotta get those picts in the morning!
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what kind of seeds did you plant :rofl;
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probably not the same kind I planted
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My dust bunnies are hopping out from under the bed.
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Here are the picts of my growing things as they are now.
1. Seasoning Pepper flowering
2. Seasoning Peppers
3. spinach
4. Another set of spinach
5. at the top - thyme,
parsley, more thyme (storebought)
marjoram sprouting, seasoning pepper plants,
bottom, some parsley planted out
Check how these looked when I first posted!
My stuff is growing (and not just cysts and dust bunnies :rofl;)
I had a problem with some white bugs underneath my pepper plants leaves. I made a spray of detergent and water and sprayed them. I hope it works.
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Your plants look great. Wish I had some of the peppers!
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Basil has to be one of my favorite herbs...I especially love making fresh bruschetta in the summer with tomatoes, basil and lots of garlic.
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Here are some pictures I took this morning.
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wow thats amazing Del not so long ago your garden was covered in snow !
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My cherries were gone a long time ago. What I don't pick in the first day or two, the birds get. I need to pick my grapes tomorrow and make some jelly. I love sausage biscuits with grape jelly.
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We get grapes from a friend that has a vine. We make wine out of ours. Really good. Grapes that grow here (cold climate) aren't usually sweet enough to eat but are great for making wine!!!
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Mine are Concord...better for jelly or jam than wine. It's way overgrown with a lot of dead vines. I need to drastically cut it back this winter.
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Beautiful astilbe and lilies Del. So much the sweeter too for the fact that the ground is covered in snow for so much of the year.
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Here are some pictures I took this morning.
Lovely del!
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wow cherries
I pay like 4.50 a lb
and yours look so much better :cheer:
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I planted tomatoes and peppers. The tomatoes were doing really well until I fell into them picking them. Right after having my cast taken off of my left arm. Fortunately the plants caught me, but did a major number on them. They were still producing until we got a deluge of rain this past week and now they have some kind of mildew all over them.
My peppers seem to still be doing well, but they are supposed to be bell peppers and some of them are red!
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Green bell peppers turn red after they ripen. It doesn't hurt them, they may be a bit softer.
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I guess one of my watermelons made it. We found one among the pumpking leaves and it was so flavorful! Also, my orange tree has regrown all the leaves and I even had six blooms last week.
:yahoo;
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oh great...you must have a green thumb. I have tried orange trees a couple of times and nothing; and it was either a lost watermelon seed or a pumpermelon, how about that. It's so much fun to have something we have grown ourselves.
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Just saw your picts, del. They are absolutely beautiful! those flowers in the last picts!! :flower; :flower; :flower; They look like orchids. what are they?
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That's an oriental lily bajanne. One of my students gave it to be at the end of the school year. It's beautiful!! The little girl had to come visit me to see where I had planted it.
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Very beautiful!! I hope I have your permission to save that picture.
:yahoo; :yahoo; I have some little peppers!!!!!!!!!! :yahoo; :yahoo;
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I missed out on most of my garden produce (family emergency had me out of town for August and September) - the neighbors report everything was very tasty. I do have a lot of grapes though. I put an ad on craigslist for free grapes - Brett is coming over to pick them and is promising to give me some of the resulting jam - great deal - I've eaten about all I can.
This photo shows about 1% of the total
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Those are spectacular Bill. What variety are they? Concord?
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I had ten replies to my craigslist ad in about 15 minutes. one of them said they were most likely , Interlaken white table grapes and that concord grapes were dark with seeds
Not sure but they are tasty and seedless
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I have Concords and they are purple. I make jelly because I don't have the patience to let the wine age. Yours look similar to the ones I buy in the grocery store and freeze as snacks.
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Here are some pictures of the apples that were on our apple trees. I have loads of apple sauce and still a few apples left to eat.
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Ok!! Let's see if I can get the pics this time!!!
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they look perfect for hard cider
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Nice Del.
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I do not like apples but I would eat one of those
how do you do it
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I am just catching up on this thread after not visiting for quite awhile. Del, I envy those fruit trees. I have a huge wooded yard with no real space to put fruit trees. We once rented a house that had a huge cherry tree in the front yard. It was amazing and the cherries were delicious.
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I have a huge, very old apple tree in my front yard and every summer for about two months we're picking up fallen apples constantly. They're good cooking apples and I don't spray them so they might have worms but they're organic. Right now they're digging up our street so the workmen have been eating them.
Del's tree looks quite young I think.
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Can I have some of the gardeners here come help my yard? I grow great dirt!
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No gardening required on the apple tree in my yard. It does it's thing all by itself every year and I pay someone to come in and prune it every four years or so.
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The apple trees are only about 5 years old . We have 4!! Only one produced a lot of apples this year. We don`t spray either that`s why you see some black spots on the apples. It`s only on the peel though. We were picking apples off the ground for weeks before we finally picked the last ones that were left on the tree. They are really good for cookin or eating. We prune them a little every year. Monrein is right. Not much work with the trees at all. Bees pollenate them and hopefully they produce apples!!
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Okay, so if we take the old rotting maple tree down that sits smack in the middle of an otherwise open area, maybe it's worth it for me to plant apple trees. We've been holding off to let the tree live out it's life, but we're afraid it will come down in a storm. Apples in 5 years - that sounds pretty good.
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I speak from experience --- better to have apples then to have fallen tree --- make apple pie
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I've had three respondents from my craigslist ad come over and pick pounds of grapes (I took the ad down after ten minutes), and yet there are still plenty left.
Tonight I came home to a grape picker of another kind. The dog was not pleased.
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HA! Great shot! :clap;
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Sneaky little thing!!! :Kit n Stik; him!!!
The apple tree that I posted the pic of is a melba apple tree!!!
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what a beautiful shot
where is the gator
that would solve the problem :rofl;
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:thumbup; Great picture Bill. I'm sure he didn't eat too many.
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Here's the last bit of summer from my garden. That's a white eggplant, not an ostrich egg! And my cat going by.
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Beautiful white eggplant. I love grilled eggplant on the barbeque then lots of it chopped up in a tomato sauce for on top of pasta.
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forget the eggplant
whose the pretty kitty
I think you posted his pic
what a doll
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I had Eggplant Parmigiana at our IHD dinner at Olive Garden for my entrée!!
Bad news concerning my growing things. The mealybugs totally took over my seasoning pepper plants. I had dealt with them and had lots of lovely peppers. I then left it for a while and now I am going to have to start over.
My spinach had another problem. I got some good leaves for a while. Now all the leaves are small and it is bearing blossoms and seeds. Something else I will have to start over.
The thyme, parsley and marjoram are going good however.
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I am very happy to say that with the weather holding the tomatoes are still ripening on our plants. I think we might get one more batch before we get a frost. I also have some roses blooming. They always seem to do better here during the off months compared to the summer.
We never managed to get any fall garden things planted this year. Maybe there is still time for some lettuce. Today I am focusing on bringing in the houseplants.
My cats (Coco and Alpine) are enjoying the sunny weekend. That's Coco in the picture with the flowers.
too bad about the bugs Bajanne.
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My dirt growing has been fabulous this year! It even blows inside occasionally!
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My dirt growing has been fabulous this year! It even blows inside occasionally!
:rofl;
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:bump;
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This year I have three tomato plants - two cherry, and one full size. The artichoke plants didn't make through the winter but the strawberries are going strong, the grapes are as plentiful as last year and it is a bumper crop of blue berries. I started cantaloupes from seed - they're way ahead of where I was last year - they flowered about two weeks ago. I also started onions from seed and planted them between my potatoes.
I have a lot of lettuce - I've had salad every night for the last month, with no end in sight though my spinich bolted so I pulled it all this weekend and replanted some that I hope will be up in August. I also have carrots and garlic. And a pot of oregano.
Flowers too. Lillis that are showing their buds, cosmos that haven't flowered yet and nasturtiums which have been flowering for weeks.
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When I retire I am going to have a vegetable garden again. The last year I grew vegetables was the year I opened the school. Discovered that working 10 hours/day and gardening don't mix too well! :thumbdown;
I sure miss those fresh, fresh vegetables. Especially the ones that didn't even make it to the house. :clap;
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Oh and corn - I have a row of corn about two feet high. Last year I was out of town when the corn came in and I heard it wasn't very tasty so this year I am trying a different variety.
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I have potatoes planted (haven't popped up yet). I also have turnip greens, onions, cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, and 2 pepper plants. Hope I have a good crop!!! Lots of cherry tomatoes on my hanging basket. I also have LOTS of flowers and plants!!
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You people make me so jealous. Especially Bill Peckham. It's not fair that you can grow all this stuff.
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Nothing says summer to me more than fresh corn on the cob and red ripe tomatoes. MMMMM.
I'm jealous, too.
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I have 2 tomato plants, 1 yellow squash, a cilantro plant & 2 jalapeno pepper plants.. Since we haven't had rai i have had to water everyday. temp been over 95 for about a month
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but did you get lots and lots of rain today Tinah.. I had lots of herbs, a lime tree and a bay leaf tree. Didn't want to get out and water with the tubes hanging over my chi chi so they all just died. Only thing living is big bushes and my cactii.
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No DW seems that the rain keeps passing me by :(
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I don't grow veggies any more (except herbs) but since my transplant I'm a planting fool again. I've planted a large tree, two new climbing hydrangeas, two viburnum shrubs, eleven hostas, lots of annuals and I'm going back to the nursery today for more. Some people have eating disorders where they just can't stop eating...I think a have a gardening disorder. I always feel at my most peaceful when I'm digging or tending in some way to my plants.
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Here are some pics of some things I grow
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Oh, Del,
I am soooo jealous. When I was growing up we had a beautiful bridal wreath bush by our porch. That is something that I have always wanted and still don't have. That and oak leaf hydrangeas. One of these days. :2thumbsup;
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del has a green thumb.
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Some more pics of my garden.
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I don't grow veggies any more (except herbs) but since my transplant I'm a planting fool again. I've planted a large tree, two new climbing hydrangeas, two viburnum shrubs, eleven hostas, lots of annuals and I'm going back to the nursery today for more. Some people have eating disorders where they just can't stop eating...I think a have a gardening disorder. I always feel at my most peaceful when I'm digging or tending in some way to my plants.
:pics; :pics; :pics; Love to see photos!
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I just planted an orange and a lemon tree in containers on my patio (stoep- afrikaans for patio- pronounced "stup")
It is so exciting..... they are from a miniature variety..... does anyone have info on how to look after them. The nursery said full sunlight, regular water..... I think that can't be all????
I can't wait for miniature fruit.... so cool
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I am growing grandkids :flower; :flower; :flower;
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Cool!
Do you water them once a week or do they "water" you?
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Here are some garden photos from this summer. I always take too many!
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A few more:
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I apologize in advance for so many
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Those are just stunning pictures, Monrein. Thanks so much for posting them! We have a large yard with quite a bit of landscaping but mostly it's trees, bushes and hostas. We do have some peonies, iris, daylilies, coneflowers, shrub roses and black-eyed susans and right now I'm looking for some lower growing perennials that will give color for most of the season. I had some asters that bloomed in the fall but this year the rabbits decided to dine on them so I'm certain we won't see any flowers this year. We had so many ornamental crab trees and bushes that required trimming that this year my husband got fed up and cut many of them down. He's cut down 9 crab trees and close to 2 dozen bushes! So now I'm looking for some easier maintaining perennials to fill in some blank areas. My hubby planted tomatoes, cucumbers, several varieties of peppers, dill, mint, catnip, rosemary, basil and parsley this year as he has in the past but the only things doing well at all are the herbs. We've had such unusually cold and rainy weather that we'll be lucky to get much from our tomato plants. We had hoped to can tomatoes this year and won't have nearly enough of a crop to be able to. They are finally forecasting near normal temperatures for our area (NW Illinois) but I'm afraid we've missed too much of the growing season for it to do us much good this year. But like any good Chicago Cubs fan knows.....there's always next year!
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:yahoo; I just love Gail's photos. We have a fairly large yard and had my son (with the help of a backhoe) dug up all our foundation plants around the whole house. The house looks strange but better. We had a landscaping company come in and plant some things for us. A beautiful holly, a lace leaf maple, and a few others I can't remember there names. I can't take care of stuff like I use to and everything had just gotten out of hand and look bad to me. Better to start all over after 30 years. I have offered Gail numerous times to come to Maryland and do my flower beds, she hasn't taken me up on the offer yet. We have a 60 foot oak tree that needs to be taken out shortly. The storms we have had the last few years have really damaged a lot of trees around here. I'm doing research to see what is fast growing to replace it because it shades our front porch. Come on Gail, we have wonderful place(s) to eat around here. :cuddle;
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Wow Gail, For a while I was worried you might be obsessed with plants but now I see I was worried for nothing. It seems you have it under control. (lol) But seriously, you have a really beautiful garden. I'm just jealous.
Everything is dead this year as the blood suckers took my energy away and as the Houston drought took any chance of keeping the rest alive. Today my usual yard man returned from Central America so we will get started on revitalizing what is left (grass first) this weekend. That makes me happy.
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We had the first of our tomatoes from our garden for dinner this evening. Thank heavens for PD...don't have to watch the potassium quite so closely. Now we just need to get some sweet corn. Corn on the cob and BLT's...doesn't get much better than that!
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fabulous garden monrein! :flower;
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Beautiful garden monrein!! :flower; When are you coming to Newfoundland to help me with my garden!!!
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I am taking it we are just talking about plants outside? Haha
Well the first ones are of tomatos and the secound are my flower pots.. yey
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Oh Gail I am so jealous! Out here we have water restrictions. So you don't see to many gardens like that. Oh how pretty!
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all you need now would be some lettuce and bacon plants...
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Wow a BLT can I come over? :yahoo;
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yum bacon...haha
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Monrein,,,
Is the flower you have from a "grinadilla vine" passion fruit?
You also get the more white ones her in South Africa.
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Yes Des it is a Passion Flower. They are just annuals for us here and don't fruit but this one is from my brother's place in northern Florida.
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The fruit ones are very popular her in SA and nearly every second house has it. We call it Grinnadella.... well just to let you know its my favourate juice......
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Passion fruit is one of my favourite drinks too. They tend to grow kind of wild here, but you can buy them at the market.
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The Passion Flower is the Tennessee state wild flower and it grows everywhere here! :2thumbsup;
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This is probably a tad early to start this discussion back up, but on Mother's Day the gorgeous restaurant where we had brunch gave every mother their choice of plant. I chose currant tomato. We have no land on our property (urban area) so I've got it in a planter and have been keeping it indoors due to cold temps at night. I am terrible with plants but I am hoping to keep this one alive because I am wild about heirloom tomatoes. Plus it gives us an opportunity to use our compost. Gwyn and I try to live green without making ourselves crazy over it. One of the actions we've taken is to keep worms in our basement and we compost some of our fruit and vegetable matter (not all - you don't want to overload them).
I think I need to move the tomato plant to our balcony. Some of its leaves are turning a bit yellow, and I thought that tomatoes liked full sunlight. I don't think we need to worry about frost anymore.
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I'm hardening my tomatoes this week by leaving them out during the day and bringing them in later each night ... yellow leaves now does signal an issue though. Tomatoes want a certain soil composition, maybe some organic fertilizer?
I cheat and buy dirt.
I thinned my lettuce today - first salad of the season tonight.
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Well Bill..... I hope you grow more than leaf lettuce...... go fishing and after you clean your fish add those fish heads to your tomatoes...... for me it works great.... or I guess you could buy grow fast........
hey we want pictures.....
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My pepper plants are huge and tomatoe plants are in bloom. Cucumbers starting to run and blooms on my yellow squash. I love garden season! We have lots of organic fertilizer, we clean out the feed pens twice a year and pile it up to compost, the next year it's ready to use on the garden.
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I also have peppers, including one called pinot noir, which is black. Just have some zucchini in addition to that. Want to get some cucumbers also.
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I watch Beth work on her veggie plants. She has a lovely, big tomato plant with lots of blooms. Also peppers and cucumbers. And all kinds of herbs. I stick to flowers! But I will enjoy the "fruits" of Beth's labor!
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I'm hardening my tomatoes this week by leaving them out during the day and bringing them in later each night ... yellow leaves now does signal an issue though. Tomatoes want a certain soil composition, maybe some organic fertilizer?
Thanks for the thoughts, Bill. Gwyn began hardening the tomatoes immediately after I mentioned this and added more organic compost, and they seem to be doing well. We have been watering them with 'worm tea' from our vermicomposting bin. Branches with yellow leaves withered and fell off, but new leaves are sprouting from the stem.
We now have five tomato plants, but the other four were only acquired a few days ago and are still settling in. The currant tomato plant has a few flowers growing on the top, one has even opened. Does anyone know if this is a problem? Should we snip them off?
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I'm hardening my tomatoes this week by leaving them out during the day and bringing them in later each night ... yellow leaves now does signal an issue though. Tomatoes want a certain soil composition, maybe some organic fertilizer?
Thanks for the thoughts, Bill. Gwyn began hardening the tomatoes immediately after I mentioned this and added more organic compost, and they seem to be doing well. We have been watering them with 'worm tea' from our vermicomposting bin. Branches with yellow leaves withered and fell off, but new leaves are sprouting from the stem.
We now have five tomato plants, but the other four were only acquired a few days ago and are still settling in. The currant tomato plant has a few flowers growing on the top, one has even opened. Does anyone know if this is a problem? Should we snip them off?
oh my! where do you live that you are already harvesting?? I got a late start planting here in NJ. My tomatoes, cucumbers just went in 1 month ago because of all the cold weather. My strawberries are in planters and they are doing nicely. I had to put wire mesh over them to keep the squirrels away so that the ripe berries will be there for ME and not them. Didn't grow anything else this year. My energy level isn't what it used to be and my allergies have gotten worse so I don't stay out as long. Still, it makes me feel good to sit outside and look at my plants.
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Hopefully your cops are a little brighter than the dozy tw@s in Scotland: Click (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/3529872/Police-mistake-widows-tomato-plants-for-cannabis-factory.html)
Little old lady grows tomato plants in her kitchen and gets raided by the drug squad because they thought the tomatos were cannabis. ::)
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Hopefully your cops are a little brighter than the dozy tw@s in Scotland: Click (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/3529872/Police-mistake-widows-tomato-plants-for-cannabis-factory.html)
Little old lady grows tomato plants in her kitchen and gets raided by the drug squad because they thought the tomatos were cannabis. ::)
:rofl;
Even I could tell the difference! What sheltered lives they must lead....
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ah Stoday, that's hilarious!
"I started laughing because I knew they were tomato plants but it wasn't so funny when they frisked me and then started tearing the house apart."
Honk!
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I'm hardening my tomatoes this week by leaving them out during the day and bringing them in later each night ... yellow leaves now does signal an issue though. Tomatoes want a certain soil composition, maybe some organic fertilizer?
Thanks for the thoughts, Bill. Gwyn began hardening the tomatoes immediately after I mentioned this and added more organic compost, and they seem to be doing well. We have been watering them with 'worm tea' from our vermicomposting bin. Branches with yellow leaves withered and fell off, but new leaves are sprouting from the stem.
We now have five tomato plants, but the other four were only acquired a few days ago and are still settling in. The currant tomato plant has a few flowers growing on the top, one has even opened. Does anyone know if this is a problem? Should we snip them off?
Aaaaaaah flowers are good, don't snip them.
When (if) those flowers pollinate that's what will turn into tomatoes. Tomatoes are air pollinators, just let a breeze do its job or in a green house or indoor situation you can flick the stem to shake some pollen loose.
I've given up on the out doors ... well my lettuce/carrots/peas/potatoes are doing great in my one bed but my tomato plants are all inside in pots, and I finally gave up and I also brought inside the pots of flowers I was trying to grow on my deck. It's been cold and rainy here in Seattle - Mayvember has given way to Junetober
I have some lilies along the fence that I planted a couple Octobers ago , and they're going great. They'll be blooming in the next week or so. One has eight or so flowers and is taller than me.
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I have 6 Easter Lilys in full bloom. Yes, a little late, but pretty non the less. Every year, I stick another one in the ground and hope it will come up. So, now I have 6 yrs of Easter Lilys and most people toss the plant out, not knowing what to do with it.
Beth's little garden is doing great. Her tomato plant is about 6 ft. tall, with lots of blooms and several tiny tomatoes growing. Her zuchinni is blooming along with her pepper plants. She is turning into Martha Stewart! She made 3 pairs of shorts and a pleated skirt this week.
Bill, I will remind her about organic fertilizer. She wants her tomato plant to do well. Thanks for sharing.
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I am trying to grow lawn in two flat trays on my balcony. It catches the sun in the afternoon. I want the lawn for my cats, they are used to living in houses rather than apartments on the second floor. They llove lawn to sit on, and grass to chew on. But they also love digging. So while the lawn is establishing, I have it surrounded by chicken wire. Whenever they find a way in past the wire, i find my balcony covered in dirt and grass seedlings. Its all a bit of a slow process really.
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Thanks for the thoughts, Bill. Gwyn began hardening the tomatoes immediately after I mentioned this and added more organic compost, and they seem to be doing well. We have been watering them with 'worm tea' from our vermicomposting bin. Branches with yellow leaves withered and fell off, but new leaves are sprouting from the stem.
We now have five tomato plants, but the other four were only acquired a few days ago and are still settling in. The currant tomato plant has a few flowers growing on the top, one has even opened. Does anyone know if this is a problem? Should we snip them off?
Aaaaaaah flowers are good, don't snip them.
I have some lilies along the fence that I planted a couple Octobers ago , and they're going great. They'll be blooming in the next week or so. One has eight or so flowers and is taller than me.
My tomatoes are flowering at last. I am so excited. Still waiting for signs of cucumbers. My neighbor has day lillies all along his fence and they get quite tall with many blooms. Their fragrance takes over my yard. It smells like heaven when they are in bloom.
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Still waiting for signs of cucumbers.
Now you do have to clip out flowers on cucumbers.
Just the male flowers though. Only the female flowers grow into cucumbers and you don't want them fertilized.
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Still waiting for signs of cucumbers.
Now you do have to clip out flowers on cucumbers.
Just the male flowers though. Only the female flowers grow into cucumbers and you don't want them fertilized.
It depends on the variety - most outdoor varieties you leave the flowers on - there are some greenhouse cucumbers that you would have to take off the males but most outdoor varieties need them both.
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I am extremely proud to announce that I have the best growing weeds in the state of Ca. Too bad the plants dont grow as well and as fast.
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Aaaaaaah flowers are good, don't snip them.
When (if) those flowers pollinate that's what will turn into tomatoes.
OK! There's another embarrassing and disappointing mistake averted over at cariad's. Thanks, Bill! :flower;
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Oh, y'all should see (and smell) my english lavender; I have several varieties, and they are in full bloom and are so wonderful. My french lavender is also full of buds but are not quite in bloom; should be by this time next week, though.
And I have more strawberries than I know what to do with (no, I don't want to make preserves or jelly; I'm not good at that, I'm not patient enough nor do I have the energy.), so I beg the neighbors to come collect some.
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You could ask a neighbour to take some of your strawberries and make freezer jam with it. Delicious and easier than cooked jam...tastes more like a "fresh" strawberry flavour to me.
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You could ask a neighbour to take some of your strawberries and make freezer jam with it. Delicious and easier than cooked jam...tastes more like a "fresh" strawberry flavour to me.
Oh dear...I don't know what "freezer Jam" is; if it's easy, I'll have a go myself. I'm such a lazy toad.
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http://www.canadianliving.com/food/strawberry_freezer_jam.php
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That looks yumtastic!
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Freezer jam is the best and very easy. Like Monrein said, the flavor is more freshlike and is delicious on a piece of toast. Yummy
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Ooooo, freezer jam. That's a new one on me. I hope it works with turbinado sugar....
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Here are a few photos of my garden so far this spring.
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A few more.
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Gorgeous, monrein. Simply gorgeous.
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We have wee bitty tomatoes on our heirloom tomato plant now, resembling little green pearls. So exciting. Our organic tomato plants from the environmental centre also seem to be doing well, but no flowers yet. The marigolds my older son gave me for Mother's Day have really taken off, too. No flowers there yet, either, but very green. We have taken all the plants inside, to keep bugs and rodents from eating them first.
We received our first CSA drop today, and they usually give us potted herbs toward the beginning of the season. Today we received a type of plant that looks like a violet, only it's a 'Johnny Jump Up' edible flower. I have eaten violets before, when my family went for an herb walk with a professional herbalist last year. We are going to replant the flowers in our herb box, and hopefully will have herbs to add soon to keep them company. As we learnt last year, violets have somewhere around 3 times the vitamin C that oranges do. However, vitamin C is water soluble and so sadly washing the flowers pulls much of that off. :flower;
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You made me go look - after a careful survey I found just two "green pearls" on one of my plants - the cherry tomato. Lots of flowers all around, some wilted and falling off, hopefully they were pollinated.
The weather is not cooperating - sunny days are always a few days away when I look at the forecast (http://www.weather.com/outlook/homeandgarden/garden/tenday/USWA0395) and somehow they never come. We haven't gotten above 75 this year.
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There are at least a dozen small tomatoes on our plant. A couple about 3". Tiny little zuchinni, only about an inch long. They are so cute. Lots of blooms on the zuchinni and squash. And tons of blooms on the pepper plants. Hot hot weather and not much rain, so we are constantly trying to keep them watered. This has been fun. Now, I just hope things keep growing so we can actually eat some of them. :2thumbsup;
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I'm better at growing plants. But this year I started an herb garden. So far so good. I have Mints, Basil, Chives, Rosemary, Oregano, Sage, Italian Parsley. They all look healthy and I just keep using them. The more I cut the more they grow. My favorite are the Basil. I just love tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella. I'm just glad the Mints are in a separate pot b/c they are HUGE. I've made my friends Mojito and added the mints to my hot tea.
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You made me go look - after a careful survey I found just two "green pearls" on one of my plants - the cherry tomato. Lots of flowers all around, some wilted and falling off, hopefully they were pollinated.
The weather is not cooperating - sunny days are always a few days away when I look at the forecast (http://www.weather.com/outlook/homeandgarden/garden/tenday/USWA0395) and somehow they never come. We haven't gotten above 75 this year.
Wow, that's worse than our weather. We have had quite a few days in the 80s, finally. Bring on the heat and the sun.... and the tomatoes!
Sounds like a very promising start, Paris!
Ah, Rookiegirl, mint. We had some growing behind our house in Michigan. That plant will take over anywhere that you let it. It forms this unbelievable root system, a giant cord that runs parallel to the surface, like an irrigation pipe, with a plant shooting up every foot or so. Sounds like you found a great use for it - we barely used any of ours, and the stuff does not die. You are wise to keep it in solitary confinement.
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Our tomatoes have blossom end rot! I happened to tune to NPR when they had a local phone-in program on with a UW-extension master gardener. (Gwyn has taken a course from them - he loved it.) A woman called in to say her tomatoes were rotting from the bottom up, and the gardener said it was most likely blossom end rot due to too little calcium. She said that inconsistent moisture from the drought/flood cycle we've been in all summer can cause it. Apparently there is a calcium spray we could buy to make up for our watering laziness, but we have enough survivors that I don't want to bother. We also get marvelous tomatoes from our CSA, so we hardly need more, and these tomato plants were free from the ecological centre anyhow. I don't even know what variety they are, but most of them are shaped like little bell peppers. I have pulled off all the rotting tomatoes to divert energy to the healthy ones.
My currant tomato plant that I received as a gift from a restaurant on Mother's Day is a riot of scandalously delicious, yellow tomatoes. Every time I go out to the balcony, I have one (or two). Gwyn thought the birds were eating them. No, just me. We also were hosting a mystery plant in one of our pots, until Gywn sent a pic to our CSA farmer and he eventually identified it as pigweed. I laughed and laughed. Then I pulled the weed up before it could crowd out my superb rosemary. We have cilantro coming up quickly, but our baby lettuce seems to have mostly died out (we did harvest it twice, and it was delectable!) I hope to get enough cilantro to make a fab salsa before summer is over.
Next year I will skip the regular tomatoes and just go for the currant variety. That plant has been so easygoing, while providing an abundance of the best tomatoes.
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I had a couple with blossom rot too but a few of the many survivors are just starting to orange so it won't long.
I'm glad I planted a second crop of lettuce in one of my oak barrels, it's doing great. And I've been able to have a carrot a day for a couple weeks, with enough to see me through the end of the month.
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I grew a beard about 30 years ago. It started out nicely dark, but all the colors have drained away now and it's white. :'(