ITS GARDENING TIME!!! ITS GARDENING TIME!!!:clap2:

I wanted to start a thread for us gardeners. I know that you are out there, so please "stop by" and give advice, hints or just share your success.

I am in the process of getting my vegtable garden ready. I can't wait!!! I love to garden. I find that it is very relaxing, even pulling and hoeing the weeds. I love watching everything sprout. To see it grow, then pick it and can it. That is the best part, canning. I will even buy chicken when it is on sale just so I can can it. My DH loves it, but thinks I'm nuts.

This year I want to start some aspargus and rubarb. I have never done either so I hope it works. Any advice will be helpful. I also have to restart my strawberry patch as I lost over 80% of it due to frost. I was wanting to move it but was hoping to do it next year after I got just one more harvest out of it. Well, looks like I will have to buy strawberries for jam this year. I was also wanting to try a different "brand" of strawberries, any suggestions?

Staples in my garden are tomatos (beef and roma), green Beans (bush, not pole) carrots, beats (we love them pickeled), onions, green peppers, hot peppers, leaf lettuce, leaf spinach, raddish, potatoes, cucumbers (I will have to find my recipe for over ripe cuccumbers and share it), and squash. I have yet to have success with peas, so I am giving up on them. I tried growing brussel sprouts last year but waited to long to harvest so they were on the "woody" side. I might do califlower and brocolli (sp) again. I did a herb garden last year, but don't plan on doing that again. Altho my garlic is back up this year.

I hope I am not the only gardening nut in this bunch or I am going to "sound" pretty stupid "talking" to myself on this thread.

Thanks in advance for all the advice and helpful hints.

Hubby and I planted 3 new rose bushes over the weekend, as well as a easter lilly. I planted 3 lemon fluff? bulbs yesterday. We will see how they do. Veggies will come later....too early here in SD.

I still haven't got my veg garden in. It will not stop raining long enough to till it again. I have everything but the plants (tomatos, potatos, peppers). I want to play in the dirt sooooooo bad. I hope that next week will be better.

does working in the flower garden count as my exercise for the week. friday i mowed that included pushing mowing for about 30 min. saturday i pulled weeks and hoed and planted more flowers i worked in the yard for a total of 4 hrs. and today i was lazy and only cleaned out the greenhouse but that was 2 hr. of hard work yuck nasty!!! and i am in texas and the temp was around 85 and the humidity was 186!!!!

I havent had this issue before and I am stressing! 1) We have bunnies I didnt know about.. how do I keep them out without putting up a fence?? 2) Something is leaving little holes in my cherry tomatoes! Any ideas?

Sissy, do you have your tomatoes in wooden pots or beds? I had a problem a few years back with my strawberries which were planted in raised wooden beds. They had these tidy little holes eaten in them by wood bugs. I've also heard them called wood lice. I was puzzled by the holes until I found a bug curled neatly up inside a nice ripe strawberry.

ohhh interesting! They are in a bed but have a 2x4 wooden surround (to keep the grass out) I will have to look into that.. I noticed today the top of the other tomato plant was completely keeled over... I dunno if something ate it or if one of the neighborhood kids whacked it.. I am starting to feel like this garden is pointless

Asking for a tip! I want to plant some approx. 24 inch plants in a narrow (18 inch bed) close to the house under the overhand. I want to plant lavendar but I don't know if it will grow. It's part shade, well drained, semi-moist soil

any suggestions?

evilah

I've had a really pleasant surprise. Last year my potted Ginko tree kind of got neglected and died from lack of Water. I blamed my knucklehead husband because he usually does the watering.

I was particularly choked because I have had it for a few years and they are very slow growing. I did not relish starting from scratch.

Anyway, I was doing my spring yard clean up this morning, (yeah, I know, it's late) and there was my tree, with little leaves beginning to sprout. Ginko's get their leaves so late that if I had done my spring yard clean any earlier I would have tossed it.

I love it when stuff stubbornly and wonderfully grows back. What a great surprise!

you have to promise not to laugh. But I live in the city and there is little space for gardening and though I requested a space at my local community garden I was told I may have to wait 2 years. So today I bought an areogarden. Its small its compact but I can grow year round now lol I just got it today so wish me luck.

Eva

Go to your local Starbucks. They give away used coffee grounds in big 5-10 pound bags. Scatter the grounds around the base of your tomato plants. It's good organic matter for your soil and the squirrels don't like the smell. They were eating my tomatoes like crazy until we started doing this.

We also have bunnies in the bushes...

Asking for a tip! I want to plant some approx. 24 inch plants in a narrow (18 inch bed) close to the house under the overhand. I want to plant lavendar but I don't know if it will grow. It's part shade, well drained, semi-moist soil

any suggestions?

evilah

Lavender is one of the easiest things to grow. It will grow in hot, dry soil and soil like yours. I've planted it in full shade and the hot sun and it's one of the few things I've had come back year after year. Plus it smells heavenly!!