Anyone growing a garden this year?

[Kupkake]

Eventually, we'll plant a small one.  A few tomato plants, peppers and a few Japanese eggplants.  These eggplants are small and slender - great for slicing in half, layering Parmesan cheese (or whatever kind you like) on the sliced side and baking. 

We don't really have a good space in the yard for a garden because of all the trees so we use a small plot of our neighbor's field.  Since he died, neither his wife nor us wants to fool with hooking up the garden plow so we all have greatly reduced our gardens.

[BAMAWV]

Eventually, we'll plant a small one.  A few tomato plants, peppers and a few Japanese eggplants.  These eggplants are small and slender - great for slicing in half, layering Parmesan cheese (or whatever kind you like) on the sliced side and baking. 

We don't really have a good space in the yard for a garden because of all the trees so we use a small plot of our neighbor's field.  Since he died, neither his wife nor us wants to fool with hooking up the garden plow so we all have greatly reduced our gardens.

Not being argumentative but hooking a plow or tiller to a tractor only takes maybe 10 minutes.

[MDB Tide Roll]

Three reasons prevent me from having a garden.

1.  Not allowed where I live.
2.  I have a black thumb, I cannot grow anything.
3.  I'm a teacher and am gone for weeks at a time during the summer.

But I love fresh vegetables from the garden.  Luckily, there are several farmers markets close to me.

[Allie]

The ground is plowed but is currently underwater from all the rain.  :-(
There are about 50 tomato plants currently growing in the hot house.

[ricky023]

Well my best advice is use a set of Harrows with a tractor and cut it up good. Then take a set of All-Purpose plows and cut it up really fine and as deep as you can go. If you have never fertilized, I like to put Cow Manure or Horse and plow that in real good then you won't have to buy so much fertilizer. You should already have your Cabbage and Onions out if your planting them. I have always from a tot planted my Garden on Good Friday. Good Friday has the Moon right and shouldn't be no more Frost hopefully. I hope I was of help. RTR!

[#1Tidefan]

The ground is plowed but is currently underwater from all the rain.  :-(
There are about 50 tomato plants currently growing in the hot house.

I've seen your garden in the past. If it's anything like it was last year, you would probably win this years garden/veggie patch, hands down!

I'll give ya a + to get you started...

[Terrie1959]

Last year, I had my first garden in a long time. But I HATE weeding so I did gardening different. I bought 2 of the hard plastic swimming pools at walmart and about 4 bags of garden soil. In one pool, I planted all my tomatoes (5 plants I think) and bell peppers. In the other pool, I planted okra, cucumbers and 2 watermelon plants. In a separate pot, I planted 1 red pepper plant. Everything grew well except the cucumbers and watermelons.  My red pepper plant bloomed and lived until about 3 weeks ago!!
I know that's the lazy way to garden but besides the fact that I hate weeding - we are also renting this house so really couldn't till the yard.  It was plenty for us. I'm tempted this year to buy a 3rd pool and plant a little corn.  There are just the 2 of us here so we don't need a lot.

[BAMAWV]

Last year, I had my first garden in a long time. But I HATE weeding so I did gardening different. I bought 2 of the hard plastic swimming pools at walmart and about 4 bags of garden soil. In one pool, I planted all my tomatoes (5 plants I think) and bell peppers. In the other pool, I planted okra, cucumbers and 2 watermelon plants. In a separate pot, I planted 1 red pepper plant. Everything grew well except the cucumbers and watermelons.  My red pepper plant bloomed and lived until about 3 weeks ago!!
I know that's the lazy way to garden but besides the fact that I hate weeding - we are also renting this house so really couldn't till the yard.  It was plenty for us. I'm tempted this year to buy a 3rd pool and plant a little corn.  There are just the 2 of us here so we don't need a lot.

That is called raised bed gardening. Watermelon vines run all over the place and would have been "out of the pool" in no time, had they flourished. Seems it would've taken a lot more bags of top soil to fill up a pool?

[Terrie1959]

Last year, I had my first garden in a long time. But I HATE weeding so I did gardening different. I bought 2 of the hard plastic swimming pools at walmart and about 4 bags of garden soil. In one pool, I planted all my tomatoes (5 plants I think) and bell peppers. In the other pool, I planted okra, cucumbers and 2 watermelon plants. In a separate pot, I planted 1 red pepper plant. Everything grew well except the cucumbers and watermelons.  My red pepper plant bloomed and lived until about 3 weeks ago!!
I know that's the lazy way to garden but besides the fact that I hate weeding - we are also renting this house so really couldn't till the yard.  It was plenty for us. I'm tempted this year to buy a 3rd pool and plant a little corn.  There are just the 2 of us here so we don't need a lot.

That is called raised bed gardening. Watermelon vines run all over the place and would have been "out of the pool" in no time, had they flourished. Seems it would've taken a lot more bags of top soil to fill up a pool?

They were the small blue pools at walmart and I bought 5 bags total of garden soil. The watermelons and cucumbers did run but i directed them over the pool and to the ground. Well, the cucumbers I also directed towards the fence so they could climb there.
It was well worth it for us though.

[BAMAWV]

Lord, if I had ya'lls growing season I could feed a third world country. The key to gardening is soil preparation and it is an ongoing process. Basic clay, found below your layer of top soil is loaded with vitamins and minerals. The trouble is, it compacts and causes drainage issues.
  Plow your garden area as deep as possible, turning over 12-20 inches  even if with only a shovel. Chop up and blend the clay/topsoil mix. Sand can be added to help break up the clay and keep it from cloying.  Next is compost. It comes in many forms, but basically you want enough to cover your garden in a 4-6 inch layer. I would till that up and then layer again with compost--the more the merrier.
  Composted manure is what you are looking for to enhance your soil. Raw, straight manure is chock full of weed seed and smells bad. You want manure that has baked under a tarp for a year. You can tell when manure is properly composted because it stops stinking when cooked (by the sun dummie). Of course yard waste is beneficial but also needs composting. Grass cuttings, leaves, and kitchen waste (no meat) can be recycled into your gardens. Coffee grounds, egg shells (rinsed), and other scraps all have benefit.

When breaking sod for a new garden, remove the sod (grass) and move to (maybe) other problem areas of your yard.

Each year add more composted manure to your garden, preferably in the fall. I like to use my tractor post hole digger to dig about a million holes about 15" deep in my garden. I then fill the holes with composted manure (I buy it by the trailer load) and allow to "percolate" over the winter. The idea is to create a nice aerated, well draining soil. Your soil is the backbone of your garden, and proper preparation will make you look like a superstar, come harvest time.

Mushroom compost is sold at garden stores and is GOLD for your soil.

More later.


 

[MDB Tide Roll]

Last year, I had my first garden in a long time. But I HATE weeding so I did gardening different. I bought 2 of the hard plastic swimming pools at walmart and about 4 bags of garden soil. In one pool, I planted all my tomatoes (5 plants I think) and bell peppers. In the other pool, I planted okra, cucumbers and 2 watermelon plants. In a separate pot, I planted 1 red pepper plant. Everything grew well except the cucumbers and watermelons.  My red pepper plant bloomed and lived until about 3 weeks ago!!
I know that's the lazy way to garden but besides the fact that I hate weeding - we are also renting this house so really couldn't till the yard.  It was plenty for us. I'm tempted this year to buy a 3rd pool and plant a little corn.  There are just the 2 of us here so we don't need a lot.

That is called raised bed gardening. Watermelon vines run all over the place and would have been "out of the pool" in no time, had they flourished. Seems it would've taken a lot more bags of top soil to fill up a pool?

They were the small blue pools at walmart and I bought 5 bags total of garden soil. The watermelons and cucumbers did run but i directed them over the pool and to the ground. Well, the cucumbers I also directed towards the fence so they could climb there.
It was well worth it for us though.

What a great idea.  I have a friend who loves to garden, but can't because she rents.  I'm going to pass this on to her, it's perfect.

[BAMAWV]

[BAMAWV]

Poor ol' BAMAWV's choice of tomato plants. I buy my plants at a farmers market and always try to get the biggest, healthiest ones. You can save money with the little 8 pack plants, but if you want to save bucks, you may as well buy from the farmers market as one poster previously noted. If you do buy the 6 pack/8-pack take them home and immediately repot them into larger containers. Sellers of plants want them as big as possible for the container, and the plants are typically on the verge of being root bound.

My preference is the MORTGAGE LIFTER. I posted a picture above. The picture looks like the plants are half dead. Wrong. Healthy plants quit worrying about foliage later in the growing season and concentrate their efforts to developing great big, juicy, flavorful tomatoes. The MORTGAGE LIFTER is a large, meaty, flavor packed tomato that has fewer seeds which makes it ideal for eating OR canning. They do not ship well which explains why they are not prevalent in your grocer's produce section. The down side is that they take a long time to vine ripen.

We normally plant a few different varieties to tide (ROLL) us over until the MORTGAGE LIFTERS mature. The Goliath is a flavorful tomato, but more importantly, it will bear fruit way before other varieties. The Ox Heart is a good tomato. I've found a stripee that is good but the name escapes me. BeefSteaks sound big and delicious but we rate those with hydroponic tomatoes. Look great, but no flavor.

I use 1"x2"x6' tomato stakes. I drive them 20" deep and sometimes the woman makes me put in 2 per plant. The Volkswagon size Mortgage Lifter plants act as a sail in heavy winds, so if you don't want them on the ground, secure properly. She reties the tomato plant all summer as the plants grow., usually using cut up old bed sheets, but there are many ideas of what to use. I made cages out of welded wire fence once, but they blew over, every time it stormed. Trust me, even though I picked UGA yesterday over Bama, --the two stake method is the best. It is game time now, UK-Bama, so I have to take off my Farmer hat and put on the Hoops hat. BTW, this is really the same thread worn Crimson hat. RTR      

[BAMAWV]

Last year, I had my first garden in a long time. But I HATE weeding so I did gardening different. I bought 2 of the hard plastic swimming pools at walmart and about 4 bags of garden soil. In one pool, I planted all my tomatoes (5 plants I think) and bell peppers. In the other pool, I planted okra, cucumbers and 2 watermelon plants. In a separate pot, I planted 1 red pepper plant. Everything grew well except the cucumbers and watermelons.  My red pepper plant bloomed and lived until about 3 weeks ago!!
I know that's the lazy way to garden but besides the fact that I hate weeding - we are also renting this house so really couldn't till the yard.  It was plenty for us. I'm tempted this year to buy a 3rd pool and plant a little corn.  There are just the 2 of us here so we don't need a lot.

That is called raised bed gardening. Watermelon vines run all over the place and would have been "out of the pool" in no time, had they flourished. Seems it would've taken a lot more bags of top soil to fill up a pool?

They were the small blue pools at walmart and I bought 5 bags total of garden soil. The watermelons and cucumbers did run but i directed them over the pool and to the ground. Well, the cucumbers I also directed towards the fence so they could climb there.
It was well worth it for us though.

What a great idea.  I have a friend who loves to garden, but can't because she rents.  I'm going to pass this on to her, it's perfect.

With any above ground planting container, I would recommend drilling drainage holes. The obvious is that it'll prevent root rot. Less obvious is that a huge rain storms may wash your plants and soil onto your patio.

[Terrie1959]

Last year, I had my first garden in a long time. But I HATE weeding so I did gardening different. I bought 2 of the hard plastic swimming pools at walmart and about 4 bags of garden soil. In one pool, I planted all my tomatoes (5 plants I think) and bell peppers. In the other pool, I planted okra, cucumbers and 2 watermelon plants. In a separate pot, I planted 1 red pepper plant. Everything grew well except the cucumbers and watermelons.  My red pepper plant bloomed and lived until about 3 weeks ago!!
I know that's the lazy way to garden but besides the fact that I hate weeding - we are also renting this house so really couldn't till the yard.  It was plenty for us. I'm tempted this year to buy a 3rd pool and plant a little corn.  There are just the 2 of us here so we don't need a lot.

That is called raised bed gardening. Watermelon vines run all over the place and would have been "out of the pool" in no time, had they flourished. Seems it would've taken a lot more bags of top soil to fill up a pool?

They were the small blue pools at walmart and I bought 5 bags total of garden soil. The watermelons and cucumbers did run but i directed them over the pool and to the ground. Well, the cucumbers I also directed towards the fence so they could climb there.
It was well worth it for us though.

What a great idea.  I have a friend who loves to garden, but can't because she rents.  I'm going to pass this on to her, it's perfect.

With any above ground planting container, I would recommend drilling drainage holes. The obvious is that it'll prevent root rot. Less obvious is that a huge rain storms may wash your plants and soil onto your patio.

Oh yeah, I forgot that part. I took the power drill and drilled holes into the bottoms of both pools.  Thanks for reminding me.   I'm thinking of somehow making a little platform for the pools this year.. to keep the off the grass. Not sure yet if I'll do it or not. Grass doesn't seem to grow much at this place so there are several spots I can put the pools that doesn't kill grass since it's not there anyway. I'm thinking just about 5-6 inches off the ground.

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