It’s springtime!

I think it’s time for strawberry rhubarb crumble. My rhubarb plants are buck wild!

Does anyone else plant edible gardens?

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My wife has an herb garden. Sage, thyme, rosemary, oregano, mint, etc.

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I have been planting my vegetables as the weather warms.
I currently have growing: onions, potatoes, garlic, and green beans. I have planted seeds for watermelons, cantaloupe, zuchinni squash, and one variety of pumpkins. I have a few other things to plant seeds for, like okra and more pumpkins as well…
My tomatoes and peppers are still inside under grow lights and are quickly approaching the point of needing to be transplanted and will be as soon as the threats of frost and cold are gone.
My wife is no longer able to do much, so I am also planting the annual flowers to supplement the many perennials we have.
This is a quite busy time of the year for me, and it is taking my old ass much longer!
Things were complicated this morning by extreme thunderstorm winds which took down or damaged several trees. Our electricity was out for about five hours, with perhaps a few hundred other people.
I am still so glad for spring and will be picking wild greens
(Crow’s foot, wild lettuce, lamb’s quarter, etc.) as well as Morel mushrooms!!

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My apologies to our southern hemisphere folks! Harvest (Autumn) time for you!

Been house hunting for nearly 2 years. I was expecting to return to America but my job is just too good. I am shocked at how many homes do not have gardens. I don’t get it. Vine-ripened tomatoes, melons, sweet corn, and of course, rhubarb, are some of the best things in the world. Any place I get will have room for a garden.

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I really miss my big garden. Had sixteen 4x10’ raised beds. Started everything in my greenhouse. All organic and pesticide free. My body won’t allow me to do it anymore but I still have some perennials to eat :grin:. Grocery store food pales in comparison!

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Haha…I hear that!
If I work in the garden for several hours, I’m done for the next day.
It makes it difficult to accomplish much when you have to stop often or recruit help for what you always did yourself.
I know my days of gardening are quickly coming to an end, but

So I will continue to at least have tomatoes and melons as long as I can.
I’m sorry to hear that you have had to give up what you clearly enjoyed so much.

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I’m envious. I love the look of raised gardens. It’s certainly something I would consider building.

I really think most people ‘don’t’ know this. Our fruits and vegetables are picked while they are still green. Treating them with chemicals gives them color and then they are sold half-ripe. Picking these when they are half ripe is a way to extend shelf life. The flavors of vine-ripened fruit or vegetables is amazingly different than store-bought fruit and vegetables.

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I have bay tree, it’s small yet, but this is it’s 4th winter, and it’s getting there. I need to plant rosemary, as I love the stuff, but I only have pots to grow in, which should be fine.

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Rosemary can get pretty big…you’ll only need one. :woozy_face: Plant it in a spot where it will have some room.
There are lots of ground dwellers that live under mine. It’s great to be able to cut a branch off to put inside a roasting chicken.

Well, you have inspired me to give it another shot. There are some tiny neglected spaces behind the apartments that a Chinese exchange student had once used to good effect. He had quite a green thumb and I watered his indoor plants for him one summer when he was gone. Thank goodness they managed to live under my hapless care. He planted giant varieties of flowers that attracted bees and butterflies, and a few vegetables I couldn’t identify. I’m going to try a wild flower mix and maybe a couple of tomatoes plants. I miss the butterflies. I believe they are in trouble, which means we are in trouble. I tried growing some things one summer but just couldn’t keep up on it. I had to carry water and water is &%#$ heavy. Wish me luck :slight_smile: .

Tomatoes can be fussy. So you’ll have to keep an eye on them. If you’re a beginner, try summer squash, root veggies (carrots, beets, etc) if the soil is good, or bush beans. A great book to get is “Square Foot Gardening” which is perfect for small spaces. :grinning:

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Thanks! There appears to be a few “Square Foot Gardening” books. Is the one you’re recommending by Mitch Davidson? My library has an ebook copy of that one :slight_smile: . I really like fresh tomatoes so I’d have some good motivation to look after them. I’m thinking maybe some leaf lettuce too. The bunnies that somehow manage to live back there would probably nibble the heck out of that, but they’re welcome to it, I just hope they don’t have a taste for tomatoes.

Any version is helpful. I like them because they teach you how to optimize your space and a bit about companion planting. Actually, any veg gardening book will help. I still consume info about it :grin:

Do Rabbits eat Tomato Plants? - How to keep Rabbits out of your Garden?.

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Kiwis, artichokes, peaches, apples, blueberries, goji, blackberry, black currants, cranberries, figs, and just about every summer vegetables you can think of. All on less than .20 acres.

Also killing every inch of grass in the yard and building a landscape of native species for local pollinators and critters. Kill your lawn.

Next up need to build some water features. Neighbors think we are nuts, but that’s ok.

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I usually just put posts on the corners of my raised beds and just wrap chicken wire around the whole bed about 6” off the top of the bed. Really don’t need much.

If anyone has deer issues plant lots and lots of lavender and just for some extra assurance I usually scrape some lavender bar soap and leave the shavings around outside the beds. If that isn’t enough put up get some posts and 20lbs test fishing line. Deer can’t see it and are spooked when they bump into it.

If you have bug problems, mix in flowers. Nasturtiums, cardinal climber, marigolds, and obviously lavender will help confuse bugs or help attract predatory bugs. Lacewings and ladybugs will devour aphids.

You might also want to try attracting bluebirds if you live where they are native. Bluebirds are ferocious little bug killers. Happy to see them every year hanging out on the telephone wires. Fun to watch them dive bomb the yard.

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I have tomatoes, sweet peppers, amaranth, daikon radishs, cucumbers, strawberries, and several herbs.

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And if you have slugs, a duck or two is fab…plus you get eggs :grin:

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Wish I had space for ducks. I use a cup or lid filled with beer for slugs. They climb in get drunk and bye bye slugs.

My wife’s parents do chickens. They have up to 300 of them, so there’s never a shortage of eggs for her parents to dine on lol.