Summer Gardens, veggies and all

by designs 9 Replies latest social physical

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  designs

  Just had our first crop of Heirloom Zuccini for dinner, 4, yum!. We are growing most of our vegetables in large containers to keep critters and snails out. I recycle pallets from my work into planter boxs. A pallet will usually make a 3'X3'X3' planter or 18"X18"X5' planter.

  The Kale is in full production, we cut just the outter leaves to cook with or use in a salad, 4 plants is all you need for a steady supply. The Heirloom tomatoes are about 2-3" in diameter but still green and we have two cherry size tomato plants with one the fruit is a light red/pink Italian variety. Some birds must have dropped seeds from a yellow tomato so sometime by July we should have a steady crop of these pear shaped yellow tomatoes.

  Cut some of the Bay Leaf tree's young shoots this weekend and will let them sun dry for a couple of weeks.

  The Herbs we grow in the ground, they seem to hold there own against the critters. Nice treat was we harvested a full crop of 'Blood Red Oranges'. Tangy and sweet and red juice, we juiced all of them, froze some of the juice for later in Summer and kept some handy in the Frig- mix a little with Pelagrino sparkling water for a great evening drink.

  How are your Gardens doing.
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  TD

  Picked some habeneros and tomatoes today. I've tried sharing with the neighbors, but they've all become afraid of the habeneros
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  designs

  Muy Fuego! They must have heard the screams coming from your house
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  Hortensia

  Fun! I ate some broccoli fresh from my garden this week. I have 6 volunteer potato plants, they're coming along really well. Plus the broccoli, carrots, chard, shallots, herbs. I only have a small plot in a community garden, I wish I had a bit more planting area. However, I have a friend with a large garden and she is growing about 20 tomato plants. She'll grow the tomatoes, cilantro, jalapenos and onions. I'll can the salsa at the end of summer when the tomatoes are producing like crazy.
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  designs

  How is broccoli to grow, anything special. I tried potatoes several years ago but the local Farmers Market sells 10lbs for .99 cents.
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  LoisLane looking for Superman

  I have 3 yellow flowers on my 2 tomato plants. Parsley is good. Basil...doesn't look so great. Onions doing well One 6" slug, gone to slug heaven. I just hope eggs don't fall out of them when they are cut in half by my garden shears. Eww , I hate them. Roses are showing color, Calla Lilies, iris's, Columbine's and Lavendar, are all doing fine. The most prominent wild flower right now, are, White Daisies and flowering wild Black Berries and healthy Bracken.

  Designs, that is pretty neat about your Blood Oranges. Do you have a Lemon tree. We always had one growing up. It rose to be about 15 feet high. We had a huge Avocado tree too.

  Just Lois
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  LoisLane looking for Superman

  Hi Hortencia, do you get potato bugs where you are? They are beautiful but I hate them. So big and squishy to pick up and kill.

  Broccoli is one of my favorites and easy to grow, it grows itself, no problems at all. It is easy, like Chinese Peas are easy. You want some for dinner, just whack some off. Get too much? Keep the plant producing, just cut off the excess, eat, give some away, or blanch and freeze. Easy - peasy.

  Just Lois
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  EntirelyPossible

  No garden this year, just moved into a house and too much other things to do. The local farmers market sells veggies so cheap they are hardly worth planting on my own, I typically do herbs, peppers and tomatoes. With those things fresh, you can always make a meal out of something and turn it delicious.
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  designs

  Hi Lois- We have a Mexican Lemon' which my grandson loves...as in loves to pick em and throw them in the pool to watch them float! Avocados are pretty plentiful around town, its a major Avocado growing region. The neighbor-friendly practice is if its on the ground its yours.

  Columbine is a neat flower, you have the better climate for them.

  Snails and slugs- I use Dr. Bronner's soap in a squirt bottle and spray a little around the plants and planter boxs.
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  Hortensia

  Broccoli is easy, however it got warm here too soon, so the broccoli matured too fast. I still eat it, I like the stems best anyway. I don't know about potato bugs yet. This is my first garden in this climate, so I have a lot to learn. I think potatoes might be even cheaper if you grow them -- seed potatoes were less than $1/lb here, and a pound gives you about 30 cuttings, each of which would easily give you five pounds of potatoes. But, of course, you'd be harvesting your 100 or more pounds of potatoes all at once and giving them away by the bucket.

  It's more for fun, the ability to taste different varieties of vegetables, some exercise and sunshine.