The Gardening Thread

[Toro]

Lettuce/spinach has to go in asap I think. They like the cool weather and will be harvested actually before the Summer.

[fyodor]

I went out the other day and turned some soil in readiness for planting. It is a patch in our backyard that previous owners had some herbs and strawberries planted. Probably other things too but I had just let it go to weed last two years.

My plan is sunflowers and green peas. Maybe something else. Won't be planting for another cpl weeks yet as they are predicting snow again soon. Probably give the soil another turn later today though as the gf wants to go out for a noon jog and I'll be all sweaty after that anyhow.

[FeliciaLee]

Don't plant the sunflowers anywhere close to the peas, or the peas won't grow. Sunflowers will take nutrients and space from the peas.

Sunflowers are known to be allelopathic, which is why some consider them "weeds" (the state of Iowa, I believe, lists sunflowers as weeds).

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[fyodor]

The state of Iowa is whacked. Thanks for the advice Felicia. The sunflowers will be back against the fence and the peas will be in front. I might plant some potatoes inbetween. Potatoes will grow anywhere.

Was just out turning soil again and dug up some old rhubarb roots. Man are those things thick.

[Mermade]

I have recommended these tomato success kits multiple times. I have had great success with them. I've had the tomatoes grow over 8 ft. tall and burst all over with fruit. They are pricey but worth it. Great to get as a present. If you don't want HUGE plants or are especially concerned about the tomatoes becoming root bound, you can look for patio tomatoes. They are a compact variety especially suited for containers.

I actually put 2 plants in each planter. I have 2 kits--I received both as gifts. I do a couple of cherry types. This year there are 3: cherry 100, yellow pear and juliet. I'm doing 1 heirloom variety: big rainbow that is supposed to have mature ripe fruit that varies from golden yellow, to orange, to red. I'm looking forward to that. I put my tomatoes in I don't remember exactly at least a couple of weeks ago. I was waiting to cage them until my pink jasmine stopped blooming on the wall behind them, but almost overnight they grew like crazy. They're almost 2' tall now and I popped the cages on a couple of days ago. The jasmine is still going. I'll just cut it back when it's done flowering.

[fyodor]

My garden is coming along nicely. Sunflowers started coming up first. A few days later I saw the peas coming through. Yesterday the potatoes made thier first appearance.

Looks like I never got rid of all the old rhubarb. What survived I will let it grow. Also a ton of strawberries survived. Turning the soil just moved them all over the place. I'll let them grow too.

Anyone else have anything coming up yet?

[FeliciaLee]

Great job, fyodor! Post pics if you have them.

So how is everyone else doing this spring? The weather has been so crazy everywhere, that I expect to read about some weird happenings.

My own garden has had some odd phenomenons, too. Things that were supposed to germinate many days or even up to a couple of weeks prior, and I had completely given up, suddenly started springing up, and that was after I'd started another seed indoors!

Our temps have ranged from almost freezing up into the 90's this spring. It's been nuts.

Most of April was cool for Arizona. We haven't really gotten any rain, but it's been much more overcast and cool than it usually is at this time. The winds have been fierce, but so far, only one casualty (a newly transplanted butter nut squash).

My friend Gary took pity on me and is sending me an old digital camera, so that I can post pics. I shouldn't kill this one easily, since he buys quality stuff (unlike me) and it's a Sony.

Some of my okra started coming up. Just a couple of seedlings. Lentils burst up overnight, at least a couple dozen, if not more. I planted some alfalfa in an unused section of the garden to serve as a cover crop, but so far I haven't seen a peep of them.

I planted a square of Blue Hopi Corn. I said I wasn't going to plant corn, but I read online that blue corn has about 30% more protein in it (I'm on a very high protein diet). We can use it to make cornmeal.

I hope to start taking pics in the next week, after I get the camera. I will take them of everything, including how we dig trenches about a foot deep in order to protect our plants from the outrageous winds that we have in the desert.

If anyone has a specific request of something that they want taken close up, or at several angles, just tell me. My total list of plants is up top in this thread, plus the stuff I've added along the way. I will be happy to snap some pics of such tough desert gardening.

Please, everyone, give an update if you get time. I love reading about your successes. It's just not the same on gardening forums where I don't "know" the posters, yanno?

Hope you are all enjoying huge strides forward in your gardening!

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[fyodor]

Ok here are a few pictures I just took:


Above is one of the sunflowers.

That's a potato on the right, a strawberry on the left and a thistle that will soon be gone in the middle.

Some peas

I forgot to mention about these chives which come up every year on their own.

Didn't bother with a picture of the rhubarb. All those little weeds in every picture are kind of small to pull out just yet. In a week or so I'll be out there murdering them all with my bare hands.

[dcasper70]

[ QUOTE ]


I forgot to mention about these chives which come up every year on their own.

[/ QUOTE ]
THIS MAKES ME CRINGE!

We moved into our house 3 years ago and these were all over the lawn. They are now almost 100% gone, but still infest the empty wooded lot next door.

My wife laughs whenever she sees people buying chives in the grocery store. She wants to just invite the shoppers over for a free harvest....

[fyodor]

argghhhhhh!!!!! Garden is turning into disaster zone. The potatoes keep getting taller and taller. I am totally out of dirt for hilling them. Normally when they keep getting so tall it means few to zero actual potatoes underneath.

Something is eating and killing my sunflowers. They have gotten over a foot tall but a few days ago I found one dead - chewed off at ground level. This morning there were 4 more in the same state. Whatever did it also dug a bit in the earth right around the base. I'm guessing squirrels. Godamn rodents.

Looks liket the only thing surviving is my peas. And the stupid chives, strawberries and rhubarb which all come up every year just like weeds.