Author Topic: Gardening (Read 1990 times)

jen51 · « **on:** February 02, 2013, 02:13:41 PM »

I know it's still the middle of winter, but Spring will be here before we know it! And that means that it's time to start considering what should be planted in the garden.

I'm really excited about it this year. The house that I moved into has a charming backyard, with a garden that has been producing big yields for 30+ years. I am also very excited because this is the first year that I'm going to try to grow most of the plants from seed.

I'm sure there are other gardeners here. Would you care to share what you'll be planting? I was also hoping this could be a thread where we could share tips and tricks for growing. Something I would most certainly appreciate advice about is growing good, healthy seedlings. My plan right now is to start growing them inside for 6 weeks before I plant them, sitting them on a window ledge that will get plenty of sunlight. The reason I haven't started from seed is because I'm scared that the seedlings I grow won't be as vigorous as the ones I purchase.

Also, are there any heirloom gardeners here? I am very interested in it, but haven't done it.

Sorry if this is in the wrong subforum, Matthew.

LaramieHirsch · « **Reply #1 on:** February 02, 2013, 02:43:00 PM »

Mid February in Oklahoma means we put in onions, spinach, turnips, potatoes, and carrots.

Nadir · « **Reply #2 on:** February 02, 2013, 03:43:52 PM »

I guess "heirloom" means that you use only non-hybrid seed and this is important if you want to keep reusing seed you have produced yourself. Here we have http://www.edenseeds.com.au/content/default.asp Maybe you can find something similar.

I have two compost bins which I alternate. One is being fed while the other is resting/breaking down. It's great stuff and the worms love it. I have a peach tree which is taller than our house and it was only a seed in the compost, probably 5 years ago. Others plants like tomatoes and capsicuмs also come up from the compost.

My neighbour passes me her lawn clippings and her ash and charcoal from her fire.

Mine is a random garden. Nothing grows in neat rows but wherever it comes up from the compost, plus a few seeds / seedlings in empty patches, wherever they happen to be. I leave a lot to chance.

Quote

The reason I haven't started from seed is because I'm scared that the seedlings I grow won't be as vigorous as the ones I purchase.

That would depend on where and from whom you purchased them.

Telesphorus · « **Reply #3 on:** February 02, 2013, 05:21:27 PM »

I used to grow dozens and dozens of seedlings under shoplights.

However tomatoes can grown by directly seeding the ground, certainly in Kansas they can. They should do quite well.

Growing a seedling to be transplanted takes several weeks, but growing from seeds directly seemed to produce a less droopy, happier plant.

I'm not sure peppers and eggplants are too easy to grow from seed in the ground directly at your latitude. Not sure.

http://www.seedsavers.org/

I still have about 100 or more varieties of seeds of tomatoes and pepper from that place.

Grow a wide variety of peppers.

The best squash to grow I think are the Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck.

Marlelar · « **Reply #4 on:** February 02, 2013, 06:34:36 PM »

For general gardening info this is a good site to start with:

Sprout Robot

Marsha

jen51 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 03, 2013, 04:39:52 PM »

Quote from: Nadir

I guess "heirloom" means that you use only non-hybrid seed and this is important if you want to keep reusing seed you have produced yourself. Here we have http://www.edenseeds.com.au/content/default.asp Maybe you can find something similar.

I have two compost bins which I alternate. One is being fed while the other is resting/breaking down. It's great stuff and the worms love it. I have a peach tree which is taller than our house and it was only a seed in the compost, probably 5 years ago. Others plants like tomatoes and capsicuмs also come up from the compost.

My neighbour passes me her lawn clippings and her ash and charcoal from her fire.

Mine is a random garden. Nothing grows in neat rows but wherever it comes up from the compost, plus a few seeds / seedlings in empty patches, wherever they happen to be. I leave a lot to chance.

Quote
The reason I haven't started from seed is because I'm scared that the seedlings I grow won't be as vigorous as the ones I purchase.

That would depend on where and from whom you purchased them.

Thankyou, Nadir. I had a roomate once who gardened that way... the random compost garden. It worked wonderfully for her, actually. It saved her some time, and she found it all around fun.

The seedlings I buy are always from good places. No walmart seedlings for me! Because of the quality of the seedlings I buy, I have some doubts as to wether mine could equal or top them. But I'll never know if I don't try, so we'll see how it goes! It'll probably take me a few years to get really good at it.

jen51 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 03, 2013, 04:48:51 PM »

Quote from: Telesphorus

I used to grow dozens and dozens of seedlings under shoplights.

However tomatoes can grown by directly seeding the ground, certainly in Kansas they can. They should do quite well.

Growing a seedling to be transplanted takes several weeks, but growing from seeds directly seemed to produce a less droopy, happier plant.

I'm not sure peppers and eggplants are too easy to grow from seed in the ground directly at your latitude. Not sure.

http://www.seedsavers.org/

I still have about 100 or more varieties of seeds of tomatoes and pepper from that place.

Grow a wide variety of peppers.

The best squash to grow I think are the Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck.

Thanks for the website! I got on there and requested a free catalog from them, and actually ordered a couple types of seeds! Some of the varities of beans are beautiful. The ones I ordered were purchased soley because they were pretty.

I'm sure they will be useful as well as pretty though.

I do plan on planting a variety of peppers, but even a wider variety of tomatoes.

jen51 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 03, 2013, 04:50:59 PM »

Quote from: Marlelar

For general gardening info this is a good site to start with:

Sprout Robot

Marsha

Marsha, sproutrobot is a goldmine! Thankyou for suggesting it. I've been playing around with the site this afternoon.

jen51 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 03, 2013, 05:12:20 PM »

Quote from: LaramieHirsch

Mid February in Oklahoma means we put in onions, spinach, turnips, potatoes, and carrots.

It's funny you should mention Oklahoma, Laramie. My parents and I took a road trip to Tulsa this weekend to visit my sister. We were in Atwoods (a popular outdoor store there, I'm sure you're familiar with it!) and we saw some onions and potatoes being sold for planting. My dad remarked "As warm as it is down here, I'd be willing to bet they will start planting those any time now."

LaramieHirsch · « **Reply #9 on:** February 06, 2013, 10:44:40 PM »

Quote from: jen51

Quote from: LaramieHirsch
Mid February in Oklahoma means we put in onions, spinach, turnips, potatoes, and carrots.

It's funny you should mention Oklahoma, Laramie. My parents and I took a road trip to Tulsa this weekend to visit my sister. We were in Atwoods (a popular outdoor store there, I'm sure you're familiar with it!) and we saw some onions and potatoes being sold for planting. My dad remarked "As warm as it is down here, I'd be willing to bet they will start planting those any time now."

Yeah. Early spring planting time is Valentine's Day. Nothing says love like potatos.

But there's a trick, here in Oklahoma, that I've discovered lately. You can plant all these carros, onions, spinach, and maybe even potatoes in the previous fall season, and these things will do just fine through the winter months. Especiall during this drought. Oh yeah, turnips, too.

I've been pulling bundles of spinach and buckets of turnips out of the ground for the last few weeks.

Cheryl · « **Reply #10 on:** February 07, 2013, 08:06:11 AM »

Jen, take a look here, http://rareseeds.com/

Heirloom seeds at an affordable price.

My favorite part of gardening is seeing what "volunteers" that God sends me from the growing season before. Over the years, He's sent so many extra tomato plants that I had several to give away.

This is what I call, spreading the wealth.

Cheryl · « **Reply #11 on:** February 07, 2013, 08:08:07 AM »

Quote from: LaramieHirsch

Mid February in Oklahoma means we put in onions, spinach, turnips, potatoes, and carrots.

If you plant potatoes in February, when do you harvest them? I'll be lucky to get potatoes in by mid-April.

LaramieHirsch · « **Reply #12 on:** February 07, 2013, 11:26:22 PM »

Quote from: Cheryl

Quote from: LaramieHirsch
Mid February in Oklahoma means we put in onions, spinach, turnips, potatoes, and carrots.

If you plant potatoes in February, when do you harvest them? I'll be lucky to get potatoes in by mid-April.

Harvest time comes around mid-June. Then, the greens start to wither. Of course, you can leave em in the ground till you need them, but I'd have them out by mid-July, or you risk rot.

Fall potatos happen this way:

Plant them on August 15th, then harvest around the beginning of December. Your crop won't be as large as the spring crop, and you might have better luck with red potatoes, or even the purples.

Cheryl · « **Reply #13 on:** February 11, 2013, 09:17:00 AM »

Quote from: LaramieHirsch

Quote from: Cheryl
Quote from: LaramieHirsch
Mid February in Oklahoma means we put in onions, spinach, turnips, potatoes, and carrots.

If you plant potatoes in February, when do you harvest them? I'll be lucky to get potatoes in by mid-April.

Harvest time comes around mid-June. Then, the greens start to wither. Of course, you can leave em in the ground till you need them, but I'd have them out by mid-July, or you risk rot.

Fall potatos happen this way:

Plant them on August 15th, then harvest around the beginning of December. Your crop won't be as large as the spring crop, and you might have better luck with red potatoes, or even the purples.

Thanks for answering LH. It's interesting to know how God designed things to grow in other areas other then you're own.

Where I'm at, potatoes go in the ground in early to mid-April. Early potatoes (Yukon Gold, some reds) are harvested in August. Late potatoes, mid-October.

jen51 · « **Reply #14 on:** February 24, 2013, 07:43:39 AM »

Quote from: Cheryl

Jen, take a look here, http://rareseeds.com/

Heirloom seeds at an affordable price.

My favorite part of gardening is seeing what "volunteers" that God sends me from the growing season before. Over the years, He's sent so many extra tomato plants that I had several to give away.

This is what I call, spreading the wealth.

Thankyou for the website, Cheryl. I saw a few things on there that i'd definately be interested in growing.

I ordered a catalog from the website that Tele suggested a couple pages back, and I've ordered a few types of seeds from there as well.

I think the plants I'm most excited for are the tomatoes, simply because you can do SO much with them, and the line of berry bushes I'm putting along my fence. Raspberries and blackberries. I'm so impatient, knowing that I have to wait a couple years after planting the bushes to reap a harvest is so irritating! Same with asparagus!

One thing that I discovered growing in a secluded patch on the periphery of my yard is horsradish and rhubarb. I cringed at the horsradish (preparing it is an awful task), but my dad was overjoyed. The rhubarb was a most welcomed discovery though.