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Garden thread

I see there are other garden lovers here.

Used to have a garden, and it was well cared for.

Now I have a bunch of potted plants containing thornless blackberry, bluberry, golden raspberry, and various other plants. I'll post some photos once spring arrives.
 
Wake said:
I see there are other garden lovers here.

Used to have a garden, and it was well cared for.

Now I have a bunch of potted plants containing thornless blackberry, bluberry, golden raspberry, and various other plants. I'll post some photos once spring arrives.
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You have gotten berries to grow in pots? That's amazing!
 
Andalublue said:
That info would have been sensible to pass on, wouldn't it?

Yes, the garden is in full sun for most of the day as it's south-east facing. There's a bit of shade in the parts closest to the house in the afternoon and in the shade of the fig tree at the far end.

The climate here is basically Mediterranean, but tempered by the fact that we are at 1,250m (4,100ft). We have damp, cool winters and hot, very dry summers. The parts of the area that are not irrigated are basically semi-arid. We can and do get occasional winter snow and below-freezing temperatures but those days are very limited. This year the cold spell lasted no more than 10 days.

I'm hoping to create a mixed flower/veg garden with the border on the right of the picture bursting with colour and texture and the wider sections used for growing soft fruit for my patisserie work. The small, squared beds are for herbs and the trees are cherry, pear and caqui (persimmon).

You're right, I did put a lot of hours into preparing the soil with some new top-soil in the flower bed, a lot of de-stoning and getting rotted mule manure into the fruit-veg area. I'm hoping it's going to be worth the effort.

I took a look at your photos and was VERY impressed. I'd kill to be able to post photos like that of my garden.

Thanks for the comments.
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There's a school of thought that you do better growing what once grew wild in your area, and it sounds as if you have a wide selection (except mebbe vegetables). If you're not going that way, I'd urge you to put in a drip irrigation system while the ground is still unplanted; they're not especially expensive if you do the work, and they'll save you a lot on water. What's even better is, your plants will not die of thirst, which has happened to me when I forget or get lazy.
 
Andalublue said:
It's really giving me a lot of pleasure at the moment. Yes, the area is beautiful and the setting, if I can get some real colour ond interest into it, the garden could be paradise. The wall is definitely getting climbers. I already have a climbing rose and plan clematis, jasmine and, fingers crossed, bougainvillea.

I do love a flower-festooned balcony. I had one at my apartment in London and really loved sitting on it for breakfast surrounded by pelargoniums and the like.

Great! I'll keep posting, and I'd love to see what other people are doing.
I think we just missed that last update, but let's see if this thread works and maybe in the next one we can get one going. I'm certainly hoping for input from eco and Gardener. Ah, they beat me to it.
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I'd imagine eco is our resident expert.

:)
 
Pinkie said:
You have gotten berries to grow in pots? That's amazing!
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It's pretty great, but there's been some challenges.

For the blueberry plant the acidity of the soil has to be just right. Without a device to test the pH, you have to be very careful with mixing acid into the soil. My first blueberry croaked because of too much acid; the poor thing shriveled from the bottom up in one day. :shock:

As for blackberries, last year one branch held about 4 massive berries that were over an inch long. However, during pruning, I acidentally lopped it off just before they were ripening. Those were the only berries the plant produced for that year, so no tasting yet. Gots to be careful. :)

The rhubarb and the kumquat bush need to be placed in larger pots; I'll take a picture of the kumquat plant today and post it here tomorrow.
 
Andalublue said:
There doesn't seem to be anywhere appropriate to begin a thread about gardening, so I though this might be as good a place as any.

I have just started getting to grips with my little plot right next to my home. It was a mess of Ground Zero proportions until about 6 weeks ago. I've not much work at present so have been spending a few hours a day clearing weeds, rotavating and laying borders and paths. With the arrival of spring just around the corner my thoughts are now turning to planting.

I'm an almost complete ignoramous in the garden so any advice or observations welcome.

I'm going to try to post monthly photos to show progress. Here are the first two.



If anyone is undertaking the same kind of project, here's a place to share photos, ideas, experience and questions.
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VERY cool garden! :) It has a few similarities to my own veggie garden, in that you have smaller, long beds on an incline. Here's mine from a couple of years ago, but I'm thinking of doing something different this year, because I'm having more problems with deer, raccoons, and other critters in the garden than I used to. I think it's because I don't have a dog anymore to keep the critters run out of it, lol.

veggiegarden Photo Gallery by dragonfly at pbase.com

I used to grow a large variety of stuff, just because I like working in the dirt and watching things grow, but I'm getting to the point that I grow primarily the stuff that I will eat immediately, or things that I can preserve for future use. I grow mostly tomatoes, peppers, cukes, and squash.
 
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Photo of pineapple/cow-grass/cassava/yam/wood (in canopy order) soon.
 
lizzie said:
VERY cool garden! :) It has a few similarities to my own veggie garden, in that you have smaller, long beds on an incline. Here's mine from a couple of years ago, but I'm thinking of doing something different this year, because I'm having more problems with deer, raccoons, and other critters in the garden than I used to. I think it's because I don't have a dog anymore to keep the critters run out of it, lol.

veggiegarden Photo Gallery by dragonfly at pbase.com

I used to grow a large variety of stuff, just because I like working in the dirt and watching things grow, but I'm getting to the point that I grow primarily the stuff that I will eat immediately, or things that I can preserve for future use. I grow mostly tomatoes, peppers, cukes, and squash.
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Great photos Lizzie! I like the growing frames. Here everyone uses bamboo canes. Yours look much more permanent. I might try those. Your area looks more lush than here. Do you get a lot of rainfall?
 
I'm hoping to plant a small garden at our house (when we finally close on one) to grow peppers, tomatoes, and root vegetables in. I also hope to have a small section for herbs.
 
ecofarm said:
Photo of pineapple/cow-grass/cassava/yam/wood (in canopy order) soon.
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I can't wait to see them. Supposedly pineapple only yields one fruit per plant..
 
Here's a protip:

Asparagus is a GREAT plant to grow.

At our old house we had a few rows of green, crisp asparagus, and it's an incredibly bountiful plant in spring. Also, the foliage chopped in fall can be composted.

It takes a few years to develop, but it's a great investment. Hopefully once I move out I can grow quite a few rows and freeze the remainder.
 
Wake said:
Here's a protip:

Asparagus is a GREAT plant to grow.

At our old house we had a few rows of green, crisp asparagus, and it's an incredibly bountiful plant in spring. Also, the foliage chopped in fall can be composted.

It takes a few years to develop, but it's a great investment. Hopefully once I move out I can grow quite a few rows and freeze the remainder.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'd love my own asparagus bed. Any tips on starting one off?
 
Andalublue said:
Yes, I'd love my own asparagus bed. Any tips on starting one off?
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There's a few different brand of asparagus. We wnet to Menard's and picked the general green variety.

For the garden part, dig a deep trench about 3-feet deep. Then gently add some soil in to bring the depth to about 2.5 feet deeo. However, when you add in the soil, don't have it level, but have it as a long crest, which most of the soil in the center. After that, place the individual crowns of asparagus atop the crest. Then, shovel in the dirt and gently tamp in.

The soil will undoubtedly lower in depth as it settles. You can add more dirt as you want, or add in some natural wood mulch to the depression. That takes away the problem of weeding.

For the first year, I'd advise to not pick anything. It really depends on the type of plant, and what the exact instructions are. On the second year we picked lightly, and left enough to keep the plant healthy. Third year pick all of the thick produce with a paring knife. Rinse well and LOOK for any black, oval-shaped egg lines. You can easily brush/wash those off.

For asparagus, pests really don't attack it, so that another major benefit. It also depends on your climate. We grew asparagus in Kokomo, In, where it benefitted from the lengthy, hot summers.

For freezing, we cleaned the stalks, cut them in 3-in segments or left them whole. Then we placed them in a large/quality plastic container with water, and freezed it. It keeps well.

IF you want to grow asparagus and reap major bounty, grow about 2-3 rows, preferably 6 feet long for each. There's nothing better than eating your own homoegrown asparagus with ranch dressing, or grilling it with olive oil, sea salt, and cracked pepper.

Hope this helps! :mrgreen:
 
Pinkie said:
Holy ****, Enola, you live in paradise!
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Yeah, I do. But I have to have roommates to continue living here. The rents are atrocious.
 
Andalublue said:
Wow! Where is that? It's gorgeous!
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Central california coast.
And the old boat in the back yard was named "She Don't Float". I plan to make it an herb garden when it gets warmer. Right now it's full of geraniums and ice plants.
 
Andalublue said:
Yes, I'd love my own asparagus bed. Any tips on starting one off?
Click to expand...

Good dirt- sandy loam with lots of organic matter, and deep beds for rooting to take place. Asparagus is a wonderful plant to grow if you have the room for it. Be forewarned: if you ever decide you want to get rid of it, you'll be digging up roots for years to come, lol. :mrgreen:
 
Pinkie said:
You have gotten berries to grow in pots? That's amazing!
Click to expand...


Try strawberries. I had oodles of them in some pots scattered around the yard. It was a battle between me getting them and the dogs and the birds and hubby...but there were enough to go around for everyone, lol.

I want a topsy turvy tomato planter this year.
 
Wake said:
There's a few different brand of asparagus. We wnet to Menard's and picked the general green variety.

For the garden part, dig a deep trench about 3-feet deep. Then gently add some soil in to bring the depth to about 2.5 feet deeo. However, when you add in the soil, don't have it level, but have it as a long crest, which most of the soil in the center. After that, place the individual crowns of asparagus atop the crest. Then, shovel in the dirt and gently tamp in.

The soil will undoubtedly lower in depth as it settles. You can add more dirt as you want, or add in some natural wood mulch to the depression. That takes away the problem of weeding.

For the first year, I'd advise to not pick anything. It really depends on the type of plant, and what the exact instructions are. On the second year we picked lightly, and left enough to keep the plant healthy. Third year pick all of the thick produce with a paring knife. Rinse well and LOOK for any black, oval-shaped egg lines. You can easily brush/wash those off.

For asparagus, pests really don't attack it, so that another major benefit. It also depends on your climate. We grew asparagus in Kokomo, In, where it benefitted from the lengthy, hot summers.

For freezing, we cleaned the stalks, cut them in 3-in segments or left them whole. Then we placed them in a large/quality plastic container with water, and freezed it. It keeps well.

IF you want to grow asparagus and reap major bounty, grow about 2-3 rows, preferably 6 feet long for each. There's nothing better than eating your own homoegrown asparagus with ranch dressing, or grilling it with olive oil, sea salt, and cracked pepper.

Hope this helps! :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

Yes, it really does help. Thanks so much for that! One more question. Full sun or partial shade? I don't have much shade, and yes, the summers are long and hot.
 
Andalublue said:
Yes, it really does help. Thanks so much for that! One more question. Full sun or partial shade? I don't have much shade, and yes, the summers are long and hot.
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Same here. Since asparagus is harvested early in the season, and the roots are so deep, it seems to tolerate our hot summers well. I can typically plan not to harvest any at all once the hot weather arrives, so I just water it once every week or two, then it comes back up the next spring. It really is a hardy plant that requires very little maintenance once established. I buy the Mary Washington variety- it's a relatively old one, and seems very tolerant of adverse conditions.
 
Andalublue said:
Yes, it really does help. Thanks so much for that! One more question. Full sun or partial shade? I don't have much shade, and yes, the summers are long and hot.
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They LOVE full sun. Out in the open they'll thrive. Just watch the dryness; it's good to give them a good watering once a day during above-90-degree weather.

One of those irrigation hoses parallel to the rows of asparagus would help, and also lower any possibility of mildew/rust, iirc.
 
lizzie said:
Same here. Since asparagus is harvested early in the season, and the roots are so deep, it seems to tolerate our hot summers well. I can typically plan not to harvest any at all once the hot weather arrives, so I just water it once every week or two, then it comes back up the next spring. It really is a hardy plant that requires very little maintenance once established. I buy the Mary Washington variety- it's a relatively old one, and seems very tolerant of adverse conditions.
Click to expand...

Great! Thanks, Lizzie. If I dig and prepare a bed and plant seeds now, will I get a crop in Spring 2013?
 
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