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Garden thread

Does anyone know what this is??

otovih.jpg







It looks like a Bilbergia nutans.
 
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Great! You couldn't really have two more different gardens to watch on this thread. What are you planting?

Lettuce
Cabbage
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Onions
Potatoes
Bell Peppers
Tomatoes - slicing and canning
Okra
Green Beans
Lima Beans
Purple hulled peas
Sweet corn
Watermelons
Cantalopes
Strawberries

Just things we like to eat.
 
Lettuce
Cabbage
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Onions
Potatoes
Bell Peppers
Tomatoes - slicing and canning
Okra
Green Beans
Lima Beans
Purple hulled peas
Sweet corn
Watermelons
Cantalopes
Strawberries

Just things we like to eat.

Will you do all the work yourself? That's a big plot and a lot of different crops.

I've got limited space so I'll be sticking to toms, lettuces, peppers, onions, garlic and soft fruit: brambles, blueberries, rasps, strawbs, melon. That'll keep me busy enough.

I went to three nurseries yesterday and bought a few ornamental plants. I've spent this morning bedding them in. Photos to follow shortly. I got:
  • Bamboo palms x3
  • A big purply, pinky shrub which sounded like 'abulilla' when the guy who sold it to me said it. No idea what it is but they're very common here.
  • Mahonia - lovely thistly sort of thing. (I did say I was an ignoramous with plants, didn't I?)
  • Elephants' Ears (Bergenia)
  • Cotoneaster
  • Calendulas x 6
  • Oregano for the herb beds
  • Margaritas for a bit of instant colour.
  • Buxus sempervivens (Box) x5
  • Ornamental fir, no idea what kind but told it'll grow to about 1.5m.
  • Thornless bramble
  • Blueberry
  • Jasmine, for growing over the pergola
I also sowed grass seed around my fruit trees. I haven't got nearly enough water to keep a lawn going through our merciless summer, so I thought a little bit around the base of the cherry, pear and persimmon trees would look attractive and be sustainable.

Tuesday I spent most of the day hard pruning the fig tree at the end of the garden. It doesn't produce edible fruit and has really run riot. I hate that tree but taking it out would mean rebuilding the entire end wall of the garden, added to which the wood is useless. You can't burn fig wood as it gives off poisonous fumes. I just decided to hack it back as hard as I could and I've got a neighbour coming tomorrow with a 'desbrotador' (heavy-duty brush-cutter) to clear all the mini fig saplings that surround the base of the tree.

I'm then going to try to plant some hostas. They're my absolute favourite plants. I've always assumed they were a no-go down here because I thought they like only damp, shaded ground. Some guys I know down the valley tell me that that isn't true and that you can grow them here. They know what they're talking about. Check out their amazing gardens here. I went for a visit last week and was really inspired.

I picked up some packets of mixed wildflower seeds too. I'm just sprinkling them over the rough, grassy section of the garden that I'm leaving alone until next year. Hopefully we might get some nice colour from whatever's in that mix. The packet didn't say.

Working at the restaurant tonight, so I'd best go and get scrubbed. I doubt anyone enjoys having dinner served to them by someone with dirt under their fingernails.
 
ı wonder how your garden will form,anda :)
 
Will you do all the work yourself? That's a big plot and a lot of different crops.

I've got limited space so I'll be sticking to toms, lettuces, peppers, onions, garlic and soft fruit: brambles, blueberries, rasps, strawbs, melon. That'll keep me busy enough.

Yes, by myself. Not a big deal. By local standards this garden plot is about average size.

You might reconsider the melon choice. Being a creaping vine they typically take more space than the yeild justifies. You might consider cucumbers. They are creaping but can be grown vertically on a trellis as they are typically harvested prior to getting to large. There are some varieties of cantalopes that are about the size of a softball at maturity and COULD be tried vertically. Melons also require copious amounts of water.
 
Yes, by myself. Not a big deal. By local standards this garden plot is about average size.

You might reconsider the melon choice. Being a creaping vine they typically take more space than the yeild justifies. You might consider cucumbers. They are creaping but can be grown vertically on a trellis as they are typically harvested prior to getting to large. There are some varieties of cantalopes that are about the size of a softball at maturity and COULD be tried vertically. Melons also require copious amounts of water.

You could be right about the melons. I'll see if the seeds germinate and then maybe replant on my friend's plot, just below his huge water deposit. I could use the space I've put them in for cukes.

Meanwhile, I just took some photos, about an hour ago actually.

Garden 7 Mar 2012.jpgGarden 7 Mar 2012-2.jpg

As you can see, I had help.Roxy 7 Mar 12.jpg
 
i will take the photos of the garden of our house in the tableland this summer and post here,it is full of green and red peppers ,cucumbers,tomatos ,bean,mint ,dill ,basil ,lettuce ,okra ,eggplant and lots of different green herbs.i missed picking up fresh herbs from that garden..
 
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You could be right about the melons. I'll see if the seeds germinate and then maybe replant on my friend's plot, just below his huge water deposit. I could use the space I've put them in for cukes.

If you haven’t got the seeds yet might I suggest Crimson Sweet for watermelons and Ambrosia for cantaloupes if you prefer. We have gone through MANY varieties and found these to be both consistently flavorful and productive but you will find vegetable varieties are one of the most debated topics in the ‘gardening world’.

Good pix. Your space is developing beautifully. Ours will progress MUCH more slowly.

ps. I need one of your helpers to keep the damn deer out during the summer.
 
If you haven’t got the seeds yet might I suggest Crimson Sweet for watermelons and Ambrosia for cantaloupes if you prefer. We have gone through MANY varieties and found these to be both consistently flavorful and productive but you will find vegetable varieties are one of the most debated topics in the ‘gardening world’.
I have already planted my melons. They are known here as Piel de Sapo melons (Toad skin). I don't know if that means anything to you. They are really delicious. I absolutely adore them eaten straight or used to make ice cream, gazpacho or as an accompaniment to the local dish, migas.

Good pix. Your space is developing beautifully. Ours will progress MUCH more slowly.
Thank you. Things generally kick off here much earlier in the year than I was used to in the UK. We're about 6 weeks ahead here, so things are really starting to sprout.
ps. I need one of your helpers to keep the damn deer out during the summer.
She's meant to be a ratter but I had mice in the house last summer and she just sat and watched them. Useless!

FYI, this where I am.

Alcútar
 
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i will take the photos of the garden of our house in the tableland this summer and post here,it is full of green and red peppers ,cucumbers,tomatos ,bean,mint ,dill ,basil ,lettuce ,okra ,eggplant and lots of different green herbs.i missed picking up fresh herbs from that garden..

I'd love to see those, Medusa. Whereabouts in the tableland is it?
 
I'd love to see those, Medusa. Whereabouts in the tableland is it?

it is on the taurus (toros ) mountain plateaus in antalya ,western anatolia and it takes 2 hours by car to go there.my parents usuallly moves there in summer when the weather is suitable and warm
 
it is on the taurus (toros ) mountain plateaus in antalya ,western anatolia and it takes 2 hours by car to go there.my parents usuallly moves there in summer when the weather is suitable and warm

Sounds great. I love the mountains, especially in a Med summer. I'm looking forward to the photos.
 
The daily shaving of the palms must have been a drag, too.
I don't understand that one. Is palm shaving a euphemism for masturbation? If so, I think we may need a mod to flush the thread.

Back to gardening, I've had a spectacular week of planting and bed preparation. I got scallions and cebollinos (half-way between scallions and onions) in, transplated a bergenia that a friend gave me and planted up half-a-dozen shrubs such as my fan palms, viburnum, cotoneaster, mahonia, margarita and jasmine. I also planted a thornless bramble and blueberry and some oregano. I've tried to salvage last year's ailing pelargoniums and a sickly-looking virginia creeper. Time will tell whether I've been successful. It's been great weather for it, but we're desperate for some more rain.
 
On one side of the pond are trees intercropped with pineapple, cow-grass, cassava, yams, a couple macademia trees and other things (going uphill to the terrace and then bananas), and the other side is a stream. I'm not sure what's going on the terrace yet, but probably coffee and pumpkin primarily. See file names for description, I'll put them in my album at left column/profile.

When late enough this afternoon, Ima go water (via bucket and pond) the mound of the pond (cow-grass, sugar cane and maize).


arrow and maize at pond.jpg


intercropped wood.jpg


looking downhill.jpg
 
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I should note that it's not merely my garden, it's someone's farm. We designed and implemented it over the past couple years. The tree intercrop is almost two years old. The pond was here when I arrived (it's about 2.5 years old). The crops adjacent the pond (arrows and maize mainly) are just a couple months old (transplanted during the dry season to take advantge of the always wet stream-side soil. The pond has healthy fish of 2 generations (added from outside) and reproduction has begun.
 
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On one side of the pond are trees intercropped with pineapple, cow-grass, cassava, yams, a couple macademia trees and other things (going uphill to the terrace and then bananas), and the other side is a stream. I'm not sure what's going on the terrace yet, but probably coffee and pumpkin primarily. See file names for description, I'll put them in my album at left column/profile.

When late enough this afternoon, Ima go water (via bucket and pond) the mound of the pond (cow-grass, sugar cane and maize).


View attachment 67124120


View attachment 67124121


View attachment 67124122


kenya seems very attractive ,did you visit masai mara there ?
 
On one side of the pond are trees intercropped with pineapple, cow-grass, cassava, yams, a couple macademia trees and other things (going uphill to the terrace and then bananas), and the other side is a stream. I'm not sure what's going on the terrace yet, but probably coffee and pumpkin primarily. See file names for description, I'll put them in my album at left column/profile.

When late enough this afternoon, Ima go water (via bucket and pond) the mound of the pond (cow-grass, sugar cane and maize).
Who is Ima?

It's the dry season, right? The rains should start soon, I guess. Are you in the Highlands? Or closer to the coast?

It looks terrific, beautiful deep red soil and clearly much more lush than I'd expect after months of no rain.
 
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