Gardening, what to grow this upcoming season

[hypatia]

Has anyone started planning what they want to grow this upcoming season?
I'll be trying container planting this year, with herbs, tomato and peppers. New property for me this year. Hope to have a in ground next year.

 

[DataGG]

So lucky that you guys have the space to do that. Seriously, newer generations will never be able to have that much land. I know I won't!

 

[PhysicoRaj]

I myself don't have it now!

 

[Monique]

I'll just try different things again, no plan. Last year the cucumbers and zucchini's worked the best. I'm going to retry watermelons and pumpkins, which didn't give any fruit last year. Tomatoes didn't give fruit until near-winter, I'll plant them earlier this year.

Maybe I'll go out today to work the ground in the containers, but I'm not sure when I should starting seeds. It's 20oC now, but one never knows.. it can freeze in March.

It will be nice to be out in the sun, I have this week off but manage to bust my knee on a table last night... there goes my plan for going out hiking this week. Sitting in the sun is not a bad replacement activity I guess..

 

[lendav_rott]

Potatoes, carrots and tomatoes as usual. 50% of my diet consists of those 3. Peppermint as well probably.

 

[hypatia]

Monique, a day of sunshin is something I haven't seen in months. Might be why I'm looking forward to warmer, snowless days.

 

[Monique]

Monique, a day of sunshin is something I haven't seen in months. Might be why I'm looking forward to warmer, snowless days.

Really, you're still in the snow? We've had an unusually mild winter, I only noticed one night of frost. Well, I feel very fortunate then with this weather, I just went out to get breakfast and it felt like a midsummer day. Hopefully spring reaches you soon

 

[hypatia]

More snow expected tonight. It should break records for snow totals over the course of a winter season. 72 inches so far.

 

[dlgoff]

Hi Hy

I'm ready but the weather isn't.

 

[hypatia]

Hi Dlg, spent a bit of time at a nursery today, got some good ideas for container gardening. They keep upping the amount of snow expected tonight.: -(

 

[ZapperZ]

Has anyone started planning what they want to grow this upcoming season?
I'll be trying container planting this year, with herbs, tomato and peppers. New property for me this year. Hope to have a in ground next year.

I will grow the usual: sweet basil, Thai basil, flat-leaf parsley, peppermint, rosemary, and oregano. I use these frequently and save a lot of money over the summer by not buying them at the supermarket.

Of course, I haven't seen the ground till a couple of days ago. It has been buried under a ton of ice and snow. Unfortunately, more is coming this evening.

Zz.

 

[hypatia]

Fresh and home dried herbs are the best ! Might add the flat leaf parsley to my list.

 

[Borek]

Just beware the poisoned seeds

 

[lendav_rott]

Near my country home there's a farmer who grows cannabis, legally I might add...what does he use it for? He makes rope of it. Don't ask how he got to do it legally, just wonder why he isn't supplying and living in a castle xD

 

[Travis_King]

Are you sure he's not growing hemp...

 

[hypatia]

Starting some herbs in small pots, I just can't wait anymore. Can't see ground yet, I will assume it's still under the snow.

 

[AlephZero]

Are you sure he's not growing hemp...

Hemp is a variety of cannabis sativa, but the varieties that are legal for agriculture produce negligible amounts of THC.

The words canvas and cannabis have the same etymological root.

But confusingly, "manilla hemp" rope is made from bananas.

 

[OmCheeto]

Hemp is a variety of cannabis sativa, but the varieties that are legal for agriculture produce negligible amounts of THC.

The words canvas and cannabis have the same etymological root.

But confusingly, "manilla hemp" rope is made from bananas.

Rope made from bananas?

Um...

You're not Irish are you?

 

[OmCheeto]

Ok...

Banana Rope

 

[dlgoff]

Ok...

Banana Rope

All this hemp rope talk reminds me of listening to Legend of the USS Titanic on the underground music program Beaker Street.

 

[OmCheeto]

All this hemp rope talk reminds me of listening to Legend of the USS Titanic on the underground music program Beaker Street.

My knowledge of the history of the Titanic was obviously, severely lacking. Thank you.

ps. Last weekend, I picked up packets of seeds of Russian Kale, 2 kinds of snow peas, and one random pack of heritage tomatoes.

 

[lenell]

Hi,
I am going to get 2 bags of miracle grow, lay them flat on saw horses, slit a rectangle in the bag and try and grow leaf lettuce. I have groundhogs so I have to keep this off the ground.
First time trying to grow something on my own.
Wish me luck. Won't be able to begin till after Memorial Day.

 

[lisab]

Hi,
I am going to get 2 bags of miracle grow, lay them flat on saw horses, slit a rectangle in the bag and try and grow leaf lettuce. I have groundhogs so I have to keep this off the ground.
First time trying to grow something on my own.
Wish me luck. Won't be able to begin till after Memorial Day.

Interesting setup, and a creative way to beat those groundhogs! I presume you're laying plywood (or something similar) between the sawhorses?

I'd like to see photos, if you have them .

 

[lenell]

Here is a picture attached of how it is supposed to look. Hope I attached it correctly.

 

[lisab]

Here is a picture attached of how it is supposed to look. Hope I attached it correctly.

Wow, that's so cool - I really like it. I think you'll have a great crop!

 

[Evo]

Here is a picture attached of how it is supposed to look. Hope I attached it correctly.

Wow, that's so cool! Good luck, and thanks for posting that!

 

[Ripley]

I'm going to try pak choi, spinach and quinoa this year. I will probably get a few other packs of seeds too. I love using spinach in my cooking but its stupidly expensive and apparently easy to grow. I'm saving up all my egg shells to try and deter the slugs.

 

[OmCheeto]

Hi,
I am going to get 2 bags of miracle grow...

They sell Miracle Grow by the bag? I thought it only came in a box.

Good god. It's no wonder I'm gardening failure...

 

[Borek]

I would love to try growing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helichrysum_italicum

I brought some wild seeds from Croatia last year, but I don't know yet whether they will germinate.

 

[Evo]

They sell Miracle Grow by the bag? I thought it only came in a box.

Good god. It's no wonder I'm gardening failure...

Miracle grow potting soil comes in a bag, fertilizer comes in either a box or liquid in a bottle.

 

[Jilang]

All our window sills are full of small plants. Tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. It's still too cold to put them in the greenhouse yet. The cucumbers will probably stay in the conservatory as they do better in there and can they trained to go up and along. When the cucumbers arrive they look great!

 

[Pythagorean]

I buy into local farm shares and help out weekly at the farm. Kale, Kohlrabi, tomatoes, peas, lettuce, squash, carrots, cucumbers, beats, turnips, parsnips, various herbs and flower, and many more!

 

[AlephZero]

Miracle grow potting soil comes in a bag

Near where some of my family lives, peat based compost comes in a ship, about 3000 tons at a time.

You can usually find a few lumps by the side of the road for free, when it is being trucked to the factory that puts it into the plastic bags

 

[lenell]

Here are the instructions for bag gardening:
Use the 2 cubic feet bag of Miracle grow potting soil; rumple bag quite a bit to loosen it.
Poke quite a few holes on bottom for drainage.
Don't put on hot concrete. Saw horses with a grate between is good.
Cut out top leaving 4"-5" border all around.
Lightly rake through soil to even it out and loosen it more.
Then carefully & evenly sprinkle seeds around.
They put cornmeal with salad green seeds into an old spice bottle with a shaker top, shook it to
blend cornmeal and seeds and sprinkled it on the soil. Cornmeal was used to make sure of
even seed coverage.
If doing radish or spinach seeds, make lines the depth mentioned on seed packet, plant the seeds
and cover appropriately.
For salad greens, they sprinkled a light covering of soil over the cornmeal & seeds and then they
spray-misted them to water them in.
When harvesting, don't pull plants out--use scissors to cut what you need. Cut ones will grow
back (salad greens & spinach)
Spray-mist seeds and plantlings till established; then you can water more vigorously as plants
mature. Probably need to water more often since depth of bag is not as deep as in the
ground. They kept theirs moist but not sopping wet.
Hope this helps.

 

[dlgoff]

I would love to try growing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helichrysum_italicum

I brought some wild seeds from Croatia last year, but I don't know yet whether they will germinate.

What are you going to use if for? Being a chemist, I'm guessing, , you'er going to extract the oils which seems to have the same healing properties as Aloe barbadensis.

Historically, aloe was used topically to heal wounds and for various skin conditions, and orally as a laxative. Today, in addition to these uses, aloe is used as a folk or traditional remedy for a variety of conditions, including diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, and osteoarthritis. It is also used topically for osteoarthritis, burns, sunburns, and psoriasis. Aloe vera gel can be found in hundreds of skin products, including lotions and sunblocks. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved aloe vera as a natural food flavoring.

bolding by me

According to http://www.helichrysum-italicum.com/,

Aromatherapy : The word was originally used by French chemist Rene-Maurice Gattefosse in 1920.In a laboratory accident, Gattefosse set his arm on fire and immediately thrust it into the nearest vat of cold liquid, which happened to be lavender oil. Instantly, he felt soothing relief and watched as the burn continued to heal quickly, with no inflammation or scarring. The profound healing benefits led him to a lifetime of research in a field that he termed “aromatherapy.”

 

[Borek]

Just for the smell of it.