Growing berries, vegetables and herbs organically at home

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Andre said:
solution?
And there's this.

new%20squirrels2_adjust_1_1_1.jpg
 
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My amaryllis decided to join in the fun and bloom at the same time as my orchids.

img8163u.jpg


Zz.
 
Gorgeous Zz, I am so jealous!
 
Almost gardening season again. It is still cool here at night. But the blueberries are budding finally.

http://www.andreawulf.com/andrea-wu...e-and-the-shaping-of-the-american-nation.html

She describes how, even as British ships gathered off Staten Island, George Washington wrote his estate manager about the garden at Mount Vernon; how a tour of English gardens renewed Thomas Jefferson's and John Adams's faith in their fledgling nation; how a trip to the great botanist John Bartram’s garden helped the delegates of the Constitutional Congress to break their deadlock; and why James Madison is the forgotten father of American environmentalism.
 
Two weeks ago, I started some starts (I guess that's why they're called that...:confused:). Nothing sprouting yet, still too cold - only in the 40s today.
 
lisab said:
Two weeks ago, I started some starts (I guess that's why they're called that...:confused:). Nothing sprouting yet, still too cold - only in the 40s today.
Bulbs? What did you plant?
 
Evo said:
Bulbs? What did you plant?

So far, just tomatoes and various flowers. Lots of tomatoes - I'm optimistic about a warm summer, for a change! Heirlooms and sauce varieties, my favorites. They're in the screen porch where it's kinda sort of warm.

I have basil :biggrin: seeds too, but I think I should wait for moderately warm weather for those.
 
lisab said:
So far, just tomatoes and various flowers. Lots of tomatoes - I'm optimistic about a warm summer, for a change! Heirlooms and sauce varieties, my favorites. They're in the screen porch where it's kinda sort of warm.

I have basil :biggrin: seeds too, but I think I should wait for moderately warm weather for those.
You're handy, you might want to make a simple cold frame to get your seedlings going.

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/garden-care/building-a-simple-cold-frame/
 
My brother and his wife have a portable greenhouse (basically shelves enclosed in clear plastic with some lights to warm inside) they keep in a dining area just off the kitchen. It gets background light since the kitchen faces northeast. It might get a bit of light in the summer during early morning.
 
I just have my seeds, plots, and water mixed with a compost bin in my backyard and lawn. Mostly veggies, tea, herbs, and fragrances. Also two avocado trees that were previously here and a sour orange tree home to a pigeon in a nest.
 
Being here in south Florida, my* mango trees withstood the winter quite well. The poor avocado tree, however, got half it's leaves blown off during these pretty bad pre-spring storms we've been having.

*not actually MY trees, but rather my parents' (I'm still a young'n compared to most of you). I just take care of them.
 
ImATrackMan said:
Being here in south Florida, my* mango trees withstood the winter quite well. The poor avocado tree, however, got half it's leaves blown off during these pretty bad pre-spring storms we've been having.

*not actually MY trees, but rather my parents' (I'm still a young'n compared to most of you). I just take care of them.

I also live in SFL, I don't have mango, but I do have avocado and it withstood the winds quite well.
 
Tell you what else we have (but really, REALLY don't want)...

Raccoons. Always stealing the low hanging fruit. Sure they're cute, but when the babies take after their parents it's "goodbye ripe mango".
 
It's time to prune the fruit trees. I need to be quite diligent about spraying the trees before and after blossoming, so that the birds won't spoil the fruit. I only use canola oil in a hose-end sprayer - no pesticides. Still, that is enough to suppress insect activity so that insectivorous birds won't damage the fruit looking for for bugs to eat.

I won't use pesticides anywhere on my property, but I have to be wary of the huge fields of commercially-grown crops and the large orchards around here. The bugs that come here are already too tough, and the wind-blown pollens are hard to deal with. Got to roll with it.
 
I have decided not to attempt a vegetable garden this year, it's cheaper to just buy them and at least I'll have some, what few grew last year were eaten by squirrels.

So, this year I am doing flowers. I just received my dwarf ever blooming day lilies today. I will have to keep the pots covered with metal grates until I get the plants going or the squirrels will dig up the bulbs and destroy them.
 
Monique said:
My peach tree still has leaf curl :frown: Are there any fungicides effective? The only fungicide I've been able to find in the gardening center is one that treats mildew.
Copper soap is recommended, if you can find it there.

All purpose fungicide controls mildew, blackspot and rust. se on ornamentals, vegetables and fruits. Controls peach leaf curl.
Available in concentrate or ready-use-spray.
Contains Copper Octanoate (copper soap)

http://www.greenhousegardencenter.com/green_garden.html
 
The peas are in the ground, along with kale, spinach, lettuce, etc. The garlic is coming up nicely through its mulch.
 
turbo said:
The peas are in the ground, along with kale, spinach, lettuce, etc. The garlic is coming up nicely through its mulch.

I have difficulties with any type of beans, the crows and pigeons find a way to dig them out.
 
Julio R said:
I have difficulties with any type of beans, the crows and pigeons find a way to dig them out.
Darn them, darn them to heck.
 
Monique said:
My peach tree still has leaf curl :frown: Are there any fungicides effective? The only fungicide I've been able to find in the gardening center is one that treats mildew.
The leaf curl fungus needs to be treated with fungicides in the winter, as it lives in the bark and is easier to kill then. Once it's in the leaves, it doesn't do any good to spray with a fungicide. You'll need to treat for several winters to completely get rid of it, from my experience.

Edit: Unfortunately the EPA has banned most of the good stuff but I still have some Zineb. Zinc is the secret.
 
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Alright, I'll have to live with it until winter comes again then.. Maybe I should just get a new tree.

Today I'll be planting seeds for a whole list of plants: green and gold zucchini, bell pepper, cucumber, cherry tomato, flesh tomato, balcony tomato, watermelon, coriander, Eastern papaver and a mixture of cutflowers.

I don't know how I'll fit them all on the terrace, probably I should buy some pots to put the individual plants in. A friend told me not all produce can be grown next to each, is there any truth in that?
 
Monique said:
... A friend told me not all produce can be grown next to each, is there any truth in that?

That's called intercropping or polyculture. But I wonder if all combinations mentioned here are tested used the scientific method.
 
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Andre said:
That's called intercropping or polyculture. But I wonder if all combinations mentioned here are tested used the scientific method.
Alright, I'll put the cucumber in separate pots then :smile: I planted seeds last Sunday and the cucumbers are the only ones sprouting at this moment.. hopefully the other seeds will follow soon.
 
We are having a cool, dry spring. This morning it was 2 C (36 F). I had to water plants yesterday, but hopefully we will get some rain this week.
 
Remember this post.

It looks like this today, before the sun hits it:

 
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Looks like strawberries even after 60mph winds the day before yesterday.

 
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