Anyone growing their own veg this year?

[cobweb]

the animals will appreciate your fresh lettuce, missb!

[missbettie]

they better i slaved over it for them!!!

[cedarblue]

I think I've left it a little late to plant my chard and spinach... but I'll give it a bash, what's the worst that could happen?

i'm going to sow some more spinach and chard - it grows well into the chilly season. the worst that could happen? it won't grow - the best? you'll have lovely homegrown greens a bit later in the year!

[maidenofthewell]

I went out in the garden earlier and my potatoes are growing well and my lettuces are just coming out and they are sooooo cute!! I have loads of lettuce and sweetcorn coming on indoors but with no space to plant them outside. Can't wait to eat it all though!

[shellymi2nv]

its been about 100 degrees F lately....ugh.

That's called a mild summer in Las Vegas

[Daffodil]

I went out in the garden earlier and my potatoes are growing well and my lettuces are just coming out and they are sooooo cute!! I have loads of lettuce and sweetcorn coming on indoors but with no space to plant them outside. Can't wait to eat it all though!

Hmph. I planted potatoes and lettuce (plus other stuff) about 6 weeks ago but no sign of them yet (maybe i planted them too deep?)

I had huge success with potatoes a few yrs ago so my soil is ok....

[missbettie]

That's called a mild summer in Las Vegas

Vegas's heat is umberable! it gets about 105 where i live.

[cedarblue]

we have some peas that have got to be used up this year, and there are lots of them so we've been sowing them in seed trays, letting them grow to about 4-5cm high and harvesting them as pea shoots to eat in our salads.

using the seeds all up and not paying at least £1 a bag for pea shoots at the supermarche!

[lorikan]

I am growing (organically) TONS of tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, bell peppers, hot peppers, oregeno, basil, cilantro, lavender, strawberries, blackberries (They grow wild, so I lef them in the garden) and rosemary (popped up from last year).

I would love further tips on keeping the bugs off my plants so that we can eat them. ( I am willing to offer them my compost pile? Wouldn't that be easier??) I am trying not to overwater- we have a water pump and it runs up the electric bill.

Florida is hot, muggy and miserable from now on out, so I will not be spending tons of time out there sweating to death. I bought a bunch of marigolds today. I saw an organic gardener near my parent's house use them to keep the bugs away (I guess they hate the smell??). Those will go in all around the garden tomorrow, which will look pretty too!

[Kitteh]

DavidT, thanks so much! I had such issues growing herbs last year, everything but the parsley got eaten by green caterpillars!

On Sunday I planted L-R: snow peas, 'roly poly' carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. I am going to try and find some Nasturtium and Thyme to plant with them to deter insects.

Here's my mini balcony garden:

[cedarblue]

that's really cute kitteh!

[cobweb]

I am growing (organically) TONS of tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, bell peppers, hot peppers, oregeno, basil, cilantro, lavender, strawberries, blackberries (They grow wild, so I lef them in the garden) and rosemary (popped up from last year).

I would love further tips on keeping the bugs off my plants so that we can eat them. ( I am willing to offer them my compost pile? Wouldn't that be easier??) I am trying not to overwater- we have a water pump and it runs up the electric bill.

Florida is hot, muggy and miserable from now on out, so I will not be spending tons of time out there sweating to death. I bought a bunch of marigolds today. I saw an organic gardener near my parent's house use them to keep the bugs away (I guess they hate the smell??). Those will go in all around the garden tomorrow, which will look pretty too!

companion planting sounds like a great idea for you, your crops sound great - but i don't envy you that muggy weather

[jimmeh]

you could always try Orgonite. Spoooky!

Orgonite has been reported effective at helping ailing plants and trees. In a recent development, Orgonite has been theorised to convert negative energy into positive life-giving energy.

The resulting crops were large; in stark contrast to the control crops grown without Orgonite.

http://www.pressdispensary.co.uk/feed/992156.php

[Kitteh]

that's really cute kitteh!

Thanks Cedar, it's not much but hopefully they survive and I can enjoy some veggies!

[shellymi2nv]

Vegas's heat is umberable! it gets about 105 where i live.

Right now it's 7:30pm and its only 88 degrees, 6% humidity going down to 67degrees tonight. Nice and cool

The weekend will be over 105 during the day. Next rain forecasted for sometime in August! My peppers should be growing taller right in front of my eyes.

[XxsarahxX]

we have cherry tomatoes and pumpkin growing from our compost worked out well thanks to the bokashi bucket, and the juice you get from it work wonders for the plants.
we also have a maple tree growing its only little at the moment but growing strong does anyone no if we can keep it growing in a pot?
we also have a mini lemon tree and some herbs growing.i plan to grow alot more veggies out of pots and stuff soon.
and kitteh your mini balcony garden is very cute.

[cedarblue]

Thanks Cadar,

who???

[puca]

Some animal made a toilet out of my radishes *sad face*

I am trying to grow radishes, backcurrants, some herbs and rocket

[matt35mm]

Some animal made a toilet out of my radishes *sad face*

Animals are always doing stuff like that!

Man, I hate animals!

[Ms_Derious]

But, doesn't that count as vegan organic fertiliser?

Yeah... one on the local cats has decides Kale shoots are the core of a good feline diet. Of course.

At first I thought it was local birds pulling them up, until came home yesterday to see the neighbours kitty nomming on *my* growing food. I took the most serious action I could... I feel a bit bad about it now... I went over, picked the cat up, gave it a huge hug then put it on the top of my garden storage box, right in the one glimmer of sunshine.

He won't be doing that again

[BlackCats]

At first I thought it was local birds pulling them up, until came home yesterday to see the neighbours kitty nomming on *my* growing food. I took the most serious action I could... I feel a bit bad about it now... I went over, picked the cat up, gave it a huge hug then put it on the top of my garden storage box, right in the one glimmer of sunshine.
He won't be doing that again

You heartless person.

[Kitteh]

who???

Ha! I only just saw my comment again and just edited my post and then I saw your post

and HELP!!! My broccoli is now covered in teensy weensy lil grey mite-looking things. I have some spray my Dad bought agggges ago but I don't want to use it, especially on food I am going to eat. Should I just plant some thyme and hope they go away?

[Ms_Derious]

There might have been a slight incident today, in which I may possible have bought even more containers... I am now growing

Chard
Spinach
Tomatos
Peppers
Carrots
Kale
Spring Onions
Garlic

[Snickers]

Today I will probably plant the cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers that I've been growing indoors for about a month.
In addition to the vegetables, I'm going to be planting sunflowers, dill, and morning glories.
I'm nervous that they will die as soon as they get out because I haven't had the soil tested and the garden will be organic, but hopefully everything will work out!

[cedarblue]

do you have any books with 'troubleshooter' or 'pests & problems' in kitteh?

i wouldn't spray with the chemical that's for sure. sometimes a washing up liquid & water mix sprayed on can get rid of bugs, aphids etc - but then there's the whole, killing the bugs, argument.

i would investigate it first, then make a decision based on that.

[missbettie]

i have a ton of tomatos and peppers on my plants!!! i've never felt more complished!!!

[cobweb]

well done, missb!

[Ms_Derious]

i have a ton of tomatos and peppers on my plants!!! i've never felt more complished!!!

Yay! All round to yours for salsa then?

So far.... I have a loooooooot of Kale seedings, and that's about it. Everything else is just popping up, but not edible yet. I swear, the best thing about growing your own veg is eating the thinnings!

[Kitteh]

do you have any books with 'troubleshooter' or 'pests & problems' in kitteh?

i wouldn't spray with the chemical that's for sure. sometimes a washing up liquid & water mix sprayed on can get rid of bugs, aphids etc - but then there's the whole, killing the bugs, argument.

i would investigate it first, then make a decision based on that.

I don't have any books but I will check out my local library and see what they have, in the meantime I bought some thyme and nasturtium seeds and planted those around the veggies. I also got some strawberry & calendula seedlings and a chilli plant at my local markets

[cedarblue]

very cute!

calendula's are good companion plants - they discourage some bugs - and you can use their petals in lovely salads too!

[Kitteh]

very cute!

calendula's are good companion plants - they discourage some bugs - and you can use their petals in lovely salads too!

I hope they start discouraging NOW as the mite infestation is getting worse And yest'day I noticed a cute lil snail and a green caterpillar on the broccoli.





Here's the snail and the c-pillar on a munched on leaf! You can also see how yellow and sick the broccoli looks


And in happier news, my snow peas have pods on them and my thyme seeds have sprouted!

thanks to the bokashi bucket, and the juice you get from it work wonders for the plants.
and kitteh your mini balcony garden is very cute.

Thanks, Sarah! And I have wanted a bokashi bin for ages but I wondered if it would be too much for my small garden.

[XxsarahxX]

i think you can get small ones or if you no someone with a bigger garden you could ask them if they would like some compost to make it awesome haha

[Kitteh]

Good idea, I was thinking of offering some to my parents or sneaking it into the gardens at the front of our apartment block!

[Fireweed]

Hi, Gardeners! I've just recently started my greenhouse (I live in the Sub-Arctic of Canada and if you blink you might miss our gardening season). I've got quite a few lovelies growing in there: cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, lettuces, and tons of herbs. But we had to hold off putting in a garden this year because we have some, ahem, issues with a community of squirrels and gophers who love to eat anything we eat. We're going to lay fencing down under the dirt (about 12" down) and then up the sides of the garden, possibly over the top, too. It's going to take us longer than we expected so the garden will have to wait until next year. Everything here has to be fortified if we want to keep any goodies for ourselves. Hee. In fact, as I write my husband is cutting wire fencing to put around our new currant and gooseberry bushes so the critters don't get at them until they have some time to grow (the bushes that is and not the critters---they're big enough already with all the food they've been stealing from the greenhouse!....Yes, we've now fortified the greenhouse, too.)

Anyone a member of the Veganic Network?

[whalespace]

My nest for sitting quietly at the allotment... made from a smoother variety of sunchokes from VeganBikerBoy's garden :

Ninety five organic cos lettuce, now beaked to skeletons by the local pigeons, bless them :

not sure if the seeds were sprayed actually. Not that bothered... possiibly because I haven't read the details.

Purpley beets :


Strawberries [ these pictures were taken the weekend before last...] :


My mouldy gooseberries :


I was verry disappointed when I noticed this mould because I had weeded around my bush, and pruned out some crossing branches. The crop was looking bounteous.... then furry frustration!
On closer inspection, the mould rubs off like furry paper glue ..the skin remaining non penetrated. I have been picking them while still hard, and using them in stew [ the mould is not on the poisonous list]. I used some green windfall strawberries in my stew today as well. The strawberries get sweet before they turn red.

[Fireweed]

whalespace...I love your nest. I want a nest! I want a nest! Your garden is a happy one. Thanks for sharing pictures.

[whalespace]

Thanks Fireweed!

The nest is about eight feet wide, last couple of years I buried a three feet long log, upright to sit on, but one could lie down in dry weather. The sunchokes usually grow ten feet tall easily. One could weave around the outside with some string to strengthen things, but the stems are fairly robust as they are. I'll post another picture, when it is tall enough. I screen the 'doorway' with some other bushes, this year the door screen is a row of the knobly variety of sunchokes which I failed to dig out last year.

These were not comfrey, but the bees like them :

[Fireweed]

Beautiful! I can't wait to see more pictures later in the season, whale!

I think I'm in love with everyone here (yes, I've been lacking vegan community), especially when I see pictures of people planting "nests" and read things like this:

At first I thought it was local birds pulling them up, until came home yesterday to see the neighbours kitty nomming on *my* growing food. I took the most serious action I could... I feel a bit bad about it now... I went over, picked the cat up, gave it a huge hug then put it on the top of my garden storage box, right in the one glimmer of sunshine.

He won't be doing that again

How can it not be love? It's gotta be! It's just gotta be!

[Kitteh]

Whalespace, I can't wait to see all the strawberries you get! I love your garden

[toffo]

Thanks Fireweed!

The nest is about eight feet wide, last couple of years I buried a three feet long log, upright to sit on, but one could lie down in dry weather. The sunchokes usually grow ten feet tall easily. One could weave around the outside with some string to strengthen things, but the stems are fairly robust as they are. I'll post another picture, when it is tall enough. I screen the 'doorway' with some other bushes, this year the door screen is a row of the knobly variety of sunchokes which I failed to dig out last year.

These were not comfrey, but the bees like them :

Hey, Whalespace how you doing?
Those flowers are foxgloves, dont eat them or make a stew out of them cause you will not feel well if you do!

[whalespace]

More cardiac arrest than heartburn eh?



I thought I had the comfrey... the leaves look so alike , and though the flowers are pretty, I would avoid having poisons knocking about in such a public place.

Very well thanks Toffo... despite getting banned from Dissident.

[Lord Perennialist]

I am growing my own veggies, but unfortunately they haven't grown enough yet for me to take pictures of them. But here's a picture from last year. This was a bumblebee that absolutely loved my butterfly weed out front! (don't get any butterflies, but plenty of bumblebees). He visited that patch a lot, so I got to know him. Even gave him a name, Frederick. Unfortunately, like all bumblebees, he only lived for a year, so he has passed away . But his home is still here, in our front lawn. We always make sure to mow around it.



Bumblebees are just so awesome! If they were any bigger I'd give them a big hug!

[whalespace]

fancy greens:

Lettuce, carrot, spinach, beetroot, and weeds standing in for the dill:

Nasturtiums in the butterfly bed; these will shade out heaps of weeds, and provide colourful edible flowers:

I planted six square metres of wheat last September... resulting in about six ears of wheat. I suggest you soak them in the kitchen to make sure they are viable before you plant them. I now have some idea of how a farmer feels when he only had monsanto beans:

Most of the biggest strawberries were involved in an avian jam session:

[Kitteh]

You have such a big garden, WSpace I love the strawbs!

And Lord Perennialist, gorgeous photo of the bee!

My first roly poly carrot and 2 snow peas

[whalespace]

Those are purdy cute vegetables Kitteh!

The allottment costs twenty eight pounds fifty per year. It is approximately six metres wide by twenty metres long, some are twice as big for the same price.

[whalespace]

In my pillowcase this morning : elderflower, chardy types, lactuca, strawberries, marjoram, sage, and feverfew flowers .

Not a very sunny picture, so I'm baking this morning .



Someone broke into my nest, I didn't notice anything missing, but they made the door in the wrong place.

[emmadilemma]

Hey fireweed.......du ever get big scary animals like bears an stuff eatin ur veggies?? We dont have too many gophers over here in ireland but a badger ate all me beetroots grrrr

[Fireweed]

Whalespace, love the pictures! And Lord P., what a beautiful photo of Frederick!

Emma D., we had a moose near our garden a couple weeks back but I scared him off when I opened the door. (Moose may not look all that scary but they are on of the most aggressive animals). There are bears around but they haven't come really close to our house...yet. Our dogs usually keep them far enough away by barking if they come onto the property, even though the dogs can't chase after them (they aren't roaming free when they are outside by themselves). But my garden is on the other side of the dog fences--so I know there is going to come a day when I find a bear in my garden! Hopefully, I won't be in it at the same time!

[cedarblue]

those photos are wonderful, whalespace!

we are harvesting red & green salad bowl lettuce, ruby chard, cavelo nero, potatoes, herbs, baby carrots, pea shoots & spinach. trying hard not to eat all the underdeveloped pea pods as mange tout and let them grow up to be sweet peas to munch on.

i've got some photos, i must upload them! we are very pleased that our garden plot looks just like the pictures in some books.

[cobweb]

that's sounds great, Cedar .
It's rare to see a thriving garden round here, particularly a veg garden. You really need a walled in plot for shelter .