calling all gardeners

[strollingbones]

what do you grow and how much? do you put food up for the winter,,,if so what...and how?

i have seen where seed shops are running out of seeds...we have already gotten ours...seed potatoes...16.95 for a 50 lb bag...cheapest price around

 

[dilloduck]

 

[strollingbones]

that simply is not an artichoke? is it?

we have some spinach under cloaks...and things are beginning to come up...

it is too cold her to grow artichokes here...we are in zone 6

 

[dilloduck]

that simply is not an artichoke? is it?

we have some spinach under cloaks...and things are beginning to come up...

it is too cold her to grow artichokes here...we are in zone 6

It certainly is !

 

[strollingbones]

damn artichokes would be great....i just dont think they will fly here ....i would love an olive tree too

 

[dilloduck]

damn artichokes would be great....i just dont think they will fly here ....i would love an olive tree too

We'll see how they do--first time for budding up. Two year old plants.

 

[Shogun]

Last year I grew an array of bell peppers, tomatoes and roses on my deck. Red, orange, yellow, green and purple. I loved being able to go pick strait off the plant for stuffed bell peppers and the like. Didn't really see too much of a yield from the tomatoes though. And, let's be honest, tomato plants stink. Last years roses were supposed to be BLUE, goddammit.. But they turned pink and orange so..

I think this year i'm leaning towards more red, orange and yellow bell peppers... maybe some carrots if I can find a clear pot... some kind of berry vine or bush... either Romaine Lettuce or a row of brocolli... and STRAWBERRIES. oh, and red and white roses until they offer actual fucking blue roses.

 

[editec]

Growing the food is really the easy part. I have often grown far more food than I can possible use and left it hanging on the vine and felt guilty as hell about it.

It's storing all that food that is both expensive and time consuming.

Potatoes are a good emergency end of the world food because all you really need to store them in a dry, dark, relatively cool place to store them. (Note some potatoes are better for storing than others. Ask your supplier which are good "keepers".)

Tomatoes can be stored green in the same place, especially if you wrap them in newpaper. They'll be rip in December..after that they're compost.

Onions are easily kept, too, as are shallots and garlic.

If you can dry food, that's a good storage system. the best really since it's cheap and safe.

Canning is a pain in the ass, in my opinion. It is neither cheaper than buying in a store, nor safer, either.

 

[strollingbones]

Last year I grew an array of bell peppers, tomatoes and roses on my deck. Red, orange, yellow, green and purple. I loved being able to go pick strait off the plant for stuffed bell peppers and the like. Didn't really see too much of a yield from the tomatoes though. And, let's be honest, tomato plants stink. Last years roses were supposed to be BLUE, goddammit.. But they turned pink and orange so..

I think this year i'm leaning towards more red, orange and yellow bell peppers... maybe some carrots if I can find a clear pot... some kind of berry vine or bush... either Romaine Lettuce or a row of brocolli... and STRAWBERRIES. oh, and red and white roses until they offer actual fucking blue roses.[/QUOTE]


i think jackson perkins has a blue rose..nope they tend to be more lavender...

True Blue Roses to be Sold First in Japan

 

[Shogun]

yea. the "blue" rose I had last year was just a hybrid pink so i'm a little dubious. They started lavender too.

 

[strollingbones]

strawberries are great in containers...you can grow potatoes in a 55 gal drum or trash can...i would stick to micro greens and such..bell peppers are good and fun...squash can be a container plant too..winter squash..putting food up is a lot of trouble...but canned food is still better when home canned...we do a lot of drying...i prefer canned or frozen

 

[Shogun]

im not actually a big fan of strawberries but I want something that I can yield a lot from and then ferment the shit out of and I can't think of any other berry or vine fruit...

 

[RodISHI]

It depends here on how much time we have. We have three apple trees that do very good so we have a load of fried apples stored up every year (I still have some in the freezer from last fall). Rasberries, elderberries, mint grow wild all over the place here. I try to grow a variety of squash, tomatoes, green beans, watermelons, spinach and lettuce in the years that I can here. Lettuce and spinach in containers also for fresh salads. Basil, parsly, and other goodies where ever I can find a space for them between the flowers. When we have the chance we can tomatoes and zuccini, green beans. In the past here beets have never did very well and carrots seem to grow sparse where we planted them.

Our little peach tree has not made fruit and it was planted the same year as one of the apples that does very well. Our plums? I forgot to look at last year to see if they made fruit.

Loads of black walnuts. We pick up at least a few boxes every year. The squirrels get the majority of them though.

Our field grows tons of wild chicory (I have wondered for years if we could actually harvest it as chicory is a pricey crop)

We have lots of natural daises, some shasta daisies, lots of enchinachia (purple cone), Golden cone flowers, tiger lilies, roses, trumpet vines, wisterias (I started a half a dozen more in a container this year) and a host of other flowers I planted over the years.

 

[strollingbones]

im not actually a big fan of strawberries but I want something that I can yield a lot from and then ferment the shit out of and I can't think of any other berry or vine fruit...

grapes but you would have to be careful with it....

 

[Shogun]

I dont have the space to invest in grape vines. which sucks..

 

[random3434]

I would LOVE to grow some tomatoes and maybe some carrots this spring/summer.

I need some advice. I live in a condo, don't have a lot of planting area, but have a little bit. Have a patio.

What would be my best options? I mainly am interested in the tomatoes, there is NOTHING better than home grown tomatoes.


Thanks.

 

[manu1959]

i have four different types of strawberrys.....
a couple of artichoke plants....
a pluotte tree
a pomiganite tree
an herb garden
two raised beds that i do tomatoes, peppers, green onions, lettuce, peas and beans....

i go shopping sunday morning for breakfast fixings......

it is heaven......

 

[manu1959]

I would LOVE to grow some tomatoes and maybe some carrots this spring/summer.

I need some advice. I live in a condo, don't have a lot of planting area, but have a little bit. Have a patio.

What would be my best options? I mainly am interested in the tomatoes, there is NOTHING better than home grown tomatoes.


Thanks.

try this.....it is kinda fun....

Upside down Tomatoes

 

[random3434]

I would LOVE to grow some tomatoes and maybe some carrots this spring/summer.

I need some advice. I live in a condo, don't have a lot of planting area, but have a little bit. Have a patio.

What would be my best options? I mainly am interested in the tomatoes, there is NOTHING better than home grown tomatoes.


Thanks.

try this.....it is kinda fun....

Upside down Tomatoes

Thanks M59! I saved that site, I may try that!

 

[Shogun]

I would LOVE to grow some tomatoes and maybe some carrots this spring/summer.

I need some advice. I live in a condo, don't have a lot of planting area, but have a little bit. Have a patio.

What would be my best options? I mainly am interested in the tomatoes, there is NOTHING better than home grown tomatoes.


Thanks.

thats pretty much the same situation I'm in. I'd find out how much sunlight your deck gets and keep that in mind when choosing what to plant. for this very reason (partial shade on half the deck) I have a real crappy yield with tomatoes and other Full Sunlight plants. Also, depending on how large your deck is, you might want to remember that some plants will grow bigger than others. I can tell you.. packing pots of peppers inside right before the crazy typhoon stort is a lot easier than stinky near-bush tomato plants. And, remember to provide plant support, any kind of mean wind will snap a plant in half.