Gardening

[fishfood]

Yep the one I go to opens tomorrow

The farmers market stayed open during the last lockdown they sell food.

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[MikePal]

I've never been one to walk away from work and if I can get a bit of enjoyment out of it right now I'm gung ho on it and only time will tell. .

I retired about 10 yrs before my wife, the kids had left home, so we had a lot of surplus. So I stopped doing the veggie garden about 5 yrs before she retired. The year she did, she was keen to revitalise some of it, so I built a few raised beds for her and help her get started. The raised beds worked great, less weeds and easier for her. The first 2 yrs she stuck with all 4 gardens, then it dwindled to 2 and last year she didn't bother. We were were down to just tomatoes and peppers at that time.

An eager young lad moved in not to far from me and is farming his 'God's little acre'. So I am able to barter and buy up some of his harvest at the local Farmers market. So I still get to enjoy fresh farm fair with none of the sweat equity.

Thanks for the offer...I may just take a drive one day just for a sunned warm summer tomato, fresh off the vine. )

[Bo D]

You'd be more than welcomed anytime...

Pete ...

[Birdbuff]

Thought I’d bring this thread back and see how everyone’s gardens are doing. I’m still in the middle of the build for my permanent garden. It’s been a lot of work. For this year I transformed the back flower bed into a small veggie garden. Not much size (2x12) but I’ve loaded it with a bunch of veggies. My beef steak tomatoes are ripening nicely. I had a couple the other night. The cherry tomato is doing incredible. Yellow bell peppers are turning colour nicely, Shepard peppers won’t be too long either now. The Apache chilies are ripening and have a great flavour. We’ve been picking onions regularly and herbs. Peas burned out in the heat waves. And lastly the spring beets look to be about ready to pick. All in all not a bad haul out of a small space. Hopefully my food factory will be ready to plant for the spring of next year.

How’s everyone else doing?

[JoePa]

I am just about living from my garden - eating corn, tomatoes, beets, cabbage, beans, broccoli, onions, squash, peppers and kohlrabi - I had so many blueberries that I couldn't harvest them all and some went to waste - my kids were here also picking them - never saw a year when I had so many blueberries - got around 50 quarts frozen - I am raising vegetable plants now for a fall crop - I always freeze a lot of peppers and broccoli too -

I know it's a lot of work to properly tend to a garden but I really enjoy it and it keeps me busy - I can't sit still - got to be doing something - been doing it most of my adult life - its the same with getting firewood - something else I enjoy doing

I rise a lot of cabbage type vegetables and the one thing that happens is they get a lot of cabbage worms - I built covers out of hardware cloth so the butterfly that lays the eggs on these plants can't get at them - when you buy these vegetables at a store or market you know that they had to spray to keep the worms off the plants - so you better wash these vetgets very good before eating - that's one thing when you grow your own you can grow without spraying

[Bo D]

I've got a question for you guys, this is the first year I planted garlic. How can you tell when it's time to start harvesting them.

[finsfurfeathers]

when the top turns brown and falls over. However check often as if you pick too soon the skin is to thin if you leave too long the cloves will split the skin

[Bo D]

Thank you. What I'll do is take a photo of the plants tomorrow if I get a chance and post it here and we'll see what you have to say then..

[Birdbuff]

I try to pick when the first 3 to 4 leaves from the bottom turn brown. I read somewhere garlic leaves brown from bottom to top, not sure where. But it’s worked for me so far.

[greatwhite]

Best time to plant Garlic is actually between Sept - Nov