Diggin in the Garden

FlyingLow

FlyingLow

Team NO SLEEP!
I never tried growing anything until this year, now I am a bit hooked!

I have a monster of a Cherokee Purple tomato plant that has grown well over 5 feet tall, and is dropping BOMBS! I could not be happier and more excited for these to ripen up!

In addition to the tomatoes, I randomly planted a few tiny blueberry bushes and they also produced better than I anticipated in their first season. Nothing like a plump, tight skinned blueberry right off the bush.


What is everyone else growing?
Next season, I intend to try a few new items. I really want to try growing melons (undecided between watermelon, honeydew or cantaloupe) and maybe even some broccoli.

I am most tempted to graft a stone fruit tree together (peach/plum/nectarine/apricot), but have been slightly dissuaded as those attract such a greater amount of bees...but how FUCKING cool would that be?!?
 
MinnBobber

MinnBobber

Well-Known Member
FlyingLow said:
I never tried growing anything until this year, now I am a bit hooked! ......
....
What is everyone else growing?
Click to expand...

New this year too. Cherry tomatoes are very sweet but a lot of skin.
Pablano and Carmen peppers. Are real Hatch chili seeds available??

Might try to post chili pic from camera...
EDIT----isn't there a way to post pic direct from Iphone? I see no way to get to photos??
 
Greenteam

Greenteam

Less ego. More soul.
FlyingLow said:
I never tried growing anything until this year, now I am a bit hooked!

I have a monster of a Cherokee Purple tomato plant that has grown well over 5 feet tall, and is dropping BOMBS! I could not be happier and more excited for these to ripen up!

In addition to the tomatoes, I randomly planted a few tiny blueberry bushes and they also produced better than I anticipated in their first season. Nothing like a plump, tight skinned blueberry right off the bush.


What is everyone else growing?
Next season, I intend to try a few new items. I really want to try growing melons (undecided between watermelon, honeydew or cantaloupe) and maybe even some broccoli.

I am most tempted to graft a stone fruit tree together (peach/plum/nectarine/apricot), but have been slightly dissuaded as those attract such a greater amount of bees...but how FUCKING cool would that be?!?
Click to expand...

I'm trying to grow small watermelons this year too. I'm growing flowers, vegetables and fruits since a couple of years, mostly small grows on the balcony just for fun and because of not being allowed to grow our special flower and I'm enjoying gardening just for fun and it's quite mediative. Sinds last year I have more space and build some raised beds growing watermelons, eggplants, pickles and small pickles looking like micro-watermelons (cucamelons), Pak Choi, chicory, strawberry's etc. :science:

And concerning bees: they are mostly peacefull! When I'm gardening, picking fruits or trimming my plants they just do their stuff and bathing in pollen. I even plant bee friendly flowers, and I watch how they pollenize my plants. Save the bees :luv:
But Wasps is another story. They are more aggressive but almost not interested in flowers. I'm surrounded by different type of bees when i'm gardening, but no wesps! In contrast they have build up to 4 nests near the roof and behind the insulation this year:goon: And me and my wife got stung by them several times up to now
 
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Hippie

Hippie

Well-Known Member
Just the herb pots this year, for me
2 types of Oregano
3 types of Thyme
Lemon Verbena
Chives
Spring onions
Bay
Parsley
Coriander
Sage
Wild garlic
Rosemary
Land Cress
Mint

+ a single rogue tomato plant that popped up in a crack in the path that must have come from fruit knocked off by the storms last year (that's just started to flower)

The stone fruit tree sound interesting, I quite fancy one of those apple trees with a few different varieties grafted onto a known root stock.
Gotta get the fence fixed first before I go buying anything like that tho.
 
Tranquility

Tranquility

Well-Known Member
So, I'm digging in the garden when I realize...

86345100.jpg
 
FlyingLow

FlyingLow

Team NO SLEEP!
My tomatoes started turning yesterday and today, starting to blush up!!

Real pissed to keep fighting the wildlife for my blueberry bush... I've only eaten 4 berries this season, I just can't seem to beat the animals to the fruit.
Because of this, I'm not going to vine ripen my tomatoes and will let them finish getting ripe on the windowsill.
 
Cheebsy

Cheebsy

Microbe minion
I've gone in a bit mad this year. We've got loads of cherry tomatoes, 4 different varieties, 10 ish pants, Broccoli, which the cabbage moth really enjoyed, leaks, red onions, peas, courgettes (or zucchini as allot of you will call them) strawberries, raspberries ( thoroughly established, had a patch that has grown and grown for about 10 years... My favourite) and a load of herbs that i can't quite remember them all. Everything except the raspberries are in containers this year.

I'm intending a few raised beds and a bit of a garden overhaul at the end of the season ready for a more productive year in 21.
 
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Well-Known Member
Anyone growing food at home? Have a small garden? Much larger production? If there are some gardeners here, what are you growing and how are you growing it?

I am in Zone 10, and I am currently growing in a couple of raised beds, a number of grow bags (5 gallon and a bigger 50 gallon bag), some terra cotta pots, and I have an orange tree in the ground. Here is what I have going currently:

-Marathon broccoli
-Sugar snap pea
-Bull's Blood beet
-Dwarf pak choy
-Early jade Chinese broccoli
-Yu choy sum (flowering brassica)
-Petch Siam eggplant
-Thai Bird chili
-Heirloom Tabasco chili
-Siam Queen Thai basil
-Shirahime Hatsuka daikon (smaaaaall variety of daikon - only about 1/2"x3-4")
-Lemongrass

I also have some flowers growing: marigold, lavender hyssop, and some nasturtium (the last two I intend to eat, especially the nasturtium).

Finally, I grow microgreens under a small grow-light setup. This is the same lights I start my seeds under. So far, I've grown a few trays of sunflower, speckled pea, and a few different kinds of radish microgreens.

I hope we can share what we are growing here, any tips we may have, share successes or failures, or just talk garden-related stuff. Thanks!

***EDIT***

Thanks to the mod who moved my post/thread over here! I thought I did a good job searching for an existing gardening thread, but I guess not... haha

Modnote: Re-planted into a similar gardening thread. :)
 
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Well-Known Member
FlyingLow said:
I'm mostly growing tomatoes (cherry, yellow cherry, and Cherokee purples) and blueberries.
Click to expand...
I'm going to try some cherries and early season varieties in the coming weeks. I'm especially excited about some Tiny Tim seeds I am trying to germinate at the moment. I was growing a Cherokee purple this summer, but it got hit with disease, unfortunately. I did manage to get two tomatoes from it, and wow, they were tasty.
 
FlyingLow

FlyingLow

Team NO SLEEP!
My Cherokee also caught spots a few weeks ago... but it was a PRODUCER!
It is over 7 feet tall and put out over 30 tomatoes before things started to go south.

Being my first plant, it took me a few days to figure out what was going on and I really wish I caught it earlier and removed the affected stems. Live and learn for next year!
 
BabyFacedFinster

BabyFacedFinster

Anything worth doing, is worth overdoing.
FlyingLow said:
My Cherokee also caught spots a few weeks ago... but it was a PRODUCER!
It is over 7 feet tall and put out over 30 tomatoes before things started to go south.

Being my first plant, it took me a few days to figure out what was going on and I really wish I caught it earlier and removed the affected stems. Live and learn for next year!
Click to expand...
Cherokee Purp is a great heirloom. I have grown them many times. Another variety which is very similar and almost interchangable are the Black Krim. They are my favorite slicers.

@FlyingLow, when you talk about spots, do you mean early/ late blight? This is a major scourge of tomato growers in my area. In general, such infections can be kept at bay with pruning. You don't want any branches leaves close (within a foot) of the soil. Rain/water splashing soil onto the plant leaves is a major contributor of blight. You also want to prune so that the plants have decent airflow through the plant.

I had a major blight issue in the garden. I have kept it away from the tomato plants by pruning and also by a secret weapon. It is called Actinovate and I buy a new packet of it each year. It is a natural bacteria which feeds on the fungus that causes blight and other infections. You mix with water and soak the roots in it when you first plant, water with it every couple weeks, and apply a foliar spray every now and then. While the pruning is good practice, it's also the actinovate that has allowed me to take my tomato plants late into the season each year free of blight.
 
FlyingLow

FlyingLow

Team NO SLEEP!
@BabyFacedFinster sorry I missed your last post! I was coming back in here to REVIVE this old thread and just saw it!

It was Blight and as problematic as it was, it taught me a ton about growing tomatoes and pruning. Sadly, by the time I found my feet and really got an education, no amount of extreme pruning could save it- my plants were goners...

I tried again last season, but had to give up for different reasons. Our new (at the time) bat-shit-crazy mountain dog/poodle kept eating my plants.


Flash forward to this year, I have a few special grows I have been wanting to do for a few years but have not been able to source materials until NOW:rockon:. I am growing a grafted fruit trees!!!

The first is a 6-in-1 fruit cocktail tree with 6 DIFFERENT fruits on one tree. It will fruit Purple Plums, Red Nectarines, Yellow Peaches, Yellow Nectarines, Red Plums and Apricots.

The second tree is a 5-in-1 plum cocktail tree will fruit Purple Plums, Red Junes, Methleys, Ozarks and Gold Plums.

I've got to keep them healthy and potted for the next month before they will get into the ground at our new home. From there, I am about 2-3 years from first fruits.

I know it is a long way off, but I am super stoked!

​

 
strech

strech

Well-Known Member
Compost tea is a great addition to your tomato growing routine. You'll notice many improvements one of my favorites is the ability to stay fresh for weeks and increased ability to resist diseases.

Fyi a splash of baking soda to the soil can lower acidic levels and make tomatoes have a sweeter less tart taste.
 
Cheebsy

Cheebsy

Microbe minion
I've not tried compost tea on my tomatoes yet, just about to get started with this year's but I've been saying that for a month lol (I'm just as guilty of procrastinating @Bad Dog )! I've been nurturing a worm farm since January and it's an incredible resource. The plants that I've tried it on have unanimously loved every drop of the tea I've given them. I should have enough to be able to make teas for this year's toms and corgettes too 😁
 
Hippie

Hippie

Well-Known Member
The Spring onions (Scallions) were actually Garlic Chives in my previous list ^^
So this year I'm trying Spring Onions and a mixed selection of Radishes (inspired by the FC Radish thread lol)
And also trying to find a strain of Thyme that can survive over winter as I think the frost got to the others
 
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