Any of y'all into gardening?

[Diablo]

My garden is coming along. The tomatoes and squash (I started a couple of squash plants indoors to get an early harvest) are starting to bloom, and I harvested my first onion tonight (though it was early). I decided to make hamburger steak for a quick dinner and got the idea to get the onion from the garden. The onions are supposed to be red, but they're purple. Anyway, it turns out that the flippin' things are pretty good. Everything is going well with my garden except that the basil didn't come up.

[SALly]

My garden is coming along. The tomatoes and squash (I started a couple of squash plants indoors to get an early harvest) are starting to bloom, and I harvested my first onion tonight (though it was early). I decided to make hamburger steak for a quick dinner and got the idea to get the onion from the garden. The onions are supposed to be red, but they're purple. Anyway, it turns out that the flippin' things are pretty good. Everything is going well with my garden except that the basil didn't come up.
Wow- sounds great! I always want to plant a garden but I never do. I want to try tomatoes at least, but I don't know anything about it. I guess i should just plant them and see what happens right??

[Howard]

That's great Diablo.What else are you growing besides the ones you mentioned?

[Diablo]

Wow- sounds great! I always want to plant a garden but I never do. I want to try tomatoes at least, but I don't know anything about it. I guess i should just plant them and see what happens right??


Actually, you should know gardening well enough to not burn up the plants with too much nitrogen and that sort of thing. What I did my first year was use Miracle Grow and that worked for everything except the blackeye peas; which are not supposed to get much nitrogen. What I would do in your position is buy a batch of plants and then hit them with a shot of Miracle Grow every week or two after you've planted them. Planting squash is a way to tell when the garden needs water; any time the squash is wilting, hit the garden with a shot of water. Miracle Grow is not the cheapest way to go, but the plants should produce well.

[Diablo]

That's great Diablo.What else are you growing besides the ones you mentioned?

French Tarragon, oregano, rosemary, mint, okra, garlic, parsley, and thyme.

[SALly]

Actually, you should know gardening well enough to not burn up the plants with too much nitrogen and that sort of thing. What I did my first year was use Miracle Grow and that worked for everything except the blackeye peas; which are not supposed to get much nitrogen. What I would do in your position is buy a batch of plants and then hit them with a shot of Miracle Grow every week or two after you've planted them. Planting squash is a way to tell when the garden needs water; any time the squash is wilting, hit the garden with a shot of water. Miracle Grow is not the cheapest way to go, but the plants should produce well.
Thanks, I'm good at killing plants and flowers so wish me luck!!

[Howard]

French Tarragon, oregano, rosemary, mint, okra, garlic, parsley, and thyme.


only seasonings? :confused:

[SALly]

Oh but Howard there is nothing like fresh herbs....

[Howard]

Oh but Howard there is nothing like fresh herbs....


true.I would like to grow tomatoes,fruits,vegetables and maybe even corn.

[Diablo]

only seasonings? :confused:

Okra is a vegetable and I'm also growing Tomatoes, onions and squash. I've a got limited space for a garden until I get a place in the country.

[Diablo]

Thanks, I'm good at killing plants and flowers so wish me luck!!


Good luck. Try the Miracle Grow, that stuff works well.

[Howard]

Okra is a vegetable and I'm also growing Tomatoes, onions and squash. I've a got limited space for a garden until I get a place in the country.


ooh,can you invite me over? :D

[SALly]

I picked my first ready tomato yesterday!!! I'm proud of myself....this is first time I ever had my own tomato plants.... :)

[Diablo]

Congratulations! I'm going to make gumbo (a Cajun stew.) Sunday; the tomatoes and okra will come from my garden. Anyone who doubts the value of gardening should look at grocery store okra (Not stocked in Northern stores). It's all wrinkled, looks like it's got streaks of dirt running down it and they charge $2.99 a pound for it. Anyway, I'm looking forward to that gumbo. My spices and okra are coming along really well; my tomatoes have really slowed production because of the heat here. Anyway Sally, you'll find that tomato will taste better than store bought tomatoes. Also, don't put it in the frige. tomatoes are better if they're never chilled, just have to eat them before they start getting too ripe. For storing, it's okay to freeze them, but they're just good for cooking after that.

[Howard]

What else are you going to grow Diablo?

[SALly]

The tomato was fabulous. Goodluck with the gumbo, wish I could test it for ya!!!
A neighbor gave me fresh parsley....if I wanted to dry some how do I do that? Just let it dry???? :confused:

[Diablo]

Tie a string around the stems and hang them upside down. They'll also dry faster if you dry them outside.

[Diablo]

What else are you going to grow Diablo?
I'm going to be planting some broccoli soon. Next season; I should have access to some land out in the country and plan to plant some things out there also.

[Howard]

I'm going to be planting some broccoli soon. Next season; I should have access to some land out in the country and plan to plant some things out there also.


Are you sure you have enough room to grow broccoli?
Would you have any free samples later? :D

[Diablo]

I'll plant some, but no free samples. I'm gonna eat it all.

[SALly]

What about carrots? Have you ever planted them? And how do you know when they are done?

Sorry--- I'm a little new to all this gardening stuff!! :o

[Diablo]

A few guidelines with carrots.

They require a loose soil; prefferably a soil that has been tilled to about twelve inches deep.

It is easy to burn them up with too much nitrogen. For carrots, I would use Rainbow 5-10-15 fertilizer or an 8-8-8 fertilizer. Miracle Grow would probably burn them up.

You can tell when carrots are done because the plant end of the carrot will be above the ground and you can guesstimate when they're ready. If in doubt, pull one up. Most carrot seed packets will tell you how long it takes so you can mark the planting date on the calender and check your carrots when they're due to mature.

Carrots are a cool weather crop; not a crop to plant in April unless you leave way up north.

There are agricultural sites online where you can get the reccomended planting times for various crops at your location as well as other useful information. I can do some further research and reccomend some sites later. But that is one of the primary considerations of gardening. Different plants have different planting times. Here, when the weather turns cool, I can plant broccoli, greens and other cool season crops.

[Howard]

Diablo,Have you ever planted corn before?

[Diablo]

Nope. Not enough room for corn.

[SALly]

A few guidelines with carrots.

They require a loose soil; prefferably a soil that has been tilled to about twelve inches deep.

It is easy to burn them up with too much nitrogen. For carrots, I would use Rainbow 5-10-15 fertilizer or an 8-8-8 fertilizer. Miracle Grow would probably burn them up.

You can tell when carrots are done because the plant end of the carrot will be above the ground and you can guesstimate when they're ready. If in doubt, pull one up. Most carrot seed packets will tell you how long it takes so you can mark the planting date on the calender and check your carrots when they're due to mature.

Carrots are a cool weather crop; not a crop to plant in April unless you leave way up north.

There are agricultural sites online where you can get the reccomended planting times for various crops at your location as well as other useful information. I can do some further research and reccomend some sites later. But that is one of the primary considerations of gardening. Different plants have different planting times. Here, when the weather turns cool, I can plant broccoli, greens and other cool season crops.
Thanks for the info....I need a book or I need to get info online. I had a really nice book explaining all about plants, flowers, veggies..and planting seasons, etc...but do you think I can find it anywhere now??? NO!!!!!!! :eek:

[Diablo]

You also need to get information specific to your area. Try a search on ____________ (your state) gardening; or your state, horticulture. Either search should bring up some good sites.

[Howard]

What about sites on New York Gardening?

[Diablo]

There should be some, but I doubt that y'all can grow much over the winter. You might have to wait until Spring.

[Howard]

There should be some, but I doubt that y'all can grow much over the winter. You might have to wait until Spring.


Yes exactly Diablo it's best to wait till the warmer weather arrives.

[martin120db]

If me and my wife both enjoy planting two-lips, does that count?

[Diablo]

It counts as gardening, but not quite the same thing as a growing food.