lperry Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 It's early yet, but where I grew up in Florida, the tomato plants went out on Valentine's day if you were late. So planting is on my mind and I've been thumbing through seed catalogs and looking at nurseries for my berry bushes. I want to try different greens this year, and I'm eyeing things like beetberry and Tuscan kale. I'm also going to be growing fennel this year, and if I can find a source, I want some celery root. Has anyone else been inspired by the catalogs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistle Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Yes, inspired by the Territorial catalog, I'd like to try & do a better job of growing greens-lettuce, chard, bok choy. I'd like to get a head start on winter sowing some veg (especially cool season stuff like broccoli, snow peas, cauliflower). I'm content to wait until I can get plants from the garden center in the spring for tomatoes, peppers, okra, because they don't do well until the weather really warms up. That said, I think we're having a pretty mild winter- so far, all my plants, including palms, seem to be coasting thru the winter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 ^Territorial is one I hadn't seen before, and I just ordered their catalog. Thanks for the tip. I like Seeds of Change, and I used to buy a lot from Shepherd's, but they went out of business. Miller's Nurseries in New York were recommended to me for berry bushes. Apparently, they take great pains to make sure the plants are virus free, so they bear for many years more than less cared for plants will. I agree about the mild winter. I still have parsley, catnip, and a couple of mints that look really good, and even ice storms can't touch the sage plant. But the Farmer's Almanac said it would be really cold, so I am waiting for it to hit. I need to do some planting beds and I think I should probably be working now while the ground is soft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DameEdna Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 The first week of March is much too early to think about gardens. If you were planning an herb garden, what would you include? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillvalley Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Thai basil, lemon basil, Italian basil, purple basil, pineapple sage, cilantro, flat leaf parley, rosemary, oregano, lavender.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waitman Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 If space is limited, I tend to edit based on what is otherwise cheap and easy to find. Cilantro and parsley -- eh. Maybe only two kinds of basil. We don't do much lavendar (though we plant it). Thyme, rosemary, sage -- for sure, Love those perennials. Chervil is nice to have around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielK Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Thai basil, lemon basil, Italian basil, purple basil.... I think maybe you need some more basil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoramargolis Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 thyme for sure. chives. don't forget mint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakegwinn Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Do any of you with gardening expertise know what herbs might have the best chance of surviving on a windy, near shadeless rooftop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielK Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Do any of you with gardening expertise know what herbs might have the best chance of surviving on a windy, near shadeless rooftop? There's a variety of rosemary called Arp that is extremely hardy. Sage, thyme are good. Basil is too delicate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoramargolis Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 There's a variety of rosemary called Arp that is extremely hardy. Sage, thyme are good. Basil is too delicate.once established, mint is almost impossible to kill. assuming that you remember to water it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 When I grew herbs out on my apartment deck in Springfield, I had mint, sage, rosemary, oregano, and basil in pots, and they all did really well. They loved the heat and the sun, but I did have to water pretty frequently, especially the mint. I had ceramic pots, so if you are less of a hands on person, you might choose plastic pots that retain water better. My herb bed currently has (assuming the perennials come back) rosemary, two types of thyme, oregano, marjoram, three types of mint, sage, catnip, lemon balm, parsley, chives, garlic chives, and the dead remains of several different basils that will be replaced this spring. I want to put in dill and chervil this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squidsdc Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Interesting to read about the mint and needing to remember to water it. When I was much younger my father had planted mint in our backyard so we could have it to go with iced tea. We never tended to it; it was just a wild plant growing by the back yard property dividing fence on top of a hill. To this day, the mint survives. Maybe some varietals are more sturdy than others? This one tastes kind of like a cross between spearmint and wintergreen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 ^ The mint in the ground in my yard is unstoppable, but it's in a place that gets some shade, and the clay soil retains water pretty well. In the pot on the deck, it wilted often, I assume due to the combination of wind and sun. When temperatures got into the 90s during the summer, it needed water every day. Here in the yard, I never water my herbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Johnston Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Actually I will be starting some seeds indoor this week. Peas are sown in the next two weeks. Spring will soon be upon us! The first week of March is much too early to think about gardens. If you were planningan herb garden, what would you include? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brr Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Actually I will be starting some seeds indoor this week. Peas are sown in the next two weeks. Spring will soon be upon us! agreed, this weekend I'll be planting loads of lettuce (mmmm, arugula), peas and some carrots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 agreed, this weekend I'll be planting loads of lettuce (mmmm, arugula), peas and some carrots Good to know. I've got lettuce seeds and onion sets, and i thought I had to wait until April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waitman Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 There's a variety of rosemary called Arp that is extremely hardy. Sage, thyme are good. Basil is too delicate. I've never found basil delicate -- we grow it in the sunniest spot in the yard and it seems to thrive on heat, light and dry conditions. Interesting to read about the mint and needing to remember to water it. When I was much younger my father had planted mint in our backyard so we could have it to go with iced tea. We never tended to it; it was just a wild plant growing by the back yard property dividing fence on top of a hill. To this day, the mint survives. Maybe some varietals are more sturdy than others? This one tastes kind of like a cross between spearmint and wintergreen. I'm not sure what conditions like best, all I know is that, in my experience, the stuff is impossible to kill and almost impossible to contain. Lemon balm can get pretty aggressive, too. Sorrel, while not technically an herb, is great to have around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Blume Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Personal experience w small pot of chocolate mint on windowsill contrasts w some of the comments above. The farmer who sold me the plant cautioned against over-watering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 ^ Over-watering is a different animal than watering when the plant is wilted. If you water herbs when they don't appear to be suffering from water stress, you will lose a lot of the flavor by effectively diluting the essential oils in the plant. You get more plant, but less mintiness (for lack of a better word). The same thing happens with hot pepper crops in wet, rainy years - you make your dish and wonder where the heat is. A dry year, however, will give you that nice burn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Resta Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Borage is interesting. Sturdy and easy to grow. Different than the norm. Plus, because of its name, you can talk to it as if it were a Russian spy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandynva Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 has anyone successfully grown an herb besides parsley in the shade? Unfortunately, my apartment balcony is full shade, so finding edibles that will grow there has been a challenge. sorrel and mint didn't die, but didn't really increase or grow much either. and the mint hasn't yet returned this year. i had some parsley one year and it just sat there during the summer, but once fall hit it really took off. But I don't use parsley at all, so thad didn't help me at all. oddly, the tomatillos set some fruit, and the peppers i tried once stayed tiny (less than a foot!) but did set some fruit as well. However, i now just grow the peppers inside on my windowsill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistle Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 The hardiest herbs for me (that I think would take some shade) are thyme & chives. Rosemary, also, but it needs sun. Once things warm up, I put in all kinds of basil, tarragon, vietnamese coriander (rau ram)-doesn't bolt like regular cilantro. I also grow purple fennel, but not for culinary purposes, it's just a nice companion for roses, & for some strange reason, although I can grow lots of plants, I still manage to kill mint (which is supposedly indestructible)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandynva Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Thanks for the suggestions of thyme and chives. i'll probably give them a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 This weekend: spring onions, bibb and butterhead lettuces, arugula, cress, carrots, and parsley. If I post it here it will guarantee I'll get out there and plant. Does anyone have suggestions for growing Charentais melons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistle Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I'm not crazy about melons, so I haven't grown them, but from what I understand, they like high heat/ sunlight, lots of water, & lots of fertilizer. So start (or purchase) your plants early, but don't expect them to take off right away. You could also try surrounding the plants w/ black stones to absorb more solar energy & release it at night. I've got to get out & get the veg garden started, too. I'm going to dump all the old potting mix out of my Earthboxes (that I lazily left out all winter) onto the side beds & refill them w/ coco coir as a planting mix this season-we'll see how that works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.H. Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 My daughter and I started our veggie garden inside a couple of weeks ago and all of the bean plants are getting big. Where can I find some cages or fencing appropriate for beans? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdt Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 My daughter and I started our veggie garden inside a couple of weeks ago and all of the bean plants are getting big. Where can I find some cages or fencing appropriate for beans? Depending on the beans you may not want to do cages as some varieties climb rather aggressively. Home Depot, Lowes, or local hardware stores. You can also get some tall stakes and make them into rows of upside-down V's for the beans to climb on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoramargolis Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 My daughter and I started our veggie garden inside a couple of weeks ago and all of the bean plants are getting big. Where can I find some cages or fencing appropriate for beans?There are two types of bean plants: bush and climbing. If they are bush beans they don't really need external support. When I had a big garden, I used to plant climbing beans with corn. The bean plants would wrap around the corn stalks, which would grow tall enough to support them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I haven't started anything that will go out on Mother's day yet, but I do have a nice plot with cress, arugula, radishes, lettuce, borretana onions, scallions, carrots, and swiss chard. Everything is up, and as much as this weather annoys me, it seems to be doing wonderful things for all the little greens. I also moved all my herbs from various spots around the yard into a dedicated bed. They also seem to be happy. Now it just needs to get warm enough for basil. This is our second year in the house, and I'm hoping to get most of the yard landscaped. That plan includes two or three more beds that I'll need to dig before the summer vegs go in the ground. As part of an unscientific study, I decided to do everything on the schedule that the Farmers' Almanac recommends. My Grandparents planted with the moon phases, the calendar they got every year from the feed store had the appropriate days marked on it, and I figure they probably knew more about it than I ever will. Plus, I want loads of flowers and vegetables, and I'm going to do everything I can to stack the deck in my favor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistle Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 I've been busy today setting up my Earthboxes for tomatoes & peppers, I don't care if conventional wisdom says to wait until after May 15th, mine are going out NOW-well, most of them anyway, I don't have Sungold tomato seedlings yet & they are my favorite, the only tomatoes I have right now are Pineapple & Country Taste, just waiting for some more exciting varieties to show up....I have 4 peppers-Thai hot, Holy Mole, poblano , & kung pao, will probably add serrano & jalapeno... This year, I'm trying out a new potting mix-coco coir, mixed w/ perlite, & a few new planters-stackers, interlocking planters that drip down to the bottom ones, planted with lettuce, bush beans, maybe squash. Tons of mint-apple, orange, chocolate, julep, peppermint to plant in an ugly IKEA terracotta planting stand (I still can't figure out why I bought this), vietnamese coriander-I wonder if I can train it up a small topiary form? lots of ornamentals to fill empty pots, although I'm trying my hardest not to buy annuals (except for maybe coral vine, coleus, other special things). I've got a 'Creme Brulee' heuchera, 'Anne Greenway' lamium, & sarcococca to fill 2 pots in the front that still have overwintered pansies & creeping jenny in them. I love this time of the year, even if I'm overwhelmed by the things I want to plant... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Horoscope Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 Looking pretty good due to the latest rains! I hope it keeps up. We are still below average rainfall, and I dread another drought this summer. Several things sprouted up from last year without any intervention: chives going gang busters, swiss chard, and strawberries. Got some plants last year from Johnson's Nursery in Laytonsville, Maryland. Here is my lineup this year so far (tomatoes to come): March 22: onions, leaf lettuce, arugula, silver thyme April 5: garlic April 18: parsley, sage, english thyme, rosemary, dill, Italian oregano April 19: leeks, basil April 26: green bell pepper, yellow banana pepper, cayenne, tabasco May 2: tarragon, cinnamon basil, colored sage I am excited for onions and garlic. Never tried them before. Johnson's nursery had them. I didn't know what to expect. Turns out they just came in a bag and looked like some pearl onions and some heads of garlic that I just needed to put in the ground. I had no idea that's how it worked. Of course I have no idea how they will produce either. The herbs are all around the perimeter of my garden, meant to help ward off deer. I will be putting up fence around the garden pretty soon. Been spying rabbits in my yard lately, and I am sure they will go for the strawberries like last year (well, they're just starting to flower) and the leaf lettuce if I don't do something soon. What do you do with cinnamon basil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.H. Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 The veggie garden experiment is humming along nicely. I've been pretty impressed with how well things have been coming up given that we're first timers and started everything from seed. So far we've harvested sugar snap peas and some lettuces from our garden and the excitement level is way high with the five yr old. She took our laptop outside one day while Skyping with her grandmother to proudly show off how everything was growing! I recall as a kid being forced out into the garden at the crack of dawn on the weekends to weed our garden alongside my younger brother and sister. My parents had a decent sized garden, growing lots of vegetables and herbs commonly used in Vietnamese cooking. I really detested that vegetable garden when I was little, not just because of the work that took us away from our precious Saturday morning cartoons, but because it meant at least three different green vegetables with every lunch and dinner from June until October. Fortunately, by the time I got to high school I realized how awesome my parents' cooking was and that the garden couldn't be all evil if it produced such delicious meals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brr Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 How have peoples gardens done during the recent monsoon season? I have a bunch of moldy looking tomato plants but am hoping an extended run of sunshine may perk them up a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmoomau Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 ^ Over-watering is a different animal than watering when the plant is wilted. If you water herbs when they don't appear to be suffering from water stress, you will lose a lot of the flavor by effectively diluting the essential oils in the plant. You get more plant, but less mintiness (for lack of a better word). The same thing happens with hot pepper crops in wet, rainy years - you make your dish and wonder where the heat is. A dry year, however, will give you that nice burn. It just dawned on me the reason my serrano peppers were so much unusually hotter than normal. Sometimes I am a forgetful gardener with my balcony and tend to go on vacation and they fend for themselves. I guess my peppers were living on the edge as they were some freaking hot serrano peppers. Will have to remember that this year for my jalapenos as I like those about as hot as they can get. But those serranos... I love spicy spicy and I could barely eat those. I thought I killed poor hubby with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 How have peoples gardens done during the recent monsoon season? I have a bunch of moldy looking tomato plants but am hoping an extended run of sunshine may perk them up a little. Hmmm. No mold here, although my tomatoes are just now starting to flower. Everything is thriving, and we just pulled some radishes for dinner- they were sweet and delicious. The arugula bolted, but the lettuce hasn't, so I'm happy with that. I hope this keeps up all summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowellR Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 How have peoples gardens done during the recent monsoon season? I have a bunch of moldy looking tomato plants but am hoping an extended run of sunshine may perk them up a little. I have a bunch of herbs in large pots that are thiving, surprisingly. The sage and lemon thyme are overflowing their pots and on the verge of staking out a claim to the ground on which they are sitting. Even the rosemary, which I thought would mind having its feet constantly wet seems to be hanging in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistle Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 My tomatoes are not moldy, but kind of floppy (too much nitrogen, maybe?) & one of my green tomatoes has blossom endrot-I'm not giving up hope yet. All of the herbs look ok, aside from some pineapple mint, which died so fast, that if I hadn't stuck in the plant tag, I wouldn't have known what was in that spot. Tha planting season kind of got away from me (no lettuce, put in bush cukes late), but maybe if we dry out a little, I'll be able to salvage the summer-all my peppers look pretty good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Three big German Johnson Pink tomatoes came inside this morning. I picked them a little early for fear of varmints, but they are more than half pink already. I see Caprese salad in my future... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AStern Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Giant Belgian and Beefmaster tomatoes have been on the menu @ my house for the past three weeks. My eggplants aren't quite right, but we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 Happiness is a side yard full of Charentais cantaloupes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Blume Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 Happiness is a side yard full of Charentais cantaloupes. Ou la la! How gorgeous! And no cucumber bugs spotting up the rind!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 And no cucumber bugs spotting up the rind!! I'm fairly certain my garden is the result of 10% effort and 90% dumb luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenticket Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My tomato plants haven't provided the endless supply that I'd hoped they would (in part due to varmints like the neighborhood possum). That said, there are several green tomatoes still hanging around...are they ever going to ripen? Or has the cool weather of late made that unlikely to happen? I'd rather enjoy them as fried green tomatoes than let them get eaten by whatever has eaten most of them this summer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 ^I hate garden predators. When I was in grad school, a friend and I put hours and hours into a little plot in a community organic garden, and all we did was feed the wildlife with nice, heirloom vegetables. The groundhogs got everything up to about two feet off the ground, and the deer got the rest. I'm sure they still speak of those fabulous Costoluto Genovese tomatoes. I'm still getting summer squash, and the cooler weather has made for a new crop of tomatoes that probably have no chance of ripening before frost. The charentais melons are ripening too many at once, but that keeps me on good terms with the neighbors. The chard that I planted this spring is just now really starting to yield, and most of the winter squashes are now inside curing. The vines are making mainly male flowers and I've been using those. They seem to throw off any fruit before they set. I know it's not for lack of pollinators, so the nights may be too cool now. I put in some fall crops: black Tuscan kale, fennel, the fall plantings of arugula, cress, lettuce, and chicory, and onions from seed. I planted cippolini onions from seed this spring, and I got the tiniest button onions in the history of gardening. They were all dime-sized. I put them back in the ground along with some garlic that sprouted in the kitchen. I spent a lot of time online in gardening forums trying to figure out the timing on onions - all the literature I could find talks about sets. We'll see what happens. Is anyone else planting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Picked what is likely to be the last of the home garden crop yesterday. The last of the tomatoes and a lot of cucumbers. Peppers, too. Might still get a few more peppers. Still have to check the fig tree, but it had a rough year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 <DR, I know there is a vegetable garden thread, but the search function no longer allows me to search the topic titles *only* so I can't find the damn thing. Please merge this in as you see fit if you can find it.> I'm going to be more focused and serious about the vegetable gardening this year. I've been reading up and want to try at least some of my gardening this year directly from seed. So, my first request, from those of you who also vegetable garden at home is -- what are your sources for seeds? Local and online/catalog are fine. I'm looking ideally for heirloom varieities, but I am a seed catalog slut, so bring them all on please. I refuse to plant any GMO seed, though. Regular and non-organic seeds are OK, of course. Also, any suggestions on the best resource for acquiring an indoor grow light station? I'm planning on putting it in my cat room (moved later to the garage for seeds later in the season when the garage gets a tad warmer). Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leleboo Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 It's because it's in the Shopping and Cooking Forum. Here ya go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistle Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 I like Territorial- since for the last few years, I've worked at Holly, Woods, & Vines, I've gotten seeds there, as well as started plants. For an indoor grow station, I just have wire shelving from IKEA, w/ fluorescent shoplight fixtures attached, out in my sunroom. It's unheated. but I overwinter alot of plants there (orchids, mostly)-when I'm being a 'good' gardener, I run a humidifier, too. I've also overwintered palms in my garage, but this year, I've been incredibly lazy & left almost everything out-probably not the best winter to do this, but I hope I have some survivors. Last year, I experimented w/ using coco coir as a grow medium, but I wasn't overly thrilled w/ results (as compared to conventional potting mix). I have 6 earthboxes (love them!), as well as 2 5-tiered growpots. For online info, I like Dave's Garden & Gardenweb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 I like Botanical Interests. Whole Paycheck and Mom's carry them if you don't want to mail order. I have also bought seeds from the enormous seed section at Merrifield Garden Center. They have all the usual suspects plus Thompson and Morgan and some interesting Italian seeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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