Our Little Garden

Damsel said:

Okay, while waiting for our scheduled tornadoes and hail storm, I decided
to go outside at 1pm with temps in the 80s, to plant our garden. We
established in another thread that I am, indeed, nuts.

I put in 6 teeny Better Boy tomato plants and the 3 Canadian Chipman red
rhubarb plants that we bought *last year*. They managed to survive the
winter in their pots on the driveway.

[snip]

How cold did it get there, Carol? I have rhubarb in pots right
now and am wondering when and where I will plant it. It's nice to
think it won't die if it stays in the pot. BTW, I assume I am
supposed to keep the leaves and all intact this year (and next?)
so the plants get energy to grow? Boy, it is hard not to eat the
stalks. :-( I found a recipe for baked rhubarb that I want to
try, although I guess I shouldn't be thinking of turning the oven
on until it is cooler out.

--
Jean B.

Hey Carol,

Keep us informed on the garden. It sounds great.

Do cukes and melons grow well there without mounds? Boy, that sure would
be a time saver. That's one of the reasons (one of many! tee hee hee) that
I don't plant cukes and melons anymore. Just getting the ground ready is a
....er, uh, ...female dog! And the only sandy loam I have on this acreage
is on the back side and I've gotten too lazy to haul my carcass back and
forth to work a melon patch (it is easier to buy the few we eat).

Elaine, too

Jean B. said:

Damsel said:

I put in 6 teeny Better Boy tomato plants and the 3 Canadian Chipman red
rhubarb plants that we bought *last year*. They managed to survive the
winter in their pots on the driveway.

How cold did it get there, Carol? I have rhubarb in pots right
now and am wondering when and where I will plant it. It's nice to
think it won't die if it stays in the pot. BTW, I assume I am
supposed to keep the leaves and all intact this year (and next?)
so the plants get energy to grow?

I don't really recall how cold it got. I know for sure that we were below
zero for awhile, but I don't remember how far. We had virtually no snow
cover for most of the winter, so the pots were sitting out there,
unprotected. It's really hard to kill rhubarb.

Carol

--
CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
United States:
http://www.stopthehunger.com/
International:
http://www.thehungersite.com/

Elaine Parrish said:

Hey Carol,

Keep us informed on the garden. It sounds great.

Do cukes and melons grow well there without mounds? Boy, that sure would
be a time saver. That's one of the reasons (one of many! tee hee hee) that
I don't plant cukes and melons anymore. Just getting the ground ready is a
...er, uh, ...female dog! And the only sandy loam I have on this acreage
is on the back side and I've gotten too lazy to haul my carcass back and
forth to work a melon patch (it is easier to buy the few we eat).

I've never had a food garden of my own before. I made no mounds. I
planted the stuff in a mixture of black clay and wood chips from when one
of our trees was removed. I just spread the stuff out over the lawn and
dropped seeds into it. I'm hoping for the "dumb luck" thing to happen.
LOL! I'm just not physically capable of doing it the right way. The
cucumbers are a bush type.

Eventually, this garden will probably be just rhubarb, raspberries, and
possibly strawberries.

Carol

--
CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
United States:
http://www.stopthehunger.com/
International:
http://www.thehungersite.com/

Damsel said:

Elaine Parrish said:

Do cukes and melons grow well there without mounds? Boy, that sure would
be a time saver. That's one of the reasons (one of many! tee hee hee)

that

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I don't plant cukes and melons anymore. Just getting the ground ready is

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

...er, uh, ...female dog! And the only sandy loam I have on this acreage
is on the back side and I've gotten too lazy to haul my carcass back and
forth to work a melon patch (it is easier to buy the few we eat).

I've never had a food garden of my own before. I made no mounds. I
planted the stuff in a mixture of black clay and wood chips from when one
of our trees was removed. I just spread the stuff out over the lawn and
dropped seeds into it. I'm hoping for the "dumb luck" thing to happen.
LOL! I'm just not physically capable of doing it the right way. The
cucumbers are a bush type.

I have a hard time prepping garden patches the way they should be done, too.
It's all I can do just to get the soil lightly cultivated, sometimes. But
I'm lucky here. There's beautiful sweet sandy loam (a huge departure from
the soil of my first 40 years: smelly clay so heavy you could throw a pot),
and turning and digging it is easy. I don't plant cukes and squash on
mounds. I use cages and stakes instead and tie the plants up as they grow.

That method wouldn't work if I was growing pumpkins or heavier melons, but
for zukes, cukes and other lightweights it works like a charm. Keeps stems
and leaves nice and dry, as well.

Damsel said:

Elaine Parrish said:

Hey Carol,

Keep us informed on the garden. It sounds great.

Do cukes and melons grow well there without mounds? Boy, that sure would
be a time saver. That's one of the reasons (one of many! tee hee hee) that
I don't plant cukes and melons anymore. Just getting the ground ready is a
...er, uh, ...female dog! And the only sandy loam I have on this acreage
is on the back side and I've gotten too lazy to haul my carcass back and
forth to work a melon patch (it is easier to buy the few we eat).

I've never had a food garden of my own before. I made no mounds. I
planted the stuff in a mixture of black clay and wood chips from when one
of our trees was removed. I just spread the stuff out over the lawn and
dropped seeds into it. I'm hoping for the "dumb luck" thing to happen.
LOL! I'm just not physically capable of doing it the right way. The
cucumbers are a bush type.

Eventually, this garden will probably be just rhubarb, raspberries, and
possibly strawberries.

Carol

Hey Girl, you may have just revolutionized gardening for all time! Keep
your camera handy. You'll need the documentation when you make the cover
of Time! I sure hope it works. I'd have a cuke and a melon if I didn't
have to do all that ground prep. Keep me posted.

Elaine, too

Quoted message said:

--
CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
United States:
http://www.stopthehunger.com/
International:
http://www.thehungersite.com/

pennyaline said:

Damsel said:

Elaine Parrish said:

Do cukes and melons grow well there without mounds? Boy, that sure would
be a time saver. That's one of the reasons (one of many! tee hee hee)

that

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I don't plant cukes and melons anymore. Just getting the ground ready is

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

...er, uh, ...female dog! And the only sandy loam I have on this acreage
is on the back side and I've gotten too lazy to haul my carcass back and
forth to work a melon patch (it is easier to buy the few we eat).

I've never had a food garden of my own before. I made no mounds. I
planted the stuff in a mixture of black clay and wood chips from when one
of our trees was removed. I just spread the stuff out over the lawn and
dropped seeds into it. I'm hoping for the "dumb luck" thing to happen.
LOL! I'm just not physically capable of doing it the right way. The
cucumbers are a bush type.

I have a hard time prepping garden patches the way they should be done, too.
It's all I can do just to get the soil lightly cultivated, sometimes. But
I'm lucky here. There's beautiful sweet sandy loam (a huge departure from
the soil of my first 40 years: smelly clay so heavy you could throw a pot),
and turning and digging it is easy. I don't plant cukes and squash on
mounds. I use cages and stakes instead and tie the plants up as they grow.

That method wouldn't work if I was growing pumpkins or heavier melons, but
for zukes, cukes and other lightweights it works like a charm. Keeps stems
and leaves nice and dry, as well.

That's a really good idea! Thanks.

Elaine, too

Elaine Parrish said:

Damsel said:

I've never had a food garden of my own before. I made no mounds. I
planted the stuff in a mixture of black clay and wood chips from when one
of our trees was removed. I just spread the stuff out over the lawn and
dropped seeds into it. I'm hoping for the "dumb luck" thing to happen.

Hey Girl, you may have just revolutionized gardening for all time! Keep
your camera handy. You'll need the documentation when you make the cover
of Time! I sure hope it works. I'd have a cuke and a melon if I didn't
have to do all that ground prep. Keep me posted.

Do you have any large trees you can sacrifice to the garden gods? <G>
I'll keep ya posted.

Carol

--
CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
United States:
http://www.stopthehunger.com/
International:
http://www.thehungersite.com/

Damsel said:

I also planted a deep pink-flowering rhododendron at the wide end of the
area by the garage where our shade garden will be planted.

What's interesting is that you plant rhododendrons in shade. I
remember my grandmother doing that in Michigan. I plant them in "full
sun" and don't thing twice about it becasue I have so much fog during
the year.

Jean B. said:

I found a recipe for baked rhubarb that I want to
try

Jean... please post the recipe!

sf said:

Damsel said:

I also planted a deep pink-flowering rhododendron at the wide end of the
area by the garage where our shade garden will be planted.

What's interesting is that you plant rhododendrons in shade. I
remember my grandmother doing that in Michigan. I plant them in "full
sun" and don't thing twice about it becasue I have so much fog during
the year.

I planted it just to the northeast of the garage, so it'll get sun all
afternoon and the earlier part of the afternoon (from the south). So it'll
only get shade during the hottest part of the day.

The shrub is an early birthday present from one of my bestest buddies.

Carol

--
CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
United States:
http://www.stopthehunger.com/
International:
http://www.thehungersite.com/

Damsel said:

I planted it just to the northeast of the garage, so it'll get sun all
afternoon and the earlier part of the afternoon (from the south). So it'll
only get shade during the hottest part of the day.

... all MORNING and the earlier part of the afternoon. Sheesh!

Carol

Elaine Parrish said:

Damsel said:

Elaine Parrish said:

Hey Carol,

Keep us informed on the garden. It sounds great.

Do cukes and melons grow well there without mounds? Boy, that sure would
be a time saver. That's one of the reasons (one of many! tee hee hee) that
I don't plant cukes and melons anymore. Just getting the ground ready is a
...er, uh, ...female dog! And the only sandy loam I have on this acreage
is on the back side and I've gotten too lazy to haul my carcass back and
forth to work a melon patch (it is easier to buy the few we eat).

I've never had a food garden of my own before. I made no mounds. I
planted the stuff in a mixture of black clay and wood chips from when one
of our trees was removed. I just spread the stuff out over the lawn and
dropped seeds into it. I'm hoping for the "dumb luck" thing to happen.
LOL! I'm just not physically capable of doing it the right way. The
cucumbers are a bush type.

Eventually, this garden will probably be just rhubarb, raspberries, and
possibly strawberries.

Carol

Hey Girl, you may have just revolutionized gardening for all time! Keep
your camera handy. You'll need the documentation when you make the cover
of Time! I sure hope it works. I'd have a cuke and a melon if I didn't
have to do all that ground prep. Keep me posted.

Elaine, too

I doubt that hills are necessary. We had cantaloupe last year from
the compost we put around the trees. Pretty good ones at that.

I just checked some gardening books and none said why you should hill,
just that they seemed to do better on hills. Maybe if you have heavy
soil. Seems that in sandy soil the hills would dry out too fast.
Just my guess.

--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral, 48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

Elaine Parrish said:

pennyaline said:

Damsel said:

Elaine Parrish <[email hidden]> said:

>Do cukes and melons grow well there without mounds? Boy, that sure would
>be a time saver. That's one of the reasons (one of many! tee hee hee)

that

Quoted message said:

>I don't plant cukes and melons anymore. Just getting the ground ready is

a

Quoted message said:

>...er, uh, ...female dog! And the only sandy loam I have on this acreage
>is on the back side and I've gotten too lazy to haul my carcass back and
>forth to work a melon patch (it is easier to buy the few we eat).

I've never had a food garden of my own before. I made no mounds. I
planted the stuff in a mixture of black clay and wood chips from when one
of our trees was removed. I just spread the stuff out over the lawn and
dropped seeds into it. I'm hoping for the "dumb luck" thing to happen.
LOL! I'm just not physically capable of doing it the right way. The
cucumbers are a bush type.

I have a hard time prepping garden patches the way they should be done, too.
It's all I can do just to get the soil lightly cultivated, sometimes. But
I'm lucky here. There's beautiful sweet sandy loam (a huge departure from
the soil of my first 40 years: smelly clay so heavy you could throw a pot),
and turning and digging it is easy. I don't plant cukes and squash on
mounds. I use cages and stakes instead and tie the plants up as they grow.

That method wouldn't work if I was growing pumpkins or heavier melons, but
for zukes, cukes and other lightweights it works like a charm. Keeps stems
and leaves nice and dry, as well.

That's a really good idea! Thanks.

Elaine, too

I do the square foot gardening method so all the cucumbers, zucchine,
and melons grow up stakes or other types of supports. For heavier
melons, you can make support slings. If you do a web search for "square
foot gardening" you will get lots of hits as well as Matthew Barthomew's
website. He is credited with creating the method. I find it works very
nicely since the beds are raise and the soil doesn't compact as you
don't walk on the beds. It is surprising how much food can come out of
a small space. Zucchini recipes are appreciated 😉

~patches~ said:

I do the square foot gardening method so all the cucumbers, zucchine,
and melons grow up stakes or other types of supports. For heavier
melons you can make support slings.

Why do you need to make them... save your old bras?

Sheldon

Damsel said:

I don't really recall how cold it got. I know for sure that we were below
zero for awhile, but I don't remember how far. We had virtually no snow
cover for most of the winter, so the pots were sitting out there,
unprotected. It's really hard to kill rhubarb.

Carol

Assuming one gets it started in the first place. I tried a couple
of times and failed. This time I found (prematurely) some tiny
little plugs and bought them immediately. Then I noticed that
they were beginning to grow )and rot) in the bag, so I had to
plant them well before the last frost. Therefore, I just
hurriedly plopped them into a huge pot. Well, all but one plant
seem to be doing really well. Of course, though, now they are
bigger and harder to plant in the rocky yard.

--
Jean B.

sf said:

Jean B. said:

I found a recipe for baked rhubarb that I want to
try

Jean... please post the recipe!

I haven't tried it yet. Do you still want it? It looks like it
will be very useful--and that one could add flavorings, of course....

--
Jean B.

"Damsel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jean B. said:

Damsel said:

I put in 6 teeny Better Boy tomato plants and the 3 Canadian Chipman
red
rhubarb plants that we bought *last year*. They managed to survive
the
winter in their pots on the driveway.

How cold did it get there, Carol? I have rhubarb in pots right
now and am wondering when and where I will plant it. It's nice to
think it won't die if it stays in the pot. BTW, I assume I am
supposed to keep the leaves and all intact this year (and next?)
so the plants get energy to grow?

I don't really recall how cold it got. I know for sure that we were
below
zero for awhile, but I don't remember how far. We had virtually no
snow
cover for most of the winter, so the pots were sitting out there,
unprotected. It's really hard to kill rhubarb.

Carol

At least 20 below, a few nights. Highs in the single digits below zero.

"Damsel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Elaine Parrish said:

Hey Carol,

Keep us informed on the garden. It sounds great.

Do cukes and melons grow well there without mounds? Boy, that sure
would
be a time saver. That's one of the reasons (one of many! tee hee hee)
that
I don't plant cukes and melons anymore. Just getting the ground ready
is a
...er, uh, ...female dog! And the only sandy loam I have on this
acreage
is on the back side and I've gotten too lazy to haul my carcass back
and
forth to work a melon patch (it is easier to buy the few we eat).

I've never had a food garden of my own before. I made no mounds. I
planted the stuff in a mixture of black clay and wood chips from when
one
of our trees was removed. I just spread the stuff out over the lawn
and
dropped seeds into it. I'm hoping for the "dumb luck" thing to happen.
LOL! I'm just not physically capable of doing it the right way. The
cucumbers are a bush type.

Eventually, this garden will probably be just rhubarb, raspberries, and
possibly strawberries.

Carol

Here is a useful trick. Take a stick and tie a rag to the end of it.
wet the rag with a roundup solution. You now have a magic wand for
killing weeds. Just rub, stroke, whatever them with the rag. rewet
occasionally. It is the same way farmers kill rogue corn in a soybean
field, only they do it with a tractor and a much larger boom.

del