Do you garden? Tell me about it!

Contributor: wrecklesswords wrecklesswords
Are there many people on EF who have their own vegetable garden or even have a few pots around the house with some ferns or flowers?

In the next month or so I will be starting my own garden thanks to my girlfriend. We will be building a small raised bed garden (not sure the size yet) so that I can grow us some yummy veggies to help us keep our costs down and healthier.

Anyone else on Eden keep a garden of any kind? Tell us about your garden! What do you grow, how long have you been doing it, etc.
Answers (private voting - your screen name will NOT appear in the results):
Yes, I just started
4
Yes, I've been doing it a while
20
No, but I'd like to
8
No, and I'm not interested
8
I grow just vegetables
4
I have just plants, flowers, and trees around the yard/home
3
I have both vegetables and other plants
5
Other, of course
2
Total votes: 54 (45 voters)
Poll is closed
01/28/2013
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Contributor: MK434 MK434
No I hate working out in the yard!
01/28/2013
Contributor: CountryPrincess CountryPrincess
my gardening is off and on when i can, but I like to grow some of my own veggies and of course pretty flowers LOL... I like to garden with my daughter she loves watching stuff grow and helping me play in the dirt!
01/28/2013
Contributor: WhoopieDoo WhoopieDoo
The extent of my "gardening" is an herb growing kit in my kitchen (chives, parsley, basil, thyme, and cilantro) and an aloe plant in my bathroom :p
01/28/2013
Contributor: Khanner Khanner
I do some on-again, off-again veggie gardening. I love fresh tomatoes.
01/28/2013
Contributor: SneakersAndPearls SneakersAndPearls
Yes. We are fortunate enough to have a spring AND a fall growing season where I live, since our winters are mild enough. We have two raised beds, both 24ft long. One is 4ft wide, and the other is 1ft wide. In addition to that, we have an area for in-ground planting (a bed that's not raised), and a large array of pots, as some plants (like tomatoes and herbs) are a little easier to grow and control in large pots.

Currently in our garden, we have a raspberry bush, several types of tomatoes, a few types of peppers, 2 types of onions, two types of carrots, beets, mustard greens, spinach, two types of salad green mixes, and broccoli. Then we have herbs in addition to that: stevia, rosemary, lavender, lemon balm, chamomile, peppermint, oregano, thyme, and basil. We will soon be adding to it as we are approaching our spring growing season.

We gardened on and off for a few years. We would plant one year, but not the next. However, for the last four growing seasons we've been gardening consistently and love the abundance we've gotten. We've even been able to share with friends and do a sort of garden trade (here's some broccoli, give me some of your carrots).
01/28/2013
Contributor: Bubba29 Bubba29
Quote:
Originally posted by SneakersAndPearls
Yes. We are fortunate enough to have a spring AND a fall growing season where I live, since our winters are mild enough. We have two raised beds, both 24ft long. One is 4ft wide, and the other is 1ft wide. In addition to that, we have an area for ... more
i have been gardening for much the same reason as you are starting. every year, i expand my yard to more veggie gardening. i have several raised beds. get a book from the library called "square foot gardening". lots of practical tips to maximize your effort.
01/28/2013
Contributor: sillylilkitten sillylilkitten
I really really want to start an herb, fruits, and vegetable garden, but between living at school, going home, and spending time on the other side of the country with my bf, I don't have the time to devote to tending one, unfortunately. I keep promising myself I will have one someday though.
01/28/2013
Contributor: peachmarie peachmarie
I raise herbs in a pot on my windowsills.
01/28/2013
Contributor: apple4me apple4me
I have plenty of flowers, but I'm hoping to grow some herbs in the summer.
01/28/2013
Contributor: sexxxkitten sexxxkitten
I would love to have a vegetable garden one day.
01/28/2013
Contributor: sweetpea12 sweetpea12
Quote:
Originally posted by wrecklesswords
Are there many people on EF who have their own vegetable garden or even have a few pots around the house with some ferns or flowers?

In the next month or so I will be starting my own garden thanks to my girlfriend. We will be building a small ... more
No but I would love to
01/28/2013
Contributor: married with children married with children
we have a garden. We grow tomatoes, peppers, corn, peas, herbs, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, potatoes, onions, and some more I cant think of right now. It is fun to get out in the yard and be able to teach the kids where food comes from. It does not cut down the cost of food that much. You would have to have alot of land to be able to grow enough food to cut down the expense of going to the store.
01/28/2013
Contributor: amazon amazon
Nothing fancy, a few veggies here and there.
01/28/2013
Contributor: damnbul12 damnbul12
Quote:
Originally posted by wrecklesswords
Are there many people on EF who have their own vegetable garden or even have a few pots around the house with some ferns or flowers?

In the next month or so I will be starting my own garden thanks to my girlfriend. We will be building a small ... more
No, and I'm not interested
01/28/2013
Contributor: Mrs.Tee Mrs.Tee
Quote:
Originally posted by wrecklesswords
Are there many people on EF who have their own vegetable garden or even have a few pots around the house with some ferns or flowers?

In the next month or so I will be starting my own garden thanks to my girlfriend. We will be building a small ... more
this is something that i dont do never tried
01/28/2013
Contributor: Mr. E Mr. E
For several years I have been planting a small garden in the back yard. I love home grown veggies.
01/28/2013
Contributor: MissCandyland MissCandyland
I have over 20 angel ivies around the house and I grow jasmine outside.
01/29/2013
Contributor: LavenderSkies LavenderSkies
Quote:
Originally posted by wrecklesswords
Are there many people on EF who have their own vegetable garden or even have a few pots around the house with some ferns or flowers?

In the next month or so I will be starting my own garden thanks to my girlfriend. We will be building a small ... more
No, but I would like to.
01/29/2013
Contributor: "G" "G"
My garden is 40'x100', I till it with a PTO driven tiller on the tractor and make my own fertilizer as well. After planting has been done i use a small tiller between my rows and tomato cages to help keep the weeds down. Drip hoses on the tomatoes and soaker hoses on the ground veggies. We can a lot vegetables every year as well. Tons of stuff to do and stay buisy with, manure fro the pigs and cattle as well as the chicken shit makes a good fertilizer adder to go with leaves and the veggie scraps also
01/29/2013
Contributor: richsam richsam
Quote:
Originally posted by wrecklesswords
Are there many people on EF who have their own vegetable garden or even have a few pots around the house with some ferns or flowers?

In the next month or so I will be starting my own garden thanks to my girlfriend. We will be building a small ... more
no i dont at all n ever time i have got a plant or something i forget to water it for like 2 weeks n it dies
01/29/2013
Contributor: GirlOnGirl GirlOnGirl
I've tried in the past but never been any good at it!
01/29/2013
Contributor: KyotoAngel KyotoAngel
Actually, I made my first attempt at gardening last summer...though I think the seed packet lied to me.
I planted some Cornflower seeds and they got all the way to flowering, but even though the packet said "full sun", the leaves and such got fried by the sun so they all died.
This year I think I'd like to try growing cucumbers (one of my favorite summer time snacks...so growing my own might save a decent chunk of money xD ) if I can...and definitely more flowers. =)
01/29/2013
Contributor: Eugler Eugler
I have a garden for 4 Years now.

To sum up my experience: It's quite a lot of work and compared to the work the results are quite low. But I keep on gardening because I like plants.
01/29/2013
Contributor: Cowgirl-Cutie Cowgirl-Cutie
I definitely want to start gardening! I'd love knowing I was growing my own food.
01/29/2013
Contributor: bog bog
Quote:
Originally posted by wrecklesswords
Are there many people on EF who have their own vegetable garden or even have a few pots around the house with some ferns or flowers?

In the next month or so I will be starting my own garden thanks to my girlfriend. We will be building a small ... more
Gardening is my meditation, and one of my favorite things about being alive! I cannot even convey how magical and rewarding I find being a friend to plants. I can eat fresh cherry tomatoes and blackberries hot from the sun all August long.
01/29/2013
Contributor: bog bog
Quote:
Originally posted by Eugler
I have a garden for 4 Years now.

To sum up my experience: It's quite a lot of work and compared to the work the results are quite low. But I keep on gardening because I like plants.
Have you tried growing native plants? Often our highly prized European vegetables (ie. broccoli - perfect example! delicious, yet takes up so much room for just one broccolo) are not native to this area.

Where I live, plants like lamb's quarter (which may grow in your lawn already; it has a shimmer on the leaf) and wild onion (which grows in mine) take off and require little to no maintenance. I used to live in Chicago, and even that far north our lamb's quarter often reached six feet tall.
01/29/2013
Contributor: Eugler Eugler
Quote:
Originally posted by bog
Have you tried growing native plants? Often our highly prized European vegetables (ie. broccoli - perfect example! delicious, yet takes up so much room for just one broccolo) are not native to this area.

Where I live, plants like lamb's ... more
Good hint with the native plants.
I have native ones as well as comparably exotic ones as peaches.

Maybe I'm a little to impatient.
After planting berries I have to wait a few years to get a good harvest. I have raspberries, gooseberries, blackberries and many more sorts of berries. I have not harvested more than a handful yet; maybe this summer...

Unfortunately my stupid neihgbour has geese and they ruined 2/3 of my harvest of the blueberries, chokeberries and mulberries.
Anyway the plants are still so small, there were like 5 fruits on each plant.

I just looked up for lamb's quarter. Looks interesting. Do you eat it as a salad or spicing herb?
01/29/2013
Contributor: Allstars316 Allstars316
Everything seems to die on me. So I never can grow anything. But I would like to. It would be nice
01/29/2013
Contributor: SneakersAndPearls SneakersAndPearls
Quote:
Originally posted by KyotoAngel
Actually, I made my first attempt at gardening last summer...though I think the seed packet lied to me.
I planted some Cornflower seeds and they got all the way to flowering, but even though the packet said "full sun", the leaves and ... more
If they are growing through the summer and in full sun, watering every day is absolutely necessary, possibly more than once and more than you'd think if they are in the ground.

When you grow cucumbers, watch out for cucumber/pickle worms and something called powdery mildew. You can use a mixture of milk and water in a spray bottle for the powdery mildew, and Bt (a natural pesticide) for the worms.
01/29/2013