Kitchen gardens

[hummingbirdkiss]

bumping this topic after hours and hours of rediscovering all my garden treasures this weekend..everything is starting to bud or bloom ...it just looks so lovely already...

I put four new raised beds in and am very excited about the prospect of filling them ...

my body is sore and my mind rested ...time to go back to work so I can make more money ... so I can take more time off to play in the garden!

pictures to follow

[hummingbirdkiss]

ok I am showing you mine does anyone else have pictures of how the gardens look now ...lets bring on the spring ...PULLLLEEEASE!!!!!

from top to bottom the top beds are about five years old ..the very back is all strawberries ..I am not sure what type but they were given to me by a very dear friend who passed away this summer the two in the front are both garlic and sugar snap pease planted together the garlic is up but no peas yet

second pic is my rhubarb hill ..the white is all the lime I apparently did not turn into the soil well enough ..there is a ton of rhubarb growing here and it is really good ..you can see it just poking through ..spring is here!

the third is my wintered over collards they need to be picked ..I leave them reseed every year these came from the same friend who had them passed down from his father ...very good collards

[hummingbirdkiss]

I also wanted to share this ..a dear sweet man I know sent me some seeds to grow these carrots I had posted this picture in the NW garden thread but I think they are so cool

I am waiting to get my new beds full of dirt this weekend so I can plant these ...are they not beautiful?

I am so excited

[dockhl]

Wow!!

[hummingbirdkiss]

Wow!!

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I know huh? those carrots are so beautiful ...I can not wait to see how they turn out!

also my peanuts look so cute in the pots I found this online and am trying to keep my mind busy with new projects when not working so I dont over eat

so here are my peanut plants and a link for peanuts in a pot that tells how to grown them in a pot ..I hope this works I think I should start a few more the one little one looks kind of pathetic!

has anyone ever grown peanuts in pots before? did you get some?

I dont care how small a persons living space is you can grown something

the lemon grass especially is an awesome house plant in a sunny spot or even under a grow light then outside in the summer if you have a sunny spot..same with ginger

[JimH]

I wish I was that organized. I'm trying potatoes for the first time this year (if they ever arrive) and Egyptian Walking Onions.

[hummingbirdkiss]

I wish I was that organized.  I'm trying potatoes for the first time this year (if they ever arrive) and Egyptian Walking Onions.

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I want so badly to try some potatoes this year how are you growing them? there are so many ways ..even in tires!

oh and I am sooo not organized!!!! trust me this is all scattered all over the place ..very impulsive and I never plan anything out ..when I get the seeds/starts or plants... I just make a place any place ...and there really is no rhyme or reason ..I know my neighbors think I am a crazy manicy woman...not far off probably.....I just keep planting things and then they grow! all over the place..outside and inside ..I have plants growing every place...My soil superb for growning but kind of toxic due to some fallout from the Asarco plant that used to be in Tacoma ...so I have had to really ammend some already rich soil to pull the pH up and make it safe for gardening ..that also makes it wonderful for growing ..toss a seed and literally jump back...

as I have mentioned before soil testing is so important you never know if you are safe until you do it ..and if it isnt there are ways to repair it ...and I did bring in for my food crops good clean organic soil that is why I have the raised beds

I have had all my food crops tested and they are perfectly ok now ..thank goodness

eveyone should grow something even if it is in a pot on a window sill ..it feels so good

[JimH]

Wow!!

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I know huh? those carrots are so beautiful ...I can not wait to see how they turn out!

also my peanuts look so cute in the pots I found this online and am trying to keep my mind busy with new projects when not working so I dont over eat

so here are my peanut plants and a link for peanuts in a pot that tells how to grown them in a pot ..I hope this works I think I should start a few more the one little one looks kind of pathetic!

has anyone ever grown peanuts in pots before? did you get some?

I dont care how small a persons living space is you can grown something

the lemon grass especially is an awesome house plant in a sunny spot or even under a grow light then outside in the summer if you have a sunny spot..same with ginger

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Thanks for that link, I've been wanting to try peanuts but the book I have said that they could not be planted in containers. I'm going to use beer buckets (big blue tubs about three feet across) to hold the potatoes. I got the idea from Patricia Lanza's book on lasagna gardening. I have some extra soil, so I'll put down newspaper, then the soil and then grass clippings/leaves. As they grow I'll hill them up with additional clippings. So far everything I've tried from her book has worked, even when I didn't have all the ingredients.

Spring is here, the lime trees have bloomed and the fig tree is starting to throw it's leaves. I still have to prep the oldest garden for corn and I have yet to clean out the Earth Boxes.

[dockhl]

I really want to grow lemongrass and ginger. Any tips?

[heidih]

I also wanted to share this ..a dear sweet man I know sent me some seeds to grow these carrots I had posted this picture in the NW garden thread but I think they are so cool

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Way cool! A pic of these would make great framed art for the kitchen.

[hummingbirdkiss]

I really want to grow lemongrass and ginger. Any tips?

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YES YES YES

so easy ..go buy lemon grass put trim the bottom of anything dead then stick it in a glass of water they get roots and then you stick them in a nice pot of dirt that is it ..it just grows and grows

ginger take a knuckle with what might look like a bud and just stick it in dirt and let it grow when it fills the pot you can push the soil back and use the roots ..I put it in the garden when it is mature 50/50 here it it returns the next year ..

lemon grass does well in a pot outside during the summer but I have ot bring it in the spring I have a great pic of how it looks rooted I will find it

[hummingbirdkiss]

Jim you have to keep us posted about the peanuts ..I am so afraid it is too wet here I am going to keep it in the house or under the eve when it warms up so the rain does not drown them

it is so fun planting things ..very therapeutic I think!

Heidi you are right that would be beautiful picture I can not wait until these carrots grow!

[LindaK]

Lovely. I miss being able to start gardening in March. After living in Missouri, my first "springs" as a gardener in New England were painful. I've slowly gotten used to waiting until May to get my hands dirty. My early starts are with herbs and salad greens. Thanks for letting me live vicariously.

[hummingbirdkiss]

well I was going to show you a new pic of some recently rooted lemon grass but I think I put my camera chip in the wrong hole because it is gone inside of this computer ..way in

I dont think it will ever come out

[insomniac]

I rather optimistically planted some brussels sprouts too late into autumn last year and they bolted.....however now, spring has arrived(ish) and we are eating the most amazing tender stalks with teeny broccoli-like head and leaves, sort of like gai lan (Chinese kale-like veg.)....they are incredible, whether with melted butter like young asparagus or thai style (like ka na) with oyster sauce or garlic and kapi and there is tons of it!!!....

I'll be making the same mistake this autumn...

I think I put my camera chip in the wrong hole because it is gone inside of this computer ..way in 

I dont think it will ever come out

ohhhh sh!t

can you pick it up and shake it?

Edited March 14, 2008 by insomniac (log)

[hummingbirdkiss]

I rather optimistically planted some brussels sprouts too late into autumn last year and they bolted.....however now, spring has arrived(ish) and we are eating the most amazing tender stalks with teeny broccoli-like head and leaves, sort of like gai lan (Chinese kale-like veg.)....they are incredible, whether with melted butter like young asparagus or thai style (like ka na) with oyster sauce or garlic and kapi and there is tons of it!!!....

I'll be making the same mistake this autumn...

I think I put my camera chip in the wrong hole because it is gone inside of this computer ..way in 

I dont think it will ever come out

ohhhh sh!t

can you pick it up and shake it?

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I love brussels sprouts and they grow beautifully here I should try them for sure ..the look so funny with the little things all up and down the stalk! They look like dinosaur food!

I tried to shake it ..how hard can I shake with out fking up the rest of this laptop?

I am so pissed at myself it was the right spot but I had a feeling something was wrong when the chip slid in so quickly ..I have to use my worst camera now

Edited March 14, 2008 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[insomniac]

I rather optimistically planted some brussels sprouts too late into autumn last year and they bolted.....however now, spring has arrived(ish) and we are eating the most amazing tender stalks with teeny broccoli-like head and leaves, sort of like gai lan (Chinese kale-like veg.)....they are incredible, whether with melted butter like young asparagus or thai style (like ka na) with oyster sauce or garlic and kapi and there is tons of it!!!....

I'll be making the same mistake this autumn...

I think I put my camera chip in the wrong hole because it is gone inside of this computer ..way in 

I dont think it will ever come out

ohhhh sh!t

can you pick it up and shake it?

←

I love brussels sprouts and they grow beautifully here I should try them for sure ..the look so funny with the little things all up and down the stalk! They look like dinosaur food!

I tried to shake it ..how hard can I shake with out fking up the rest of this laptop?

I am so pissed at myself it was the right spot but I had a feeling something was wrong when the chip slid in so quickly ..I have to use my worst camera now

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eeeek

but, edited to add, a bloke or blokess with computer expertise must surely be along shortly to give you *good and practical* advice

Edited March 14, 2008 by insomniac (log)

[hummingbirdkiss]

it came out phew ..but I am afraid to put it in there anymore so I can not post pics until I restore my confidence in my ability not to do that again!

..oh well back to gardening!

I am going to get a truck load of garden mix to put into my four new raise beds today...

I can not believe how happy I am to say I am going to go get dirt! but I am!!!

the bad part ..it is pouring rain

bright side? good work out?

[hummingbirdkiss]

moved a cubic yard of dirt today then made perfect mounds and grids on my boxes...Mel Bartholomew would be proud of my technique ..then after screwing around with a few neatly placed seeds I just chucked seeds everywhere and have no idea where anything is ..but I have neat grids and planted onions, purple carrots, regular carrots, bush peas, Italian parsley..some kind of Italian green I can not remember the name of.. and two kinds of escarole in those new boxes ...when the plants sprout I will sort it out then ..I did leave room for radishes .....just need a truck load of bark around those boxes where the shade cloth is ..and this part of the garden is pretty much done ...yay

anyone else digging around in the dirt this weekend?

(I am freaking sore and smell like cow poop now ..ahhh the springtime is here .. beer me )

[mukki]

I was lucky enough to get a plot in a nearby community garden which has been hiding from me for years. It's actually within walking distance which is, quite frankly, amazing. My yard is limited, though I've got a peach tree, blueberries (in pots), herbs, boysenberries, a lime tree and a Persian mulberry.

The plot is about 12'x12'. I'm planning:

Tomatoes (will decide at the nursery on what varieties; between Roger's Gardens and Laguna Hills Nursery, I've got about 100 to choose from)

Corn (Bantam and Country Gentleman)

Melons (Charentais and Crane)

Mexican Sour Gherkins

Zucchini

Lima Beans

Peppers

Rice Beans

Watermelon (Moon & Stars)

Ground Cherries & Giant Cape Gooseberry

[JimH]

moved a cubic yard of dirt today then made perfect mounds and grids on my boxes...Mel Bartholomew would be proud of my technique ..then after screwing around with a few neatly placed seeds I just chucked seeds everywhere and have no idea where anything is ..but I have neat grids and planted onions, purple carrots, regular carrots, bush peas, Italian parsley..some kind of Italian green I can not remember the name of.. and two kinds of escarole in those new boxes ...when the plants sprout I will sort it out then ..I did leave room for radishes .....just need a truck load of bark around those boxes where the shade cloth is ..and this part of the garden is pretty much done ...yay

anyone else digging around in the dirt this weekend?

(I am freaking sore and smell like cow poop now ..ahhh the springtime is here ..  beer me )

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See, I was right you are organized, wooden forms, grids etc. Shame prevents me from taking anything other than close-ups of my garden. I direct seeded some basil without thinking, it's hard to tell now what is sprouting weed or herb. I have to redo two beds this weekend, they went wild last summer with all the rain.

[hummingbirdkiss]

peas are poking through the dirt and the bulbs are all blooming

feels like spring except it is cold and really wet out ..no yard work today I am resting

the grids do look nice and neat but it is counteracted by the fact I broadcasted the seeds all over the place..when I thin them out maybe there will be a more grid like pattern I hope

I was trying to mimic this guy ..but....

Square Foot Garden

Edited March 21, 2008 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[dockhl]

I was lucky enough to get a plot in a nearby community garden which has been hiding from me for years. It's actually within walking distance which is, quite frankly, amazing. My yard is limited, though I've got a peach tree, blueberries (in pots), herbs, boysenberries, a lime tree and a Persian mulberry.

The plot is about 12'x12'. I'm planning:

Tomatoes (will decide at the nursery on what varieties; between Roger's Gardens and Laguna Hills Nursery, I've got about 100 to choose from)

Corn (Bantam and Country Gentleman)

Melons (Charentais and Crane)

Mexican Sour Gherkins

Zucchini

Lima Beans

Peppers

Rice Beans

Watermelon (Moon & Stars)

Ground Cherries & Giant Cape Gooseberry

←

mukki!!!

I was just reading about Mexican Sour Gherkins (also called Mouse Melons) ! Have you grown/eaten them before? I NEED some, I think !

[mukki]

mukki!!!

I was just reading about Mexican Sour Gherkins (also called Mouse Melons) ! Have you grown/eaten them before? I NEED some, I think !

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Nope, I just saw them in the Seeds of Change catalog and thought they sounded good!

Edited March 21, 2008 by mukki (log)

[hummingbirdkiss]

how is your garden growing?

I put in potatoes this weekend between the rain, snow, hail, sun, rain, snow, hail sun..repeat repeat repeat...and then realized I had planted red, white and blue potatoes! I did not think about it before hand

but how patriotic my frist potato salad will be!

I also thinned moved and gave away a lot of herb starts ...

fruit trees are all ready to burst into flowers any second now!

the quince is just loaded with buds

lots of chives and parsley all over the yard ..

flowers coming up everywere

hummingbirds buzzing my head every time I walk out the door

spring is here ..between the rain, snow and hail