Here's my garden. Yes, it's in need of some TLC as well as some heavy weeding. But thanks to all the rain we've been having in the South, its growing really well!
I don't have enough room in my garden (we ripped out part of our lawn to have a garden) for my herbs, so I plant those in pots next to my backdoor (easy access when cooking). I haven't planted them yet, but I had a few volunteers from last year. That's what Mountain Man calls plants that come back on their own. I'm not sure how the oregano jumped pots---it was only in one last year.I also have chives and thyme in my front yard in a small flower bed. They both give beautiful flowers, and can be used as ornamental as well as useful.
The big purple ones are chives in flower and the smaller ones in the background are thyme in flower. It's purdy!Here's Hannah's square foot garden
It's so neat and tidy...it really puts mine to shame. Like, my garden is crying: "come weed me! please come weed me!"What's growing in your gardens this summer?
17 comments:
We have been enjoying our gardens this year! Check out my post about what we are growing with a photo if you like.
http://couponingincriticaltimes.blogspot.com/2009/05/whats-happening-in-garden.html
Thanks for all you do!
Abby, I'm just impressed that you have a garden. Seriously, you're way ahead of me! I think it looks awesome!
I've seen a lot of the square foot gardens lately. Interesting. :) I had high hopes of putting any sort of garden this year. It seems it will half to be next year. :) Too bad. I like the idea of using thyme and chives in the flower bed.
We planted all kinds of stuff and are waiting to see what survives. The peppers started out well, but are withing now. Any idea if the alkaline soil would have something to do with that?
Tomatoes, beans, potatoes, okra, broccoli, and some squash and eggplant seem to be doing alright. Our herbs are hit-or-miss with the rosemary being a big bush and many of the others withering away.
I hate weeding! So here's a tip! Do you have access to a couple bales of old hay or straw? If so, mulch the living daylights out of your garden - put it on several inches thick. I started doing this with our family vegetable garden when I was in my early teens - cleaned up the chopped hay that fell out of the auger going to the silo on our farm.
It kept the soil consistently moist, essentially weed free (about 95% weed free) and it meant that we could actually go into the garden after a rain. Normally - we needed to wait about 2 days for the heavy clay soil to dry a bit - otherwise - there was a couple pounds of the stuff stuck to your shoes or feet.
The best part - after doing this for 2 or 3 years and plowing everything under in the fall - the soil texture had changed significantly - lots more hummus, friable texture instead of fist sized lumps, WAY more fertile. We had huge yields of potatoes, squash, tomatoes - with a LOT less work.
This is my first year attempting a garden. We're trying blueberries, raspberries, canteloupe, watermelon, cucumber, cauliflower, bell peppers & tomatoes. We also planted a pear tree and a peach tree, but I'm not planning on seeing anything out of those for a couple of years.
I couldn't agree more. Check out my blog to see our Garden and my backyard bucket garden!
Oh you southerners. Love to "brag" about all your rain! We had an aunt who complained about having to water her garden two times one summer . . and she had lived in Tucson, AZ for several years. We thought it was pretty funny!
Yep, there has been lots of rain this season. Don't worry, with it comes lots of mosquitos! :) Happy Gardening!
I have a garden series and some pictures on my site as well. Its called lasagna gardening. It has been fun.
Quick note about your mint? Did you just plant that this year? And is it in a container all by itself planted? I planted mint once and now it is completely covering everything and I am having a hard time killing it. Keep an eye out for that.
After battling poor, clay soil for a few seasons, plus we're flooding more (thanks to certain neighbors buying dirt, which the neighbors are gathering to discuss possible lawsuits), I've started my first raised bed garden from a discarded bookshelf my neighbors threw away. I might try tires, and self-watering containers too, after summer with upper 90s-100s.
I've put in a poblano pepper (its looking a bit yellowish, I'll have to study why), better boy tomato that has quite a few flowers, and 2 leftover tomatoes from last year that survived the winter -- one has a green tomato already.
I also have 2 small chaya trees (perennial tree "spinach") that are looking quite good, and I need to put them in the ground after I build up the soil above the flood line. I also planted a chayote squash that hasn't greened up yet (I sprouted it in the cabinet).
Tonight I bought ichiban eggplant plant, which supposedly love heat, and a hybrid tomato called heatwave, which I read mostly good reviews about. I need to plant my yard long green beans tomorrow; luckily they love heat too, and we can even grow them in our cruddy soil as long as I loosen the dirt and add rabbit manure.
My edible hibiscus came back; I didn't try to eat it before, because at that time I couldn't identify the leaves from photos online. But there's been more postings of the photos, and an explanation about the many different leaf shapes, which some matched up with mine. I don't think it's a perennial, but a good reseeder.
I plan on ordering some other perennial "spinach" vines such as New Zealand, Malabar, and Okinawa, and some perennial onions too. Nichols Nursery has quite a few perennial vegetables I want (except the Okinawa spinach) and sent a free catalog.
Your gardens look great! We just expanded ours and I *hope* I can handle the massive amounts of veggies this fall. I bought a dehydrator, so I plan to make seasoned zucchini chips, dried tomatoes and peppers, etc. We also can, so August and Sept are going to be super busy.
I am excited to see what you post about your garden this summer!
We've got tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, canteloupe, and basil. I planted other herbs, but they haven't done as well. I think I'm going to have to try them in pots this time. We also have 5 blueberry bushes that we got from my mother in laws house, and they are doing really well. We hope to get fruit from them next year. Oh, and a peach tree with 7 peaches on it!
Oh, and eggplant!
Bell peppers, tomatoes, watermelon, pumpkin, cucumber, sugar snap peas, green onions, cilantro, basil, mint, and blackberries, and about four carrots.
I don't know what will survive all the "help" from our kids but we're really enjoying the sugar snap peas and herbs already. The crawling stuff (watermelon, cucumbers & pumpkins) are in the garden plot but everything else is in half barrels or pots. I find it's easier to move things away from the toddlers that like to prune my plants but I can still make sure they get enough sun if they are portable. I'm also hoping I can bring my basil and bell pepper in when the weather cools and keep them alive in our sunroom for longer that way.
Are you going to transplant some of your plants as they get bigger? If not, your watermelon and cantaloupe will take over everything else...
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