Victory Gardens

[geeky_grrl]

Our home has a small yard and crappy light so all we have had was a lot of herbs in our flower beds and a few containers I'll grow greens in. We have a friend with a farm a couple of miles from us and he's letting is use an old idle garden plot to for a shared garden with a couple of other families. It's been a while since I've done much gardening but if it goes well we will have more food than we can eat.

I'm glad I ordered my garden seeds early this year since a lot of the seed sellers I like are either not taking orders anymore or are way behind. The only thing I'm missing so far is seed potatoes but I found a site last night that seemed to be taking orders.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

I've added 2 more large raised beds, to plant pole beans, winter squash, and additional salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, and some peppers. I've also been developing an interest in permaculture, and have a huge area covered with wood chips to develop a food forest in a spot adjacent to the woods. Planning on fruit trees, nut trees, and berry bushes in the years to come.



Not much planting going on here, since I've never been successful with seed starting. Too cold in Vermont (we had snow all day yesterday and all night, but it's all melted now.) I've been interested to see how many people are starting to garden (and disrupting the seed companies' shipping!). Seed potatoes, herbs, walking onions, and some perennial greens are on order and arriving soon. The garlic I planted last fall is coming up, welcome green shoots in the time of crocus blooming!

 

[trumpeting_angel]

Mix flowers and vegetables

I did have a large patch of side yard though that I'm converting from lawn to shrubs and flowers. I got the area cleared but no plants, except for a couple I'd recently gotten from friends before the stay-at-home situation. Not going nursery shopping even though we have a big lovely open one nearby. So it's a bit more hodge podge than planned. I'm moving stuff from around the rest of the garden, taking cuttings and clones, all very make shift, but it will work.

I've had great luck with planting some vegetables in with my flowers. Looking at a lacinato kale in my flower garden, someone asked, "What's that lovely plant?" Also peppers, cherry tomatoes, onions, and summer squash worked well. It was a big garden; nobody ever noticed, except that pretty kale.

 

[Gumby]

Our community garden was supposed to open on April 1, but it is one of the casualties of our town's lock down regime. I have a number of seedlings that I started indoors in mid February, which are ready to go in the ground now, as are things like seed potatoes, onion sets and a new rhubarb crown. Plus all the direct seeded cold weather crops.

I plan to complain to the mayor on Monday. I can understand closing the basketball courts and the like, but in my years of gardening, I can count on one hand the number of times I've ever been within 6 feet of another gardener. Usually, I'm one of 4 or 5 people in the whole multi-acre garden, each of us toiling away in our own individual plots. Sometimes, early on a weekday, I'm the only one out there. And it's healthy for an old guy like me to get a bit of exercise in the sun.

I did put out new seed-grown thyme and parsley into the herb garden that we have at home. If I am forced to, I could find a place for the celery and put the cabbage and artichokes in bigger pots, but I'd rather have them in my garden plot. Since I need to start the tomato seeds under the lights next week, I'll need to do something.

 

[RAE]

Here in the sorry state of Michigan all garden centers as well as non essential parts of groceries are now closed. However, you can stand in line til your hearts content buying booze, cigarettes and lottery tickets.

The way I'm interpreting Whitmer's order, the big box stores have to close off their garden centers, along with some other sections. However, I think smaller garden centers (that basically just sell plants and seeds) will be allowed to remain open. There may be some restrictions on how they can sell their stuff to customers, but I think we will still be able to buy garden plants from those places. Two small garden centers near me have told me via email that they are considered essential, and will be selling plants this spring, but still have to figure out how they can do it while still adhering to the order.

I don't really need my garden plants (tomatoes, etc) until May here in northern Michigan, so hopefully things will be worked out by then and they will be available. I have plenty of veggie seeds, so in any case I will be able to plant most of my garden with that stuff (lettuce, kale, carrots, beets, peas, beans, etc).

 

[harley]

This would be an awesome time to have a garden, and I have fantasized about it, but unfortunately doesn’t work out for us since we are temporarily relocated. It would be so nice to have home grown lettuce right now.

I'm not sure how long you're going to stay where you are, but there are lettuce mixes that are less than 30 days from seed to harvest. We planted ours less than 4 weeks ago and have already harvested enough for hefty salads for a couple days.

The hard part that I'm seeing now is actually getting seeds. We want to plant some melons and cantaloupes and bell peppers, as well as a few other things. But on Burpees web site they say they are so far behind they aren't taking orders again until at least 4/15. Amazon shipping dates for the seeds we want is will into June. I could probably go into Lowes or something, but I suspect the supply will be low, and I don't want to go into the stores. We may just stick with what we've got, and harvest seeds from our fresh veggies. But we don't have the melons or peppers to use.

 

[audreyh1]

I'm not sure how long you're going to stay where you are, but there are lettuce mixes that are less than 30 days from seed to harvest. We planted ours less than 4 weeks ago and have already harvested enough for hefty salads for a couple days.

The hard part that I'm seeing now is actually getting seeds. We want to plant some melons and cantaloupes and bell peppers, as well as a few other things. But on Burpees web site they say they are so far behind they aren't taking orders again until at least 4/15. Amazon shipping dates for the seeds we want is will into June. I could probably go into Lowes or something, but I suspect the supply will be low, and I don't want to go into the stores. We may just stick with what we've got, and harvest seeds from our fresh veggies. But we don't have the melons or peppers to use.

Where my Dad’s veggie garden used to be is long overgrown, unfortunately, and it’s already getting too hot to plant lettuce.

At least there is one peach tree.

 

[harley]

Pretty hot here too, but we planted in raised containers and put it on the shady side of the house. So far so good.

 

[swakyaby]

I always thought of my small backyard with several raised beds as a place I grew a few vegetables and planted a few dwarf citrus trees as a hobby, a peaceful place to simply watch things grow. Now, in this time of avoiding grocery stores for as long as possible, I wish I had planned it a little better. I would have planted a few less tomato plants, and more variety of plants I frequently go to the store for—lettuce, green beans, baby bok choy, and lancinato kale. But who could have foreseen a pandemic? Currently harvesting Meyer lemons, limes, ruby grapefruit, and Washington navel oranges. Besides the too-many tomatoes, I am growing zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, Asian eggplants, serrano pepper, jalapeño pepper, green onions, basil, and rosemary. Plan to add some English thyme.

Feeling thankful I have a gardening bed, fruit trees (citrus avocado, and asian pears), a long growing season, and no problems with deer or rodents.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

My neighbor and I have shared a garden for several years and I also have a small plot in my yard. We had trouble finding the selection of plants that we usually do. We had to add a ton (literally) of soil as square foot gardens just compact and need new soil every couple of years. My husband has brought us compost from the local transfer station, and a nearby cotton gin.

The compost from the cotton gin was still hot. We were intending on putting okra in that bed, but I think it'll have to wait a year. She planted it up anyway. There's another bed we can use if those seeds don't come up.

We also planted squash, cukes, tomatoes, peppers (lots of kinds) eggplant, green onions, herbs and a cutting garden. I love gardening.

 

[brewer12345]

I always thought of my small backyard with several raised beds as a place I grew a few vegetables and planted a few dwarf citrus trees as a hobby, a peaceful place to simply watch things grow. Now, in this time of avoiding grocery stores for as long as possible, I wish I had planned it a little better. I would have planted a few less tomato plants, and more variety of plants I frequently go to the store for—lettuce, green beans, baby bok choy, and lancinato kale. But who could have foreseen a pandemic?

You just go back to the way it used to be: eat what is in season.

 

[Gumby]

You just go back to the way it used to be: eat what is in season.

And learn to home can.

 

[brewer12345]

And learn to home can.

Yep. I actually dried some of the excess squash and kale last summer and both came out very nice.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Dried squash? Did it get crunchy? Did you eat it as a snack?

We dried some persimmons last year and they turned out great!

 

[ugeauxgirl]

And learn to home can.

I've never tried it but canning looks like a lot of work. I give away or freeze our extra.

 

[Gumby]

I've never tried it but canning looks like a lot of work. I give away or freeze our extra.

It's actually quite easy. Essentially, you're just putting the stuff in jars and heating it to 240 deg. with a big pressure cooker, so that you can kill all the possible nasty germs.

 

[brewer12345]

Dried squash? Did it get crunchy? Did you eat it as a snack?

We dried some persimmons last year and they turned out great!

Have tossed it in soups, but tasty and sweet enough to eat straight.

 

[foxfirev5]

The way I'm interpreting Whitmer's order, the big box stores have to close off their garden centers, along with some other sections. However, I think smaller garden centers (that basically just sell plants and seeds) will be allowed to remain open. There may be some restrictions on how they can sell their stuff to customers, but I think we will still be able to buy garden plants from those places. Two small garden centers near me have told me via email that they are considered essential, and will be selling plants this spring, but still have to figure out how they can do it while still adhering to the order.

I don't really need my garden plants (tomatoes, etc) until May here in northern Michigan, so hopefully things will be worked out by then and they will be available. I have plenty of veggie seeds, so in any case I will be able to plant most of my garden with that stuff (lettuce, kale, carrots, beets, peas, beans, etc).

Sorry but it's not that way down here in Southern Mich. The local garden centers are all closed as well as the one I deal with. My trees and plants are inside a chain link fence with no access. They aren't even able to water them. While they protested I cancelled the sizable order. My timeline to dispute the charges is expiring and I don't want to get stuck like I already am with the airfare (on another thread).

 

[mickeyd]

We have a "garden club" here @ the CCRC. This my first year farming so I am tending to what I call "my starter plot." I have tomatoes, peppers, cukes and okra. So far cukes and peppers have tasted good.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

I prefer freezing and dehydrating to canning. Most things taste better, and now that we have to use pressure for canning for almost everything except pickles and tomatoes. Having all the jars and lids sterilized, worrying about a pressure canner on my glass-topped electric stove (not recommended) and the rest seems like a lot of trouble.


The dehydrator works well, doesn't require perfect timing, and produces dried apples and berries that are delicious just as they are, and broccoli and zucchini perfect for soup or casseroles.



I'm making a large trellis to go over the path between two of my raised beds and, to plant pole beans, cucumbers, and winter squash.

 

[brewer12345]

The trellis is a fantastic idea. May try to do that

 

[Gumby]

We have a trellis arch that we've been using for cucumbers. It's tall enough to walk under, so it's in the path between two growing beds. But the cukes never quite make it to the top, so I'm thinking of using it for winter squash this year and using a smaller flat trellis for the cukes.

We also have a dehydrator and freeze stuff, too. Last year, I smoked a batch of jalapenos in my smoker, then dried them in the dehydrator and ground them up for my own chipotle.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

We have a trellis arch that we've been using for cucumbers. It's tall enough to walk under, so it's in the path between two growing beds. But the cukes never quite make it to the top, so I'm thinking of using it for winter squash this year and using a smaller flat trellis for the cukes.

We also have a dehydrator and freeze stuff, too. Last year, I smoked a batch of jalapenos in my smoker, then dried them in the dehydrator and ground them up for my own chipotle.

I just put a tomato cage over my cukes. Hope that works. First year I've tried that.

I keep buying plants. I bought tomatillos today. I don't even know what to do with those!

 

[trumpeting_angel]

Here's my inspiration for the trellis arch:

 

[harley]

Pretty hot here too, but we planted in raised containers and put it on the shady side of the house. So far so good.

Well, I spoke to soon. It's been scorching hot here, temps reaching between 93 and 97 (feels like up to 110). The lettuce is hanging in, being mostly in the shade and well watered. But the cucumber and zucchini are on their way out. The beans are looking good, the tomatoes are kicking ass, and we've got more hot peppers of various types than we can eat in 3 years. But I don't know how long any of it will last. This heat is looking like it's not going away. Hopefully we can stretch it out by keeping it well irrigated. We'll see.