Any gardeners here?

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Who else enjoys gardening here? :D

The weather here has been so warm and sunny the last few days it's got me thinking about spring. I can't wait to get started, but it's my first year here in the spring in this new climate, semi-arid. I'll have to find some new plants, I'm not sure what to plant yet, especially as the soil is so sandy. I'll probably just have lots of container gardens as we do get plenty of sun!

What are your planting projects? Got any tips?

[borzoimom]

I want someone to help me with tomatoes.. Our ground in the city had more sand than it does up here.. Any tips??

[DrKym]

Im reading this post buried in my seed catalogs, and bushe catalogs and and and ........I love gardening, it was one of the things I adored sharing with my gramma. Jas is sweet enough to a lot of the inside chores spring thru fall so that I can spend a lot of time on the yard and the garden!

I much prefer outdoor chores to housework anyway!

Lets see this year I have planned a raised bed herb garden, a veggie garden in last yrs spot as it did pretty well. A new flower path and some creepy moss for the walkways upstairs out back


last fall I ordered several heirloom roses and an heirloom gardenia set, so lets see how those do when they arrive.

I will need to really work on composting this year as I got really lazy about it last year.

I will be replanting the outdoor aviary this spring again so the birds will have new funzies to tear up when they go to the play pen outside.

I also am going to try the lemon tomatoes this year , our big boys and the cherries did soooooooo well that I would like to add another variety this yr.

[KitCat]

Tomatoes work good in containers. That way you have good soil free of pests.

Tip: Plant seeds in containers and keep moist. Planting in the ground doesn't give the moisture most seeds need.

Here is my garden site:
http://www.flowerfancier.com/

[borzoimom]

Tomatoes work good in containers. That way you have good soil free of pests.

Tip: Plant seeds in containers and keep moist. Planting in the ground doesn't give the moisture most seeds need.

Here is my garden site:
http://www.flowerfancier.com/
Help me out kitcat. Last year we used like 5 ga. white buckets ( saw it on diy gardener thing) , drilled holes in the bottom- and put in 3 plants. ( small ) then hung from a anchor in our screen porch. The porch gets morning sunlight. ( until like 12pm). We used miracle grow with water for tomotoes.. They all died.. :(
What did we do wrong? We can not plant them outside in the yard- as the deer eat the leaves, and the bears like the tomatoes when they start to grow- ( we tried that the year before..) Tell me - what works?

[Freedom]

Dad does the vegetable garden, and I am allowed one section where he permits me to have my herbs. The area is about 45 feet long and 22 feet deep. Of course, as it is "his" garden, I have to replace my perennial herbs each year. He just goes through the whole thing with the pitch fork every Autumn!!!! :rolleyes:

[Marigold2]

Borzoimom did you say you have bears?

[borzoimom]

Borzoimom did you say you have bears?
Yes- bears.. We are surrounded on 3 of 4 sides by a National Forest. The 4th being a cliff..

[.sarah]

I have a small vegetable garden. Currently I have lettuce and kale growing. Last summer and fall I had basil, parsley, rosemary, tomatoes, and a few other spices. I've had pretty good luck with everything, but the basil by far has grown the best. Good thing, too, since I love to cook italian food. ;)

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Tomatoes work good in containers. That way you have good soil free of pests.

Tip: Plant seeds in containers and keep moist. Planting in the ground doesn't give the moisture most seeds need.

Here is my garden site:
http://www.flowerfancier.com/
You have beautiful flowers! :)

[KitCat]

Borzoimom, maybe they need more sunlight? That's all I could think of. Good luck!

[borzoimom]

Borzoimom, maybe they need more sunlight? That's all I could think of. Good luck!
So they need alot of sunlight? Maybe I could put the containers on the deck during the day.. Question- we had holes on the side and the bottom.. WE used a mixture of good top soil and potting soil.. any other ideas on this- ?
I really appreciate your help. I love tomatoes!

[KitCat]

I think that would help. You live in a geat area with bears and dears, it looks lovely!

[Karen]

They need lots of sunlight, and make sure you are not over- or under-watering them, too! Tomatoes do not like to tread water.

[borzoimom]

They need lots of sunlight, and make sure you are not over- or under-watering them, too! Tomatoes do not like to tread water.
lol.. Thank you. Its seldom warm up here- only one month we start hitting 80's or even 90's and that is August. Most of the time its in the 70's in the summer time.

[AbbyMom]

We also have big problems with deer, raccoons, and other animals eating our tomatoes. So two years ago the dear hubby built these enclosed "tomato boxes" so protect them. We filled the box bottom with the type of potting soil that has the fertilizer mixed right in it.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid224/pa866258344903e95c5cb3246c6445773/ea8de457.jpg

It turned out that the boxes weren't big enough, so he added "a second story" last summer. :) That's an automatic watering system you see on top the box. Here's a picture from last Septemer's harvest:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid213/pf99878c6427c4dcb30eff94f0aa11197/ed496838.jpg



Boizoi Mom: One thought about your situation: tomatoes really really like warm nights to get ripe.

Good luck!

[borzoimom]

We also have big problems with deer, raccoons, and other animals eating our tomatoes. So two years ago the dear hubby built these enclosed "tomato boxes" so protect them. We filled the box bottom with the type of potting soil that has the fertilizer mixed right in it.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid224/pa866258344903e95c5cb3246c6445773/ea8de457.jpg

It turned out that the boxes weren't big enough, so he added "a second story" last summer. :) That's an automatic watering system you see on top the box. Here's a picture from last Septemer's harvest:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid213/pf99878c6427c4dcb30eff94f0aa11197/ed496838.jpg



Boizoi Mom: One thought about your situation: tomatoes really really like warm nights to get ripe.

Good luck!
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh man- my husband would love to build things.. Thank you- I wil lshow them.
WArm here at night is like 68 to 72 maybe.. but normal is like 58-62 at night. Should I bring them in at night??/ I mean the valley doesnt a problem growing tomotoes- they all but give them away- but I am 2400 feet up. It is cooler up here.. I am going to show my husband your pictures when he get home!

[Blue_Frog]

Oh, I love to garden, but I dont have a yard right now :(

I was thinking of starting a pot-garden (or whatever its called) on his condo patio -- its a ground floor with a section thats about 10 patio stones by 3, and gets reasonable sunlight. Does anyone know any good sites about gardening in pots?

[Marigold2]

Hi Everyone,
I am a gardener. I start my seeds on January 31st, I plant around 250 plants. Love to garden. Tomatoes do need about 6 hours of sunlight. They and peppers are hot wheather lovers. The best place to plant is on the south side if that is possible as it gets light most of the day. If you really want tomotoes I would suggest a cherry type which is small. Or a cold wheather type. Two excellent websites are Burpee.com and Parkseed.com. They have lots of info. Your plants do need to go outside as soon as wheather permits. Another good place to go is to your local green house, not a Home Depot but a true green house and see what plants they recommand for your area of the country. I have several places close to me and the staff really knows their plants, trees and bushes.
Borzoimom the pictures of teddy are so cute. What a wonderful place you have to live. Are you on the look out for teddy most of the year? Blue Frog what kind of pot are you going to grow. Ha ha ha

[Blue_Frog]

Blue Frog what kind of pot are you going to grow. Ha ha ha
OOPS!! http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n19/bluefrog_ca/oops.jpg

I meant a CONTAINER garden -- any links are appreciated :D

[borzoimom]

Normally the last two years, our bears were present in the winter. This year - they are not- .. We were told by the bear conservatory that probably means- they are off with cubs.. hmmm... I hope to have pictures of bears with cubs soon..

[Marigold2]

Hi Blue Frog,

Nice to see someone with a sense of humor. :p I would check out books at the local library they have some great ideas of plant combinations. There are tomotoes, cukes, peppers ,actually you can plant just about anything in a container garden. These plants are made to stay small. Also there are wonderful flowers for container gardens. Start with your favorite colors and smells, colorfull pots are fun. Maybe a blue pot with yellow marigolds and red geraniums. Cascading Petunias with a spike in the middle are lovely. The choices are endless and breathtaking, good luck and have fun. Monica

[Killearn Kitties]

I've been starting to think about the garden as well, it has been so mild and bright. It feels like spring already. That doesn't mean it will last, of course. It could still get horribly cold.

One of the best things to do when you are in a new area is walk around and see what grows well in other people's gardens. That is always a good guide to what suits the conditions.

The Royal Horticultural Society have a plant selector on their website that allows you to put in your soil and light conditions, flowering season you want, colour etc, then gives you a list of plants that suit those conditions. You may already have a link to one of these, but this is the RHS one if you want to have a look. Plant Selector (http://www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantselector/default.aspx)

[Pembroke_Corgi]

I've been starting to think about the garden as well, it has been so mild and bright. It feels like spring already. That doesn't mean it will last, of course. It could still get horribly cold.

One of the best things to do when you are in a new area is walk around and see what grows well in other people's gardens. That is always a good guide to what suits the conditions.

The Royal Horticultural Society have a plant selector on their website that allows you to put in your soil and light conditions, flowering season you want, colour etc, then gives you a list of plants that suit those conditions. You may already have a link to one of these, but this is the RHS one if you want to have a look. Plant Selector (http://www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantselector/default.aspx)
Thank you for the link! It will provide me with many happy hours of planning until I can actually get outside and do it!