Gardens vegetable, flower or other?

[Josephine]

Not much has been happening in my garden, it's not been consistently warm, but I did notice that I have teeny tiny green beans forming. Oh, and the peas are up.

 

[rachw182]

This is such a great idea! I wouldn't be surprised to see an increase in the number of gardens, especially with the rising food prices.
People are truly going back to the basics; this is a really good thing.

 

[Miss 1929]

I've got greenery

coming up in the front garden!
My flower seeds are all at the tiny tender plant stage. And now, they are rationing water here, and I have to cut my consumption by 19%...
So it's midnight watering for me.

 

[retrogirl1941]

coming up in the front garden!
My flower seeds are all at the tiny tender plant stage. And now, they are rationing water here, and I have to cut my consumption by 19%...
So it's midnight watering for me.

Be careful when you water at night that may cause mildew to form(at least here in Florida). I would imagine it might be close to the same effect where you are regardless of climate.Just a guess. I found out yesterday that to tie up tomato plants use old stockings or panty hose, as they don't cut into the plant like string will.

Samantha

 

[BeBopBaby]

Be careful when you water at night that may cause mildew to form(at least here in Florida). I would imagine it might be close to the same effect where you are regardless of climate.Just a guess. I found out yesterday that to tie up tomato plants use old stockings or panty hose, as they don't cut into the plant like string will.

Samantha

Here's another thing to consider - I used to water my plants at night and it caused a slug problem. They ate up all of my plants because I was making the ground nice and slippery and wet for them to slide around on at night. It made for an optimum slug environment. When I stopped watering at night, my problem decreased dramatically.

 

[John in Covina]

Slugs?

The old slug remedy was Geese! Geese supposedly love to eat slugs and snails.

 

[cassylynn]

YES.

Can anyone suggest best veggies for canning? Also, best methods for keeping critters out of the garden? (And least expensive.)[/QUOTE

Canning...my favorite thing to do although I'm deathly afraid of Pressure Canners so I do it the old way Hot Bath Canning. I also do some freezing too. Here's a list...

Hot Bath Canning: Green Beans, Pickled Red Beets, Dill Pickles, Peaches, Pears, Chicken Broth w/ meat, Stewed Tomatoes, Sour Cherries, Peach Pie Filling & Homemade Grape Juice...YUM

Freezing: Peas, Lima Beans, Applesauce, Corn (off the cob & creamed). Then you have your herbs - Rosemary, Thyme, Mint, Parsley that freeze very well. Just snip off fresh herbs, take leaves off the stem, wash well, pat dry and place in freezer containers. Simple and you have fresh herbs in the winter.

One canning book you may want to look for either at a flea market or Walmart carries a new edition of The Ball Blue Book. The new edition has canning, freezing, jellies, jams etc. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in starting to can/freeze.

It does help if your new to canning/freezing to find someone who knows the process. I was lucky to be taught by my grandmother & mother but then again I come from a German Baptist/Mennonite background so it's second nature.

Just remember if your canning peaches or pears that you let them ripen before canning but don't let them sit to long you don't want them getting to soft to the point that they might start to ferment.

Right now I have potatoes and lettuce growing. I didn't get my peas in on time so I'm waiting till fall. Green Beans are going to be planted in a few weeks.

Sorry for the ranting.....

 

[cassylynn]

The old slug remedy was Geese! Geese supposedly love to eat slugs and snails.

Our remedy for slugs....salt. It might sound cruel, I don't have the heart to do this so I leave it for my husband. Just pour salt on the slugs. Salt will quickly dehydrate them, its not instant but its really quick. If I have to do it, I pour salt on them and walk away

 

[Caroline]

Our remedy for slugs....salt. It might sound cruel, I don't have the heart to do this so I leave it for my husband. Just pour salt on the slugs. Salt will quickly dehydrate them, its not instant but its really quick. If I have to do it, I pour salt on them and walk away

I also hear that flat beer works too, if you set it out overnite. My kids have taken pity on the slugs so now they're a protected pest in our garden

Harvested the last of the baby bok choi last nite

I think I can keep the blossoms hydroponic for at least week

 

[rumblefish]

Harvested the last of the baby bok choi last nite

Nice! Stir fry?

All my spinach will come out tomorrow, and now I'm inundated with escarole.

 

[Miss Crisplock]

Oh dear. When I was a kid, we would take the salt shakers out at dusk and kill slugs. I was shocked when I learned that not everyone knew the joy of slugs. When I started gardening, I found that a pie plate dug into the garden and filled with beer did the trick.

I now live in a slug free environment.

 

[Joie DeVive]

Today I picked up a few herbs. I got some thyme, lemon thyme, garlic chives and some basil (since my sprouts aren't growing fast enough for my tastes). I was severely tempted by the lemon balm, but didn't know how to use it, so I passed. Yea herbs! :eusa_clap

 

[BeBopBaby]

Lemon balm makes a nice tea. Or you can add it to tea that is already brewed for a nice lemon flavor. I did a quick search to see what else is can used for and found this:

Harvest and Use: Lemon balm has many uses. As a cosmetic, it makes a good skin cleanser. Steamy facials are recommended for acne. Dry leaves are used in potpourri. It is reputed to repel insects and can be blended with other insect repelling herbs such as lavender, lemongrass, and rue. Rub down the kitchen table with the herbs to keep bugs from food and throw some in the campfire or barbeque pit to keep bugs away. Beekeepers have rubbed it on the inside of the hives to encourage a new swarm to stay.

Lemon balm makes both delicious beverage and medicinal teas. It is also nice added to black tea. Fresh leaves can be chopped and added to green salads, fruits salads, marinated vegetables, poultry stuffing, and fish marinades and sauces. It goes well with broccoli, asparagus, lamb, fish, and shellfish. Combine it with other lemon herbs such as lemon thyme, lemon basil, and lemon verbena and add to vinegar. It is one of the ingredients in Benedictine and Chartreuse liqueurs.

Medicinally lemon balm is used in tea for fevers, to help digestion, and for tension headache. The essential oil is used in aromatherapy for depression, melancholy, and nervous tension. Externally in salve, it has been effective in relieving symptoms of herpes simplex, sores, and painful swellings. A compress is good for gout. A most exciting development is that this very common plant is being investigated along with common sage as herbs with memory-improving properties.

 

[MaryDeluxe]

Canning...my favorite thing to do although I'm deathly afraid of Pressure Canners so I do it the old way Hot Bath Canning. I also do some freezing too. Here's a list...

My Mom use to do canning when I was a kid. All I remember about it was it made the kitchen HOT! I would love to learn to do canning..... putting the ball jars into boiling water and the lids going "pop"! lol Well that's kinda how I remember it anyway! [huh]

 

[Caroline]

Nice! Stir fry?

All my spinach will come out tomorrow, and now I'm inundated with escarole.

Yes, the rare stir fry. I think I over-stir fried my husband years ago so now it's strictly a garden oriented event. It's funny, The bok choi really wasn't bitter at all, like they say spinach and stuff gets, when it bolts.

 

[Joie DeVive]

Lemon balm makes a nice tea. Or you can add it to tea that is already brewed for a nice lemon flavor. I did a quick search to see what else is can used for and found this:

Wow! That information is really cool!! Thanks!! Too bad I didn't know it when I was standing in front of the herb display! :eusa_doh: lol
Next time I'm at the nursery, I may not be able to resist!

 

[BeBopBaby]

Wow! That information is really cool!! Thanks!! Too bad I didn't know it when I was standing in front of the herb display! :eusa_doh: lol
Next time I'm at the nursery, I may not be able to resist!

I'm not sure, but I think lemon balm may grow like mint does. You may want to keep it in a planter so it doesn't take over your garden like mint would. Does anyone know?

I bet it is delicious used in a marinade for fish or veggies.

 

[leaette]

Here is my garden. It gets full sun all day so everything grows wonderfully! It's about 20 feet long and 4 feet wide. We have tomatos, cucumbers, lots of peppers of different heat levels (my hubby loves HOT peppers), squash, mint, basil, cilantro, rosemary.

This is our first year with herbs. I've used the cilantro in a tomato/mozerella salad and it was divine!

 

[MaryDeluxe]

Here is my garden. It gets full sun all day so everything grows wonderfully! It's about 20 feet long and 4 feet wide. We have tomatos, cucumbers, lots of peppers of different heat levels (my hubby loves HOT peppers), squash, mint, basil, cilantro, rosemary.

This is our first year with herbs. I've used the cilantro in a tomato/mozerella salad and it was divine!

What a cute little garden....it just goes to show, you don't need a lot of room to grow some veggies!

 

[leaette]

thanks I love my garden.
When we lived in our apt, we used big pots and had a cool container garden. the tomatos did "OK". they got root bound towards the end of summer and didn't produce as much fruit as a garden planted one, but, we got tomatos from it all summer anyway.
so you don't need a lot of space.