Gardening...better late than never!

[Dragggon]

The cabbage pictured was a bit over 16 lbs and made a wonderful coleslaw for a potluck over 40 ppl ate on it and it was not bitter

Path we have several garden from small 2 feet by 8 feet to the largest at about 20 by 40. They are all over the yard each with its own crops so it is easy to rember and rotate the next year.

[shadow]

and then our medicinals
mullien
heal all
nightshade
fox glove
plantain
and many culinary foods are medicinal too

Would you mind sharing what these plants are good for? I just planted some beautiful foxglove and my hubby told me he knew they were medicinal but couldn't remember what for!

[shadow]

Those of you who are gardeners, what have you planted this year?

I absolutely LOVE gardening!!! I could talk about it all day!

Here's the edible stuff I've planted/am still planting/back from last year (at least what I can remember anyways - I badly need to update my gardening journal!):

tomatoes
all colors of bell peppers
habanero peppers
sugar snap peas
spinach
romaine
herb salad blend
green onion
garlic
chives
strawberries
blueberries

herbs:
oregano
thyme (many varieties all over the place)
lavender
rosemary
lots of different mints
spearmint

I also planted some:
calendula
echinacea
I need to learn how I can use these.

I'm sure there's more I forgot. This is our first year in this house so things are still working themselves out in the garden obviously.

[rawpriestess]

As far as growing the almond trees, all I did was berm an area in my yard, and plant the three almond trees, we planted strawberries all around them


We don't fertilize, or do anything to them, they are in full sun, and we water the strawberries frequently, so they get water, but that is it,

the three trees were 2 years old bare root when I planted them, they said it would take another 2 years before we got any fruit, we had 65 almonds the first year,so aboout 20 per tree, now we get buckets of almonds, they are delicious, and we have hazelnuts too, but mostly the critters get them for some reason

[rawpriestess]

mullein is used for toothache, tonsilitis and coughs

heal all is used for scrapes and cramps

nightshade is used to helps calm the heart

fox glove is used for heart failure, it is digitoxin and digitalis which are extracted from fox glove

plantain is used for sore throats (gargle with it), and a poultice for bee stings and scrapes

[rawpriestess]

Path

Dragggon puts crystals under all of his plants, no fertilizer or pesticides, they grow like crazy, we have never fertilized our gardens,

we have 16 gardens, 2 10 by 40 food strawberry gardens,
1 15 by 40 foot squash garden
1 16 by 16 foot greens garden
1 3 by 5 foot garlic garden
1 5 by 50 foot onion garden
1 5 by 5 foot onion garden
1 3 by 5 foot pepper garden
1 5 by 20 foot herb garden
1 5 by 10 foot herb garden
1 5 by 20 foot herb garden
1 5 by 30 foot kiwi garden
1 5 by 30 foot raspberry garden
1 5 by 20 foot tomatoe garden
1 grape arbor
1 2 by 15 foot herb garden

PLUS all the flowers and trees and rhodies and dahlias and iris' and and and

[shadow]

mullein is used for toothache, tonsilitis and coughs

heal all is used for scrapes and cramps

nightshade is used to helps calm the heart

fox glove is used for heart failure, it is digitoxin and digitalis which are extracted from fox glove

plantain is used for sore throats (gargle with it), and a poultice for bee stings and scrapes

thank you kindly. I must learn more about how I can extract and use these wonderful plants I have around my little slice of land.

[sionkali]

What are some good things to grow if you're somewhat of a novice and don't have a large amount of space (I'll only have a second floor balcony, so containers will be my main method of gardening). I'd love to grow cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, because I eat them all the time!! And maybe some lettuces and herbs.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks!!
Jen :)

[RawTruth]

I also have an avocado pit sprouting but obviously this will give me fruit when I get to move or something! lol!!!

Sorry to tell you that this will not bear fruit without a graft.

What are some good things to grow if you're somewhat of a novice and don't have a large amount of space (I'll only have a second floor balcony, so containers will be my main method of gardening).

A great way to garden in a small space is the Square Foot method. It will yield TONS of fruits/veggies in a teensy space. The guy has a book and had a PBS series and is now helping hungry communities around the world grow their own. It's ecologically minded as it doesn't use much water and you don't waste seeds/life by sowing a bunch, then thinning out the "extras". There's virtually no weeding and very little effort. You can read about it here --

http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

Oh, and you can make the boxes yourself; you don't need to buy them from the site. I even got the book from the library, so you can keep it really low cost, if you wish.

Happy harvest -- down the road a bit!

[shadow]

What are some good things to grow if you're somewhat of a novice and don't have a large amount of space (I'll only have a second floor balcony, so containers will be my main method of gardening). I'd love to grow cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, because I eat them all the time!! And maybe some lettuces and herbs.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks!!
Jen :)

I suggest starting with just some herbs until you get the hang of it. Don't do too much all at once or it can become overwhelming. Slow and steady.

[sionkali]

A great way to garden in a small space is the Square Foot method. It will yield TONS of fruits/veggies in a teensy space. The guy has a book and had a PBS series and is now helping hungry communities around the world grow their own. It's ecologically minded as it doesn't use much water and you don't waste seeds/life by sowing a bunch, then thinning out the "extras". There's virtually no weeding and very little effort. You can read about it here --

http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

Oh, and you can make the boxes yourself; you don't need to buy them from the site. I even got the book from the library, so you can keep it really low cost, if you wish.

Happy harvest -- down the road a bit!

This is such a great idea!! Thanks so much RawTruth - your suggestion helped so very much!! :)

I did have another question for everyone - I've been looking for good compost in the stores (I plan on starting to compost once I move and get settled), but I can't seem to find any. Are there specific brands I should be searching out? I definitely want to stay as organic as possible; should I be looking at a lawn and garden supply center? Could I ask at one of the Farmer's markets in my area?

Sorry for all the questions!! I just want my little plant babies to have the best chances possible this year!!

Thanks so much everyone!!

Jen :)

[CaptainSwab]

Sorry to tell you that this will not bear fruit without a graft.



A great way to garden in a small space is the Square Foot method. It will yield TONS of fruits/veggies in a teensy space. The guy has a book and had a PBS series and is now helping hungry communities around the world grow their own. It's ecologically minded as it doesn't use much water and you don't waste seeds/life by sowing a bunch, then thinning out the "extras". There's virtually no weeding and very little effort. You can read about it here --

http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

Oh, and you can make the boxes yourself; you don't need to buy them from the site. I even got the book from the library, so you can keep it really low cost, if you wish.

Happy harvest -- down the road a bit!

Do you use this method of gardening? I like the look and sound of it. We just moved onto a 1/2 acre with very clay like soil but feel overwhelmed because of all the space we have. Building a box like this will give me some purpose. What is the purpose behind the grid?