crazietalk.net

I have two 16' X 8' garden plots for 256 square feet of garden plus a 8' X 1' spot where I grow cucumbers up a trellis. I grew some plants from seed in peat pots, direct sowed some seeds into the ground and bought some starter plants (Bonnie Plants) at Lowe's. Here is what I have:

6 tomato plants (bought at Lowe's)
3 pepper plants (bought at Lowe's)
2 zucchini plants (bought at Lowe's)
1 yellow crooked neck squash (bought at Lowe's)
1 lemon grass (Asian herb) plant (bought at Lowe's)

8 Kobacha squash plants (grown from seed in peat pots and transplanted)
7 bittermelon (Asian vegetable) plants (grown from seed in peat pots and transplanted) - these will grow up a trellis in the end of one of my 16' X 8' plots
15 Asian egg plants (grown from seed in peat pots) - I've transplanted three, given away several and intend to transplant a couple more and give some more away
6 Asian long beans (green beans that grow 18 inches to two feet long) plants (grown from seed in peat pots and transplanted)

40 okra seeds direct sowed into the ground (about 15 or 16 have already germinated and popped up)
20 straight eight cucumbers direct sowed into the ground (about 10 have already germinated and popped up) - thinning will be necessary
15 or so bok choy plants direct sowed into the ground

I have 5 Upo (bottle gourd) plants still in peat pots. I need to dig up more ground and build a third trellis. I also have eight more long bean seeds I just put into a peat pot tray.

I really enjoy growing plants and "working" in the garden. Pictures will be posted when appropriate.

And I have lettuce and spinach growing in containers.

My zucchini plants died last year from too much rain. It was pretty surprising to see here in San Antonio, TX.

Here is a photo of my kabocha squash plants with some bok choy to the left.

Bob, your garden sounds wonderful. I can just imagine the wonderful dinners Flora puts on the table.

Usually I buy lots of plants and grow them in containers, but I am scaling back this year due to the renovation at the church keeping me busy. Regardless of not buying much, I have LOTS growing. Why? Volunteers! (Not the kind from Tennessee.)

So besides the tomato plants I bought, I will have a few varieties of peppers and other tomatoes growing, will be interesting to see which kinds since I don't have a clue.

A suggestion for the penny pinchers. When buying plants, look for ones that have multiple plants growing in one container. As long as they are aren't too big, they are easy to separate and plant as singles. They will look depressed for a day or so, but they bounce back really well. Think of it is a three for the price of one sale. (I have 6 nice sized tomato plants growing, I only paid for two.)

YmoBeThere wrote:My zucchini plants died last year from too much rain. It was pretty surprising to see here in San Antonio, TX.

My zucchini and squash always get infested with stalk devouring bugs. The eggs are laid by some kind of moth, and they are evil bastards. I am not even trying this year.

My okra and cucumber seedlings are looking good. Once they get a little size to them, I'll post a photo. This afternoon I am going to build another trellis for the Asian long beans to grow up.

This is my container garden. I use a trash can and gutter to collect rain water for dry spells. It is dispensed with a valve and tubing that feeds each of the pots. The end of each tube is sealed off, and I have holes drilled in them to disperse the water in each container.

Jon has a raised bed garden in our back yard. He has planted zucchini, yellow squash, red peppers, green peppers, onions, eggplant, basil, sage, tomatoes and cucumbers. Today I am making cute little garden stakes to identify all of the plants. It's actually a pinterest project that's come to life!

Those of you who do FB can see some of his garden pics on his FB page.

A picked a nice golden zucchini today. There are four more growing which will be ready in a couple days. My yellow crooked neck squash plant has a couple of squash growing as well.

I also picked and ate some cherry tomatoes this afternoon.

This is a picture of Jon's garden. We have zucchini, squash, cucumbers and basil that we are eating. The tomatoes should be ready to pick next week. The eggplant and peppers are going to take a little longer before we can harvest them. Jon also has mint, oregano, sage and cherry tomatoes growing in pots on the deck.

Cathy, please tell Jon I said his garden looks great! Here is a shot of my okra, which is starting to grow nicely with the arrival of warm weather:

I just finished eating a tomato sandwich for an after work snack. Stir fry chicken with zucchini and tomatoes last night for dinner with leftovers at lunch today. Having a garden in the backyard is wonderful.

My long beans are starting to grow nicely:

I have three tomato plants on my deck, mint, thyme and basal. I have five tomato plants up here. I do t miss the 1/2 acre garden. We we're too tidy down. I would rather be up here. Next year we will probably have raised plants.

Has anyone heard of a keyhole garden?

YmoBeThere wrote:Has anyone heard of a keyhole garden?

I guess the answer to that is no.

YmoBeThere wrote:

YmoBeThere wrote:Has anyone heard of a keyhole garden?

I guess the answer to that is no.

Not m, so I googled and found keyston garden wall. Nice.

YmoBeThere wrote:Has anyone heard of a keyhole garden?

I'd never heard of one, but I just googled it. We have our compost bin out beside the garden, and we'll work the compost in to our soil after the growing season is over.

However, if Jon had seen this keyhole garden concept, I'm certain that he would have attempted to incorporate the compost right into the garden.

We are overrun with cucumbers. Would anyone like some?

CathyCA wrote:

YmoBeThere wrote:Has anyone heard of a keyhole garden?

I'd never heard of one, but I just googled it. We have our compost bin out beside the garden, and we'll work the compost in to our soil after the growing season is over.

However, if Jon had seen this keyhole garden concept, I'm certain that he would have attempted to incorporate the compost right into the garden.

We are overrun with cucumbers. Would anyone like some?

Yes, please. Can you ship them my way?