Gardening Anyone?

[math ace]

I am in WET Florida... Usually SUNNY and DRY, but I've seen over 4" of rain in the last 3 days and it is still raining LOL!

I have Tomatoes, Jalepenos, Yellow Bell Peppers, green beans and zucchini going.

I am expecting the feed stores to get sweet potato starters in soon, but I wouldn't know since I am avoiding the stores with the Corona Virus issues

 

[Jersey Girl]

I just called my favorite garden center and they are open! I guess here in NJ it’s one of the only things our governor didn’t shut down thankfully! Going to go tomorrow and get some early veggies! Gardening is a huge passion of mine, both veggies and flowers.

 

[IrishLass]

Of course we can't purchase any plants here as the governor has closed nurseries and the home improvement stores aren't allowed to sell them either. Think she forgot that plants are food for many especially those struggling financially during this virus and not working.

Wow....no kidding? That makes absolutely no sense to me? The ability to grow your own food is pretty essential in times of crisis, especially with this one because if you grow your own, you don't have to go to the store as often. Win win. You would think that above all else that it would be encouraged, not stymied or curtailed, or that they'd at least find a way to make such things available without anyone's safety being compromised.

Thankfully, nothing as weirdly illogical is going on where I live, especially with our weather being perfect for everyone to grow their own 'victory garden' if they have the desire and space. It's sunny/blue skies and 70's and 80'sF here now- absolutely perfect conditions for an abundant garden to grow. My local Lowes and Home Depot are open and selling plants and seeds just as they normally do all year round (but with safe social distancing protocols intact), and the smaller, stand-alone garden center down the street is open, albeit with curbside/pickup service only (you order online or by phone and them go pick it up curbside.....just as with our local restaurants).


IrishLass

 

[Ladka]

I collected seeds from paprikas bought in a store, put them in small containers with soil and they sprouted wonderfully. Those I'd obtained this way two years ago bore fruits comparable to the original one.
About five years ago I took seeds from a cherry tomato to grow it the next year, and every year thereafter. It bore fruits identical to the original one until last year when one of the two plants my daughter grew gave identical fruits and the other changed colour from originally red to orange. Not bad

 

[Savonette]

We've been really lucky with mild weather in the Houston area. And my happy/sad news is I was able to get my hands on an avocado tree before they sold out for the season! I go out on my work-from-home breaks and admire it. It's the little things, ain't it!

 

[PieBorg]

We've been living in this home for a little over a year, and I've finally gotten around to building a couple of garden beds with an arbor between them for grapes and other vines. The strawberries and asparagus are already going great guns, but everything else is off to a slow start. Some things have not even sprouted yet, but when I looked today, the vine peaches have come up and something else that I failed to mark but which I think is either bushel gourds, cukes, or melons. Someone stepped on my tiny little spearmint plant, but he managed to survive. The spearmint is hanging in there too, lol!

 

[Relle]

Flowering Kalanchoe, great inspiration for soap colours.

 

[PieBorg]

Flowering Kalanchoe, great inspiration for soap colours.

Holy cow! I can't believe that actually happens in nature! Gorgeous!

 

[math ace]

Someone stepped on my tiny little spearmint plant, but he managed to survive. The spearmint is hanging in there too, lol!

You can't kill the mint family!
I suggest you plant them outside of your garden bed or they will take over!

 

[PieBorg]

You can't kill the mint family!
I suggest you plant them outside of your garden bed or they will take over!

Actually, that's the plan, taking over, I mean. They're not in the garden bed with the veggies. We have very poor, compacted soil, mostly clay and rocks, so as you might imagine, it doesn't drain very well. If the mint lives up to its reputation as a garden thug, maybe it'll help improve the soil, or at least slow some of the rainwater runoff. It's planted where there's really nothing it can hurt, just a bunch of rocks. Since we moved in, we've been trying to get something to grow, but there's still a lot of bare ground, so if I end up with mint everywhere, I'll transplant some of it as a ground cover.

 

[Relle]

Holy cow! I can't believe that actually happens in nature! Gorgeous!

Natures very clever, I don't think we appreciate it enough or even know what's out there.

 

[KDP]

Flowering Kalanchoe, great inspiration for soap colours.View attachment 45293

Absolutely stunning!

 

[bookreader451]

I have read that romaine lettuce will sprout if you put the bottom cut in water - I don’t know for sure as I have never tried
Hope this helps

Romaine and celery will both grow if you plant the bottoms. Last year I had so much celery I was giving it away to anyone that walked by the house!

I am hoping they open the garden centers. I need my annuals!

 

[Ladka]

I am hoping they open the garden centers. I need my annuals!

I was glad our government left garden centres open from the very beginning and later even added florists. I thanked God for their wisdom.
So I was able to buy soil to replant my tomato, paprika, lettuce, woad, coreopsis, cosmos, decorative flax, and sunflower seedlings in time.

 

[Relle]

These Jacarandahs (Jackverandha's ) are usually out nov/dec just before Christmas. If you park on the top car park of the shopping centre here and look out you see dots of purple and Red (flame trees) all over in people's gardens. The Photo of these ones are on the north coast of NSW, they have a festival. Have been there when they are out, the scent is gorgeous. Just makes you feel good looking at them. Would love to match that purple shade for a lavender soap.

 

[IrishLass]

Oh, I love Jacarandas! That pic is beautiful! There are lots of them around where I live. My sis has one in her yard that she named Jack. lol There is a park nearby us that we go walking in which has a good handful of them, and it's like walking through a fantasy land on a purple carpet in the spring.


IrishLass

 

[soapmaker]

Yes- that's what I have. I actually have two threads in the Off Topic section where I show off my Tower Garden through it's growing seasons and talk about it:

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/i-finally-have-room-for-a-veggie-garden.60997/
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/my-2018-19-veggie-garden.71619/
I really love it and am amazed at the amount of produce I'm able to harvest off of it. I always have enough for our family of 3 plus extra to give away. I normally set it up in late August/early September and keep it running all the way through June. I take it down in June because we always go away for vacation in June and I have no one reliable that lives close enough nearby us to be able come over every day to care for it. It gets so hot in the summer months here (110F/43.3C to 120F/49C) that it really needs daily care to keep the reservoir topped up, fed and pH balanced to keep the plants from getting too stressed out. I guess you could say that my summer is other folks' winter when it comes to growing a garden. lol


IrishLass

I almost forgot to come back and thank you for this. The 65 year old mind doesn't work like it used to. I won't be doing it but it's very interesting!

 

[Nona'sFarm]

So far it has been working for me. I keep my leftover seeds sealed in my refrigerator.


IrishLass

That's what I do and it works great for me. We planted arugala seeds about a month ago that were purchased 4 years ago, which means they were really 5 years old. We planted thickly, thinking that most wouldn't germinate. Wrong! So many came up that we have tons to cut as micro-greens.

 

[soapmaker]

I've never tried arugala. This is head lettuce.

 

[Marsi]

it is winter here

it is cool and sunny when the wind isnt blowing up from Antarctica
outside i am preparing garden beds for spring
the soil is damp and easy to work

i am lucky