Gardens vegetable, flower or other?

[JennyLou]

I am always willing to encourage rose gardening. It is a hobby that I truly enjoy. It is a lot of work but if you really like it, it is not work at all---considering the pay off.

I think when my first rose blooms I'll feel that all the hard work was worth it.

 

[jamespowers]

I think when my first rose blooms I'll feel that all the hard work was worth it.

Just about every cane ends in a flower so you won't have long to wait.
Cheers:

Condesa de Sastago (1932)

 

[rumblefish]

I forgot about Double Delight. :eusa_doh: I used to have that in the garden at the old house.

Beautiful! :eusa_clap I'd want this one right out a window.

 

[MissQueenie]

More on topic, I planted six tomato plants this year and was left one on the porch by a local realtor---so that makes it seven. Hillbilly Potato Leaf, Pruden's Purple, Black Krim, Mortgage Lifter and the others I can't remember now. :eusa_doh: The one that was left on the porch was tagless so it is anyone's guess. The Damson is really doing well this year. However, even my two year old has told me that the birds are likely going to get more than we do. :eusa_doh:

We planted our tomato from Antonio and Alexia (the ballroom dancing realtors of local fame), and are nicknaming it "tango" -- it's probably "early girl" or "better boy" since they're the most common at nurseries. Good luck with yours...ours is struggling in all this wind! Recent wind here in SL pulled up two of my cornstalks!

 

[MissQueenie]

Canning the spoils of your Victory Garden

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

Just a firm word of caution: DO NOT USE VINTAGE CANNING MANUALS. The science of food preservation has changed a lot in the last 50 years, and the techniques and recipes detailed in older canning guides can actually make you very sick. Sometimes, vintage isn't always better!

My favorite source for up-to-date canning information is a great book called "Stocking Up" -- I have the third edition, and it's usually stocked at major bookstores like Borders or Barnes and Noble. It also covers producing your own dairy products like cheeses, yogurt, and butter, and covers various preservation techniques other than canning. Some awesome things about the book:

It lists the best varieties of vegetables for drying, canning, long term storage, etc.

It provides current information on handling and preserving your food safely according to current government standards.

It has step-by-step, often illustrated, instructions for various methods of preservation.

It contains a vast number of delicious recipes.

Vegetables and any low-acid food should always be pressure canned, not canned in a boiling water bath (as you would for strawberry jam or similar). This requires that you use a pressure canner, or find a local community canning center that has equipment for you to share.

I'd be more than happy to list out a few veggie and fruit varieties for canning suggested by "Stocking Up" if you let me know what sorts of things you're interested in growing and what finished products you're planning to can (catsup, tomato sauce, whole tomatoes, etc)!

 

[jamespowers]

We planted our tomato from Antonio and Alexia (the ballroom dancing realtors of local fame), and are nicknaming it "tango" -- it's probably "early girl" or "better boy" since they're the most common at nurseries. Good luck with yours...ours is struggling in all this wind! Recent wind here in SL pulled up two of my cornstalks!

I didn't know I had a new FL neighbor! Great! :eusa_clap I am over in The Broadmoor. You'll have to drop by some time.
I got mine from the other pair around here---not the realtors in motion.
Harry and Louise. Mine is likely early girl as well. I planted the darned thing really deep because of its puny size.
It is indeed windy! I just love raking up all the leaves from my neighbor's trees. Wind is good for the tomatoes though. It pollinates them.
I'll have to check with my friend who grows corn on the other side of town this evening to see if he has had problems so far.

 

[jamespowers]

Beautiful! :eusa_clap I'd want this one right out a window.

it would likely grow that high if trained correctly. It has a decent scent as well.

 

[rumblefish]

I must have taken a bushel of spinach out of the garden already, and I pick out all of the overwintered turnips.
The lettuce from seed didn't do so hot, so I bought plants.
I just put two new pear trees in my back yard. One Bartlett and one Atlantic Queen.
The Moorepark apricot is loaded with fruit. Let's see if they hang on, this will be the first year...
The blueberry bushes are covered in flowers, more than usual.
Raspberry canes are totally leafed out.
And if it ever stops raining here I'll put the 'maters and the rest in...

 

[Coralee]

Up-to Date?

Just a firm word of caution: DO NOT USE VINTAGE CANNING MANUALS. The science of food preservation has changed a lot in the last 50 years, and the techniques and recipes detailed in older canning guides can actually make you very sick. Sometimes, vintage isn't always better!

My favorite source for up-to-date canning information is a great book called "Stocking Up" -- I have the third edition, and it's usually stocked at major bookstores like Borders or Barnes and Noble. It also covers producing your own dairy products like cheeses, yogurt, and butter, and covers various preservation techniques other than canning.

On Amazon.com the third edition has a copyright of 1986. Would you really considered the most up-to-date/best book to follow for preserving food?

I'm getting ready to plant my first veggie garden and would like some other opinions.

 

[jamespowers]

I must have taken a bushel of spinach out of the garden already, and I pick out all of the overwintered turnips.
The lettuce from seed didn't do so hot, so I bought plants.
I just put two new pear trees in my back yard. One Bartlett and one Atlantic Queen.
The Moorepark apricot is loaded with fruit. Let's see if they hang on, this will be the first year...
The blueberry bushes are covered in flowers, more than usual.
Raspberry canes are totally leafed out.
And if it ever stops raining here I'll put the 'maters and the rest in...

Moorpark are great Apricot---depending on your local weather. They do very well out here.
I used to have a bartlett but it kicked off a while back. They have a definite lifespan. After about 50 years it reached its end. :eusa_doh:
I tried Blueberry out here but it didn't last through the summer. That is where I planted the Peach Party---five variety tree. I prefer that anyway.
The tomatoes are doing fairly well out here. They are growing well and good weather helps.
Send me some spinach.

 

[Viola]

Blueberries don't like California heat, but here in the Mid-Atlantic they're easy-peasy. And so wonderful, in season. I adore my mother's blueberry bushes, which are very light on care, and the one cold-weather plant I'll really miss when I move to a hotter climate next year.

EDIT: I guess lilacs and peonies too. But blueberries the most.

 

[rumblefish]

Moorpark are great Apricot

What do you know of them being self fertile?
About half the nurseries on-line say Moorpark are self fertile and the rest say they need a pollinizer.:fing28: The conflicting info can be pretty aggravating. :rage: Long Island climate and being five feet from white solid fence on it's north side has made it pretty happy it's first year. Since we didn't have any late frost predicted, I didn't bother tossing a blanket over it on cold nights after petal-fall.

How does the Peach Party work out for you? Does it need much branch supporting/separating? I was considering a peach, a plum or a cherry version...

Blueberries don't like California heat, but here in the Mid-Atlantic they're easy-peasy. And so wonderful, in season. I adore my mother's blueberry bushes, which are very light on care, and the one cold-weather plant I'll really miss when I move to a hotter climate next year.

EDIT: I guess lilacs and peonies too. But blueberries the most.

Can you get by without netting the blueberry bushes?
If we don't net we don't get,,, blueberries. We have cat birds waiting in trees with napkins tied around their necks:essen: . As soon as the berries start to blush,,, goodbye blueberries...

 

[Viola]

We get blueberries without netting. Not a tremendous amount and I think the birds get some, but they're minature hybrid shrubs anyway, not the big high-producers. We have birds but there's enough feeders in the neighborhood that they're not that zealous about the blueberries.

 

[Lincsong]

What do you know of them being self fertile?
About half the nurseries on-line say Moorpark are self fertile and the rest say they need a pollinizer.:fing28: The conflicting info can be pretty aggravating. :rage: Long Island climate and being five feet from white solid fence on it's north side has made it pretty happy it's first year. Since we didn't have any late frost predicted, I didn't bother tossing a blanket over it on cold nights after petal-fall.

How does the Peach Party work out for you? Does it need much branch supporting/separating? I was considering a peach, a plum or a cherry version...


Can you get by without netting the blueberry bushes?
If we don't net we don't get,,, blueberries. We have cat birds waiting in trees with napkins tied around their necks:essen: . As soon as the berries start to blush,,, goodbye blueberries...

Organic fertilzer?

 

[jamespowers]

What do you know of them being self fertile?
About half the nurseries on-line say Moorpark are self fertile and the rest say they need a pollinizer. The conflicting info can be pretty aggravating. Long Island climate and being five feet from white solid fence on it's north side has made it pretty happy it's first year. Since we didn't have any late frost predicted, I didn't bother tossing a blanket over it on cold nights after petal-fall.

How does the Peach Party work out for you? Does it need much branch supporting/separating? I was considering a peach, a plum or a cherry version...

The Moorpark my grandfather had was self polinating as was the one I had. Perhaps there are two varieties? I don't think so though. Have you had any fruit yet? You know about the natural hair brush method of pollinating by hand? Of course, you could threaten the tree like I did my damson last year---"Bear a decent amount of fruit this year or I am cutting you down!" Works like a charm. I got twice as much this year.
I have no idea about covering anything. Out here we cover nothing because of the weather. One year I had a portion of one orange tree burnt by the frost but it recovered in spring and you can't tell a bit now. [huh]
Peach Party worked great for what it cost. One of the varieities kicked off but that still left four. I had the typical peach leaf curl but copper spray took care of that and most of the damaged leaves were either removed by me or fell off naturally. Looks good now. Fruit set this year, the second year. The snails loved it so remember the snail pellets or Cory's in my case because the dog loves pellets. :eusa_doh:
I'll see what the quality of the fruit will be like but in general it appears good so far. Pruning was something I had a little trepidation about. I don't want to cut out a variety by accident. :eusa_doh: However, it has not been that bad so far as the grafted branches are color coded.

Can you get by without netting the blueberry bushes?
If we don't net we don't get,,, blueberries. We have cat birds waiting in trees with napkins tied around their necks:essen: . As soon as the berries start to blush,,, goodbye blueberries...

Kind of the same comment my son made about the Damson tree fruit.

 

[PADDY]

Garden pics (Spring 09)

Took this photo in the last week. Things are coming to life now in the garden! When I first moved here it was like a Jungle Warfare School with parts of it being impenetrable due to rose bushes allowed to go rampant (they were like trees!) and would rip you to shreds. It's just got to the point of where I want it now.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Here's my garden in late summer either last year or the year before....I can't recall which. The garden is pretty low maintenance. Each year on Good Friday, we till it and throw a few more packs of wildflower seeds into it. Whatever comes up is good.

AF

 

[scotrace]

That looks really inviting. It's a great photograph also.

It reminds me of the late Lady Bird Johnson's life work in planting wildflowers.

 

[rumblefish]

Organic fertilzer?

Nothing but. Home made compost (a commercial kitchen buckets their vegetable waste and eggshells for me,,, lucky ) and Espoma.

The Moorpark my grandfather had was self polinating as was the one I had. Perhaps there are two varieties? I don't think so though. Have you had any fruit yet? You know about the natural hair brush method of pollinating by hand? Of course, you could threaten the tree like I did my damson last year---"Bear a decent amount of fruit this year or I am cutting you down!" Works like a charm. I got twice as much this year.

No fruit yet on the apricot, but I pulled off a dozen or so that set this year. I moved it last month (my neighbor mentioned he was putting a Bradford Pear somewhere too close for my liking :eusa_doh: ) and it is still kind of young. I bought it as a two year bare-root and this will be it's second summer here, so I figured they wouldn't hang on anyway. I since talked my neighbor out of that pear tree , but I'm not putting the apricot back.

I'll try the threats next year,,, when it better understands me.

 

[jamespowers]

Nothing but. Home made compost (a commercial kitchen buckets their vegetable waste and eggshells for me,,, lucky ) and Espoma.




No fruit yet on the apricot, but I pulled off a dozen or so that set this year. I moved it last month (my neighbor mentioned he was putting a Bradford Pear somewhere too close for my liking ) and it is still kind of young. I bought it as a two year bare-root and this will be it's second summer here, so I figured they wouldn't hang on anyway. I since talked my neighbor out of that pear tree , but I'm not putting the apricot back.

I'll try the threats next year,,, when it better understands me.

Did I hear a refusal of free pears in there somewhere? Actually a Bradford Pear is a true pest. Try to keep that the heck away from your property. It suckers like crazy, it becomes less and less stable as it gets older---splitting trunks and falling branches, not to mention the shallow root system that would likely choke off your apricot. As long as the dang thing is about an acre away from your tree then that would be fine.
Your Moorpark is only four years old then? I see your fruiting problem then---it is just too young. Apricots are tip and spur bearing trees so pruning the ends (tipping the over long branches) back will stiffen the branch and induce a bit of fruiting. The spurs only bear fruit for about three years so spur renewal is essential. How is your tree trained? Central leader, Open center? Your tree should begin fruiting in the fifth year and beyond if it has not been pruned excessively. Any pictures of this baby? I have apricot envy as I only have peaches and nectarines now.
Never underestimate the power of threatening. The other less fruitful tree got threatened this year and now has fruit--albeit not as much as I would like but it has fruit. Perhaps I was not specific enough.