Gardens vegetable, flower or other?

[Foofoogal]

http://www.kraftbrands.com/homefarming/Pages/default.aspx

found this nice link today and thought of this thread. Maybe for motivation.

 

[rumblefish]

The snow is receding, the spinach planted late last year is poking through, and the horseradish crowns are just begging to get yanked. Soon the early crop seeds go in.

 

[Missy Hellfire]

Summer is coming in the Northern Hemisphere and for many of us our thoughts turn towards the garden. I enjoy vegetable gardening and try and give as much of my garden as possible over to it although I am limited by what I am allowed to do as our property is rented. My partner and I used to have an allotment (a fantastic wartime remnant in the UK where a piece of ground may be rented off the local authority for a small annual rent) but we unfortunately had to relinquish it when we moved house.

When cultivating the vegetable bed my thoughts often turn to the British home front of the 1940s and I think that anyone that had a lawn during that time of rationing must have been crazy! I also love flowers, particularly roses and sweet peas and have just invested in a small greenhouse (plastic unfortunately) and am harbouring grand plans of cucumbers and I often feel more 'vintage' when gardening than in any other place.

Are there any other keen gardeners in the Lounge? If so, what do you like to grow and do you tend towards the vintage in your gardens as well as in your homes? Vegetable gardneners out there, what do you do to preserve your harvests and keep them over the winter?

And also, I find that there is nothing lovelier than sitting in the garden on a sunny afternon with a pot of tea. Pure bliss

P.S To the lovely Mods, I apologise if this is in the wrong forum or is a repeat of an earlier thread, I searched to find a gardening thread and drew a blank so took the plunge!

 

[jamespowers]

Summer is coming in the Northern Hemisphere and for many of us our thoughts turn towards the garden. I enjoy vegetable gardening and try and give as much of my garden as possible over to it although I am limited by what I am allowed to do as our property is rented. My partner and I used to have an allotment (a fantastic wartime remnant in the UK where a piece of ground may be rented off the local authority for a small annual rent) but we unfortunately had to relinquish it when we moved house.

When cultivating the vegetable bed my thoughts often turn to the British home front of the 1940s and I think that anyone that had a lawn during that time of rationing must have been crazy! I also love flowers, particularly roses and sweet peas and have just invested in a small greenhouse (plastic unfortunately) and am harbouring grand plans of cucumbers and I often feel more 'vintage' when gardening than in any other place.

Are there any other keen gardeners in the Lounge? If so, what do you like to grow and do you tend towards the vintage in your gardens as well as in your homes? Vegetable gardneners out there, what do you do to preserve your harvests and keep them over the winter?

And also, I find that there is nothing lovelier than sitting in the garden on a sunny afternon with a pot of tea. Pure bliss

P.S To the lovely Mods, I apologise if this is in the wrong forum or is a repeat of an earlier thread, I searched to find a gardening thread and drew a blank so took the plunge!

You express many sentiments that I have concerning gardening. I stopped counting the number of rose bushes after I got to 60. I also have several fruit trees and a summer garden every year.
I just tilled it last weekend. Now I will let it sit and settle for a week or so before putting in the tomatoes, beans, garlic, chives etc.
I have mentioned several times that I can be found sitting under my orange tree on a nice warm day in summer taking it all in and scaring off squirrels.

 

[Missy Hellfire]

Ooh an orange tree, bliss! (and the thing of dreams for me!) Where I live most gardens have an apple, a pear, a cherry or a plum tree but sadly the one that was in our garden is long gone although next door's apple tree has the courtesy to overhang into our garden which gave us a beautiful crop of cooking apples last autumn. We are still having early morning frosts so I am a bit reluctant to start plantig out yet, but I have onions (white, brown and spring(scallions), garlic, beetroot, broad (fava) beans, runner beans, peas, lettuce, courgette (zucchini), tomatoes, strawberries, assorted herbs and cucumbers all starting off and hopefully ready to go soon. I am trying not to get too far ahead of myself though as the British summertime is a fickle beast that play havoc with crops, so I may have a glut that requires pickling, bottling or even making into chutney or I may have enough for one good salad! Fingers crossed!

 

[jamespowers]

Ooh an orange tree, bliss! (and the thing of dreams for me!) Where I live most gardens have an apple, a pear, a cherry or a plum tree but sadly the one that was in our garden is long gone although next door's apple tree has the courtesy to overhang into our garden which gave us a beautiful crop of cooking apples last autumn. We are still having early morning frosts so I am a bit reluctant to start planting out yet, but I have onions (white, brown and spring(scallions), garlic, beetroot, broad (fava) beans, runner beans, peas, lettuce, courgette (zucchini), tomatoes, strawberries, assorted herbs and cucumbers all starting off and hopefully ready to go soon. I am trying not to get too far ahead of myself though as the British summertime is a fickle beast that play havoc with crops, so I may have a glut that requires pickling, bottling or even making into chutney or I may have enough for one good salad! Fingers crossed!

I have three orange trees, two grapefruit, two tangerines, one apple, one Asian Pear, a four variety peach/nectarine, Pineapple guava, lemon, walnut, blood orange, two Damsons and a small lime that I planted a few years ago. Quite a few trees I guess.
You have quite an assortment of things to plant there. I let the strawberries take over their small area. They grow fairly well.

 

[rue]

^ you forgot the grapefruit


I can't plant anything yet, but last year there were tomatoes, corn, lettuce, carrots and pole beans (all of it heirloom varieties).
This year I'm hoping to have a few different kinds of tomatoes and maybe some fruit trees planted.
I love gardening and I completely know what you mean about sitting out there enjoying an ice cold glass of ice tea after a hard days work in the dirt

 

[jamespowers]

^ you forgot the grapefruit


I can't plant anything yet, but last year there were tomatoes, corn, lettuce, carrots and pole beans (all of it heirloom varieties).
This year I'm hoping to have a few different kinds of tomatoes and maybe some fruit trees planted.
I love gardening and I completely know what you mean about sitting out there enjoying an ice cold glass of ice tea after a hard days work in the dirt

I mentioned the grapefruit. I don't want to have to mention that nasty stuff twice.
You mean Long Island Ice Tea.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

So funny, I was thinking about starting a garden thread today!

I have my flowers growing on the porch at the moment, and will put them out once the weather warms up. They just started to sprout the other day!

 

[jamespowers]

So funny, I was thinking about starting a garden thread today!

I have my flowers growing on the porch at the moment, and will put them out once the weather warms up. They just started to sprout the other day!

The season is beginning all over again. Time to start thinking about what to plant in the coming months.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I'll stick with flowers lol Lots of colorful flowers. Brightens up that dark alley!

 

[jamespowers]

I'll stick with flowers lol Lots of colorful flowers. Brightens up that dark alley!

No corn, beans and sunflowers?

 

[Yeps]

I am not a huge fan of growing flowers, but vegetables and herbs? Absolutely, although I managed to kill all my potted herbs this year, hopefully life will be better over the summer. At some point, I would like to grow carnations, solely for their sartorial merit. That would probably be it as far as flowers go.

We grow tomatoes, cucumbers for pickling, peppers of all shapes and sizes and various other vegetables at home, and have a intermittently fruitful fig tree. Once I grew corn... in the postage stamp backyard of my little suburban townhouse. I grew a four foot square patch of popcorn. It was fun, but an utter waste of time and space.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Not since I left the farm, now it's just stuff to cheer the place up.

No corn, beans and sunflowers?

 

[Geiamama]

Summer is coming in the Northern Hemisphere and for many of us our thoughts turn towards the garden. I enjoy vegetable gardening and try and give as much of my garden as possible over to it although I am limited by what I am allowed to do as our property is rented. My partner and I used to have an allotment (a fantastic wartime remnant in the UK where a piece of ground may be rented off the local authority for a small annual rent) but we unfortunately had to relinquish it when we moved house.

When cultivating the vegetable bed my thoughts often turn to the British home front of the 1940s and I think that anyone that had a lawn during that time of rationing must have been crazy! I also love flowers, particularly roses and sweet peas and have just invested in a small greenhouse (plastic unfortunately) and am harbouring grand plans of cucumbers and I often feel more 'vintage' when gardening than in any other place.

Are there any other keen gardeners in the Lounge? If so, what do you like to grow and do you tend towards the vintage in your gardens as well as in your homes? Vegetable gardneners out there, what do you do to preserve your harvests and keep them over the winter?

And also, I find that there is nothing lovelier than sitting in the garden on a sunny afternon with a pot of tea. Pure bliss

P.S To the lovely Mods, I apologise if this is in the wrong forum or is a repeat of an earlier thread, I searched to find a gardening thread and drew a blank so took the plunge!

It's the 1940's homefront that inspires me when I'm in my garden too. So much so I've started reading 'Your Garden in War-Time' by C.H.Middleton. It's so inspiring, perfect for evenings in my deckchair with a glass of home-brewed beer!
So far this year, in our back garden, we have broad beans, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, beetroot for pickling, bell peppers, broccolli, carrots, parsnips and potatoes. It's jam-packed!!! Sadly I've had to turf over the veggie patch in the front garden, I'm selling the house, but at least the roses are the centre of attention again.
We have allotments down the road from us and I would just love to have one, but the waiting list is so long, you could swear it's some sort of mystical secret society!

 

[Lokar]

Summer is coming in the Northern Hemisphere and for many of us our thoughts turn towards the garden. I enjoy vegetable gardening and try and give as much of my garden as possible over to it although I am limited by what I am allowed to do as our property is rented. My partner and I used to have an allotment (a fantastic wartime remnant in the UK where a piece of ground may be rented off the local authority for a small annual rent) but we unfortunately had to relinquish it when we moved house.

When cultivating the vegetable bed my thoughts often turn to the British home front of the 1940s and I think that anyone that had a lawn during that time of rationing must have been crazy! I also love flowers, particularly roses and sweet peas and have just invested in a small greenhouse (plastic unfortunately) and am harbouring grand plans of cucumbers and I often feel more 'vintage' when gardening than in any other place.

Are there any other keen gardeners in the Lounge? If so, what do you like to grow and do you tend towards the vintage in your gardens as well as in your homes? Vegetable gardneners out there, what do you do to preserve your harvests and keep them over the winter?

And also, I find that there is nothing lovelier than sitting in the garden on a sunny afternon with a pot of tea. Pure bliss

P.S To the lovely Mods, I apologise if this is in the wrong forum or is a repeat of an earlier thread, I searched to find a gardening thread and drew a blank so took the plunge!

I'm an ex-Wiltshire lad, I grew up gardening and doiing a little farming.

My wife & I have one of those plastic greenhouses - works well enough for us (all we grow in it are tomatoes & peppers).

In our garden, we've got a little herb patch (with some flowers in as well), a cherry tree, a big flower bed (with sweet peas at the back, climbing up, shielding off the patio), and then a raised vegetable patch (with carrots, parsley & swiss chard & lettuce).

We also have an allotment, and there we're growing potato, beetroot, courgettes, onions, parsnips & runner beans.

I love gardening - it's a productive way to exercise (much better than going to the gym - you're actually doing something!), and getting fresh veg is wonderful.


We're very lucky for Sweden - we're renting our flat but have a proper garden. It's tiny (the main patch is maybe 8x8 yards, and the herb patch is about 3x2)

When we move back to the UK (in about 4 years) we'll be doing a lot more, that's for sure!

 

[Missy Hellfire]

James - All that beautiful citrus fruit, what an absolute delight! It is too wild and wooly where I am in the UK to even dream of growing citrus without a glasshouse. Geiamama - I shall have a look at that book, it looks brilliant! I know what you mean about allotments, the only reason that we got a plot was that they had some that were overgrown and hideous and we agreed to clear it. The plots around by us that are well cultivated and good to go have a ridiculously long waiting list, I often wonder which demon you have to make a sacrifice to in order to get one!

It sounds like people have some lovely crops going on. What do people do at the end of the growing season, do you make preserves or process the produce for use over the winter or do you give the fresh crop away to friends and family?

 

[Lokar]

We have an outdoor pantry (again, what luxury for a tiny flat!), and store most of the stuff in there. It gets cold enough in Sweden that they'll all be eaten up before they go bad. If we have a slight excess I sometimes compost things (except for the carrots, of course) as I find that helps with making a great compost.

It's such a shock in Sweden as a Brit - at our local allotment area there are 22 allotments, and only 7 are in use. I suppose it's because they were not in the war and didn't have the same urgent need - so it's not in their blood, as such. It's still so sad to see all these allotments just overgrown with grass, though.

 

[Geiamama]

I shall have a look at that book, it looks brilliant! I know what you mean about allotments, the only reason that we got a plot was that they had some that were overgrown and hideous and we agreed to clear it. The plots around by us that are well cultivated and good to go have a ridiculously long waiting list, I often wonder which demon you have to make a sacrifice to in order to get one!

:rofl: no wonder they're so secretive over their little sheds!

It sounds like people have some lovely crops going on. What do people do at the end of the growing season, do you make preserves or process the produce for use over the winter or do you give the fresh crop away to friends and family?

I tend to a lot of trading. The surplus, particularly tomatoes, gets swapped with my friends Mitzi for cherries and Sharon for plums and greengages. My great-grandfather is a prolific grower and I get an awful lot of veg from him but since he has so much already, I trade the kids as slave labour in his garden lol and I preserve all his food for him either in pots, pickles, jams or ready-made meals he can freeze. Which is also what I tend to do with ours, not that we get a huge harvest with three little mouths 'helping' me!

 

[Missy Hellfire]

Lokar - 7 out of 22 allotments being used? Crikey! I've heard of places here with 20 year waiting lists! I think that mad-keen allotmenteering seems to be a peculiarly British thing, perhaps as you say because of the impact of rationing on the British psyche, even 70 years later. Loungers over the Pond, is there anything like the allotment scheme in the USA (where a plot of growing land can be cheaply rented from the local authority), or do you have to always use your own ground for growing?

Geiamama - I've never had a big enough crop to trade, but I try to preserve what I can. I made ketchup last year which worked beautifully and actually tasted of tomatoes!