FINALLY A BOYCOTT WE CAN SINK OUR TEETH INTO: PLANT A VICTORY GARDEN

[Jeffersons Ghost]

It is not sarcastic when I tell you we will all need one by fall, no matter who wins in November because food will continue to skyrocket along with fuel. Let's face it, those of you with younger families to support can't work another job, especially if you've already taken extra work. If they keep messing with interest rates some of us will get other rude awakenings.

That's all depressing though and Victory Gardens are fun! Spring has sprung. It's time to plant!

After you grow your own tomatoes, you'll never eat pretty red grocery store cardboard again. It's not only the pride you'll feel as you and Mother Nature conspire to screw a few mega corps out of profits; it's the flavor. Fresh, ripe and chock full of vitamins, nothing says boycott like a bushel of sweet yellow corn.


Even when I've lived in apartments I was able to grow a few things in the past, if I had a small deck and you can too!

Let's start tasting the sweetness of Victory before November!

[roguevalley]

1. consider it done. RV, contemplating my favorite thing.

[BattyDem]

3. Is that your dog?

I love that picture! :hi:

[roguevalley]

46. that's my little Tippy. :) I adore his perfect soul.

[BattyDem]

66. So that's Tippy on his tippy-toes!

;-)

He's adorable! :loveya:

[Mabus]

76. I like your dog too

My shih tzu has a different opinion. His first housemates were two dachshunds and they used to torment him. They wouldn't let him on the couch, eat, drink and they used to knock him over a lot. My brother finally took pity on him and brought him to me. He's eight now (I've had him for six years) but he still freezes in his tracks whenever he sees a dachshund. Mind you, my shih tzu is usually a fearless little fellow. He bosses my 70 pound German Shepherd around with ease but shakes when he sees a dachshund.

on edit: the dachshunds were my mom's dogs. She loved those little guys.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

6. what's your favorite? I love tomatoes because in Bama they grow gigantic

They have a tangy sharp flavor perfect with pasta sauces,
after I can bunches of them for winter months.
Fresh picked corn blows even one day old corn away,
when it come to flavor. If tomatoes accidental go bad,
kids love to throw them at crooks or village idiots.

[roguevalley]

45. tomatoes, carrots out of the ground, corn, raspberries. SIGH! COME

ON, SUMMER!

[DuaneBidoux]

56. From what I understand the cucumbers could be handy in Bama now too,

[napi21]

2. I've always done that. The problem comes when your crop is done.

You still have to rely on your grocery store.

I know you can can tomatos, pickle cukes, and freeze beans, but if you want salad tomatos and lettuce when your crop is done, you have no choice that I know of.

[izzie]

11. I grew up with these gardens.

I can recall lots of little gardens around town and I grew up in Maine where rocks grow best. I also went to a girls all summer camp and it was a job we also had to do, weed. This was in the 40's. I still raise tomatoes for my self. Some times in pots. We still have some road side stands around and the Christian Brothers still make great bread and sell apples. I still do all those things.

[Gormy Cuss]

65. "rocks grow best"

Spoken like a true Mainer. I'm younger than you and the backyard gardening had gone out of fashion by that time but we lived for the farmer's market season. In my school I was probably the only kid who ate Swiss chard and beet greens.

I live in North CA and the climate here is great for gardening. We don't have any rocks in our soil larger than a quarter. I kept expecting to find them every time we dug a new bed, but they aren't any. We do have our own peculiar limitations like the purest clay soil that I've ever encountered.

It really feels great to harvest your own fresh food but it's sad to think that it may become necessary to have Victory Gardens again.

[izzie]

78. How come the rocks grew up in the middle of a road through the tar?

Yet I have trouble with my tomatoes in the back yard? I used to drive on a road that painted one rock every year bright red which seemed to me a nice way to handle a problem with out spending much money one it. 10 years and the rock just got bigger and they still painted it. I grew up right on the coast with all that wind and my mother used to say. See the green beans already have salt right in them.

[rucky]

25. It's the process, not the produce.

something empowering about growing a "victory" garden.

[druidity33]

28. depending on

your hardiness zone, you can set up a cold-frame and eat fresh lettuce all winter... potatoes and carrots winter well in the ground, trya sun-dried tomato dressing with your winter greens. Living Bio-Regionally can be difficult... people are not accustomed to making sacrifices when it comes to convenient food. Why should i eat homegrown Kale when i really want store bought brocolli? What do you mean i don't eat fresh fruit in the winter? By affecting our personal patterns of consumption we can grow closer to our community and the landscape it inhabits. Thinking globally is fine... but DOING LOCALLY is more important.

kindda rambly... sorry.

My victory seeds are planted....

[Jeffersons Ghost]

35. It's a "rambling" Opening Post and a "rambling" fun thread. Don't be sorry

We should never be sorry when our hearts grow wings and we find a little light in a dark pessimistic world.

By the way, in our Army of Nature, you just earned the rank of Airman First Class and here's your medal. Your Aircrew! Fly high and prosper!

[Contrary1]

39. I had home grown tomatoes through January one year.

At the end of the growing season, save back as many medium to large green ones that you can.
Small ones are ok, but don't do as well. Wrap each tomato individually in newspaper, and put them
in a brown paper bag. Store bag in a cool dry area. They will continue to ripen. You will need to
check on their progress every few days.

Granted, these aren't as good as tomatoes straight from the garden on a summer day, but they
still taste better than the the store bought ones in winter.

[AnneD]

84. Of course, here in Texas..

we fry everything, but nothing is better than fried green tomatoes or cucumber (learned that from a Missouri pal). I have grown just about everything and I like your idea. If you live in a small apartment, try making a trip to the local farmers market. Farmers rent stalls and it is great for them. We have some local African American farmers (a rarity) that are renowned for their sweet watermelons (red and yellow) and corn. You know it is summer when their flat bed trucks stacked sky high with watermelons arrive. And you haven't lived until you have had cold sweet Pecos cantaloupe and cream gravy for breakfast-with a side of ripe tomatoes of course. Your money gets more local circulation when you support your local farmers and this increase in fuel is hurting them so badly. (I feel compelled to state that I come from a family of farmers and I do have an interest in family farms...like their survival).

[adigal]

69. Can you grow lettuce, spinach, swiss chard in a cool sun room??

I have an east facing sun room with heat, but the heat never goes on, so the room is sunny and warm during the winter days, but about 40 to 45 degrees at night. Can I plant lettuce, spinach and swiss chard in containers in this room?
Thanks for any info!!

[politicat]

77. Yes, if you like baby lettuces.

I did this last winter, and it worked great (this winter, I accidentally killed the bed. Oops.)

I used a starting flat (it's 20 inches x 30 inches) and put it in my breakfast nook (which faces east and south). I had 2 of them going at the same time, and oversowed as I cropped back a section. I cut baby leaves when they were about 4 inches tall, and put down pearled fertilizer in the soil. I usually had enough greens for 4 salads a week for 2 people. A third flat would have let us have a salad every day. Sometimes I had to let the lettuce recover a bit more than others - weather influenced that a lot.

It's really hard to do organically, though. Indoor beds don't have access to the minerals that outdoor beds do, and the soil depletes pretty quickly when you're doing something as intensive as baby greens. The pearled fertilizer I use is a mixture of fish meal, bone meal, blood meal and potash, so it's not entirely organic, but it's not a petroleum-based fertilizer, either.

I know chard grows nicely as a houseplant. I was thinking of trying a flat of spinach this year, I killed the beds and didn't replant (no time.)

[adigal]

80. Thanks for the info - I'm going to try it!!

[DemInDistress]

4. not going to happen..better idea is to stop buying gasoline

from the Bush Crime Cartel and fill-er up at Hugo's Citgo gas stations whenever possible.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

7. you got that right!

I've done two "BUY CITGO" threads at DU. Bushco hates Citgo. I say "Viva Revolution!" to bushco!

[formercia]

23. Every tomato and cuke

trucked from the West Coast to the East consumes fuel. Even if you don't grow your own, support your local Farmer's Market.

[DemInDistress]

48. will do but please tell those truckers that ship across country

to FILL UP AT CITGO and screw the bush crime cartel..

[K8-EEE]

51. Great Point! Local Produce Is Less Wasteful

...and better for the environment.

[grasswire]

5. here's what I would like to know

I'd like a list of the the plants that will return the best amount of cash crop per square foot. In other words, if I have a 3x15 foot raised bed, what do I plant to bring the highest yield of the most expensive and nutritious produce?

Right now I have a spring crop coming up that includes broccoli rabe (3.95 per pound in the store), swiss chard (1.95), spinach (99 cents per bunch), sugar peas (edible pod, 2.50 per pound), several kinds of radishes (69 cents per bunch), purple carrots. The radishes probably weren't worth the space. Nor perhaps was the spinach.

So I figure I should plant things that cost the most money per pound and have a high yield.

Any ideas out there? What would you plant in a 3x15 foot bed?

[sandnsea]

8. Stuff I like to eat

lol.

I'm going to do a garden this year, first time in years. I'm planning things that produce alot on minimum space. Like, forget corn, although I love fresh corn. Off the top of my head, tomatoes, leaf lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, green beans. I'm going to try a watermelon mound or two, just for fun. And put in a separate strawberry patch. That's what we all like to eat so everybody will have a vested interest in taking care of the garden. That's my 2, for whatever it's worth, probably a half a cent. :)

[Jeffersons Ghost]

9. down south squash and tomatoes will pump all summer if you water it well

field peas and purple hull peas are long term strong producers here. Where you are and how well you furtilize and care for the crops matters a great deal.

Oh yeah, one other thing Dad always said a .50 plant in a $5 hole does better than a $5 plant in a fifty cent hole.

[Zookeeper]

15. It depends, also, on what grows best in your climate.

Greens should do well on the West Coast. The Midwest is good for short-season tomatoes, green beans, corn and squash, but our spring turns into a hot summer so fast that I've given up on greens and broccoli.

Maybe think about planting some greens that are expensive in the stores, like arugula, endive and a variety of lettuces.

You can also plant radishes, which grow quickly, alternated with a slower growing above ground crop. The radishes are pulled about the time the other crop needs more space.

[roguevalley]

72. alaska grows really big veggies. the potatoes grow so fast they

can be hollow inside. :) only drawback is a late starting time. :(

[DLnyc]

16. Don't really know, but I think spices might pay off.

Thyme, mint, basil, chives are, I think, relatively easy to grow. I don't have much experience with gardening, but I'm planning a 'spice box' in my kitchen window for this summer (not too much acrerage in my city apartment).

[klook]

21. Maters! Or pot.

But tomatoes are less likely to get you put in the pokey.

Especially if you like heirloom tomatoes, you can save a lot of money by growing your own.

In a limited space, go vertical. Stay away from stuff like canteloupes or watermelons, since they need to spread out. You can get several tomato plants in that space (but leave a few feet between them so they can spread out a little and have some ventilation). Grow indeterminate varieties (not bush), and they'll climb. Put each plant in a cage and they'll have good aupport. Remember, they need lots of sun (5 or 6 hours a day or more).


You can make cages like this yourself from galvanized fencing available at any hardware store. (Get some tin snips and heavy duty gloves before working with this stuff.) They can be reused year after year.

[Retrograde]

61. 'maters IN a pot!

Since I have a small city lot, I do a lot of gardening in containers. Cherry tomatoes, lettuce, peppers have all done well for me, as have dwarf cucumbers. I also use tomato ladders from Gardener's Supply to hold up cukes, tomatoes and beans. I intend to try them with canteloup this summer, if the sun ever comes out.

ETA: herbs are also great for growing in pots, as are alpine strawberries.

[rucky]

24. Heirloom Tomatoes!

www.motherearthnews.com - use the search tool

[Mugu]

82. The pink Brandywine heirlooms are wonderful.

If you have never tried pink tomatoes, do yourself a favor and experiment with just one. The main problem is that most people over-ripen them waiting for them to turn red.

[rucky]

87. I eat Brandywines like apples.

a friend of mine who's an organic farmer is experimenting with about 20 different heirloom varieties this season. gawd I can't wait to "help out".

[lumpy]

68. Green beans yield heavily, beet a good bet.

A couple of tomato plants is enough for a family of 5. Chard, peas are good for freezing.

[Mabus]

75. In the past, when I've had small spaces

I've planted both corn and sunflowers first. After they've sprouted I plant pole beans around the bases. The pole beans climb the corn and sunflowers. It saves space and looks pretty cool too. After the beans have sprouted and are beginning their spiral around the stalk plants I usually plant something like squash (or another spreading plant). The squash (usually yellow and zuchinni) help cover the surrounding ground area so that it cuts down on weeding, helps keep moisture in the ground and it's pretty good to eat. I also like to plant a little garlic here and there because I use a lot of it and it helps deter some pests.

I don't worry so much about what something costs at the store as much as I am worried about planting foods I will eat. For instance, although lettuce can be fairly cheap we use a lot of it. If I can grow most of what we consume I'm saving those nickel and dimes. It adds up.

If you're looking for high priced items to plant, think spices. They can be pretty pricey. You can grow most spices fairly easily and they are easier to store.

[ThoughtCriminal]

10. Water rationing is coming here this summer

I can have one, but I will probably not be allowed to water it. Not expecting much rain either until late July/August.

I've thought about keeping a bucket in the shower to catch some waste, but I don't think will go very far.

[anitar1]

13. Try drip irrigation. Easy to install, relatively inexpensive

and really conserves water. Don't for get the cold crops after your summer garden is over. Lots of good things that go into cold weather.

[Retrograde]

57. and "grey" water

when we had water rationing, I saved (and still do, sometimes) the water that I would run to heat up the shower and use that for plants, along with the water used to wash veggies - a little more dirt doesn't' mean much to the plants! Also, water early in the day, and use mulches to conserve moisture. Watering deeply and infrequently is better than shallow and often.

I've used water from cleaning on ornamentals, and haven't managed to kill the crabgrass or bamboo yet :-)

[northofdenali]

12. K&R - my greenhouse is being cleaned out this weekend.

It'll be a few weeks yet before the ground is warm enough (and unfrozen enough) to think about planting, but I can get the greenhouse started pretty quick.

My biggest problem with growing tomatoes is letting them get ripe. I am a fool for fried green tomatoes.

My indoor herb garden is still thriving, but will benefit from some outdoor time, too.

As will my kitties!

[McCamy Taylor]

14. Good idea. Esp in the south.

[Carla in Ca]

17. I believe victory gardens started in WW2

My mom learned from my grandfather, and I learned from both of them. It saves a lot of money and gardening is one of the best things you can do to relieve stress. Even if you don't have space to plant you can always grow cherry tomatoes in pots.

My tip is to not plant all at one time. Space it out so you use it all and to insure crops all year. Do the same with sunflowers.

I hope you can cross-post this in the gardening forum. There are a lot of knowledgeable people that can answer all your questions.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

34. the first graphic on the OP of the thread is from a WW2 Poster.

I had two choices at Google Images of vintage Victory Garden posters.

[Hidden Stillness]

53. Victory Gardens Helped Win the War

This reminds me--sometimes, people think that Victory Gardens were a "cute" World War II idea, that made people think they were contributing something toward the war effort, whether they were or not; but just to show you how great that New Deal generation was when they all worked and pulled together as a team: At the height of the Victory Garden effort, one-third of all the Nation's produce--ONE-THIRD--came from Victory Gardens, freeing other produce to be sent to the troops. It was a huge, monumental result, like all the "drives" for metal, rubber, etc., and it helped win the war.

[lumpy]

70. Food banks appreciate home grown

veggie donations.

[pnorman]

18. Give this a look-see:

http://www.earthbox.com/

pnorman

[Jeffersons Ghost]

47. that's neat!

[tsuki]

19. In NWFL, we get three crops a year. And canning is not that difficult.

[SpiralHawk]

20. Or support a local organic farmer: join a CSA

(Community Supported Agriculture).

There are a thousand good reasons to do so ...

An introduction:
http://www.chiron-communications.com/farms.html

[formercia]

22. Already have mine started.

I did the garden on the patio bit too when I worked in DC. Some laundry baskets with a perforated trash bag liner and top soil from the local garden center. Had all the veggies I could eat in season. Now I live on the edge of town with under an acre but almost every useful square foot of usable soil is planted with flowers or veggies. Don't forget to plant flowers that attract insect predators. I haven't had to use pesticides in over 5 years because of a resident population of predatory insects that keep my veggies clear of pests. Remember, pesticides kill good bugs as well as bad and many insects that pollinate crops are some of the most sensitive to even organically approved products.

[NEOhiodemocrat]

26. Don't forget fruits!

It does not take much room to put in a few blueberry or raspberry bushes or a grape vine if you have the room and it is unbelievable the amount of return. My son was buying blueberries at an unbelievable price a pint for his girls, now he put in two bush. They eat them fresh and freeze the rest for latter. I told my group, lets learn to eat with the seasons again. Strawberries are better in season and why pay big bucks when ours will be getting ripe before long? We are looking forward to our rubbarb now, it just broke ground.

[Vinca]

27. My seeds are purchased and I've got 2 large flats of lettuce and

spinach growing to put in the garden in the next week or so for really early (for New Hampshire) greens. We eat tons of veggies and I notice a huge savings in my food bill during the growing season. Gardening, even a few plants, is very satisfying. It nourishes the body and the soul. Having a Victory Garden is a great idea!

[lostnfound]

29. Think biodiversity: consider buying seeds from heirloom & organic sources

I'm not planting a garden this spring but I bought a bunch of seeds as a present for a friend who gardens -- seeds from an organic / heirloom source on the net. Variety is important - some say the monocrops are like an insect highway, so keeping heirlooms alive is doing a service to the future.

[Cheeps]

30. I've been growing

tomatoes for years simply because the ones in the store are so horrid. As someone above stated, once you taste a home grown tomato, you'll never eat another store one again! I started growing a few things not so much to save money, but because you just don't know what's sprayed on this stuff. With the corporate whore in the White House I don't even trust "organic" unless it's a local farm - I'm in Massachusetts. Growing veggies isn't as simply as throwing the seeds in the ground and then harvesting - I lost crops to blossom end rot, had low yields, etc., but with a little effort you learn from your mistakes and it soon becomes second nature. And I like that I can control what goes in the veggies and as a result, what we put in our bodies. I know what I grow is organic and has no pesticides. And while I don't can - I don't trust myself not to poison everyone!! - lots of things can be frozen. I make salsa from tomatoes and peppers and cilantro in the middle of winter that I grew the previous summer.

One recommendation I would make to the person who wants to effectively use his space - learn to rotate crops. You can plant things like mescaline (sp?) lettuce mixes, then harvest and then plant a later summer crop like tomatoes in the same spot. When that's done, then plant lettuce again for fall in the same space. And while I liked fresh peas, they took up a lot of room and I got what amounted to a small frozen bag of peas for all my efforts. The flat Italian-style green beans took up much less room and I got tons of beans - plenty to eat fresh and I froze a couple of bags too! If you research a little bit and alternate cool/warm weather crops, you can get quite a bit out of a small space.

Lisa

[lostnfound]

42. Hi! Welcome!

Good for you! That salsa sounds yummy.

Have you ever heard the Vandana Shiva talk about seeds -- about seedsaving, that it was a gift of women to their communities and to the future, and how awful it is that a large corporation like Monsanto is now interfering with that cycle through patenting seeds and 'suicide genes'?

I think the website is tucradio.org (TUC="time of useful consciousness"). Her talk was quite spellbinding, I thought.

[Lisa]

52. a plug here for Seed Savers Exchange ...

A grassroots organization that's been helping keep thousands of rare varieties from going extinct.

http://www.seedsavers.org/


The Canadian version is Seeds of Diversity ( http://www.seeds.ca )

[PurgedVoter]

31. I have crops year round.

Many plants can provide food for a long time. The best way to store food is by keeping healthy plants.
Here are a few that can be harvested over a long period,

Beet All Red
Beet Detroit Dark Red
Beet Golden
Broccoli Packman
Cabbage Dinosaur Kale Black Cabbage
*Carrot Cosmic Purple (eat the greens as well, but be careful, very high vitamin A in carrot greens)
Chinese Celery
Chives
Chives Garlic
Choy Sum
Cilantro
Garlic (The green growing plant is delicious)
Horseradish
Leek
Lemon Grass (Buy some nice stalks, leave them in a jar of water till they grow roots, plant them)
Lettuce Cos (Just pick mature leave and a plant can produce for months.)
*Magenta Spreen
Mangle
Marjoram
*Mexican Mint Marigolds
Mint
Nasturtiums
*Deviding Onions
Potato Onions
Okra
Oregano
*Pak Choy (Just pick mature leave and a plant can produce for months.)
Parsley
radish szechuan (For summer time)
Radish Black Spanish (Let a few mature to a bush and eat the tender seed pods.)
Radish Minowase Daikon (Let a few mature to a bush and eat the tender seed pods.)
Rosemary (Buy some fresh at the store, remove and use all but the top half inch of leaves. Plant. Water rarely)
Sage
Shallot
Sparkler Radish
*Swiss Chard (Just pick mature leave and a plant can produce for years.)
Thyme
Tomato
Typhon (Just pick mature leave and a plant can produce for months.)

*Must have!

Be sure to buy good seeds and get local advice on planting times.
This site has quality user reviews and ratings of seed and plant companies.
http://davesgarden.com/gwd/

[sinkingfeeling]

32. Will you come and roto-till my 3/4 acre, rocky yard? It took me

forever to turn over a 8' by 10' flower garden.

[NickB79]

54. Look into lasagna gardening

It should help get a garden growing faster than conventional tilling would.

[mom cat]

33. Absolutely! Its local, its organic, it builds community, it helps restore

earth's balance, its fun and its delicious. You can recycle and build compost. Where else can you have so much fun doing what is good for the earth. This year I am expanding my garden to the size that I will be able to grow all my food, except for the chocolate and coffee!

[loudestchick]

36. Spinach, lettuce, sugar snap peas, carrots and radishes are all in now.

Green and wax beans this weekend. Tomatoes, Zuchinni, peppers and eggplant when it warms a bit more. My 11yr old dughter is in charge of the herbs this year...she has two metal "drink tubs" full.

Gardening can be a political act!

[Carni]

37. Ok but what do I do about the ground hog in my yard?

I have wanted to plant a vegetable garden for years... but I have a big fat groundhog who has been present for the last 15 years that I have lived here (his relatives, or whatever, probably not the same one lol)

I have many trees, so the only place I can plant where there is enough sun, would be right by the fat one's lair...I know how much havoc the little so and so's can wreak on a garden but there would be no way that I could do away with that big guy, or gal.

Is there anyway to repel them without shooting them, or relocating them?

Anyone know? lol

[Jeffersons Ghost]

44. there is a wide variety of traps on the market, some don't harm animals

Just catch the critters and then release them into the yards of Republicans, preferably Senators and Congressmen. You better take care to release them far from your property because after they've lived in Neocon yards it changes them.

[Retrograde]

58. wanna swap for some moles, gophers and squirrels?

The bushy-tailed rats dig up all my potted tomatoes so they can bury their effing nuts there, the gophers got my entire garlic crop, and the moles have built an underground city and are now busy excavating a subway system with underground food court in my yard (that's the only thing that can explain all that digging). And the lazy, good for nothing cat just watches.

No, I don't know of any good organic solutions. Maybe a dog?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

64. I have natures varmint-trap too.

My mated pair of milksnakes have twelve to seventeen eggs a year, which I hatch and release into the big field joining my lot. One half grown milksnake can take out a momma rodent and her entire litter in no time. I've also released 8 half-grown bullsnakes for the really big pests. None of my slithering friends are venomous and they are quite colorful if I see them. Milksnakes spend a lot of time underground, cruising the food courts of your little pals.

[Mugu]

81. I had the same problem with squirrels,

in that they dug up the flowers that I planted out on the patio in the spring. At first I though that it was my doggie, but I caught the little beast (the squirrel not the dog) in the act. My dog gave me the same confused look when I was trying to apologize as he did when I hollered at him for digging up the plants.

Anyway, it finally dawned on me that the nutcracker wasn’t burying nuts, but was looking for the walnuts that it had buried last fall. Now, when the nuts start coming down I take the pots in. No more problem.

I don’t know how many dogs and cats it takes to get a squirrel, but I watched one squirrel make complete fools out of two dogs and three cats. The cats were in the tree and the dogs were under the tree. I thought that I might have to intervene on behalf of the rat, even if I didn’t want to. But after watching for a while it became obvious that the squirrel was just screwing with them and they had no chance. That squirrel would lure the cats out a branch and then run on the underside of the branch back to the trunk of the tree and then chirp at them. The squirrel finally got bored and jumped to the roof of the house and was gone.

As for the burrowing pests, I have several approaches depending on the situation. But they’re all punitive, none organic, and preclude repeat offenders.

[Carni]

83. LOL! I have the same deal with the squirrels

Little bastards buried their nuts in the potted herbs on my deck!
(But go figure I like them too lol-- I am a sap for fat rodents with cute faces)

Regarding the moles...I have HEARD (although I don't know that this works) that if you put juicy fruit gum in the holes to their lairs, that they don't like the taste of it and they'll seek other ground after encountering it...

You might want to google that and see if there is any other data on it.

I believe my neighbor did this years ago when we had a mole problem and the moles do seem to have vacated.

[wryter2000]

38. I always do that

It started with the fact that I wouldn't spend another cent on the crap that passes for tomatoes in the supermarket. Then, I branched out into summer squashes and green beans. Now, I also do peppers and cucumbers. Between my garden and the farmer's market where I work, the only veggies I buy at the store are potatoes and onions, and sometimes I get potatoes and onions at the farmer's market, too.

[DarkTirade]

40. A friend of mine has been doing this for a while

growing some of the basics like tomatos and a few fruits and veggies. Unfortunately, she just moved and had to leave some of it behind. But she intends to replant those same things she couldn't manage to bring to her new place in her parents' back yard, now that she lives closer to them and it's a short drive. :)

[Reader Rabbit]

41. I planted my first wave last weekend!

Only cold weather crops so far—lettuces, spinach, carrots, and bok choi—but I've got my toerh seeds all set for when it gets a bit warmer!

[Le Taz Hot]

43. I know I"m going to get kicked for this

but I actually live right here in the Central San Joaquin Valley. I walk to the Farmers Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays where I purchase organic produce picked that morning. :9

We have, however, been disgussing starting an asparagus garden as I could literally live on the stuff. And since my ornamental plum tree just fell over (saturated soil), we've decided to plant a mango tree in it's place. But, yes, I love your victory garden suggestion for those not fortunate enough to live in America's salad bowl. ;-)

[roguevalley]

74. we had wild asparagus growing in the orchards under the fruit trees

plant it under your trees. :)

[K8-EEE]

49. It's Our Family Project During Spring Break- SALSA GARDEN!

I've already got two tomatoes in, also doing spring onions, cilantro and jalepenos. SALSA GOES WITH EVERYTHING!

KICK on the garden idea. Get planting everyone!

[Lisa]

50. plant beets! Bush supposedly hates them ... (n/t)

[Sinti]

55. Heck Yes! Already there.

Couple of links for heirloom seeds and info on Lasanga gardening (very easy to do even for people with litlte space and time)

http://www.heirloomseeds.com/

http://ourgardengang.tripod.com/lasagna_gardening.htm

[w8liftinglady]

59. do you know much about gardening?

it's hard to get things to grow here in clay-dirt Texas...any suggestions?

[Retrograde]

62. pots. Or lots and lots of manure/compost

our "soil" on the San Francisco Peninsula is adobe - that clay that dries to a brick-like consistency. It can only be worked during the rainy season, when it's the consistency of heavy goop: that's when i work in 3-4" of compost and/or steer manure. I double-dig: it's a lot of work, but it really improves the soil over time. I also much heavily to keep moisture from escaping.

Otherwise, I grow a lot in containers. There are a lot of books available on container gardening these days - I like "Kitchen Gardening in Containers" by Anthony Atha. Warning: it's a British book, so you'll have to translate his climate to yours - "full sun" does not mean the same thing in England and Texas!

[w8liftinglady]

79. i never think to use pots.I'll get a couple of big pots this weekend.

I have some watermelon seedlings started...which dont do well in pots,but maybe carrots or lettuce?

[TygrBright]

63. Not easy here in adobe-dirt, bone-dry New Mexico either...

...but I am hoping that I can get decent results with sunken, drip-irrigated beds in the back, and self-watering planters/pots on the patio.

For those with a short growing season, there's several things you can do (beyond canning, which lots of people are scared of or genuinely lack the time/space/resources for.)

Hot Mater tip: Plant "Hundreds of Thousands" or "Sweet 100" or other cherry tomato variety, and the night before the first frost (listen to the weather reports!) yank a couple-three whole plants up BY THE ROOTS. Shake most of the loose dirt off, and then hang the whole thing upside down in a cool basement or unheated garage that doesn't freeze too hard. The maters will continue to ripen for several weeks. Cherry tomatoes can be used to make sauce, etc. without too much trouble. Pick 'em in a bowl, smoosh them slightly, and then simmer on very low heat for a couple of hours, then dump the result in a colander to get the skins and seeds out.

"Plant" some of your herbs in sunken containers, then lift the containers and bring them in and put them in a sunny window NOT NEAR a gas stove. Keep them just barely moist, they'll go on for weeks, too. Some of them all winter, even. Repot in spring and put 'em back out in the herb bed. Thyme works well for this, also oregano and chervil. Sage and rosemary may be a bit tougher since they want to make shrubs of themselves and generally resent interference, in my experience. But if you treat them as (more or less) annuals and get a new plant of each every spring, you can usually coddle them through.

Get some Mesclun Mix lettuce seeds and start an indoor window box. SE window is best, and put the box in a tray of pebbles or marbles and water, and NOT NEAR a heat register. They won't thrive if the air is too dry.

Unless you live where the ground freezes really hard really early, you can plant a midsummer crop of carrots (start them in July-August) and dig them out with a shovel clear up to Jan. or Feb. Likewise parsnips if you like them.

[Retrograde]

60. expect prices to go up, esp. for things from the Wet Coast

no, that's not a typo: California's had an unusually wet winter - my town had twice the normal rainfall as of March 31 and we still have another month of the rainy season to go. It's also been about 15 degrees colder than usual. The cold and wet combination is not good for commercial crops:
from California Farm Bureau "When temperatures warm up, there is concern about fungal diseases in orchards and vineyards...growers in the Yuba-Sutter area are concerned about possible root rot..."Growers are anxious to get in and plant, but the fields are just too wet right now," said. "The whole state is backed up and farmers are sitting around pulling their hair out."

My own winter garden bears that out: a lot of seeds I put in at the "normal" planting time just didn't do anything. The transplants have been shivering and not growing at all: there just hasn't been any sun to speak of in over a month.

And it's still raining. I'm an eternal optimist, though, and I do have tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and beans indoors waiting for normal weather to return.

[Gormy Cuss]

67. Yes, the wet winter shows in my garden too.

The peas never got established, the winter greens bolted,and the other winter crops are toddling along. My plum tree had a very weird bloom/leafing out cycle and the local farmers are saying the stone fruit crops may be meager this year. The Contra Costa county asparagus crop is shot.

Like you, I'm nursing seedlings indoors waiting for the #)$*) rain to stop.

[Mabus]

71. I hear you

My grandmother had a very large garden that she always referred to as her "victory garden". I was around 11 when she told me why she called it a "victory garden". She had vegetables growing all along the fence in her backyard. I spent a lot of summers helping her can and make preserves. We stored them in the "root cellar" which was what she called a room in the basement that was lined with shelves and the food she put up. It was a great room. You'd walk in and there were spices she'd hung up to dry and potatoes.

I've spent about four hours a day in the backyard this past week getting the ground ready for new plantings. I've had my strawberries out for a few years and they're back again and starting to really grow. My asparagus will be ready to eat this year (finally!). I've got some seeds planted in some flats and will transplant them as soon as they are ready. My husband loves the taste of fresh tomatoes and I'm trying to get him to see the joys of okra (breaded and fried).

My only problem, my neighbor. I don't use chemicals on my yard or on plants. My neighbor, after watching me most of the week crawling around the yard pulling up weeds, spading my garden and generally working my yard, decided to call Chem-Lawn so he could nuke his yard. He chided me for doing all that hard work when all he has to do is make a phone call. :cry:

I don't use chemicals because I worry about things like run-off and the effects of chemicals on the planet. Besides, we use our backyard. It isn't just for show. Besides us, there are our friends, our dogs, the neighborhood kids, the other neighbors (including a 6 month pregnant woman), at least two opossums, countless squirrels and the annoying cat that likes to shit in my garden. I'm not going to fuck up all of our health just for the sake of a picture perfect lawn.

The Chem-Lawn people are supposed to be here in less than a week. I hate my neighbor.

[Roon]

73. I'm planting one

spinach, lettuce, radishes, etc.

[Gloria]

85. My beans and chard are coming up, the little zucchini and

canteloupe are in, my tomato and pepper seedlings are taking off....just harvested my carrots and finished off the winter greens......Lots of grapes forming and my peaches are already an inch across...

I'm all set!

[roody]

86. I'm lazy, so

I planted many fava beans when I moved into my house with a BIG yard. Four years later, every winter/spring, favas grow all over my yard. Also many radish and arugula plants have gone to seed. Radishes grow all over. I pull them out like weeds. The flowers are beautiful. When I want to plant something else, I pull these plants out and the soil is soft and rich.