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It's time ~ the garden goes from hobby to necessity

32K views 548 replies 57 participants last post by  peanut 
#1 · (Edited)
Just returned home from my Dollar General coupon day (spend $25 - save $5...do it right, spend exactly $25 & it works out to 20% off everything you buy. That's all those $1 items now costing .80 cents)...My DG lets me do as many 'deals' as I want and I calculate them right to the penny of $25.... $25 worth of goodies for $20!!!

But this story is not about DG - so anyway, as I was driving home I noticed that gas has now gone up to $3.79 gal (that's 10 MORE cents since yesterday)....this is not good folks!

The weather is breaking and I have been staring at my garden plot in the backyard for the past few weeks, saying to the DH that I will once again plant a garden for us (Dh laughs hysterically at this comment every time. Where is the moral support here)...

Every year I plant. Some come up, most don't. The ones that make it above the dirt I somehow kill (by lack of water or weed takeover - I admit it...I kill them).

This year must be different. This year I can no longer call the plot my hobby that I can abandon at will when I grow tired of it. This year a garden is going to become a necessity everyone. Prices are going thru the roof and I see no end in sight.

You may say that not everything has gone up but let me tell you. I work in a grocery store. I watch items come in everyday that are now much larger packaging but have reduced contents inside and the prices are still the same. The manufacturers are playing with us consumers and your prices are very much going up on everything!

We need to do every tiny thing we can to keep as many of our dollars in our pockets as possible. A garden is one of the greatest ideas ever invented. It's very little outlay and a boatload of sweat equity. But the rewards can be stupendous!

I have a girlfriend who has a canner & the knowledge to use it so I made a deal with her the other day that if the garden has a bounty this year she comes with her supplies and shares the knowledge and I will share the bounty and we will can, can, can till we can can no more....
 
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#326 ·
Well a lot better garden this year, I am thinking. It is all fenced in. Rototilled several times so the dirt is easier to work with. That and all the chicken doo doo and sawdust from the coop is really helping the soil. Hubby finally got a lawn sweeper and is putting the grass clippings between the rows. Still working on weed control ideas. The far corner end where I wanted to put cukes is looking real good. A lot of baby plants from last year's cukes....they self seeded :) I still have to put the tomato plants in the ground, but that will happen this next week. Four rows of corn up already and yellow beans are planted. Two kinds of onions in. I want to put some pototoes in also. Have some sprouted ones in the bag leftovers from this winter. Who needs seed pototoes :) A few sunflowers and pumpkins and will call it good. I like a smaller more controlled garden :)
 
#327 ·
Started a garden journal today to keep track of things here. I didn't realize how much we've been doing already. Took a good hour to get this thing up and running! Decided the best thing to do is to keep in on the computer, as I'm on it every day anyway. If I want to add photos etc., I can take them and upload them into the file. Or I can print off the text file and create an actual scrapbook. A couple ways to do it. Not sure I want to bother with a scrapbook per se, but I do want a record of what's happening in the garden this year and when.
 
#328 ·
Spent the last 5 hours out in the garden & tending to the pots, replanting, planting new seeds, watering, fertilizing...

Everything that was in pots went into the garden. (Wasn't the original plan, but now I can plant more in the pots). All the little seedlings that I had going also went into the garden area. More seeds have been planted in the patio pots & seed starters.

Dh came out and toured a bit of the garden. He is impressed that I actually have things growing in there (besides weeds).... He started asking what certain things were. And here's the thing, I don't know anymore. I have planted so much stuff everywhere that I can't keep track of where anything is. Unfortunately I can't identify it either until there is a veggie growing on it (well except for tomato plants) everyone can identify those....when I see a space and I have a seedling, then into the space it goes. I am certainly practicing companion planting at it's best.

So I keep cramming more and more plants into the garden beds. I have been keeping them turned and they are completely weed free. Today after major replanting (and a major watering), everyone got a top dressing of decomposed horse manure. I have yet to get the pine needle mulch down but it's coming.

Dh asked asked if I had gone nuts and when I was going to stop planting.... I told him I will stop when there are no more seeds in the city for me to plant- I told him not to worry though, if I grows - I will eat it. I know he said just shaking his head and going back into the house ~ lol
 
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#329 ·
I had a friend out looking at my garden today. She is currently working part time and having a challenge making ends meet. She is also a single lady who doesn't know how to cook and hates cooking. And she is on a weird diet like I am. I took the opportunity to clean out some leftovers for her and a bit of my freezer and cold room. She was so happy and thankful. It's so much fun to give to people who appreciate it.

She took me in her car to buy meat at the butcher's for next week and drove me home. Helped me carry in the meat too. So nice to have help. :) She also brought me her celery leaves, some ionized water, and some mint tea (which we augmented with a few mint leaves off my mint plant...yummy tea!).

DH put the peppers and basil out this morning. I'll have to remember to bring them in tonight. They are saying it's going to freeze again. I don't know how my poor celery is going to handle all this cold weather. Supposedly it makes it bolt. I hope not! Could be a bad year for celery.

A friend gave me more pots. If I have a pot, I'll plant in it. :toothy: I've decided to separate the strawberries from the celery. That's just too much in one pot. Those pots are rather small.

Hoping to do more gardening this coming week. But we'll see. It's the time of year for company. We have 3 rounds of it in the next 2 weeks.
 
#330 ·
That is wonderful to have such a great and helpful friend that you can barter with.

I love the comment: If I have a pot, I'll plant in it. ~ that is so what I have been doing. I actually started cutting plastic coke bottles in half and using the bottom halves... I am wandering around the garage & shed trying to find things to plant in .... I have gone completely mad..:smhelp:

But, on the plus side - the Farmers Market starts tomorrow so if I were to have too many veggies this summer - I will have my Saturday booth (I and another lady have a season booth) - so, in addition to all my crafty things, I will be able to sell produce too - win, win!

That's just crazy to hear you talk about snow - it's in the 90's here...
 
#331 ·
Well, it's crazy here to talk about snow this time of year. Not unheard of. We've had snow in June. But still, weird. March we had temperature in the 20s C and now it's barely passing 10 C. I'm making chili for supper for crying outloud! The end of May! Ah well...

I'm selling at an outdoor sale tomorrow. Will be chilly on the hands I think. I'm demonstrating rug hooking again. Designed a pattern on linen today. It's forecast to rain in the afternoon. We'll be under a canopy, but still...there is the everlasting wind here. Could be interesting!
 
#332 · (Edited)
We had our 1st Farmers Market of the season today. Normally the 1st 3-4 are slow (farmers have little crops which means few vendors and fewer shoppers) - but today it was crazy. We had a full market, lots of vendors and lots of shoppers. The warm weather here has made for earlier crops. I sell my crafts at the market & also my G-ma's famous secret cocktail cake recipe. I sold out of the cake early on. And made about $80 to boot (sell small jewelry pieces, pet toys, teas, spices, etc). Next week I have to double the cake as it it a huge hit with the shoppers. (I discovered it quite by accident towards the end of the market last year when I had some that I just threw in at last moment)...

But also I am thinking that I am glad that I have so much planted in the garden (and continue to plant- lol) - so maybe if I have a huge oversupply I can sell some at the market. I share a season booth with another lady so we are there every Sat morning.
Plant Flower Window Tree Land lot

The garden is looking good. No rain here and none in sight. But I am keeping everything quite wet.
 
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#334 ·
WOOHOO! Let's hope that this is an indicator of things to come for the summer,,,,,

Just came in from giving everyone in the garden a good dose of plant food. Used a turkey baster and made sure the solution got into the roots by giving the plants little 'collars' and then filling them with the liquid. Everyone should be going to sleep tonight with full happy bellies!

I love all my little plants ~ I sure hope they will return the love with lots of big beautiful veggies to give their mama.....
 
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#336 ·
The grass is truly always greener on the other side huh ~ you have crazy rain and we can't get a drop to save our lives!

Checked on all the little guys this morning. I swear they are growing before my eyes. Turned the dirt around all the plants and told them all how wonderful they are and to keep up the great work (motivation speeches are everything - lol)....

I have really got to get on the staking of these guys though. Gotta come up with a good plan first though.
 
#337 ·
we watered and harvested last nite, got another 17 cucumbers, 1 squash, 1 egg plant, large handful of green beans and a large handful of yardlong beans! Have loads of tomatoes jsut none turning colors yet~
 
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#338 ·
I'm keeping my peppers and basil inside till the rain stops. I think the basil is getting root rot already.

I put a 'hold' on "The Backyard Homestead" by Carleen Madigan and it came Friday. DH and I have been looking through it getting ideas. Hmm... looks like there could be a lot of gardening in our future.
 
#339 ·
I think I am living in the twi-light zone or something. I moved all the plants that were in pots to the garden the other day and started new seeds in the pots & plant trays.

Looking at the back of the seed packets, they say germination can be anywhere from 5-20 days (depending on the individual plants) - well everything is up again. Take for example the tomato plants. Germination is 15-20 days per the packet. Tonight when I went to water, I have tiny seedlings already. It's been 4 days. Everything is sprouting and tomorrow some can be moved into the garden.

And.... I brought home more seed packets today. Cabbage, tomato & lettuce (it's hard to resist when we are selling them at work)....
So tomorrow I plant more, more, more.....

Apparently I am not the only crazy person in town. Being at the grocery and talking with customers about food (how appropriate, wouldn't you say) ~ anyway.... the talk of gardens is huge. Everyone is bragging about how well their plants are doing (with this early crazy warm weather) - many have huge crops coming in already. (I am so jealous, but I will get there). But I keep hearing how everyone has been bitten by this monster bug and they are still planting - more and more seedlings & seeds.

I think the Farmers Market will runneth over this year.

This is all the more motivation for me to get that freezer cleaned out and start watching for canning jar deals. I am also going to search the web to see what else people do with their garden abundance. We will certainly be grilling a boatload of veggies on the grill this year.
 
#340 ·
After talking with so many folks about their gardens and how great they are growing, I am wondering if we will next have a canning supply shortage. There are many people (myself included) that are talking about canning for the first time this year. (Both for the excess bounty and as a means to help with the grocery budget)... This means that a lot of us will need to purchase the supplies.

I figure one of two things will happen -

Either the manufacturers will recognize that there will be a great need this year (like seeds) and they will amp up production and have great sales ~

or-

The manufacturers will recognize that there will be a great need this year, and they will not amp up production, creating a huge demand for them and getting top dollar. Then we will be hearing about people stabbing each other over them in WalMart parking lots.

I am going to start pricing them and watching for sales, picking up deals here and there, so that I can be ready when the time comes...
 
#351 ·
This means that a lot of us will need to purchase the supplies.
Best start checking the garage sales!!

And if your area is anything like here, you can forget the TS..........when you see jars at the TS it is rare if they are under 80 cents per jar--AND CHIPS ARE CRACKS DON'T MATTER.........and in the stores, the quarts will run around a buck a piece.........the pints a little less......and wide mouth more than reg. in both sizes. It is getting pretty incredible for prices.

Just check to make sure no cracks, and run your finger around the top to make sure no chips (this can keep them from sealing)........and GRAB THEM!!

When I heard our long range forecast I took inventory of my canning items (food--not used yet) and decided to go light on a garden this year. We have had a cooler and WETTER than normal spring and our summer isn't supposed to get real hot. (a ski hill was open on Mother's day!!!) Just have a few plants.......just enough to get by, but will be buying some things to can..........beets and peaches for sure.
 
#341 ·
sabrelvssammy, the reason why the germination is happening so fast is that the soil is warmer. I had peanuts come up in 4 days when the germination was 15-24 days! I need to replant a few things so i can keep things going.
 
#342 ·
Well- whatever is happening ~ I LOVE IT!!!!
 
#343 ·
Plant Flower Plant community Tree Grass


Last night Dh and I put some stakes in the ground and have the 1st line strung for support. As the plants grow taller I will add more string lines.
The taller plants are all tomatoes and the smaller are different varieties of squash plants.

I broke down and bought a bag of peat moss this morning. I have been doing more research and I am learning that while the manure is excellent, it is good to mix things up a bit, so that I can provide different nutrients to the plants. Instead of another round of manure- I went for the peat moss. I soaked the plants and then covered the entire ground like I would a mulch. In a few days I will turn it all back into the soil. This should be good for a few weeks and then I will give them another dose of the manure.

I think I am going to skip the pine needle mulch also. For one- it hurts when you get poked -lol....but from what I gather I have planted a 'natural' barrier by adding the squash plants everywhere. From what I have read, it is good to plant low growing full plants around your taller uprights (tomatoes, peppers, etc) and when they spread out they will work as hard as the mulch does as a weed & moisture barrier. The only thing I have to be careful with is making sure that everyone is getting enough nutrition, because there are a lot of plants competing for whatever there is in the soil. They will keep depleting it quickly.

Picked up 2 spinach seed packets today also. I planted spinach earlier on, but nothing came up. Can't explain where they all went. I will try again.

I asked at Home Depot about any x-tra pots or trays they might have lying around, but unfortunately they throw them out (so much for the recycling program I read about)...I also asked at the farm store and they too had pitched them ~ boo.....(after the clerk laughed and said, "But, we never have anything here die on us"...)

Checked out prices on canning jars at both the farm store ($8.99 for 12 pint or 8 quart). These were Ball jars. Then at WalMart I saw that they have their own brand (or whoever's brand) - anyway, they are $6.99 for 12 pint or $7.49 for 8 quart. Much cheaper. But I noticed that the shelves were getting picked over. Maybe they haven't had a shipment for a few days and someone had stocked up, however- there were quite a few bare places on the shelves. Is this a sign already????
 
#344 ·
We have something wet falling from the sky. Could that be, no, it couldn't - but wait, maybe it is ~ RAIN!!!!

Moved seedlings from the pots today into the garden. Replanted pots. Dh says that I am going to have a huge overgrown mess in the garden when things get bigger. Well, what a glorious problem to have - and when I get to that bridge, I will go dancing right over it....
 
#347 ·
It's freakishly cold here today. 'Spose to be 49 tonight. What the heck happened to summer???? I was liking it!

The rain went on from 4:30 pm to about midnight. It was a steady gentle rain so hopefully it was kind to all the plants. My only concern is that I planted lettuce seeds directly into the garden (can you believe it, no pots first - wow....I am getting to be a big girl after all) -
anyway, I am hoping that they didn't get washed out coz the rain never stopped. Time will tell.

Looks like no gardening today- but no watering either! (Not that I even mind the watering, kinda therapeutic...but I hate to see what it is doing to my water bill)....
 
#349 ·
The little tomato plant that could ~

Plant Terrestrial plant Flower Groundcover Grass


I am so proud of this little guy. When the bugs attacked a few weeks back, they left him being nothing but a 2 inch stub sticking out of the ground. All leaves were gone, he was nothing but a bare little stalk - clinging desperately to life.

Now any other gardener would have just yanked him up and threw him out onto the lawn to die a withering death.

But I did not give up on him - oh no.... I promised him if he wanted to live that I would help make that happen.

He struggled, I coaxed... "I think I can, I think I can" I could hear coming from the dirt beneath his feet... "You can do it little tomato plant - you can become a big tomato producing giant!" I cheered him on.

And today - look what he is becoming!

I am so proud of my littlest tomato plant....
 
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#352 ·
I am told by the canners around here that people take their canning jars & lids to the grave with them because there are never any sold around here second hand. I am going to have to buy them new. I will start watching for sales (if they even have them on stuff like that)

Went to market this morning and sat around with all the old farmers and talked 'shop'. I grilled them for info and based on the bounties that they haul in week after week, I figure they must know what they are talking about.

Got another bag of peat moss on the way home to finish the 'dressing' around the rest of the veggies. The rain was very helpful, as everyone looks like they have grown a few more inches. They predicted earlier that we would have more rain tonight, but I will believe it when I see it. Regardless, the garden can wait til tomorrow for a good drink if the rain holds off.
 
#353 ·
If you have a Freecycle in your area, you might post a WANTED article. I occasionally see offers for canning jars around here (big canning community), often from people who had family members who canned, but who then died or moved or whatever, and the remaining family isn't big on preserving their own food. One woman had a whole shed FULL of canned preserves that she offered. I am sure most of the people who responded grabbed up the inventory for the jars alone! :)
 
#354 ·
I find canning jars are a word of mouth sort of thing. People find out you can, get to know you and what you're doing, and then offer you their jars as they quit canning. Pays to have older friends who are downsizing for this though. Thanks for reminding me I need to make some rhubarb-strawberry jam. :)
 
#355 ·
We had another nice gentle soaking rain on Monday night. Could still use a lot more but every bit is helping.
Turned the dirt last night and gave everyone a 2nd dose of plant food. They gobbled it right up.
Moving the last of the seedlings from the pots today out into the garden. From here on out I am growing just lettuce & spinach in the pots. (And possibly if I need to use some pots for thinning out the now overplanted garden ~ woohoo!)

Fresh home grown peaches are due into our grocery next week. Totally looking forward to that. Prices will be very low and I can stock up. I have been searching the web for ideas and plan to start my canning with those. (Plus a gazillion other crazy ideas)....
 
#357 ·
We had another nice gentle soaking rain on Monday night. Could still use a lot more but every bit is helping.
..

:thud: OMG..........would I be MORE THAN HAPPY to send you some!!!!!!!!!!! A solid week of rain here...........the best we can hope for is some short times where it stops........and MAYBE sun NEXT Monday!!

We "usually" get a lot of local produce in the summer...........can't imagine what the prices are going to be this year!!!

Get this............they are using HELICOPTERS.........to dry out the cherry trees/fruit on them.......so they won't rot!!! Had it on the news last night...........they have put small helicopters down in the cherry orchards and running the blades to DRY OUT THE TREES!!!!!!!!! There goes the price of cherries!!!
 
#356 ·
thanks for reminding me it's time to fertilize. Need to do some top dressing too. But today is too windy and thunderstorms threatening. I'll wait for a day or so, till everything calms down again.

Harvested more rhubarb yesterday and promptly put it in a GF, DF, SF rhubarb-apple crisp.
 
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