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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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#414 ·
I was making a big pot of soup today and had no green peppers left in the freezer (haven't been stockpiling them lately coz I know what's coming from the garden)... anyway, I needed a green pepper, so out into the garden I went and picked one. Gosh, do I LOVE my garden!

Things are getting less time-consuming out there now. The plants have taken over all the ground so it's getting nearly impossible to spend hours out there turning the dirt. The soil is staying a little more moist with the plant coverings. The weeds are non-existent. So for now, it's just watering (which is easier because I can just stand there with the open hose and soak the areas, instead of using the gun and delicately watering the plants without destroying them).

Other than watering, watching for bugs & picking my bounty... life is good! So what to do with myself now ~ lol
 
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#416 ·
The squash are starting to come in like mad...the peppers are not far behind... then, here come the tomatoes.....
 
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#417 ·
I put some tomatoes in pots this year. We already have probably over 100 tomatoes. When they start turning red we are never going to be able to eat them all. The ones that are growing crazy are grape and sweet 100 cherry. I think next year I'm going to try to plant earlier. The grape tomato plant that is going crazy was planted the earliest. SS the produce that you are getting; is it planted in pots or the ground? My plants seem to be growing so much better in the pots.

Just as a side note and to give anyone who is interested an idea. I bought a storage container from the used clothing store; it was 50 cents because it had a hole in the bottom; perfect for drainage.
 
#418 ·
Funny that you say that about the pots. It does seem like everything in the pots are growing leaps and bounds. Could be the 100% decomposed horse manure I planted them in. I start all the seeds in the pots, let them get big and transplant them to the garden.

I had some that I started at the same time (tomato plants) and some went into the garden and others stayed in the pots. The one's in the pots are 4 x's the size of the garden ones. Later today I am reversing them and putting the small garden ones back into the pots.
 
#420 ·
Just picked 3 yellow squash, 4 zucchini's, 2 cucumbers & 2 chili peppers

Moved tomato plant seedlings from the garden and into pots. They were getting dwarfed by all the large plants out there.
Planted larger tomato plants that were in the pots into the garden so they can get big and become productive.

The larger cabbage plants are almost ready to pull. Planted more plants that were growing in containers around the plants that are coming out so that we have a continuous supply going on.

The snow peas plants came out of the ground today. All in all they produced about a dozen pods. Not very good. Now there is space freed up for other plants.

Everyone got a good dose of plant food today in their watering.
 
#424 ·
Well I have been eating leaf lettuce each night, but I didn't feel like a salad. The only thing I used was a green pepper & a chili pepper that I had in the soup I have been working on for a few days.

With that being said, I did chop up & freeze 15 zucchini's & 1 green pepper last night.

This morning I am working on 11 yellow squash, 10 zucchini's & 25 chili & jalepano peppers to get into the freezer.
I still have zucchini & yellow squash (a gal size bag of zucchini & 2 gal size bags of yellow squash in the freezer from months ago) - these need to get used up first, so the new stuff is going in the back.

I have done the peppers already and like the idiot that I am, while having pepper juice on my hands I had an itch on my face, I scratched it.... now what do you think is happening???? I AM ON FIRE!! - lol. It's making my nose run and every time I blow it, it makes the pepper burn hotter from touching the area ~ UGH!!! I am off for some Aloe.

Then, it's time to start chopping the squash.... (and that is from yesterday- I haven't made it out there yet to get today's pickin's)...love it, LOVE IT! All this hard work is paying off finally. I am getting about 20 squashes a day and the plants are just LOADED. (Loaded w/green peppers too, but I am letting them get a little bigger before I pick). I think I might be set for the entire winter at this rate.
 
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#423 ·
Thanks CP............about the slug post. I hadn't read this thread in a while...........yes, I have slugs........that is one reason I DON'T have hostas.........I like them but they can draw slugs like a magnet!! But my iris don't do too bad either............will try that.

I will be lucky to get ANYTHING from my tiny little garden that I planted this year...................NO SUN/HEAT HERE!!! Just rain..........rain..........and more rain!!!

Bet I could count the blooms on my tomatoes..............and in years past.............WITH HEAT.......I have been eating tomatoes by the 4th of July!! :weeping:
 
#428 ·
As I do my walks around the neighborhood, I watch my neighbors scrambling to keep their flowers alive in their pots during this drought, and now extreme heat wave. I am so glad that I decided early on not to plant anything in pots but edibles. At least as I am scrambling too to keep everything alive - I will be able to eat mine when I am done. (Well, I suppose they could eat theirs too - haha)...

Tomorrow I have 4 pots of Parsley that I will cut and hang to dry. I also have a couple of pots of Cilantro that are ready to harvest.

And I am sure that I will be chopping more squashes before the day is over...

I now have 3 1/2 freezer bags (9X13 bags) full of zucchini and 1 1/2 bags of yellow squash. I had to do some major freezer re-organizing today to start getting all this stuff packed in there.

I suppose I am going to have to start eating heartily from the garden the next few months. (If you hear of a green family being discovered living in Indiana - that's just Dh & I - from living on too many zucchini's)....
 
#429 ·
Well I finally pulled up those no good for nothing radishes and tossed them. They bolted today. :(

I managed to pick some lettuce, celery and violas to toss in a salad with grape tomatoes. Used the thyme to spice up some marinade for chicken for kabobs tonight. Yum!

We have several squash going on the spaghetti squash plants, flowers on the zucchini plant, and 5 of the 12 tomato plants are in bloom. Should be a good season for those crops.

I'm going to replant the containers that had the radish in them.
 
#432 ·
Today will be the third day I have eaten some lettuce growing from the balcony. I just replanted a green leaf lettuce core. Will see if anything happens with it. Not sure how long the lettuce will last with this heatwave going and summer kicking in. Atleast I know that re-growing lettuce is possible and will definately plant more lettuce in the fall.

My mint has finally really taken off. Everyday I pick a couple of sprigs for my water. Have even microwaved a cup of water with the fresh mint and a tea bag. Makes a nice tasting tea.
 
#433 ·
shoiji thanks for the idea. (P.S. it's taken awhile to register that's your CAT in those butterfly wings! LOL)

I was out fertilizing the garden today with some fish fertilizer. That seemed to perk things right up. When the sun goes round and the patio is in the shade, I'm going out to weed a bit. The elm seeds that fell after planting are sprouting in my containers/pots!
 
#434 ·
Well I thought that the only thing I needed to worry about losing my garden to was the locust...(not that I heard they were coming or anything - I was just planning for the worst)...

Now the worst is coming. The cities in my county are issuing water bans of all outside water usage. We haven't officially gotten ours yet, but our sister city 10 mins to the north of us went into affect at noon today. And of course, we do everything they do (which most of the times is fun stuff coz we have no imaginations of our own)...

I had heard about it at work this morning and just now I watched an emergency broadcast come across the TV screen that the ban was not in effect. Anyone caught watering will have immediate shut off of their water to their homes ~ ouch. They really mean business here...

So, while I am completely distressed over this, I will not let either Mother Nature or the city municipality beat me. They did not mention grey water, or water brought in from other places. If I have to I will take bucket by bucket, that I stood over when I brushed my teeth, out to the garden and water my plants. I have the lake out at my cabin. I will borrow a huge tank from a friend and put it in my pickup and bring my water in.

I will not let my garden die!

And this is really bad for some people. For some of the folks I know their gardens and the produce that they can put up gets them thru the winter months. This is going to take even more food out of peoples mouths.

We are currently in burn ban mode, fireworks cancelled and not now watering. What on earth is going to happen next?
 
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#436 ·
I have heard of people unhooking their sinks and having the water go into 5 gallon buckets. They then water their gardens with that water.

Also, the water that you run while you are waiting for your shower water to heat up, they catch that in a bucket (or two) and use that to water their gardens.

A few people are really frugal with their water and they use the pets water (when they are dumping it out to wash it) and the tail ends of water in people's glasses and also ice cubes to water things. Someone I knew had a watering can that sat on the kitchen counter by the sink. She would just dump all the "used water" in as she was cleaning up the kitchen. She said that she usually saved enough water in a week to fill her watering can.
 
#437 ·
I 'catch' all my water in my sink in a pitcher while I am waiting for it to heat up to wash my face twice a day. Then I pour it into the back of the toilet tank.

The newspaper explained the situation a little better last night. They are not allowing any car washing, power washing of houses, driveways, etc, watering of lawns or shrubbery. They apparently are allowing gardens for the moment, but are now asking for voluntary conservations in this area (such as not letting the hose run) - they are also allowing you to water your potted flowers with watering cans. They said this if for now, they may eventually have to stop those practices too.
 
#440 ·
Not from my garden, but I just returned from a friend's house after picking these:
Food Plant Fruit Ingredient Green


They are a little on the small side and their owner says that they just aren't getting any bigger on the trees. Might have something to do with out drought- who knows.

Anyway, they taste awesome! And everyone is baking with them and they are working just fine!

Best part of all, I can refill these tubs as many times as my little heart desires.

Now, it's off to make some applesauce....and apple cobbler....and apple jam.... and.....
 
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#441 ·
I'm out on my patio enjoying the scenery and generally cleaning up around here. Better go in and get some supper ready soon. I think the lettuce has grown enough today for me to pick some more for supper... I picked some lettuce and celery this morning, and some mint. Gotta watch the mint, it was sending out suckers.
 
#443 ·
About time! And we're finally getting some heat, in-between thunderstorms.

I picked the last of the lettuce that is ready to eat today for a salad for supper. Now I'm just hoping the rest grows and I get to it before the birds and squirrels. :)

LOTS of blossoms on the squash. I hope the squirrels don't ruin them like they did one year. They took one bite out of our zucchini and didn't eat the rest. Did the same to the cucumber. Being a mother, I wouldn't mind it if they ate the whole thing! But leaving it all after one biteful is just downright wasteful!!! :lol3:
 
#444 ·
We just had 3 hours of hard crazy rain .... I can see the garden smiling from here....

Been picking squash like there is no tomorrow. The yellow & zucchini keep on coming. The spaghetti & butternut (what I am most looking forward to) are getting larger everyday. The plants are loaded with those too. I am seeing 2-4 squash on each plant at the moment. And they are the size of melons already.

I have an eggplant on one of the plants. They are certainly taking their time to get here. But can't say I blame them when they stick their heads out into the desert, they just run right back in again...

Finally the tomato plants are covered with green tomatoes. I was getting a little worried about them coz they were very sparse. Overnight they all just appeared, really!

I have little cauliflower florets visible now. And the purple cabbage is growing nicely. It sure took it's time too. Maybe that is what is supposed to happen, but the green cabbage is about done already. I was thinking that the purple was not going to make it. Now they are big beautiful plants.

There are a lot of other plants thriving out there also. But I don't know what anything is... (I know, pretty funny)... I will just have to wait until the veggie forms and then I can report to ya....

Ah, the life of a novice gardener....
 
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