My 2019 Gardening Thread

**renmerc446** · 01-09-2019, 01:04 PM

Welp. It's 2019 so here we go.

For starters, I'm going to wait on buying seeds until probably around March this year. I ordered some seeds online last year but they didn't germinate. I think I may have bought them too early in the season.

On the other hand, it looks like the boy scouts (or at least some group) did follow through on the fruit tree project the garden coordinator mentioned last year/season. There are about 8-10 trees near the garden. They were planted in the fall. I doubt we're going to get anything from them in the next few years as they need a chance to grow. But I like the concept of having a community orchard.

**larabelle** · 01-11-2019, 10:41 AM

Renmerc a community orchard sounds wonderful!
I have been busy harvesting lettuce, this is my 3rd time harvesting. I planted it the day before thanksgiving. Yesterday, I planted a couple beds of Swiss Chard.

**renmerc446** · 01-11-2019, 12:39 PM

It does. I just hope that people don't get destructive, trying to pick the fruit. Of course, there's always the issue of people entering the fenced-in area (the garden itself) and stealing fruits and veggies. But that's already an issue - people stealing from the garden, that is. I think the mindset with that is - it's a community garden so it must be ok to take stuff. But it's a community garden in the sense it's for the people who paid the dues to use a plot there. They're not like locusts, most people are generally understanding of not going into the fenced in area without invitation. It's just that some people probably just go in to take a look and pick stuff on the spur of the moment.

Then again, the garden's (and the new orchard) right in front of the police station so that's a bit of a deterrent. It's also in full view of one of the main roads through town.

**Spirit Deer** · 01-22-2019, 08:58 AM

We're hoping to make major progress on our garden area this year, but we have so many other projects to work on, too. We need to:

Build another section of boardwalk.

Put up fencing including building a gate.

Install window in greenhouse.

Get diverter installed in downspout so we can get rain barrel set up.

Build self watering planters.

Finish moving lilies of the valley to new terraces by garage.

Finish potting bench.

Build planting bed for beans and snap peas.

There are a lot of garden projects to do yet, so I don't expect to get it all done this year. I'm mainly hoping to get the fencing done. Then we will be able to start figuring out permanent placement of the big pots and other garden things because we will know the exact size and shape of our space. I also want to get the window in the gh so we can have plants in there all summer. I think our cool summers keep things from producing like they should. The gh also extends the growing season by at least 3 months, so we need to figure out the best way to use that resource. That also means I need to come up with a better system of tables in the gh.

It should be an interesting summer.

**jettsmom** · 03-19-2019, 01:00 PM

I'd like to have a little garden again. Dh built a raised bed for me a couple of years ago. It's really raised so I don't have to bend over, but it started to bow. We took most of the dirt out for another project so he could get it straightened, but life happens, maybe this year I'll get it fixed and start putting soil back in. Who knows. I would really love to have fresh tomatoes. Many years ago, I grew cantaloupe and it was the best ever. I used to have a strawberry patch, but the weeds took over. Dgd would love to grow cucumbers. She's obsessed with cucumbers right now.

Ok, you've got me thinking about this too much. I'm going to get that little garden fixed now. I want dgd to help me grow some veggies. Now to tell dh about his new project!!!!

**Spirit Deer** · 03-20-2019, 08:26 AM

Is it a table garden? How is it bowed? Maybe the fix is simple and quick.

I'm not sure what we will tackle first for our garden. We have to do mostly container gardening here. I really want to get a new raised bed built though, and at least part of the fencing done so we can put in green beans and sugar snap peas again, our favorites. We have deer, so we have to have fencing, too.

**renmerc446** · 03-20-2019, 08:49 AM

Got the opening email for the season. Reconfirmed I'll be back for the year. Yay!! I just need to be sure I keep on top of the weeds this year. I'm going to wait to get seeds until just before I start planting. At least it's not like last year when we had snow until late in March and the ground didn't warm up enough until April.

I think I'll get my seeds from either my local Lowes or Wegmans. I did try a seed website last year but I think I bought them too early and they didn't germinate.

**jettsmom** · 03-20-2019, 03:44 PM

Well, dh brought me back to reality. I may get a couple of pots for the deck and that will be all I do. One for cucumbers and one for tomatoes. With aging parents, I don't have the time to commit to a bigger garden. Maybe next year.

**renmerc446** · 03-20-2019, 05:00 PM

Originally Posted by jettsmom

Well, dh brought me back to reality. I may get a couple of pots for the deck and that will be all I do. One for cucumbers and one for tomatoes. With aging parents, I don't have the time to commit to a bigger garden. Maybe next year.

Do what you can.

I'm sure your Dgd will be thrilled with a cucumber plant in a pot.

**Precarrious** · 03-28-2019, 11:35 PM

I have been thinking about my garden since January!!

**renmerc446** · 03-29-2019, 08:47 AM

I think I'm going to start working on getting my plot ready next week. The temps are finally going to be warm enough to do that, even at night.

Now I just have to keep an eye out for seeds. Although some plants I do wait until the local farmer's market opens the first weekends in May, especially the cucumber and tomato plants.

**Spirit Deer** · 03-29-2019, 09:44 AM

We're just sitting here debating if we should make the 50 mile drive to pick up garden stuff.

I got seeds at Dollar Tree, Walmart, and Menards for .25 and .50, the basics. I will probably pick up a few packets of the more expensive stuff, but I haven't figured out if we need anything more yet.

The greenhouse needs a makeover. And we need to build a raised bed for pea pods and green beans. We miss those and love eating lots of those in summer.

So much to do. Hope it warms up soon.

**renmerc446** · 03-29-2019, 10:12 AM

Peas and beans are staples in my garden. I pick up seeds for those at either Lowes or Wegmans. The cucumber and tomato plants I pick up as starts at the farmer's market. I just hope I can keep up with the weeds this year. Last year was brutal with all the rain.

I'm also thinking of making sure I put a pile of compost on my plot so that it doesn't run out. Last year, some people really went heavy on the compost so not everyone was able to get some. Mostly because we were able to have the township make at couple of deliveries.

**Spirit Deer** · 03-29-2019, 05:44 PM

I mistakenly posted we got cheap seeds at Menards when it was actually Ace Hardware. I had Menards on my mind, I guess, since that's where we were talking about going.

We picked up seeds today for 2 kinds of kale and 1 pkg of carrots of different colors, just for fun. Also 3 six packs of johnny jump-ups and 3 of marigolds for $1.29 each, cheap for here.

We got 4 bags of potting soil, 4 of compost/manure mix, and a box of fertilizer. Glad to get the manure while it was still partially frozen. That stuff really stinks otherwise.

We should be pretty well set now. We will probably buy some plants, especially flowers, closer to Memorial Day, and a little seed potato or 2.

We won't have to buy any more concrete blocks to build the raised garden in front of the cabin. That will be good, because we don't want to move them if we decide to sell, and it wouldn't look good to have a stack of them just sitting here. The new bed should use up most of them.

Still need to go through the entry into the cabin and the greenhouse to sort through garden stuff.

I'll never get this place all sorted and organized.

**Spirit Deer** · 04-03-2019, 11:44 AM

Got the baby greenhouse set up and the peat pellets and pots ready for starting some seeds, which I hope to get done today. I'm hoping we can get by with buying less nursery plants this year.

I also have radish sprouts going in a really nice Pyrex sprouter I bought cheap a few yrs ago but have never used. I like it very much! I need to sprout seeds more often and come up with more ways to use them. They're fun to grow and we like them, and they would give us a nutritional boost. Can't hurt.