FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: God Stewart on April 16, 2008, 09:19:14 AM
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The weather has just turned nice enough that we've started to plant a few things in our little urban garden. It's teeny tiny but we manage to grow a lot of good stuff. This year we're planting strawberries for the first time and we might try growing Kale too. Our sage plant miraculously survived the Rhode Island winter. I'm going to try growing cilantro again but I've never had much luck with it.
Fresh veggies and herbs! I can't wait for summer.
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I just moved into a new place in Chicago and I have a yard! I'm so happy about this. Unfortunately, I've spent most of my time getting rid of garbage so I'm not ready to plant food yet. However, yesterday I planted to sunflower seeds. More flowers will be forthcoming until I can get the soil ready for food stuff.
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I just planted some sunflowers as well, also threw a handful of mixed flower seeds in a bed. I have a ton of tomato and pepper seedlings on the go and I'm going to plant carrots and melons too.
I don't suppose anybody knows where there might be some wild blackthorns growing in new jersey?
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Can I grow herbs in pots in the shade? My balcony only gets like an hour or two of sun every day but I want to grow some edible goodies. (Flowers don't seem to survive, even impatients which can thrive in the shade)
Has anyone had success with this?
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I hate you all. I live on the 3rd floor and have cats that will destroy anything living inside the house. Outside, I have an underground oil spill in the soil, even if I could get access to it. I miss tomatoes in the summer.
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A few years back my girlfriend and I spent a whole summer sprouting and growing an avocado tree. We had planted it in a big flower pot and were keeping outside away from my cats. It had some leaves and had grown to about two or three feet tall when winter came around. We brought it inside and the next morning we woke up and it was gone. The cats actually ate the whole tree. All that was left was a what looked like a twig sticking out of the ground. It was depressing.
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Buy some pots to plant baby tomatoes in! It can work!
My cats eat anything green too so I can't have indoor plants.
Once I move to a house in the fall that will hopefully have an actual yard, I intend to have a massive herb garden. And loads of lavender.
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Can I grow herbs in pots in the shade? My balcony only gets like an hour or two of sun every day but I want to grow some edible goodies. (Flowers don't seem to survive, even impatients which can thrive in the shade)
Has anyone had success with this?
in both of my apartments, our windows faced north and south. interestingly enough, the impatients thrived as PLANTS, but the flowers fell off? its still alive and HUGE. sunflowers grew also, but much slower.
as for herbs/veggies/etc., not so much.
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My cats eat anything green too so I can't have indoor plants.
Have you tried putting out live catnip? Your cats might be more interested in that and leave the other plants alone. It's worth a shot!
My cats are indoor/outdoor-romps-in-the-backyard-under-supervision cats. I sometimes buy live catnip for them at the local Home Depot. They love it. I also sometimes forget to bring it in at night, and some other neighborhood cat breaks into my backyard and steals the catnip. Seriously, some dude plucked the whole plant out of the pot leaving only soil and an overturned pot :(
BOO.
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We're starting a big community garden with friends and family this year, since we have so much space. My boyfriend's dad just gave us a great book, called Crockett's Victory Garden which is very helpful in determining when to plant what seeds.
http://www.amazon.com/Crocketts-Victory-Garden-Underwood-Crockett/dp/0316161209 (http://www.amazon.com/Crocketts-Victory-Garden-Underwood-Crockett/dp/0316161209)
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It's nice to hear that Jim is still helping people with gardening. That was a good show, once upon a time. Roger Swain was a poor successor.
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Yeah, I love the book! It's nice too, because Tim's dad passed it down to us. It's an old copy, and feels like a special sort of inheritance. I think that gardening is such a nice way for generations to connect with one another.
(Cue the sarcastic "Kumbaya" reply-posts.)
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Sorry to dredge up an old thread, but I have a gardening question. Has anyone had experience with growing chickpeas? The internet is not being very helpful.
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Aren't you too far north?
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im glad you dug this thread back up, Beth. ive been seriously contemplating starting a community garden. does anyone know how this works or what i need in order to get started?
i assume i need to contact the city...for something. and i'll need funds of some kind. fortunately, i have plans to center the garden around a money tree.
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I'd contact your local cooperative extension for advice. And keep in mind that seed companies and I bet some greenhouses will donate seeds/plants for a good cause. That way you'll be able to use more of the money tree harvest to line your mattress.
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I'm not sure where you live, but there's an organization here in Chicago called Neighborspace that buys undeveloped land and converts it into green space. Volunteers from the community have the freedom to turn it into whatever they want: playground, native plant garden, vegetable garden, etc.
I'm sure there's a community org that does that in every city, and if there isn't one, you could try starting one up. Figure out what you need, then hire a really good grant writer. Prepare to do a LOT of work in April and May.
Right now is a great time to plant, surprisingly. Garlic, onions, and other bulbs are good for planting in late fall. They'll come up sometime in summer. Tulips and crocuses in the springtime.
About the herb garden question, most herbs cannot handle less than 5 or 6 hours of direct sunlight and they need to be outdoors. I've never had much luck growing herbs inside, mostly because they need a certain amount of air circulation and humidity that an indoor environment can't provide.
Also, impatients need to be deadheaded just like any other flowering plant. If the flower spike is turning brown and droopy, just pluck it off at the base of its stem and it will encourage more flowers bud growth. Fertilizing helps too, something high in phosphorus- that's the middle number out of three that you see on all commercial fertilizers.
Ok, I think I've rambled on enough about gardening, sorry guys...
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Huh, I've always had pretty good luck with herbs inside, and I keep my house cold and dry. They're on a table against a window with a southern exposure, though. Maybe that makes the difference. I mean, when I brought the herbs nside a month or so ago, they all started to thrive after looking pretty wimpy all summer.
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Huh, I've always had pretty good luck with herbs inside, and I keep my house cold and dry. They're on a table against a window with a southern exposure, though. Maybe that makes the difference. I mean, when I brought the herbs nside a month or so ago, they all started to thrive after looking pretty wimpy all summer.
I don't know why, but you seem like a gardener Sarah.
What grows in that rocky New England soil?
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Huh, I've always had pretty good luck with herbs inside, and I keep my house cold and dry. They're on a table against a window with a southern exposure, though. Maybe that makes the difference. I mean, when I brought the herbs nside a month or so ago, they all started to thrive after looking pretty wimpy all summer.
I don't know why, but you seem like a gardener Sarah.
What grows in that rocky New England soil?
Looks like someone is picking out land in the hate pit for a victory garden. Good news Olivia Munn, radishes!
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Huh, I've always had pretty good luck with herbs inside, and I keep my house cold and dry. They're on a table against a window with a southern exposure, though. Maybe that makes the difference. I mean, when I brought the herbs nside a month or so ago, they all started to thrive after looking pretty wimpy all summer.
I don't know why, but you seem like a gardener Sarah.
What grows in that rocky New England soil?
Looks like someone is picking out land in the hate pit for a victory garden. Good news Olivia Munn, radishes!
Oh you mean this bird?
(http://a553.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/106/l_31f0ad6d2fc70ca4c761fa128e73af58.gif)
Well shes kooky and unpredictable....which leads to creativity. Think I'll sit down and finally finish that great American novel.
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Good news Olivia Munn, radishes!
Just did a spit take.
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I'm not really a gardener; I'm just related to several, and I've picked things up over the years.
For the hate pit, I recommend potatoes. And maybe some nasturtiums to brighten things up.
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Also I'm just now really looking at this person
(http://a553.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/106/l_31f0ad6d2fc70ca4c761fa128e73af58.gif)
she is "white"?
(just going off of what Tom was saying)
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TE, what's with your preoccupation with skin tones and racial classifications? While you're down in the Hate Pit, maybe you could give Matt Drudge some hot tips about the scandalous secret 'ethnic' backgrounds of celebrities and politicians.
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I'm not sure where you live, but ...
right now, it's phoenix. when i get back to memphis, i think there are plenty more opportunities for this- it's a smaller community. however, here in phoenix, let's take into consideration that it is a week before thanksgiving, well into the autumn season, and it is still in the mid-eighties during the day (it's sweaty hot) and gets barely chilly at nite, not yet scarf or coat worthy. it's still hoodie+flip flops weather for the natives.
also, april and may are the worst times to start growing. april is creeping in the 90s already and by may its in the triple digits of summer. trust me, this place is insane.