I made some huge progress on mine today, but I don't have time to write it out at the moment.
Edit: Okay so today was the big day we budgeted for. The main project was tearing out these MASSIVE bushes that died hard as fuck due to an unseasonally hard freeze. There was three of them and I was really skeptical we would be able to remove them but my girlfriend absolutely proved me wrong. We ordered some otto luyken cherry laurels to put in the space and I think they're going work out great.
Last season we built two small raised beds and one larger bed, and we also have one additional small patch near our patio that was bricked off. The two smaller beds received a bit of fresh soil, fertilizer and my neighbors turned two of their trees into a community mulch pile which helped a lot.
Bed 1 (herbs): basil and thyme seedlings with dill and thai basil seeds. I also got italian parsley but the seeds said to sow after soaking overnight so they're going in tomorrow.
Bed2: habeneros and two wildcard pepper seedlings that looked really healthy. Last summer I got into fermenting and this summer I think I can perfect my hot sauces. Last year I didn't get the peppers started until May so I'm hopeful the yields will be nicer.
The bigger bed, we're saving for next week. I'm going to grow some amaranth bc it's super easy and I think they look alien af. We've got room for a couple other plants in the bed and haven't really decided what we want to put in it yet. Maybe tomatoes, maybe just more peppers ¯_(ツ)_/¯
My girlfriend set up a flower bed, can't remember their names but she likes them a lot so that's good enough for me. We also found some lavender, a nice small marigold, and a curly-cue rush to put in outdoor pots, a hanging flower of some sort, and a polka-dot pothos looking dude for the bathroom.
It's been a super rewarding day tbh, and I'm really lucky to live in a warm climate.
I started a flat of lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and kale three weeks ago. Started another flat of the same stuff this past week so I can get two harvests out of the cooler months. In two weeks it will be time to start the summer stuff. By which I have roma tomates, vine tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, bell peppers, cayenne peppers, jalepenos, anaheim chilis, and, corn. Then I'm going to do some pumpkins, carrot, and, onions for the fall. This is my second year so I'm just growing supplemental stuff to get the hang of it. Once I can consistently keep stuff alive to harvest I will try to grow for sustenance.
I tried really hard to grow pumpkins last autumn but I couldnt get the seeds for the standard size (for cooking, not jack o lantern) to germinate at all. This is only my second year too, but it's really really fun. I live in the city so I'm doubtful I'd have enough room to grow for sustenance but it's really nice to have fresh herbs and peppers whenever I want them. That's still rad as hell though
I had two varieties as those were the only ones left at the store. I got ghost pumpkins, which were just white and for carving. I also got pie pumpkins. They started out very well. Leaves the size of dinner plates. Long vines, very nice deep green. Then aphids got a hold of them and I didn't notice until they started dying. Then after about a month and a half they were dead. Three pumpkins tried to grow but they all rotted before getting bitter than a tennis ball. Very disappointing. My herbs and peppers probably did the best out of everything last year.
You'd be surprised at what you could do in the city. If you haven't heard of it try the biointensive method. Check out this book:
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/529041.How_to_Grow_More_Vegetables
Also, try putting seeds in a ziploc with a wet paper towel. Or some you can just soak in water until they sprout. Keep them between 60F and 80F.
thunderstormed last night and it's gonna be ~10C and overcast for the coming week. moved in feb and the dirt patch in the yard is still overgrown, gonna take two-ish weekends that i don't have the time for atm to clear it all out. all my sprouts are chilling in my box turtle container for the time being, need to get them in the ground before he wakes up and bulldozes them.
tldr: panikk
There's still a foot or two of snow on the ground but I'm going to start some hot peppers indoors in a couple weeks. Really excited to make homemade hot sauce.
Hell yeah, last summer was the first chance I had to garden and I got really into fermenting as well. Homemade hot sauce just hits different, hmu in June and we can talk shop
I’ve never done it before but I’m a hot sauce fiend. Would love to get advice come fermenting time.
It's really easy and honestly pretty addictive. I'd look into the NOMA guide if you're the type to read books, but there's a lot of resources online. I'll set a reminder in June to message you about it 🤌🤌
Planted the hot peppers last week. Half stupid hot and half serrano.
Going to put in the eggplants and cucumbers and tomatoes these coming weeks.
My indoor starters didn't work out (too cold) so I sowed Beets, Radishes, and Carrots today and will be putting in Squash, Napa Cabbage and Cauliflower later into my beds.
In containers I'll be growing lettuce, tomatoes and scallions.
Also gonna try potted basil for the first time!
Potted basil is great! Don't be afraid to start it in a HUGE pot if you have one, in my experience (and maybe, in my climate) basil outgrows it's pot insanely fast. it won't give up if it gets root-bound but I feel like it's more likely bolt and bloom. Sorry for the unsolicited advise I just love basil
The threat of first frost hasn't passed so no. But I do got a little greenhouse I've been meaning to set up sometime which I should probably do soon
So fucking cool. In temporary housing and miss my spring veg patch.
That being said working in a community garden is one of the best experiences of my life.
Just got some bulbs in the ground a few minutes ago and tore down the old bean poles from last year (buncha strings and dead bean plant runners it was a mess).
I know we have some edible stuff seeded and sprouting (waiting transplant), and some stuff yet to go (tomatoes in particular).
But my gf is the one who does the planning/knows what’s done or needs to be done, I just dig holes and distract her
Time travels different in the upside-down part of hellworld, so it's starting to get cooler here and it's also been pissing with rain the last couple of weeks
Not the most successful growing season ever, but not dreadful. My new dwarf lemon and dwarf kumquat trees have grown up nicely (and the kumquat tree has even fruited already), although their new growth had to be aggressively pruned back for really stubborn leafminer a couple of times. Lime tree gave a toooonne of fruit for a lot of very tasty G&Ts etc. Chilis are growing beautifully, as are the cherry tomatoes, mint is unkillable as always. Cucumbers were a bit of a non-starter this year, which was a shame cos they're normally great but it's mostly my fault - I was slack in the early fragile stages and then never got around to planting new seeds
I sowed poppies and Larkspur a couple weeks ago, plopped a whole bunch of new shrubs in the ground (pieris, rhododendrons, and red + yellow twig dogwoods), and I now I'm kinda chilling waiting for my seedlings to grow and for the last frost date to pass (probs like two weeks from now).
I have a ton of lavender and catmint that I'm really excited to plant, learned a lot after I killed a bunch of lavender seedling last year.
Also all of the bulbs I planted last year (mostly daffodils, some squill and fritillaria) are coming up and I can't wait to see some blooms.
I've got a established lavender plant growing in an outdoor pot, any tips beyond watering only once the soil is thoroughly dry?
Lavender generally thrives on neglect once it's established, you're probably good just doing what you're doing and maybe feeding once a year or adding compost to the container after the blooms have died back.
I saw a bunch of bugs today for the first time this year on my walk :comfy:
Planted all my seedlings today and finished putting together my cold frames! Very exciting!
Question, are grow lights really necessary for seed starting? Last year I had some bad luck with seeds, but largely because of my dumbass leaving them in cells that were too small. I have the seedlings in front of a south facing window. Should I still look into grow lights?
