15 hours ago, CJack said:

What do you have that is low to no maintenance that you like ?

S&W 686 4" 

On 7/12/2022 at 5:47 PM, CJack said:

I want to find other varieties of root vegetables that are zero maintenance and come year over year.

What do you have that is low to no maintenance that you like ?

I'm not sure that carrots come back up year over year but I've heard that they can grow into VERY cold times of the year.  Start now or even later and pull then up in December or January?  And I've heard they get sweeter longer in the ground.  Will let you know.

Made up four large jars of "bread & butter" pickles this evening.  Put them in the back of the fridge to age for the next three weeks or so.

Super easy to make.  White Vinegar (5% acidity), sugar and Ball® Bread & Butter Pickle Mix.  Combine all those, boil, add to sliced cucumbers, let cool, can and enjoy!

The Ball® Bread & Butter Pickle Mix has all the spices mixed together already!

I just did the "enjoy now" (3 month shelf life in fridge) for now but will be trying longer storage hot water canning with the next haul of cucs.

https://www.ballmasonjars.com/blog?cid=breadandbutterpickles

"Bread and butter" pickles are delicious.  1.5 jars already gone.

Going to pickle some Greek Pepperoncinis and regular bell peppers soon.

Made some eggplant parm a few weeks ago.  Was awesome.

Tomatoes Finally started ripening up.  Have had a few on salads and on sandwiches.  Very tasty.

Carrots are almost ready to be pulled up as well as the beets.  Still have more tomatoes ripening, bell peppers growing and eggplants growing.

Lots of lessons learned this first year of taking gardening seriously.  Already starting to think about next season and how I will make improvements.

(1) $7 Kiddie Pool Raised Garden Bed | CHEAP Container Garden Ideas | Roots and Refuge - YouTube

Getting close to seed starting time!

My seed starting was a bust this year.  Neer got around to it.  Slightly disappointing.

Purchased some gardening soil and composted cow manure on Sunday to top of my beds. Worked it into the existing garden soil.

This evening right after work threw in starter veggie plants from Home Depot.  Four bell pepper,one banana pepper, three different tomato plants and two eggplants.

Will be starting cucumbers, beets, lettuce and maybe beans from seed in next few days.  Going to try potatoes and some herbs this year as well.

What's everyone else growing?

 

 

We constructed a new raised bed for my wife for Mothers Day (at her request).  The old one was overgrown and too shaded by a tree that she didn't want me to cut down.  She put in cherry tomatoes, string beans, sugar snap peas, some various peppers, cukes and chives.  Hopefully she'll maintain it, unlike past years.  

Time to resurrect this thread.

Who else is gardening this year?  I just finished grounding a dozen tomato plants, a few San Marzano Heirloom and a bunch of Roma. Going to try my hand a canning this year too.  Also doing a proper herb garden.  Parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary  and english thyme.

My wife is going to try growing broccoli, kale (YUK!) and peppers for the first time.

All homedepot plants.. Green-beans and Radishes are seed. My fig tree is also sprouting.

Tomatoes, Jersey beefsteak… Peppers, Italian sweet… Zucchini… Eggplant, black beauty… Green-beans… Radishes 

 

Got a bumper crop of strawberries coming in already. Got some potatoes and garlic coming in nice. Some tomato plants, peppers and beans too. We perpetually have thyme which is less about growing it and more about containing it. Also mint basil and oregano. 

1 hour ago, raz-0 said:

Got a bumper crop of strawberries coming in already.

This will be a good year for strawberries.  I dug up my patch to make room for something else, because the fucking squirrels eat the berries before we do.  Anyway, the plants were unusually large and vigorous for this time of year, more healthy than they ever looked.  It seemed a shame to chuck 'em so I potted them and gave to a neighbor that already has a patch.  They also have a dog so their garden is safe.  All I have is three stupid cats that sit in windows and make a weird chattering noise while they try to kill squirrels with their mind.

On 11/11/2020 at 5:10 AM, bchanfcb1987 said:

Adding an outdoor water feature to your garden area can give your home a whole new look and feel. There are water features that will fit any size area and installation limitations with which you may be faced. It may be a modest or prominent outdoor water feature but either will add a whole new dimension to the space and although moving water might be needed for some outdoor water landscape designs, it's not required in all instances.

 

Here is a nice water feature sure to be a nice addition to any garden or patio. It's 60" tall: pure copper over a welded SS hidden base. I made a 90" one two years ago and it weathered to antique brown that lights up shiny copper in bright sun. This is available for sale, PM me for details. It is on display at Calgo Garden in Freehold. A shipping crate is ready for free, safe delivery in NJ. It will last forever, unlike painted steel fountains online.

Our gardening is limited to reseeding patches that the dogs ate. We use clover/grass mix due to dense shade. Best part is finding 4 leaf clovers- 2 this week! One has leaves the size of half dollars.