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What do you have growing in your garden?
Posted by Stillthinking • 5/15/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: city living, gardening
I went to my local nursery and picked up starter basil, lavender and dahlias for my window box. I could not get tomatoes or other edibles, because they are highly toxic to cats. In fact, I had no idea that virtually all flowering plants are toxic to both cats and dogs. How on earth did cats and dogs survive thousands of years with all these poisons surrounding them?
In the past when I had a balcony, I had basil, container tomatoes, peppers, thyme, impatients, geraniums, petunias, and african violets. I am going to miss fresh, home grown tomatoes this year. Super market tomatoes are hideous and farmer's market tomatoes are so pricey. *Sigh*
What do you have growing in your garden? Is it a container garden? Will you send me some fresh ripe, homegrown tomatoes?
User Comments
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I have sort of a bricked off garden - I tried growing tomatoes last year and it didn't work. Chilli peppers worked surprisingly well. Also oregano works well.
As for the rest, I sort of gave up - I went and bought several rose vines, an orange type called Crepescule, and let them run riot. They should bloom this year.-
Basil, lemon thyme and rosemary grow like weeds too. You should try them.
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I tried thyme - however it needs more sunlight than what I get. Rosemary also works well.
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Tomatoes do surprisingly well in containers. Have you completely given up on tomatoes? Because you could try some heirloom varieties in another part of your garden or in a container.
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I did try it in a container - I used all the right soil, fertiliser, etc - however the tomatoes that it produced weren't very flavourful or useful. Furthermore the plants just seemed to not thrive like my grandfather's plants used to - I think it partially may have been due to the rotten summer we had last year.
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Weather is a big part of it. I once splurged on a 15 dollar starter tomato plant. It ended up producing a grand total of 3 stunted tomatoes. The most expensive tomatoes I have ever had. Of course, I probably should have been more attentive.
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@Still
The weather has gotten more unpredictable - what we really need for tomatoes is a warm, dry summer but I doubt we'll get that. -
You could built a little hothouse for your tomatoes. There are tons of DYI hothouse projects online. I don't know how handy you are, but if I had my own garden and space to do it, I think it would be a fun project.
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@Still
You're somewhat overestimating the size of my garden, I'm afraid.
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Some of these hot houses are little more than tents that let in sunshine and hold in heat.
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@Still
I think even a tent would be too big. Unless it was a pup tent.
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Weed.
I mean ... weeds.-
I'm telling.
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talk to Gtally about that...he likes the dime bags -
I'm never going to live that one down, am I? -
nope...
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Damn you, monkey!
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Irises.
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Irises are my favorite flower! I once gave a bouquet of 100 irises as a thank you gift for someone who did something really wonderful for me.
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I want to dig them out and get rid of them. They're taking over the whole bed with their rhizomes and produce flowers for one week out of the year. Pains in @!@#!, if you ask me.
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You're breaking my heart. Irises are so beautiful.
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I just plant flowers and a some vegetables..like eggplant and tomatoe -
What flowers? Geraniums? Violets? Tulips? Irises? Roses? Daisies?
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A friend of mine has dozens of peony bushes in her backyard. Her home came with a peony plantation in their backyard where the previous owners sold peonies to local florists. Rows and rows of beautiful pink flowers. It's incredible in the spring time and is a magnet for bees.
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Iris, assorted butterfly attracting annuals and perenials, roses, in sunny area, lily of the valley, hosta in shady area-Basil, chives, thyme, rosemary, parsley in herb area, tomatoes, peppers...
season is too short here to grow many veggies...today is 80% and Monday will be 30%...growing is just for those of us who must play in the dirt to be really happy : )-
The growing season is short here too, but many vegetables do really well here. A lot of people do autumn crops too like cabbage, brussel sprouts, and squash of a million different varieties. Pumpkins too.
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Sunflowers-
and what I thought was a weed turned into a very productive rose plant.
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Those things get huge! Do you collect and roast the seeds? I once had a neighbor who grew sunflowers and corn in his backyard along with lots of other delicious edible things like strawberries and watermelon. I was quite envious of his green thumb.
Roses are incredibly hardy plants. They grow like crazy. -
They started out as a Cub Scout project about planting seeds. They get about a 2 foot head on them, thers 16. They also planted a hybrid pumpkin, would you like white outside with green inside, or red outside with green inside. They are kinda freaky, but tasty.
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Right now I have Lilies, tulips, irises, ferns, hostas, and even some pansies manage to reseed themselves. For food stuffs I have strawberries already blooming, and the raspberries and blackberries have shot up quite a bit. My carrots have taken well, and this week I will be getting tomatoes, cucumbers, zuchinnies (or other squashes - not sure), lettuce, peppers, eggplants, beans and whatever else I fancy
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Sounds amazing! I wish I had room for a homegrown produce section.
By the way, you're non existent avatar is quite disconcerting. -
I'm actually expanding this year, too I love growing my own food, it's awesome.
And yeah, my blank face is creepy to me, too -
It's so much better for you too. You know that the food you grow yourself is super fresh, perfectly ripe and organic.
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It's better body and soul. Getting out into the dirt and growing your own food has mental and emotional benefits, too. EVen if your tomato plants go rabid and you find yourself cursing while trying to contain them
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And how else will you get to see a squirrel cop a squat?
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Your tomato plants go rabid??? *looks envious* Oh, how awful to be swimming in TOO MANY tomatoes rather than none at all.
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My garden grows insanely large fruits and veggies. Like, scary large.
I had zuchinnis that were so big I couldn't fit it in my oven to bake it. And I had lots of them, I couldn't give them away fast enough My eggplants don't do so well, though. I'm not sure why.
Oh! I forgot, I'm also growing garlic, and I'm planting some potatoes. -
Do you live near a nuclear plant? Are they special irradiated vegetables like Homer's psychedelic tomatoes?
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Actually....I do happen to live fairly close to a nuclear facility.....now you've got me all paranoid
Nah - these veggies are fine, FINE I tell you! So what if I grew a third eye last summer... -
So that's why you don't have an avatar anymore.
If radiation was bad for plants, why would they grow bigger and more delicious?
See, I'm always thinking. *taps temple* -
Oh, I dunno, I'm thinking it might grow wildly large plants, but slowly poison you while you eat them....my avatar! my avatar! it's been destroyed by radioactive tomatoes and killer zuchinnis!!!!
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Nah, you're fine. Any effect radioactive veggies have on you are years away.
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tomatoes -
I actually spent most of the day working in the yard and garden. My Mum and I have a large vegetable garden and many perennial gardens. Two weeks ago we put down 60 bags of mulch on the perennial gardens and today added another 40 bags. You probably already know that gnomes love to spend their time in the garden-
Oh dear lord, you have a gnome avatar. Go to the thread "Just a nice clean thread" and make a comment to Gtally.
And thank you for your comment.
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Unfortunately, because of the back and forth travel between the two coasts, I am unable to have a garden. I do have some lovely houseplants that I have set up on a watering system in the house but we are gone for extended periods and the one time I tried to plant a garden, I killed everything.
There's a wonderful farm stand down the street from us (in MA) that sells fresh picked veggies at very low cost. I go to Farmer's Market in my neighborhood in San Francisco. This is not as fresh as the farm stand but still excellent.-
I would have thought SF had some of the freshest produce in the country! Good to see you again Melinda!
Chicago has a program that invites farmers markets to set up in office plazas and city parks every Thursday morning. The one in Daley Plaza is very nice with Labrea fresh baked breads and tons of locally grown produce and flowers.
Also, there is an organic farmers market in Lincoln Park called the Green City Market. It's expensive, but it's so good that all the upscale restaurants nearby shop there for their produce during the summer months. -
Thanks ST--Nice to see you too. I have been fighting a nasty cold on top of being way too busy teaching too many classes (I still can't say 'no' but I say 'yes' to healthier and more productive things, anyway!).
SF does have wonderful produce--but it is still grown miles away from the city--so while it is really good all year long, it can't touch the farm grown stuff in MA that is pulled out of the ground the same day we buy it.
We have some of those organic markets both in Boston and in SF--you are right, they are expensive but I almost always buy organic anyway. It's the right thing to do, I think, if you can afford it. If more people buy organic then pretty soon, it will be more available to all people.
I refuse to eat meat that isn't farm raised. But then, I was a vegetarian for a long time at one point (LOL--I was a junkie AND a vegetarian because goodness knows I wouldn't put that poison in my body! -
Well, Chicago's version of local are farms a couple hundred miles downstate, Michigan, Indiana, or Wisconsin. So typically, there is still lag time between pick and eat. Usually about 2 days which is stellar compared to super markets.
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Weeds, mostly. We're trying squash this year.-
Squash grow wild really easily, at least in my part of the country. Soon, you will have squash popping up all over garden. It will be an invasion.
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Scary big weeds mixed in with out of control lawn. And my patio plants are dead. My entire garden looks like a scene from some sort of horro movie. And every day I plan to tidy it up, it rains. The joy of Ireland! But no one else's garden is like that. Hmm...-
Rain is good for plants! It saves you having to water them.
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Peas, beans, garlic, salad greens, radishes and onions so far in the big communal garden. The ground temperatures are lower than usual this year and my gardening at home is done in containers.
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Have you had a lot of success with container gardens? I have done tomatoes, herbs, peppers and flowers.
This is the first year I am doing a window box inside the window though.
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weeds-
That seems to be a popular answer. To that I reply, most herbs are actually just delicious weeds.
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I didn't want to start a garden this year because I knew that I (alone) would be the one taking care of it. We ended up planting tomatoes, squash, zucchini, green onions, carrots, lettuce, brussel sprouts, and okra anyway. All of it has come up and is doing well and yes, I am tending to it alone. -
Then you should threaten to eat it alone as well, but as a good mom, I know you wouldn't do that.
Ooh, fresh brussel sprouts and okra! Those are unusual for home gardens. Brussel sprouts get really tall don't they?
I happen to love okra. Yum. -
Believe it or not, the kids picked those out (and actually eat them). This is the first year we've planted them, so I'm not sure about their height.
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I've seen them on the stem at the store and I want to say they were 3 feet high. You're going to have brussel sprouts coming out of your ears.
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Rather have them coming out my ears than other places.
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Hello, I am growing scallions. I dont have a garden so in my apt....it's fun! I am trying Shiso as well. I posted pics of the scallions on my blog if you are interested! xxx-
What is Shiso?
Scallions! Do they grow well in containers? I would love to grow scallions, but onions of any kind are very toxic to cats. -
Have you heard Ume Shiso Roll at a sushi restaurant? Shiso is a japanese hearb really nice. Also scallions are so easy. you buy it and don't throw the bottom of the roots. just stick into soil or water. it grows again!
more info on my blog. www.fukoblog.com
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I have a container garden that I grow tomatoes, bell peppers, banana peppers, collard greens, and okra. I use 5 gallon containers with a drain hole at the bottom. I add about a quart of water each day and every 7-14 days I add about a quart of miracle Gro fertilizer per plant.
I add 1 table spoon of miracle Gro per gallon of water. I have about 20 pots and last year I fed nearly half the neighborhood. I bought my plants and everything I needed at wal-marts. If flower pots are too costly just use 5 gallon buckets and put a hole in the bottom.-
I wish I had room. I have a studio apartment and a series of windows. I am hoping to get enough basil from my window box to feed my basil addiction for the summer and enough lavender to dry into bouquets for friends.
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Two apple trees, two lemon trees, two plum trees, a bay tree, a lime tree, and a quite old quince tree. Herbs: rosemary, oregano, lemon balm, two kinds of thyme, and rocket, if that's considered a herb. And a mix of native and exotic plants that I rarely remember what to call ... name, at times, not being my strong point.-
I envy your fruit trees. I remember my childhood home had 3 apple trees, 2 pear trees, strawberry patch, and roses.
My parents were not gardeners though and all of that was wasted on them. The previous owners of the home had planted all of it.
You are so fortunate. -
Fortunate, yes, or just plain lucky.
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I used to grow mushrooms.. Never came out right and it wasn't a garden - but mushrooms are amazing to watch grow..
It starts out by spreading this cottony mass all over the surface of your medium, this is called mycillim or something..
Then out of nowhere little pins shoot up, within a few days from the 'pinning' they are about ready to harvest, they blow up QUICK. In a night they can grow like 500% it's freaky.
If i find a good time lapse video ill post it.-
Wow. Do you know the species of mushroom, because you could have a potential cash cow on your hands if its the right type.
And that refers to the non-hallucinogenic type too.
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damn oregano, taking over the garden, but on the other hand my day lilies are doing great , and I had some volunteers come back up which will save me some money-
Volunteers?
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annuals that comeback by reseeding themselves,
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Ahh, nice. I would love to more space for a real garden, but alas. Next year, I am going to apply for a plot in the community gardens. Hopefully, that will satisfy my planting urges.
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So glad someone mentioned Irises. I never planted them here at our not-so-new house and hadn't realized how much I missed them til now.
Oh, and a salad mix in a large container planter next to the back door is great for summer dinners. Your lettuce keeps growing even after you pinch off the outer leaves.-
Ooh, I never even thought of growing salad greens in a container. Maybe next year if I have a balcony. I can't fit salad greens in my window box.
Irises are my favorite flower. The blue ones are just so beautiful.
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No fresh homegrown tomatoes... but here are some pics of the Iris just beginning to bloom in my garden... uploaded just for you and the other Iris lovers www.facebook.com/editphoto.php?aid=2026801#/album.php?aid=2026801&id=121287... Hope you enjoy...
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Beautiful! I love irises. They are just the most gorgeous flowers.
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The Irises are incredible. Thank you for the link, takes me back to eons ago when I belonged to the Iris Society and do walking tours.
Btw, we have an old iron post from a clothes line that we can't seem to remove - today, I thought of planting a climbing plant around it, or using it as the center of a sweet pea teepee. Any suggestions for me?
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It was good to see some of the perennials returning, namely lavender,lemon balm and lovage. Today, I moved my seedlings of nastarium to the salad box outside which already has parsley and rocket plant. I already have cucumbers, one tomato, wax beans, bitter melon and spinach planted in my small vegetable garden. Would love to share the tomato with you,Stillthinking!-
Thanks! I just bought myself a little pint of grape sized heirloom tomatoes because I won't have any home grown ones this year.
I wish I had a way of growing salad greens in a container this year. Well, I need to think about this...
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Well, we have lots of dandelions and a few daisies...and we have one white tulip in the middle of our garden who pops up every year...I decided to call him George.
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Plant yourself some veggies! Your little vegan heart should beat a little faster at the thought of homegrown eggplant.
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well...as my lease ends next month it seems a bit pointless...
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You're moving?
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I'm a student...we move all the time! I'm moving out of my student house and into NOWHERE! I have nowhere to live yet...eek!
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You could plant it in a container and take it with you. Name it Wesley or something very British.
I once had a basil plant named Tyson. -
I honestly don't think I've ever known of an Englishman called Wesley...
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Then, name it Sir William or something. Just make sure its a very handsome little plant.
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unfortunately I never have enough sunlight in my room for a plant (I only ever have a room, you see)
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Does this prison cell have a window that opens?
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it's not the windows that don't open that you have to worry about, it's the windows that don't close!
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cacti, sega palms and red ixora. -
we have quite a few palm trees and frangipani -
ummm, weeds-
hippie
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three types of lavender, garlic chives, dill, and catnip. in seperate areas of course -
Basil, chives, lavendar, parsley, cilantro...and that is just in my herb garden!! -
I have multiple different types of gardens that I am trying. I am doing container gardening, regular in the ground gardening, upside down "official product" gardening, upside down --in a bucket--gardening and I am trying floating hydroponic gardening for three types of leaf lettuce. I have three different types of tomatoes, red, green and yellow bell peppers-- habanero, banana, and cayenne peppers, cilantro, pumpkins, blueberries, strawberries, basil and thyme
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