2008 Low Carb GARDEN!!!!

[not2late]

Continuation of the 2007 Garden thread


Okay gardeners, let's get our hands dirty!

I'm re-doing my herb garden (in other words, I'm making it into a real garden rather than patches of herbs here and there.) I'm going to try to grow spinach, radishes and carrots in containers and the usual garden stuff--tomatoes, beans, squash, okra, etc.

My experiments will be:

1. Zucchini in containers (supposed to be a good way to grow them.)
2. Peanuts in a bag (I heard this from my boss who heard it from someone else. Get a bag of potting soil, open the top, poke holes in the bottom of it. Plant the peanuts into the bag. Water it, give it sun, etc. When it's ready to harvest, split open the bag---no need to dig for the peanuts. It's supposed to work well for potatoes too....)

What are you planning to plant?

[apple]

Timing! I've just brought out my pots from the garage to my potters bench that my hubby made me last year and trying to get ideas of what types of veggies to plant. I REALLy want to do zucchini and cherry tomatoes.

Good luck on your experiments! I'm not so adventureous with growing potatoes and peanuts, but I'm aiming towards that container garden idea with the zuc's and toms.

The more we talk about gardens, the quicker summer will get here! Yea!

[Chicklady]

I found a pumpkin called "seminole" a small gray skinned pumpkin that is supposedly capable of storing at room temp for a year! As I hope to take up freezer space with my other veggies (please Mr Woodchuck!!) and our cellar is too damp, this will come in handy!
Also an early and late planting of each broccoli and spinach, and maybe 6-8 brussel sprout plants. Definitely a few tomato plants, but I'm undecided about the pepper plants. We eat tons of peppers and can't begin to raise enough, so maybe that space can be used for something else?
The pumpkin and the cukes will go in whiskey barrels. The pumpkin is supposed to like to grow up trees.....so I'll let it
Also planting some amaranth, quinoa, sunflower and kale for my babies.

[Chicklady]

Megs..... I really wanna know how that peanut in a bag thing progresses. Keep us up to date! As I understand it, the peanut plant produces flowers that fall over, bury themselves in the ground and become peanuts. I wonder if they'll have enough room in a bag?

[brandywine1241]

For me, tomatoes and peppers are mandatory. We are almost out of the peppers I chopped up and froze last summer. Boy are they good in an omelet or egg salad!
I will also have cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon, and maybe spaghetti squash. I would love to try chayote squash, but can't find any seeds.

Here in Alabama, cool weather crops are on the way out by the end of May, so since my garden is shaded by the neighbor's huge magnolia tree til mid to late April, I am challenged there. However, I saw on Vistory Garden that you can start snow peas in peat pots very early since they like warm soil to germinate but cool weather to grow. The trick is to set them out in the garden just after they sprout so the roots won't be disturbed when you transplant them. I've done that for the last couple of years with very good results. I got them planted before I left for a couple of weeks in California, so hopefully they will be growing vigorously when I get home.

[not2late]

Chayote: all you need to do is buy a chayote that looks like it's "splitting". On the stem end you'll see a cleavage. If that cleavage looks like it's wider, then that chayote is ready to start sprouting. Stick , cleavage side up, in the soil. The plant is a vine, so it needs support.

You have a longer growing season than I do, so you might have better luck in getting fruit.



Re: peanuts...I've heard that too about the peanut plant. But I figure, lemme give it a try and see what happens. If it works, then WoooHooooooo! I'll be able to have "green" peanuts for boiling. (boiled peanuts is a Southern thing.)

I also grow peppers and winter squash. And I grow Swiss Chard, collards, and broccoli raabe.

When I was running errand this morning, I stopped by a "dollar store" and bought a few packets of flower seeds---edible flowers like sunflower, nasturtiums, calendulas, and dianthus. I also bought a few non-edible flower seeds like forget-me-nots, daisy, and baby's breath, because I think they look pretty in the garden.

[not2late]

Oh and to the folks who say they don't have a big yard to grow anything, that's not an excuse!!!!!

Lettuces, spinach, and many herbs grow beautifully in containers. So do tomatoes. Even if you only have a sunny window sill, you can still grow something like chives or basil in small pot.

[Porcelain]

I have heard about the peanut/potato in a bag thing too!

I am from Mississippi and I love boiled peanuts!

I got a packet of nasturtiums today too!

I picked up two tomato plants, both heirlooms. I also got my daughter a six pack of sugar snap peas.

Last week, I bought three seed packets: zucchini, cucumber, and radishes!

I will probably buy more plants soon, maybe eggplant and definitely peppers.

[Chicklady]

Brandywine-I hope you have room---i was reading that the chayote vine can grow to 30 feet long

[brandywine1241]

A 30 foot chayote vine. WOW!! I'm not too sure about that.