Garden.

[KJbushway]

I am going to try growing my own vegetable and fruit garden. I already have a desgin and the area to do(it might be two because of a tree thats in the way). I have looked at websites to see what plants are in what seasons and how to plant seeds. I read about growing onion, pepper, and garlic to keep insects away and my desgin keeps animals away.
I was wondering if anybody here can give me extra advice?

If you want to share how your garden is going please share.

 

[JarodRussell]

Why is there no option for cattle? Or weed?

 

[KJbushway]

I guess if your country allows you to grow weed, say you grow weed. I didn't put it because america hasn't legalized it and I wouldn't grow it.

 

[Deckerd]

We grow fruits, vegetables, perennials, biennials, shrubs, trees, wild flowers (weeds), songbirds, gamebirds, hares, voles, shrews, fieldmice, stoats, geese (deliberately), roe deer and buzzards.

 

[AdAstra]

I don't have a garden.
However, when my new roof is installed, I'll install a rooftop mini-garden.

Currently, I am trying to grow some tomatoes and strawberries and raspberries. Let's see how that goes.

 

[trekkiedane]

This was my garden last year (Or was it the year before that?):

This year I have two more boxes like that; one with radishes and one with chives and parsley.

Plus I bought a couple of bigger boxes; one for tomatoes and one for... well, I have peppers, strawberries (one plant only ) and more radishes.

Here they are about a month ago:

It isn't going super though; snails ate a lot of my radishes and the tomatoes don't get enough sun because of the neighbours BIG tree over our yard

 

[thestrangequark]

I live in an apartment in Brooklyn, so my garden consists of a few large window boxes containing mostly herbs: rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint, and dill, and a couple of pots of lettuce. I also have several houseplants, about 20. My favorite is my little Aussie black bean tree and a prolific philodendron to which I'm very attached and from which I've used clippings to grow three new plants. This thread is especially timely, as I was just about to post a plant thread myself to ask a question -- now I can ask it here!

I have a little plant and I don't know what it is. While 19 of my houseplants and my herb garden are all thriving, this little bugger is doing poorly. It used to be about ten times as thick, but only a week after getting it home most of the foliage dried up. I've since weeded out the dead bits and transplanted the living portion into a new pot with some quality and even ph potting soil. It's still not doing well, though. I've tried partial shade and now I'm giving it a dose of full sun. It'd help if I knew what this is. Can anyone help?

 

[Deckerd]

It looks a bit like a variegated hedera, in which case I would take cuttings and chuck away the original compost.

Actually that's what I would do no matter what it is but ivys are easy to propagate because their stems are designed to form aerial roots.

 

[trekkiedane]

^Looks a bit like some kind of Ivy.

Edit: Seems Deckerd got it

 

[thestrangequark]

Are you guys sure? The leaf shape is not ivy-like, so I'm uncertain. I did chuck all the original soil and the majority of the plant when I repotted it.

 

[trekkiedane]

Are you guys sure? The leaf shape is not ivy-like, so I'm uncertain. I did chuck all the original soil and the majority of the plant when I repotted it.

True, about the leaf-shape, but otherwise it does look like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedera#Uses_and_cultivation

 

[Deckerd]

Nope. Not sure. Just what it looks like to me.

 

[Kestra]

With silver bells ...

 

[KJbushway]

I am surprised by how much spacing plants need. Just for the sweet potato the spacing between rows needs to be 60-120", my garden plans only allow for 2 ft apart. I can put it to 3ft, but I may have to grow them in my second space which I will try to grow pumpkin and watermelon.

Looks like most of my fruits are bushes and I will have to find a space for them. I either have to buy the seeds or the infant tree, I am going for the cheaper of the two.

Question:
Can anyone tell me how deep a garlic seed needs to be? I know they can grow right from themselves like onions and potatoes.

 

[thestrangequark]

Are you guys sure? The leaf shape is not ivy-like, so I'm uncertain. I did chuck all the original soil and the majority of the plant when I repotted it.

True, about the leaf-shape, but otherwise it does look like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedera#Uses_and_cultivation

Yeah, but the leaf is so different I think it must be something else. Besides I have some ivies, and they're thriving. Thanks for trying, though!

 

[iguana_tonante]

Are you sure it's not that kind of plant you need to keep in water? Kind of a shoot in the dark, but I remember something similar my mum had some times ago, and it looked similar... but I could be talking out of my arse, because I know nothing about plants.

 

[thestrangequark]

^Well, when I got it it was potted, so I assumed that it should stay in a pot. I do grow my philodendron starters in just water. Usually I'm good with plants, but there's something about this guy...his will to live is weak!

 

[iguana_tonante]

Maybe he is asking you to die with dignity... it's difficult but sometimes you do what you have to do.

I suggest a Viking funeral. You can't go wrong with Viking funerals.

 

[J.T.B.]

This year, we planted five different tomatoes, tomatillos, Anaheim chiles, serranos, green bell peppers, cayenne peppers, English cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, "slicing" cucumbers, zucchini, and watermelon. Perennially, we have raspberries, rhubarb, garlic, chives, mint, flat-leaf parsley, sweet basil, Thai basil, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, sage, purple sage, Golden Delicious apples and sweet cherries. Two basil plants are in pots and come indoors in the winter, plus I plant more for each year summer use.

The tomatoes and peppers I grew from seeds, the others I bought from a greenhouse. The peppers I was most excited about, cascabels, were destroyed by snails, which really pissed me off because it was the first time I tried to grow them, and my wife uses them in her chile powder recipe and they are hard to find locally (and not cheap). I can assure you the snail population has taken a hit over this issue.

We have some nice daffodils, tulips and Dutch iris in the spring. In the summer most of our decorative plants are herbs, but we have some flowering geranium and a small bed of "Thumbelina" zinnias in the front of the house.

--Justin

 

[Marie1]

I am surprised by how much spacing plants need. Just for the sweet potato the spacing between rows needs to be 60-120", my garden plans only allow for 2 ft apart. I can put it to 3ft, but I may have to grow them in my second space which I will try to grow pumpkin and watermelon.

Nature tends to go a bit nuts, so don't try to stick to a "plan" or "design" too rigidly. use plenty of cages and mesh to make things grow up instead of out if you're short of space.