Gardeners Unite!!! v. I accidentally sat on a cucumber!

[manboychef]

I am an avid gardener. I grow flowers and vegetables. I am in florida which in the states is considered zone 9 for growing.

I have five vegetable patches, and two beds of flowers. I collect rose plants and have five varieties so far.

I really just want to get this thread started so we all can post photos of their gardens, ask for tips and tricks, and just shoot the breeze about getting your hands dirty.

-zack

ps. I will post some rose pictures later.

 

[DixiChik]

Hey Zack...Great thread! I read many of your posts and think you are such an inspiration to others.

I live in MS, where Spring has sprung, though I'm not prepared for the season. Believe me, I LOVE my flowers!

But I struggle with extreme physical pain and it's sidekick...suicidal depression. Yes, gardening is such a rewarding activity. In my case, it requires a very strong back (literally) and sheer determination.

Funny, but I just returned from the co-op. I plant Macho Ferns around my garden pond/waterfall every Spring. I wish they were winter hardy here, but no such luck! They are gorgeous throughout summer into late Fall, requiring little more than Osmocote and water.

I resisted the "annuals" section, as I'm known to go overboard. My flowers mainly consist of perennials, such as Black-Eyed Susan, Purple Cone flowers, Sedum, Hydrangeas, Confederate Jasmine, Carolina Jasmine and Hostas. I love to plant seeds of heirloom Zinnias to add splashes of "happy" color...and of course, Sunflowers!

I have a River Birch that we planted by the garden pond when it was pencil thin and 7 ft. tall. It's now three massive trunks and 40+ feet tall. Note to self...Don't plant River Birch if you don't want aggressive roots that win EVERY battle for soil/water. It's a glorious tree, but a thief of soil, water and intrusive for the sewer lines.

My husband enjoys growing peppers and tomatoes. I would love a raised garden or two for some varieties of lettuce and other salad goodies. I enjoy reading your posts of gardening, cooking, and painting your pots.

Keep up the good work. You inspire folks!

 

[PotatoMan]

gardening, huh?

healthy living?

 

[manboychef]

Hey Zack...Great thread! I read many of your posts and think you are such an inspiration to others.

I live in MS, where Spring has sprung, though I'm not prepared for the season. Believe me, I LOVE my flowers!

But I struggle with extreme physical pain and it's sidekick...suicidal depression. Yes, gardening is such a rewarding activity. In my case, it requires a very strong back (literally) and sheer determination.

Funny, but I just returned from the co-op. I plant Macho Ferns around my garden pond/waterfall every Spring. I wish they were winter hardy here, but no such luck! They are gorgeous throughout summer into late Fall, requiring little more than Osmocote and water.

I resisted the "annuals" section, as I'm known to go overboard. My flowers mainly consist of perennials, such as Black-Eyed Susan, Purple Cone flowers, Sedum, Hydrangeas, Confederate Jasmine, Carolina Jasmine and Hostas. I love to plant seeds of heirloom Zinnias to add splashes of "happy" color...and of course, Sunflowers!

I have a River Birch that we planted by the garden pond when it was pencil thin and 7 ft. tall. It's now three massive trunks and 40+ feet tall. Note to self...Don't plant River Birch if you don't want aggressive roots that win EVERY battle for soil/water. It's a glorious tree, but a thief of soil, water and intrusive for the sewer lines.

My husband enjoys growing peppers and tomatoes. I would love a raised garden or two for some varieties of lettuce and other salad goodies. I enjoy reading your posts of gardening, cooking, and painting your pots.

Keep up the good work. You inspire folks!

Why thank you! I understand that it is sometimes hard to get out in the soil when physical ailments cause you problems. I had hurt my back falling in the tub during a benzo fueled blackout and now my back hurts when I stoop over to weed, and plant. The chronic fatigue I look at as a blessing though. It is teaching me to take breaks.

I live in zone nine so most annuals stay year round with proper care. I can place burlap sacks over my annuals during the coldest months to keep them from dying out, or I can cut them off to the roots because the ground does not get cold enough to freeze the roots. They come back every year.

It is also a good hobby in the sense that I am actually meeting my neighbors. They usually stop and look at my garden and ask me questions while I am out there.

gardening, huh?

healthy living?

Ur the boss my friend! I guess it would be healthy living because fresh veggies are good for your physical health, and having a passion is excellent for your mental health.

 

[PotatoMan]

great. i'll send it over there now. nice thread. my name's zack too

everyone on my dad's side (his mon & 2 sisters) absolutely love their garden and gardening. when i get home maybe i'll take some pics of their gardens and fuel the thread.

they're all very beautiful gardens.

 

[DixiChik]

Hey Zack and Zack!

It's raining here today, which should further "green" things. My husband helped me get the Macho ferns in the ground around our waterfall last night. He'll re-seed the Bermuda when the soil warms a little more.

The daylily beds are peeping through, but need to be divided. MBC, I wish you lived closer so I could share some of the divided plantings! Damn armadillos ate the bulbs of my prized Stargazer lilly.

Do you grow standard roses or the Knock Out variety? What veggies are in your garden currently?

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

I also love gardening as well.

I grow hot chilies in the spring/summer, herbs like Basil and Rosemary, and I want to get started growing other vegetables this year as well if I have the space for them.

 

[DixiChik]

Hey Priest...My husband likes to experiment with the varieties of peppers. I think Cayenne is his favorite so far. We enjoy making pepper sauce.

I grow Rosemary, Sage, Dill and Basil. I did have mint, but it became too prolific and took over. I cook with herbs while fresh from the garden, then dry them to cook with during winter.

 

[manboychef]

I grow herbs as well dixichick! I have two types of rosemary, french and german thyme, dill, cilantro, flat leaf parsley, greek and italian oregano, catnip (for my asshole cats) and sage. I also grow lavender but I use that for more a splash of blue and purple in my front garden.

I grow one variety of knockout roses; Knockout pink. I also have Double Delight (yellow roses with pink petal tips), J.F.K (white roses with cream colored center), traditional red (which I have finally trained to grow long stem style), and lastly I have Peace which is blazing orange in the center that gradually lightens by the petal tips. It is amazing the variety, and the scents are categorized the way wine is. My Double Delights are described as "Not overtly floral, overtones of cinnamon, with a vegetal finish) To me they just smell like roses.

What growing region are you in dixi, and Priest?

For vegetables I grow early girl sweet corn, danvers #129 carrots, black beauty eggplants, green peppers, chefs potatoes, arugula, butter lettuce, crinkle leaf lettuce, mizuna, red leaf lettuce, pinto beans, blue vine beans, bush beans, honey rock canteloupes, yellow crook squash, golden star zucchini, pickler's cucumbers as well as traditional cukes, yellow plum tomatoes, grape tomatoes, sugar 2 pod snow peas, cherry tomatos, mini strawberries, and I have a pomegranate tree that still needs two years to bare fruit. My girlfriend, stepdad and I love vegetables. I find it is also a great way to cut down on grocery costs since in zone 9 I can grow year round.

I also just joined the arbor day foundation so I ordered and planted three red maples, one white dogwood, one rose of sharon, and eight or nine little pines (I am not sure of the breed). They are all just getting their first leaves.

Peace

J.F.K.

Traditional Red...with some J.F.K.

I will post pictures of my vegetable setup later. In florida the soil is so bad that I have separated my gardens into small plots that I have put my own soil mixture in. The sun can also kill your shade loving crops so I have had to make beds that get partial sun.

 

[DixiChik]

WOW...The "Peace" looks like a Dahlia. It's beautiful, as are the others. Thanks for sharing pics.

I live in central Mississippi. My husband and I don't grow what we call a "vegetable garden", just a few tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers. I'm going to try a variety of lettuces in my antique wagon this year, so the wild bunnies (and my asshole cat ) won't destroy them. We have raccoons, armadillos, and the occasional possum trolling our bird feeders, tubers, and such.

Both my older brother and sister have huge plots for summer vegetables (corn, okra, peas, butterbeans, cabbage, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, cantaloupes and watermelons). They grow various greens into early Fall (Kale, Rape, Turnip and Mustard). Both of them are retired, so they fill their freezers and can tomatoes and pickles, etc. to eat throughout the winter. My brother is a lifelong hunter also, so deer meat and wild boar are a big part of their diet.

We enjoy vegetables, too. We call it "soul food" when we cook vegetables, cornbread, and of course green onions! Add a glass of iced tea...and it's on! I'm the only sibling who can cook like my mom did...even the turkey and dressing w/gravy.

This is a great thread. Thanks for starting it. Happy Easter, if you observe. Happy Weekend if you don't! We have a picnic and egg hunt planned for Saturday with my great nieces and nephews.

 

[manboychef]

Happy easter to you as well. I am glad lent is almost over!

There is something in growing and harvesting vegetables with your own two hands that makes them that much better.

here are some more pics.

Me with the start of my pomegranate tree.

Partial shade garden right before I harvested the last head of brocolli at the end of winter

A bouquet of roses I picked for my girlfriend, sweetzoe...she is some kind of wonderful

Full sun garden about three weeks ago

my test partial shade garden after I planted various greens...on the right is my pinto bean plants I use to make seedstock

My herb garden.

second full sun garden so I can stagger my crops.

Shrimp flower bush....I just love this. It is everblooming and they look like shrimps with the tail and everything.

Gardening saved me from a life of addiction and gave me a sense of purpose. I cannot work right now because if I do I lose my health insurance....which I need so I can get my Hep c cured. As a man I find it incredibly challenging not to be working...I almost cannot accept it, but having this garden and watching it prosper as a direct result of my caring hand has eased my mind and made it a lot easier to accept my life. My problem is I am still driven, I will work incredibly hard until a job is done. This is bad for my chronic fatigue from the Hep C (If I overdo it I get swollen joints and I am sick for a day or two afterward), and I have a bad back so I have routinely thrown it out when I put in a new bed (I have six now). My girlfriend literally gets pissed of when she sees me working so hard, but she is an angel and takes care of me when I hurt my back.

 

[DixiChik]

I get "it" on the therapeutic level, from seed to flower/fruit or vegetable. I admire your honesty about your addiction/recovery. You help many here see that it IS possible.

Though I have not wrestled the demon of addiction, I fight vehemently against crippling pain and depression. My career is my identity, which isn't necessarily a good thing. I love my work, but I've had to scale back on my bids and proposals. I am driven, too, and a workaholic by nature.

Although I enrolled in PM in 2014, I have yet to find a med that eases my extensive gut pain. If they are strong enough to ease pain, they knock me the fuck out. I don't like feeling dazed and confused, so I white-knuckle through most of the pain with very little medication. I would like to try some of the CBD oils, as I'm told there are some beneficial for inflammation. I don't have much faith in "promises" of healing my disease, as it can only be managed at best.

Onto happier thoughts...LOVE the shrimp plant. I bought one of those once, but sadly killed it. I have a long list of plants I've killed as I DO NOT have a green thumb. It took a while for me to realize that "too much" water, fertilizer is more deadly than too little. Alas, it took me years to get that! I got most of my surviving plants from my uncle, my aunt and my neighbor...all of which have since gone to Heaven. Each blooming season, I have beautiful reminders of each of them...mid-summer.

Kudos on the thriving garden plots and the blessing of a loving mate. My husband and I have been married 35 years, unable to have children. I've read your posts about your child. It's evident that you deeply care and grieve the geographical distance between you,. Divorce is hard, especially with little ones. Stay strong, one breath at a time. Because where there is breath, there is ALWAYS hope.

 

[Retired Trashcan]

Thank you manboychef! Or Zack, whatever you prefer I love to garden, but haven't in years. As some know on here, I need a hobby, cuz my wife just passed, and I'm working hard to stay clean. Gardening would be GREAT! I will have to get some plants and post pics, and participate in this.

 

[manboychef]

Indeed! Gardening saved me from myself. After the rain lets up here I am going to post some more pictures of my flowering plants. I have lots of new blooms.

 

[suzieq70s]

Is it OK to ask on this thread what kind of vegetables or fruits you would recommend growing in pots on a balcony

 

[manboychef]

of course. Here are some pictures then I will tell you what I would do.

double bloom

Suzie. In this picture you can see a strawberry pot with several types of fresh herbs in it.

You can grow all sorts of strawberry plants in pots. Grape tomatoes do well in pots. Cucumbers. Bush green beans do well in a pot. You can grow some fresh greens as well. For the greens I would get a windowbox and plant an entire pack of field greens and then thin them out when they become seedlings. The best types of field greens for this are crinkle leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce and arugula.

 

[DixiChik]

Zack...That double bloom rose is magnificent. I've never seen a rose do that. I have Daylilly blooms that double and triple. Is the plant just above with the white-ish blooms a "Bog Iris"? I have huge "islands" of those in a deep yellow.

Hey RT and Suzie! Zack has some great tips here for gardening and he is a testament, IMO.

I'm going to try the lettuce mélange this year. It's still a little too cool in MS to plant. Spring has sprung, but we're having some nights in the mid 30's amongst the tornadoes!

 

[Retired Trashcan]

Hey RT and Suzie! Zack has some great tips here for gardening and he is a testament, IMO.

I'm going to try the lettuce mélange this year. It's still a little too cool in MS to plant. Spring has sprung, but we're having some nights in the mid 30's amongst the tornadoes!

Yeah, April or not, it has dipped below freezing the last 3 nights.(I'm about 300-400 miles north of you DixiChik, I think) However, my local store here has gotten in a bunch of great looking plants, yay! I haven't had a garden like that since I was in my young teens (as is the late '80's to early '90's LOL8) ) but I'd like to try it this year. I will post pics as soon as I get some planting done. Could someone PM me and tell me how to post videos and pictures on here? TY RT J

 

[manboychef]

Sorry I have not checked this thread in a while.

Those are egyptian Iris'.

To post pics go to imgur.com, in the top left hit upload. Then choose the picture you want to upload. Then after it uploads there is a button on the right that displays what to type into the post you are making to display it.