<p>There’s a first time for everythings, so I took the plunge and started a small [very] garden on Sunday. There’s no worry of frost again in my locale, so all the gardening advice sources say I should be o.k.</p>
<p>Right now in the ground I’ve got seeds for Red Romaine Lettuce, Straightneck Squash, Lemon Cucumbers, Leeks, Sugar Snap Peas, Rosemary and Basil. In two weeks I’ll sow more lettuce and add Radicchio, British Cucumber, Sweet Yellow Pepper and Thyme. I planted Leeks because one source said onions would help ward off insects (Leeks are in the onion family, right?)</p>
<p>Mama was born and raised on a farm but I wasn’t and I have no clue as to whether or not I’ll get any results come mid-summer. Any advice you care to share? What vegetables have (did) you plant?</p>
<p>My little apartment balcony doesn’t have nearly enough room for a container vegetable garden, but my thyme, mint, sage, rosemary, cilantro, and basil are doing wonderfully.</p>
<p>Where do you live LakeWashington? State of Washington? The most important thing is sun. You need at least 8 hours a day, and preferably more. I live on Long Island in NY, and although we are having a heat wave for a few days, I don’t plant warm weather crops like peppers, summersquash, cukes, tomatoes or basil til after Memorial day. They just won’t grow. The time is good for all your lettuces, snap peas. I ususally put herbs in pots near my kitchen door so they are handy for cooking. How long is your growing season? You may not have time to grow peppers from seed sown outside now. Check with a nursey in your area and talk to other gardener in the neighborhood. The nursery will probably have seedlings of many things that they know will grow in your temperature zone. ( The country is divided in to zones depending on first and last frost) It may be good to start with seedling for somethings your first go around. I have not grown rosemary or thyme from seed.</p>
<p>It is very satisfying to grow your own food. Try to stay organic with your fertilizer and pest control. It will be tempting to go for the miracle grow, but it is better for your if you don’t. If there is on thing I can’t live without in my garden, it is Sungold Cherry Tomato. If your Nursery doesn’t have it, many places sell plants on line.</p>
<p>I don’t really have enough sun anywhere, but I put tomatoes on my patio, they do fine as long as I remember to water them regularly and they don’t get decimated by hailstorms. I got some plants on Sunday - a bunch of tomatoes, basil, thyme (for some reason mine all died off last year), some parsley. The rest of my herbs are still doing fine. I ought to put some lettuce out, and I usually like to do some peas. I always grow organic.</p>
<p>I grew up in a rural area where vegetable gardens were the norm. As an adult in suburbia - it’s a tad bit tougher but I’ve been scouting an area in my yard, assessing it for adequate sun and getting ready to try a few things. It’s tough in the Pacific Northwest as we just don’t get much true “heat” and well, you all know about our notorious gray skies. I’ve tried tomatoes from starts a few times in the past with lukewarm results, but I also admit that my current yard does not have ideal sun exposure. Years ago in a different location I had a lovely kitchen herb garden that I got great enjoyment and use out of.</p>
<p>Good suggestion to check in with a local nursery on what to plant. I’ve had good luck with annual herbs in my garden window, but I’d really like to take on a bigger project this year.</p>
<p>I’m the asst gardener at our house, but so far “we” have planted sugar snap peas, garlic, red leaf lettuce (started in cold frame) and a bunch of flowers. Our perennial herbs are doing well–rosemary, thyme, oregano.</p>
<p>Under the lights in the basement, soon to be planted, are tomatoes, basil, eggplants, sweet peppers. To be planted in the garden soon, straight from seed, are green beans, butternut squash, cukes…I think that’s it. I’ll have to check with the head gardener (aka my H) to see what I missed .</p>
<p>Too early to plant warm season vegetables and herbs here, too, but I’ve already purchased and transplanted tomato and pepper plants into pots. I put them outside on my deck when it’s warm and bring them inside near a sunny window when it’s too cool during the day and also overnight. I won’t transplant them in the ground until the end of May because the soil’s too cold. I’ve been using this method for at least five years, and I always have tomatoes and peppers well before my neighbors.</p>
<p>The lettuces that I planted outdoors last fall came back with a vengeance this spring. We currently have a bumper crop.</p>
<p>I grow my herbs in pots (basil, thyme, rosemary, chives, lemongrass, and parsley). They’re out on my deck during the summer, but I bring them indoors during the winter. I purchased a T5 indoor light setup specifically for my herbs and light-loving orchids, and they’re all thriving. It’s great having fresh herbs during the winter.</p>
<p>I have not planted any vegetables outside yet, but I have eggplant, cukes and tomatoes patiently waiting in the warmth of our home office for their chance to enjoy the great outdoors. My vegetable garden will have radishes, onions, peas, squash, beets and carrots.</p>
<p>On Saturday H and I went to Molbak’s (a very famous local nursery) and left without $200 but with a truckload of plants. There were signs all over the garden vegetable section advising folks that tomatoes would not do well outside just yet.</p>
<p>All weekend long H and I have been ripping out plants that were killed or damaged by the record low temperatures this winter and replacing them with new stuff. We planted some star magnolias, forsythias, heaths, heathers and clematis for color, added a few conifers for greenery year round, finally planted the two Japanese maples that I had bought last fall (they survived the freeze on my front porch). Then we moved the blueberries out of the shade from under the Douglas firs, planted a couple of hardy fig trees, tidied up the raised beds. I weeded the front garden and washed the walkway… My shoulders and arms are sore!</p>
<p>LongeyeMom, I’m nearby across the Hudson River in New Jersey. Apparently I’ve taken a risk by planting relatively early, but maybe our April heat wave will pull me through. Question; how would I nurture my vegetable plants organically? Are there any organic methods to protect against pests?</p>
<p>BunsenBurner remember, I grew up in the Puget Sound region. A childhood friend had a prodigious yellow cherry tree in his front yard a stone’s throw from downtown Seattle, and various neighbors of my parents had fruit-bearing plum and pear trees (yummy fruit for those of us kids brave enough to climb and risk the owner’s wrath). Our next door neighbor grew the largest zuchini squash I have seen before or since. Seattle TV gardener Ed Hume (the spokesman for Ernst Hardware and Garden Store) was a famous man in our house, and mama still has a positively beautiful yard full of flowers etc. after all these years. By the way, where have all the wild Blackberry plants in Seattle gone? They were abundant in alleyways and fields when I was a kid. Whenever I visit Seattle in the summers, there are no Blackberry bushes to be had. Mama made Blackberry cobbler from our pickings when we were rugrats.</p>
<p>Blackberries are growing profusedly here. It must be something I bought last year to fertilize it with, idk. I have two types, the big size(thumb) and the small size(small finger). I have been picking half-pint of blueberries everyday. Some are the size of a quarter(thanks to my fertilizer). I’m picking my garlic and onion plants to make room for more strawberries. Lots of flowers are in place. </p>
<p>vegetables:
-3 rows of corns of 3 different types.
-20-30 plants of tomatoes.
-2 beds of summer lettuce & aragula
-a few eggplants
-a few pepper plants
-a row of beans
-one squash(not sure which type)
-one cucumber
-malabar spinach(from last year seeds on the ground)</p>
<p>I’m starting a few of my seedlings in doors for watermelon & regular melon. Oh yeah, I also planted lots of flowers. It’s much more satisfying to me to start plants from seed.</p>
<p>We are practically neighbors! I buy all my products from a company called " gardens alive" They have a website -gardensalive.com. Their products are great. They have a tomato fertilizer called “tomatoes alive plus” that makes my plants rocket out of the ground! The most important thing to remember is to build healthy soil. Did you dig a fresh bed that had never been planted in? If so, you need to add organic material. Your Home Depot has bags of composted manure that you can add to get you started. The Mantra is “feed the soil, not the plant” . I also like the kelp products.</p>
<p>All of the produst I used have been good. They have some pest and disease control products that I like. Soapsheild for tomato diseases, pyola for insects. But again, I would ask neighbors what the local problems are before buying. Then buy before there is a problem, as prevention and catching something earlier rather later is best.</p>
<p>LW–my H gardens organically. For pests, I think his two main lines of defense are marigolds (he plants them between the tomatoes–their scent apparently repels pests) and vigilance–there’s no substitute for finding those nasty tomato horn worms and picking them off. </p>
<p>As I was scrolling quickly past this part, I thought Bunsen had planted eggplant, cupcakes, and tomatoes. I was astounded that you had found an alternative to baking them.</p>
<p>There are plenty of wild blackberry bushes around the Seattle area if a person knows where to look. Lots of the parks and in our area even a couple of the schools have some very impressive blackberry “patches”. </p>
<p>My oldest child’s last request before heading to college these past four years has always been a blackberry pie. He picks 'em, I bake 'em. Plus a bag of berries in the freezer for a pie during winter break.</p>
<p>I purchased planting soil from the local Lowe’s Hardware Store. Bypassed the ‘Miracle Gro’ and Scotts brands and chose the “Sta-Green” brand to save a couple of sawbucks. Didn’t see it sold anywhere else besides Lowe’s. The company claims its a genuine soil mixture from ‘deep in Canada.’ Well, we’ll see how well it works. I hope that no Canadians are angry about their nation slowly shrinking because of rookie Yank gardeners such as myself who need good soil for tiny urban plots of land.</p>
<p>I’ll take a look at the gardensalive internet site. And I already did my little part to help a locally owned garden center by buying a couple of things from him. That way, I can talk to him when I’m at my wits end. Also, I find the Parks Seed Company website very interesting.</p>
<p>I planted a weeping hemlock- moved some gaultheria and thuja to allow for growth, decided I am going to move my osoberry shrubs, planted some frageria ( beach strawberry), watered my blueberries and pear trees that I planted earlier- moved some native mountain raspberry,planted some sword ferns and repotted some rosemary I want to put under the eaves.
( and I went around and ripped out grass sprouts)
havent’ planted tomatoes or peppers yet- they are growing in the house- the rhubarb is going great- as are the thymes, sages, oreganos, but haven’t planted basil yet.
Have planted some radiccio, and other lettuces, beets, brocolli rabe,leeks ( I plant those with roses), have established lavender hedge and rosemary shrubs already- have currants and huckleberries, chives- oh and potatoes!</p>
<p>but I think my Orcas pear has * fireblight* :(</p>