Peri's Garden Blog is Back!

[Peripherie]

So I revive this dead thread, like so many of my plants from last spring/summer, and begin again!

Actually I probably should rename this blog "Peri's (and her SO's) Garden Blog!"

He has already kicked off the growing season with planting a few potatoes in pots as well as trying to trim and save some of our herbs. We had planned on a plot of land in my side yard on a much grander scale but I think pots on the porch will suffice for our gardening needs for one more year.

For Easter his mom gave us six pepper seedlings (4 hot and two sweet) and he planted them today, with my our cat Ori supervising and generally getting in trouble. Pictures to follow. We had planned to do a lot of cutting back before spring really sprung but life seems to have marched on without telling us.

Pictures soon to follow and hopefully a few seasons of crazy antics with some yummy/pretty growing things!

[Wistful Dream]

Glad to see you back at this darling. <3 Can't wait to see those pictures!

[Cassandra LeMay]

Nice to have your blog back.  :-) Looking forward to some pictures. And even without pictures it's good to know that you and the SO are going strong.

[LtRipley]

I might steal this idea from you lol I have a pretty expansive patio garden at my apartment

[Peripherie]

Thanks Cass! Wisti!

And you should Atroxa! We planed herbs and peppers and an eggplant last year. We are pretty novice but we got a few things to eat from it. We started some from seed and some from young plants. (We also planted some radishes and beats and lettuce but those didn't do so well.)

[LtRipley]

I did bell peppers, green beans, and tomatoes last year. This year I added squash (and zucchini), eggplant, and radishes. I also have some herbs like mint, parsley, cilantro, and spinach. Oh and I got a thornless blackberry bush last year and then got a couple small strawberry plants this year too. I started most of them from seed except for the herbs and the strawberries. You did your egg plant from seed? How did that go? My seeds took forever to sprout and now the sprouts are taking forever to grow!

[Peripherie]

I think the eggplant was from a seedling. Oo... he got some some kind of berry seeds. That is great about the green beans. Like I said we are still very new at gardening and have big plans with little time. :)

[LtRipley]

I bought the blackberries and strawberries as sprouts instead of seeds, same with most of my herbs but almost all the vegetables have been grown from seeds

[Blythe]

So I revive this dead thread, like so many of my plants from last spring/summer, and begin again!

Actually I probably should rename this blog "Peri's (and her SO's) Garden Blog!"

He has already kicked off the growing season with planting a few potatoes in pots as well as trying to trim and save some of our herbs. We had planned on a plot of land in my side yard on a much grander scale but I think pots on the porch will suffice for our gardening needs for one more year.

For Easter his mom gave us six pepper seedlings (4 hot and two sweet) and he planted them today, with my our cat Ori supervising and generally getting in trouble. Pictures to follow. We had planned to do a lot of cutting back before spring really sprung but life seems to have marched on without telling us.

Pictures soon to follow and hopefully a few seasons of crazy antics with some yummy/pretty growing things!

Oooh sweet peppers? Those sound like they'd be really good!

[Oniya]

Oooh sweet peppers? Those sound like they'd be really good!

I may be wrong, but I believe that green peppers are one of those plants that you can start from grocery store produce.  Pull out the seed cone in the middle, and brush the seeds onto a paper towel.  Allow to dry, then plant in seedling pots (you can use empty eggshells instead - they'll break down when you transplant the baby plants outside.)

[Peripherie]

I may be wrong, but I believe that green peppers are one of those plants that you can start from grocery store produce.  Pull out the seed cone in the middle, and brush the seeds onto a paper towel.  Allow to dry, then plant in seedling pots (you can use empty eggshells instead - they'll break down when you transplant the baby plants outside.)

That's a great idea. I shouldn't tell my SO about that trick though... he will be too excited about it. *shows him anyway* ^_^

[Peripherie]

I have a pretty purple iris blooming!!!

*is still too bogged down for pictures* It was a beautiful surprise when I went out back to take the trash out today! ^_^

[Oreo]

I was really excited to get my 'sort of' garden going this year. We were able to move a bunch of grow bags up next to the house, making the plants close enough that I can manage to tend to the garden. Next year we have a spot clears right behind the house where I will be able to grow directly in the ground instead of pots and bags.

We got some new varieties of tomatoes to try, Indigo Rose. I thought having black tomatoes would be really cool then came to the realization that I had no idea what the tomato was supposed to look like once it was ripe. Thankfully Google let me know the bottom turns red when they ripen. (They are hard to spot in the picture, but there are little black and green tomatoes in there.)

I've already been nomming on my zucchini foe a couple of weeks, and gone through the bulk of sugar snap peas. We ended up buying seven different types of tomatoes, and I got seeds to start in a mini greenhouse for next year.

There is a nearly endless supply of kale, chard and collards already growing behind the house. I gathered a few semi truck tire rings to plant my herbs in and have become quite spoiled with their fresh taste in almost everything I cooked for the past month. (Above picture the herbs have now totally filled the rim with tarragon, lemon thyme, thyme, and basil.) Purple basil, sage, and chocolate mint, in a cauldron. The parsley and chives are in another container behind the house.

It doesn't look like much, but the outer wild herb garden is massive. There is marjoram, oregano, bergamot, lemon balm, wild mint, lime and French thyme, and feverfew, plus a few aromatic herbs I have forgotten the names of.

Next year I hope to add string beans back to the garden. It seems like forever since I had fresh Romano pole beans.

In other areas of the property the berries are going crazy. The blackberries are especially proliferous this year because of all the rain, and covered in masses of berries. There is a section about 7' high and 25' long of those growing on the fence-line.

I need to get a picture of the grape arbor now that it is filling in and the grapes are starting to grow.

So enthused about everything. ;D I adore cooking food that comes straight from the garden to the table. >_> Even the roving wild venison plant.

[Peripherie]

Wow Oreo, that sounds like a fantastic garden! (And I've never even heard of black tomatoes.)

My SO has been leading the charge on our garden this year (as I am cultivating my grad school work). We have lots of little things growing but the coolest thing is:

CORN!!


I didn't even really think we would be able to grow corn but we have about 6 stalks that seem to be doing well. They all have corn husks on them in various stages. Anyone else out there familiar with growing corn? I'm not sure we even know when we should try to harvest the husks ... so I would love some advice!

I will post more about our other projects in the coming days!

(I'm still super jealous with your wild herb garden cookie!)

[Oniya]

I didn't even really think we would be able to grow corn but we have about 6 stalks that seem to be doing well. They all have corn husks on them in various stages. Anyone else out there familiar with growing corn? I'm not sure we even know when we should try to harvest the husks ... so I would love some advice!

Basically, it's when the ears have filled out.  If you pinch the end of the ear lightly and it's rounded instead of pointy, it's ready.

Since corn does work in your area, a neat thing to do is something called a 'Three Sisters' arrangement.  You plant some kind of climbing bean next to the corn stalks, and some kind of squash in the bed as well.  The exact types don't matter.  The bean plants use the corn stalk for support, and also put nitrogen back in the soil.  The squash leaves spread out over the ground and keep weeds from growing.

And remember:  August 8 is 'Sneak a Bag of Zucchini onto your Neighbor's Porch' Day. Really.

[Oreo]

*feelz bad* I dehydrate my extra zucchini so I have it for winter soup. ;D

I tried growing corn once, but it was really hard to get any decent ears from it. I think our soil is too clay based. Although I have heard you need to grow a fairly large crop to get them to pollinate properly I had 10 plants per row for 6 rows. I got about 3 ears per plant, but they were only about 5" ears.

[Peripherie]

Basically, it's when the ears have filled out.  If you pinch the end of the ear lightly and it's rounded instead of pointy, it's ready.

Since corn does work in your area, a neat thing to do is something called a 'Three Sisters' arrangement.  You plant some kind of climbing bean next to the corn stalks, and some kind of squash in the bed as well.  The exact types don't matter.  The bean plants use the corn stalk for support, and also put nitrogen back in the soil.  The squash leaves spread out over the ground and keep weeds from growing.

And remember:  August 8 is 'Sneak a Bag of Zucchini onto your Neighbor's Porch' Day. Really.

Thank you, that's good to know! My SO did plant beans in the same spot as the corn but I don't think they are climbing beans. I'll have to go start 'pinching' my corn stalks every so often.  :D

[Ket]

I didn't even really think we would be able to grow corn but we have about 6 stalks that seem to be doing well. They all have corn husks on them in various stages. Anyone else out there familiar with growing corn? I'm not sure we even know when we should try to harvest the husks ... so I would love some advice!

When the outer silks turn brown and flop over, the corn is ready! I have some feed corn growing, for the heck of it, because the squirrels buried hundreds of kernels in my mom's front and back yard. That's what she gets for feeding them corn on the regular all last summer! :D

I've got three different tomato plants, gold and green zucchini, green and wax beans, and lettuce mix that are growing this year. I've also got some herbs up on my porch along with all my little flowers and sunflowers.

I have to container plant everything because the soil here sucks, and I rent. But I've come to find that as long as the container is the right size and has good drainage, anything will grow!

My little garden

[Oniya]

I found an itty bitty praying mantis on my porch today - maybe two finger-joints long at most.  Being me, I picked it up and moved it back to the lawn - green is a much safer place with more food.

[Ket]

First lettuce harvest today! So crisp and tasty.



Which led to this amazeballs salad (sadly the other produce was store bought because the rest of my plants aren't producing yet)



Of course, herbs are growing nicely too...



Which meant fresh seasoning on the steaks!



I need a bigger garden!

[Oreo]

Is that fennel or dill?

The salad looks yummy. I miss being able to eat them, but I have gotten used to the heartier texture of kale, collards and chard which I can eat.

I have been harvesting the heck out of my herbs and zucchini. Waiting patiently on the tomatoes too.

[Ket]

Is that fennel or dill?

The salad looks yummy. I miss being able to eat them, but I have gotten used to the heartier texture of kale, collards and chard which I can eat.

I have been harvesting the heck out of my herbs and zucchini. Waiting patiently on the tomatoes too.

It's a dill, I forget which kind exactly. And parsley and italian sage.

You can't have a mesclun mix? That's what that is. I don't like iceberg, and wasn't quite sure about trying my hand at any of the other head lettuces yet.

My zucchini plants are gargantuan, had to separate them yesterday, and are full of buds. Soon!

[Oreo]

I can't eat any lettuce at all. Is sad, but there are the other greens, and napa cabbage.

[Ket]

Can you so spinach? What about things like dandelion greens? *feel horrid that you can't has lettuce*

[Oreo]

* Oreo is odd

I only like spinach on pizza or creamed. I like beet greens though and plan to grow beets again next year. It's been about 10 years since I last grew my own beets.