Dirty pics; "Don't Grow There"

[rkasal]

Spring is practically around the corner. Last fall, and it's harder than one would think, I planted over 500 tulip and daffodil bulbs at my lake place. Some of them may have been hyacinth.

It appears as if my lavundula augustfolia and lavandula intermedia are both doing well. The Japanese red maple that I will beging training this spring is doing nicely and the planted holly bushes are still green.

No garden pics on the laptop but will post some tomorrow. Much of what I've planted is designed to attract hummingbirds, butterflys, bees, and birds. Much of my lot at the lake is heavy timber with 100% shade but there's a strip at the top that is pure sunshine much of the day which allows the lavendar, sunflowers, coneflowers, and similar to grow.

The girls love the place and the wildlife. Three of the sides are surrounded by association woods that will never be built with the lake and park view on the fourth side. Very quiet.

Although back in the city, I grow herbs for cooking in clay pots, there is an area on my lake place for herbs to have enough to dry for the winter.

Who else gardens? Someone had proposed a gardening forum and that would be great.

[Belquar]

I have about 600 sq/ft that I garden in the backyard. Just veggies and stuff. These pics are from two summers ago. I had Romaine, grape tomatoes, better boys, corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f229/belquar/DSCN2167.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f229/belquar/DSCN2180.jpg
In front of me in the mass of green is the grape tomatoes. Those things are ridiculous. I didn't plant any this past summer. All volunteers. I probably pulled 400+ plants out when they all came up.

This last summer I toned it down a little. I had green beans, tomatoes, romaine, parsley, basil, and potatoes.

[dancogan]

Great reminder on why New Jersey is called the garden state!

[lancew]

I have all the fertilizer you want, no charge- the horses are producing it at the rate of about 100 pounds a day... feel free to come fill your saddlebags!

Actually, we DO have a compost pile at the bottom of the big field that's been "brewing" for almost 3 years... all the seeds, etc in the horse grain have gone over, and it's gotten that dark, loamy texture now- the tomatoes should do well this year.

[kreinke]

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[Spidereyes]

Count me in as a fellow dirt lover. Few things in life compare to a Summer luncheon of home grown tomatoes and basil, or fresh gazpacho or peppery salsa or chili rellenos or...heck, I'm going to go page through the Park Seed catalog and plan for Spring.

[Hodag]

my pond off the patio, put in on a whim one weekend
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/kraus/100_2311.jpg

my postage stamp gardens (in need of make-over). bascially just for maters and peppers.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/kraus/ADV/000_0004.jpg

we like flowers
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/kraus/100_2115.jpg

[darcym]

I've got an avocado tree in the back I grew from seed. It's about 7 or 8 years old now and got my first fruit off of it this fall. Still has about 6 avocados still on the tree. They weren't really high in oil content, so I have some work to do in that regards. Still, the tree is 20 feet tall at least and I'm very proud that I've kept it alive.

I also have a banana tree that just gave me some smallish fruit, waiting for it to ripen.

Several citrus, some mixed results there. I have a ton of lemons but the tangerine tree on the hill died.

Loads of flowers, some good, some great, some in containers, some in the ground. I'm not really successful, I have had some good years for tomatoes but more bad. Will try again this spring.

Thinking of putting in some more raised beds for mixed vegetables, too. Would like to have corn if I can find the space for it. Don't want to crowd the dogs too much. Also I need some drainage and hardscapes put in. It's a lot of work that I do myself, sometimes cuts into fun times with motorcycles and surfing though. It's nice to eat the fruits of your labor, though.
:lurk

[jdmetzger]

When I moved into my house, the back part of the small yard was overgrown with vines and things. I cleared all of that out, put in some landscaping timbers (converting to "fancy" blocks in the spring) and hauled in a cubic yard of compost mix. The area is roughly 16x8. I grew peppers (LOTS of red/yellow/orange bells) and some chili peppers. They LOVE it back there; plenty of sunshine, and I keep them watered. My main problem has been overabundance. It's not a bad problem to have. :)

I was planting too close together and then they would get extra tall. Then I was trying to get in there and stake them or put cages around them. Mostly of the time I used most of the peppers, but not all of them. I LOVE bell peppers. I took this last year off, but if I'm still in the house, I'll plant this spring, again.

I also have pots with chives, basil, and I'll sometimes pot a Habanero plant or two.

[rkasal]

my pond off the patio, put in on a whim one weekend
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/kraus/100_2311.jpg

my postage stamp gardens (in need of make-over). bascially just for maters and peppers.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/kraus/ADV/000_0004.jpg

we like flowers
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/kraus/100_2115.jpg

You did that on a whim? In one weekend? Nice. Very nice.

[rik]

Spring is practically around the corner. Last fall, and it's harder than one would think, I planted over 500 tulip and daffodil bulbs at my lake place. Some of them may have been hyacinth

Had a friend who did similar at his house. Did it in a way he called "naturalized".
Really looks nice. Hope you had a power auger. Bet it will look great.
I'm a 4x8er. Small veg beds. Herb boxes and the like. Right proud of my dahlias though. Startes two fig trees five years ago. Have gotten fruit the last two seasons. Started five more from fall cuttings and four of them look to be rooting good. Like the idea Don't Grow There.

[Hodag]

what zone is everybody?

[rik]

what zone is everybody?

Zone 6.

Like the little pond by-the-way.

[Hodag]

Like the little pond by-the-way.

Thanks it was a nice add on.
its amazing the amount of wildlife (birds, squirrels, frogs, etc..) that come to it.
we had ducks living in it for a week.

install pics.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/kraus/pond/100_0986.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/kraus/pond/100_0987.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/kraus/pond/100_0995.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/kraus/pond/100_1003.jpg

the install crew
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/kraus/pond/100_0989.jpg

[rik]

Can't tell from the photo, but is there a circulator installed? Also, just showed my honey the pic. Uh-Oh.

Is that a Miller?

Ok other pics just popped up. See what appears to cable leading to pool.

[Hodag]

is there a circulator installed?

Is that a Miller?

yes

and

yes
(must have blown into the yard??)

heres an artsy flower shot
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/kraus/100_2308.jpg

[KGT1200]

I want you all to know I really enjoyed this thread!:D

At my old house, I used to had a raised bed garden, 12 beds in 3 rows down a gentle slope; We raised a great garden for years and years. All the pics I have were "pre Digital" so I will have to find a fw and scan them in maybe this weekend.


I havent raised anything in five years; this thread may give me imputus to get it together again.

Thanks for a great thread! Beautiful gardens and pictures!

Red

[Hodag]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/kraus/100_3062.jpg


grow something different

planted for kbasa

[rkasal]

what zone is everybody?

Zone 5a. At the lake, I'd further refine it more like what the French call terrior or somewhat what we would think of as a micro-climate.

I have limestone and sandstone boulders, clay soil, sandy soil, one part that is almost loess, and a large portion that is rich dark forest rotted vegetation soil.

Add to that much of the property is shade with heavy timber but with a strip that received pure sun. This strip is at the top of the hill reachable only by foot. Could use the Funduro IF I wanted to cut out a lot of brush/trees. So, I have to carry everything up the hill through the brush and that includes water.

The hill faces South and part of it is Eastward. I also had a lot of poison ivy. Two vines on two trees were as thick as my wrist.

Someday, I'll put in a pond similar to your where the Japanese red maple is that I'll start training this summer. Will write detailed instructions as to how to do this. Think I may go fully traditional using pebbles but haven't decided for certain.

[Spidereyes]

Anyone else lose part of their hard work to ground hogs every year? I lost my entire Fall garden (kale, collards, turnips, lettuce, etc.) to one last year.

Any ideas how to deter them?

(Zone deep 7 / shallow 8)

[henzilla]

Anyone else lose part of their hard work to ground hogs every year? I lost my entire Fall garden (kale, collards, turnips, lettuce, etc.) to one last year.

Any ideas how to deter them?

(Zone deep 7 / shallow 8)

:laugh :laugh :laugh there was a thread about that earlier in year! Involved gunpowder
I lose peaches to the deer and raccoons just about pickin' time! find neatly cleaned pits in the morning.:scratch

Zone 8 with raised beds behind a critter proof fence. usually give up around July, only a few things like the TX heat...I go riding.

[Kev95GS]

My garden...

http://kev95gs.smugmug.com/photos/210258234-M.jpg

but seriously... I couldn't find any pictures of my vegetable garden. I didn't grow one last year and was glad after since we had the worst drought in 50 + years and 15 days in a row over 100

Heres a pic of some of our beautiful state flower. My mother got these from a family friend and then helped us plant them in our new yard a few years ago.

http://kev95gs.smugmug.com/photos/242236452-M.jpg
http://kev95gs.smugmug.com/photos/242236533-M.jpg
http://kev95gs.smugmug.com/photos/242236577-M.jpg

Shared plants are the best!

Kevin

[Belquar]

Anyone else lose part of their hard work to ground hogs every year? I lost my entire Fall garden (kale, collards, turnips, lettuce, etc.) to one last year.

Any ideas how to deter them?

(Zone deep 7 / shallow 8)

Squirrels. I kill everyone I see in my yard with a pellet gun. Ground hogs, you will probably need more power. You can get a .22. Use the powderless bullets. Fires only on the primer. It will kill a whistle pig.

[Spidereyes]

Squirrels. I kill everyone I see in my yard with a pellet gun. Ground hogs, you will probably need more power. You can get a .22. Use the powderless bullets. Fires only on the primer. It will kill a whistle pig.

I don't want to kill the little guys. Our subdivision was a cow/horse pasture some years ago and the ground hogs lived here first. Besides, we are surrounded by other houses and I don't fancy shooting around them.

I just want to deter or repel the critters, preferably with a "green" method. There; I said it: I'm a liberal, tree-hugging, Eco-freak.

[Belquar]

I don't want to kill the little guys. Our subdivision was a cow/horse pasture some years ago and the ground hogs lived here first. Besides, we are surrounded by other houses and I don't fancy shooting around them.

I just want to deter or repel the critters, preferably with a "green" method. There; I said it: I'm a liberal, tree-hugging, Eco-freak.

I wouldn't call you a freak, but sometimes population control is the "green" method.

[rkasal]

What would Jethro do? He'd recycle the squirrels by cooking them! Same with ground hogs. Maybe granny would russle up some possum stew.

Getting around to posting some of my flower/tree/bush pics this weekend if I could put down the new BMW Motorcycle magazine.