Anyone planting a garden this year?

Anyone here planting a garden this spring? Either for economic reasons, health reasons, or just for the fun of it?

If you are planting a garden, what are you planting?

If you are not planting a garden, why not?

 

Not me as I have a concrete back yard and while I know I could use pots to do so I find the summers here burn up anything I plant. The patio has a southern exposure and is in the sun all day. HOA won't let us put up anything to shade either.

Instead I visit the farmers market and shop locally.

I'd love to find a good CSA program but here in the heart of a metropolis it's a good 45 min drive to the nearest one.

 

we are, I can't wait!
we're going to rip up all the grass in the backyard and replant and will put a garden in the back. I don't want to add one that's to large since it'll be my first garden in our new house.

 

Had the same problem, and stumbled across a solution that restored the lovely flora flourishing in their containers. Three things worked ...

I figured out that the heat from the surface on which the containers rested was killing the roots, regardless of shade/water/etc. That was solved by putting every container on a stand of some sort, especially those ones that allowed air under the bottom of the container. Even a very few inches off the ground made a difference - larger containers did not need to be as high as smaller ones that absorbed heat faster.

Also found that larger round containers protected the roots much better than smaller containers that absorbed heat more quickly. I used somewhat oversized containers, planted abundantly flowered plants in the middle (like petunias & allysium,) and when they were mature and running everywhere the container didn't look too large for what was in it.

And the plants did need some shade, at least filtered, during the heat of the day. I strategically placed garden chairs/lawn chairs to provide that shade. Small planters even fit underneath, and the chairs were placed with their backs against the larger ones. Basically I put the plants where I could see and enjoy them most, then placed the chairs. When I wanted to use the garden area I moved things around for that purpose.

So that was it ... plant stands, larger containers, and garden chairs for shade. And watering morning and evening, religiously. I went from a very sad container garden to an abundant one.

Just some ideas. Hope you do have a way to enjoy some planting!

 

Container-gardener and small-garden person here ...have always enjoyed it so much. I am really looking forward to the much longer garden season, having just moved from Colorado to Texas. (Return move, I'm Texan by heritage.) It was very hard in Colorado to wait till mid-May to plant, but any earlier and it was very likely to be killed by a short spring snow/freeze. I had always had an abundant spring garden during the years I lived in Virginia. Here in Texas things can be started very shortly.

 

My wife and I, and a couple of my grown step kids are planning on planting a community style garden this year. Plans are to take about 1/4 acre and plant some squash, potatoes, zucchini, snap beans, okra and maybe some corn and watermelons.

My step kids inherited about 8.75 acres from their grand father. Its supposed to be shared between the 3 of them. 2 of the step kids and their families are living on the land. The other step child is living on the other side of town - which is only about 4 or 5 miles away.

My parents own about 30 acres, which could be used for a garden, but its a 20 minute drive to that location. We might plant something there, but if we do, its going to be potatoes, or something else that does not need to be picked every couple of days.

I figure the price of food is going to be going up this summer. If the price of gas goes up, the price of food will go up. So my family and I have to do something to offset the increased prices.

 

I have an acre and a half of a back yard and always say I'm going to but haven't so far. Maybe this will be the year for some corn, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, watermelon and I've always wanted my own blueberry bushes. I have quite a bit of wild blackberries and grapes (I don't know the type but they're dark and when fully ripe are the sweetest grapes ever)

 

everything i plant dies.....:rose-dead:

 

I'll be planting some things on the side. HOA can't see and it's shaded. Asparagus (gotta pickle some for next winters bloody mary's), tomatoes, and peppers.

 

How ironic that you started this thread!

I was just speaking to my daughters last night about possibly starting a garden in our backyard. I want a pretty small garden for them to have fun and maybe have a few things grow back there. Any tips on some low maintenance or easy to upkeep items to plant? Vegetables and/or fruits

 

I'll be planting about 20-25 different plants. A mixture of herbs and veggies. Just because I grew up in farm country and the stuff you buy in stores tends to taste like crap compared to home grown.

 

A lot of people do not know that produce in the grocery store is coated with a wax film so it will last longer.

Would you like some wax with that fresh apple or cucumber?

 

Also, I can speak as some of my family owns a sizeable apple orchard, they bleach the the spots off of apples. Not at the orchard but somewhere between the orchard and the store it happens.

 

I think it's good to plant what does well where you live. It's nice when plants are naturally doing their part to stay alive and flourish, and don't need you to stick to a daily chore grind to have them behaving so you can enjoy them. I'm sure south Florida has many choices, more so than where I lived in Denver, which is officially a high-altitude desert (it turns alpine & acidic a few miles west, climbing elevation.)

I suggest you and your daughters do some internet searching, it should be easy to find information on plants that like your climate and soil. Even your state's agricultural extension service - your tax dollars provide a good deal of information on growing things.

Just an idea for you ... should your daughters want to plant something not ideal for your area, that will be a lot of work to maintain ... if it were me, I would let them have a little of that, along with alot of what will frankly turn out to be more rewarding with less work. They can compare their own experience of "easier" and "hard" and the results. Great learning for future life choices, imo! :p