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Gardening Thread

I usually do two basil plants and by the end of the summer they’re massive bushes. Which is fine because I can use that to make a freezer full of pesto.
 
tsywake said:
I've got around a 1/4 acre garden that will also have Roma tomatoes, jalapeños, zucchini and squash, carrots, onions, corn, sunflowers, kohlrabi, beans, watermelon, and eventually pumpkins. A hodge podge of many things.
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impressive - do you have an irrigation system?
 
I've got a yard hydrant right beside my garden, and automatic timers to a few sprinklers to cover the area. It's less efficient, but I've tried drip hoses and trench watering in the past and sprinklers are so much less effort.

A few years back I had a well pump installed in the river and would irrigate that way, but with the yearly floods, it became too much of a hassle, especially considering the closest access point is 100 ft down a steep hill behind my house.
 
Gardeners of the Pit, I come bearing a question regarding potatoes. My grandfather was great at growing them, but has been dead for 6 years. I've never had much success, but am determined to have a better year in 2021.

My question is this, how do you store them? He had a plywood storage bin in a basement area of his shop. I've thought about keeping them in my basement where it's cool, but worry about humidity. Where and how do you keep your potatoes for long periods of time?
 
anybody here not fence-in/bin their compost?

is it mostly critters or what? we just started a few piles way in the backyard away from the neighbors - mostly lawn clippings and dead leaves rn - food waste coming soon
 
I’m not sure what you’re asking exactly, but I do bin my compost. Helps move the process along faster I think, especially since I churn it up with a shovel a couple times a week. Pretty much equal parts lawn clippings and fallen leaves plus food waste, egg shells and coffee grounds.
 
During dinner with friends, I was asked what kind of tomatoes I was growing. I said "I can't remember, they all sound like porn star names anyway." (Checking later, I'm growing Beefsteak and Celebrity. Anyhow, for your consideration: Tomato variety or porn name?


My dinner host said that "German Lunchbox" sounded like an urban dictionary entry!
 
I'm guessing this is somewhere in the thread already, but after serious skepticism on my part I let my wife talk me into a Lettuce Grow thing from the Zooey Deschanel startup or whatever it is. We were about to build a garden box in our side-front yard, did that instead.

To say I was completely wrong about it is a gross understatement. The Lettuce Grow thing has been easy to tend, puts out a ton of produce, supplies a huge variety of veggies and fruits, and takes up very little space. We absolutely love it.
 
tsywake said:
Gardeners of the Pit, I come bearing a question regarding potatoes. My grandfather was great at growing them, but has been dead for 6 years. I've never had much success, but am determined to have a better year in 2021.

My question is this, how do you store them? He had a plywood storage bin in a basement area of his shop. I've thought about keeping them in my basement where it's cool, but worry about humidity. Where and how do you keep your potatoes for long periods of time?
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I did potatoes in the past and used to store them in sand in my basement. it kept them in good shape for longer periods of time. this was told to me from a WV farmer.
 
06deacon said:
I’m not sure what you’re asking exactly, but I do bin my compost. Helps move the process along faster I think, especially since I churn it up with a shovel a couple times a week. Pretty much equal parts lawn clippings and fallen leaves plus food waste, egg shells and coffee grounds.
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yes, you have to do equal parts dead to green or you will get a lot of flies and worms. i purchased compost bins because the fence in was so messy when you had to churn it around, which you should do regularly.

p.s. you should break up your egg shells because they don't break down very quickly otherwise.
 
warak said:
I did potatoes in the past and used to store them in sand in my basement. it kept them in good shape for longer periods of time. this was told to me from a WV farmer.
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I had great success with red potatoes at our old house. I haven't planted any since we moved. They kept a long time in the pantry. I don't remember exactly how long.
 
It's Spring. The weather is warm and the garden is all tilled. So I am resurrecting this for all of us who grow our own vegetables.
 
Why does may have to be so fucking dry. It was like this last year too. Been like three weeks without significant soaking rain. The gardens kinda stunted (other than the crab grass I can’t reach) because it’s depending on me watering it. Plus the volunteer basil seeds I’m counting on havent sprouted because the soil’s parched.
 
06deacon said:
Why does may have to be so fucking dry. It was like this last year too. Been like three weeks without significant soaking rain. The gardens kinda stunted (other than the crab grass I can’t reach) because it’s depending on me watering it. Plus the volunteer basil seeds I’m counting on havent sprouted because the soil’s parched.
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I have not had this problem this year. Haven't lost a plant yet and they're shooting up, except for the cukes. But those always do nothing and then explode overnight. I've also been using grass clippings to layer and mulch the garden and it makes everything so much easier.
 
My garden is electric right now. Cool thing about dry weather is this badass invention called a water hose. You wouldn't believe it but you can actually use it to help grow your garden. It's what plants crave
 
I said I water it. Just seems to really bust out once we get a huge rain. Main problem is that none of the volunteers have started yet because I’m not watering the bare dirt.
 
We really dialed back this year to just an herb garden; focusing more on native plants/pollinators and wild flowers that we can cut if all goes well.
 
It's really annoying when you plant what are labeled Bush beans and they tun out to be vine beans so they crawl all over ther garden because you didn't plan fir trellises.
 
anybody have success with growing tomatoes indoors?

i'm on the top floor of a walk-up and the back stairs area has a landing with sunlights above it, so gets natural light most of the day and then bright light overnight -- not temperature controlled so gets warm when it's warm outside

seems like possibly a good alternative to my current set-up, which is outdoors but vulnerable to rabbits and squirrels and doesn't get plentiful direct sunlight for the trees and building
 
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