MgoGardeners, How Does Your Garden Grow + Adult Beverage Time
Mates,
It occurred to me that even for urban dwellers, having a garden is kind of a thing. It also occurred that some of you might be really good at that, and a wealth of knowledge given all the smart-niks that are on the board. With summer finally arriving up north its time for those things up here, and I'm curious about what you all are growing and how.
So the Questions are:
1. What are you growing (yes, even if its medical marijuana) and how are you doing that? You growing plants, flowers, vegetables, raised bed gardens, potted, irrigated, whatever, give some background on it.
2. Been hot up here and been busy outside much of the day. About to do the last of the chores for the day, and an adult beverage will soon follow. What's in your cup?
Hoping you are enjoying a great holiday weekend,
XM
EDIT: I knew there were some serious gardeners here.
Also, hello to ms. dudeness, whose head i am apparently renting out without payment. getting better for you hopefully.
Tomatoes, beefsteak and cherry, cucumbers, and all hot peppers available in the raised garden.
Home fermented hot sauce in the fall that is better than any commercially available.
Drinking some Quincy, local (Gravel Bottom) brewery double NE IPA
Just trying to keep the damn rabbits out
had a go-round with hornets two springs ago that my neighbor the beekeeper took care of for us. the wasps get in the hunting blinds too.
it all this year. I have tomatoes, (mostly yellow pear and cherry), peppers, kohlrabi, cilantro, beets, daikons, radishes, chard and lots of gooseberries and strawberries. And a neighbor who brings over lots of things I don't grow. He more than makes up for what the rabbits take.
Since we're talking about gardening, I have a question for those of you who live in places other than suburban Chicago. Are any of you familiar with the giant and terrifying cicada killer wasp? I have always been afraid of wasps, but when I saw one for the first time when we moved to Evanston, I nearly died. Now the months of July and August are spent scanning the grass every time I go out. I don't relax until the beginning of fall.
Planted new citrus trees last week - my favorite to grow. Have navel and valencia orange trees, plus eureka lemon. It's a pleasure.
you making opium with them? asking for a friend.
Cucumbers, tomatoes, zuchini, carrots, chard, spinach, beets, radishes, several varieties of one cut lettuce, two cut and come again romaine varieties, watermelon, canteloupe, popcorn, cabbage, brocolli, pretty much every herb.
I have apple, peach, pear, plum and apricot trees. Blue, black, ras, straw, and jastaberries.
I have a lot of flowers.
Put up 60 foot of greenhouse to get lettuce about 9 months out of the year. I hope to be fully food sustainable in about 3 years.
I went a little crazy haha
User name checks out
I have my asparagus crowns that are going on 5 years old. Grape vines, blackberry and blueberry bushes. I planted tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and yellow squash and peppers--jalapeno, habanero and a Carolina reaper.
Please post video of you enjoying your Reapers!
I'll probably dehydrate them to make some powder to add to chili or make some hot sauce to use sparingly
This is my personal challenge right now. For Mother's Day, my family completely ripped out everything in an overgrown, problematic flowerbed. It was a lot of work and I appreciate it. But now I have this blank plot of land, 9' by 20' on a steep slope that I have to turn into something. Something attractive, erosion-resistant, and neglect-tolerant. That's because every year I start the season with hope and ambition and by mid-July I'm tired of it.
We seem to be paralyzed by options.
are really pretty. I'd mix in some perreniels between them like sorrel, chives, mitsuba, sweet marj.
Call around to tree service companies, usually they are looking to get rid of wood chips. Mulch heavy with those and you should be good to go.
That is what I would do anyway.
One for a small variety of herbs (a couple cinnamon basil leaves in your bourbon is a delicious summer treat!). A second larger plot where we do tomatoes, zukes,cukes for pickling, radishes lettuce, kale, and this year I've box watermelons. Everything but the masters are grown from seed. Gardening is an incredibly satisfying way to spend a couple hours after work.