Subject: Gardens?
Posted by: houston1127
Date: Jun 17 12
Anybody growing anything this year? I'm growing varous peppers, an array of tomatoes, sweet potatoes, irish potatoes, radishes, carrots, kohlrabi, spinach, swiss chard, bush beans, beets, onions, and different herbs. What are you growing this year?
Posted by: houston1127
Date: Jun 17 12
Anybody growing anything this year? I'm growing varous peppers, an array of tomatoes, sweet potatoes, irish potatoes, radishes, carrots, kohlrabi, spinach, swiss chard, bush beans, beets, onions, and different herbs. What are you growing this year?
140 replies. On page 5 of 7 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Mixamatosis 
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Neighbours with same size garden as us have paved or decked practically all over it with just a few small flower beds for growing things. That's what people like these days, so it probably puts their house value up, but they say they won't be able to retire any time soon because of all the work and extensions they are still paying for. Already they are finding the garden too hot to sit in for long. We still have a green garden and our shady spot to sit in, but it's not quite as shady at the height of Summer. There's no real shade in Summer. Both gardens are too small to grow trees, for shade, which could cause problems being too near the house. Other neighbours have a tree close to us and I found roots from it popping up in our lawn. We have cut one off as they are a tripping hazard. Reply #81. Jul 26 18, 7:42 AM |
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Rain and a break in the very hot weather - at last! Reply #82. Jul 29 18, 12:10 AM |
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I have gathered ingredients from my allotment to make a moussaka tomorrow, namely aubergines (eggplants in the USA), green peppers (bell peppers in the USA), tomatoes and courgettes (zucchini in the USA). Other ingredients are from the shops. I'm hoping it will taste good. Reply #83. Aug 14 18, 12:25 PM |
Skyflyerjen
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My sister just made chocolate zucchini cake! She got a monstrous zucchini from her friend, who grows them, so she got creative with it! It's delicious! Reply #84. Aug 15 18, 10:31 AM |
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I'm a bit inundated with zucchinis or courgettes/marrows as we call them here, at the moment. (Marrows when they are big). It's hard to eat them as fast as they grow, and I've only got 4 plants. I like to use them to make curries because they add a sweetish flavour to the spicy flavour and it's a nice combination. They are also good in Italian pasta dishes. I've never made a cake with them. Maybe I should look into that, for a bit of variety :-) Reply #85. Aug 24 18, 2:22 PM |
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I made the moussaka by the way, a low calorie one. It was nice but I decided I would not miss the aubergines (eggplants). I don't really like them that much and I don't think I'll bother growing them next year. Instead or cream and cheese topping, I used low fat yoghurt flavoured with grated parmesan cheese - very tasty and as long as something is tasty you don't miss fat and sugar as ingredients. Reply #86. Aug 24 18, 2:26 PM |
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Got some great plums from our allotment and I'm having some for breakfast every day. I'm eating about 7 different fruit/veg a day now to try and keep up with production but I'm feeling very good on it. Reply #87. Aug 25 18, 10:52 AM |
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Husband used leftover chard as an ingredient in potato cakes - very nice. Reply #88. Aug 27 18, 2:27 AM |
| Skyflyerjen
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You sound like you're getting a very healthy diet! I commend you for such a nice garden, too. My sister is growing zucchini but they haven't popped up yet. That moussaka you made sounds good, too. Reply #89. Aug 27 18, 10:33 AM |
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Thanks Skyflyerjen. I just wanted to post today about how wonderful hydrageas are. When I was young you'd only ever see the same ones - pink or blue with standard unvarying flowerheads. Now there are such varieties of colour, size and shape to choose from. Things are a lot more interesting. A blue one I bought over a year ago turned dark pink via purple but still with a bluish purple centre to the flowers and slightly curled petals. Now towards the Autumn some of the heads have faded and are turning green. Amazing plant. Reply #90. Aug 31 18, 3:57 AM |
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Skyflyerjen. By 'popped' do you mean germinated or fruited? I've noticed that here they produce more zucchinis towards the end of the Summer when the plant is at its largest. Reply #91. Aug 31 18, 3:59 AM |
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A neighbour on the allotment gave me 3 large beetroots and 3 Greek cucumbers so I've made some borscht soup with the beetroots (lovely) and some tzatziki dip with a cucumber. Still got 2 cucumbers left to use in salads. Reply #92. Sep 02 18, 5:43 AM |
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I think... fruited. They were planted quite a while ago. We both love zucchini so I had high hopes! Oh, my gosh... hydrangea... no doubt, those are some of the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen. They're like a load of little flowers all rolled into one! I have white ones myself, wish they were purple or blue, some color, but it's not like I'm disappointed with mine! Reply #93. Sep 05 18, 8:23 AM |
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White hydrangeas are really lovely. Another thing I like about hydrangeas is that they are easy to grow and don't mind a bit of shade. In fact I think they prefer it. Reply #94. Sep 06 18, 7:31 AM |
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It's odd for zucchinis not to appear if the plant itself has grown. The only risky part I've experienced is getting them to germinate and stay alive at the beginning of the growing season - musn't plant them out too early as they don't like cold weather and will die if there's an overnight frost. Reply #95. Sep 06 18, 7:34 AM |
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We just moved last year, and this summer was the first chance my sister got to make her own little garden. So we have yet to grow green thumbs, we're really new at this! Hopefully next year, anyway. Reply #96. Sep 06 18, 8:18 AM |
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I hope you and your sister have lots of fun from the garden. I'm sure you will. When I first had my garden it was all 'trial and error'. Some things died and some survived and that's how I learned what plants liked to grow where and how. I tended to favour those that were easy to grow and survived well in my soils and conditions. I didn't try to re-grow my failures, by and large. Reply #97. Sep 06 18, 11:27 PM |
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Vegetables though are different. I have an allotment and the success of some vegetables can vary from year to year according to the variety, weather conditions and soil. This year, with the very hot dry weather, our onions were a complete failure, even though I watered them regularly. Many died and others hardly grew much. The previous year we'd planted them to 'over Winter' and that had been much more successful so we're going to try that again. Reply #98. Sep 06 18, 11:31 PM |
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Gardening is tricky! That's sad that your onions died despite your efforts. I mean, what more could be expected from a gardener? I'm sorry. My sis planted some bulbs thinking it would be one flower, but the package must have been mis-marked because out grew gladiolus! They were a dark purple and so beautiful. Reply #99. Sep 07 18, 9:46 AM |
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They are lovely but they may need support if you have any wind. The ironic thing about onions, which I love and which are good for you in many ways, is that up to now I've always found them the easiest thing to grow. You just plant the onion sets and keep them watered when necessary. That was it. Nothing ever went wrong. Reply #100. Sep 07 18, 11:58 PM |
140 replies. On page 5 of 7 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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