How's the garden coming along??

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Dawgluver said:
I didn't sell my extras, just snuck around dropping them on neighbors' doorsteps and co-workers' desks... sort of the plant fairy.
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Back when I had a big yard and a peach tree, my customers, neighbors and friends loved me for about two weeks in June. I had a peach tree, and I took very, VERY good care of it, so the first few weeks in June, I had at least 300 peaches, and they all became ripe within a two week span.

My wife and I could only eat so many, and we froze a bunch, but the freezer was only so large. I remember some HVAC guys fixing our AC unit, and they saw the tree, and I told them to go for it. They stood in the driveway and ate at least two peaches each. Actually, I got just as much enjoyment from watching them enjoy my peaches as I did eating the peaches myself. Grocery store peaches are usually hard and lacking in juice.

There is nothing like eating a peach while hunched over to keep the juice from getting all over your shirt.

CD
 
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caseydog said:
There is nothing like eating a peach while hunched over to keep the juice from getting all over your shirt.
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I never had much luck with my peach trees ( they are in a poor location in my yard). So annually, we go peach picking out east. There's nothing better feeling the juice run down your arm as you eat the ripest peach you can imagine. Problem is ( as you mentioned), they all kinda ripen at the same time, so the clock is ticking once we get home as to how to use them up.
 
larry_stewart said:
I never had much luck with my peach trees ( they are in a poor location in my yard). So annually, we go peach picking out east. There's nothing better feeling the juice run down your arm as you eat the ripest peach you can imagine. Problem is ( as you mentioned), they all kinda ripen at the same time, so the clock is ticking once we get home as to how to use them up.
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Peach trees are very, VERY high maintenance. It was my mission in life for the years I had one, to get a good harvest. My wife would have said that I was obsessed. Then, we would have 300 ripe peaches in three weeks. We gave them away as fast as we could. With the last, over ripe peaches, we had all our neighbors over for a peach margarita party. Those last peaches were so ripe, you could barely touch them without them bursting with juice. But, they were perfect for peach margaritas. They became pure liquid gold in the blender.

My advice to anyone who wants to have a peach tree is to be prepared to dedicate some serious time and effort.

CD
 
A now retired former colleague and friend has a mini apple orchard along with a couple of peach trees. I'll have to pay her a visit this fall! We made cider with apples from my prolific tree and hers a few years ago. She's a farm woman, and strong. Which was good, as her cider press was a bear.

Hard to get a good peach around here too.
 
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Dawgluver said:
A now retired former colleague and friend has a mini apple orchard along with a couple of peach trees. I'll have to pay her a visit this fall! We made cider with apples from my prolific tree and hers a few years ago. She's a farm woman, and strong. Which was good, as her cider press was a bear.

Hard to get a good peach around here too.
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You need to visit her twice this year. The peaches will be ripe in June, the apples will be best in the fall. Don't tell her you are just coming to visit for the ripe fruit, even if it is why you are going to see her. :D

Peaches are only good for about 20 days per year, at least from what I can buy. Well, at least peaches you want to eat fresh. They still cook fine most of the summer months. They are like strawberries. There is the perfect time to buy them to just eat, and there is a wider window for making a pie with them.

CD
 
SQUEEEEE!!!

first tomatoes.jpg

My little patio pot garden is coming along swimmingly!
Looks like we'll have our first homegrown fresh tomatoes, EVER!

I've never been very good at gardening, I suppose I didn't apply myself ;)
But this is fun!

Every morning I go out with my coffee and talk to my plants, see how their doing and they seem to be quite happy.

If this goes well, I'll make myself a little raised garden with a drip system in our backyard, good Southern exposure, loads of sunshine.
Everyone thought that I was nuts starting any sort of gardening prior to Mother's Day, the bench mark for the last frost `round these parts.

But ya know, with having the plants in manageable pots, each time there has been a hint of over night cold, I bring them into the house. We have a three paned glass sliding door, tons of good light.
 
Good if I wanted to plant rice, We have had so much rain here in the Finger Lakes of NY. I have things inside waiting to go in the ground. Hopefully things will dry out and the temp will go back up where it is suppose to be, enough to start planting.
 
The rule of thumb in these here parts is "After Memorial Day". Any earlier, and you can be rest assured, there will be a killer frost.
 
Well, I threw caution to the wind over the weekend, and put out some flowers and vegetables. Fortunately, the veggies are all in pots and can be easily moved inside if a frost comes. The flowers... well, they are just SOL. :LOL:

My new yard is fraction of the size of my old one. It was part of the plan. Becoming single again means that I've lost half of the landscaping team. I like the fact that I can have a nice looking yard without putting as much work into it. It gives me more time to just sit back and enjoy life.
 
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I'll head to the greenhouse before Mother's Day this week. By then the temperature is pretty safe, and the good stuff isn't all gone. We have a sunroom that I can haul everything in to if need be.

When I lived in NoDak, we planted out after Memorial Day too.
 
Potatoes and onions coming along nicely.
All the seedlings Im kinda baby sitting until it gets predictably warmer.
But, Ive been spending a lot of time planning, and getting everything ready for them to go in. last year I was 2 weeks ahead of where i am now
 
My thyme from last year came back great. I had to replant the rosemary and oregano this spring, but they are growing quickly. My peppers are off to a slow start, and so is my basil. I want to go easy on the fertilizer until I'm sure I have good roots.

CD
 
Got my tomatoes mudded in. To wet to get in the fields and they were getting big so I had to get them out of the house. I have raised garden beds so that made it eaiser. Discovered the chickens tore up my onion patch. No more free ranging for you.
 
Farmer Jon said:
Got my tomatoes mudded in. To wet to get in the fields and they were getting big so I had to get them out of the house. I have raised garden beds so that made it eaiser. Discovered the chickens tore up my onion patch. No more free ranging for you.
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I have tomato seeds I've saved for years. last time I tried growing them, was in 20011, and they didn't germinate. This year, I found some of the saved seeds from 2010, i figured Id try to grow them, nothing to lose. and all 10 seeds germinated. Im now guarding them with my life, as I have no more seeds left. Its been cool here this year, so they have been in the house for a few weeks longer than usual. A few days ago, I used one as a guinea pig, and planted it in the garden, to see if it would survive the cooler unseasonable night temps we're having, and it did great!!, so this weekend , they're all going in.

So this year, I had to Cat proof, Squirrel proof and Chicken proof parts of my garden. Now, the chickens only free range when Im out there to keep an eye on them. I usually let them out a few hours before they go back in the coop for the night. Once the plants get more established, they'll get some more free ranging time. But low growing plants, like the onions, I did chicken proof, as they would dig them up.

Now I just have to figure out how to keep the mocking birds from pecking out my tomatoes, but I have a few months to figure that one out.

Only thing left to plant is kitties, i planted a few seeds, but ill probably go to the nursery to see if they have plants already. But due to the temps, they don't have a lot of the warmer weather , more tropical seedlings in stock yet .
 
Got the strawberries in, blueberry bushes, raspberry bushes, carrot seeds in, cucumbers, jalapenos, green, red an orange peppers. Cauliflowers (white, orange and purple) purple tomatillos. Doing lots. Ornamental kale outside the fence to put some distance from the dog to the peas.
 
Cheryl J said:
Everyone's gardens sound wonderful! Sure wish I had the room.
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I don't have the room...I'm keeping my garden at Mom and Dad's house. Dad did find out he had to put gas in the rototiller to make it go...

I've named the Tiller "The Hun".
 
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