skilletlicker
Head Chef
My "garden" is less than three square feet but growing. Sara, Maybelle, and I have big plans.
For us, it's a combination of things. When I was working, I was on the computer or in meetings all day, so coming home and playing in the garden was a great way to get downtime from the tech world. And the reward was delicious, fresh vegetables and herbs that we grew ourselves! [emoji16] I'm not trying to feed a large family for a year on what we grow, but it's a great supplement and does save money since we have a very long season here. I rarely buy herbs anymore.This thread is fascinating and I really admire what hard work it takes to have gardens like these. I wonder if I would have the energy it takes to grow such beautiful food even if I had the space. It must be that the rewards outweigh the labor involved and so it doesn't seem like work?
We only have space for a couple of in ground tomato plants and they are doing beautifully this year. So far we've had three big beautiful ripe ones already, with the promise of a bumper crop with just these two plants. We have some nice parsley and chives and our beloved Meyer Lemon tree that's really loaded with lemons now and the next crop will be in the winter.
I have literally no room left. Th9ings are growing up , around, over ... everything. My garden as expanded outside the raised beds into the flower beds. I have pots all over my patio. I had a few left over chard, string beans and dwarf okra which I spent all day struggling to find a few square feet to plant them. Then I realized, my daughter may be coming in for the weekend for fathers day ( I think she wanted to surprised me , but I kinda heard my wife talking to her on the phone), so I planted a mini bucket ( or two) garden for her to take back to Maryland for her balcony. Before she left, I showed her a bunch of recipes and we cooked them together. One being a vegetable soup, which coincidentally has String beans and okra in it. So, the surprise. is on herYou probably have more space than you think. You can grow a lot of dwarf varieties in a vertical garden up walls with trellises or in containers.
Larry, I would love to see your garden. I bet it's amazing.I have literally no room left. Th9ings are growing up , around, over ... everything. My garden as expanded outside the raised beds into the flower beds. I have pots all over my patio. I had a few left over chard, string beans and dwarf okra which I spent all day struggling to find a few square feet to plant them. Then I realized, my daughter may be coming in for the weekend for fathers day ( I think she wanted to surprised me , but I kinda heard my wife talking to her on the phone), so I planted a mini bucket ( or two) garden for her to take back to Maryland for her balcony. Before she left, I showed her a bunch of recipes and we cooked them together. One being a vegetable soup, which coincidentally has String beans and okra in it. So, the surprise. is on her [emoji38]
Larry, I would love to see your garden. I bet it's amazing.
Well the maintenance manager has finally started to work on my request for being able to grow stuff. I was going for a couple of tomato and cuke plants. But I called the building manager and told her to ask him to just set up a couple of construction buckets with stones in the bottom and dirt on the top. I am going to start out with just planting herbs. And maybe one tomato plant and cuke each. The bucket comes up to my knees and I can tend to it very easily. I don't even have to stand up or kneel down. Bucket gardens are plentiful around here in the summer. It is only because maintenance tills the ground every year for the planters. Less work for the planters. The buckets only cost five dollars. And you can buy a large bag or two of rocks for a miniscule amount.
Home Depot, here I come. I need a distraction right about now.
I'm very pleased to hear that Addie. I wish you bountiful harvests of herbs, cukes, tomatoes and especially enjoyment.
I was thinking of asking earlier if you had considered growing anything indoors. The cost of small scale artificial lighting has come down a lot lately and some senior apartments include electricity in the monthly rent; mine does. You have to be careful not to spend more than you'll ever recover in food savings, but indoor harvests aren't seasonally limited. Not suggesting this instead of those outdoor plants though.
larry, you sure do a remarkable job with a normal-sized yard! Love how things are going along. Have you officially run out of grass to mow? Veggies are much tastier, for sure.
What do you grow in that hoop house? I use one in the fall/winter to grow some cold resistant greens, under remnant greenhouse plastic. Unfortunately, it's hard to get to, once it's covered with snow, even though that insulates it!