Do you garden? | Pad Patter 3.04.23

Discussion in 'Chatty Pad' started by ArmyGrl, Mar 4, 2023.

  1. ArmyGrl

    ArmyGrl Merlot, Cab, Chard, Reisling - all 4 food groups!

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    I always wanted to garden, but never did. When I was a young Soldier in the early 90's, I bought like $200 worth of plants. I planted them in the little garden attached to my first level apartment. Later that year, a hot water heater on the third level broke - and flooded all apartments under it (including mine). We were moved into a new apartment that same day. Within two years, I was at a new duty station. Thus, I learned quickly to not invest in plants or things that cannot move with me from place to place.

    In retirement I'd like to garden. My husband Don is in horticulture. When we met, he worked for the Missouri Botanical Garden, and now he works for Shaw Nature Reserve. So, he has lots of plant experience. BUT - being in gardens and responsible for their maintenance all day means he does not have the energy when he comes home to garden for us. If I want a garden at home - it's on me to do it :giggle. He definitely helps out though! But overall, I do yard maintenance and care.

    This year we are going to do some vegetables in containers. We can't do more because we don't have a fenced in yard. We have six regular deer in our yard. Might be more this year after fawns are born. A garden = all you can eat salad bar.

    With Spring in the Northern Hemisphere just around the corner, I have gardening on the mind! So, my questions for today are:

    Do you garden?
    If yes, what do you grow?
    Do you have a big garden, small garden, or do container gardening?
     
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  2. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    No garden here but when I move (when ever that may be) I want to either join a community garden in the neighbourhood or grow some herbs & lettuces and tomatoes in pots. If I don't do them in pots or raised garden beds its too hard for me to manage.
     
  3. HavaDrPepper

    HavaDrPepper Space. The final frontier

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    No, No, None of them.

    I've never been interesting in gardening or outdoor work of any kind. I suffered from hay fever as a kid and found out in the last 2 years that I am highly allergic to walnut trees (my neighbor has 4 of them and they are all over the neighborhood) and ragweed. So there goes my summer.

    Dad did grow tomato plants when I was growing up and later in life added radishes and kohlrabi plants.
     
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  4. dawnmarch

    dawnmarch Actually, no. You are not funny!

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    I live in the Phoenix Az area where gardening is a real challenge. I’ve gardened some but I’ve only really succeeded with herbs and jalapeños in containers.
     
  5. 3BluEyedBabies

    3BluEyedBabies Falling for pumpkin ...

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    Yes! I do have a garden! I have one raised bed right now, but we just started buying the materials to build another one. My yard is filled with all kinds of flowers planted all the way around our house and shed, and we have a large garden in front of our garage that has a tiny little fence around it. The fence, however, does not keep the cats from digging and doing their business in the garden, hence the need for a raised garden that has a taller fence. I have a lot of perennial flowers that I have collected over the years from family and roadside Amish stands for way cheaper than a greenhouse price. I also keep my dahlia bulbs, canna bulbs, and geranium roots from year to year. Once the danger of frost has passed, I will add some pretty annuals. As far as veggies go, I usually plant things that I know I have grown well before such as sweet peas, carrots, lettuce, spinach, beets, green beans, yellow beans, and radishes from seed. Later, I will plant tomatoes, basil, peppers, and cucumbers once it's warm enough. I also have a blueberry bush and a thornless blackberry bush. I actually just started propagating the blackberry bush, so we'll see how that goes. Needless to say, I love to garden and I wish I had a much larger budget to buy all the plants, but I do what I can with what I have.
     
  6. SeattleSheri

    SeattleSheri Movers, cleaners, great hair. I'm a socialite!

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    Do you garden? I probably make a trip to the nursery once a year to fill in areas where something has died, etc. I don't mind trimming and caring for plants, but I do not have a ton of stamina for hardcore yard work like weeding and raking, so we usually hire a crew to come in and do that 1-2x/year. We have A LOT of "stuff" that falls into our yard > almost all from adjacent neighbors' yards. Hoards of leaves, petals, needles, etc all year round. It's a never ending battle.
    If yes, what do you grow? Our yard is not super conducive to growing fruits and vegetables, so it's just flowers and shrubs.
    Do you have a big garden, small garden, or do container gardening? Our lot is about 6K sq ft, so not huge. Much of our lot is taken up by our house, driveway, garage and deck, so it doesn't leave a lot of space for vegetation.
     
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  7. amien1

    amien1 I do enjoy a good exclamation point!

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    We did a bunch of raised beds when the kids were younger- but our deer pretty much agree with the salad bar. The deer here pretty much don't know what they aren't supposed to like, as they eat everything- they even steal the carved pumpkins off our porch in the Fall! I have done some pots of spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, etc up on our deck that the deer can't get to! Mostly I just grow what I know we will eat, I wish I could do more- maybe when kids are grown & gone & I have more free time!
     
  8. elseepe

    elseepe I'll follow the sun

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    I love the idea of a garden with herbs, maybe a few veggies, and some pretty flowers. Hoping that I can find a little success with a few potted plants. But, after having a couple of succulents devoured by some sort of wildlife, I’m going to be cautious. I also don’t really like working outside in the summer heat. Now that I’m retired maybe I can find some sort of happy middle ground.
     
  9. ArmyGrl

    ArmyGrl Merlot, Cab, Chard, Reisling - all 4 food groups!

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    Hee, hee, hee...would need a rock garden :D
     
  10. ArmyGrl

    ArmyGrl Merlot, Cab, Chard, Reisling - all 4 food groups!

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    Totally understand! Our long term goals are to get some raised garden beds. I have an idea that would keep deer and other critters out...but have to research material, get dimensions then draw up the final prototype...and make 'em. I am ambitious. Overly so. Ha!
     
  11. ArmyGrl

    ArmyGrl Merlot, Cab, Chard, Reisling - all 4 food groups!

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    Wow! Green monster of envy here! It all sounds wonderful - especially the dahlias! And maybe not the cat mess :lol
     
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  12. ArmyGrl

    ArmyGrl Merlot, Cab, Chard, Reisling - all 4 food groups!

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    I admit - the heat knocks me on my butt! In the summer I have to get started very early...and work slowly. I've also give myself permission to do a few things one day...then pick up a day or two later where I left off. Heat is no joke!

    Sounds crazy, but wearing long sleeve shirts with a loose fit - especially those made for summer like men's fishermen shirts - helps a lot. I have a couple of surfer shirts too - with additional UV protection. Wearing a boonie hat - to keep the sun off the neck - helps too. I am confident the neighbors think I'm looney with my mixed match crazy colored clothing I wear...my old army boonie hat in desert camo with a tied dyed surfer shirt and combat boots with bright colored stripped socks that go past my calves (to minimize ticks on me)...I'm quite the fashion picture!

    [​IMG]
     
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  13. Sara

    Sara Riding in the Neil mobile

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    Do I garden? Ish. Like you, as a military family we found that military life isn't terribly conducive to a lot of things, a true garden being one of them. Still, I would plant everywhere we lived in the beginning. Much less so in the later years of DG's career. Now that he is retired and we are settling in I too hope to garden much more. I planted perennials last year and a culinary container garden. We also have annuals in pots throughout the year, changing with the seasons. One day, when we have our own land, I plan to do a *lot* more gardening. Annd! Get chickens. :beat
     
  14. elseepe

    elseepe I'll follow the sun

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    Sounds like it would be quite a picture. I do need to find me a good long sleeve loose fit shirt and remember my hat
     
  15. umyesh

    umyesh President of the Hangry Ladies Supper Club

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    Good luck with your vegetables Lisa!

    Do you garden?
    A little bit.

    If yes, what do you grow?
    We grow raspberries and mini pumpkins. I’d like to grow cucumbers this year too.

    Do you have a big garden, small garden, or do container gardening?
    Small. We use the narrow patch between our shed and back lawn and the narrow patch under our front window.
     
  16. IntenseMagic

    IntenseMagic Some grannies cuss a lot. I'm some grannies.

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    Do you garden?
    I'd love to, but just don't have a great area to do that on a bigger scale

    Do you have a big garden, small garden, or do container gardening?
    I do grow tomatoes, jalapenos, and sweet peppers in containers :)
     
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  17. michelepixels

    michelepixels A pun is not fully matured until it is full groan.

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    No, I'm not good at the planning and organizing it would take. Only once did I actually set up a garden. It was based on the concept of square foot gardening. All I got were a few scrawny carrots. Besides my lack of ability to plan for a garden, I don't think my property has a really good spot for gardening. Lots of tall pines and oaks shadow a lot of the yard.

    Someday I would love to participate in a community garden. I think it's awesome to grow our own food and in a community garden I could help with the work without having to do any of the planning. I take direction and follow routines very well.
     
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  18. tjscraps

    tjscraps Tomorrow I'll do what I want to do

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    I can keep kids and pets alive. I cannot keep plants or vegetables alive. lol
     
  19. dotcomkari

    dotcomkari The Deaf Superstar

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    When I owned a house we had a huge garden full of veggies. The kids each got to chose a veggie each year to grow of their own and we made a huge deal of it. Potatoes were my favorite and they grew like mad. We had big fat brown ones.. finger ones and baby reds. And tons of tomatos.tomatoes.. green beans and cucumbers .... lettuce. Spinach. Turips .. rutabaga... onions. Pumpkins.. watermelons... it was wonderful. Even strawberries...and blackberries. We had a nice garden.

    Now I live in a tiny apartment and have little space. We still grow some veggies.. such as tomatoes by our mail box...and peppers.. but I miss our giant garden so much . My parents have a garden with some veggies but it ant as big and my aunt has a decent sized ...I help and steal from.. but.. again I miss my own
    I visit the farmers markets a lot.. and buy fresh...
    Ans my mother in law has a nice big garden with lots of veggies she donates to us
    Husband can live off of fried green beans and potatoes and my kiddos love their tomatoes and cucumbers
    My neighbors have hmong cucumbers which are huge like size of watermelons and barely any seeds... I love them.. they give me some sometimes.. I like to slice them and put them on sandwiches or burgers
     
  20. Annsofie

    Annsofie Crime Books & Cozy Nooks

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    Do you garden? Yes!
    If yes, what do you grow? Tomatoes, cucumbers, physalis, peas, beans, egg plants, zucchini, spinach, radishes, salad, strawberries, melon, rhubarb and flowers.
    Do you have a big garden, small garden, or do container gardening? It’s not a big garden but I have a green house, 9 raised beds and I also use buckets to garden in. I try to expand a bit every year.
     

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