Any Farmers/Gardeners On Here?

[ILG]

I grow a garden. Gardening doesn't start until May here. I am gearing up for tapping Maple Trees soon.

[Pressing-On]

Doing a few things that cost more at the grocery store - bell pepper, jalapenos, tomatoes. Will also be growing some herbs - basil, cilantro, rosemary, parsley. All of these can be grown in manageable containers.

Not sure what the weather will be this summer, so we won't be planting okra, potatoes, etc. It is less costly to purchase these organic products at the store anyway. Well, maybe not the okra, but a large garden doesn't do well without rainwater and we haven't been getting much of that lately.

[Cindy]

Originally Posted by Pressing-On

Doing a few things that cost more at the grocery store - bell pepper, jalapenos, tomatoes. Will also be growing some herbs - basil, cilantro, rosemary, parsley. All of these can be grown in manageable containers.

Not sure what the weather will be this summer, so we won't be planting okra, potatoes, etc. It is less costly to purchase these organic products at the store anyway. Well, maybe not the okra, but a large garden doesn't do well without rainwater and we haven't been getting much of that lately.

Yes, and we need to let the soil rest awhile anyway.

[Pressing-On]

Originally Posted by Cindy

Yes, and we need to let the soil rest awhile anyway.

[Esther]

I have had success with everything I have tried except corn. Can't seem to grow corn. Poor soil, gumbo is not good for corn.

[Lafon]

Originally Posted by Ron

We grew some Corn for a couple of years but sadly when the Corn got about 4-5 feet tall, someone in the neighborhood trampled it down!

Perhaps they were those pesky masked bandits (Raccoons).... I battle them every year. Caught about 10 in a live trap last year. Sweet Corn is among their favorite delicacies. They generally manage to destroy 75-100 stalks, but considering I plant upwards to 10,000+ I guess that not too bad.

You name it & I try to grow it. I operate a roadside Produce Stand each year during harvest time to dispose of everything exceeding my needs. Every time I coax a customer to sample some raw Sweet Corn they generally eat the whole ear and keep coming back for more. I thoroughly enjoy gardening, and as soon as it begins producing practically every Dinner consists almost exclusively on what I harvest.

[Lafon]

Originally Posted by Esther

I have had success with everything I have tried except corn. Can't seem to grow corn. Poor soil, gumbo is not good for corn.

I would suggest that you reinvigorate the soil each year at planting with some Nitrogen fertilizer (I also put down Lime Granules every other year). It's also helpful to rotate planting, never plant the same thing in the same spot each year.

And never, never plant anything within 100 feet of a Black Walnut tree, the acidity of even its leaves negatively affect most vegetables, especially tomatoes and peppers.

[Lafon]

Originally Posted by Cindy

Yes, and we need to let the soil rest awhile anyway.

Mine rests between end of harvest in the Fall until the next Spring. Crop rotation, proper fertilization and adequate moisture (coupled with all of the good things which "Mother Nature" provides) always seems to work for me.

If no rain within three days then I simply turn on the water system. I have 2 wells: one for the household and one for the lawn sprinkler system, so I generally forego the lawn during dry spells and concentrate on the garden instead.

[KeptByTheWord]

I always had a garden when we lived in Texas - there is nothing like home grown tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash and okra!

Since we've moved up to Idaho... zilch nada nothing. In the summer, it gets very warm during the day, sometimes up to 100 degrees, but the nights always cool down to about 40 degrees or less! So, after planting quite a few tomato plants last year, I got ONE fully ripe tomato about the size of a golf ball. The rest were green ones that I took inside, put inside a brown paper bag and let ripen.

Needless to say, this year we are going to try using a greenhouse instead... if I can get my husband to put one together for me. We are going to try PVC pipes with plastic wrap and see how that works...

I ended up buying all my produce for canning at a local produce stand, and canned over 200 lbs of tomatoes, and we did some corn, green beans, and put up frozen okra, all from the produce stand.