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Post by ShAnNoN on May 22, 2014 10:14:36 GMT -5
I saw where you were going to start a thread about gardening Terry, so I figured I would go ahead with it since I too garden. I planted my first garden EVER last year, since my fiance has morphed me over to a "true country girl" I thought what the hell, I'm gonna plant a garden, I am going to grow my own veggies, and I will not let it defeat me. I also decided I was going to give canning a try last year as well, and I did and let me tell you....the first time I placed those jars in that canner, put the lid on, I WAS TERRIFIED! I had never canned before, and I have heard horror stories about the lids flying off of canners so I stood back my first go at canning (at a safe distance I might add) called my soon to be mother-in-law several times for guidance and encouragement lol, but the end result of my first canning experience was 6 BEAUTIFULLY sealed jars of Green Beans, I grew and harvested ALL BY MYSELF....Canning after that became a breeze, and my new favorite hobby! I canned all kinds of stuff last year. This year I extended my garden and made it bigger to accommodate all the additional things I wanted to grow this year. In my garden this year I have. Sweet yellow onions, Purple onions, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Iceberg and Romaine Lettuce, Green Peppers, Carrots, Pickling and Regular Cucumbers, Sweet Peas, Green Beans, Jalapenos, Cabbage, Tomatoes, Kale, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, White Corn and Yellow Corn. I believe that is it, and I am not missing anything. It is a full time job in itself, but the end result is in my opinion very accomplishing! I cannot wait to get my canner out this year. This is a photo of some of the stuff I canned last year. Photo of my garden as of today 5-22. Yes I have the rockiest garden EVER lol, but is sure grows good, and my view is to die for! So who else gardens?
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Gardening
May 23, 2014 8:04:39 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Deleted on May 23, 2014 8:04:39 GMT -5
I thought Americans called it a yard? Lol.
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Post by 325i on May 23, 2014 8:15:08 GMT -5
Your garden looks awesome! If you don't mind me asking Shannon, where do you live? Your garden picture reminds me where I live in Virginia
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Post by 325i on May 23, 2014 8:17:10 GMT -5
I thought Americans called it a yard? Lol. Nope, lol. The garden is a staple, especially here in the southern part of the US. My parents have always had a piece of land on their property dedicated to a garden and so does just about everyone I know. Lots of people use their garden to make income, especially when it comes to selling it at a farmers market. ALso, it's great to be able to preserve your stuff through canning so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor year round.
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Post by Tanru on May 23, 2014 8:48:03 GMT -5
That's a lotttt of canned peas Shannon ! Nice views of your garden.
I have never really been good at gardening ever, or ever been interested til recently. And yesterday i put together my very first hanging basket! I planted some strawberries in the middle and some trailing flowers round the edges so time will tell if it is a success lol!
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Post by aeroguy39 on May 23, 2014 12:45:44 GMT -5
I have always grown a few herbs and vegetables every year (tomatoes, carrots, basil, parsley).
This year I spent all last week digging, tilling, and hand planting a 50 sq ft. vegetable garden. It may not sound large, but that is a LOT of grass to dig up and soil to condition. It's about 10 ft x 5 ft.
I planted tomatoes, peppers (green/red), string beans, corn, and Brusel Sprouts all from seeds. I also planted a blueberry bush, and a strawberry plant.
I am anxious to see corn and Brussel sprouts growing in my garden. The seeds were planted on Monday and I already see little plants sprouting up.
One of my favorite things about gardening is getting to spend time doing physical labor (exercise) outdoors IN THE SUN while producing good healthy food.
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Post by Bronze Heels on May 23, 2014 19:56:19 GMT -5
I thought Americans called it a yard? Lol. Our "yards" are the grassy areas in the front and back of our houses. They can have trees in them, but if we plant flowers or food, then that particular area where the planting has been done is called a garden. There's your American knowledge for the day.
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Post by ShAnNoN on May 23, 2014 19:57:09 GMT -5
Your garden looks awesome! If you don't mind me asking Shannon, where do you live? Your garden picture reminds me where I live in Virginia thank you, we have a lot of rock where we are up on our own lil mountain but it grows well so I can deal with the rock, and I live in Virginia also :-)
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Post by aeroguy39 on May 24, 2014 4:43:42 GMT -5
I have very few rocks in my garden. My challenge is clay like soil (heavy, poor drainage). I mixed in a whole bag of 3 Cubic feet of peat moss and 4 bags of bought topsoil into my 50 sq ft vegetable garden, along with Garden Tone (a natural fertilizer). The soil is still heavy and soppy. Somehow the seeds do tend to fight their way through it to sprout. At least my garden gets great sun 8 hours a day.
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Gardening
May 25, 2014 20:25:36 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Anathema on May 25, 2014 20:25:36 GMT -5
I live in a city so I only do container gardening. I'm going to redo my planters later this week!
I grew up in a small town with a lot of property and my parents have a massive vegetable and herb garden along with strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry patches. I miss it a lot.
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Post by 325i on May 27, 2014 6:23:13 GMT -5
Your garden looks awesome! If you don't mind me asking Shannon, where do you live? Your garden picture reminds me where I live in Virginia thank you, we have a lot of rock where we are up on our own lil mountain but it grows well so I can deal with the rock, and I live in Virginia also :-) Too funny, I had a feeling you were going to say Virginia! I also live in the mountains, in Rappahannock county.
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Post by ShAnNoN on May 27, 2014 11:58:14 GMT -5
thank you, we have a lot of rock where we are up on our own lil mountain but it grows well so I can deal with the rock, and I live in Virginia also :-) Too funny, I had a feeling you were going to say Virginia! I also live in the mountains, in Rappahannock county. I am in lee county...
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Post by cunningluvr on Jun 22, 2014 21:35:03 GMT -5
Deer seem to know that vegetables are for eating, so even though I have a little acreage, I have to plant in right up by the house or in containers until I fence in a garden plot. And I'm having landscaping done around the house that would tromp everything up, so this year it's strictly containers. I'm hoping the big tomato varieties can adapt to big pots; I've never grown tomatoes other than patio tomatoes in containers. Several varieties of hot peppers, some interesting greens for salads, and tons of herbs. Tomatoes get canned, herbs get dried and peppers get frozen. All perfect accompaniments to a venison roast this fall.
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Post by ShAnNoN on Jul 7, 2014 14:01:42 GMT -5
I finally started canning last week. After our week long trip to Colorado, I came home to a garden that was full of weeds and vaggies ready to be picked. At first I was HORRIFIED at all the undergrowth all over the ground, and a little overwhelmed by all the stuff needing to be picked all at the same time....I was exhausted from our trip, trying to get back on track after the 2 hour time difference I had lived on for a week, but had to get back to the groove of my "farming life" lol. My fiance got the tiller out and made the garden look 95% better then what it did when we first got back home.
So far I have canned around 20 quarts of Green beans (that is from 2 picks, got 4-5 picks last year before they stop yielding) only 4 jars of peas (unfortunately when we got back home the peas were starting to dry up so I salvage what I could) 4 jars of Kale and I froze 4 bags of Kale. My Jalapeno plants are covered which I plan to pickle and can those, as well as canning green peppers as well.Cucumbers are going strong, I pickle those as well (Bread and Butter and Dill) Froze cabbage (that I grew for my mom) been eating on our romaine and iceberg lettuce. Onions will be ready to pull any day now!!! I have around 40 tomatoes sitting on my deck getting ripe, and much more growing on my 6 plants I planted this year...Majority of those will be used for salsa (which I made last year and was to die for) Corn will still be a while, as well as my sweet potatoes.
I still have a lot of canning ahead of me, but it sure is nice to have a stock pile of veggies in the pantry for dinner each night, and not having to buy them at the store! I love gardening, and even more so love the end result of thing I GREW!!!
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Post by ShAnNoN on Jul 7, 2014 14:03:56 GMT -5
Deer seem to know that vegetables are for eating, so even though I have a little acreage, I have to plant in right up by the house or in containers until I fence in a garden plot. And I'm having landscaping done around the house that would tromp everything up, so this year it's strictly containers. I'm hoping the big tomato varieties can adapt to big pots; I've never grown tomatoes other than patio tomatoes in containers. Several varieties of hot peppers, some interesting greens for salads, and tons of herbs. Tomatoes get canned, herbs get dried and peppers get frozen. All perfect accompaniments to a venison roast this fall. I'm not going to lie, I am not a big fan of Venison, altho the men of the house love to hunt. I'm more of a Wild Turkey girl....I canned some deer meat not too long ago as I was told it is one of the best ways to eat it. I have yet to prepare it, but plan to make a stew with it, eventually. When I get over the fact of how it looks in those jars...YUCK!!! lol
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