Gardening

[67440chrg]

I am sure there are plenty of people planting gardens .
I live in middle Missouri and it is time to plant most things.
Normally I grow Tomatoes, cucumbers,summer squash, zucchini, okra and cantaloupe.
This year I am not growing cantaloupe because I am tired of trapping and hauling off the opossum that will eat them as soon as they turn ripe. I will be growing pole beans this year. I used to grow beans but got tired of the back aches. I know we can share ideas that can help us. I do things a little different than my grand parents did but did start because of the memories of it as a kid. One thing about working outside in good weather is it feels good to be physically tired instead of mentally tired when I go to bed.

 

[barbee6043]

We also grow Jalapenos, stiff with cream cheese and crab meat wrap in bacon, grill!! YuM There are some Jalepeno varieties that are not so hot. Some people use Pablano peppers but I have never tried those.
Damn possums!!

 

[Ranger16]

some Jalepeno varieties that are not so hot.

I was once told that the less you water Jalapenos, the hotter they get.

 

[Slap Stick]

Hmm...I know what else grows in mid MO and deer like it.
I keep thinking I will start a garden but as I live alone its not worth the trouble. Although ya can't beat a homegrown tomayter! There is a small produce stand a few miles from here that grows tomatoes and peaches. I just go there.
There's only two things money can't buy...

 

[69a100]

I don't know what your question is, but everybody, every year, should be growing their own crops. I had a very prolific garden when I lived in CA; I don't have that luxury where I'm at now due to poor soil conditions and a shorter growing season. My whole life I have always had a green thumb, that I take great pride in! Get growing!!!!!

 

[Durandal25]

I was once told that the less you water Jalapenos, the hotter they get.

...same thing with women....hehe

 

[barbee6043]

Maybe substitute fast foods ( is it really food!?) with garden veggies. Maybe if people ate right and actually exercised as in real work and sweat, America would be healthier and not the land of lard asses??

 

[Shorthorse]

Be thankful you don't live in Michigan. In their stay at home rules, you can go to Lowe's or Home Depot and only buy certain items. The lawn & garden and paint departments are roped off. Don't try to apply logic to that.

 

[69a100]

The lawn & garden and paint departments are roped off. Don't try to apply logic to that.

That just steals what little hope, faith, encouragement for people to at least do something during this time, and maybe accomplish a new talent of gardening. Plus it gives them something to do while confined. It is soooooooooooo wrong!
We each need to have a Victory Garden, now more then ever!

 

[Baller]

Due to my wife sipping on the kool-aid supplied by the media, I finally got the green light to plant vegetables in her flower beds. I usually sneak a potato in here or there, sometimes a squash. We always have a good veg garden, even more so this year after I finally built her a greenhouse. I always thought that the less number of hands that touch stuff I eat the better.

 

[67440chrg]

I compost all my vegetable scraps, tea grounds and egg shells. I gather leaves in the fall for mulch and leaf mold. Once I have my garden in in the spring I mulch over the entire garden except the plants with leaves. I dont have any weeds to pull at all. The ground stays moist longer. When I put about 6" of leaves down by the next spring there are no leaves left when I till the next spring.

 

[Dibbons]

Makes me wonder why we spend so much time and energy and money on caring for ornamental plants, when we could have planted fruits and vegetables!

Speaking of mulch, the desert termites around here are sure to clean up any scrap of wood, branch, board, post, or twig in no time. The ground looks pretty bare when they finish their meals.

 

[67440chrg]

I guess the termites would make you look for other construction products besides lumber. I have several acres of large oak, maple and mulberry trees so with a leaf blower, rake and tarp I can gather a 30' x 8' pin 5' deep with leaves in a few evenings in fall with no trouble. When moving them to the garden in spring there are lots of night crawlers as long as a foot, frogs,lizards and sometimes a snake or two. I also spend a little time chasing my dog off as he runs through the leaves thinking they are there for his entertainment.

 

[Don Frelier]

I'm thinking of planting winter wheat

 

[69a100]

When I put about 6" of leaves down by the next spring there are no leaves left when I till the next spring.

I had that same problem, the wind blew them all over Hell's half acre!!!

 

[67440chrg]

I have my garden fenced in or my lab thinks he is a tiller. I wet the leaves when I first put them down and they lay down and stay. I used to put cardboard down between rows it worked well but I had to put bricks on it in a few places. I know someone who uses narrow strips of old carpet and just rolls it up in fall and puts it in his barn until the next year. I know its nice to not need to weed especially after I got 7 trailers of cow manure and hay compost from a friend and had a weed every inch trying to come up.