Getting it started with broccoli and cabbage ...its cold up north and these are cold crops. Had an organic tomato plant last year that have almost purple tomato's so I want more of that. Anyone else put in a garden....then what veggies do you like growing?
Any idee what it was called? I grow a couple purple/black beefsteaks, Cherokee Purple and Indian Stripe, both are delicious and perform well.
You trying any 'new' things this year?
Have you ever grown (ox)heart tomatoes instead of sauce tomatoes for, well, sauce? They're great for that, and, superior in flavor (popular opinion), especially if you blend them with other varieties. Anna Russian and Orange Oxheart are two of my favorites.
Growing Black Cherry tomato again this year.
I'm trying two new
(pickling) cukes, Homemade Pickle and Little Leaf, and, several pole bean varieties depending what room is left when bean time comes.
Gourds can grow in out of the way normally unused places (like up and over a wood or junk pile), or climb an unused swing set or fence; doesn't have to take up garden space.
Is this the same plant the ol' timers used to worm their hound dogs with? It's active ingredient is ricin!
Don't condemn Padredurand - he's a second generation vegetarian - he only eats animals that are vegetarians.
The Castor plant is exotic looking, grows easily, and as I said, deer don't eat it!
I don't know about castor beans for worming hound dogs, it's VERY poisonous - the processed bean contains ricin, the "white powder " you hear about every once in a while in deadly envelopes sent to the high and mighty in our government.
The kids and grandkids have left the homestead so I can grow it again.
If the fruit had green shoulders it probably was Cherokee Purple.
Of those pictured in the link I've grown Brandywine, Mortgage Lifter, Cherokee Purple, Early Girl, German Stripe, and Eva Purple Ball. Before I discovered the ambrosia of blending several varieties for canning in lieu of a single variety,
Eva Purple Ball was a favorite canner of ours. Now I just chunk em' all up and run all em' through the sauce maker together, the more varieties the better. Umm umm makes my mouth water thinkin' about it....:)
OK, even though I've a lot of space that I could cultivate I practice that too. I'm growing about 15 varieties of tomatoes and four chiles this year, mostly one or two of each variety.
I have in the past, not too hard to do if you mulch, have compost and/or rotted manure, and plant to avoid bugs.
That's not been my experience at all, quite the opposite. It tends to more labor intensive, time consuming, and require more planning, but not more expensive. If money is not a factor, fertilizer & insecticide is the easiest fastest way to grow a garden.
I do compost & all the chicken manure goes in there. All my dead fish from my Koy pond go in there too as well as the ashes from all the wood & leaves I burned. As we speak, I put in crushed limestone & some crushed shell I use (put into the chicken food to harden their egg shells) & the chickens are in the fenced in garden doing what they do ..... fertilizing & diggen for grubs & worms. all in all thats pretty organic.
But I have a limited amount of space so I need to be selective in my choice of plants....no pumpkin, gourds, acorn squash....anything that takes over & spreads vines.
Right now, I'm thinkin broccoli, peas, cabbage.....cold weather crops.
Then pull them out & put in tomatoes, beans & maybe zucchini. But the age old problem with the tomatoes continues to plague me every year.... BER/ Blossom End Rot & I don't know how to resolve it. Ive tried chemicals & it just eventually takes the plant. with cabbage, last year was the 1st year I did not spray them & the slugs destroyed them all....how can I eliminate them without chemicals? And lastly, the bore worm always gets to the zucchini. I was using DE (food grade that I use in chicken coops) and that stops them for a while but not a long term solution.
Cool! Sounds like you could grow just about anything with that rich stuff.
Have you ever planted vegetables in containers? I've plenty of space but still use some old wash tubs for herbs, cherry tomatoes, some chiles, and some bush pickling cukes (this year). Containers can really expand your growing space if you need more.
Rain barrels, Miracle Grow, and container gardening go hand in hand. (I suppose you could use compost tea or manure tea instead of Miracle Grow :) )