[Davey7549]

T2
Maybe so that Americans seem to think larger because of space but I tend to lean toward plenty to share with whomever needs or wants. Many people here do not wish to grow and tend garden because they receive gifts of produce from many who have plenty and do not wish too can or store for winter. Personally I give much away because....... I am not sure why...... but I do. All the other items I cultivate and produce I can them or blanch\freeze for winter use. All I know it is so nice to be able to produce from little and share with many!

Dave

[ezymony]

I love my garden and just being outdoors. My 2 daughters always come by for fresh veggies during the growing season.

[Davey7549]

Tony
Oh my gosh I am GREEN with envy! Such a large space for a garden and certainly a machine that is up to the task!
Some of us are stuck with what could be compared to a bucking bronco of tillers!!!!

Dave

[RT]

Very nice, tony! That is a serious rig!
Here's my machine complete with instuctions (not pictured - wife and granddaughter - can't get son to do much)
We only have one rake, but two garden trowels!



Hey, wait a minit! that guy has a HAT, too!

Dave, I'll PM, email, or post the easy way with potatoes if you wish. I think it was Penny who posted growing them in a barrel - that sounds easy, too, but I know nothing of it.
We weren't after much more than to see if the technique worked, so we gave a shot, very pleased with the result.

Tipacanoe, sounds like you had to grow taters the hard way ie, the tried and true. Ah, fresh peas, I adore them!

Bea's butter is the best there is ( you're not off butter are you?)
But I know what you mean, Dad used to ask me to help him "prepare" a chicken for Sunday dinner...sometimes I wasn't much help...her name was Arthur....the Hen....

(Angel - tsk, tsk )

[angelize56]

Dave and RT: Hee hee! Might have been the pickles! I wonder what my lilac bush would do if I flashed it...of course I'd have to find out from inside my padded cell when they drag me away!

Trust you Angel - you even stamp yourself on a gardening thread - what could be more wholesome! Apart from the manure, the smells, the rotting foliage, etc. etc. The lilac, being a well brought up thing (pun intended!), would probably die of fright.

Davey - Yes, when I grew veggies I always shared them. We don't "can" or "bottle" much here, being much more into freezing produce. I have some frozen pumpkin from my neighbour - I had never tried it before she came here (being American with all her little ways"!). Didn't even know how to cook them, pumpkins that is, not Americans. Though I do feel like toasting some people sometimes

Bought a marrow from the shop yesterday, really like those steamed with lots of butter - yummy.

Cleaned house in the past for a farmer who had a lovely kitchen garden, full of fruit and vegetables - he grew flowers among them as well. His rhubarb was delicious - used mushroom compost for manure for those. I've just picked and eaten the first rhubarb from a new plant I put in last year. My American friend say that if you put a piece of angelica plant in with the rhubarb when cooking, it takes away some of the "sharpness". Will have to find out whether she means the leaves or stems, or whatever!


Bye
Penny.

[Shadow Bea]

Dave, LOL I know exactly where you are coming from on that one! I too suffer from the dichotomy of loving animals and the pragmatism that I was brought up with! I'm not ready to be a vegetarian or stop wearing leather shoes besides
Plants have feelings too! wada ya gona do! a little hypocrisy is preferable to dying of starvation ( at least that's what I tell myself when I have this little talk with me)

Penny, I just recently saw a book on gardens in containers! I'll see if I can find the name of it for you!

RT you're gardening equipment looks like mine!


Tony those things look like fun to ride.. like a tiny little tractor!

In fact you fine people have inspired me to plant something again! LOL

Angel They don't put people in padded cells any more for flashing... they give them their own TV show!

[Davey7549]

RT
Yes I would be interested in the newspaper\Stray method if you could post it.
Yes I did many of gardens with hand tools but my time and energy levels seem to have decreased over the years so I managed to aquire some power tools along the way however nothing as nice as Tony's Tractor and tiller though.
Back in the late seventies I did have a smaller tractor with a tiller on back, older unit but lasted a couple of years before it died. Sure made short order of the work.

Angel
Flash the Lilac Eh....... Hmmmm...... I could say something but my computer screen may get a red glow so it is best left unsaid!

T2
My neighbor discontinued his garden a few years back but still kept adding to his compost pile and now has offered 3/4 of it for use in our garden. That is awful nice of him! I am sure the mentioning of how he enjoyed fresh beans may of been a hint of future sharing when the crop comes in!

Here are a couple of websites explaining the Angelica plant and its uses. I was aware of its flavor and sugar content but was unaware of the medicinal part. If you decide to grow one please let me know what you think of it.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_MV007
http://www.pinn.net/~swampy/angelica.html

Dave

Hello Davey,

Thanks very much for the link about Angelica. My neighbour does grow it and is very pleased with it's uses. It grows wild along the canal and river banks where I walk. I know that it has large stems and needs to be kept well watered.

Thanks very much Bea - that would be useful. I will also look up info. on line about container growing.

Would like to know about growing the potatos out of soil, too. Will send you an email, RT.

Bye
Penny.

[ezymony]

Thanks for the compliment on my tractor i beat that ground up for 15 years with a rototiller. It was getting to much for me i had to get some help or quit gardening which i love so much.

[Davey7549]

Bea
Yup there is definitely a conflict in the diet area unfortunately. When I was younger I never gave the paradox a thought but as I am aging this becomes more prominent. But I like you do not prefer starvation as an alternative!

T2
You are quite welcome and I hope the links help. I would be cautious with wild Angelica since its look alike is the deadly Hemlock! I also pick wild mushrooms and have spent many years learning what is edible and what is not. There are so many look alikes in the fungi world vs the plant world one must be very careful. Have you ever thought about who was the first ones who where the unfortunate mistake makers.......... I have and it gives me a substanial dose of caution!

Tony
I know what you mean by upgrading from the rototiller to the tractor based rototiller. If I had to do your substantial garden I would also be looking for a deal! Just the small 16 x 30 about tore my body apart! Seems my parts do not work the same as they did even ten years ago!

Take care
Dave

PS: Picked up 15 mature strawberry plants for a steal and they are loving their new home. Today they grew four inches in the warmth! Might even get a few berries this year for some short cake!!!

[RT]

Got the method from a book called "Lasagna Gardening", I don't recall the author but Ill try to dig it up in case I make any glaring errors here.

Basically, lay down a half-inch to an inch thick layer of newspaper (without the glossy ad sections) directly on the area to become your tater patch. This will also help prevent weeds. Soak the papers well with H20.

Lay seed potatos on the paper, I don't recall if there's prefered spacing, but I'd say you can be as careless as you wish.

Cover with a 8-12 inch layer of straw (not hay - I believe there is a difference, not sure about that).

The seed potatos will sprout and send up vines, or tendrils, or whatever you call them, poking thru the straw. When they stick out about 6-8 inches cover them completely with more straw. Repeat as needed.

We laid some landscape timbers down in a triangle (because we only had three ) to help keep the straw in the patch in case of heavy rain, and kept a bale of straw nearby for easy replenishment. Occasionally you can take a peek under the straw to see how things are going, and to judge harvest time.

I need to stress that you MUST use SEED potatoes specifically!
The hardest thing about this method for us was finding the seeders, they look just like plain ol' taters to me but they're not. (hmm, the ones in our cabinet sure do sprout if left long enough ) You may even be lucky enough to find specific varities of them.


We gave them a drink of water during particularly dry spells, but not as much as the planted garden.

That's about all I remember, but I will check to make sure. It's my kind of gardening, no digging, no chemicals, no weeding - pretty cheap too!

I hope you are as successful as we were if you try it, just don't expect an Idaho baker out of the deal!

[valley]

Originally posted by RT:
Basically, lay down a half-inch to an inch thick layer of newspaper (without the glossy ad sections) directly on the area to become your tater patch. This will also help prevent weeds. Soak the papers well with H20.

Lay seed potatos on the paper, I don't recall if there's prefered spacing, but I'd say you can be as careless as you wish.

Cover with a 8-12 inch layer of straw (not hay - I believe there is a difference, not sure about that).

Hi RT Carl (AKA: Hubby) informed me that you can also use sawdust to grow potatoes in too. It was news to me but he's a walking farmer's almanac so I tend to believe him.

Ever heard of that?

[RT]

Hi val

Nope never heard of that, I'm sure it would work. Straw sounds cheaper...er, I mean easier (besides, who would argue with the almanac ?). But I would be sure get the sawdust from a lumber mill and not a carpenter's shop to avoid treated wood sawdust.

PS: Picked up 15 mature strawberry plants for a steal and they are loving their new home. Today they grew four inches in the warmth! Might even get a few berries this year for some short cake!!!

Four inches in a day?
Dave, I can tell from that that you are still an angler at heart!

[ezymony]

Yes Dave if you can keep the varmints off your strawberries the birds always liked mine.