The Vegetable Garden is almost completely planted.
@royal52gens (5488)
United States
May 13, 2007 6:14pm CST
Today, yes, on Mother's Day, we planted most of the vegetable garden. My hubby roto-tilled the garden area for the final time. Then our family planted the seeds together. It took us only about 90 minutes to get the job done since everyone helped. The garden area is quite large.
We left an area open so next week I can purchase pepper and tomato plants. Then we will get those planted. Our growing season is very short here. We have learned that trying to grow pepper and tomatoes from seed just does not work. The season is not long enough for them.
We have some really nice nurseries to go to. They have beautiful plants and the prices are reasonable. Now that the garden is almost done, I will start looking for landscaping plants. I like the evergreen type of plants.
We have 10 acres so space is not a problem. Last week, we planted most of the flower beds. I put in solar-powered lights. I put out the wind chimes and the bird feeders. I have some trees I need to transplant to other areas of the yard. There is so much work to be done. We still have to finish the patio stone work. The front porch needs some repair. If you do not see me on this site for awhile, it is most likely because I am out in the yard.
I love it when it is sunny and warm. I like to get a nice tan. What about you? Do you have a big or small garden? Do you have a big or small yard? What do you love about your yard and gardens?
7 people like this
20 responses
@misheleen73 (6037)
• United States
14 May 07
I have the most beautiful yard and garden you can imagine. It is large and beautifully landscaped. In the back yard, I have a yellow delicious apple tree, a pear tree, a very large oak tree and some shrubs around the fence. Up by the deck, I have some more shrubs and a nice vegetable garden where we grow peppers, tomatoes, herbs, and hot peppers. Up front by the driveway entrance are two large weeping willow trees. All along the sides of the driveway are small shrubs and solar lighting. Up by the house flower bed area filled with my favorite wild flowers. There is peach tree on the left side of the drive in front of the house. There are alot of flwoers in a garden to the right of the drive including tall sun flowers. Sound nice ? It really is, although it only exists in my head. I picture it all the time. Right now I live in an apartment and don't have the luxury of a yard. It doesn't stop me from dreaming though !!
2 people like this
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
14 May 07
I like your dream garden. I hope some day you are able to make it real.
2 people like this
@misheleen73 (6037)
• United States
26 May 07
I hope so too. Thanks for the BR. Have a great day and I will be watching for large vans !!
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
14 May 07
We have a small yard, as live in Southern California where the land is expensive. We have a long growing season, so there are few plants that I can't grow from seed. My garden is full of water lilies right now, as I use the garden space to start them for my business.
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
14 May 07
Oh yes, please post photos. I would love to see them when they bloom.
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
14 May 07
Well Royal you have certainly been busy lol
Unfortunatly here it has been cold wet windy and horrible for the last week
I hope that we get the lovely Spring Weather back soon I really do
I don't have a garden now where I live as I live in a Flat now, but for Health reasons I would not be able to keep it up now anyway
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
14 May 07
You know you could grow one or two plants in the house. Just make sure they are by a window to catch the morning sun. Gissi would love to have a bush in the house. hehehe
1 person likes this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
26 May 07
Your garden sounds wonderful... I wish mine was as large as that!!! A couple of acres would do me, but alas, I have only a small area. Just the same, this is now established and looking really nice, and I planted a lot of scented plants, my favourites being the mock orange and the lavender. Sitting out in the garden, on a summer's evening, these scents wafting on the breeze, is what life is all about. Yes, I like to take a few sunrays, but for when the sun is really strong, I have a parasol, so as to avoid too many harmful rays. I lie on my lounger and read my book quite often and like to sit out and watch the sun set. My garden faces west, and beyond the perimeter, there is a field of sheep, and then a rugged line of trees, and when the sun goes down behind those trees, silhouetting them against a red and orange sky, a more beautiful, relaxing scene couldn't be wished for.
I hope you get an abundant harvest from your vegetable garden, and that your landscaped garden brings you much pleasure as does mine to me. Brightest Blessings. :-)
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
27 May 07
Thank you so much for the blessings. I need all I can get right now. I have to replace all of the Roma tomatoe plants. We bought them and planted them and they were looking so good. Then we had a light rain followed by a mild frost. Wiped those plants right out! They are not recovering at all from that frost. So it is back to the store for me. I like the Roma tomatoes for cooking, freezing, making sauces and tomatoe juice. All of the rest of the garden is doing very nicely.
@kelly60 (4547)
• United States
14 May 07
I have a several small flower gardens around my yard, as well as a strawberry patch, and a small vegetable garden. I haven't planted the vegetable garden yet, but am hoping to start planting it later this week if the weather is decent. I used to have a larger vegetable garden, but because of my health problems I haven't been able to take care of it properly so I have only had a small garden for the past several years.
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
14 May 07
I started out with three strawberry plants and over the years the patch kept getting bigger. Last year I had about 500 plants growing, so I ripped a bunch out and gave them to friends. I had to thin them out or it was just going to be a mess this year.
Every year, my oldest daughter helps me make strawberry freezer jam. Then we have it all year long. One year, we had 45 pints in the freezer. Bumper crop of strawberries that year.
Last summer, the green beans were the ones that took up the most space in the deep freezer.
1 person likes this
@kelly60 (4547)
• United States
14 May 07
I love strawberry freezer jam, and haven't had it in years. I just planted the strawberries last year so I don't know how well they will produce. They look like nice healthy plants though so I have high hopes for them. I plan on giving my mom a few plants from my garden this year, then I won't mind if my strawberry patch gets a bit bigger over the next couple of years. My son is still getting my vegetable garden ready for me to plant. It sould be ready in the next couple of days.
1 person likes this
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
26 May 07
About every 3 to 5 years, I have to thin it out but last year I had to thin it out a lot. I hope your strawberries do well so you can have some jam.
@lightningMD (5931)
• United States
14 May 07
We had a great garden in Michigan before we moved. Now we are in an apartment. We are moving to a house in June. Not sure how much I'll be able to plant this year but next year will definetly be different. We always start our tomatoes plants from inside from seeds then transplant them when the time is right.
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
14 May 07
When I lived in an apartment, I planted in pots and planters. I had to stake my tomatoes but it worked. Now I have big pots that sit on a wire like base with castor wheels. I keep those on the deck and on the patio. I plant flowers in some and strawberries in others. I can roll them around when cleaning and sweeping.
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
26 May 07
I need to get the garden watered tomorrow. Ok! Wait...first I have to find all of the garden hoses and THEN I can water the garden.
@banta78 (4326)
• India
29 May 07
Congratulations royal looks like your vegetable garden is completely planted and you and your family seem to have done good job of it. Wow eating home grown fresh vegetables it must feel nice for all your efforts. I also like to do gardening. But i like in an apartment where i have small kitchen garden with only few plants like money plant, tulsi plant my mom has planted in pots which we take care of by watering them and removing weeds, and putting manure. Cheers.:)
1 person likes this
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
1 Jun 07
We love fresh vegetables and salads. We freeze a lot of the stuff and dehydrate some. This way we have food all year long.
@GnosticGoddess (5626)
• United States
21 May 07
Congrats on the nice garden and everything!
I do have a decent sized backyard but no real good place to plant a garden. Small or large. I would like to one day have a small one.
I love it when it's nice and warm outside too. Although it's sucks working third shift because I don't get to enjoy it nearly as much as I would like too.
1 person likes this
@GnosticGoddess (5626)
• United States
1 Jun 07
I does suck...but I try to get out there on the weekends. We got to spend a lot of time out last weekend and it was really nice.
We wish we could get on first...but that's how it is in a factory. You've just got to wait it out.
1 person likes this
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
26 May 07
That is so sad that you do not get to enjoy the outdoors much. I would work my shift, then enjoy the outdoors and then sleep before going to my next shift. I actually crave the sunshine. I would not be able to work third shift very long like you do.
1 person likes this
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
14 May 07
WE live in an apartment complex so we don't have a garden except for plant containers. the last complex we lived in actually had a front and back yard so I could garden.The office used to have a garden contest and the last year I entered I took second place and the year before that,I took in third.We want to go back to jersey and start my gardening again.
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
14 May 07
I have gardened in containers in the past. I had some wonderful results. I hope you have the same experience.
1 person likes this
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
15 May 07
the containers are beautiful but it's not the same as having it right it the ground,working the soil with my hands but the way I look at it,container gardens are better than no gardens at all.they are still pretty
1 person likes this
@KarenO52 (2950)
• United States
15 May 07
I would love to have a garden like yours. I have a hard time getting anything done around here. Our soil is heavy with clay, and I don't have much luck with a garden. My husband just bought me a roto-tiller, so I'm going to try and at least plant some flowers.
1 person likes this
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
15 May 07
You might try mixing a lot of kitchen waste into the soil. Things like used coffee grounds, potato and carrot peelings, egg shells and celery trimmings are very good. Do not use meat products. Also, you can get things from the nurseries that can help the soil to loosen up a bit. For example, a fine sand or a top soil can be tilled in. It might take awhile to see the results but keep at it. Also, composting materials are helpful.
@Rickrocks8 (1751)
• United States
14 May 07
I'm still working on mine. I plan on going this week to get my plants. My Dad already has his in too, Mine is much smaller because our yard is very small. But I am still excited about it! I cant wait I hope it does well this year! Good lucj happy planting!
1 person likes this
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
14 May 07
Good luck and happy planting to you also. We planted yesterday and it is raining today so the garden should have a good start.
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
15 May 07
Quick up date....I got the tomatoes and the pepper plants yesterday. I will plant them into the garden this week and put the cages into place.
@irishmist (3814)
• United States
14 May 07
We have a small yard, and a small garden, but I did manage to get a good amount of veggies planted in it. We wanted to do flowers, but the rest of the yard is concrete. So we will do hanging baskets. There is also a grape vine in our yard. We rent and live on the first floor. Nobody else in our 3 story building is interested in the yard, so we basically have it to ourselves. We also have our table & grill out there.
1 person likes this
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
14 May 07
That sounds kind of cozy. It is nice that you can still enjoy gardening even if it is on a small scale. The grape vine sounds interesting. Do you get a lot of grapes from it?
@irishmist (3814)
• United States
14 May 07
I don't know about the grapes. We moved in here last September. Can't wait to find out though.
1 person likes this
@explorations (1712)
• United States
17 May 07
I have small container gardens right now because we just built our house last October - focusing on getting the grass to grow in and get the brush cleared out has spoiled plans for flower and veggie gardens this year. We're on three acres, so there will be plenty of room to plan out beds and other gardens. What do I love about my yard and gardens? The tranquility.
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
17 May 07
Sounds like you will be very busy this summer. What kind of grass seed are you planting? Will you be adding a fertilizer also? If you seed and fertilize right before a rain storm you should get a good result. Good luck you.
@icequeen (2840)
• Canada
14 May 07
Good for you. It is nice that you have all that land. We also did some planting this weekend. However..we only have so much room to work with because we live in an apartment...and they other tenants need space too. We planted some flowers. I always put some outside my kitchen window...they are nice to look at in the summer..so we did that...I bought some new pots. Then we did some outside...flowers and seeds....We haven't planted any veggies yet..but we will soon. I may go pick some up this week...tomatoes..etc...good luck with your garden...
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
15 May 07
I like plants that grow straight up. I can stake them so they do not fall or I can put cages around them. They take up less space that way. I also plant in pots to save space.
@lafavorito (2959)
• Philippines
14 May 07
Wow I would love to have my own vegetable garden, sadly we live in the city and although our lot is huge most of it is covered with cement and used as parking area for the vehicles and play area of my son. I'd love to learn how to grow herbs but I still can't find anything or anyone that can help me get started. The climate in our country is perfect for plant growing because we only have 2 seasons, summer (March - May) and rainy (June to February).
1 person likes this
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
14 May 07
You might try your hand at container gardening. It does not take a lot of space to do.
@tammyr (5946)
• Etowah, Tennessee
14 May 07
OH! I Am SOOO jealous!!
I use my BF's father's tiller, and it tore up because he forgot to put oil in it!! He jumps on my BF and his brother ALL the time about checking the oil and such, and he blows it up by using it with out any oil!!LOL
We had it worked on, but he doesn't know if it is going to finish his little spot, let alone my 10'x10' garden spot. I hate to think I have to do it with a shovel, but If nothing else, I will just do a small spot for tomatoes, and cukes, our favs. I have lots of flowers planted in my yard. They do not need a lot of care, and I am not ready to put in a new flower bed this year. All of my flowers return year after year and require little care. I will look for something and see if I can share it with you. Sometimes I can not post photos!?=o{
1 person likes this
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
14 May 07
We cheat. We have a tiller that goes behind the tractor. It tears up two feet wide at a time. Then I have my little tiller for the tight spots like around the trees and in the flower beds. As an emergency back up, I have three shovels and a garden fork. Once I have the ground open up it is pretty easy to maintain for the summer.
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
15 May 07
I lived at my dads for awhile as a kid and he had 3 huge gardens that we grew everything in. Corn, carrots, watermelons, you name it. We'd can or freeze just about everything. I miss it so much. I used to have a big yard with sunflowers, melons, carrots, tomatoes, strawberries and more. Now we live in an apartment with no yard. The other day I saw the neighbors planting their garden and I got so depressed. I went out and bought some big pots and planted tomatoes, peppers and some flowers. It made it a little better :)
LIVE IN PEACE
1 person likes this
@mari123 (1861)
• China
14 May 07
we need green vegetable to eat,they are growing up without any pesticide.but in fact it is impossible to the farmer to planted withourt using pesticide,if that they cann't earn more money,and can get a great weight of the vegetable.in my memory of childhood,my parents planted vegetable and we can eat greenness food.but now there are many transfer-gene foods provide.but the food we eat is not the taste we have ever eaten.
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
14 May 07
I agree that the food that comes from the garden tastes very different than the food that is processed and canned. It is fresher. We plant green, orange, red and other colors of vegetables. We like to have salads all summer long. We freeze a lot so we can have the food during the winter months.
@morefashion (54)
• China
14 May 07
I like to get a nice tan too.I have a small garden behind my
house. There is a yard in the front of my house .I love my
garden and yard.Because i planted much kinds of vegetables
and flowers erery year,they are very beautiful.
1 person likes this
