HEY JULIE...or anyone else who knows...

[ihy49]

i want to get a garden started too! problem is that i've never done anything like this before. what do i need to get started and how do i take care of it to make sure i don't kill anything before i get to eat it! i wanna do stuff like lettuce, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, eggplant, etc. it would help out alot in my household to grow my own veggies and whatnot....any suggestions?

:help:

:daisy:

[Julie]

Growing vegetables isn't the price saver you may think it is for one family. By the time you spend the time and money to make sure the soil is correct and the extra money trying to keep it watered through our dry summers, it's usually cheaper just to get it at the grocery store... but it doesn't taste as good. A co-op garden can start becoming more cost effective.. you typically bring in more veggies than one family can eat so why not find someone to go in with you on the expense and labor?

Anyway.. to start off you have to jump out there sometime between now and February to start working the soil where you want the garden to go. Turning over the dirt, trying to eliminate the weeds and grass (the grass is the toughest to get rid of), and adding good garden soil to keep the soil from packing like cement and add nutrition.

[ihy49]

so what you're really saying, is "forget about it!" :) or, "come help me do mine!"

[Julie]

or, "come help me do mine!"

hadn't thought about it, but we expand a little more each year and if ya wanna help :chuckle2:

[ihy49]

hehehehe

[Aayla]

The kids and I had fun with container gardening last year. It seemed like an easy way to start small. Mine was similar to this...
http://www.joyfulabode.com/blog/2008/05/27/the-start-of-a-container-vegetable-garden/

And my dad had some great tomatos hanging upside down (like this... http://www.minifarmhomestead.com/gardening/tomato.htm ) only he hung his from the swing set.

I'd like to expand into a real, inground garden but I'll probably stick with my containters again for this summer.

[shortysisd]

Well, we were lucky because where we live, my granny used to garden but she passed in 87. There was already an area fenced off where she would grow her garden. My Aunt and Uncle moved in to our house a few years after Granny passed so they could build their own house. My Aunt kept the soil good and TRIED to keep the rocks out but I swear, that ground keeps growing rocks LOL. Anyway, The first 4 years in that house I didn't garden but last year my husband decided he wanted to try it. The squash and zucc were so easy! The peppers took a little while to start growing but they were the last ones to stop growing.

I'm gonna add potatoes and beans this year with some strawberries and cantaloupe.

This year I am also going to try growing Gourds in memory of Pond.

[shortysisd]

The kids and I had fun with container gardening last year. It seemed like an easy way to start small. Mine was similar to this...
http://www.joyfulabode.com/blog/2008/05/27/the-start-of-a-container-vegetable-garden/

And my dad had some great tomatos hanging upside down (like this... http://www.minifarmhomestead.com/gardening/tomato.htm ) only he hung his from the swing set.

I'd like to expand into a real, inground garden but I'll probably stick with my containters again for this summer.


Thanks for the link about the tomatos. We had a hard time last year growing ours. After reading this, I think it will be a GREAT help!

[Reader77]

Well, we were lucky because where we live, my granny used to garden but she passed in 87. There was already an area fenced off where she would grow her garden. My Aunt and Uncle moved in to our house a few years after Granny passed so they could build their own house. My Aunt kept the soil good and TRIED to keep the rocks out but I swear, that ground keeps growing rocks LOL. Anyway, The first 4 years in that house I didn't garden but last year my husband decided he wanted to try it. The squash and zucc were so easy! The peppers took a little while to start growing but they were the last ones to stop growing.

I'm gonna add potatoes and beans this year with some strawberries and cantaloupe.

This year I am also going to try growing Gourds in memory of Pond.

How sweet -- that's such a tribute. I keep her family and friends in my prayers. :Spin!:

[shortysisd]

Well, I had told Pond last year that I had never thought of growing Gourds but it was too late in the season for me to try at that time. So I told her I would be contacting her the next gardening season for tips. Now I will have to do it on my own but hopefully it will be successful and Pond will smile down.