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Angel
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| Posted: Jan 15 2013 at 5:54pm | IP Logged
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Mackfam wrote:
Could you get a small, moveable cage for a few "garden girls", Angela? Something unobtrusive and that wouldn't draw the neighbor's attention? |
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That's what we were thinking about. I imagine that the reason we didn't have a problem in NY with our chickens and the garden *was* because we had *so* much space.
The turkeys were awesome at pest control, though. They would leap up in the air to pick Japanese beetles off the elderberry bushes. It was a lot of fun to watch, actually.
I'm just feeling a little desperate because the squash bugs don't just destroy squash... they also do cucumbers, watermelon, and melons. Like, half of the summer vegetables!
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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Angel
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| Posted: Jan 15 2013 at 6:05pm | IP Logged
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Mackfam wrote:
Angel wrote:
Locally I seem to be able to find mostly non-heirloom varieties... which I may have to switch to, I guess... but then again there are CSA's and such growing heirlooms, so I don't know. |
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This was my experience for so long, too...but then Sarah and I were at a local nursery late last spring and we saw that they had many heirloom varieties of different veg available, and I was excited! I haven't had good luck AT ALL with heirloom from seed and our heat/humidity. So, I was hoping that the local nursery's selections might be a better place to start. It's what I'm going to try this spring anyway. |
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I have a feeling I need to look harder. But I definitely think that organic/heirloom gardening is much less popular in the South than it is up north.
I always bought my tomato plants up there, too. There was no way I could compete with the local greenhouses' tomato plants with my piddly home set up, and our season was so short.
I will say that the one tomato I have had great luck with here is Yellow Pear. They're an heirloom variety, prone to split, but super prolific. They will come back as wildly vigorous volunteers the next year, too. I didn't start them from seed, though, but as plants. They were one of the few heirloom varieties I could find the first year we were here.
I was also thinking of direct sowing my tomatoes this year so that they would bear later in the season. I got the idea from a memoir written by a man in Oklahoma. My neighbors start their tomatoes in a rubbermaid container outside. I was thinking about trying that, too, but maybe not this year.
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Jan 15 2013 at 6:09pm | IP Logged
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Angel wrote:
Mackfam wrote:
Angel wrote:
Locally I seem to be able to find mostly non-heirloom varieties... which I may have to switch to, I guess... but then again there are CSA's and such growing heirlooms, so I don't know. |
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This was my experience for so long, too...but then Sarah and I were at a local nursery late last spring and we saw that they had many heirloom varieties of different veg available, and I was excited! I haven't had good luck AT ALL with heirloom from seed and our heat/humidity. So, I was hoping that the local nursery's selections might be a better place to start. It's what I'm going to try this spring anyway. |
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I have a feeling I need to look harder. But I definitely think that organic/heirloom gardening is much less popular in the South than it is up north. |
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I totally agree! But it is starting to filter into corners of gardening suppliers around here...so surely not too much longer where you are. Try looking at some family owned/local nurseries...that's where we finally found ours.
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Jen Mackintosh
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Jan 15 2013 at 6:20pm | IP Logged
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We have a friend up here who direct sows his tomatoes and swears that they catch up with the transplants.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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MarilynW
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| Posted: Jan 15 2013 at 9:09pm | IP Logged
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I love this thread!
I am just starting out on the potager path (for my birthday my husband and kids gave me plans for a garden they are building for me)
Please would you share what seed catalogs you order and where you buy seeds and plants from.
Also - one of my children has a birthday coming up and I am planning a gardening theme for him. He is a nature lover and wants his own patch of dirt. Please would you share any plants/other for a gardening gift basket (we do already have Sharon Lovejoy books and also a Kid's herb book)
Thanks so much.
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Marilyn
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Jan 16 2013 at 5:24am | IP Logged
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MarilynW wrote:
I love this thread!
I am just starting out on the potager path (for my birthday my husband and kids gave me plans for a garden they are building for me)
Please would you share what seed catalogs you order and where you buy seeds and plants from.
Also - one of my children has a birthday coming up and I am planning a gardening theme for him. He is a nature lover and wants his own patch of dirt. Please would you share any plants/other for a gardening gift basket (we do already have Sharon Lovejoy books and also a Kid's herb book)
Thanks so much. |
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Marilyn, that is so exciting!
My little ones are very excited to have their own patches of dirt, too. They see mom making garden plans and really want to get started on their own. Now that I've got my seed orders placed, I think I have a few moments to pause and help them work through theirs! Though, my 4 year old is absolutely convinced he needs to get his seeds planted NOW. He'll be my assistant for sure as I start my winter sowing the the next few days
As for seed catalogs, we started a separate thread last year where we shared our favorite sources Seed Talk
It has a lot of great information all in one place, so if anyone wants to update there with their new finds or experiences from last year, it might be nice if we put it there for ease of reference. 
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Jan 16 2013 at 7:40am | IP Logged
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I decided after posting early this morning that I would make the effort today to work with the boys on their garden plan before they lose interest and get tired of my putting them off 
We do a modified version of Square Foot Gardening, and I use it to plan, even if I don't use it always to plant, because it is so simple to calculate the numbers of plants and such I can squeeze into my bed, making notes about successiong/interplanting on my post-its.
It seems the easiest way to plan with the boys, at any rate, but I was uncertain in how to proceed in a way that would make it somewhat independent for my non-readers (I just pencil in things on post-it notes for my own). Anyway, I got the bright idea to make tiles, so I spent an hour this morning cutting the pictures from last year's Kitchen Garden Seed catalog (they use water color and pen and ink drawings instead of photographs) and hastily gluing them to a 4x4 grid (each square 2") that I made in Word, hand labeling, then scanning. I just printed out several copies for each boys at a low resolution, and they should be able to cut out the squares themselves and place them on their blank grids I will print on cardstock.
I don't want to post this publicly since I am sure the images are proprietary, but I will share them with anyone who pms me with their e-mail to save you a bit of time. Beware, my handwriting is hastily done and some of the veggies are pasted upside-down and defy gravity But I am hoping it will be a fun project for the boys, even if they completely change their minds about what to plant where come Spring 
I also plan to put a compass rose on their sheets so that we can talk about placing the taller things on the North, etc...
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Jan 16 2013 at 7:46am | IP Logged
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Sorry for serial posting
But, Marilyn, in my cutting and pasting, I came across the Seed Collections they offer and thought of your garden-themed birthday basket. Both the Happy Baby Garden and the Child's Garden of Wonder sound like they would be delightful to consider
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Angel
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| Posted: Jan 16 2013 at 11:41am | IP Logged
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Ok,another quick question while my 9 year old is getting his spelling out... has anyone ever grown lima beans? If so, do they taste like the ones in the store or is the taste a lot better?
I'm looking at the Southern Exposure catalog right now and am tempted to try a few new things that are supposed to grow well in the South. I like lima beans ok, but I think I would only want to grow them if they tasted better than the ones from the store.
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Angela
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CrunchyMom
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My mom used to grow and can Lima beans. I thought they were TONS better than what you get at the store. One advantage to growing them is that you can pick them when they are smaller, before they get dry and chalky. we always had "baby Lima beans," and I can't say I ever much cared for them any other way after that.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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mrsgranola
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Here we grow what look like lima beans but are smaller, butter beans. They are buttery in flavor if cooked gently. Not quite as starchy, IMO, as what I've had called lima beans.
We've got to kick it into gear on our garden this year now that baby is older this year... we didn't keep it watered last summer and lost most of it... :-(
Thinking I will let the 3 youngest (cept toddler) have their own small mini-garden to care for..
JoAnna in NC
Mom to 7 living, ages 19.5 down to 19 months
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Jan 16 2013 at 4:09pm | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
Okay, so I made a Gardening Notes sticky.
I haven't had a chance to do the books or blogs spread throughout our first thread, but I got the seed catalogs and last year's threads linked up.
I will also see about starting a new Pinterest board for Gardening. We could clog up "Loom Larder and Laundry" pretty quick, though if another mod has the time to start it before I get to it, go ahead |
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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MarilynW
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Thank you so much for all the posts Lindsay. I really appreciate it. I am looking forward to checking links and ordering seed catalogs.
So do you build raised gardens for your kids too - or do they just dig in the dirt? Our soil is horrible. A few years ago my older kids all had wading pool gardens which were good for flowers - but did not work for most vegetables.
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Marilyn
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| Posted: Jan 16 2013 at 4:13pm | IP Logged
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Has anyone grown blueberries? My kids are begging for a blueberry bush for our front yard - the local garden center will have them in at the end of Feb.
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Marilyn
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My turn to apologize for serial posting:
What soil do you use? 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss - or do you just use a standard potting mix?
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Marilyn
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CrunchyMom
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mrsgranola wrote:
Here we grow what look like lima beans but are smaller, butter beans. They are buttery in flavor if cooked gently. Not quite as starchy, IMO, as what I've had called lima beans.
We've got to kick it into gear on our garden this year now that baby is older this year... we didn't keep it watered last summer and lost most of it... :-(
Thinking I will let the 3 youngest (cept toddler) have their own small mini-garden to care for..
JoAnna in NC
Mom to 7 living, ages 19.5 down to 19 months |
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My music minister, on choir bus trips, used to do this hilarious parody on "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" called "Just a Bowl of Butter Beans"
Quote:
Just a bowl of butterbeans,
and some cornbread if you please.
I don't want no collard greens.
Just a bowl of butter beans |
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Then, the entire bus would start humming the tune in the background while he gave this soliloquy about the experience of eating his first bowl of butterbeans.
So, now I keep singing this in my head.
But yes, I think you are right. I think what my mom grew might have been butter beans. I know she still made an effort to harvest them small.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Becky Parker
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Marilyn, we tried blueberry bushes here with some success until the deer at them - roots, bushes and all. Through the experience I learned that they thrive in acidic soil, if that helps any. We had to add lots of oak leaves, ground into mulch, or "soil acidifier" as our soil isn't acid enough. They did grow though ... until the deer found them.
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Becky
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Becky Parker
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Any advice on dealing with raccoons? We love our river/woods setting, but we get all kinds of critters determined to ruin our garden every year. I have a few ideas to try for deer, but the raccoons get the corn just before we pick it.  It's like they have spies that listen in on our dinner conversation! As soon as they hear "tomorrow we will be able to pick the corn" they come in the middle of the night and do it for us!
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Becky
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Pilgrim
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Becky Parker wrote:
| Any advice on dealing with raccoons? We love our river/woods setting, but we get all kinds of critters determined to ruin our garden every year. I have a few ideas to try for deer, but the raccoons get the corn just before we pick it. It's like they have spies that listen in on our dinner conversation! As soon as they hear "tomorrow we will be able to pick the corn" they come in the middle of the night and do it for us! |
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For racoons, there's a few pages with helpful advice: This one on one of favorite forums for garden info. , and then this page was helpful , the end of this page has info about racoons, but the whole page has some great ideas, as well.
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Just thought I'd post this forum for all the gardeners here, we have found SO MUCH info here over the years. There is even regional forums that may be helpful to those who live in areas where gardening can be challenging due to the climate. So often when we are looking for info for our customers, this forum pops up with an answer in the Google search. 
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Kitchen Gardens 2013
