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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Jan 18 2013 at 6:58am | IP Logged
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What a neat site you have Pilgrim! St. Clare Heirloom Seeds looks awesome!
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Jan 18 2013 at 8:26am | IP Logged
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I just put up this post about this week's garden planning. I included pictures of my notebook and the boys' planning their plots. I had intended to upload the pictures separately here, since I'm really am not trying to promote my blog! But it took a bit longer than I expected, and I am out of computer time! 
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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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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: Jan 18 2013 at 8:38am | IP Logged
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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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I suggest a family camp out in the garden the night before picking. Raccoons are tricky! They can be trapped and "relocated". Be sure to check regulations for this. Sometimes they can't be reloated and must be destroyed or the the opposite.
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
Tending the Pumpkin Patch
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Jan 18 2013 at 8:47am | IP Logged
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Cassie! That is so funny. My ds wanted to camp out for a few nights last year, fully loaded with his super soaker water gun and BB gun. I wouldn't let him though.
Maybe this year I'll rethink that option!
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Jan 22 2013 at 2:09pm | IP Logged
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I got my first batch of winter sowing jugs out and planted on Sunday when it was warm. It could be a while before I do that again now that it seems winter has finally hit, lol. Unless I decide to bring the bag of dirt into the kitchen!
Last night, I got the boys to bring in the last of the the kale and chard before it went down in the teens and I was afraid it would all get ruined. We never got around to doing a cold frame this fall. I made a nice soup with greens and butternut squash (from the attic), and it made me want to be much more dilligent in planting fall crops and prepping the space to over winter it. It was just very lovely eating our own veggies this time of year!
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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 24 2013 at 10:49am | IP Logged
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Can anyone recommend particular seeds/plants for container gardens - and where they have bought these from? Also any containers that are recommended? I am hoping to have containers for the following:
- Herbs: basil, cilantro, rosemary, parsley, thyme
- Veg - zucchini, eggplant, peppers, potatoes
- Fruit - strawberries, blueberries
The containers I have looked at are - just plain buckets, smartpots, stacka pots (pricey)
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Marilyn
Blessed with 6 gifts from God
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Mackfam
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| Posted: May 23 2013 at 1:15pm | IP Logged
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Bump. 
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: May 23 2013 at 1:46pm | IP Logged
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Noooo! I'm in denial, Jen.
Seriously, the late Spring and frosts meant delaying on a lot of summer crops around here. Couple that with the onset of 3rd trimester fatigue and limited mobility, and I feel so behind!
Must. MUST. Plant the cucumbers and summer squash this week.
It has been on my list every day this week, but its just been hard to move. But, I just put a chicken to s.l.o.w. roast, so I think I can take a nap and maybe still have a couple of hours to get this done before dinner!
Dh got my tomatoes staked last night, so I just need to find an old t-shirt to cut and tie and pinch some suckers.
We also put a squash/pumpkin/melon bed in the back yard, and I need to get a boy to water there. It was supposed to rain today and didn't, and I'd like those seeds to germinate quickly!
I got some flowers I'd winter sown into the front beds last Saturday, and I need to get some others planted around the potager and squash beds for my friends the butterflies and bees. Lots of sunflowers to sow as well as a packet of zinnia seeds.
Ack! And I have some lettuces that need to be put out, too.
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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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guitarnan
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| Posted: May 23 2013 at 9:38pm | IP Logged
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We finally got some rain today. I've been watering my little baby sprouts (from St. Clare Heirloom Seeds!) and hoping for the best despite my famously black thumbs.
I found out today that my neighbor has been spraying bees to kill them. Her little daughter won't stay out of flowering shrubs, and my neighbor is afraid she'll be stung. If anyone has ideas for how I can get her bees into my yard, I'm ready to try them!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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stellamaris
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| Posted: May 24 2013 at 12:35am | IP Logged
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My sage looks fantastic and my leaf lettuce is doing well since it's been so cool. I'm trying a stevia plant this year and also lemon verbena--branching out into new herbs ! I planted blueberries in the fall and they are doing really well, too!
My arugula and bok choy are bolting, they like even cooler weather than lettuce. I got them in too late, but I'm going to try them again in the fall.
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
Flowing Streams
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Angel
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| Posted: May 24 2013 at 8:17am | IP Logged
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guitarnan wrote:
I found out today that my neighbor has been spraying bees to kill them. Her little daughter won't stay out of flowering shrubs, and my neighbor is afraid she'll be stung. If anyone has ideas for how I can get her bees into my yard, I'm ready to try them! |
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Spraying bees??? Oh no!!! Well, we seem to collect more bees every year mostly by avoiding chemicals in our yard and on our garden and planting anything that flowers -- fruit trees, bushes, garden plants like peas... but I suspect mostly what the bees like is the clover that grows in our yard but nobody else's. The first year we moved in I saw virtually no bees, but they've been increasing in numbers every spring and summer since. We've even started to see a good number of honey bees. You can find bee flower mixes pretty easily if you don't want to let your yard go to clover, though.
Our (spring) garden is doing surprisingly well this year, especially seeing as how I had a baby at the end of March. We had already gone ahead and joined a CSA because we figured our garden wouldn't be much, but we are now *drowning* in greens because of it. We'll see how the summer goes, though. Our summer garden has been a disaster for the past two years, and the timing of planting has been off this year with the cold, wet weather. Andy tilled up another big section of field so we could plant corn, okra, and viney plants, but so far we've only managed sweet corn and sweet potatoes in that area. We've been too busy and it's been too wet to plant the melons and okra.
Of course I say "we" but really Andy and the kids are the ones who have been taking care of the garden.
I gave up on my tomato seed experiment -- nothing came up. So I bought a few plants at Home Depot this past weekend. They're actually selling some heirlooms now!
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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CrunchyMom
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I think that, in addition to planting things the bees love (borage is an easy flowering annual that comes to mind), you might try some of the "bee homes" I've seen in the gardening catalogs, depending on what sort of bees they are. Most of the homes I've seen are for mason bees, but there might be other options out there, too. I suppose, though, you will need your own flowering things to lure and keep them away from the flowers in the neighbor's yard. 
A water source near the flowering things (like a bird bath or a stopped up gutter ) helps, I think. We've noticed that like to stop for a drink on their way back to their hive. We were afraid they'd built a hive in the siding of our house until we realized they were all just stopping for a drink at the end of the gutter! And I think that is how people would often find honey naturally in the woods, by watching for the bees as they came to the creek or pond and then following them. We'd really like to try having honey bees of our own some day, but not during a "baby year." 
It rained yesterday after my nap , but Dh is home today, and though it is raining, we managed to knock some things off my list before it got heavy, and he's still out there doing some tree work since it isn't storming. I'm hoping there will be a respite to allow for some more dirt moving and planting, but maybe tomorrow if not. We got the asparagus tied back, the tomatoes pruned and tied, and I got a bunch more lettuces in. My raised beds are cinder block, and I like planting romaine in the holes as edging. It is CHILLY out there. Our weather this Spring is so very strange!
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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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SallyT
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| Posted: May 24 2013 at 11:58am | IP Logged
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I need to watch our clover more closely this year. I've seen lots of bumblebees of the carpenter/boring sort (as in, boring into the wood of our treehouse and garage, not boring as in dull), but have not noticed many honeybees. I do have a bee-and-butterfly-friendly flower garden out back which is flourishing this year, so I hope to see some.
Sally
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 03 2013 at 4:39pm | IP Logged
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I'm late to the garden party. With sickness and tight budgets Dh didn't want to start until this past weekend. Small as it is, we have a garden started.
I bought plants, except for some flower seeds. I need to get some marigolds...our store was out. I have never been successful in growing these from seed!
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
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Angel
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| Posted: Aug 01 2013 at 8:43am | IP Logged
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Updates???
We've been having a weird summer. Lots of rain and cooler than usual temperatures, so my hot weather stuff -- cucumbers, tomatoes, okra, eggplant -- is just starting to ramp up. My corn totally failed this year and have *no* idea why... I guess maybe our soil is just so deficient that the corn only grew about 2 feet tall??? It's a mystery.
I just put up 8 c. of freezer salsa with our peppers, onions, garlic, and tomatoes (supplemented with some CSA tomatoes and some tomatoes from the neighbors.) Lacto-fermented dills and okra quick pickles are also on the list.
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Angela
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Three Plus Two
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JennGM
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Update: Kitchen garden total failure so far. We've had a weird summer here, too. Lots of rain, then scorching weeks, and back to low temps and rain. My tomatoes aren't ripening, nor are they growing that big. 2 ripened somewhat and the squirrels attacked them.
Our pumpkins planted by dh are growing like wildbusters, but all foliage, no fruit.
I was minimalist, and I'm glad, because it's just not producing this year. Lots of farmer market this year.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Aug 01 2013 at 9:24am | IP Logged
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We started late this year because of the baby. REALLY late! We just planted corn 3 weeks ago! So...maybe a September harvest? Most of the garden we put in over the last 2 to 4 weeks. Crazy - I know!
Since we planted so late I can't update on any harvests yet - except peppers - we've gotten a few peppers because they were transplants.
All my tomatoes are doing well - several blooms and lots of small baby tomatoes. Even my heirloom tomato plants look good! (Maybe because we've had milder than normal temps this summer?) But....still way too early to call it a success! I sure hope we get some tomatoes by end of August!
We have volunteer potatoes and beans that are growing like gangbusters! And our berry patch has been prolific! We enjoyed an early harvest of blueberries and raspberries and are awaiting our second crop of raspberries. By the way, pink lemonade blueberry is our absolute favorite variety! Super sweet!!!! And delightfully pink!!
So...we're late getting things in...and hopeful! Things are still alive, corn is up and growing well. We're counting on our long growing seasons in being able to harvest in September and even into October.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
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CrunchyMom
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Things are going pretty well. The cool Spring meant a slow start for us as well. The peas were kind of a bust in spite of the lengthy Spring, but we are getting our share of tomatoes and the cucumbers and zucchini are coming in more prolifically this week. The onions forced themselves out of the ground and started withering during the heatwave, so we are eating them now. They are good but probably won't have any to store later.
We have a lot of swiss chard we should probably use soon. I wish everything grew as easily as chard. I like it but love other fussier veggies more
We put in a winter squash and melon bed out back so they wouldn't take over the potager again this year, and things are growing well, though, i fear distance x pregnancy/newborn does not equal diligence in working against pests, so, I do hope we actually get to partake of the bounty there!
Something came along and ate most of the outer perimeter sunflowers we planted as well as the scarlet runner beans. Oh well. The zinnias are looking pretty.
Our cabbages and broccoli were protected by row covering this year from the caterpillars, but we opened up covering once we started harvesting those and the bugs have found and made mince meat of the brussel sprouts. I'm was hoping to plant all those things from seed for Fall, but I think I would need to start them this week, and well, new babies and all.  I may call the local garden center, though, to see about their Fall veggies and just plan to buy transplants if they're going to have them.
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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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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Kitchen Gardens 2013
