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What Plants Are You Growing?

BeeGood

BeeGood

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 15, 2013
1,859
6,120
Lot 23E. Somewhere in Georgia.
How is it May and no one has put up a gardening/growing thread? :)

I have two 4X4 raised beds, mostly leafy greens with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and broccoli. Started all from seed, half of it isn't doing so hot so I might buy some nursery starts to replace some of my plantings. I also just bought blueberry and blackberry plants. Never tried that before so we'll see, although blackberries grow wild pretty well here so I'm hopeful.

I'm also thinking about replacing my front yard (Bermuda grass) with wood chips and shrubs. I have to see how my HOA feels about that :)

So what are you all growing?
 
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My partner and I are growing limes, tomatoes (cherry, beefsteak), okra, eggplant, cucumbers, zucchini, radishes, spinach, climbing jasmine vines, marigolds, strawberries, sage, thyme, rosemary, mint, basil, and green onions (Edit: and peppers! Bell peppers and some chilies). We used to grow in zone 5a/b in a 5 ft x 10 ft plot and had magnificent harvests, but the last few years have been challenging in 8a trying to adjust to everything. This year looks quite promising though!

Typically we mix our own soil. Usually a 1:1 ratio of peet moss and manure plus as much vermiculite as is affordable. We fertilize with coffe grounds, green sand, fish fertilizer, etc.

Berries are a great idea. We grew raspberries, blackberries, black raspberries, and currants when I was a child. But be careful with those first three, they'll take over!
 
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I've always been interested in gardening as well. Our house is on a 5-acre lot in the rural area outside Silicon Valley so we have a lot of good gardening space. There's one area near the house that I'm in charge of (my mom is the main gardener in the family, so she's in charge of everything else) and I've made it a garden exclusively of California native plants: manzanita, ceanothus, lupine, native rose, iris, and monkeyflower. Native plants are hard because they don't want much water and you have to make sure you don't over-water them, but when they're new they still need water about once a week.

I've never been much into growing food, but we do have a sizable vegetable garden as well as a number of fruit trees. :)
 
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chown33 said:
Herbs, man. Just herbs.
Click to expand...

young-flowering-plant-hallway.jpg

? :)​
 
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mobilehaathi said:
My partner and I are growing limes, tomatoes (cherry, beefsteak), okra, eggplant, cucumbers, zucchini, radishes, spinach, climbing jasmine vines, marigolds, strawberries, sage, thyme, rosemary, mint, basil, and green onions (Edit: and peppers! Bell peppers and some chilies). We used to grow in zone 5a/b in a 5 ft x 10 ft plot and had magnificent harvests, but the last few years have been challenging in 8a trying to adjust to everything. This year looks quite promising though!

Typically we mix our own soil. Usually a 1:1 ratio of peet moss and manure plus as much vermiculite as is affordable. We fertilize with coffe grounds, green sand, fish fertilizer, etc.

Berries are a great idea. We grew raspberries, blackberries, black raspberries, and currants when I was a child. But be careful with those first three, they'll take over!
Click to expand...

That's awesome! I'm glad it's turning around...I'm in 8b also, but this is pretty much all I've known, so I can't imagine what gardening is like up their in the 5s!

I'd like to get to the point where I'm using my own compost with vermiculite mainly, but I bought nearly all my soil this year from Home Depot. Im probably a little weird but I actually enjoy composting as much as I do gardening. Maybe it's the fact that you really can't mess up composting.

I'm actually hoping that the blackberries spread a good bit. I'm putting them on a slope in my backyard that I can't really do anything else with. I'm tired of piling pine straw on it so I was thinking the blackberry shrubs could just take it over eventually. I'm definitely open to suggestions, I've also thought about wild edibles of some kind.
 
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BeeGood said:
That's awesome! I'm glad it's turning around...I'm in 8b also, but this is pretty much all I've known, so I can't imagine what gardening is like up their in the 5s!

I'd like to get to the point where I'm using my own compost with vermiculite mainly, but I bought nearly all my soil this year from Home Depot. Im probably a little weird but I actually enjoy composting as much as I do gardening. Maybe it's the fact that you really can't mess up composting.

I'm actually hoping that the blackberries spread a good bit. I'm putting them on a slope in my backyard that I can't really do anything else with. I'm tired of piling pine straw on it so I was thinking the blackberry shrubs could just take it over eventually. I'm definitely open to suggestions, I've also thought about wild edibles of some kind.
Click to expand...

Oh, we let them spread, and it was glorious. You could go out every day and pick a few quarts. Hmm, not sure what sorts of wild edibles you could grow, but it sounds like a fun idea.
 
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mobilehaathi said:
My partner and I are growing limes, tomatoes (cherry, beefsteak), okra, eggplant, cucumbers, zucchini, radishes, spinach, climbing jasmine vines, marigolds, strawberries, sage, thyme, rosemary, mint, basil, and green onions (Edit: and peppers! Bell peppers and some chilies). We used to grow in zone 5a/b in a 5 ft x 10 ft plot and had magnificent harvests, but the last few years have been challenging in 8a trying to adjust to everything. This year looks quite promising though!
Click to expand...

Holy smokes! Any garden photos?

I want to do a small garden on the side of the house, it's kind of an "inert" area, between the house and the trees/ditch/road - in fact, I want to bring the fence up to the front corner (vs. the rear corner) since that would enclose it.

The neighbor has a pretty nice grow going on, lots of peppers (sweet, Datil), zucchini, tomatoes, onions (I made a nice pico from some of his gifts).

Huntn said:
young-flowering-plant-hallway.jpg

? :)​
Click to expand...

Yours? Is that a decorative plant or some kind of herb?
 
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BeeGood said:
How is it May and no one has put up a gardening/growing thread? :)

I have two 4X4 raised beds, mostly leafy greens with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and broccoli. Started all from seed, half of it isn't doing so hot so I might buy some nursery starts to replace some of my plantings. I also just bought blueberry and blackberry plants. Never tried that before so we'll see, although blackberries grow wild pretty well here so I'm hopeful.

I'm also thinking about replacing my front yard (Bermuda grass) with wood chips and shrubs. I have to see how my HOA feels about that :)

So what are you all growing?
Click to expand...
Cherry tomatoes, several Heritage Tomatoes, green beans,eggplant, cukes, mixed greens for salad, radishes, green /red/yellow peppers, spinach,Kale, beets,all started from seeds from JOHNNIES SEEDS, ALBION MAINE, as well as blueberries,raspberries, black berries, 8 bushes each
 
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D.T. said:
Holy smokes! Any garden photos?

I want to do a small garden on the side of the house, it's kind of an "inert" area, between the house and the trees/ditch/road - in fact, I want to bring the fence up to the front corner (vs. the rear corner) since that would enclose it.

The neighbor has a pretty nice grow going on, lots of peppers (sweet, Datil), zucchini, tomatoes, onions (I made a nice pico from some of his gifts).



Yours? Is that a decorative plant or some kind of herb?
Click to expand...

No, a smokable herb, found pic online. Maybe one day when I'm not at risk of arrest, I'll grow one. :)
 
D.T. said:
Holy smokes! Any garden photos?

I want to do a small garden on the side of the house, it's kind of an "inert" area, between the house and the trees/ditch/road - in fact, I want to bring the fence up to the front corner (vs. the rear corner) since that would enclose it.

The neighbor has a pretty nice grow going on, lots of peppers (sweet, Datil), zucchini, tomatoes, onions (I made a nice pico from some of his gifts).
Click to expand...

Ah, no pics. I don't object per se, but I have other reasons.

It can be very satisfying to grow some food crops. They don't necessarily have the 'look' of store produce, but they often taste far better. This is particularly the case for heirloom varieties.

The simplest things to start with are herbs. Get a few basil plants and you're like 1 step away from tons of fresh pesto.

I completely endorse this plan to grow things. :cool:
 
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Pomegranate and lemon trees, lettuce, kale, snap peas, sweet potatoes, oregano, cilantro, spearmint, rosemary, beets, turnips, lemongrass, sage, green onion and radish. That's all my wife, and that's only the edibles, not including flowers.

Me: hops.
 
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mobilehaathi said:
Fantastic, have you grown your own hops previously? What kind of beer do you brew?
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No, this was almost a "hey, try it and see" sort of thing. I do a boatload of cider, and then gluten-free beer. I've got 2 gallons of 2 kinds of mead that I need to get around to bottling. Maybe this weekend.
 
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mobilehaathi said:
Nice, good luck with the hops! Before it got famous for wine, Napa Valley used to be prime hop growing land.....
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Thanks!

I almost can't believe the effort it takes to grow hops, but I haven't done it successfully yet, either. Most directions call for culling bull bines early, and then have a strict nutrient regimen. I thought I was doing well to pick a location where they can grow 20 feet tall.
 
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Great thread, and I'm envious reading it. Actually, what a fantastic thread.

In our corner of north west Europe, latitude (and sunshine) dictates (and sometimes limits) much of what we can grow.

But I have worked in a number of countries - the Caucasus and central Asia, - where one could simply pick pomegranates - astonishing - and, when they were in season, fresh pomegranate juice was a daily staple of mine (prepared by my staff). Amazing, tart, delicious and healthy.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
Great thread, and I'm envious reading it. Actually, what a fantastic thread.

In our corner of north west Europe, latitude (and sunshine) dictates (and sometimes limits) much of what we can grow.

But I have worked in a number of countries - the Caucasus and central Asia, - where one could simply pick pomegranates - astonishing - and, when they were in season, fresh pomegranate juice was a daily staple of mine (prepared by my staff). Amazing, tart, delicious and healthy.
Click to expand...

Oh, fresh pomegranate juice! Shockingly delicious, like nothing in the stores.
 
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mobilehaathi said:
Oh, fresh pomegranate juice! Shockingly delicious, like nothing in the stores.
Click to expand...

When it is in season, I have had it in Turkey (when transiting through I often had to overnight in Istanbul), Kyrgyzstan, other places in central Asia, and Georgia, in the Caucasus. I love the stuff, and not only is it 'shockingly delicious', you feel so damned good after drinking it.

Yes, when it was in season, - roughly autumn through to late spring - there was a time I was able to drink it daily. What a fantastic drink. Candidly, I'm openly and avidly envious of anyone who has the sort of climate where you can grow such things…….
 
All types of herbs, some veggies, but quite a lot of mature fruit trees. I was lucky to purchase a house while house prices were "cheap" and had a huge back lot with a moderate front lawn. I've got a few large rosemary bushes and typically give stalks to anyone in the neighborhood who wants them, no charge. I don't use it much myself. When I do, it's either fresh or a South African spice blend.

Got tons of flowers, especially roses. I learned how to replicate plants a few years after I bought my house. True trial and error, and many cut fingers, I've managed to duplicate stuff I like. Roses are simple now, but I'd spend weeks being mad I couldn't get them to root. Though if you plant from seed, if the fruits go to seed, you typically end with a new variety.

Also have a couple gardenia bushes here and there. The yard smells sickly sweet during the bloom period. Especially if the weather is warm.
 
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