The 2013 Garden Thread

reply to post by otherpotato


I have a question about basil. I want to grow it, does the same plant reproduce every year? Or is there something I need to do to keep from having to plant new ones?

I love basil.

reply to post by Tylerdurden1


Basil is an annual herb, which means it dies every year, it needs to be seeded new each season if you live in a cooler climate. I am not sure about warmer areas though. You can also try and bring it inside as a houseplant after the weather cools down.

Good Luck!

reply to post by otherpotato


Congratulations on Vincent!!! May you be swimming in lemons by next year!

It has been awhile since I checked in on this thread, the gardens are going strong now. I tried to trick my seasons this year since it started so late for us, and then the next thing I knew it turned into the hottest driest summer that I have ever experienced in Alaska. My poor cool weather crops are fighting still. My spinach grew about 2 inches and then bolted immediately. My cabbages are just now starting to head out and my broccoli started bolting too. I harvested the first broccoli shoots and I am hoping for a decent crop. Surprisingly enough, or not due to the heat, my corn is already tasseling, my squash and cucumbers are producing and my tomatoes are thriving. I have also replaced my egyptian walking onions, for those of you following the research thread.

I came into this thread this morning to ask a question though. In my greenhouse a hive was started, to me the bugs look just like bees. The nest however is built like a wasps nest, I still swear they look nothing like wasps though. I was leaving them to their own devices until I was stung yesterday and they were removed. Inside the nest was a honeycomb structure without any of the wax or honey, and the bug that stung me left no stinger behind. It stands to reason that they are indeed wasps, but has anyone ever heard of a wasp that looks like a bee? I have never observed this strange cross before, and that is what they seem like to me is a bizarre cross between a bee and a wasp.

Thank you again otherpotato! It is my pleasure to be a part of the research project. Hopefully my next post will be my research post, on composting I think. It is fishing season though and I need to start smoking my salmon as well, so I can't make too many promises. I will make my next post soon though.

I hope you are well and enjoying all that your gardens have to give this year!

reply to post by woodsmom


I live in AZ so it might be a house plant for most of the year Thank you for the info!

My apple tree bloomed pretty early this spring and had it's first crop of apples. Not that many, but enough to attract the raccoons which took them all! Now it's blooming again!! In August???? Anyone have any ideas?

Anyone else have problems with their tomatoes this year? Myself and several neighbors got that mold that gets on the leaves and just makes a mess.

Also, I've planted carrots 3 times this year. out of three rows, maybe five plants actually come up.

Well, at least I get to can corn tonight. Bought organic seeds this year, and my corn is 8-9 feet high!

Originally posted by chiefsmom
Anyone else have problems with their tomatoes this year? Myself and several neighbors got that mold that gets on the leaves and just makes a mess.

Also, I've planted carrots 3 times this year. out of three rows, maybe five plants actually come up.

Well, at least I get to can corn tonight. Bought organic seeds this year, and my corn is 8-9 feet high!

My heirloom tomatoes are great plants but have produced hardly any fruit and the fruit they have produced are tiny. Same with my pepper plants.

reply to post by missvicky


Hardly any tomatoes, some of the plants are not thriving as much as they should.
NO disease though.
Cucumbers are now just starting to get going.....plants look good so far though....but the yield is way below what I usually get.

My neighbor is the same with his matoes and peppers....I think it's the weather....we're used to a much hotter summer and this year it more like it should be.

reply to post by missvicky


Yeah, it has been much colder than normal here, which surprised me because my peppers are actually going crazy! I know they usually like it hot but I bet there are 50 cayenne's on each plant, same with the ghost peppers.

Ended up with 12 pints of corn But something had a party in the middle of the rows and knocked down a bunch. Dang critters!!!!

reply to post by Tylerdurden1


What I do with my basil is grow it in a pot. When it starts to flower I cut off the budding shoot and put it in water. Once it roots I plant this stem, then I get new shoots from the flowering plant. Rinse and repeat. You can keep growing window basil year round this way.

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


Here in zone 5/6 northeast US,,,,

I planted less tomatoes this year (because last year killed me - overabundance) but the crop I planted is about what I expected. I didn't get any 2.5lb tomatoes this year like I did last year, but last year was an especially good tomato year so how can one compare.

I'd say tomato crop is as expected though it and everything else is a solid two weeks, maybe almost three weeks, late for almost every crop.

My biggest issues were 1) corn: terrible year for corn in my area - too much rain! and 2) summer squash/zucchini. I had squash borers this year which we have NEVER had in our garden. One survived, and it thrived, but it was odd to lose the others because that has never happened. I blame the late season.

It's good to see you back!
I just read your newest post, and please you don't owe me any apologies. I still accomplished more in the garden this year than I would have without you. Gardening is a major task, especially when you have kids! I had such bad luck with my broccoli bolting this year, all I had was enough for the boys to graze out. I did not get to freeze a single floret from 30 plants.

Good luck on your fall crop! I have had dreams of it, but we are already dropping into the 40's at night, so it's a lost cause. I can only hope for better next year, as always.
Take care.

Just checking in with my near post season report.

Cherry tomato plants did pretty good. The rain split most of them though.
Regular tomato plants were awful. It took all season to ripen, but by then they were soft.
Jalapenos; one didn't bear fruit, the other got a late start and is now bearing a lot of peppers.
Zucchini gave up a few decent sized, but mostly smaller ones after.
String beans did very good.
Strawberries did ok in one spot but poorly in the other. The rabbits got to most of them anyway.
Rhubarb did better than last year. we moved them to a sunnier area.
Blueberry bushes were pretty good but the birds got in while we were away and ate a ton. We grabbed a fair amount though.

I regret not planting potato and pumpkin. Procrastination is a bad thing.

Picked up two trays of collards today......will be plowing tomorrow, anyone know where the signs are?....I've misplaced my almanac!

reply to post by otherpotato


That is awesome! So where the flowers start to grow I can cut off that shoot its growing from and place it in water when the roots show, I plant that? How long do i leave it in the water?

Thank you so much for the advice as well!

reply to post by Tylerdurden1


You can plant it as soon as it has strong roots. It'll last a good while in the water until you can plant it but don't wait too long. You'll know when it's unhappy :-)

reply to post by woodsmom


I never thought you needed me! Just felt bad for not encouraging the research thread.

My broccoli was the best crop ever this year. First year from seed. I don't know if that's why but our plants are still producing. I credit my mother's picking skills - how you pick broccoli seems to be the key to its production.

I can't wait to read through all your posts. Haven't been able to yet but I have been so interested in what you've done. I lost tons of pictures when our mac crashed which is partly why I got a bit depressed and unmotivated

The loveliest surprise this year is I grew fruit. Second year for raspberries and an almost real crop. And some cantaloupes.

Oh and I got a nice bunch of potatoes in my containers. We dumped them this weekend. A respectable harvest even thought I crowded them. I'm going to try to save a few for seed next year.

Another development - we cut down our crab apple tree. It was a hard decision but we decided the space was better used for food, especially since the grape vine has been too shaded by it. So blueberry bushes are planned in that space next year. Opens up the yard nicely though. And lovely firewood.

Happy harvest everyone!

jeramie
Also, I have a small container filled to the top with Golden Giant Amaranth seed. If I had to take a wild guess, I would say there are over 100,000 seeds in that container, so I'm not going to be running out of them any time soon! If anybody would like to try planting some in there garden, just let me know. I would be glad to send you more than enough to get you started.

Is this offer still open? I would love to get my hands on some of these seeds. I have plenty of other vege seeds to swap for these.

reply to post by otherpotato


I tried raspberries this year.....had tried a couple of them several years ago, but they absolutely burned up....it was really hot and dry that year, tho they were kept watered it didn't seem to help. But this year I planted three of them in a cooler spot where they got morning sun, but some afternoon shade....and they did much better. I was surprised to see so many blooms! The birds got some, but I did manage to get several hand fulls....the taste of the fresh berries was fantastic....I hope they will do even better next year!

reply to post by otherpotato


Don't we all need each other?

I'm glad to hear about your broccoli and raspberries both! I usually do great with the broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, but this year was too hot for them I think. I still don't have a single sprout bud starting on my Brussels sprouts, or a single cabbage that is going to produce even a 1 lb head. My carrots are doing excellent though, it will probably be my largest carrot harvest ever, and my turnips are averaging probably 2 pounds or so apiece. I don't know what I would do without my berry harvest every year. It just wouldn't be the same. Mashed turnips are yummy and all, but I will take my homemade cranberry sauce over them any day.

We are getting settled into our school year, and as soon as I can I will get another post put together. I will try and get some more pictures too.

Oh and just to let you know, I have not bought seed potatoes in probably 6 years. There are always enough left in the spring to replant. It may seem wasteful, but put them aside when you have just enough left to replant. Over the years we have had to keep expanding just accommodate the spring leftovers. I have added a new stack just about every other year.