Gardener's Group discussion
Welcome!
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Welcome! Please introduce yourself here.
Sometimes I am as well Harvey! (A midnight gardener).
I guess I think of Persian art as not being Islamic, since so much of it was produced pre 7th century. And I think of the Taj Mahal as being only geometric designs, with a gorgeous garden, although I have never been there. I do think of Hindu art when I think of Indian artwork. Their X rated temples, for example. Thanks for enlightening me.I just learned today that our word for paradise comes from the Persian word for a walled garden. Makes sense to me!
One problem, well, I won't just knock the media, I do work in it! Academic stuff and headlines are not easy bedfellows. There are more Muslims by far outside of the Arabian peninsular than inside... Also, examine miniatures of Shah Jehan. He was pissed or high half the time and his wine cups have been painted out, maybe by Aurangizeb who was a bit of a warmongering prig (talking of the Mughals). The great thing about 'real' history is that it is more fascinating than the headlines. Also, so much great Chinese porcelain owes a lot to Persian art... I can go on.... have not even mentioned the Ottomans yet. :)I still love Omar Khayyam... he had the right idea!
Welcome Harvey. Seems you will be bringing a whole new perspective to our gardening discussions!
Well.. thank you Cheryl S. for the kind words. Hope to be able to contribute something of my obsession!
You're welcome James! :-)
Thanks Cheryl. Taking a break from composting and mulching the flower beds and my new Mayhaw trees. Merry Christmas if I dont get a chance to tell everybody!!
And the same to you! Thank you!
Merry Christmas, James! You must live in a warmer zone then mine if you are still mulching. Love to hear about those gardening activities when there's 2 feet of snow on the ground here.
Zone 9 Cheryl. In addition to being in the middle of a Blandings book of short stories by Wodehouse, yesterday I started Green Thoughts by Eleanor Perenyi. So much to do...So little time!!
James wrote: "Zone 9 Cheryl. In addition to being in the middle of a Blandings book of short stories by Wodehouse, yesterday I started Green Thoughts by Eleanor Perenyi. So much to do...So little time!!"Zone 4 here, so keep those zone 9 stories coming. What type of book is "Green Thoughts"?
Hi, my name is Petra and I live in a rain forest in the Caribbean so I don't garden. When I lived in less rampant places I loved to garden.
Welcome, Petra. Even if you aren't currently gardening it will be interesting to hear what does grow where you are.
Everything. Its bush. The place has to be slashed back with a machete every six months. Lots of free fruit though.
Welcome Petra! Looking forward to hearing about your past gardening adventures! Make yourself at home!
Oh my, I saw the title of this group and thought: That is the group for me! You know when you're relaxed, maybe had a glass of wine (or two) and you start rambling about things? Yes - when I ramble, I ramble about gardening. My poor husband. :)I used to be an ornamentals-only gardener, but last year I went to "farm school" for 8 months (weekly class plus lots of work in the garden) and learned how to grow all kinds of edibles. This year I'm doing my own raised-bed veggie garden at home. Just started some parsley seeds indoors over the weekend. :)
What was that I was saying about rambling...? :-p
Kate, zone 6
Kate! Welcome! I am glad to see another rambler, since Jo has gotten a bit frustrated with my ramblings. I tend to get Cheryl and Terri going, too. So join in!Miriam, zone 5
Terri wrote: "What's farm school, and where is it?"Farm school is basically an intensive, extended gardening class offered by one of the local organic farms here in the Boise, ID area, Peaceful Belly . I just looked at their website, and it looks like they're calling it a "victory garden class" now. It was a huge commitment and a lot of work, but a fantastic experience.
LOL Miriam :-) Welcome Kate!!! Glad to have you; make yourself at home! :-)
Kate wrote: "Oh my, I saw the title of this group and thought: That is the group for me! You know when you're relaxed, maybe had a glass of wine (or two) and you start rambling about things? Yes - when I ramble..."Hi and welcome to the group!! I'm looking for information and what the best medium is to use for filling raised beds. What was recommended at your farm class?
Cheryl S. wrote: "Hi and welcome to the group!! I'm looking for information and what the best medium is to use for filling raised beds. What was recommended at your farm class? "Hi Cheryl! Actually we didn't use any raised beds in our class - everything was planted straight into the soil which had been tilled and then amended with manure compost. I'm doing raised beds at home, and I confess I didn't do much research on what to fill them with. I'm using a mixture of the soil from the ground, bagged "organic" potting soil, and manure compost. I'm curious about this, now that you raise the question. I'll see if I can dig up some info from folks from the class.
Cheryl, most places I have read recommend half compost, half good soil in raised beds. Since you plant them thicker than regular beds, you need lots of nutrients. The garden show I used to watch when I had cable for my cousin recommended incorporating clean straw, too. He put it in the soil in the fall, let it decompose over the winter and then worked in the compost. Composted manure would work well, or composted leaves.
I used to have raised beds on the island (but not in this rainforest area where it is too difficult to garden) and I filled them with rocks at the bottom and then approximately 50% garden soil, 40% compost - but that included chopped-up leaf litter and kitchen waste, and for drainage added 10% of washed sand (I got it from the beach and thought the salt might not be liked by plants). My flowers came up brilliantly, as did the peppers, tomatoes and garden eggs, but the pumpkins didn't like it at all. They made leaves that rambled so much I pinned them over my porch doorway like an arch, but they hardly ever flowered. I found that they liked poorer, drier soil better.
Sometimes things can be too fertile for tomatoes too.Garden eggs = eggplant?
Yes, eggplants, but this variety looks like eggs.http://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/1...
The soil is very fertile for true, but its not that, its that seeds get eaten by the various insects, snails (millions of them), soldier crabs - they even come into the kitchen for the cat food - and whatever else crawls around. If they don't get eaten they go mouldy from the humidity. If they actually survive all that then some other plant wants the space and it gets overgrown. Rich people here have gardeners who clear the ground every few days and have big shade houses (screening) to start plants off. My landlady has the ground cleared and trees hacked down about every two or three months but its not enough to stop the bush taking over.
I could grow things in pots but its not the same.
Petra! I love those! I love aubergines anyway. But that is something I could plant in the hell strip to entertain others! I will have to look for them!I am not very fond of container gardening either. For one thing, I forget to water them! Although years ago, that was all I could do. My dorm room and apartments looked like jungles. When I was in the dorm, if I left my door open, people would come in to see them all. I even had a hosta from my grandfather's garden in a wastepaper basket! When I was in Idaho at first, I had wonderful house plants, a huge parlor palm, weeping figs, gorgeous. Then I kept the plants for someone going on a long vacation, not realizing that her plants were infested with scabs. It ended up such a fight that I gave up! But I had a huge garden and kids by that point.
The garden eggs don't taste any different than the usual purple aubergines, they are just so unusual. We have another sort of garden egg around here as well, it doesn't grow but is made and the first time I saw it I thought these people are mad but its just a decoration some people like. The pic is of a green one, but around here only the pretty variegated green and white ones are decorated and then its done very regularly, not eggshells all over the place. https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...
Interesting. Not sure I would do it, but interesting!
I wouldn't do it. I still think its a bit mad.
The first time I saw plastic easter eggs hanging from a tree in the spring, I thought, "how cute". Now I am sick of it!
I've never seen that. I'm not a big fan of plastic decorations in the garden though.
Not found of plastic decorations in the house, either. Love real wood and real metals.The plastic easter eggs appear in Iowa every spring. And unfortunately, often don't disappear for a LONG time.
Miriam wrote: "Cheryl, most places I have read recommend half compost, half good soil in raised beds. Since you plant them thicker than regular beds, you need lots of nutrients. The garden show I used to watch wh..."Thanks for the info. I've been thinking along these lines, but always like to get advice from others.
Petra X wrote: "I used to have raised beds on the island (but not in this rainforest area where it is too difficult to garden) and I filled them with rocks at the bottom and then approximately 50% garden soil, 40%..."LOL about your pumpkins!
That's funny! I've seen pics of bottle trees (same idea) but never this.Petra X wrote: "The garden eggs don't taste any different than the usual purple aubergines, they are just so unusual. We have another sort of garden egg around here as well, it doesn't grow but is made and the fi..."
Hello, I'm so glad to have found this group. I love gardening and garden books. I live in the desert and have landscaped my home with garden beds and stone walkways, NO Grass! that was before I started raising vegetables. Now I don't have enough room for everything, so I'm joining a community garden this spring.
Sally wrote: "Hello, I'm so glad to have found this group. I love gardening and garden books. I live in the desert and have landscaped my home with garden beds and stone walkways, NO Grass! that was before I s..."Welcome, Sally. Will be fun to learn what you grow in the desert.
Hi Sally, I am very interested in what you can grow in the desert. I live in a rainforest, the opposite!
Welcome Sally! Glad you're making youself @ home! If you have any Q's, my in-box is always open :-)
Thank you Jo, I looked up your profile and joined another group too. Thanks for making yourself available.Jo wrote: "Welcome Sally! Glad you're making youself @ home! If you have any Q's, my in-box is always open :-)"
Hubby and I owned a garden center for 30 years plus we now work for others planting gardens and all. Looking forward to some great tips
Welcome Elizabeth! Glad to see you're making yourself at home :-)
Welcome, Elizabeth. With all of your experience I'm hoping for tips from you!! In what area of the country do you garden?
You must be a real fount of wisdom, Elizabeth. Do you have any pics online of your gardens, I'd love to see them.
I live in the Northwest but on a cool lake so cannot grow some things. We have made a house for tomatoes.I freeze them for the crock pot.
Cheryl S. wrote: "Welcome, Elizabeth. With all of your experience I'm hoping for tips from you!! In what area of the country do you garden?"I live in the Northwest in WA. above Seattle, where the tulips and daffodils are starting to bloom. I live on a lake and it is very cool and shady plants are my thing. Pieris Japonica, boxwood, and skimmia are my favorites. There are so many new varieties of Pieris. I do have enough sun for dahlias and a few veggies.
Gardener's Group
Books mentioned in this topic
Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World (other topics)Introduction to Permaculture (other topics)
Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture (other topics)
Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web (other topics)
Edible Forest Gardens (other topics)
More...
Thank you Jo!!! Well... I'm an obsessed midnight gardener! :)