Any gardeners out there?

[Witsec7]

Even greenbeans? That's awesome! So I should probably get a very sturdy trellis, then?

Tomato cages, use old strips of stockings for tying off the plants, add a couple of very tall bamboo sticks. Plant the pole beans there. Plant french filets with the greens. You can also grow greens vertically, stuff like Malabar spinach (Basella alba).

[Conuly]

Even greenbeans? That's awesome! So I should probably get a very sturdy trellis, then?

We use sunflowers for that purpose. NOT on purpose, but because my nieces are a little... enthusiastic about sunflowers. (So are the squirrels.)

One sunflower is actually strong enough to hold up several heavy squashes!

Or I guess you could use corn for the same effect, the "three sisters", isn't that how it's done? I don't really know about that. Anyway, nobody much minds if the squirrels fill up on sunflower seeds, there's always plenty to go around, but you NEVER get any corn from them!

Note: Squirrels should not be fed a diet primarily of sunflower seeds and/or peanuts. If you WISH to feed the squirrels, feed them nuts and fruit (avocado is a favorite around here, and peaches, but apples and oranges get tossed), and maybe even the occasional egg. They actually sell special squirrel feeders where the squirrel has to balance on a seesaw or jump through a hoop to get its treat, enriching for them and very entertaining for you! But don't fill them up with the cheap stuff, and don't plant a field or balcony of sunflowers just for them.

[Arete]

Frumpalicious,

Like you I container garden in an area with a high squirrel population. The very best deterent was my cat. However, my poor kitty died a few months ago and I am still not ready to make a new commitment yet. :( Cats will consider your containers their "territory" and guard them against vermin.

This year I am thinking of buying a small roll of screening and cutting it to size to go on top of each container. You cut small slits for the plants to come up but the screen prevents the squirrels from digging up your containers. I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed this works and maybe experiencedd will post some how tos on mothball placement. How close can mothballs be to the actual plants? :think:

[Deleted03]

A roomate a long time ago had planted tomatoes on the balcony and he had to take the tomatoes green because of the squirrels and let them ripen on the window sill...!

There's a lot of wildlife around, that's why I'm not trying real food

[ilovetchotchkes]

Frumpalicious,

Like you I container garden in an area with a high squirrel population. The very best deterent was my cat. However, my poor kitty died a few months ago and I am still not ready to make a new commitment yet. :( Cats will consider your containers their "territory" and guard them against vermin.

This year I am thinking of buying a small roll of screening and cutting it to size to go on top of each container. You cut small slits for the plants to come up but the screen prevents the squirrels from digging up your containers. I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed this works and maybe experiencedd will post some how tos on mothball placement. How close can mothballs be to the actual plants? :think:

cut chicken wire to the size of the container. Hurts their wee little paws it does.

[ilovetchotchkes]

A roomate a long time ago had planted tomatoes on the balcony and he had to take the tomatoes green because of the squirrels and let them ripen on the window sill...!

There's a lot of wildlife around, that's why I'm not trying real food

You can also put them in a brown bag with an apple, OR what I did, was I got the wooden fruit baskets and layered them. - My tomatoes were all green when the first frost warnings started. THey all ripened within a couple weeks. I layered them with newspaper with an apple in each layer. :) Only bad thing was the dogs got into it a couple times and i'd find half eaten green tomatoes in their kennels. Bad dogs! LOL

[Kaylee]

We use sunflowers for that purpose. NOT on purpose, but because my nieces are a little... enthusiastic about sunflowers. (So are the squirrels.)

One sunflower is actually strong enough to hold up several heavy squashes!

Or I guess you could use corn for the same effect, the "three sisters", isn't that how it's done? I don't really know about that. Anyway, nobody much minds if the squirrels fill up on sunflower seeds, there's always plenty to go around, but you NEVER get any corn from them!

Great idea, I'm going to have to try that. I love sunflowers too - we have a "fence" of them along the edge of our yard.

I've tried the "three sisters" thing but never had much luck with it for some reason. I think we may have been planting things at the wrong time or something.

[Arete]

cut chicken wire to the size of the container. Hurts their wee little paws it does.

Thanks for the tip ilovechotchkes! Home Depot here I come.

[ilovetchotchkes]

SOOO what are you guys planting? this year I"m planting:

eggplants

LOTS OF TOMATOS

leeks

Swiss chard

pumpkins (2 kinds! 1 orange and the other is this mysterious heirloom I got from a local gardening store)

cantelope

watermelon (2 kinds!)

peppers.

I'm SO EXCITED. and so insane. I'm due in August..... My husband tried to say "hon, why don't we just limit it to containers this year" and i was all "NO WAI BUSTER! I WILL GARDEN UP UNTIL THE BITTER END"

[polabear]

What kind of tomatoes are you doing? I love tomatoes. I'm starting 16 different kinds - all but two have come up. tomatoes tomatoes tomatoes. :)

[ilovetchotchkes]

What kind of tomatoes are you doing? I love tomatoes. I'm starting 16 different kinds - all but two have come up. tomatoes tomatoes tomatoes. :)

All Heirlooms! and honestly? its because I love the names. "Orange purple smudge" "Hendersn's crimson crush" "brandywine" Sounds like something out of The Hobbit.... LOL

[tacky]

Four varieties of heirloom tomatoes (Egg Yolk/yellow cherry, Cherokee Purple, Rose, and Hillbilly Potato Leaf)

kale

broccoli

pak choi

arugula

carrots

pickling cucumbers

swiss chard

green beans

a few varieties of lettuce

jalapeno, ancho, and red bell peppers

[polabear]

All Heirlooms! and honestly? its because I love the names. "Orange purple smudge" "Hendersn's crimson crush" "brandywine" Sounds like something out of The Hobbit.... LOL

Some of the tomatoes have the best names! I'm growing Berkeley Tie Dye, which is this fabulous super stripy blotchy tomato in all sorts of colors. I picked Purple Dog Creek just for the name (it's a Kentucky Heirloom). And, I'm doing a ton of Dwarf tomatoes this year - there was a volunteer effort to breed new dwarf tomatoes out of old heirlooms. They get about 3 feet tall, but hopefully have all the yummy taste of the originals. That means you can easily grow them in pots. Although I do full size tomatoes in containers as well - big containers.

[Witsec7]

Perfect timing. I have a huge yard at the hovel and just called the lawn guys today. I'm killing the lawn and spreading bark dust. The box beds along my fence will have flowers and veg. I'm sure to put in tomatoes (heirloom roma's), caveman pole beans (heirlooms), and some annual herbs. It will be one of the smallest gardens I've had in 20 years but, I'm good with it all. The beds are 40' long by 2". I've decided to most of my effort into building a water feature. Although I live creekside, the fence obscures the sounds and sights of the water.

[Wolfie]

I have got seeds started- moon and stars watermelon, a bunch of heirloom tomatoes (I'll buy a sungold, and a yellow pear), canteloupe, various bell peppers (I've got a potted serrano, and I'll get some jalepeno starts), rosa bianca eggplant and some summer squash (pattypan and crookneck), sugar pie pumpkin and I have seeds for amish pie squash and waltham butternut. I need to get some blue hubbard seeds too. (and I'll plant some hutterite soup bean plants mixed in with the tomatoes.)

[Kaylee]

We're doing a huge garden this year and have had to plow up more ground twice as we've had more seedlings to transplant:

tomatoes - a few heirloom types, romas, and cherries

spinach

lettuce

mesclun blend (salad greens)

cabbage

chard

cucumbers

carrots

zuchinni

butternut squash

watermelon

asparagus

peppers - sweet bell, habenero, serrano

pumpkin

broccoli

sunchoke

brussel sprouts

rutabaga

turnips

radishes

beans - green beans & butterbeans

sweet potatoes

red potatos

baking potatos

corn

herb garden - basil, rosemary, oregano, mint, thyme, cilantro, parsley, sage

We've also planted a big strawberry patch and added blueberry bushes and pear tress, but I doubt they'll produce this year. Our apple trees just started bearing fruit last year, and we have a few varieties of grapes, plus wild blackberries that I keep fertilized and trimmed back.

[StarrieEyedKat]

Has anyone here grown German Pink tomatoes? My MIL grows them every year and people practically fist fight for them. We're going to try our hand at a garden this year, but our yard isn't in great shape, a LOT of tree roots and hard soil, not much sun.

[polabear]

StarryEyedKate - I've grown a giant german tomato -I can't remember the name of it. They were huge, and tasty.

If your soil is iffy, you might want to look into doing raised beds. They have prebuilt kits, but you can make your own for not a massive amount of money (100 dollarish, if you use cedar). There is also a method where you lay down bags of topsoil or potting mix flat on the ground, and open up the top. Then you punch holes in the bag. You can plant directly int he bag - the plant will mainly live in the nice healthy soil, but will eventually get into the ground. It'll kill off any grass or weeds you have, so you'll have an easier time the next year. AT the end of the year, you just dump the soil out of the bag and go on your way.

I have a decent sized yard, but its mostly shaded. I have a tiny swath that gets sun for a majority of the day.

[Witsec7]

Has anyone here grown German Pink tomatoes? My MIL grows them every year and people practically fist fight for them. We're going to try our hand at a garden this year, but our yard isn't in great shape, a LOT of tree roots and hard soil, not much sun.

Go to a Habitat restore and buy some recycled boards. Hit their hardware dept for something called foundation anchors. They are 12" pieces of steel/iron with an L shape at one end and a bold at the other. They cost at the max .25 used. Use these to hold your boxes in place, with the L part over the top of the board, just hammer those puppies into the dirt. Before you fill the boxes line them with news papers.

[Spider Burps]

I'm semi-hydroponically "gardening" 14 plates of wheatgrass on the bar in my kitchen! I am so good at killing things ("Damn it, you want water EVERYday?"), but so far I've had luck with this! *fingers crossed* The super came in today and looked at me like I was growing pot on the counter, though... :lol: "What this is? *wide sweeping motion with raised eyebrows*" "Wheatgrass!" "....."

[Deleted03]

I have a question: so my seedlings are really tall about 2-3 inches long. They have their first set of true leaves and the second set just started to appear. Thing is, I did not I was supposed to swipe my hand on them everytime I come buy to simulate wind and get them stronger so some of them have fallen over, and with the 2nd set of leaves it feels like it's worse still.

Should I plant them already in the container I intend to leave them in for the summer? I have a patio door so I could easily leave the (long rectangular container) in front of it during the day, it actually gets more sun than the kitchen window they are on right now. Or should I wait and not worry about them keeling over?

Thanks!

ETA: I don't know if it's important but those are basil seedlings, the mint seedlings have one set of leaves but their stem is still so tiny I'd be concerned about killing them if I try to replant them.

[ilovetchotchkes]

I have a question: so my seedlings are really tall about 2-3 inches long. They have their first set of true leaves and the second set just started to appear. Thing is, I did not I was supposed to swipe my hand on them everytime I come buy to simulate wind and get them stronger so some of them have fallen over, and with the 2nd set of leaves it feels like it's worse still.

Should I plant them already in the container I intend to leave them in for the summer? I have a patio door so I could easily leave the (long rectangular container) in front of it during the day, it actually gets more sun than the kitchen window they are on right now. Or should I wait and not worry about them keeling over?

Thanks!

ETA: I don't know if it's important but those are basil seedlings, the mint seedlings have one set of leaves but their stem is still so tiny I'd be concerned about killing them if I try to replant them.

Do you have a fan? just put the fan on them. OR if its warm enough, throw em in an open window- they'll get the breeze from outside.

I THINK the rule is you can move the seedlings once the 2nd set of leaves is there and well established.

[Deleted03]

Do you have a fan? just put the fan on them. OR if its warm enough, throw em in an open window- they'll get the breeze from outside.

I THINK the rule is you can move the seedlings once the 2nd set of leaves is there and well established.

I have a fan but it's not possible to put it on when they are on the window, but I could open the patio door when I'm around and put them there. I guess I don't have to wait for too long before I replant them then!

Thank you!

[Kitty]

Frumpalicious,

Like you I container garden in an area with a high squirrel population. The very best deterent was my cat. However, my poor kitty died a few months ago and I am still not ready to make a new commitment yet. :( Cats will consider your containers their "territory" and guard them against vermin.

This year I am thinking of buying a small roll of screening and cutting it to size to go on top of each container. You cut small slits for the plants to come up but the screen prevents the squirrels from digging up your containers. I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed this works and maybe experiencedd will post some how tos on mothball placement. How close can mothballs be to the actual plants? :think:

Yep, and my dogs definitely kept my garden vermin free, and bird-free.

I haven't had a garden in 3 years, but I'd like to have one again. No tomatoes, though, I got shit-tons of them and only my dad and sister would eat them (most of the tomatoes went to a family friend who couldn't possibly eat them all, either).

I'm still proud of how well my cantaloupes turned out. With all the rain Hometown got that summer I thought they'd have been totally tasteless. And the jalapenos turned out awesome.

[urban teacher]

I am using wine barrels to grow carrots, beets, tomatoes, and peppers. I made a box for lettuce and peas.