Any BGP Gardeners This Year?

We're living in an apartment for the time being while my better half gets through med school, but that didn't stop us from covering our balcony with pots and planters.

We've got a pretty large 8'x15' balcony with plenty of sun, so we've got a couple roma tomato plants, as well as a green pepper plant, and a purple bell pepper plant in pots, then we've got some Kentucky Blue pole beans started in a planter, and a couple of different potatoes (King Edward and Adirondack Blue) growing in 35 gallon trash cans, as well as a good number of flowers to boot.

Anyone else putting in a garden this year?

I'm doing a MAJOR herb garden this year, and a hummingbird garden. The people across the road from us have 2 major vegetable gardens sprouting, and we get to help ourselves to the produce, so we're skipping the veggies for this year. I'm super, super excited about how big my herb garden will be. I've always had several pots of different herbs going. But this year, I'll be covering the spectrum of everything I would potentially use. I'm giddy!

Plantman can help with this.

Plantman can help with this.

39 minutes. I was wondering how long it would be until his name came up. There's your answer :lol2:

I pretty seriously considered trying a banana tree in Birdsfan's honor, but from everything I was able to read up on potted banana trees, it was gonna be a pretty tall order to make an attempt at it, and we definitely don't have anywhere inside to keep it once fall/winter roll around.

We have:

Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, several varieties of tomatoes, watermelon, several varieties of peppers, pickling cucumbers, asparagus, basil, dill, oregano, and LOTS of cilantro.

We are a little late getting started this year, but I just came in from putting in the lettuce bed. Mescalin, leaf and some kale, should still be ok. Need to go thin and replant the strawberries. Cutting back on the okra and tomato plants this year, last year ran us out and I can only eat so much pickled okra. The larger garden area will have corn, that I will likely have to once again declare war on raccoons again (we typically call it a draw). Going to do some bed remediation this year and get the soil upgraded.

The best part is the neighbor has put in a 2 acre plot for a farmer's market garden and I talked with them. Will probably work out a barter system to do some work for them and get paid in the fruits of their labor. They only have one honey hive so that's not that great.

Looks like this weekend is going to be rainout for planting, so trying to get the beds ready and get it in early next week:

Green Peppers, Jalepeno, Banana and Hungarian Yellow Wax for the fresh salsa crowd. Zuchinni and yellow squash for the stir fry / grill crowd. Cherry tomato for the salad crowd and Beefsteak for the burger crowd.

Looking for a good year this year.

We have:

Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, several varieties of tomatoes, watermelon, several varieties of peppers, pickling cucumbers, asparagus, basil, dill, oregano, and LOTS of cilantro.

I'm soooo lucky. Our fence row has several blackberry bushes growing along it, and in the middle of a field at my mom's is a HUGE bunch of blackberry bushes in the middle that, when I was a child were even then big enough for me to walk into and pick berries from inside the bushes. I absolutely LOVE blackberries.

We have:

Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, several varieties of tomatoes, watermelon, several varieties of peppers, pickling cucumbers, asparagus, basil, dill, oregano, and LOTS of cilantro.

I've tried getting blueberry plants to take several times over. I've never gotten a single stinking blueberry off of one of them.

As for cilantro, I fall into the group of people who are genetically predisposed to think it tastes like soap (yes, that is an ACTUAL thing). I can do it in very limited quantities, but otherwise it tastes absolutely like garbage. Interesting enough, I love ground coriander though - which is just the dried seed from a cilantro plant.

We are a little late getting started this year, but I just came in from putting in the lettuce bed. Mescalin, leaf and some kale, should still be ok. Need to go thin and replant the strawberries. Cutting back on the okra and tomato plants this year, last year ran us out and I can only eat so much pickled okra. The larger garden area will have corn, that I will likely have to once again declare war on raccoons again (we typically call it a draw). Going to do some bed remediation this year and get the soil upgraded.

 

The best part is the neighbor has put in a 2 acre plot for a farmer's market garden and I talked with them. Will probably work out a barter system to do some work for them and get paid in the fruits of their labor. They only have one honey hive so that's not that great.

 

Looks like this weekend is going to be rainout for planting, so trying to get the beds ready and get it in early next week:

 

Green Peppers, Jalepeno, Banana and Hungarian Yellow Wax for the fresh salsa crowd. Zuchinni and yellow squash for the stir fry / grill crowd. Cherry tomato for the salad crowd and Beefsteak for the burger crowd.

 

Looking for a good year this year.

Ever tried Brandywines instead of Beefsteaks? They're comparable in size, but the flesh in a Brandywine is a little more substantial. They're my second favorite to Romas, and they work much better than Romas for sandwich slicers.

I've tried getting blueberry plants to take several times over. I've never gotten a single stinking blueberry off of one of them.

 

As for cilantro, I fall into the group of people who are genetically predisposed to think it tastes like soap (yes, that is an ACTUAL thing). I can do it in very limited quantities, but otherwise it tastes absolutely like garbage. Interesting enough, I love ground coriander though - which is just the dried seed from a cilantro plant.

I always raise tomatoes(rutgers for canning), white half runners,zuchini,and some bell peppers. I try to keep it small enough to tend to what I have. I've found it better to grow less and take care of it. I usually get as much from fewer plants by tending properly as growing more than I can take care of. Works for me.

I've had a garden for years. Tomatoes, green beans, winter and summer squash, eggplant, limas, cukes, etc. All in a 40x50 plot in the back. I also have several fruit trees, raspberries, blueberries, and a gooseberry bush.

We have:

Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, several varieties of tomatoes, watermelon, several varieties of peppers, pickling cucumbers, asparagus, basil, dill, oregano, and LOTS of cilantro.

I assume you've grown blueberries in the past. How'd they do? Those are my next attempt. I considered buying them from one of the big magazines I constantly get. My grandmother used to grow them and she had success. Are they finicky?

I assume you've grown blueberries in the past. How'd they do? Those are my next attempt. I considered buying them from one of the big magazines I constantly get. My grandmother used to grow them and she had success. Are they finicky?

Blueberries can be productive, but in this area (at least in Northern KY), you have to do a little extra work. You'll have to acidify the soil on a regular basis. And you'll need a ph tester to make sure it stays in the proper range. I usually add Miracid 2-3 times a year. I also keep the bushes mulched with pine straw/pine nugget mulch which helps maintain the acidity and helps the soil retain moisture. Also, when the bushes are small, you'll need to protect them from rabbits in the winter (I found out the hard way that rabbits love young blueberry bushes).