Gardening

[susieB28]

/me loves gardening. This is only my 2nd season since we bought our house.....wooohoooo....land of our own. I am already ready to double the size of my 8 ft x 18 ft garden, there is soooo much I wanna do, I want to preserve alot this year. I have alrady started my onion and pea seeds indoors. Gardening is sooo exciting, love to see those veggies comin up!

[tupi]

For container gardens get some wooden bushel baskets, like the apple groves and farmer's markets use, put a drainage medium like rocks or broken tile pots in the bottom and fill basket with good potting soil. If the slats are far apart you might want to line the sides with gardening plastic. You can use baskets in various sizes for tomatoes, potatoes, bush green beans, carrots, and anything else you can think of that won't need a great deal of ground space. You can plant pumpkins and watermelons in them as well, but you need a place for the plant to climb.

I live in Florida, and our planting time for veggies is actually winter. Summer is too hot and often too wet. Winter is about right most of the time. I mostly grow flowers though. While I had a lovely garden in Indiana, I don't have garden space here in FL, and the fruit stand is only a mile away and has excellent produce at very reasonable prices.

[Tammy]

I have this little problem with Bailey..

Across the street from my house is a computer store (how funny is that? <g>) Behind us, there are warehouses.. some of them are just storage.. our ceramic studio is in one.. and others are converted to offices.

People are coming and going all the time here, which is very different from the apartment life Bailey is used to, so when she goes outside she has this burning desire to bark like crazy everytime she sees a person out there, which is OFTEN. And as soon as her trap opens, her ears close.. LOL.. we can't get her to come back in..

It sounds like this post belongs in the pets folder <g> but it really doesn't.

I was outside yesterday and I was looking at the fence.. do any of y'all know of a bush or something that is would be good to plant along the fence to block shorty's view?

It would need to:

1) Be relatively cheap
2) Be something I can't kill (see the chia pet post)
3) Not take 200 years to grow tall enough <g>
4) Not grow into and damage the fence
5) And last but certainly not least, <B>not</B> be azaleas.

[QuietWoman]

Course, being a foreigner, I may not be the best person to answer that post, but when did that ever stop me?

So, how about a privet hedge? It wouldn't be thrilling, but it would do the job.

Or: forsythia?

I would personally avoid conifers - but that may just be because everyone here has them!!

However, the best bet might be to go to the best looking greenhouse in your neighbourhood and ask the folks who work there!

[tupi]

Tammy, I've given this a lot of thought. Considering your location and the seasons you deal with. I would recommend that you try ixora. You can see what it looks like <a href="http://www.gardenfla.com/plantbookpages/ixorasuperkingpage.htm">here</a>. According to the national zone chart it should grow in your area. It makes a nice low growing shrub, easy to maintain, and quick to grow. No needles or thorns on it either. Holly is another possiblility. Simple to grow and weather hearty.

Since you'll need a low growing plant so Bailey can't see under it or get under it, you'll need a plan that is full at the base. To maintain that fullness you'll need to keep it clipped back. Another good trick is to grow smaller plants in front of the larger ones. That blocks the view even better.

Another simple to grow low shrub is the herb rosemary. My roesmary plant is full and quite large after three years. When you trim it you can use it, too!

I also agree with QuietWoman that forsythia is a good plant to use for fencing, as is white spiria. However, both will require frequent pruning to keep them full on the bottom. If you cut the top then the growth fills in on the bottom. If you have a fence you might try growing something on the fence to hide the view, too. Morning glory, sweat pea, moonflower vine, honeysuckle, all grow quickly and all will block Bailey's view.

Good luck...

[Terri]

There is a fast growing bush that grows probably where you are Tammy called Pyracantha (I think if not a nursery would probably know what I am talking about but I think that's it). It gets flaming orange berries on it, grows tall and grows swiftly.

[Yadax3]

Butterfly bush. Buddelia (somethingoranother). Again, you would have to clip it to keep it full at the bottom, but it grows like crazy and is fairly impossible to kill. However, it is dormant in the winter. So maybe not a great idea.

[DLC55]

Oh Yadax, I have a Butterfly bush at my front door. We absolutely love it! I sit on the porch and watch all different sizes and colors of butterflies enjoy it.

[QuietWoman]

Oh yeah, butterfly bushes rock Mind you, they are in the category of plants I eventually decided were not *really* for container gardening - they just grow too darn huge!

Spring has almost sprung!

[Phaedra5]

DLC, are you trying to tell
me that "new" potatoes are
just potatoes that you have
dug up early? If so, I did
not know that
and I always wondered why they called them that! HEY! What am I doing in the gardening talk? I just killed yet ANOTHER aloe vera plant!

[Yadax3]

Yes! New potatos are just that

New. First crop, pre baked potato size

[Blaise]

I wish to pick them when they have been split in half with butter and sour cream and chives and real cheddar cheese and perhaps a few bacon bits. At what stage does this happen.

Kudzu, Tammy! Kudzu!

[QuietWoman]

ROFL (((((Blaise))))) !!!! Nicely done!!!!

((((Tammy)))) we wanna know, did you decide yet?

My yard is full of early daffs and crocus right now, and it's SO lovely to see some flowers again

[Phaedra5]

Blaise, you may be
interested to know that I
just went out and picked
some fresh au gratin
potatoes with pepper from
my garden. Now I am going
to take a walk to the Ham
Tree and pick some bacon.