Gardening, all kinds

[Buffalo Bill]

Started some herbs, even though we're 12 weeks away from final frost. Oregano, Sweet Basil, Chamomile and Lavender. Chose these mostly as pest repelling companions near vegetables.
They take weeks to germinate and grow slow.
Hope to have some fresh scents in the house soon.
Will be starting some peas and tomato later as their grow seasons begin.
Will be starting some cannabis soon also, to be moved outside in May.

[dorkburger]

I have two Lavender bushes in the front that I saved after someone threw them away, pots and all. At this point they are getting to be a bit of a mess and need to be trimmed or cut back. A couple of years ago I was actually able to save some seeds and start a few more. They smell so nice, particularly after it rains.
Our house also came with Lemon Thyme in the backyard another equally beautiful, but very different scent.

[Nessism]

My local grocery store sells small potted herbs, so I bought a basil plant. It's been growing like a weed ever since. Can't remember the cost but it was something in the range of $7. I count it as a great purchase, even though it's cluttering up the window in my kitchen.

[Grimly]

A few years ago I planted tomatoes behind a south-facing floor-to-ceiling window in the kitchen.
I was taking the last of the toms from the plants at Xmas.

[wyly]

Not much room to plant anything anymore, garden is quite mature, now I mostly cut plants back or re-arrange them as they outgrow their space.

[Peppermint Patti]

What a great thread. So very happy that there are gardeners among my friends. ...WAY TO GO!!!

[Buffalo Bill]

What a great thread. So very happy that there are gardeners among my friends. ...WAY TO GO!!!

Thanks a bunch Patti!!!
Sprouts are up this week. Plus some lettuce and spinach.

[Buffalo Bill]

Building a raised bed.
6" of last years leaves compacted.

[LAB3]

Not sure why everyone thinks you need to build a structure of some sort to grow food. After the first crop fails you wasted $50 worth of lumber and have an eyesore in the yard for 10 years because you WILL tell yourself "I'll give it another try some time" because you put $50 into it and don't want it to go to waste.

https://www.finegardening.com/article/double-digging

https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/many-benefits-hugelkultur

[Peppermint Patti]

I used to be able to plant in the ground. Spent a fortune preparing the soil 20 years ago. Now I MUST do container gardening because gophers have truly taken over my land. Have tried to get rid of them for years.
(So much open land near me, and I'm on the main wash...) Getting hard to take care of all of it, since the overflowing of flowers that dropped their seeds last year. It's a jungle of flowers! Not sure how I'll manage it this year. Every year I say, "This is the last year". Farmers Markets look so appealing when you're 71... LOL!
However a lot of the joy of, "I did it myself", will be missing.
*(...Don't get old but don't die young!!!)*

[Buffalo Bill]

Why myself a cheap dude bought some wood for a raised garden?
The back yard is mowed down now, but it's full of wildflowers, tree saplings and vines. Rabbits too. I needed a hard barrier from them vines and sucker shoots. Will have to have a rabbit fence too. No gophers in the neighborhood yet.
Looked at all the cheap ideas for sides and decided the wood looked best, was the easiest to put together and longest lasting.
The soil here is sand dune, needed good rich garden soil.
It's all about something to focus my anxiety on, and chase away the blues.

[Rob S.]

Nobody mentioned squirrels. They did major damage to my electric awnings. They can chew through anything.

I battled those suckers for decades. I felt like E. Fudd hunting B. Bunny - and we all remember how that turned out. Shh! Be vewy vewy quiet...

[LAB3]

Why myself a cheap dude bought some wood for a raised garden?
The back yard is mowed down now, but it's full of wildflowers, tree saplings and vines. Rabbits too. I needed a hard barrier from them vines and sucker shoots. Will have to have a rabbit fence too. No gophers in the neighborhood yet.
Looked at all the cheap ideas for sides and decided the wood looked best, was the easiest to put together and longest lasting.
The soil here is sand dune, needed good rich garden soil.
It's all about something to focus my anxiety on, and chase away the blues.

Same soil up north. It's a matter of adding organic matter to it in order to retain water, then you have to keep it from washing downward as it breaks down. We had about 1/2 acre of double dug beds lined with cardboard at the bottom. When I chose our place I did it based on availability of manure, there was a small beef farm across the road which made things convenient. When I went to Flint to help out with a (failed) MSU urban farming program, the really nice but culturally illiterate people in charge where blind to the fact you had to keep things cheap or cash free if it was going to work.

[steve murdoch]

Nobody mentioned squirrels. They did major damage to my electric awnings. They can chew through anything.

I battled those suckers for decades. I felt like E. Fudd hunting B. Bunny - and we all remember how that turned out. Shh! Be vewy vewy quiet...

You said it, Brother!
Squirrels are my sworn enemy. Two summers ago i started with six and over the course of the summer i relocated 16 of those vermin. You guessed it, by the end i had eight to deal with.