How big of a garden do you plant?

[mead107]

I have not had a garden  in 25 years.  Thinking of planting 4 tomato plants this year.   

My brother plants all sorts of veggies. (30x60) area 

my brother Inlaw plants an area 15x20. 

 

What do you grow and how big is your garden?

 

[plenzmd1]

only herbs for me..basil, rosemary, thyme, mint, cilantro

[Another Fan]

You don't have any trouble with animals that may come and eat it?  

[mead107]

36 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said:

only herbs for me..basil, rosemary, thyme, mint, cilantro

Don’t like cilantro.  

Rabbits like the green beans at my brother Inlaw

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Food garden or Flower garden?  

 

We have a flower garden in front of the house 6 x 10 and one in the back yard 4 x 12.

 

We have a veggie garden 8 x 8 for tomato's, basil, rosemary and such.  

 

Growing up in the city (north east side of Rochester) we had a garden 20 x 20 (maybe a little bigger)  that had tomato's, cucumbers, peppers, romaine lettuce, strawberries, squash, watermelons, potatoes and the occasional pumpkin patch,.   

Across the 2 lots we also had a cherry tree, a pear tree,  a mulberry tree, 2 walnut trees, a grape vine, an apricot tree, a plum tree, and a Fig Tree that needed special care in the fall and winter.  

Edited April 17, 2018 by ShadyBillsFan

[boyst]

Used to have a 70x200'r. GGrewverything 

 

Now just a 4x8 raised bed.  But have herbs and spices all over landscape. And have fruit and nut trees in the yard.  You can eat everything into he landscape except nandina and foxglow

[Johnny Hammersticks]

We are legally allowed to grow 6 female plants here in VT.

[Marv's Neighbor]

We let Wegmans handle that.

[sherpa]

Four raised beds, 5 x16 each.

A 12 x 8 greenhouse to get things started.

 

 

[Gugny]

I built a 4x8 raised bed a few years ago.

 

Peppers don't get enough sunlight.  I'm going to plant those in large pots and keep them in the sun.

 

In the bed, I'll do onions, tomatoes, potatoes and herbs.

[TheElectricCompany]

Wildflower garden is 17' x 20' 

1 raised bed at 6' x 6'

1 raised bed at 15 x 6' 

Random containers all over the place. 

 

Within the beds, I have asparagus and grapes for long term. Current cool season crop of spinach, kale, taters, lettuce and broccoli. We'll swap them out in mid June for warm season crop of tomato, cucumbers, sunflower and pumpkins. Containers have rhubarb, currant and lillies. Also working on getting a nanking cherry and gooseberry bush established. 

 

 

[RochesterRob]

8 hours ago, mead107 said:

I have not had a garden  in 25 years.  Thinking of planting 4 tomato plants this year.   

My brother plants all sorts of veggies. (30x60) area 

my brother Inlaw plants an area 15x20. 

 

What do you grow and how big is your garden?

 

  Size varies based on how good a spring we get and we are not off to a good start.  Usually, I do 50 X 50 sweet corn and a couple dozen tomato plants.  Trying to work broccoli, red beets, and cabbage in based in part on health benefits and in part personal desire.  Need to do some bedding for things such as watermelon but darned if we have had some short seasons of late for it.  Working on buying a couple of hillside acres for an orchard, berries, and

such.

 

 

[Greybeard]

7 hours ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

Food garden or Flower garden?  

 

We have a flower garden in front of the house 6 x 10 and one in the back yard 4 x 12.

 

We have a veggie garden 8 x 8 for tomato's, basil, rosemary and such.  

 

Growing up in the city (north east side of Rochester) we had a garden 20 x 20 (maybe a little bigger)  that had tomato's, cucumbers, peppers, romaine lettuce, strawberries, squash, watermelons, potatoes and the occasional pumpkin patch,.   

Across the 2 lots we also had a cherry tree, a pear tree,  a mulberry tree, 2 walnut trees, a grape vine, an apricot tree, a plum tree, and a Fig Tree that needed special care in the fall and winter.  

           Don't tell me about your figgin problems.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

2 hours ago, Greybeard said:

           Don't tell me about your figgin problems.

LOL.  

 

That would entail digging the garden with a pitchfork and working in manure.   

[mead107]

3 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  Size varies based on how good a spring we get and we are not off to a good start.  Usually, I do 50 X 50 sweet corn and a couple dozen tomato plants.  Trying to work broccoli, red beets, and cabbage in based in part on health benefits and in part personal desire.  Need to do some bedding for things such as watermelon but darned if we have had some short seasons of late for it.  Working on buying a couple of hillside acres for an orchard, berries, and

such.

 

 

Love beets 

[sherpa]

Also a 1000 vine vineyard, but not sure that counts in this thread.

[KD in CA]

I have a lemon tree!   

[holmz56]

Are you a cop ,Mead ? I grow secret plants in secret garden in secret manure into 7' secret plants !

[Buffalo_Gal]

I have a 10' wide center "island" that has had a buncha herbs, peppers, tomatoes, fennel, beans, chives, scallions,  etc in it for the last 6-8 years. I have blackberry bushes that grow so tall and thick that they hide all the sun from my husband's office.  And, I have earth boxes full of tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, and more pepper varieties.  And, a few pots with more herb varieties (I'll use them fresh and then dry or freeze for later).

This year I am trying a new growing technique with various lettuces and spinach (if it works, I'll be thrilled!) That dirt island is being leveled and sod laid down. The blackberry bushes are being bucketed and going out to a friend of Hubby's house where they already have raspberries growing (the deer will now have variety!) I purchased more stands for my earth boxes, and am going strictly to those: tomatoes, peppers, green beans, cucumbers again, as well as potted herbs and cabbage. I'll probably transfer the chamomile (at least) before that dirt gets plowed under, and have a few pots of herbs too.

I am trying to get Hubby to plant some edamame now and not just winter "crops" for the deer later this summer. Who knows if he'll get up to his hunting land to do it before the end of summer (deer plots but we take out some turnips, parsnips, etc for ourselves). He's got to get up and til, and I just can't see him making the effort in the next few weeks, but hope springs eternal!

We also have organic apple and pears trees up there. Mmmm extra protein!  The pears are kinda iffy but there are a few apple trees that aren't too buggy and have the sweetest apples! Yum!

[apuszczalowski]

I built 2 raised beds w/ lattice backs probably 2' x 6' and a lower raised bed thats about 6' x 6' in my back yard. Had to go raised cause the ground in my yard is mostly clay

I also had a couple of pots with cherry tomoatos in them. Planted a few apple trees in the back behind the garage too last year.

 

I have been using the garden for about 2 years now. First year tried cucumbers, peppers, tomatos, a squash, pumpkin and a watermellon plant.

The Cherry tomoatos were good, along with the cucumbers (had a ton) the first year. Had what I though was a watermelon turn out to be an unripe pumpkin, ended up with 2 small pumpkins. Tomatos were rotting around where they attach to the vine just as they were rippening, the peppers weren't bad but would also start to rot or get eaten before they were ripe enough to pick. Did get a few hot peppers.

Second year wasn't so good but also planted beets from seeds and Broccolli. 

 

What I would recommend and plan on changing this year

- Only a couple of tomato plants, they get pretty big and take over

- Squash, Pumpkin, & Watermelon need alot of room because the vine will just keep growing out along the ground

- Leave the beets in the ground for as long as you can, The leaves can be deceiving

- Cherry tomoato plants seem to grow well in large pots on their own (until your kids start picking unripe ones and squash or throw them)

- Cucumbers love to climb and best to have access to both sides of what they climb if possible cause some may grow on the back

 

I may plant more from seeds this year instead of plants like I have in previous years. I have been lucky that the garden has been destroyed by animals, I get oppossums, skunks, raccons, squirrels and cats in my yard and it hasn't been bad. Last year I was even surprised to find a groundhog was living under my shed when it came out to walk around the yard one day.

 

I am also thinking of trying some herbs or smaller stuff this year on the deck in some tall planters I bought last summer.

 

I grew up with having gardens in the back yard. My grandmother had a garden that was atleast half her back yard that she grew everything in, along with some pear trees. We used to get calls every few days that she had stuff from her garden for us that I would have to walk over to go get. My dad also had a large garden in our backyard which we usually had lots of tomatos, green beans, cucumbers and beets. Never though I would have a garden when I was older though. My wife had wanted to do one at our last house so I started building the raised boxes but never installed them, so when we moved I installed them at the new house and ended up doing most of the work in them, lol. I get jokes all the time in my house and from family because I planted a lot of bushes and trees in my yard. Growing up we had alot of trees in our small back yard and this house had none (and none close by due to the property behind it being industrial (parking lot for an old factory) I do find it peaceful some times being out in the evening and just watering all the plants in the backyard in the summer

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

16 hours ago, Boyst62 said:

Used to have a 70x200'r. GGrewverything 

 

Now just a 4x8 raised bed.  But have herbs and spices all over landscape. And have fruit and nut trees in the yard.  You can eat everything into he landscape except nandina and foxglow

"That summer fields grew high with foxglove stalks and ivy. 
Wild apple blossoms everywhere. 
Emerald green like none I have seen apart from dreams that escape me. 
There was no girl as warm as you."

~Stockton Gala Days, 10,000 Maniacs 

 

 

 

I am pretty sure you mean foxglove.  Yes, it's highly toxic, even the rainwater off of it.

 

BE VERY CAREFUL WHERE YOU PLANT FOXGLOVE!  You don't want to be ingesting heart meds!

 

"The sap, flowers, seeds, stems, roots and leaves of the foxglove plant are all toxic if ingested. The largest concentration of the toxin that makes foxglove poisonous occurs in vigorously growing shoots. Even if the plant parts are dried or boiled, the toxic ingredients remain active. While ingesting any part of this plant at any time during its life can be fatal, it is most toxic in the period just before seed ripening. The upper leaves and stems also tend to have a higher concentration of toxin than the lower leaves."

 

"Foxglove contains cardiac glycosides such as digitoxin, digloxin and digitalin, which become toxic when stripped of their sugar molecule, and this happens in the process of digestion. This plant is the source of the heart medication digitalis, which can be poisonous if taken without monitoring by a physician because the therapeutic dose of this medication is dangerously close to the lethal dose."

 

"Poisoning by foxglove plants typically only occurs when animals or humans ingest any part of the plants, such as when children or pets eat the appealing flowers or drink rainwater or runoff from the plant. It is also possible to be poisoned by using foxglove in an herbal preparation. Symptoms of foxglove poisoning vary depending on the amount ingested, but typically include pain in the mouth or throat, usually followed by nausea, severe headache, irregular heartbeat and breathing, dizziness, vomiting and hallucinations. If the poisoning is severe enough, convulsions and cardiac arrest may occur and can be lethal. If you suspect that you or someone you know may have ingested foxglove, do not attempt to treat at home. Contact your local emergency number or call the National Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222."

[mead107]

Yuck

[Fan in San Diego]

18 hours ago, sherpa said:

Also a 1000 vine vineyard, but not sure that counts in this thread.

Where is your vineyard? I used to have over 8000 vines in Ramona, Ca

[Augie]

On 4/17/2018 at 6:04 AM, plenzmd1 said:

only herbs for me..basil, rosemary, thyme, mint, cilantro

 

Same for me. I’ve tried tomatoes several times....and finally gave up. That’s what the Farmers Market is for, I guess. 

[mead107]

19 hours ago, sherpa said:

Also a 1000 vine vineyard, but not sure that counts in this thread.

Has chef Jim been to see you?

[sherpa]

1 hour ago, Fan in San Diego said:

Where is your vineyard? I used to have over 8000 vines in Ramona, Ca

 

Charlotesville, VA.

[Mr Info]

My veggie garden is 2.5' x 15'. I should qualify that as I only grow tomatoes now. But I typically plant about 10 different varieties and keep track of which grow the best. The soil where we live is great for tomatoes. There is a nearby annual tomato fest.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanover_tomato

I also have a small herb garden, some blueberry bushes, and a gigantic (10 foot) fig tree. I dump coffee grounds around the blueberry bushes as they like acidic soil. That seems to work well.

[mead107]

25 minutes ago, Mr Info said:

My veggie garden is 2.5' x 15'. I should qualify that as I only grow tomatoes now. But I typically plant about 10 different varieties and keep track of which grow the best. The soil where we live is great for tomatoes. There is a nearby annual tomato fest.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanover_tomato

I also have a small herb garden, some blueberry bushes, and a gigantic (10 foot) fig tree. I dump coffee grounds around the blueberry bushes as they like acidic soil. That seems to work well.

So what is the best tasting tomato ?? 

[RochesterRob]

2 hours ago, Augie said:

 

Same for me. I’ve tried tomatoes several times....and finally gave up. That’s what the Farmers Market is for, I guess. 

Got to have a rotation where tomatoes are concerned.  The soil builds with blight and other disease so on average tomatoes in a given spot once every seven years and sometimes that is not enough.  Soil needs to have ample calcium and potash and pH near neutral.  Marigolds around the edges helps with tomato worms.  Plenty of Cornell data to help plan conditioning the soil or other university sources as well.  Water roughly an hour after sunup or an hour before sundown to minimize mildew.

[Augie]

37 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

Got to have a rotation where tomatoes are concerned.  The soil builds with blight and other disease so on average tomatoes in a given spot once every seven years and sometimes that is not enough.  Soil needs to have ample calcium and potash and pH near neutral.  Marigolds around the edges helps with tomato worms.  Plenty of Cornell data to help plan conditioning the soil or other university sources as well.  Water roughly an hour after sunup or an hour before sundown to minimize mildew.

 

I wish I’d read all that BEFORE my three summers of failure! I don’t know if I would have been successful, but it couldn’t hurt....

[plenzmd1]

1 hour ago, mead107 said:

So what is the best tasting tomato ?? 

As Mr. INfo stated..a Hanover Tomato is hard to beat!

 

His wife also grows the best crepes...they go great with craft beer!

 

And Sherpa..where the hell is the invite for us Richmond folks and a wine tasting>>>Mr. INfo got the crepes, you got the wine, i got the Uber!!!

[Mr Info]

2 hours ago, mead107 said:

So what is the best tasting tomato ?? 

Well...I have tried all types of exotic tomatoes but the best have been the beefsteak types like  Big Beef or the hybrids like Better Boy.

But I do like the Mountain Fresh Plus for the size and flavor and I am going big on that one this year.

1 hour ago, plenzmd1 said:

His wife also grows the best crepes...they go great with craft beer!

Thank, Paul. I wish she grew them but she makes a great crepe. Her family is French so that helps. She left the corporate world to create he own crepemobile and I traveled with her to Brittany, France to join her for training on crepe making.  She uses different batters for savory and sweet crepes and most places in the US use one batter for both. Crepe making is in my future when I quit my job.  

Sherpa - she will be at First Colony in C'ville fairly soon for an event. I know they outsource some of their wine. 

[Punching Bag]

On 4/17/2018 at 8:15 AM, Boyst62 said:

Used to have a 70x200'r. GGrewverything 

 

Now just a 4x8 raised bed.  But have herbs and spices all over landscape. And have fruit and nut trees in the yard.  You can eat everything into he landscape except nandina and foxglow

 

Familiar with nandina which has medical uses and useful for deterring deers but foxglow?  Do you mean foxglove, another medicinal plant?

[boyst]

53 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

 

Familiar with nandina which has medical uses and useful for deterring deers but foxglow?  Do you mean foxglove, another medicinal plant?

Whatever. I never know what it's called. Just know what it is. Foxglove. Yes. It'll kill ya.

 

They're not bad bad. Just dangerous

 

If you wanna trip balls eat some of that whatchamacallit from Lowe's they always have a ton of.

[Buffalo716]

My father used to have a 12x20 garden growing up in our yard

 

He grew tomatoes, spinach, onions , squash. Etc... Had a mulberry tree

 

it was awesome

[ExiledInIllinois]

Our family plot while growing up in the wilds of S.Cheektowaga was about 20'x20'.

 

Quite the Victory garden.  You name, we planted it.

 

Pickling season, making dill pickles from the ingredients grown in the garden, still hold a special place in my heart. Nothing like a big kosher dill from the crock...  

[Augie]

Many of your “gardens” are bigger than my yard. 

[ExiledInIllinois]

3 minutes ago, Augie said:

Many of your “gardens” are bigger than my yard. 

Bigger than my current humble abode.