I'm staring a large garden. I'm tired of eating foods laced with toxic chemicals.

[AnArmyVeteran]

Just about all of my friends have created their own organic gardens. And because of a wonderful fellow DUer I became inspired to create my own. I'm tired of the constant horror stories of buying produce laced with dozens of toxic chemicals. I've decided to take control of what goes into my body and of those I care about. I am also going to try to start a community garden where people can all chip in to help and to share in the fruits of our labor.

It will help conserve energy, make our planet greener and provide quality food to sustain myself and my loved ones. While I was growing up my dad always had a garden and we grew up eating some of the best produce available. It was so satisfying to be side by side with my dad tilling the soil, planting the seeds and harvesting the crops. My mom and dad would can jars full of fruits and vegetabes to reduce wastes.

A lot has happened since those more innocent days. Life's demands grew and gardening fell by the wayside. But in a few days I am going to start building two large gardens. I want to thank all of those who inspired me, especially a dear DUer friend who gave me the most inspiration.

I'm going to record the progress through pictues so I can share them with others. Hopefully it will insipe others to reclaim control over what they are consuming and live more enjoyable and healthy lives.

[MuseRider]

1. Join the gardening group!

There is lots of great info there and lots of answers and support.

[AnArmyVeteran]

2. Thanks, I'm relatively new here and didn't know there was one.

I appreciate you telling me about it!!!

[dgibby]

40. Don't forget the rural/farm and frugal living groups.

They're great, too!

[MrMickeysMom]

3. Great bumper sticker I recently decided to place-

"Eat your back yard"

:hi:

[lpbk2713]

4. I had forgotten what real cucumbers smelled like.

I was reminded yesterday when I peeled the first of the cukes that I recently
picked from the plants I grew in my back yard. And they were good too!

[Cal Carpenter]

25. OH, Florida

I was thinking how the heck do you already have cukes? Mine barely have 6 true leaves yet up in Michigan, LOL.

[lpbk2713]

41. There's a down side.

The tomato plants I put in the ground back in January have mostly all burned up by now.


Good luck with your plants.


:thumbsup: :hi: :thumbsup:

[dgibby]

43. It was 99 with a heat index of 105 here yesterday.

Suppposed to be even hotter today. I told my sister I hoped she liked fried green tomatoes. When she told me I didn't know how to cook them I explained they were being fried on the vine, and would not require my culinary expertise (or lack thereof)!:rofl:

[Dr.Phool]

50. I pulled off 3 HUGE zuchinni yesterday. Wife is baking a ton of bread.

Some habanero's are turning ripe. Watermelon and cantaloupe are going crazy.

I couldn't grow anything in this shit soil down here, so I put in a few earth boxes. And I bought a few more the other day for the fall season.

[tbredbeck]

5. Excellent

We just did the same thing, or our neighborhood did. The best part is when we take the kids to the garden and they get to see all the different foods people are growing and how much fun it is to pick fresh food.

Good luck!

[Warren DeMontague]

6. In my experience, it's all that, and sort of therapeutic , too.

I find that there's something very relaxing, peaceful, and almost meditative about tending to a garden.

[Jamastiene]

7. w00t! Gardening is great!

Gratz on your decision to start a garden. I wish more people would do it. Those of us who used to enjoy gardening, but cannot have a garden any more for some reason or another really appreciate the veggie gifts. I had a salad with home grown cucumbers the other day. I had forgotten how good home grown cucumbers were. Scrumptious! :D

[harun]

8. I started a few years ago and am loving it. Turned some friends on to it too.

Doing some composting this year as well. It is a great way to reduce the amount of garbage you send to landfill and to make the best fertilizer you can get.

[wiggs]

9. Good decision and good reasons! Check out

freedomgardens.org for lots of info and networking and to find gardeners near you

[K8-EEE]

10. Alas the bugs ate most of my garden last year

but the little bit we got was more than enough encouragement to try, try again! First heirloom tomato will be ready tomorrow....I ALMOST picked it out of impatience but I think it needs one more day. There is nothing like homegrown tomatoes and basil!

[eridani]

18. Wrong! There is something better.

Get some locally produced milk and make some mozzarella. Slice it, slice the tomatoes, and sandwich a fresh basil leaf between. Drizzle with olive oil.

[K8-EEE]

49. LOL half the fam is vegan but

I def am down with the mozz!

[yowzayowzayowza]

11. We did a 4X8 square foot garden with...

several extra post for spices for the first time this year. Got a whole new attitude towards moths these days, hornworms munchin' the materz. :mad:

[HillWilliam]

29. Go to your local garden shop or failing that, try Lowe's

and get neem oil. It's an organic oil extracted from the berries of the neem tree. (We're growing neem trees ourselves!) Spray at a rate of about 2oz/gallon and soak the plants well, even under the leaves. Bugs will tend to avoid the treated plants. Works great for us. It's very safe.

Neem has been used in ayurvedic medicine, cooking, and cosmetics for centuries. I use the oil on my feet when I get athlete's foot from running around in the garden. (Who doesn't love to feel Mother Earth scrinching in their toes?) It's totally safe.

Don't apply it in full sunlight as it may burn tender plants. Wait until evening or early morning. Allow to dry for 24 hours. (If it's going to rain, wait to apply.) An application usually lasts me about 2-3 weeks.

If you have questions, you're welcome to PM me.

[dgibby]

32. Thanks.

I'm going to get neem oil today. Maybe I can save what's left of the squash:cry: They were big, beautiful, and had just started to produce. I managed to get 2 yellow squash and 1 zucchini, then the squash vine borers nommed them to death. Waaaaaaaaah! Now it's :nuke: on those little beasties!

[HillWilliam]

34. If it's that bad, get some Volck oil, too

if you have oil of those Dial-A-Spray doovers for your garden hose, you might have to do a heavy treatment once. Mix 50/50 neem and volck and apply at 2oz/gallon. Soak the plants and soil well. You might not use the whole bottles and it's going to cost you about $20 for the oils, but a little dab'll do ya. Depending on the size of your garden, your purchase might last you a while.

It beats heck out of putting poison down and really works well. Doesn't hurt the ladybugs or pollinators so that's what you'd want.

Best of luck!!

[dgibby]

35. I just added it to my list.

Will this stuff work on bagworms? Last year they completely stripped my river birch, and just found a nest of them again. ACKKKKKK!

[HillWilliam]

42. I'd use the mixture, then

and apply at 3 or 4oz/gallon. I've applied as richly as 4oz/gallon with a 50/50 mix of neem and volck for really bad infestations of japanese beetles and other nasties. Make sure you get the undersides of the leaves as well or the bugs will just move. Soak the ground well around the plants and get a radius of at least six feet around them. Aphids and teeny critters can easily move around a four-foot area. Soak the bagworms well, but you might wind up picking them off and smashing them.

And yeah, neem stinks, but that's what makes it work. If you get it on you, don't worry. It's not toxic to humans (parts of the neem berry are used in cooking and cosmetics) and will wash off with regular soap and water. The neem works by stinking and tasting bad to bugs. Volck smothers the grubs but from what I've seen doesn't seem to bother earthworms. I've turned up more earthworms this year than I've ever seen. I can only hope that means my poor soil is improving.

I'll post some pics below.

[yowzayowzayowza]

37. Thx for the tips.

Dunno what she is using for bugs rite now, so I'll pass it on.

:hi:

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

54. Thanks, A neighbor recently recommended it for whats

left of my asiatic lilies. Some orange bug has devoured most of them

[midnight armadillo]

12. i started this year

My 1st year with a house...so 1st garden. I have 5 4' square raised beds. 10 tomato plants and a large variety of other stuff. I had to cut down one bed with more tomatoes and some cantaloupes. Those came from seedlings frmo a local farm but they never grew out their roots. They have been replaced with 16 corn plants. 4 pepper plants and 2 more cantaloupes look to be suffering the same fate...gonna plant more brussel sprouts there and maybe get some more seedlings of something else to try that again.

Aside from those there is also onions, carrots, basil, spinach, lettuce, cilantro, b sprouts, mini bell peppers, and watermelons. I'm looking forward to the harvest and the earliest tomatoes should be ready in about 4 more weeks. I'm really keen to try heirloom black cherry tomatoes!

[Maru Kitteh]

13. That's awesme! My dad use to "loan me out" to the neighbors to help with their gardens too

And every summer I went for a while to help with chores on my uncles farm.

Not entirely normal for a girl in the 1970's, but I loved it all. It taught me so much that I still use every day, let alone in my own garden. It taught me about the real value of labor, persistence, integrity and reward.

Congrats on your new garden. It's hard work but so very worth it.

[HughMoran]

14. & the veggies are to die for

OMG, nothing better than home grown fully organic produce.

You're gonna love it.

[Lucian]

15. Don't eat the seafood from the Gulf then...

if you don't want to eat food laced with toxic chemicals.

[Dover]

16. Oh, I'm so happy for you!

I too am learning all the rewards of gardening. I started my veggie garden a couple of years ago, and was also inspired by some DUers who so generously have shared their process. It really IS inspiring! I recommend DUers visit the 'gardening' and 'rural/farm' forums.

I still go to the farmer's market and buy many of the things I haven't yet added to my garden, and love to swap produce and stories with the farmers there.
They too are so supportive and have such valuable experience. I also have joined the master gardener program in my county. I was a little too ambitious for a beginner, and while I lost a lot, after the first harvest I discovered just what abundance it could bring and ended up giving much of it away to a local food bank. So I've gotten more familiar with the timing of harvest and been better prepared with a plan for canning or freezing techniques but will still be giving plenty away.
I highly recommend starting with just a handful of plants that are relatively easy to grow (like heirloom tomatoes, peppers, peas, green beans, squash, cucumbers, winter greens) and then add more each year.

All of this has made an enormous difference in my life and in the life of those I love. It's rewarding on so many levels, nutritionally, socially, emotionally...etc. It can be difficult too, but nature is always teaching.
And I'm a willing student.
There is such nourishment in being close to nature and atuned to its cycles.

And so I'm truly happy for you, as I'm anticipating the wealth of benefits it will bring to your life!

:grouphug:

[lunasun]

17. going to record the progress through pictues so I can share them with others.

Please do here !
We just got a plot at our commmunity farm. I still have a little garden at home and a peachtree too. My aim for next year is to pass on canning to my duaghter who is preteen so glad u had good memories of doing that with your dad. Also sees collecting which will be new for me too.
Ah life's demands yes I haven't done canning for about 15+ yrs . The farm garden took more effortto till and plant than we thought but our saga goes on sans pictures! good luck and enjoy

[bvar22]

19. Congratulations.

My wife and I feel so strongly about this that we moved to The Woods in 2006 and planted a BIG garden.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=268x2601

[truedelphi]

22. Your garden is one of my inspirations.

We are still working out many problems with ours, but it has been so nice these past two years to have a garden that the hired "gardeners" don't stomp on while they weed blow.

Ah, I love the time I am spending outside. And yesterday, I hung up a hummingbird feeder.

I confess to this being a bit petty, but it was a thrill when the hummingbirds choose our new feeder over the neighbor's feeder - his is over a pesticide-sprayed, dead field of dirt, while ours sails happily, pleasantly between and above the lilac bush and under the huge pine.

[AnArmyVeteran]

24. Thanks everyone!!! I've been so encouraged at the responses to my post!

I want to thank everyone who wrote all of the thoughtful things and helpful tips to get my garden started. I consider it a mini-declaration of independence from having to buy contaminated food at local stores. I know it's a small gesture but just know I will have more control over my life and what we eat so it will make a big difference. All of the stories you shared with me have really inspired me even more.

Thanks everyone!!!

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

20. I can send you some greens seeds...

I have done seed swaps with other DU folks. (Need to get the cucumbers out of the starters into the ground) I have arugula, red mustard, red kale, mizuna, cilantro and two kinds of lettuce. If anyone wants some, just send me a message with you address. I have gone to the local farmers market the last three Sundays, and today I gave away the lettuce I hadn't sold yesterday.

Good Luck
ADW
(A Navy Veteran)

[nc4bo]

23. AnArmyVeteran - I'm one of those mentioned.

ADW hooked me up with lots of yummy goodies so I hope you take advantage of his offer.

Good Luck with your garden! I'm sure you will enjoy all aspects of it like I (and others) do.

Tip: don't be afraid to try something new! Reserve a little space for new plant "experiments".

[HillWilliam]

33. This year I'm heavy on heirlooms

I've an abundance of greasy cut-short beans, yellow-eye beans (childhood favorites of mine and fairly hard to get). I've also managed to get some peter peppers (and yes, they look just like their name :lol:).

If you or anyone else is interested in heirloom seed exchange, please do let me know.

(Another Army vet here)

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

21. I can send you some greens seeds...

I have done seed swaps with other DU folks. (Need to get the cucumbers out of the starters into the ground) I have arugula, red mustard, red kale, mizuna, cilantro and two kinds of lettuce. If anyone wants some, just send me a message with your address. I have gone to the local farmers market the last three Sundays, and today I gave away the lettuce I hadn't sold yesterday.

Good Luck
ADW
(A Navy Veteran)

[LittleGirl]

26. My first garden

We just bought a house this spring and are doing container gardening this year. I've started a compost pile and I am watching the sun movement for the best placement of next year's garden.

This fall, I will top off the clay soil with an organic mixture but funds are low right now. I will need to purchase a bunch of fencing to keep the deer and rabbits out.

Right now, I have 8 tomatoes popping, watermelons, basil and green peppers! So excited!

[dgibby]

36. Google square foot gardening and lasagna gardening.

Both are excellent resources, and the ideas are great for saving you money getting started. Also, I like the Mother Earth News web site. Great info there.

PS: the lasagna garden refers to layering compost materials, not the pasta!

[meow mix]

27. welcome to gardening

very rewarding in many ways

[Barack_America]

28. Good luck! We've already started harvesting radishes and zucchinis!

With some tomatoes and peppers not far behind.

It's really quite rewarding watching your food grow.

[dgibby]

30. Good for you!

And please, don't forget to plant extra for your local food bank. They always need donations.

[dionysus]

31. good for you. i have one myself. my radishes just sprouted this week.

[asdjrocky]

38. Good for you!

The Gardening forum on DU is one of the very best, take a look.

[dgibby]

39. From the responses to this thread,

it would appear we have an Army-Navy thing going here. Maybe we should start a Victory Garden sub-group in the gardening group!:rofl:

dgibby, another Navy Vet :patriot:

[HillWilliam]

46. If I could "like" or recommend a comment on a post

that'd be one! Good to know ya, dgibby. :patriot:

[dgibby]

48. Right back at ya!

BTW,Hillwilliam, I'm from the Va. mountains. Looks like we've got a few things in common! :fistbump: :patriot:

[HillWilliam]

53. We Appalachian folks know how to eat!

Greasy cut-short beans, yellow-eye beans (some folks say they're peas), white half-runners, cornfield beans, yard-long beans, peter peppers, a lot of things I grew up with and probably you did too that a lot of folks don't even know exist. I'm doing my best to keep a lot of these precious (and YUMMY!!) heirlooms going before they're forgotten.

I think I'll make a post in the gardening group tonight. Haven't posted any this year and that ain't right :-D

:fistbump:

[1776Forever]

56. I agree totally - One of my best meals of all time was in WV right out of a huge garden!

It was so memorable I always think about it around harvest time. Most of the food came right outside the back door and it was scrumptious! Beat all the fancy restaurants I ate at in Houston, St. Louis and Los Angelos!

:loveya:

[Individualist]

60. You left off killed lettuce and onions

or, as my mama said, "kilt" lettuce and onions. :)

[dgibby]

64. And " Poke Salit (salad)".

I never tried it, but I know the old folks loved it(and now I AM the old folks,so guess I'd better get busy and grow some before it's too late!:rofl:). Wonder if it goes well with dandelion wine!

[HillWilliam]

69. With onions, oo it's good

I grew up in a shack in a hollow (okay, holler!) that was "improved" from a log cabin. I'll be 53 day after tomorrow, so those days aren't too long gone. There's plenty of poke around so it's never too late. Get it before it turns red, right when it first starts coming up. Blanch it, rinse, simmer slowly in chicken broth and onions. Make yer tongue fly out and slap yer eyelids shut!

[HillWilliam]

67. Oo, hush!

My arteries are clogging just at the thought. Now where's the buttermilk with cornbread mashed up in it? I'm starving!

[LaurenG]

44. There was an excellent article in Mother Earth News

that described how to start a garden in bags of topsoil. It was the April/May issue.
Take 25 - 40 lb bags of topsoil (one wouldn't need to have 25 bags but that's what they used in the article), lay the bags out, cut the top out, leaving about 2 inches of the plastic all around. Stab through the topsoil making holes for water to drain and plant. When fall rolls around and growing season is over, dump the soil out over where the bags were and put straw or compost over that. Do this two seasons in a row and in three years you will have a garden without having to dig up the grass or soil. Anyway, it's a fairly easy way to start your own garden.

Good luck with yours, we have lots of vegetables this year and no pesticides. :)

[dgibby]

47. I've done that. It works really well! n/t

[Romulox]

45. Look into "aerated compost tea"--it's a miracle product around an organic garden!

[TalkingDog]

51. Be aware that if you use a tiller or double digging, you are only contributing the problem

as both release carbon. The tiller uses fuel and the unregulated motor puts a lot of crap into the atmosphere.

Raised beds are low carbon and no-till farming produces almost no carbon and both are water conserving.
http://wp.me/pAw0L-31

You might also check to see if there is Crop Mob Group near you. www.cropmob.org

[Javaman]

52. Here's my blog on gardening...

http://suburbandweller.blogspot.com/

feel free to ask any questions.

Cheers and good luck!!

[1776Forever]

55. We made an above ground gardent and it is a huge success!

We have tomatoes all over the place that are almost ripe, lettuce, peas and much more! We have 2 topsy turvy holders too that are going like gangbusters! It was a lot of work for my husband and my directions from the web but it is worth the effort! We did have to put a wire fence around it to keep our critters out but we can't wait for the time when we are going to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Here is a video on an above ground garden:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJdLVua5z8E&feature=related

[happy_liberal]

57. way to go!

:applause:



Also, people in apartments, no yards or whatever...you CAN grow some veggies in a pot. I think we should have rooftop gardens on every high rise, potted plants on every apartment...so much wasted space.

It is amazing how many tomatoes that one plant will produce, and produce for much longer if you can bring it inside.

Basil can be packed pretty tight in a one pot. Just pick the tops off and they bush out and continue all season.

Green peppers...one plant in a pot will produce 10+ and they are so much better than store bought...so much better....

Squash always gets too big and too many...put one plant in a pot and you will be happy!

You can plant a pot full of lettuce seeds and start picking them almost immediately as 'baby greens' to thin them out. Then allow them to grow just picking the outside leaves for sandwiches or salads(if you plant several pots) and they will keep going and going. It is so awesome to pick your own lettuce greens and put them directly on your sandwich...and so healthy! with no loss of vitamins or enzymes.

To me, this is the key to health care PREVENTION!

If people took whatever they spend on health care every month and instead bought super health food or better yet don't spend the money,took the time off and worked in their garden...we would be a much healthier population.

[Blue_In_AK]

58. I've been growing a vegetable garden for years.

We're somewhat limited in what we can grow up here, but I always get really wonderful greens, peas, zucchinis, purple green beans, broccoli, etc. Everything tastes so much better fresh out of the ground. Last fall my husband built me a little 5 x 8 greenhouse, so I'm attempting some tomatoes and cucumbers this year.

Even if you can only grow a container garden, it's worth the effort.

[Michigan-Arizona]

59. For those of you with hot sun

Hubby & I put in a raised garden & used SCREEN CLOTH over the top of it, it worked wonder's & we had no fried plant's or veggies. I know it can be found at Lowes, Home depot, Walmart, etc... We found out that gardening here in Arizona is a whole lot different than Michigan, lol.

[dgibby]

65. I'm going to get some of that on my next trip to Lowe's.

I'm determined to have homegrown tomatoes this year, even if I have to stand out in the yard with an umbrella over them!

[Matariki]

61. Congratulations!

It's so gratifying to go into your yard and pick a bunch of lettuce or a head of broccoli, etc and have it for dinner.

I've had a lot of success with square foot gardening. More than I can eat w/ just 4 4x4 raised beds.

[The Midway Rebel]

62. Welcome to a growing and happy club!

Organic gardener for 25 years here. Take time to build your soil.

This year we did not even use a tiller. I have raised beds rows that you could dig down into with your hands and arms up to your armpits. White clover, grass, dill, cosmos and cilantro grows wild between the unmowed rows. Birds, butterflies, bats and all sorts of insects and critters call our garden home. They are all welcome, even the hungry bunnies...up to a point. It is our little sanctuary. There is nothing like the quality of home grown vegetables.

[dgibby]

63. I'm in the process of replacing all my grass with white clover.

No more mowing, the bees love it, so it's all good! I also planted host plants for the butterflies, in addition to their favorite flowers.

So far, I've had lots of bees, butterflies, and hummers. In addition, I have a pair of bluebirds, 2 pairs of sparrows, and a pair of chickadees nesting in my yard. There's also a pair of cardinals and a pair of robins nesting nearby.

I love sitting on the screened porch and watching all of them. Of course, my kittehs are NOT amused to be on the inside looking out!

[earth mom]

66. Good luck with your garden! But realize there is a lot of trial and error and sometimes things die

or don't grow for whatever reason, so don't give up.

We have 14 cherry trees that are just a few years in the ground that had no cherries on them this year. We had a really rainy and chilly spring and the little blossoms didn't make it. :cry:

[Greyskye]

68. But does the garden stare back?

We've tried putting in a small garden, but the herds of deer appreciated it too much. We've been talking about trying one of those upside down tomato things; we can put that where the deer can't get to it. :)