"VEGETABLE GARDENING" (for fun and nutrition)

[Please, This is a Non-Cannabis related thread...
the topic is Homegrown vegetable gardening. Thank You. ]


Well it's that time of year for me again where I select what going to be growing in my Organic garden.
I always grow a "Salsa Garden" with Various Chile's, Tomato's, onions and cilantro.
I just started some plain ol' "large red cherry" and some "Rutgers select" tomato seeds.
These varieties were selected because they were 8 packs for a dollar, and I'm a cheapskate.

One of the funnest aspects of gardening can be the unusual varieties that one can readily obtain these days mailorder.
As far as "Heirloom Vegetable Seeds" go, I absolutely love this U.K. companies seed catalog, they have an incredible variety...
As their webpage states:
"500 varieties of non hybrid heirloom vegetable seeds for your vegetable garden!
They ship Worldwide & include FREE Vegetable Seeds With Every Order, ya gotta love that.
http://www.seedfest.co.uk/

So who else around here loves to grow "Homegrown Veggies" for friends and family?
What are ya gonna be growin' this year?

IMB

What are Heirloom Tomatoes?

What are Heirloom Tomatoes?

Originally, the term “heirloom”, in reference to gardening, was coined during the early 1970’s to identify those vegetable and flower varieties that had originated with a particular family of people and had subsequently been passed down from one generation to the next up to modern day.
Typically, these varieties were obtained a single source who had maintained them so many years.
Often these varieties were completely unique and had been limited to only one or two gardens per era.
This not only made these varieties very rare, but also made them very desirable by gardeners who revelled in the idea of preserving a very small part of agricultural history, and probably most importantly, in the idea of being one of only a few people with the variety.

For a few years, the above definition proved to be satisfactory, but as heirloom seeds, and in particular, heirloom tomatoes became more popular, the definition soon changed.
Chances are, due primarily to the seed and plant dealers who wished to capitalize on the heirloom market, many old non-heirloom varieties of tomatoes such as Marglobe, Livingston’s New Stone, Henderson’s Ponderosa or Rutgers, suddenly became marketed as “heirlooms”.
Meanwhile, as the plant collectors became more and more obsessed with heirlooms, many of these people sought out previously unknown foreign varieties and introduced them as heirlooms.

In more recent years, probably the most common definition of what an heirloom tomato is, is that an heirloom tomato is any tomato variety that is not a hybrid and has been in cultivation for at least fifty years.

Source:Anioleka Seeds
Vegetable Growing Tips@
www.seedfest.co.uk

You can easily start your tomatoes on your windowsill...

1. Soil Preperation: Tomatoes are a delicate crop, so choose a warm spot in front of a southfacing wall or fence to plant your tomatoes for the best results. During the winter, dig up your plot thoroughly (being careful not to bring clay or granite to the surface) and incorporate a good compost into your soil. Shortly before planting add a good source of fertilizer to the plot. If you lack groundspace, you can easly grow excellent tomatoes in 2 gallon sized pots or grow bags, but remember to water them regularly. In addition, regular feeding with a good fertilizer will be neccessary.

2. Sowing & Planting: Sow the seeds into a standard sized propogator filled with a good seed starting mix or compost. Before you sow your seeds dampen the soil in your protogator and allow it to sit overnight. Sow one seed in each cell of the propogator by placing the seed on top of the soil in the centre of the cell. Sprinkle a light cover of compost or seed starting mix over the seed. Cover the propogator with a cloak. Alternatively if only a few plants are required you may use a pot of any size and a home-made cloak. To make a home-made cloak take a small, clear-plastic bottle and cut off the top part of the bottle. Small soda bottles cut at the top of the label are ideal for this purpose. Place the cloak over the sown area. Keep the soil moist, but not wet, for the best results. Keep the newly sown seeds at around 65 degrees for the most rapid growth. When the seeds have sprouted and matured into seedlings that are 6 inches high, transplant the seedlings into your plot, 2 gallon pots or grow bags.

3. Looking After the Plants : Tie the main stem of each plant to a cane or provide a cage for each plant. Water and feed the plants regularly, especially in hot weather, to keep the soil moist. Alternating dryness and flooding will lead to many problems, primarily split-fruit and blossom-end rot.

4. Harvesting : Pick the fruits when ripe and fully-coloured. Always harvest the fruit with a sharp knife or pruners to avoid damaging the plant.

5. Storage : Tomatoes can be kept in a polythene bag in the bottom of your refrigerator for up to one week. For longer storage they may be canned or frozen. If you wish to can your tomatoes, you are recommended to obtain a good reference book on the subject. Please visit our website for some recommended titles. If you chose to freeze your tomatoes, for the best results peel and remove the cores of your tomatoes, simmer the tomatoes on your stove in a pot of water for 5 minutes and sieve them through a strainer to rid them of water. Allow them to cool and then pack into a container and place them in your freezer. Frozen vegetables keep for approximately one year. Be sure to date your containers!

Happy Gardening!


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
We are pleased to present our outstanding selection of rare vegetable seeds, heirloom seeds and OP vegetable seeds to our customers in the United States from our new office located in the beautiful Rogue River Valley of Southern Oregon.
(The same U.K. seed companies U.S. outlet)
http://www.vegetableseed.net/index.html

Great idea for a thread! I have been an avid veggie gardener for 40 years. In fact over the years more of the lawn and flower beds have gone into veg/fruit production. Plus I own a large piece of land where I have 40 fruit trees and a 50' by 50' "3 sisters" garden(beans ,corn, squash). Today most of seed for transplanting went into starter flats to grow for 2 months before final transplanting into the garden.

im growing two heirloom tomatoes this upcoming season - capsian pink and brandywine. i havent decided whether i will be using rockwool slabs or bags of perlite, but it will most likely run to waste.

last year i did better boy in waterfarms and they got over 18' tall. pruning is everything where yield is concerned.



im also growing champion hybrid and coeure di toro but that would be just a pic of a pot of soil right now...

as for peppers i'll be growing cayenne old reliable long red slim, biker billy hybrid jalapeño, and hungarian hot wax.

Humongous Watermelons...

I will also be planting some Humongous Carolina Cross watermelon seeds from a 268.8 pounds, 37" long, 49" blossom to stem, 62.5" circumfrence specimen.
(In metric lets just call that 122 kilogram, meter long mother "massive".)

Heres a picture of "mom", the 2005 World record watermelon weighing 268.8 pounds.
They're sold out of these record holder seeds, but they have many other 200 pound plus seed stocks available from a company in "Hope, Arkansaaw",
"The Giant Watermelon Capitol Of The World"

http://www.giantwatermelons.com/
The local food bank will be getting most of the ones I don't enter in the county fair this year. They'll probably have to bring a machete and cut 'em into 50 pound sections or so to get 'em out of the garden (or a fork lift).

I'd eventually like to grow them this big.



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
There are way too many Watermelon Capitals around the US.
The claims are hazy, conflicting, and hard to care about.
So naturally, we gravitate to towns with tangible attractions.
Take the giant watermelon statue in Green River, Utah.
It's 25 feet long, constructed fifty years ago to celebrate the town's Watermelon Days festival, held every August.
The watermelon was motorized for a time (it's hollow and has a door in its side), but the engine is broken and has never been repaired.
The statue is still regularly repainted, and a fixture at the celebration.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/salad/watermelon.html

Yep, those will definitely clear the sinuses...
they sound guaraaanteed to be fiery hot

From Burpee:
Meet our friend "Biker Billy" and his hot new pepper.
Here's a guy who loves hot peppers as much as we do! We discovered Bill's cooking show several years ago while flipping through the cable channels.
Bill is a freewheeling food lover, pepper gardener, vegetarian and Harley rider, totally committed to getting people to play more with their food, cook healthier and ride safe. Hot peppers, Bill says, make for more fun and more flavors than any other vegetable

Description:
"Biker Billy" Pepper
NEW Hybrid Jalapeño Pepper.66 days.
A blazingly hot jalapeño-the hottest we've ever tasted.
Yet it's got a lot more than heat. This jalapeño is really packed with rich flavor. Billy likes 'em best when they are flaming red and at their sweetest. Fruits are very large, measuring 2" at the shoulder and 3-1/2" long. Upright plants are 24" tall. Burpee Exclusive.

................................................
Yeah, I'm gonna grow some tasty Brandywines too.

sorry for the stupid question!!
when do you start sowing the seeds?
i would love to grow some veggies, as i am a culinary student!
thanks!!

How to Build Organic Soil
Your success in organic gardening depends in large part on the soil you build.
Start with any native soil and add the right organic amendments to nourish your plants.
Then let the bed mellow for a month or more and get growing.


Steps:
1. Evaluate your native soil.
Whether you have it tested or draw your own conclusions, determine its needs for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and trace elements.
Use your own experience or ask a veteran gardener to teach you about any particular amendments that local soils need, such as lime.

2. Amend your soil with elemental organic fertilizers - they have only one or two ingredients per bag.
Find local sources for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and trace elements - and further your commitment to the organic attitude.

3. Improve your native soil by adding organic matter ("om") to gain two important benefits: more water retention and better drainage.
Use animal manures for their combination of om and nutrients, along with at least one other om, such as compost, ground bark, leaf mold or peat moss.

4. Read fertilizer labels and apply the recommended amount for your garden area.
Use this rule of thumb for adding organic matter:
3 inches of native soil can usually incorporate 4 to 6 inches of combined manure, compost and so on.

5. Add an inch of sharp sand to the mix plus lime if indicated, then start to dig the elements in together.
Think chili, not lasagna, and be sure no distinct layers remain after tilling.

6. Rake your organic soil mix into beds or rows and water it once.
Wait a month or so for the elements to mellow, then plant to your heart's content.


Tips:
Check for local organic fertilizers at garden centers, health food stores and farmers' cooperatives, as well as at organic farms, horse barns and chicken producers.

Compost any raw manures for at least six months before adding to your garden.





This is not an organic veggie garden thread exclusively...by any means...
it's just my personal gardening choice...

ya mon I love home-grown veggies!!!!

I saw a documentary about the "Giant Vegetable Festival" In Matanuska Valley Alaska
and they were trying to make a 100 pound cabbage......those veggies are huge!!!!!!!

-kind regards from guineapig

hey guys im happy there is a post like this, I was considerin starting a pc grow, i got it all setup now the works 3 pc fans mylar heatsheild inonzer and 100watt hps, but after the recent stuff goin on i think im gona wait a wile, so i had an idea, i love hot spicy peppers. I was wondering if id be able to grow these in my pc grow box. i was wondering if u could just take a habenero pepper and take a seed out and plant it and start growin ?

Sure why not.
peppers would be an excellent choice for a compact indoor spot...

These days, with the outrageous price of veggies, it used to be laughable (cost/benefit wise) to even consider growing vegetables for personal consumption indoors.

I know of some senior citizen gardeners who are very interested in the prospect of indoor cultivation as way to help heat their house and also provide out of season organic produce...logical thinking at play ...
as much as 3 dollars a pound (shy 1/2 kilo) for "real" tomatoe's, it becomes easier to justify the initial capital outlay for such a project...
.. but if one happened to have a light or two laying around...
Even a 100 watt H.I.D. will grow a nice little lettuce garden in a cement mixing tub for instance. Mesclum mix salads can be grown and literally sheared off with a scissors (leave a couple of inches) for a perpetual harvest gourmet salad garden.
.....................
Mesclun is a mix of salad greens available from the wild or the garden and different kinds of leaf and loose-headed lettuce.
Originating in Provencal France, the traditional recipe calls for chervil, arugula, lettuce and endive in precise proportions, but nowadays Mesclun mixes include greens such as mustards, cresses and parsley as well as wild greens and all kinds of lettuce.
The original idea was to make a salad that touches upon every taste and texture sensation: bitter, sweet, tangy, crunchy and silky.
Mesclun is a treat for the eye as well as the tongue, with its colorful mix of textures
....................................................................................................
Sowing times can vary from veggie to veggie, usually the package will provide guidance in that area.

i was wondering if u could just take a habenero pepper and take a seed out and plant it and start growin ?

Click to expand...

Yes, give the freshly harvested seed a few weeks ...a month...or so at room temperatures to dry out a bit and it oughta sprout right nice for ya.
Habernaro seeds are also available in the seed rack at your local store, most likely.

let's say i wanna make a little herb garden ( outdoor) what kinda of pots should i use? maybe a bed? what about light? intensity and hours of direct light?
thanks and sorry for the newb questions!!!

i'm really liking this thread!!!!
let's use our skills on other plants!!!!!!!!

Sounds great, I must warn those planting tomatoes, One or two will do ya. I grew black krill and a tasty orange kind last year and they were about 3.5 feet across and 5 feet high. Too many for me and my wife...

Any advise on lettuce. Do you plant over time. Like one row one week, one row the next etc. so you can harvest over time?

My peppers are still going from last season!

Peace.

Right on! Cannabis isn't the only plant that I would cultivate. It runs in my blood to grow vegetables. My dad had a full organic vegetable garden every year and I'll have one too once I get out of apartment living. I'll grow tomatoes, peppers, green beans, corn, and more. Plus having a garden you can hide a few cannabis plants in there.

Thanks alot for the reply I M Boggeled, I think im gona pick up some habenero seeds tomorrow and get started. I was wondering if it would be easier to grow peppers than mj ?Or do they require more care ? Also im not gona lie IM new to the whole "gardening" aspect of mj and all, but i was also wondering how the flowering cycle is ? is it the same as mj germ/veg/flower/, and will the time periods be the same ? thanks in advanced

chile peppers need to be relatively warm before they'll germinate, and they take up to six weeks to germ too. use a heating pad and a humidity dome to keep the seeds from damping off.

peppers are slow to start (takes a long time to go from sprout to flowering plant) so the sooner you get going the better.

mary is an annual thats sensitive to photoperiod (when you trip it to 12/12, it flowers). peppers and tomatoes are perennials that are not sensitive to photoperiod. they will flower once they are sexually mature and continue to flower as long as the average temperature is in the right range. hybrids seem to be self-pollinating and arent nearly as sensitive, but the point is more that the light cycle really doesnt have anything to do with flowering/fruit set beyond the fact that its warmer when the sun is out.

I live in zone 5 and have had great luck with stock plants from http://www.chileplants.com/ over the last few years.

growing food? in a garden? can it really be done?
seriously though, if youre an anarchist/envronmentalist/animal lover/anti-globilizationist/anti-corporatist gardening is the best thing you cando for the "movement" maybe smashing windows at starbucks/walmart/macdonalds is more fun, but i think gardening is a bigger statement.
i boght a farm last year and am building a market garden. im also getting a greenhouse and hope to apply organic compost tea priciples i learned from med gardens to produce a fully legal crop of FOOD!
and by the way SAVE SEEDS! the chemical companies and the seed manufactuers are one in the same and they are controlling food production. if they have there way we wont be able to grow and save seeds. google "terminator seeds" or "percy shmeiser"

or better yet. percy schmeiser

i look to be going in that direction myself irie-i. in my desire for freedom from the energy concerns my path is taking me towards sustainable farming and biodiesel.