I've been gardening for going on twenty years (if you don't count the years as a kid when the whole family grew a big garden to feed ourselves) and I still come here everyday as I drink my morning coffee ~ right before I check a couple other gardening sites, check the seed exchange for anything interesting to trade for and look at a couple seed seller's websites for specials. All this as I wait for daybreak so I can go see if any of the seeds I sowed yesterday have sprouted. *snicker*

So, no, it doesn't get any better, only worse. ;)

From what I can tell it never gets old. There are always new varieties and unknown vegetables becoming available. People devise new techniques and new challenges. I have to agree with the post above. It only get's worse!

I hate to disagree with knittlin and wild forager, but it gets better! Enjoying reading, thinking, and planning about vegetable gardening is fun, and the actual planting, fertilizing, harvesting, and eating is even better. The seed catalogs arrival in December lightens a dark cold month, and agonizing over your selections is a great mental exercise. So, no matter how addicted you are, you will become moreso and that is better!

Angela - I am exactly the same way, including the research and science part...but then I'm sure most of us in this forum are. And tomatoes are of course the best as we with TMD already know very well..

No hope and no recovery... My friends cannot understand how I can spend so much time in my garden when I am not weeding or harvesting. They laugh about seeing me with my notebook and digital camera taking pictures of plants with NO fruit on them. They shake their heads at the amount of time I spend online researching new varieties, looking at seed sites, perusing The Yearbook and, in their words, "wasting time on idle chit chat with other addicts in the tomato crack house-like forums".

I find myself stealing glances at other peoples gardens (I even used binoculars to take a closer peak at one neighbor's garden) I see empty lots and wasted space and wonder "how many tomato plants I could fit in there?"

So my gardening "jones" is alive and well. Some people play golf, others take up gambling, I have 40 years of a "monkey on my back" and me and the monkey like it that way. "vive les tomates, vive les jardin, vive mon penchant"!!!

(Long live the tomatoes, long live the garden and long live my addiction.)

I too have this obsession and also a compulsion to buy seeds every time I pass a seed display.
Gardening is wicked satisfying though. You witness progress from seed to table.
I often ponder the natural processes that make it all possible. The decomposition of dead plant material by microscopic creatures. The evolution of organisms into plants that produce their energy from sunlight. The coexistence of humans and plants in a mutually beneficial relationship.
Spring can't come soon enough.

Jon

Oh yes, Angela. I can relate to all of this! And you can get even MORE obsessed! Yes! Just go to the Soil, compost forum and get caught up in compost. And the Rose Forum, as Midnightgardner said. And then there's the garden experiments forum for mad scientists like myself. But growing vegetables is entirely satisfying. Your first tomato of the season will be indescribably delicious! Have fun, read everything you can, take notes, and let your friends here on Gardenweb know how it's going.
Sunny

Me, at hardware store in February: "Oh, wow...check it out...they just put another seed rack out."

My wife (through bullhorn): "DROP THE WALLET AND KICK IT AWAY FROM YOU! PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD! STEP AWAY FROM THE...etc., etc.

Ed

---

...and there's Big Fun at http://pjhathawaynovels.com

Ah, yes...the composting. I just started that as well and posted on that board for some advice. My children all dare not throw anything away that could go in the compost bin, and I have a collection bag at my boyfriend's house of things to take back to my bin. Lastly, I just asked my neighbors for their yard clippings, which they all agreed somewhat hesitantly.

Oh, and my new house has 4 existing rose bushes, one of which needs a little help, so I just posted in the rose forum as well.

I am so glad to hear that it only gets better. I am having so much fun, and it has brought a passion into my life that I can share with my kids and anyone else who will listen!!

Oh, and there is a garden experiments forum?? I'm in REAL trouble now!

: )

Yes, it definitely only gets worse.

As others have mentioned there are so many different varieties, and of coarse you want to try them all. My husband yells at me because I have to go to our local garden center at least once a week. When I come home I find myself hiding all the new seeds that I bought in my coat so that he does not know that I even stopped there.

I think I could name off every store within a 10 mile radius that carries seeds, including what kind they carry. I have to visit every garden center around us at least once or twice a year. I could tell you exactly when they all open and when they start to carry their seeds and plants.

Then there is the excitement of waiting for the seeds to sprout, once you have planted them, and standing back when the garden is planted and enjoying how beautiful all it looks. Then getting more and more excited watching your little vegetables grow, until it is finally time to pick the first vegetable, and of course don't forget taste it. I just can't wait for spring! Can you tell?

brokenbar, I nearly died laughing when I read how you used binoculars to take a closer peak at one neighbor's garden. I too love looking at others gardens. I agree with you about the empty lots and wasted space. I too think the same thing when I see large open areas I think of what I could do with that much space and can even visualize what I would be growing there. I have 2 acres but most of what is usable right now, is garden space. I can remember when I once thought that 2 acres was a lot, now I am running out of space and need more land.

Angela, consider yourself lucky to be interested in such a wonderful, healthful activity. Personally, I worry that I might *lose* interest some day. I would consider that quite a loss.

Cruising vegetable sites is just the beginning. After growing vegetables, I have to go to the Harvesting forum, and the cooking forum, and the recipe exchange, Then it's off to the winter sowing forum to learn to start up little babies without a greenhouse. Of course, you have to go to the composting forum to have nice beds for the babies to live in. I suffer from onemoreclickites as well as a seed addiction. "My name is Donna and I am a seed/plant addict"

im addicted too ever since plantd a few eggplants,toms,and some peppers last year.im only seventeen and cant drive so my dad has to take me to home depot to buy lumber for raised beds,and soil.when i look at the seed rack my head starts hurting with possibilities and which ones to get.parents and friends dont understand it but i do,i also love the manual labor of digging up the whole thing with a shovel, feels da** good to have food you worked for in the end also.
welcome to the addiction

I've become more addicted too, as well as addicted to the research and trying out new things (gardening led to composting which led to vermicomposting). Gardening is like the gateway drug!

There is one aspect that I regret about learning more every year. I miss the days when I didn't know anything and I would drop seeds into the ground, waited for rain, and they would grow...worry free.

Nowadays I worry about timing and planting and properly prepared soil and whether there is too little calcium or too much nitrogen. I worry about the vicious onslaught of every insect imaginable before there are any signs of pests. I worry about what my neighbour is growing in case he is attracting the wrong kinds of bugs. I worry if something is being sprayed. I worry about whether we got an inch of rain or only a half an inch and whether I will overwater if I turn on the hose.

AAACCCKKK!

Maybe I should cut back on the research?

"Nowadays I worry about timing and planting and properly prepared soil and whether there is too little calcium or too much nitrogen. I worry about the vicious onslaught of every insect imaginable before there are any signs of pests. I worry about what my neighbour is growing in case he is attracting the wrong kinds of bugs. I worry if something is being sprayed. I worry about whether we got an inch of rain or only a half an inch and whether I will overwater if I turn on the hose."

I knew someone once who had a therapist that recommended gardening to them as a way to relieve stress and anxiety. I always wondered if the therapist really had a clue about gardening. The person that they recommended it too, well it did not work out so well for them because of all the things you mentioned. They just got overwhelmed and finally gave up.

hey,hey, you know what they say if you cant take the beet stay outa the garden.sorry that was very corny no pun intended lol

This topic triggers a memory that goes way back to when I was a kid. Dad and our backyard neighbor were in competition every single year. Their gardens were separated by only a fence. My Dad would sit at the breakfast table with his morning coffee and just study everything the neighbor was doing. I used to shake my head that Dad would care which garden was doing better. When the neighbor would come up with some new experiment, Dad would have to comment on what he thought and would try to come up with some better idea.

Now I understand.

I have been doing it for 37 years (on my own, I helped my Dad for 15 years before that) and I am even more obsessed then I was in the beginning. The learning and fun never ends.

This is only the beginning...I have passed my obsession on to my granddaughter who HAS to smell any flower she passes, HAS to look at all seed racks, HAS to pinch off seeds and put them in her pocket. We can never go any where near a nursery without spending HOURS sniffing each and every type of plant or flower within eye shot...yeah the obsession continues through one little child...poor kid she is only 4 and doesn't even know what hit her lol. Kim

It feeds our bodies and souls. I guess I am addicted in the sense that I need it and would feel lost without it.

Kay

"(I even used binoculars to take a closer peak at one neighbor's garden)" *Giggle ~ snort ~ guffaw!* Great idea, Brokenbar!

"My husband yells at me because I have to go to our local garden center at least once a week." Smile sweetly at him, Bagardens, and say, "Why, honey! It's cheaper than marriage counseling." ;)

"I have passed my obsession on to my granddaughter" Fabulous, Kim! That's wonderful!

knittlin,
I am not so sure about it being cheaper that marriage counseling, it might be kind of close. It is not so much yelling as, a look, a sigh, and "Do you really need more seeds" or "Another plant, where are you going to put this one", or "You stopped at Gales (our garden center) again, you are going to drive them crazy" and then finally acceptance. Besides this year we will be getting a tiller for our tractor, and any reason for him to be able to use his tractor makes him happy. So it can't bother him as much as he makes it seem. Or at least that is what I tell myself.

Brokenbar,
By the way I forgot to mention that across the street from me is 100 acres that is foreclosed on. Talking about wasted space, it drives me crazy. I can just picture all the fruit trees and vegetables that I could grow there. I keep trying to convince my husband that we should talk to the bank. My birthday is coming up maybe he will get me some of that land for my birthday! Wouldn't that be nice. The problem is that I don't think the bank wants to split up the land and I just don't think we could afford the 3 mil. that they want for it. Oh well, I guess all I can do is dream about it.

I agree it's like a drug! lol! My first year last year and I'm hooked, more than hooked!

Bought a pair of wellies last week so I could get out there in the wet. It's not just the growing though, its the garden porn (seed catalogues) the seed gathering, planning, sowing, the prep, the research, the trading...

It's bad when you're out and about (say walking the dogs) and you're thinking if you come back later no-one would know if you took cuttings from a plant etc. You go armed with baggies for poop and end up collecting seed pod heads!

I love it :)

I just tried yesterday...I can get GardenWeb on my Blackberry! : )

I check on my seedlings, oh, I don't know...5-6 x's a day at least? How much have they grown? Have any germinating seeds popped their little heads through the soil in the past few hours?

Oh, and the WEATHER! I now know the extended forecast, highs/lows, projected sun/rainfall EVERYDAY! I never noticed how much it changes...between the projected temps and sun/rain...if I was wrong so much in my career, I wouldn't have one. :)

I love hearing your stories of memories gardening with your parents. I hope that I will pass this passion on to mine or that they will at least have good memories of gardening with me. They don't see the big deal/need in checking on the seedlings so many times a day, but they do like to see newly germinated seeds. plant-one-on-me, your post gives me hope!

Of course, I crack up at the "TMD" or "You know you are a Compost Whacko" threads...I laughed out loud so hard at those that my kids seriously thought I had lost it...

Yes, and scoping out new land...I just moved into a new house 6 months ago. If I had only been gardening back then, it would have impacted my choice, as I would have wanted WAY more space.

Happy Gardening to everyone!! : )

This whole gardening thing is insane. I started out with a few small beds; now I'm over five acres. It's gotta stop!!!!

When I know my wife can see me, I yell "GROW! GROW! GROW!" to my seedlings just to ensure her that I am obsessed. Is that wrong?

Also in process of starting my new garden related website.

Here is a link that might be useful: It's over here.

Hi, my name is Steve and I have am an addict. We moved into this house 4 and a half years ago in the middle of the summer. My wife and I were at Lowe's looking for a few things for the new house when we spotted the last two tomato plants left in the garden center. We purchased them, 75% off, and stuck them in the ground on the south side of our new deck. We got over 200 tomatoes off of those two plants many of which ripened in the window sills during the first cold months in our new house.

Those two tomato plants were my gateway drug. Now it is a constant struggle between my wife and I as to how much of the yard can be turned into edible space. If it were up to me, the entire back yard would be raised beds and the entire front yard would be corn. I wonder what the neighbors would think, but I know that I don't really care...

I've loved reading everyone's posts!! I wasn't going to add to the thread, because I'm still in denial (WHAT gardening problem??...wait..need..to..plant..more...seeds...)

Steve - I don't see the problem :) Most of my backyard is in raised beds and my neighbor down the street actually *does* grow corn in his front yard. Of course, the other neighbors make fun of him, but I understood perfectly! Plus, his garden is always immaculate. It's a work of art.

Keep up the gardening - it only gets better!
Bellatrix

Love the thread. I feel your pain. I live in a rowhouse with like-- 5 square feet of backyard, and I'll probably end up starting 10 kinds of seeds.

hmmm....is there something wrong about growing corn in your front yard? I grow watermelons between my roses too, and lettuces, herbs, garlic....who has an obsession? not me! Hey, at least I did not take them out, I classified roses as 'edible' since the hips are.

I'm a new member as of today so hello everyone. Ragtimegal Thank You for telling us about your addiction. I too am an addict lol. I have a compost bin, worm bin, and I am constantly on the internet learning everything I can. My wife hates the worm bin. I'm trying to convince her to give me more growing space for the veggies. I can go on all day but all I can say is I can't wait till I can put my babies in the ground. =O)

This is my third year of serious gardening (ie. addict level) and it's definitely gotten worse. It's a year round addiction.

January - Many hours spent browsing seed catalogs, an doing my online ordering.

February - Start wintersowing cold season veggies, and perennials

March - Start indoor sowing peppers and tomatoes

April - WS (well, technically spring sow) annuals, direct sow carrots

May - The whole month is spent planting out tons of seedlings, direct sowing cucumbers, canteloupes, beans.

June - Pull bindweed, cut what grass is left, grasshopper patrol, water container plants

July - Start harvesting veggies, pull more bindweed, cut the grass, etc.

August - Start canning the harvest ... still pulling bindweed, etc.

Sept. - Start harvesting seeds from perennials, still canning, still pulling bindweed, etc.

Oct. - Still harvesting seeds, cleaning up the garden for the winter

Nov. - Start trading all of those seeds for anything I don't already have

Dec. - Packing up canned goodies to ship to family, start perusing the seed catalogs

Oh, BTW, Brokenbar, when I told DH about the "idle chit chat with other addicts in tomato-crackhouse like forums" he just looked at me with a blank look on his face. Hmmm ... I thought it was hilarious! Guess you have to be an addict to see the humor, LOL.

Bonnie

I've moved from a summer gardener to year round since I put in a bunch of raised beds and a sliding glass door going right out to the garden!
I have chard, lettuce, broccoli, snow peas (no peas yet!), beets almost ready as well as onions, radishes.
I'm chomping at the bit to start planting, but we have another month at least of frost and my Green house was blown apart last week in a storm!
I did sprinkle some seed out there today, hoping for no more freezes- carrots, gr onions, radishes and more lettuce

I was first aware of the craving for gardening at 8 years old. At 12, while planting I remember thinking I would get over it when I was 16 and into other more mature things. I have now reached 65 and wonder if I will be too old to garden at 75.... My favorite thing to do now is to get kids addicted to gardening - there is no better thing to be addicted for a lifetime. Gardening continues to teach something to us every day and is always challenging.

Cedar- I also want to get kids interested in it. I have enjoyed having my own children help me dig the beds, prepare the soil, and check on the seedlings every day, and I've been reading about the programs that are out there to introduce gardening to schools. There is even grant money that you can apply for to help cover some of the costs for plants and supplies!

I would LOVE to initiate a gardening program at my children's school, though I am new and it may be best done by someone with more experience, but I'm certainly willing to lead the charge in getting it started.

I'm happy to hear that your passion has remained alive and strong over the years, and I can only hope that my children will carry it with them as well.

As far as being to old to garden...never!

:)

brokenbar - I know, I've got one of those "lots" next door, and several fruit trees - just might be over the line. Hopefully, they don't decide to build on it any time soon.

Would you believe - yesterday, I was in Home Depot, where they have a sale on small circular wood burning pots. Sez I, that would be a great addition to my yard - I can now burn all the limb cuttings (potash - hoop-de-do), and if we put a patio under it and some small benches, it would be a nice addition to the front yard (where I intend to remove all that Bermuda grass anyway).

Nooooo - I'm OK, you"re OK. It's the world! You oughta see my 3 big cedar chest-type worm bins (may need to go into the business). Ha.
Bejay

My husband try's to hide when we go out to dinner or other places as I carry a pair of clippers in my purse and am always looking for new "speciman's" to root or graft. And the darn neighbor whose garden I can't see...hates my guts (the only lousy neighbor we have.) As I am a retired vet and his neighbor I was subpeoned by the Prosecutor to testify against him in a horse thieving/horse neglect case. He was convicted so I am persona non grata) Anyway, I know his garden is lousy but I want to see just how lousy so I can gloat (I am apparently a very small person.) I am getting old and must find my pleasures where I can!(:grins wickedly) And if I had my way...there would be no bare lots or land anywhere...it would all be a gynormous garden. While I like flowers and agree they bring people pleasure, it is far better, IMHO to bring people pleasure and feed them at the same time!

Does the fact that I gave up golf lessons last spring to plant my garden make me seem like I'm obsessed? Does the fact that I harvest tomatoes, cukes and peppers by flashlight when I can't get home at a reasonable hour make me an addict?...gotta pick at just the right time!

I am not obsessed, I do not have a problem, my brother on the other hand thinks I'm insane, telling me that I'm only suppose to order from the and not buy the whole catalog!!! I tell you I needed everything I bought, have I convinced anyone yet that I'm fine and have no problem? Drats, didn't think so.

I am 70 years old.

I have arthritis and Lung Cancer

I am 5 months after having my upper and middle lobes removed from my right lung

I just finished 4 months of chemotherapy

I have been worried only about one thing...getting my garden ready to plant...

Does that make me obsessed?

My kids think that I may be slightly obsessed when I spent the nights this past weekend in the back yard in full hunting garb with a BB gun in hand waiting patiently for those bunnies that ate every last one of my cabbage seedlings.

I am going to get may cabbage back! One way or another, I will have it!!!

Steve

P.S. Ruthie,
Get out there and grow something. I know how therapeutic it can be when there are other much heavier things on your mind.

That's it ~ Ruthie wins the thread! She is The Most Obsessed Gardener Ever. (You GO, girl. :)

I knew I am not alone! It proves that I am not mentally challenged.
I don't call mine 'obession'. It is my 'passion'.

This is so funny. DS10 joined a gardening club at school. Some of his guy friends teased him "Isn't that for girls." Well he loves it and I never questioned him because he is by far my best helper but I finally had to know when another mom chuckled about it too (people---grr).

He said two reasons 1. I want to teach you something about gardening this spring because you teach me so much. 2. All the cute girls joined and they think I'm cool because I know so much about gardening. Too cute! HA!

ruthieg,

Not obsessed, but DETERMINED! You GO, Girl!!

Best of luck with your 2009 Garden,
Peggy

Most of us will agree that gardening is our therapy in many ways plus the benefits of eating healthy. I just love getting out there planning how this year's garden is going to be from last year. Hunger is a good motivator too. Yes I have been doing this over 20 years and it's new and different every year. Each year's challenges are different. Who knows what the weather will bring and not to mention bugs. Let's face it, it keeps us grounded and humble. Enjoy the spring! So how is everyone preparing their soil? Time to till.

Gardening has opened up this whole new world to me that I barely knew existed: insects, bugs and worms...oh my.

I actually blurted out with glee...."oh, look an assasin bug!" during an outdoor class I was teaching (on construction). I rescue earthworms when they are on the sidewalks and have been appalled when my friends didn't even notice them.

I can't believe that people don't know how important these things are.