Just a re-introduction...

14 years ago

I don't have a specific gardening question, comment or insight (though I'm sure I'll have tons of questions soon!) just wanted to re-introduce myself here. I'm a container gardener in Richardson, near DFW. I used to visit this forum couple of years ago -- mostly lurking, sometimes posting, and was happily addicted to all the fun and knowledge you all had to share... I've only had containers (and a small flower bed in our previous apartment) to garden with/in, and I long for a real garden. But I loved to live vicariously through the friendly and knowledgeable folks here, and tried to implement some ideas into my meager gardening space, which I thoroughly enjoyed doing!

I got somewhat inactive in gardening after having a baby in 2007, partly because I got busier with her and partly because we moved to an apartment where the patio gets NO sun. Sigh... Now that my daughter is almost two, I've started gardening again, with her "helping" me, of course :-) I'm expecting again (a son this time) in late October :-) This time, regarding gardening, I'll hopefully have things in place that I can continue to tend/modify into winter and then start being active again next spring.

I discovered that we can put planters/containers along the walls outside our apartment, and that area does get some sun, so I'm happy with that prospect... For those sunny areas, I've planted daylilies, dwarf cosmos, zinnias and portulaca. And for the shaded areas, I've planted some containers with shade annuals like begonia, caladium and coleus. And I have put in some Turk's cap (red and pink) as well. I do also have a couple of tropicals that I'll bring in during the winter, and an aloe, a cactus etc.

I know it is a very modest "garden" if you can even call it that. But I'm very excited at being able to play in the dirt again :-) and hopefully will be able to maintain these few plantings through the season... A bonus is that my daughter loves to get her hands in the dirt, help me water the plants etc. I should have some pictures to share soon; just thought I'd share my little patch of gardening happiness with folks who would understand :-)

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

PKponder TX Z7B
14 years ago
welcome back Anchita, I remember you! Congratulations on both babies and I love to see kiddos involved in gardening. I think it rounds their view of the world around us. My grandson likes to 'help' too, but if I'm not careful he pinches too much back (like handfuls of the plants). Watering is a better task, I think Ã¢ÂÂº

Pam
carrie751
14 years ago
Sounds as if you have a wonderful, if small, garden going. Congratulations, I know you will enjoy it.
Related Discussions
Just an introduction - moving to Saskatchewan!
Q
Comments (16)
Don't be fooled by the "sunny Saskatchewan" slogans. Keep in mind that Saskatoon is several degrees of latitude north of Toronto. Our winter days are shorter, significantly colder (average is about 10 degrees lower than in Toronto), and quite gloomy in the first half of winter. It's the second half of winter that you really start to see the sun. It's just that we have a greater *percentage* of sunshine in our winter days, and again, most of that is apparent in the second half of winter. Because our summer days are significantly longer than Toronto's, and with a somewhat higher percentage of sunshine in these months, we end up having a sunnier climate. I have a greenhouse but I wouldn't dream of using it from December through February. It's prohibitively expensive. Much better would be to adopt the ideas suggested by folks above to maximize the light captured by a non-greenhouse structure and supplement with artificial lighting. This will also help with cooling in the summertime. Another thing you'll have to get used to is that our summers are several degrees cooler and several weeks shorter than those of Toronto. Be prepared to handle freak frosts in early June. This means covering tender crops when required. Cool nights can occur anytime during the summer, so if you plan on growing anything that loves heat, you'll need an unheated greenhouse. If you can handle a 45 to 60 minute drive and budget for equipment, I strongly encourage you to think about buying a home instead of a condo. There's nothing that quite beats the exhilaration of having a large garden. This post was edited by Slimy_Okra on Mon, Mar 17, 14 at 19:58
...See More
New place, clean slate...(Re)introduction
Q
Comments (6)
Well, my clean slate is interesting... 1.5 acre lot, house facing due south. The southwest corner where the house is located is completely tree covered/shaded (something I've never had before) and the rest is completely open. My long term plan involves no-lawn/shade beds around the house and large perennial/native or adapted beds in the open areas. I see years of work ahead but I am ready to start. My goal is to have 25% or less dedicated to lawn as I don't believe in (or have the budget for) maintaining a "golf course" lawn. My ideas may be bigger than my wallet so I will be turning to you good folks for ideas on how to accomplish my vision in phases on a tight budget. This should be fun.
...See More
A re-introduction
Q
Comments (16)
Gail, Nice to meet you. Welcome back, although I don't think I was playing here when you were. They sure are right when they refer to themselves as Enablers-R-Us. In the past few months I have been "forced" to buy all kinds of dishes, glasses, silverware, and linens. All of which I never knew I wanted until I came over here!! LOL TTFN, Candy
...See More
Introduction and request for layout feedback
Q
Comments (58)
You wrote that you and your husband cook together. Please do a dry run of standing butt to butt - one at the range, one at the prep sink - in a 36" space to make sure this is sufficient room for you. Go through the motions of opening oven doors, trash pull-out, warming drawer, etc, as well. For instance, you won't be able to open the oven door on the right and go straight to an already opened warming drawer. The oven door will hit the warming drawer. You'll either need to open the oven door, set the dish down, close the oven door, then open the warming drawer or open the oven door, then open the warming drawer and then transfer the dish. If the oven shelf doesn't also hit the warming drawer, that is. If this is all okay with you, then you've got your plan! If not, make adjustments now. Paper changes are cheap. ;-) For instance, if the oven to warming drawer move bothers you, opt for a 27" warming drawer and put it next to the range in the 27" space. You likely won't miss the 3" of warming drawer space and may appreciate the increased convenience. A solution for the cheek to cheek situation is for someone to prep on the other side of the island. It would be a good idea to store prep items - measuring spoons, knives, etc - in a location easily accessed regardless of what side of the island one is on. Another suggestion: opt for a faucet mounted in the corner of the prep sink (make sure you buy a sink that allows this faucet location) so that the faucet can be used by people on each side of the island. I'm assuming that you'll store dishes, silverware and glasses to the left of the DW (and sink) because it would be nigh impossible to access the cabinets to the right of it. You still may run into conflicts when unloading, depending on what you store in the cabs to the right, but I'm betting they won't be items used as regularly as dishes, etc. Kitchens are all about trade-offs and only you can determine which ones you're willing to make but it's best to realize those now instead of discovering any shortcomings when the remodel is completed. Talls along the wall: this is when you put all your tall items - floor to ceiling cabinets, wall ovens, fridges, pantry cabs, etc - on one wall, creating one tall wall of storage. btw, the book I mentioned is not your typical kitchen design book. It's full of insider tips to avoid the "if only I'd known" circumstances. For instance, it talks about how French door fridges affect kitchen design unlike other fridge styles, how to deal with appliances near corners, how to avoid cabinet door/hood collisions and more.
...See More
marlingardener
14 years ago
Anchita,
Welcome! I have been here only two years, so we need to introduce ourselves. Your child is so lucky to have a mama that gardens, and your little boy will be a "dirt digger" too, I'm sure. For someone who says she has a "very modest garden", you sure have a good variety of well-chosen plants!
My husband and I live on a small farm in Central Texas. He is a city boy, I was raised in town in a farming community, and we both have taken to farming with delight, if not too many smarts! We have flower beds, two vegetable gardens, an asparagus patch, two bee hives and a small flock of hens. Please come visit our Red Gate Farm at www.rgf-tx.com and since we aren't selling anything, don't be afraid! Our free e-mail newsletter has gardening tips, photos, nature activities for families, recipes and an herb of the month. Your e-mail address will be kept confidential if you sign up for the newsletter.
Welcome back to the Texas gardening forum, and I'm glad to meet y'all!
freshair2townsquare
14 years ago
Anchita ~ welcome back. I joined last fall. We live in the D/FW Mid-Cities. We have front and back yards with almost entirely full sun & two narrow side yards with almost entirely full shade. We're also new converts to native and organic gardening. We have a 13yo who thinks gardening is very uncool and reluctantly helps me with the heavy work & two disabled 10yo's who love the outdoors and fresh air during the spring and fall.

Marlin ~ that's the first time I've heard of your farm's website - it's pretty cool.

~ freshair
marlingardener
14 years ago
Freshair,
Drop in frequently. We'll be changing photos, adding and updating information and welcoming anyone and everyone to Red Gate Farm!
anchita
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone!

Pam, I agree, allowing toddlers to handle the plants themselves can be a bit dangerous (for the plants!) I mostly let mine play with the soil and water, and if she wants to help handle the plants, I keep a close eye on her and have to say "gently" about a million times :-)

Carrie, thank you! Hopefully I'll be able to keep these alive through the summer... Now that I've started gardening actively again, I truly realize how much I had been missing it.

Freshair, I can imagine that an older child/teen might not think gardening is the coolest thing. My mom loved to garden, but at that age, even though I enjoyed our garden very much, I hardly showed any interest in the process itself. Hopefully though, the seeds you've planted in your kids will sprout when they're older and give them much pleasure and appreciation of nature.

Marlingarderner, that's a fabulous farm and website you have there! I wish we could visit in person (if you allow that, that is.) It is a secret dream of mine to have a small farm and garden of our own someday... My husband's uncle is a farmer (or rather a farm overseer of sorts) and I love to visit there whenever we get a chance. I loved your sections on vegetables and flowers.. those are the only ones I have been able to read so far. Very informative along with being enjoyable. I've bookmarked it and need to peruse the recipe section. It is a pity I can't grow any vegetables here though, because I don't know of any full-shade vegetables, and the apartment management people won't allow us to have veggies out in the public areas (only things that look "pretty" :insert eyeroll here:) I wasn't able to sign up for the newsletter though. Clicking it opened an Outlook window for me, and I don't use Outlook.. Shall I e-mail you on that address from my e-mail address that I use and request to subscribe?
marlingardener
14 years ago
Anchita,
Yes, please do e-mail us. We are putting together the July newsletter now, but as soon as we get your e-mail address, we'll send you the June issue.
There are few things "prettier" than mixed lettuces in a container. What the apt. management don't know won't hurt them and will feed you!

Just a re-introduction...

Comments (7)

PKponder TX Z7B

carrie751

Related Discussions

marlingardener

freshair2townsquare

marlingardener

anchita
Original Author

marlingardener

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Just a re-introduction...

Comments (7)

PKponder TX Z7B

carrie751

Related Discussions

marlingardener

freshair2townsquare

marlingardener

anchitaOriginal Author

marlingardener

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

anchita
Original Author