A timely topic, Lars. I'm a bit sunburned and calloused from working on my garden this weekend.

Ready to harvest...

- lots of volunteer lettuces, cilantro, parsley (I let a few go to seed and they just keep replenishing)

- zucchini, strawberries, blackberries, lemons, onions

- herbs: basil, sage, oregano, thyme, mint, tarragon

Not ready to pick yet...

- corn (new crop for me... tested with 12 plants), figs, raspberries, passionfruit, French green beans, sweet red peppers, 2 heirloom tomato plants, lots of volunteer cherry tomato plants, watermelon

new to the garden...

- dwarf meyer lemon tree, valencia orange tree

still to plant...

- Japanese cucumber, eggplant, and more peppers, but waiting for a bit warmer weather

I'm enjoying this thread. For many of us, gardening and cooking go hand in hand. It's fun to see all the individual approaches and choices of things to grow. What a range, from the container growing of Lars' and others to Ann's raised beds to Annie's small scale farming. For sure, there is not a better vegetable than a freshly picked, home grown one.

BTW, I never used to think of gardening in terms of cost saving (although my parents certainly did in the WWII days). Now, however, with most vegetables selling in the $2.00 to $4.00 per pound range, a garden starts to pay off.

Jim

Ann, I love your raised bed garden..that's really what I wanted to go to..but time slipped away..and oh yeah..my husband doesn't do HONEY DO's very well..like Moe does!

Carol, Your containers are great!

In the old garden plot that I've been slowly reclaiming, I have 12 strawberries (several different varieties all everbearing), Shallots, Onions, 6 cabbages, lettuce mix, red lettuce, and 6 mounds of potatoes. Oh and the giant Rosemary that's been in there for probably 12 years atleast!

I made some small rows, and have yet to plant seeds in them, but I have 2 kinds of corn(luscious/bicolor and 2" Stawberry Popcorn), pumpkins (Connecticut Field~says great for carving and pies), cucumbers(national pickling), radishes(cherrybelle), butternut(Waltham Butternut) and dill(Long Island Mammoth) still in packets...

I need to find a few zucchini starts, just two will suffice. LOL zucchini loves the PNW!

Oh and some peas, beans and spinach seeds, which I hope to get two growing seasons out of.

I will also do a few tomatoes in pots, but haven't had a chance to make it to the farmers market, to buy some starts.

And being that it's the PNW..and today is June 3..it's POURING RAIN..nice soaking rain..I was just about to water the garden today..LOL

Oh and I think I should have a few dozen pears and looks like apples might be a bumper..(Thank God, cuz after last years total BUST!, I need them to produce!)

I opened up some more ground this year expanding to a 30'x50' plot more or less.

LOL! Garden season is just starting here. Hoping it does not snow on my garden. I planted some last weekend and then fretted it might be early. A couple nights it dipped below 40 degrees so I'm pushing it. The factory hit 90 degrees yesterday so warmth is on the way.

So far just peas, cabbage, and corn planted outside. More cabbage going inside along with watermelons, cantalope, and Early Girl tomatoes. When I find my seeds I'll get some more tomatoes going... Sun Gold, Roma, Beefsteak, and Rutgers from last year.

Fully expect the deer to eat every single ear of corn and most of the peas. Maybe Dolly my dog can have a talk with them.

My rosemary bush is going on three years old this summer. I have it in a pot and just move it. Repotted last year and probably should do so again. A habenera plant I have indoors is putting out fruit already. No point in shocking it by planting it in the garden now. I'll keep it in a big flower pot and let it go. Cilantro is going to be planted in batches this year. Years past it sprouted all at once. Last year I managed to dry some and store it in a jar but I prefer the aroma of fresh.

: )

Nice pics everyone! I will post a few once everything grows a bit. Not very photogenic at the moment. I have about 30 varieties of heirloom tomatoes planted and maybe a dozen varieties of peppers.

Jim, I gave up on the really hot varieties as well. Habaneros are just too dang hot! They make a pretty nice hot sauce, but I want a little flavor and not so much HOT! So I have a lot of Big Bomb (Like the pickled round peppers...heat but not too hot!) Mucho Nacho Jalapenos, Bulgarian Carrot (again..hot..but not outrageous), Cayenne, Kung Pao. For sweet I have Jimmy Nardello, Golden Treasure and Sweet Chocolate Bell.

Also, some cukes, sugar snap peas and herbs. I crank out a pretty good harvest on this 1/4 acre spread!

Duane

Great looking gardens/containers everyone! I wanted to put in some raised beds this year. Just didn't happen due to time and the ice storm took care of most of my yard budget. I did plant a bunch of herbs in containers. They are finally coming around after all the rain we've had, 10.5 inches last month. I was having to pour water off of them every couple of days.

I did find a couple of more farmers markets in the area. I hope to go and check them out this weekend.

David

I'm so far behind! So far I have broccoli, kohlrabi, peas, onions, dill, 18 tomato plants (another 30 to go), 8 sweet peppers (another 8 to go), 8 hot peppers (another 8 to go),9 cucumbers, turnips, chard and basil all planted. I still have to plant all of my summer squash, all of my winter squash, all of my bush beans and all of my pole beans.

I've had a crazy spring (on top of the weather being disagreeable.) My Mom wound up in the hospital with heart problems (She's fine, but gave us a scare.) My best friend broke her hip (she recovering nicely). My friend's father had an aortic aneurysm rupture (he's recovering! Nothing short of a miracle.) I tore ligaments in the heel of my foot and I'm job hunting (business has been a roller coaster this year. It's picking up, but May was slower than we would have liked to have seen.)

I know excuses! Excuses! I should be out there gardening right now!

"Habaneros are just too dang hot! They make a pretty nice hot sauce, but I want a little flavor and not so much HOT!"

Hab heads claim that the great thing about habs is their wonderful flavor. This is true, no doubt. I'll be happy to take their word for it. I've never been able to think about flavor while I'm in pain.

Jim

Jim, you have to do a search on the forum for Habanero Gold Jelly. Sensational stuff. It might change your mind about habs.

I'm trying to grow Naga Jolokias this year which are suppose to be almost twice the heat of Habs! I told the DH he better be nice to me.
:-)

Totally eating up all my time (my garden) and still have a lot of work to do.
Veggie Garden
Tomatoes (Heirloom Rainbow, Beefsteak, Yellow Bell, Sweetie)
Beans (bush, wax and runner)
Beets (red and golden)
Various greens (leaf lettuce, spinach, arugula, romaine)
Carrots
Squash (patty pan (my favourite), zucchini, butternut)
Peppers (jalapeno and green)
Pumpkins and ornamental gourds

Herb Garden
Chives, garlic, basil (4 kinds), sage, oregano (2 kinds), lavender, shallots, parsley, cilantro, sweatpea, tarragon, thyme

Love this time of year except my veggie garden got totally infested with weeds. I don't know whats what in one section so I hope they sprout and grow fast so I can clear the weeds out soon. That said, I'm not ready to give up anytime soon.

"I'm trying to grow Naga Jolokias this year which are suppose to be almost twice the heat of Habs!"

So you're one of those are you, boo? I wouldn't have guessed it. I've been following the escalation of heat levels over at the Hot Pepper forum. I liken it to the nuclear arms race.

Jim

Oh! I forgot to mention our wonderful raspberry bushes which have taken over a large part of our yard and property. Last year we had a banner crop, picking over 30 quarts! I ended up selling pints to co-workers and we even sold some down at the bottom of our driveway. The $$ we made paid for our house-sitter when we went on vacation. We had a tag sale last weekend and neighborhood folks were stopping by to ask, "When are the raspberries going to be ready?" Woohoo!

Mine is all planted. I grow mostly for our fresh eating and buy locally for canning.

I have:
Lettuce(s), chard, spinach, garlic, shallots, Walla Walla onions and storage onions, snow peas, radish, carrots (sorry Ann T), corn, pole beans, wax beans, engish cucumbers, jalapeno, anaheim and cayenne peppers, zucchini, yellow summer squash, acorn, butternut squash, luffa (well see if the D _ _ _ stuff grows this year), Roma, Brandywine and Sungold tomatoes, broccoli, potatoes, strawberries, blueberries, rhubarb, thyme, rosemary, cilantro, dill, parsley, basil, chives, sage, oregano and lavender.

Whew, I'm outta breath, but I think that's it!
I don't 'do' flowers much.

I've got daylilies and iris, daffodils and tulips (done for this year), but the deer eat everything else!

We've been eating fresh salads with lettuce, chard, spinach, shallot tops and radishes for a couple of weeks.
Waiting on the rest.

Like Terri said........it's the PNW and it's raining!
(Terri, it rained BECAUSE I watered the garden on Sunday...a really good soaking...figures...)

Deanna

Ooooo, I'm so jealous of your gardens! I'd love to have a few veggies, especially tomatoes, growing in pots but I don't know how to keep out the critters (chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, deer). Any advice? Although the local farmer's market is better than the grocery store, it unfortunately can't compare with home grown.

Jim, this year I'm growing everything from the very mild to the very wild in peppers. Some people on the Hot Pepper Forum really opened up my eyes as to how naive I am about the many varieties of hot peppers there are.

Now I'm thinking I need to squeeze in a few more pepper plants!

Cute asparagus babies. About 40 seedlings from a $0.95 packet of seeds.

Jim

Great looking gardens, Jim I love your asparagus babies, asparagus season is nearly over here.

At home I have tomatoes of different varieties that are either blooming or have green tomatoes on them, but not a ripe tomatoe, yet. Squash with little inch long squash on them, zucchini, eggplant, all kinds of pepper plants that are blooming, onions, cucumbers, parsley, cilantro and basil.

At the farm I have sweet corn, yukon gold and red potatoes, okra, black eye peas and blue lake green beans, if we can keep the deer and wild hogs out of it!

Do three tomato plants count?

I finally gave up on trying to grow veggies in the shade and stuck three tomatoes in the perennial beds! A Sweet 100, A Brandywine and a Ruttgers. I'm sure theyll do fine, but I sure do envy all of you that have good sunny garden plots!

I found a small patch of wild strawberry in one of my flower beds, too! Looks like I'll get 8-10 berries from it! Just enough for a snack!

Now if ya wanna talk herbs....
Sweet basil (3)
Purple Rubin Basil (3)
Chives
Garlic Chives
Lovage
Tarragon
Thyme (2 kinds)
Anise Hyssop
Oregano (2)
Italian Parsley (2)
Rosemary (in a pot)
Spearmint

You can tell where my priorities are, huh? heehee

And about eleventy-thousand perennials. Hmmm, I guess I do have a garden!

Linda

"Do three tomato plants count?"

Absolutely! If nothing else, everyone needs one or two or three tomato plants. You chose good varieties.

I need to get serious about an herb garden. That's something I really need. One modeled after yours would be good.

Jim

I'm intrigued by all of you that can grow lettuces and cole crops along side your tomatoes and squash. No can do here. Maybe in the fall I can have a completely home grown salad complete with lettuce and tomatoes, but not this time of year.

I envy those of you with room to grow dozens or even scores of tomatoes and peppers and such. One of these days I hope to have a big garden, but for now, I tuck my veggies wherever I can. I'm growing Celebrity, Early Girl, Better Boy, Sun Gold and Roma tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, and icheban eggplant so far this summer. The squash vine borers got my hubbard squash. I've tried that for 3 summers now, with no luck. Maybe I'll quit on that one.

Here's a pic of what I picked Sunday.

Sally

Sally, I envy anyone with fresh tomatoes (or fresh anything!)the first of June.

We have lots of space, just a very short season. I have lots in the greenhouse (long winter made me start everything late). In the garden... last weekend we planted carrots (6-7 kinds), beets, spinach, chard, perpetual spinach, lettuce, radishes, rattail radishes. And a 50' wide row of garlic that I planted last fall...was really glad the gophers didn't munch on it this winter.

I can usually plant beans and squash by the first of June, but it's so cold and wet I'm afraid they'll rot, so I'll wait a week or so. And I have a bunch of early sweet corn in paper cups in the greenhouse...think I'll wait to put them out, too.

Tomatoes, basil, peppers and eggplant will go in as soon as we get the plastic on the greenhouses, and the broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage will go in as soon as I can get in and till.

Now I'm really craving fresh grilled vegies.....

Well we got the garden in before the rains started. We have had over 10 inches in the last week and a half. I have several varieties of the following planted ( 2-4 kinds of each)

Peppers
broccoli
tomatoes
lettuce
peas
snow peas
bush beans
pole beans
carrots
raddishes
spinach
dill
carroway
rhubarb
raspberries
garlic
tom thumb lettuce
cucumbers
pickling cucumbers
potatoes

Then in the herb garden, several types of each
parsley
sage
rosemary
thyme
lavender
fennel
dill
tarragon
oragano
greek oragano
cilantro
basil
mints
chives
garlic chives
costmary
st. John's wort
salad burnett
feverfew
chamomile
lemon balm
comfrey
catnip
flax
yarrow
fern leaf tansy

Not including all the other plants that i have lining the driveway that DH would really like me to get off the driveway. You know that it is bad when the iris are blooming in boxes on the driveway

We have had so much rain I need to still get some things cleaned up. I have more room to plant so need to clear out the leaves and old branches and plant new things:)

Stacie
girlsingardens

OH I forgot the baby growing in my tummy:O

Stacy, I just don't know how you manage to have the time to garden. I'm impressed!

Katie, we gotta get them while we can, cause it's already getting too hot for tomatoes to produce much. Now, those little sungolds, the little yellow cherry tomatoes, keep on producing all summer long. They're the first to produce, and keep going all summer, plus they last the longest in the fall. I love them.

Sally

This is what I picked yesterday...

....okay...just kidding! This was a couple of years ago! LOL

Duane

Wow what a great collection of lovely veggies and herbs. You folks have been working hard, and I'm impressed!

Not much doing foodwise in our garden at present. I used to grow tomatoes but it's difficult where we live as it gets so hot and one is always fighting insects and disease. Since we get the locally grown Canary tomatoes year round in the markets I don't bother to grow my own any more. Neither do I do green beans as I used to. We have grapefruit and lime trees....but the hot sandy winds have disturbed this cycle of fruit all over the Canaries, despite that trees were full of blossoms. So I grow herbs and keep a plentiful supply of flatleaf parsley, basil, sage, mint and rosemary always growing in large pots or a raised garden bed. I usually always have some oregano as well but not at the moment. Here's what they look like. I've let one large parsley plant go to seed and am waiting for them to ripen. I have chives growing outside in a planter on my kitchen windowsill as well as more basil and thyme, so I can just open the window and grab a handful.

SharonCb

Boy, do I envy all of you your gardens...I must be content to plant some basil in pots and a few flowers, also in pots. My purple petunias are blooming their heads off on the front porch steps. I also have some pots of blue bocopa which are very pretty.

But.....! there is always next year! I may be helping my mom and dad with a garden at their retirement community next year! I'm so excited - I've already made lists of seeds and varieties to order. The management has set aside a large area for allomtment gardens for the residents and Mom has requested one for 2009. We've been watering her neighbor's allotment when they are out of town and I got the brilliant idea to "help" Mom with a garden next year which is permitted.

Several years ago I tried Winter Sowing on the forum of the same name in the Garden Web and had a lot of success with it - 89 tomato plants! But I am faced with small areas of all day sun on my small city lot. Then there are the children next door who are nice children....but children running everywhere.....sigh.... So, I am very excited about the possibility of an allotment with my folks. The gardens are tilled for us and there is running water and mulch available. Mom's neighbor is a petite bundle of energy who has her own small tiller as well. We've been getting lettuce and spinach from her garden when we go water it.

There's always next year!
Teresa

My "garden" consists of pots of plants and vegetables I am growing in my living room and on the balcony. I have had to restrain myself from buying more because I am going to be away for 5 weeks of the summer and nearly the whole of September, but I did buy one tomato plant, some kale and spring onions, and I planted seeds for carrots, radishes and sugar snap peas, all of which have sprouted nicely. Additionally, I have a pot of chives that has been going strong for many years. Next year I plan to add some some rhubarb and strawberries, and to try for garlic.

I decided to stop trying for chili peppers after my plants succumbed to spider mites one year and aphids the next.

this is certainly a great thread. i love all the gardens and the pix are fabulous.

annie, what i could do on a third of an acre would be heaven.

terri, if you send me your address, i'll send you some zucchini plants.

maryanne

In my raised beds I have 5 tomato plants with flowers and tiny green tomatoes, 2 banana peppers, 5 squash, green beans, kolhrabi, 3 kinds of lettuce, green onions, swiss chard, jerusalem artichoke, globe artichoke, rhubarb, beets, cucumbers and Yukon potatos ready to harvest.

Here is a picture of my herb pot that I have by the back door. I also planted some more up in the garden.
Clare

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I don't have much space, but I tuck them in where I can. (And for the first time, I have more flowers than edibles!)

I have 3 tomatoes; 1 Reisentraube grape, 1 Hillbilly, and 1 Lemon Boy.
1 container sorrel (pretty picked over by now!)
1 Black beauty eggplant in the flower bed
Malabar spinach growing on a trellis
Scarlet runner beans, growing on a trellis
Nasturtiums, growing on a trellis (I don't pickly the buds, but I do eat the flowers!)

For herbs I have:
Chives
Genoa basil
Cinnamon basil
Lemon balm
Lemon verbena
Dill
Sage
Rosemary (my Arp survived the winter outdoors in a pot!)
French thyme
Lavender
French tarragon

At work we have 2 peach trees that are *loaded* this year; two grape vines that may produce, and 4 raspberry bushes that we just put in. And plans for many more things.....

I forgot the mints!
I have chocolate, lime, apple and spearmint, living dangerously wild and free.

Great Thread! There is just the two of us, and when I finally counted up the tomato plants we are up to 80. We just can't resist when we see new kinds! The junior college's ag dept has a annual spring sale of veggy's they start from scratch, and they mostly grow heirloom variety's and very unusual plants. Also our farmer's markets have great starts!! I live and work with a viticulturalist, and part of my job is going to 30 or 40 vineyards a week. I am able to get cuttings of grapes, fruit trees, etc.,! Below the garden this spring we planted 1 1/2 acres of Dolcetto and Barbera vines. I was hand watering until we got a drip system in!
Happy Growing!

I'm jealous of all your great gardens. Here The bunny family gets all the low things
{{gwi:1527413}}
And the deer family get all the tall stuff
{{gwi:1527414}}
Oh well I guess thats what farmers markets are for!

Oh gosh, I am so jealous you all with the large planting areas! We are living in a rental with a narrow "L" shaped backyard surrounded by a 6'fence, so the sun moving across the sky as the season progresses causes the areas where a full day's worth of sun to move as well. So, I have built a shelf to get my Meyer Lemon, Nectarine & Kumquat high enough to get sun most of the day, but my veggies all must go in pots on my driveway at this time of year, and later on they will be moved up onto the front lawn when the really hot days of summer turn the driveway into a stove.

It is a challenge, because growing things like tomatoes & zucchini in pots in a really hot climate makes watering a chancy business. In July and August, I often have to water twice a day, being very careful not to wet the leaves as they'll fry. The larger varieties of tomatoes just don't work, as they can't seem to handle the inevitable variation in moisture. So, I have an Early Girl, a Roma, a Better Boy and what I think is a yellow pear cherry (it was a very vigorous volunteer from last year). Unfortunately, I fed them the wrong fertilizer and they got too much nitrogen right before 3 days of horrid winds, so all but the Early Girl dropped their first set of buds. So, the Early Girl is well along, with nicely sized green fruits, but the others are just starting to set.

I have a zucchini, that so far has kept us in as much as we care to eat, but as it gets hotter, I don't know how it will fare. I have 3 pots of Blue Lake bush beans that got pretty thrashed by those windy days, but are beginning to recover. I also have a pot of strawberries which yields enough for the occasional bowl of oatmeal, but the local strawberries are so good I generally just pick them up from the stands. I have a burpless cuke that's producing for our salads, but my pickling cuke is rather sad looking (another victim of the wind)

I have grown addicted to fresh herbs, so I've got a pots of marjoram, oregano, and chives, and a huge rosemary that I am rather sorry I took out of it's pot and put into the front garden as I have to hack at it on a regular basis to keep it in line. I've got some basil seedlings to put in today, as mine never sprouted.

I have a spare metal shelving unit, so today it is going out along the fence to try lettuces & radishes in pots. Earlier I was growing radishes in the pots under the tomatoes, but now there's no room. I've got to get some cilantro and parsley going too, as my seeds didn't sprout for those either.

Otherwise, I have managed to cram quite a bit in the way of flowers and pretty shrubs in my little plots out front. It is a series of duplexes, all with the same yards and most of the others have some scraggly Marguerites and scrubby shrubs, so there's quite a contrast.

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I'm still working on mine. Today more bell peppers, hot peppers, lettuce, pole beans and summer squashes went in. Tomorrow I'll try and get melons and more tomatoes in. I did get some winter squashes put in around the deck during the week.

The tomatoes are mostly just sulking but the stupice and tumblers have actually set some so maybe during the summer we will actually get some. The parsley and chives are great so are the rest mostly but the basil is just sitting they seem to think they should have nights near or above 60. I love reading about all of yours and seeing you wonderful pictures so I'll live vicariously.

You all sound like great gardeners....
We have about 6 Romas, 3 Beefsteaks, and asorted herbs....we have a small backyard for now.

Linda

We've been busy too...WEEDING....

Here is the 'top ten', the ten rows closest to the house. You can see the tomatoes are closest, followed by a patch of super spicy/hot radishes, then struggling peppers, sunflowers, corn, and pole beans along the back fence, in front of the fig trees. The basil is coming up, and squashes are blooming along. Three eggplants are getting there too. Carrots are wispy, but I think our golden beets are taking a dive. We would check, but we don't remember where we planted them!

My beloved shiso started sprouting.... keeping them weed free with a tweezer.

This is the 'Lower 40', four rows below the figs. Thats the area my DH was rototilling on the Gallery shots. Mostly flowers, with some monster pumpkins put in on the left so they drop off onto the flat area below to grow.

Hey we got a few

Jessy wrote: We would check, but we don't remember where we planted them!

ROFL!! :D

What do you do with your shiso? I planted some red this year, and it finally grew. I had wanted to get ahold of some Japanes Ume to make pickled plums with, but I think it's too late.

Here is my first veggie garden in 35 years. I am so excited. We have strawberries, raspberries, potatoes, cucumbers, green beans, peas, onions, lettuce, potatoes, beets, basil. rosemary, tomatoes, and green peppers. It is like my baby!
Sherry

What do you do with your shiso? Asks RachelEllen.

Mostly, I just fondle it.

My two favorite recipes for shiso is in

Sherry, that looks great. Right behind your garage?

(grin)

Hooray, Sherry, I knew you were going to cave in and plant agarden eventually. IT comes with the canning!

Jessica, I didn't have very good luck with the golden beets either, although I did get about a dozen big enough to eat. I'm wondering if they are "particular" about temperature or soil type. My Detroit dark reds were planted in the same row and did just fine. Hmmmm, you know how I am with a challenge, I might have to plant some again, I had beet "chips" at a restaurant over my birthday and of course, I just loved the darned things, they were deepfried. Sigh. Golden beet fries might make a nice color contrast....

I couldn't find any of those sungolds, and I was disappointed. Dang, I just love those things!

Annie

Jessy, what a great set up! That looks like a wonderful garden.

Sherry, I'm so proud of you! Your garden looks great too.

boo,

What about you,

You too,

Have a garden,

Don't you?

Let's have a view.

Jim

Jessy, my garden is not behind the garage. It is in the side yard, on the right (south) as you face the house. Now that we lost so many trees, I have enough sun to grow a garden. Woo Hah!

Jim, what lovely poetry. LOL! I still do not have the garden in! I'm off to a slow start this year. I did get some more tomatoes, marigolds, and nasturtiums seedlings in. I also planted bok choy & turnips which may be wishful thinking this late or this early in the season.

I have some pictures of my seedlings, but can't seem to access my photobucket account! I'm waiting for them to email me.

Here's a few shots of my "garden" around Memorial Day weekend.

Those are very healthy looking plants. You're doing a good job, boo.

Jim

Here's more about shiso (perilla). The Korean markets have big bunches of perilla leaves on sale right now. You can chop them up and put them into soy sauce for dipping dumplings or whatever.

I wish I had a garden!