I signed up for a CSA...does that count???

My seed starting is completely out of control this year. I've got 12 banks of fluorescent lights going in the cellar and 6 temporary cold frame tents holding more cold tolerant seedlings outside. I start vegetables and herbs as well as many flowering annuals and perennials. Spring has finally arrived in the mid-atlantic, so I was out until dark (well, after dark) last night putting some of those seedlings in the garden (pac choi, raddichio, endive). The garden is looking like a garden again, instead of like a weird encampment (I use low tunnels covered with frost blanket and plastic to get some stuff through the winter and give a head start to some fall-sown seeds). The tunnels are down and the fall sown spinach, mache and chervil are going great guns (pick, pick, pick, pick), the over-wintered leeks look great, and the really early spring sown seeds are starting to sprout out there too (raab, radishes, peas, arugula, lettuce). And, last year I supplemented my trusty anti-ground hog live trap with a low electric fence around the entire garden. Works like a charm (though I still trapped and relocated a bunch of 'em as well).

Aw, I’m so envious and how wonderful to hear of gardens being planned, going in and playing in the dirt! Ours is ‘gone’ to make room for re-doing our small back yard (suburbs, kinda) and I don’t expect to see a new veg garden for a couple years. We have previously planted the standard tomatoes, pole beans, peppers, lettuce, etc. Hope to expand a tad, and include heirloom tomatoes, okra, blueberries, leeks, kale and I’m not sure what else – that’s for the future. I’d like to have some indoor and outdoor seed-starting for both veg’s and a few annuals. We’ll have nothing like has been mentioned though : (

Do herbs count? We’ve yet to alter/improve the little herb garden but hope to change out the hoses for drip system (same with veg garden) and re-do the fencing around it - though what's there is keeping out the critters very well. My thyme and lemon thyme are doing well, as are the oregano and chives. Sage is coming up, mint exploding (of course), rosemary just looks weedy but it’ll survive, and I threw in some garlic quickly last winter – not enough to last me a month! Tarragon and marjoram died but will replant in May. Will plant basil, dill, and parsley of course.

Annie, DH’s grandfather cooked squirrel and rabbit, among other things, but DH has never eaten groundhog. However, we’ve got one we’d be happy to send packing! Along with some skunks. I’ll keep our bald eagles, wild turkey, geese, and deer.

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My backyard garden has been sadly neglected - especially since hurricane Irma made such a mess, but I have a number of fruit trees and about 1/2 dozen volunteer tomatoes that are loaded up w/ fruit, along w/ pots of lettuce, Asian greens, walking onions and herbs. I'm craving pole beans and hopefully I'll get some planted before the weather gets too hot here.

We're coming up to the end of easy gardening season here in another 2 months or so. I'm way behind on most fruiting plants this year, just starting to get tomatoes now, when normally January is the start of the most productive time.

I have no usable ground. I live in a townhouse and the paved courtyard as my only growing space, so I have a little hydroponic system. It was doing great this fall until the roof painters pulled it apart while trying to move it so I had to start all over just when all the plants had been starting to produce.

Here's a (bad) picture of it in a normal year in December:

Yeah, I'd rather have a ground garden, but when you don't have that option…

oh yeah! It's been miserably cold, windy, and it's still snowing here, but I've started my seeds on time. Annie, please let me know how your Fig does for you! Are you keeping it in a pot?! I was just looking into the Hardy Chicago Fig, but the reviewers from z5 (like me) said that it would die back every winter so they were lucky if they got just a few figs each year. I don't have much growing space, so... For fruit, I have a couple apple, peach, and cherry trees, along with one pear tree. All are at least 7 years old so I'm getting lots of fruit now. I also have elderberries and thornless blackberries. I gave up on my old raspberry and strawberry beds, but am thinking about putting some back in.

From seed, so far I've got 6 dozen impatiens and lots of parsley well started. Things planted or sprouting already are some basils, 6 different heirloom and 2 hybrid tomatoes (Sun Gold and Sweet 100), and several different hot and sweet peppers. Lots more to be planted, but I don't have plans to try anything new this year. A Sweet Peach hot pepper sounds good, BTW! Sorry, I've never heard of ajvar so will have to look it up.

marymd, I wish I had 12 banks of lights!!! I've got 3 banks plus some smaller/temporary lights, but one big bank went last year. Not sure what I'll do to replace it and I need to figure that out soon!

2many, your herbs look wonderful! I have snowdrops and snow crocus up but they haven't opened because the weather has been so bad. lol!

carolb, I hope your volunteer tomatoes taste good and you get your beans in. Spring is really late here. :p

writersblock, I've a lot of friends who think they can't plant due to no ground space (or very little), and a few who've given half-hearted attempts at tomato plants on terraces/patios, then quit. That tomato plant looks great, and it's admirable you make the effort to do so much. I've always liked veg plants intermingled with shrubs and flowers in a paved setting - it adds more interest and usefulness. Good on you!

Thanks, 2Many. I have to say, though, that I think for small-space urban gardening, I've never seen anything to equal this guy:

[https://www.houzz.com/magazine/lush-foodie-abundance-in-a-small-urban-garden-stsetivw-vs~53957768[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/lush-foodie-abundance-in-a-small-urban-garden-stsetivw-vs~53957768)

Of course, the relatively mild seasons in London make it easier than it is for you northerners in this country.

Carolb, are your walking onions perennial for you?

For everyone trying ajvarski peppers, I wish you better luck than I had. Someone sent me some seeds this year, but I tried 3 times and they never came up. I don't think they liked the weather here.

Oh my gosh, what an amazing garden! I've never seen a garden that size with that much! Thanks for the link, so interesting. "Rather than dig into the lawn to create a bed, he covers the grass with a layer of horse manure, then cardboard, then coffee grounds, building up layers of organic material." I remember dcarch and annie1992 telling me about something similar to this. Just tossing on (most) everything from the kitchen - no actual composting. I like how he's added bricks for the worms (when you think about it, always finding worms under rocks and bricks).

I am harvesting dill today, as all of it (which were winter volunteers) is flowering now, and I want to use the flowers in pickles. I also have some chocolate Habanero chili seeds started that I need to transplant soon. I started the seeds in March when I got back from vacation, as they need to be tended - otherwise I would have started them in February, as they take a long time to sprout and grow. I also have volunteer parley growing in the cracks of the cement in my patio, as well as some that has started by itself in pots, but it is just about over now also, as that is also mainly a winter herb. So I am in the process of switching from winter herbs to summer herbs, but I have to finish harvesting the winter herbs first.

Lol.. I've made ajvar in the past.. had no idea that's what it's called till annie said it and I went and looked up the word. I thought I was just fudging out something with what I had on hand.

But yep.. I've been planting and seeding too. My first "impatient for grow" I do every fall, usually in December in time for Christmas is potting up garlic on the windowsill, and I fire off a pot every 2-3 weeks to keep us in garlic greens through the winter. I grow a lot of garlic, including letting some patches of it grow 2 years to "clump up" so I can have littler heads for this, and just plant the heads whole. Garlic heads too small for this use I pickle whole head, and they are super-cute.

This year is a comparison year for seasoning peppers, so I'm growing several varieties that have made it past their trial rounds in previous years. Tomato seedlings are big and healthy, as are several pots of herbs. A couple large pots of a couple types of peas that I started a couple weeks ago then had to keep in the solarium because of an unexpectedly cold and snow snap just got put outside today along with a couple pots of rosemary.

Right now I have 10-12 flats of flowers, herbs, and veggies going. Some are in the kitchen- I have a large south facing bay window that I set up 3 of the 4 shelf greenhouses in front of and use additional lights on. Some are in the solarium in the south windows, and the mums and scented geraniums are under the skylight.

A bunch of what I grow is garden to table. But a lot of it is for straight up processing- canning, pickling, dehydrating.

Had to Google aspabroc.

I have a small kitchen garden and only grow tomatoes, hot peppers, herbs, and flowers. Transplanted the tomatoes and peppers March 21. Am gradually wrapping up other yard work. Worked 6 hours in the front yard a couple weeks ago doing some heavy pruning on our old Indica azaleas. Still have to weed a few areas out front and then I should be done. Just in time for the humidity to arrive. :(

Veggie gardening here in Central Florida is all back-asswards. We grow the leafy greens and lettuces in the Winter. I just went out today and got some Swiss Chard and put it in the eggplant rollatini, it was awesome. We got a late start last Fall due to hurricane Irma and the ground was so sloppy wet for too long. Finally within the last 3 weeks I'm getting some action on the collards, kale and Swiss Chard, also the beets. The lettuces have been going for a couple of months and I'm working like mad to try to get it and eat it before it all bolts, it's starting to get hot here. The Chinese cabbage already bolted early, it was good but didn't last long. We don't do a lot in the Summer, some tomatoes, hot peppers, and sometimes eggplant, everything else succumbs to disease due to humidity and of course the insects.

If I could choose only one garden plant that flourished it would be the tomato - any and all varieties.

I love garden-fresh vegetables and fruits! I look forward to super crispy cucumbers, real tomatoes, herbs, fresh tasty peppers, onions... even having too much zucchini. :) Every meal starts with a trip to harvest things. When the frost comes I even miss the nasturtiums in my salads. I'm in z5 central NY which means our coldest temps are -30F and sometimes we don't get a summer. Lol! 2016 was the most perfect gardening year ever! 2017 absolutely sucked because it was always cold and raining. 2018 isn't looking good so far. Lol!

Seagrass, I'm going to give you extra credit for that CSA. (grin) Without you, the farmer wouldn't be growing, so it's kind of gardening by extension. Yeah, that's it...

PM, I'm in z5 Michigan. Grandpa used to say that Michigan was just 3 months of winter and 9 months of bad sledding. (grin) Last year was actually a pretty good garden year, though, and 2015 was possibly the best year I've had. Last winter, though, we had several days of 25 below zero or colder, and the garlic is still growing. It's early, I'm hoping the pear tree survived, and the raspberries are starting to sprout already.

Along with the plants I showed above, I plant eggplant, beans (one green bean for canning, one horticultural bean for shelling and Elery's beloved pink half runners), sweet corn, potatoes, a couple of kinds of squash and a couple more types of pumpkin, kale, collards, leeks, cabbage, pak choi, mizuna, a couple of lettuces, okra, scallions, red and golden beets, kohlrabi, radishes, cucumbers, zucchini. That's in my "main" garden. In another spot I have 36 raspberry canes and 200 asparagus crowns, and we're putting in strawberry beds this year along with those fig trees. I have one surviving pear tree, I need to plant another as a pollinator, and I want to plant plum trees, sweet cherries and get a couple of beehives. Five apple trees, a couple of struggling peach trees, some grape vines and about a ton of rhubarb! 100 garlic plants are just starting to pop up, I'm hoping the ice storm we are supposed to have won't hurt them too much, as it's going to be accompanied by snow and wind and who knows what else.

I'll let you know about the figs, a couple of people here said that they planted them in protected locations and they did fine. I'm planting mine on the south side of a hill, with a bank of spruce trees West of them and my pole barn on the east, that's as protected as it will get here. They were $14.98 for two, so I figured I'd give them a try.

Cindy, the aspabroc seeds were a gift from a poster on Harvest, so I'm interested to see how they do. You are the one who got me first growing SunGold, although I've finally learned to only plant 3, they are so prolific. Besides SunGold I have Great White, Pineapple, Jubilee, Big Rainbow, Mortgage Lifter, Yellow Mortgage Lifter and Rutgers. I'm trying to pare down my tomato collection, LOL, last year was crazy.

2many, I've eaten squirrel, raccoon, muskrat and rabbit, thanks to a brother who hunted small game. I've also eaten porcupine, pheasant, woodcock, partridge, quail, duck, goose, and we still have venison in the freezer. Not groundhog, though, but if I feed it, I get to eat it, it's that farmer thing, LOL. You can have all my geese though, nasty messy things. The B&B across the street says they are going to change the name from Inn at The Rustic Gate to Goose Poop Acres!

Mary, I want a cold frame, so I can have early greens, but I also want a hoop house or a green house and more fruit trees and bee hives and....well...you get it. Plus Dave wants to plant an acre of popcorn and the hay field needs reseeding.

Lars, you reminded me that I need to get some habaneros in for Habanero Gold!

beesneeds, Elery says if the grandkids stand still too long, I'd can them. (snicker) I canned over 800 jars of various things last year, and we're using them up so I can do it again.

writersblock, that is one nice tomato and a good little system. Just being able to pick a fresh, ripe tomato and get a little dirt on your hands is better than no garden at all!

Carol, I'll keep my fingers crossed for your pole beans, beans are one of the things that I have to have a LOT of, everyone likes them, even the picky kids!

I walked fence today, but it's going to be a crazy weekend, if we just keep our power I'll be happy.

Annie

Now I want aspabroc seed. I recommend Piracicaba for cold spots too. It has nice flavor and keeps sending up new shoots.

I am very very late starting seed. I took my mom to see her brothers out of state. Came back and decided to paint floors - in sections. Potting soil and fresh paint aren’t a great combo. Neither are my resentful curious pets and curing paint. Lol. However I may need to try it anyway. My garden is emerging from the snow rapidly now.

I have the great good fortune to live less than an hour from two seed companies - Fedco and Johnny’s. So I went through my seed and made a list before taking a semi disciplined trip to both of them. I think I bought only 30-40 packets - if I don’t have a list I get into big trouble.

I'm way behind this year. There's still snow on 90% of my garden. I had some surgery and I'm just now getting to where I can lift a bag of soil, so I'm just now starting my seeds and may just break down and buy some starts this year. The last two years have been way too hot for the things I grow and crops were pitiful, so it's hard to get excited. That means this will be a stellar gardening year, lol.

Staying with the basic necessities, no experiments...tomatoes, peppers, a couple of eggplants, maybe tomatillos, bush beans, tongue of fire (horticultural) beans, carrots, beets, chard, summer squash, a few broccoli, cauliflower and enough cabbage for kraut. And a few rows of garlic. I know I'll miss my leeks, but they have to be started really early and I doubt I'll find a bundle of plants.

Fortunately there are a lot of people starting to raise food for sale and The Kid lives right by a great farmers market.

The volunteer tomatoes are quite fun; every plant has a different type of fruit. Some are huge, some small, some round, some pointed, & some ribbed. 1 is amazingly sweet, others a bit tart.

And yes my onions are perennials here. I have Egyptian and Welsh onions, but I forgot which is which after all these years. 1 is quite strong and cutting up the green tops makes my eyes water. The other is a bit milder, and I can't even remember which pot holds the hot ones vs. the mild.

Thanks, carolb.

Sleevendog

Actually Fedco seeds is more fun to go to - you actually get to wander through and pick out what you want. I always find something I did not intend that I want to try. Johnny’s is more corporate - someone looks your seed up on the computer and extracts it from the netherworld.

Also you go up to Nova Scotia right? I once visited someone in NS who had the most enormous Brusselsprout I had ever seen. Like 8-10’. I think they overwintered it in a bay window.

writersblock, the peppers in the bottom two right hand flats are the ajvarski, they're doing well now, we'll see how they continue. Last year none of my peppers grew well, although they sprouted they seemed stunted. This year peppers are growing like crazy, and I don't know what the difference is, other than the seeds.

sleevendog, you're ahead of me, in both size and volume, LOL. I've given up on sweet potates, I get a zillion, all about as big around as my finger, no matter which variety I try. I went for the white Nancy Hall, then Georgia Jet, Beauregard,

Agmss, now I have to go look up Piracicaba! I'm hopeful for the aspabroc, this will be my first year. I'd love to shop Fedco seeds, and Elery would like to take a trip to Maine, maybe I should map that in, along with King Arthur, the U of Vermont Morgan Horse Farm and the LLBean outlet!

KatieC, I order Lancelot leeks from Dixondale every year, but last year I got them from Jung's as I was too late. The Dixondale is more expensive, but had bigger starts, although the Jung's starts did fine too. So you probably still have time, mine won't even go in the ground for at least another month. We just got an inch of hail about an hour ago, so I'm glad most of my garden is still dormant. The only thing even peeking through is garlic and rhubarb, and they are tough, they can take it.

Annie

agmss, we have a home on the island of Newfoundland. A big road trip. But after 17 years it is an easy and a pleasant drive. (once we get past the MassPike, yikes.)

Annie, I grew up visiting Maine as a child, camping...LLBean was so sweet back in the day. Now it is a big Mall town but still fun. (ish)

Newfoundland, unfortunately, has become a 'bucket list' destination. But good for the economy. Not for the ya-hoo Spring break party crowd thankfully. Nature lovers, hikers, and hearty folk seem to visit.

the peppers in the bottom two right hand flats are the ajvarski, they're doing well now, we'll see how they continue.

Good luck with them! I hope you get enough for lots of ajvar.

Thank you. Since they're only 2 inches tall right now, it's kind of hard to project, but they are growing well, so I'm hopeful. And then I have to figure out how to can or freeze ajvar, I'm thinking it might freeze OK. Depending, of course, on the pepper and eggplant harvest! Or maybe freeze the peppers and eggplant and make the ajvar as we want it, then I could use those ingredients for other things if it suited me....

Annie

Karifurore Cauliflower = aspabroc?

dcarch

Count me in! Started tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeño peppers, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli. More to start. My sweet potatoes pooped out on me so will have to start more. Onion plants came in last week. Won't plant corn because the farmer next to me at the farmers market has the best corn and he trades corn to me for pickled beets, cakes and preserves. Will get white, red and yellow potatoes planted as soon as it dries up out there. We're supposed to have possibly severe storms tonight and tomorrow. Think I will skip the controlled house burn tomorrow. Oh, I am starting the basics in containers for a younger friend who is on disability. It will help her have more fresh vegetables and save her money. I've got the seeds, the starting medium and the know how so may as well put it to use.

Madonna

Writersblock, your deck tower is gorgeous!

Lots of options for small spaces. I grew, for the first time last season, dwarf and micro varieties on my deck bench. The dwarfs only get about 4 ft tall and require no maintenance. Practically self-pruning. Easily fit 6-8 plants in about 6 sq feet. Even on a chair 4-5plants in 1 and 2 gallon grow bags.

Never though I could grow tomatoes and veg on my deck with only 6 hours of sun being in the forest with tall trees...

I'll throw in a pic! Here's my temporary shelf where I start things.... I use the styrofoam trays from produce as my base, and I cut tags from dairy containers and write on them w/ permanent marker. :)

ETA: For anyone else interested in reusing free stuff for gardening, *PLEASE* go to your local cemetery and talk to whoever runs things! They have to deal with all of the pots, trays, etc., that are left by people who plant there. Even the wire stands used for graveside wreaths are very handy to use in the garden! If they're like my Dad, who ran our local cemetery, he'd love to see someone reuse it all. He'd always keep a shed stashed full of the good stuff. :)