Are you starting on your gardening journey this year? Maybe branching out to some new-to-you plants? Trying out a new style of gardening?

Share your questions! Share your plans! How can we help you grow something wonderful? What do you wish you knew more about?

And remember, if you don’t need this thread then this thread needs you!

  • PelicanPersuader@beehaw.org
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    10 months ago

    Good options for vegetables or herbs to start from seed in zone 7a? I’ve only had success with marigolds and thai basil from seed, and I’m working on a more limited budget this year, so I’m trying to do more seeds rather than starter plants. Also considering trying peas this year.

    • LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.orgOP
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      10 months ago

      Peas and beans should be great for you, and they’re also some of the easiest plants to get started saving seeds for future seasons. They can make your garden beautiful to look at too - dragon langerie is a variety we grew last year and it’s stunning.

      Warm season crops like peppers or tomatoes, squash family plants like cucumbers and melons might be good for you too. 7a has (to me, a zone 5 gardener) sort of a Goldilocks season where you get generally good temps and a long growing season, without having the sort of heat that just kills things like in zones 9 and 10.

      • JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl
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        10 months ago

        Beans for sure. When it is a wet year I pickled beans because I had so many that I couldn’t use lol.

        I have never once had peas work in 3 years of trying. Here in Belgium we had a year with sun, year with not much and a lot of rain, then a year of half full sun and half full rain.

        The peas have never made it more than 8cm tall and refused to grab onto nets, string, bamboo, anything u put near them.

        Moved to a new house and might try again though.

  • CounselingTechie@slrpnk.net
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    10 months ago

    Getting the last set of pots this weekend, got large terracotta ones that I am going to be having ollas in with some container style tomatoes and peppers. Maximizing space without necessarily building more raised beds as I don’t have the stuff for that, right now. Waiting on one of the local stores to get plants started for selling so that I can transplant them into my garden beds. Going to try okra this year! Determined to see how it works!

    • LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.orgOP
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      10 months ago

      I think ollas are a great addition to the peppers in particular because of how sensitive they are to sporadic watering, great call!

      • CounselingTechie@slrpnk.net
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        10 months ago

        Yep! they are also good because they are a deep root watering too! I used the ollas last years for my dynamite peppers and banana peppers, and they were wonderful honestly.

  • xylem@beehaw.org
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    10 months ago

    Starting a new garden after moving from an apartment to a house last fall. Planning to do two 8’x4’ raised beds with some scrap wood and put a squash tunnel between them. I’ve started 32 onion seedlings indoors and will be starting the brassicas this weekend!

    Also thinking about getting apple trees - any suggestions for good varieties to grow in zone 6b (New England)? It’s tempting to get a honey crisp but I hear they’re pretty hard to grow.

  • cratedigger@lemm.ee
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    10 months ago

    I’m getting back into gardening after a 15 year hiatus. Zone 6b. I started 3 raised beds in the fall. Sowed 2 with winter rye and covered one with leaves. I’m going to work some soil conditioner in that one and start some lettuce, kale, radishes, carrots, and turnips soon. My mini soil blocker arrived today, so I’ll start peppers indoors soon. I’ll plant those and tomatoes in the other 2 beds - trying to do no till from here on out.

    If I have room, I’ll put in some zucchini and winter squash and a melon.

    I’m also trying my hand at doing some containers with dwarf peas and herbs.

    Finally, I’ve never really done flowers, but I’m having a go at nasturtiums, calendula, marigolds, and sunflowers.

    I really need to get some fencing up because we have a lot of deer!

    • LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.orgOP
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      10 months ago

      Welcome back to it! If you’re not familiar with Farmer Jesse yet I’d highly recommend the No-Till Growers podcast or youtube channel depending on your preference. And flowers are great mixed in with the vegetables! It might be worth adding in some small flowered plants you enjoy, like Allysum or just about anything from Apiaceae, for parasitic wasps to feed on while defending your garden.

  • trev likes godzilla@beehaw.org
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    10 months ago

    Balcony gardener here. Had a death in the family so my garden was neglected unfortunately, but it’s bouncing back (as am I). My cabbages aren’t as big as they were last year, likely because I used slightly smaller pots and let them wilt too often, but wife should be able to turn them into kraut for sausage dogs. We did that last year and ended up with a pretty decent jar-full, which was pretty cool.

    This year I over-wintered my peppers for the first time, and they’re starting to bounce back so I’ll probably transfer them to larger pots soon. I’m already looking forward to watching them come in :) they’re my favorite plants to grow. I have shishito peppers, snack peppers, cayenne, jalapeno, and dragon roll peppers. I like my peps!

    Mint is looking okay, it’s coming back after being neglected, but it’s basically a weed so I’m not really worried. I’ll have to buy more basil starters, I didn’t prune it well and it didn’t survive being over-wintered.

    This is all on top of the usual annuals and ivy and ferns and such. It’s basically impossible for me to go to the grocery store without bringing home whatever discount plant I find, lol. I don’t have too much room to work with, but I’m doing some vertical gardening as well by mounting shelves to put smaller pots on. It looks good from the street too. I get compliments when I’m out there, and it always makes my day :D

  • Rin@beehaw.org
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    10 months ago

    Not sure if the first part of my question counts, since it’s about indoor plants, but I have an aloe plant and haworthia (I think is what it’s called) and while the haworthia is doing well, the aloe plant started to have it’s stalks in the center turn brown. I’ve tried giving it more sun like someone recommended to me, but it doesn’t seem to be improving. However, it does seem to still be growing.

    I have one outside plant, a hyacinth, and it’s already started to come up, which is exciting even though it started kind of early(?) but I had a question. When it initially bloomed, it was super top heavy and flopped over. I couldn’t get it to right itself no matter what I did. Anyone got any tips?

    I might be able to plant some more flowers this fall, but I’m not sure what to go with. I would love to do roses in memory of my grandparents, but I don’t think they would do well in my area.

  • toxoplasma0gondii@feddit.de
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    10 months ago

    We will try and start to work on our garden this year. Bought it together with our house nearly 3 y ago and only did some cleaning to not let it completely overgrow.

    We will start extremely basic with seeding a little bit of lawn and a wide stripe of wildflowers on the sides as we don’t have a lot of time this year as new parents.

    There is a walnut growing that we had trimmed last fall and some old Raspberrie plants that reproduce via the root. guess ill try and gently push it to the parts of the garden id like it to grow over the next few years.

    Ultimately id like to swap the lawn with an ecological and easy to maintain alternative that my kid can play on and go full eco with wildflowers, bee hotels, cairn and what not at the edges of the garden.

    Do some of you have a recommendation for a grass alternative that fits middle European weather that will not need loads of water to survive a harsh summer?

    • LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.orgOP
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      10 months ago

      Hey congrats! Your plan sounds awesome, and the little one is sure to enjoy the natural beauty you’re looking to foster.

      Another way you could easily push the raspberry out to more spaces is by taking cuttings; when you remove canes during pruning, cut them into 20-30cm (8-12 inches) pieces and poke those into the ground where you’d like more. Keep one or two buds above ground, with one at the top of each cutting. Blackberries, currants, elderberry, and willow (Rubus, Ribes, Sambucus, and Salix) are other plants that can be easily propagated by this method.

  • Wahots@pawb.social
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    10 months ago

    Got some daffodils planted late, so I’ll see if they bloom! Also planted some potatoes. I’ve got some hostas and colombine ready to go, but I am waiting to plant them after the last of the frost next month in a USDA region 9b. My maidenhairs got wrecked by hard frosts but are starting to unfurl new fronds :)

  • Butterbee (She/Her)@beehaw.org
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    10 months ago

    I’m still not 100% sure we won’t get another frost so I’ve planted some spring onions knowing that there’s a chance they will not make it. I plan to put some marigolds with them this year, and then to put some decorative plants behind them in the harder to reach area of the plot.

    • LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.orgOP
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      10 months ago

      I pretty much expect a late frost every year - planting guides around us say not to plant outside before mothers day. I’ll still sow early season brassicas so we start getting delicious greens as early as possible though. And I love putting marigolds in with our veg, great choice!

    • CounselingTechie@slrpnk.net
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      10 months ago

      Honestly, one thing to look at would be using ollas, or terracotta pots that irrigate the plants for you. It is an easy way to once to twice a week water your plants. I use it almost exclusively in my gardens because my work schedule is too hectic sometimes for daily watering, plus it is much more effective in deep-root watering.

        • CounselingTechie@slrpnk.net
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          10 months ago

          Of course! If you have any questions feel free to post around here too! There are a few different places to get seeds or plants from that are container friendly, which can help for something easy to work with.