Does anyone like to garden?

W

World B

0
I have a wonderful sunny area in my yard where I built about a 2000 sq ft vegetable and flower garden. I've been gardening and working with plants for years and was wondering if there are like minded members out there.
We eat all organic kinds of produce from our yard and actually sell the excess to a high end restaurant and from a stand in my front yard. It is a great physical workout and an spiritual experience like few others. Growing from seed is an amazing journey and harvesting the bounty is both satisfying and rewarding.
Sometimes I feel like I can only relate to plants and animals and just wanted to see if anyone else here enjoys gardening on this level.
What's your fav vege and flowering plants? Dahlias, sunflowers, fuchias. Tomatoes, squash, beans, pumpkins.
I actually design sustainable/organic vege/herb gardens for homes and businesses.
 
First garden this year. Got tomatoes, green, jalapeno & serrano peppers, beets, eggplant and herbs. If all goes well, we'll expand next year. Looking forward to harvest.
 
I thought about planting a garden this year, but I just don't have the time to manage it this year. I have in past years though, I love fresh squash, zuchini, peppers, green beans, etc. I do like to work around the yard though, I take price in keeping our yard looking good. I've done quite a bit to make bring it up this spring/summer, but I've got plenty more I'd still like to do
 
Pumpkin patch....every year, about 2,250 sq/ft of area, lots of medium-sized pumpkins and always try for a few huge ones! Beyond that, the wife maintains a typical garden as well. Everything is great until the heat-waves start melting stuff down.
 
I love to Garden, and plant one every year.

I have 6 different tomato plants on my patio in large pots: Patio F-1 Hybrid (determinate, 65 days, medium fruit), which is producing very well and larger than expected fruit, two Jet Stars hybrid (indeterminate, 65 days), which is producing okay (regular size tomatoes), a Chocolate Cherry Hybrid (indeterminate, color resembles deep chocolate, 70 days, 2 oz fruit size) which is already 3 1/2 foot tall (planted very early April), and producing well, and a Bush Goliath hybrid (determinate, 65 days, 8-10 oz fruit), planted late (around end of April).

In the main garden, I have some water melons and Cantaloupe, Peppers, Peanuts, and a variety of other small veggie items.

I plan to make my own peanut butter this year. :) Which rocks!


Best regards,

Chillen
 
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I took these pics about two and half weeks ago, and the plants are about a foot to a two-foot taller, and much bushier than these at present:

Pictures of the Patio F1 Hybrid (golf ball size average tomatoes, producing extremely well, determinate to about 3 ft, and ripen fruit all at once, and this week, I am getting ripened fruit, and already had a few! :) :), and its not even July! :)):

Plant 1: (has about 40 tomatoes all together at present)

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Plant 2: Has about the same amount of tomatoes, mostly in the back part of the plant at the present time)

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These patios are simply amazing for as small of a plant they are. Prolific producer: just a beast.

Picture of the Chocolate Cherry Hybrid (indeterminate grows to about 3-5 approximate feet, all summer producer to frost). A brute of a plant and is about 2 foot taller than this pic at present:

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The Jet Star Hybrid (indeterminate), starting out well, and producing fruit already. I have two of these, this is a pic of one of them.

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Unfortunately I didn't take a pic of the Bush Goliath, I will post this later.

I will be swimming in tomatoes in July, LOL.


Best regards,


Chillen
 
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I was taking a pic of the bush goliath around the 1st of June, and my Wife slipped in a little "message" and ruined the fricken pic: :)


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LOL......boy...:(


Best wishes,

Chillen
 
Not so much gardening, but I looooooove landscaping! I bought a house last year and I've been working on desert-type landscaping in the backyard. It's become a hobby for me.
 
As promised, I am posting updated pics of the:

Chocolate Cherry Hybrid

This plant produces 1 to 2 ounce medium dark chocolate (looking) tomatoes, that have a VERY unique tomato smokey taste. These are hard to find. I convinced Lowe's a couple of years ago, that if they would obtain a starter plant (or seeds) in this variety at about 6-8 inches in height, I would purchase about 25, each year (I give some to family, friends, and co-workers, and I keep two). They were great, and make sure they have them by the first week of April.

This is an indeterminate plant and averages 3 to 4 feet in height at maturity. Produces all summer long into early fall before frost. I am about three weeks out from maturity at this point (Approximately). I planted them early, I do not like waiting all summer for tomatoes.

You seen the other pictures from early June (previous post), and these are the plants now. It is about 4 foot high by about 3 foot wide, and I expect it will get about 5 foot! It is growing ridiculous! I guess it likes the cow patties in the soil, lol.

Both are in 34 Quart white trash cans, that cost about 6 bucks:

First Plant:

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Second Plant:(first one sort of blurry)

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When I get a fully ripened cluster, I will show you what they look like, when dark chocolate.

I am a hearty fresh veggie eater, and love it.


The Jet Star Hybrid Next. :)


Best wishes,

Chillen
 
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I posted some of the Jet Star Hybrids earlier. The pot-size is holding back the height of the plant (which I will remedy next year), but it is bushy, and though small is being a heavy, prolific producer:

This is a indeterminate tomato plant, and maturity is about 1 week away (65 days), is suppose to reach about 3 to 4 foot (its still growing), but I doubt it will get the high. I believe at this point it will be more bushy than big. This is okay, as long as it produces well, which is it is.

First plant:

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One getting ripe! :)

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Second Plant:


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I had one off this plant already, and it is one sweet tasting MOFO!

The patios that I posted sometime back are doing well, and ripening their tomatoes at a very fast pace, and I am currently just swimming in golf ball size tomatoes. I probably have near 100 between both patio plants!

It is near its end though. It is a determinate plant, that ripens fruit all at once, and then dies. I expect about one more week or so, before its gone. :(


The Bush Goliath is next. This was planted later, and is behind the rest.

Best regards,

Chillen
 
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The Bush Goliath Hybrid.

Determinate, though produces all summer, and tomatoes are supposed to be about 6 to 10 ounces. Grows to about 3/4 feet.

I planted this one very late, and its "several" weeks from maturity, and behind the others.

However, it is deciding to produce an overly large tomato, I would approximate at about 12 ounces. I took a pic of it, but the pic doesn't serve much justice to the size. The tomato is huge, and its the biggest I have among the others. And, the plant is only about 2 foot at present, and doing well:

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This pic doesn't do the juicy little gem justice. I would approximate about 12 ounces (or 4 ounces from a pound), maybe I try to get a better pic later.

And a couple more cluster shots of the Chocolate Cherry Hybrid:

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Best wishes to all


Chillen
 
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gardening

I've expanded my garden into my neighbor's backyard so we'll have more produce after my stuff winds down. I have 22 varieties of tomatoes along with everything else. We used the bigger squash last week to make gluten free muffins. Awesome! My pumpkins and watermelon are growing like weeds. Maybe I'll carve fitness.com on a big one. When I get the link from my neighbor I post it so you all can see some pretty cool pics.
SportsGal put the bikini on and take some gardening pics. Chillen you know if you keep the Tomatoes in containers in a sunny location and the night temp above 50 they will keep producing all winter. Move one inside this fall. I'm just getting a few red ones right now and I think I'm ahead of most growers around here.
GARDEN ON
 
World B said:
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SportsGal put the bikini on and take some gardening pics. Chillen you know if you keep the Tomatoes in containers in a sunny location and the night temp above 50 they will keep producing all winter. Move one inside this fall. I'm just getting a few red ones right now and I think I'm ahead of most growers around here.
GARDEN ON
Click to expand...

Yes, I do that, and usually have them very late fall, until its too cold.

Currently (with the Chocolate Cherry Hybrid), I am having a slight problem with Blossom end drop (the elbow portion of the stem leading to the flower, dries up, and drops off the cluster stem)

I have read on this, and this is most common with this type of plant. It can be over watering, under watering, too high of temps (post 85, usually above 90 and very humid), and too cool mornings, etc, etc, etc. So this can be a difficult problem to remedy. Temps the last two weeks have been 85 ish, and 60ish in the am, and this is ideal for tomatoes. I do not let my plants get rained on and bring them inside when it does. Have them on a water schedule, and water more-dependent on how hot it is (this is especially important in containers).

I has an uncountable amount of flower clusters, and it may be just too much a good thing, and it may be cutting some off to concentrate on others.

They are complete and utter beasts, I swear it grew over two inches last night. I do not prune cherry varieties. And rarely prune the others.

I will be watching........LOL :)

Its not real bad, but every one that drops is a tomato I could have eaten :) Especially the chocolate Cherries, love em'.


Your garden sounds terrific!

Best wishes

Chillen
 
SportsGalTX said:
Awesome pictures! I wish I was better at gardening.
Click to expand...

I am starting to pull in some Chocolate Cherry Tomatoes! had a few on a salad last night. I will update the pics to show what these rare (at least in my area) gems look like ripened. They look like small Chocolate Hershey's Kisses. :), LOL.

My Blossom End Drop has subsided, which makes me happy. I have well over 100 green tomatoes on each Chocolate. :)

Best wishes

Chillen
 
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Update on the:

Patio F-1 Hybrid (determinate, 65 days maturity)

This plant simply amazes me. I really didn't expect much production considering what type of plant it was, when my wife bought these.

I was wrong. LOL. I planted these very early, even before frost was completely gone (kept inside in mornings) and then brought out, until frost fear was over.

Its only 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall (and stretching it), and seems to be on a steroid cycle. It simply going nutty on producing tomatoes! Not that I am complaining! I am just surprised by it cause of how small it is.

Its flat stupid! :)

I already harvested about 50 tomatoes of this plant, really. Some were way above average (larger than baseballs), but on average they are larger than a golf ball in about an inch in diameter., while some near tennis balls.

Its simply a beast, and not as wimpy as compared to he vine variety. Plant after my own heart. :

Bare in mind this is ONE plant (I have two of these):

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LOL, small but tough!

Simply ridiculous. :)

I make sauces for some chicken dishes, etc, looks like I wll have plenty to do that, lol.


Best wishes,

Chillen
 
And a small update on the Jet Star Hybrid (indeterminate, 65 days), it is very short as well. Like I said before the pot is holding it back some, and I already purchased pots 3 times there size for next year. I have them in the shed. Yes, like my training and diet, I plan ahead--where appropriate.

This plant produces one of the best and most sweetest tomatoes I have ever tasted, its close (but not quite) to the heirloom Brandy wine tomato plant taste off of the vine. Nothing like it.

One plant: (have two of these, and the characteristics are the same)

Bottom portion:

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Top portion:

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It rained yesterday morning and then it got hot, which burned the edges of the leaves :(


Peace


Chillen
 
Lookin' GOOD Chillen! And I thought my tomatoes were kicking a$$. You've got some nice ones there.
 
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