For those who can still garden, post your story (for 2015).

[Maxx]

A couple of years ago we divided up our garden into flower garden for my wife and veggie garden for me. My wife has helped me get back into the veggie patch over that past month or so.We cleared out a lot of the  overgrowth and now have a couple of beds ready to go.

Today I got a nice surprise, all four potatoes I planted broke the surface over the last two days. After two days off any activity due to a flare up, I ambled round my plot and lifted the perspex lid on my spud bin to see 4 healthy looking potato plants. After such a crappy week, these four little plants did so much to lift my mood.

Weather and fibro permitting, tomorrow will see carrots & courgettes planted after yet another trip to see the doctors.

Before


Last week


Photo of spuds to follow

[Barberian]

congradulations on recovering that garden space!

[Maxx]

Part of me is proud that we got that done. The old me hates that that tiny space took 5 weeks instead of one day.

[old boy]

 


           All my fine looking seedlings are growing outside their containers, Inches a day, it seems.  Im being cautious and not putting them in their perminate garden beds.  Theres frost warnings ,scattered, for my upstate new York area, sure enough for the next two nights. I have some more seeds I am going to plant directly into the garden!

     Yes sir ree,  things that grow and reach their maturity within two months, radish, lettuce, kale, etc.  By the time they peek their heads out , all chance of frost will hopefully, have past, but one never knows up in these Catskill foothills.  I too get a lift looking in my little green house and seeing how well the new seedlings are growing.!  Also, todays rain will do a tremendous amount of good for the gladiolas and sweet peas I have bedded into the garden.  Sweet

    I started my sweet corn in my green house this year, and its about seven or eight inches high.  It will be interesting how many will survive the transplanting to the garden,  I have yet totally planed my gardens lay-out .  YOu all know , what plants do well in the shade, which need the full sun.  A friend visiting from the flat lands is looking at me strangely,  When I try to explain how fibro affects me, in regards to concentration. !!!!????

      A few know what I am talking about, it is as if I am over thinking, but of coarse it is the simple problem of where to plant the corn, the squash , the tomatoes, the cabbage and cetera.....I know the corn has to be set as not to shade the rest of the garden and I do as the native Americans of past have done, I plant most of my cucumbers and squash , right in the corn patch, they like the shade, the growing plants trail right up the corn stauks at the same growth speed. This keeps the fruit or vegitable off the ground and at a easy grab high!

    That is as far as I have gotten in my thoughts,  I will take it slowly, it will come to me as I go.  My nycity friend will just have to wait as I tell her.  Here in the country time passes slower and at a more comfortable rate ,than what she has to live with in the city,  /thanks God for letting me be a country boy!@    the way she describes living and surviving in the city, She can have it , no I never went under the linkon tunnel, the Brooklyn bridge.???  Old boy crossed through the city a few times taking the oldest daughter to the airport or picking her up.  Went broke paying the fees to cross the bridges,. fifteen dollars, ten dollars, five dollars........expensive living in the big city!

     Old boy got him a garden ,to be eating out of, Hoping I have the energy to do some canning ,like in the "Old Days" Hard to realize. I have more time behind me ,than a head.  /that's life....my mother is all wrinkly and touchy looking.  I hope I live as long to experience the gray hair, (hoping to be totally white!) experience being looked at with disgust by the younger generation...They don't know great grandma like I do !  I remember her as the hub of my life, my guide into whats happening.  She knew how to make sling shots, plant a garden, make me a kite out of branches from a maple tree...and most of all , taking one of Dads hankerchiefs. tying a separate string to each of the four corners, these strings being about a foot long each and all four of these strings would be tied to one old nut. about an inch bolt worked best!

     Toss that wadded up hanki and bolt , throw them in the air as far up as you could and what a neet parachute.  Spent a lot of time doing that toss......Yeah, I remember grandma when she was the hub of the family,  Explained growing things.  Starting a seed on the window sill , some might remember. Watching nature grow..   My 92 year old mom is down north Carolina way, watching the waves of the atlantic ocean, most probably wondering if shes older than the mighty Atlantic.  Shes complaining , I hear from the grapevine."Why did you bring me hear?" poor mom,..used to be her favorite time...sitting and staring out over the ocean,,,Getting old isn't easy, iam seeing first hand ,now,  It was some how different when ,Old Boy worked home duty and in nursing homes, taking care of somebody elses grand parents...,...

    O my,,,,sorry,  got side tracked, /but I need add one more thing to my moms story,,,,,I can identify with her ,big time, not apathy,but big time empathy.  Shes in Fibro-land...many of you all out there, know exactly what I am talking bout......our brains are older by far, than our bodies..many days we just cant get it together...I can only suggest to be gentle on yourself....it don't do no dang good to fret about it....you can take supplements,  I take "Ginko" but I forgot what fer and milk thistle has be a supplement in old boys diet, dang near twenty years,now....its fer the kydneys and liver ,which both filter the blood,,,keeping the blood clean has the effect on all the body.  know of any spot of the body that blood don't flow through????

     This har "Old Boy" got himself way-off the garden when I got talking about my mom showing me how to garden and all,,,,,keep her in you alls prayers,please? and thank ya! 

     In closing I heard a sharp whistle down by the garden the other day.  For all us living in the country, a easily idendified sound, a dang WOODCHUCK, he aint got my sweet peas ,yet,,,,mostly , because hes been eating good on all the good new spring growth, nice and tender garden full of delights, but once he grows board or them tender shoots ,toughen up, that dang old woodchuck, is gonna be a looking for new,,,,i hope I am sitting on the bank with my 22 caliber rifle, so as I can punch a few holes through the critter and it be dying of lead poising, there is a goffer plant ,I come across in the garden magazines!  Anyone have had any experience with said such, give us a story.  As always old Boy wishes Gods blessing of Better health and a long happy life to you all!

[Maxx]

I'm so happy today. pain and fatigue low today, got out in to the garden. Cleared some weeds from the drive way. Took some tree clippings to the dump. Got my carrots, onions and spring onions (scallions) seeds planted. They are a little late, but if everything seems to grow really well in this part of the world.

Got my potatoes banked up as well.

I know I took all day to do a morning's work, but I am starting to be a bit more accepting of the slower pace of life. I think I paced myself slowly enough that I'm not going to pay for it tomorrow. But it's a holiday and nothing is planned, so I can take it easy if needs be.

It's strange how something productive like this can lift your mood. I started a bit low and ended the day tired but happy.

If the weather holds out tomorrow, I'll go take photos.

[Barberian]

Well, I'm sad to report my garden isn't doing so well. I had braced myself for this "just in case". This year has been a hot one with lots of days in the high 90's, low to mid 100's. An unusually hot year, especially in what should have been a cool spring.

Last month I had what in hindsight I'm guessing was a real bad flare for about a week leaving me in bed for 4 days and not doing hardly anything the other days. Then a few weeks later I was hospitalized for a week. These two episodes, both letting the garden dry out too much pretty much spelled the end for most of it. My cherry tomatoes, beets, cantaloupe, sunflowers, and eggplant are doing ok. Radishes did well, but their season is past. Haven't dug up the purple potatoes yet, but I think they died back early and will be small, light harvest. One of two rhubarb is still alive, but weak. The rest of the annuals are pretty much dead or to stunted to do anything this year.

I've decided to focus on shrubs and trees next year with some of the plants that are still doing well this year. I'm also going to put in an automatic irrigation controller. The pipe is already in place from when I first started the garden when we moved in. I just need to replace the sprinkler heads. ALL of the gourd family plants (spaghetti squash, zucchini, a couple types of squash) got wilt except my cantaloupes and were the first to die off. I give up totally on them. Every time I've tried to grow them, they get wilt, but I usually get some harvest before they die off. This year I got a few SMALL yellow crookneck squash and one zucchini.

I'm not saying what I've done this year was wasted time. I learned, and relearned a lot I'd forgotten about gardening. Next year will benefit a lot from the compost pile I have going, and my decisions on what to plant, and how to prepare the beds. I didn't do nearly as much preparation as I wanted to because of the early warm spell in the spring. I still should have spent more time preparing the beds and planning the garden layout before planting anything.

It also got me out of the house, which I needed to do for my mental well being. I got a lot of exercise as well, even if it hurt like hell. I still spend 15-45 min a day in the garden watering, weeding, harvesting (mostly cherry tomatoes) and sitting thinking on what I've done, could have done, should have done.

[foxgrove]

  Sad that your garden didn't produce like you hoped but hey, you got some sun, you enjoyed the fresh air, you got out and did something.  Them there's good things brother!! 

Hope the rest of the season is more kind to you and to your garden.  I'm hoping that the continuous series of thunderstorms we've been having will stop and let us enjoy a few mild and calm days.  I sure need it!!  This is migraine day #3 or 4... I lost count!

[ronr]

Wettest June on record here.  It has gotten up to the 90's F but more regularly in the low to mid 80's F with some days not even making it to 80 F.  Cold and wet for the start of summer but I tell myself "self - it could be worse."

When it does stop raining it probably won't  see any precip until late Oct.

[foxgrove]

No joke... This year has had some of the weirdest weather.  Just makes you shake your head and want to dig the shelter just a little deeper.  

[denny]

Well i dont have a vegi garden so id like to tell you about my euphorbia. If you dont know what that is,some of them are reminisent of cacti with mean thorns and caustic sap. This one was about a foot high when i brought it home from the clearence rack at home depoe,the tops were rotted off,i paid $5.00!
That was maybe 5yrs ago and now its over 8 ft.tall and ull of new branches.

The wind blew it over taking my plumaria down with it.
I cant budge it! You would think i could just get at the end and pick it up.its in a pot so that would just stand up,but no!
Damn things too heavy.
So i got my machiti and gave it a wack hoping to lighten it up by cutting the tops off. Well that caustic sap sprayed out and right in my left eye,or it would have been if i had not been wearing my glasses!lucky!
Some skin irritation but its gone already.

Anyway i cut some of the tops off and its still too heavy to move. It doesnt help that i can only work at it for a minute at a time.
Thats 60seconds!
What a wuss.all i have to do is stand this plant back up and i cant.

Maybe a rope and pully would do it.

[foxgrove]

Does it look something like this?


Haven't a clue how exactly to right something that big but I'm thinking maybe something using a bed sheet to distribute the pull against the entire plant... might save the core of it anyways.  Yeah.. avoid the sap like crazy!!  Nasty stinging stuff.  I wish I could send my son to help you... he'd just pick the darned thing up and be done with it!   

[denny]

Thats the one fox!
i like the bed sheet idea!

[Robby]

I saw this a while back and have been trying to find it ever since this thread started. Then I accidentally ran across it yesterday.

[denny]

Thats nice!
I like the tray under the seat.
Looks comfy too.

I got a pitchfork under that monster and it lifted right up.
I seem to find promlems before they exist.

[Robby]

I thought I posted a link to the ebay page, you might find it somewhere else cheaper, especially if your overseas  $52.95

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/191153605432?lpid=82&chn=ps