container gardening.

Oh don't get me wrong - you will still attract beneficials with what you're growing too, but flowers will attract some really special beneficials, that work overtime to keep your garden beautiful!

Flowers are so easy to grow, indoors or out - many people don't realize...

: )

 

Yeah, you don't even have to touch a rose bush other than pruning to keep it from engulfing whatever corner you have it tucked away in, and once a good set of peonies are established, you can just wait to reap the aesthetics for your flower pot.

FYI, peony leaves are a great backdrop or accent for your flowers because they'll last forever! This year, my mother only used one set of branches for the entire flower crop!

 

lol...looks like i'll have to look for some peonies guys....:) thanks...

 

I'm going to attempt to collect a tuber or two this winter from mine if you'd be interested then.

 

i'm ashamed to ask, what is a tuber?

 

A tuber is...

: )

 

I'm not completely sure, because I haven't dug anything up yet, but it's a division of the root system with a few 'eyes' left on so that it grows back the next season when planted.

http://www.adn.com/life/gardening/lowenfels/story/508246.html

 

sorry folks for my delayed response. and thanks for the offer shearme. it's easier to pick up some peonies. been busy making arrangements for having some of my trees cut. as it turns out, a few of them have canker. as they say, (i say) early in, before the beetles that is. what a job. it was amazing to watch them work. scary even. and who knows, just maybe, there'll be less spiders. :) hope all is well for all.

 

It's ok; we cut our trees ourselves today as well! It's not done, but we'll continue cutting off the dead stuff tomorrow because my mom got hot. It seems we now have a bush in our front yard, but then you realize it's tree clippings. :P

 

funny about the tree clippings, lol. we've been there. exhaustion playing tricks on your eyes. we normally cut our shorter trees as well. however, the trees that i was refering to were our minimally 60 ft pines (spider heaven). more than we can handle. it was amazing to watch those men climb, organize and remove those overwhelminly heavy logs. when they dropped, it sounded as if the earth would open up. dangerous stuff.

 

Oh cool. Did you sell off the logs to paper companies? XP

 

sorry, it's been awhile. actually no shearme, they took the wood with them. to be honest, we just wanted to get rid of it. the backyard is now just starting to look better (or perhaps we're getting use to it). it's nice, just bare. how are you hollyberry. hope things are good with both of you. how did the seed exchange go. i just tried to post pictures but was unable to.

 

Hello Sandpebbles!


: O


Long time no talk. I just click 'go advanced' and then click 'attachments' and then 'browse, so I can download them right from my personal picture file - pretty easy. Hope you figure it out...

Seed trades are going on all over the place! I am getting so many great things. Hope all is well with you too, and looking forward to seeing your pics.


: )

 

Oh, well it would be cool to have done something with a few of the logs if you had any carpenter tools; good wood like that shouldn't go to waist.

 

thanks hollyberry. it's good to hear from you as well. how are you shearme. i'm sure you're right about the wood. i'm sure those guys put the wood to good use. they often time make mulch and offer it to whomever calls. it's a nice way to get good quality, free mulch and give back. right now, one of my challenges is to get pass the hornworns that showed up on my tomato plants. :) hope everyone is having a good growing season. i read in another blog where someone is planning to turn their garage into some type of hothouse to overwinter their plants. unfortunately, they didn't go into details as to how to set it up. anyone of you guys familiar. so hollyberry here goes. hope this works.

 

Those look Scrumptious!

I think to turn your garage into a hothouse you'd have to add insulation to all the walls, remove the garage door and put in a wall with a draft-blocking door (or simply apply that wall halfway through your garage) add a vent for heating connected to your central heating system, and some other modifications. Basically you'd be adding another small room onto your house that only gets heating over winter.

Here's a link to some smaller "Hot Houses" your could put in your back yard with a small space heater: http://www.thefind.com/query.php?query=garage+plant+hot+house

I've heard of banana growers building green houses right over their banana plants to save them from winter frost - even in Germany!

 

hey hollyberry, i uploads a few pictures but not all showed. is there a limit. also i don't have pictures of my tomatoes. i suppose we were to busy eating and forgot. :) i'll have to do better next season. thanks for explaining how to post pictures. enjoy.

 

hello shearme, good to hear from you. you seem to know alot about construction. wow. i really appreciate the link. thanks for the compliment on the plants. as you know, it was a labor of love. i'm estatic i was able to recover most of them. i plan to send hollyberry some peppers/seeds. is there anything that catches your eye. do you like hot peppers. i'm also growing pimentos however i may only be able to send you seeds to that one as they're not quite prolific. i also have lemon drops (the thiner long yellow pepper posted) that's not quite as hot. let me know.

 

Do I like hot peppers?!!!


: O


ShearMe can tell you that I not only like them, but I am totally and utterly addicted to them! Head over heels in love. Yours look terrific and I would just love to have some of the seeds, Sandpebbles! Here are some kinds that I am growing this season, as well...


P.S. Great you figured out how to load your pics - they're gorgeous. I am not sure if there's a limit on pics per post, but just do a second post if you need to as well.

Anyway, here's some of my peppers. They are extremely ornamental and ripping hot as well...
: )

 

We both enjoy pepeprs, but I don't have a huge lot of space and it is only my first year gardening. Next year I plan on having loads of edible plants all around the house and blooming flowers in the front. I only hope the weather will be as nice as this year's - we've gotten rain at least once a month as opposed to never in previous years(its raining right now)!

I have some honeydew melon seeds right now and will have some peppers by winter and loquat seeds by early summer.

 

Yes, ShearMe enjoys peppers a lot, but I live for them! They are always around whether it be Summer or Winter - I've always got one or ten on the go!!!


: O


I just bought a gorgeous beauty today because I couldn't resist - two actually. It's called 'Masquerade', and here it is...


: O

 

hey shearme, i'm glad to hear you also like peppers. this is also my first year of container gardening. you sound disciplined. good for you. my next challenge is overwintering. and since i sorta went crazy :) i now have to choose which makes it tough. tell me, which peppers interest you; ornamentals or edibles. do you prefer hot, med or mild peppers. are you a big fan of salsas. i'm now mailing seeds as i have much more seeds than i could ever grow. i also have various tomatoes. so don't worry about trading. i've had quite a few seeds sent to me for the same reason.
so hollyberry, your plants are stunning, as usual. that masquarade is unbelievable. is it edible. i understand most ornamentals are. i don't know...what do you send for the lady who has all the latest peppers. perhaps tomatoes. LOL... :) thanks for the compliment on the plants. so hollyberry, what are some of the names your peppers posted.

 

I sound disciplined? I hope not too much. :o

HBL gets on to me about it, but I don't really enjoy tomatoes in the slightest. Because most salsas have the same taste as a tomato, I don't really enjoy them either! Peppers I've grown to like even though they're not far from tomatoes, but I like how they aren't juicy in quite the same way. I'm a big wimp when it comes to hot stuff, but I do enjoy cayenne in soups and on meat sometimes as well as some of the weaker jalapenos.

I only have some gypsy sweet peppers growing right now, but I'll be trying as many as I can fit into our yard next year. I will also be giving the hydroponics system a go in the outdoors; I'm thinking a pepper plant or two, some herbs and some strawberries in full sun!

 

Here is my first ripening 'Gypsy'! Should be fully red in a few days...



: )




P.S. Another post coming up...


Ok Zac, I hear ya - YOU HATE TOMATOES!!!

 

Hello everyone,
Reading this thread has made me so excited. It's great to see people gardening so successfully in containers. Your plants all look beautiful. I just got a whole bunch of pots to feed this growing obsession with growing food that I have. I've most of my garden on my patio right now, but I'm planning on growing both hot and sweet peppers and tomatoes inside this winter in my south facing window. I'm impatiently drying seeds from a friend's hot pepper plants - too excited to start! I have a couple questions if you have the time. Do the plants prefer plastic or clay pots? Do you have any recommendations for types of sweet peppers that ripen quickly? Lastly, how do you collect and prepare tomato seeds for growing? My neighbour gives me his tomatoes, and I'd love to grow them from his, which are delicious.
I just love those purple peppers of yours Hollyberry Lady, too pretty! What are they? (The ones that are the plumper, shorter variety with the dark leaves)
Thanks
Kamiry