What are you growing this year ?

[Shannow]

Prolly more a downunder question, as we are well into Spring (record temps already).

What are you all growing, and how are they doing ?

Our garden this year has taken off well (admittedly water consumption is up, but planning on a rain tank when it looks like some of that is ever going to happen).

Out the front, the tree ferms and Camalia are starting to take off on one side of the house, as are the heleborus, and pansies I think she calls them. My bay laurel is looking ________, as are the silverbeet and mints (chocolate and regular).

Out the back, my blood orange, and meyer lemon are doing great, and the kiwi fruit are powering along...should get decent fruit this year. Tomato plants are thriving, as are the ________ pumkin.

Kerry's flower bed is looking good, with huge sweet pea vines about to flower. The roses are leafing and budding up again, and my Comfrey looks about to flower.

Kerry's planted a heap of vegetables in old tyres (carrots, cucumber etc). We usually put a decent vege potting mix and lots of mulch in the tyres, grow one season, then add the mulch/mix as a compost to whichever bed needs it.

My carnivorous plants are getting big and hungry (although I don't thnik the saracenas (sp) will be ready for the outdoors until next year.

It's gonna be a tasty year I think.

 

[michaelc80]

This year our tomatoes did extremely well. The rest of the garden good too.

I've added another 24' to the grapevines and will pick up another dozen or so plants in the spring. The existing grapes did great.

The strawberries were a bit of a disappointment. I think I'll replace about 1/2 of them in the spring with some fresh plants.

We had our first freeze tonight, so just about everything that is left will get pulled out this weekend. All the annuals in the front flower beds, the rest of the garden and the ornamental grasses will get taken out for winter. Time for my semi-annual bon fire to burn everything.

 

[Pablo]

The finest Columbian.

 

[Ugly3]

Corn and Soy Beans.

 

[Kestas]

My friends here in Michigan report a good year for tomatoes. I didn't get many, but what I got was sure tasty!

The problem with my tiny garden is rabbits. I call my garden the "bunny restaurant".

Strawberries did well.

Though I've always pruned my raspberries for two crops, it always gets cold around this time before the second crop ripens. This past 2 years (of 12) I've gotten an excellent second crop.... warming climate?

 

[Kestas]

Shannow, you mentioned a rain tank, which I hear is popular in Australia. I'd love to have one, but mosquitoes (and the accompanying West Nile virus) are a serious issue in my parts. Standing water is the number one no-no. Do you guys have that issue?... and do you do what's needed to prevent mosquito breeding?

 

[mechtech2]

Just tomato[e]s.
It was a bad year, with record breaking cold and rain.
It is snowing heavily right now, killing off the plants. I can't remember seeing heavy snow this early in the year.
[Chicago suburb]

 

[Carbonics]

this 7 fingered plant that stinks really bad, some guy gave me some seeds - maybe it's edible.

just kidding, we grow nothing but grass, and it's kinda hard cause we have this path that seems to be ever present in our front yard that just will not overgrow with grass! it's like something is dead underneath.

 

[Silk]

We moved to a new location last year and I put in a vege garden after many years without - an easy to work sandy soil,a welcome change after spending all my life slogging away with heavy soils.But I let it grow over again over winter as this year I wanted to change it's location.

However this weekend I shift a caravan onto that spot,and we start to build a 6 x 12 metre garage/sleepout over where my old garden was.So no garden this year,I'll put some tomatoes and a few other things in my wifes flower gargens along the north side of the house.

 

[Shannow]

Kestas,
millions of Oz kids grew up with "wrigglers" in their water (mosquito larvae). If they complained, their Dad would put a tablespoon of kerosene on the top of the water to suffocate the wrigglers.

Other than that, I've no idea.

But we don't have west nile. Ross River Fever is an issue, but it seems to be something to do with Duck faeces as well.

 

[Pablo]

I still have red peppers!! - Nice Indian summer going 70°F.

 

[moribundman]

What about your record-size yard rocks, Pablo? They came along nicely.

 

[andyd]

older

 

[jmacmaster]

Squash, cantalope, onions, lettuce, radishes, beets, carrots, corn, red and white potatos, yellow and green beans, peas, cucumbers, broccoli, cabbage, tomatos, green peppers, hot yellow peppers, maybe a couple veggies I can't recall, crab and regular apples, strawberries, rasperries, and a number of herbs. Then there's my wife's numerous patches of flowers and the approximately 50 trees and dozen bushes that I fertilize, water, and prune.

 

[Pablo]

Big Bamboo.

 

[tom slick]

Dahlias and Roses are looking great right now.
My orange tree has fruit just starting to turn yellow.

 

[moribundman]

My apples were very nice until three squirrel divisions marched in.

 

[MarkC]

I'm growing tired of looking at the masses of untended plants my X left on our patio. I will soon toss them over the rail onto what lies below.

The wild apple tree outside is full of apples, almost ready.

 

[MarkC]

The crows keep the squirrels at bay, and the raccoon is getting too fat to climb out to the skinny branches where the apples are.