1. We've had very few donations over the year. I'm going to be short soon as some personal things are keeping me from putting up the money. If you have something small to contribute it's greatly appreciated. Please put your screen name as well so that I can give you credit. Click here: Donations
    Dismiss Notice

Food Growing Your Own Food

Discussion in 'Tilted Food' started by Baraka_Guru, Mar 14, 2012.

  1. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I went seed shopping last weekend. I bought seeds for basil and cilantro to start inside now. I also bought two kinds of beans (Royal Burgundy and Dragon's Tongue: Beans - Dragon Tongue Bean). I'm excited about the Dragon's Tongue beans because they can be both a snap bean and a shell bean. I also got radish seed and salad mix seed. I'm going to acquire some soil for my containers soon and get started. Come fall, I plan on constructing a cold frame for my lettuces using an old window :)

    I was out in my herb garden this weekend getting it all cleaned up, and boy oh boy do I have a LOT of parsley. I suppose I'll be making a lot of pistou this summer. My Italian parsley reseeded itself so well that I have four large parsley plants already, without any work on my part (I completely ignored them). Any parsley-oriented recipes are appreciated :)
     
    • Like Like x 2
  2. PonyPotato

    PonyPotato Very Tilted

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    My patio garden currently consists of kale and green onions. I will be adding herbs (likely lemongrass, basil, and rosemary), tomatoes (like Baraka, I'm addicted to yummy grape tomatoes), bell peppers, and potentially a couple other plants dependent upon time/space. Thinking about lettuce, but its flavor often depends heavily upon soil, and I don't have a lot of control over that, other than adding some good planting soil when I prepped the beds and pots.
     
  3. Ayashe

    Ayashe Getting Tilted

    One thing we would always do when planting tomatoes in containers or otherwise is plant lettuce at the base of the tomato plant. To much sun and lettuce tends to get bitter so they make great companions. Never tried it with spinach but my guess is that it would work just as well.

    I have also done the upside down tomato plant, they sell the plastic bag like containers but I just used a painted ten gallon bucket. The handle makes a great hanger and if you rough up the bucket with a little sandpaper it paints up nicely so it is a little more attractive. Mmm... fresh tomatoes...
     
    • Like Like x 2
  4. fflowley

    fflowley Don't just do something, stand there!

    Never heard this one.
    Lettuce like a greens mix, or actual head lettuce?
     
  5. Ayashe

    Ayashe Getting Tilted

    I did this with a leafy lettuce like buttercrunch etc. It could maybe work with head lettuce but I have personally never tried it before.
     
  6. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    It works with both. Greens in general tend to get bitter if they are exposed to too much sun/heat. At the education garden I volunteer at, the garden is designed so that the rows with greens are shaded by taller plants come midsummer.
     
  7. Ayashe

    Ayashe Getting Tilted

    Voila! One of my faves here.
    Tabouleh

    Ingredients:
    2 large bunches of flat leaf Italian parsley (approx loosely packed 6 cups), bottom stems removed, finely chopped
    Leaves of 4 mint sprigs (approx loosely packed 1/4 cup), finely chopped
    Little less than 1/2 cup bulgur wheat (approx 2 1/2 oz)
    1 1/4 boiling water
    1 small onion, diced
    2 Roma tomatoes, diced
    Juice of 2 medium juicy lemons (approx. 1/2 cup)
    6 tablespoons mild olive oil or a mix of both olive oil and canola
    1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

    Place bulgur wheat in a medium bowl and pour boiling water over it. Cover with saran wrap and let sit for 20-30 minutes for the water to be absorbed, while working on assembling the rest of the ingredients.
    Add parsley, mint, onion, lemon, oil and salt and mix well. Check if bulgur wheat is puffed and ready. It has a chewy texture when ready, drain from excess water and add to parsley and mix. Let sit in the fridge overnight or two.
     
  8. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    I need to do some gardening today. I pulled weeds last weekend for the first time this year, and now have to put the stakes in the ground because my plants are so high. They are about 1 month early this year.
     
  9. SuburbanZombie

    SuburbanZombie Housebroken

    Location:
    Northeast
    We have a nice little veggie garden out back. We typically grow a couple different tomatos, cukes, peppers, zucchini and eggplant. Tried corn a couple years in a row, but never got much of anything off the stalks (I think there wasn't enough space between plants). Tried watermelon for the first time last year. It took over the garden. I mistakenly cut the fruit off the vine instead of waiting till it almost fell off. Got a lot of unripe fruits. Trying again this year.
    Eggplant should be real easy to grow in medium sized pots. My plants have never gotten very large, but had a good yield off them all summer.
    Beans and peppers are easy and small with good yields. Brussel Sprouts don't take up a lot of space. They grow in a nice straight stalk. Squash plants can get really large but the yields for us have always been to the point of "no...please...no more...".
     
    • Like Like x 1
  10. aphex140

    aphex140 Vertical

    Location:
    GB
    I love my little veg patch. Always grow a few items never had any joy with carrots though ! This year it is sugar snap peas, these never make it to the kitchen as we all munch in the garden, onions and asparagus - although the asparagus is a time and space hogger as you need a dedicated space or bag ( like potato bags) as they are harvested on your second or third year.Tomatoes in pots and Potatoes in my veg patch and on the patio in a bag.

    Never had a good as fresh from the garden !
     
  11. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    We have a very special treat in our balcony garden. Earlier this week a morning dove decided to nest in a basket that hangs from our railing. She has kept us company all week, and seems to be here to stay.
    [​IMG]
     
    • Like Like x 2
  12. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I got my lettuce and radishes planted. Today, I'm packing some dirt in for the kids at school and the rest of my lettuce seeds. We're going to plant a cut-and-come-again container in a salad bin.
     
  13. Stan

    Stan Resident Dumbass

    Location:
    Colorado
    Growing season where I live is painfully short. We'll grow some basil and cilantro, nothing else seems worthwhile. We've had success with grape tomatoes as a house plant; but Molly loves them and will eat them right off the plant.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  14. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    No garden, but we grow some of our own herbs, like basil and rosemary.
     
  15. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    With all the fooding you do, you should consider putting in a low-maintenance garden. There are a lot of things you can grow with minimal care if you have a sprinkler on a timer, such as cucumbers, radishes, lettuce. All of those can also go in containers if you don't want to fool around with putting in beds.
     
  16. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member


    My wife wanted to a couple of years ago, but there are few things driving me against it. One, I've spent a massive amount of time and a fair amount of money getting my lawn to look really, really nice, and I hate to till a section of that up for a garden. Two, I have a giant horse that I call a dog that has free reign of the back yard, and who I'm sure would love to tear up the garden and/or pee all over it, requiring us to fence it in.
    Three, we way have a ton of rabbits in our neighborhood (the dog considers them his buddies, he refuses to chase them out of the yard), again calling for a fence that I don't want. Four, I travel too much to care for it properly and am 99.98% sure my wife would lose interest after about three weeks.

    I hadn't thought of the separate container thing. That could be put on our patio table if we wanted to do a few small things. Hmm.
     
  17. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Yeah, you don't have to go whole hog. I really think it is best to start small in order to gauge your interest in gardening. Personally, I love to get out there and get dirty, but that isn't for everyone.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  18. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    Yeah, start out with a small something, see if you can keep it alive with your busy schedule. You may prefer the quality of your own garden and choose to plant a little more. If you bite off more than you can chew with gardening, it becomes a chore.
     
  19. martian

    martian Server Monkey Staff Member

    Location:
    Mars
    So I'm thinking about starting my own herb garden, now that I have a nice outdoor space. I've been advised that mint, thyme, oregano, rosemary, green onions and chives are all good starter plants. Here's a plant dummy question: when should I be planting these? It's still pretty chilly out, so I'm not sure if it's appropriate just yet. Is this a time-based thing, or are there specific parameters I should be looking for?

    I am so out of my depth on this.
     
  20. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Victoria Day weekend, dude. It's a Canadian tradition. (Though many jump the gun.)

    It's generally considered the weekend when the risk of frost has passed.