




One reason I started to grow my own veggies - to get a tomato with some FLAVOR ! All the supermarkets near me are supplied with these flavorless hybrids designed to bruise less easily and have a longer shelf life. Now I grow my own fat , juicy beefsteak and cherry tomatoes that taste like Tomatoes and not cardboard. Plus I enjoy it. Except for the continual weeding lol.





There is nothing better than a Homegrown Tomato
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TWwyhCVBDg





When you tend to the soil properly, the weeds love it too.
I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.





I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.
I found an easy gardening activity to do with my daughter! Planting flowers to repel mosquitoes! We have some nice stone planters lining our patio that I put Dusty Miller in the center (Doesn't repel mosquitoes, but occasionally will regrow multiple seasons) and surrounded it with orange and yellow Marigolds. I have a low hanging planter that we put blue Fossflower (Ageratum) surrounded by white Allysum (doesn't repel but it is cute). I have a couple of catnip plants that I want to put in the center of my raised vegetable beds because the look super nice when they flower, are perennial, and I can split them up for transplant. I am on the search for citronella grass too.
Here are some other mosquito repelling plants that are either pretty or can be eaten:
Basil
Lemon Thyme
Sage
Rosemary
Geraniums
Lavender
There are tons more plants and natural repellants you can make too. http://bestplants.com/plants-that-repel-mosquitoes/





^^^ Same with my family, for generations. Growing your own tomatoes, and making / canning your own tomato sauce, is arrguably the only way to get 'real' flavor anymore. For me, that 'real' flavor actually starts with the varieties of tomatoes grown for sauce. My personal favorite sauce varieties are San Marzano and Opalka.
This absolutely works !!! And different flowers can accomplish a lot more than just repelling mosquitoes. In fact, this is part of a large body of 'traditional' pseudo-science - companion planting. See andPlanting flowers to repel mosquitoes
Last edited by Melonie; 05-09-2015 at 05:28 PM.





I'm trying to get my husband on board with gardening. Subscribing to this thread to get ideas for a garden.
I used Polish tomato, they are sweet and shaped like pepper. This is so far my fav tomato!
Under sause i mean, that i just blended them and boiled a little, in some i put salt in some not, cleaned mason jars after steamed them with water.
I made also jams from black berries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, i will try to make also from rhubarb.
And i marinated/pickled watermelons yumm.
Last edited by MissJu; 05-11-2015 at 09:31 AM.





Yup, that was the Opalka variety I was talking about ...I used Polish tomato, they are sweet and shaped like pepper. This is so far my fav tomato!
Speaking of pickling, I finally had my grandmother's Harsch crocks shipped down to my 'way south of the border' address. These use a pickling process using yogurt bacteria ( instead of vinegar ), and produce fantastically tasty ( as well as healthy ) pickled 'anything'. This year I'm planning on pickling cucumbers, peppers, and also red + green cabbage sauerkraut ( which is impossible to find down here ).And i marinated/pickled watermelons yumm
I also found the perfect way to 'sanitize' the crocks before putting in the vegetables ... 190 proof Polish vodka
Last edited by Melonie; 05-11-2015 at 11:04 AM.
IMG_6310.JPG
I planted Grandpa Ott and Heavenly Blue morning glories all around the perimeter of my yard. These are some of the Heavenly Blues. This section was so showy this morning! For reference, the blossoms are about as big as my fist. They stay open late into the night, sometimes into the next day. So beautiful!
Ty Melonie, i like word Opalka. I bought seeds but non of 100 seeds sprouted. none!
I have been trying to make sauerkraut but it does not come up as my mother's sauerkraut. Maybe i should get that crock..





Like many 'heirloom' plant species, Opalka tomato seeds are fairly hard to germinate. Personally speaking, I use a clear cover seed starter tray ( that keeps moisture from escaping ) and a heat mat ( that keeps the starter potting soil at 75 degrees F or so all the time.Ty Melonie, i like word Opalka. I bought seeds but non of 100 seeds sprouted. none!
Before I moved 'way south of the border' and left my grandmother's Harsch crocks behind, I used them to pickle all sorts of different vegetables. Now that I have them back with me again, I'll be pickling my butt off this year !I have been trying to make sauerkraut but it does not come up as my mother's sauerkraut. Maybe i should get that crock
The Harsch crocks have a form of primitive 'airlock' that really helps the fermentation process be successful by keeping out 'bad' airborne bacteria. The half-round cover stones also insure that whatever you're trying to ferment is always totally immersed in the brine solution even if fermentation bubbles try to make things float ( if fermenting food isn't exposed to air, no 'bad' bacteria can get started ). I also add active yogurt 'juice' ( strained through a coffee filter ) to help start the fermentation with 'good' bacteria. My best sauerkraut ever was the result of mixing both red and green cabbage.
The Harsch company is now out of business, but similar pickling crocks are available from other suppliers. See
Last edited by Melonie; 05-11-2015 at 03:45 PM.





With that warm moist, climate way down south, how do you avoid/treat powdery mildew?
I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.




^ I'm having the same problem with my squash plants.
^ I've read that neem oil applied preventatively and avoiding overhead watering are good tactics.





^^^ To minimize mildew problems, I exclusively use soaker hoses at ground level... no excess water on plant leaves by watering from overhead. I also trim off the first 12" worth of leaves from mature plants to try and keep rain bouncing off the ground from hitting the underside of leaves. I also use 'plant collars' to isolate my young plants' leaves from the ground as much as possible until they grow tall enough to trim ...
I also space my plants much wider apart ( like 3 feet ) than I used to in NY ( like 2 feet ) to allow maximum air circulation ( and limit the ability of one infected plant to transmit the infection to the plants next to it ).
Applying mulch around the base of my mildew prone vegetables also helps to some degree.
For squash in particular, I had such serious mildew problems when I first moved 'way south of the border' that I tried using tomato cages over my squash plants last year. This helped quite a bit by keeping leaves farther away from the ground. But eventually they succumbed to mildew anyhow ... but not before I was able to harvest 3-4 good sized squashes from each plant.
For some types of vegetables, I also 'cheat' by selecting hybrid varieties with mildew resistance.
Last edited by Melonie; 05-12-2015 at 02:26 PM.





^ same. The local university has seeds for resistance and I buy them straight from the scientists who make them! Check your local ( largest ) university and they might have a seed program.





The larger land plot is on hold. In the last two months , I competed against 200 people to get a 1/4 -1/2 acre plot + affordable farming classes / access to machinery via a state program. In a nutshell ... I made it to the top 20 but there were 12 available.
I HAD to try. Affordable land is nearly unheard of here. I can try again in th fall ( and I should probably do some volunteering there over summer if I'm serious.
So... no 1/4 acre for now. I'm back to my patio and small plot.
Last edited by carmen_b; 05-12-2015 at 06:52 PM.





For amusement , I planted a whole pack of Arugula seeds in this 3' by 6' space thinking maybe a " few " would take! It's a huge amount now! I love it but am having trouble giving it away fast enough.





I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.
Bookmarks