Anybody growing veggies this year?

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littledevils

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 17, 2008
Messages
1,099
Location
Vancouver, BC
What are you growing?

This year I'm growing rhubarb, strawberries, mix of salad, Swiss chard, spinach, variety of kale, variety of herbs, carrots, beets, snow peas, sugar snap peas, lemon cucumbers, 2 types of tomatoes.

Edit to add - Also growing fennel (the bulbs, not the herb kind)
 
I would love to but I always seem to kill everything on my balcony :( Eagle posted a pic of someone using an old rabbit cago to grow veggies in and that got me thinking (I have an 18x30 cage that is largely useless) as one of my biggest problems is that the wind knocks everything over and I don't want to invest in expensive planters but I'm not sure I'll get around to it.
 
We don't have much room outside but we are planting kale, garlic chives, collards, peas and cherry tomatoes. We already have raspberries.
I wish we could do more.
 
Victoria - Have you tried growing mint? It does really well on balconies/patios, even in the shade and is very versatile. Drinks, sauces and best of all - Home made mint ice cream! I also don't have fancy pots because I live in East Van on ground floor so things would get stolen. I grow a lot of mint on my patio in recycling containers (blue bins). I have also used empty yogurt containers and what not. I also have a 10 x 10 ft plot at the community garden. I wish I had some acreage as I really really enjoy doing it!
 
I wish I could plant fruits, veggies, and herbs. I would love to cook with the fresh food, and I have been changing my diet to eat a lot more healthy and less meat... growing my own food would definitely make it easier. But, sadly, I live in an apartment with no yard and my deck is only big enough for two people to stand on it. :sad3:
 
Planning on it this year, the landlord has a plot the size of railroad ties. Planning on tomatoes, red/yellow peppers, squash of some kind, cucumbers and if I can fit in in couple of potato plants.
 
littledevils said:
Victoria - Have you tried growing mint? It does really well on balconies/patios, even in the shade and is very versatile. Drinks, sauces and best of all - Home made mint ice cream! I also don't have fancy pots because I live in East Van on ground floor so things would get stolen. I grow a lot of mint on my patio in recycling containers (blue bins). I have also used empty yogurt containers and what not. I also have a 10 x 10 ft plot at the community garden. I wish I had some acreage as I really really enjoy doing it!
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I have grown mint in the past but I don't use it a lot and the bunnies don't like it. I'd rather grow basil, parley, kale, lettuce/salad greens, tomatoes, berries (not feasible on a balcony)... things I'm going to get more use out of. Maybe I should try growing dandelion... the bunnies would be thrilled :D
 
victoria said:
littledevils said:
Victoria - Have you tried growing mint? It does really well on balconies/patios, even in the shade and is very versatile. Drinks, sauces and best of all - Home made mint ice cream! I also don't have fancy pots because I live in East Van on ground floor so things would get stolen. I grow a lot of mint on my patio in recycling containers (blue bins). I have also used empty yogurt containers and what not. I also have a 10 x 10 ft plot at the community garden. I wish I had some acreage as I really really enjoy doing it!
Click to expand...

I have grown mint in the past but I don't use it a lot and the bunnies don't like it. I'd rather grow basil, parley, kale, lettuce/salad greens, tomatoes, berries (not feasible on a balcony)... things I'm going to get more use out of. Maybe I should try growing dandelion... the bunnies would be thrilled :D
Click to expand...

Your buns don't like mint!?! OMG! Mine can't eat it fast enough! Kale and lettuce should do well too... I haven't had much luck with parsley/basil outside but it does well inside in my kitchen window. Tomatoes/berries depends how much sun you're getting. Some berries do fine in planters.

Edited to add - I bet peas would do well too!
 
GrayLightNewDay said:
I wish I could plant fruits, veggies, and herbs. I would love to cook with the fresh food, and I have been changing my diet to eat a lot more healthy and less meat... growing my own food would definitely make it easier. But, sadly, I live in an apartment with no yard and my deck is only big enough for two people to stand on it. :sad3:
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Do you use your deck at all? If not, use it to grow veggies! Certain things such as kale don't use up a lot of space but actually produce quite a nice crop!

I don't have a lot of space either.... My own patio is fairly big but is always in the shade... Mint does ok and some mescluns (baby lettuce) but not much else. And then I have a 10 x 10 ft plot at the community garden. On a 2 x 3 ft spot I have about 10 kale plants and they produce a lot... they just keep growing upwards and produce new leafs. Peas also do well in a planter box w. trellis... I also have an about 2 x 3 ft area of lettuce and last year that was enough to give me a bowl of salad every day for weeks.... Heck, even a few small pots with herbs is nice.

I guess the other suggestion would be to see if there's a community garden in your area or a backyard share program
 
My crazy rhubarb - LOVE IT! I'm crediting the bunny poop I use as fertilizer :giggle:
554061_10151611913236096_409546257_n_zps849fc1ee.jpg


Kale - I only planted the variety to the far right.. the other two are volunteer plants. Not complaining! There's another volunteer variety that popped up since and I also just planted some lacinato kale as well (the others I started last fall... the volunteer kale popped up in fall as well). You gotta love kale, it grows even when you don't plan it LOL Definitely one of the best things to grow... super easy to grow, it produces a lot and it's so good1
IMG_9289_zps8fb402b3.jpg
 
That is just beautiful! Wow!

Here in Ottawa, we're just now getting to temperatures that don't dip below freezing every night. I've been watering my starter plants indoors and they really need to be planted outside soon. It's my first time growing Kale, and the directions said plant in non-soil starters 6-8 weeks in advance, which I did, and they all sprung up within days and then died. So I won't be growing Kale this year. But I also have pepper, melon, and eggplant. Fingers crossed!
 
ChrisK said:
That is just beautiful! Wow!

Here in Ottawa, we're just now getting to temperatures that don't dip below freezing every night. I've been watering my starter plants indoors and they really need to be planted outside soon. It's my first time growing Kale, and the directions said plant in non-soil starters 6-8 weeks in advance, which I did, and they all sprung up within days and then died. So I won't be growing Kale this year. But I also have pepper, melon, and eggplant. Fingers crossed!
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Oh how weird! I sew straight in the ground from seed and the only thing I had to worry so far are the slugs who eat the wee seedlings. Kale is pretty cold hardy, some varieties more than others. I would give it another try!

I get all my seeds from http://www.westcoastseeds.com/ and I highly recommend the company! Had huge success using their seeds.
 
Nice job!

Ya we're growing tomatoes, red potatoes, some bell peppers, herbs like rosmary, dill, some onion, corn, and I think we're giving strawberries, and melons a go but I heard due to bugs and fire ants they may not have survived grr... We've also been growing an Avacado tree since 2007, we call her Ava lol. She's still in the pot though because we haven't bought a house yet, we're kinda renting while we search, and saving up is difficult, so we keep her nice and happy being a small tree. Even if we could plant her on home grounds, we fear she'd wilt away because of the TX drought, not sure if we'll ever get a chance to plant her but I hope we do one day. I'm REALLY looking forward to some home grown corn on the cob though! Hurry up and grow corn!
 
Can you guys recommend to me any veggies/fruits that can be planted in a planter/Rubbermaid on a porch/patio? I can make it to where they have full sunlight or partial, we just can't plant anything in the ground because we live in an apartment. I want to grow food for the babies as myself for the health and cost benefits. Thanks :)
 
AmandaTrexica said:
Can you guys recommend to me any veggies/fruits that can be planted in a planter/Rubbermaid on a porch/patio? I can make it to where they have full sunlight or partial, we just can't plant anything in the ground because we live in an apartment. I want to grow food for the babies as myself for the health and cost benefits. Thanks :)
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The ones i am growing are all in 5 gallon jugs i just put them in and read this article here http://homeguides.sfgate.com/use-5gallo ... 73618.html if you search google "how to grow veggies in a 5 gallon jug" there is other ones too. Very easy and money saving too. Just be sure you have full sun for the ones needed or make sure of how much sun each veggie needs :) The ones i am growing all need full sun.
 
I already harvested all my radishes and strawberries.

Right now I have watermelon, pepper, tomato, and abillion blooming sunflowers. :D
 
AmandaTrexica said:
Can you guys recommend to me any veggies/fruits that can be planted in a planter/Rubbermaid on a porch/patio? I can make it to where they have full sunlight or partial, we just can't plant anything in the ground because we live in an apartment. I want to grow food for the babies as myself for the health and cost benefits. Thanks :)
Click to expand...
As long as the container is big enough and you fertilize, just about anything.

Keep in mind, however, how deep a plant's roots are, and how large the plant will be. For example, sunflowers would be a bad idea because they have thick, deep roots so they might flop over. Watermelons, for another example, need a lot of space around them.

Radishes and peas grow extremely fast in just about any conditions, as for others, a lot of people grow tomatoes and strawberries in containers. If you google "container planting", then you could pretty much do any of that. :nod:
 

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