It's become clear to me through posts and PMs that there are some gardeners here just waiting for the chance to discuss gardening!
So, I was thinking... how do you use gardening, or how does it affect you if you need a break, need some respite, need to relax, need inspiration....how do you use it as a therapy tool in caregiving?
What are your activities: Do you go out and pull weeds, read a magazine, design new beds? Look through garden catalogues? Go to garden stores?
And what interests have you added to your gardening? Visit estate or garden displays? Do you go to garden shows?
Does anyone design and plant Knot Gardens? Raised bed planters? Assistive gardens? Pollinator gardens (and have you thought of ways to help the bees and butterflies?)
Are your gardens primarily for pleasure or food, or a mix of both? Do you grow plants for medicinal purposes? Which ones, how do you harvest and process them? Any suggestions?
Do you grow plants that can be used in crafts, such as grapevines for wreaths and lavender for lavender wands? Do you make herbal products such as creams, lotions, chapstick?
What else can you share about gardening and the means in which it nurtures your soul?
One of my plants is taller than the other. It’s tipping over a bit. I can’t remember if my father had stakes to stabilize his peppers that he grew or not. He had them in a pot.
I know he had stakes on his tomato plants.
Your peppers will catch up to speed eventually. What do you mean by ‘cull’ the weakest one?
I have a variety of sizes that came in the group of peppers that I planted. I placed all of them in a pot together. Is that okay?
Rookie here. Maybe I should have read up on growing veggies a bit more.
Those tomato cages can be good for peppers too!
Thanks, so are my peppers going to be overcrowded since I planted them together?
Yeah, it is hard to toss good plants.
This is good to know. I have five plants in my large pot. Can I move a couple of them to a different pot or should I not disturb them at this point?
They have little white flowers on them. I see new growth coming in too.
You are an experienced gardener. I do want to learn more and be successful with what I plant.
I took classes with LSU agriculture department and a landscaping architect, but it was a while ago.
I remember them saying not to bother planting garlic unless we wanted to wait the same amount of time it takes to have a baby! He said that it would be nine months before harvest. 😝
I am appreciative of your help. Can I appoint you as my gardening guru? 😁
I would like to plant herbs, squash, zucchini and green onions. Maybe some radishes too.
As I said before, I enjoyed watching my father and grandfather grow vegetables.
My mom’s dad grew everything! I was very close to him and loved helping him in his flower garden when I was a child. He had a big vegetable garden in the backyard. My cousin who lived in the country had a corn field. I was amazed when I saw his garden.
I didn’t know my father’s dad. He died before I was born. He was a farmer and had well over a hundred acres of land that he received from the military.
I suppose that my father had a love for gardening due to growing up in a farm family in rural Florida.
My dad grew his favorite things that he stuck with, not nearly as much as my grandfathers. His dad farmed and grew lots of fruit and vegetables.
Dad wanted to teach me about growing vegetables when we moved into our home. I wasn’t interested at that time and now I wish I had let him. Here I am at age 68 trying my hand at it!
I notice when it rains all of my plants perk up. Do you collect rain water to water your plants? Is it better than water from the hose?
LOL 😝
On my parent's farm the land was fertile and growing things seemed effortless in comparison to where I am now, aside from the challenges of two black walnut trees I've been told my property was once a heavy equipment yard, that's why I grow most things in pails and planters. For me gardening is supposed to be a fun hobby, too big and it risks becoming a gruelling and expensive slog.
I enjoy participating in r/gardening over on Reddit, there are both old hands and clueless newbies there.
True, I wouldn’t want a huge garden either. Then, it would be work instead of a hobby.
My grandparents had a fig tree. The neighbors had a pecan tree. Daddy had a kumquat and lemon tree.
Grandma made fig preserves.
Do you have mirlitons in your area?
They are very common in Louisiana. They grow on a vine. We also call them alligator pears.
Also known as
Chayote squash or cactus pear. Daddy had no many that they offered the neighbors to take as much as they wanted.
Grandpa grew eggplants. We stuff eggplant and mirlitons with a seafood dressing here in New Orleans.
I haven’t gone on Reddit. I will look at it.
When I was a kid we mostly grew very basic veg - carrots, green and yellow beans, peas, onions, potatoes, beets, tomatoes and lettuce. One year I was in a 4-H gardening club that included more "exotic" plants like cauliflower, broccoli, kohlrabi, celariac.
That’s true. We plant according to our environment.
Mirlitons thrive in our area. They are on everyone’s table for Thanksgiving dinners.
We eat a lot of vegetables I love to make soup and salads. I spend a fortune on vegetables at the grocery.
I like going to the farmers markets but they seem to be as expensive as the grocery.
We use a seasoning blend, referred to as the ‘holy trinity’ here. It consists of onion, celery and bell peppers. They even sell it fresh packaged in containers or frozen in our stores.
I think if kids are exposed to gardening when they are young they will appreciate it as adults.
I have to say that I was a picky eater when I was a kid. I drove my boyfriend’s mom crazy! She was a fabulous cook and invited me over to their home for dinner quite often.
I didn’t eat many vegetables then.
My boyfriend’s mother fixed that!
When I told her that I was excited to eat her chocolate cake, she told me that I couldn’t have any cake until I ate vegetables with my meal!
Hahaha 😆, it worked, because she made a killer chocolate cake, so I decided to start eating vegetables!
My mom didn’t force us to eat when we were kids. The nuns at my school were really strict about eating. I remember that well. That’s why I brought my lunch to school, because I didn’t like the school food.
As a kid, there were lots of vegetables that I wouldn’t eat. After trying them I loved them.
I spent the major part of the morning wrestling with the canopy for my gazebo, it's year 3 so I was afraid too much force might tear it to shreds. I think the people who design those things must be twisted sadists.
I love gazebos and trellises. They are so pretty!
Yes, seasoning and the way veggies are cooked makes a huge difference in taste. Who wants bland food? Yuck 🤮.
We can’t like everything. I still hate beets and butternut squash.
I've potted everything up but still no sign of life from the cannas.
Gardening is a lot of work! It is a nice hobby for those who enjoy it.
My grandfather never saw it as work because he loved it so much. Grandma would never have worked in the yard.
My dad loved to garden. Mom enjoyed it too.
I am seeing tiny peppers growing on my plants now! Yay! 😁
I love the beautiful colors of zinnias.
It is fun watching something grow, very rewarding!
We do have long hot summers and high humidity but we also get a fair amount of rainfall here.
I love our Spanish moss too. Historically, it was used to stuff mattresses, pillows and furniture in Louisiana.
I have peppers on all of the plants! Yay! 😁 Can’t wait until they are big enough to pick.
Let us know how it works. It’s very hot and muggy here!
My dad’s peppers flourished so well that my kids gave him the nickname, “green pepper grandpa.”
Maybe I will become. bell pepper, momma! 😝
Maybe, I will try planting hot peppers next time and I will be, Hot pepper momma! LOL
LOL 😝
I wish that I had my grandfather’s rose garden when I was a child. He grew the most beautiful roses.
I was so proud to bring grandpa’s roses to my teachers when I was a kid.
Grandpa would cut a bouquet for grandma to place on the dining room table and a bouquet for me to take to my teacher.
The funny thing is that some of the same nuns that taught my mother also taught me. It was cool.
I loved hearing stories about my mother as a child from them. Those nuns didn’t forget a thing! 😝 They were quite young when they taught my mom and my aunt.
Put them all together in a planter and put wire over the top to keep animals out. However the planter is overall not big enough for all that I planted, the tomato plants are crowding out the strawberries now. Oh well, thats ok. A handful of tomatoes are starting to ripen.
its a pleasure to come home in the evening from work, water them and assess the progress. Raising vegetables gives a good feeling. When getting back from visiting dad also, to just go outside for ten mins and look at the vegetable garden, is calming.
my plants.
Very smart!