'Grow your own' Forum

Maybe we could have a forum just for growing our own foods. I think it would be great to have somewhere for people to comment, get advice or just talk about growing their own food. Would be great to increase the number of people growing their own living foods :)

I’m planting some tomatoes, squash, eggplant and basil today…I’ll keep ya posted!!!

Sounds fabulous! :D

We are still snow covered here in Canada but I’ve got my Red Russian Kale Greens started inside in trays. I can usually set these out in my unheated greenhouse by mid-April. Kale is pretty hardy and can handle light frosts. The greenhouse protection gives me the possiblity to enjoy fresh home grown greens earlier.

Great to hear about your growing Kale! I would love to try and grow kale :)

that would be great to have a forum—I love to grow my own stuff—we have 19 acres—plenty of room to grow good veggies and we have about 20 peach trees, grapevines, and blackberries.

great idea for a forum edv . and since nows time to mail order seeds here in north america i’ll post my favorite seed companies ive come to like over the past 15 years of gardening .

• www.territorialseed.com / a great company in oregon thats into producing alot of their own seed organically , and carries an extensive selection of vegi / greens / herbs / flowers / books / sprouting seeds / etc .

• www.superseeds.com / a small company in maine thats always carried good seeds . though be aware that alot of their seed packets are made small (fewer seeds) so that they can be sold cheaper in order for people to experiment with alot of different seeds . theyve 2 seeds mixes i always get 1 – PINE TREE LETTUCE MIX (1 OUNCE PACKAGE $4.50 , 1 ounce is 20,000 seeds which goes a very long way) , its a mixture of all differing types of loose leaf lettuces i use for salads . 2 – PINETREE SPINACH MIX (1 OUNCE $2.75 , 2000 seeds which , also goes a long way) , a mix of several differnt type spinaches in order to extend harvest window . i load up on these 2 seed mixes and start new beds every month so ive a continuous supply of salad greens all growing season .

• www.willhiteseed.com / big company in texas that has real good prices , and where you can get big numbers of seed cheap .

• www.highmowingseeds.com / a new small family looking type company thats into TOTALLY ORGANICALLY growing there own seeds , ive looked many years for totally organic seed producers and its very rare .

• www.richters.com / this company may be the best herb seed company on EARTH . theyve got a 1000 herbs , hundreds of medicinal herbs to experiment with .

I’ve just began sprouting my heirloom tomato seedlings – I bought 8 varieties this year and can’t wait to get them in the ground!! I have so many seeds that I’m planning to try to sell the extra seedlings to local nurseries and health food stores. :-)

gypsycowgirl I am SOOOO jealous! That’s amazing :D

michigan roman thanks for the great links, I will check them out!

Well done newbie :D you’re doing great.

I like these seed companies:

http://www.heirloomseeds.com/ open pollinated, non-hybrid and untreated

http://www.seedsavers.org/ heritage seeds

Have any of you ever used an Earth-box growing system? I have one and it’s great, expensive though. I have some links to instructions on making your own if anyone is interested. They’re self watering planters.

Any UK-based places to get seeds? :)

http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalog/display.p…

There are lots online. Search organic seeds UK.

I got a little herb garden kit for Christmas but made the mistake of planting the herbs right away in winter so nothing really came of them. A few sprouted then died. :( I also grow my own wheatgrass.

Recently my bf got me the “Aerogarden”. It is an indoor gardening contraption… kind of hydroponic with a flourescent light attached. No soil. Has anyone heard of or used this before?

Fab! Thanks 123 :)

I’ve been inspired by you guys and went out and bought some vegetables seeds today :D I hope to plant them soon and see what results I get! I am a real rookie at gardening so any tips would be great. I got carrots, beetroots, little gem lettuce, chillies and parsnips. So excited!

I grow all year long, inside – then out in spring. I always have tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and such in my kitchen. You can grow almost anything in a pot, you just get a smaller fruit.

One of my favorite things to do is take seeds from whatever I’m eating and put them in dirt. It’s fun to see what you will get. =)

Some quick tips for growing indoors and then planting outdoors, seed starting.
You can take newspaper and make little cups, put dirt in and plant the seed. When it is time to plant them outside, you can plant the whole little cup. You can do the same with your avocado shells. Plant in each half, then plant them directly in the ground. Both degrade and add nutrients to the soil.

Thanks Jennifer, some awesome tips! It must be amazing to have fresh produce all year round, especially veggies that you’ve grown yourself! I love the idea of using newspaper or avocado shells to plant them in before putting them outside! I am totally going to do that. :)

The newspaper tip I got from my dad =) He’s good at recycling for gardening and stuff.
I cannot take full credit for the avocado tip though, I got that one from Garden Gate magazine, lol.
When I was younger, I was so embarrassed that my parents did all of this stuff. And now, I’m exactly like them, but with less land, haha. When I was little (and even now) they always had a few chickens for pets. So, we always had fresh eggs – and just a note, we never ate the chickens. They always died of old age, and were free to roam all over. I know that’s not condoned here, but my parents still do that. =)

I made some newspaper-pots and planted some seeds yesterday! It was awesome, a little fiddly to start with but I was really proud when I’d finished :D

We have a couple of chickens here :) (we dont eat them either) just use the eggs. I will keep everyone updated about my seeds :D

I’ve started growing an avocado tree. It’s about 1 foot tall now and I have no idea what to do with it later . . .

Any hints on growing a goji bush? Can you grow them just from a dried goji berry?

I LOVE this idea, and hearing about all your growing schemes. Any tips for growing things indoors that will never have a chance to get planted outside? I don’t see myself owning land any time soon, but I’d love to be able to grow greens or something. Growing up, we always had a big garden, plus fruit trees, but now living on my own in the city I just get my green fix from a couple houseplants and sprouts. The thing is, my houseplants do fine, but I’ve never had much luck trying to grow edibles, even just herbs, indoors. lapetitemort—any ideas? Do you transplant all your indoor things? Would it work to grow tomatoes or peppers in a pot if I could set it in the sun on a porch or windowsill?

suzyq,
When I lived in New Orleans, all I had was a balcony, so no land. I grew tomatoes, peppers, herbs, even radish in pots. I say go for it! I know someone who even grew a corn stalk in a pot, kind of fun =) This is my first time with a yard, so I’m having fun transplanting, but I keep a cherry tomato in a pot in my kitchen near the sliding glass door all year long =)

I just bought an apple mint plant and beet seeds! Can’t wait to plant them!

I have little gem lettuce and beetroots sprouting nicely :D I am planning on getting a good plot going in my garden soon!

I am itching to get out and do some planting! Spring Fever! Just got back to this topic and I love all the tips especially the avocado shell tip—I have a lot of those in my compost pile and now I know what to do with them. You can also use eggshell halves to plant in too.

One of my favorite sites is www.horizonherbs.com they have a lot of unusual seeds.

I am in Atlanta, GA and I started a square foot garden on my balcony a few weeks ago. This year I plan to grow swiss chard, mesclun, spinach, mixed greens, carrots, beets, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, and chinese greens. I purchased most of my seeds from www.seedsavers.com and Whole Foods. Anyone interested in gardening should definitely consider square foot gardening. It’s amazing how much food you can grow in a small space with pure organic soil that you mix yourself. Read more about square foot gardening at:
http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

Also, if you’re too lazy to build your own square foot garden boxes, I ordered my boxes from another vendor (other than the square foot gardening site) and paid alot less for better quality. I’ll dig up their contact info if anyone is interested.

These look great! what good idea.