Welcome to the gardening forum. This is where we share gardening experiences, share information, resource references and build a base of knowledge to actually use plants to open doors for Jesus. After all He built Earth and it's garden home for us, how about we use His handywork to glorify Him as well as load our pantries with good food.

Gardening/growing things is fun but painful toil is not. So how many like the idea of gardening with as little weeding and digging as possible and using soaker hoses & inexpensive timers to water and other practical stuff to keep the fun, dump the heavy toil, increase the gardening satisfaction ?

Have you ever thought of plant/gardening evangalism ?

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Edward F. Sutton

I don't garden to raise food or to save money, or for any such "practical" reason. I garden because I love gardening, and because it is good for my health to be outside in the sunshine and fresh air. I like weeding and digging. What I really dislike is not having anything to do in the garden! I keep my garden small enough so that it is not a source of stress to get it all prepared and planted in the spring, and harvested later on. Once everything is planted and growing well, if I didn't have weeds to pull, there wouldn't be much to do out there!

But my gardening methods do tend to keep weeding to a manageable level. I have part of my garden in framed-in beds, 4'x8', with 18" paths between. This prevents anyone from walking in the planting area, thus eliminating soil compaction. In the spring, I till the beds once before I plant. From there on, it's hand weeding only. But I keep the paths weeded with my trusty Mantis, and the more compacted they get, the better - weeds don't do so well in compacted soil either!

I plant my framed-in beds using the "square foot" method. The larger, open garden area is for squash, etc. This year I have crimson clover growing in that entire area, which tends to keep the weeds down a bit too. My garden is totally organic. Now that I finally have a Vita-Mix, the garbage is blended and applied directly to the garden. Much more pleasant than a smelly compost pit, and the plants love it! (Less bother too!)

I don't water my garden, except when absolutely necessary, as our water is very high in iron and other minerals, which tends to poison the soil if used too freely. I prefer to preserve moisture with mulch in dry seasons. However, this year, we have had adequate rain throughout the growing season to date, so I have not done any mulching.

This year, I am growing more flowers than vegetables. Besides for my always-included tomatoes (6 varieties this year) and lettuce (8 varieties), I have 10 varieties of pansies, 3 of violas, 6 of snapdragons, 2 of nemesia, 2 of African daisy, 2 of nasturtium, as well as bachelor buttons, nigella (love-in-a-mist), dianthus, and marigolds planted among the tomatoes. This year I also planted an herb bed, with catnip, chamomile, 2 kinds of parsley, bunching onions, chives, and basil. However, germination of most of these herbs has been very poor this year, so I am planning to start them indoors next year, instead of planting them directly into the garden in the spring, and hoping for better results.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

If fellow gardeners want to swap info or web sites and such online but off the forum- idea - get an e-mail account at one of the free places & send that e-mail into a thread I will create - gardners e-mail pipeline. If they wish their e-mail to stay private - then look in my profile & find my e-mail and e-mail their private e-mail address to me with the request to keep it private.

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Edward F. Sutton

[This message has been edited by Edward F. Sutton (edited August 13, 2000).]

If you want to place those URLs on gardening in this forum, that is fine with me as long as the URLs are appropriate to this Gardening forum.

As I said, there are exceptions to this particular rule.

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In His Love, Mercy & Grace

Daryl Fawcett :)

I suppose all you folk are gardening in the Northern Hemisphere. Being from Australia it is now time to get serious and plant some seedlings out. We have just put out 30 tomato plants with about another 100 or so to go out before Xmas, not all at once. We put out 200 pumpkin seeds, they are not up yet but will be soon. My wife being from Papua New Guinea, we grow a lot of green leafy vegetables, silver beet, chineese cabage, sugar loaf cabage, pak choi, plus some that I have forgotten the names of, peas, beet root.
Do you have to use chemicals in growing or can you get by using natural sources such as cow manure.
I am not a person that likes weeding too much so we use "Round Up" it stops the weeds and does not hurt the soil. Without it we would never control the garden. Water or lack of it is our big problem, we are in the middle of a bad draught and need rain urgently.
I believe it is possible to come closer to our maker in the garden.

Happy digging.

Clive

Clive,
Try getting the book "Lasanga Gardening" from Amazon.com, it will build the soil & stop a lot of weeding & hold water - bigtime. The idea is layer different compostable materials over the flattened or mowed weeds & let the squashed weeds rot while the garden grows several layers above the weeds. Try putting a soaker hose with a timer on a pressure tank on a water line or well, then heavily mulch over the soaker hose - around the plants too. All chemical herbisides are toxic to plants & people & soil. Research the brandnames online for sourses of information not conected with it's manufacture & marketing. Happy gardening. P.S. plant some Brandywine tomatoes for me-I have some @ home & they are huge & great tasting old-fashioned heirlooms. Contact Johnny's Selected Seeds online & see if there are supplies of seed "down under" - would love to visit, but can't figure how to physically travel over cyber-space. Bye for now.

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Edward F. Sutton

Our soil is acidic, needs alot of lime. We have used Dolimite which decreasesd the acid content of the soil.
Most mornings I am able to collect a few barrow loads of cow manure, it seems to hold the water and acts like a mulch.
Never heard of those tomatoes down here, but then I have not been gardening for very long.
We are gearing up for a dry summer, we hope and pray that it rains.
Brother Ray has some flowers in, popies, snap dragons, pansies, roses, sweet peas, etc. they look good. He is hoping to go into a gardening competition, he should go OK.
Happy digging
Clive

Clive,

Hi I just got an Idea, why not look up the web url's of really good Austrailian Gardening Suppliers with online catalogs & post them where I've already put some gardening url's then we could all brouse the Aussie catalogs & I will start doing the same or some of the best catalogs from here.

Ed

Ed
I will try and do that, only trouble is I do not know that much about computers so will have to travel slowly.
Still very dry here, dam is holding up so far, should be OK till Xmas, then things will be bad if it does not rain.
Planted some tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet potatoes and more leafy greens this week.
The kids have some flowers in, took some to church last week, makes it look better with fresh flowers.
Clive

Clive sends these Australian gardening url's

1.Australian gardening magazine Global Garden free ezine for
gardening in - An authoritative gardening magazine particularly relevant to Australian gardens but also to areas with a similar climate eg California
http://www.global-garden.com.au/
[Translate]

2.THE Directory - THE Directory - gardens sheds, greenhouses,workshops, storage buildings, garages, gazebos and childrens
playhouses; worldwide!
http://www.gardenbuildings.com/directory/index.htm
[Translate]

3.Garden Links & Gardening Links : The WWW Virtual Library for Gardening - The
World Wide Web Virtual Library: Gardening. Links to Web resources, discussion
areas, botanic gardens, Cooperative Extension Services, etc.
http://www.gardenweb.com/vl/
[Translate]
4.Australian Gardening - Suite101.com - A brief description of what happens in May
in a Western Australian garden. 22 Mar 2000 The Approach of Winter A short
piece on what to do in autumn in Western Australia's gardens.
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/australian_gardening
[Translate]

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Edward F. Sutton

Part -2 Clive's Aussie Gardening url's

1.Garden Suppliers - AES Superannuation an australian
super fund retirement mutual rollover investment -
Australian Enterprise Superannuation and Garden
Suppliers Australian Enterprise Superannuation Pty Ltd
(Trustee) offers an Australian retirement fund for company
directors and employees of Garden Supp
http://www.aesuper.net.au/04_who_can_join/industries/GardenSuppliers.htm

[Translate]

2.Specialist Suppliers of British Garden, Horticultural, Heritage
and Special Interest Videos - Viburnum Gardens are
Specialist suppliers of Horticulture, Garden, Cottage Garden, Rose, British
Heritage, Educational and Special Interest Videos all available by Shopping Online.
We are the Australi
http://www.viburnum-gardens.com.au/
[Translate]

3.Medicine Garden Australia. Australian Organic Herb Suppliers, Nursery, Products,
Aphrodisiacs, Stimulants.
http://www.spot.com.au/herbmed/index.html
[Translate]

4.Australian Bonsai Suppliers - Australian Bonsai Suppliers NSW VIC QLD WA SA
TAS ACT NT New South Wales Ray Nesci Bonsai Nursery 26 Sagars Road Kenthurst
NSW 2156 Tel: (02) 9654 1893 Facsimile: (02) 9654 2237 Bonsai (Koreshoff) Nur
http://www.users.bigpond.com/greg.mccall/supplier.html
[Translate]

5.Greengold Garden Centres of Australia an association of the leading 70 plus garden
centres in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, and. - Queensland
Victoria GREENGOLD GARDEN CONCEPTS Australia's gardening resource on the
internet GREENGOLD is a co-operative of more than 70 garden centres in NSW, the
Australian Capital Territory, and Qu
http://www.greengold.com.au/
[Translate]

6.Australian Native Plant Nursery -Suppliers of Australian Native Plants - This site
is dedicated to furthering the popularity of Australian Native Plants. -Australian
Native Plant Nursery- Growers and Suppliers of a wide range of Native Trees and
Shrubs for Windbreak, Scree
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~artgib/index.html
[Translate]

7.Nursery Express landscaping and plant company Perth Western Australia ,garden
design company perth,suppliers of topiary perth wa.pots urns supply wa. - perth
NURSERY EXPRESS KINROSS Western Australia 6028 Phone: +61-8-93055706 Fax:
+61-8-93055706 E-mail: nurseryexp@one.net.au Welcome to the Nursery Express
Web Site, A Western Australian plant /Topiar
http://mypage.ihost.com/auinet.smi6937/
[Translate]

8.Australian and New Zealand Seed Suppliers - April 1999 - Australian and New
Zealand Seed Suppliers September 1998 The following is an updated list of
Australian and New Zealand seed sources. The Australian list was first prepared
for our own use in the earl
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~hsca/HSCA_ANZ_Seed_Suppliers_Sep_1998.html
[Translate]

9.Tulip Garden Nursery - Australian growers and sellers of cut flowers - The Tulip
Garden Nursery Pty. Ltd. is a family company owned and operated by Jim and Jenni
Bras and their family. With over Forty years experience in the growing and selling of
cut flowers, we feel we
http://www.themenu.com/tulipgarden.htm
[Translate]

10.Creative Seasoning Network --Garden Planning & Australian Mountain Pepper -
Dedicated to Cooking and Gardening With Herbs and Spices - Planning "Eco-Zones"
in the Herb Garden Winter in Melbourne, Australia, is often not very conducive to
gardening. When the weather is grey, c
http://www.creativeseasoning.com/IntoGrdnSections/AugOZ.htm
[Translate]

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Edward F. Sutton

Been off line with computer failure and church camp but back into things now.
Our garden is not as good as it was. The pumpkins did not do very well, only 5 came up, replanted and got about 100 up now. We entered our garden in the local garden show and came second, don't know how many entries in the vege section. The silver beet is doing well and the tomatoes are starting to grow after the cold. We need rain as we bought our first load of drinking water today, 2,000 gallons. By Xmas we could be in real trouble for garden water. If we do not use it it will only evaporate, we use it sparingly and only as little as we need to.
The Chineese cabbage are looking great, very green.
Happy gardening
Clive

Hi

I am most definately a novice gardner, but my father was a Certified Master Gardner. We live in the Willamette Valley of Oregon which is a very moderate climate (zone 8) but we have other problems i.e. very heavy clay soil, slugs etc.

Dad grew absolutely lush gardens & we gave away far more than we could ever eat. He used the Mittleider method. Mittleider BTW is an Adventist who has traveled the world teaching his gardening method. One of his books (which I have) is called "Food for Everyone. The Mittleider method is supposed to be:

"....an easy-to-use method that allows gardeners to raise an abundance of vegetables and other crops on almost any soil, in practically any season, in almost any climate, and virtually at any elevation. "

His method is explained in quite a bit of detail at http://www.growfood.com

Kate

Oh thank you so much for that URL, as soon as I finish posting I will jump on it eagerly indeed. I used some of his methods in the early 80's & had made it a matter of prayer to find his updated stuff. Excuse this short reply, but I just gotta get in that website & check it out.

ThANKS

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Edward F. Sutton

[This message has been edited by Edward F. Sutton (edited October 11, 2000).]

I have tried accessing that web site twice now without success.

Ed, have you successfully accessed this site?

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In His Love, Mercy & Grace

Daryl Fawcett :)

Daryl

I just tried it clicking on the link I posted & it took me right to it, so the link is right. Maybe there was a server problem earlier. Are you able to get in now?

Kate

I just tried it 30 seconds ago & it came up almost immediatly. This morning it failed every time. Must be a server overload between here and there.

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Edward F. Sutton

I just tried it and it is working OK now.

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In His Love, Mercy & Grace

Daryl

I just picked the last of the lettuce from my garden. Who else here plants lettuce? Do you have favorite varieties? My very favorite is Tom Thumb, a delicious compact butterhead variety. My other "must plant" varieties are that old standby, black-seeded Simpson, red sails, buttercrunch, and marveil du quatre saisons. I like to try out new varieties each year as well. Last year's was new red fire, which I planted again this year, and this year's new varieties were "speckles" Amish butter head, and rouge d'hiver romaine.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

Romaine about does it for my lettuce planting, Cathy you got me beat, I ought to try some of those varieties next year.

How about greens ? What are your favorites ?

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Edward F. Sutton

To be honest with you Ed, I can't stand any kind of greens cooked. And so far, the only one I really like raw (in my salad) is spinach. I also sometimes put it in lasagna and other dishes, where other flavors predominate. But I haven't tried growing very many different types of greens in my garden yet. I have grown spinach a few times, but not this year. I had a very small garden this year, because it is very important for me not to overdo it and get stressed out trying to keep up with it. Mostly, I planted flowers, plus my lettuce and tomatoes, which I will never garden without. I planted an herb bed this year too, but didn't have very good germination.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

Last Spring the hospital where I worked had a volunteer's, flower plant sale. I filled the car so full I almost couldn't get in to drive home, it took 3 weeks to plant them all. I had never done that before & loved it. A co-worker (also a happy plant-freak, like me; gave me 2 Brandywine tomato plants.)

I rooted suckers (about 6-8) and we got covered in huge heirloom tomatoes & still have a few partially ripe ones in the frig.

I confess one rooted sucker is in a bucket in the basement for rooting stock next growing season. I gave her a dwarf red Jamaican banana tree & a green banana tree.

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Edward F. Sutton

[This message has been edited by Edward F. Sutton (edited November 01, 2000).]

It looks like it has been a few years since this forum has been activated.

Anyone growing a garden this year?

We were going to have a garden this year, but decided against it solely for the reason that we recently moved and would need to create a garden from scratch.

We had a good garden last year with lots of yellow beans, tomatoes, etc.

If there is an interest in a separate forum dedicated to gardening, I will create one.

We hadn't had a vegetable garden for several years. In '05 we were to busy and we were going to be gone more. In '06 we just had tomatoes and a few peppers and basil in pots, but I do have beds with flowers and herbs. We also have over an acre in orchard and blueberries, so that alone keeps us busy.

This year we put our garden in in a new location, that had served as a pen for ruminants for many years. Consequently we are seeing very good growth. This garden is closer to our living area, so we spend much more time in it, and are keeping a better handle on the weeds. We daily marvel at the plant growth. Lately, when my spouse has the day at home, we have taken to eating our breakfast there (his idea).

I can look out now as I type out the words on my keyboard and see the verdant foliage, as well as the many flowers that we mixed in among the veggies.

We were given lots of plants this year so haven't had to spend much in the way of dollars on it. We have been eating from the garden for a few weeks now. Mainly different types of greens, lettuce, and radishes. This past week we started getting summer squash and even a few cukes and cherry tomatoes. The beets are just wonderful and are nothing like what is bought at the market. Fresh produce from the garden needs hardly any seasoning, as the natural flavors are just so fabulous.

Last week I made some vegan pesto that is really good. I mix it with salad dressing for salad as well as on sandwiches.

Daryl, as you will need to create a new garden from scratch, you may want to look in to and perhaps try out the "Lasagna Gardening" method. It looks like it would save on a lot of work in addition to enriching the soil. I gave the printable site, if it dosen't work try the other site of the same article on Lasagna Gardening at Mother Earth News, April/May 1999, edition.

Besides loving the great quality of the fresh produce, I love saving at the grocery store. Even the growers market just doesn't compare.

I have moved the weed discussion from the gardening forum to it's own forum:
Weeds, plants out of place?

I recently purchased a new plant; Green Pepper Basil (Ocimum selloi). I love basil, but was unfamiliar with this one. From recent reading on it; Ocimum selloi is an old herb that has been used for centuries in various cultures.

Ocimum selloi was first collected near Chiapas, Mexico, by botanist Dennis E. Breedlove. The Chiapas area of Mexico (Chiapas is between the Sierra Madre Mountains and the Guatemala border).

It is tender perennial herb, so I will probably try growing it in a pot and see how it over winters indoors. It has a look of the pepper plant and even smells some what like peppers. I haven't tasted it as yet, but have read that; it has a milder, more complex flavor than most basils - a combination of green pepper and basil.

Has anyone grown this herb or having any experience with it?

It has apparently had some medicinal use; reportedly used for stomach trouble and baths for those recovering from fevers.

Hi I am a newbe here.
I went to the trouble to construct a greenhouse frame,fenced with garden wire to keep the animals out.I made raised beds the Meitleider way. I filled the beds with dirt,peat,potting soil,sand and leaf mulch.For 3 years now I bought about $75 in bedding plants all veggs from Walmart. The plants grew but nothing produced but a large crop of mixed peppers. I put out 12/12/12. I am thinking the plants are a new kind that get you to buy and then you get to go to the grocery store and buy your produce all over again.
Do any of you know of a good source of heirloom garden seeds?

Hi carolyn,

Welcome to MSDAOL.

Sounds like you went to a lot of work with out very good results.

We have one of Meittleider's book around here somewhere. We have never followed his method, though.

I use a greenhouse more for starting plants, then for growing a garden, but we are talking of doing a greenhouse for more year round harvesting.

Sure glad that you asked the question of a good source for heirloom garden seeds. I did a little searching and found a great source right in your part of the country. I checked out their websites and it appears they are having a great time with it. Baker Creek Seed Company , near Mansfield. Featured in the March 2005 Rural Missouri .

Apparently they have their store in the Bakersville village that they have created. If you were a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan as you were growing up, you will find this claim for their village of interest.


In just a quick brows of the seed list, I have already found something that I would like to try, the gorgeous Tigger melon. They say that, "This heirloom came from an Armenian market located in a mountain valley." price is $3.50 for 25 seeds.

Hi Crater

Thanks for the link. I have heard of them and understand that they have a very successful operation.I would love to go there someday for their fall festival.You are right seeds from there would be proven to grow in missouri. I am located much farther north of them near the Mississippi/Missouri fork.
I have been raking leaves from 20 maples having so much fun.I spread them on the back lawn to dry this week the weather prognosticators were preaching gloom and ice and freezing rain.I hurried out to run the mower over the leaves.It only took cutting the entire lawn 4 times (force march)to reduce them to powder.It was nearly dark when I finally got my tools in the shed.The next morning promptly at 9am just when they said this deluge would hit; it did.One hour later it QUIT ! It had been 35' as I mulched now next day it is up to 50'
If you do not like the weather here hang around a few hours. It will change.
My greenhouse is a system of raised beds with 4x4 and 2x4 framing covered with 3' garden fencing.Eventually I will cover it with construction plastic about late Feb to use for greenhouse.When the weather becomes safer I uncover it. It is not large about 10' x 25'.If the lot was not terraced I could put in a larger garden but erosion could be a serious problem.
Did you all know that those mixed nuts you find in the grocer's this time of year will grow if planted? I put in a pound of butternuts.They make a nice hedge.
alius Laughingdove

I have read that planting nut trees for timber / lumber can become a nice inheritance to leave one's grandchildren.

Has anyone else been giving thought to gardening activities?

It hasn't been a time for bees yet, but definitely has been for birds. Had a pair of geese up near the house checking things out yesterday. A lot of of other birds hanging about. When I ran across Song of Solomon 2:10-12 this morning, it seemed to fit.



Well winter isn't over yet and rain is predicted for this weekend, but today is lovey with sunshine and just a few clouds.

I purchased a bunch of seeds last Monday, so this afternoon I am going to get some flats planted in the greenhouse.

PS. What do you think it means when it says "the voice of the turtle is heard in our land"? Do you think it is refernece to the turtle dove?

Today we welcome the first day of spring.

How does your garden grow?

We are just waiting for a nice day to till, then start planting. Some of my starts are up........... Want to get some peas in soon.