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