Vegetables, Herbs etc, do you even grow?

[Kosmik]

Sorry for the title, play on the whole do you even lift thing.

Anyway, so I bought my own house last year and with the current heat and humidity in Durban, things are growing madly in my garden. The previous owner set up a nice indigenous garden so it's pretty low maintenance and its fun watching arb plants pop up and disappear a month later with no intervention. So the wife and I were peeling a few butternuts for Christmas and she had scooped out the seeds/pulp and was about to toss it. I told here give me that lot, lets throw it into one of the pots lying around and see what happens. I scrapped a hole in some potting soil in a pot, dumped the pulp with seeds and covered them up.

A few days later, I had lots of shoots. A week later, they were a few cm high, this morning I went and raked clear a patch on a terrace in my backyard and transplanted the lot. About 15 seeds had sprouted, some I separated and some with intricate roots I left together. Those are standing at about 20cm in height already. This morning now the wife and I are giving it a serious go and planted some carrots, onions, chili's , lemon and an avo, holding thumbs for a green year.

To the point of this thread, with today's economic climate, I'm sure others are growing their own stuff. Lets share ideas and progress folks.

 

[MickeyD]

Herbs at this stage but the wife has already demarcated an area at the back where she wants me to start digging for a veggie patch.... We already have a JoJo tank installed near to it and have purchased some old plastic piping to hydroponic type of system.

 

[czc]

I've tried growing stuff on the balcony (enclosed) but it always got attack by these ting red spider looking things, make white webs on the plants and kill them. Now I've been composting peelings in a pot for a year. Let a tomato plant grow in there and it was a success. Makes me think the soil from Mica is useless.

So yeah, if you've got a garden you should be composting.

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

Got some herbs going in cinder blocks near the kitchen and have a small veggie garden going with carrots and marrows and spinach and cabbage. Seems to be doing monstrously well.

 

[satanboy]

I grow catmint on my balcony.

 

[HavocXphere]

Wish I had the space.

 

[absynth]

I've tried growing stuff on the balcony (enclosed) but it always got attack by these ting red spider looking things, make white webs on the plants and kill them. Now I've been composting peelings in a pot for a year. Let a tomato plant grow in there and it was a success. Makes me think the soil from Mica is useless.

So yeah, if you've got a garden you should be composting.

Try this, its an organic insectiside.I used it on our tomato plants this year as we always get red spider.



We grow Tomatoes, Okra, Chilli, Greenpeppers, Basil, Celery, many varieties of Spinach, Brinjal, various herbs and Curry Leaf.
Also have a Granadilla that is totally packed with fruit at the moment.

 

[air]

I grow catmint on my balcony.

catdagga? my 2 maine coons go gagga for it both male and female eat it and then kinda chill...lol

 

[krieg]

I have some peppers, tomatoes, different kinds of chilies and spearmint atm. I found strawberry corn seeds on a website that I'm very interested in growing next.

http://www.livingseeds.co.za has some interesting seeds on them.

 

[Beachless]

I planted seeds but its been so dry and hot and only the carrots came out.

Last year I had quite a lot of herbs an peppers and chillies etc. was great for omelets and pizzas etc.

Just a note though your butternuts will make a plant that will grow a few meters away and they tend to make many butternuts so 15 plants may be a bit overkill.

 

[Mortymoose]

Parsley, dill , cummin that I never knew I planted , an avo tree that will never bear fruit and a solitary tomato plant...

 

[Kosmik]

I planted seeds but its been so dry and hot and only the carrots came out.

Last year I had quite a lot of herbs an peppers and chillies etc. was great for omelets and pizzas etc.

Just a note though your butternuts will make a plant that will grow a few meters away and they tend to make many butternuts so 15 plants may be a bit overkill.

Yah, a mate said similar but I didn't expect that many sprouts. I've given them lots of room so hopefully they'll grow well.

 

[TofuMofu]

/sub

I need tips so that I can start with a garden

 

[RexxGrim]

/sub

I need tips so that I can start with a garden

Herbs, chilli and tomatoes are probably the easist to start with imo. Tomatoes and chilli you can grow from the seeds of store bought produce. Basically just stick it in the ground and water once a day.

Takes about 12-16 weeks before you'll be able to start harvest (tomatoes). I've had success with smaller varieties like Romanita & baby plum tomatoes.

Will post some pics when I get home tonight.

 

[TofuMofu]

Herbs, chilli and tomatoes are probably the easist to start with imo. Tomatoes and chilli you can grow from the seeds of store bought produce. Basically just stick it in the ground and water once a day.

Takes about 12-16 weeks before you'll be able to start harvest (tomatoes). I've had success with smaller varieties like Romanita & baby plum tomatoes.

Will post some pics when I get home tonight.

Awesome. I just need to figure out where to plant them as I have a huge front garden and a tiny back garden so it would be best infront and will need to look neat and "gardeny"

 

[Big Rat]

Had a 4sqr metre spot where my SO had Chillies, Green Peppers, Sage, Rosemary, spring onion and chives. Worked out fine for her apparently, because she got me to strip another 10 sq. metres of fine Grass land out for her Garden.

Lots of Concrete below the surface. MY shovel, and shoulders can attest to that. Next time she can go hire MR Manual and Mr Labour from around the corner. Never again.

 

[henry1103]

I have a 2 sqm part in the garden that has only basil at the moment. Probably dying since I haven't watered since 2 weeks ago.

 

[Kilgore_Trout_Redux]

catdagga? my 2 maine coons go gagga for it both male and female eat it and then kinda chill...lol

Cool choice of cats.

For some reason plants die around me no matter how hard I try. Started feeling bad about killing them so I stopped.

 

[MrR]

Have been growing and cultivating herbs (basil, chives, spring onion, parsley, etc) for a while now and recently started growing leafier plants (rocket, watercress, spinach, lettuce) and interestingly enough have potatoes, red onions and carrots that popped up in the garden as well. The latter three grew from scraps that ended up in the yard.

I have 2 cold water fish tanks that I "siphon" water from every few days to water the plants and must say that the nutrients in the tank water have boosted the plants quite a lot. If I had a bigger yard, I'd definitely go the hydroponics route.

 

[robdarussian]

I built one of those veggie planter things from an instructable about 3 years ago - it's still going strong. However, the things I've grown in it haven't really been too much to write home about. The usual basil, coriander, spring onions, chives etc.
I did try some baby marrows and patty pans but they were tiny - nowhere near the size you get in the shops. I think you need to have pretty good soil for those kind of things and keep replenishing your soil once you rip out whatever had previously died!