Ren gardeners?

[dreamwalker]

Any other Rennies that have green thumbs at home? Mine is my pride & joy....

[Mairte]

I do....but mostly when it isnt 30 some degrees out....
I have houseplants though and sometime after Christmas will start seeds for the spring garden.

[Auryn]

We just moved into a house with a garden so I hope to get started on my vegetable patch right quick.
My pride and joy right now are my passion fruit vines that are 12+ feet tall

[dreamwalker]

Wow! I have horrible luck with food plants other than herbs. I got a 1 gallon orange experanza and now it hanging over the fence with seed pods in less than a year

[raevyncait]

Well, the Texas heat has killed everything except the rosemary, and I'm not sure HOW it managed to survive, although it does seem to be a bit of a succulent, so perhaps the drought wasn't quite as hard on it as other stuff. I'm finally back to cooking ONLY to please my palate (the roommates moved), and am going through the fresh herbs I get at the store (aside from the rosemary I grab from the garden) quickly, so I'm planning a window garden of herbs that I can use through the winter, and move outside when it warms up in the spring.

[Rowan MacD]

 I keep Rosemary and Oregano year round (I bring the pot in during the winter), but I only plant Sweet basil, Dill and Parsley every 2 years, since it tends to go hog wild and I end up with tons of dried and frozen herbs.   I do plant garlic and chives outdoors.


Edit: I have a mature asparagus bed too, but I tend to forget about it since it takes care of itself.

[Mairte]

I got my first two gardening catalogs for 2012 this week!   Sigh...I always seem to think I can plant more than my little garden will hold.

[Auryn]

It doesnt seem to be a problem to grow Rosemary down here as long as its planted in the ground, potted it doesnt like it very much.
Granted I live in a totally "special" gardening zone. Most of Florida is a 9- 9a or 9b- the county I live in and everything south is a 10 so of course I can't grow a lot of fruits and berries.

We shall see.
I am hoping to get working on my compost bin in the next two weeks.
My red pepper plants are about 4 inches tall right now- grew them from seeds from a really sweet red pepper I got at a farmer's market.
I am keeping my fingers crossed that they all become fruitful.

Do you guys have any tips or tricks to share??

[Rowan MacD]

  My advice:
Use compost for fertilizer whenever possible; I have noticed the produce is sweeter, not to mention healthier.. Use Miracle Grow if the plants look anemic, but make sure that it's not from lack of (or too much) sun...Before you plant outdoors for the first time, you might want to observe the sun/shade patterns in your chosen beds.  Some plants don't do well in partial shade or high heat.
   Some Mediterranean herbs should get less water to get optimum flavor; Oregano is one of these.  Prune or pinch new growth to make the plant fuller.
   Pick produce every day, even just one or two tomatoes.  This stimulates fresh growth and more fruit.  My asparagus is pretty labor intensive during the 2-3mo that it is producing and I have to harvest 2 times a day. The more I cut, the more shoots come up.   I swear the stuff grows like seaweed during the month of May.
  Inspect the plants and remove bugs every day with your fingertips if needed.  In my area we have to keep Dill and Parsley in containers since we get these smelly green caterpillars that will wipe them out if I grow them off the deck.  As it is I still get one or two, but I remove them right away.  If you stay up with that it's not hard to stay ahead of them.. Slugs can be controlled using a rolled up damp newspaper.  They crawl in there, and you just pick it up and throw it away.