My Neighbors Are Putting in Vegetable Gardens!

[Barry Natchitoches]

I'm noticing an interesting trend among folks living in my immediate neighborhood in suburban Shelby County (Memphis area):


There are veggie gardens springing up left and right in folks back yards.


I used to have one of only two gardens in my block. Now, I know of seven, but have heard comments that suggest that there might be more.


None of the gardens are as large as mine, but heck, mine was pretty small the first year too!

 

[LC]

That's good news, Barry, but if you are into seed saving then you have some new issues to deal with because of these gardens. Good luck.

LC

 

[A.T.Hagan]

Encourage the trend, Barry, encourage the trend.

Wish there were more around where I live, but I haven't noticed them. Of course not everyone lives on suburban sized lots so they can be hard to see.

.....Alan.

 

[sirlancelot]

Which crop would grow the quickest and be the best for consumption? I planted okra before, it just kept cranking out okra but it got to the point it seemed that it was too hard to eat, pick it too late and your screwed, is it too late to plant?

 

[Freeholder]

Which crop would grow the quickest and be the best for consumption? I planted okra before, it just kept cranking out okra but it got to the point it seemed that it was too hard to eat, pick it too late and your screwed, is it too late to plant?

Depends on where you are. If you are in the deep south, you would have to select crops that would take the heat -- and I can't help you with that.

But in any case, you don't want to plant just one thing. Even if it was your favorite food in the whole world, you'd get tired of eating the same thing all the time. Figure out what you like to eat, and plant that. Don't plant things you don't like. You'll have to do some experimenting, probably, to find out what does best where you are -- keep notes, or you won't remember much from one year to the next.

Kathleen

 

[A.T.Hagan]

You should still be able to plant okra anywhere that it can be grown. So long as you keep watering it the stuff likes the heat. Okra is best when cut within two days of the blossom falling off. Three days is OK but by the fourth day it's likely getting a bit tough.

.....Alan.

 

[dreamseeer]

Which crop would grow the quickest and be the best for consumption? I planted okra before, it just kept cranking out okra but it got to the point it seemed that it was too hard to eat, pick it too late and your screwed, is it too late to plant?

Might be for seed .... Get some seedlings plants. Not too late for them.

Pick the okra before it gets too long......around 3-4 inches. Sometimes I pick mine from 2-3 inches....very tender at that lenght.

Unless it is Giant Okra.......if it gets too long it gets hard like for seed purposes.

 

[Onebyone]

Yum LOVE okra but you do have to keep at it and pick often and the little spines sting but love the stuff.

Getting a bit hot to plant turnip greens but mid to late summer you can plant turnip greens which are good as they give you greens and turnips, turnips which you can store in the winter root cellar.

Potatoes are good and in some areas you can still plant.

Leaf lettuce is good as it can grow in most temps except extreme heat and snow.

I strongly suggest planting fruit trees, berry bushes and vines/brambles and nut trees. If you have a small area plant dwarf trees. They won't produce this year but most fruit trees will the following year and once they get going they will produce much more on the same area of space than veggies. Nut trees take more room but berries take little room.

I planted 50 strawberry plants last spring got some berries last year but this year we have all the strawberries we want. Not enough to freeze or make jam but enough to give us fresh berries to eat and not have to pay for them at the store. AND homegrown strawberries are sooooo much better tasting than store bought.

Another good one is blueberries. Again got 4 little patio type plants last spring. No berries last year but this year I will get enough to make several batches of blueberry muffins. I am trying to grow new plants from from cuttings I took a few weeks ago but unfortunately most of the cuttings died. Not sure what I did wrong and hoping the 5 or so will grow into plants.

Another one is raspberries. Again planted three brambles last year and got a few berries but this year they are just loaded down and leaning to the ground. I am growing ALL of this on a patio space; imagine what you can do with a bit of yard space.

I have Cherry bushes planted but no cherries yet. They getting lots of limbs though so hopefully next year.

Herbs don't take much space and give you a good vitimin return for the space.
Chives, oregano, rosemary, sage are all easy to grow. I also want to try lemon grass. I have heard good things about it and it will be nice to have a taste of lemon even if Peak oil comes and we can't get real lemons.

Tomatoes are always good and once they start producing you get plenty.

Cucumbers are also easy to grow. If you pick them at the right size you can even make pickles which would be good potassium for winter use.

I know people like to plant beans but I have never felt I got enough produce from the space they take up though if I had a large space I would plant them as most people like to eat them.

Carrots but you need none rocky soil to get good carrots.

Mid summer plant some collard and cabbage which will last until frost and you can store cabbage for a time in a root cellar.

Winter squash butternut or acorn are ones we like are good and good for winter storage and very easy to grow.

 

[Shooting Star]

Well, I hope everyone's garden is doing better than ours - We have had so much rain that alot of our seed washed away - we are now looking at replanting much of ours

 

[sirlancelot]

Thanks One by One for all the info and typing you did there, you put alot of heart into your help, I live in san antonio and a crop that would be the least fragile or not require so much up keep, I am thinking in survival mode so potatoes are starting to look the best, does'nt seem they would require alot of maintenance, also what about beans? I picked them as a child in louisiana around minden then had them cooked up fresh, picked fresh strawberries in oregon as a child, biggest strawberries I ever saw, oregon has the prettiest produce and most colorful I can recall ever seeing.

 

[blueberry]

It is not too late to plant okra, and yes - it just keeps going and going But, that can be a good thing, if you like okra. (I don't like it, myself - but everyone else does, so I grow it)

Barry, having neighbors that garden is wonderful! I am the only one in my neighborhood that has a garden. My only gardening buddies are here on the board.

One house in my neighborhood had an old, but still producing, asparagus bed. When the house changed owners, the new owners did not know what it was. When I told them what it was, the wife said 'eeewwww, I don't want to eat dirty asparagus - I would rather get clean ones from the store'.

 

[Onebyone]

I dunno about the beans in your area for sure but in GA you can still plant beans. Just have to make sure you keep them watered in dry spells.

Thing I love about strawberries is they make more plants on their own each year so they just keep giving.

 

[joannita]

yep

My neighbor is too...