I thought I might enjoy sharing my garden with all of you in a more formal fashion. I've learned a few things here and I'd like to give back by sharing my experiences. And hey, sharing our gardens is great! We can all learn together. Being newly retired, I know I plan to spend more time in my garden over the next few years, as long as I can! It's great therapy and we get tomatoes.


My biggest project this year was the transformation of the food pantry garden, so I think some before and after pictures would be enjoyable to all. It's a good sized space and I estimate 60’x20’ in US measure, big enough to produce a decent amount of food but small enough that one person can still work it. This is how it looked when I started in May. The previous gardener had allowed it to go to weed, including a huge flowering kale that was lovely but didn't contain one single edible leaf. There were old dandelions for miles and while dandelion is edible, it's not popular with the pantry clients. And don't get me started in the creeping charlie! Granted it's called gardener's bane for a reason, but dude, weeding sickle!



He was an intensive planting gardener as well, cramming as much as he could into the space. It may be difficult to see but the tomatoes were planted so closely together that the cages were touching. He also tended to plant the same thing in the same area year after year. This is one area that's changing radically.


The old watering system was a lawn sprinkler placed in the middle of the garden. You can also see a huge bamboo bush to the left. That took up lots of what could be productive space.




Obviously, the first thing I did was start weeding. That old kale and the dandelion had to go, in favor of more productive and popular plantings. I had to move nearly half of the plantings in the name of proper spacing, so three tomatoes and one cucumber group went there.



This space, which is bigger than is shown in the picture, was all parsnips. When I got done, it was all tomatoes.



The new watering system: standard soaker hose. Not only did watering become more efficient, I could work in the garden while doing so. I laid 200' of hose and still could use another 50' or so. Unfortunately the water faucet won't push more water so some buckets are going to have to be hauled, like it or not. Spring planting will have the bucket hauling space closer to the water source.


The bell peppers were planted with proper spacing along the fence. They never did produce much so I'll advocate forgoing a pepper planting next year.


This herb area, along with the strawberry patch, wasn't a huge producer either. The last gardener planted oregano, parsley, sage, and thyme. These particular herbs weren't popular with the clients and the birds got more strawberries than we did, so that area was prime for replanting.


The pantry has a number of Latino clients, and garlic is very popular. So that's what I planted.

I did show some of these pictures in my other thread, but I think it'll help with story continuity to show the evolution of the garden over the course of the season. This photo is from July, looking east. Things were growing decently even though spring was horribly rainy and wet. You can see the squash hill in the foreground. I was able to replant about half of it for spacing.


One big change was removing the bamboo tree, to reclaim more space. The pantry administrator had informed me that, unless the garden produced well this year, they were going to shut it down and plant grass. Being given permission to remove this tree was a huge victory because it meant they were planning to keep the garden. I very much enjoyed playing with my new toy, a handheld battery powered chainsaw! That did the job very quickly and relatively easily. The wood chips down my bra were par for the course LOL.


One thing I did in spring, before removing the herbs, was trim down the strawberry patch in favor of onions. Sadly, many fell to my weeding sickle, but we got a few and that was a better use of the space. I worked with the plant donations I had. Next year we'll get a new chip drop for new mulch so hopefully, weeding will be a bit less. I'm also eyeing up a Cape Cod weeder for smaller spaces and planning to intercrop onions with tomatoes.


The garden in late August, again looking east. I had implemented a regular fertilizing schedule using chicken poo, which the last gardener didn't believe in. A lab soil test had shown the need, especially for nitrogen, so everyone got a side dressing once per month.


Mid-September. I had started pulling things like cucumbers, thus the spaces. Plantings never did get really large due to the cold, wet spring. However, the roots were white and healthy when I pulled the plants so that was a good sign.



The garlic planting after the remainder of the herb garden was pulled. 151 cloves in 5 rows, along with 3 rows of onions. I found a couple of surviving onion sets while weeding and had some old onion seed in my stash, so that's where it went. It grows or it doesn't. It was growing so hopefully it'll come back in spring.


Early October, with the summer squashes pulled. Sad to see the garden emptying out, but this is the way of things. The only thing that grows up here in winter is the snow pile.


And the final cleaning! The husband of a volunteer was happy to rototill everything under, and happily left my garlic patch out of it. The garlic area is marked by the white board. Everything else was tilled under to add organic matter to the soil, and he did a beautiful job! That old mulch can feed the worms and new mulch will enhance the beauty of the garden. Hopefully it'll cut down on weeding, but some of those weeds are quite stubborn! Oh well. So am I.


In total, I view this year's garden as successful. I had to work with what the last gardener did and once he chose to move on, life got much easier. I was able to implement good gardening practices and during the height of harvest season, the garden produced 50-60 pounds US measure per week. I picked ~2 pounds of herbs per week until we learned that these particular herbs were unloved, and acted accordingly to better align the plantings with the needs of the food pantry. Taking up the fencing, which deterred not a single rabbit, made both tilling and rotating SO much easier! I also have succession plantings in mind for next year, such as having cucumbers ready once I pull the garlic and planting garlic where the old cucumbers were once I pull them. Rotating tomatoes and squashes will be a bit more challenging, partly due to the size of the garden, but even one foot away will be better than nothing. Clearing all of the Bermuda grass from the back fence cleared up some space as well. I've gotten to know this space, right down to the subtle gradient that makes the area near the fence a bit wetter than the rest of the garden. There's a nice, shady area were some kale can go, popular with the pantry clients but abhorred by the rabbits. The garden is transformed into a productive space again!

I hope you enjoyed my story. I look forward to hearing your comments and any suggestions you may have.

Fabulous work @JayneR13. Love the way you went about making the garden more productive and suitable produce for those who rely on it.

Thanks @Whwoz! We’re serving 1000 people every month from our little pantry, and I don’t anticipate need slowing down any time soon. I processed, I think, six new client applications this past Thursday alone. Every little bit helps, right? Fresh produce is probably the highest priced item in my local grocery store right now. Spring can’t get here soon enough!

Well done! It looks like your retirement came at the right time and you have seamlessly shifted into the next chapter of life. I'm looking forward to watching this project grow.

You know, if you're using a lot of OP stuff you now have a new source for seed collection for use in your own garden and vice versa. And plant divisions for sharing. Oh, the possibilities!

Indeed, I'm looking forward to working this project and watching it grow! I may be able to collect seed depending upon what varieties are donated, but since we grow annuals (tomatoes, cucumbers, certain herbs, and squash) exclusively, I'm not sure yet about plant divisions. It's likely that the strawberries will try to come back, so I can dig the crowns for distribution. We'll see if we get any garlic scapes! I have no idea if the varieties we were able to acquire are hard or soft neck. I had originally asked PA to provide 4-6 big heads, but when I dug the old herbs and really saw the space I knew that wouldn't be enough! So when I saw some for sale at the farmer's market I nabbed it. I planted 15 heads in there and plan to save that many back at harvest for next year's planting. It would be cool if I could get a cilantro patch to establish but I'm dubious, and we've seen what happens with next year's kale. There was a lot of wild lettuce when I cleaned that space out, but it was really bitter and if I wouldn't eat it, I don't expect the clients would either. So that got pulled. Last year we had more donations than we could use, and the overage was given away. There were lots of brassicas, which really aren't appropriate to this garden because of the space/yield ratio. Also, growing things like cauliflower is quite tricky and we could end up with nothing. Cabbage or kohlrabi Maybe, but really, no. So the above listed most popular plants it is!

Yeah, retirement doesn't bother me much! I've been doing one thing or another since I was 14, which is longer ago than I care to admit. Time for the next chapter! Times are hard. As a gardener, I can help! That gives me a good feeling in my heart

Winter gardening is a hydroponics operation, along with two tomatoes that are being overwintered indoors. I got my first ripe Totem today. Both plant and fruit are quite small but it was tasty. The Defiant tomato is much larger.


My Aerogarden with three micro tomatoes: Minibel, Venus, and Pendulina. One thing about growing tomatoes this way, at least in my experience, is that even determinants will keep fruiting for quite some time. I let them go until they get bitter, then replant. These are all salad tomatoes.




My off-brand unit, two years old and still growing. I had to replace the pump but other than that, we’re good. The other part of my salad, or for sandwiches. When the plants outgrow the height of the lights it’s time to replant, unless I want seed. I usually grow red Romaine and a few other lettuces in this one.




My new GardenCube, planted with more greens. The bit plant in front is Mizuna red streak mustard, obtained from my recent MIGardener grab bag. There’s some lettuce in back along with a mix called Salad Burnette.




Indoor gardening up is better than no gardening. Please enjoy!

@JayneR13 Do you supplement the light to the plants by the door?

@MissS no, not typically. My patio door faces south so it's pretty bright. I don't usually grow tomatoes indoors over winter however, since I've tried and didn't get good results. These two are finishing what's on the vine but the Totem isn't flowering anymore. The Defiant has some new flowers though.

It's another day in paradise and a cold afternoon, so I might as well post about my indoor garden. It's cold enough and getting colder, so the patio door has been sealed off. This is to Miss Yin's great disappointment! I did offer one last trip outside and she turned her nose up at the cold, so there! No more outsidies until Spring.

The Totem and Defiant tomatoes are still hanging in there. Both have actually ripened a couple of fruits and there are a few flowers, so I'll let them stay. These are rather spindly in the pot and the Totem never has gotten really big. I find it small even for a dwarf, so it might do well grown hydroponically.



My poor money tree is coming back! It didn't seem very happy where it was, an east-facing window in my sunroom that's surprisingly dark. So I moved it to the south-facing patio door, not thinking about the fact that the leaves wouldn't take kindly to the increased light. Sure enough, it dropped all leaves but one! It's coming back though. All three stems are showing new growth. Plants are amazingly resilient!



My replanted hydroponics unit. I use this one primarily for sandwich lettuce and plant only about half of the available spots. This is because the deck gets quite crowded and smaller plants get shaded out as I cut & come again. A typical planting will last 2-3 months. The hole rear left is where the power cord for the aftermarket aquarium pump exits the unit. This unit is 2 years old and counting. It's a cheap knockoff so the lights aren't replaceable, but the pump is, sort of.


The GrowCube is putting out greens nicely. These are primarily salad greens and herbs. I need to do something with all of that parsley. Perhaps a nice pasta salad or stir fry.


And of course, the Aerogarden with its 3 micro-tomato plants. Again, planting more is usually counterproductive for the same reasons. The plants crowd one another out and I get a big dead mess of leaves. I've found 3 plants does well in this unit, although they don't ripen quickly, especially when the weather cools down. Tomatoes ripen best in the 70-80F range and it's much easier on my heating bill to keep the house at 65F. So I wait and practice patience. Gardening is a good teacher.


Here's a picture just because it's lovely and inspirational. The weather this past Thursday was rain, snow, and wind during pantry distribution. I'm so glad that data management services are typically an indoor job! And I'm grateful to have a home and dry clothes to go home to, not to mention long johns and wool socks! My feet were wet from the short walk from my house, and wool is good this way. There are so many things I'm grateful for, in addition to the usual good health and home! The love of my cat(s), a financially viable retirement, and a great volunteer gig at the food pantry, to name a few. It would be really cool if my home renovation loan would be approved, given the type of loan it is! No payments, no interest, forgive by living here is hard to beat! So, saying a prayer and keeping my fingers crossed!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! What are you grateful for?

What a lovely post @JayneR13.

It's wonderful that you can grow a few things indoors as our long dark dreary days of winter quickly approach. Just a little dirt to play in and something fresh and green to stimulate your palate!

I have so very much to be grateful for but mostly all of the kind people in my life which includes many from this forum. I am blessed.

Because my name's Jayne, and I'm a seedaholic! These will be cold stratified in my fridge for a month or two, then put under the grow lights. It'll be interesting to see what I get!

You'll have your own Little Shop Of Horrors.

"Feed me, Seymour, FEED ME!"

@GoDawgs I'm wondering how her marriage is. I afraid that her husband may be going on a long long trip soon.

MissS wrote: ↑Mon Nov 25, 2024 10:54 pm @GoDawgs I'm wondering how her marriage is. I afraid that her husband may be going on a long long trip soon.

Actually, I'm a childless cat lady by choice! Thank my parents, but too long of a story for this place. My cats have never messed with my carnivores, believe it or not! However, I've stayed away from Nepenthes, the Asian pitcher plant whose pitchers hang as a hanging plant does. My cat Kona absolutely hated hanging things and would chew them promptly! So no Nepenthes. Other than that, both Morty and Miss Yin stay(ed) off of the shelves. Perhaps they sense their danger

As an aside, there are Nepenthes pitchers big enough to take rodents, as well as small puppies & kittens. Another reason to stay away from those. N. rajah is one example.

Another day, another indoor growing project. I'm running out of my home brew lion's mane double extraction tincture. Rather than buy the stuff @$35/2 oz bottle, I spent $30 on a table top grow kit. That should yield a good pound of fresh mushroom easily. The last time I did this, I ended up with 3 quarts of tincture.


It would seem that these kits no longer include the humidity tent and the spray bottle. Thankfully, I saved bottles from when they did and a bread bag will do nicely.


I should soon have a pound or so of fresh mushroom, which I'll put into the alcohol phase of the extraction process. Any more can be dehydrated and saved for the water phase, which will take place about 30 days after the alcohol phase. No, the fresh mushroom won't last that long, therefore the necessity for dehydration. I also have a good pound of lion's mane's close cousin, the bear's head, that I can throw into the mix at the appropriate time. While I never could get into the taste of mushrooms, and I did try, the tincture isn't bad in a cup of tea and has many health benefits.

Here's a very general recipe for a mushroom double extraction tincture. I'm going to try high proof flavored vodka this time around rather than Everclear and my ratio math is more Piscean. In other words, I estimate the 3:1 water to alcohol mixture by using my canning jars. I use those since I get a fair amount of tincture so a measuring cup takes too long.

https://modern-forager.com/making-medic ... -tincture/

Please enjoy! I'll keep you all posted.

Ah the things that make us happy! My new gas range has been delivered. There are a few changes from the old one, such as having to run the oven from the control panel, but that's OK! I'll think of a reason for that fifth burner. Maybe I'll even buy a griddle! I now have a simmer burner and a quick boil burner, as well as a full grate. I'll kind of miss the space between grates when canning though. I used that space to fill jars and will have to adjust my process. I've been saving some small pumpkins to try the oven out, which has a heat source in the back although not true convection. It's still an improvement over my old oven, which was 18 years old and definitely wasn't heating evenly. I also had to light one burner with a match with another burner heading in that direction, so it was time. Please enjoy the new addition to my woman-cave!


I also couldn't resist a few more carnivorous plant seeds @ 35% off! My CP garden needs a refresh. I bought two kinds of Sarracenia, one Venus Flytrap, and one Drosera. These will be cold-stratified in individual pots, with damp sphagnum moss inside of a big baggie. Who says we can't garden in winter?

Nice stove! You're going to LOVE that simmer burner. I never had one until the one we have now. The guy who installed it had the same stove and said we'd love the simmer burner. Oh right he was! I'm remembering that one previous stove had a center burner like that but it was never used.

It's another good day to be an indoor kitty, even if temps are forecast to rise into the 40sF! Naturally that feels quite warm compared to the 20s with wind chills in the teens to zero. It seems that the coldest days of winter so far are always on Thursday, which is distribution day at the pantry! Oh well. I'm a huge fan of long johns, wool socks, and fingerless gloves for computer work.

That all being said, indoor gardening is in full swing. The replanted hydroponics unit is taking off. This is the cheap knockoff brand, which has lasted for 2+ years. I've had to replace the pump but other than that, it's still going strong. The lights will be the determining factor here, since I can't replace them. When those go, it'll be time for a new unit.


The lion's mane block is fruiting. I had to move it to the heat mat because it was just too cold otherwise. I could see the mycelia dying back so I took action, and all is now well. I'm also keeping an eye out on other sides of the block in case it fruits in those areas.


I crossed an item off of my bucket list this year: a trip to see the Festival of Trees at the National Railroad museum. I've traveled via Amtrak a few times, so I found the choo-choos pretty cool as well. This tree is from the local botanical garden, another item on my bucket list. I've been out there a few times for the Garden of Lights but I've never walked the trails in summer! This must change.


The carnivorous plant seeds arrived yesterday. One thing about ordering seeds at this time of year is, they get a nice cold stratification on the way! Not enough to germinate them but it's better than buying plants, along with a heat pack, and hoping they survive. I'm also looking forward to my latest order from Seeds N Such. They have a number of interesting disease resistant varieties that I'm looking forward to experimenting with, and who could resist a 35% off sale? Thankfully I can resist buying the entire catalog! Yikes!


And a lovely sunset to bring joy to the eye! It's been really cloudy lately so the sun is most welcome when we see it! I'm also looking forward to getting my HVAC system upgraded on Tuesday even though it means I'll be without heat until they're done installing the new system. I'll spike the heat in the morning, then dress warm and snuggle with Miss Yin. She'll be upstairs so she's not underfoot, nor will she be tempted to make a run for the Great Outdoors! She's quite the escape artist, and could teach evasion & escape classes to military elites. So, upstairs she goes!


I hope you're all having a good winter. Stay warm and happy gardening! Those of you Down Under are enjoying summer, I know. Happy gardening to you too!

I thought about you when the Sow True Seeds catalog came a few days ago. They're out of Asheville, NC and I got my Polish White garlic from them last fall. I saw they have mushroom plugs. I don't know how their prices compare to what you pay but here's the addy for the catalog's mushroom page:

https://sowtrueseed.com/collections/mushrooms

If you hover on the pics and click on the Quick View (magnifying glass with + sign) you will see the price and quantity of plugs. Looks like $19.50 for 100 plugs.