Home Vegetable Gardens

[Izzy]

Mickalino. Have you tried cilantro. It's the only herb I tried last year and wasn't impressed but I just let it air dry in a paper bag for a few days, maybe the oven method makes a difference. This year I've got thyme growing. I'll try it.

 

[Mickalino]

Mickalino. Have you tried cilantro. It's the only herb I tried last year and wasn't impressed but I just let it air dry in a paper bag for a few days, maybe the oven method makes a difference. This year I've got thyme growing. I'll try it.

I've got some Cilantro growing right now. I havn't converted it to seasoning yet, but I'd like to, because I also frequently make my own guacamole dip, and Cilantro is the perfect addition to that, or any Mexican dish.

 

[Boone]

When I grow herbs I do it so I can use them fresh. Just my opinion, but I don't think the difference between store bought dried herbs and homegrown is enough to bother with it. But the whole appeal of home gardening is to be able to provide some things on your own through your own hard work vs. buying them, and the joy of 'creating' ... I would say about 95% of my harvest gets canned or pickled. I have made some hot salts with different pepper types in the past, as well as done some hot sauces. But dehydrating isn't something I do a lot of...

 

[Boone]

I've got some Cilantro growing right now. I havn't converted it to seasoning yet, but I'd like to, because I also frequently make my own guacamole dip, and Cilantro is the perfect addition to that, or any Mexican dish.

You can dry the leaves, and 'Coriander' is actually dried and ground cilantro seeds.

 

[Mickalino]

You can dry the leaves, and 'Coriander' is actually dried and ground cilantro seeds.

Yea and there's a few other good spices you can bottle from the actual seeds of veggies ;
Celery Seed and Carrot Seed are a couple good ones.

Last night I had a spontaneous idea, that was inspired by Asian Wraps.
Asian Wraps substitute leafy greens for the pita/tortilla or whatever bread.
They wrap the greens around the meat, spice, toppings, sauce, etc.

But my idea was to make an Italian version of that.
My Basil leaves were getting big, so I took several large basil leaves and wrapped them around an authentic, homemade Italian Meatball with mozzarella and marinara sauce.
While the meatball was cooking, I dehydrated some Basil and used it as a spice.
So with my Italian Wrap, I used both fresh Basil leaves and dried Basil for some extra kick.
The tasting experience was meraviglioso.

The Greeks also do something similar with Grape Leaves, when they make Dolmades.
Coincidentally, I also have some large grapevines growing.

 

[Boone]

I make grape leaf pickles sometimes… there’s a chemical in grape leaves that makes pickles come out super crispy.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

Lettuce, onions, green beans, cilantro, and tomatoes is it for this year. Still have frozen peppers from last year I had so many. Of course perfer fresh but limited on space.

I have yet to meet anyone who can grow cilantro here. Whenever I tried it went to seed quickly.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

I make grape leaf pickles sometimes… there’s a chemical in grape leaves that makes pickles come out super crispy.

So you put a few grape leaves in with the small cukes?

 

[Boone]

Yes. Any kind of grape leaves will work. I use muscadine because that's what I have growing in my backyard.

 

[DWinzit]

Our vegetable garden is simple, just a few pots on the patio by the pool. Fill them with different types of small or grape tomatoes, jalapenos, basil, and cilantro. Other than the cilantro, they supply us much of the later summer with a few of our favorites virtually maintenance free.

 

[Mickalino]

Some people add milk to their tomato plants to enrich them.
Anyone here tried that ?

 

[DWinzit]

Some people add milk to their tomato plants to enrich them.
Anyone here tried that ?

Never heard that one before

 

[Boone]

Some people add milk to their tomato plants to enrich them.
Anyone here tried that ?

Tomatoes are susceptible to 'blossom end rot' - where the tomatoes develop this black rotten area on one end. It's caused by a couple of things... inconsistent watering or rainfall can do it, but the soil being low in calcium is the other thing. I imagine people are using milk as a fertilizer to avoid that.

 

[Izzy]

I crunch up all my egg shells and sprinkle them around my tomatoes and lightly stir up the soil around them, no more end rot.

 

[Boone]

That’s a great idea and probably works better than milk which isn’t going to stay around in the soil long

 

[Mickalino]

I crunch up all my egg shells and sprinkle them around my tomatoes and lightly stir up the soil around them, no more end rot.

Another "leftover" that's great for calcium in the soil is coffee grounds.
Most notably, it provides a nitrogen boost.
As well as potassium, phosphorus, and some micronutrients.
Also helps repel harmful insects and some wild animals that might intrude

 

[Mickalino]

Blueberries are mind-numbingly easy, but you need to make sure you get the right variety for your area. Like I mentioned, in hot humid climes like the American South, if you get northern blueberry varieties you'll fail. Blueberry varieties have to have the right number of cold hours in order to do well.

Beyond getting the right variety, yeah, they like an acid soil. Easiest way to do that is to plant them with a 50-50 mix of peat moss and regular dirt, and add peat moss every couple of years (or you can throw a handful of aluminum sulfate on them every couple of years. My rabbiteye bushes are 10-15 feet tall and produce like crazy with zero maintenance.

In my personal experience, blackberries seem even easier.
Never had to worry about soil pH, or supplementing with Iron or anything, or getting the perfect soil/compost mixture.
Almost zero maintenance.
And a couple weeks ago, I already started to harvest some beautiful, juicy, organic berries like this one

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

When I grow herbs I do it so I can use them fresh. Just my opinion, but I don't think the difference between store bought dried herbs and homegrown is enough to bother with it. But the whole appeal of home gardening is to be able to provide some things on your own through your own hard work vs. buying them, and the joy of 'creating' ... I would say about 95% of my harvest gets canned or pickled. I have made some hot salts with different pepper types in the past, as well as done some hot sauces. But dehydrating isn't something I do a lot of...

Depends on the herb. Oregano from the garden is weaker than the dry version from the store, rosemary IMO is the exact same fresh or dry. But things like fresh basil or thyme are way better than anything McCormick can produce.

I'm down to one tomato plant, 2 cherries in hanging baskets, an herb garden and my new raspberry patch which is blowing up and something I am very proud of. Beginner tip: when planting raspberries you only need a few plants, they send out shoots and expand very quickly.

 

[Mickalino]

One could do both, and reap the benefits of both the fresh and dried herb.
Even if your preference is fresh, you can take a portion of fresh and a separate portion to dry it, for prolonged use.

Once you remove a leaf from a plant, it doesn't stay good for very long, but the dried herb lasts years ; that's one advantage to all dry herbs.
So it's always good to have a long-lasting, dry stash for the times of the year you run out of the fresh herb

 

[Boone]

Trying something different this year - staking my squash plants and trying to train them vertically. We get a lot of squash vine borers in NC and some years, I barely harvest squash because they kill my plants before they can produce much. They are easier to spot and control if you get your plants up off the ground. We'll see how it goes. I have also been experimenting with grow bags but this may be the last year I use them as it gets so hot here that it is a challenge keeping plants hydrated in bags.