The Plants are in the ground.

[LuanaGlobal]

Once again this year I am attempting to grow some food.

This is what is in the ground in a 6 foot by 12 foot fenced area: Cherry Tomato's, Egg plant: Japan and regular, Cucumbers, Cabbage, Zucchini or summer squash, Green Bell peppers, and water melon and cantaloupe

Also a Patch of flowers and mint.

I am really looking forward to the growing season.

It makes me thank Jehovah for his hospitality of food.

[Joey]

I haven't planted yet,we do it after memorial day....the Amish already planted everything but they have to cover it ...but they'll be selling veggies along side the road and mine will be babies yet.I have no room for watermelon or cantelope. I did when we lived in the country and we had really good crimson sweet watermelons ...I had lima beans and okra to,but here just a salad garden.

I started everything indoors last year also,not this year. I love seeing the little sprouts...so cool.

[carribbeangrl01]

I was going to start a whos who on veggies and gardens. Who has them ect.

Looks like this will work too.

I have a 20 by 20 community garden spot that I have done nothing except pull weeds out. I have a few plants, but cant plant till I get nut grass and other weeds out. Evil stuff. Any ideas?

I would like to plant variety of tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers (red yellow orange green and purple), maybe celery and who knows what else.

[ava]

This is going to be my first year starting a garden. I am totally clueless, lol. I live in TX and gardening is very different from when I lived in IL. So I am learning all anew.

We are in the process of laying it out, tilling and getting the soil ready. I'm sure I'll kill some stuff, lol. I'm hoping eventually to have a nice garden though.

[lavritt]

My son, DIL and I worked in our garden all yesterday afternoon. Whew! We have cabbage, carrots, onion, eggplant, beets, pole beans, canteloupe, watermelon, peppers, jalapeno, squash, cucumber, and tomatoes. Peas and okra will go in this week. We buy corn from the farmers. Last year our tomatoes grew like trees....seriously. I have gardened most of my life and have never seen such! (maybe that's how it will be in paradise???!!!) Anyway, they were so big it took three people to tie up one plant. I put up 160 quarts (plus sauces and relishes and what we ate) before I said, "okay, I'm done!" And so far this year it looks like they're gonna do the same. Already have golf-ball sized tomatoes...it's gonna be a long, hot summer....

I'd post a picture, but can't figure out how!

[LuanaGlobal]

Lisa

The abundance in your Garden sounds wonderful. Must be the soil.

It would be nice to see those tomato trees.

Last year the cherry tomato's just kept producing, we ended up sharing them with friends.

I want to add we were able to plant 2 sour cherry trees and 2 peach trees and finally two Apple trees.

The woman next door to me has 12 adult apple trees, they are so productive that it made me want to plant some too.

[lavritt]

This is just one day's picking:

[carribbeangrl01]

Lisa,

Can you get photos of rest of garden and trees too?

Garedening makes me excited except for the nut grass.

Luana,

How are the cherry trees coming along? Do you have any photos?

[lavritt]

Lisa,

Can you get photos of rest of garden and trees too?

Garedening makes me excited except for the nut grass.

Luana,

How are the cherry trees coming along? Do you have any photos?

Can't find any pics of the tomato plants from last year...I think I was just so sick of the garden by then I didn't want any reminders! The pic I posted above was just one day...25 gallons of tomatoes. Uhmmmm, and I had just put up 20 gallons two days earlier, and another 20 two days before that. (Uhmmm, and my "helpers"...technically it's THEIR garden...went on vacation for a week..."it'll be a breeze, mama, we got it picked before we left.....HA! I canned by myself...and sent them ugly Facebook messages!!! ) If the garden does the same this year, I'll be sure to take some and post them!

[ava]

That is incredible!!!!

I want to learn how to can vegetables myself. I have heard it's alot of work though!!!

[steeringwheel]

Thanks to Lisa for posting pics (tomatoes) & others garden notes. The pics & stories remind me of our family garden in Ohio. Seemed we raised everything & Mother canned almost everything. We would also buy extra cabbage & shred, so she could make saurkraut. Of course, I didn't like everything she made, like her catsup or pickled beans. In about 1/3 acre we raised enough for us 4 plus my older brother & sister familes & some friends. I think my favorites was the peas, green beans, sweet corn & strawberries. But I never knew us buying much canned goods or vegetables at grocery, until we moved to Texas. 30 yrs. ago here by Houston my wife & I raised some garden for about 15 years. I always like the planting part, but it falls on wife to take most of care later. Then soil went bad & so we quit for about 12 yrs. Then we had renter that gave us about 1/2 of what he raised on our land & water bill. This year, he moved & so I couldn't see land wasted; so I planted some cucumbers, green beans, hot peppers & about 15 tomato plants. My wife eats tomatoes 3 meals a day. Can't wait to buy sweet corn from farmers; I saw some field corn today already tasseling out! Hope you all have GREAT results. -- IF food is Good now, imagine when its PERFECT>

[lavritt]

That is incredible!!!!

I want to learn how to can vegetables myself. I have heard it's alot of work though!!!

It's a lot of work...but so rewarding! But it's really not that hard to learn. My mama learned from old sisters in our congregation in Indiana. We had a basement that, by the end of the summer, was filled with hundreds (literally!) of jars of veggies, and jams and jelly and pickles. And we had big storage bins for the potatoes and apples and root vegetables. I hated going down there to get mama a couple of jars of beans cause my brother would cut off the light and lock me in. Such a brat! Anyway, I learned from her. And now I'm teaching one of my daughter-in-laws...passing down some old family recipes. She loves it! Last month she put up her very first strawberry preserves! And now she wants to learn to make wine! ><

[GrumpysWife]

That is incredible!!!!

I want to learn how to can vegetables myself. I have heard it's alot of work though!!!

Grumpy and I have been canning veggies for most of our lives together. It is a lot of work. Nearly every night we worked on something that he had picked from the garden during harvest season. When the kids were small we would can about 1000 jars of veggies etc. We also had a root cellar that we would store about 400 lbs of potatoes that we would glean from a farmers potatoes after the machine went through. With his permission of course.

We bought a commercial canner that could do 22 qts at a time. Now we go to Walmart. I'm not convinced of the savings, but the taste of your own home grown veggies is wonderful.

[rocket]

We also canned a lot over the years but not so much any more. We put a few things in the freezer like strawberries and blueberries. Canning for a beginner can be dangerous especially with a pressure cooker as they can explode. I would study up on it and become very familiar with the do's and do not's.

[carribbeangrl01]

We also canned a lot over the years but not so much any more. We put a few things in the freezer like strawberries and blueberries. Canning for a beginner can be dangerous especially with a pressure cooker as they can explode. I would study up on it and become very familiar with the do's and do not's.

Never tried it yet. You sound like you have had some experience with them exploding?

[lavritt]

We also canned a lot over the years but not so much any more. We put a few things in the freezer like strawberries and blueberries. Canning for a beginner can be dangerous especially with a pressure cooker as they can explode. I would study up on it and become very familiar with the do's and do not's.

Never tried it yet. You sound like you have had some experience with them exploding?

Exploding happens if you try to open them before the inside pressure has come down. Inexperienced people have been really cut and burned by forcing a still-pressurized canner open before it's ready. I solved this problem by canning at night and timing it so that it was ready to turn off by the time I went to bed. The pressure would come down while I slept and be ready for a new batch in the morning. It was slower, but I could easily can at least 3 loads a day with no worries on safety. Most of the time I don't use a pressure canner, use it mostly for green beans....don't need it for acidic foods...

[GrumpysWife]

We also canned a lot over the years but not so much any more. We put a few things in the freezer like strawberries and blueberries. Canning for a beginner can be dangerous especially with a pressure cooker as they can explode. I would study up on it and become very familiar with the do's and do not's.

The new caners have safety features that the older ones didn't have. I have never had a problem, except once when I didn't put in enough water and that was to cook a meal not caning. And that was my 1 st time using it. Quite a mess on the ceiling.

[rocket]

We also canned a lot over the years but not so much any more. We put a few things in the freezer like strawberries and blueberries. Canning for a beginner can be dangerous especially with a pressure cooker as they can explode. I would study up on it and become very familiar with the do's and do not's.

Never tried it yet. You sound like you have had some experience with them exploding?

I have never had one explode myself but have read and heard of many accidents with pressure cookers. They are safer today than the ones I grew up with in the 50's and 60's but I would still recommend becoming educated in their use before using. About all I use a pressure cooker for today is chicken with an Apricot BBQ sauce.

[moonligh_5]

The city I live in has a community garden this year, so I planted corn, greenbeans, beets, potatoes(white and red), and broccoli and tomatoes

Looking forward to harvest time and canning.

[Joey]

We also canned a lot over the years but not so much any more. We put a few things in the freezer like strawberries and blueberries. Canning for a beginner can be dangerous especially with a pressure cooker as they can explode. I would study up on it and become very familiar with the do's and do not's.

Never tried it yet. You sound like you have had some experience with them exploding?

Exploding happens if you try to open them before the inside pressure has come down. Inexperienced people have been really cut and burned by forcing a still-pressurized canner open before it's ready. I solved this problem by canning at night and timing it so that it was ready to turn off by the time I went to bed. The pressure would come down while I slept and be ready for a new batch in the morning. It was slower, but I could easily can at least 3 loads a day with no worries on safety. Most of the time I don't use a pressure canner, use it mostly for green beans....don't need it for acidic foods...

This is great advice,I usually blanche and freeze my greenbeans...because I cold pack to can everything else, tomatoes and berries, jam and jellies especially .Do you make crab apple jelly there? I have been looking for a recipe for that,I should google it.

[lavritt]

We also canned a lot over the years but not so much any more. We put a few things in the freezer like strawberries and blueberries. Canning for a beginner can be dangerous especially with a pressure cooker as they can explode. I would study up on it and become very familiar with the do's and do not's.

Never tried it yet. You sound like you have had some experience with them exploding?

Exploding happens if you try to open them before the inside pressure has come down. Inexperienced people have been really cut and burned by forcing a still-pressurized canner open before it's ready. I solved this problem by canning at night and timing it so that it was ready to turn off by the time I went to bed. The pressure would come down while I slept and be ready for a new batch in the morning. It was slower, but I could easily can at least 3 loads a day with no worries on safety. Most of the time I don't use a pressure canner, use it mostly for green beans....don't need it for acidic foods...

This is great advice,I usually blanche and freeze my greenbeans...because I cold pack to can everything else, tomatoes and berries, jam and jellies especially .Do you make crab apple jelly there? I have been looking for a recipe for that,I should google it.

My father-in-law used to make crab apple jelly...I loved it because it was sweet/tart! I'll see if I can find his recipe. I can green beans because we don't like the flavor of frozen ones. Just our preference, I guess. I hope to take some pics of the garden this evening on the way to the meeting. It is going CRAZY!! Tomatoes are doing just like they did last year...with suckers so big you can't break them. We have no idea why they do so good there. All organic, no pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Last year we got infested with squash bugs...never seen so many in my life...a little freaky really, like an Indiana Joes movie or something. But this year, just in case, we're prepared with natural predator larvae (assasin bug maybe?? I forget).

[Joey]

We also canned a lot over the years but not so much any more. We put a few things in the freezer like strawberries and blueberries. Canning for a beginner can be dangerous especially with a pressure cooker as they can explode. I would study up on it and become very familiar with the do's and do not's.

Never tried it yet. You sound like you have had some experience with them exploding?

Exploding happens if you try to open them before the inside pressure has come down. Inexperienced people have been really cut and burned by forcing a still-pressurized canner open before it's ready. I solved this problem by canning at night and timing it so that it was ready to turn off by the time I went to bed. The pressure would come down while I slept and be ready for a new batch in the morning. It was slower' date=' but I could easily can at least 3 loads a day with no worries on safety. Most of the time I don't use a pressure canner, use it mostly for green beans....don't need it for acidic foods...[/quote'] This is great advice,I usually blanche and freeze my greenbeans...because I cold pack to can everything else, tomatoes and berries, jam and jellies especially .Do you make crab apple jelly there? I have been looking for a recipe for that,I should google it.

My father-in-law used to make crab apple jelly...I loved it because it was sweet/tart! I'll see if I can find his recipe. I can green beans because we don't like the flavor of frozen ones. Just our preference, I guess. I hope to take some pics of the garden this evening on the way to the meeting. It is going CRAZY!! Tomatoes are doing just like they did last year...with suckers so big you can't break them. We have no idea why they do so good there. All organic, no pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Last year we got infested with squash bugs...never seen so many in my life...a little freaky really, like an Indiana Joes movie or something. But this year, just in case, we're prepared with natural predator larvae (assasin bug maybe?? I forget).

Did you ever have tomato worms...I almost ran into one with my car...those are huge...yeck...

[steeringwheel]

To Nancy & Lisa, whenever I hear 'crab apple', I always think of story my mother told about herself as young child in W.Va. She said she would tie string to the stem of one, swallow it & then pull it back up. Kids.....

[lavritt]

To Nancy & Lisa, whenever I hear 'crab apple', I always think of story my mother told about herself as young child in W.Va. She said she would tie string to the stem of one, swallow it & then pull it back up. Kids.....

ewwwww! I've heard the same story, but my version was with an OYSTER (which is even ewwwwww - ier!)

[GrumpysWife]

Grumpy and I canned 36 pints of Green Beans from our garden today.