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[Monique]

My garden is ginormous! I have towering corn, sunflowers, and caged cucumbers. There are tons of peppers of various hotness, purple hull peas, and even some tiny eggplants. I still haven't had a ripe tomato yet, but they're on their way.

Note to self: Next year put in an irrigation system! I'm tired of watering every day!!

[tnweasel]

glad your garden is doing so well.....ours just never materialized this year....my flowers are rocking but our veggies and a bust......thank goodness we have a friend with a big, beautiful garden and she is already supplying us with cukes and zukes!!!! can't wait for the tomatoes......

[Professor H]

I've been kicking myself for not keeping those little cards that tell you what flowers are what...   Does anyone have a good picture reference website for flowers?

My petunia's have been in full bloom all season - so they are heat resistant.

I'm also learning about deadheading certain flowers and cutting others.  I'm hoping some of the heads with their seeds will start my ditch bank blooming in the next year.

[sammy]

I've been kicking myself for not keeping those little cards that tell you what flowers are what...   Does anyone have a good picture reference website for flowers?

My petunia's have been in full bloom all season - so they are heat resistant.

I'm also learning about deadheading certain flowers and cutting others.  I'm hoping some of the heads with their seeds will start my ditch bank blooming in the next year.

Watch out for those beautiful flowers that are actually weeds. they will definitely be back next year.

[Professor H]

Watch out for those beautiful flowers that are actually weeds. they will definitely be back next year.

I already have several of those that if you "train" they are fine...

I found a good site for pictures and now I'm trying to ID some of the ones I have around my yard...

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/

[Skittelroo]

Nice reference page for finding plants.  Thanks Prof

[Monique]

I'm bummed that my brandywine tomatoes are splitting and mealy. I was really looking forward to enjoying them. They're huge and full of pulp, and the taste is good, but they're really not edible. My corn didn't fill out, and out of all the many different beans and peas I planted, I didn't even get enough to make one meal. 

I know it's been a challenging year weatherwise, but I also blame the crappy topsoil I bought from Jack's earlier this spring. I told them I wanted garden soil (half topsoil/half compost), but what we got was two pickup truckloads of clay filled with rocks and glass. Now I suspect there was also chemical toxins in the dirt, because some of my beds--which were heavily amended with compost, manure, and peat--have stunted plants that have failed to produce. It's probably the stuff they scraped off of the soil at the Consolidated demolition site. Never again for Jack's. I'll go back to buying the bagged stuff for $1.50/bag. Much better quality!

[ducksoup]

This has been an odd year Monique.  I would not jump to believing it is the dirt, although it can be.  Even with watering my plants are smaller than normal, both veggies and flowers.  My pepper yield has been low, even with a lot of watering.  My planter box impatiens are half normal size.

[Skittelroo]

I have to agree with duck soup here.  Our ground is good black soil and in past years I have had plenty of tomatoes and beans from just a few plants.  Not so this year----just a few of each . Tomatoes had a lot of hard pulp this time, and beans and hot-peppers only enough for one meal.  Many flowers didn't bloom for long or were leggier than usual.  Hose-water just doesn't do the trick of occasional rains.  We even lost a lot of myrtle, which has survived all kinds of past summers.   

[Monique]

Yep, I've thought the same thing about watering with chlorinated water. Plants really don't seem to like it much. Next year I'm gonna get rain barrels, although if it's as dry as it was this year, that won't help much. Maybe get a few Brita pitchers just for the garden? lol

Hmmm.... Just thinking out loud here, but I wonder if I added the same dechlorinator drops I use for my fish tank to water for the garden if it would make a difference...? Still, a lot of tedious watering by hand.

[sammy]

Yep, I've thought the same thing about watering with chlorinated water. Plants really don't seem to like it much. Next year I'm gonna get rain barrels, although if it's as dry as it was this year, that won't help much. Maybe get a few Brita pitchers just for the garden? lol

We have a well, and are having much the same results as I'm seeing here. there's no substitute for rain!

[Monique]

I'm glad (? that doesn't seem right!) to hear that others are having the same issues I am. Maybe there aren't any toxins in the soil. But it really was clay, rocks, and broken glass. Unless someone is just looking for fill dirt, they'd be better off getting their topsoil elsewhere.

[Monique]

Thinking about getting started with my earliest garden plants. ExHubby is starting his hot peppers again, which I'll finish in the garden, so I'll probably focus on tomatoes. I'm still fascinated with brown varieties. The Black Krim was my favorite last year.

ExHub uses potting soil and plastic drink cups to start his plants. They turned out very healthy and with great germination. I'm thinking of using my AeroGarden starter tray again. The plants were surprisingly vigorous last year, but the refill plugs for the tray are way too pricey. I'm thinking of trying to use cotton wool as the substrate instead.

Anyone else starting their garden already?

[blue2]

I'm only thinking about it...I saved some red and yellow bell seeds from a couple of peppers that were really large.  Larger than a softball.  I am going to try to start them.  I'll try the potting soil and drink cups.  Maybe styroform since I have a bunch of them.
I buy tomatoe plants at the Andersons.  They have a good variety early in the season.  A lot of the old hybrid.
I wasn't going to start the peppers until the end of Mar or early Apr.  Is that to late?

[Professor H]

I have been debating on how early to plant some seeds for some flowers and herbs. 
I wanted to share the moment with my granddaughter,
as we plant water and watch them grow inside before planting them outside.