Organic Gardening and composting in the city (Pittsburgh, Butler: HOA, house)

[wpipkins2]

Now that spring has finally sprung its time to organize my small gardens. My perennial and vegetable gardens are intermixed throughout my yard. I grow swiss chard and cucumbers in between my hostas and blackeye susans. My tomatoes and peppers grow along side my day lillies and fountain grasses. This year im going to try carrots again..... I cant get the sand and soil ratio right for some reason. I will try to grow sweet potatos as well. For the past 5 years ive made my mulch compost from leaves, sticks, vegetable waste, coffee grinds, a little manure. I really enjoy it.

Any other gardening fanatics out there? If so, give me some new ideas for a small space.

[selltheburgh]

I'm planning on making raised beds soon. We had them at our last house and they were great. Lots of lettuce, chard, tomatoes, basil, peppers, zukes, etc.

[hinsey86]

I gave up a career to garden . Then I moved last year to be able to have more room to garden and raise chickens for more nitrogen to feed the garden. Everything is organic even though it can be extra tough at times. This is my second year at my current location and I will be adding two new beds. I also have a small worm farm going on for some wonderful worm poop which is a great nutrient. Anybody can do the worms...little space is needed and if properly cared for there is no odor. I don't use my compost bins much anymore as my chickens or worms get the scraps I previously put in the bins. I use leaves for mulch too. I start everything from seed which will be started this week. I dream of a good size greenhouse.

My flower gardens are mainly shaded and were begun and nourished 20 years by the former owners. There are hundreds of hostas and ferns. Last Spring each day brought about new surprises since we bought the house in late Fall. I really didn't do much with the flower beds last year beyond fertilizing and weeding. In my previous house I planted hostas and they became crazy large in a couple years. I used bokashi to turn my dogs waste into fertilizer. (Can't do this with edibles) It really worked well but application was sickening. You can also use bokashi for regular composting.

[hinsey86]

Just a neat FYI. The movie Farmland which is being released this Spring follows five farmers from all over the US. One of the five is from the Pittsburgh area and sells at the a East Liberty farmers market. Margaret's "farms" (One Woman farm) are actually in Gibsonia and Butler. She is a super cool gal and farms totally organic. Unfortunately the movie is not currently scheduled for a Pittsburgh area theatre release. Farmland | The Movie

[Hopes]

I've always had a perennial garden and the basic herb garden and garlic, onions, cucumbers and tomatoes, but I branched out a few years ago and expanded the vegetables.

This will be my third year for green beans. I've had great success with them. I grow them on a 15' section of wire fence. The type of fence you sledge hammer the thin metal posts into the ground. I grow enough to freeze for the winter.

Peppers--red, yellow, orange and green--do well in my yard. I wish they produced more peppers for the space they take.

Two years ago, I tried cantaloupe and honeydew melons because they are my favorite fruit. Total failure.

Radishes do great. I love how I can get two batches, one in the spring and one in the fall. They grow so quickly and don't take up much room. Plant them at the right time or they'll be too hot.

Last year I tried many varieties of lettuce and was amazed how easily they grew. I'd like to try spinach. If I can figure out how to cook collard greens, I'll try that too.

Zucchini and other squashes are easy to grow, but I don't like them. I'd love to do potatoes but bores always eat them. That's why I avoid most root vegetables. I hope your carrots do well. Look up what flowers you can plant near them to keep bugs away.

I always grow herbs. I can't grow enough basil because I make lots of pesto. Mints are great in salads, but grow them in an area where you can keep them contained because they can be invasive. I'm going to add cilantro this year because I have been cooking cilantro and lime Mexican food.

Our compost is grass cuttings, leaves, twigs, coffee grounds. Since it's an open compost, I don't compost food because it would attract rats. My soil has improved dramatically over the years. Worms everywhere now. Previously they tried to escape the heavy clay.

[JimboPGH]

I got a taste for it volunteering at the Garfield Community Farm a couple of years ago, and I may have to test out the fertile Brookline soil this year.

What would be some good beginner vegetables to grow? Cherry tomatoes? Zucchini?

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by JimboPGH

What would be some good beginner vegetables to grow? Cherry tomatoes? Zucchini?

Those are good for beginners. They both grow like weeds. Onions and garlic grow like weeds too, and they're perennials so they come back every year. Green beans are easy. You just need to give them something to climb. A wood teepee with string or twine will do.

What do you like to eat? It's a good idea to grow things you like and you can use together. You can grow what you like for a salad or you can grow herbs you commonly use to cook.

[JimboPGH]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Those are good for beginners. They both grow like weeds. Onions and garlic grow like weeds too, and they're perennials so they come back every year. Green beans are easy. You just need to give them something to climb. A wood teepee with string or twine will do.

What do you like to eat? It's a good idea to grow things you like and you can use together. You can grow what you like for a salad or you can grow herbs you commonly use to cook.

We had cherry tomatoes as a staple in our CSA and ate those like candy. I'm thinking those, green onions, garlic, green beans, bell peppers, and maybe some spuds would be good to start with.

Are there any vegetables that are particularly difficult that a beginner should avoid?

The Garfield Farm had a raspberry bush, and that was a helluva an undertaking. I'll always equate the summer of 2011 with drowning stink bugs one by one in the name of making the world safe for raspberries.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by hinsey86

I gave up a career to garden . Then I moved last year to be able to have more room to garden and raise chickens for more nitrogen to feed the garden. Everything is organic even though it can be extra tough at times. This is my second year at my current location and I will be adding two new beds. I also have a small worm farm going on for some wonderful worm poop which is a great nutrient. Anybody can do the worms...little space is needed and if properly cared for there is no odor. I don't use my compost bins much anymore as my chickens or worms get the scraps I previously put in the bins. I use leaves for mulch too. I start everything from seed which will be started this week. I dream of a good size greenhouse.

My flower gardens are mainly shaded and were begun and nourished 20 years by the former owners. There are hundreds of hostas and ferns. Last Spring each day brought about new surprises since we bought the house in late Fall. I really didn't do much with the flower beds last year beyond fertilizing and weeding. In my previous house I planted hostas and they became crazy large in a couple years. I used bokashi to turn my dogs waste into fertilizer. (Can't do this with edibles) It really worked well but application was sickening. You can also use bokashi for regular composting.

Im thinking about buying a 10X10 greenhouse from Sams. Thats if my HOA will allow.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by JimboPGH

We had cherry tomatoes as a staple in our CSA and ate those like candy. I'm thinking those, green onions, garlic, green beans, bell peppers, and maybe some spuds would be good to start with.

That would be a great garden.

Originally Posted by JimboPGH

Are there any vegetables that are particularly difficult that a beginner should avoid?

Not really. You learn from your mistakes like I did with the melons.

Originally Posted by JimboPGH

The Garfield Farm had a raspberry bush, and that was a helluva an undertaking. I'll always equate the summer of 2011 with drowning stink bugs one by one in the name of making the world safe for raspberries.

I'd love to have raspberries and blackberries but don't know where to make space for the vines. I've been considering a blueberry bush because it doesn't require a place to climb. Oh, plant strawberries. They grow like weeds. They go in the ground very early.

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

Im thinking about buying a 10X10 greenhouse from Sams. Thats if my HOA will allow.

I've always wanted to replace the roof of my detached garage with a green house.