Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Oh I know. My problem is I have too much wildlife I would have to battle to get to anything I grow before they get to it first. You'd never know I lived downtown but just across the street are woods and hills with creeks running through. My yard gets raccoons, possums, fat healthy squirrels, ground hogs and I've seen deer foraging in the front yard of the house across the street. Then there are what seem to be several hundred birds loving it here including wild turkeys, LOL.
It's all good though. I've always wanted to live with a variety of wildlife around. It's a compromise I'm happy to have.
I can relate This year I tried to grow sugar snap peas but squirrel chew off new shoots every time. Last year I trapped close to 20 squirrels and relocated them but obviously others have moved in.
I tried to surround my raised beds with chicken wire but only watched helplessly from the 2nd story bed room window squirrel climbed those fence with ease and proceeded to chew on my young plants.
This year I didn't bother to net my cherry tree and the young fruits already under assault by the birds.
ROFLMAO. Do you have an extensive garden? My sister and I do (2 different grow zones), and we laugh when we end up with our $50 jalapenos.
I grew 2 rapini plants... and got 2 rapini, not even enough for one person. I have cabbages, broccolli, peas, tomatoes, lettuces, kale, peppers, TONS of stuff growing, and the return, no matter how good, will not be terribly cost effective. Certainly not time effective. Every year my production gets better, but certainly not sold on the benefits, but it's a hobby. It IS the way to get the best tomatoes. I don't can so most of my excess were stored in ways that were conducive to freezing.
No, I only have a modest 2 4X8 raised beds as backyard garden hobby.
But I managed to grow cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, egg plants and zucchini over the years. It's not going to replace my grocery bills but it's fun and rewarding to eat your own harvest.
I am not surprised. We have a short growing season, and managing 85 degree weather and snow in a single week... is a pain. I grow from seeds to be more cost effective, heck I even save seeds when we buy melons and such. It's nuts. Frost cloths, shade cloths, fertilizers, bug sprays, caterpillar sprays, new soil (we also compost a huge amount), trellises, irrigation tubes.
Heck, I do really well with peas of all varieties... so I planted a bunch, DH made a chicken wire cage, they were doing great. Went away for a 3 day trip, and came home and there was nothing there but a squirrel hole dug under the barrier. One of my cabbages that I started early MARCH, which I carried into the garage at night, and into the sun every day, just bolted before it "cabbaged". Those seeds are going to my sis who has an easier growing season in NorCal.
I was going to have home grown heirloom tomatoes regardless of the cost. I was determined. I had to grow them in large containers with wheels on the bottom. This allowed me to move them out of the very hot sun in the afternoon and into the shade of a tree. Of course, it took a large amount of premium soil to fill 5 large containers. Heirlooms need to have plenty of root space, ya know! Then of course only the best fertilizer. These puppies had only the best of everything. I became a slave to my tomatoes, rushing home from work early enough to get them out of the hot sun and get them watered every afternoon.
At the end, I did get some beautiful, delicious heirlooms but they were already done bearing fruit by the end of June.
Truth be told, it was fun and I really enjoyed those tomatoes. Was it worth all the work and money, NO.
At the end, I did get some beautiful, delicious heirlooms but they were already done bearing fruit by the end of June.
Truth be told, it was fun and I really enjoyed those tomatoes. Was it worth all the work and money, NO.
I did that for a couple summers. Boy, did I nurture those tomato plants! (But not as much as you did!) And they produced the most beautiful fruits in great abundance. So much abundance I didn't know what to do with them. And so much abundance at the same time everyone else's tomato plants were doing the same thing. You couldn't give them away! Then there's the freezing, drying, canning option, but whoa... what am I doing??? Is this actually better than supporting a local grower at the weekly farmers' market? Ah... no. The farmers' market was a much better idea, for me at least.
I did that for a couple summers. Boy, did I nurture those tomato plants! (But not as much as you did!) And they produced the most beautiful fruits in great abundance. So much abundance I didn't know what to do with them. And so much abundance at the same time everyone else's tomato plants were doing the same thing. You couldn't give them away! Then there's the freezing, drying, canning option, but whoa... what am I doing??? Is this actually better than supporting a local grower at the weekly farmers' market? Ah... no. The farmers' market was a much better idea, for me at least.
I planted just one heirloom in each container for a total of 5 plants. The plants were beautiful for a while and reached a height of about 5'. Each plant was carefully supported by a large tomato cage. The problem I ran into was that tomatoes as a rule stop producing when it gets too hot usually upper 80s. So by the beginning or mid June, they were already done. I did get a lot of tomatoes though. I ate tomatoes every day in salads, on homemade pizza, in sandwiches and just sliced with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. That's the good old fashioned way Italians do it, LOL.
I have one heirloom plant (seeds from heirloom tomatoes I had bought), a brown tomato (same), cherry (bought seeds) and a rutgers (bought seeds). I have not done well with full sized tomatoes to date, but every year I do betters. Cherry and midsize in abundance. But I have 60 vegetables/herb plants total, so my attention is spread thin.
I will be sprouting my zuke, cuke, and beans while I'm gone on vacation next week, and plant them when I get home.
I do well with all of those. I like trying to grow stuff not readily available, like kohlrabi, chervil, savory, rapini and such, but I am finding it is not really worth the effort, but I'm retired... I got time to play around.
__________________ ____________________________________________
My posts as a Mod will always be in red.
Be sure to review Terms of Service: TOS
And check this out: FAQ
Moderator: Relationships Forum / Hawaii Forum / Dogs / Pets / Current Events
I have one heirloom plant (seeds from heirloom tomatoes I had bought), a brown tomato (same), cherry (bought seeds) and a rutgers (bought seeds). I have not done well with full sized tomatoes to date, but every year I do betters. Cherry and midsize in abundance. But I have 60 vegetables/herb plants total, so my attention is spread thin.
I will be sprouting my zuke, cuke, and beans while I'm gone on vacation next week, and plant them when I get home.
I do well with all of those. I like trying to grow stuff not readily available, like kohlrabi, chervil, savory, rapini and such, but I am finding it is not really worth the effort, but I'm retired... I got time to play around.
I bought mine in starters in 4" pots. They were 5 different varieties so I'd be able to sample different ones and see which did best in my area. My favorite was the Cherokee Purple.
One thing I need to be much better at is not buying more food than I can eat within a given period of time. I plan my meals but then things come up and change things.
I bought some beautiful eggplants last week to make eggplant parmigiana. I had planned to make it in a couple of days. For various reasons I didn't get around to making it fast enough and my beautiful eggplants rotted in the fridge. The eggplant parmigiana would have fed me for a week for just a few dollars.
I bet I could save 20% on my food bill if I just buy less and quit throwing out food.
This is our problem too. We are totally at the mercy of the veg's we buy. That's an issue with seldom-shoppers (we go like once every 10 days or so) so our meals are dictated by what is going to go bad first. We never throw out leftovers or other edible food, so we hate this. Broccoli and cauliflower go bad really fast here because they like to let stuff grow to large sizes to increase weight (sold by weight).
I do grow cherry tomatoes and they are perennials here. Five pots on the balcony. The other fruit really worth growing is strawberries but I can't get them growing from seed and there are no garden centers here to get plants.
I would never ask anyone to give up caffeine, but could you cut out the pods and just use beans? I've never used pods, but pretty sure they are not cheap? As for the Hello Fresh...also pretty sure those are expensive...making from scratch will surely save some $$$.
Hello Fresh IS making from scratch. That's the whole point of it.
It's just that the ingredients are provided and measured out for you in the kit, which is an advantage, because there is no waste.
One thing I need to be much better at is not buying more food than I can eat within a given period of time. I plan my meals but then things come up and change things.
I bought some beautiful eggplants last week to make eggplant parmigiana. I had planned to make it in a couple of days. For various reasons I didn't get around to making it fast enough and my beautiful eggplants rotted in the fridge. The eggplant parmigiana would have fed me for a week for just a few dollars.
I bet I could save 20% on my food bill if I just buy less and quit throwing out food.
This is a huge disparity between my partner and me, or was before he got sick and his food choices became more limited. I will find ways to use everything up. I HATE HATE HATE wasting food.
He wouldn't eat leftovers most of the time and wanted something different the next day, so the food would go bad and get thrown out a few days later.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This year I tried to grow sugar snap peas but squirrel chew off new shoots every time. Last year I trapped close to 20 squirrels and relocated them but obviously others have moved in.
We have a short growing season, and managing 85 degree weather and snow in a single week... is a pain. I grow from seeds to be more cost effective, heck I even save seeds when we buy melons and such. It's nuts. Frost cloths, shade cloths, fertilizers, bug sprays, caterpillar sprays, new soil (we also compost a huge amount), trellises, irrigation tubes.
Those seeds are going to my sis who has an easier growing season in NorCal.
