Comments on: How Does Your Garden Grow?

By: TopVeg

TopVeg — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:32:18 +0000

Give gardening a go - just start off small, and keep it simple. Plant a veg you really like, and watch it grow - checking it every day. It is so easy - you will get hooked!

By: Paula R.

Paula R. — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 22:36:13 +0000

Hi Leslie and other Jungle Friends…I am just checking in for the day…I am not much of a gardener and I kill just about anything that is green…so I have black thumbs as well…I commend people who can make a garden grow…good luck with your garden, make sure you include pics on the progress okay…

Peace and love,
Paula R.

By: ev

ev — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 22:36:10 +0000

One of my projects after my surgery is going to be planning what we are planting and where. I have a sunshine problem too, so everything ends up in the front or on the side of the house. Or at my neighbors!!

By: ev

ev — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 22:35:16 +0000

Julie- she can have my snails!! when I see them. ick!!
Your stuff may not have had any flavor, depending on your soil type. Acidic soil can affect the taste of some things. I know my chives are very tasty- I have been clipping some alreay and it’s snowing out again!!

friday is really the first day of spring???

Wendy- they also make a light weight plastic green type of fencing with very small holes in it that keeps the birds out.

Hanging containers work great for a bunch of things.

By: Patricia Cochran

Patricia Cochran — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 22:33:10 +0000

Leslie, you just do not want any hints from me! I have killed every living (and in good condition)
plant that ever came into this house!! My mother had the greenest thumbs, fingers and toes,
everything blossomed for her! I was given a “Good Luck Bamboo” plant a couple of years ago.
Poor plant is supposed to live forever, but not here, it has been dead for a year!!! Good luck
on your project. I will echo something said earlier: Start small!!

Pat Cochran

By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:09:51 +0000

You can get tips on hgtv.com.

By: Donna M

Donna M — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:37:07 +0000

Leslie, gardening or “diggin’ in the dirt” as I call it is so satisfying. Don’t start to huge so it becomes a chore. Keep it small so it is fun, edible and oh so tasty! Two tomato plants will give you more tomatoes than you can imagine, 1 zucchini plant, a couple of pepper plants, even that will take up a lot of space. Herbs are kind of like weeds they will take over if you aren’t careful! I live in a duplex, the neighbor next door, many years ago, planted ivy & mint they are now all over in my tiny back yard. I planted oregano & rosemary there is a jungle out there!! The mint smells really good when you pull it out but it never goes away cause I don’t keep after it & I don’t spray pesticide because the neighbors I have now have a young child! Gardening is so fun if you let it be fun, there is something so great about planting, watching it grow and thrive! Great therapy & relaxation. For me any type of gardening has been a learn as you go experience, sometimes things thrive & sometimes they don’t make it!!! Good luck & enjoy!

By: Robin

Robin — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:59:06 +0000

Good luck with the garden, Leslie! I would love to grow vegetables in my backyard but we don’t get enough direct sunlight - too many trees (two of which are apricot and I don’t have to do anything to them and the apricots are yummy) - in a spot conducive for growing. Plus we’ve got tons of pesky squirrels that would probably eat everything in sight.

Have fun learning and growing! I’m sure your vegetables are going to end up looking like that first picture.

By: Julie Leto

Julie Leto — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:11:38 +0000

I did herbs a few years ago…mint, basil, parsley. The basil was the best. The mint was okay. The parsley tasted horrible. Oh, and chives, which had no flavor at all. I used plants to start this. Maybe I need to start with seeds.

Otherwise, I can’t grow anything. I tend to forget to do things like, you know, water them.

Of course, living in Florida, we do have a lot of citrus and fruit trees just hanging around. My lemons are fabulous and we don’t do a thing. Okay, that’s not true. I don’t do a thing. I’m sure my husband does something.

Growing up, my grandmother on my mother’s side had figs, pecans and tangerines. We loved to go outside and pig out! She also cultivated snails in her herb garden. They were HUGE. She’d throw them in the pasta sauce. An Italian version of escargo!

By: Rhonda Nelson

Rhonda Nelson — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:54:44 +0000

Les, my mother does a garden every year and uses lots of heirloom varieties. It about worked her to death last year because of the draught, but we’re still enjoying fried cabbage, so it was definitely worth it. I haven’t tried having a garden yet, though I did put out a few herbs last year. This year I’m going to put out a few tomatoes and cucumbers. My hairdresser–who has the greenest thumb of anyone I know–told me last week that he grows all of his grape tomatoes and cucumbers in extra-large hanging baskets and that they do beautifully. I’m going to give that a shot. Good luck!