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I saw a thread like this on the Idaho board and it got me wondering if anyone here in Utah had any luck with their garden this year?
I started one this year in a new location and wasn't sure how it would turn out. Some things did ok but a couple of vegtables did real good. Like this 25 lb water melon and this 7 foot plus tomato plant. What story do you have?
WH2
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We usually grow a garden. This year the only thing that did well was the peas and the raspberries. The peas never made it to the dinner table; they all got eaten as they were picked. Raw peas right out of the pod are one of my favorites. We had loads of raspberries and froze a bunch, but I think they are already gone. I planted green beans, but they didn't work out too well this year.
How do you know when your watermelons are ripe? We planted one once and it produced only one melon. We watched it grow and grow and had no idea when to pick it. Finally one day we just tried it and it was green all the way through. Bummer. [frown]
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Watermellons are tough to figure out. There are several factors.you must look at when picking a ripe water melon: one is a curly at the vine right where the main vine forks to the watermelon, it is green when the melon is growing but will turn brown when the melon approaches full growth. Second,is the bottom of the melon, it is white before it ripens but turns yellow when it is ripe. Third, you need to learn how to THUMP the melon, a dull sound when thumping means the melon is not ripe, a hollow sound means it is ripe. Watermelons are tough to judge when ripe, especially the big striped green ones in my experience and they take for ever to ripen, Mine are just starting to ripen. The better type are the smaller dark green ones, I think they are called sugar babies, they ripen earlier but are a lot smaller. Hope that helps, I'm still learning myself after 27 years of growing a garden. Maybe someone else will add to what I have said and we can all learn a few things[  ]. WH2
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i love plants so i always have a big garden. it was a great year this year. my row of tomato plants were 6 1/2 feet tall and are producing tons. the squash did great. all the other stuff i planted did well too. i have an ok almond crop on my tree so my parrots will be happy. next year i hope to build a green house so i can grow year round. i want to build it 4 feet taller by building a base out of block and just have stairs. and if the law allows i would like to raise talipa or trout if i can in pools and use the fish water to feed the plants and when the baby fish grow i will keep some to breed and some to eat. i also plan to have a lemon or lime tree growing in the greenhouse too. with this set up i would have to buy very little food from the store. there is a plant that grows like crazy in utah called purslane, it is one of the most healthy plants you can eat and is great in salad, we use in in a salad called fatoosh. can you tell i am a plant nut yet? lol when i am in the garden i forget about pain and have a little peace.
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Almonds? I've never heard of anyone growing them around here, do you need more than one tree to grow them? I know some trees need two trees, to produce a crop.
A friend bought one of those prefab green houses for $500, I think he bought it at Harbor Freight and he put it on a Four foot base but he used Railroad ties. It works good for him but only certain plants would grow year round.
I've never heard of purslane, I guess I should check it out and maybe try and grow it next year. Do they sell it in local stores?
It;s looking like my garden is just about done for the year, I'm guessing a killing frost isn't too far off[frown].
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i have a almond called halls hardy, it does well in our temps as do some other ones. it is self pollinating too. in the spring it has pink flowers that smell great. if you look on wikipedia, it has good info on purslane. no need to buy it, i bet is has or is growing in your yard now. most people think its just a weed and rip them out. it grows like crazy here but people just don't know what is. the leaves are like succulent leaves and the stems have red on them. if you break off a stem and plant it it will almost always grow. it also has a tap root. i am thinking of a harbor freight greenhouse. does your friend like the greenhouse? and has he had lots of problems with it? my fear is that it will not last with the weather here. i know the feeling about the frost, it ends what we put so much work into [frown]
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How tall does your Almond tree grow?
I think I found a picture of purslane, is this picture the same thing your talking about? What does it taste like?
Yes my friend likes his Green house, this is his second season with it and so far no problems. The only issues was keeping it warm, early in the year but he never used it in the winter.
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they get to be 15 feet tall and look like a peach tree, in fact it may be a cross of a almond tree and a peach tree. it has a slight bitter flavor but its not bad and plus if you boil the nuts before you roast them it takes the bitterness away. it is as good of a almond tree as you can get in utah. i am zone 5 but i have heard of them being grown in zone 4. i love them for sure. that picture is purslane for sure. its flavor is described as a little spicy but not too much. it is very good for you. if you serve it to other people just don't tell them some people call it a weed, i have made a salad called fatosh and it is the main ingredient and people tell me they love it but when they are told some call it a weed thy make an odd face so its best to call it purslane lol
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Hi Curt, I moved up here in North Ogden 2 years ago and this was the first time we actually planted a garden in the back yard. Our Tomato plants also grew to aboput 7 ft tall, and the rest of the stuff we planted also grew about twice the size of normal. Some of the plants are still producing as this is being typed, I just get another picking of Jalopenos today.
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[quote AFDan52]Hi Curt, I moved up here in North Ogden 2 years ago and this was the first time we actually planted a garden in the back yard. Our Tomato plants also grew to aboput 7 ft tall, and the rest of the stuff we planted also grew about twice the size of normal. Some of the plants are still producing as this is being typed, I just get another picking of Jalopenos today.[/quote]
Sounds like you did good for your first try at a garden there. Did you put anything on it to get it to grow so good? We picked the last of our pepers yesterday. Now all we have left is tomatoes and a few squash.
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Curt the only thing we put in the garden was a couple of bags of ground up Manure from Jerry's Nersury. I was very surprized at how dark and rich looking the soil is up here . All of our plants do very well . We are going to make our garden larger next year , we picked the last of our Jalopenos Wednsday and after the picking we cleared out the garden . We should hook up one day and we can discuss this further.
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[quote AFDan52]We should hook up one day and we can discuss this further.[/quote]
You are making me jellous.
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Hey Dan, this is coming up on a year after this thread was posted but I was wondering how everyones gardens are doing this year after the rainy start this year? Mine, not so good. Squash are doing great and cucumbers but my watermelons did not do nearly as good as last year. My tomato plants grew as large as last year but fewer tomato's are growing on them, here is a pic of our tomato bush.
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Hi Curt, my has done quite well after the late start this. We had a littlewater damage due to some flooding we had up here, water comming from drainage that the gutters couldn't hold came right through my yard. Our tomatoes didn't get as tall this year , the only veggies we had a problem with was the Green Peppers. Just couldn't get them to produce very well at all, my Jalopenos are a little smaller but taste great. I also have a lot of Potatoes growing that we have been getting into now and again. All in all the garden was successful for the most part. I think the flooding had something to do with the plants not getting as big.
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I was pleasantly surprised that my tomatoes (although planted a month later) got ripe at the usual time and I am getting a large harvest. Too many zucchini and plenty of cucumbers. Really enjoying the nectarines the last few days.
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what kind of garden are we talking about? because i see every once in a while a garden full of WEEDs is found!
ha!!
we are going to start one so i replied to this thread for next year, we want tomatos and peppers! i tried watermelons once when i lived back here as a kid but could never get them to grow
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Yea, our squash and cukes did good as well but they always do[  ]. After planting our canalope four times and none of them lived, we gave up. Here is a few more pics of our garden.
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Looks like you have a large garden. Mine is only about 30 by 40' or so.
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Yup - seems this thread has been around for a while. Good thing it's on the off-topic board! (teehee).
Used to be BIG into gardening at our last house especially. Had what I referred to as the "ferment-able garden" - which included Fruits (apple, pear, peach, apricot {papercuts as my kid called them}. grapes, plums, cherries). Made for good smoking woods too! Then I had the herb garden - you name it - I grew it. From Chives to Parsley, Sage, Rosemary - you get the idea. So much Thyme on my hands - didn't know what to do with it all!
Ah the days. Basil/Pesto - match made in heaven!
Spent more time raking fruits from the bees than I'll admit.
Plus there was the "telephone pole" garden - where I grew hops on poles and pergolas, with sitting swings underneath.
Since we moved - I dumped a couple loads of compost on the orchard behind our house, and took a stab at some MUCH smaller scale gardening. BUT my son did produce the winning 5th Grade Cabbage out of that garden. We've had some decent tomatoes, wind-blasted corn, zucchini/squash (HOW can that fail), never done much good with melons. Peas and Beans ok - but the deer really move in on us here.
Tried some upside down 'maters off the deck this year, long as I can convince the pup they are NOT tennis balls in red!
Have moved into 'water gardening' too -between the plants and fish it's a different hobby. My neighbors just brought in beehives - ok so there's an whole 'nother avenue!
I'll try to dig up some of the old "hop shots" to share. Great plants - I'll say. Plus some of the 'old garden' when it was in it's heyday.
SO - has anyone combined fish-mulch with their garden? I know that's one topics of 'carp harvest' that's proposed. I've made compost tea, and fed the garden, but I know fish-mulch can work magic. But never tried any home-made recipes. Wish I could work out a cycle between pond=garden=fish to make it ALL happen!
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Holy Cow that is a huge cabbage, when did you start it and have you picked it yet?
I'm not sure you can see them but in one of my pics from this year I grew red cabbage, I think I'm going to pick them next week.
Do you have to pay for your compost or do the local ranchers just give it to you? I haven't got any for two years now and I think I'm going to need to get some next spring.
I share my garden area with a couple of guys that grow record pumpkins, 1200 pounders, and they use a combination of fish-mulch and sea weed, it sure works for them.[ ]
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