This is my first time with more than one or two doomed house plants. I
did lots of research including here (unemployment has its benefits). I
planted a lot of different seed (about 65 plant types) but as little
as one plant of each type. I wanted variety without overwhelming work.
I'm very happy with the results and I want to show off my little
garden before I do something to kill it.

http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl6...Garden-med.jpg

There is one indeterminate tomato (4th of July) in the left corner.
I've got at least 8 clusters of 5-8 tomatoes. One cracked and I
stopped watering until midday heat caused some wilting. I
confess...i'm an overwaterer. My plants never wilt even when I'm ready
to pass out. I need help. I stop myself everyday -- especially now
that I read that too much water will dilute the flavor!!

A determinate Plum (Health Kick) tomato bush is in center. It has
dozens of fruit. The biggest I can spot are almost half the size I
expect.

A bell pepper plant is on the right side. Tiny bells are just starting

This is the only ground I used--everything else is in containers (I
rent). The ground was dry & sandy, lots of rocks and no earthworms. I
dug up the top 18 inches to condition it. It took two days with my bad
back. My landlord laughed and suggested I plant one plant over in
their "plain old dirt", just to see what the difference would be. Well
I stuck a bell pepper there. While my bells are bigger plants with
larger leaf canopies...I just found a peach-sized green pepper plus
two ping-pong sized ones on hers. I've got some marble sized ones
started but she wins the first to harvest. :-( Damn! But maybe I'll
have more season long.

http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl66/PatioGarden.jpg
(this second angle is huge...not for modem users)
http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl66/PatioAbove.jpg

My beefsteak is in a 12inch square planter and had drainage problems.
I solved them but the lower foliage was toast. Growth has resumed. I
do have about 7 tomatoes (Burpee Burger) started.

Another similar container had same issues. The bell pepper there
turned a dark dark dark green with a few lower leaves having yellow
chlorisis-like insides. The snow peas at the back of the planter just
about died. I just saw one snow pod on 1 withered plant.


I planted a half-dozen corn and a Baby Bear pumpkin.

I know the corn was a LONG shot, but I wanted to try. They've had
their tassels out for about 10 days. I don't see anything resembling
the cob stub or silks. I think these are a lost cause. :-(

http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl6...yBearPlant.jpg
I have four pumpkins growing on my Baby Bear. The plant has wound
across the ground and is growing into the hydrangea. Around the size
of a large acorn seems to be the deciding point. At that size the
pumpkins either fall off/rot or grow larger. I'm guessing that is due
to sufficient pollination?

My potato plant is about 18 inches high and I see what look like buds
forming inside the highest cluster of leaves.

http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl66/PepperPlanter.jpg
Five cayennes(left) are hanging, the longest about 3-4 inches, still
green. No Jalapenos(right) yet. My Anaheim(center) went in late so I'm
expecting a late and smaller harvest.

My lettuce(front extreme left and right) is still growing but it may
have gone bitter. Was still good last week but these hot days should
do it in (maybe my overwatering will save it!)

The brown leaves in the back are my snap peas. They produced (4 dozen
pods on 9 plants) but i made some mistakes. I think i didn't harvest
quick enough and I think I did something else to brown them. The tops
are coming back top but the bottom 12 inches are brown and dead. They
were incredibly healthy.

I successfully grew oregano, dill, sage, chives, parsley & thyme.
Cumin didn't happen. Try again next year. The herbs are everywhere. In
pots, in the ground, mixed into the corners of the rectangular
containers.

The parsley attracted a Black Swallowtail butterfly to lay its eggs.
Thanks to the group's advice four of them devoured a parsley down to
twigs and left to become butterflys. Hopefully I spot them around some
time late this week.

http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl6...latter-med.jpg
Flowers did well. The round platter is crowded but I wanted to crowd
them in. Snapdragons are just beginning to open. They are shorter then
expected--they didn't like crowding. Conversely, the Silene grew to
twice the height it was supposed to and hangs off the bowl's edge--i
think also because of crowding. Interesting that one grows too tall
another too short. The cosmos are short--only about 20" but as long
as they flower I don't mind the reduced height.

http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl66/BakersRack.jpg
Big Smile dwarf Sunflower looks nice and full and it gets lots of
visitors flying and ants. Baby's Breath just bloomed. My "mystery"
Zinnia still has the one bloom but it is hidden behind a leftover
pepper plant that I didn't have the heart to kill. The other seeds in
the box didn't take. My Dutchess of Edinburgh is making another
attempt to grow after snapping down to the dirtline. Shasta Daisy is
just green so far. My Angel's Trumpet has grown pretty fast. My Black
Velvet geranium are ... well... not black at all. Leaves are all
pretty much plain green. Don't know if it darkens with age or
something I did isn't letting the dark color develop.


http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl66/Hanging.jpg
Naturtiums don't look as good in a hanging basket. I had a number of
no shows in the baskets. Try again on them next year. I learned that
hanging and climbing are not a choice the gardener necessarily makes.
Morning Glories refused to hang down and just kept wrapping around
itself to climb back up. I wound it around and around to form a cone
instead. This is how we learn. I also confused some seed and planted
bachelor buttons to replace a no-show...thought it was a small 6" blue
flower. ooops again. The violas look a bit lost here. They look
better in tight bundles.


I've definitely got a list of things to try for next year.
Cantelope, Watermelon, Cumin, more peas, broccoli early, spinach,
green beans, and I'd really like to start grapes.

Well that's enough self-indulgent rambling for one post.
Thanks to all in the group for the help.

DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email)
Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
1st Year Gardener

On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 23:51:04 -0400, DigitalVinyl
wrote:

snip

Well that's enough self-indulgent rambling for one post.
Thanks to all in the group for the help.

Digital, it's *beautiful*! I wish *my* first garden had done so well.
The pictures are lovely. The "flower platter" is so nice and colorful.
Qs: what is the yellow flower in the hanging planter with the
nasturtiums? And what's the variety of the yellow-with-orange-centers
nasturtium? Which side of the house is the patio on?

Thanks for the report and pics.

Frogleg wrote:

On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 23:51:04 -0400, DigitalVinyl
wrote:

snip

Well that's enough self-indulgent rambling for one post.
Thanks to all in the group for the help.

Digital, it's *beautiful*! I wish *my* first garden had done so well.
Thanks! Growing everything from seeds made it more interesting. All
my failures were in never getting some things to germinate at all.
Sanvitalia, Basil, Lovage, Lavender, Convulvus, French Vanila
Marigolds, Blue Lace, Cumin, Rosemary, Spinach, Flamenco were all on
the no-show list. PLus I had ground that was uneven and flooded out
what seeds I planted. The clematis & tomato plants I did buy--didn't
realize i needed to start tomatos early. Everything else was seed.


The pictures are lovely. The "flower platter" is so nice and colorful.
Another learning lesson-- "burgundy" in flower catalogs usually means
purple and not wine-red. I had wanted all red/orange colors in the
bowl. The california poppy seed were yellow instead of advertised red,
the petunia are a purple not a deep red, the silene is light violet.
I'll know better next year.


Qs: what is the yellow flower in the hanging planter with the
nasturtiums? And what's the variety of the yellow-with-orange-centers
nasturtium?
Actually they are both Nasturtiums.

Peach Melba is the yellow with red centers and it has a much smaller
bronzed leaf with wine red outline. You can see the red in the leaves
just below the center flower. It doesn't fill out like the Alaska Mix
Nasturitums. They are taller than wider for me. There are three in the
basket and they aren't anywhere near as full as two Alaska's.
http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl6...PeachMelba.jpg

Milkmaid is the pale yellow/cream one. There are two in the basket.
One grew way out of the basket--reaching for sunlight I think. The
ceiling is ten feet high and when we hung them they were over my head
and getting less sun because of the roof overhang. That's when the
Milkmaid through out that long arm hanging off the side. I extended a
chain down so they would get more light and I can see them better.
http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl6...m-Milkmaid.jpg

Which side of the house is the patio on?
The back wall of the house faces SW. The entire patio gets full sun
from 11 to 6 then shadows start affecting things.

Thanks for the report and pics.
Thank you.
DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email)
Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
1st Year Gardener

DigitalVinyl wrote in message . ..
This is my first time with more than one or two doomed house plants. I
did lots of research including here (unemployment has its benefits). I
planted a lot of different seed (about 65 plant types) but as little
as one plant of each type. I wanted variety without overwhelming work.
I'm very happy with the results and I want to show off my little
garden before I do something to kill it.

http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl6...Garden-med.jpg

i'm green with envy.. beautiful! enjoyed the pics. this is my first
full summer in my new location and it is so cotton pickin' hot many of
them look like they've been dried and pulled through a knot-hole.
Amazingly some of the cuttings i potted are coming on,though, so more
hope for the future.
you did good.
love... lee.

Oh my! Your garden is lovely! Congratulations. You must get a great deal of
pleasure out of it.

Keep up the good work.

Woofs

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 08:36:23 -0400, DigitalVinyl
wrote:

Growing everything from seeds made it more interesting. All
my failures were in never getting some things to germinate at all.
Sanvitalia, Basil, Lovage, Lavender, Convulvus, French Vanila
Marigolds, Blue Lace, Cumin, Rosemary, Spinach, Flamenco were all on
the no-show list. PLus I had ground that was uneven and flooded out
what seeds I planted. The clematis & tomato plants I did buy--didn't
realize i needed to start tomatos early. Everything else was seed.

In my experience, basil is pretty easy. Never got cumin to grow from
seed (although I *did* grow a sesame plant). Rosemary is hard. I think
I got one plant from seed that flourished encouragingly and then died.
Oh, and I was starting in a greenhouse with heating mats and whatnot.
Tomatoes were pretty never-fail in that atmosphere.

Another learning lesson-- "burgundy" in flower catalogs usually means
purple and not wine-red. I had wanted all red/orange colors in the
bowl. The california poppy seed were yellow instead of advertised red,
the petunia are a purple not a deep red, the silene is light violet.
I'll know better next year.

YMMV. Mistakes happen. I once ordered a dozen "mixed color" iris, and
they were all white. Funny how, to me anyhow, there are color
combinations in decor or people clothing that are perfectly ghastly,
yet a purple flower next to an orange one can look just fine.


Peach Melba is the yellow with red centers and it has a much smaller
bronzed leaf with wine red outline. You can see the red in the leaves
just below the center flower. It doesn't fill out like the Alaska Mix
Nasturitums. They are taller than wider for me. There are three in the
basket and they aren't anywhere near as full as two Alaska's.
http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl6...PeachMelba.jpg

Gorgous picture. I love nasturtiums, but have never had a day's luck
with 'em. Good soil, poor soil, full sun, part shade -- they hate me.
But I'm going to try again.

Milkmaid is the pale yellow/cream one. There are two in the basket.
One grew way out of the basket--reaching for sunlight I think. The
ceiling is ten feet high and when we hung them they were over my head
and getting less sun because of the roof overhang. That's when the
Milkmaid through out that long arm hanging off the side. I extended a
chain down so they would get more light and I can see them better.
http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl6...m-Milkmaid.jpg

And again. BTW, nasturtium leaves and flowers are edible. The leaves
are pretty spicy, but the blossoms are nice decor for a salad.

The back wall of the house faces SW. The entire patio gets full sun
from 11 to 6 then shadows start affecting things.

I was thinking that if you can protect that baker's rack a bit and the
pots, you may get enough heat-sink effect with the stone(?) side of
the house and brick patio to keep those perennial herbs going. Sage
and thyme (was that thyme?) are perennials. If the thyme is oregano,
then that is also perennial. My late lamented rosemary bush survived
for years against a SW-facing red brick wall through a number of harsh
winters.

Now where are you going to establish your compost pile/heap/bin?

Frogleg wrote:

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 08:36:23 -0400, DigitalVinyl
wrote:

Growing everything from seeds made it more interesting. All
my failures were in never getting some things to germinate at all.
Sanvitalia, Basil, Lovage, Lavender, Convulvus, French Vanila
Marigolds, Blue Lace, Cumin, Rosemary, Spinach, Flamenco were all on
the no-show list. PLus I had ground that was uneven and flooded out
what seeds I planted. The clematis & tomato plants I did buy--didn't
realize i needed to start tomatos early. Everything else was seed.

In my experience, basil is pretty easy.
That's what I heard--I just had no luck. Planted 6 seeds-no
germination.
Never got cumin to grow from
seed (although I *did* grow a sesame plant).
Sesame...theres one I didn't think about.
Rosemary is hard. I think
I got one plant from seed that flourished encouragingly and then died.
Oh, and I was starting in a greenhouse with heating mats and whatnot.
Tomatoes were pretty never-fail in that atmosphere.
SNIP
Peach Melba is the yellow with red centers and it has a much smaller
bronzed leaf with wine red outline. You can see the red in the leaves
just below the center flower. It doesn't fill out like the Alaska Mix
Nasturitums. They are taller than wider for me. There are three in the
basket and they aren't anywhere near as full as two Alaska's.
http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl6...PeachMelba.jpg

Gorgous picture.
:-) I do love this camera!
I love nasturtiums, but have never had a day's luck
with 'em. Good soil, poor soil, full sun, part shade -- they hate me.
But I'm going to try again.
The ones in the ground became round bushes. They were all green and
the very last to blossom, but when they did they were covered. The
wooly aphids love them and I'm always chasing after them. I can't tell
you what I did right or didn't screw up.

Milkmaid is the pale yellow/cream one. There are two in the basket.
One grew way out of the basket--reaching for sunlight I think. The
ceiling is ten feet high and when we hung them they were over my head
and getting less sun because of the roof overhang. That's when the
Milkmaid through out that long arm hanging off the side. I extended a
chain down so they would get more light and I can see them better.
http://members.aol.com/digitalvinyl6...m-Milkmaid.jpg

And again. BTW, nasturtium leaves and flowers are edible. The leaves
are pretty spicy, but the blossoms are nice decor for a salad.
I haven't eaten them but I have read it.

The back wall of the house faces SW. The entire patio gets full sun
from 11 to 6 then shadows start affecting things.

I was thinking that if you can protect that baker's rack a bit and the
pots, you may get enough heat-sink effect with the stone(?) side of
the house and brick patio to keep those perennial herbs going. Sage
and thyme (was that thyme?) are perennials. If the thyme is oregano,
then that is also perennial. My late lamented rosemary bush survived
for years against a SW-facing red brick wall through a number of harsh
winters.
Actually that is an interesting idea. I actually have room to bring
some stuff inside, but the baker's rack could work. It is Thyme. There
is also some parsley and dill in there (hidden behind the pepper).
I've got a bowl with oregano, thyme and parsley. I could relocate that
to the rack.

I have to research some things to grow up on the landing

Now where are you going to establish your compost pile/heap/bin?
uhmmmm...

DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email)
Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
1st Year Gardener

On Thu, 24 Jul 2003 10:30:48 -0400, DigitalVinyl
wrote:

Frogleg wrote:

I was thinking that if you can protect that baker's rack a bit and the
pots, you may get enough heat-sink effect with the stone(?) side of
the house and brick patio to keep those perennial herbs going. Sage
and thyme (was that thyme?) are perennials. If the thyme is oregano,
then that is also perennial. My late lamented rosemary bush survived
for years against a SW-facing red brick wall through a number of harsh
winters.

Actually that is an interesting idea. I actually have room to bring
some stuff inside, but the baker's rack could work. It is Thyme. There
is also some parsley and dill in there (hidden behind the pepper).
I've got a bowl with oregano, thyme and parsley. I could relocate that
to the rack.

I've re-thunk the rack. You probably want those plants nestling close
together and the pots heavily mulched. Maybe all on bottom shelf with
straw stuffed around. Same spot -- sun and heat-sink -- but wrapped up
warm with the pots as little exposed to wind and weather as possible
Things in pots are more vulnerable than things in the ground. Dill
(and basil) is an annual. Parsley is a biennial, and pretty hardy. You
usually want to treat it as an annual and start new plants each year,
because the 2nd year, when they flower and go to seed (giving you a
lifetime supply), the leaves are less useful, but you *can* have a
little nice fresh parsley over the winter. Oregano, sage, and thyme
are perennials if conditions are right. I searched on "sage herb
hardiness" (without the quotes) and came up with a number of useful
references. What zone are you? Looks as if thyme, oregano, parsley,
and possibly sage are good candidates. Rosemary would definitely need
to be brought indoors. When you achieve a rosemary. :-)

Frogleg wrote:

On Thu, 24 Jul 2003 10:30:48 -0400, DigitalVinyl
wrote:

Frogleg wrote:

I've re-thunk the rack. You probably want those plants nestling close
together and the pots heavily mulched. Maybe all on bottom shelf with
straw stuffed around. Same spot -- sun and heat-sink -- but wrapped up
warm with the pots as little exposed to wind and weather as possible
Things in pots are more vulnerable than things in the ground. Dill
(and basil) is an annual. Parsley is a biennial, and pretty hardy. You
usually want to treat it as an annual and start new plants each year,
because the 2nd year, when they flower and go to seed (giving you a
lifetime supply), the leaves are less useful, but you *can* have a
little nice fresh parsley over the winter. Oregano, sage, and thyme
are perennials if conditions are right. I searched on "sage herb
hardiness" (without the quotes) and came up with a number of useful
references.
I was originally thinking of moving them up onto the landing for the
winter or indoors. I had thought but never got around to mounting the
windowbox on the railing of the back landing (back kitchen door). This
way I don't need to put on boots to harvest during winter.

What zone are you?
Zone 6b/7

Looks as if thyme, oregano, parsley,
and possibly sage are good candidates. Rosemary would definitely need
to be brought indoors. When you achieve a rosemary. :-)

DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email)
Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
1st Year Gardener