Things you will not see (or hear) in the USA

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

My Alla remembers eating nothing but macaroni and potatoes...and she had to help the family on the fields digging potatoes.

Now she loves all the aspects of gardening including getting her hands dirty; because it's for her beautiful flowers and delicious vegetables and fruits.

I really love this woman!

You got lucky. I brought home a plastic plant a few months back and Kira said get rid of it for the fact it had to be dusted now and then. I was like ...#######...you didn't just say that. Ya, no plants, no garden. But we got a painting of some flowers in the dining room.

[Nasturtium 500]

Now she loves all the aspects of gardening including getting her hands dirty; because it's for her beautiful flowers and delicious vegetables and fruits.

What kind of stuff is she into (serious question btw)?

[baron555 934]

What kind of stuff is she into (serious question btw)?

We live on 5 acres of unincorporated Will County land. I have flower beds in the front of the house, in the back of the house, around the deck, a large tree ring (maybe 8 meters diameter in the front of the front yard), flower bed back near the barn, one along one side of the barn. Along the other side are black raspberries and herbs in front. The old paddock is now a multiple of gardens....about 1/8 acre vegetable garden (typical Victory garden veges), a large strawberry patch and another 1/8 acre patch that I keep tilled and plant cover crop during the growing season. And then in the back 40, about 30 meters longs are more black raspberries.

Last year we planted six fruit trees in the back forty and we started the semblence of a rock garden to eventually have a water feature and small pond.

And then last fall she went wild planting bulb plants everywhere, I can't imagine.

And then she planted a million (well maybe about 10 very large) pots of various annuals and perrenials and placed those around the deck and the patio.

She wouldn't allow winter to take them over and took many into the house and dab-nabit, they prospered and will be set back out soon.

Just like I try to stay away from Home Depot, because it's always over $100 spent on just few things, I try to keep her out of Alsip Nursery and Crafts, they have everything!

[baron555 934]

Oh....and she takes photos of her plantings and saves those plastic thingies and keeps a written logbook.

I can't fault her for doing everything right?!!

Living in an apt all her life, with a few trips to other folks' Daschas, this is like heaven for her.

She keeps me in heaven also!!! and massages my aching bones....I am thankful to return to work on Mondays to relax !!!

[Nasturtium 500]

Is that IL (just trying to wrap my mind around what climate specifics we're going for here is all or just the USDA zone)?

Has she tried (or you tried) heirlooms and open pollinated stuff? I morphed into using that exclusively in recent years. One of my best discoveries were yard long beans-- I plant a combo of Chinese Red Noodle and Red Seeded Asparagus... the green goes earlier but then kind of craps out just in time for the red to really take off. The taste is the same, and I find I like the taste every bit as much as regular beans and they are stringless-- huge plus. Being a seperate genus and species though, they don't have the same issues as our beans and they grow so amazingly fast and abundantly. I used to do exclusively flowers for a while (minus the tomato plant I always had to have) in my early 20s, then roses, then I began to get the vegetable bug... now I am tomato crazy amongst other thigns with 185 varieties I am trialing out and then there are pumpkins . I have like 400 different veggies though in seeds that I rotate through. Adore it.

The fruit bug bit me last year and the year prior. The house we lived in (but we had to move now and my parents are moving in Got accepted into the PhD across the state so now we're stuck in an apartment that has a north-facing balcony) had excellent peaches and apples. I picked up canning a couple of weeks ago and have been doing a lot of jams. I'm also going to try several "wild" and flower jams this year-- violets, black locust, dandelion, clover, lilac... Ammar thinks it's crazy

Black raspberries are the best raspberries. If she hasn't discovered pie making and jams, I'd be happy to share recipes if she's ever interested (yes, holy #######, you seriously mentioned the one subject I can talk about for hours and hours and hours-- barring food storage and strategies for wars and survival which are other topics I adore). I've been canning a variety of jams the past few weeks and using stuff we froze from our garden in the summer (currants, etc) as well as a certain amount of found items and store-bought. Sometimes, I have found that if you can transfer the obsessive bug into something more useful to those around you (food lol) then it goes over better. So far my favorite has been peach passion fruit jam. Passion fruit are native to here, so this summer I plan on checking out the fields during peach season.

Her journal sounds great. I tried it once but failed. I have a good memory for things though, which is ok-- but when you trial out so many things it really pays to be organized like she is.

Have you tried alpine strawberries? She may really like that. You can get the seeds for them. Also if you're in Il you're northern enough-- you may be able to get your hands on cloudberry bushes. She is from S. Russia if I remember you saying rightly and they are a Northern European (Scandinavian and Russian) treat-- but I think they use them in more southernly cuisine as well. They have the same culture as raspberries. Saffron crocus is another thing since she likes bulbs and vegetables (and thus must be into eating her stuff to an extent). They are really cheap compared with the cost of Saffron (about the same as any other crocus-- just about $1 more), and they are fall-blooming which gives you another season of crocus.

Two Novembers ago I sent about 120 varieties of seeds with Ammar back to Jordan for his family to try out and to begin selecting. We're moving back there after we both (or at least him and my coursework is over so I just need to write) graduates, and I wanted to get a head start on the selecting for climate process.

Yeah, a lot of "annuals" are actually perennials in warm climates. Good for her for trying, and that saves you money

She sounds like my kind of person! Ammar and I had the gardening thing in common, and it's nice to find someone who supports it. Usually a relationship has a tolerator or detractor and then the gardener. Especially when it's something functional, like food, I think it's a nice endevor. There are way worse things someone could get into, imo.

We live on 5 acres of unincorporated Will County land. I have flower beds in the front of the house, in the back of the house, around the deck, a large tree ring (maybe 8 meters diameter in the front of the front yard), flower bed back near the barn, one along one side of the barn. Along the other side are black raspberries and herbs in front. The old paddock is now a multiple of gardens....about 1/8 acre vegetable garden (typical Victory garden veges), a large strawberry patch and another 1/8 acre patch that I keep tilled and plant cover crop during the growing season. And then in the back 40, about 30 meters longs are more black raspberries.

Last year we planted six fruit trees in the back forty and we started the semblence of a rock garden to eventually have a water feature and small pond.

And then last fall she went wild planting bulb plants everywhere, I can't imagine.

And then she planted a million (well maybe about 10 very large) pots of various annuals and perrenials and placed those around the deck and the patio.

She wouldn't allow winter to take them over and took many into the house and dab-nabit, they prospered and will be set back out soon.

Just like I try to stay away from Home Depot, because it's always over $100 spent on just few things, I try to keep her out of Alsip Nursery and Crafts, they have everything!

Oh....and she takes photos of her plantings and saves those plastic thingies and keeps a written logbook.

I can't fault her for doing everything right?!!

Living in an apt all her life, with a few trips to other folks' Daschas, this is like heaven for her.

She keeps me in heaven also!!! and massages my aching bones....I am thankful to return to work on Mondays to relax !!!

[baron555 934]

Lockport, IL, near Joliet, SW of Chicago. Zone 5

My mother was born and raised on a 300 acre working farm in Southern Illinois that is still in the family and so my family would visit many times during the year....so all this gardening and yes, canning and preserves making and pie making is in-grained in me (my whole family shared in the cooking). She always lived in apts so this is like heaven for her.

I purchase all my fruit and berry plants from Nourse Farms in Mass. Do a Google search. Yes the black raspberries are the best and you can't find those on the gorcer's shelf. I remember going down the country roads with my uncle pulling us behind the tractor in a hay wagon and stopping alongside to pick wild black raspberries; so when I moved to this place I bought the plants and now have my own supply. I did and now she does canned preserves and freezer jams. All the strawberries go into freezer jams which we use throughout the year.

One heirloom project that I will get her involved with (I tried myself a few years ago but it petered out) is Ground Cherries. I can obtain seeds; I remember these also from the farm (you might find preserves still made by the Amish) and my aunt's excellent Ground Cherry Preserves. It tastes like nothing you've ever tasted before. On hot buttered wheat toast;;;;to die for!

Since we also love camping and canoeing and the little one is three going on four and soon to real school, we don't see the time yet to indulge in the exotic nature of gardening, but I can see a time when we will.

[Nasturtium 500]

5 is a good zone for fruits. Peaches are a bit iffy, but now wit the new cold-hardy breeds it's a good deal. My mom grew up on a farm in N. Indiana (near Valporaiso) and most of her family still lives in the area. The younger generations (mine) don't farm anymore, but the older ones still do. I wish I could. That is part of our plans in Jordan. Climate there is like a 9b-- more like Riverside, CA. Good weather and enough rain to do just about anything, but what is going to kill me is not being able to have the cold hours to do things like raspberries. I have black raspberries now from my grandmother's farm. I'd love to go up there maybe this summer or next when the mulberries are going and get a couple of buckets of those. I know they are a "decoy" fruit for a lot of the old timers up there but I really love them on their own...

I actually have the seeds for ground cherries... I grew them 2 seasons ago. I didn't end up making preserves, but you're making me think that direction. One thing I'd really love to get my hands on are gooseberries. No one grows them around here.

Nourse farms isn't one I knew about and I thought I knew just about every one. I'm going to check them out. My parents are die-hard Starks and Miller people. I'm trying to get them to branch out a bit to some other sources. Seed-wise it's easier... I have several companies I love-- baker's creek (pricey though), heirloom acres, etc.

As a kid growing up in a gardening family, I remember the garden fondly-- I bet your little guy will as well. Nasturtiums were something I remember growing when I was 2 or so in preschool. They chose them because of the motor skills of the kids versus the size of the seed It was a lot of fun to do. We then took it home and planted it outside. Now I know nasturtiums hate transplant, but beans also work for that learning process level.

Lockport, IL, near Joliet, SW of Chicago. Zone 5

My mother was born and raised on a 300 acre working farm in Southern Illinois that is still in the family and so my family would visit many times during the year....so all this gardening and yes, canning and preserves making and pie making is in-grained in me (my whole family shared in the cooking). She always lived in apts so this is like heaven for her.

I purchase all my fruit and berry plants from Nourse Farms in Mass. Do a Google search. Yes the black raspberries are the best and you can't find those on the gorcer's shelf. I remember going down the country roads with my uncle pulling us behind the tractor in a hay wagon and stopping alongside to pick wild black raspberries; so when I moved to this place I bought the plants and now have my own supply. I did and now she does canned preserves and freezer jams. All the strawberries go into freezer jams which we use throughout the year.

One heirloom project that I will get her involved with (I tried myself a few years ago but it petered out) is Ground Cherries. I can obtain seeds; I remember these also from the farm (you might find preserves still made by the Amish) and my aunt's excellent Ground Cherry Preserves. It tastes like nothing you've ever tasted before. On hot buttered wheat toast;;;;to die for!

Since we also love camping and canoeing and the little one is three going on four and soon to real school, we don't see the time yet to indulge in the exotic nature of gardening, but I can see a time when we will.

[baron555 934]

Nourse Farms sells gooseberries; I bought three plants from them so I could freeze the berries and send them to my Mom who niw lives in Mesa, AZ. She loves gooseberry pie. I highly recommend Nourse; I've been buying from them for over 10 years now.

We have two RedHaven peach trees coming; they grow well in the South Haven area of Michigan.

[Nasturtium 500]

Nourse Farms sells gooseberries; I bought three plants from them so I could freeze the berries and send them to my Mom who niw lives in Mesa, AZ. She loves gooseberry pie. I highly recommend Nourse; I've been buying from them for over 10 years now.

We have two RedHaven peach trees coming; they grow well in the South Haven area of Michigan.

Yeah, if I ever have a sun exposure again I'm going to consider the gooseberries. I found tem online frozen but they're like $30.

Good luck with your peach trees!

[Neonred 3,564]

Zone 10 here. Pretty much a year round growing season but many items just won't produce as they need a certain number of cold days. We did get a couple of light frosts this past winter. We have grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange and avocado trees. In the veg. garden we have tomato, pepper, green beans, broccoli, lettuce, etc. Never have any luck with squash or cucumbers. Had strawberries last year and this year we found a variety of blackberries that are supposed to do OK here....will see.

[Nasturtium 500]

Zone 10 here. Pretty much a year round growing season but many items just won't produce as they need a certain number of cold days. We did get a couple of light frosts this past winter. We have grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange and avocado trees. In the veg. garden we have tomato, pepper, green beans, broccoli, lettuce, etc. Never have any luck with squash or cucumbers. Had strawberries last year and this year we found a variety of blackberries that are supposed to do OK here....will see.

Wat happens to your squash and cucumbers, and what kind of 10? Is it a mild 10 (like SoCal) or is it a hot, scroching 10 like the center of phoenix, or a humid 10-- HI? That would influence the time of year to plant the squash/cukes. They do fine in a 10, but if you're too hot like AZ, you may need to adjust the variety. They also require a LOT of water.

I just made blood orange marmalade this last week and I have plans to continue doing so. It's a nice way to work with your extra oranges...

You don't have a pomegranite? I loved ours.

[eekee 182]

Florida is SUPER humid.

Gardening: a new twist for the RUB forum!

[Nasturtium 500]

Florida is SUPER humid.

Gardening: a new twist for the RUB forum!

Yeah (it seems like a less flame-filled twist though, right?).

I'm curious how many RUB-involved couples actually try out the Russian and RUB varieties here in the US. I know RUB tomatoes have made a huge hit here in the US-- great flavor and short day length requirements coupled with a cooler temp tolerance. Black Krim is actually a fav of mine as is Pink Caspian. RUB has done a lot of work in the plant-breeding business ranging from African violets to agricultural like tomatoes and wheat. I actually was thinking RUB-related things when people were mentioning gardening

[Nasturtium 500]

Zone 10 here. Pretty much a year round growing season but many items just won't produce as they need a certain number of cold days. We did get a couple of light frosts this past winter. We have grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange and avocado trees. In the veg. garden we have tomato, pepper, green beans, broccoli, lettuce, etc. Never have any luck with squash or cucumbers. Had strawberries last year and this year we found a variety of blackberries that are supposed to do OK here....will see.

And Ekee is right-- I am totally unobservant and idiotic for not seeing Miami by your information. Humidity is what is killing your squash and stuff I bet coupled with an incredible heat-index and sun power. You may need a shade cloth if you were to try again.

[Neonred 3,564]

And Ekee is right-- I am totally unobservant and idiotic for not seeing Miami by your information. Humidity is what is killing your squash and stuff I bet coupled with an incredible heat-index and sun power. You may need a shade cloth if you were to try again.

Most things we grow in the garden are grown in the winter. Tomatoes (Big Boy, Beef Stake, and Ugly) and peppers do great, but then again that is one of the major winter crops grown locally by farmers here. We don't even try to grow much in the summer. Heat into the low to mid 90's every day and daily mid afternoon rain with a LOT of sun until the rain comes.

The squash and cucumbers get a powdery mildew, and I am talking about the winter and spring. I have tried sprays and it helps for a while until it all goes to hell in a couple of days time. Almost everyone I talk with here has a similar problem.