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Originally posted by kattraxx
reply to post by Desert Dawg
Xeriscaping-- landscaping with native plants and others that require little water, also using rocks, etc., instead of having a lawn to water. I plan to use a few native plants that bloom-- I need color, and keep a couple patches of lawn, where it does well-- just little 5' by 8' areas here and there for the "green" and for the dogs to lay on, but I want to use shrubs and trees that will produce edible things as well. Like the Siberian pea shrub, which is doing very well, blooming right now. I also have currants and gooseberries-- great for jam and canning, and you can just take a cutting from the bush and stick it in moist (not wet) ground and they'll grow easily. I put in three more grape varieties, blueberries and blackberries. I've been doing a lot of research on what can grow up here that is edible to use when I re-landscape the back yard.
So you're recommending the crank type mulch bin? Actually, now that you mention it, I could use recommendations on what to buy. $200 is up there, but then again, I do all this stuff myself now that my boyfriend is working out of state, so it might be worth the expense.
Originally posted by kattraxx
reply to post by Desert Dawg
Great pics-- using those concrete blocks around the edge was a good idea. Love the guard scorpion too. You mentioned basil-- I killed the one I had. Overwatered it, I think. Do you find they don't like a lot of water? What kind of soil is it in?
With those concrete blocks around your garden, next year when you buy soil, you can just dump it in, maybe with some horse manure as well.
[edit on 5/7/08 by kattraxx]
Originally posted by kattraxx
reply to post by Desert Dawg
I bought another basil plant yesterday and put it in a big clay pot in Miracle Grow vegetable soil-- so I can bring it in when the weather gets cold again in fall. All it says on the little tag is "likes hot weather". This time, I won't water it as much. My parsley is doing well, gets watered twice a week, also gets some shade during the day. I love dill on salads so I started some from seeds and so far so good. The rosemary, cilantro and fennel are growing like weeds.
True about tomatoes in pots-- most of the time they just don't seem to thrive, even in a huge pot. I read if your tomatoes split, it means too much sun. I had that problem last year.
I also put in my tomatoes as temps at night have consistently been in the mid to high 40's and I can always cover them if I have to do so, but I'm hoping I won't. Also put in a Japanese cucumber and cantaloupe. I sure wish I had twice the space now. We did fence the garden too, because we have two big dogs, and I'm getting another Siberian in June, when he's old enough to come home, which means I'm going to have to build something to put all my potted flowers and vegs on the patio up before he arrives. Since I'm not a builder, I'm thinking shelves on the fence.
So many potatoes came up, I don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe pull some out because they're pretty concentrated space-wise and offer them to my neighbor who also put in a garden. I've never grown them before and really didn't expect them to come up. I might try the old tire thing. I have two and I suppose I could transplant a few potato plants into the center area of the tires. DesertDawg, are you growing potatoes?
I try hard to get the tiny radish seeds spread out along the line, but I always seem to get a bunch of them together.