Are You A Haphazard Gardener?

[granjera]

I am.

I've never tested my soil, I fertilize haphazardly (when I remember), only fuss over weeds when my plants are tiny. Cucumbers and bell peppers (peppers in general) are the easiest. Tomatoes are sometimes decent (had a few 15 ouncers a couple years ago), but my tomato season is pretty short. Might try fall tomatoes this year.

Once, a squash plant growing on my patio was decimated by bugs, but otherwise, I don't find myself fighting bugs much. Maybe I shouldn't have said that aloud 'cause I'm not sure who/what reads these forums.

I grow plants from seed, till the soil and work in new soil and peat moss and compost (no special mixture, I just throw the stuff in), and once the plants are on their way, I just watch them grow and water faithfully. My garden tends to get pretty sloppy looking, what with the cucumber vines growing all over, but they do provide some shade for my bells, which seem to get sunburn otherwise. Had bells into November last year.

Anyway, I was wondering if others shoot from the hip when it comes to gardening.

 

[Chuck]

I guess it all depends on whether your gardening is just a part time hobby or something more serious such as putting food by for later use. Myself, gardening is quite serious as I find store bought foods (canned and frozen) not nearly as good or nutritious as my home grown, and that doesn't even count as to being much cheaper too. Shooting from the hip and a planned and managed vegetable garden are two different things.

 

[amelia88]

I'm definitely a bit of a "shoot from the hip" type. I never check things like what veggies are compatible to be grown side by side, or things like that...I guess part of it is just that I get excited and go all out before doing a bunch of research - silly, I know. I guess I've always been a person that just does things before necessarily checking the theoretical basis behind something...I should really change that, because I know I would very likely have better growing results if I knew more!

 

[splinx]

Well, I think I am. I don't have/need most of the frescuragem.

 

[marlingardener]

I am both a "shooter" and a serious gardener. I don't agonize over PH, fertilizer, spacing, etc. and generally have a pretty good garden if weather permits. I do try to pick vegetable varieties that do well in our climate, and I do try to keep the weeds somewhat under control, and do some consecutive gardening with early crops followed by later ones.
We "seriously" garden and can and freeze vegetables, and give a lot to the local food pantry. We also try new varieties each season, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. However, we learn from our successes and failures.
I guess our garden is a hobby garden that feeds us, and feeds a few other people, too.

 

[Corzhens]

The real gardener is my husband who takes care of the garden thoroughly. With me? You can call me a haphazard gardener because I am not really good at gardening. Besides, I lose my interest when the chore becomes laborious like weeding or plowing the soil. And when I find pests in the garden, what I do is call our housemaid or my husband if he is home. My primary interest in our garden is the harvesting of the fruits and vegetables.

 

[granjera]

Splinx, I had to look up frescuragem. Then I had depend on my limited Spanish to figure out what it meant once I Googled it (the definition was in Portuguese, I think). I believe (for the benefit of those who don't speak Portuguese or Spanish and/or who are plain old ignorant like me) this word means "that which is fresh". Now I have yet another piece of knowledge in my head, which means I have to make room for it by dropping something else.

I like your style, Corzhens.

Marlingardener, you're very close to my zone, have you managed a fall tomato crop?

Shooting from the hip and a planned and managed vegetable garden are two different things.

And yet, the end product is still fresh veggies!

 

[Esther Knapicius]

NOPE. my gardens have always been thought out, researched, drawn out etc. Every plant will work, and is for the zone, every plant has its placement. Mother nature and I have a respect for each other.

 

[marlingardener]

Granjera, we always have fall tomatoes. We plant Celebrities and have a large spring/early summer crop. Then I cut them back by 1/3 to 1/2 and keep them watered enough to stay alive. When cooler weather comes at the end of September, the Celebrities start to blossom, and we get tomatoes in October and into November. Any green ones we pick before a predicted frost, and ripen inside on a table in the laundry room. The fall crop is smaller, but well worth the effort. We have fresh garden tomatoes for Christmas and New Year's dinners!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Anyway, I was wondering if others shoot from the hip when it comes to gardening.

I don't do anything other than sticking plants or seeds in the ground. The native plants I grow have no problem with that, they do good as long as they get the right amount of sun. The few tomatoes, peas and others I grow have also done well with no special treatment.

The only thing I do is pull weeds in my native plant garden. Once it's established it'll be able to fight weeds on it's own, and then I won't have to worry about that, either.

Just like you said, I only pull weeds in my vegetable garden while the plants are young. April, May, maybe a little in Early June, but then I tend not to care anymore and it's never had a negative impact.

 

[granjera]

Granjera, we always have fall tomatoes.

I'm definitely going to try that this year. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Fernsdaddy]

When it comes to my veggies I'm a serious gardener, I rotate my planting every year and get a bit crazy when I find bugs on my veggies. My flower beds are a bit different I like to pack plants into a bed for a cottage look and never worry about a few weeds or bugs.

 

[Beverly]

i consider myself more of an "experimental gardener", i try different things and hope they will work and if they don't, i make note and try something else. Sometimes i unwittingly end up being a hazard to my garden. I just don't have a history of organic gardening in the tropics behind me, so i read some, experiment some, and try my best to do no harm to the plants that i love. My garden is small and i do not grow fruits and vegetables. I work to create habitat for the pollinators and butterflies to make up for (in a small way) all the habitat they have lost. I do grow parsley though, because it is a host plant for black swallowtail butterflies and provides food for the caterpillars who want to grow up to be butterflies. If i were growing food for the family table, i would be a very serious gardener. but would also have fun doing it.

 

[claudine]

I'm spontaneous. When I want to do something, I just do it, I don't think. Life is unpredictable, so there is no point in making plans.
Yesterday evening, I suddenly felt that I want to grow climbers in my apartment. And what I did today morning? I got two climbers

 

[Rosyrain]

I am not an expert gardener by any stretch of the imagination and I am constantly learning things on this forum. I used to be the type that just threw seeds in the soil and hoped for the best, but am learning to be a little more careful now.