Greetings from a Haggard Mama

[MamaHawk]

Hello everyone,

I'm trying to kickstart a garden at our new home, but I have a bad habit of wanting to start things and never actually doing it. I've found that if I join a forum, I'm more encouraged to keep doing the thing, so here I am!

I'm interested in planting fruits and veggies that I know my family will eat (no sense in starting something we'll waste) and experimenting with flowers. I'm aiming to be as practical as possible (e.g. lazy) so I'm trying to figure out what works best for a busy Mom on a small lot. I've been successful with tomatoes and almost successful with cucumbers (the flowers died and nothing came out of the plants after, for some reason

) and I'm open to trying anything twice.

I'm on a corner lot with a very nice stretch of land running east and west, shaded only in the early morning with our neighbor's house; by noon it's bright. Now, as the sun sets, tree shadows could be a problem, and for the life of me I can't remember what they did last summer, which doesn't help. For now though, it's definitely the sunniest part of our land.

I'm hoping to plant green beans, cucumbers, summer squash, acorn squash or butternut squash, sugar snap peas, carrots, lettuce, strawberries, potatoes (I think those need shade, so I'll put them someplace else), melons, and maybe peach trees if my winter experiment succeeded. I killed the avocado seeds I started a year ago so I'm trying to be hopeful...Anyway, I think that's all that springs to mind right now. I'd love to try broccoli, cauliflower, and maybe cabbage, but I feel like I heard those were difficult, so we'll see.

I also experiment with flowers, favorites being rose attempts, lilac attempts (WHY DOES IT KEEP DYING), and pretty much anything pretty and hearty (except when it's not...). I hope to get zinnias and morning glories!

I'm joining a few forums at once to see if any (or all) stick, so if you see this same message somewhere else, it's me, being lazy again. Thanks for the opportunity to share, everyone!
~Lucy

 

[zigs]

Welcome to the forum

Your post got stuck in the spam filter, just let it out

 

[Tetters]

Hello @MamaHawk Welcome to our forums. We have some very clever veggie gardeners on here, and hopefully they will share some of that cleverness with you. I think you may need to consider the zone where you live for temperatures, as they vary so much over the USA and of course that affects the growing conditions.
I think the problems with cucumbers is to do with pollination, done by bees naturally but given help by hand sometimes. There are male and female flowers
You will no doubt get more assistance from those members who live in your area. We are in the UK - a bit far away.

 

[MamaHawk]

Welcome to the forum

Your post got stuck in the spam filter, just let it out

Haha thank you! Between my email address and wordiness, I'm not surprised XD

 

[MamaHawk]

Hello @MamaHawk Welcome to our forums. We have some very clever veggie gardeners on here, and hopefully they will share some of that cleverness with you. I think you may need to consider the zone where you live for temperatures, as they vary so much over the USA and of course that affects the growing conditions.
I think the problems with cucumbers is to do with pollination, done by bees naturally but given help by hand sometimes. There are male and female flowers
You will no doubt get more assistance from those members who live in your area. We are in the UK - a bit far away.

Hello, and thank you! I'm excited to learn more and even fail to get there
I thought of the pollination bit back then, but I'm not sure I did it right - if memory serves, I just tried a q-tip swab in each flower a few times (maybe three all told...I wasn't very consistent), but maybe it was because it was all the same plant? Who knows...we'll find out more this spring!

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Hello and welcome. I see your from Akron, Ohio, I am from Ohio. Lived in Cleveland first, then family moved to Macedonia, Ohio. Graduated from Nordonia High. Worked in Akron General Hospital for a bit. So got used to traveling those one way streets about there. Now been living in Chester County, PA since 1983. Later.

 

[MamaHawk]

Hello! We just moved from Parma, I know where Nordonia is! Thanks for saying hi!

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Hello! We just moved from Parma, I know where Nordonia is! Thanks for saying hi!

Oh, I know Parma, used to roam around there also. Have you been to Corkey and Lennys. I know they closed this year. My favorite memory. Have a cousin living in Cleveland Heights. And a few other cousins about, one manages a restaurant, forgot name of town its in. Had lots of friends from Shaker Heights. I went to Kent State Un.

 

[MamaHawk]

Oh, I know Parma, used to roam around there also. Have you been to Corkey and Lennys. I know they closed this year. My favorite memory. Have a cousin living in Cleveland Heights. And a few other cousins about, one manages a restaurant, forgot name of town its in. Had lots of friends from Shaker Heights. I went to Kent State Un.

Hmm can't say I'm familiar with the name. I drove past...what was it, Stumpy's? Something like that...anyway I drove past there relatively frequently but I never went. I went to KSU too, so did my parents and so far one other brother. The academics there weren't fabulous the majority of the time, but Dr. Don John Dugas was absolutely stellar!

 

[LouisFerdinand]

Bonjour! @MamaHawk!
I began a topic on Zinnias:

All About Zinnia Flowers

Zinnias are one of the easiest and colorful flowers for the summer garden.

www.gardening-forums.com

 

[MamaHawk]

Bonjour! @MamaHawk!
I began a topic on Zinnias:

All About Zinnia Flowers

Zinnias are one of the easiest and colorful flowers for the summer garden.

www.gardening-forums.com

Gracias! I'll look at it!

 

[Meadowlark]

... potatoes (I think those need shade, so I'll put them someplace else),

Howdy...and welcome.

I was reading through your post and noticed your comment on potatoes. Actually, they don't need shade but need 8-10 hours of full sun per day. I grow a lot of potatoes in full Texas sun without any problems.

You do need to keep the new tubers covered as they grow, and we do that by hilling up soil on the potato row two or three times during the growing season. Direct sun on the new tubers will turn the skins green and not really good (or safe) to eat, but just keep them covered while the plants get full sun.

Otherwise, you have a great list of things to grow...and if you are hesitant on cabbage, I'd encourage you to try it. Garden grown fresh cabbage is to die for! Nothing like that junk in the stores.

 

[Meadowlark]

.Anyway, I think that's all that springs to mind right now. I'd love to try broccoli, cauliflower, and maybe cabbage, but I feel like I heard those were difficult, so we'll see.

The brassicas...can be easy to grow as long as you grow them in cool weather. Here, they are a fall/winter crop. In your area, I would think they would do fine with an early spring start. Not at all difficult as long as you get the timing right...and grow them in nutrient dense soil.

 

[YumYum]

Howdy.

 

[MamaHawk]

The brassicas...can be easy to grow as long as you grow them in cool weather. Here, they are a fall/winter crop. In your area, I would think they would do fine with an early spring start. Not at all difficult as long as you get the timing right...and grow them in nutrient dense soil.

Hello! Thanks so much for the info on potatoes; maybe that’s why my family’s attempts never worked! I’ll have to consider a better spot for them, then. I feel encouraged with the cabbage and brassicas, though I’ll probably have to raid my Mom’s compost pile for the right soil. Bit by bit!