Time to Start Planting Vegetable Gardens.

[uptowngirl]

There are some great organic bulk seed sites...juts do a search. Seeds can keep up to five years if stored correctly, much much cheaper to buy them in bulk without the fancy Burpee packaging.

[Driven1]

What a delightful thread, a shame we don't have more of these

i agree.  Kudos to stephen for starting it!

[adamh0903]

we stock seeds in bulk and they are much cheaper than the prepackaged deals..

Right now I have Rutabage, Collards, Turnips, Cucumbers and beets and I am out of (but stock) Mustard Greens, Broccoli, Squash, Raddish and Cabbage....we sell them by the 1/4oz 1/2oz 3/4oz or 1oz.

Some seeds have been harder to get this year, like FL Broadleaf Mustard.

[uptowngirl]

we stock seeds in bulk and they are much cheaper than the prepackaged deals..

Right now I have Rutabage, Collards, Turnips, Cucumbers and beets and I am out of (but stock) Mustard Greens, Broccoli, Squash, Raddish and Cabbage....we sell them by the 1/4oz 1/2oz 3/4oz or 1oz.

Some seeds have been harder to get this year, like FL Broadleaf Mustard.

Where are you?

[adamh0903]

<------------ Out in Callahan

[JaxByDefault]

DO they have heritage seeds in their inventory?

Standard Feed does have some heritage seeds, but they have a better selection of conventional seeds in bulk bins. Also, they have a good and inexpensive selection of starter plants for those who are wary of seed-starts.

Internet ordering, co-ops, seed-saving from produce are probably the best ways to get a good supply of heritage seeds.

Here's how good the owner of Standard Feed is: Spouse's great-grandmother used to grow the world's best green beans. She and her family had grown them for generations, saving their seeds from crop to crop. Thus, they had produced their own heirtage cultivar. Great-grandmother died (at age 101+) in the winter so there were no living plants in the garden and seeds were nowhere to be found.

Three years later...I took a jar of green beans that spouse's great-grandmother canned before she died into Standard Feed. The owner was able to identify a related species and make suggestions for planting, seed saving, and cross-breeding that could come close to the lost family green beans.

If you are planning to go organic, then stay away from the big box stores for care products. Corn Gluten (a weed preventer) was $6 a pound at Lowes, $19 for 20lbs at the ag store. Seeds and plants may be more money at an agricultural store, but neem oil, Dr. Bronners, fish emulsion, and composted manure are far less.

The Springfield Community Garden may have plots left for this season. They also have meet-ups to teach newbies organic gardening skills.

[Ocklawaha]

Most popular thing to grow up in the hills was tobacco.  Fields and fields of the stuff.  Was fascinating.  That'd be great to plant too... keep the smokers in tobacco and make a nice little profit.  I could become the next Big Tobacco, but without all the crap rolled into each cigarette.

If you really want to go chemical free, tobacco makes a fantastic pesticide. You can also create your own feed and bug killer by taking a large jar - filled with water. Add in a pouch of cheap chewing tobacco and make a dark tea. Strain the tea and mix it about 50/50 with stale beer. Two drops of dish soap breaks the surface tension of the water and the insects flee in terror. (they're smarter then humans). Just pour it into your sprayer and mist the plants as needed.

If you really want to smoke your "tobacco" pull your plants up by the root and hang upside down in a warm dry room. This moves all of the plant resins to the leaf. Then mist the nearly dry leaf with a cheap sweet wine, such as strawberry, or concord grape. Your smoke will be mellow, sweet and have enough chemical to satisfy any craving. But then, home grown is almost a lost art.


OCKLAWAHA

[tashi]

I have my little Victory Garden in my yard and I love eating fresh veggies.

I have been reading a lot about tobacco as a pesticide, and it is very controversial.

There is a good group called Beyond Pesticides

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/

They have a nice data bank about problems and how to resolve them.

[civil42806]

How many people on these forums have started a garden?

Ummmmm its November, unless your planting cabbage and other cold weather plants your options are rather limited

[JaxByDefault]

Our garden goes year round, although other than figs and herbs, I won't have another crop of anything until citrus season. There's not really a winter here. When it does get below freezing, it's only for a couple of hours. With thick mulch, most of my plants have done just fine in the winter. This is a climate where you can plant a tomato in early February!

[Doctor_K]

How many people on these forums have started a garden?

Carrots, green beans, regular and sweet basil, green garlic are still going strong.  Going to be planting tomatoes late January/early February.  Even have a handful of decorative flowers growing along side the basil just for something a little different. 

My back deck is its own burgeoning arboretum.   

[uptowngirl]

tomato, basil, cabbage, lettuce (several varities), beans (several varieties including black beans for the first time), onions, carrots, radish, oregano, chives, lemon grass, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, figs, avacado, and some corn for Feb!

We grow year round too, have a big compost pile, and just load the garden up with Straw when it gets colder...

[Jason]

I'm holding out for Feb/March to get something going.

[BridgeTroll]

Twice in two seperate places I have attempted a garden here in Jax... both utter failures.  I am familiar with a variety of climates and have been very successful in other parts of the country.  The climate, bugs, microbes, and soil of north florida have condemned me to supermarket produce and the generosity of others...

Brotha can ya spare a tomato...??

[uptowngirl]

Twice in two seperate places I have attempted a garden here in Jax... both utter failures.  I am familiar with a variety of climates and have been very successful in other parts of the country.  The climate, bugs, microbes, and soil of north florida have condemned me to supermarket produce and the generosity of others...

Brotha can ya spare a tomato...??

I can not stress cow manure enough, with a little peat moss and good top soil. I have found the dirt here to be very.very sandy so I have been forced to "replace" all of the above almost every other year.

Bugs are horrible (and being downtown I think a few rats have been nibbling too) I have tried some of the "natural stuff" like soapy water, beer, etc but slugs and other bugs keep eating my veggies! I have finally broken down and purchased some commercial pesticides, but if anyone has some good natural options I would love to try them before actually giving in to the commercial stuff.