I know we have a few gardeners here, so it would be interesting to hear what you do on your plot. I only have a relatively small garden here, and grow in containers but do quite well despite the limited space. With a bit of inginuity and cunning you can get a lot of plants in a small area.

It might not look like it, but in that small space there is: 2 apple trees Cherry tree Medlar tree Fig tree Dwarf Quince bush Blue sausage fruit tree Six blueberry bushes Jostaberry Blackcurrant Mirabelle tree Blackberries Raspberries Strawberries Ramsons (wild garlic) Lemonbalm Daylillies (edible) Dahlias (edible) Jerusalem artichokes Chinese artichokes Checkerberry Barberry Passionflower/Passionfruit Dwarf peach tree … and a load of ornamentals and herbs. There’s also a few smaller trees which will be a good while before they are ready to do anything (trifoliate orange, szechuan pepper, and persimmon) So what’s everyone else doing with their gardens?

Love the mannequin head lol!

Don’t have much of a garden anymore, but I have several varieties of mint, and a grove of persimmon trees

Don’t have much of a garden anymore, but I have several varieties of mint, and a grove of persimmon trees

I fear the persimmon tree I have won’t actually be suitable for growing to the fruiting stage in a container. I’m going to persevere with it as long as I can, but it might end up being a hiking staff >:)

Love the mannequin head lol!

That’s actually the neighbour’s It’s looking rather ragged at the minute as the birds have been taking the hair for nesting materials

@50ft_trad if you can grow it until it fruits it is well worth it. Every winter I look forward to harvesting persimmons to make wine and mead, and I save their seeds to make beads. They make excellent jams too.

Oh, I love the fruit, but the tree I have is Diospyros Kaki which apparantly has a long taproot and grows very tall before fruitworthy. I didn’t realise this when I got it #-o I will keep it going as long as I can, but the hiking staff idea is there as a plan b if it doesn’t work out

I don’t see tobacco on that list?

@basement_shaman I have ordered seeds, but i’m concerned about growing space. I’m hoping to fit a couple of plants in and I have pots ready. The area I need to grow them in (North facing garden) also gets a lot of slugs and snails. I’ll probably do a couple of “tester” plants this year, but I won’t put them out till early June at a guess

A bowl of beer will take care of those slugs and snails. Diatomaceous Earth is also a safe insecticide just don’t use it on flowers it will kill bees

Just moved to a new house last Fall that had an already established but very neglected garden. Spent much of the Spring clearing weeds, grasses and vines out of the beds and waiting to see what sort of perennials will be coming up. It is mostly bulbs of various kinds, such as daffodils, lilies, tulips, etc. There are also poppies, peonies, azaleas, lilacs, wisteria, roses, a variety of self-seeding annuals and a number of flowering trees and shrubs. There’s an apple and a peach tree, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, and maybe some other things. My plan is to get some more beds set up soon and do a kitchen garden with culinary herbs, hot peppers, chives, garlic etc. And of course, there will be tobacco, though that might need to wait until next Spring. Within the next couple years I will plant more fruit trees, shade trees and hedges, and build hoop houses and coldframes. I left behind a lot of great beds and garden structures at the old house, but the new one has a much better climate, soil and sun exposure, so I’m happy to start fresh.

I planted hundreds of arbs,bushes and trees on my little corner of the world. Most of my dwarf fruit trees had died and need replacing. I had three different peaches that ripened at different times which was nice to deal with, two varieties of plums one red the other deep purple. the white flesh nectarine,bing cherry and sour cherry also gone. remainding trees are a five in one apple a jonathan,White flesh red leaf peach, a few other peaches I planted from seed and a pear that the squirrels eat before they even grow to full size. I have a grape vine, bird and wasp enjoy before me and a hazelnut bush that never produces. Several gardens one with asparagus. I’ll be planting with some squash and other vine veggies like beans,cucumbers and gourds . Herb garden in raised containers,A hot pepper garden. Tomatoes and potatoes.I am currently digging a plot for three strains of tobacco. A strawberry patch I may move if I get really motivated, red and purple raspberries. a row of wild blackberries I don’t bother with too many thorns. And then there are mulberry trees I try to kill with little results. For years I would get balled xmas trees and plant them. two are 30 ft tall and five dead also dead my japanese maple? poisoned possibly . I have a weeping willow that the snow took its toll on; still alive but about three PU truck loads of timbers to clean up. A pair of tulip poplars, Several maples , oak and black walnut trees The daffodils, blue bottles and tulips are at their peak and all need separating and the Iris rhizomes need to be thinned they can wait. The bleeding heart bush is growing so fast you could almost see it, the Lilac bushes are in bloom and I may try to scent some snuff with it. I have giving up on roses. Burning bushes and over grown privet hedge Oh and I have about two hundred feet of rose of sharon that needs vines cleared off them before I loose them. they also need trimming. Two plus acres of grass. I also had got some poison Ivy while working this week fun fun fun. I was laid up last year having four operations and things got out of hand. I don’t know how I worked a full time job and had time for all this before. And found time to go fishing and play disc golf and hang out here. I would post picture but that would take up many pages. May be later I’ll post the fruit of my labor.

Oh and I have about two hundred feet of rose of sharon that needs vines cleared off them before I loose them. they also need trimming. Two plus acres of grass.

Ah, I forgot to mention the Rose of Sharon bushes. They grow like weeds. I transplanted about a dozen saplings into a hedge, but I’ve got so many more to dig up and get rid of. There are so many growing in places I don’t want them. As for grass, I’ve got nearly 2 acres of that as well. Got a rider mower. Used to be able to get by with a push mower, but now there’s way too much. I would like to replace as much as an acre with gardened spaces, and maybe let a half acre become a wild meadow for the pollinators to frolic in. Mowing is one of my least favorite chores.

Oh and I have about two hundred feet of rose of sharon that needs vines cleared off them before I loose them. they also need trimming. Two plus acres of grass.

Ah, I forgot to mention the Rose of Sharon bushes. They grow like weeds. I transplanted about a dozen saplings into a hedge, but I’ve got so many more to dig up and get rid of. There are so many growing in places I don’t want them. As for grass, I’ve got nearly 2 acres of that as well. Got a rider mower. Used to be able to get by with a push mower, but now there’s way too much. I would like to replace as much as an acre with gardened spaces, and maybe let a half acre become a wild meadow for the pollinators to frolic in. Mowing is one of my least favorite chores.

maybe one of these would help make the mowing more fun:

We started a large garden the back corner of my property a few years ago but it has been neglected the last couple of seasons. I’m going to try to get in there and rehab it this summer. There are a few lilac trees and some perennials in there but the previous owners had planted English ivy which has been hard to completely eliminate and is trying to take over. My main focus will be on my tobacco plants. I have a large bed which will fit around 20 Virginia and Burley plants and a long narrow bed I will be using for my Oriental variety (Prilep). I still have a few weeks before I can plant them. The seedlings are coming along well.

@cpmcdill You should get a goat or sheep. I have a pony but she is 30 and refined to her paddock. Restricted diet for hoof issues. After she passes I may get a buffalo to cut the grass

Found the skyscraper lillies crawling with scarlet lily beetle earlier, so gave them all a good blathering with insecticide once the sun started to set. Those little buggers can destroy plants in no time. I’m looking forward to all the blossom finishing on the trees as the aphids are setting up shop and the ants are herding them. I’m very mindful of not doing anything to affect pollination or pollinators. Also found a harlequin ladybird on my rose bush yesterday. Another invasive species that’s spreading very quickly.

@cpmcdill You should get a goat or sheep. I have a pony but she is 30 and refined to her paddock. Restricted diet for hoof issues. After she passes I may get a buffalo to cut the grass

Coincidentally, a friend of mine just today informed me that his goats have had babies. I think I might eventually consider goats, but I don’t have a proper shelter set up for them. There is an outbuilding that once housed a couple cows, but it’s in rough shape and will need some work, but that is a project for another year.

Any tips for newbee trying my green finger at growing Rustica seeds? Planning to use large pots to control moisture, Sun delivery and pests.

Flowers in my yard 1 hawthorn 2 nectarine 3 tulip 4 double daffodil 5 azaleas 6 lilac 7 dandelion 8 apple 9 Pear 10 strawberry. They were here just 3 days ago most are gone now also more apple blossoms pics but i can’t tell them apart so I didn’t post.

@basement_shaman - reminds me, I should probably document what’s going on in my garden.

@cpmcdill Well this is the Gardening thread, although I also post in what you up to today beside reading this. I’ll be out back till it gets too warm. So much to do. And I am not as spry anymore

Anyone into cloning. Of course garlic is easy just plant the cloves, I’ve used Onion roots, carrot tops,the core from cabbage, the bottom of celery, eyes from potatoes all scraps from the kitchen with good success. Clipping are harder but not impossible.

Never tried to be honest. I go the easier (but more expensive) way of using seeds and store bought plants. One reason is that much of the commercial produce isn’t suitable for growing in this climate. I was tempted to try garlic, sweet potato, and a couple of other things but when I researched it, I discovered I’d have to buy specific plant varieties to achieve any success, and this defeated the purpose of the exercise. This is one of the reasons I moved away from veg in favour of foods I cannot buy in the shops, or which are relatively expensive (fruits and exotic/non-commercial crops). With such a small North facing garden, the climate here, and growing in containers, I have to be very selective with my choices

Just planted 2 gooseberry and 2 blueberry bushes in pots (as we will be moving in a couple years and want to take ‘the goods’ with us. Also set down a row of raspberries that were given to me. Harvested rhubarb last evening. many more things to plant, pull, Clean, etc. LOVE this stuff!!

@stogie I have everything in pots. Watering is a PITA, but the ability to shuffle round, add, subtract, respace, reformat, really is a benefit in my small garden. I nearly went for a gooseberry a couple of weeks back, but opted for a thornless blackberry instead. You’ll have to figure out the picture posting, I’d love to see what you got over there

Cut more asparagus , put a new carburetor on my tiller now I need new fuel line.

Rotated compost and stacked firewood.

Filled Two huge planting pots (4 feet tall and ~22 inches at top - Clay with a blue glaze on outside. Bought them last fall for $20

Filled Two huge planting pots (4 feet tall and ~22 inches at top - Clay with a blue glaze on outside. Bought them last fall for $20

That saves your back from pulling weeds. also keeps groundhogs and rabbits out. Talking furry creatures. I think a skunk decided to move in under my shed.

Filled Two huge planting pots (4 feet tall and ~22 inches at top - Clay with a blue glaze on outside. Bought them last fall for $20

Bargain!!! I wish I could find deals like that

Desided to transplant three blueberry plants that do not like to produce berry. To close to a big cedar tree. I may replant them out by the road as many people walk by. I know if they will produce the neighbor kids will pick them. I get plenty for my family from the other 14 that are in the yard.

No grass cutting for me today, kids are doing it for me! Trim limbs and having them burn them too. Wow, feels like a pre fathers day!

Another busy day today. Laid a couple of flags as stepping stones into the back corner, spread more bark chippings all round the scabby area, finished off topping off the fruit tree planters with fabric and white pebbles, finished emptying the crappy strawberry planters of compost and disposed of them, deadheaded a few of the flowers, cleared up all the general crap (old netting, plant labels, plant pots etc), transferred some bulbs into a larger pot with perennials either side, weeded watered and fed, shuffled some pots and planters round to better suit this years scheme. One more day like today, and I should be set and ready for the year ahead

Planted the first two of what I intend to make an orchard of 6 Bartlett Pears. I don’t eat a lot of pears, but I like pear trees, so maybe when they mature I’ll see about making some kind of cider with them.

Hilled up the potatoes, mulched the onions and celery.

I’m expanding my large tobacco bed and it’s pretty slow going. It’s a holiday tomorrow so I hope to get it done by the end of the long weekend. This is traditionally the weekend we plant gardens in my area but the temperature is set to drop this week with a low of 2C Tuesday night. I’ll hold off planting for a week or two. @cpmcdill I have a buddy with a huge canning pear tree. I’ve made cider from it a couple of times and it makes a nice refreshing drink.

Nothing exciting today for me. I did give it all a few coats of looking at, but didn’t really do much. I quite liked the fact that nothing was screaming out as needing doing immediately. I’m hoping for a simpler year from a maintenance perspective.

Had some good soaking rains the past day, after a stretch of a few weeks of almost nothing, and the peonies decided to all start blooming right away. Too hot and muggy to do much outside work though.

Picked more asparagus and just ate it. I here it is good for cancer sufferers. Went fishing and found a patch of stinging nettles the hard way ~X( I will go back with long pants and long shirt and gloves to harvest. Young nettles make good soup. Now I remember what it looks like, I will keep picking for tea and other uses.

Called in at a nursery on the way home from work, and picked up a geum, a phlox, and two platycodon (balloon flower). Potted these up before the showers started. Only two more vacant pots left requiring flowering residents now.

First flowers appeared on one of my Pea Plants. more chainsaw work and burning of the debri today until it started to rain.

planted pole beans, a first planting of bush beans, egg plants, parsley, weeded out about 500 volunteer kale plants, mowed the lawn, I love days off from work. Wife is out planting some orchids in the circular flower garden by the shop. Great day, all in all.

The tobacco bed expansion was more work than I thought it would be so I didn’t quite get it done. The 34C humidex today didn’t help matters! I’ll have to pick away at it a bit every night after work to get them in the ground next weekend.

Planted red cabbage, broccoli, cilantro and potatoes. Dug up a bunch of thistles and dandelions.

I have a bunch of cannabis growing in my basement under high intensity discharge lighting. Had a indoor veggie garden for a couple years. Not much outdoor gardening but some flowers, and tobacco, deer eat just about everything. What they dont eat is ruined by adverse weather. However, my summer goal is to build a greenhouse. Its still snowing right now. We have a average of 29 frost free days where I currently live. I did grow up on the gulf coast where everything grew, and I grew everything.

Planted red cabbage, broccoli, cilantro and potatoes. Dug up a bunch of thistles and dandelions.

Milk Thistle seeds are great for preventing acne in hormonal teens and menstruating woman, Roasted Dandelion root makes a good coffee alternative and detox for your liver you can add the leaves in a salad.

@Roderick was talking about tomato leaf snuff. Any success? Eggplant, I hear is high in nicotine. Pull my first harvest of radishes they are yummy

Picked up a big healthy Black Tartarian cherry tree today, and will be going back for another tomorrow before planting them.

A few random piccies from today

50ft_trad Looking great That weed free yard makes me envious. I was over the fence macheteing poison ivy vines on the neighbors trees some of them were two inches thick. Killed around 50+ I hope; they have air roots and I pray they wither before it rains. Cultivated the front garden with my weed whacker attachment and raked it smooth. Took the little tobacco plants outside for a few hours of sun to get them acclimated before planting. Dumped some coffee grounds around the strawberry plants

Dumped some coffee grounds around the strawberry plants

What do the coffee grounds do for the strawberries? I’ve got several beds of them, and no shortage of grounds that are too heavily represented in my compost bin.

Transplanted raspberries and garlic (both gifted to me) and potted up about 18 mixed annuals.

Strawberries are acid loving plants although coffee grounds are not so high to boost the PH levels ; Worms love them and they aerate the soil for you. grounds provide generous amounts of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and copper. I also read using epsom salts diluted and sprayed on plants produce larger fruits.

Another epsom salts trick: if you have seedlings in a seedling tray and the leaves have started to yellow, water with 1 tablespoon epsom salts to 1 gallon water. The yellowing indicates that the plant has drawn a lot of the nutrients out of the soil and the salts help to “free up” more nutrients to be consumed. Works for tobacco anyways.

Potential disaster tonight!!! I went round blathering a few trees and other plants with insecticide, only to notice afterwards I have picked up the wrond bottle… weedkiller :(( I got the hosepipe out and hosed everything down thoroughly. Now we wait [-O<

Oh, that’s really unfortunate, 50ft_trad. If it was me I would throw the weed killer out just to get even (and avoid mixups in the future). Good luck with your plants. Don’t give up, you can get some more if they don’t fare well.

@50ft_trad - I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you. Optimistically, I get the impression that weedkillers are targeted for certain types of plants. Spray it on a lawn, and the grass survives but not the chickweed, plantains, dandelions etc. Maybe trees are immune too. But hosing it all down is a good call - just in case. Personally, I like a mixed lawn, as some of those weeds are good nitrogen fixers, and others attract pollinators. For garden beds, I either pull weeds or mulch around the desirable plants. I have found grasses to be more of a nuisance in beds than other things.

Good luck to you @50ft_trad!!! Today finished potting my first round of annual flowers. Planted my Masai Beans. Dug up a bushel or so of dandelions. Set the water and now a touch of relaxation.

Dig up vines by the root , cutting them at ground level isn’t enough. My two Tulip Poplar have bloomed. The last pic is Pea flowers. I had two sprayers one white the other yellow. Insecticide on one and brush b gone in the other. Put them away clean two years ago the white one, the sprayer broke and the yellow one, the seal dry rotted; now I combine the parts for one good sprayer. I can see how you could grab the wrong bottle both of mine are the same shape and color both Ortho Products. I hope you caught it in time .

Thanks guys. The weedkiller was used for other areas, namely on ashphalt areas, particularly around the base of the walls of the house, which is why I only need a spray bottle. Hopefully with it being spring, the rising sap will prevent too much damage to most of them, although the leaves on the Mirabelle de Nancy are already showing severe damage.

Sometimes procrastination pays off. They just issued a frost advisory for my area and I haven’t managed to get my plants in the ground yet.

This year we didn’t saw tobacco. Because of changed priorities near De Lelie. A sailing school took possesion of the karottenfabriek and the yard. We only can acces the mill. Jaap Bes.

Will try acclamation of the baby rustic plants this morning before the sun starts to pound.

@nicmizer only 1/2 hr max first day they are fragile, increase 10 min daily I only put out a third of mine and they didn’t survive two hours in the blazing sun.

Had a 50 lb. bag of spoiled potter’s plaster (humidity got to it so it won’t set). Turns out it is an ideal soil ammendment for compacted and clay soils, just calcium sulfate (gypsum). Adds calcium to the soil without changing the pH, so good for acid-loving plants like blueberries, azaleas, roses, etc. So spread it on the lawn and around the soil in the garden where tomatoes and peppers will go in. Tomatoes suffer blossom end rot if they don’t get enough calcium, a problem I’ve been having in previous years.

@nicmizer only 1/2 hr max first day they are fragile, increase 10 min daily I only put out a third of mine and they didn’t survive two hours in the blazing sun.

If that. We are overcast and will not put in direct sunlight for a week or so. They are happy in the undirect skylight rays.

Marathon gardening day, Planted the tomatoes, peppers, summer squash, suyo long cucumbers, and some more parsley. Only one apricot set on my 3 year old Siberian apricot tree, but at least that will taste good, squirrels and birds willing.

Added some pony poo to the garden for moisture retention last night. wasn’t up to doing anything today.

Expanded garden area by ~ 1 foot X 20’, watered and weeded… never ending joy…

Finally got around to cleaning out the Winter deep litter in the henhouse, and that took all day. Was hoping to plant some trees.

Fingers crossed, I have now put in the last of the plants for this year. All pots now filled. The final plants were a deep crimson antirrhinum, mini kiwi (issai), two more platycodon, and a gaillardia. Doesn’t sound much but it finishes it all off - assuming there’s no further losses anywhere…

Finally got around to cleaning out the Winter deep litter in the henhouse, and that took all day. Was hoping to plant some trees.

That chicken shit is good fertilizer, I hope you wore a respirator and goggles. It is a hot fertilizer so it will need to be composted or you can make a tea with it.Using it straight will burn your plants

That chicken shit is good fertilizer, I hope you wore a respirator and goggles. It is a hot fertilizer so it will need to be composted or you can make a tea with it.Using it straight will burn your plants

Definitely going onto a compost heap. I have been building a couple small mountains of plant matter, lawn clippings, leaves from last Autumn, cedar shavings and chicken manure. I hope they compost nice and hot, so I can have some good material for raised beds by Fall.

Almost finished first of 2 raised planters ( 3.5 feet high by 27 inches wide and 5 feet long, bed is16 inches deep. Will be nice…

That chicken shit is good fertilizer, I hope you wore a respirator and goggles. It is a hot fertilizer so it will need to be composted or you can make a tea with it.Using it straight will burn your plants

Definitely going onto a compost heap. I have been building a couple small mountains of plant matter, lawn clippings, leaves from last Autumn, cedar shavings and chicken manure. I hope they compost nice and hot, so I can have some good material for raised beds by Fall.

Cedar is awful slow to decompose. you may want to add lime to your mix. cedar is also a natural herbicide some plants will not tolerate well.Keep the pile wet may help. I would avoid putting certain wood in compost, some are poisonous. Better yet, burn the cedar chips then add the ash.

My brother gave me his lawn sweeper when he moved. It worked great on my lawn tractor not so great with my zero turn machine. but I use my grass clipping around my garden plants as mulch to keep from weeding and retain soil moisture

My cigar tree [Catalpa] is blooming

You are so far ahead of us here on the Cape, our catalpa is just starting to leaf out.

Ran the weedwacker with the cultivator attachment ,tilled in peat moss,crushed lime and pony poo. put up 6ft. fence stakes and ran wires across and down for my string bean plants. Planted some hot pepper plants ,one super hot bubblegum pepper, Orange scotch bonnet, chocolate habanero and a cherry bomb pepper. My from seed pepper plants are too small to transplant as yet. Mulched the new plantings with lawn clipping. The sun has been blazing here and the grass just crumbles under foot. I Eightysixed the covering the garden with plastic idea. Expecting storms in the coming days. But I still may run a soaker hose just in case.

Cedar is awful slow to decompose. you may want to add lime to your mix. cedar is also a natural herbicide some plants will not tolerate well.Keep the pile wet may help. I would avoid putting certain wood in compost, some are poisonous. Better yet, burn the cedar chips then add the ash.

Actually I misspoke. The shavings are aspen. We don’t use cedar shavings in the animal areas (though I do use it for deep storage of Winter clothes). Sometimes we use the “softwood” shavings from Petco, but mostly aspen.

Today, planted another Bartlett Pear. I have another yet to plant, and will also be getting another variety, possibly Keiffer, to cross-pollinate. Still have two Black Tartarian cherries and 4 Forsythia to plant. None of the garden centers I’ve visited in my area seem to have Colorado Blue Spruce or Norway Spruce, of which I need several, so I may have to travel further afield. Also need a few good fast-growing deciduous shade trees, like maybe a hybrid poplar.

Looked out the window and what did I see? a couple of birds fighting in the mulberry tree. Note to self, cover windshield from dirty birds. You definitely won’t want to dry your linings on the clothesline.

Think I will plant some more radishes as they are growing good this spring and taste better then the store bought ones.

Planted acorn squash and butternut squash . I hope to get enough to last all winter.

Planted Hopi Rustica seeds again this year. Harvested two window sill grown cannabis plants (legal in Colorado) that are just mind blowing, lemon/lime scented. Also growing squash, hens and chicks poppies.

Planted 2 Black Tartarian cherries and another Bartlett Pear just in time for a good soaking rain. Got 6 Virginia Bright tobacco plants nearly ready to transplant to beds.

Spent much of the day mowing and watering things. No rain the past three weeks where I am, though I’ve heard other parts of the county have had rain as recently as last week. Bummer. The grass is getting brown.

@cpmcdill big thunderstorm down here yesterday. Whacking my weeds today. Got to make it look like my jerk neighbor missed a big spot in front of his house. Ah, the little things…

Managed to get about an hour of light drizzle yesterday, but it all seemed to evaporate immediately after, and the plants are more parched than ever. Looking at the long-term forecast at weather.com, the dry spell may be breaking in about another week.

On the bright side, the tomatoes are coming out terrifically. Last year it was overcast and rained too much at the time the tomatoes needed to ripen, and the fruits either split open or failed to ripen properly. Now, the conditions are ideal for the tomatoes (just need a little water every day), though less so for all the trees I planted this summer.

I got loads of tomatoes on one plant and they are taking forever to get ripe. may have to pick a few and brown bag them.

What I should have done was have 1 plant each of different varieties that ripen at different times. Just about everyone in this town all has tomatoes too, so I can’t give away surplus, so I have to can or freeze. I like tomatoes, but I also know they are chock full of highly inflammatory agents, implicated in arthritis among other things. Probably part of the reason they were traditionally considered poisonous - they actually are, since the root of many diseases is inflammation. Thank goodness for the anti-inflammatory properties of tobacco. Every year my wife and I say we’re not going to plant tomatoes anymore, yet every spring our seedling trays seem to be full of tomatoes.

Picked a pepper to try .It was a bubblegum super hot. not quite ripe but tasted good and set my mouth on fire. much hotter than any scotch bonnet or habanero I had eating in the past. These tasty peppers with make some awesome hot sauce to keep me sweating when the temperature gets cool. I also have chocolate Habanero planted right next to it . It will be interesting when I plant seeds next season to see what kind of peppers it will produce.These bubble gum look like scorpion peppers. i just have to remember to wear gloves while handling them. The bush is loaded with pods so a good harvest is in store.  

I just topped my tobacco plants. They really took off - I’m 6’ tall and couldn’t reach the top of the flower heads on the tallest ones. Now I have to be vigilant with the suckering.

Klip dagga about to flower–thanks for the seeds, basement_shaman. Picked some sweet red peppers, bush beans and squash and cukes still coming on strong despite the helpful deer’s fastidious pruning. Pole beans are luxuriant but just beginning to flower, tomatoes growing like gangbusters but still green; I think the soil is too nitrogen rich, too much compost I guess, next year I’ll go easier on it. Peaches starting to ripen, plums just about gone, been a good year for them despite the orioles, squirrels, and cat birds feasting on them. LIfe is good. I figure, at 66 I’ve got another 14 years of gardens and already looking forward to next years’.

Major pear bounty this year. Branches are snapping off from the heavenly rain with fruit load to high in limbs that have been over due for trim in last few years.63 days without rain and hot weather has produced the most pears of my ancient tree in probably 20 years! Maybe will be making some wine this fall.

All my fruit pears apples peaches all out produced this year and the strangest thing was I didn’t find any worms in any of the fruit. also this was the first year for my hybrid hazelnut bush produced, I only got about ten nuts but it 's a start.I seen about a half dozen japanese beetles on them but they only damaged two leafs.I picked black walnuts early to make BW tincture and the first batch is done. I see they been falling all over the road but mine are still holding fast. I still have to pick the white flesh peaches they grow on a dwarf red leaf tree.They are small but very tasty.Picked the majority of my hot peppers still in the process of bottling sauce. my tomatoes have been done for about two week now all except the grape tomatoes that are thick skin and meaty the keep a long time and great for snacking. turnups are still growing I been harvesting the larger ones as needed for soups and been frying them diced  like potatoes.Red beets grew too big so I just been using the leafs. let some radishes go to seed and the pods are dry now so plenty for next season. My tobacco plants never really took off and had not flowered I have three plants that look like romaine lettuce.I have not dug up my potatoes as yet. but I no longer consume them so no biggy.Finally got some rain last night the grass was getting crispy. I have a few days of pruning privet hedges and plan on burning .never a good idea with a yard of dry grass.   

Finally getting some rain again after a couple months of way-below-average rainfall, so the grass is coming back to life, along with the weeds in the garden. Fortunately the temps have improved, so I’ve been out mowing and pulling weeds.

Started harvesting leaves off the tobacco plants. Cured enough hands to make 3 twists so far, and it looks like there will be a lot more before the season ends. Also a bazillion seeds, since the plants weren’t topped. They are Virginia Brights, and doing quite well here in the tobacco belt (8’ tall!)

^Like

Stalk hung my Del Gold Virginia plants and primed a bunch of Burley over the last couple of days. Have to finish the burley soon before the weather turns against me.

It official we skipped a few weeks ,I picked Daffodils today. Time to get the peas in the earth. I tilled up a patch of garden late in the day. Hell it hit 70  and I felt like bursting into flames. I think it going to be a great year for crops again. 

First genuinely warm day of the season, and it looks like the nice weather will be sticking around awhile. Was out all day doing yard cleanup, bringing the porch furniture out of storage, even mowed a little grass. Planning to turn another big section of lawn into a garden, approximately 30x40’ for annual veggie-type stuff. The older garden plot will be for perennials and herbs.

Additionally, there’s going to be a big patch of N. rustica planted this year.

Saw a red winged blackbird yesterday, a couple of Canada geese and the first crocus today. Tomorrow I’m getting the mulch off the raised beds in the garden, spring is right around the corner. Spent half the day raking branches off the lawn, a stogie for company, felt good to be outdoors and not shoveling snow.

I’ve got an nice size avocado tree,banana trees(2), lilikoi Vine,eggplant,couple tomato plants.And I can’t forget my prized Pakalolo plants(7) it’s all legal I grow for my dad who has cancer and me I got the licence and paper’s. But I always wanted to grow tobacco can someone tell me a good place to go and also what kinds of strains is good.and I always wanted to grow some Rustica too.

About six years ago I got some tobacco seeds from a well known internet auction site. The six plants I had grew like mad and were truly a sight to behold. When the leaves of the mature plants started to yellow I didn’t have much of a clue what to do, but they ended up strung up all over the house to dry. To cut a long story short it all went wrong and all I got was a huge bag of something resembling brown, ultra dry, thin and fragile paper. Maybe try again when I retire. The garden now is basically a quarter acre wilderness with apple and pear trees dotted around.

Planted 10 Norway Spruce and a Magnolia today, plus cleared away a big mess of Rose of Sharon saplings that were growing against the side of my garage, smothering some Peonies that were trying to come up.

Next in line for planting: 9 Forsythia (3 large 7’ and 6 smaller 3’ bushes) plus 3 Green Giant Thuja trees. Time permitting I’ve got several blueberries to plant as well. After that, I’ve got 480 sq ft of sod to lay.

I’ve never been big on gardening ( time, or lack of ) but it’s looking like 2/3 of my garden is gonna be built upon. Oh well. Only things I’m growing this year are six Komodo Dragon chilli plants and my long-established First Gold hop plant, which provides the goods for a big proportion of my annual beer output.

Winter is being stubborn and hanging on here. We had snow, sleet and freezing rain yesterday so it’s hard for me to get into the gardening spirit yet. The forecast for next weekend looks much better - sunny and high temps of 16-18C. I’ll be growing vegetables in my large plot where I grew my Burley and Virginia last year. I have a small plot where I am going to attempt to grow Prilep again. I had a hard time getting it started last year, hopefully a change in starter soil will make the difference this year. 

Sill trying to get an educated guess going on a good time to get seed in the ground, but this year I’m growing some peppers (Chocolate Habanero, Scotch Bonnet, and 7 Pot Bubble Gum), some tobacco (Del Gold), some Spinach, maybe an herb patch, and strawberries. Also starting a Japanese Maple, which I plan to Bonzai, a variety of Daylillies, and some climbers and fountain grass. First spring at the new house, so I’m going all out B-)

Getting ready to plant as the snow slowly melts. Squash, cilantro, poppies, Hopi Rustica tobacco, outdoor friendly marijuana(Colorado, so it’s okay), raspberries, green beans, cherry tomatoes.

Decided to lay the sod before planting the rest of the trees. Wanted to sod to be as fresh as possible when it goes down, for a better chance. Had to break up the soil beneath, as it was extremely compacted. Grueling work. Might need a few beers when I’m done.

First harvest of the year. 

Nice radishes. Do you eat the leaves, too? http://food52.com/recipes/6634-rustic-radish-soup

Just finished planting a Bartlett pear tree and picking spinach for a salad. 

Just got some bedding plants in a couple of weeks later than I wanted to: habanero, jalapeno, sweet green peppers. Broccoli, kale, and cherry tomatoes. Will sow some swiss chard and spinach seeds tomorrow.

i’m growing just tobacco this year, and the obligatory tomatoes.

I do eat a lot of garden greens though, but I dont plant them, lambs quarters, amaranth and the like.

I’m growing some Komodo Dragon chillis ( nuclear strength!) this year. The flower buds have emerged and are a week or so away from opening. However, I can tell from past experience with other varieties that many of the flowers will fall off before fruiting by the spindly, ‘pinched’ appearance of the stem base. Anyone know what causes this and if it can be remedied? Thanks!

Harvest beet tops and Plantain herb. added some herb to a beef stew the beet tops are for tomorrows lunch  

@fj1988 good article here about pepper blossoms dropping
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/pepper/pepper-blossoms-falling-off.htm

@Mouse,thanks for that. Seems like a temp fluctuation problem, going to take me a while to remedy that. OT but on this day forty years ago the temp here in the UK was in the mid-thirties celsius, in stark contrast to today’s mid-teens. Ah the legendary summer of '76 - I’m old enough to remember it well.

Have not been up to current comments as of late. My rustica tobacco plants are being devoured. Small holes and big chunks just gone. All this in the last week. They are in pots on my deck. Are the bugs at night?? Going to cover with thin tight weave netting asap as they will not last till harvesting. Any comments are much appreciated.

Way behind schedule with my garden plans this year due to alternating excessive rains and excessive heat. But did install most of a critter-proof garden area 35x40. Beds installed, as well as tight fence, t-posts and the arbor part of an arbor gateway. It will have aviary net and a secure gate. Should keep out everything larger than pollinators when I’m done. It’s an experiment, so I’m expecting possible breaches/ failures. The next layer of security will be sparrows and robins equipped with military-grade lasers.

@nicmizer, turn the damaged leaves over to look at the back sides.  That’s where the little buggers hide and is most likely horn-worms.  If you don’t find any … it could be small grasshoppers. 

Here is a recent pic of my Semois tobacco plants and the small holes were caused by baby grasshoppers:

My tobacco is going good, all the heat this year is really making it pack on weight. Tomatoes good too. Greens are all the wonderful weeds-lambs quarters, amaranth, plantain, etc No traditional vegetables being grown this year.

@nicmizer I dust all my plants with food grade diatomaceous earth .

Bad year for gardening .Lost all  my seedling I had growing early because of freezing . then finally got some plants to grow. I have a few jalapenos on one plant. the rest of my peppers are just starting to flower. still waiting on my tomatoes to flower all my plants are dwarfs compared to last year. been eating the red beet tops every two weeks but the beets themselves are stagnate. Strange weather patterns have my plants all confused. no cherries this year and even the mulberries were far and few. The apples & pears seem to been unaffected  

Same here. Pears and apples, but no cherries or peaches (a couple pears blossomed early and got hit with frost, so only 2 out of 5 are fruiting, but doing well). Tomatoes and tobacco are rather stunted, and the jury’s out on mulberries. Grapes seem okay, but poison ivy seems to keep trying to take over the grapes, so I may need to use caution harvesting them. Herb-wise, what’s really going nuts is catnip and mint. Oregano is stunted, Thyme is stunted, Nasturtium is stunted. Getting a rather generous harvest of turnips though. Not my favorite, but we didn’t plant potatoes this year.

Building an entirely new garden area, deer/rabbit/bear/pterodactyl-proof, maximum security, but it won’t get up to speed until next year. Maybe next year add on a high tunnel greenhouse (or sunken geodesic if we can afford it).

no plums or peaches, and just one Asian pear on our young tree–last year we harvested 14. I think the winter moths got to the buds before I had a chance to spray them with spinosad. Lousy apple set, but like cpmcdill the grapes look good.

Hi there,

Really interesting reading what everyone is doing with their plots

Being a keen gardener I like doing things in the garden but this is my first year growing tobacco which seem to be doing well but I have had some bother from slugs. This has been helped by placing wee tubs of beer around the plants, I’m pretty sure there is something else at them though as I’m getting a lot of small holes in them?

I’ve found the odd very small dark coloured fly on the underside of some leaves, about the size of a small green-fly but very dark to black in colour.

What I’m still going to have to fathom out is curing them properly without them drying too quickly. It’s not the process that eludes me but having never done it yet, I’ve yet to build a curing kiln that I know works etc,

My varieties are Virginia, Burley, Maryland & one that was labelled as Latakia, so I’m unsure if this is “Lattique” or what…the seeds were bought from eBay

Either way, it’s going to be good fun when it comes to harvesting & processing them, hopefully with a good few oz of tobacco to be getting on with :ar!

Slugs and snails probably, they do the most damage to the young plants, but none at all to adults. As that is the case don’t feel bad about using sevin on the babies and slug bait all around the patch. By the time you are harvesting it won’t even be the same plant practically speaking as the one you used pesticide on. I don’t mess around with slugs, they can defoliate a baby plant overnight.

@Andy_B - I’ve not had any trouble from slugs, but I did lose a lot of plants to aphids the past couple years. Tried brushing them off, spraying them with “organic” pesticides etc. But once the get a taste for the plant I guess they keep coming back.

If you got seeds for a “Latakia” variety it is probably better classified as an oriental. After harvest, if you don’t smoke cure it with resinous woods, it will just add the generic “oriental/Turkish” flavor to blends. Which is a good thing if that’s a note you want. I love oriental blends.

As for curing, the best success I’ve had in small scale harvesting curing of Virginia (which also applies to Maryland) is to hang hands of tobacco upside down in a shed, attic or basement until they are nearly dry but still a bit flexible, then make twists (look for “tobacco twists” on Youtube) and store them in quart mason jars for a year or so. By then the ammonia has gone away and that wonderful sweet tobacco note kicks in. You could even make pre-blended twists of all your tobaccos, so that when it’s ready you can just slice off what you need to stuff in your pipe.

After 6 months of good rainy wetness, all kinds of storms have been visiting the area and missing my place by mere miles. Nothing in 2 weeks but high temps and dryness, and I have to go around individually watering the many dozens of trees and other things I’ve recently planted over almost 2 acres. Weather.com forecast for the next couple weeks shows little hope for precipitation. Maybe there are some tutorials on how to do a proper rain dance on Youtube.

No apples on either tree, no cherries, no medlar, no mirabelle, no fig, no mini kiwi, no quince. Blueberry bushes, checkerberry, fuschia and peach tree died. Strawberries taste sour. Oregano and rosemary look sick. No chinese artichokes. Dreadful year! All I’ve had is daylillies (flowers and buds), jostaberry, blackberry, and raspberries, lemonbalm, and wild garlic (ramsons). Looks like I might get a few blackberries, but not many.

@cpmcdill - Hi and thanks a lot for the advice, good advice is always welcome & always appreciated

The “Latakia” are looking decidedly smaller than the Va & Maryland for sure so I think you are spot on with it being an oriental. That’s excellent news to me as it goes as when I bought the seed I think I was so caught up with making sure I had plenty Va & Burley I neglected orientals!

It will hopefully add something different to the mix. On the processing, I have a garage for hanging the leaf in which I hope will be a suitable environment for it, wood smoking it would be great also as I don;t mind a Latakia blend at all

Mixing it in the hands isn’t something I’d thought about, they must ‘marry’ to an extent while in jars.

Most of my favourite tobaccos are Twists, Plugs & Flakes, I’ve tried making my own plug before from bulk tobaccos I’d bought by crude pressing though it turned out more of a cake but still enjoyable

I shall take a few pics of my oriental plants to show you guys

My babies this season. Rustica Aztec, Mohawk and Ancient. All are doing so much better than the last two years!

Cross breed? I’m calling it a habanpeno if it’s heat level is high and if it’s low Jalanero. This is a happy mistake, I am waiting for one to get ripe to try. I am hoping it taste like a Habanero with the heat and flesh of a jalapeno. It will be real interesting what color it finishes out to be. I know from experience the smaller fruits have more heat. Still waiting on my super hots to start fruiting . It was a bad start this year.all my seedling got frost bite and I had to start seeds in the ground. So what ever comes up I have no clue until the pods ripen.  

Had to trash my entire tobacco patch this year. Got busy with various responsibilities, so I wasn’t closely attending them, and checking on them a couple weeks later they were literally teeming with aphids, ants, hornworms, and a variety of other pests. Lovely 8’ tall Virginia brights with huge leaves, just about ready to harvest. Too late to try remedial action, so they had to go, lest the blight spread to other plants in the garden.

@cpmcdill So sorry to hear that. Organic garden can be a challenge. I had dusted my garden with diatomaceous earth early but with that heatwave called august I didn’t keep up with much. I did get one or two horn worms daily.  and only caught one that was under 3 inches. They sure do plenty of damage over night.  Next year I going to try plastic over the earth and just cut holes where I want plants. Also I read you should rototill several times to grind up the hornworms since they borough into the ground before they turn into moths. At the beginning and end of each season also you should plant dill, marigolds and basil along side your plants to deter the buggers.       

Pretty much the best performers in the garden this year have been hot peppers and cherry tomatoes. Most of the fruit trees bore no fruit this year due to a late freeze just as they were blossoming.

Semois plants … almost time to cut them down:

Aztec Rustic, Ancient Rustica, Mohawk Rustica, Paponte and Semois plants are all growing well except the Paponte that is stubborn to start and have only a few per season that make it to maturity. Sowed down some Burley,Virginia and Mammoth today. Should see life in 7-20 days. Have more varieties to sow down so need to source more pots to do so. Have tons of Rustica seeds to offer up. Now is the time to grow Tobacco!!

Garden’s off to a good start this year. Many things started indoors, including tobacco plants. Today I planted a hedge row of hybrid willows, and soon I’ll be constructing a grape arbor, with some healthy looking grape plants standing by to go in the ground.

I must say, this entire thread was an absolute joy to read! I’ve only just tried my hand at growing anything. I am attempting to grow apple trees from seeds. I’ve planted a few about a week ago and wait patiently. I am the furthest from being even a “newb” at gardening, but I figured why not. I’ve always envisioned having a small kitchen garden and I know one day I’ll get there. Baby steps. On the bright side, my petunias are coming along just fine!

@Mr_Monk - If you are growing apples from seeds, I hope you are prepared to be very patient with them. Apples are kind of a slow growing tree, and it may be years before you see a few fruits hanging from the little guys. Nonetheless, it may be very rewarding to do it this way, as you can say, “I grew these from seeds” which is a pretty awesome accomplishment.

I’m a more impatient sort. I like to buy 4-5’ fruit trees from a plant nursery. Even then it’s still a couple years before bearing fruit, much of the time. Important to have multiples for cross-pollination purposes, and in the case of some species like pears, one needs more than one variety for optimal pollination.

Funny thing, I love planting and growing fruit trees, and I’m not really much of a fruit eater.

@cpmcdill I’ve definitely had that conversation with myself before planting those seeds. “Now self…” “yea boss?” “It’s gonna before YEARS before you see fruit. You sure you want to do this?” I’m a very, VERY patient person. I seriously enjoy watching things grow and start from nothing and move to something awesome. I figure if my son survived me, a few lil’ ol trees can thrive! Either way, if I see sprouts, I’ll dance a jig.

I grow all of my garden plants from seed but I need a good size sapling for a tree. I am old now and have no kids. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Right now I have a problem with ants. Millions of tiny evil little ants have invaded my veggie garden. I can’t put a spade in earth anywhere without being swarmed. I used diatomaceous earth and tried the borax and powdered sugar trick but they are ubiquitous.

@haemony Suppose to rain for a few days that may help relocate them until the soil is turned. Powered hot pepper will keep most varmints away but you need plenty. The rain won’t effect the results unlike DE or Borax. 

I need to separate my spring bulbs. I always put grown hot pepper around the bulbs. Keeps all buggers from eating them, squirrels, moles, grubs and others.    

Thank you. I will try the hot pepper. I have plenty of it!

So, I have a baby apple tree! I did start to worry, but I know, gardening is patience. It was such a lovely surprise too. I just got home from work and checked in on my pots and watered a bit and bam, there it was a little sprout! I wish I could figure out the photo, because I’m proud of such a little accomplishment. :D/

Harvest today Royal Burgandy bush beans and a ugly tomato 

Nice looking beans. The tomato looks good to me. It’s red and has no bites taken out.

I tried the hot pepper trick and mixed in some cinnamon. It seems to have worked because the ants have moved to the compost bins. They are no longer in my garden beds. I wish chickens would eat ants.

I always do green beans, carrots, and some kind of hot pepper. I put those away via pressure canning and pickling (which we store in an extra fridge) or drying with certain peppers. I usually do a few okra plants and summer squash. Alternate beets and cucumbers every other year (I can get almost 50 pints of beets and beet greens out of our 2 x 8 raised bed). We always do southern mustard for spring and mizuna mustard and kale for winter. We always keep garlic and onions planted throughout the year. Every couple of years, we’ll do butternut squash to can for pie and holiday bread as pumpkins here are quickly decimated by vine borers. We cover crop with winter wheat and harvest and mill part of it in the spring. Tried my hand at cabbage to make sauerkraut this year but planted too late. We also have the Scarborough Fair as well as dill and a few other herbs. I’d love to grow corn, but have had terrible luck with it three years in a row. Glad to see a gardening thread on here. It’s something I never am unable to talk about.

Had to protect my ever bearing strawberry plant from the deer and or rabbits also hungry birds. the sting beans are flowering won’t be long now, and the Pennsylvania Butter cup winter squash are coming along nicely. I have 5 nice sized ones I can see. I may plant a half acre next year if I am still on this side of the turf.  

@haemony Chicken love ticks ,so you probably haven’t noticed many. I was pulling 3 to 4 off me daily earlier this year. I need to get some new hens. may be next year. Did I send you Klip Dagga seeds? 

I have not seen a tick for years. I use to get them all over me back in Plymouth but I couldn’t let my chickens range there. They were locked up in a pen. They range around here and clean up the bugs and weed seeds. I love keeping hens. So entertaining and surprisingly helpful.

I got Yopo seeds from you but not Klip Dagga. What are they?

@haemony They grow quite tall. and get a spear of redish orange flowers the size of honey suckles. When smoked they give a sight pleasant effect. You can also concentrate the plant matter and flowers into a black tar to add to a smoking salad.    https://www.google.com/search?q=Klip+Dagga&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiLucDqo\\_rUAhXFCD4KHSH9BIYQ\\_AUICygC&biw=1270&bih=610#imgrc=mHH1vMF4VLD5BM:

Those are fantastically weird looking plants and they are my favorite color. How do you concentrate them?

@haemony PM sent

@basement_shaman my dad has an old wine barrel with a bunch of holes in the side that’s filled with dirt and he grows strawberries out of all the holes, he too has to put a mist net around it or the birds rape him blind the instant they ripen. 

@n9inchnails I never had a homegrown blueberry  all the animals come and forage . If I wasn’t dying I build a 10X40 Garden and wrap it with hardware cloth to grow all the berries Blue,Black Rasp,and Straw. At the price of some of these berries the structure would pay for it self. One of many Raspberry stripped before they even ripen. All Squirrels must die! vermin eat all my pears before they are 1 1/2" big  

I’ve been too busy - and lethargic - and lazy - to tend to my garden in a while but we try to do watermelons every year.  If they aren’t rotted out or eaten by the time they mature, good gravy they are the best watermelons you ever had.

I decided to get back to it yesterday and while I was turning over the soil I found a massive grub.  I went and grabbed my fishing pole and I swear it must have caught the attention of a monster catfish.  Had me going for a good minute before the line snapped.

@jbrentoniv Garden soil has the best bait. Now I want to go monster catfish wrestling. I was out one day and was using sunfish as bait. I had dropped a slice on the bank and a steel head walked out to get it. Mind Blown ! It was a great evening I dragged in a 4 ft eel from the river; That was so fun. He and I were worn out after a 10 minute fight , seemed more like an hour.

I’m growing Rustica, but it’s not doing very well. Cilantro, snow peas, and a couple marijuana plants as well since it’s legal where I live.

I’m having the best luck with Rustica this season. My Mammoth and Monte Calme Yellow (burley) are doing very well also. Some Pennbel 09 are trying as are the Havana. Blueberries, Raspberry and radishes are gangbusters!!

i created this meme but it was a zillon characters long and wouldn’t load. So you get a crappy screen shot instead. Stupid Vanilla 

Vary wary of these pests! Almost everything I grow is in pots. And off the ground. To many years of lost effort. (except beer hops). Even my pot grows in a pot.

So slow this season with all the varieties I tried to grow this year.

Haven’t had to go far but ass kick’n splitt’n for the quality firewood that will last for a long time to come!!! Shorts and tank top all winter.

You go @nicmizer The extra will supply you with all your tobacco needs also. Sell some!

Planted Black Pearls for the first time growing Bubblegum 7 pot hot again too .  

Hornworms are the devil. My chickens love them.

This how they look now at almost a month later from last photos. Mostly all Burly as the Virginian never took to good this season. Rustica in the background.

Small harvest some butter cup squash , Spaghetti squash, Yellow & Red  toms. red chilis and scotch bonnets, Lops and the first peaches , more to pick and process. 

Nice harvest, Shamen. Disability has stopped my activities (ironic, since I started this thread ). I’m now limited to the chillies and thyme on the windowsill, and the stuff left in the garden that looks after itself - blackberries, apples, figs, and daylillies.

Great thread and pics!

We just pulled about 20 Okra and 6 Cucumbers from the garden and pickled them.

The peppers are flowering now and should be quite hot this year thanks to the weather.

Tomatoes are in the second round and going crazy!

Lettuces, Cauliflower and garlic going in the ground later this month.

Canning and a basket full  Still more to harvast and more things to save for later. 

5th yr growing bubblegum hots & Scotch Bonnets , Got me a cross The bonnets didn’t produce many pods about 20 and the plant is less than 2 ft tall , the bubblegum and the cross are about 4.5 ft high and have easily over 100 on each plant. I am eating the cross now the flesh has very little heat the seeds are hot as hell. I can’t eat the bubblegum at all. They burn the flesh just picking them. Jarred up more stuff .  And having some chilled apple butter with cottage cheese and peaches on the side. Garden is a ton of work . But well worth eating fresh picked.  Small white flesh peaches and some black walnuts. Just a few apples. many more to pick and do something with? great year for my garden.

Despite me being unable to tend to my plants, I still have some apples ripening on one of the trees, and the fig has formed fruit for the first time in 5 years. I’l not had a single fig to eat from it yet. They are not ripening though, and a few days after one starts turning brown it drops prematurely from the tree. I would be surprised if any ripen this year, but there are tiny figs forming for next year.

More garden pics. Hope next year is just as good !

Fantastic garden pics Joe. I am intrigued by the Bubblegum/Scotch Bonnet cross. Would that be a good pepper to dehydrate for crushed/flaked pepper to add in recipes?

@cpmcdill The SHU  is still up there close to 3/4 of a million. The bubblegum is 1.2 million. I’ll post seeds when I dry some, send some flakes separate so you can try. You need to start these as early as thanks given . Dig them up at end of season bring indoors and plant again every year: with the right light and heat they will fruit several times during the winter. just keep trimming and shaping for bushy plants. Clones take 3 months to root if you want  multiple new plants that haven’t been crossed . I like to try a cross with a low SHU pepper to reduce the heat to 1/4 million. possibly a banana pepper so I get a long hot meaty fruit. The Black pearls are 300000 but the size of shooting marbles and marbles ,mostly seeds, thin flesh. Tried one yesterday plenty of heat .

Picked the last of the Macintosh apple and some of the ripe Bubble gum hots just 117 so far, more on the bush.  

@basement_shaman - It honestly hadn’t occurred to me that I could bring pepper plants indoors to harvest in the Winter. I have a good sun room on the back of my house with a woodstove usually going when the temps get low, so that might be a perfect place to Winter those.

I also never heard of starting peppers in November. That could be quite a learning experience.

My chillies have not just stopped fruiting, but dropped their leaves too. No more chillies for me this year.

@cpmcdill super hots take a long time to grow. Full grown plants in the spring will produce larger yield sooner and survive better with questionable weather. Strengthen the little guys with a circulating fan about an hour a day  turn them often as you remember so  they grow straight . shape them into a nice shape for the whole plant gets light. you can remove leaves at any time so the plant isn’t crowded . when the flowers open you have to pollinate by hand. you can just shake the bush or use a cotton swab and go from flower to flower. You want to cross breed with another plant this is how it is done. You can also graft other peppers onto one plant to use less space . There are a ton of you tube how to videos on the subject. You can even graft a tomato onto a potato plant.    

Also when plant just start to flower , mix epson salts with water and give them a nice shower . Indoor peppers should be watered from the bottom when the top soil is dry. you will get a better root system. the more water the less heat. some like to do indoor hydroponic it won’t do much for the heat level except lower it. best for bells and others meaty peppers.

When using fertilizer it best to add at the end of the growing season. Too much fresh will produce plants and not fruit. Or have well aged compost to mix in the spring when turning the soil. I like to cover my plot with 4 inches of grass clipping after turned. then clear a spot for each plant. keeps the soil moist and weed free all season. 

When planting full size tomato I dig a trench remove the first two sets of bottom leaves and plant lengthwise with roots facing the prevailing wind. this will send up more shoots from the root system and the plant will produce plenty strong large fruits. Just remember where to drive your support stakes

Great advice! Thanks, @basement_shaman.

@50ft_trad I just inherited a potted fig tree and was told the secret to getting it to fruit properly is 12-12-12 fertilizer about once a month. 

@crullers One thing I did when I first got the tree, was repot it into a much larger pot, not realising they do much better when rootbound. It might be that it’s taken this long to get a sufficient root density to get it to start trying to fruit. Also, we have had a particularly poor summer this year, so the “season” might just not have been long enough. I will certainly bear your suggestion in mind for next year though.

Picked a few chocolate habanero & Red Savina 

Latest photo of plants since August 21. Starting to harvest for air cure. Soon will all get chopped or moved to warmer climate. Some done and ready for hanging.

A landscape for my chickens

Hare in my a-- before Easter to get a few new to me tobacco varieties of seed and starts to dirt in green house. Trying earlier this season as they always fall short of full fill out and less ripe leaves then I’d like with shorter summers at my location. As I’m a pot grower of tobacco. I’m going to try getting some this season to real base line earth. Pots work for a period of time but once established I will put some to direct groundbut way more work. Hope I can grow more quality leaf this year with less effort I hope. Bigger pots I know will help but direct earth I know is the best bed for tobacco. Soil prep and pest guard is the only way this will work for better yield this way tho, takes more effort. Have starters of a few variety available currently just north of me available in hot house in pots and some new seeds to baby up that I’ve acquired. Just need winter to sprung out of action and spring to do it’s thing.

Grounded they will grow muuuch bigger! Just watch out for fall frost, it’s the killer.
Nice 2017 harvest @nicmizer!

I’m getting ready to germinate seeds as well:

Ohio Dutch

Yellow Twist Bud

Goose Creek Red

Basma

All air-cured varieties as Flue Curing is not an option.  

@cobguy do you have cobs ? i love cobs and been using them for a while.

and i germed some tobacco but the pots i used (made from decomposing material) seem crappy and i see mold/fungus (long hairs with glandules) on the sprouted seeds (took 2 days) so i might have to redo this will see how it looks tomorrow

4 different tobaccos:
burles jupiter
virginnia golta
brasil
nicotina asiatica

@SunnyDay … as the name implies, I am a huge proponent of the Cobs.   :D/

Also, an update to my previous post … a DIY Flue-Cure chamber is underway which will also serve as a Kiln for fermentation.  Still planning on air curing most of the leaf but will experiment with some in the chamber.

@cobguy oh yes i still have to look into curing and fermenting which seems to be the hardest part of tobacco production
the little plants are growing still tiny and crowded in pots i will wait a bit then just rip out all but 3 on each side of the pot and then later go down to one before planting (made 5 pots of each of the 4 varities)
i am glad i didnt plant them out already because we have snow right now

i planted 8 tiny seedlings out and prepared a bed for 12 more i need to get some good earth but cant buy it until thuesday stores are closed

its too early and they are still very very small but i did work fertilizing the beds and put funghi and bacteria to aid the plants and those need a while to get established anyways so if the plants should freeze or drown i still have loads more inside i just need to replace the bed will be ready

Here’s the babies so far:

Man … I’ve got a ton of thinning to do! 

Mixing tobacco seeds with sand before pouring them to soil helps to save some time on thinning.
And economize the seeds, too.

the ones i set out were twice the size like on your photo @cobguy still small though
3 leaves

some are smaller some bigger
rustica asiatica is biggest seedlings

nn

growing well except im having a little problem with weak stems (some are thin as a match)

i think this was due to them being so long on the windowsill before

but im not worried if some plants dont make it overall i hope to get some to at least experiment with snuff and snusmaking a bit :-B

Yeah weak stems typically come from no/low airflow so could be from being on the window sill

yeh that could be it @ar47 there has been no wind nor any rain for over a month since they been outside

@SunnyDay, they look normal at this age. Your plants are still low, so no way wind could damage them now. Stems will get stronger as the plants grow. The only danger is hail, which can perforate leaves badly, but if you are not going to roll cigars, no worries, tobacco survives it.

edited: i posted a gif but it did not play

I was delighted to see 15+ varieties of tobacco plants at the Montreal Botanical Gardens. They were in the “Useful Plants” section. Highly recommend if you happen to be in that awesome city.

Closing up the garden for the season. Just harvested: Napoli Carrots Hakirei Turnips… these are the best French Breakfast Radishes Lettuce mix Spicy Salad Mix- mostly brassicas 4 pints of cherry tomatoes A few dozen beets, red and gold Scallions 3 acorn squash Still need to get 50 or so heads of garlic planted and pull up all the tomato trellising.

Leaf sweeping today with copious amounts of Bernards Jubilaums and black tea.

A bit of landscaping (mostly lugging heavy rocks around the slightly wet and cold garden) with pauses for Toque Rustica occasionally quite often.

Hi! Just wondering if anybody grows medicinal/spiritual/recreational herbs. Especially thinking about plants in the motherwort/wild dagga family, as well as Tulsi, patchouli etc. I have been looking for a good and trustworthy source for seeds. Thanks!

@Mr_O hi there, oh yes! I am growing a variety of herbs and also wildcrafting a lot during summer. I was growing klip dagga about 2 years ago (wild dagga illegal here) but our climate dont really allows to cultivate enough for use So I started growing motherwort (leonurus cardiaca) instead. Its a common weed here in some regions. Still got 4 healthy plants to this day. Lot of harvesting material, very efficient plant. Transefered them to pot after winter (they are perrenial). Actually, cardiaca and sibricus got the same main active alkaloid as african Dagga. Very relaxing herb, good for making a tea or tincture - even better. Great adaptogen. Right now, I am mostly focused on Sida species (cuban jute), but its hard to germinate them. Contains interesting active phenyl alkaloids. In India, Sidas are breved to make stimulating tea and smoked in Mexico as cannabis substitute. Presumably natural treatment for asthma (contains ephedrine). As for the rest useful herbs, I used to grow Eschscholzia californica (painkiller and sedative), Scullcap, even some poppies (seeds from from Amsterdam trip >:) ). This year most of my garden will be occupied by N. rustica and several species of hot peppers. I usually go wildcrafting for Virosa, St. Johns Wort and other locally grown interesting herbs that I discover every summer…

Thanks for the info! That sounds like a great operation there! I was looking at Shaman s Garden s website, and they have the seeds for Siberian Motherwort and one of the Wild Dagga varieties. I suppose I should look up which zone I am in, but I can probably make an assumption, as MN is pretty far North. I had picked up a modest sampler of dried wild dagga materials, a few years ago and I liked what I tried. I usually grow some catnip, and the potency seems far superior than any that I have purchased anywhere. Mixed with some lavender and wild dagga, has made for a nice smoking blend IMO. I also usually have a few hot pepper plants going. Is the e californica California poppy? I should research the herbs that you mentioned and I am not that familiar with. Heres to a good season!

Catnip is very invasive in my garden, got to move it to pot because it started to grow all over the place. I prefer making tincture from fresh leaves because of volatile oils. They tend to leave the herb very quickly. Indeed, dried catnip/lemon balm sold in shops is worthless. Here it is next to young motherwort plants Tried smoking motherwort with my friend but the harsh smoke wasnt worth it ime. Maybe because we were using leaves instead of flowers… Most noticeable effects while drinking concentrated tea. California poppy, yes. However you need a lot of plants to harvest reasonable amount of this herb.

So far this year I have planted radishes, carrots, lettuce, hakurei turnips, kale, and snow peas. Tomatoes and peppers are under lights, will be at least 3 weeks until they go out. It got warm last week then got cold again. Radishes should be the first ready in early May, then baby lettuce by mother day. Usually start picking peas and turnips the first week of June.

Just now getting warm enough here and the vegetable garden will be planted this week.

@johano that looks great! For me, the invasiveness (?)of the catnip is a plus as I just might get a few free, decent, plants out of the deal. I cant always find starter plants or even seeds around here. Normally, it would be easy to find most other plants I want, though. Happy victory gardens everyone!

@Mr_O I got about 2000-3000 catnip seeds from last year that I wont use in million years. If you get too much Wild Dagga seeds I will be happy to trade them all for a few of those. I cant find any for sale online in my location, only Klip Dagga (huh, illegal gardening B-) )

Ok. I will let you know if I do. Sounds like if I go to the Shamans garden, the WD seeds come in a small quantity, maybe 10 seeds in a pack, but the Siberian motherwort comes in a larger quantity. During a normal year, it sounds like one can mail order WD starter plants in the US.

@Johano I ended up picking up some seeds through etsy, peppermint, catnip and Siberian motherwort. Not sure that growing wild dagga is in the cards this year. So you can use the flowers of the motherwort like you can the lions tail or lions ear? I dont remember if I ever had the flowers in the mix, I just had bought maybe an ounce package of the herb. Personally I really dont mind the taste of any wd product so far. Have you tried mixing in maybe some mint, lavender, catnip?

@Mr_O Good luck with them, few of mine were from etsy too and sadly some species wouldnt germinate I dont remember if I read it somewhere or it was my broscience, cant find any data on plant parts alkaloid content rn. Considering the fact that you should harvest during flowering stage it seems probable that flowering parts may contain more of the goodness. I will test this theory soon when they bloom. Mixing sounds interesting, will give it a try someday

Picking up lumber today to build my beds. The weather here is still too cold to plant, maybe carrots and radishes soon but everything else needs to wait for now.

@johano thanks, good luck to you too! I will cross my fingers and hope that they all pop up! I was wondering that because of the different appearance of flowers as opposed to the lions tail or lions ear. I do seem to get some of the effects from the leaves, so, with a little luck it will hopefully be worthwhile. Yeah, I strongly recommend blending. To me it is a major difference in flavor and effect, and if you do add a few peppermint leaves to a bowl, the menthol might make it a much smoother smoke for you.

Unfortunately, some of my tobacco young sprouts started to thin out near the root… my grandad advised me to keep em inside during the night as its still too cold and that could be the cause. Also, might be some yeast infection, not sure. Any guesses?

It could also be damping off. It is caused by the soils surface being wet constantly. Try letting the soil surface dry out before watering. This happens to my seedlings under lights every once in a while.

Just started my carrots,kale,cucumbers and peas indoors. Another week or so before it will stay warm enough outside

My babies. All good now, staying back home, just like supposed to during quarantine. @Mr_O have you sprouted something already??

@johano nothing really happening yet. Still waiting for some that I planted about a week ago. Just this morning scattered my catnip, motherwort and peppermint in some large planters. I am going to condition the remainders of the catnip seeds, supposedly they are tricky when you sew fresh seeds? They say to freeze them for a day and then soak them before you plant them. Your sprouts look promising! Are those your tobacco seedlings?

@Mr_O catnip is very easy to germinate ime, shouldnt be a problem. Yes, a lot of tobacco sprouts, I dont think my garden will hold them all

@johano I am hoping so, it can do a good job at self seeding around here, not exactly in the right places, though. Just thinking that, in that case, it does experience the Winter cold. Anyways… I grew some tobacco years ago, and the plants got pretty big. Have you grown it before?

@Mr_O few of catnip here and there made it through winter (it wasnt that cold this year). Pretty much die hard plant! Actually no, and I am afraid that they could grow too wide. Then I will have to move some rusticas to pots, or grow them on wild fields somwhere in my city…

I live in the American Midwest where temperatures get well below zero degrees farenheight and our catnip thrives, it is always the last green in the winter and the first green thing in the spring. In fact, our catnips from last year are already 2 feet tall and we are not even past our last frost date. If I understand correctly, it is a biennial plant, meaning that it makes its seeds the second year. We have been growing from one plant started four years ago that self sewed on its second year. Now we have a mix of plants in their first year from seed and second year about to go to seed.

@Johano, reducing the size of growing container is easiest way to control the height. Steer clear of 10 l buckets, if you have limited space. I had one low-nic rustica plant on a windowsill in 1.5 l pot, it was a mere shadow of those grown outside.

I’m so lazy to sow my tobacco seeds… Even to check their viability (some of them are 14 years old).

Most years I buy catnip starter plants from a local nursery, it has been a long time since I have grown catnip from seed. The remains from last years plants always are disposed of, I thought it was an annual, if I grow it one year, there will be some popping up wild. I was thinking that the fact that the seeds I purchased have not experienced a freeze, that they might need a little help. I am sure that I will end up with at least a few plants which will probably get nice and big in a planter. Crossing my fingers for the motherwort! Never grown it before. When I grew tobacco before, it was planted in the ground. Was a long time ago, but I think they got to be maybe about 2 1/2 feet wide at the widest. Possibly 3 feet. I hope that yours do well!

Ethanolous motherwort tincture (1:5, 70%) is very popular non-prescription medication in Eastern Europe, known as “heart drops”, used for dialing down high blood pressure and as a mild tranquilizer. Valerian tincture is another widely used natural remedy for insomnia and stress/anxiety issues. Combined, they are even more effective. Famous Polish Valeradix herbal pills contain 170 mg valerian roots, 50 mg hops flowers, 50 mg melissa foliage and 50 mg motherwort (foliage). I tried it and was surprised by the potency. One pill acts as a downer, larger dose (two pills) acts opposite (stimulating). All four plants are hardy and easy to grow in any garden.

@volunge that is cool stuff:) I like the combination of various motherwort family herbs with some home grown catnip and maybe a bit of lavender. Usually smoked, or sometimes wrapped up together as a nice little quid to chew slowly. I might have to avoid valerian right now, possibly a medicine interaction. But I will try to remember that for when I can use it! It would be great if I could grow lions ear/tail well in my zone! Will probably have to just mail order some.

There are interesting plants in Artemisia genus, some of them are abundant in many parts of Europe and North America (wild populations).

Artemisia vulgaris (mugwort), considered a weed by local gardeners/farmers, makes pretty nice, mild smoke. I confused this plant with wild cannabis years ago and even made edibles of it.

Artemisia absinthium (common wormwood), main ingredient of absinthe. Very pungent plant, fresh leaves make great mouth freshener, if you dig bitter taste (think tonic water with chinine or grapefruit skin).

Artemisia dracunculus (tarragon) has a very special aroma, it’s a popular spice in Caucasian kitchen and the flavourant of the famous soda Tarkhun (https://foodperestroika.com/2011/05/30/tarkhun-tarragon-soda/). Could be used for scenting snuff, too.

Did some experimenting with mugwort back in the day, pretty interesting. Havent thought about it much recently. As a desperate teenager, I smoked some tarragon with my friend. We both felt like we kind of got the spins.

@volunge funny thing, just last week I came across a lot of those plants in my city and they caught my attention. I considered making absinthe out of this stuff Not sure what exact genus are those, will post pics later. Got an app for recognising plants but its not that precise

I made an experiment recently with Greater Celadine, grows everywhere now. Cooked down an extract from 4-5 plants, dried out and smoked with leaves. Definitely felt quite intense opiate-like effects after few puffs, short lasting but followed by terrible heart racing… really interesting thing, but a bit dangerous regarding some toxins present in the plant. Need a further research on this huh

Strawberries transplanted, onions, lettuce, spinach, radishes, and peas in the ground. Tomatoes and peppers transfered to peat pots. Marigolds, basil, and sage into semi-permanent containers. Tobacco seeds still on backlog, so theyre gonna get a real late start. Busy weekend

@Johano Making crude (non-distilled) absinthe is easy. Basically, it’s a tincture of various dried herbs.

I used this recipe:

1 l rectified pharmaceutical or food grade ethanol (96%)

50 g wormwood leaves
40 g fennel seeds
30 g aniseed seeds
20 g star anise (stars)
10 g caraway seeds
10 g hyssop leaves/stems
10 g coriander seeds
10 g lemon balm leaves
5 g liquorice root
5 g sweet calamus root

1 l of vodka (40%).

Make a tincture (extract for 2 weeks in room temperature, giving vigorous daily shake or more often, if you are not lazy), squeeze through 3-4 layers of cheesecloth, then filter through paper coffee filter, save the filtrate and don’t discard the herbal material - steep it in 1 l of vodka for one day, shaking well a few times, then squeeze through cheesecloth and filter through coffee filter. Combine both filtrates, shake well, bottle off. You’ll end with at least 1.7 l of 68% tincture.

20 ml shot of this pure (non-diluted) concoction is enough to feel the effects. Mind you, the stuff is bitter! Large quantities (especially when mixed with other drinks) results in a really bad hangover next morning.

Is is safe? Most probably not. However, I made three batches of this stuff back in 2007 and treated quite a few friends. Some could not drink it pure and diluted it with water.

Is it worth it? Yes, but only if you don’t have any serious underlying conditions (liver, kidney problems, epilepsy, allergy etc).

At my rough estimation such tincture might contain up to 4 times more thujone (150 mg in 1 kg of tincture) than the EU allowed maximum level (35 mg/kg in alcoholic beverages prepared with Artemisia species).

P. S. If you can’t get pharma/food grade 96% pure ethanol, you can extract all the ingredients but wormwood in vodka and boost it with ready-made ethanolous wormwood tincture from your local drugstore (Absinthii tinctura, 1:5 (1 part of wormwood to 5 parts 70% ethanol). Do your own calculation on thinning the tincture down. I would use 1 part of Absinthii tinctura for 4 parts of vodka tincture.

I was silently expecting you to post this recipe @volunge Much appreciated!

However, Im not a big fan of mixed herb tinctura… do you think wormwood alone will do the job? I guess all the other ingredients are mainly for the taste reason?

Also a bit afraid here since thujon is quite poisonous in large quantities. I read somewhere that the fx threshold is very close to LD. I believe one must make sure the ratio herb-to-solvent is predicted on thujone percentage present in the plant and make estimated 35 mg/kg solution first, then eventually dose the herb up next time.

I do make a lot of tinctures with 95%, know the procedure. I got a chart that I found online long ago with exact proof of ethanol recomended for specific herbs (to keep it ugh, ‘profesional’ https://www.richters.com/events/20130210.pdf). So I usually calculate how much to dilute with water before putting herbs for an extract.

It says “Wormwood: 50-75%” so I think I could make it in 50-60% and dilute to standard 40% after filtration as you said.

@Johano, I’m not sure about actual content of thujone in modern absinthes, as well as its contribution to the effects, which are way milder than those of the homemade tincture; I mean, it’s possible that thujone levels in some of them (if not most) are well below the EU-set upper limit. There are exceptions, surely. A random link to some figures: https://www.alandia.de/absinthe-thujone .

Also, I suspect that most (if not all) effects of commercial stuff are due to high alcohol content, but in all fairness, I haven’t tried drinking pure 68% ethanol for comparison…

Then this thing: there were attempts to re-create some genuine 19th century absinthes; surprisingly, they contained only modest amounts of thujone (were far from exceeding modern limits). However, thujone levels in wormwood varies greatly; my estimation in previous post was based on max detected levels.

Other ingredients contain essential oils, some more, some less (wormwood itself maxes at 0.8%; up to 64% of e. o. is thujone), and some essential oils indeed have inebriating properties. It might add to the experience (synergy/entourage effect). If I still were on good terms with alcohol, I would be tempted to experiment with wormwood tincture, both homemade and the one from the drugstore. The latter is a non-prescription medication and is pretty cheap; recommended single dosage is 15-20 drops (1 ml), maximal daily amount - 60 drops (3 ml), recommended treatment course- 3-4 weeks. Like said before, it’s 1:5 tincture; the recipe I followed is 1:20. If I get it right, 20 ml of homemade crude absinthe would match 5 ml of Absinthii tinctura (please correct me, if I’m wrong). My largest amount of homemade, consumed in the course of one night, did not exceed 100 ml. Absinthii tinctura comes in 25 ml bottles.

You are lucky to have unlimited access to 95% ethanol. I heard it’s available in regular liquor stores in PL. Here, up north, you can’t get reliable quality ethanol legally, unless you have a prescription. Or connections in vodka factory…

thanks for sharing your thoughts again on this @volunge. Didnt know that high proof EtOH it could be unavailable in other countries! Thats a pity Got some pics of different Artemisia species from my last bike trip Not sure on this one, A. campestris, A. abrotanum…? This must be A. vulgaris (commom wormwood) Another plant that may be some kind of wormwood (?)

Nice finds, all correct! The first one indeed looks like A. abrotanum, the second one is clearly A. vulgaris, the third one looks like A. absinthium in early vegetation stage (have a bite, it’s safe - if it’s enormously bitter-sweet, it’s wormwood; decent mouth-freshener, if you don’t mind the bitterness; I enjoy chewing it fresh with a chewing gum). And I bet this young top already has it’s distinctive sweet, slightly inebriating aroma - rub some between your fingers, and you’ll smell it.

I’ll definitely try scenting some homemade with wormwood leafs this summer (using tea bag method).

Another interesting fragrant (but toxic) plant is Rhododendron tomentosum, sin. Ledum palustre - Marsh Labrador Tea, abundant in some damp, boggy places. Now it’s flowering or just about to blossom. Spending a mere 15-30 minutes in a place it grows makes you dizzy for quite a while. I have some favourite berry-picking places next to a swamp, surrounded by marsh Labrador tea, which is often (if not always) neighboured by whortleberries shrubs; bilberries grow huge there even in the driest summer, but it’s hard to stay there for more than an hour. The leaves of Labrador makes nice tea, I found it’s safe and doesn’t make you high, when used in moderation (tiny amounts). It’s probably the most pungent plant in our region.

@volunge sounds interesting, would love to see that place someday

Spotted first young cannabis plants today, loads of this stuff grows in here every year. Some of them - even up to 2-4 meters high! Not a big fan myself, smells good tho

@Johano, I’ll upload the photo next month. I’m far from that place now.

Plants in your last picture are not cannabis. I forgot the name, it’s another plant. Is there a water anywhere close to them?

Wild cannabis could be a mere 10-20 cm by now.

@volunge whoops, yes youre right, the leaves should be divided. Thats motherwort, it grows a bit different that the one in my garden… Here are some cannabis I spotted last year. Unfortunately, I cant find the picture of the one that was huge like a tree (sic).

Looks like mugwort?

Irrigation set up, veggies coming along nicely. Started messing with the flowers this morning. Spent the last 3 hours pulling up a mat of lily of the valley. Ive got to many youngins runnin around to have toxic plants covering so much area around the house. From my understanding they dont even sell them around here anymore because theyre so invasive.

Moved two big tomatos with lovely peppery smell form pots into the ground today. Also topped the taller one tobaccos, removed some top and lower leaves. Some of them came to buds too early Im afraid.

One of the coolest parts of having some tobacco growing is to be able to harvest some flowers. If you smoke them one at a time in a pipe, they are tasty, do not cut them up or really pack them in there, though.

I started my tobacco late because of the virus, my order was 6 weeks delayed. Hopefully I get a harvest, as my seedlings still arent big enough to put outside.

@Mr_O interesting idea. I left some of them for flowers and seeds, the smaller ones growing in shade. They are actually beautiful plants once they blooming, lovely ornamentals! I cut a few buds off the rest of em today, but forgot that one should wear gloves for safety, plus… I got snus packed in my lip at the time lol. Suprisingly my hands got all sticky, like a glue from the buds and soon started feel quite… dizzy @-) Edit: just spotted one mosquito sitting on freshly cutted bacco buds on windowsill… he was literally half dead like a zombie, just by landing on it =)) that could be me if I hold em too long ughh

@Johanno I read somewhere about the flowers being prized by some Native Americans, so I had to try it. A glue free corncob pipe would work nicely. I probably would not use a used briar pipe, though.

Sad update on my plants, yesterday an unexpected hail damaged my crop… the leaves are now torned and fractured  :((

That is a bummer!

I m not a gardener, at least not so much as I could be. I prefer the trees in the forest. We got a wet, humid summer until now. I m reall grateful for this. The bark beetle was a real plague the last two years. So I hope the lot of rain this year will stop it - finally. The bark beetle breed dies when there is a lot of rain, due to fungus growing in the chambers.

My wife is much more a gardener than I will ever be. A lot weed is growing between all the flowers and in the vegetable garden. Before we are done with tearing it out - it is almost there on the other end of the garden. Thats the fault of the rain. LOL!

Dont feel bad, I have a massive beetle infestation thats stunted nearly a third of my plants. Its to the point where some plants are nearly stripped bare by morning.

That s a bummer! Something has been munching on my peppermint this year. It is a more delicate type than I usually grow, might be why…

@mr_o its cool. I set out some light traps and now theyre all dead. Had to have been a few thousand out there, I had 6 hotel sized sheet trays full. Everythings bounced back quite well.

Thats good. I still have to see how I can manage my stuff this year. Might not be much of a harvest this year. Oh, well, was my first year starting from seed. A learning experience.

These are very interesting specimens of feral cannabis, @Johano. I have never seen such narrow leaflets in the feral LT/LV populations, seems like these are growing in the wild for a good while. Has anyone tested the psychoactivity of these in September?

I’ve seen pure Himalayan landraces reaching >4 m in our harsh climate. Local feral varieties are only up to 2.5 m, some of them potent enough for bhang, edibles and even as a smoke.

Back to tobacco, how’s you rustica? Still growing?

@volunge Im 99% sure that all of those common cannabis species growing around here are simply C. ruderalis. There are lot of them across my voivodeship, usually by the road on fileds. They got 5 leaflets (unlike indica/sativa 7 if I got it right) and comes to flower after just few weeks. Must be harvested early or mid summer before seeds form. Actually, I once dried some tops and smoked bout 1-2 grams of this stuff. Must say that its definitely ‘active’, but not in the way that makes you high in this amount. Rather subtle yet noticeable effects - ruderalis got a lot of CBD knowing from what I researched online. I was considering making a potent ‘green dragun’ tincture from those plants but i checked the nearest spot few weeks later and it was all gone :-" Thanks, my rustica crop is doing well, but most of the plants are shattered by hail. Im still waiting till they mature, but there wont be much of it. Anyway, I got a whole lot of fresh seeds now so if anyones interested PM me !

@Johano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piołunówka
https://www.hajduczeknaturalnie.pl/piolunowka-niestrawnosc-zly-humor/

Gardening and farming are my main hobbies right now. 

This year I started growing vegs and new trees. Also I’m interested in new software for farming, refer to this site for additional information. I think it’s quite profitable field for the future. These technology innovations allow us to determine the exact location of an object or person on our planet. Applications of geospatial technologies are incorporated in almost any sector, industry, or research where the location is important.

Seems like this topic has gone rather flat… Too bad as I enjoy few things more than going into the yard and spending several quality hours with my plants, a snoot of snuff and a good cigar. Very rejuvenating. Right now clearing up from deracho storm which knocked down/damaged north of 80 percent of trees in my town, Missoula, MT. I was fortunate to not loose any trees but I still have to clean up from all the trees and refuse that ‘wandered’ into my yard from all over the neighborhood. Don’t really mind though. Have loads of compost in the works. Although the storm was almost 2 weeks ago and I’ve been working on it every day, should hopefully be done in another week or so. CHEERS

I started some cannabis too late but they’re still trying, cannabis cultivation is legal in New Mexico. I have some azaleas on the porch and 7 varieties of pathos on a lovely stand with supplemental lighting. I like growing exotic burley tobacco but didn’t get a jump on it this year.

Here in Montana have been harvesting beet root, beans, tomatoes, courgettes, basil, dill, peas, carrots, chard, lettuce, Chinese cabbage, mizuma and tomatillos. Now working on processing. I freeze, dry, can, pickle and ferment. Keeps me busy and the outcome is spectacular.

@PriseGletchers I have friends who raise cannabis and are more than willing to share… good to know such folks.

I’ve been involved in cannabis since we all used handles instead of names. It’s cheaper to go buy it most legal places now. The clandestine professional in me knows I need to drop $1500 to setup then another $850 ever 5 harvests for new lights, intake/exhaust filtration and nutrients. If I were away from the city lights, growing outdoor is tangible, but I make hash and all that good dirt on the plants tastes and feels awful. Weed is like a pickup, everyone claims it’s far less expensive to operate than the reality. I’d rather grow food. Some tricultures in 60L pots next year, for sure. It looks like you have some fantastic tricultures going.

Food and old world preservation is top notch. A coworker and I have several vinegar going from various home-brew and homemade wine. I have the mother and the patience, he has a house on the outskirts of town and a remote shed. I’m thinking the end of September the flavors will have mellowed into each-other. Then we’ll share it with our other coworkers whom excel in food preparation. We’re all kind of old-timey in a good way, up here, in the Rockies.

I must say that you may have been given bad advice about growing cannabis. I say this because outdoor grow creates a higher THC. Indoor grow is needed for better, more complex terpenes. So the cost is in the details of what you are trying to accomplish.

That would depend on the climate in which you live. Here in Canada our indoor cannabis is far superior to our outdoor crops, we dont have the sun to grow great weed outdoors.

But the dirt/soil contamination of the product. I’ve had fantastic outdoor crops, but the hash tastes of dirt and dead skin being smoked.