My love of gardening
 

Silly but I just love to garden-tomatoes, peppers, eggplant. I'd be fine with some container plants..I just can't see myself giving it up completely. Anyone doing any vegtable gardening.

I have an herb garden - partly in a big pot and partly (the perennials) in the ground. I also have tomatoes in pots but don't think they do as well as in the ground - at some point they always get dried out. Just finished digging around the back yard (CYV) and will attempt to transplant them this week.

The herbs do wonderfully - sage, thyme and rosemary in the ground, parsley, cilantro, dill and basil in a big pot with another pepper plant. I'm still missing chives. I have lettuce in window box type plastic planters, has done well. My sugar snap peas were up to 2 inches last Nov/Dec and then the rabbit got them.

I planted clearance peppers in November (when I got here this year) and religiously covered them during all the frosts, plus they back up to my neighbor's CYV wall. I have about 7 medium sized peppers on 5 plants and the plants are again starting to grow. They are still only about 10 inches high - not the ideal sun location for those either. Had I been here, would have planted them in September, and will next year.

Had to block all ingress to the back yard - a rabbit got in under the gate or at the corners.

I LOVE to plant stuff too. The year rounders plant tomatoes and peppers among their flowers.

And Ohiogirl. You can take the girl out of Ohio but you can't take the farmer out of the girl.:wave:

Gracie. Mrs. Greenjeans.

Love of a garden
 

I too just cannot "let go" of my life long love affair with gardening. My husband put a resin lattice trellis on the back of the house, after first painting it to match the siding color. I have a thriving crop of grean beans already about 6" out of the ground, and two tomato plants adjacent to them. I've edged it with curved paving bricks for safety from the commercial mowers. Inside my birdcage are two tubs of potatoes, and a potted cherry tom. So, no need to give up a garden. Oh yes, I also have a rosemary plant decorating the very large container housing my Fox tail palm. :)

back in Va I had a green thumb and had all types of veggies from tomatos. peppers, beans, cucumers, brocolli etc. Here in Florida I just cannot get it right. Tomatos get the blight from too much or too little water, cukes ...i get some but not the same size as up north and the plants tend to dry out or go yellow quicker. I found the summer just too hot for a veggie garden here unless you place a covering over the plants to provide for filtered sun. Also you ned to watch your watering patterns.

My father said the same thing Caroline...(I know you are a boy, Caroline)
He lived for some time in Venice, Florida and tried to grow things there and said that the tomatoes and the corn were never as good as in Ohio.

My mother and I had big gardens in Ohio. However, it has been a challenge to figure out planting times and growing seasons. We have been fairly successful with green beans, tomatoes, several varieties of pepper plants, and herbs. Hoping for cucumbers this year. Grow most in the ground.

Just planted 2 blueberry plants today - Emerald & Jewel varieties. They are small now, but hopefully next year will produce an edible crop. Supposed to grow 4-5 feet high and also wide. You need 2 different varieties for cross-pollination (more fruit). Checked out the web site from the U of Florida as advised by the local extension agents.

I got them at Walmart for 7.50 each. Supposed to fruit in April to mid-May, so perfect for snowbirds who stay a little late. At least I hope so. They are in the best watered spot in my landscape.

vegtable garden on a designer lot
 

Is there a restriction of creating a small veggie garden on a designer lot for all the world (your neighbors to see) I'm hoping say for a 4' X 4' spot I can grow something

Plenty of vegetable gardens around
 

Several of the gardens on display at Designers and Premiers at the April 30th Garden Tour in The Villages featured vegetables either intermixed or in pots or in a sort of separate vegetable area.

Check your District deed restrictions to be sure - I think you are supposed to have major landscaping plans approved, but think that nearly everyone adds a plant here and there, or adds pots without seeking permission.

Plenty of vegetable gardens around
 

Several of the gardens on display at Designers and Premiers at the April 30th Garden Tour in The Villages featured vegetables either intermixed or in pots or in a sort of separate vegetable area.

Check your District deed restrictions to be sure - I think you are supposed to have major landscaping plans approved, but think that nearly everyone adds a plant here and there, or adds pots without seeking permission.

The designer/premier houses with veggies that I recall had them more in landscape-style planting beds rather than a square vegetable garden. Mostly integrated with flowers, herbs, etc., or sometimes on the sunny side of the house.

gardening
 

Sounds great!

I have pots now cause deed restrictions prohibit where we live.

My neighbor is on the board but we're good friends and I pay her off in veggies!

One of the possible causes of plant failure in Florida may be nematodes. Because of the tropical tempatures, they do not get controlled by winter kill. Try using elevated planters with bag garden soil. You would need to line the bottom and provide drainage.

http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/fac...nematodes.html

Check the list of plants and their susceptability to nematode damage in this link. You will find tomatoes and cucumbers at the top of the list.

http://extension.missouri.edu/public...b.aspx?P=g6204

Garden help
 

Great heads up!! raised bed for sure. Most of my veggies are on the list.... Our favorites ares Japanese eggplant, yellow squash and english cukes.

Glad to see asparagus is resistant. Waiting for TV to see if we can cultivate.