[timjthomas]

I read in a "What do you miss?" post many of the TV residents miss good fresh produce -- e.g., corn & tomatoes.

So, does no one have a garden at TV? Or is it too hard to grow corn & tomatoes in Florida?

What about setting up a "community" garden area? We have lots of those in Michigan -- e.g., a few acres set aside where people "string-off" their areas and grow what they want.

-Tim

[bkcunningham1]

Oh, but we do have a community garden. An amazing community garden. "Shared Harvest. The garden is a volunteer run, two-acre farm that grows a variety of crops to give to churches and food banks." (Welcome to Talk of the Villages.)

http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/n...cc4c03286.html

[graciegirl]

Tomatoes I have recently bought here taste just as good as Ohio ones, and that is hard for me to say.

Corn....not so much.

My father tried growing both in Florida and he really was good with gardening, but never managed to grow either well.

Now a lot of other things grow beautifully. I have more than one friend with a lemon tree and some with grapefruit trees and I am trying to cultivate a friendship with someone who has an orange tree. Maybe I am too transparent..

[JenAjd]

You will find the Grower's Markets to be great place to get fresh produce. The prices are very reasonable (the grocery stores are expensive for some reason)!! I think there are folks who have gardens but personally I'd rather let someone else do all the work.

As for corn...I will have to disagree with Gracie because we had some great corn earlier this summer. The season is MUCH earlier here and we were having fresh corn in early June!! Due to circumstances this was the 1st summer we didn't freeze corn for the winter. Maybe next year!!

[KathieI]

Many of my friends, and I , have grown tomatoes in pots and they are fantastic. I've only grown patio or small tomatoes myself on my lanai and they were very good but the winter frost really did damage to them. I never did well with corn, even in my southern CA garden and I don't think you can have that large of a garden here in TV unless you're in a CYV.
BK, thanks for the link, I didn't know about the community garden.
Our season for corn in SoCal started in June, not sure what time it starts for northern areas. Nothing like fresh corn picked right from the garden. ummmmm!!!

[JenAjd]

Corn in the Upper Midwest comes in from late July thru August. There are several varieties. There is an early corn which isn't quite as good. There is a bi-color (white and yellow) that is very good. There is an off-shoot of this, I think, that is called Super Sweet. YUM!!!

I know folks here who have "container gardens"...growing peppers and tomatoes. I know that they pull them into the garage at night when the temps might call for freezing!

[Taj44]

Originally Posted by timjthomas

I read in a "What do you miss?" post many of the TV residents miss good fresh produce -- e.g., corn & tomatoes.

So, does no one have a garden at TV? Or is it too hard to grow corn & tomatoes in Florida?

What about setting up a "community" garden area? We have lots of those in Michigan -- e.g., a few acres set aside where people "string-off" their areas and grow what they want.

-Tim

A community garden would be great. As someone said, there is the shared harvest garden which goes to the needy, but many people like to grow fresh vegetables for their own use, for canning and freezing, etc., and it would be nice to have a place to do it. Technically, there are restrictions on what you can grown around your actual house.

We've seen community gardens in other cities, where you apply for a permit, and for a small annual fee, get a plot of land that you can cultivate to your heart's content! If people are interested, I think it would be a great thing to request in the annual survey.

[swrinfla]

A little reminiscence, please?

When I was growing up - that's a v---e---r---y l---o---n---g time ago - my mother lived for her garden on Cape Cod! I cannot forget the taste of her fresh veggies, especially the corn!

When the pot was boiling, she'd tell me to go pick several ears. I was to shuck them immediately, leaving everything in her compost heap. Then, I was to bring the ears up to the house at once!

Nothing better than corn that fresh! Or, for that matter, so many other goodies that she grew: tomatoes, peas, green beans, spinach, . . .!

If only I could have the strength to work a garden here in The Villages . . .!

SWR