Re: blueberries, I'm holding off on those until we live somewhere more permanent. Are they not self-fertile, or do they just fruit better if they're pollinated by another bush?
Re: blueberries, I'm holding off on those until we live somewhere more permanent. Are they not self-fertile, or do they just fruit better if they're pollinated by another bush?
You can grow your own blue(not actually)berries?! I always considered that to be farm-only territory.
Yes you can, pretty easily, and YES, THEY ARE ACTUALLY BERRIES. You people and your only reading enough to win an argument.
"False berry" is an archaic misnomer. It's not even in that article anymore. It simply refers to where the fruit develops on the plant relative to the blossom. We call them inferior ovaries in REAL SCIENCE.
This is a reference to an argument the crew had some years back, where they ended up going to Wikipedia and discovering that most culinary berries are not actually botanical berries.
They erroneously assumed that blueberries fell into that group also because the article classified them as a "false berry."
I was not there at the time, or I would have given them all a Dendrology lesson.
Some blueberry varieties are partially self-fertile but your yields will be much better if you have more than one plant, especially if they are a different cultivar (but same type, like 2 rabbiteyes, 2 highbush 2 lowbush). You should have a wider variety available since you get so many more chill hours than us.
I also went back and got my dwarf lime and dwarf lemon trees. None of the peach trees were flowering or fruiting so I'll be waiting until next year for that.
Blueberries are one thing I've not had much luck with. In hindsight, I planted them in a horrible spot because I wanted them to be closer to the house. They're sad little twigs that haven't grown much beyond where they were when I planted them a couple (or 3?) years ago. Lesson there is that some plants you can fudge their growing environment and get away with it, others will stare at you for years with twiggy disapproval until you finally move away.
Have you tried inverted tomato planters? they sound like a good solution for you.
They do work, my neighbor had a huge upside down plant a few years ago, but they're ugly as all get out. Finding a good place to hang them is tough, too. Most places you'd think of hanging things don't get quite enough sun for toms to grow.
Blueberries are one thing I've not had much luck with. In hindsight, I planted them in a horrible spot because I wanted them to be closer to the house. They're sad little twigs that haven't grown much beyond where they were when I planted them a couple (or 3?) years ago. Lesson there is that some plants you can fudge their growing environment and get away with it, others will stare at you for years with twiggy disapproval until you finally move away.
Yeah, you need to give them good soil in good sun, and even so it still takes about 5 years for them to reach their peak production. That's why Pete and I aren't putting any in - we're renting and 5 years is probably about the time we'll be looking for a house!
I think they also need a more acid soil than we have (and I hate trying to change ph...lazy) and the solid drains far too well, I think. My aunt an uncle have a handful of lush blueberry bushes at their home in Washington state. I had a dream of reaping more blueberries than I can eat like they do every year. So far I've harvested about a dozen berries all told.
My family has gotten back into gardening in recent years. We've grown our own tomatoes and herbs, for very nice fresh Italian dishes. We used to grow our own corn and beans.
I decided to try garden beans in a container. It has been a while since I grew these, but if memory serves they were fairly tolerant of confined roots. Results to come.
I decided to try garden beans in a container. It has been a while since I grew these, but if memory serves they were fairly tolerant of confined roots. Results to come.
I decided to try garden beans in a container. It has been a while since I grew these, but if memory serves they were fairly tolerant of confined roots. Results to come.
What variety are you planting? I'm curious about beans in containers too!
I have gone somewhat garden crazy this year because we ended up with significantly more space than we planned for due to getting a last-minute acceptance on a plot in the local community garden. Pics forthcoming.
Do birds eat unripe limes and lemons? I have a bluejay and mockingbird that pillaged my blueberries and strawberries (I didn't get netting soon enough) and I've noticed my lime tree is now missing all the limes it was developing. My lemon tree dropped some of its fruit but I can find those on the ground around it. The baby limes are no where to be found though.
No idea. It's too cold for them here so I haven't done any research on them. The birds here are extremely ballsy and have been stealing the coco fiber from my basket liners, so I wouldn't say it's unlikely!
As far as I know, backyard birds shouldn't be messing with you citrus fruit. The skin is pretty tough, especially on an unripe fruit so a jay would have a very tough time getting at food his isn't likely to eat. Their beaks aren't well made for breaking through peel, they are good at plucking berries (rip, poor strawberries and blueberries!), seeds and small insects. If you've seen magpies in the area, I might suspect those assholes, but the fruit would just be lying on the ground (they are the bird world equivalent of soccer fans IMHO).
Buy a plant at a nursery. It's like $4. Then put it in a bigger pot with potting soil and compost. Get a tomato cage to support the plant and stick it in the pot with the pepper plant. Done. (Okay, you need to water it and fertilize it every now and then I guess.)
Pepper seeds are assholes that take forever to germinate and don't have a good germination rate. Also hot pepper seeds still have capsaicin on them, so you have to wear gloves and shit when you plant them.
Harvest time!! Squash are just about the most satisfying things to harvest besides potatoes. I long for a garden of my own, but while I'm in an apartment with no balcony I'm sticking to my indoor jungle aspirations.
What zone are you all in? I was born and raised in a dry sunny zone 3a with an abysmally short growing season, and have recently moved to a lush tropical 6a. It's like a completely different planet.
I'm in 5a. Our squash is just starting to give us a few fruits, and the peas are still producing prolifically despite it being July. The greens have been harvestable for a while, especially the lettuce. We just did our first round of Chard harvest, and we have teeny proto-pickles ALL OVER the cucumber vines!
The tomato plants over in our joint backyard garden with a neighbor are also producing like whoa. They're loaded with tiny green tomatoes.
My balcony green beans in containers have failed. They managed to push out a few beans, but gave up the ghost pretty quick. Man, I want a yard to garden in. One of these days. In the meantime, the house plants are doing alright. I'll be repotting the parsley tonight.
Comments
Re: blueberries, I'm holding off on those until we live somewhere more permanent. Are they not self-fertile, or do they just fruit better if they're pollinated by another bush?
"False berry" is an archaic misnomer. It's not even in that article anymore. It simply refers to where the fruit develops on the plant relative to the blossom. We call them inferior ovaries in REAL SCIENCE.
They erroneously assumed that blueberries fell into that group also because the article classified them as a "false berry."
I was not there at the time, or I would have given them all a Dendrology lesson.
I also went back and got my dwarf lime and dwarf lemon trees. None of the peach trees were flowering or fruiting so I'll be waiting until next year for that.
I have gone somewhat garden crazy this year because we ended up with significantly more space than we planned for due to getting a last-minute acceptance on a plot in the local community garden. Pics forthcoming.
Pepper seeds are assholes that take forever to germinate and don't have a good germination rate. Also hot pepper seeds still have capsaicin on them, so you have to wear gloves and shit when you plant them.
What zone are you all in? I was born and raised in a dry sunny zone 3a with an abysmally short growing season, and have recently moved to a lush tropical 6a. It's like a completely different planet.
The tomato plants over in our joint backyard garden with a neighbor are also producing like whoa. They're loaded with tiny green tomatoes.
In the meantime, the house plants are doing alright. I'll be repotting the parsley tonight.