Gardening thread for food

[BobQCarter]

I'm in Cleveland and I wait to plant until Memorial Day. I start seedlings inside in January. The really hot peppers take forever to get going and really benefit from the extra time. That's why it's much easier to buy from plant sales. Dig around a bit and you'll find them everywhere; like farmer's markets for plants. It's a good way for small farms to get a chunk of money right out of the gate.

Here's some picture's of my trees. It's a little rough back there right now. The cherry is a bing. You can see where the fork is. That's where I "topped" it. They come as 6 foot whips and when you cut the top off you get that fork. I should have done it much lower. The black berry bush is out of control. Everything in that picture is blackberry. They're running everywhere, but I get a shit ton of blackberries every year and they're thornless. The apple tree is a graft with three types of apples.

(Pretty impressed with imgur and the scrolling photo albums.)

Another fruit tree to look into is a pawpaw tree. They're native to Ohio. There's a pretty big community around them. They taste like a banana-custard with the texture of a soft mango.

 

[Randolphkeys]

I don't garden for food, aside from a rosemary bush, but the one thing I'd suggest is testing your soil for toxins. A lot of people where I live start the garden first, then after a while get their soil tested only to find out it is chalk full of lead and abestos.

 

[bob2the2nd]

Another fruit tree to look into is a pawpaw tree. They're native to Ohio. There's a pretty big community around them. They taste like a banana-custard with the texture of a soft mango.

damn you other Bob, your post was awesome till you got to the pawpaw tree.

ughhhh they are terrible.

 

[BobQCarter]

damn you other Bob, your post was awesome till you got to the pawpaw tree.

ughhhh they are terrible.

Haaha. Yeah so, most paw paws that come from seed do suck. But, the selected, grafted cultivars are great. I have a buddy that has some orchards and all his come out awesome. He grows Susquehanna and Shenandoah. Harvesting at the correct ripeness is also really important.

 

[The Oi]

I had a hummus cart I called Peddling Hummus, is that what you mean? The hummus cart was a failure.

@BMAN
Any kind of off the shelf raised bed kit with that soil mix I posted will do.

Buy tomatoes and peppers plants at a plant sale. Pettiti's had a pretty great set up last year, who knows what it's going to look like this year.

You can start cucumbers, squash, and watermelons from seed packet seeds, planted right into the soil. If you like beans, bush beans are super easy and can be packed tight and direct sown too.

If you're starting something you can tend for years, get some asparagus roots online, plant in a patch or in a row. They'll produce more and more every year.

The first thing I planted when I bought my house were an apple and cherry tree, and a blackberry bush. Eight years later and they're all massive.

that is what i mean!

sorry about the hummus. Am a fan. I am actually eating some right now.

i’d have been a customer.

 

[Hurl Bruce]

How about some non-food planting mixed in here?

I haven't planted anything original in my yard since I moved to my house. I have what I think is creeping phlox in one part of my front flower bed that is pretty small. The larger stretch in front of my house does not have any ground cover. I kind of like that look instead of mulching all of the "empty" space. Is there any trick to planting ground cover like this? Is this something that's grown from a seed or is this something better/easier planted as a sapling?

Is there another ground cover that anyone recommends?