I am as dumb as a doorknob when it comes to growing anything other than a store-bought ivy plant.... so.. We want to know... Can you REALLY brow a strawberry plant by simply dropping a whole (Or half eaten) strawberry in the ground? What about beans, blackberries, etc.... What about the seed packs available at stores? Are those any good? Really in the dark here, but we we LOVE to be able to grow our own potatoes and strawberries, etc... Thank you in advance....!
well, I'm not sure what luck you will have putting a half eaten strawberry in the ground. (I do let the kids plant things for the fun of it though and we have an onion getting ready to flower) But we do like getting those little green house kits to start tomato plants and herbs (they have them for strawberry plants..... but its too hot here for them)............ I've got some seeds to plant soon. Parsley and chives I think, I like to grow them in window boxes that I put on the patio. GOOD LUCK
Strawberries: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/66150/ Potatoes: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/50437/ You should be able to get strawberry plants pretty cheap from any nursery or Lowes/Home Depot right now. They need to be planted pretty soon down here, cuz as soon as it is hot, they're done. I'm not sure if potatoes are a summer crop or a winter crop here... I'll look it up for you. We don't have much full sun at our house, so we don't do a lot of veggies. If you are really interested in gardening, I highly recommend http://davesgarden.com . For free, you can look different plants up in the PlantFiles (http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/), and there are several forums in which you can ask questions and have people answer them, or just learn by reading other people's posts. For $20/year, there are a lot more forums, including regional ones, so you can ask even more specific questions. The Texas Gardening Forum is worth that on its own. Ok, ad over. LOL I'll go look up potatoes and get back to you.
Potatoes are good both times. You can plant them now and again in August and have fresh potatoes all year long. Jen, I also highly recommend the Houston Garden Book by John Kriegel. Our realtor gave us a copy when we closed on the house and I'm going to need a new one soon cuz it's starting to fall apart. You can check it out of the library, or you can buy it at any bookstore. (Try Half Price books!) Texas is SOO big and encompasses so many types of growing conditions... In a lot of ways, our gardening conditions are a lot more like Louisiana's than like San Antonio's or even College Station's. The humidity bubble that sits over Houston peters out pretty quickly.
A few more resources for the growing enthusiast: http://www.homeandfamilynetwork.com/gardening/kids.html http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/ http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/ And this one is just for Texans http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/txgard/ It is my understanding that strawberry seed need to be striated before they can successfully sprout so I'm thinking that you would have a nice little rotten half a strawberry in the dirt... I'd rather eat it Most home improvement stores and greenhouse places will have the starts/plants pretty quickly if not already in stock. If you have a spot that gets morning sun but afternoon shade/semi shade, (or can make one), the strawberries should perform decently for you. In a less hot area they like full sun all day. Seed packets are typically good. Just watch out if the "packed for" date is more than 2 years old. Rule of thumb, the larger the seed, the longer it's viability. Usually 2 years is as long as I chance the predictability for a seed sprouting 100% of the time. Older seeds will sprout most times but if you are really counting on them due to shortage of potting soil etc,... plant 2-3 seeds per pot. You can save the seeds of non-hybrid types to use for next year. You will save yourself much headache by purchasing the stock for the type of berries you want. Keep in mind, most all the berries are VERY invasive! They typically take a minimum of 2 years to produce much more than a handful. Don't let that trouble you too much since most of the stock you buy will be 1 year old anyways. Marilyn - Thanks for sharing Dave's Garden website! I can never get enough info
lol Jen, no you have to have a plant first to get a strawberry. But, hay. Lowes has them, but like Marylyn said you have to plant now or it will be to hot down here soon.
not meaning to thread jack...but does anyone have the link to how to do the upside down tomato plants? We have a neat wooden ramada roof on our porch (it really is just to support an awning type thing)...but it's sturdy enough...I wanted to do a few tomato plants!
As usual, you gals rAWk! Thanks for all the info.. off to follow links... I may be in the forest of links and info for a while... If I am not back in a few hours, send chocolate! hahahah!
Here's a whole thread about upside down tomatoes. The Container Garden forum is one of the paid forums, but you can read the first post with all of the directions without paying. You just can't read anyone else's comments. I'll read through it and see if they added anything important. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/188624/
Here are the best tips: - To prevent damaging plants as you put them through the holes in a hanging basket, wrap them in a thick plastic (like a bit of compost sack) or paper and then put it through the hole. No damaged leaves! - Do not use regular soil... intead combination of peat moss, vermiculite and perlite. - You can then plant some small marigolds (they repel pesky bugs) in the top. (Other people planted peppers on the top.) - I (not me.. the poster) put some in standard 10 inch hanging baskets and a couple in bigger buckets. The bigger the pot the better. - I plant tomatoes like this, and also scalloped and yellow squash...works out great ! I use 5 gal buckets. - As for the dirt falling out the bottom, no prob! I made a hole in the bottom about 3 inches wide, stuck the plant thru it and packed dirt inside the bucket around the root system. You can easily tamp it down to hold the plant in place. Fill it up w/soil and water gently...the roots (as they grow) will hold the soil in place. Ta-dah! A nice website: http://www.nighthawkpublications.com/backyard/tomato.htm
Just want to wish you the best of luck on your quest for a green thumb. I'll bet your fruits and vegetable will be delicious. Let us know how it all works out.
