[nintendofreek]

I've decided to start a small garden and work my way up to a bigger one. What would be some good things to plant to start off with? Also what strives at this time of year? I live in New Mexico so the temperatures here reach 100*F daily.

Anybody else here have a garden? What do you have planted?

 

[KFaulkner]

My tomatoes are blooming very efficiently as well as my watermelons have been great this year! I hope everything goes well with your garden. It can be a booger to get it all set up!

 

[water]

Soil type and moisture are probably important there along with partial shade (slated wood or something) if necessary to keep the sun from drying out the area along with the plants......

 

[HandsomeRyan]

I don't currently have a garden due to my living situation (small apartment) but I went to college for ornamental horticulture so I'm happy to help with any specific questions you might have.

The simple answer to "What should I plant" is always "what do you enjoy eating?!"

Although I've studied many aspects of growing plants, my specialty is hydroponic or soil-less gardening. Below are a few of the "hydroponic systems" I've built to grow plants without dirt.

 

[coco2]

i used to work in a whisky distillery which recycled its waste carbon dioxide from the fermentation into the distilleries green houses to help ripen its tomatoes...i've never tasted toms like them...speak to you local brewery or wine plant and see if they can spare some of there excesss co2...you never know...

 

[funetical]

Jack of all trades maybe. Growing for foor or decoration. I'm in Texas and I grow a few varieties of cactus. I also really like hibiscus. We built a pond a few years back and my wife keeps water lillies.

 

[Smiley]

That's great HandsomeRyan, hydroponic tomatoes are the best! That looks a bit too complicated for me though.

 

[funetical]

What do you do for a living Handsome Ryan?

 

[HandsomeRyan]

That's great HandsomeRyan, hydroponic tomatoes are the best! That looks a bit too complicated for me though.

It's not as complicated as it seems. You just have to think about what plants get from soil (air, water, nutrients, support) and figure out how to give that to them without using dirt.

What do you do for a living Handsome Ryan?

Currently I'm unemployed. I did work in wholesale magazine distribution but I was laid off due to slow sales in this economy.

 

[TxCyclist]

We garden, no pictures, this year we didn't yield much because we planted late and the Summer was absolutely brutal.

Usually we have large tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, banana peppers and peas.

My wife always has basil and a variety of other herbs growing.

 

[Industry_Hack]

I want to start my garden indoors next year, since we get snow up until April. But I've never seen hydroponics used like it is in the photos above. Usually, it was in a closet, or hidden somewhere...

[edit] We generally got this twice a week, from our 8x16 plot:

 

[HandsomeRyan]

With winter in full swing- lets hear what you've all got planned for the 2010 growing season?

I'm hoping to find some exotic stuff to fill my [terribly small] gardening plot. I'm looking at Chenopodium capitatum. Never tried it before but I love growing weird stuff.

 

[Industry_Hack]

I'm planning on doubling my garden size, and this time, coordinating plantings with my neighbors, so we don't all grow the same stuff. And I'm starting early, indoors.

 

[Grape Ape]

We have had a very large garden every year since 2000 except 2009. It is usually around 150'x70-80'.

In 2008 we had and I will probably forget some stuff.

Cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, cantaloupe, 12-15 different types of tomatoes, red, green, yellow, orange, and chocolate bell peppers. Banana peppers, tabasco peppers. romaine lettuce, iceburg lettuce, spinach, onions, yellow corn, silver queen corn, peaches and cream corn, purple cabbage, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli.

One fun thing that happened we planted romaine lettuce in one row and not thinking planted the tabasco peppers in the next row over. They cross pollinated or something and the romaine lettuce was very spicy hot. My wife could only handle a small leaf in her salads and I couldn't handle much more than that. It did surprise us and we enjoyed messing with people by having them try a leaf of it. Luckily the tabascos still had a good zing and flavor.

I am sort of holding out this year to see how the work goes. If I end up with a job that will keep me home this summer then I am going to plant another garden. I am thinking if I do it will be smaller and will be more limitted. It will have few different tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini squash, different bell peppers, tabascos again with romaine close to see if we can get hot lettuce again. No corn this time. I can buy it so cheap around here there is no reason to grow it. the other stuff we grow due to the variety not being available at the farmers market and the control. By control I know it is organic, and I can pick when I want green tomatoes to keep for winter. Zucchinis picked when best for shredding and freezing for zucchini bread and zucchini salsa in the winter. Most of the other stuff will be put up to be enjoyed through the winter alot will be canned as salsas.