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OK, so my question: How do you dry herbs properly?

My mad old mum made me take one of her sage plants home on the train (cue suspicious looks of fellow passengers trying to work out what drug I have been cultivating...)

Although I am supposed to be growing it I thought fuck i, I'll harvest it now and just have a bag of dried sage. Is there any special technique, other than picking the leaves and lying them out until they go crispy? Do I need to heat them, shelter them from light or anything like that? Any tips would be good really.

Just herbs and chilies. Used to grow tomatoes, onions and potatoes, but no more.

As for drying... I just leave them out to dry out on their own, no treating or anything.

I grow my own herbs (rosemary, thyme, mint)
I also have chickens for eggs & meat.

>>3899500
To be quite clear, I also dry my own lumi.

>>3899500
> I just leave them out to dry out on their own, no treating or anything.
I assumed it probably was something as simple as that. My flat is kind of cold and damp though, so I am hoping they don't just rot away to mulch, as the weather is starting to get chilly now...
>>3899502
Man, I would love to keep chickens so much. Fresh eggs are the best things ever.

If you piss on your plants, it will grow better. I don't know why somebody felt the need to tell me that but hey, people put cow shit on their plants.

tomatoes, peppers (hot and green) usually four or five different types, but always japs and habs, cilantro, tomatillos (WEIRD friggin' plant!) thyme, basil, oregeno.
chickens, but just for eggs, wife likes the birds too much to eat them.

sorry, didn't see the second post.
the peppers i store in various ways - drying, canning, freezing. the spices CAN be dried, but whats left after a summer of picking isn't usually worth much bother.

>>3899495
i find it best to try to hang the herbs so that they get good air flow on all sides.
it being cold in your flat does not really matter, but try to pic the driest spot you can so you do not get mold.
if you really thing that drying in your flat is not going to go well, freeze them. just harvest and place in an air tight container (i go just use resealable freezer bags)

currently growing: tomatoes, japanese eggplant, three kinds of lettuce, jalapenos, strawberries, mustard greens, okra, sage, rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, zucchini, broccoli, radishes, mint, apple mint and peas
although the broccoli and zucchini never produced anything. broccoli never grew bigger than the plant i started with and the zucchini bloomed but never made. idk wtf happened.

>>3899561
Thanks for the tips. I'll freeze a handful, that seems like a smart idea. When I de-frost them for use, they are essentially still used as fresh leaves would be, I assume?
>>3899568
Cheers for the link, I've bookmarked this. I don't want to run a hydro system in my flat though. I already look like a hippy and I could really do without the rozzers kicking down my door lol.

>>3899581
kinda...
they will be mushy when you defrost them so you could not "finish" a dish with them (well you could but it would not look fancy pants). i add them still frozen during cooking.
they will be like fresh herbs in tasty. so not as concentrated as dried herbs

>>3899590
Nice one, that's more what I was meaning anyway. I usually only cook for myself so I don't have much need to dress my plates up anyway. (o_o,)

Got some Hopi blue corn I recently picked. I don't feel like going through the trouble of nixtamalizing it all so I think I'll just grind it and make a bunch of corn bread.

>>3899581
unless you can flash freeze them without tiny ice crystals forming to poke the cells, the defrosted result will be mushy and will not look good at all

>>3899597
hey, there is nothing wrong with making food look good even if you are the only one eating.

and 3899671 made me realized, you could flash freeze your herbs if you want. just get some dry ice of the grocery store or maybe hardware store. throw the dry ice in a cooler and place the herbs in a metal bowl on top. after a few minutes they will be frozen and you can store them in the freezer in a ziplock

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I've grown lots of potted herb an pepper plants throughout my college career so far (living in shitty college bro apartment slums doesn't allow for real gardening).

I always have used my herbs fresh as they grow, fresh herbs are so much tastier than dried! But this means you have to actually re-pot them - not just leave them in their original plastic pots - that way they can put out roots and have the nutrients to make more leaves.

The herbs I always grow and cook with are rosemary, taragon, thyme, dill, chives, and basil. Others come and go (killed by rain on the patio, given away to friends, etc.).

I like to have at least a couple thai chili plants going cause I'm a total spicy-food addict. They are awesome, tasty, and universal.

IMO, growing your own herbs is great way to learn how to season food because you always have high quality taste enhancers on hand. And not wasting the "fruit" of the plants you're growing is incentive to use them.

Pic: ripe potted thai chilis.

>>3899745
I-I have to repot them? Does that mean I just buy a pot and put them from the plastic to the pot?

I'm a real rookie and I bought a pot of thyme and basil from the supermarket that I've put on the window sill. The thyme drooped on the first day and since then I've been watering it every day as the soil seems to be a little dry when I go to check it each day. The basil has been fine and the instructions say to water them when they start to wilt but I'm worried about the thyme... Are they doing okay? In the long run, I would like to have tomatoes too on my windowsill, if that would be possible, and possibly oranges. Any windowsill plants would be great...

>>3901265
Yes. You need to put them into a bigger pot so the roots have mor room to grow.

I'm not sure if it is true of all plant life, but I think a lot of times the size of the plant, and its ability to produce fruit, is dictated by the length of its roots.

I raise it all, nigger. Orchard, livestock, vegetables, fermenting cabbage into sauerkraut. Even made vinegar once with my grapes (even though I was trying to make wine goddamit).

Raising food is more enjoyable than anything in the world. Even my rooster-bro will someday become coq au vin. Homegrown food is god-tier in terms of quality, and it gives you an appreciation for where food comes from and the effort that goes into it.

>>3901340
>I was trying to make wine goddamit

Sounds like you got a case of sour grapes there buddy.

sorry.

>>3901326
Thanks. I assume that means I also need extra soil. Would that be right?

>>3901389
yeah. just dig some up from the local park if you don't have a garden.

>>3901406
Great, thanks so much.

bump because indertastes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvgQCa29LEM&feature=related

It's about raising pigs and parting the meat.

I keep a garden about of about 4 acres with corn, beans, peppers(hot and sweet), cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, cucumbers, spinach, swiss chard, turnips, beets, peas, garlic, onions, wheat, and rye. I also raise pigs, sheep, cattle for milking and beef, chickens, quail, ducks, guineas, and goats. I forage for mushrooms, ramps, and I also hunt wild game. As for fruits and nuts, I have peach, pear, apple, and cherry trees, grape vines, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries, a few black walnut trees, butternut trees, beech trees, hickory, chestnut, and one heartnut tree. Don't want to leave out my six apiaries, and my stocked pond...The joys of living on 261 acres in the Appalachian Mountains.

>>3901680
Holy shit, I'm jelly.

We have a typical north american garden - various peppers, tomatoes, greens, potatoes, onions. The only thing we do in any great quantity is garlic. Grew 4,500 head this season.

>>3902115
Me too.

Living in an apartment in a uni town. I guess I could get some small planters for herbs, but I'd need a plant light, since all my windows are really bad for privacy.

>>3902127
that's a lot of garlic.

but probably not enough.

>>3902131
We've scaled it back from 30,000 head. We grow 5 strains. The majority now is for home use, but some finds its way to local markets and obviously to friends as well.

One thing great about it is the scape harvest. We freeze a ton for use as a green in stir frys, beef roasts, etc; they have a nice garlic flavour but function as a vegetable. We also make piles of scape pesto with parm and various types of nuts.

Yes, we like garlic.

We have a potato field with lots of different kinds of potatoes. We're expanding it next summer (not sure why, we don't sell any of the potatoes and we already have a shit ton of potatoes after we've given away potatoes to friends, family and neighbors.), and we're going to start growing carrots.
We also grow some herbs and berries. It's nice.

I'm kind of an outlier here. I live in a heavy urban area in Zone 9. I used to do container gardening and hydroponics indoors, but I've managed to get a plot of land to do some organic square foot gardening. Starting broccoli, spinach, carrots, onion, garlic, and a couple of others in a few days.

>>3901265
tomatoes need a 6 gallon bucket minimum. oranges, of course, grow on a tree, and are prolly not a viable indoor potted plant fruit production-wise. most of the herbs and spices can be done in an eight to ten inch pot.

is it possible to grow some veggies or something (other than herbs) in a small apartment? i'm moving out soon out of my parents place, and i've always wanted to garden.

>>3902275
If you have a patio or balcony, you can easily grow stuff there. Tomatoes are easy, also anything on a vine (peas, green beans, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow and other small squashes, small varieties of melons) since you can put up a trellis and let it grow all over that. Just make sure your patio gets adequate sunlight.

>>3899493 (OP)

I don't have the heart (or room) to do livestock, but I do grow all my own veggies and herbs. I love it- especially when I need something for a recipe, I can simply go outside and pick what I need. Peppers (brought inside to overwinter in the house), tomatoes, various squashes (except zucchini), cucumbers for pickling, potatoes, pumpkins, spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts, beans and cantaloupe this year.

I have strawberries that will be good to go next year also.

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I grow as much of my food as I can considering my busy schedule as a working engineering-student.

Finding a gardening thread on /ck filled with like-minded souls always makes my day, though the past few months they have rarely been of decent quality, with little to no original content and decent pictures. I remember a truly glorious 'homegrowmen'-thread on here back in spring, with more than 100 original photo's posted by numerous quite knowledgeable anons, sharing all they knew.

Now that the gardening-season is over (for north-hemispherefags) I was hoping for some harvest- and progresspictures. I will dump mine in remembrance of the thread earlier mentioned.

I have grow all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. I have experience with livestock but none right now of mt own. Hopefully soon I can upgrade from container gardening to a normal garden(no till, permaculture, hugelkulture, etc ideally) and some chickens- maybe a pair of dairy goats too...

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The growing season over here is rather short. Nightly frost persists well into May. I tend to only grow spinach and different kinds of lettuce from February until mid-May, facilitated by their tolerance to colder temperatures and raised beds covered with some plastic domes I made to keep the soil from freezing.

I also built a 'shelter' for my tomatoes which can be seen in the last photo, hoping to keep them dry during summer rains. We had a wet summer 2 years back, which resulted in blight-ridden tomato plants and the fungus gaining a foothold in my gardensoil. There was no tomato harvest worth mentioning that year and the following.

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>>3904376
>>3904460

To compensate for the short season I germinate my tomatoes in the basement. I always have three different 'kinds' of tomatoes; meaty big 'beefsteak' tomatoes, cherrytomatoes and 'normal' slicing tomatoes. The cultivars themselves vary every year. This year I respectively went with heirloom Marmande, Yellow Plum and heirloom Roma's.

The lettuce-seedlings got a 'free ride' since I had the lights on anyway and there was some space left the first weeks. During winter I use the set-up for some hydroponics on a small scale (DWC and ebb&flow).

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>>3904376
>>3904460
>>3904513

Once the nightly temperatures rose high enough the tomatoes got transplanted outside, a few weeks after the lettuce. (End of May) Pea's and scallions were sown at the spot after most of the spinach was harvested.

Some sunflowers popped up as you can see. I only planted them once, 6 years ago, and they keep appearing every year again. I keep them around since they attract a lot of (bumble)bees and thus facilitate pollination in the entire vegetable garden. Transplant them when they're small; they really don't take well to it once bigger. I made the mistake of allowing a few to grow in the beds; my biggest mishap this season. They use up a lot of nutrients and shaded the raised bed more than I anticipated.

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>>3904376
>>3904460
>>3904513
>>3904599

I had some problems with beetle swarms during this time. The swarming happens every few years. My chickens took care of this for me. I covered the seedlings they like to eat with some bent fence wire and let them roam freely throughout the garden during the day.

>>3904652
your gay

>>3904655
His gay what?

>>3904666
your gay dad owes me a dollar satan

>>3904703
Woah.

Does any of you co/ck/s know what to plant in a South East Asian country? I'm living in Vietnam at the moment.

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I bought some basil seedlings a few months back, and just planted them right out of the pack in their little bunches. I'm starting to get the feeling that I could have separated them before planting though, but now their roots are too tangled up.
How do I fix pic related so that they grow into decent plants? They don't really seem to be getting any bigger anymore.

>>3905153
My girlfriend is from Vietnam, she says grow whatever, if you can find it in the local market, it can be grown in a small garden or in planters.

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>>3905162
I myself would just thin them out. You'll be happier with a few decent sized plants than with more but stunted ones.

If you are willing to put in the effort you could still separate them. Just be careful not to damage the taproot of each individual plant, and leave all of them with some rootmass. Above ground growth will stop while the plants recover from the shock and grow new roots for a week or two. Also keep the soil moist to compensate for the loss of water absorbing roots, but be wary of mold(s).

>>3904599
wow nice posts, I am envious. It would be great to have somewhere with a piece of land so I could have a vegetable patch and keep some rabbits and chickens. Also ducks. I fucking love duck.

I chuckled to myself on this pic btw because I saw that sparse, flat horizon on the top image and thought to myself "I bet that is Belgium or the Netherlands" - then I saw your vegetable signs are written in Dutch and I high Five'd myself :P

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>>3904652
>>3905513

Well thank you. I also have some rabbits, now that you mention it. It was going to be my next post until I got demotivated by some anon incapable of applying simple grammar making faulty assumptions about my sexual preference in an effort to insult me.

They were added to the garden this year, also in May, and were originally intended for their meat. However the cute fluffy bastards thwarted my plans by getting me emotionally attached. Their poo works wonders by 'activating' my compost bins and heaps though, so they still have practical use.

I'm located in Belgium, yes :). Flat and fertile.
My girlfriend got a bit creative/carried away writing the signs.

>>3905533
>Flat and fertile.
"I like my women as I like my north European farmland..." :D
Other punchlines could include:
>pumped full of chemicals
>only used for rape

Aaaanyway. I have never kept animals, but I hang out with the ducks and geese at the park every now and then (they talk to me) and I am pretty sure I could sort one of them out if I wanted to. As cute as little fluffy animals are, they look even more delicious.

>>3905533
I would highly recommend you to reinforce that stuff with metal of plastic, cause rabbits chew wood as a hobby.

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>>3905554
> (they talk to me)
I hope in the 'I gain an understanding of their ways by observing them'-kinda way, not the 'They tell me to burn things'-kinda way. My chickens come running at lightspeed when I call out for them, and mangle my lower legs if I did so for my own amusement (It's funny to see them sprint.) without having worms or similar offerings.

>>3905558
They have been in there for a bit less than 5 months, and no real chewing so far. Only a few nibbles; I think they dislike they taste of the woodstain. I placed some split logs in their cage, which they stick to.

>>3904376
>>3904460
>>3904513
>>3904599
>>3904652
>>3905533

Not much happens in the following months. Everything just grows and I harvest some lettuce, spinach and pea's from time to time.

>>3905592
lol no, I was just making an obscure reference to a short comedy film about a guy who is tormented by ducks and a dog :D

http://vimeo.com/17438937

>>3904599
Sunflowers. That whole seed-bird poop-plant cycle is almost impossible to break. And you aren't kidding about the size; they can get almost treelike when they're full grown.

>>3905533
>I'm located in Belgium... fertile.

Yeah, composting the bodies of millions over the course of centuries will do that for ya.

>>3905592
>chickens come running at lightspeed when I call out for them

My wife has the "tid-bitting" noise down pat. And they ARE irked when it doesn't pan out. I had no idea they had so much personality before we got some.

I can't grow anything because I only get maybe an hour of direct sunlight a day at my apartment, and while there is some soil out front I could plant stuff in, its likely any food would get eaten by a myriad of dogs, cats, and feral/wild animals, and/or pissed on by dogs, so I can't grow anything unfortunately. I was thinking of getting one of those AeroGrow things.

>>3902229
Would that be an eight inch height or diametre? Does the pot need to have a hole at the bottom for the water to drain?

How difficult would it be far a casual to raise perhaps a single chicken for eggs? (I'm not interested in getting a chicken currently but I always thought that eventually it might be a nice thing to have.)

Thanks for your help.

>>3906575
Yes pot sizes are measured in diameter. And most all pots have drainage holes in them too.

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>>3906575
Get 2 or 3 instead.. It's not that much more work than just 1. My dad made a pen and bought me my first 3 chickens when I was 9 or 10. (As a job/responsibility/chore, not as a gift although I accepted them as one.) I wasn't all that bright as a kid and took care of them without any problems worth mentioning. Their main diet of kitchen scraps and what they find in the garden gets supplemented with some calcium-rich chickenfeed. Besides that they pretty much take care of themselves, given they have a decent (not necessarily expensive) coop.

>>3905592
August is when the magic starts to happen. Pic related.

>>3908962
Thanks. By the way, your tomatoes look beautiful and I saw your rabbit hutch in /diy/. It looked really cool.

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>>3905768
Indeed. The cultivar that I grow doesn't get that big in terms of height, but bloom with a massive amount of decent sized flowers, easily twenty per plant. Their stems thicken up to 10cm (4inches) in diameter; an odd sight for annual flowers.

>Yeah, composting the bodies of millions over the course of centuries will do that for ya.
I like to think it's because half of the country consists out of alluvial plains or polders. But I guess that helped too.

> I had no idea they had so much personality before we got some.

I know. Mine look alike so much that I tell them apart by how they behave. Curious and kinda sad at the same time.

I'm looking to start a vegetable garden but I have no idea where to start regarding what I can grow. I live in Alberta now and I used to live in Florida so everything is just different.

My SO and I have been thinking about growing peppers inside the house as well.

Can anybody point me in the right direction? Like a really good website that goes over what you can grow in Alberta?

I wish I could do this stuff, I have a small back yard, but I bet I could grow some stuff in it. The problem is, time. If I did this stuff, would I have any time for games other entertainment? Perhaps I should work on my procrastination before I get into this stuff.

>>3899517

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=human-urine-is-an-effective-fertilizer

>>3909583
Well, I can't start now, I'm at work! I always say "I'll do it on the weekend." but I'm usually too tired then.

>>3909618
I drown my sorrows in video games and mindless media

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>>3899517
>>3909586
Please oh please don't pee on your plants directly. They will be 'nutrientburned' to death in hours. Dilute it with water and let it sit for a day. Next to dilution, the presence of water also helps to 'degrade' urea into ammonia, though soil bacteria also do this for you as long you just dilute your pee. An extra added effect is that buckets of pee might be a good conversation starter.

>>3909117
>>3908973
Thanks guys.

>>3908962
Some more sauce making, to keep it a bit /ck-related. I always can tomatoes that I don't eat right away. Freezing them in any form degrades the flavor quickly, making cultivating them not worth all the effort.

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>>3910345
>Some more sauce making
I just realised this probably wasn't the best choice of words, being on 4chan.

Fall is apparent in the garden so I started preparing it for winter. The contrast with 6 weeks ago is quite big. The few tomatoes that remain probably won't ripen on the vine in time. A handfull of springonions are left but will be harvested in the next two weeks.
I left a cauliflower plant in place, but nothing will come of it probably. It was heavily shaded by a new cultivar of zucchini plant I grew, which got bigger than I'm used to.

>>3910599
Keep us updated with your projects as the seasons change, anyway. I don't tend to go on many other boards so if you do have some relevant /ck/-type posts up on DIY put a cross-link here, I'm sure people will appreciate it. Cheers for all your interesting posts.

>>3909576

Didn't go to the Alberta specific sites given you, but I CAN tell you that once you start, especially after your first few tastes of whatever, you won't procrastinate. It is a very relaxing pastime/hobby.

>>3910599 The few tomatoes that remain probably won't ripen on the vine in time.

I just had the last of my ripe ones last night. Plenty of things to do with the ten or so pounds of green left, but six months of no 'mater sandwiches is a tough thing to face.

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nice seeing the homegrowmen at work

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>>3911087
>Plenty of things to do with the ten or so pounds of green left, but six months of no 'mater sandwiches is a tough thing to face.

I put my green ones in an open cardboard box with some newspaper layered in between and on top. Most of them ripen this way (, sometimes a bit at the cost of texture). Check for molding regularly and remove affected ones immediately. (Molding only happened once, with a damaged tomato.)

>>3910956
Like I said in my first post I lurk /ck a lot and always contribute to the gardening threads on this board. My (rather rare) posts on /diy are seldom /ck-related. Thank you for your appreciation.

>>3910599
I got some strawberry plants from a guy I gave one of my pumpkins. Though I'm not particularly keen on strawberries, his were one of the sweetest I ever tasted. They look a bit sad in the photo because it took me a few days to find the time to plant them, but they have perked up by now. Fingers crossed for some sweet delight next year.

I've been growing my herbs hydroponically, starting a month ago. I was fortunate enough to get some nice HID light fixtures for free from my Uncle, so the progress has been incredible. I'm trying to grow as many different herbs as possible, so my closet is stuffed. A myriad of scents when you open the door.

>>3911349

You can put some bananas in with them. Bananas give off some type of gas that helps the tomatoes ripen.

Just an herb garden in a windowbox for now.

My family's land has an abundance of space and good soil, so I get fresh veggies when I go back there to visit.

Right now I believe we have collard greens, winter squash, arugula lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, and radishes. And a shitload of peanuts, which is the crop my family is farming for commercial reasons. But this year has been extremely productive for peanuts in that area, and the yield has been 4 tons of peanuts per acre instead of the usual 3. So we can keep as many as we want, and don't even have to chase the deer away anymore, and still make a profit.

I want to grow tomatoes later on at my apartment, but I don't think my balcony gets enough sunlight.

>>3913109
You can get tomatos to grow inside on the window ledge just as long as you get a few hours direct sun each day.

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>>3913029
HID's work wonders. I sometimes use a 400w HPS for my tomato seedlings, when the weather in spring warms up slower than I anticipated and I have to keep them inside to a point where fluorescent lighting doesn't suffice anymore.

>>3913104
The gas you are referring to is ethylene gas, which tomatoes also produce themselves, just like bananas and some other fruits. It is industrially used on a large scale to artificially ripen a wide variety of produce, including tomatoes. It's what gives store bought tomatoes their bland taste in combination with hydroponics; and thus is one of the biggest reasons why people grow their own. It's an effective trick, but also a last resort for me. I prefer ripening on the vine, even if there's a risk of losing the last part of my crop to bad weather.

>>3914604
There is a thick grove of trees right outside my apartment balcony, therefore I don't think it will get direct sunlight. It makes it hard for me to wake up in the mornings, since only threads of light get through the trees.

I know winter thins it out, but that's about the only time a good quantity of sun peeks through.

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>>3911349
There is a south faced wall at the side of my house that has sunlight almost the entire day. The enclosed space is protected from the wind by a dense 2m high hedge of beeches and has a fishpond in it. Additionally the brick wall also has a respectable thermal mass. An ideal micro-climate for lots of plants to grow in, were it not for the poor sandy soil, devoid of nutrients and structure.

Past weekend at the gardening center, whilst I was there to buy flower bulbs for my mom, I spotted some nice blackberry plants. They have deviously organised their infrastructure in a way that you have to pass through their outside plant-section before you can actually enter their indoor store. I'm pretty happy they have an automated door, because most of the time my hands are full before I get to it, juggling around plants. Luckily I forgot my wallet in the car this time, and I only had enough cash on me to buy the one plant besides the bulbs.

Motivated by my purchase I decided to mend the aforementioned soil that afternoon. I managed to throw my back out in the process, to the amusement of my onlooking cats, who used me as a pillow to sit on while I laid there on the lawn, writhing, waiting for the worst pain to pass. Some ibuprofens later I was able to finish the job. If this plant doesn't make it through the winter to produce the best tasting berries in the future, then I'm switching from agnosticism to atheism.

>>3915431
I planted two blueberry bushes and have reached a similar conclusion. I babied the shit out of those plants with constant proper watering, soil acidifier, peat moss/compost mixture, and proper trimming so they will produce the maximum berries two years from now and on. If they die, the world will burn.

But shit, I grew a lot of stuff this year. Lettuce, zucchini, asparagus, jalapenos, cayennes, potatoes, peas, carrots, eggplants, leeks, tomatoes, beets, and artichoke. I love growing things and made three big raised beds full of an awesome mix of compost, top soil, and mushroom soil. I'll probably expand this in the future.

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>>3915482
I am content that my 'feels' are being understood.
I too find myself expanding year after year.

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I grow my own food. I've harvested about 300lbs so far this season. I need to go out and do the last harvest within the following week. I have sooo much stuff canned.

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>>3916396
Got any pictures for us to get excited about ?

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>>3917331
They've all been posted before.

>>3902127
I knew there was sumpin' else I wanted to ask in this thread; what kinds of garlic?
Guy down the road from us loads us up with "regular" (white?), and a leek called elephant garlic, but he gave us something new this year - purple? garlic. Ever hear of it?

>>3915482 awesome mix of compost, top soil, and mushroom soil.

Have finally gotten organized enough to compost the chicken and horse shit and turned out and mixed the first batch last week - glorious looking stuff! Spring will be VERY impatiently awaited this year.

>>3915431 onlooking cats, who used me as a pillow

Uh, no ILPMTP. A body outside isn't being used as a pillow, it's being assessed for lunch.

>>3915431
>>3915482

My sister-in-law just planted two blackberry bushes last spring and has done nothing for them. Are they really that fussy? Anything I should do for them before winter sets in, or in the spring?

>>3915482

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>>3918488
>A body outside isn't being used as a pillow, it's being assessed for lunch

Sounds like my cats. I guess I look tasty then. I'll take it as a compliment.

>Are they really that fussy? Anything I should do for them before winter sets in, or in the spring?

They'll survive and even produce fruit if just left alone, but with just a bit of decent pruning your harvest should greatly increase in quantity and quality. It should also work well as disease control (fungi), depending on the cultivar. A few have a proclivity for getting botrytis. Not really speaking from experience though, just lots of googling done in the past few days.

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>>3917506
Must be a pretty big garden you have. I canned about half of my tomatoes and had only 6 filled jars (with very thick sauce though). I already considered it lots of work. I tip my hat to you good sir.

Pic unrelated; pineapple mint which is hard to find around here.

You know, I was just about to create a similar thread to this.

Is there anything I can grow in a small dark flat?

>>3920315
Apart from sorrow, obviously.

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Pic related. Some of the things I myself planted and take care of in the backyard. Forgot to take a picture of my thyme and rosemary. Mom has a vegetable garden with squash and tomato and stuff.

Hi everyone. So, winter is coming. What should I plant? I'm a noob at gardening, so nothing too difficult please. Thanks.

>>3920325
plant whatever, but cover them with a sheet during the cold days

>>3920315
If you have a window you can grow herbs at the very least. If you use grow lights, you can grow just about anything you want.

>>3920325
Garlic and shallots.

So winter is coming in my area. I forgot to plan ahead and entirely missed this season, but I do have some green onion growing. I read about a type of strawberry I could start now but there were no seeds or seedlings at the store when I looked so I guess that's out. I've got a ton of questions too, where to start?

1. Do I have to do anything to keep my green onions from freezing? Maybe just a sheet when the temp drops blow freezing?

2. We've got a lot of squirrels here, what's the best way to keep them away from strawberries?

3. I kinda like to collect seeds from my plants to use the next year, how do I do this for green onion?

>>3921441
For #2 you have a couple of options. Option 1 is catch and eat the squirrels. Option 2 is build a fruit cage to grow your fruit inside. Option 3 is to put out dried fruits and nuts and teach the squirrels to eat the stuff you put out only. They prefer things that can be stored over fresh fruit, but it's no guarantee they'll leave your berries alone.

I grow / am growing onions, basil, jalapeños, serranos, chives, green onion, bell peppers and plan to do much more in the future.

>>3921452
>Option 1 is catch and eat the squirrels.
Full /k/. Probably not happening since I can't be bothered to get traps and my neighbors are freakishly close, so shooting is probably out.

Option two might be an option, but wouldn't three attract more squirrels, kinda like feeding cats?

I think I've heard about strips of foil being effective as well, has anyone tried that?

>>3921459
Squirrels are quite territorial though aren't they? I think Option 2 is the realistic one out of my suggestions tbh.

My grandparents had a giant fruit cage. They are cheap and easy to make. You can buy rolls of plasticky meshing, you don't need metal wire.

>>3921467
Yeah, that should be doable. A little mesh, some wood, two hinges and a latch wouldn't be hard to assemble either.

>>3921459

Defending my peach trees from squirrels has vastly improved my archery skills. The neighbors haven't said anything yet. After I took a few down I think the others realized it wasn't worth it and stopped for the most part

>>3921459
CCI subsonic are very effective for the squirrelpocalypse

>>3901680
Fuck me, that sounds amazing...Are you the guy that makes his own cheeses and stuff, too?

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>>3920295
Yeah, you've seen my garden on a few occasions as I have seen yours. lol Your sunflowers look great.

>>3901680
Aside for the animals, are you my Homegrowmen twin?

You need a couple persimmon trees and a greenhouse with tropical food-bearing plants.

On that note, all Homegrowmen need to check out this book,

http://www.amazon.com/Growing-Tasty-Tropical-Plants-Anywhere/dp/1603425772

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Here are my latest babies. This was a week or so ago... hope they beat the frost!

these are on a 8ft potted tomato plant that I set out late in the spring. It's a fucking monstrosity! Planted with some of the most amazing compost I've ever come across.. No fertilizer.

>>3921679
time to make green fried tomatoes

>>3921679
Ah compost. I should start some, but I have a dog and no room in my yard for a bin or a pile. Oh well.

>>3921685
Yeah no shit!! Im still holding out though... Even though it's fucking October, maybe the frost will hold off.

>>3921696
this wasn't my compost, but comp. from a compost pro. This woman is like a fucking compost wizard, she teaches a class in an accredited college and had been published. I don't know much about composting but was lucky enough to be introduced to her and score some premo shit!!

Hang in there you Thursday afternoon thread, Its Monday nite and you're still with us.

Fresh oregano.
Yeah, I grow some herbs but that oregano has been alive for 4 years, grows faster than any other plant and makes my everything taste delicious (each year motherfucker tastes better). Recently it's gotten so large it has started to gently caress my tomatoes.
Then I cut it because, hey, leaves off the other plants you lecherous creep!
But deep inside I'm proud of that little pimp.

You know what does the trick? Air currents. Fresh, invigorating air. Not too cold, not too hot.
Filtered sunlight for as long as possible during the day (I use white fabric, light, not thick), but mostly air currents; and singing.

It also keeps ants partially at bay, which is a blessing where I live.

>>3905162
Nigga, you have some serious chlorosis going on those plants. Your soil sucks.

I want to grow some chillis now. I use enough of them. Will they grow all right at this time of year though? Not much direct sunlight, and cold.

>>3923900
Nice bump, but check the date - it's from the thursday of the previous week... :D
I love how slow moving /ck/ is.

>>3923970 Then I cut it because, hey, leaves off the other plants you lecherous creep!

This made me chuckle. I let my oregano go, hoping for a little cross species pollination, if you know what I mean. I could make marinara with just one herb if it could knock up that little basil hussy next to it.

>>3924850

Only thing I've had luck with inside (Zone 4 here) are serranos. Everthing else, (habs and japs and thais etcs.) does grow (direct sunlight, warm room) but never fruits as much. So cold and not much sun prolly means no.

>>3925012
That's a damn shame. Unfortunately, the position of my flat is right next to another block, so I get very little direct sunlight inside even during the summer.

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>>3917506
>>3916396
>>3921638
Me here.

Today I started doing the fall harvest. I didn't work on it much today since my helpers won't be here for it until tomorrow.

I picked some yellow pear (3.5lbs) and tomatillos (also 3.5lbs) that were all volunteers. I'm picking everything hard even if it isn't ripe since the season is over and frost will be here ASAP.

From 12 jalapeno plants I was able to get 25lbs of peppers. This is about 1/10th or less of my pepper patch though half of the plants are green bell peppers. There's so much produce that needs to be picked. I'll be pressure canning everything for a full week or more.

>>3899561
This, but what's more: loosely put paper around your hanging bunches to keep dust off.

bumping the only homegrownmen thread i can find while out working. i'd bump with content but i don't know how this netbook's camera works and it isn't mine/ i just need to read later

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I would like to grow tea but I can never get myself started on that

>>3925707
That's awesome

>>3925707

Are those tomatillos? Are those difficult to grow, because they're stupid expensive here.

>>3927061
Thanks.

>>3927087
They are EXTREMELY easy to grow. I planted tomatillos once about 4-5 years ago and they come up by themselves every year since. They spread like wildfire and do very well. Their leaves get full of holes in the spring but it doesn't seem to faze them.

Get a ripe one and plant the seeds. Any place these things have been tossed as garbage there's plants coming up. We picked 29lbs of them today and there's a patch of them in the compost pile we need to pick.

I'll post pics later.

>>3927087
It really depends on your zone and what soil you're planning in and how much sun they get. I had some from the garden this summer and they were easily the best vegetable I've ever had.

HELP Olive in the northwest and I have herbs I've been growing outside but it's nearly Autumn now and I need to bring them inside but I have very little space ideas?