Quarantine Vegetable Gardens

[155etta]

I found a great deal on strawberry flats today so I bought one to make jam. My rhubarb in the garden is ready as well, so I'll be trying out a new recipe for rhubarb vanilla bean jelly. It's supposed to rain this weekend with possible snow so I think I'll make it then when I'm stuck indoors. The other jam we like is raspberry peach. I'll have to wait a bit to make that one.

The Rhubarb Vanilla Bean Jelly turned out lovely. It looks really pretty and tastes yummy. The vanilla bean was expensive, I had no idea. I think they will make nice gifts.
Rhubarb Vanilla Bean Jelly | The View from Great Island

 

[Gardenista]

The Rhubarb Vanilla Bean Jelly turned out lovely. It looks really pretty and tastes yummy. The vanilla bean was expensive, I had no idea. I think they will make nice gifts.
Rhubarb Vanilla Bean Jelly | The View from Great Island

It is expensive! if you have any extra vanilla bean, you can put it in vodka and make vanilla extract

Homemade Vanilla Extract (2 Ingredients) | Sally's Baking Addiction

 

[sassyblue]

It is expensive! if you have any extra vanilla bean, you can put it in vodka and make vanilla extract

Homemade Vanilla Extract (2 Ingredients) | Sally's Baking Addiction

You can buy vanilla bean cheaper on Amazon...I have a couple of bottles of homemade vanilla steeping right now....family keeps putting it in their coffee though.

 

[Midwestmom2019]

You can buy vanilla bean cheaper on Amazon...I have a couple of bottles of homemade vanilla steeping right now....family keeps putting it in their coffee though.

Put one or two into your sugar canister. It will take on a wonderful scent.

 

[mickey2942]

It is expensive! if you have any extra vanilla bean, you can put it in vodka and make vanilla extract

Homemade Vanilla Extract (2 Ingredients) | Sally's Baking Addiction

I make vanilla in my Instant Pot. It smells great.

Worked on my garden all morning and afternoon. We are continuing to add more plants, flowers. Put in all of the herbs today. The garden faces east. So, we will see how it works.

Who knows? We may be inundated with veggies in August and September.

 

[watergirl62]

this is what I use

https://www.amazon.com/Vidalia-Chop-Wizard-67366-Large/dp/B000I6JZWA?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_1

Perfect. I can probably fit that in my kitchen space.

 

[watergirl62]

Sounds yummy. Maybe think about putting a very small plate with a weight on it to keep the pickles submerged. Crumpled up wax paper with something to hold it down. Anything works.
But this sounds really tasty. And easy. I’ll keep mine in fridge bc it’s already too warm here to find anyplace cool.

Wax paper - thank you MWM. I will give that a try.
I have been trying to figure out how to keep them below the top of the brine juice to avoid the dark underbelly of fermentation.

 

[mickey2942]

This is interesting, this year is the first all container garden that I have ever done. 10 grow bags, 10 assorted pots, 2 long herb containers.

15 bags of soil.

Carrots, beets, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, basil, mint, cilantro, chives, all other herbs. All of the containers with veggies are also planted with flowers, marigolds, snapdragons, pansies, petunias, nasturtiums. So, that it is bright and cheery. I have three big pots of sunflowers and daisies, which were full of big fat honeybees yesterday. Several pots are geraniums, pansies, and other flowers.

Everything is growing. I live in Zone 3/4, so hoping that it will warm up a bit soon. My husband is really enjoying the container garden, he is managing to replant larger plants into larger containers. He can completely manage to do this sitting down. And he can water with the hose. He likes being outside, doing something.

 

[PayrollNerd]

This is interesting, this year is the first all container garden that I have ever done. 10 grow bags, 10 assorted pots, 2 long herb containers.

15 bags of soil.

Carrots, beets, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, basil, mint, cilantro, chives, all other herbs. All of the containers with veggies are also planted with flowers, marigolds, snapdragons, pansies, petunias, nasturtiums. So, that it is bright and cheery. I have three big pots of sunflowers and daisies, which were full of big fat honeybees yesterday. Several pots are geraniums, pansies, and other flowers.

Everything is growing. I live in Zone 3/4, so hoping that it will warm up a bit soon. My husband is really enjoying the container garden, he is managing to replant larger plants into larger containers. He can completely manage to do this sitting down. And he can water with the hose. He likes being outside, doing something.

That is so wonderful to hear how much your husband is enjoying gardening. It really does feed one's soul and gives humans purpose.

What type of grow bags are you using? My initial plan was to do raised beds. I'm so behind at this point, I will just prep for the fall garden. Nothing grows in SWFL over the summer but peppers.

 

[mickey2942]

That is so wonderful to hear how much your husband is enjoying gardening. It really does feed one's soul and gives humans purpose.

What type of grow bags are you using? My initial plan was to do raised beds. I'm so behind at this point, I will just prep for the fall garden. Nothing grows in SWFL over the summer but peppers.

Well, we live in an apartment complex, so I couldn't make a raised bed. I just used "grow bags" on Amazon, 10 for $25. They seem to be doing fine. I put them right on grass/dirt in front.

Our landlord came by, and was quite impressed with all of the flowers. We are the only tenants with a garden or flowers. I added a birdbath, 2 bird feeders as well.

I would post a picture, but it wouldn't upload. I think that it looks pretty good. The flowers are in front of the growbags, so they are sort of "hidden" by foliage.

May as well have a big garden. It is not like we are going on any trips this Summer. If ever.

 

[CeeCeeCat]

I ate my first homegrown strawberry this morning and what a revelation. So super-sweet! This year has really made me think about eating seasonally. I’ve not tasted a strawberry like that since I was a child.

 

[mickey2942]

My garden is the only thing that gives me sanity now. I am turning it into a peace sanctuary. Birdbath, bird feeders, hummingbird feeder, more flowers. I added a pump to the birdbath, so it has soothing sound of running water. Busy splitting plants into more containers.

 

[155etta]

My garden is the only thing that gives me sanity now. I am turning it into a peace sanctuary. Birdbath, bird feeders, hummingbird feeder, more flowers. I added a pump to the birdbath, so it has soothing sound of running water. Busy splitting plants into more containers.

I'm right there with ya. I hung up two wind chimes and put up a bug hotel in my garden yesterday. Now you have me thinking about a water feature......

 

[mickey2942]

Wind chimes, excellent idea.

 

[LadyL]

Wind chimes, excellent idea.

I love them. My husband hates them. Therefore no windchimes in my backyard.

 

[sassyblue]

That's a shame,LadyL. Can you put them further out so they don't bother him?

I have the Woodstock Planet chimes on the back porch and they make a lovely song. I would like some of the Music of the Spheres too for the front porch but they are expensive. So I just listen to them in the store.

 

[mickey2942]

I love them. My husband hates them. Therefore no windchimes in my backyard.

Yeah, I am sort of thinking "no" on the wind chimes. I live in Montana, they would probably blow away.

Bought 2 more tomato plants today, and 4 more pots, replanting the sunflowers, they are getting too crowded in one pot.

 

[SleuthBee]

Well, we live in an apartment complex, so I couldn't make a raised bed. I just used "grow bags" on Amazon, 10 for $25. They seem to be doing fine. I put them right on grass/dirt in front.

Our landlord came by, and was quite impressed with all of the flowers. We are the only tenants with a garden or flowers. I added a birdbath, 2 bird feeders as well.

I would post a picture, but it wouldn't upload. I think that it looks pretty good. The flowers are in front of the growbags, so they are sort of "hidden" by foliage.

May as well have a big garden. It is not like we are going on any trips this Summer. If ever.

Okay, you convinced me! I just placed an order to give these "grow bags" a try, lol! This is the first I heard of them.

My condo has a nice extended ground floor patio that is usually transformed into a floral oasis. But this year, I took the suggestion to plant vegetables instead.

Thank you

 

[LadyL]

I still have supplies left from stocking up (lots of beans & rice, pasta sauce). I buy toilet paper and paper towels every other grocery trip so that is well-stocked. I hope I find masks and lysol wipes before the next wave. My order of masks from China is lost or detained somewhere so I asked for a refund. We're good on hand sanitizer. My zucchini is growing like crazy - we're going to transplant it to bigger containers. I did some more planting today but I got frustrated with having to space out tiny seeds and just scattered them around so that grow bag may not be fruitful lol. I was also unsuccessful at thinning out the carrots - they kept snapping off instead of coming out by the roots. I think it's too early to thin them maybe? I want to plant a raspberry or blackberry bush.

 

[mickey2942]

Okay, you convinced me! I just placed an order to give these "grow bags" a try, lol! This is the first I heard of them.

My condo has a nice extended ground floor patio that is usually transformed into a floral oasis. But this year, I took the suggestion to plant vegetables instead.

Thank you

I planted a lot of flowers in with my garden, marigolds, nasturtiums, all sorts of flowers. So there is a lot of color, with the veggies.