Gardening

Hey guys, I just now found this thread. :hiya My husband and I have started our first veggie garden, prompted by the tomato seedlings a friend of ours gave us.

Does anyone have tips for growing heirloom tomatoes? Bear in mind, you're talking to two people who have never had a vegetable garden before, so any info, even the most remedial, is appreciated. Mr. Snowflake is primarily the one who'll be tending it, as I am not known for my green thumb (I've never even kept a fake plant, much less grown anything successfully).

SnowflakeGirl - Water, sun, food. That'll do it. Tomato cages don't hurt either.

Snowy, tell him to pinch off the little "suckers" that grow between the main stalk and the branches. Those little things grow into new branches but don't produce anything and if you pinch them off it will send more of the plant's energy into growing more fruit. Something like that. :) I love Preen & Green for my garden, it feeds the plants and really helps keep the weeds down.

As I am sitting in my house right now on my computer I have the windows open and the first scents of my lilac bushes are floating through the windows. I love lilacs, last year I lost most of them due to a late frost. I really hope that does not happen this year.

Tomorrow I am planning to weed out my garden beds and freshen up the soil with some top soil and organic manure. Then in a couple of weeks I am going to plant the veggies and herbs. I am so excited to start my gardening. :nerd

I'm envious. My lilacs bloomed about a month ago. I love them, too. I have two bushes that will bloom again in the fall. Ever heard of that? I never had but it doesn't surprise me. We are such a screwy bunch that all our belongings are, too. Guess that includes the lilacs.:)

ooooo. I grew up with the smell of lilacs next door. I always go around the alleys on the City boulevards and snip a few flowers for a vase every year.

We're expecting another cold spell so I had to buy some flowers NOW. I got a lovely purple gloxinia. Skunks used to eat them up when they were outside and I don't want to attract any more to the yard :up. They have beautiful velvety blossoms and should grow fine in warmer zones.

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Yardgnome, aaah, the description of the lilac scent floating through the windows sounds lovely. :nod Good luck getting the earth ready for your garden this weekend. Mr. Rose and I were talking last weekend about also getting in gear for planting. I paint terra cotta planters, and I love this time of year when we can fill them with flowers and vines. I've seen some beautiful succulents lately, and I think I'll try some of those also. Other than that we'll probably do the usual herbs and zucchini, tomatoes, etc in our beds.

My lilac is finished blooming for the year, but now the honeysuckle is blooming and you can smell it everywhere in myy yard, especially when I get home in the morning. Ahhhh...

I want a lilic bush. Trying to figure out where I could put one. My neighbors have three huge ones along the fence line but I don't really get the scent in my yard and they are getting old and the part I see you don't really see many flowers on any more.

My daughter brought home a little dogwood stick, so we need to get that planted.

If you are staking any plants, use old nylon hose for ties. Simply cut them to the appropriate size. They are strong but gentle on tender plants as they stretch and give. I always use them on my tomato plants. One year when an out of control pumpkin vine germinated pumpkins on my rabbit fence, I used old nylons to make slings to support the pumpkins right on the fence.