A Sense of Achievement

I figure this will bore most members to death but...I do remember a couple of folks being interested in gardening of some sort or another. Almost a year ago I decided to try planting out a vegie garden that cost me nothing so...I collected/bartered...on one occasion stole, fruit and vegies where I ate what was there and harvested the seeds. It's been a bit of a hit and miss...potatoes that had shot I found to be very tasty when planted and 'reborn'. Bell peppers I've had little luck with, eggplants,pumpkin and chillies are all doing exceptionally well! I have plum stones and apple seeds in my fridge...(simulating winter for now) but..my greatest success so far have been my tomatoes! Heritage seeds given to me by an old Italian man...not only do they taste beautiful in salad but...today, for the very first time...I made and bottled some sauce for pasta...yeah...like I said, probably will bore most to death but...what a sense of achievement I am feeling right now...A fairly successful vegie patch for zero dollars!!!

You should be proud. I have tried for the last 3 years to grow tomatoes here in Arizona and so far the heat has won. To grow your own food and be successful at any or all of it is an achievement. I remember the feelings from childhood and our gardens and how much better the food tasted. Good job and brag all you want and send me some of the seeds for the tomatoes.

Thanks Sylvia...I am quietly, quite proud. I'm not sure what you have been using in the past tomato wise? Was it seeds or seedlings? I have tied both with little to no success. What I found was this...the seedlings are brought to maturity way to early and will probably die when transplanted because the root system hasn't had time to establish itself and the seeds well...they can be a product of any state not necessarily your own. For best results IMO buy produce from a local growers market and harvest your seeds...that way you know that everything has been grown in your area successfully prior to you planting out and losing your crop. I'm pretty sure the temperatures here in Perth are similar to Arizona....long hot dry spells? We've had no rain here in Perth since October...

Congrats Hellon! I am planning on starting my own small garden this year. It will be my first one so I'm hoping it will be a success. I know that gardening definitely cuts down on the grocery bill!

Good luck Hannah...it's quite exciting when you plan ahead...I would say, start collectingthe insides of your toilet rolls now...they make great starters for seeds and, as they're bio degradable they go straight in the ground when the plant is old enough...no mess, no stress on the root system.

Hellon, I bought seedlings that were probably about a foot or more in height. A few of them would grow but not produce any tomatoes. lol The remainder seemed to be "cooked" by the sun. Yes, Phoenix weather in the "summer" is long hot and dry without rain. (Thank God it is raining today, first time in months and once this stops, won't see anymore for months). I will take your advice and get some local produce and save the seeds. My grocery store sells a lot of locally grown things so maybe I can find what I need there.

Hannah, growing your own garden and harvesting the food and eating what you grew gives you the most wonderful sense of achievement. Have fun with it and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Hey i saw these and had to jump on ship i don't garden but i workout alot i love green tomatoes but have hard time finding good ones good luck hannah i know it will be a success my friend :)

Sylvia...I'm wondering if you do anything to prepare the soil before planting? I always throw some blood and bone down the hole and mix it in with the soil. Just make sure the roots don't actually touch it or they could burn...if you use toilet rolls this doesn't happen as they go straight in the hole and act as a protector. I also use chicken and horse manure which a scab from my neighbours haha!!! I also scatter sulphate of potash around from time to time...I think the real secret is getting produce that is grown in or around your area...Good luck.

Since we got engaged, Nikko and I moved out of our respective sharehouses and moved into our very own (rented) home for the first time. Our budget allowed us to live in the city (a necessity for us), but in what is commonly perceived to be a dodgy ghetto and industrial part of Melbourne. Our house is at the edge of a suburb, next to the train tracks, opposite a football oval and a tin shed church, and backed by acres of meadows and swamp.

Our house is dilapidated, but it used to have windows that looked out to nothing but clear blue skies on almost all sides and lovely starlit nights - something very rare in the city. Six months into our marriage, right after our honeymoon, they started building all around us. Great mountains of dirt grew and fell, and, within days, we were surrounded by the square wooden skeletons of new apartment buildings. We weren't happy. As our skies inevitably shrunk, we looked to our own little patch behind our house.

It was not a pleasant place to spend time in anymore, now that we were forced to look at it. It was covered in thigh-high weeds and grass that grew over bricks and concrete. But we weeded and repaved the bricks. We chipped away at some of the concrete and discovered a rich soil underneath. In May last year, we started planting.

It was getting cold, so we planted green leafy things. Spinach, rocket, peas, lettuce. Everything but the peas was from bought seeds. I've grown things before, but never with any serious intent. But I liked it because I found it was a hobby that Nikko and I enjoyed equally.

We have managed to fill our little, urban garden with all sorts of odds and ends. We steal cuttings and find things in hard rubbish and put them in the garden. An ancient ladder leans against the wall with little terracotta pot plants on its rungs. Battered tin trunks overflow with chillies and seasonal flowers. Beans and peas climb up bits of leftover chicken coop. Plants sit on old chairs, crates and planks. Rusting tin cans filled with succulents are drilled against our ugly back fence.

Our driveway is the sunniest part and along its edge grow capsicums and cherry tomatoes. In a 10 x 6 foot patch of dirt, we are currently harvesting eggplants, leeks, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, beans and peas. Out of the compost, we found we had a huge pumpkin and many rogue potato and tomato plants as well. In another bed, we have about 15 types of herbs.

We were really just lucky that everything grew well. The beans and peas got burnt during the heatwave, but they gave us many meals beforehand. We don't have much method to our gardening, but we now enter the house through the back door every day after work. On our way, we coo to our vegetables, discover new fruiting flowers, watch the colours change as they ripen, planning our dinner around the garden's offerings.

We are old and married and find ourselves talking about pickling, drying, preserving and making sauces, then laughing and getting blind drunk for good measure. I think the real test of our farming ability will be if we can harvest the seeds and keep going.

Sometimes it is hard to eat good and health with no money if you are someone like me body builders need food so i might try garden but i just hate the sun any ideas?

That is a lovely story Abby and I have the feeling it's a true one. I couldn't remember if it was you or Sibs who spoke about planting out...perhaps it was both of you.

Your garden sounds a lot like mine actually..I love when the verge side pick ups come along...I pick up all sorts of handy stuff to recycle in my yard. A bathtub is now a raised planter (these things cost a fortune to buy) I have an old toilet, leeks and peas grow in there obviously ! A commode, old iron bed end that my beans are on...my centre piece is a pair of main legs from a mannequin I rescued from a Myer bin...I have a pair of stubbies and some rossi's on him...it's a quirky place think but....I love it haha!!!

Leeks and peas in the toilet - love it!!
People don't chuck out their bathtubs and toilets very much around here...I wish they would! Your garden sounds divine.

Omg bathtub really i i'm in shock

Love these stories. Gardening appeals to be greatly, but I didn't inherit my dad's green thumb. I've killed nearly every plant I've owned except for an aloe vera plant, and it looks ugly as hell. I also have a blood orange tree that seems to be doing alright, but it hasn't produced fruit since I bought it a year ago :\
Maybe when I'm moved into somewhere with a yard of any type, and can plant directly into the ground, I'll have more luck. For now, it's pots, pots, and more pots.
Homegrown veggies & fruits! Yum!

I think...when you really get into recycling, you begin to see things a whole lot differently...things that are deemed ugly and useless by others suddenly become your best treasure ever lol!

That's a great thing you're doing, Hellon. Wish more people bothered to recycle creatively.

You crazy funny fruits are good for the body kiwi's are my favorite yes recycle is good for everyone :)

Nikko and I are vultures on hard rubbish days. In fact, pretty much the only new things we own are certain wedding presents, travel souvenirs, and underwear.

In urban India, most people have rooftop terrace gardens. My grandmother's house has an old granite bathtub on top it, filled with plants.

Wow that is crazy how often you get anything for yourself? i'm a body builder i love fruit & vegetables but gardening sounds bad

I think gardens having 'objects of interested' are great and they are definitely a talking point at barbys etc. I have a little crib that I grow thyme in....get it...sleepy thyme haha!!!! I have quite a few work boots strung along a fence...everything is recyclable it's just a case of thinking outside the square.

Gardening is great...it could also be a way for you to say fit if your into body building...all that digging..quite a workout :)

If I need stuff, I usually go to the local op shop. I bought some gorgeous glasses there yesterday - 6 for $3. I love finding treasures at second hand stores and markets. And, of course, we buy new shampoo and stuff like that (though I am starting to investigate the hippie DIY cosmetics and cleaning products...).

I don't spend much money on my day-to-day living as I don't really need much. But I spend up big on experiences - theatre, gigs, travel, restaurants, booze, adventure activities, festivals... come at me.

Aw Hellon, if Nikko and I ever end up growing out of our city living, I would love to have a big rambling property like yours.

Thanks for ideas i'm fit work boots lol i want to try it you make it sound fun yet tiring i like fruits kiwi's are what i want with lots of other ideas ok good to know i love the city

I can't grow kiwi fruit where I live...not sure about Abby?

I love op shopping too Abby...find some brilliant stuff there. Haven't replaced my shampoo just yet but vinegar and baking soda are great for cleaning most things around the house.

Oh that stinks really i loved all kinds

Yes, various concoctions involving vinegar, bicarb, orange peel and lavender oil are what I'm starting to clean my house with. So cheap and yummy! Not that I do it very often at all. I like the making and shaking process that makes me feel like domestic goddess for 30 minutes, and then I try to get Nikko to test the practical side of things some time in the future.

Don't have much experience with growing fruits. As we only have a rented home, we don't invest much in planting fruits and things that will take a long time to grow. In terms of "traditional" fruits (all fruits are vegetables though not all vegetables are fruits), we have strawberries and a potted lemon tree and kaffir lime. I think kiwi fruits would grow in any temperate sort of climate though?

Hellon, just want some gardening advice: Have you ever had powdery mildew on your veggies? It's all over my beautiful bountiful zucchini and I'm afraid it will spread to my pumpkin. There seems to be some contention on the web about whether it likes or hates water. Do you know the best way to treat it?

Are any of y'all vegetarian?

No, but I buy my eggs, meat and fish as rarely and as responsibly as I can.

Unless, in the early hours of the morning, I buy a chicken and lamb souvlaki on the way home. Helps me to be a better, hangover-less person the next day. That is the only reason.

And if it's a new cuisine, or a new country, I will also try the non-veg things. I usually find a way to indulge myself with pretty much everything, while trying to convince myself that I'm NORMALLY a good person.

No i also buy my meat same place

This thread is getting more interest than I ever thought it would which is great!

I get eggs from my son's chickens, buy chicken, red meat and fish when they're on special and freeze them so...I don't tend to have a huge food bill either. I've just made three quiches, which I will share among the family, using eggplant and basil from my garden and eggs from my son's chooks....they smell delicious...yum!

Abby...I'm pretty sure if you take a leaf to your local nursery they will be able to fix you up with some pesticide....if you want to try organic first...baking soda mixed with water or cow's milk mixed in water might work. Depends on how bad it's got....if it's only a few leaves that have been affected so far...pull them off and bin them...wrap in plastic first. If it's what I think it is...it travels in the air so, in windy conditions it could be all over your plants before you know it. Good luck...I hope you catch it on time.

I love fish salmon is my favorite with a little pineapple jucie yummy you try it before?

I'm not really a lover of salmon, unless it's from a tin (shame on me I know). I'm more into white fish and (shame on me again among my aussie friends) bassa is one of my favourites! Most Aussies reckon we should eat Australian fish and this lovely one comes from Vietnam.

One thing we all have what we like to eat being a body builder i have to eat lot of fish

When you say body building...do you mean you compete? Do you have a regular job? Just wondering how the two combine...

Yes i compete & i do have a job i work with the deaf i do signing

I wish I knew how to do those fancy drawings with my keypad...I remember seeing one of a buffed six pack...I also remember seeing one of an aussie six pack (beer) so...I figure I possibly favoured the latter back then :)

You sign? So do I....my version came from the yellow pages (back pages ) so...I'm not sure if it's universal...I suppose it would be... right?

Hellon, due to the fact that Phoenix doesn't "have dirt" just something that is sandy and not sure what else, I buy "specially prepared soil for the tomatoes". And trying to grow them in a "pot" is not like being able to actually put them in the ground. LOL I recycle what I can and reuse and reuse things and when I no longer have a use, I head to the thrift store and donate. I buy most of my clothes at the thrift store behind my apartment complex. Not long ago, during one of their specials, fill a shopping bag full and only pay 10.00. I think I wound up with almost 20 pieces of clothing and I was a happy camper, LOL. Just bought chairs for my dining room at the thrift store. LOVE THEM.

There's different type of sing language mine is american sign language you have a good thing not wrong at all my friend that is awesome that you sign i have big biceps and a six pack both kinds lol

Thrifting is a lifestyle. I stop by the thrift store in my town a few times a week, buying and donating. With few exceptions, everything in my apartment is from thrift stores, if not free from off the streets (dumpster diving, woo!) or bought through craigslist/ebay. I like nice things, so please don't envision trailer trash when you think of my taste. Several friends have offered to pay me to redecorate their homes after seeing mine.

I'm baffled by how much people will spend on new things!

I'm glad to hear that so many of you guys are into recycling/thrift shopping. It always amazes me to see what other people are willing to give/throw away and, most of it is in great condition!

Sylvia...the soil here is pretty awful too, tons of coffee rock around my area so I know how difficult it is to get something started. If your buying the soil then I really don't know what to say because it should have all the nutrients already in there so, it could be the plants you have been buying. I know pots don't hold moisture for very long so you probably need to water more often. Have you tried those polystyrene trough things? You know those shallow box things that fish is transported in? They're really good insulators and I've grown tomatoes and chillies in them with a lot of success.

Amen it is awesome to see that rejoice my heart to know there are good people out there :)