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Growing Your Own: What did you grow / raise / harvest?


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I'm lucky enough to have an apple tree in my garden (lucky because I'm renting a flat, so this is a bit of a luxury). This year it's full of rather tasty apples. Some of the bushes in my garden are completely taken over by blackberries. So in July/August I had plenty of blackberries, immediately followed by apples.

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I have 2 apple trees in my backyard, currently so loaded with apples many of the branches are drooping almost to the ground. But they are not good apples for consumption. There are also strawberry plants, but they seem to produce rather tasteless strawberries. I guess these were either meant to only be decorative or someone didn't pick good varieties for edibility. Even the local wildlife doesn't seem to go for them.

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That's right @pickles mcgee  and @Muledeer l love damsons. They are small, purplish and very tart ( not sweet) . I really like damson jam. Gages are green and sooooh sweet. Lovely! Trouble is that the wasps like the gages too. I hadnt  realised that the names hadn't crossed the ocean. ( edited after I saw Muledeer post below so looks out of order!)

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2 hours ago, daveb said:

Even the local wildlife doesn't seem to go for them.

If even the animals reject your homegrown fruits, they must be pretty bland.  I imagine you could add a bunch of sugar and make jelly, but why bother.  Speaking of jelly, the wild chokecherries around here are ripe and ready to pick.  

 

I'm glad @pickles mcgee translated gages and damsons as I have never heard those names for plums.

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I always get a little confused over jam and jelly. I think that when I say jam, I mean jelly to everyone in the US ( not sure about in Canada and other American countries) Jelly to me is a rubbery  fruity dessert made with boiling water then left to set.

Blackberries freeze well @timewarp if you've any left

 

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@Tunhope, I think jam and jelly in Britain are a bit weird. As you say, there's fruit jelly which is a dessert, but apples and blackberries make jelly, whilst strawberries and blackcurrants make jam

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I've always called anything with chunks of fruit in it a jam and if it is made only from the boiled broth of the fruit, it is a jelly.   My only known use of either a jam or a jelly is to make a slice of  bread taste better.

@Tunhope, @SkyenAutowegCaptain when discussing jelly, are you referring to gelatin deserts, like Jell-O?

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I was @Muledeer  .Jelly to me has gelatin ( I've never actually had jell -O but I think I know what you mean)) I think  that @SkyenAutowegCaptain was referring to a weirdness in UK usage though. For some reason, we sometimes call apple jam apple jelly even though it's a normal jam not a gelatin- based product.

 

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:( My only peach tree seems to dying. I grew it from seed, which had taken around three or four years.

 

And my only orange tree isn't doing well, either, with leaves turning black. It's also a very young tree, that never had fruit on it. I'm disappointed because it takes a long time to grow them, make sure they have enough water, etc., and they hadn't even grown fruit for me to try, yet.

 

Still, at least I still have a couple of my apple trees, left (that are also a few years old and haven't grown any apples, yet).

 

But, I really would like to have a variety of fruit trees.

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1 hour ago, Muledeer said:

your homegrown fruits, they must be pretty bland. 

Yep, bland is the word for it.

 

Similar to what Muledeer said, to me Jelly is a kind of spread that has no bits or chunks of fruit, usually clear (but colored of course), while jams do have bits of fruit or at least enough fruit substance to be a bit more opaque. Then there are preserves, which are generally more chunky. And marmelades, made from citrus peels. And "butters", like apple butter, which is not made with dairy and is not like regular butter.

 

PBJ (aka peanut butter and jelly) sandwiches are not made with gelatin/jello (but could be made with jam). :P 

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I never knew that about preserves or marmelades.  This is an interesting discussion.  What about pudding?  I only think of a pudding as a sweet desert, but there is Yorkshire pudding in the UK, and I believe is more savory in nature but I'm not sure how it is eaten.

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@Muledeer, a Yorkshire pudding is fried or roasted batter, traditionally served with roast beef and covered with gravy. Bigger ones can be filled with stew. 

There's also suet pudding, which can contain bacon and are served as a main course. 

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I think that the idea was that large quantities of meat were scarce, so the Yorkshire people would cook what meat they had directly on a spit or on the bars of the oven, and the meat juices would drip onto/ into the batter below. 

I might have got jelly as described by @daveb wrong. I can't imagine spreading what I think of as jelly on anything. You can pour it into moulds and then turn it out onto a plate when it's set. 

I'm sorry about your trees @InquisitivePhilosopher  especially as you've grown some from seed. That requires a lot of patience. It's a shame they're not doing well. Incidentally, I love your rainbow fish.

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3 hours ago, Tunhope said:

I might have got jelly as described by @daveb wrong. I can't imagine spreading what I think of as jelly on anything. You can pour it into moulds and then turn it out onto a plate when it's set.

That's the difference between UK jelly and US jelly. What you call jelly, we call jello. :P 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Tonight I am making stewed tomatoes to put into the freezer.  This is the second time this year I have had enough tomatoes to process.  I usually cook them with salt, peppers and onions, but this year, I am just cooking them down by themselves.  I use my stewed tomatoes throughout the year in chili, soups, and other  dishes.  

Freezing my garden produce is the only way I like to preserve it.  I've never tried canning and although I do have a food dehydrator, I still prefer the flavor and convenience of frozen or pickled or fermented vegetables when fresh is not available.

I had a great crop of potatoes - like about 20 lbs.  There is still broccoli, lettuce, onions, swiss chard and carrots in the garden.  I got tired of eating the leafy greens about a month ago.   This weekend, I plan to make a big pot of vegetable beef stew!

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On 9/27/2019 at 8:09 PM, Muledeer said:

Tonight I am making stewed tomatoes to put into the freezer. 

That's my favorite way to preserve excess tomatoes.  I freeze them in paper cups standing up on the bottom of my freezer, then put the cups in big zip-loc bags.  When the time comes to use them, no need to even unthaw--just peel the paper away.

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I had to do that with my courgettes, so I just cooked them down with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and aubergines, ready for use 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm sure some of you heard how I'll be making my own greenhouse one of these days, but i plan on growing Basil, garlic, parsley, cayenne, mints and some other plants.

Then if my plans of moving to Costa Rica go as planned I'll possibly make my own brand of essential oils for candles, soaps, and diffusers.

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i don’t think i’m qualified to post here, but when i was 10, i grew a whole ton of carrots and an apple tree. i also grew a lot of mint but that kinda got out of hand as i got busier. now i sometimes help my grandmother with her tomatoes 

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9 hours ago, Member114264 said:

I'm sure some of you heard how I'll be making my own greenhouse one of these days, but i plan on growing Basil, garlic, parsley, cayenne, mints and some other plants.

Then if my plans of moving to Costa Rica go as planned I'll possibly make my own brand of essential oils for candles, soaps, and diffusers.

I saw the plans for your greenhouse.  It looks workable.  I have grown my own food in a greenhouse for the last 15 years.  Pest control seems to be the biggest challenge.  I have excluded all rodents, including the mice.  But the bugs are still a challenge because I won't use chemical pesticides.  Use ladybugs.  Keeping the moisture right is another challenge.  If you overwater, you will get diseases and mold.  I grow most things directly in the soil.  My garlic always does better outside of the greenhouse, in fact, I will not plant garlic in the greenhouse this fall.  Peppers and basil love the heat.  Be careful with the mint family.  I transplanted some wild mint about ten years ago then it went invasive and I am still battling mint "weeds" inside the greenhouse.

 

Today, if the snow holds off, I will plant next years garlic crop.  I use only the biggest cloves, plant them 4" deep and 10" apart, and cover the rows with leaves.  I will plant about 100 cloves if there is enough room.  I still have parsnips, carrots, onions and lettuce growing in the greenhouse, and they all survived  a zero degree (F) hard freeze last weekend.

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Just now, Muledeer said:

I saw the plans for your greenhouse.  It looks workable.  I have grown my own food in a greenhouse for the last 15 years.  Pest control seems to be the biggest challenge.  I have excluded all rodents, including the mice.  But the bugs are still a challenge because I won't use chemical pesticides.  Use ladybugs.  Keeping the moisture right is another challenge.  If you overwater, you will get diseases and mold.  I grow most things directly in the soil.  My garlic always does better outside of the greenhouse, in fact, I will not plant garlic in the greenhouse this fall.  Peppers and basil love the heat.  Be careful with the mint family.  I transplanted some wild mint about ten years ago then it went invasive and I am still battling mint "weeds" inside the greenhouse.

 

Today, if the snow holds off, I will plant next years garlic crop.  I use only the biggest cloves, plant them 4" deep and 10" apart, and cover the rows with leaves.  I will plant about 100 cloves if there is enough room.  I still have parsnips, carrots, onions and lettuce growing in the greenhouse, and they all survived  a zero degree (F) hard freeze last weekend.

Volunteering at a farmer's market for 4 years taught me more about horticulture, different pests and weeds, different organic fertilizers and how to make them, and when to grow what plants than any college course ever could.

I'm going to use plants that draw out a lot of humidity from the air alongside some fans to reduce humidity and mold growth.

Then some springtails and earthworms to help break down wastes even quicker.

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11 hours ago, kenny. said:

i don’t think i’m qualified to post here, but when i was 10, i grew a whole ton of carrots and an apple tree. i also grew a lot of mint but that kinda got out of hand as i got busier. now i sometimes help my grandmother with her tomatoes 

Too true about the mint. Another one to avoid is lemon balm. It's unstoppable. 

My granddad used to grow tomatoes in his greenhouse . People often say there is a smell memory . I think that's  so. Even now, years and years later, I love the smell of tomatoes.

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24 minutes ago, Tunhope said:

Too true about the mint. Another one to avoid is lemon balm. It's unstoppable. 

My granddad used to grow tomatoes in his greenhouse . People often say there is a smell memory . I think that's  so. Even now, years and years later, I love the smell of tomatoes.

that’s for sure. lemon balm sounds like it could become a total nightmare. yeah, i love the smell of tomatoes as well, i bet you're right about the memories attached

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Mints do grow crazily fast.

I grew a pinto bean or some vine plant that reached the top of my pool mesh cover that covered my entire backyard in a few months.

Then I attempted again with another vine plant and it did not stop growing even though it came from a simple 8" pot.

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13 hours ago, kenny. said:

i don’t think i’m qualified to post here, but when i was 10, i grew a whole ton of carrots and an apple tree. i also grew a lot of mint but that kinda got out of hand as i got busier. now i sometimes help my grandmother with her tomatoes 

:) Sure, you're qualified to post, here; there could be some members who would like advice on how to grow carrots, apple trees, mint or tomatoes.

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I try to grow stuff which is expensive in grocery stores. Leeks are a fine example. Once the soil has been prepared, and they're planted, all I have to do is water them, nothing else. All beans are relatively expensive here, but easy to grow if you keep the blackfly under control. I don't really bother with potatoes, carrots etc because they're so cheap to buy, and my space is limited. 

 

Handy tip. Grow something like heather, lavender etc which attracts bees and other pollenators. They will then pollenate your crop plants. 

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I unknowingly planted seeds of bitterness years ago...

Now I'm choked by it...

 

As for actual plants? I seem to kill everything I touch...😟

I wish I could grow some stuff because I like nature and plants.

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My grandfather used to have a big garden in the backyard. He grew vegetables, fruits, and fruit trees.

 

After his death, we couldn't take care of it. Now all that remains is his satsuma tree which produces around 200 oranges a year. 

 

My dad and I have tried to grow fruit trees/bushes, but with no luck

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  • 3 weeks later...

I currently have a lavender plant and a lemon tree in my room. During the summer a grew a lot of tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, lemon balm, peppers, mint, thyme, pumpkins, sunflowers, etc.

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