Rampant G.A.S.

[Bob Womack]

I quite proud of my my lovely wife. She returned to a childhood love, raised gardening, a couple of years ago, and her gardens have done nothing but increase since she retired. She is growing herbs and vegetables along with some particular ornamental species as well that help repel pests. Her fame has grown throughout the neighborhood as she has shared the fruits of her gardening in her baking with the neighbors.

One result is that she is now asked to help some of our neighbors establish their own raised bed gardens. This morning she accompanied a neighbor to Lowes where they bought all the needed supplies for the neighbor's garden They returned and my wife build up the beds for the neighbor as well.

When she came back to the house she told me that the dirt was on sale this morning and it took everything she had not to buy some.

Dirt. On Sale. It took everything she had to resist.

Garden Acquisition Syndrome.

The threat is real.

Bob

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Dirt. On Sale. It took everything she had to resist.

Garden Acquisition Syndrome.

The threat is real.

Bob

Thanks for the chuckle before I turned in - that's great she has found her calling again.

A pursuit I always wish I had spent more time with - unfortunately my yard here in the park is all river rock!

[Mr. Jelly]

Wait until the fertilizer goes on sale. SAS!

[catndahats]

Bob, I agree.
Don't know if it is retirement and/or age related, but my city girl wife has been bitten by the GAS bug too.
And 3 years in, we are learning how to actually produce food. I'm digging it!

[Glennwillow]

My wife and I spend a fair amount ever year on our gardens, both vegetable and flower gardens all around our house and property. My wife really appreciates the beauty of flowers and so I really want to help her. I appreciate the beauty, too.

- Glenn

[Bob from Brooklyn]

I start my plants indoors under lights. Right now I'm acclimating them to sunlight, a process called 'hardening'. I'll be putting them in the ground in a couple of weeks.

[KevWind]

Indeed my daughter and son in law are way into raised gardening
Last year she had over 50 varieties of hot peppers Gave me Hot Sauce Acquisition Syndrome.

[RedJoker]

Originally Posted by Bob from Brooklyn

I start my plants indoors under lights. Right now I'm acclimating them to sunlight, a process called 'hardening'. I'll be putting them in the ground in a couple of weeks.

I was doing that and planned on planting this weekend... until the dog pulled them off the table and destroyed most of them.

Our dirt is mostly clay and not very good, so we also do raised beds. Between home and the community garden at work, we have 11 6'x12'(-ish) raised beds for vegetables. We then have a lot of native flower beds, which don't need raised beds because they are used to this soil.

[Silly Moustache]

I started growing our own fruit and veggies in 2004 because my "step" grandson was interested.

Since then I have rented "allotments" from the local council.

Whilst most beginners make typical mistakes, I lucked into a good method of building my raised beds.
Once I'd cleared the area (resembling a small jungle!) I dug the soil into piles (big piles) then built the boxes (using scaffolding planks) around them. Whilst old scaffolding boards rot after three/four years, I found that my method worked well enough to grow root veg like potatoes, carrots, and parsnips etc.

Of course I need to buy good compost every couple of years, I buy organic cow compost locally - don't use horse compost, it often carries weed seeds.

[ghostnote]

It ain’t cheap eating cheap. It seems to cost more every year, but this year I’ve been getting good deals so far. I like to try different varieties every year, thus finding new favorites. I’m not a farmer, I just grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, green beans, a few potatoes, some herbs. There are a lot of small farms where I live, so things like corn and squash, pumpkins, zucchini, etc, are cheap to buy and not worth my effort to grow.

[TBman]

We're getting ready to spend $300-$400 on our flower pots (23 large, 5 small) and an assortment of hanging plants that we will put in our front, back, side yards and out on our back deck. A dirt on sale is always a good thing,

In Jersey we do nothing (except lawn prep) until after Mother's Day.

[AmericanEagle]

I just planted several annuals.
I guess I have AAS, annuals acquisition syndrome.

[Acousticado]

My wife and I aren’t into gardening. However, about five years ago, our daughter-in-law wanted to get into it, so she and our son built some raised beds. However, critters were a problem. After a couple of years, she hoped for an enclosed garden and was looking to find a prefab type.

So with the agreement of our son, for Christmas three years ago, I created a gift certificate for her, committing to share the cost with our son for he and I to design and build an entirely new raised garden enclosure from scratch for her in the spring. She was thrilled at the prospect.

With no reference plans, we built it and it has worked out wonderfully. It is fully enclosed with chicken wire and a door was installed on the front (the pic below was taken just before we made the door). Critters don’t get in. We also installed an auto irrigation system. Our d-i-l has a grow room in their basement where she starts seedlings to be ready for spring planting.

Each year since, it has been bountiful. My wife and I also get to enjoy the harvest. Unfortunately, I don’t have a pic with it in full growth. It’s a well-maintained jungle in there.

She’s soon to plant for this season.