@levampyre@gardening I always assumed I lacked a green thumb when we lived in apartments. Then we finally got a house and it came with garden beds so I planted annuals and it turns out it's way easier to handle outside. Now I have a new native garden in the back yard and I grow containers of veggies on my deck.
@richardsonstep Yeah, it was the same with me in the city. Whenever someone gifted me a house plant it died from neglect. But when you have the goal of growing a crop to harvest somehow that's different. @gardening
@levampyre@gardening I won't say I had the most successful first year of vegetables. I fertilized too late and forgot to harvest some of it at the right time, but I still got a few tasty veggies out of it and I'll do better next year. I currently have some radishes/arugula/spinach growing under a plastic cover to learn how that works, but I think I waited too long to harvest the radishes a second time, lol.
@richardsonstep There are several leafy greens you can try to grow in the winter, esp. under cover: purslane, lambs lettuce, mustard greens, chards. Just keep on trying, you will be rewarded and you learn more and get better harvests every year. @gardening
@levampyre@gardening Meine Eltern hatten immer einen (Pacht-)Garten für eigenes Gemüse und helfen war Pflicht. Als ich dann auszog, dachte ich "Nie mehr Gartenarbeit!" und fünf Jahre später hatte ich doch einen Schrebergarten. Ich kann nicht leben ohne Garten und ein Herbst ohne eingeweckte/eingefrorene Gemüse- und Obstvorräte macht mich unruhig - da fehlt etwas.
@Irisfreundin Ich war das totale Stadtkind, wußte anfangs nicht mal, wie Kartoffeln wachsen. Hab nur zufällig mit dem Gemüsegärtnern angefangen, weil beim Wochenendhaus, das wir gekauft hatten, schon ein Gemüsebeet angelegt war. Fühlte mich bei der ersten Ernte so belohnt und jetzt kann ich nicht mehr ohne. @gardening
@freistern Es gibt immer etwas, das gut gelingt und etwas, wo man sich denkt: Naja, das sollte ich im nächsten Jahr vielleicht noch mal anders probieren. Es ist ein gutes Gleichgewicht zwischen Belohnung und Herausforderung. @Irisfreundin@gardening
Ja, diese schönen Belohnungen gönnen sich einige und geben viel zu schnell auf. Ein ganzes Jahr zu warten, bevor sie es erneut versuchen, ist ihnrn viel zu lang.
I saw an article about how the North American population of monarch butterflies almost went extinct, but bounced back when people starting planting native milkweed for them.
I'm concerned about 75%+ of insects dying. I thought "hmm I can probably plant some native wildflowers for insects in my balcony." Three years later we've crossed the mark of over 100 plant species in the balcony, including a micropond with swamp plants in a styrofoam box, and the balcony has become an insect oasis with a whole microecosystem in it.
oh I don't know if it's that's big, it's about 2.5x3m maybe. here's a photo I posted the other day of what a corner looks like in late autumn.
but the balcony is south-facing, and you can plant a lot of stuff if you use vertical spaces wisely and pack many different species tightly together, without tiling or weeding, using hardy natives adapted to local conditions and rich soil full of microbes, nematodes, fungi etc.; which is how you roll with wild gardening.
@elilla@levampyre@gardening My grandma was one of those people planting milkweed back in the day! I think about her every time I see a monarch butterfly
That is so wonderful - Congratulations! I started converting my yard to native plants about 15 years ago, and the diversity of insects, amphibians, reptiles and birds has been incredible! However, I have had a setback - neighbors who contract with mosquito fogging companies. I have developed a very onerous process for protecting my yard, but the reality is that most butterflies, moths, dragonflies, etc. don't make it through the gauntlet of poisoned lawns.
@levampyre@gardening I'd always done a bit, half-heartedly, but when Transport Canada grounded me from flying for medical reasons, I needed something new.
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