I've been planning on doing this for a while now, but I figure with all the unknowns surrounding this virus, that it's prudent to start growing some vegetables and fruit. I'm starting out with lettuce and tomatoes for now, but I have plans for some strawberries, and maybe a couple other things in the near future. Keeping everything inside my home and out of sight. Good luck and stay safe.
The Covid-19 Garden
- Thread starter iNeedMeds
- Start date
Wrong section of the forum. I'll ask a staff member to move it for you.
I hope things aren't so bad yet that we have to grow our food crops behind locked doors; I don't have the electrical capacity.
I'm getting ready to attempt to create a food garden, too. My garden seeds range in age from five to eight years old and weren't stored properly, but I'm hopeful that I can get some to germinate. So far, I have found:
I think I might have some leaf lettuce somewhere and maybe some other kinds of food seeds. Viability is probably down a good bit, and I couldn't grow a lot of stuff here anyway. But I figure anything that comes up will ease the burden so to speak. Most of the radishes would be ready to eat in three to four weeks after sprouting. And the lettuce and other leafy things could be picked from pretty much any time after they've left the seedling stage (earlier, I suppose, if I wanted to sacrifice the plants). Mom called and said she was able to get a few onion sets for me, too.
I almost tried to germinate some of the above way back in January. But then I thought, "No, I probably won't bother trying to have a (food) garden this year."
. Hopefully, I haven't screwed myself by getting started so late.
I would like to get a few seed potatoes, garlic, more onion sets (I guess she only got white and red, and few of each), some tomato plants, and two or three cucumber plants. And I almost forgot, CORN! I haven't grown a block of corn plants in five or six years. I don't think anyone else in the neighborhood is growing it this year, so I shouldn't have to worry about cross-pollination.
I hope things aren't so bad yet that we have to grow our food crops behind locked doors; I don't have the electrical capacity.
I'm getting ready to attempt to create a food garden, too. My garden seeds range in age from five to eight years old and weren't stored properly, but I'm hopeful that I can get some to germinate. So far, I have found:
- Nasturtium (a little color, good for the pollinators, and great in salads)
- Lavender
- Parsley (two types)
- Thyme
- Basil
- Dill (can't stand the stuff, but my mother likes it)
- Spinach (finally tried FRESH spinach recently - I've been missing out, lol)
- Pea (two types)
- Cantaloupe
- Swiss Chard
- Pepper (hanenero, serrano, jalapeno, and bell)
- Radish (nine types)
I think I might have some leaf lettuce somewhere and maybe some other kinds of food seeds. Viability is probably down a good bit, and I couldn't grow a lot of stuff here anyway. But I figure anything that comes up will ease the burden so to speak. Most of the radishes would be ready to eat in three to four weeks after sprouting. And the lettuce and other leafy things could be picked from pretty much any time after they've left the seedling stage (earlier, I suppose, if I wanted to sacrifice the plants). Mom called and said she was able to get a few onion sets for me, too.
I almost tried to germinate some of the above way back in January. But then I thought, "No, I probably won't bother trying to have a (food) garden this year."
. Hopefully, I haven't screwed myself by getting started so late.I would like to get a few seed potatoes, garlic, more onion sets (I guess she only got white and red, and few of each), some tomato plants, and two or three cucumber plants. And I almost forgot, CORN! I haven't grown a block of corn plants in five or six years. I don't think anyone else in the neighborhood is growing it this year, so I shouldn't have to worry about cross-pollination.
HigherTheHigh
Well-Known Member
I'm currently growing about 20 tomato plants and 2 pea plants up to now, this virus is really messing things up!
Hey, I'll walk up and down my block three or four times whilst wearing a red baseball cap, lol - look out your front door and, if you see me, I'd be interested in trading a portion of my seeds for a couple cuts from each of your tomato varieties.
Probability of success is likely to be somewhere south of .0000000001%, but one never knows. . . .
HigherTheHigh
Well-Known Member
Brother if we all lived in a perfect world and could trust anyone I'd send you every seed you needed to survive but unfortunately we're never going to live that life.
Stay safe buddy its a scary time to be alive.
Stay safe buddy its a scary time to be alive.
Appreciate the thought. I already have enough to make a huge difference, and am hoping to get some more stuff. I'm assuming that going out for garden supplies/seeds/plants is considered one of the "essentials." If not - and I've never done anything like this before! - I'll tell whoever stops to harass me that it's discrimination against the poor because they're letting people who can afford to do so go buy food at the grocery stores, lol. But I don't really envision that happening.
Lady down the street saw me walking back and forth (yes, I really did it
) and asked me if I was going to mow her yard this year. Said she'd give me a big cup of coffee again each time, but I'd have to bring my own cup. She's almost Mom's age and not working, so I did it for free. I'm thinking about asking (other) people if they'd like to pay me something to cut their grass this year, though. The mower is running okay once I get it to start (and then get it to start 236 more times). There must have been a couple ml of gasoline left in the carburetor when I stopped using it last year. Whoops. I even had some stabilizer, but ran the thing out just as I was finishing up and figured that'd be adequate. Luckily, I did put some in the gas that's in the can (luckily, there's gas in there!).
Lady down the street saw me walking back and forth (yes, I really did it
) and asked me if I was going to mow her yard this year. Said she'd give me a big cup of coffee again each time, but I'd have to bring my own cup. She's almost Mom's age and not working, so I did it for free. I'm thinking about asking (other) people if they'd like to pay me something to cut their grass this year, though. The mower is running okay once I get it to start (and then get it to start 236 more times). There must have been a couple ml of gasoline left in the carburetor when I stopped using it last year. Whoops. I even had some stabilizer, but ran the thing out just as I was finishing up and figured that'd be adequate. Luckily, I did put some in the gas that's in the can (luckily, there's gas in there!).
I will also attempt to grow old seeds. Lol
Mine are from 2011 lot.
Crossing my fingers.
I did manage to pick up some fresh herb seeds. Couldn't get tomatoes but they are easy enough to grow straight from the fruit.
Lettuce, ginger, celery can all be grown from food scraps too. It might be too late for me to start sweet potato slips. I may try anyway.
Good luck and blessings on your gardens this year. May they be fruitful.
Mine are from 2011 lot.
Crossing my fingers.
I did manage to pick up some fresh herb seeds. Couldn't get tomatoes but they are easy enough to grow straight from the fruit.
Lettuce, ginger, celery can all be grown from food scraps too. It might be too late for me to start sweet potato slips. I may try anyway.
Good luck and blessings on your gardens this year. May they be fruitful.
Nunyabiz
Well-Known Member
All my old seeds managed to sprout, had a crapload so I tried sprouting a crapload as I didn't expect too many to germinate but most all of them did so now I got a ton of sprouted seeds that I think iam going to just dig a spot on the edge of our yard and plant about 75 plants of various kinds, out in that area iam sure none will survive as the rabbits and deer will just mow them down.
I have Jalapeno, Hot Banana, Aleppo, and Mango hot peppers, red and yellow bell peppers.
3 kinds of Basil, tons of Spicy Greek Oregano and Peppermint.
6 snow peas
6 cucumber
3 Zucchini
4 Red Kale
And about 45 Red Carrots
And a Lemon Tree
Probably start some potatoes if I can't get through the 20# bag I bought at Costco and they start sprouting.
I think ive got about 3 months of food and supplies, I've been to grocery store twice the past 2 months and dont plan on going back for 3 months if I can manage it.
I have to buy a 30% shade cloth to hang up over my deck so all this stuff I am planting wont get roasted once the temps get above 90 for about 3 straight months.
I may just order some stuff and have it delivered from Whole Foods in a couple months, like some cheese, butter, few odds and ends if I need to.
Really don't want to get near anyone at this point.
Fortunately our back yard connects to a trail system that literally ends right at our house so we can walk down the trail at our house for at least a 1/2 mile before we get to an area of the trail where we might see someone else, so we can walk the dog a mile a day and never see another person.
Wife and I both are retired with pensions so we are actually doing OK as long as we can stay away from everybody as much as possible.
If we get a package from UPS or whatever I just let it sit in the sun for the day before I touch it.
And in case you don't know, the 6 foot social distance rule is complete bullshit.
That comes from some way outdated study done in 1930 and doesn't even pertain to this virus at all.
In reality that safest distance is actually 27 feet not 6.
This virus is airborne and transmitted by breathing in micro particles, you can catch this even outdoors just from a jogger running past you 10 feet away.
A single infected person sitting a 25x25' room just breathing and showing zero symptoms can theoretically infect everyone in that room.
I have Jalapeno, Hot Banana, Aleppo, and Mango hot peppers, red and yellow bell peppers.
3 kinds of Basil, tons of Spicy Greek Oregano and Peppermint.
6 snow peas
6 cucumber
3 Zucchini
4 Red Kale
And about 45 Red Carrots
And a Lemon Tree
Probably start some potatoes if I can't get through the 20# bag I bought at Costco and they start sprouting.
I think ive got about 3 months of food and supplies, I've been to grocery store twice the past 2 months and dont plan on going back for 3 months if I can manage it.
I have to buy a 30% shade cloth to hang up over my deck so all this stuff I am planting wont get roasted once the temps get above 90 for about 3 straight months.
I may just order some stuff and have it delivered from Whole Foods in a couple months, like some cheese, butter, few odds and ends if I need to.
Really don't want to get near anyone at this point.
Fortunately our back yard connects to a trail system that literally ends right at our house so we can walk down the trail at our house for at least a 1/2 mile before we get to an area of the trail where we might see someone else, so we can walk the dog a mile a day and never see another person.
Wife and I both are retired with pensions so we are actually doing OK as long as we can stay away from everybody as much as possible.
If we get a package from UPS or whatever I just let it sit in the sun for the day before I touch it.
And in case you don't know, the 6 foot social distance rule is complete bullshit.
That comes from some way outdated study done in 1930 and doesn't even pertain to this virus at all.
In reality that safest distance is actually 27 feet not 6.
This virus is airborne and transmitted by breathing in micro particles, you can catch this even outdoors just from a jogger running past you 10 feet away.
A single infected person sitting a 25x25' room just breathing and showing zero symptoms can theoretically infect everyone in that room.
If it's a store-bought tomato, you can expect that the tomatoes you grow will be different than the one you bought at the store - because the vast majority of them will be hybrids. Unless it's an heirloom variety, then this probably won't apply.
I have heard that as well.
If I'm using supermarket tomatoes it's for sure a last resort.
I still have to try sprouting the 2011 stock. They came up last year. Hoping this year will be no different.
- Thread starter
- #11
Doing hempy tomatoes again this year.
Started four heirloom varieties (Pineapple, Hungarian Heart, Pantano Romanesco, and Rosella) from seed in 100% perlite.
They will be maintained as single leaders, and two will be trained to spiral up each cage.
Started four heirloom varieties (Pineapple, Hungarian Heart, Pantano Romanesco, and Rosella) from seed in 100% perlite.
Good luck. All my attempts have come up - or not come up, I should type - a bust. Over 100 attempts so far (counting each dud seed as one attempt). It's really getting too late to try growing a garden from seed here, anyway, and no places that sell plants are open this year. I'll probably end up robbing the local Kroger store before the end of Summer. Which sucks, because with my poor vision, it'll be hard to tell the salaried management f*cks from the poor hourly schmucks - and I'd hate to kill any of the latter.
Tomatoes take to LST very well
Tomato training continues
Update on the hempy tomato training
Looks like the Rosella (first photo) is really going to produce.
Looks like the Rosella (first photo) is really going to produce.
Nunyabiz
Well-Known Member
I've just started a bunch of microgreens yesterday.
Planted some Speckled Peas, Mammoth Sugar Pod peas, Cilantro, Leeks, Romaine Lettuce, Mung Beans, Nasturtiums.
The peas and beans will be ready to harvest in 9 to 13 days and everything else within 2 to 3 weeks.
Should be one harvest after the other and microgreens are up to 40x more nutrient dense than the full grown vegetable.
All grown inside under low wattage LED so can grow year round non stop.
Planted some Speckled Peas, Mammoth Sugar Pod peas, Cilantro, Leeks, Romaine Lettuce, Mung Beans, Nasturtiums.
The peas and beans will be ready to harvest in 9 to 13 days and everything else within 2 to 3 weeks.
Should be one harvest after the other and microgreens are up to 40x more nutrient dense than the full grown vegetable.
All grown inside under low wattage LED so can grow year round non stop.
My over-wintered perlite hempy Italian pepper is doing better (earlier) than last year!
Nunyabiz
Well-Known Member
Got about 30 Bell Peppers on my one bell pepper plant getting close, maybe another 2 to 3 weeks.
Outstanding, Nun! 
