My veggie garden rant

iamsteph

Perhaps not so much a rant as a disappointment  

I planted broccoli seedlings probably right before the last frost (so it's been a while). It grew and grew and then got a head. The heads of the broccoli grew to about an inch or so. Now they are flowering. They are useless. I picked the one head that hadn't started flowering and then ripped out the plants.

I now have cantaloupe seedlings in their place. Take that broccoli!  

Tygress_Luv111908

**Stomps on broccoli plants!**

I love broccoli but i have never tried to grow it! Neither has my mom that i know of! We have done cantaloupe though and they have turned out pretty good when they grew! Good luck and keep us posted how they turn out! I wish i had a yard to plant veggies! I would totally make a little patio garden but we dont get enough sunlight! BOO!!!!

Bailey1806

I had seedlings growing inside up until a couple weeks ago and I had a sweet pea plant with three little shoots coming up... until the cat bit two of them in half and ate them! I planted it outside anyway and there is already new growth coming out of the bitten shoots.

Broccoli is intimidating to me! But I did try spinach and romaine this year and DH and I picked enough to make a salad last night.

Good luck with your garden!

Petit_Oiseau

Some plants will bolt and go to seed if the soil temperature is too high for them - not sure if this is the case with broccoli. Apparently this is the case with cilantro, which I have been attempting to grow for YEARS unsuccessfully until I realized that it won't tolerate soil temperatures above 75 F. Good luck with your cantelope!

iamsteph

thanks everyone! maybe it's because i'm doing container gardening, instead of planting straight into the ground that caused the broccoli to get too warm. i don't think i'll try it again. 

i still have romaine lettuce (we harvested some a few weeks ago for a salad), strawberries, zucchini, cucumber, heirloom tomato, regular tomato, and sweet peppers, as well as herbs. my goal this year this year was to be able to make salads and spaghetti sauce completely from what I had grown.  

TygressLuv, you should look into the community gardens! It might be too late for this year, but you could get on the list for next year. I think it's $30 or so to rent a spot. I had looked into it as there is one a few blocks away, but figured if my plants weren't right in front of me (aka my yard), I'd forget about them hehe.

lsgarver

I've had that happen with spinach in containers--it bolts really fast.  I think we have such crazy weather around here that temperature-sensitive plants don't know what to do half the time.  A short warm spell ruins those kinds of veggies.

MereFM99

I had a basil plant for years that decided to turn into flowers this winter for some reason.  It was strange.  Good luck with the other stuff!

Tygress_Luv111908

iamsteph:

thanks everyone! maybe it's because i'm doing container gardening, instead of planting straight into the ground that caused the broccoli to get too warm. i don't think i'll try it again. 

i still have romaine lettuce (we harvested some a few weeks ago for a salad), strawberries, zucchini, cucumber, heirloom tomato, regular tomato, and sweet peppers, as well as herbs. my goal this year this year was to be able to make salads and spaghetti sauce completely from what I had grown.  

TygressLuv, you should look into the community gardens! It might be too late for this year, but you could get on the list for next year. I think it's $30 or so to rent a spot. I had looked into it as there is one a few blocks away, but figured if my plants weren't right in front of me (aka my yard), I'd forget about them hehe.

 

Never heard of such a thing!!!!!! Where are they at? Is there a website for them?

iamsteph

Tygress_Luv111908:

Never heard of such a thing!!!!!! Where are they at? Is there a website for them?

http://www.growit.umd.edu/Community Gardens1/Baltimore City Community Gardens.cfm

Basically, they are areas of land in some of parks that get used for community gardens.  You pay the season fee, and you get a plot to use for growing your own plants. The first link is more up to date and includes the different counties. This one is more outdated, but it gives you more an idea of what is involved with the ones in Baltimore City. 

http://baltimoreurbanag.org/content/city-farms-information

It couldn't hurt to contact one near you and see if they have any available plots. Hope this helps! 

 

Tygress_Luv111908

Interesting! There is one near my work but not my apt! I will probably hit up my parents garden when they start getting things! haha!