Anyone remember Crockett's Victory Garden? Vegetable, flower gardeners enter here-

[Marc]

So I have a vegetable garden in the ground for the first time ever this year...

The list of what's growing so far includes:

Tomatoes
Canteloupe
Butternut squash
Green beans
Black beans
Beets
Onions
3 varieties of potato (I'm so Irish right there)
Bell peppers

I was recently given a gardening book which was a companion book to the show on PBS back in the 70's, and I guess it's still on, called Crockett's Victory Garden (today's show dropped Crockett's name).

The book is fantastic and should be a huge help, although everything so far this year is planted and coming along quite well. I might even have pictures tonight.

Any older members watch this show when Crockett hosted? Apparently they just converted an empty lot in Allston, MA into this amazing garden.

Anyone else a vegetable or flower gardener? It's quite addicting, and I hope what I've grown will help to keep my grocery bills down come winter, because just about everything I planted will keep well.

 

[snoseek]

very addictive. i only grow tomatoes, but i have lots of different heirloom plants. later in the year i will harvest and sell many to myself at work. good ripe heirloom's go for about 40$ a flat. i'll probably get 25. plus nothing beats a tomato sandwich on fresh bread w/mayo salt+pepper. yumm.

 

[Marc]

Veggie gardens are great until the bugs start eating your crop .. oh be sure to have good soil .. you have to make sure the garden site wasn't a toxic waste dump at one time. Some compost contain heavy metals, especially any compost from a waste water treatment facility. Fried summer squash my favorite.

Yeah, fortunately I don't have to worry much. The soil where I planted is bottom land and is very fertile. I'm using composted horse manure and bedding and is dark, dark black and loamy. Perfect fertilizer. I may add some 10-10-10 later if it needs it. Probably not though.

Haven't had any problems with bugs yet. Keeping an eye out for potato bugs. Those will be my only enemies I think.

Here are some pictures-

L to R - Yukon Gold potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, bell peppers.

L to R - two varieties of potato, black turtle beans (similar to kidney beans), beets (barely up) and onion

Some of the family farm - the field behind is a day from being hayed. It will look better then.

Different view, butternut squash bottom right-ish

Canteloupe

Some marigolds, salvia, cosmos

Rose bush, one single foxglove, and some other crap

Peonies

Close up

 

[Greg]

Since when we bought our house in 2005, it was basically a house on a dirt mound, I've done a lot of landscaping. We have two large perennial beds with other perennials and schrubs planted in other spots. I lost a few perennials over the winter (warm through January, then a hard freeze). They've been replaced. We're still a few weeks away from the summer blooms, but I'll post pics once they pop.

 

[amf]

Ain't that cute... I feel like I'm looking at someones' baby pictures!!

Seriously, nice pics... kinda does make you feel all warm & fuzzy out there though.. 'til the bugs come! A tip from a long time gardner for those tater bugs - dust with lime. Good for the dirt, & the bugs don't like it.

I used to do a lot of gardening until moving onto what is basically a sand dune & gave up. One of my favorites was an heirloom pole lima, the seeds of which were given to me by an old local farmer. Grew 'em on for many years, until one year my wife discovered my seed stock in a paper bag & thought she would surprise me with some baked limas! A sad day...

 

[ski_resort_observer]

I don't remember Crockett but I used to love the Victory Garden with host Roger Swain. When he got dropped I stopped watching, don't like the new guy at all.

Well, Roger Swain not only landed on his feet but landed a couple of miles from my place in Maine. PPP's office is just up the road. My wife and I did have a run in with the magazine over being a food vendor at their big flower show at a local horse track but they ended up paying what they owed us. http://www.ppplants.com/television/index.html

Not sure where the PPP show is available, it's in Maine of course but it's nice to see Roger Swain on a graden show. The man has more knowledge and experience in his green thumb than that new guy who replaced him.

Marc...your place looks awesome! I love gardening, especially sugar snaps and tomatos.

 

[Paul]

Rose bush, one single foxglove, and some other crap

Ah.... spoken like a true horticulturist...;-)

 

[Marc]

Ah.... spoken like a true horticulturist...;-)

The apple didn't fall far...

 

[Marc]

I don't remember Crockett but I used to love the Victory Garden with host Roger Swain. When he got dropped I stopped watching, don't like the new guy at all.

Well, Roger Swain not only landed on his feet but landed a couple of miles from my place in Maine. PPP's office is just up the road. My wife and I did have a run in with the magazine over being a food vendor at their big flower show at a local horse track but they ended up paying what they owed us. http://www.ppplants.com/television/index.html

Not sure where the PPP show is available, it's in Maine of course but it's nice to see Roger Swain on a graden show. The man has more knowledge and experience in his green thumb than that new guy who replaced him.

Marc...your place looks awesome! I love gardening, especially sugar snaps and tomatos.

Ah yes, I just barely remember Roger Swain, from when I was a kid, but that was when my father watched it, and he never watches it with the new host. And thanks, the land is awesome. It's almost silly how easy it is to grow stuff over there.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Was Tubbs a co-host of that show?

 

[ckofer]

This was the first year my wisteria bloomed.

 

[Marc]

That's purty Chris.... they looks like upside down foxglove, mang.

 

[loafer89]

I am a huge fan of flowers and flower gardening since I was 15 years old. My sister has a degree in horticulture and she did alot of work to the yard at my parents house, and she taught me quite a bit while doing so.

I left behind a large perennial bed at our house on Long Island. Now we have 1.3 acres of land with the house so I can go crazy again. But it is hard not having any flowers at the moment, especially this spring with no chance to have Daffodils, Crocus, Tulips or Hyacinth around.

My sister gave me Crockett's Flower Garden C1981:

 

[Marc]

I am a huge fan of flowers and flower gardening since I was 15 years old. My sister has a degree in horticulture and she did alot of work to the yard at my parents house, and she taught me quite a bit while doing so.

I left behind a large perennial bed at our house on Long Island. Now we have 1.3 acres of land with the house so I can go crazy again. But it is hard not having any flowers at the moment, especially this spring with no chance to have Daffodils, Crocus, Tulips or Hyacinth around.

My sister gave me Crockett's Flower Garden C1981:

:beer:

I'd very much recommend the Victory Garden book. You can find them on Amazon. I'll have to look for the Flower Garden book. He is a natural teacher. The writing is so easy to read and it's such a well organized book.

 

[Marc]

I wish PBS would offer the old Victory Garden tv shows on DVD. I'd buy em in a heart beat.

 

[loafer89]

Reading through the preface, I see that the book that I have was his last as he died of cancer before he could finish it and his wife took over that task.

 

[Marc]

Yeah, it was a shame. You feel personally quite close to him when you read his writing. He was a great guy.