2026 gardening thread, whatcha got going on in the yard this year? Even house plants are ok.

Saltwater60

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Well I will plan my usual and will be buying seeds soon. I plan to do more carrots and potatoes this year. I plan to simplify my tomato offering and don’t need 3-4 types. I liked my pepper selection last year and will do the same. I had great luck with peppers. I will do more herbs. I really like growing my own herbs and drying them by air or in the oven at 190F. Super high quality when done. Much more flavorful and aromatic.
on the inside I bought some cacti and a Japanese rose for a bonsai project. I have some orchids and a tangerine tree as well.
I have to say I’m having some issues with my tangerine tree and yellowing leaves. I think it’s a ph issue so I bought some iron sulfate to drop the ph and I’ll see. I’d love to get some of my own tangerines one day. I’m hoping to get digs and pomegranates this year as well. Im sure I’ll get figs.
I’d love to try some garden towers to grow herbs and carrots in along with some other smaller plants.
I’d also love to add a structure to the yard made out of fence posts and cattle panels for support and growing more vining crops.
 
96coal449

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Saltwater60 said:
I have to say I’m having some issues with my tangerine tree and yellowing leaves. I think it’s a ph issue so I bought some iron sulfate to drop the ph and I’ll see.
Click to expand...
Nitrogen deficiency, I believe. Maybe not. If so, If I recall correctly, coffee grounds are good for that. They're good regardless......

Growing snow berries this year. Actually they're a real thing. Bushes here that grow wild. Gotta go though. Read into them. Toxic to humans and dogs. Not good as they're growing along dog pen fence.

Just tagging into the thread.....need to keep my mind a bit clearer. No plans for a garden this year. Need to bring in fill.
 
Saltwater60

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96coal449 said:
Nitrogen deficiency, I believe. Maybe not. If so, If I recall correctly, coffee grounds are good for that. They're good regardless......

Growing snow berries this year. Actually they're a real thing. Bushes here that grow wild. Gotta go though. Read into them. Toxic to humans and dogs. Not good as they're growing along dog pen fence.

Just tagging into the thread.....need to keep my mind a bit clearer. No plans for a garden this year. Need to bring in fill.
Click to expand...
I’m using a high nitrogen citrus fertilizer and have fertilized it three times very lightly since July. In late November I bought trace mineral fertilizer and did that as well. I have a leaf spray too that I used a few times. It’s weird and I can usually correct issues quickly.
It was hit with a bit of frost in late October and was probably getting more water than it needed but I brought it in then and have been letting it dry out since. Also they say they can handle short drops to 15F so not sure 1-2 light frosts did it. Also not sure a week or two of wet feet did it either.
I think the nitrogen is probably fine but could be copper or iron because of low ph. Also I brought it in and the lights were kind of close so maybe too much light. I think increased the light height 3” and I’m working on the ph now. I did add sulfur while it was outside and it’s in pine bark so I thought the ph would be good. It hasn’t grown a bit since July so it’s not happy but I can’t pinpoint it.
It’s my first citrus and you’re not wrong on the lack of nitrogen causing yellowing leaves in some cases but other things can as well. Low nitrogen is usually the cause with my veggies. Or magnesium but I added Epsom salts to this tree as well.

mine definitely looks more like the low iron photo. I’m going to test the soil ph and maybe cut back on watering. It’s hard because I need to water to bring down the ph.
ucanr.edu

Yellowing Citrus Leaves in Spring, Summer and Fall. What to Do? | Over the Fence (Alameda County)

Diagnose yellowing citrus leaves during spring, summer, and fall. Learn iron & nitrogen deficiency symptoms, causes, and effective treatment solutions.
ucanr.edu ucanr.edu
 
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TEOTWAWKI inc.

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Greenhouse build finally underway. Making steady progress every day.

Weedwacked my orchard area sometime around Christmas. Looks like everything is still alive.

I don't think the beehive survived the cold snap a few weeks ago. There are a couple buzzing around when it is warm out, but I think I'll have to get replacements.
 
Saltwater60

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TEOTWAWKI inc. said:
Greenhouse build finally underway. Making steady progress every day.

Weedwacked my orchard area sometime around Christmas. Looks like everything is still alive.

I don't think the beehive survived the cold snap a few weeks ago. There are a couple buzzing around when it is warm out, but I think I'll have to get replacements.
Click to expand...
Bees can be tricky.
 
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Made a list of do’s n don’t.
Went through my leftover seeds and ordered some that I need.
Was out today to enjoy the weather. Moved a big planter table to new spot for more pepper buckets.
Started building another planter box.
Been watching YT videos on winter sowing in milk jugs. I’ll starting doing that with cold weather crops on Sat when it gets cold again.
Im still considering one of those cheap $100 greenhouses. I know it won’t last long but its only 100
 
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My two oldest and largest boxes need to be replaced this year and while I’m at it some restructuring of the back yard needs to be done as well. We will probably scale back this year to just herbs , potatoes, two tomato varieties, jalapeños and winter squash. Despite the cold winter We did a small winter greens garden this and it turned out pretty good. We’ve been eating fresh hearty salad greens and baby spinach all through December.
 
GOPerfect

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My raised beds are all built. I still need to stain them. They will look better stained black.

Filled about 3/4 full with debris, sticks, logs, leaves and stuff.

I have some seeds that I will sow.

Most of my veggies will come from purchased plants bought here locally.

I need to fence in, around the area.
 
S&W Fan

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GOPerfect said:
My raised beds are all built. I still need to stain them. They will look better stained black.

Filled about 3/4 full with debris, sticks, logs, leaves and stuff.

I have some seeds that I will sow.

Most of my veggies will come from purchased plants bought here locally.

I need to fence in, around the area.
Click to expand...
Pay close attention to the average daily temp. and amount of sunlight the area that you placed you beds. Black can absorb much more heat from the sunshine causing your soil to dry out faster requiring more watering than usual.
 
GOPerfect

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S&W Fan said:
Pay close attention to the average daily temp. and amount of sunlight the area that you placed you beds. Black can absorb much more heat from the sunshine causing your soil to dry out faster requiring more watering than usual.
Click to expand...

Yep. The stain is am using is a very light stain. Only the outside will be colored.

It is a deck stain that was recommended by a neither that does raised beds.

Hoping he is right with his info.
 
Saltwater60

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GOPerfect said:
My raised beds are all built. I still need to stain them. They will look better stained black.

Filled about 3/4 full with debris, sticks, logs, leaves and stuff.

I have some seeds that I will sow.

Most of my veggies will come from purchased plants bought here locally.

I need to fence in, around the area.
Click to expand...
Honestly instead of staining them I would burn them. It will last longer and not be toxic if using it for food sources.
 
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GTN said:
Made a list of do’s n don’t.
Went through my leftover seeds and ordered some that I need.
Was out today to enjoy the weather. Moved a big planter table to new spot for more pepper buckets.
Started building another planter box.
Been watching YT videos on winter sowing in milk jugs. I’ll starting doing that with cold weather crops on Sat when it gets cold again.
Im still considering one of those cheap $100 greenhouses. I know it won’t last long but its only 100
Click to expand...
Go to Dollar General get some clear shower curtains ~$6 pop ~6'x6' ea., can use for cold frames too. Or just a big roll of poly.
 
S&W Fan

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I’m doing some rearranging this year in addition to replacing a couple of my raised bed boxes. I’ll be using one of my longer boxes to trellis about 12’ of raspberries plants this spring as well as relocate some wild blackberry canes.
 
Saltwater60

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TEOTWAWKI inc. said:
Anyone planning to start a berry patch or asparagus bed this year?
Click to expand...
I don’t have room for asparagus but I have a rather large berry patch. I need to redo my strawberry bed but I probably won’t do that until fall. I need to add some good soil and build up the bed and then plant. I have raspberries and black berries already. They both do great and are super low maintenance.
What are you thinking of growing for berries?
 
Saltwater60

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I started cleaning up my seed starting stuff. I soaked my cells in water and vinegar then o will bleach them after getting the soil off. I’m starting my peppers in mid-February.
 
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I’m not as big of a gardener as you.
I’ll start this year
15 tomatoes
12-15 peppers
4-5 swiss chard
Lots of spinach
Lots of lettuce
Some basil, peas and beans
No broccoli, collard greens, melons, cucumbers. Waste of space last year
I’m trying out winter sowing of cold crops this year so that will cut down on indoor starts
 
Saltwater60

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GTN said:
I’m not as big of a gardener as you.
I’ll start this year
15 tomatoes
12-15 peppers
4-5 swiss chard
Lots of spinach
Lots of lettuce
Some basil, peas and beans
No broccoli, collard greens, melons, cucumbers. Waste of space last year
I’m trying out winter sowing of cold crops this year so that will cut down on indoor starts
Click to expand...
I don’t grow 175 plants and I give away about half of them to friends and family. I have about 30 grow bags, 2 raised beds, and 6 5-gallon buckets and a few other containers. I do pretty good with what I have.
 
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Saltwater60 said:
I don’t grow 175 plants and I give away about half of them to friends and family. I have about 30 grow bags, 2 raised beds, and 6 5-gallon buckets and a few other containers. I do pretty good with what I have.
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Oh it sounded like you had a really really big garden. I have-
16 27gal boxes
5 10 gal bags
20ish 5 gal buckets
2 100 gal livestock troughs. (No idea why I thought I needed something that big)
A bunch of 1 gal grow bags for herbs
 
Saltwater60

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GTN said:
Oh it sounded like you had a really really big garden. I have-
16 27gal boxes
5 10 gal bags
20ish 5 gal buckets
2 100 gal livestock troughs. (No idea why I thought I needed something that big)
A bunch of 1 gal grow bags for herbs
Click to expand...
I have to say I like my grow bags much more than my raised beds or 5-gallon buckets. I think things perform much better.
I do a lot with a little space honestly. I have really great soil and management practices so I get high yields. I grow in an area that is maybe 15’ by 25’ and one other area that is maybe 8’ by 8’.i also have some fruit trees and a strawberry patch then two large raspberry patches so maybe it is kind of larger. I guess it’s all relative though. I also rotate and pair plants together really well. Also once I’m done with something I add something else in so I’ll do lettuce and spinach in spring then do carrots, then in the fall head back to lettuce and carrots. I push the envelope and get really big plants in the ground. I’ll start my peppers in about 2-3 weeks. Then my tomatoes and some herbs in the second week in March. They are producing by the time I pop them in the ground. Some last year were 24-34” tall by the time they were put in the ground.
I want to get rid of my raised beds and 5- gallon buckets and get those self watering grow towers.
the other thing I will add is I do have a big garden. Almost my entire yard is gardens, patios, and ponds but a lot of it is ornamental flowers. I have a double lot and almost no grass. I can cut my grass in under 10 minutes.
I think 3 of these will fit me more space back and be more productive. They also have a wheeled base. I just don’t have a spare $1,000 for them right now.
 
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