FRONT YARD GARDENERS

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Comment by Kitty on September 27, 2009 at 1:20pm

Just wanted to share the saga of my "dancing squashes"... I've had white pumpkins, icebox watermelon & warty pumpkins cascading all down & across my front lawn this season. The vines are just about done in with fungal problems, but not without producing really good crops and providing a jaw-dropping spot of interest to all those passers-by. Very cool!

Comment by Debra Donohoe on September 24, 2009 at 1:35pm

Hi Joy,
Just read your comment on your weather. I live in Western Washington near Tacoma. Our weather joke is "Don't like the weather, wait 5 min. it'll change." and that is just about true. Yesterday it was sunny and in the 80's, and calm, by dusk it was windyand in the 70's by 8pm it was headed for the low 50's. Today it's overcast and 51 degrees at11:30am. If that isn't bad enough we have alot of microclimates. I'm part way between Mt. Rainier and Tacoma. I'm either 5 degrees colder in winter or 5 degrees warmer in summer. I've even seen it rain in my back yard an not in my front. Yes, I know weird weather. I fell for you! lol But it does make for intresting gardening!

Comment by Debra Donohoe on September 24, 2009 at 1:18pm

Hi all,
I would like to use my front yard but I have a septic tank there. What would do to vegtables, fruits and herbs. Is it safe to plant these over the septic. If so are there centrain ones I shouldn' Any info would be helpful. Oh and I have to use raised beds.. we have rocks and more rocks, very little soil.

Comment by Beth on June 22, 2009 at 1:55pm

I'm thinking of getting an earth box (maybe several)and stacking my planting of tomatoes so that I can get fresh all year....live in Long Beach CA...what do you think of that idea?

Comment by Sandra Badboy on June 22, 2009 at 1:27pm

Hi I am new to this. I had help from a freind that brought a tiller to my house asked what i wanted and i told him one day i wanted to till my front yard up. He said well lets just do it! So he tilled up my front yard. Then i cryed because no one would help me with getting it ready to plant. The extension was providing the seeds for me. How was i going to do this? Then my freind from the extension talked to my kids and my 14 year old worked his but off to help me. Then my husband helped to plant and the kids. It was fun! I don't know if they will help with the rest but the hard part is done. I am a mother with 5 kids and only know a little bit about gardening due to not learning from my mom when i should have, We don't have much for tools or know how. It is important to me to try to give the best for our children.We are a family that suffers from alergies and it will be nice to know where our food comes from. We need all the help we can get!!!!!

Comment by Ed Reid on April 27, 2009 at 12:39pm

If the favas produce beans/seeds, they will use up nitrogen.

Fava greens are delicious. Use them raw or cooked like spinach. The younger, the more tender.

And fava flowers are nice in a salad.

Don't forget to let some go to seed for next year's crop(s).

Comment by Carola on April 27, 2009 at 11:46am

Hi, All. I'm finally checking-in after months of travels and other excuses. So glad to see so many Front Yard Gardeners.
Isn't Joy Williams' front fence wonderful to look at? In my own front yard, I have a cover crop of favas growing in the three raised beds. They're about three feet tall and blooming. So, now what? Anybody experienced with cover cropping? Do I let them form beans, harvest them, and then turn the plants under? OR do I cut them off at ground level, compost the tops and let the roots decompose in the soil... OR do I have to turn it under BEFORE the beans form? Any advice? (I'm having trouble uploading photos on my page. Wish I could share my Washington DC garden photos.)

Comment by Cindy on April 1, 2009 at 5:15am

I am in the process of turning a front yard flower bed into my veggie and herb garden. It lines the walkway up to the front door and is highly visible to the neighborhood. I am sure I will get lots of comments as the plants start to grow. I'm planting several tomato varieties as well as herbs, squash, cucumbers and sunflowers.

Comment by Joy Williams on January 24, 2009 at 4:49am

Hi, I'm new here, trying to find my way around. I live in California on the Central Coast. Right now, TODAY, it's a fairly balmy 55 degrees at 1:45 am. Anyone else have weird weather?

As to front yard gardening, well, the way my house is, it's hard to determine what the front yard is. :)

Here's the view from my front door:

So my entire yard is both a combination of veggies and flowers and I don't have any neighborhood councils that tell me what to do.

I have a green house and another side garden to plant things, as well as a corral where my alpacas live.

so, I guess my question is, is anyone else having really warm weather?

At least it's finally raining.

Comment by McPete on January 16, 2009 at 5:22am

Hi all, I love seeing everyone's photos, and just added some of my own. This whole site is fantastic, thanks Roger, but the photos are so inspiring I want to use many of them to show to others in presentations for our Food Not Lawns group (I will always ask permission of course), keep posting new ones, I can't get enough. Also, has anyone ever planted and eaten strawberry spinach?

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