25 replies to this topic

[cookiejar]

Or potatoes? Or garlic cloves?

I have an onion that has sprouted roots and all. Supposedly you can cut up potaoes into fourths and plant them for more?

Here's my logic, I'm growing a pineapple tree from the cut off top of a pineapple. It will be years before I see a tree, but hope springs eternal.

Here's where my crazier side comes through. The golf course I wrote about in Urban Homesteading has not sold and is still overgrown and empty. I thought about *seeding* parts of it. I KNOW noone in that neighborhood would recognize garlic or onions or such growing.

So, can it be done?? Feasible?

[dogmom4]

Sure you can. I think it's a great idea to "seed" the golf course. How about putting some small rosemary plants (they should do well in your area)..oregano, thyme, chives, tarragon, lavender...throw out seeds...the hardy plants will survive winter and keep going. A few seeds packets are not expensive. Stacy

[Andrea]

You are a Guerilla Gardener!

Check it out: http://www.primalseeds.org/guerrilla.htm

[nana9]

Good site lots of ideals

[Mother]

I always did like that idea Cookie. With the potatoes, just make sure there is an "eye" or small area of sprout with each piece as you cut them. You might even let they dry overnight after cutting as that tends to keep them from rotting so fast, or so my grandfather who was a potato farmer used to say. Always worked for me.

Hey, how about planting peanuts. Raw, in the shell, unsalted and unroasted will most likey grow.

I like the web site, thanks. Andrea.

((( )))

[cookiejar]

Originally Posted By: Mother

I always did like that idea Cookie. With the potatoes, just make sure there is an "eye" or small area of sprout with each piece as you cut them. You might even let they dry overnight after cutting as that tends to keep them from rotting so fast, or so my grandfather who was a potato farmer used to say. Always worked for me.

Hey, how about planting peanuts. Raw, in the shell, unsalted and unroasted will most likey grow.

I like the web site, thanks. Andrea.

((( )))

Woohooooooo
Guerilla cookiejar! That's me!

Comfrey,chives, all those herbs Stacy mentioned. And make sure the potatoes have eyes...gotcha. But the onion idea is okay?

About the seeds, can I just wander thru and toss them about? Or do I need to do the whole dig,bury thing?
We do remember who were talking to right?

I found a stand of banana trees in the back corner of the grounds but it past season for them, still nice to know they are there. There are I think live oaks? and some kind of scrub pines. I need to find a pinecone or something to take a pic of of for us.

Also, I'm looking into suriname cherries to plant along the fence. A good friend has them in her yard and I thought they were just decorative till she popped one in her mouth while showing me her yard.

http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/surinam_cherry.htm

I know a few people told me about having blackberry or wild plum hedges. Hiding in plain sight. :)My nieghbor's 80 something Mom is growing aloe vera under her window, maybe I can buy a plant off her? What about peppers? Or is it tooooo wet?

okay, I'll slow down, too many question huh?

The overzealous cookie

[mom11]

Peanuts are fun to grow, but need a long growing season. They are very slow. Shell the peanuts, but don't separate the two halves. Plant 3-4 feet apart. Don't plant in plastic. Once the peanuts bloom, they will send tentacles down into the ground and that is where the peanuts will form. You don't want to put much of a barrier between the tentacles and the earth or the pod won't implant and you won't get any babies! You need to be very careful not to disrupt the area around the mother plant. This does make weed control somewhat difficult. I got 5 gallons, from 11 plants, last summer. Haven't dug this years yet. I planted a second crop last year with some peanuts called Tenn.Red Skins. They are supposed to be very prolific and grow in most any soil...sand, clay. Didn't get to find out..."You know who"... The one that let the tiller sit in the garage all summer long, took it out one day and tilled under these peanuts and lots of my other babies! (My cranberry plants, two of my blueberry shrubs, half my strawberry plants...I am so boring...I was just sick! Our plants are so special to my chicks and myself.)

Oh well...Try peanuts...Such fun!

[Mother]

those are great ideas Cookie. Some of those plants are ones that might actually have been escapees but you'd actually have to "PLANT" them so don't forget your best Miami girl look and your flirty smile at the nice officer. oh and your Darlene look.

I'm hoping that what you have found for oaks is a white oak as the acorns are best for eating. Other oaks need a lot more leaching to rid them of their bitter taste. But all Acorns are a great food source.

http://www.pnga.net/acorns.html

http://www.floridaorienteering.org/nature/acorn.htm

What about sunflowers? They are a bit showy and hard to hide but they are a great protein source. Or maybe the smaller flowered wild variety that has edible tubers like the jerusalem artichoke. Do they grow in Florida?

Don't know about peppers there???? Be sure to look into plants that look like they are natural or that can be hidden. You want some that no one will recognize as food too. Also, it would be nice if they would self-sow so that they would be there without having to do a lot of work on them. Wouldn't look good to have you down on your knees weeding an area LOL.

Lets see, you have fruit, nuts and meal from the acorn, potatoes, salad greens, you need some salad greens! Lambs Quarter, violets, purslane, and such. And cooked greens. Nettles of course. NO one will think to cook nettles.

This is fun but more to the point, it's doable for not only you but for others in the city. Just takes some thought and some prior planting if the plants are not already there. Hidden gardens are a good idea for even country dwellers.

Is it possible for you to grow anything near your home? Inside your home? (windowsill, growlights, window greenhouses). Don't forget to stock up on sprouting seeds but I was trying to think of places for urban dwellers to grow things. Flower boxes, hanging baskets, perenial edibles in the lawn, roof tops, vacant lots, borders along sidewalks or along houses intermixed with flowers, edible of course. Would any of these work?

Speaking of sprouting, I just discovered the wonderful sweet nutty taste of sprouted sunflower "greens". The take a bit of work but can be grown right in the house without lights in just a flat of soil. I learned about them at Sprout People on the web. All the instructions are there.

[cookiejar]

Well, I've been afraid to discuss my plants as A. I have no clue what I'm doing and B. I tend to kill green things but right now I have:
Orange tree growing in a half barrel on a roller. She's flowered once but I need to get the pollination thing learned. (stop that joke in your head right now ).

my tomato plants grew, gave lovely tomatoes and then I half fainted when they turned brown and shriveled up (of which a friend said they do that, go get a new plant). My strawberries in the same half barrel on rollers did wonderful, gave fruit and are still happy in the back yard.

I killed the herbs when I tried to move them outside.

Amazingly, I have a few critters still going.

I may get brave and try container gardens indoors. (Hence becoming the foraging queen).

[mom11]

You could grow "ground cherries." They go from seed to fruit in one season. They look like a weed and aren't very tall. The small, cherry sized fruits are covered in little papery things , sort of like tomatillos. You can make jam and pies out of the fruits. I believe there are several types, one tastes sort of like pineapple and the other sort of citrusy. They tend to volunteer back, sort of like cherry tomatoes.

You could also plant current tomatoes. They are the smallest tomato I have ever seen. I have some red ones now, that are the size, if not smaller, than petite peas. I also have yellow ones, about 1/4 inch. They are great in salads and I was going to try and dehydrate some for stir fries or to sprinkle on salads. Probably be really good, put dried into dilly bread or something like that. I want to try and save some seeds, if you want some.
These also volunteer back and I have a friend that has hers come back, year after year in a pot. They won't stand out as anything, but a tomato-like, looking weed, unless someone is familiar with this type of tomato. The plants are large and sprawling and will fruit just fine, spread out over the ground. You dont' have to stake them. The fruits grow on the ends of the branches, in clusters, one row on one side and another, on the opposite side. They are really neat and very sweet.

There are also some new dwarf Chinese veggies. Some of them, such as the dwarf Bok Choy are ready, seed to table in about 3 weeks.

[Homesteader]

Hi Cookiejar

Store bought potatoes are sprayed with a sprout inhibitor. It allows wholesalers to store those tates for months on end. You'll find after you start growing and storing potatoes yourself, they will begin to sprout within a month or two after harvest.

I would recommend buying 'seed' potatoes at your garden center. I used to find them in the produce dept at the local stores in the springtime. They are guaranteed to be disease-free and will get you started on excellent potatoes. After you harvest them, save some to eat and replant a few of them. I always planted whole potatoes and skipped the cutting them into pieces. It saved on soil diseases attacking the open cuts in the potatoes.

Onions will go to seed if you leave them in the garden long enough. Instead, I always kept a few envelopes of various onion seeds in inventory. The producer does the same thing. He grows the seeds and then sells you the onion sets.

I never messed with garlic WAY UP north. I could live without it if I had other spices.

Happy planting. If you make mistakes, just eat them. That's what gardening is all about ... trial and error.

[Snowmom]

Cookie, you sound like you are having so much fun. Wish I could be there to enjoy doing this with you.

We did try to grow garlic one year, but didn't do as good as it would have a bit south of here. we have tried celery too, and it didn't work out so good. But you can really go wild and plant all these things and maybe it will rain enough to water them for you. Just keep your eyes on them and when they are ready, enjoy.

[Mt_Rider]

Quote:

Here's my logic, I'm growing a pineapple tree from the cut off top of a pineapple. It will be years before I see a tree, but hope springs eternal.

Ahem....cookie.... Just a bit of encouragement...yep, this is encouragement!

You're gonna see pineapple a whole lot sooner than you think. Gal, they don't grow on trees. They are a humongo plant with all those spiney leaves only bigger all over it. (Confession: This mid-westerner didn't know this either till we moved there...)

http://www.rickswoodshopcreations.com/Pine...e/pineapple.htm

Or this one: Pineapple Growing in the Florida Home Landscape1

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MG055


Aloha and good luck!

MtRider [*sighs*...homesick]

[susie]

Yep, take it from one who grew up in Hawaii, home of Dole pineapples...that bush should grow to about waist-high and start giving you babby pineapples in about two or three years.

PS When I get shallots or garlic that have begun to sprout, I plant them.

[cookiejar]

Originally Posted By: susie

Yep, take it from one who grew up in Hawaii, home of Dole pineapples...that bush should grow to about waist-high and start giving you babby pineapples in about two or three years.

PS When I get shallots or garlic that have begun to sprout, I plant them.

So I'm gonna have a hedge in the front yard?
Truly did not know, this Miami girl sees sopate, bananas, coconuts, dates so I thought TREE. Spiny hedge works well.

Okay, we know I'm growing impaired.

I had heard that they sprayed some sort of *You-No-Grow* on the taters. {sigh}. But the rest sounds promising.

Oh SnowMom, we could have such fun! Wandering around the course, taking pictures, *dropping seeds*, murmuring and shaking our heads and when someone asks...look stern and say "We're from The County." (Hear the Capital Letters).

[susie]

Yep.

http://images.google...g...sa=N&tab=wi

[HSmom]

Cookie, organic potatoes, intended for eating, are not treated with growth retardant. They sprout merrily away in their dark box in the shed......well, you probably know how I know that, huh?

[dogmom4]

Originally Posted By: cookiejar

I had heard that they sprayed some sort of *You-No-Grow* on the taters. {sigh}. But the rest sounds promising.

Cookie, if you get potatoes from a food coop or health food store they likely will not have been sprayed.
Stacy

[Mt_Rider]

Despite the growth inhibitor..... last spring I planted a whole bag of really REALLY sprouted 'taters from the plain 'ole grocery store. (I had some ground and these 'taters...so I threw them in.) This thread made me curious so I just grabbed my garden fork and went out to check. I dug up one corner and found 'taters. But they are all the size of 'new potatoes'. If that's all that's in there, I'd have been better off salvaging the original bag to eat. The purple variety that we've planted for years is more suited to our short season. That would be an important consideration.

The garlic I planted from store bulbs didn't fare too well either. A few grew but didn't bulb. Worse...they did not deter the tunneling ratfink pest. That was my main reason for planting them.

I'd conclude that stuff from the grocery store will grow to some extent but it's 'potluck' on where it's actually suited to grow. If you can procure a better source ahead of time, try to do that. Get varieties suited specifically to your climate.

Additional tip: Potatoes get rather nice flowers on them. They will look like 'natural' landscaping. Unless someone is familiar with the plant, I doubt they'd look twice. The 'goodies' are hidden away underneath. If you started them growing in some corner of your golf course, they have the additional value of replanting themselves, even unaided. With any luck, you could return some years later to a whole feild. Maybe. If that potato variety likes 'the neighborhood'. But go talk to a gardening shop to see what might grow in FL. Start with their sets if you are going to bother.

About that spiney hedge you are growing, cookie. Yeah, it might come in even more handy as a "varmint deterrent". 2-legged varmints. A full grown pineapple hedge would be mighty prickly.


MtRider

[dogmom4]

cookie...get a packet of nasturtiums..they will grow anywhere..they actually do better in poor soil...you can eat the leaves and the flowers...and they will reseed themselves. They are big seeds so push them a little under the soil or they might get eaten by birds or squirrels. Also, how about a few strawberry plants? They need to planted in a hole preferably near an area that gets some water. They will probably die back if your area has a hard freeze but they'll come back when it warms up. And they will send out runners to make new plants.
Stacy