Kim
Northwest Indiana (about an hour from Lake Michigan)
2nd year vegetable gardening, first year growing from seed - love it!
I am a writer,and I started playing the fiddle last year. :)
I'm 24.
Hopelessly addicted to Starbucks.
Often use gardening/composting as therapy/stress reduction
Would have had TERRIBLE results this year had it not been for this site!

>> I am 20-something :) Wow, girl! You are smart beyond your years!

Mike

Thanks Mike :) yep the big 2-6 next month

So tell us about you... Where are you from besides cyber world.

Keriann~

Kim: I hear ya on the stress reduction! I love poking around in the greenhouse, seedling 'room' and gardens WITHOUT my phone... it is my true bliss. I travel A LOT internationally for work and still my favorite spot is down by my pier nestled at the edge of my gardens.

How neat! I would LOVE to travel. I would not miss a huge house/oversized suburban/expensive purse lifestyle if I got to travel and have some adventure. Hope you have fun while you're gone at least, even though it is work.

Kim

Gee, girl, do a search for my posts and you will know way about me than you really want!

Mike

Kim: I actually keep a thankful diary for that reason. So many times I got caught up in the hustle, changing in airports, no sleep, air sick that I lost sight of what an opportunity I have. So everyday I write down 3+ things I am thankful for. Even my seedlings have made in a few times. :) It keeps me humble and grounded. I am blessed but I have worked VERY hard. I am also going to school to get my MBA.... talk about a full load!
So you are a writer, what is your niche?

Mike: That is why I started this thread, so we could have that info here. But do as you wish : )

Dave, Sleepy, oilpainter... Ya out there? :)

Keriann~

John 45
Springdale, AR.
Long time garden grower. Started growing inside under lights two years ago. Been growing Carnivorous plants for almost 3 years. Got 3 grow chambers and a large grow area. I'm fixin to take all my plants outside and overhaul the grow chambers and grow area. Gota do some serious cleaning.

Maxine - 44
Roy, UT (40 miles north of SLC)
Grew up with HUGE gardens. Got a love of gardening from both parents. Unfortunately didn't take the chance to learn as much as I could from them.
5 kids, ages 7 - 19
2 dogs, ages 3 & 11
Employed full-time with lots of international travel. Some years the garden has been scrapped because I've been away for 5 weeks in prime planting or harvesting time. Hubby doesn't garden but will do projects for me.
In a previous life I had huge gardens, lots of flowers and vegies. That was about 12 years ago. I have since forgotten everything I knew (well, most of it). I feel like a newbie again. I've been doing raised beds for most of my gardening life and discovered SFG somewhere around 1998.

Keriann - I love the idea of the thankful diary. And keeping it in my garden journal would be just the place.

OK,

I'm from Cincinnati, am 55 years old, publish a weekly community newspaper, raise a small (900 sq. ft.) garden, have a smaller (196 sf) greenhouse and a still smaller (12'x16') room upstairs where I start seeds and experiment with different types of lights.

My produce gets blanched, dehydrated, pressure canned, hot water bathed or sold. Last year I had 109 quarts of tomato juice, 62 quarts of potatoes (plus another 40 pounds I did not can), 35 quarts of beans and a few other things.

Mike

I'm here, I'm here!

Aubrey
28
Lawrence, KS
Umm...I'm a gemini, like long walks in the garden... Just kidding. I'm a lawyer, and I love getting away from the office and into the garden!

Keriann, I am currently freelancing and working for a local newspaper. I write for the business secion, although I have my eye on the gardening section. lol

Wordwiz, neat to know you're a publisher! Do you like the work?

And Sleepy, I had not pegged you as the lawyer type. haha. You seem so laid back.

Kim

Teri 35
Colorado Springs, CO
1st year growing from seed and gardening - lots of newbie mistakes including having about 16 tomato plants growing when I only have room for 5 - plus starting everything too early
work in risk mgmt at a bank (yes busy)
Just had 3 raised beds installed.. and due to not clarifying with my landscaper only have three 3'x11' growing areas instead of the expected three 4'x12' areas so am busy refiguring where I'm going to plant stuff. Grrrr..

Kim, that is because the best lawyers know that life is so much easier if you at least try to get along with everyone...then if that doesn't work, you make 'em get along. :)

heirloom,

I like the job, except when people don't pay. I feel I make a difference in people's lives. It's not a suave, sophisticated paper - one writer who just quit (she developed glaucoma and couldn't hardly see to type) wrote about where she went and who she saw during the week: Lockland Seniors, American Legion, Eagles, the grocery store. She also did birthdays and anniversaries. Unfortunately, she didn't always keep up with people - one lady died in 2002 and she wished her a Happy 102nd birthday in 2003 and a Happy 103rd in 2004!

Mike

I'm Bradley from Central PA (out in the country in a valley) and I just turned 20 last month. I'm a newbie here and to GW (I joined in September of last year). I'm mostly around the hoya forum and have had wonderful trades with the nice folks there and on the seed exchange.

One of my dreams is to either have a private greenhouse of my own or have a nursery of my own someday. I am unemployed but I may work at a garden center soon!
Favorite plants: flowering vines indoor and outdoor. Favorite indoor is hoyas (of course!), outdoors...hmmm....
that's a tough one! Either honeysuckle or moonflowers. I grew carnivorous plants for a little while.

Music: Mostly classic country and the oldies (no offense to anyone else here!) Some modern music as well. I'm a huge Dottie West fan! Anyone remember her?

TV/Movies/Plays: Little Shop Of Horrors, The Little Mermaid
(national tour this fall!), older cartoons (Scooby Doo, etc.), Golden Girls, The Nanny, I Love Lucy, ALF, M*A*S*H,
and more!

I like to do needlecrafts too. I mostly crochet but I can knit and I'm going to attempt to make a quilt.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Hi everyone.

Pat - 47
Live in Chicago
Container Gardening for about 6 years
Grow 16 flats of seeds under lights each year. Everything is planted on my rooftop deck (approx 30 large containers).

John/Taz: Pretty interesting you grow carnivorous plants! What are you growing exactly? and how 'picky' are they?

Hi Maxine: It looks like you have your hands full with all those kids and dogs :) Life is good :)

Aubry: I would have never guessed! Do you work in the public or private sector? MY BF is the DA in Milwaukee CO for the drug unit, I don't know how you guys do it!

Kim: That would be so fun to do a local garden article.

Hi Teri!: I like to call 'mistakes' experiments: ) If I did not have a greenhouse, I would have run out of room months ago : ) Bummer your landscaper screwed up.... hopefully they will turn out just as beautiful as planned- Best of luck. I will be out in Vail next weekend. I hope the rain is out of there by then :)

Brad: I love 'The nanny' I would call that our 'classic' sitcom. Quilting is so much fun but you need a lot of time. I was/am quilting a blanket for my nephew for my sister's baby shower. Needless to say he is 3 and it is still 'almost' done. lol good luck :) a real gift from the heart. How are your moonflowers doing?

Hi Pat: I love container gardening. Your garden must be beautiful! What do you grow every year for your containers?

This thread is great! I am glad I know more about you all : )

Keriann~

Private. I work for a firm that does litigation, primarily corporate stuff. I pretty much read pages and pages of boring financial documents all day. And now you know why I'm such a frequent poster!! :)

Keriann,

My moonflowers are doing great! The rest of the packet I started last Thursday and they've been slowly germinating, one by one.

I think my favorite character on The Nanny is her grandma Yetta. Some of my favorite quotes of hers are :" I shouldn't eat stuffed cabbage this close to a pilot light." and "I came because they brought me and I don't know how to get home from here." :) LOL.

My quilt isn't started yet but I just need a few more things and I'll be on my way. It's for my nephew and eldest niece for when they come visit, and for me when they're not here.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Hi all!
I'm from GA. This is my 2nd year growing plants from seed (under lights)& I am hopelessly addicted.

We live on a farm & together with my dad, do 3 large vegetable gardens. Whenever I can sneak away from all the vegetable work, I plant MORE FLOWERS!!

I spend most daylight hours outside; it is a dream come true. The only downsides are the mosquitoes & the gnats; they love me & IGNORE the other members of my family.

This year we have 100 tomato plants (& a few more waiting in the wings), 40 bell peppers, yellow squash & zucchini already in the ground. We are enjoying the lettuces planted in Feb along with radishes & are still getting broccoli shoots from last fall's plants. We have cabbage & new broccoli which hopefully will make before the heat wave. Over the next few days we have to plant the cantaloupe, pumpkin & cucumber seeds. Then a little later, the okra.
Life is good!

Great thread; it's nice to "meet" everyone. I don't post much but read just about everything on the forum...you guys are GOOD!

Aubrey: sorry I spelled you name wrong on the last post... Now it makes sense.. I was wondering if you had a job for awhile there because you post so much. I post a lot off of my Blackberry, so that is why I am always posting :) It gets addicting.

Hi Bitsya! I am glad you decided to post. Your gardens make my mouth water. I sometimes do a few veggies but they always get over-run with flowers.. mostly dahlias. Welcome : )

Keriann~

Okay, I'm game:

Lori, 47, California Wine Country
Favorite flower: Ranunculus and roses
Work: Full time in insurance and I write romance novels for Harlequin on the side.

Had a garden 15 years ago and am just now getting back into it. (I'm calling myself a born-again newbie.) Just moved from big house/small yard to small house/big yard and am LOVING having my gardens back again. But we're starting from scratch, pulling out lawn and replacing it with roses, veggies, ponds, fountains, bird garden....oh, if I only had about $50K I could do it all at once!

Loving all the great advice here and the friendly people. You've become an invaluable asset to me, so let me take this opportunity to say thank you big time!

Loribee... you write novels in your SPARE time?? Sheesh. I have been "meaning to get back" to mine for weeks now, and I only work part time.

Hey, where's Jonhughes on this post??? He has a pink rake I'm sure he'd love to chat about. ;)

Kim

Hey, How about that ! !
Perfect timing ;-)
I was just reading this post, when lo and behold... I was mentioned .. by name even ;-)

Not ....."Hey , Where's what's his name ,the guy with the pink rake" ;-)

Jon E. Hughes 52 (almost 5-14-1958)

I AM MARRIED TO MY LOVELY BRIDE OF 26 YEARS (SEEMS LIKE 27 YEARS ;-0

We have 2 bio children #1 Natalie Marie (25) Army Special Forces/Intelligence Airborne in Afghanistan

#2 Jon Andrew (24) Computer Whiz... Invented the current #3 Travel App for I-Phone (plus lots of lesser known Apps)

We have 3 Adopted Children , as Foster parents for over 20 years ,we have had over 100 Foster Kids ... the ones we adopted were children who couldn't be reunited with their parents ;-(

I grow my garden for PAR (Plant A Row) an organization who encourages gardeners to Plant an Extra row for donation to their local Food bank to help feed the Hungry /Needy in their community.

{{gwi:132555}}

{{gwi:68671}}

Hi Everyone! My name is Sarah
I'm 26 and live near Albany NY
I have graduated college with degrees in both Nursery Management and Horticulture and am a full time gardener for a municipality. I love my job though, just like any job it can be stressful and times...but wouldn't trade it for the world.

Lori: HI! I am trying to grow ranunculus for the first time this year. I have a few in pots and a few in the ground (when I say a few, almost 100). I had about 20% of them turn to mush but the other 80% are about 1" tall with a HUGE root system. When do they start to take off? I planted them March 1st and March 20th and they have been stuck at 1" for 2 weeks now. We had a warm spell in the 80s and I hope that didn't set them back awhile. Any advice would be much appreciated :)

Hi Sarah: How fun, gardening and getting paid. I would love that :) Upper NY is so beautiful I am jealous!

Hi John: What a big heart you have. All of the children you have loved, you and your wife are really special people. There needs to be more people like you : )

Keriann~

Well, Kim, I don't write year-round, because you're right, that would be too hard. I need my "time off", like in spring when it's time to give daily attention to those seedlings. :-)

Keriann, wow, 100 ranunculus! I'm enjoying the 2 I bought in containers this year. LOL I'm afraid I've never grown them from--aren't they tubers? I've always picked them up at Lowes already blooming. But now you've got me inspired. I may have to search some out for next spring, because our spring weather is really ideal for them.

Here's a helpful website I found that may answer your question: http://www.willowcreekgardens.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=28, and here's a discussion on this site that looks helpful: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bulbs/msg0420451713602.html

Keep me posted on how they're doing. I'd LOVE to see what 100 blooming ranunculus look like in your garden.

Lori: Yes, they are tubers, and thank you for the links. They look like a bunch of bananas :) I have never seen them in person, only in pictures... so am anxious to see what they will do. They are planted all over the place becuase this year was an experiment on where thy liked it best, so I won't get a big 'wow' garden but *hopefully* many small 'wow' spots :) I found some tubers on line, they are really small but I am not quite sure what to expect :)

I will keep you posted.

Keriann~

"Hi John: What a big heart you have. All of the children you have loved, you and your wife are really special people. There needs to be more people like you : )"

Well said!

"Hi Jon: What a big heart you have"

That isn't what the doctor said....
He said I have an "ENLARGED" heart ;-)

{{gwi:237718}}

Oooooh, Jon. Not sure if you're joking about your heart, and I do hope it's okay, but that got me soo tickled. I needed that. Speaking of hearts, I visited the doctor with heart palpitations the other day, only to find out Starbucks was the culprit. Oh no! I'll still get UCGs though... ;)Nice to get an aerial shot of the garden on the Composting forum too!

Sarah, did you have a problem finding a job initially? That sounds like such an interesting job.

Kim

LOL...Women ride their brooms & men ride their rakes? ;-)

Stephen (Irish)
33 years old
Born & raised on a farm/apple orchard in Massachusets
My fathers parents had the most beautifull garden that was pretty much their back yard. It would seriously make Mr. Myagi's look simple! =)
I have been gardening on & off since I was old enough to carry a tool or a basket, but gardening on my own, at my own place didn't start until about 6 years ago.
I have 2 kids, ages 2 & 4 whom I love to death! =)
I mostly do container gardening since I do not own my own place yet.

- Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: Steve's Garden

Yeah... I was just teasing ;-)

Just mixed up compost piles...

{{gwi:90905}}

One hour later (the beast looks tame...but is smoldering ;-)
{{gwi:90903}}

Keriann
The first year was costly. Almost all of the plants I bought died. It was quite a learning experience. I currently grow venus fly traps (Dionaea muscipula), North American pitcher plants(Sarracenia), Tropical pitcher plants(Nepenthes) and Sundews(Drosera). Pure water and lots of light are the two most important factors in carnivorous plant health.

Hi Everyone

How nice it is to see all you young people gardening. I guess I'm the senior member.

Myrna
Just north of Sudbury Ontario, Canada

My husband and I have been serious gardeners since we bought this house in 1972. I was a newbie city girl, but my husband grew up on a farm. I am an artist as well as a gardener. I paint in the winter months and garden and collect photos for my paintings in the summer.

As Red Skelton used to say--I'm older than my hair and just a bit younger than my teeth.

Hey everyone... this thread is CRAZY!!!

My name is Adam

From Ohio, near Toledo.

3 yr gardener, just bought a house and now can have my own grow light setup.

Getting Married in October!!!! Ya

oh...btw.... I am 23...

I, too am suprised that so many 20 somethings are into gardening. Everyone I know looks at me like I'm crazy, but I don't care. I just can't help it. ;) And Myrna, don't worry about it. Us youngin's have to learn from the ones who know what they're doing!

Kim

Kim- I actually got really lucky in finding my job. It started as a part time seasonal job while I was in college. Then I did my internship here and got promoted to head gardener after that. I really am grateful to have a year round job in the field. The winters i spend in the greenhouse, outside pruning and maintaining snowshoe trails, hosting workshops and helping with office work. I will try and post some pictures of my work gardens, there is about 40,000 square feet of garden space i maintain. Keeps me busy;)

I'm more of a lurker here but I thought I'd stop in and play today. I'm Lillian, 29, in Milwaukee and a self-employed lawyer.

I've been gardening on and off for the past 5-6 years. I only really started to learn about what I was doing for the past 2 though. These forums are so helpful. I realize now that I, like many apparently, was killing my plants with love aka water.

I wanted to add some other things about myself.

I live at home with my mom and dad. Mom and I do all the gardening. We usually just grow tomatoes but this year mom wants to add bush beans too. Where we live, we don't have a lot of space, but we figure it out somehow. I also like to grow herbs too.

I hope we don't get that tomato blight this year. A friend told me to plant marigolds around the tomatoes and that keeps the blight off of them. Has anyone tried it? I was disappointed that we had to throw out our plants because I love fried green tomatoes.

It's great to getting to know everyone here!

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Brad-- Marigolds won't keep the blight away. Marigolds may deter some bugs though.

Blight is caused by a fungus in the soil. Water splashes on to the soil and on to a leaf carrying the spores of the fungus with them. Then it splashes onto an uninfected leaf from the infected leaf and infects that leaf. Your best line of defence is to keep the water from splashing on the leaves. A thick layer of newspapers with mulch on top helps as does picking off the bottom leaves as soon as they become infected. Fungicides help too but I don't like spraying them on food crops

Taz: Pitcher plants seem amazing and a nice treat to have something inside in the winter months. I may have to stop by the carnivorous forum and get inspired. Any tips for a beginnerÂs plant?

Hi Myrna: It is nice to know your name: ) the red skeleton statement is quite funny!

Hi Adam: congrats on you new house and your engagement :) Life is good!

Kim: yep I am in that boat. I rather send the evening in my gardens rather than heading out to dinner and a martini lounge! Better yet, walk around in the gardens with a glass of Pinot!

Hi Steve: Wow you maters look great. I can not believe you have fruit already; very inspiring. Massachusetts is beautiful, I am jealous. Where are you now?

Keriann~

Keriann a highland or hybrid Nepenthes would be a good starter in your zone. They sell a hybrid Nepenthes 'ventrata' that's venricosa-x-alata, at Lowes for about $10. The downside is it's only about 2" wide. They do grow pretty fast if given the right conditions, 70-90F days with a slight drop at night and can reach 6-8' wide. You can feed them fish food if kept inside. Drosera 'capensis' or spatulata is another good starter and these stay fairly small.

My sister just bought seeds for a Venus fly trap (sorry, don't know the scientific name). It says it may take about a month to germinate... She doesn't have that kind of patience so I will probably inherit it. Yes!

Kim

Taz: Thank you. They are both really interesting plants. I will have to do some research after my seedlings are out for the summer and then post over on the other forum. It seems like a fun project!

Kim: Very cool, I am out of patience so I think I will need some instant gradification from a plant :)

Keriann~

Hi Everyone
A newbie here...been lurking for a few years. I have LEARNED a lot from everyone here on this forum!

I'm Cheri
I'm 49 (very soon to be 50, yikes!!)Live in Southern WI. Love growing plants from seeds. Work retail. Nothing better then to get off work & head to basement to see what needs to be watered or potted up. Or when the weather is nice to be outside weeding & dead heading.

So jealous of my neighbors in the south. Everyones gardens look lovely. My husband built two new raised bed. We are looking forward to raising our own fruits & vegetables this year.

Nice to meet everyone...looking forward to reading everyones post.

I'm a seed junkie & proud of it!
Cheri:)

I'm a lurker in this forum but I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm Anissa, 33, from MN. This is my second year gardening and growing from seed. I'm using a light set up in my basement as well as wintersowing lots of stuff on my deck. I'm growing annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs. I currently have more seedlings than I will have room to plant in my little yard. I can't walk past a seed rack without buying something.

I've learned so much from this forum (as well as others) so thank you everyone for all the helpful advice!

Hi Cheri: How exciting to grow your own fruit, that sounds like so much fun!

Hi Anissa: Welcome and thanks for posting! I bet many of your friends are excited you have too many seedlings : )

Keriann~