Hiding down amidst the foliage..the first gardenia bloom.....this will undoubtedly be coming into the house this evening...

I think we should all move to Pistol River. I was on zillow yesterday, checking to see what's for sale....lol...

I can hardly wait til I get back to Calif the first of Aug. A little late to start a garden and will have to do my gardening in a community garden. I'm leaving KY with 9 minature roses to keep in pots at my son and DIL's mobilehome in Ventura. The community garden is just a few blocks from the park where the trailer is. I'll do my veggie gardening there.

Thanks for the welcome Rebecca & Sherry. You both have good memories about my life, even though I wasn't a very active participant in the other thread.

Sherry, I'll definitely check Costco for that bread. Had I mentioned the Udi's bread products to you - the best GF that I've tasted!

Rebecca, I'll be curious to see where we land. My DH & I both grew up within 10 miles of our current home, so it will be hard to leave - DARN economy! We're looking at an over 55 community near Sonoma - has reasonably priced houses (gasp - they exist?!), walking trails, nice climate and proximity to Santa Rosa & medical facilities. But all that is a few years away, yet. My DH would like to think about semi-retirement in the next couple of years, but both our Mom's live in our childhood homes, and we need to be here for them... Fortunately, they're both healthy (at 85 & 90), but they could potentially move with us, if their health changes. Currently, they both have very active social lives, which we wouldn't ask them to leave...

Sherry, I checked out the banana belt, after reading Rebecca's glowing reports.... however, we were concerned about proximity to conveniences like medical care, etc. My DH lived in the Santa Cruz mountains (techinically the outskirts of Los Gatos) for 20 years and (after the Santa Cruz earthquake) he wants to live with amenities close at hand - probably not a bad idea.

Marti, I don't know where you'll be in CA... but fall is my favorite planting time. We have an Indian summer that makes for pleasant (sometimes hot) planting weather through October or November, followed by the rains to water the plants in.

Liz

Liz, 'becca mentioned the Udi's also, but I haven't tried it. I've had yucky stuff, so reluctant to try anything else. I've been getting the Rudi's at one health food store that carries it and they've been out for a couple of weeks, so I looked online to see who else might carry it and Costco does! Which is thrilling since it's like $6.50 a loaf at the health food store and two loaves for $7 at Costco. I think it must be pretty popular as Costco usually has the 'in demand' stuff, I think, and they had only one gluten free bread and it was Rudi's multigrain...not even the couple of other Rudi's...just the multigrain. I'm in heaven with toast and jam with my tea, grilled cheese, etc. Best toasted in some way.

Yeah, you might ask 'becca about the quality of the medical care where she is...lol.

I kinda think I'd rather be out away from 'civilization' when a big quake, or whatever, hits. I'm thinking more and more toward rather 'off the grid'

I'll be in Ventura about half way between los Angeles and Santa Barbara. Actually closer to Santa Barbara.

Mmm Sherry, I can almost smell that gardenia!

I've been smelling it all night long...lol...I need either a larger house or a less powerful gardenia....wow.

Not blooming...insignificant little flowers...but producing, yes.

I think Green Beans have to be one of the most rewarding veggies to grow. I'm growing the French filet green beans, the description of them fits; long, slender, exquisitely tender. I'm back to veggie growing after years away from it and growing everything in 5 gallon pots to see how that works. My 'late' crop this last Fall went well. I'd thought it would be too late to plant them, but they did fine. That's good news to try again this year as the ones in pots now got hit badly with spider mites, cutting into my harvest. I also have more just now starting to produce that seem to have been missed by the mites...timing, perhaps. The French filets I planted the first round are bush types and I thought all French filets were bush type...not so. The bush types work well in the pots. The last seeds that I got are pole type and were quite a surprise. They now have bamboo trimmings in the pots to give them a little something for support. We'll see how that goes.They are starting to produce and have not climbed too much, so perhaps their climbing is determinate. The thing about the beans is that they germinate so quickly and start producing so quickly....and grow so quickly, needing picking every day. They're so superior to the green beans usually found at the market. We used to have a good veggie stand down our road that had the French Filet beans, but long gone....the only place I've found them is at The Veggie Stand in Rancho Santa Fe that charges far more than you'll ever want to pay.

Sue, what veggies are you growing?

I'm growing veggies in the dirt, for the second time this year. Last year was a dismal failure, but I got them in the ground late, because I was building the beds. Then it was never very warm, so tomatoes were a bust, except for a couple of volunteer heirlooms in the fall. I think the tomatoes did much better in pots on my patio. This year I've had lots of sugar snap peas in the spring. Totally failed at lettuce - again - always bitter. I've picked about 5 green beans - not enough for a meal & a few strawberries. In fact, my granddaughters had a ball picking & eating them last weekend! I've got Japanese eggplant, which look like they're ready - first year I've had luck with them. Last year, they didn't thrive, so I planted them in gallon containers & grew them in my "sun" room for a month, before putting them in the ground. That seemed to help them & the zucchini, which also were a failure last year - who fails at zucchini - me!!! But I've got a decent size one (so far) on my plant this year. Lots of green tomatoes - maybe, they'll ripen some day. sigh...

lizzi, do you get the late start to summer that we do here? We have May Grey and June Gloom. I've been busy doing some of this and some of that and not being able to focus on solely one thing, so I got a late start on my veggies. It was overcast Spring and then all of a sudden it was summer and where everybody is talking about their great harvests, I don't have much producing yet...and I'm hoping my melons will get some heat and time to produce summer.

I am amazed at my blueberries and red raspberries in 5 gallon pots. They are for sale but they are producing lots of berries. I go out and have them each morning, and a good sized crop. I am thinking of going to a 7 gallon pot and keeping a few. For some reason, the birds have never eaten them so I get them all.

I don't do tomatoes at all here, we just don't have enough heat to make them good. They are very acidic, I was used to my tomatos in CA and no way any here can compare. Plus the last 2 years its been too cold and wet so late, no one is having any luck with any even getting red.

I am sad, my rain is over, gone, no more.

wcgypsy, I gave up and pulled my Roma beans and Cucumbers , grown in Earth Boxs, and replanted seeds last week. The cucs are sprouted already, so I hope we get enough sun to get a late crop.

I'm going to plant more cukes. lol...I have melons that have just now germinated and started growing. I think I may move some into my small greenhouse since someone mentioned theirs thriving in the extra heat. My new beans are looking pretty good so far, Japanese eggplant and bell peppers just starting to produce. We'll hope for the best.....

You know, bex...I have blackberries that escaped and are coming up in various spots where I haven't dug them out yet...sigh....I think I'll dig them and put them in 15 gal pots and maintain them like that. I'll have to give up my 15 gal pots that I use for sugar snaps and snow peas...I'll scout around and see if I have any usable half barrels left. I did not want to grow the berries in the ground and having to take care of them like that, but in a large pot, staked, might be good.

Sherry, I am growing:

6 different tomatoes
beets
radishes
several different kinds of peppers
strawberries
lettuce
squash
chard
dill
eggplant
1 watermelon
1 red raspberry found in the garden
fall gold raspberries
rhubarb
artichoke
lemon cucumber
blueberry
We also have a dwarf nectarine and peach trees, a fig and a weeping Santa Rosa plum tree. Oh, and a pineapple guava also already here.

This is all new to us so we'll see how it all goes. So far, not many tomatoes, it's been too cool I think.

Yes, I think it seems to have been a cool, slow spring for everyone. I like the lemon cukes also. So glad to grow them again, it's been years. That's a lot of good stuff. Oh..you're having soo much fun!..lol

Bex, I'm so glad that you mentioned the berries in the 5 gal pots. I'm always having to dig out the blackberries...I'm always having to do it because I never finish the job. I hate it! Now I'm in a hurry to get out there tomorrow and dig and stick them in my 15 gal pots. Woo Hoo. suddenly they're wanted.... Jer kept asking why I didn't want to grow them. I didn't want to train them on wires and cut back the ones that had fruited and they're always getting away and spreading....as they have done. But in the pots, this is quite do-able. I'm not going to expect huge harvests...just some.

My favorite thing is just to snack on the off the vine, warm from the sun. I did not have any today so hope I get an extra bunch tomorrow. I don't want a big crop, I would have to process them, freezing berries is easy, but I would not do it at this time, too many other things pressing.

Washed my dogs, they were both smelly and now they are both mad.

I have 3 blueberries in half barrels but don't want to do anything else 'permanent' in the whiskey barrels 'cause they fall apart too quickly...either that or the years pass too quickly, that's probably more like it...lol. I have 5-6 15 gal pots sitting empty out there right now, so the blackberries will go into those. It's light out now, and cool, could go dig them...but think I'll sit outside and have a cup of coffee and listen to the birds.