Anyone grow fruits/veggies?

susiestar

Roll With It
I can remember many summers where I never wanted to see, smell, touch or taste a zucchini after we dealt with the quantities that various relatives and neighbors grew - or the year my uncle set a garden up for my mom and planted 12 zucc plants. You can only handle so many, Know what I mean??

As I looked some stuff up, I came across a program I wish I had known about as a kid. It is run by my state's regional food bank and accepts produce from gardeners who want to contribute or are over-run with zucchini to the point that zombie zucchini take over their dreams.

It just sounds like a really great program and I bet other food banks also have programs like this. Here it is called Plant-A-Row.

Happy gardening - and watch out for those Zombi Zucchini!
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Cool!
I have a bunch of fruit trees, but have only gotten one ripe (excellent) plum in the past 6 yrs. The outdoor critters always get to them first.
Tomatoes work for me ... but only as many as I can eat. I've never had enough to give away.
You must use much better fertilizer!
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
When my dad first moved to Tennessee, out in the country, he planted a HUGE garden, over an acre! And it was just him and my mom at the time! He had so much stuff, he set up a big table at the end of his driveway loaded it down with fresh vegetables, and invited all the neighbors to come by and take whatever they wanted. And they did!

There were a lot of fruit trees too but I never had much luck with them. There were several different kinds of apples, plums and pears. I really wanted those pears and every year it would have a lot on it. And every year, before they were ripe enough to pick, the darned deer would get every last one of them!
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
We have tomatoes every year... But we don't plant them. They're all volunteer plants. Go figure.

A couple of summers we had zucchini and yellow squash, but never too much. Last couple of years? ONE SQUASH - and I started cutting up this zucchini to steam for a snack and it was a CUCUMBER. (I am glad I noticed before the salt, butter and steam... Eww.)

I am hoping for zucchini this year... The kids adore zucchini bread.
 

tawnya

New Member
We grow produce for a living, and sell it at our roadside stand.

I called a local homeless shelter, and asked them if they wanted my leftover (day old) sweet corn. Most people want it picked fresh every day, even though there is nothing wrong with the day old corn. They said they would take it, but I had to bring it to them. That can't happen because I am the only one running the place, picking, selling, planting, etc. I run from 6am-9pm during the summer. It made me kind of sad that there wasn't anyone who could come pick up. There just aren't enough people around to help.

Nothing goes to waste because I take it home and put it up for the winter.

I'll look into this program, too.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
If you do get too much zucchini, it can be shredded and then frozen for later use. I always did it in 1 cup portion sizes because that is what my bread and muffin recipes called for. There will be a LOT of liquid when you thaw it, so don't put as much liquid into the recipe. The liquid has a fair amt of vitamins so don't pitch it.

My husband does some jalapenos and tomatoes most years and we toss produce that goes bad into the yard in certain areas. Usually we get plants there and often produce, with-o really doing much except a little watering and not mowing them down.
 

ThreeShadows

Quid me anxia?
Step, I peel, deseed and slice cukes into large dice. I then sauté them in butter and fresh dill. This make a delicious accompaniment to planked salmon.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
I need to get a few tomato plants!!

The best tomatoes I've ever had were the ones my grandpa grew in his garden. We'd pick them off the vine, wash them off in the garden hose, and eat them while they were still hot from the sun!
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
My husband tries every few years to grow tomatoes and a couple of other things. Every single time bugs or critters get 'em. After a couple of years husband tries again. Geez!

We had two orange trees, one lemon tree and two grapefruit trees that bore fruit. A few years back when we had those three hurricanes back to back (that was a nightmare) the trees went barren. But after years of no fruit the one grapefruit tree is producing again for us. It's on the back lot line and the most heavily laden brances hang in our neighbors yard. The couple travels between homes alot so we only wave and say Hi once or twice a year. We won't go on their property so husband and I are
eating all we can reach and leaving the rest. Rats.

Our "hippie" easy child has his entire yard planted with vegetables. All of it. He takes bags to friends as well as the homeless shelter in his town. Just recently he was complaining about the squirrels this year. He's weird, lol, but a good man. DDD
 
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