This Ain't Your Grandmother's Garden

This is not your Grandmother's Garden



We are going BIG this summer










When you think backyard garden most people have visions of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and squash plants. In recent years some home gardeners have added some new even exotic crops into the mix. The internet has been the catalysis for opening up access to a wide variety of vegetable seeds along with thousands of videos and websites offering expert help on how to grow them. Most backyard gardens of the sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties can be traced back to small farms where many families down south grew vegetables to supplement the family income and diet. Today most grandmothers would jump at the chance to add some variety to the old standards. 



Ghost Peppers

Price
There are however a few drawbacks especially if you are on a budget.  Some of these seeds or starter plants can be pricey. A hand full of yellow watermelon seeds cost twice as much as a regular envelope full. 


                                                                       Graffiti Eggplant

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Since the demand for some of these specialty seeds is not that great they can be hard to find. You may have to buy earlier that you normally would and store your seeds in the freezer once they are properly wrapped. 




Watermelon Radish 

Gardeners are used to being patient but ordering from a foreign country can take it to a whole new level. Occasionally I order seeds from China or Singapore. Unless you are willing to pay extra for shipping (which I am not) you can expect to wait up to a month for your seed delivery. 

Yellow Watermelon 

Space can also become an issue. Most of the vegetables on this page like the dragon fruit take up a lot of room. Keep this in mind before committing to growing them. 

Chinese Squash


Candy Beets

Dragon Fruit

My dragon fruit (not the one in this picture) was a gift from a fellow gardener from across the street. This is the third summer I have had it but it will still take some time before I see any fruit. I also grew ghost peppers over the past two summers with mixed success. With the exception of those two items, everything else I will grow from this blog will be new to me.  The basic principals still apply. Proper soil, make sure your plants get enough sun, add nutrients when necessary. 

This summer I have devoted half of my raised garden to growing these new and exciting plants. I may only plant a few of each but this will allow me to determine which vegetables I want to add more of next year vs the ones I will have to kick to the curb. 

I will post videos of my progress on my Youtube channel so please subscribe. 

Thanks
The Frugal Gardener
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