Hey DMS just curious about what y’all are growing this year? Any good things y’all are excited about? I’m growing blue java banana and I’m hoping i get a good rack of 'nanners this year. It’s the corm’s second year and I’ve taken off couple of daughter trees and potted them up.
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I would love to do a whole write up on everything I am growing and how they’ve been doing, but instead I will just list the things and folks can ask for more information as desired.
Onions (for greens/scapes only)
Yarrow
Cucumber
Sunflower
Blueberries
Rosemary
Zinnias
Asparagus
Tomato
Eggplant
Dill
Marigold
Datura/moonflower
Habanero
Nasturtium
Swiss chard (green)
Joe Pye weed
Thyme
Thai basil
Sweet basil
Pineapple
White sage
Taro
White potato
Flame acanthus
Spaghetti squash
Blackberry
Dewberry
Milkweed vine
Butterfly milkweed
Green antelope horn milkweed
Turks cap
Elderberry
Goldenrod
Chamomile
Bee balm
Mint
Catnip
Cilantro
Tropical sage
Mealy blue sage
Mexican sage
Liatris pycnostachia
Liatris punctata
Texas Lantana
Purple coneflower
Rudbeckia (can’t remember species)
Clasping coneflower
Giant coneflower
Peach
Plum
Fig
Lemongrass
Prickly pear
Mustang grape
Texas blanket
Bitterweed
Trailing fuzzybean
Birdhouse gourd
Loofah
Wooly Dutchman’s Pipevine
And I have a few more that are actively being propagated but I won’t count those until they’re in the ground and thriving.
And of course, all the mushrooms I am growing… but that’s more of an indoor thing than outdoor.
Pink oyster
Gray oyster
Veiled oyster
Bitter oyster
Late oyster
Lions mane
Nameko
Black poplar
Dyer’s polypore
Tiger sawgill
Metarhizium anispoliae
I have a lot of seeds and mushroom cultures to share for anyone interested!
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I’ve planted so much this year already😭 I’d say I’m most excited for my Leysa peppers and Dragons tail radishes!
I also think I’ve finally planted enough dragons tongue beans to be fruitful enough for a full harvest and not just a single serving 
This is my first year without a cage on my garden though, so we’ll see how that fares. 
The inevitable downside of being a crow mom, is the peanuts can attract squirrels too. I have seen a couple squirrel holes, but luckily no real interference yet.
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I confess I’m a somewhat strange gardener. I have so many interests and hobbies I have to spend time on so many different activities that I don’t do an outstanding job on gardening. I have, however, this year decided to redouble my effort.
I’m primarily growing peppers from Sandia.com, including the world famous Carolina Reaper pepper. I haven’t succeeded yet, but it is planted at least. I have others from them, too.
I also plant herbs: lots of basil, because I use it in cooking a lot, some mint, because it just came up from last year, some potatoes, first year doing it, onions, beans, peas and squash. Almost all of it from seed. I’m raising some of my herbs in a Sam’s raised bed and containers. I’m considering building some raised beds in my backyard, but I haven’t as of yet.
I bought some tomatoes from Sam’s the other day and they are already bearing fruit. I also bought a jalapeno and habenero plant. They are doing great, too.
I also planted some new roses, new blackberry and some arabian jasmine, gardenia, scarlet runner, zinnias and some other flowers. I bought some shade seed mix I haven’t planted yet, but it is supposed to be easy to grow.
I also overdid it with new houseplants. Some of them are really interesting and I’m having fun. I hope to propogate some of them.
In the past I’ve done a lot of composting and vermicomposting as well as rainwater collection, but alas, I’ve not done anything recently. Maybe I’ll consider it soon.
Lastly, I built a stand for my tomato plants to keep them from being rabbit food. We have some rabbits in my neighborhood and they’ll eat almost anything. We have squirrels, too, and although I have a huge pecan tree and it bears nuts every year I never get any because the squirresl get them. I have lot of pecan and oak trees growing though because the squirrels plant them for me.
All in all, I’m having fun and learning what works and what doesn’t in out local area.
One huge change is the PictureThis app on my iPhone. It has a yearly subscription but it is absolutely awesome. I’ve learned a lot about different plants and how to manage them. It can also identify literally 400,000 plant species. You should check it out if you love plants.
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Mostly a variety of rabbit food…and radishes.
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That is a lot of awesome stuff you’re growing. Beware the carolina reapers, any chinensis peppers, they get really big. Inaturalist is a free app and is what most if not all other plant and insect apps pull their data from. They are also a non profit that’s doing amazing work. This is from their website inaturalist.org I recommend it for everyone that loves nature. It’s great for all kinds of plants not just wildflowers but also food crops and exotics as well.
"iNaturalist helps you identify the plants and animals around you while generating data for science and conservation. Get connected with a community of millions scientists and naturalists who can help you learn more about nature! What’s more, by recording and sharing your observations, you’ll create research-quality data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature. So if you like recording your findings from the outdoors, or if you just like learning about life, join us!
iNaturalist is a 501c3 nonprofit organization based in the USA (Tax ID 92-1296468).
Vision: iNaturalist’s vision is a world where everyone can understand and sustain biodiversity through the practice of observing wild organisms and sharing information about them.
Mission: iNaturalist’s mission is to connect people to nature and advance biodiversity science and conservation."
Love year round radishes. I like purple plum and german giants.
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I grow mostly cut flowers and keep bees! The spring varieties (pictured) are tapering off, all the summer blooms are just getting started
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Thanks for the tips. Yeah, I’m aware of the Reapers risks. I will use plastic gloves and ensure it doesn’t get anywhere on me, too. I’ll probably even use a facemask.
I just wanted to give them, and a lot of other hot peppers, a try. I hope to harvest some seeds from them for next year, too.
I downloaded the iNaturalist app, too. I’ll try it next to PictrueThis and see which is better at identification. It will be interesting.
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The nice thing about iNaturalist is that not only does it have an AI system for suggesting IDs, it also has a community of people who can add IDs or comments to your observations.
It’s not just for plants, but all living organisms. You can even use it to log tracks, nests, eggs, scat, or even auditory calls.
You can also use iNaturalist to locate organisms you might be interested in. I frequently use it for locating wild plants and mushrooms that I am interested in. Seed collection can be done when the time of year is right (and under the proper circumstances).
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Finally an update!
Dragons tail radishes, and dragons tongue beans. I plan to pickle this harvest as there are TONS coming in.
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Are you going to ferment them or do a quick pickle recipe?
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My plan was to quick pickle, but I hadn’t thought about fermenting!!
I’ve never done that. I made homemade kombucha once that exploded in the middle of the night, though. 
Maybe I should stick to quick pickling? 
Home fermentation is actually super easy. You need to weigh out all your water and solids, calculate 2% of that weight and that’s how much salt you add. Keep it submerged in a non-airtight container and just wait a while.
You can ferment pretty much anything from the garden. Here’s some Swiss chard I am currently fermenting. I modified a jar with an air lock and I use glass fermentation weights to hold it all underwater.
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Oh wow! I am absolutely about to try this. I’ll keep you updated! 
About how long do you keep it out?
Until it stops producing gasses plus a few days to a week. I’m not sure there is any real downside to leaving it out longer.
Perfect! I’ll keep ya updated
FYI, cross posting given the audience here