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Gardening for Geeks?

Posted by Cliff on from the discover-your-green-thumb dept.

selan asks: "Spring has sprung, and this year I've decided to try gardening for the first time! I'm starting with a small container garden on my balcony and am planting oregano and parsley. I was wondering if any Slashdot readers enjoy this low-tech hobby and have any advice to share with a newbie."

3 of 98 comments (clear)

  1. Accidental gardening by Mprx · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I have a basil plant growing in my kitchen. This is not intentional, I bought it for cooking a few months ago (very cheap) and surprisingly it didn't die. It's now about 4 times as big as it was when I bought it and still growing strong, although the roots are showing so it probably needs repotting.

    As for gardening tips, if you remove the growing tip of the plant (just break off the very top of the plant with your fingernails) it will grow 2 more. Remove those to get 4, then 8, 16, 32... Of course, if you overdo it the plant dies.

    I used to have a cactus but it wasn't getting enough light so now my sister is looking after it for me. It's about 2 years old, and is about 10 times the size of when I first got it. Cactus are easy to grow, just don't overwater them.

  2. i you're truly a geek... by drunk_as_in_beer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    i think you want to go here.

    --
    --Drunk as in Beer
  3. Hops are great for the Beer Geek by Spamlent+Green · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Any slashdotters also into homebrewing might consider planting hops. They'll take a year to get established, but if they're planted in the right conditions, they'll really take off. Of course this means you need the vertical space to accomodate them.

    I have 2 varieties (Cascade & Nugget) that have now grown about a foot each in the last 2 weeks (3 weeks ago they weren't even visible). If their performance last year was any indicator, they should be doing 1-2 feet a week shortly.

    Now if I just had time to start brewing again, I'd actually be able to do something with them....