Whats growing in your Garden? GNU/Gardening.

ruenoak · 2026-07-15 04:04:13

A very off topic, topic I know but I thought I would start a thread and see where it leads.
My previous career before I came to the world of tech was horticulture, unfortunately at that time a career in horticulture did not pay well and the environment I was working in was well, quite toxic, so I turned to the tech world.

I didn't lose my green thumbs though and have always maintained my passion for gardening though today it's mostly limited to pots, hopefully this will change in the future.

So whats going on in my garden ,Well replanting the Rosemary and added new plants as well as you can never have enough Rosemary. It's Winter here so winter pruning and feeding. The Bay trees really like the old tea leaves from the tea pot, it gives them good nitrogen boost.

Stepping away from the computer and the increasing slopification of the online world, can be quite therapeutic.

The concept of GNU Gardening.
- Sharing cuttings, seeds, knowledge.
- Preserve rare and heirloom varieties.
The first two I think align closer to a GNU philosophy, but the three below I feel are related as well.
- Regenerative gardening reforestation of our forests and woodlands.
- Regeneration of our wetlands
- Smart urban planning (The right trees for cities)

Threats to GNU Gardening
- GE modified plants producing seeds with IP attached.
- Planned obsolescence created from GE Plants (They do not reproduce)
- And of course GREED!

What's in your garden if you have one?
What else can we add to the above lists?
Are we losing the fight for our GNU/Garden?
Once contaminated with proprietary seeds can we go back? We have seen already legal cases against local farmers where seeds have contaminated their properties, also the contamination of cross breading from GMO to non-GMO.

Anyway, your thoughts.

Happy gardening!

greenjeans · 2026-07-17 21:04:52

Habaneros just started:

Calamity · 2026-07-17 22:53:00

I grow an assortment of medicinal and aromatic herbs as well as many flowers, it's a pretty big part of my life. Got some rarely known but powerful ones, such as rue, southernwood and feverfew. This year's thyme is blooming like crazy. Hollyhocks, coneflowers and elecampane grow giant. I have rosemary as well, but in my climate (think Zone 4, maybe 3?) it's teensy-tiny and can only be grown in a greenhouse, as an annual. Still, I can totally relate to the 'can never have enough' part!

I try to start and propagate plants from home seeds whenever I can. Had big success with decorative flowers such as lisianthus (eustoma), meadow sage, sweet pea and many others.

Hope these turn out nice & scorchy, greenjeans! We got some jalapenos but they sure seem to be taking their time, the weather has not been playing nice as of late.

Never using any nasty pesticides like DDT or those petrochemical fertilizers in my garden. There's enough poison in the soil from all the spraying going on. Very fond of comfrey tea, it's super stinky but it works! Nature gives it to us in abundance, so why not make good use of it, right?

Oh, and screw lawns!

greenjeans · 2026-07-18 18:15:42

Thanks Calamity! If those habaneros don't have enough bite I have a lovely Carolina Reaper plant that's flowering like crazy right now. I have some jalapeno plants that have been putting out some peppers for a month now, need to transplant in some larger containers now for all of them. Got some mature basil that's starting to flower, and some we planted from seeds are up now and looking great, dill too and sage. Pumpkins and watermelons have reached that psycho growth stage and are claiming new square footage daily, even growing up over the fence around the garden. And of course tomatoes galore in several varieties, already harvesting some of the cherry 100's and the romas are also putting out now. Onions have topped out at almost 4 foot tall tops.

No pesticides ever, which does cost me sometimes, baby grasshoppers took a liking to my potato's...arrrgh...no herbicides either, lots of weeding by hand but I find that carthatic at the end of a day. Getting some nice compost now from the pile we started last year.

Top tip for peppers: Bone meal, and plenty of it, it's like steroids for peppers, good for tomatoes too as the calcium prevents blossom-end-rot, and the phsophorus is super important when flowering and setting fruit. I mix it in the soli when I plant and side-dress once every 3 weeks or so after that.

greenjeans · 2026-07-19 19:56:42

Calamity · 2026-07-19 20:22:03

Despite having seen multiple videos on the subject, I can't even imagine how it must feel to taste a Reaper. Although I heard they are quite delicious if one can handle the inferno...

Thanks for the bonemeal tip - comfrey is excellent for tomatoes and beets, but it does seem to have a lesser effect on peppers, so I'll definitely consider grinding someone's bones... ^_^

Oh it's oregano in the fourth picture, isn't it? We have lots of it, it's in full bloom here - time to harvest - thankfully the rains have finally stopped. Just need to make a polite agreement with the bees... they usually understand though.

pcalvert · Yesterday 00:03:44

Calamity wrote:

Very fond of comfrey tea, it's super stinky but it works! Nature gives it to us in abundance, so why not make good use of it, right?

I hope that you're not drinking that comfrey tea, and if you are I hope that you are using it very sparingly. Comfrey contains toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, and really should not be used internally.

See:

Comfrey
https://www.poisonsinfo.health.qld.gov.au/plants-and-mushrooms/comfrey-symphytum-officinale

Comfrey: assessing the low-dose health risk
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3059158/

The efficacy and safety of comfrey
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11276298/

Metabolism, genotoxicity, and carcinogenicity of comfrey
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5894094/

Calamity · Yesterday 07:47:30

'Comfrey tea' is a term used to describe liquid fertilizer made from the plant's fermented leaves.
Does not relate to the beverage tea in any way except the color and fermentation process. The smell is so gross that you wouldn't even think of drinking that anyway. But your plants will love it (especially anything of the Nightshade family)!
https://www.oakhillhomestead.com/2017/0 … arden.html

Comfrey is also a powerful medicinal herb. I am fully aware of its toxicity - it can be used internally, but with caution - however it is much better to use it externally anyway, as a poultice. In this way, it does no harm and is very good for healing wounds and fractures as it promotes rapid tissue regeneration. I used comfrey and elecampane roots with DMSO to heal a relative's legs. She had terrible lesions that were very stubborn to cure. After only a few applications, they were completely gone. I never drank comfrey and I don't intend to, as I don't think this is even necessary to make use of it as an herbal medicine.
https://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/h … omfrey.php

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#1 2026-07-15 04:04:13

Whats growing in your Garden? GNU/Gardening.

#2 2026-07-17 21:04:52

Re: Whats growing in your Garden? GNU/Gardening.

#3 2026-07-17 22:53:00

Re: Whats growing in your Garden? GNU/Gardening.

#4 2026-07-18 18:15:42

Re: Whats growing in your Garden? GNU/Gardening.

#5 2026-07-19 19:56:42

Re: Whats growing in your Garden? GNU/Gardening.

#6 2026-07-19 20:22:03

Re: Whats growing in your Garden? GNU/Gardening.

#7 Yesterday 00:03:44

Re: Whats growing in your Garden? GNU/Gardening.

#8 Yesterday 07:47:30

Re: Whats growing in your Garden? GNU/Gardening.

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