Who is planning their garden?

[Remudamom]

I've got a few small raised beds. I'm thinking strawberries, zukes and squash, okra, green beans and tomatoes. Herb garden is already pretty well established. Pumpkins out where they can go wild.

 

What are you planning? I don't want to plant too much because I've got a huge flower garden, but once I put this on paper it looks like nothing.

 

Whoops! Forgot I've got asparagus, I knew I was forgetting something. I've got blackberry bushes too, but they never do anything.

[amyrobynne]

I just ordered my seeds from Seed Savers Exchange today :)

 

The past couple years have been terrible re: squash bugs in our area -- my community garden requested that no one plant any varieties of squash to attempt to cut down on the pests last year. So I'm skipping those, except maybe for a zucchini hill in my herb garden where I haven't had issues yet.

 

I have a shady backyard garden and a 10x12 community garden plot and will probably be adding another 20x20 city garden plot this year if I get a space. I tend to grow the early plants in my yard garden before the trees leaf out. So once the snow melts (someday, someday), I'll put peas and lettuce there. I also have black raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb, and asparagus in there.

 

I've grown mostly tomatoes in my community garden plot for the past 3 years, so I know I should rotate plants, which is why I'm hoping for the city plot. I got bush beans (yellow, purple, and green) so I don't need to trellis everything this year, plus MN Midget melons and some cold-weather-friendly watermelon. I'll plant slicing cukes too (I pickle cukes, but buy a half-bushel of same-sized ones at the farmer's market) if I have the space.

 

I start the tomatoes and lettuce under grow lights. I usually try to start by mid-late March, but with the way winter's hanging around this year, it'll be okay to get a late start.

[Lisa in SC]

Strawberries, jalapeños, heirloom tomatoes (many varieties), carrots, a pumpkin or two...I'm still undecided on the rest. We also have raised beds. I fail at potatoes so I probably won't even try this year. The fire ants destroy them. Two years ago, we grew some gorgeous corn, but we underestimated the cleverness of deer. We have blackberry bushes, so they'll do well, I hope.

[Remudamom]

I went out morning after morning last summer to fight evil (squash bugs). I used soapy water in a spray bottle. It was my amusement for the day to watch those suckers die. Hate squash bugs.

[4kidlets4me]

I'm not much of a planner I go into my garden center and pick up anything that looks good. I don't mess with seeds they are too much work for me. I kept a pretty detailed journal last year on what I planted and when and how it did, so I'll probably consult that before I start shopping. I need to get out there and pull out the remaining kale and carrots I overwintered and get the beds cleaned up. I'm waiting on the weather.

 

I'll probably plant broccoli, spinach, carrots, peas, tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, potatoes, cauliflower, and cucumbers. I didn't have much luck with pumpkin, watermelon, cantaloupe, bush beans, basil, peppers or brussel sprouts last year so don't think I'll bother with those this year.

[KrissiK]

It's going in on Saturday. Whoohoo! DH has put a strict limit on tomato plants. Last year I went a little crazy. However, I still have my spring garden in full force, so it's going to be difficult. I'm in the middle of harvesting peas, lettuce, spinach and kale. My fennel isn't quite mature and my cauliflower is still.... not there yet. But, I'm planting tomatoes - both for eating and Romas for canning. Cucumbers, peppers (sweet and jalapeno), canteloupe, pumpkins, winter squash, summer squash, strawberries and my herbs are ready to put in as well. Oh yeah, and green beans. And I have a whole bed of green onions that is kind of a perpetual thing. I love growing green onions. They smell so good.

[readinmom]

Rather late in lifetime planning but I've learned the value of having fruit trees. In the last two years we have planted a Meyer lemon, grapefruit, plum, nectarine, and two orange (mandarin and Satsuma). These are in pots on our patio and have flourished. The plum and nectarine should fruit this year, already covered in buds/blossoms. I hope to add a Dorsett apple and some type of avocado this year.

 

I would like to try pumpkins this year to see how they do in our one flower bed. Everything else has to be grown in containers because everything is concreted in our backyard (pool deck).

 

On a side note, my mom and I bought our lemon trees at the same time, both from Home Depot. Dh and I bought her another from Costco last spring. The Costco tree flourished. Last week we picked 40 lemons off of the tree because it was so weighted down. Go figure! Home Depot tree only had 3 or four fruit.

[swellmomma]

Planning might be too strong of a word. We are under yet another winter storm warning because the million feet of snow we have isn't enough, and what 1st day of spring would be complete without out (with windchill) -20C temps to make the robins sing. Here's hoping the snow is gone long enough to at least till the garden before we leave for summer vacation.

 

As for actually growing, I am aiming for TONS of tomatoes, TONS of pickling cukes, because both will be getting canned. Peas, carrots, green beans, 1 lonely zuke bush, regular cukes, onions, pumpkin, lettuce, broccoli, and we will see.

 

I am starting seeds in the house perhaps, but likely cheating and doing most on established plants,mainly because we have a very short growing season and because I plan to be gone for several weeks at the start of summer. And don't want to waste time on seeds. Instead once back from vacation I will plant the established plants, tend them for the 8 weeks or so we will have left of our growing season, harvest them and focus on the canning and freezing I need to do.

[Laura in CA]

Planted sugar-snap peas a few days ago ... Planning on the tomatoes going in next week. Also basil, cilantro, peppers ... That might be it for now, because the sweet peas are about to bloom (I never know where they'll pop up!) and I want to work around the sweet peas and poppies. I love this time of year!

[Rosie_0801]

Me! The summer season was a miss, but we have high hopes for the winter season. We've chook and child proofed the shade house and hope to get a crop of tomato and acorn squash before the frost kills them off. The next step is to chook proof the citrus grove so we can plant some perennials.

[Parrothead]

Meh, I'm planning, but only in my mind. We received 17 inches of snow on the first day of spring.

[SunnyDays]

Joining with those who are just dreaming. We're getting more snow this weekend. Ah, and I have a black thumb extraordinaire, so whatever I plant will probably die anyway.

 

I do like fruit trees, though... ;)

[MrsBanjoClown]

We've already planted potatoes, and we plan to plant tomatoes and cantaloupe on Friday if we can. We've talked about planting sweet potatoes, okra, and pumpkins.

[Lady Marmalade]

Another one dreaming that the four feet of snow outside might actually melt someday and we'll get to have spring. The ten day outlook still has no 40's even. We're stuck in a cold and snowy cycle, and there is a rumor of another weather event possible in the next week.

 

That being said, I have peppers, eggplant, herbs, cabbage, broccoli, kale and cauliflower started under lights. I'd started the brassicas, hoping that I could get them in the ground nice and early. Now I'm wondering if I should chuck them and start another round. I'll be starting tomato seeds next week- I have nearly 100 open-pollenated varieties to pick and choose from this year. I'm all about quantity this year. I want gallons upon gallons of canned tomatoes, pickles, corn, and salsa on the shelves this year. Tomorrow morning I have a meeting at the extension office to pick out and pay for a community garden plot, which will double my available garden space.

 

And yet... it's still winter here.

[Renthead Mommy]

This will be our first garden in Ohio. We finally have a yard with plenty of sun and space so we have a large raised bed, plus the two large 'flower beds' around the porch. I also have about 7 Earthbox containers (that have the 4gal water tank in them).

 

We are on clay with about a 5 in layer of contractor backfill. On top of that I layered newspaper, rabbit manure, grass and leaves. My compost is waiting to be added.

 

With that in mind where would you put your tomatoes? Ground or container? Both get equal sun. What about squash, zucchini and cucumbers?

 

I was going to put my early greens in Earthboxes as I could move them to cooler areas as the days warm up and they'd last longer. But for everything else, I've never had options like this before! I'm over whelmed in a good way!

[blessed3x]

Me! Me! :hurray:

I just placed my order with Southern Seed Exchange a few days ago. I started my tomato and green pepper seeds last weekend (inside) and have been going through the seeds that I have to plan where to do put them.

We have a few raised beds in the back. I need to get more soil for them before planting, but am very excited about the garden this year. It is therapeutic.

[Saddlemomma]

I'm guilty! I always get excited about planting our gardens around this time. Unfortunately, we just got 16" of snow dumped upon us yesterday!

 

Anyway, we have two large, 60'X40' garden plots, as well as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, arctic kiwis; apple, pear, cherry, plum trees; rhubarb; grape vines; and an asparagus bed. I also have a 24X12 greenhouse that I grow my tomatoes, cantaloupe and watermelon in. Up here in the frozen north, I need all the extra help I can get in extending our growing season.

 

I've already ordered and received our seeds. I'm trying heirloom seeds this year and will attempt to gather my own seeds from some of my plants for the first time. I plan on growing:

 

• tomatoes (I'm the only one to eat these. I like them fresh and with everything else we put up, it's too much work as I don't do canning so I only grow a few plants for me)
  
• beets (freeze for winter. We may try mounding these this year, cover with straw and leave in the ground like the carrots)
  
• carrots (we keep these in the ground year round covered in mounds of straw. Just dug some up the other day and they were fresh and fine)
  
• brussel sprouts (this year will be a first for me)
  
• red & green peppers (I'm the only one who eats these so I freeze them)
  
• corn (freeze for winter)
  
• celery (also another first)
  
• onions (Keep some fresh in root cellar and some frozen for soups and stews)
  
• green beans (freeze)
  
• peas (freeze)
  
• various lettuces/greens (eat as much as we can before the end of growing season)
  
• pumpkins (cook down and freeze for muffins and breads)
  
• summer squash (eat fresh only)
  
• zucchini (freeze for breads, cakes, muffins)
  
• carnival squash (store in root cellar)
  
• butternut squash (store in root cellar)
  
• cantaloupe (eat fresh and store some over the summer)
  
• watermelon (only get one or two each summer which is plenty for us)
  
• spinach (eat fresh, but may try to freeze some this year)
  
• kale (another first endeavor, but find I like it blended into my protein shakes)
  
• various gourds (to dry and do crafts with)
  

 

We generally like to rotate the crops so that nothing is ever growing in the same area for consecutive seasons. With all the freezing and root cellar storage we do, we save quite a bit on the grocery bill. The trick is to grow enough to last the fall, winter and growing season until our next harvest. It took a while for us to gauge how much produce was necessary. We don't bother with potatoes, as this is potato country and we can glean in the field across the street for nothing. We also leased part of our fields to a potato grower for this season and will get all the potatoes we need free.

 

We also have chickens for eggs (and fresh meat as they get older - tough though), and we usually raise a pig for meat as well.

 

It's a busy time of year, but we look forward to it after being cooped up during the winter. I'm getting excited just writing about it!

[Miss Mousie]

My seeds arrived this week, and I should start the tomato seeds (three varieties) this weekend. If I remember correctly what I ordered, the tomatoes are the only ones I need to start indoors. [Weird ... suddenly I have the no-paragraphing problem that people typing on phones or tablets have had ... only I'm typing on a regular desktop keyboard.] Anyway, I also ordered the usual: carrots, peas, lettuce, cukes, and a mess of flowers. This year I'm doing ONE zucchini plant, because DH and DS don't care for it but I miss it. :)

[Ottakee]

Would like to dream but I am with the other snow folks. Last year it was 87 and today it was 7 earlier but we will be in the 20s today.

 

I hope to do tomatoes. We have blackberries and black raspberries that hopefully survived the drought last year. We have some small blueberry bushes that we need to keep the chickens out of. Not sure what else. I would like to go with a few small fruit trees and more blueberries and some strawberries. Not sure on veggies yet. I try to focus on those that taste the best fresh, are easy to grow yet expensive to buy.

[Wildiris]

 

• I started tomatoes, but will buy tomatillo starts.
  
• Started peas in the bed, and will plant pole beans and bush beans.
  
• Buying pepper starts.
  
• Started winter squash for fall pies.
  
• Lettuce is in the greenhouse away from morning frosts.
  
• I planted 120 strawberries and fed my raspberries. I also had a young man come in and prune 20 of my fruit trees.
  
• Added five new roses to my rose collection (25).
  
• Flowers!
  
• Something the kids will eat. I've grown too many veggies in the past that became compost because no one would eat them.
  
• Trying melons again. One year they were spectacular, but that was a long time ago.
  

 

[Amy in NH]

We won't be planting here for another month and a half, but yes we've been planning.

 

Blueberry bushes and asparagus don't take much maintenance, but we will be replanting our strawberry bed this year. I bought a HUGE roll of landscaping fabric, so I am hoping that the strawberries and a perennial bed will be more successful after replanting. We are also going to put in some raspberries, and some landscaping bushes for hedges where our trees blew down last July 4.

 

For the vegetables, we have 6 raised beds. We're planning to convert one into an herb garden. One will be tomatoes and peppers. The younger kids will each have a 4-H bed, so that will take care of beans, cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, carrots, and zucchini, with some flowers mixed in. We'll probably plant a few extra cucumber bushes for pickling, onions, and some snap peas. The last bed will be a mix of corn and winter squash or pumpkins.

 

I haven't done a layout yet, so I'll need to check my companion planting guide and rearrange the boxes to suit the varieties, but I'm anxiously looking forward to warmer weather! (Says the woman who got a foot of heavy wet snow on Tuesday.)

[Jen in PA]

I have a lot started indoors, but winter is really holding on here, I haven't been able to direct-sow my peas and radishes as I had planned. I am hoping that by next week I can get those in, and start my tomatoes and cape gooseberries inside. Already started indoors are hot and sweet peppers, 2 types of eggplant, 2 types of cabbage, 3 types of lettuce, beets, chard, 2 types of onion, leeks, cauliflower, and broccoli. Last year we had great success with beans, so I have planned to put in lots of those this year, as well as a whole separate patch for pumpkins and various winter squashes.

[Laura Corin]

Rather late in lifetime planning but I've learned the value of having fruit trees.

 

 

So far the deer have had all our apples. We do have an ancient greengage that crops heavily. Our blueberries are growing slowly and we planted a new variety of blackberry this year: blackberries grow wild in the hedgerows, but these look really good.

 

I tried to grow pattypan squash last year, but it was almost the wettest year on record, so only a couple ripened. I'm a bit discouraged and am sticking with flowers this year.

 

Laura

[Truscifi]

Ah, the differences in Florida gardening. We planted transplants in the garden a couple of weeks ago. We have okra, beans, snowpeas, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, spinach, and herbs. We also planted 6 fig trees and 3 blueberry bushes. We hope to find a couple more blueberries and some summer squash. And in the hot season we'll plant sweet potatoes and cowpeas.

[jrn]

When the snow drifts fall below 3 feet I'll get my book out to make a plan.

[Tess in the Burbs]

I only have 6 small earth box type boxes. And while we combined crops in the past I am not doing it this year. So I need 6 crops to focus on and hit the farmers market for the rest.

 

Purple Hull Cowpea

Yellow Crooked neck squash

fordhook zuchini

sugar peas

 

maybe(need to pick 2)

Cucumber

tomatoes

some green bean

garden peas

 

I will also plant lemon basil and cilantro in smaller pots this year. I first have to build some squirrel proof fence system.....

[Tammyla]

It's still way too early to do anything but dream here.

 

I'll be doing some container gardening this year and possibly another try at a CSA.

[Rebecca VA]

We put beet, arugula, and spinach seedlings in our Earth Boxes last weekend. We had snow earlier this week, and tonight it's going to dip down to 28 degrees. We brought the Earth Boxes inside for a day or so, just to keep the seedlings alive.

 

In another couple of weeks, we'll fill more boxes -- we have 12 of them -- with other types of lettuces and possibly some early tomatoes. We love our Earth Boxes!

[Punchie]

Me!!! I love garden planning. I have everything ready so I can start seeds indoors this weekend. Which means I have to reclaim my seed-starting shelves from DH...

 

DH wants to do a row of potatoes in one of my beds (first time trying potatoes), and he's doing three sisters gardening in his bed.

 

I'm going to plant tomatoes, cukes, melon, carrots, squash, shallots, and bell peppers.

 

German Butterball Potato

Zebrune Shallot

Speckled Cranberry Bean

Seneca Red Stalker Corn

Tomatoes: Hungarian Heart, Speckled Roman, Sheboygan, Opalka, Federele

Cucumbers: Russian Pickling, Nippon Sanjaku Kiuri

Carrots: Dragon, Jaune du Doubs

Squash: Potimarron, Winter Luxury

Delice de Table Melon

Ruby King Pepper

 

I bought all of our seeds from Seed Savers Exchange.

[beaners]

This will be our first garden in Ohio.

 

Same here! All I managed to do last year was stick some of my flowers and perennials in the ground deep enough to keep them alive.

 

If I'm honest, I'm not sure this year's garden will even happen. We need to get some drainage put in the field behind the house, and nothing has been turned under or amended yet. At our last house, a neighbor who worked in landscaping had a tractor that pulled something that made raised beds. I don't know what kind of implement it was, but I want that here.

 

Most years I have a nice little set of shelves covered with boxes and lights, but I don't even know where I'd put them in this house right now. (Come to think of it, I nearly choked when my husband told me he almost picked up some birds at the feed store. Our room would be the only safe place for them, and I'm SO not going there. Ack!) It's probably just as well, because I don't have anywhere to put plants when it warms up outside. I have enough seeds to supply a small town though, and some of them are varieties I need to plant and save seed from soon. I've been eyeing tractors and tillers on craigslist, while my husband keeps sending me messages about the things he "happens" to notice on the tack-boards around town. Why do I have the sneaking suspicion I'm going to put in drainage and dig an acre plus garden by hand? ;)

 

Even if we get anything planted, a first-year garden is going to be a battle all season. I've been mourning all the things we left behind at our last house, including my garden, and fruit trees starting to bear fruit, and my chicken pen with tiered rabbit cages, and a basement, and a spare room, and a cool bookcase, and a refrigerator large enough to hold a week's worth of fresh produce. Worst case scenario, I'll spend the summer teaching the kids what plants are safe to eat and trying to keep the dogs from peeing on the purslane.

[Melissa in Australia]

our summer garden is winding up, thought we are still harvesting corn, tomatoes, zucchini, capsicum, watermelon, beans, silver-beet, beetroot, cucumbers, and cantaloupes. The apples and pears are ripping up and we are bottling like crazy (canning).The butternut pumpkin have been late this year and are still not ripe. We have things like sweet potato, spinach, lettuce, radishes and carrots year round. Dh has planted out seeds and seedlings for our winter garden. these include cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, white onions, snow peas, and podding peas.

[Truscifi]

 

 

Ds9 looking at his first tiny baby watermelon. I tried to post a pic of the melon too but it is apparently too big a file.

[TravelingChris]

I live in the woods so I do mostly ornamental gardening. And yes, I am planning that- I am going to buy lots of the new Heucheras, some Heucherallas, Some Pulmonarias, lots of impatians, some New Guinea Impatients, some coleus. Anyway, to eat- all we will do is some tomatoes- both regular, cherry and plum and some peppers for dh (I don't eat peppers) plus herbs. We can only do very limited full sun gardening since that area is one patio and around the pool. I will have to start my caladiums indoors soon. My pool area is lots of caladiums, a hibiscus, some elephant ears, a canna or two and maybe I will add some coleus too.

[JFJ in IL]

We are very excited to start gardening this year :)

 

My kids and I are going to build 3 raised beds and grow as much as we can can!

 

I found this website that helps you plan your garden...it is seriously so cool and easy to use!!!

 

http://www.smartgardener.com/

 

Good luck with your gardening...

[KrissiK]

I am not planning today, I am planting. Dh got the rototiller and tilled up the garden plot (working around the peas and raised beds of onions and lettuce), working in compost. I got my new herb garden in this morning. Started babies from seed. We'll see how that goes. They don't look that great. I also planted a long line of sweet peppers in my herb garden. It should be interesting.

 

And I planted a pumpkin. The whole thing. Fall 2011 our neighbor forgot about one of her Haloween pumpkins decorating the yard and all the sudden one day last summer we noticed a big vine invading our rose garden. It was the pumpkin. We let it go and it produced the coolest pumpkins. We've had them sitting on our porch since fall and today I dug a whole, whacked the top off the biggest pumpkin and buried it. We'll see.

[Sara in AZ]

I went out morning after morning last summer to fight evil (squash bugs). I used soapy water in a spray bottle. It was my amusement for the day to watch those suckers die. Hate squash bugs.

 

 

Those nasty things squelched my mild gardening attempts a couple of summers ago. But I can't let the nice boxes DH built me go to waste any longer. So I just bought some seeds today! Carrots, green beans, summer squash, watermelon, pumpkin, green onions, and cucumbers. Hoping I can get the kids interested in helping out with the planting this week,

[ChristineW]

We planted sugar snap peas, carrots. radishes and lettuce last week. Will plant a small watermelon plant and sunflowers in April for transplant in May. I will also plant some tomatoes--I went overboard on the tomatoes last year and watered them too much but I'll try again this year. The cherry tomatoes were our best producers so I'll definitely plant those. Maybe 2 regular sized heirlooms--depends if I can build another raised bed. I'm also considering an eggplant, bell peppers and beans. Maybe some cukes--the deer ate all my cukes last year so I'll have to get better netting.

 

Its 70 out today but we had a hard freeze 2 nights ago.

[Rosie_0801]

I planted peas, radishes and brussel sprouts yesterday. :)