2022 Garden Plans

[KungFuPanda]

This is a bit of a spin off of the thread about high grocery prices.  What are you all planning to plant in your gardens this year?  ( I guess some of you who aren't in the dead of winter are somewhere in your growing season now?) My little garden has always been a bit recreational and experimental.  I wasted space on corn and luffas last year.  This year my goal is to get more food for my effort.  I have four 4x8 boxes in my back yard, but that's only part sun, so I'll grow herbs, lettuce, peas, onions, radishes and strawberries back there along with my golden raspberries and blueberries.  I ordered hazelnut bushes and beach plums to try this year.

Over at my community plot (allotment) I have a 20x25 full sun garden.  Over there I plan to put tomatoes, bush beans, garlic, herbs, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, cabbages, more lettuces, kale, tomatillos, hot peppers, cucumbers.  I'll also do some cute climbing pumpkins and cut flowers.  I want to make one more attempt at kajari melons before I give up, but I'm officially quitting on potatoes, corn, pole beans, carrots and luffa.  The luffa was wildly successful, but a bit of a bully in my small space.  The pole beans were great, but my family was not interested in eating them.  They greatly preferred the bush beans.  Carrots and potatoes are so cheap to buy, so I'm not bothering this time.  I've succeeded with carrots but repeatedly failed at potatoes

I need to get better at succession planting so I have every inch of growing space planned out for the whole season.  I've begun my winter sowing, so I have my little milk jug greenhouses out there with kale and chinese cabbage planted.  I need to do about 20 more jugs.  I think I only have 12 milk jugs saved though.

So, what are you planting?  Do you have succession planting down to a science?  I'm a bit chaotic out there and could use a voice of reason.  I do want to grow more food to eat fresh and put away.  I did NOT can enough pickled veggies to get us through winter or plant enough garlic to make it past January.

[fairfarmhand]

Glad you started this! I'll check back in tomorrow. My wrists are sore, and I'm trying to not type much today to give them a day of rest. (I'm a professional writer and I spent too much time typing on my laptop on the sofa yesterday rather than on a desk)

[Faith-manor]

I will be putting in Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, basil, garlic, eggplant, broccoli, and bell peppers. My raised beds aren't big enough to do more than that. Dd will be growing five kinds of herbs, plus strawberries, carrots, salad greens, brussel sprouts, green beans, a few sunflowers, and a couple of pumpkin plants for the kids. She may try her hand a sweet potatoes. Neither of us have ever grown them. I doubt if she will put in tomatoes since her husband is allergic to night shades.

[Sneezyone]

Herbs

• Sage
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Basil (Thai and regular)
• Parsley
• Cilantro
• Oregano
• Bay laurel

VEGGIES

• Jalapeños
• Cherry tomatoes
• Zucchini
• Lettuce
• Haricot verts
• Arugula
• Collards
• Onions
• Strawberries
• Garlic
• Gai lan (Chinese Broccoli)

FRUIT

• Serviceberry
• Blueberries
• Raspberries

I've always had herbs, various onions (wild and cultivated) and garlic, but I added blueberries last fall (should bear fruit next fall) and my serviceberry tree is going in next week. The rest is going in in a few weeks after the frost threat ebbs. Wish me luck! I do have 'ornamental' kale and cabbage in my front yard now that I will harvest and cook when it starts to get leggy. Bitter doesn't bother me. I know how to make it taste good. 🙂

Edited February 7, 2022 by Sneezyone

[Laura Corin]

Herbs and tomatoes. We gave two kinds of thyme, plus bay and rosemary. I just bought oregano to plant in spring. I'll be growing basil, coriander and parsley. Two kinds of tomatoes - gardener's delight and rubylicious.

[Melissa in Australia]

We grow most everything we eat except potatoes. Our soil is lacking something they need and they are always glassy.

 Am lucky enough to live in a climate we’re we can grow year round.

 Regards succession planting. We have it down to an art. When you plant lettuce seedlings out, that day you plant a punnet of seeds. You will leave lettuce all the time. I grow 3 types all at the same time, they grow at different rates.  Plant a patch of beans every 2 weeks for a continual supply. Have seedlings growing ready to go right in when something is harvested. I have a punnet of cabbage seedlings waiting for a patch of lettuce to be harvested. They will go right in the day the last lettuce comes out.

Fill the ends of rows with something small.like a row of beetroot, radishes or shallots. Makes most of all spaces.

you can start sweet potato off early…probably right now in USA, by sticking a tuber half in a jar. Full of water. Change water every second day, first you will get roots, then a shoot. It will be ready to plant out after the last frost. But beware the vine is very vigorous and will need a bed of its own.

at the moment we have planets, corn, lettuce, radish,turnip, spring onion,3 types of tomato, capsicum, chilli, watermelon, butternut pumpkin, sweet potato, rhubarb, 2 types of kale, carrots, snow peas, peas, cabbage, cucumber, every herb you can think of,  dwarf beans,  Chinese cabbage, bok chop,  Kok rabi, climbing beans,   Beetroot, strawberries, raspberries, a huge orchard of fruit trees. 
we have just harvested the year supply of onion , garlic and shallots .

 Have just started seedlings of broccoli, 3 types of cabbage, broad beans, collards,  and cauliflower for autum harvest. Have just planted leek bulbs as well.

we also have bees and have done the first extraction of honey for the season.

Our housecow will have its calf late winter so will be milking in August.

[MEmama]

Gardening me is mostly for pleasure /expectation. It definitely doesn’t save money, but I do enjoy picking a few things from the garden for dinner, and the luxury of abundantly snacking on raspberries daily throughout summer.
 

Most of our veggie consumption comes courtesy of our CSA, which offers a far greater variety, quantity and higher quality than anything I could grow in my small mostly shaded yard. I freeze the excess, some of which lasts through the winter and into the following growing season.
 

In my own garden I am concentrating mostly on proven winners— shishito peppers, which grow well for me and freeze well, tomatoes (one cherry and one sungold— we just can’t eat more than that), tomatillos— though I’ll be giving those a break this year, snap peas, bush beans, early spinach, perennial herbs, raspberries.

I'm giving up on varieties that have repeatedly failed; it is not worth my time or energy in growing zucchini only to inevitably face the heartbreak of squash vine borers, especially when they are overly abundant and cheap to buy anyway. I enjoy slicer tomatoes but I can’t eat a plant full nor do I like them canned, so those aren’t worth my limited space. I would like to grow more bell peppers for freezing, but they tend to be bitter (I only get so much sun, and even northern varieties don’t get enough in my yard) and host small slugs, so I'm not likely to bother with those again. For some reason Poblanos thrive in my space, but we use very few and still have bags of frozen from 2 summers ago. 
 

After decades of experimentation, I think my gardening mantra is becoming simplify, simplify, simplify. 🙂 

Edited February 7, 2022 by MEmama

[Eos]

I'm going to finish my last big bed and that will be it.  I'll plant some cover crop and buy some manure for it.

My spuds are almost gone, we'll eat the last ones in a few weeks.  Garlic is still holding out but I planted much more this year so I'm happy about that.  I will do my usual: kale, lettuces, bok choi, tat tsoi, spinach, brussel sprouts, cabbage, pole and bush beans, carrots, onions, leeks, chard, sunflowers, basil, tomatoes, cherry toms, winter squash, beets, zucchini - mostly for the blossoms rather than the squash.  Dill and cilantro in addition to the perennial herbs. I'm a utilitarian veggie gardener, but might try one new thing this year - maybe sweet potatoes.  I also get leftover seedlings from ds23 who works for a landscape gardener, usually a few broccoli and cauliflower plants or other brassicas.  I love them but the cabbage moths are so bad that I will end up buying a ton of row cover this year to replace what I've been using up.  We have strawberries and raspberries, plus lots of different apples - some wild, some heirlooms.  Planting some rhubarb this year, which I've done a few times and it's never really taken.  Flowers outside the door and interspersed with the veggies make me happy.

Forgot to add peppers, a couple of cukes, and sugar snap, snow, and shelling peas.

Edited February 7, 2022 by Eos

[Carrie12345]

I have a plan to plan.

We were originally planning to be in our house this winter, so I had plans to start from scratch. Then it was looking like late spring, so I started to plan for that.  NOW we’re looking at summer, which is a real challenge.

I got some grow bags and will attempt some things to start here and move over. I don’t have high hopes. I’m already hit or miss as it is.  Potatoes and herbs are on the list. Anything else is up in the air right now.

I will be making an effort to at least prepare my future garden area, but I’m not allowed to interfere with the house work going on, so my time will be limited and involves some heavy equipment. I’m feeling really discouraged. There’s almost no way we’ll get a fully protected (for a mostly unattended) garden in with weekend work only.

[Faith-manor]

Oh and adding to the plan, dh is bringing a nice size container garden thing from his mom's since she can no longer bend down to tend plants. He is putting it by the back door and growing butter lettuce (my favorite green) and spinach (his favorite) in it. So that will be nice.

I will "put up the harvest" again by buying bulk of certain items from my favorite Mennonite farm stand. I will can salsa, pasta sauce, and plain tomatoes, freeze broccoli, green beans, carrots, and some corn on the cob, and dehydrate leeks, red and orange peppers, parsley, and celery. I like to make up a few bags of cubed potatoes, carrots, and some peas frozen together for soup mix, and then a dehydrated mix of peppers,.celery, and leeks as well. The combo makes it so easy to just dump and go for soup/stew and not have a lot of pprep work to do.

[Miss Tick]

You guys are all way ahead of me. I just finished the phase where I dog-ear my favorite catalog, then successively go back through and eliminate the things that won't grow here (i.e. figs), the things I can't get to grow (goodbye lettuce), the things I can't afford shipping for (ladder trellis, I'll be making one myself), the things it turns out I already own (found four packages of spinach seeds in my stash), and lastly things I can't justify paying shipping on (adios last package of butternut seeds and nasturtiums). Now that my cart is empty I'm ready for phase 2.

Edited February 7, 2022 by SusanC
close those parentheses, we aren't paying to air condition the whole paragraph!

[Pam in CT]

49 minutes ago, SusanC said:

You guys are all way ahead of me. I just finished the phase where I dog-ear my favorite catalog, then successively go back through and eliminate the things that won't grow here (i.e. figs), the things I can't get to grow (goodbye lettuce), the things I can't afford shipping for (ladder trellis, I'll be making one myself), the things it turns out I already own (found four packages of spinach seeds in my stash, and lastly things I can't justify paying shipping on (adios last package of butternut seeds and nasturtiums). Now that my cart is empty I'm ready for phase 2.

Evidently we were separated at birth.

[cjzimmer1]

How much I do will depend on when my sunroom addition gets finished.  I had planned to do some winter gardening in the room but since construction is so slow as they wait for materials to arrive it will be so close to spring it won't matter.  I will be redoing all the landscaping around the room and adding several news beds but whether that gets done in time for this year's growing season remains to be seen.  

I do have both red and black raspberries growing.  I need to shift them to a new area but each year I end up not moving them because I know it will disrupt that year's production and I hate to give them up. I also have honeyberries and last year was the first year they really started producing.  I'm looking forward to a bigger crop this year.  I also need to plant a second cherry tree.  The one I have is suppose to produce on it's own but never has so I figured I should plant a second one and see if cross pollination will help before giving up and cutting it down. It's been there over 10 years and always flowers just never gets cherries.

My relatives own a greenhouse so I always get my veggies and flowers as plants.  We did pick out a bunch of new vegies seeds to try this year and I'm sure some of them will be adding to my space.  But at a minimum, I will have 3-5 kinds each of tomatoes and peppers, cucumbers, parsnips, okra, zucchini, spaghetti squash, basil, parsley, dill, leeks, and arugula.  I know we added shallot seeds this year but I can't remember what else is new.  I'll rediscover it in May when I'm gathering plants to bring home.

[Brittany1116]

Someone just gave us parts for a raised bed because they didn't get around to it for 2 years. LoL So we will add that one alongside our established beds. We still have kale, carrots, and spring onions in the ground now.

I made tabs in the Baker Creek catalog and pulled out my seed box a few weeks ago. I only need to order a few packs and then sketch a plan.

My bigger goal is learning how to revive the plum trees that have been here and rarely fruit, as well as how to grow the blueberry bushes we have in containers that still only look like sticks.

[ScoutTN]

I will have a small garden. We get a CSA box that generously supplies our veggie needs.

Herbs, always. Sage, thyme, rosemary, mint, parsley, chives, dill, cilantro, basil.
 

I have two beds that have been a tangle of cutting flowers and weeds the last couple years as I’ve ignored them. Starting over with some veggies this year, but I’m sure I’ll have volunteers from the last couple years sneak in too. I am happy to have the flowers.

Lettuce, tomatoes, peppers - bell and poblano, bush beans. Maybe a melon? Dh doesn’t like to deal with the vines, but we’ve had good cantaloupe in the past.

I want to get back to having flowers in my front yard and figure out what to do with a narrow strip of garden beside our driveway that has been mostly weeds the last couple years. Might go with shrubs there?

 

[Faith-manor]

44 minutes ago, Brittany1116 said:

Someone just gave us parts for a raised bed because they didn't get around to it for 2 years. LoL So we will add that one alongside our established beds. We still have kale, carrots, and spring onions in the ground now.

I made tabs in the Baker Creek catalog and pulled out my seed box a few weeks ago. I only need to order a few packs and then sketch a plan.

My bigger goal is learning how to revive the plum trees that have been here and rarely fruit, as well as how to grow the blueberry bushes we have in containers that still only look like sticks.

Your plum trees might need pruning and then some fruit tree fertilizer stakes. Depends on their age though. Some trees just get old and stop producing.

[prairiewindmomma]

I have my kitchen herbs and my fresh greens, which I will do as always but I am not going to do tomatoes or zucchini or other things any more. I have such a tiny yard that the trade off of yield compared to time watering doesn’t make it worth it. I am better off going to the farmer’s market twice a week and spending a bit more there compared to spending my time in the garden. Saving an extra $50-100 in veg is like not getting takeout twice over the course of a summer (for my family size). I will probably instead do some canning for some low sodium things that have been hard to find and go fruit picking more in the commercial orchards.

[fairfarmhand]

32 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

I will have a small garden. We get a CSA box that generously supplies our veggie needs.

Herbs, always. Sage, thyme, rosemary, mint, parsley, chives, dill, cilantro, basil.
 

I have two beds that have been a tangle of cutting flowers and weeds the last couple years as I’ve ignored them. Starting over with some veggies this year, but I’m sure I’ll have volunteers from the last couple years sneak in too. I am happy to have the flowers.

Lettuce, tomatoes, peppers - bell and poblano, bush beans. Maybe a melon? Dh doesn’t like to deal with the vines, but we’ve had good cantaloupe in the past.

I want to get back to having flowers in my front yard and figure out what to do with a narrow strip of garden beside our driveway that has been mostly weeds the last couple years. Might go with shrubs there?

 

Get a bag of Music City Gold from the D. County Co-op and your garden will FLOURISH. It is an amazing soil additive. 

[fairfarmhand]

I'm relocating our garden. The tree that we planted as a stick about 15 years ago, has gotten large enough to shade out my old spot, so I have to move hthe garden. It's ok. I was dealing with some diseases so I think a change is in order.

Peppers--Bell peppers, chili, and jalapeno peppers

Tomatoes--not sure what kinds

Corn

Bush beans

Herbs--oregano, thyme, lots of basil (my long covid girl loves basil and she doesn't like much. If I add basil to things, I increase the likelihood that she'll eat it) hoping to add garlic and chives

Watermelons--traditional and both yellow and red moon and stars varieties

Cucumbers for pickles, maybe one or two slicers. Last few years my cukes have done poorly, hoping the new garden spot helps them do better

Okra

Potatoes

Zucchini--will really have to stay on top of the squash bugs. They were CRAZY last year. 

LOTS of sunflowers and zinnias. 

Lots of lettuces for early spring. Gonna try again to grow sugar snap peas, but I never have much luck with them.

[Clemsondana]

Our garden is maybe 40x80 feet.  We grow corn, green beans, peas (usually purple hull), summer squash, butternut squash, tomatoes, bell peppers, lima beans, okra, and cucumbers.  I freeze everything except butternut squash, which stores in the basement, and cucumbers-  I make freezer pickles some years.  We fill a large chest freezer with produce.  We planted blueberry and have some wild blackberry and raspberry and are planning on planting some cultivated varieties along the back fence  now that it's cleared off.  We have a couple of apple trees, a couple of pears, and a peach that are of an age to yield.  We planted a couple of new peach and apples last year to replace damaged ones (a bear pushed over an apple tree, a few have had fungal issues).  Last year wasn't a good blueberry or tree fruit year due to a late frost, but the year before was awesome so we still had applesauce and pearsauce in the freezer.  I do end up buying some extra peaches to freeze, but probably won't need to once we have more than 2 trees unless the frost or squirrels are an issue.  We container grow basil, green onion, chives, parsley, and cilantro.  Our sweet potatoes, grown in potato bags, didn't get very big so they are fine for cooking to go in something but not as a roast sweet potato to eat whole like a baked potato.  We also started asparagus crowns in a raised bed and should be able to harvest for a week this summer and then as much as we want for years after this summer.  

Last spring we built a 6x10 greenhouse and have been playing around to see what grows.  Based on this year's experimenting, I'm planning to do lettuce for spring and fall and spinach in the winter.  Next year we'll experiment more with short-stem broccolini and small Asian cabbages in the winter.  The green onion (from regrowth) and parsley did fine in the greenhouse, too.  I'm doing a bit with celery (we've had better luck regrowing than growing from seed) and carrots, but those haven't done great for us.  

[Faith-manor]

Just now, fairfarmhand said:

I'm relocating our garden. The tree that we planted as a stick about 15 years ago, has gotten large enough to shade out my old spot, so I have to move hthe garden. It's ok. I was dealing with some diseases so I think a change is in order.

Peppers--Bell peppers, chili, and jalapeno peppers

Tomatoes--not sure what kinds

Corn

Bush beans

Herbs--oregano, thyme, lots of basil (my long covid girl loves basil and she doesn't like much. If I add basil to things, I increase the likelihood that she'll eat it) hoping to add garlic and chives

Watermelons--traditional and both yellow and red moon and stars varieties

Cucumbers for pickles, maybe one or two slicers. Last few years my cukes have done poorly, hoping the new garden spot helps them do better

Okra

Potatoes

Zucchini--will really have to stay on top of the squash bugs. They were CRAZY last year. 

LOTS of sunflowers and zinnias. 

Lots of lettuces for early spring. Gonna try again to grow sugar snap peas, but I never have much luck with them.

I love zinnias! I really do need to plant some this year.

[fairfarmhand]

8 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

I love zinnias! I really do need to plant some this year.

I love them. They are my favorite cut flower and I bring in armloads of them as bouquets in the house in the summer time.

[Sneezyone]

1 hour ago, Brittany1116 said:

Someone just gave us parts for a raised bed because they didn't get around to it for 2 years. LoL So we will add that one alongside our established beds. We still have kale, carrots, and spring onions in the ground now.

I made tabs in the Baker Creek catalog and pulled out my seed box a few weeks ago. I only need to order a few packs and then sketch a plan.

My bigger goal is learning how to revive the plum trees that have been here and rarely fruit, as well as how to grow the blueberry bushes we have in containers that still only look like sticks.

You are lucky! I'm waiting for the saw mill guy so I can build mine. I got enough mulch from the tree stump in my yard to easily fill three 4x8s tho so that's a win.

[Sneezyone]

1 hour ago, ScoutTN said:

I will have a small garden. We get a CSA box that generously supplies our veggie needs.

Herbs, always. Sage, thyme, rosemary, mint, parsley, chives, dill, cilantro, basil.
 

I have two beds that have been a tangle of cutting flowers and weeds the last couple years as I’ve ignored them. Starting over with some veggies this year, but I’m sure I’ll have volunteers from the last couple years sneak in too. I am happy to have the flowers.

Lettuce, tomatoes, peppers - bell and poblano, bush beans. Maybe a melon? Dh doesn’t like to deal with the vines, but we’ve had good cantaloupe in the past.

I want to get back to having flowers in my front yard and figure out what to do with a narrow strip of garden beside our driveway that has been mostly weeds the last couple years. Might go with shrubs there?

 

We lined our front beds with black and green mondo grasses. Those would give nice color and they take zero effort. Plus, cheap.

[plaidpants]

I want a garden so badly but we can't even do pots here with critters and creeps and chemicals. Maybe I'll try anyway. Something easy and hardy.

[HS Mom in NC]

Current Projects:
We just finished the French drains this winter, so it's all usable space now (75ft. by 100 ft.)

We need to finished covering about 1/4 of the space with cardboard and 6-12 in. of woodchips for weed suppression and soil building. We have it on hand but have both been fighting tennis elbow. 

The potato companion panting bed needs 12-18 in. of straw or hay. 

Moving one last fruit tree to make space for future walipini.

My worm towers and red wiggler colony went in on the new hugelkulures last fall. They're plantable this season.

Repeats:
High bush blueberries 12 plants, 3 different cultivars

The apple, pear, and peach trees are in their second and third years. They were planted bare root and won't be fruiting this year because they're not mature enough.  Half  are planted normally and vase pruned, half are espaliered on the fence.

Blackberry vines were planted last year and are being trimmed to grow above the espaliered fruit trees along the top of the fence (5ft. high.)

Sterile Russian comfrey bushes (12) for chop and drop fertilizer, liquid comfrey tea fertilizer, and greens for composting.

New:
The 2 words for this year are disease resistant. Some of the veg and new plants are replacing previous ones that weren't known for being especially disease resistant. I live in The South and my garden borders a protected wetland, so it's a real challenge.

bush beans, plum tree, snow peas, various carrots, 2 kinds of early  potatoes, 2 kinds of late potatoes, raspberry bush, lettuces, bunching onions, garlic, tomatoes, ginger, butternut squash, early grapes (maybe),  late grapes, cucs, broccoli, spinach, zucchini, everbearing strawberries

Techniques:
vertical gardening
no dig gardening (Ruth Stout style)
fish remains under tomatoes
companion planting

Research techniques and projects for future:
walipini design that includes water harvesting and storage (trying figure out water table issues)
high yield gardening

Now:
I have plant lights and tall wire racks in the kitchen to start seeds I have on hand indoors this week and I'm prepping foe seeds on order that will arrive next month.

[kbutton]

12 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

The pole beans were great, but my family was not interested in eating them.  They greatly preferred the bush beans.

Some varieties are available in both pole or bush beans, and they seem to taste the same. Around here people like their pole beans kind of tough vs. tender, but we've seen a much wider range of varieties available in more recent years. We switched to largely using pole beans for space reasons--we garden along the edge of the yard because we don't have a formal plot yet.

4 hours ago, MEmama said:

I'm giving up on varieties that have repeatedly failed;

I've given up on types of plants that either get pests no matter what or are more bitter than what we get from the store (peppers, broccoli, etc.).

46 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

I love them. They are my favorite cut flower and I bring in armloads of them as bouquets in the house in the summer time.

Zinnias are so easy to start too! I collected seeds this year, which I've not done before. Do you know if they will grow? I know some things are hybrids and aren't guaranteed.

I REALLY need to keep a garden journal. Sometimes what varieties we can get changes (too late to order, pandemic, etc.), and I am not always good at keeping track of that. 

Pole beans
Tomatoes--usually several varieties
Cucumbers (pickling, but we just eat them)
Maybe beets, carrots, and/or turnips
Swiss chard
Sweet potatoes (first time last year--they were amazing)
Sugar snap peas
Scallions
Thyme
Rhubarb (new)
Red raspberries
Black raspberries
Figs
Serviceberry (new, never eaten them before)
Blueberries
Asparagus (probably can only harvest a few tips, still on the new side)
Mint
Dill
Maybe Cilantro
Mini cantaloupe (softball size)--never tried before
Annual flowers that dry well--straw flower, etc.
We have a lot of landscape plants with an emphasis on natives and nativars 

I used to have more herbs, but they make me super nauseated when I breathe in too much of the oils in the air. I have to be super careful about touching or drying them also. 

I'd love to know how to successfully grow things like cauliflower and brussels sprouts because we eat boatloads of those.

I'd also like to know if you can freeze cilantro.

[MeaganS]

DH is the big gardener here, but I act as a sounding board/support. It is mostly for fun as we don't grow nearly enough for our needs. Each of the girls has their own raised bed that they are in charge of as well. This will be our third year with a garden.

DH's gardens:
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Bush beans
Potatoes
Jalepenos
Other peppers
Lettuce
Garlic
Onions
Basil
Zucchini
Brussels Sprouts
Peas

Kids:
Corn
Soybeans (for edamame)
Carrots
Cucumbers
Watermelon
Flowers
Peppers

We planted the garlic already in the fall. DH has already started the onions indoors but that's it so far. We are very much in planning mode and the Baker's Creek catalog (among others) is always out. We also spent every nice day for the last month working on getting the garden ready. From adding compost everywhere to general clean-up of dead plants from last year we hadn't gotten around to yet.

Edited February 7, 2022 by MeaganS

[Sneezyone]

2 minutes ago, plaidpants said:

I want a garden so badly but we can't even do pots here with critters and creeps and chemicals. Maybe I'll try anyway. Something easy and hardy.

The critters here are definitely not my friends. Does anyone have any tips for dealing with rabbits and squirrels? This will be my first year with a more edible landscape. So far, they don't seem to have a taste for my herbs, ornamental cabbage or kale (which are at ground level) but I am worried about the berries. All of them should fruit this year.

[fairfarmhand]

28 minutes ago, kbutton said:

Some varieties are available in both pole or bush beans, and they seem to taste the same. Around here people like their pole beans kind of tough vs. tender, but we've seen a much wider range of varieties available in more recent years. We switched to largely using pole beans for space reasons--we garden along the edge of the yard because we don't have a formal plot yet.

I've given up on types of plants that either get pests no matter what or are more bitter than what we get from the store (peppers, broccoli, etc.).

Zinnias are so easy to start too! I collected seeds this year, which I've not done before. Do you know if they will grow? I know some things are hybrids and aren't guaranteed.

I REALLY need to keep a garden journal. Sometimes what varieties we can get changes (too late to order, pandemic, etc.), and I am not always good at keeping track of that. 

Pole beans
Tomatoes--usually several varieties
Cucumbers (pickling, but we just eat them)
Maybe beets, carrots, and/or turnips
Swiss chard
Sweet potatoes (first time last year--they were amazing)
Sugar snap peas
Scallions
Thyme
Rhubarb (new)
Red raspberries
Black raspberries
Figs
Serviceberry (new, never eaten them before)
Blueberries
Asparagus (probably can only harvest a few tips, still on the new side)
Mint
Dill
Maybe Cilantro
Mini cantaloupe (softball size)--never tried before
Annual flowers that dry well--straw flower, etc.
We have a lot of landscape plants with an emphasis on natives and nativars 

I used to have more herbs, but they make me super nauseated when I breathe in too much of the oils in the air. I have to be super careful about touching or drying them also. 

I'd love to know how to successfully grow things like cauliflower and brussels sprouts because we eat boatloads of those.

I'd also like to know if you can freeze cilantro.

Your Zinnias will likely grow, but who knows what the colors will be. It's fun! I often let the zinnias drop seeds in the fall and just let whatever sprouts grow.  Also, if you let the zinnias go to seed, the goldfinches will come to them and peck out the seeds. They love them.

[fairfarmhand]

19 minutes ago, MeaganS said:

DH is the big gardener here, but I act as a sounding board/support. It is mostly for fun as we don't grow nearly enough for our needs. Each of the girls has their own raised bed that they are in charge of as well. This will be our third year with a garden.
 

Yeah, I don't grow nearly enough for what we'd need either. I don't enjoy canning nearly as much as I like eating things fresh and working outside.  But for us, even just growing enough to eat fresh veggies and put a bit in the freezer does make a decent dent in our grocery bills.  In summer, it's not unusual for us to eat almost entirely from the garden for dinner several nights a week. 

[MeaganS]

Just now, fairfarmhand said:

Yeah, I don't grow nearly enough for what we'd need either. I don't enjoy canning nearly as much as I like eating things fresh and working outside.  But for us, even just growing enough to eat fresh veggies and put a bit in the freezer does make a decent dent in our grocery bills.  In summer, it's not unusual for us to eat almost entirely from the garden for dinner several nights a week. 

I actually really enjoy canning. I wish gardening put a dent in our grocery bill but it actually costs us more to garden. DH loves to experiment and we don't do it all as cheaply as we could. I consider our garden budget to be more of a dh "hobby" budget than anything. Well, that and the girls learning experiences with their own gardens.

[fairfarmhand]

Just now, MeaganS said:

I actually really enjoy canning. I wish gardening put a dent in our grocery bill but it actually costs us more to garden. DH loves to experiment and we don't do it all as cheaply as we could. I consider our garden budget to be more of a dh "hobby" budget than anything. Well, that and the girls learning experiences with their own gardens.

Oh yes, you can spend a boatload of money on gardening. 

It helps me that I have acres and acres to grow things on. I don't need raised beds or anything. I also have animals that are a good source of manure and compost. We don't have to water much and when I do, it comes from a well. 

What I've learned from farming is that you can only do what you can do. Time and money and energy are finite. Sometimes we just have to pay more for certain things when we don't have the time or the energy to do it. 

Gardening is a wonderful hobby! I'd totally enjoy that as a part of the budget, even if it cost more to do it. It's healthy and fun and outside. Totally worth the $ invested, I'd say. 

[MeaganS]

2 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

Oh yes, you can spend a boatload of money on gardening. 

It helps me that I have acres and acres to grow things on. I don't need raised beds or anything. I also have animals that are a good source of manure and compost. We don't have to water much and when I do, it comes from a well. 

What I've learned from farming is that you can only do what you can do. Time and money and energy are finite. Sometimes we just have to pay more for certain things when we don't have the time or the energy to do it. 

Gardening is a wonderful hobby! I'd totally enjoy that as a part of the budget, even if it cost more to do it. It's healthy and fun and outside. Totally worth the $ invested, I'd say. 

Yup. I think this is the first year we might come close to breaking even. We've got all our raised beds built already. We have a decent compost pile and we can pick up some from a city compost facility for very cheap if we need more. We only needed to buy a few new types of seeds and have most of our trellising and a fence. We pay for watering as a separate "irrigation" bill that is much more reasonable than regular city water (it's what we use for our pool too). But DH loves it and finds satisfaction in it. Last year he even installed lighting so he could work later in the evenings when he got off work. And the experiences our kids are having planning and taking responsibility for their own gardens has been very good for them. 

Its like our chickens. There's no way they pay for themselves in eggs. Their predator-proof pretty coop alone cost more than a decade of eggs. But we like having them and like knowing where the eggs come from and we like their pretty coop on our property so we're willing to do it. We just aren't telling ourselves it is to save money, because in our case, it's not. Both gardening and chickens can be done cheaper than we do them, but we're comfortable with our level and both have enhanced our lives. 🙂

[fairfarmhand]

14 minutes ago, MeaganS said:

. But DH loves it and finds satisfaction in it. Last year he even installed lighting so he could work later in the evenings when he got off work.

 

That's really great!

[ScoutTN]

25 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

Oh yes, you can spend a boatload of money on gardening. 

It helps me that I have acres and acres to grow things on. I don't need raised beds or anything. I also have animals that are a good source of manure and compost. We don't have to water much and when I do, it comes from a well. 

What I've learned from farming is that you can only do what you can do. Time and money and energy are finite. Sometimes we just have to pay more for certain things when we don't have the time or the energy to do it. 

Gardening is a wonderful hobby! I'd totally enjoy that as a part of the budget, even if it cost more to do it. It's healthy and fun and outside. Totally worth the $ invested, I'd say. 

Agree. Growing things and being outside is a health-giving, restorative activity for me, even when it makes me tired. 

[ScoutTN]

2 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

Get a bag of Music City Gold from the D. County Co-op and your garden will FLOURISH. It is an amazing soil additive. 

Sounds good; will check it out!  We have gotten manure from the Ag Center barn in the past, where the South Precinct Mounted Police stable their horses. 

[fairfarmhand]

3 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

Agree. Growing things and being outside is a health-giving, restorative activity for me, even when it makes me tired. 

I honestly think in our modern life, we spend too much time emotionally tired and too little time physically tired. They sometimes feel the same in our bodies, but the physical tired can be remedied by a good night;s sleep while the emotionally tired is soul sucking. For me, to help with emotional tired, I need to get physically tired.

[fairfarmhand]

2 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

Sounds good; will check it out!  We have gotten manure from the Ag Center barn in the past, where the South Precinct Mounted Police stable their horses. 

MCG comes from the wastewater treatment plant. It's not feces or human waste. It's dead, dried bacteria used in the digesters. My dh works at the plant and we use it all over our farm. It's 100 percent safe and flat out grows everything. We have farmers drive past our fields and stop to ask us what we've done to the place because it is so effective. 

I should set up a field trip to the plant. That would be fun and interesting. If I do, I'll let you know the details and maybe you can meet us there.

[ScoutTN]

10 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

MCG comes from the wastewater treatment plant. It's not feces or human waste. It's dead, dried bacteria used in the digesters. My dh works at the plant and we use it all over our farm. It's 100 percent safe and flat out grows everything. We have farmers drive past our fields and stop to ask us what we've done to the place because it is so effective. 

I should set up a field trip to the plant. That would be fun and interesting. If I do, I'll let you know the details and maybe you can meet us there.

Looked it up on the map. Going Saturday. I am excited! I have the day free bc all my people will be out of town for the day and I had been puzzling about what fun thing to do, how to use the day. Definitely spending some time in my yard. Need to ask neighbors for the loan of their small tiller. The bluebirds are building nests in my boxes and the mourning doves in the vines over our pergola. My daffodils are 7" high (an early variety) - they get less sun now than they used to because trees are taller now than 18 years ago when I put in the bulbs. Need to dig them up and relocate for next year. 

[Miss Tick]

6 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

Going Saturday. I am excited! I have the day free bc all my people will be out of town for the day and I had been puzzling about what fun thing to do, how to use the day.

This is totally the correct thread on the correct website to enthuse about spending your free day going to the wastewater treatment plant to pick up fertilizer! 😄 I'm completely serious! Lucky you!

[ScoutTN]

1 minute ago, SusanC said:

This is totally the correct thread on the correct website to enthuse about spending your free day going to the wastewater treatment plant to pick up fertilizer! 😄 I'm completely serious! Lucky you!

Well, it's only a 25 minute drive and I only have to go to the Farmers' Co-op...so maybe not that dramatic. But so nice to have a tribe who understands! 😄

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, fairfarmhand said:

Your Zinnias will likely grow, but who knows what the colors will be. It's fun! I often let the zinnias drop seeds in the fall and just let whatever sprouts grow.  Also, if you let the zinnias go to seed, the goldfinches will come to them and peck out the seeds. They love them.

I knew something was eating them, but I wasn't sure what--they weren't where I could see them well from the house. I am trying to establish purple coneflower. We had tons at the old house, and the finches love that when it goes to seed.

I tried to harvest from a variety of flowerheads, and then I mixed the seeds up. It came as a mix, so I am fine with it being a bit of a surprise.

[Pam in CT]

we're currently covered by a 4" think, 2-acre sized sheet of ice -- my husband nearly killed himself yesterday when he attempted to go out to check on the chickens and found himself unable to make it back up the ~4 degree slope back up to the house, and, no exaggeration, had to crawl to get back up.  And today it's snowing, hard. So I haven't yet BEGUN to believe that the earth will ever again be soft enough to dig.

But. Re pole beans -- I don't know where I got them, or what variety they are, but several years ago I started growing some that have red trumpet-y flowers and purple beans (they turn green when cooked) which are AWESOME.  The vines are vigorous, the flowers are pretty, the beans are pretty dangling down purple amongst the green leaves, they're a little late to start but extremely prolific and carry on late into October), and delicious.

Most of my yard is shady and the only really good sun is right around the terrace where I live my live and (during COVID) concentrate my entertaining, so I put a high premium on things that can grow in pots and/or are vaguely attractive. Lots of herbs (particularly small-leafed and purple basils, and golden and variegated oreganos), eggplants, red & purple peppers, different types of alliums, beets (very fond of how beet leaves look), and things that climb.

re critter management: In addition to very little sun, I have very many critters.  I visited a community food bank garden in VT last summer that grew *all kinds of crazy stuff* on different lattices and trellises and arbor supports.  The regular stuff that climb or clamber on their own -- pole beans and strawberries and squashes and melons etc -- but also stuff that the volunteers obviously tied up and trained and attended to, but that were clearly flourishing and producing like mad -- cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants.  They planted nasturtiums on every support as well and the whole effect was just magical. When I marveled on how PRETTY it was, the head gardener told me it was all about critter management (apparently nasturtiums give off an odor that some animals dislike?). So, that's going to be my theme for this year.

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, Sneezyone said:

The critters here are definitely not my friends. Does anyone have any tips for dealing with rabbits and squirrels? This will be my first year with a more edible landscape. So far, they don't seem to have a taste for my herbs, ornamental cabbage or kale (which are at ground level) but I am worried about the berries. All of them should fruit this year.

https://www.amazon.com/Muncha-Candace-Fleming/dp/0689831528

We have to build little cages around stuff--all of our veggies have rabbit fencing around them and sometimes have hardware cloth instead. All berry bushes have netting. 

The garden is well-armored.

Make sure whatever you use is snug tightly to the ground. 

They know how much money you've spent on your plants and how special certain plants are and go for those first.

If you live in a neighborhood that allows it, I recommend a pellet gun. Squirrel stroganoff is great. Tandoori squirrel is not bad. Soup. Soup is good. 

 

[kbutton]

18 minutes ago, SusanC said:

This is totally the correct thread on the correct website to enthuse about spending your free day going to the wastewater treatment plant to pick up fertilizer! 😄 I'm completely serious! Lucky you!

Agreed!

We were able to get some rabbit manure and compost it for last year's garden and flowerbeds. I think it's time to do it again. 

[MEmama]

2 hours ago, plaidpants said:

I want a garden so badly but we can't even do pots here with critters and creeps and chemicals. Maybe I'll try anyway. Something easy and hardy.

I use city pickers boxes with great success. I have a patch of good sun along the south side of my house and enough on my back deck; the boxes can be used anywhere. Bonus they are self watering and come with a plastic “ mulch” cover the keeps soil moist and most bugs out. I can’t believe how well the boxes work— I’ve converted my parents to using this method on their balcony and deck and they get fresh veggies all year (they live in California).
 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/CITY-PICKERS-24-5-in-x-20-5-in-Patio-Raised-Garden-Bed-Grow-Box-Kit-with-Watering-System-and-Casters-in-Terra-Cotta-2340D/202563845

[Sneezyone]

1 hour ago, kbutton said:

https://www.amazon.com/Muncha-Candace-Fleming/dp/0689831528

We have to build little cages around stuff--all of our veggies have rabbit fencing around them and sometimes have hardware cloth instead. All berry bushes have netting. 

The garden is well-armored.

Make sure whatever you use is snug tightly to the ground. 

They know how much money you've spent on your plants and how special certain plants are and go for those first.

If you live in a neighborhood that allows it, I recommend a pellet gun. Squirrel stroganoff is great. Tandoori squirrel is not bad. Soup. Soup is good. 

 

We have a veritable army of squirrels and rabbits in this old neighborhood. The rabbit family makes it's way to and fro across the street every morning. I think if I raise the bed height to 2' that should deter them but...oh. my. word. The squirrels are insane and they can rain down from the trees above. And then there are the birds. I regularly find half carcasses in my yard from the neighborhood owl's last meal and two days ago, I found a dead fish with CLEAR eyes (note, my house is not on the water)! Some bird unhelpfully lost its lunch on my lawn. 

[Faith-manor]

I forgot to also state three other things. Our two apple trees are now producing (honey crisp and something I can't remember) so I will make applesauce to freeze, and dehydrate apple chips. Our green seedless grapes were gang busters last year so I suspect we will have about 8 lbs of grapes to eat on after they ripen. Thankfully, it seems like they ripen about one cluster at a time. If I get 8 lbs at once, the neighbors are going to be gifted grapes!

The last thing is I allowed my back step autumn pumpkins to fall of the steps in 2020, and I kicked them to the side and allowed nature to take its course instead of compost them or what not. Last summer, I and a volunteer pumpkin plant. It grew big and beautiful, but no pumpkins simply because no other plants for cross pollination. So this year, I again kicked my back step pumpkins off, all three, into one pile next to the back step and am hoping for two or more volunteers. If actually get pumpkins, I will harvest the seeds and toast them. The whole family loves snacking on them or on salads for crunch.

[Loowit]

Our house came with strawberry and raspberry plants and some blueberry bushes, so I try to keep those maintained.  I am moving the strawberries and raspberries this year if I can get help from DH.  I am also planning to plant pumpkins.  Sugar pumpkins for pies and baby boo pumpkins for decoration.  Sunflowers and I might try to get seeds off them this year.  Last year I let the birds enjoy them.  Tomatoes, usually beef steak and cherry (or some small snack size).  DH made me some lovely planters last year.  The tomatoes have three hexagonal boxes and the pumpkins get an arch.  I don't plan to do much more for food.  I also have a little over a dozen rose bushes that I try to keep up with.  I have arthritis in my hands and have trouble keeping up with everything.