Who else is getting the gardening bug?

I've got a bunch of seeds and need to decide which ones to plant for this season.  Feel free to vote.

My seed list

I buy my vegetables from our local Farmer's Market, but I have the flower gardening bug! I have already started the spring clean up in my yard and will be starting my seeds inside this week. I collect seeds from my yard and from my friends in the fall to use for containers and to fill in bare spots in my perennial gardens.

Some of my favorites are:

Zinnia, Coneflower, Petunia, Columbine, Black Eyed Susan,  and Shasta Daisy (of course)

I vote for the Pole, Old Homestead (Kentucky Wonder) Bean because I am in KY!

Happy Gardening!

 Cleaned out the flower & shrub beds.  Planted basil, oregano & rosemary (not a great fan of rosemary, but it keeps bugs away from the other herbs)...threw out my back for a couple of days...yep spring is here, lol.

Next on the list are seasonal flowers for the pots.   Transplanting blue-black salvia to other sunny areas.  Unless it rains..in which case...more ESO!

So, Naay, how much room do you have, and what garden zone do you live in? That's going to narrow down the choices tremendously. Also--what are your favorite veggies, and do you have room to freeze or can when you harvest? Also, where are you on the organic growing spectrum--no chemicals at all, natural only, or you're ok with some chemicals if bug or fungus infestations get really bad?

JaeOnasi,  I'm in SE Michigan, 6a. Some of the seeds I have are a stretch, but with care who knows. I don't have a lot of room, just a suburban lot.  Which is why I have to narrow my choices.  The assortment I purchased obviously has more varieties than I can plant in a single season. I'll likely start a few of a lot of different things and then try other varieties next year.

Generally I plant lots of greens for salads and smoothies.  Tomatoes are a must.  Beans and squash are generally a continuous yield. Have had limited light in the past few years from neighbors trees, but hoping I opened that up enough last year to do better this year.

I like to ferment root veggies but have had bug problems with them in the past.  So purchase them at farmer's markets. I have canned and make jam.

I avoid chemical fertilizers and pesticides.  Composting and mulching here.

I've layer composted in place this winter and put stumps of various edible mushrooms in the mix.  Hoping for some fungal abundance to compliment the vegetation between rows.  I doubt the logs I plugged with spawn last year will be ready to provide oyster and shiitake until next year though.

My worst pest here, I'd say would be the squirrels.  They are just plain destructive and the super hot cayenne from the Indian market didn't seem to phase 'em last year.  Other than standing guard, I'm not sure of the plan for them this time.

<edit>  Oh yeah.  I planted a bunch of garlic last fall that I see is starting to poke out of the ground. :)

You might know a lot of this already, but I'll post some basics in case others are just getting started gardening.

Check out this site for tomato information. :D http://www.tomatoville.com/index.php I have 28 tomato seedlings started, including a bunch of heirloom varieties. I'll list those later.

To plant now directly: Peas, lettuce, broccoli, onions (if from bulbs), radishes, greens, beets, and I think turnips. If you have clay soil, skip growing carrots and parsnips and get those at the market, unless you've really amended and tilled the soil very well. Otherwise, those will just drive you nuts. If you want sliced beets, go for Cylindra. Chiogga looks like it'll be pretty, but I haven't tried it yet.

To start now in seedling trays: tomatoes, peppers, your favorite herbs, cucumber, eggplant, tomatillo. I grew jalapenos, sweet peppers, and poblanos last year, along with moles. The hot peppers grew like crazy. For production, I'd go with a jalapeno, a serrano, and the California wonder sweets. I don't eat eggplant so I have no recommendation there.

Tomatoes: Try the Black Krim, Black cherry, Black prince, Rutgers, and Roma. The Roma will give you some paste tomatoes, the Rutgers has better production than Brandywine but with great taste still (it's a Brandywine cross), and the Black Krim is supposed to be fabulous for flavor. The black tomatoes on this list are Russian open-pollinated (OP) types, and they'll set better in cooler weather. Riesentraube and Paul Robeson are supposed to be reliable and tasty, too.

Direct sow after frost: corn, squashes, green beans, melons/watermelons. You could do the Three Sisters method and grow one variety of corn, then plant some pole beans to climb on the stalks, (Kentucky Wonder pole or Purple pod pole), and then squash around those (traditionally pumpkin, though summer or other winter types work). I would choose Black Beauty for a zucchini over Costata Romanesco. Costata gets hit hard by vine borers. If you want a winter squash, go with a New England Sugar Pie (which will ripen faster in the far north), Butternut, or Buttercup. I would set up a separate bed just for your asparagus and your strawberries since you likely won't be rotating those like you would the other veggies.

I recommend companion planting and crop rotation to hold down pests and enhance soil if you don't already do that. There are great books like 'Carrots Love Tomatoes' and assorted organic gardening sites that have great info. I used diatomaceous earth on my tomatoes last hear to prevent hornworm destruction. My purple pole beans did great, but my Blue Lake pole beans got hammered with a bean beetle. I used a pyrethrum-based organic pesticide when the infestation got really bad. I'm not going to grow Blue lake again this year--I'll try a different type.

I planted herbs and nasturtiums in and around my other veggies to serve as trap crops and to deter pests. Plus, I had fresh basil for bruschetta.... Yummy!

It might be the rabbits that are doing the destruction besides the squirrels, too. I planted marigolds around the edge of the garden. I also put up chicken wire around the edge of the garden to keep the buggers out. You'll have to bury the bottom of the fencing to keep the critters from ducking underneath the bottom edge. They're pretty resourceful. I've heard of dried wolf urine or other predator urine being sprinkled around the edge of the garden. I also found this youtube by P. Allen Smith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHPSSdoUACk . That one will stink up the house, for sure.

I grow my favorite herbs in a window box and bring it inside before the first frost in the fall. That way, I can get fresh herbs all winter. My cats have decided they like chives, however, and so they mow them down before I get a chance to put them in my dishes. They leave the rosemary alone, however. I harvested my herbs right before the first frost, tied up the stalks, and hung them upside down to dry. I still have dry herb stalks hanging from the kitchen curtain rods.

Good info.  But, regarding the squirrels; I know it's them.  I've seen them doing it.  They dig up large seed and pull out the small plants and just leave them to die afterwards.  Strictly vandals, they don't even eat them.  >:(

I have little lawn, but what I do have has clover and dandelions and the bunnies definitely prefer that over the garden.  Although I do share some of the greens with them.  :D

Try cornmeal for organic fungal control.  I use in on the lawn during fungal months (late summer/early fall).  Lots of references for this treatment online.

Last summer, I had 2 beautiful rows of bush beans. They were full of flowers and had some small beans on them one night. I admired them. The next morning, I went out to go harvest a few of the beans, and I discovered bare, sorry-looking denuded stalks. Beans, flowers, and leaves were entirely gone. I wanted to curse the little fluffy things that did that. :D

Im itching to go. I did have snow last Monday so nothing in the ground yet. I decided after losing most of my crops last year to a surprise late frost I’d wait till after Easter to get my starts going. I’ve semi-permacultured my yard (work in progress), and have already pruned up my three apple trees, four pear trees and twenty blueberry bushes. My rhubarb is perennial and all set for this spring. I have a ton of veg waiting to be started. As far as flowers go I picked up some Canterbury Bells to keep potted and move to sitting areas next spring. I have four chickens hatching next week that will work at clearing areas around my yard wherever I keep their chicken tractor to prep new growing areas. 

we have a nice sized garden in out side yard. we always have a freezer full of veggies that last us through the winter and then some. I try to help dad out with it when i can

My garden seedlings and seeds for this year:

Flowers:

Cool wave hybrid pansy, snapdragon 'Oriental Lanterns', New England asters (fantastic fall butterfly and bee magnet, don't grow around people allergic to bees), Hosta American Crosses mix, hot pink begonias, Agastache 'Golden Jubilee', Heuchera 'Purple Palace', Astilbe 'finest mix'.

I'll start marigolds, zinnias and some other annuals later this month. I'm going to direct sow the sunflowers since they don't like being transplanted.

I have a raspberry that's leafing out, some strawberries that have peeked up from the ground, and some grape vines (Canadice and Concord Seedless) that seem to be considering budding. I have about 4 different blueberry shrubs that are working on growing leaves, too.

For my veggies, I have broccoli 'Packman Hybrid' going along with celery 'Tall Utah'--those have been growing about a month now. I just started Italian basil, English thyme, Parsley 'Krause', Cilantro 'Santo', and sweet marjoram.

Peppers: Jalapeno 'mucho nacho' (I think it's a hybrid), Lemon Drop (a hot pepper), Sweet pepper rainbow mix, Alma paprika (sweet), Feher Ozon (sweet paprika), and Giant Szegedi sweet pepper. The last 3 are going to get dried and ground up to make paprika powder. This year, however, I'm going to take the Cuisinart outside and plug it into an outlet on the porch before I grind the pepper! I did it in the kitchen last time, and we could have used that stuff as a poor man's chemical attack, it was so potent.

Tomatoes: Lithuanian Crested Pink (OP), Amish Paste (OP), Supremo (H), Cherokee Chocolate (OP), Peron (OP), Legend (OP), Ace 55 (H), Purple Bumblebee cherry (OP), First Prize (H), Red Rose (OP).

I'm also going to start some Mr. Lincoln peas, Trionfo Violetto pole beans (great production last year), beets Cylindra, garlic, onions, potatoes (Pontiac Red, Kennebec, Katahdin, and Yukon Gold--those are going in grow bags) and leaf lettuce 'Black Simpson' along with oregano and assorted other things that might capture my interest. :)

We have 4 beds that we're rotating crops around. The potatoes are going to go into different grow bags. It's an method I've seen at the Kenosha Potato Project, and that site is here: http://www.kenoshapotato.com/ . They have a Facebook page, too: https://www.facebook.com/groups/316831657858/

You can use Wal-mart bags for growing things, too. Larry Hall describes how he does grow bags in the youtube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aELVST1O7-o and his channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/larrylhall and the FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/144745362329424/

This system may work well for folks on balconies or who can't garden easily.

We have a village-sized yard, so we've meant to do this every year since we moved here.  It has yet to work out well.

My wife did it the first few years, and decided she preferred having fresh vegetables to growing them.  We gave my son a try last year, but he didn't stick with it.

I want to try for myself this year, if nothing else as an excuse / incentive to be in the yard more.

First up, once the snow is gone, I'm going to reborder the garden, and possible put in some chicken wire.  I'm not really sure what to grow yet (I'm outside Ottawa, 47 degrees north), but will almost certainly do marigolds.

We also haven't gotten much in the way of apples from our two trees yet.  I may look at doing some pruning shortly.  Last year, we did get some apples, but the squirrels really did a number on them.

I pretty much have no idea what I'm doing, so I don't have high hopes, but I'm willing to try.

I would start small. :)  Start with a couple smaller beds and pick your favorite veggies and flowers to grow. Zucchini, beets, peas and green beans are easy to grow, and they produce pretty quickly. If you like sweet peppers, consider North Star. It's a hybrid designed for northern climates. Ace 55 tomatoes ripen pretty quickly. The Tomatoville forum suggests these tomatoes for northern zones (Ottawa is in zone 5a): Wisconsin 55, Early Annie, Jagodka and Sophie's Choice. You might want to buy your tomato plants at a garden center this year if you haven't started seedlings. Save that part for another year. :D

Thinking I need to get moving on this soon, though it was only 5 degrees above freezing this morning, so maybe it's still a bit early.

Is there a guideline for when to plant?  Is it a big deal if there are one or two more frosts after I do?

All I know is that Victoria Day is usually the big garden centre weekend around here.

Planting guidelines are generally local and relative to the historical "last frost" date for the area.  For me, in Michigan, generally for things that cannot tolerate a frost, Memorial day (end of May) is the big kickoff.  Early crops like lettuces and peas can already be in.  I have a lot of things starting inside at the moment also. 

I got a neat little $3 sliderule for this from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, that has spring on one side and fall on the other that I like.

Well i'm not gardening but I spent nine hours in the backyard the other day maintaining it.

- Mowing

- Trimming

- Spread weed killer

- Played who can create the biggest bubble with daughter

- Filled holes (from dog)

- Created anti-dig barriers along entire fence line

- Created anti-dig metal meshes to affix to the ground so dog won't dig in same place again

- Setup automatic dog ball launcher

- Trained dog how to use said automatic dog launcher

Last year we just bought vegetable plants already grown and maintained them in their pots. This year I want to start a small raised bed of my own in the backyard.  I do wonder if I should start my seedlings in little containers first than transfer them or just start right from the ground?

My soil isnt going to be an issue everything under the moon grows in my backyard even the dog poop and I have built up a good size container of compost over the fall and winter.

Another thing I was interested in getting but not sure if its worth it is a rain barrel. With the cost of hydro lately I am dreading how much I would use for my flowers and vegetables. We get decent rain where I am , this week alone was all rain. But how long does a filled up barrel last?

I love this thread btw. So much awesome help and info

Instead of purchasing an expensive "rain-barrel", I went the cheapo do-it-yourself route.  I shortened the downspout on the back of the garage enough so it could drain into a regular old plastic garbage can.  Then used a couple pvc fittings to connect two more cans so they all fill.  (kinda like U-U-U).  It certainly does reduce my use of the expensive sanitary water.

Naay have you been able to do any calculations on how much that is saving you or heck how to even pull that off. That would be pretty cool to install at my place, and any help would be appreciated. 

I haven't done any calculations, I just don't use the hose unless the barrels are empty. :)  I would recommend a good home "permaculture" book for water conservation ideas.  For example, Gaia's Garden is a good book that I have (link is a PDF of an older edition).  Chapter 5 is titled "Catching, Conserving, and Using Water and has calculations to estimate how much water your roof can collect.

If the Squirrles are big enough get a pellet gun and start farming them they are great fried . 

o.O squirrles? Look i'm not an Ebonheart pack in real life.. my idea of a good meal is not rat meatloaf lol.

We live on the Texas Gulf Coast and learning to grow things here has been a challenge. The soil where we are is relatively poor, and the sun is the enemy! It is so hot and direct that plants just shrivel up.

So one of the things we had to get used to was having two growing seasons, spring and fall. This spring we've had a good success with spinach and yellow squash, and have some brussels sprouts going. My husband planted a habanero pepper that seems pretty happy and some watermelon plants. We'll see if they produce anything. I have a small herb garden as well that's doing pretty well (rosemary, lavender, basil, oregano, sage and cilantro).

The raised beds will be dormant during the summer and then come September I think we'll plant again.

Re: rain barrels, we really need them. We are in the third? year of an awful drought and our water supply is at risk. When it does rain it would be great to trap that water and use it wisely.

Lilou, you may find this video interesting for your arid climate.

• Crushed red pepper
• Any fresh hot chili seeds
• Put a pot on the stove, fill 2/3 with water
• Add everything and boil the whole thing for 10-15 min
• Let it cool
• Strain it into a spray bottle
• Spray plants the squirrels like.

if the above doesn't work, shoot the tree rats.  What you do with meat is up to you, I personally feed them to the neighborhood cats, but is looking into a new recipe.

If the above statement seems harsh, then see it from this view.  They have eaten / destroyed a full patio set, wires in our cars and destroyed more than one garden and as vermin, they can be legally killed throughout the year where I live.  

Your state laws may vary, so please look into the laws before declaring war on the squirrels also some are a protected species,  but the gray squirrel in Florida is definitely not on that list ... Yet.

So  this past weekend I decided to get my compost organized. Last fall I had put a bunch of dried twigs and leaves over what I had left to keep it usable. So Im digging in there pulling out all the dry stuff up on my tippy toes cause im like 5 foot with my head INSIDE the compost. I shouldve had my husband take a picture lol.

I was surprised to see how well it kept over the winter. Plus all the soil in the pots I had left over the winter outside too.

I am sooo happy to not have to buy soil this year. It is super expensive for some reason. I mentioned the rain barrel idea from the drain pipe to my husband and he LOVED the idea. So thank you again.

A few of the stores around here had some items that I would love to pick up. One was a potato plant bag. You can take the potatoes out of the bottom and have the green leaves at the top.

Living in SE Michigan also. Got my garden beds ready to go this last weekend and planted my beans and peas.

I had some issues with rabbits last year. Then I got the scarecrow (http://www.amazon.com/Contech-CRO101-Scarecrow-Activated-Sprinkler/dp/B000071NUS/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1399997929&sr=1-1&keywords=scarecrow) Just set it up overlooking the garden and turn up the sensitivity. Haven’t had a problem since. Just make sure you turn the water off before you step into sensor range.

I'm in Colorado, and @Lilou -- the sun is hot and direct here too.   What works great is some shade cloth over the garden -- it seems to dial the sunshine back to something the vegies can handle.

Unlike you, I'm a patio gardener because I live in a condo.  I use Earthboxes and these work incredibly well.  I bring some of them inside over the winter (I have some nice south facing windows) and have herbs, greens and tomatoes even during the freezing and blizzards.   Some plants get too big to bring in.  My zucchini plant was almost the size of a VW bug last summer.

On problem I have is that the pollenators don't visit my 3rd floor patio much, so  I had to hand pollenate my squash last year.  This year I've planted bee balm to try to entice them to make the flight up.

Started green beans, tomatoes, rosemary, peppermint and bell peppers here.  Have 5 acres of grass on the hillside - anyone want to mow it for me?  

I planted my turnips, beets, broccoli, and peas about a month back, which can all go in a few weeks before the last frost. I put in tomatoes, herbs, and peppers last weekend along with some flower and herb seeds (marigolds, pyrethrum, poppies, cosmos, zinnias, morning glory, caraway, fennel).

I set up my herb pot. It's in one of those strawberry pots that have multiple openings, so I put in basil, oregano, English thyme, lemon thyme, sage, and French tarragon. That pot will come inside in the fall before the first frost.

I took my dwarf lemon tree outside and put little nylon footy socks over each of the baby lemons so that the birds don't eat them. My dwarf orange, sadly, did not make it through the winter. I think I damaged it when I pulled off some suckers, and/or I didn't water it correctly. Live and learn! :)

This weekend I have to train up my baby grape vines.

For books, any good gardening book for your region should be a good start. Amazon has a lot of great ones. My favorite book on companion planting is "Carrots Love Tomatoes", and it tells you what veggies and herbs to plant together or to avoid planting together for best results. 

I'll post some pictures of my little beds in a while.

Maybe you guys can help me figure out what this tree/bush is. Its been here since we moved into the house a few years ago and I havent been able to find out what it is. At the beginning of sprig the bark gets fuzzy. Like baby antler fuzzy. Than the leaves grow out green, than Im not sure when but I know the leaves will turn red or a dark orange. Id put a picture in but I cant seem to get the pictures to show

» Edited on: 2014-05-26 05:37:39

Ysolde, without a picture it's hard to tell you but you might try this key.  Let's us know what it keys out to if it works.

I found out what it was called finally. Its amazing the guides on the internet. Its called a Tiger Eyes Sumac .