Anyone planting a vegetable garden this year?

[FIREd]

Spring is back and I am itching to get back in the garden. I have heard on the news that seed sales are up 20%+ this year and that home vegetable gardening is making a huge comeback (the bad economy has, no doubt, something to do with it).

So, whether you have a large in-ground garden or just a few containers on a balcony, what are you planting this year? Feel free to post pictures...

This year I am attempting to grow (almost) all my vegetables in containers. I already planted: strawberries, lettuce, swiss chard, herbs (basil, chives, thyme, parsley, cilantro, mint, lemon balm, coriander), radishes, carrots, beets and turnips. I am waiting a few more weeks before planting tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. In late May to early June, I plan on replacing the radishes/carrots/lettuce/beets/turnips with green and wax beans as well as zucchinis.

So let's hear it from all of you green thumbs!

 

[Notmuchlonger]

No pictures yet. But.

Will grow several variety of tomatoes, jalapeno,habenero,Anaheim peppers,green beans,squashes,lemon cucumbers and many different herbs. Thing of it is. Every Sunday morning I can go to downtown Sacramento and get the most beautiful cheapest product at the farmers market. The garden is for fun. Its not a savings vs what I can get at our farmers market. I do this with my MIL. I do the labor and she supervises Probably the best part of it all.

 

[FIREd]

Thing of it is. Every Sunday morning I can go to downtown Sacramento and get the most beautiful cheapest product at the farmers market. The garden is for fun. Its not a savings vs what I can get at our farmers market. I do this with my MIL. I do the labor and she supervises Probably the best part of it all.

I am not doing it to save money either. I am doing it for fun too and for the fresh, organic produce (our local farmer's market is OK, but nothing beats garden-to-table in 20 minutes or less). Funny thing, I also share the vegetable garden with my MIL. In addition to the containers at my place, we have a small in-ground garden at her place for things like potatoes, which she calls "her" garden, even though I do all the work. I spent Monday afternoon tilling and building raised beds in "her" garden while she [-]supervised the project[/-] worked on her tan...

 

[NW-Bound]

Last summer, DW and I hand-removed the sod from our side-yard to prepare to turn it into a vegetable garden. Have not done a thing about the plan to put in raised beds. Weed starts to grow. Have been too busy working on the recent part-time assignments. Sad!

When in my 20s, was able to come home from work and still had energy to do yard work. Can't do that no more. In fact, have not been able to do much after work for 15 years.

Perhaps I will just post pictures of a weeded plot...

 

[Sarah in SC]

DH just told me yesterday that he wanted to do another garden, it has been a few years since our last one. I love the spring stuff, but get tired of weeding and all that by summer. Lazy, lazy, lazy.

 

[KB]

I'm planting a small garden this year. I'll be moving in April and will put in a couple of tomato plants and some zucchini as soon as possible. I'll be ready to plant a big winter garden in September and next spring will back to a large garden.

 

[ziggy29]

We have a half acre of land, most of it out back. I'd eventually like to get a garden out there, but we need to set up the irrigation. We'd want to tap into the main water line and run about 100' of piping to the back half of the property where the garden would have to be. Right now it would be too much of a hassle dealing with connecting multiple garden hoses way out the there.

 

[tuixiu]

I envy. I've made a few feeble attempts to grow peppers but thru various aspects of dumbassedry failed.

I'd really like to start a spice garden with things like basil and coriander.

 

[FIREd]

I envy. I've made a few feeble attempts to grow peppers but thru various aspects of dumbassedry failed.

I'd really like to start a spice garden with things like basil and coriander.

Then you are in luck. Herbs are probably some of the easiest things to grow. I've had mixed results with peppers. Really good crop last year, but in 2007 I ended up with only 1 (small) pepper for the whole year. Not quite sure what I did wrong, though I suspect that irregular watering was probably the problem.

 

[guest]

I went for the gusto and planted my peas. Hopefully this year they are in early enough but not too early. There was a light frost this morning but that isn't supposed to be a problem.

We are planting big this year. We love the fresh food and the kids want have some to...it is good to know what you are eating and they feel stronger about that now that they have their own kid!

The clearing work you see in the background will be a second and much larger garden. The peas should be done in 2 and a half months, just in time to plant some warm weather stuff!

Good exercise but I am sore today!

 

[harley]

Out on the shore where we live the dirt is sand. Not much grows. Even the topsoil they sell there is crap. But we live in a golf course community, and they aerate the course twice a year, pulling out plugs of fertilized and nutrient-rich dirt, which they pile up. I paid the back-hoe guy working on the neighbor's house to bring me a few tons of it. When we get back in town I'll be wheelbarrowing it into the back yard to build up our beds. Mostly landscaping gardening this year, but we're going to plant some veggies here and there. Going to start out with lettuce, tomatoes, squash and zuchs, various peppers, things like that. Also going to do some herbs in containers on the deck right by the grill. Next year we'll build some raised beds for the veggies.

I tend not to believe people who say they are growing veggies to save money. Sort of like the multi-hundred dollar fish we catch after you figure in the costs of the boat, fuel, beer, etc. This year I'm going to fish and crab some from my kayak, try to cut the price per fish down to a couple dozen dollars per.

 

[Gumby]

We are trying a raised bed, square-foot garden this year. I built the frame and put in the soil last weekend. We have started the seeds indoors and should be ready to transplant around Mothers' Day. Given that our 1/3 acre lot has 16 gigantic maples, there is very little sun. We picked the one spot that seems to have the most sun and will see how it turns out. Last year, we managed to grow a few tomatoes in that spot.

 

[NW-Bound]

About saving money, one should start with herbs. They give the most bangs-per-bucks. Everytime I see a recipe calling for fresh herbs, I cringe. Their price may add up to the same as the cost of the main ingredients. Yet, what do I miss out when I use dried herbs? If the difference is as much as between pre-ground and fresh-ground black pepper, then I have been missing out a lot.

Anyway, keep posting. It may just give me enough motivation to get back on the program.

 

[Orchidflower]

I've been at the Illinois-Iowa border going on 5 years now, and have done a garden for fun every year. I love getting my hands in the soil, and am convinced I was a farmer in a previous life.
Anyway, I already have the seeds for bush beans (string beans) that are a tender, dwarf type, and 2 packs of sugar snap peas. All the rest will be started already and from Lowes: tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary and anything else that flips my switch.
I have little room (around the dogs chickenwire run, and he's just a miniature poodle so it's not huge), but have managed to put out alot of veggies from my small plot. It's so fun to do!
For a flower box around a light in the front yard, I've planted wildflower seeds from a packet every year. They are a variety of flowers, and grow 2-4 feet tall. I get raves every year and asked how I grew such beautiful flowers. I tell them for $1 you, too, can buy your own seeds, throw on a little water from a hose and watch them blossom. Cheap, fun and beautiful.

 

[samclem]

But we live in a golf course community, and they aerate the course twice a year, pulling out plugs of fertilized and nutrient-rich dirt, which they pile up. I paid the back-hoe guy working on the neighbor's house to bring me a few tons of it.

Any worries about all the chemicals in that golf-course soil? They use a tremendous amount of herbicides to keep broadleaf weeds at bay, and the fertilizers needed to keep the grass green are fairly intense. Those grasses also tend to need a lot of water, which is why they put down gobs of fungicides. You don't see many grubs/grub-caused turf damage on golf courses--you can probably guess why.

I think the plan to get good soil is really clever, but I'd be a little concerned about the "better living through chemistry" aspect. Maybe grow flowers in it?

 

[NW-Bound]

Talk about soil from golf courses reminded me of the 1st home we bought. It was brand-new, and built on what was previously farm land. We had bumper crop the first 2 years, then never the same again. Fertilizer left in the soil?

 

[freebird5825]

Last summer, DW and I hand-removed the sod from our side-yard to prepare to turn it into a vegetable garden. Have not done a thing about the plan to put in raised beds. Weed starts to grow. Have been too busy working on the recent part-time assignments. Sad!

When in my 20s, was able to come home from work and still had energy to do yard work. Can't do that no more. In fact, have not been able to do much after work for 15 years.

Perhaps I will just post pictures of a weeded plot...

Hurry hurry - cover it with black plastic ASAP. I use black plastic in the walkways of my garden. If you can't get your hands on a roll of plastic, use contractor size garbage bags and cut them open. Metal landscape fabric pins will keep the wind from blowing it away. Once you let those weed roots systems establish themselves, it's all over.

 

[FIREd]

We are trying a raised bed, square-foot garden this year. I built the frame and put in the soil last weekend. We have started the seeds indoors and should be ready to transplant around Mothers' Day. Given that our 1/3 acre lot has 16 gigantic maples, there is very little sun. We picked the one spot that seems to have the most sun and will see how it turns out. Last year, we managed to grow a few tomatoes in that spot.

We have the same problem: lots of trees (we live in the woods), very little light (maybe 2-3 hours of direct sun light per day). Yet we still manage to grow quite a few things. Greens require the least amount of light, so things like salads, herbs and beans do quite well. Root vegetables require a bit more light but we have successfully grown potatoes, radishes, beets and onions (though the root size and yield is lower than what you would get in full sun). Finally, fruiting vegetables require the most light. For those, choose varieties with smaller fruits (grape or cherry tomatoes, maybe even Roma tomatoes as they work well for us, small cucumbers, small peppers, etc..).

 

[NW-Bound]

Hurry hurry - cover it with black plastic ASAP.

Some of them weeds have pretty little yellow flowers (no, they are not dandelions). My wife likes them, says they are "wild flowers", and wants to keep them. She says they are easily uprooted, and it will be her responsibility. Well, that settles that...

 

[freebird5825]

The bad news...Except for our Canadian friends here, I'll probably be the last one to plant. It often feels like I'm just south of the Arctic Circle.
There are still random snow patches (5%) on the ground (95% bare).
I have at least 3 weeks til I would even attempt peas and lettuce until the ground temps come up to germination levels.
The good news is...Spring rainy season is almost upon us.
I am in the middle of researching and/or designing PVC support and bird/rodent protection systems for my little vineyard2b.
I have 3 grapevines on order.

I will try to take pix as it happens.

 

[FIREd]

Talk about soil from golf courses reminded me of the 1st home we bought. It was brand-new, and built on what was previously farm land. We had bumper crop the first 2 years, then never the same again. Fertilizer left in the soil?

Could be some leftover fertilizer. Could be because the soil had not been planted in many years which would have resulted in a nutrient-rich soil. As you planted the soil again, each consecutive crop depleted the nutrients to the point where the soil required enrichment. That's the reason why you are supposed to either rotate your crops (to let the soil rest between 2 harvests) or enrich the soil each year with well rotted compost / chemical fertilizer / worm castings, etc...

 

[SarahW]

I love gardening in the spring. Of course, by late June I'm sick of it and it's hot out there. My hubby built 2 raised beds a few years ago, 4' x 8' each. I'm a composting fool, so I've been turning the soil and adding fabulous compost all winter. Looking forward to fresh basil, parsley, peppers, chives, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash. Nummy.

 

[NW-Bound]

...enrich the soil each year with well rotted compost / chemical fertilizer / worm castings, etc...

Back then, I had an old full-size pickup so bought manure and soil amendment by front-loader scoops from a nearby plant nursery. It still did not work that well. Could be a fluke, those first years.

 

[toofrugalformycat]

Talk about soil from golf courses reminded me of the 1st home we bought. It was brand-new, and built on what was previously farm land. We had bumper crop the first 2 years, then never the same again. Fertilizer left in the soil?

Plants need to be fed, especially if you harvest a lot of crops. This can (should) be done organically for sustainability, IMHO. I bury the carcasses from the salmon we catch, but that alone wasn't enough. There's a whole chemistry and biology thing going on under there. Different plants need different ph, different fungi, etc, but mostly they're all just hungry.
I started using organic fertilizer a couple years ago and my harvests are getting back up to where they should be, after 20+ years of raised bed gardening. Plus there are so many earthworms out there it's almost like a horror movie (or a little kid's paradise, depending on how you feel about worms).

 

[NW-Bound]

Yes. See my post above. My late father had a green thumb, and he bought lots of cow manure. I have been doing the same. I believe in cow manure as a soil amendment in addition to adding nitrogen.