Anyone else getting ready to make a Veggie garden?

[momejay]

We garden every year. We have planted peas, broccoli, lettuce, onions, strawberries, & brussel sprouts so far. We planted tomato seeds & a few other veggies in the make shift green house today.
Couldn't make it threw winter without my tomato sauce!

 

[java]

started my seeds today too. Some brandywine,purple stripe, roma and another heirloom variety that I can't remember. Along with Basil, and some peppers.

I will buy some strawberry plants later in the season. And whatever else I can find in Plant form.

 

[Colleen27]

I want to plant:
Broccoli, Cauliflower, Tomatoes, Basil, carrots, green onions, spinich,
lettuce, and for the first time I going to try strawberries.

What are you going to plant? any universal tips or for a particular region that my help everyone?

This year I'm growing 5 varieties of tomato, 2 potato, 4 sweet pepper, 2 hot pepper, 3 eggplant, 2 cauliflower, 2 green beans, 2 carrots, soup beans, broccoli, snow peas, shelling peas, sweet corn, popcorn, zucchini, summer, butternut, and acorn squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkins, green onions, cooking onions, lettuce, spinach, brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes. I also have 3 dwarf cherry tomatoes, one red, one yellow, and one orange, and 3 miniature bell peppers, red, yellow, and chocolate, for my daughter's container patch.

I use newspaper pots like someone linked. With 100+ seedlings so far and more still to start, I sure don't want to be paying for peat pots! Only the most cold hardy plants will go out this month. The tender plants like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant don't go out until after Mother's Day.

We just moved last summer so I'm starting from scratch this year and on a rather tighter budget than I'd initially planned, and to make things more difficult some aesthetic choices have really gummed up the planning. So what we supposed to be raised beds from the get-go has morphed into semi-raised (mounded but not framed) beds for now because I can't get the brick to build the permanent structures until well into the growing season (free salvage from a demolition contractor ). So right now is the hard work phase - digging out about 500 sq ft of lawn, spreading mulch and manure, and turning it all in. But it is so nice being outside after the long winter that I don't even mind.

 

[MyGirlLovesTink]

When we first bought our house the previous owners had a vegetable garden already set up. I kept up with it for a few years, but it was way too big to maintain, and toward the end of the summer things were just going rotten. Now that I am a stay-at-home-mom, I have more time at home and am re-thinking starting a home garden again. There is nothing better than going in your own backyard to pick your food. You know exactly where it comes from and it has no chemicals.

My advice would be to start out small. You don't want to make it so big that it is unmanageable. That will just get you tired and discouraged and you may end up giving up on it like I did.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I have started my semi-veggie garden a little over a week ago in peat pots. I have rosemary, chives, sage, cilantro, basil, and beets. I'm tired of paying so much money for fresh herbs! I'm just kind of experimenting with everything this year. I bought a BIG deep pot for the beets (when they're ready to be transplanted) and a long window box for the herbs. It's almost impossible to have a garden outside where I live, the dozens of squirrels love to dig up everything and we have a big family of bunnies that live under our deck.

 

[Judique]

We have a small garden every year. I love to pick fresh tomatos and cukes and squash in the summer.

I am interested in hearing about what other people living in Maryland grow successfully in their gardens.

Two years ago I tried strawberries and out of ten plants I got about 7 or 8 small berries. I would love to have a nice strawberry patch, but I'm a little afraid to try again. Any tips?

 

[Colleen27]

Two years ago I tried strawberries and out of ten plants I got about 7 or 8 small berries. I would love to have a nice strawberry patch, but I'm a little afraid to try again. Any tips?

Strawberries are perennial and it takes time to get good production. For the first year, you should pinch off any flowers. You won't get any berries, but that forces the plants to put all their energy into becoming established and sending runners, which will mean a better harvest the following spring. They like sandy soil and aren't very tolerant of soggy conditions or overwatering. I've found that mine generally do better in containers/raised beds than in the ground, I think because we're close to the river & marsh and the ground tends to stay damp for much of the year.

 

[monorailsilver]

My dh is the gardener.

No tips but enjoy!

This is the first year we are planting mostly by seed. He planted some stuff about 2 weeks ago & there are some green things sprouting up. We had a bean one one plant but the kids touched it.

He planted a few different variety's of tomatos, cukes, squash, zucchini, beans & I forget what else, oh watermelon too. He didn't get lettuce so I will pick that up at the local garden shop.

 

[momz]

You know what you're doing!

Me-I attempted tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and cucumbers 2 years ago, all in containers on my apartment's porch. The tomatoes grew bushy but never produced one tomato. The cucumber vine cannibalized the onions in another pot, but never sprouted (is that the right word?) a single cucumber.
I went out one morning to water and found the cucumber vine stuck in the onion pot, on another shelf. When I tried to pull it out, it wouldn't budge. (And it bite me!)

The pepper pot was on the top shelf, and was starting to bloom. One day, we got tornado force winds that knocked the ceramic pot off the shelf, and shattered it on the porch. I salvaged what I could into another pot.

By the time the peppers started growing out it was late August and I was spent. I stopped watering them and gave up on gardening.

I won't even go into what happened to the grape vine. I'm trying to forget...

Last year, we had our trip to WDW booked for May, and I decided to take a break from gardening. (No one here to water them.)

But I long for fresh, off the vine tomatoes, like my grandparents grew in their garden. So now I'm thinking of buying a grow box. They say it is money back guaranteed for a year. They claim anyone can grow whatever they want in it. It's foolproof.

We'll just see about that...

Good luck with your garden. How I envy you!

hmmm....sounds like your plants failed to fruit. Did they grow blossoms, but no fruit? If that is the case, then you have a polination problem. To help with this, take a small paint brush (like the kind that comes in a child's paint pack) and "tickle" the blossoms. This problem can happen if your plants aren't visited by the insects that normally spread the pollen.

But, if your plants fail to produce blooms, then there is a problem with either the sunlight or the nutrients your plants are getting from the soil. Look into a fertilizer that has the word "bloom" in it. Or, make sure your plants are getting sunlight late into the evening, the light of the late evening color spectrum can help plants to produce blooms.

 

[momz]

I would recommend checking out the concept of square foot gardening. you can get a lot of info on the web by googling it, or there are a couple of books out there explaining the concept.

This gardening method is great for a family, it helps with weed control. Uses the concepts of companion planting and crop rotation. Allows for a lot of produce in a little space. And is less work than traditional row gardening.

Also, by preparing your own soil-less growing medium as oppossed to planting in your existing soil, you can control the nutrients more closely....not to mention the weeds.

In addition, a little bit of study on the concept of hydroponics provides a lot of knowledge regarding the light spectrum and the nutrient needs of your plants.

Can't wait to get my garden growing...should have my cold weather crops in by the end of the week.

Oh...I have a tomato plant in my kitchen that I've grown hydroponically. Its a vine that reaches my ceiling. I've had it for over a year, and it's still producing. I'll probably sacrifice it soon though...will give my attention to the outdoors for a while...bring on the bugs.

 

[lukenick1]

What is everyone using for fertilizer that is not a chemical? I've tried coffee grounds but not sure it helped.
I have had tons of strawberries in the past but some critter eats them before i get to pick them. Can I grow strawberries in a patio container???? Also....does anyone know anything about dwarf lo & behold butterfly bushes?? I planted them in pot in the yard and left them out all winter. Should I cut them down to the soil?? How do I know if they survived the winter here in New England?
Thanks

 

[mookie]

I love these ideas. Always wanted to do a veggie garden but I'm worried I won't have the time to commit. I've always had fresh herbs in the pots in the summer. Maybe I'll start small...tomatoes in a container might be a good start, right? Either way, you all have me inspired!

 

[TheBigBadWolf]

The Zucchini and patty pans do well but I always get worms so I'm trying to plant them with garlic this year. Last year though everyone I knew had tomato plant rot mine did fine I'm also hoping they do well this year. Broccoli did extremely well but my peppers never really get big and seem to be doing best once the seasons coming to an end. My herb garden never really takes off lol I don't know why and this will be my first year doing potatoes, garlic and onions.

You might be putting your pepper plants in the ground before the weather is warm enough. Peppers like warm weather. If they are exposed to temps in the 40's, it will stunt their growth and cause them not to produce until late in the season. Also, if you're buying your pepper plants, they may have been exposed to cold weather before you bought them, which caused them to be stunted.

I can't wait to get my seeds and plants in the ground, but my garden is too wet to be worked. We plowed it a month or two ago, but since then, it's been too wet to plant anything. I am getting very anxious to get my tomatoes in the ground. We're planting tomatoes, hot peppers, bell peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, English peas, green beans, onions, herbs, lettuce, eggplant, okra, and cantaloupe. I wanted to plant potatoes but it is getting so late in the season, I may have missed out. I hope to move my asparagus from our old farm to the new garden this week, if it's not too big already to easily move.

 

[lukenick1]

Anyone have luck with fruit in New England?? We planted watermelon last year but never got the fruit. Only the flower.
thanks

 

[Colleen27]

Anyone have luck with fruit in New England?? We planted watermelon last year but never got the fruit. Only the flower.
thanks

My understanding is that is usually a pollination problem. I've found that even though we have plenty of bees and the summer squash & zucchini do well, something about the watermelon, pumpkins, and acorn/winter squash makes them less attractive to the buzzing pollinators. I don't know if it is location in the garden or the timing of their blooms, but I never had much luck until I started pollinating those plants by hand. It is really quick/simple to do, just dip a kids' paintbrush or a q-tip in the pollen from a male flower and brush it onto the center of a female flower (you can tell male/female by whether the flower has a swell at the base - those are the female flowers and that's where the fruit will grow)

 

[lukenick1]

My understanding is that is usually a pollination problem. I've found that even though we have plenty of bees and the summer squash & zucchini do well, something about the watermelon, pumpkins, and acorn/winter squash makes them less attractive to the buzzing pollinators. I don't know if it is location in the garden or the timing of their blooms, but I never had much luck until I started pollinating those plants by hand. It is really quick/simple to do, just dip a kids' paintbrush or a q-tip in the pollen from a male flower and brush it onto the center of a female flower (you can tell male/female by whether the flower has a swell at the base - those are the female flowers and that's where the fruit will grow)

Wow Colleen....to think I thought growing a watermelon only required planting a seed that we spit out. I just learned something new today Even though I hate bees, they are really our resource to nice flowers and gardens

 

[Colleen27]

What is everyone using for fertilizer that is not a chemical? I've tried coffee grounds but not sure it helped.
I have had tons of strawberries in the past but some critter eats them before i get to pick them. Can I grow strawberries in a patio container????

For fertilizer, I use coffee grounds, egg shells (make sure they're well cleaned & dry or they'll attract critters), and composted yard/kitchen waste. For potted plants that need a little more feeding than those in the ground, I buy Terracycle's "worm poop" plant food and have had consistently good results with that.

Strawberries are great for containers. I've had better luck with them in containers than in the ground. You can find the jars everywhere this time of year. I've seen them at CVS, KMart, and Meijer in the last week or so. Topsy-turvy makes a hanging strawberry planter planter, and they do well in hanging baskets. They're quite pretty once established, because the runners and berries drape over the sides of the container. You still have to keep an eye out for critters, though, because often it is birds that are most attracted to them.

 

[Alice1386]

I am working on getting my to-be raised bed garden ready. Thank goodness it is Spring Break so I am off and hopefully will have plenty of time to get things started. I tried doing a container garden on my back porch last year and almost everything failed miserably. However, I think I learned from my mistakes-poor drainage, wrong type of soil in pots, over watering, and poor pollenation. This is a great thread!

 

[Evi]

I never new that about the pepper plants. Hrm but I already ordered my plants this year so I will have to hope for the best. Next year I'll grow my own from scratch =)

Thank you though its something I never would have thought of or had ever heard of.

 

[worm761]

I would recommend checking out the concept of square foot gardening. you can get a lot of info on the web by googling it, or there are a couple of books out there explaining the concept.

This gardening method is great for a family, it helps with weed control. Uses the concepts of companion planting and crop rotation. Allows for a lot of produce in a little space. And is less work than traditional row gardening.

Also, by preparing your own soil-less growing medium as oppossed to planting in your existing soil, you can control the nutrients more closely....not to mention the weeds.

In addition, a little bit of study on the concept of hydroponics provides a lot of knowledge regarding the light spectrum and the nutrient needs of your plants.


Can't wait to get my garden growing...should have my cold weather crops in by the end of the week.

Oh...I have a tomato plant in my kitchen that I've grown hydroponically. Its a vine that reaches my ceiling. I've had it for over a year, and it's still producing. I'll probably sacrifice it soon though...will give my attention to the outdoors for a while...bring on the bugs.

can you tells us how you did the tomato plant in the kitchen?