Vegetable Gardens

[tavettava]

This will be my 4th year growing (2nd with big huge raised beds.) I have 6- 4x8. I do corn, pumpkin, and green beans in one(the three ladies.) 18 tomato plants of different kinds, cucumbers for eating and pickling, watermelon, okra, 2 kinds of eggplant, strawberry, onion, chives, carrots, peppers, pumpkins, potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli. I'm going to add more to it this year. I found that marigolds and zinnias keep bugs, squirrels, and rabbits out.

 

[Sunshineminnie]

We use the Square foot gardening book. Very easy, hardly and weeding and the plants grow great. You can get the book on Amazon for $14. Have fun!

 

[Gator Bait]

I plan to have another garden this year. Ours isn't that big...

For a "small" garden, you sure do grow a lot of veggies! I'm glad you reminded me about eggplant. I love eggplant.

Yep. I use a variety called strawberry something, and the ears are about 2-3" long, red, and berry shaped. I dry most of mine in the oven to use in the air popper, but always leave a couple-few on the cob to microwave pop cob and all.

I want that! Do you special order the seeds?

I'd love to plant a jalapeno plant, I could do so much with fresh jalapenos so I might try that this year.

If I grow tomatoes, I need jalapenos and cilantro! I love making fresh salsa and pico de gallo.

For those of you who have the raised beds do you have a fence around them? I really think I would need one here with all of the deer.

I'm fencing in the area where I am putting the beds. We have a lot of deer (and rabbits) in my area too, so I will have to.

This will be my 4th year growing (2nd with big huge raised beds.) I have 6- 4x8. I found that marigolds and zinnias keep bugs, squirrels, and rabbits out.

That is a lot of garden space! I would love to have one that big, but I think I will start a little smaller this year and work my way up. I am planning to plant some flowers for pollination, but I never thought of flowers as a pest repellant! Thanks for the awesome tip!

We use the Square foot gardening book. Very easy, hardly and weeding and the plants grow great. You can get the book on Amazon for $14. Have fun!

I will check that out. I found THIS WEBSITE that has a plants per sq foot chart that will be helpful, too.

 

[sherreis]

I also read the square foot gardening book. There is also a website.

I use 4x4 raised beds and I have 3 of them. One of them is double deep so I can get some good root vegetables.

I just bought a composter from Home depot and can't wait till it gets delivered so I can make my own compost. Our soil here is mostly clay so I have had to pay a lot of money for the soil for the gardens so things will grow.

I plan many varieties of tomatoes and peppers. Strawberries, potatoes sometimes, carrots, beets, lettuces, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash. This past year I tried cantaloupe for the first time and grew them on trellis - they were the best cantaloupe I've ever eaten. This year I am going to try kale, collard greens because we just started eating these veggies - had never had them before. I love going out and picking fresh stuff - it is such a difference. My kids enjoy helping in the garden too.

 

[CTdiznymom]

We've done raised beds for 2 years now. Our first year was better than our second. The weather was brutal, and I am too impatient and planted way too early. This year I will have some restraint and wait until end of May. I purchased our raised beds from www.gardeners.com. On their site there is a place that you can actually plan your garden by dragging and dropping your veggies into place. You can print it or save it from year to year. Great site.

 

[Colleen27]

We use the Square foot gardening book. Very easy, hardly and weeding and the plants grow great. You can get the book on Amazon for $14. Have fun!

Check Half.com before ordering from Amazon if you want it. I think I paid $8 + shipping for my used copy, and it is the newest edition in good (not perfect) condition.

I want that! Do you special order the seeds?

I order about 90% of my seeds from Baker Creek. They're good people over there and their catalog is practically a work of art. Seriously, I keep them to use in craft projects long after the season is over!

This is the variety I grow - http://rareseeds.com/strawberry-popcorn.html

I also read the square foot gardening book. There is also a website.

The website and GardenWeb's SFG forum have almost all the information you'd find in the book. I have the book here but if I have a question about spacing on a plant I haven't grown before I check the website rather than going hunting through my overflowing bookshelves for my copy.

 

[Gator Bait]

www.gardeners.com. On their site there is a place that you can actually plan your garden by dragging and dropping your veggies into place. You can print it or save it from year to year. Great site.

LOVE! The drag-and-drop is fantastic!

 

[java]

I have a love hate relationship with my garden. It started as one small 4 foot square raised bed, then last year I added in 2 4x6's.

Last year the deer and I fought like hell over my tomatoes, and the deer won. I have to build a better fence with a cover over the top. I had 6 foot high deer fencing and they jumped right over it! They also ate most of my peppers.
Which really bummed me out because they were doing fantastic!

I had way too many cucumbers and yellow squash. My eggplant was ok, not great and I talked my local farmer into growing it so I think I'll just buy it from him. My herbs did great, rosemary, thyme, sage, basil and oregano!

So I'm thinking tomatoes, the herbs, zucchini, peppers and adding in one new thing. Not sure what yet. I generally go by what the local farmers can grow, although that didn't work on eggplant.

 

[Gator Bait]

They jumped your six foot fence? Your veggies must have been top notch!

So how many cucumbers is too many? I mean, how many vines did you plant? I don't want to be overrun with them, because God knows I will probably never make pickles.

 

[indimom]

We have a large garden (on the family farm, we share the work and the rewards with my parents). We grow corn, potatoes, green beans, peppers (several varieties), tomatoes (several varieties), zuchinni and cucumbers. From time to time, we add pumpkins, cantalope, watermelon, carrots, peas and strawberries. We also can/freeze a good amount of these. I'd like to add brussel sprouts, broccoli and asparagus if we can make some more space for them.

No raised beds, we have plenty of space to spread out so we use a tractor to prep the ground, a seed roller to plant, and a tiller to keep the weeds at bay. Not effortless, but still much easier than trying to do it all by hand.

We use an electric fence to keep the critters at bay. We have a lot of deer, rabbits and coons and the fence works perfectly. We see their tracks outside the fence, but they very rarely get in. The worst issue we ever had was during a drought. The ground got too dry and this doesn't allow the fence to work properly. The zap was pretty weak, DH tested it. The coons were getting in and destroying our corn crop. My dad started watering around the fence each evening and doubled the length of the ground, and the problem was solved.

I may have to try out some of these raised beds. Eventually, my parents may move off the farm and I'm going to have to garden on my 100X100 lot in town.

 

[Gnomegirl]

I just requested some catalogs. Now I need to get planning. I usually do a graph paper layout and DH laminates it for me. This way we can keep it in the garage and he knows what is where because he doesn't know much about gardens.

We also have a large herb garden that needs major attention this year. My girls love to pick herbs and make teas.

I really should start putting money away now for this!

 

[htmom]

Well I just moved from the country with my 13 ft by 4 ft strawberry patch that is 5 years old this spring. It creates beautiful strawberrys Earliglow and Honeoye. Yum! Well my dad is happy he now has a beautiful patch that I have tended for so long. LOL
So my question is, now I am in the city, Renting. I don't want to start a huge patch and then move from it! LOL So I know that strawberries can grow in containers. Has anyone done this? What tyoe of berries do you plant?
What else grows in containers? I know silly question but moving from a 2 acre front yard to a 1/4 acre property changed my planting abilities. LOL

 

[LilyWDW]

Well, the plan is to work with my friends and then share our bounties! I have three raised beds plus a bunch of raspberry bushes (in two separate areas of the yard). I know that I will be doing a bunch of herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, strawberries, and peppers (sweet and hot).

They will be doing corn, banana peppers, tomatoes, and different types of squash. Maybe okra as well.

I also get a lot of stuff from our neighbors. Usually some potatoes, okra, and onions.

Last year was bad around here. Even my neighbors, who have been doing their garden for YEARS and always have a great bounty, had issues. It was hot and dry pretty early on and it seemed to effect the early growth of the plants.

 

[Gator Bait]

I made and froze a ton of pesto from my huge basil plants yesterday!

So I know that strawberries can grow in containers. Has anyone done this? What tyoe of berries do you plant?
What else grows in containers? I know silly question but moving from a 2 acre front yard to a 1/4 acre property changed my planting abilities. LOL

Awwwww, I bet it was hard to leave your strawberries! I have not grown them in containers, but my mom's cousin grows them in the topsy-turvy style hanging planters with great success! He grows tomatoes the same way.

I usually grow herbs in containers, but last year I put them in a garden.

 

[LilyWDW]

Well I just moved from the country with my 13 ft by 4 ft strawberry patch that is 5 years old this spring. It creates beautiful strawberrys Earliglow and Honeoye. Yum! Well my dad is happy he now has a beautiful patch that I have tended for so long. LOL
So my question is, now I am in the city, Renting. I don't want to start a huge patch and then move from it! LOL So I know that strawberries can grow in containers. Has anyone done this? What tyoe of berries do you plant?
What else grows in containers? I know silly question but moving from a 2 acre front yard to a 1/4 acre property changed my planting abilities. LOL

I do strawberries in containers every year and they do wonderful! I don't really plant any specific type.... just whatever I find at the nursery when we go.

I made and froze a ton of pesto from my huge basil plants yesterday!

I usually grow herbs in containers, but last year I put them in a garden.

THAT is what I should do with all my extra basil I have every year! Thanks for the idea.

Also, I am going to move my herbs up to the deck in containers. Nothing is worse then cooking and needed some fresh herbs only to have to go all the way down to the yard!

 

[htmom]

Awesome! I will give it a try then! May the garden faries bless each and every one of your gardens!

 

[lovesmurfs]

Mmmmm.....really missed my garden this past year. I need to get one in this year!

I tend to plant too many veggies too close together, which gets hard by mid summer.

Eggplant, squash, green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. I also put in about 6 heads of purple cabbage as well.

 

[mdrob214]

AS to cucumbers: I don't know how many your family will eat. But I planted 2 bush-style plants a few years ago and we had more cukes than we could possibly eat! We do love them, but they produced So. Many! I made way more pickles than we could eat and share, even. Start with a couple your first year and then decide how much canning you want to do. It's not difficult, but it does take time and supplies. Start looking now for canning supplies at Good Will or yard sales. You can get Mason jars and a canner in the off-season.

 

[pixiewings71]

For a "small" garden, you sure do grow a lot of veggies! I'm glad you reminded me about eggplant. I love eggplant.



I want that! Do you special order the seeds?




If I grow tomatoes, I need jalapenos and cilantro! I love making fresh salsa and pico de gallo.




I'm fencing in the area where I am putting the beds. We have a lot of deer (and rabbits) in my area too, so I will have to.



That is a lot of garden space! I would love to have one that big, but I think I will start a little smaller this year and work my way up. I am planning to plant some flowers for pollination, but I never thought of flowers as a pest repellant! Thanks for the awesome tip!



I will check that out. I found THIS WEBSITE that has a plants per sq foot chart that will be helpful, too.

Me too....I love fresh salsa and pico. I normally just get the jalapeno from the store, they are pretty inexpensive and last quite a while.

They jumped your six foot fence? Your veggies must have been top notch!

So how many cucumbers is too many? I mean, how many vines did you plant? I don't want to be overrun with them, because God knows I will probably never make pickles.

We planted 2 regular cucumber plants, and we had so many cukes I was giving them away.....We love cucumbers here, all 4 of us eat them and I make all kinds of cucumber salads with them as well. Even giving them away we had too many. That said, I'll plant 2 this year as well, and I'll see if I can get some Armenian cucumbers started from seeds and I'd love to plant a lemon cucumber plant as well. I love cucumbers!