What are you planting?

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Anyone else planning their garden? What are you planting? I have all these lovely seed catalogs!

This is the first year since separating from my husband that I will have a yard that I feel comfortable doing permanent planting in. Landlord already gave his ok for a garden, but I'm planning to rein it in a bit since he pays for yard maintenance--I don't want to make the mowing too much harder for his yard guy. I also don't want to invest too much in someone else's property.

Lived on a farm for almost 15 years of marriage, I miss growing things!!!

 

[Kitty 34]

My garden is still under a foot of snow and a few inches of ice. The only thing we have "planted" outside is some salt here and there in the driveway. Summer is still almost 3 months away here.

 

[easyas123]

It's no where time for planting here, but we are thinking of it already!
Cherry tomatoes
Tomatoes
Zucchini & squash
Corn
Tomatilo
Bell peppers
Jalapeno
Various herbs

I'm still working my way thru the vegetables I froze last year, almost done!

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

anyone feel like talking about plants?

I was planning to start small--there's a strip of ground that runs across the front of the townhouse from the front walk to the edge of the house, probably about 20'x4', that looks like it was a garden bed at one point, though now it's grown over with grass and has one sad little rhododendron bush. Would love to do an entirely edible garden bed and I'm probably going to plant it with mainly zucchini and bush beans because they are so easy to grow here in PA, with some sunflowers and tomato plants in the back for height. I want plants that will spread their leafy branches and take up room so I don't feel like I have to mulch heavily. Then I was going to place a couple half-barrel planters in with the beans and plant them with marigold or some other flowering annual that's easy to grow from seed (to make weeding easier and save money). I'm open to suggestions--I'd love to incorporate basil and lemongrass into the bed but not sure how to do it--lemongrass would be a nice contrast with the zucchini and beans but I'm afraid it's going to look like patches of weeds in such a sprawling garden, I don't know how to group it. And unless I plant a visually interesting basil it's going to look like patches of weeds too for most of the summer until it gets bushy. How does purple basil taste?

 

[low-key]

I never ever had a garden before , but this spring Im gonna do it, I will google on how to do everything later, I am excited

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I never ever had a garden before , but this spring Im gonna do it, I will google on how to do everything later, I am excited

Yay! You'll love gardening! Are you planting flowers or veggies?

 

[low-key]

Yay! You'll love gardening! Are you planting flowers or veggies?

veggies is the plan, I know nothing but it cant be to hard, yes ?

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

It's no where time for planting here, but we are thinking of it already!
Cherry tomatoes
Tomatoes
Zucchini & squash
Corn
Tomatilo
Bell peppers
Jalapeno
Various herbs

I'm still working my way thru the vegetables I froze last year, almost done!

It's the perfect time to start seeds indoors to get a jump on the growing season, if you have the room, though half of the veggies on your list can be difficult to start from seed. I miss having a chest freezer! There's nowhere to put one here, I'm going to have to give my extra veggies away.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

veggies is the plan, I know nothing but it cant be to hard, yes ?

Nah, not hard if you pick the right plants. You're in Ohio, right? I've never grown anything in Ohio but you're close enough to western PA that I'd guess you have a similar growing season. Squash and beans grow like crazy in PA, they love all the rain and don't mind our crummy soil, especially when you plant them together. Tomatoes are easy to grow here too, and almost anything with a short growing season, like lettuce, kale, broccoli, radishes. Our soil isn't great for most root vegetables, too many rocks and too much clay. Watermelon and pumpkins are harder to grow up north because they require a long growing season which we don't always have, but you can get decent yields with lots of TLC. I've tried my hand at growing just about everything and at this point I prefer the low-maintenance stuff.

 

[low-key]

Nah, not hard if you pick the right plants. You're in Ohio, right? I've never grown anything in Ohio but you're close enough to western PA that I'd guess you have a similar growing season. Squash and beans grow like crazy in PA, they love all the rain and don't mind our crummy soil, especially when you plant them together. Tomatoes are easy to grow here too, and almost anything with a short growing season, like lettuce, kale, broccoli, radishes. Our soil isn't great for most root vegetables, too many rocks and too much clay. Watermelon and pumpkins are harder to grow up north because they require a long growing season which we don't always have, but you can get decent yields with lots of TLC. I've tried my hand at growing just about everything and at this point I prefer the low-maintenance stuff.

yes ohio, I will buy the plants that already pooped out of the soil, I didnt think of beans, thats sound good. Got one question right now, what kid of fencing should I put around it to stop squirles, rabbits and stuff like that

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

yes ohio, I will buy the plants that already pooped out of the soil, I didnt think of beans, thats sound good. Got one question right now, what kid of fencing should I put around it to stop squirles, rabbits and stuff like that

I never had any luck with fencing. They eventually get over, under, and through it all. Just plant extra so there's plenty to go around

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

yes ohio, I will buy the plants that already pooped out of the soil, I didnt think of beans, thats sound good. Got one question right now, what kid of fencing should I put around it to stop squirles, rabbits and stuff like that

My last answer was flippant, but if you are really looking to keep the pests out of your garden you have to outsmart them. If you live in a place where rabbits and deer are a problem, don't plant lettuce or any vegetable whose leaves can be described as "sweet" or "tender" on the ground. I used to have raised garden boxes that I planted my lettuce in, I'm hoping to build some new boxes this year but if I can't build the boxes, I won't even try to plant lettuce. Squirrels and chipmunks are only a problem with bulbs and seeds, so if you plant seeds you just need to protect them long enough for them to sprout, after that they lose interest. If you've got bulbs planted...heaven help you. Seriously, just say a prayer because pretty much every garden pest seems to love bulbs. Don't plant strawberry plants in the ground, you'll lose most of them to the ants.

 

[amcnj]

anyone feel like talking about plants?

I was planning to start small--there's a strip of ground that runs across the front of the townhouse from the front walk to the edge of the house, probably about 20'x4', that looks like it was a garden bed at one point, though now it's grown over with grass and has one sad little rhododendron bush. Would love to do an entirely edible garden bed and I'm probably going to plant it with mainly zucchini and bush beans because they are so easy to grow here in PA, with some sunflowers and tomato plants in the back for height. I want plants that will spread their leafy branches and take up room so I don't feel like I have to mulch heavily. Then I was going to place a couple half-barrel planters in with the beans and plant them with marigold or some other flowering annual that's easy to grow from seed (to make weeding easier and save money). I'm open to suggestions--I'd love to incorporate basil and lemongrass into the bed but not sure how to do it--lemongrass would be a nice contrast with the zucchini and beans but I'm afraid it's going to look like patches of weeds in such a sprawling garden, I don't know how to group it. And unless I plant a visually interesting basil it's going to look like patches of weeds too for most of the summer until it gets bushy. How does purple basil taste?

Do you have any issues with squash vine borers? The zucchini seem to always succumb to it no matter how much effort you put into trying to keep them out or digging them out of the plants if they already bored into the the stems. I would plant basil to the front of the zucchini, midway between two zucchini plants. Being in the front makes it accessible for use, and hopefully if the zucchini are spaced apart they will have a spot to grow without being overwhelmed by the zucchini plants. Or if you have one section with just tomatoes in the back, and no zucchini in front of them, then basil plans could be scattered in front of those tomato plants.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Do you have any issues with squash vine borers? The zucchini seem to always succumb to it no matter how much effort you put into trying to keep them out or digging them out of the plants if they already bored into the the stems. I would plant basil to the front of the zucchini, midway between two zucchini plants. Being in the front makes it accessible for use, and hopefully if the zucchini are spaced apart they will have a spot to grow without being overwhelmed by the zucchini plants. Or if you have one section with just tomatoes in the back, and no zucchini in front of them, then basil plans could be scattered in front of those tomato plants.

*knock on wood* I've never had an issue with pests on my zucchini, aside from a bit of powdery mildew. I've lost other plants to fungus and blights and beetles and slugs, but never zucchini. Maybe I've just been lucky? Or maybe squash bugs are less of a problem in my area? Zucchini are my go-to because I can basically drop a seed in some dirt and end up with beautiful plants, with no care. their spreading leaves discourage weeds too, which is awesome. I like your idea to put a few basil up front, thanks! Now do you have any idea how to make the lemongrass look nice? Maybe I should grow that in pots too? Then I can play with moving them around where they will look nice, and it won't look like i let the grass get tall and scraggly.

 

[EscalatorKid]

I'm nowhere near planting time. I usually buy plants and not seeds (unless I am growing herbs.) I usually don't chance it til near Memorial Day.

I plan on doing Hungarian Hot and sweet peppers, tomatoes, jalapenos, and habanero peppers.

I may do some ghost peppers or hotter to grow and pickle for a friend who enjoys extra heat.

I keep it fairly simple because I can go to the local co-op, farmer's market, or produce/deli/greenhouse market and buy bushels of locally grown produce for a really low price.

 

[Kitty 34]

OP, just for you I'm saving the hyacinth flower/bulb until springtime so I can plant it. Got it for my birthday last month. It looks way bedraggled but even my Mom (an avid gardener) told me to tuck it away in a room and plant the bulb in the spring.

 

[ronandannette]

I'll let you know in June when it's actually planting time here. This will be the 5th summer we've spent in this home and I've yet to find quite the right things that will thrive in my conditions. I do know what I won't be planting, based on the rather spectacular failures I've had.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

I just came in from my little greenhouse- youngest ds and I have started:

Peas
Okra
Bok Choi
Kale
Brocolli
Cauliflower
Cantaloupe
Korean mint

Probably some other stuff I've forgotten

I also have Carolina reaper, ghost pepper, and scorpion peppers that I need to get started along with a ton of smelly flowers and herbs to discourage pests.

I bought some 7ft deer fence, there were 6 of them in the yard this morning. They did a pretty good job leaving everything alone last year, until one night they apparently threw a party and ate EVERYTHING.

 

[Micca]

I never ever had a garden before , but this spring Im gonna do it, I will google on how to do everything later, I am excited

Gardens...you know those are outdoors, right?

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I just came in from my little greenhouse- youngest ds and I have started:

Peas
Okra
Bok Choi
Kale
Brocolli
Cauliflower
Cantaloupe
Korean mint

Probably some other stuff I've forgotten

I also have Carolina reaper, ghost pepper, and scorpion peppers that I need to get started along with a ton of smelly flowers and herbs to discourage pests.

I bought some 7ft deer fence, there were 6 of them in the yard this morning. They did a pretty good job leaving everything alone last year, until one night they apparently threw a party and ate EVERYTHING.

Lol, my way of handling the deer is to cross my fingers and hope the neighbor's plants look tastier than mine We also had a corn field between our house and the woods, so that helped too! I just moved into my townhouse a few months ago and we're in a little neighborhood so I'm hoping that the critters aren't out of control here.