Anybody have their garden planned yet out for 2019?

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pepperhead212

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Stupid question for me - there are always those few last minute varieties I get, that I have to figure in some how! But most are in my list, already.

Funny thing - I only have 3 new peppers, so far! But then, I have at least 14 old fav's, that I always have to grow. No superhots this season, since I already tried the reaper, and I only do those out of curiosity, not to cook with.

Tomatoes I usually get a larger number of new varieties in, but only have 5, so far, to go with only 6 old fav's (and two of those are maybes). I'll get a number more of those, however.

I got a keeper last year with the bottle gourds, though I got way too many, all at once, from just 2 plants. So this season, I'll succession plant, one at a time, 4 weeks apart. I'll do that with the two bitter melon varieties I have, as well - never grew more than one, which was always a lot, but they stopped.

No new herbs, except the basil variety Everlast, which I got because it is supposed to be the latest bolting variety out there! Time will tell...

I have a long list of trade seeds; if any seed starters want to see it, I'll post it. I'd rather share them, than throw them away, which happens, eventually.
 
I do pretty much the same thing every year. I sometimes toss in a different pepper, just for fun. That depends on what I see at the garden center when it comes time to plant.

My oregano, rosemary and thyme survive the winter, but the oregano is getting out of control, so I'll re-plant that this year. The rosemary and thyme were re-planted last year, so I will leave them alone. My flat-leaf parsley is still alive, and looking healthy, so I'll leave that alone, too.

So, basil and peppers are all I need to plant. I'll do that in mid-March.

CD
 
I keep extensive records every year of the garden. What did well, what didn't do so well, Location in garden, What I did right, what I didn't do right, fertilizers ( what, when , how often..), soil tests, When planted, when harvested ( range from first to last picked), Spread sheets .... I keep a running list of what I should and shouldn't do for the following year, I definitely complicate things, but I guess its my scientific nature.

All that being said, I do have my garden planned out about 95%. Im a sucker for new plants and varieties, so there are always last minute purchases and that scramble to fit something new into the garden. I have raised beds, so the space I have is well defined and limited, but, slowly the veggies are taking over the flower gardens too ( dont tell my wife, I've been doing a good job keeping it a secret so far).

String beans Is usually pretty consistent. I grow some bush beans, along with yellow , purple and scarlet runner pole beans.

Cukes I grow a Kirby and regular cucumber variety. I got these veggie molds that you put on the young cucumber, and as they grow, the grow into the shape of the mold ( stars or hearts). A friend's kid gets a kick out of it every year.

Onions aren't so predictable, so Im cutting back a bit to leave more room for new or more predictable crops.

Eggplants are also unpredictable , but keeping the same amount. Hopefully Ill figure it out this year.

Peppers, usually the sweet, frying kind ( I have the varieties written down stairs, Im just too lazy to go get them now ( 2:30am). I'm cutting back this year, cause I grow way more than I use. I still have some roasted peppers from 2 years ago, let alone last year.

Okra, I grow the " Baby Bubba" variety. The plants are only about 2 feet high. I actually grow multiple plants in large pots. the plants and flowers are very decorative, so I use them as a patio plant for both cosmetics and food. Also gives me more room in the main garden.

Tomatoes, I experimented last year in the kind of support I used ( custom built for the garden). I was pleased to Im building a second one. Supports them well, and keeps them well organized. Usually a variety of Roma, some slicing, a variety I call " Behemoths". cause they are so big, and I still have seeds that are genetically similar to the first time I grow them about 20 years ago. A few grapes and always finding new varieties year after year.

Tomatillos, Hit or miss for me, but still allotted room for them.

Potatoes, I grow way more than I need, but there is something exciting about not knowing what you got until you start digging them up. I a few early , mid and late season varieties so I have them from mid summer on, then store them afterwards ( still working off last years potatoes.

Chard ( instead of spinach) because I like how they grow well above the soil and throughout the season.

Zucchinis and other squashes. A little more difficult in raised, defined beds, because they have a mind of they're own ( actually, the zucchinis stay put, but the vine squashes dont, like spaghetti). Ive been invaded by cucumber beetles. Kept them relatively under control last year, but zucchinis got hit hard. I dont know what I grow so many zucchinis. I like them , but not all that much use for them considering the amount I get. Im always afraid fo cut back, cause of the risk of not getting any, The spaghetti squash planted itself ( compost directly in the garden over the winter). So I let the rogue plant do its thing, and it did very well. So, Im hoping for the same luck next year .

Peas, carrots, do them every year with not as much luck as Id like.

Sweet potatoes, cutting back. dont eat as many as. I grow, but still the thrill of digging them up at the end of the year.

Peanuts, surprisingly do very well, another crop thats a mystery until you dig them up at the end of the year .

Multiple herbs and spices , usually in large planters/ pots, or just scatted among the other plants.

Garlic and rhubarb already have their places .

My biggest planning issue is how to fit in the new varieties or veggies that I find while searching for other things. Wish the garden was twice the size.
 
Larry, Looks like you have yours planned better than I have mine, so far, and a lot more to grow! I like the line about how the veggies are taking over the flower garden. I have never grown anything inedible, and the front flower bed has always had peppers, chard, and various other vegetables, that serve as ornamentals.

I'm glad my garden isn't twice the size! It couldn't be, since the whole back yard is already dug up (and side beds, and front beds), and if I had any more, I wouldn't have time to cook any of it! lol
 
I'm glad my garden isn't twice the size! It couldn't be, since the whole back yard is already dug up (and side beds, and front beds), and if I had any more, I wouldn't have time to cook any of it! lol

I hear ya! I spend so much time out in the garden, and I Love ( almost) every minute of it. Ive had pumpkin vines and cantaloupe by the mailbox, stray tomato plants that plants themselves along the walkway to the front door. Many times, the ones that plant themselves are the ones that do best, so I just leave them be. Its not that I can't grow flowers, I just seem to put more effort into the veggies. if you can eat it I either grow it, plan on growing it, or have tried to grow it and it failed or I didn't like it. Wish I had a green house.
 
I'm going to try a container garden on my deck this year. I hope all of the critters won't be brave enough to come up on the deck for a free meal.

I've saved up a bunch of large cat litter pails that I hope to grow a few grape tomatoes and Early Girls, Thai Bird chilis, and both Italian and Thai basil.
 
I was just planning yesterday.
sweet corn, carrots, broccoli, brussels sprouts, 4 different tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and jalapenos, celery, onions, zucchini and summer (yellow) squash, watermelon a few pumpkins and some sunflowers and then the herb garden
basil, oregano, parsley, dill, thyme, rosemary, sage, chives, hoping my lavender bush survives this New York weather.
 
I'm trying really hard not to buy any seeds this year, just use up prior purchases. I need to get over to Mom and Dad's and help get the small greenhouse up so we aren't raising seedlings in the living room. Cardboard and mulch need put down after we level the garden, new fence is all up. We may have a harvest this year. Flowers at my house.
 
I've narrowed it down to bush beans, grape toms, hot peppers and cukes in my raised planters. A few flowers (I already have way too many perennials). Need to remember to plant dill.
 
Ok I'm either 6 months behind you guys or ahead. I grow almost everything from seed. My wife does the garden, I do the lifting and heavy stuff. She grows chillies including the reaper and others. She has 2 small greenhouses where the chillies cucumbers and pickles ( gerkins) to us. Currently picking and freezing strawberries raspberries beans peas tomatoes (around 12 plants) new potatoes corn and herbs which grow year round. Thyme rosemary oregano parsley, basil and cilantro we grow from seed as its only a summer herb here. I use frozen tomatoes to make pasta sauce with basil and oregano. We are having bumper crops this year.
I know you guys with critters can't grow as much as we do. We don't have snakes either. But then we pay a lot more for our gas here. Up to 2.50 a litre although it's dropped recently to $2 a litre.

Russ
 
Glad to hear that your garden is doing so well, Russ. I guess it's almost a month into summer there, and the best is yet to come!

Bucky, Something you may want to look into, if you want to do a bunch of container gardening, is sub-irrigated planters (SIPs). Earthbox is a well known brand, but HD and Lowe's have their brands of them much cheaper, and if you have a nice workshop, you can build some, using tubs, various planters, and 2 buckets - a 5 gal inside a 6 gal, or a 4 gal inside a 5 gal. I'll post some photos of homemade ones, if you are interested. I got a bunch of Earthboxes several years ago, when the company was bought out, and when I found out how much production I got in them, I learned how to make them - so far, up to 23, plus the original Earthboxes!

I used to grow some things (peppers, tomatoes, eggplants) in 5 gal buckets, but the tomatoes and eggplants would suck up the water so fast, that the bucket would blow over in light wind, they would be so top heavy and light. 4 gal buckets would get totally rootbound by the end of August, with tomatoes and eggplants; cherry tomatoes would be sort of ok, but still needed more space. SIPs don't get rootbound like this, as the soil is always moist, thus the roots don't need to "search" as much for water.

The SIPs work with a reservoir of water, with 1 or 2 columns of growing medium extending into the column, to "wick" the water up into the growing area. I have drip irrigation throughout my garden, and I use the emitters to fill these reservoirs, as well - no hand watering at all!

This last year most of my garden (except butternuts and the herb and other beds) was in these SIPs, as I had knee surgery, and couldn't do my normal gardening. The elevated tubs helped a lot, but also, not as many plants were needed when using these. Some things - cucumbers, eggplants, and okra - I no longer grow in the ground, they do so much better this way.
 
Yes, please post pics if you have them, pepp. I'm very interested in a lower maintenance bucket garden, especially since it will exist in the bumped out and reinforced part of the deck where a hot tub used to be.

I hate hot tubs. You might as well chuck in some mirepoix with everyone and make a soup.

But the spot on the deck, about 10' x 12', is perfect for my little experiment.

I'm also thinking of buying some deck rail boxes for herbs.
 
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Here's an album I put together, showing the bucket and larger SIPs, to give you an idea of what they look like.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/91097628@N06/albums/72157677810952858

And here's a Junior Earthbox I built a support for, to grow herbs around the outside of my deck rail.
IMG_20180907_150210582 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And here's one photo showing how incredibly fast things grow in the SIPs - some eggplants, only about 3 weeks after transplanting, at maybe 8" tall! The SIPs these are in are 18 gal tubs, for size reference - the size I usually plant 2 tomatoes or eggplants in.
DSCF1176_zpsosy7k72g by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And here's the original link, where I learned to make these from:
http://www.postoilsolutions.org/documents/Earthbox.pdf
 
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We're lucky if our growing season ends in late Spring instead of early Spring.:ohmy:
 
Thanks very much, pepp. Very interesting. I'm gonna see what I can come up with.


Lol, Craigsy. You can grow what I could never: citrus. I used to love walking into my adopted grandfather's backyard on Anna Maria and pick grapefruits and oranges for breakfast. Nothing can compare.
 
We have an extremely short growing season. Nothing planted outside until the end of May. Most things are done by September. I'm hoping the greenhouse can help us out, especially with the melons and cabbages. Will help with tomatoes for a longer time.
 
I have not planned much yet. Since my mother-in-law moved in with us we having a joint effort. I have places where I put tomatoes and sweet corn. I'm going to let her take the lead on the rest of it. One thing is we will have more potatoes and she's wanting mustard greens. I told her we have plenty of room you just plant what ever you want to.
 
one of my goals is to figure out how I can be more successful with Beets and Eggplants. Beets I never have luck with, and eggplants is unpredictably hit or miss. I can't figure out what Im doing right on the Hit years, or what Im doing wrong on the miss years.
 
What kinds of EPs do you grow, Larry? I have grown countless varieties through the years, most only once, but Neon, Ichiban, and Hari are the three I grow every season, with one or two new ones every season, just to see. Ichiban and Hari are Asian types, with hari getting up to 18" x 2", but I usually pick them at 12". It is a green Indian variety, that begins producing a little after the Ichiban, which is always my first EP, at about 4 weeks from transplant. Neon is a little fatter than the others, but still a smaller variety, but producing incredible numbers - the most every season. Here is the hari and neon next to each other:
DSCF1284 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And here's the ichiban (couldn't find them all on one photo), early in the season:
DSCF0790 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

My problem with EPs is that they attract aphids in my area! I spray them with Surround, and this keeps them pretty much free of aphids, and it washes off EP skin easily.

I used to have small plants some years, until I started growing them in those SIPs, and now they get huge - some higher than me, and I'm 6'6"! Only 6 plants provide way more than I need, even in a year like this, when I had two new varieties that totally sucked (green beauty and shiva), so I really only had 4 plants.

I still have neon seeds, but, like many other varieties, including neon in the past, they are being dropped entirely from all of the catalogs (and even ebay!), so whoever produced them must have been one person, and maybe they are no longer producing seeds. So this year, I will save some seeds, even though they are hybrids, and grow some next season, and if they seem similar, I'll try to stabilize them.

As always, you find something really good like that, and it disappears! I found some OLD radish seeds, of a delicious variety, which I got from Baker's, but they dropped in just a year, and nobody has carried them. So I am going to try some of them in GA-3, and see if even one germinates, and try to save some.

Beets have grown well for me, but I never found any that I liked, so I gave up! I thought that if I grew them, they would taste better, but it didn't happen.
 

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