Garden thread

So, lets chat about planning your garden for next year.
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Replies

  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    not sure about sizing but thinking 4x6 for vegetables and melons. things were too smooshed this year
    green beans, melons, tomatoes, hot peppers, carrots, cucumbers, squash, pumpkin.

    i already have a blueberry bush (pink lemonade), natchez blackberry, heritage raspberry, everbearing and cabot strawberry (sometimes they come back) and a grape vine (begins with a c), elderberry bush.

    my butterfly bush is questionable for next year, my golden privets are not thriving but trying to make it. allium did well, iris did poorly but i think they will do better this year. tulips did ok. i've got a few hardy rose bushes. balloon flower. my lilac died but i'll try again. i love lilacs. 2 hydrangea. 1 clematis fighting with a previous resident morning glory(just won't die). my grape hyacinth did well but it's sometimes hard to tell them from the grass so the grass is doing well too(boo). oh and my autumns blood sedum.

    my herb garden will be mint, lemon balm, chamomile, basil, cilantro, dill, thyme, and chives.

    might try potting ginger, rosemary, and horseradish for indoor outdoor use
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    edited November 2018
    i was thinking of a trellis but i also use the chain link fence and tell my neighbor to take what she'd like for use of her fence.

    my bush cucumber produced one sad little cucumber. like a petite pickle size. my carrots were smooshed too
    it was all in 1x6 bed.
    so giving another 3x6 i hope it to do better

    (my beds are not raised)

    edit: my pumpkin vine did well on the fence. i just had to keep catching it trying to expand into a neighbors yard... i got 3 pumpkins. obviously it could do better but i got one perfect pumpkin. the others were ok. i think i used the pumpkin pie pumpkin seeds. it was supposed to be a sweet pumpkin-but i did not eat it. i just thought it was cute
  • OvershareUsername
    OvershareUsername Posts: 36 Member
    edited November 2018
    Yes!!! Gardening is the best!! We moved too late into the season so I was stuck with container gardening on my deck- still a blast and I wound up with good yields on my tomatoes and decent yield on the cukes. This year’s standout was my habanero plant! It was HUGE and yielded enough peppers for 3/4 of a spice jar (we smoke, dehydrate, and then grind)! Totally jealous of all the homeowners out there and your ability to create a magical and functional garden!! someday...
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    Yes!!! Gardening is the best!! We moved too late into the season so I was stuck with container gardening on my deck- still a blast and I wound up with good yields on my tomatoes and decent yield on the cukes. This year’s standout was my habanero plant! It was HUGE and yielded enough peppers for 3/4 of a spice jar (we smoke, dehydrate, and then grind)! Totally jealous of all the homeowners out there and your ability to create a magical and functional garden!! someday...

    When all I had was a balcony I did basil, cilantro, and parsley :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    mbaker566 wrote: »
    i was thinking of a trellis but i also use the chain link fence and tell my neighbor to take what she'd like for use of her fence.

    my bush cucumber produced one sad little cucumber. like a petite pickle size. my carrots were smooshed too
    it was all in 1x6 bed.
    so giving another 3x6 i hope it to do better

    (my beds are not raised)

    edit: my pumpkin vine did well on the fence. i just had to keep catching it trying to expand into a neighbors yard... i got 3 pumpkins. obviously it could do better but i got one perfect pumpkin. the others were ok. i think i used the pumpkin pie pumpkin seeds. it was supposed to be a sweet pumpkin-but i did not eat it. i just thought it was cute

    Looks like someone around the corner from me was growing monster cucumbers over a fence. I was always driving by so couldn't get a good look, but they were HUGE. (They looked more like cukes than zucchinis, but were fatter than both, but not round.)
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    edited November 2018
    I *kitten* my tomatoes all up last year. I didn't figure out how to prune and train them until they were already out of control with like 15 main stems (And I had 10 plants) it was just a mess. I'm planning on growing at least a couple plants up ONE main stem on a single post, and then the rest maybe let them grow into 3 and prune off the rest. I'm still trying to figure out how I want to support them though. I've been using plain old tomato cages the last several years. I was thinking two posts on either end of the garden bed with chicken wire or something and just growing them up that.

    I also REALLY wanted to plant 2 blueberry bushes but didn't get around to messing with the soil. I've heard the soil needs to have just the right acidity and if it's not, you need to put *stuff* in the soil several months ahead of time to get it suitable for the blueberries. So I guess I won't be planting my blueberries this spring *sad face*

    I never do very well with cucumbers. They always die really early on. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. They always get some sort of disease. Sucks because the cucumbers that I get before the plants die are SO good.

    I'm also planning on adding zucchini to my garden next year. I also do green beans and a couple different types of peppers.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    Lots of tips for raised beds here and the book is probably available in most library systems: http://www.squarefootgardening.com

    I don't follow the grid system, but base what I fill my beds with on Mel's mix, which does retain water very well, especially when I also mulch with straw:
    http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/mels-mix/
    • 1/3 vermiculite (Medium is available at my Home Depot. Mel recommends large, but this works. Get the BIG bag, not the little ones.)
    • 1/3 peat moss
    • 1/3 compost (from as many sources as possible)

    Home Depot also has kits for raised beds. Cedar is more expensive than pine, but will last longer. (You don't want treated pine for growing edibles.)

    https://www.homedepot.com/p/Greenes-Fence-4-ft-x-8-ft-x-10-5-in-Dovetail-Cedar-Raised-Garden-Bed-RC6T21B/203477958

    natural-greenes-fence-raised-garden-beds-rc6t21b-64_1000.jpg
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    hesn92 wrote: »
    I *kitten* my tomatoes all up last year. I didn't figure out how to prune and train them until they were already out of control with like 15 main stems (And I had 10 plants) it was just a mess. I'm planning on growing at least a couple plants up ONE main stem on a single post, and then the rest maybe let them grow into 3 and prune off the rest. I'm still trying to figure out how I want to support them though. I've been using plain old tomato cages the last several years. I was thinking two posts on either end of the garden bed with chicken wire or something and just growing them up that.

    I also REALLY wanted to plant 2 blueberry bushes but didn't get around to messing with the soil. I've heard the soil needs to have just the right acidity and if it's not, you need to put *stuff* in the soil several months ahead of time to get it suitable for the blueberries. So I guess I won't be planting my blueberries this spring *sad face*

    I never do very well with cucumbers. They always die really early on. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. They always get some sort of disease. Sucks because the cucumbers that I get before the plants die are SO good.

    I'm also planning on adding zucchini to my garden next year. I also do green beans and a couple different types of peppers.

    These are great tomato cages. With the extenders, they are 76" tall. I also used them for the pole beans and malabar spinach.

    https://www.burpee.com/gardening-supplies/cages-and-supports/xl-pro-series-cage---green-prod001781.html

    4hoi1d06mzk0.jpg


    If the problem with the cucumbers is squash vine borer worms, these will attack the zucchini as well :(

    https://homeguides.sfgate.com/prevent-stem-borers-melons-cucumbers-74204.html

    https://www.google.com/search?client=opera&hs=yua&biw=1270&bih=742&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=fK71W5eHPOvc5gKc_aWAAg&q=squash+vine+borer&oq=squash+vine+borer&gs_l=img.3..0i67l2j0l6j0i24l2.34723.36245..36775...0.0..0.107.627.1j5......1....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i7i30.NjuwBRTvQGE
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    edited November 2018
    i plopped my blueberries in the ground with no specialness. so far so good. planted it at the beginning of 1 season and had it for 1 more year. not a lot of berries but it's a young plant
    i think it will be a year or two before i get significant berry harvests on all my berries. i want a couple of marionberry vines too and plant near my water spout (they are from the PNW)

    i plan on having my berries on the chainlink fence to discourage fence testing and jumping by the foster dogs. however, my lab just barrels thru the roses on the other side of my yard. i'm always pulling thorns out of her.

    i also have 2 arkansas black apple trees. though i think only 1 will make it thru the winter. i don't know if it will recover from the shock it suffered when we planted it (dad and i).
    i want to plant a few more apple trees in back and 1 or two small cherries in front of the house.
    also kinda want a mulberry plant
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    mbaker566 wrote: »
    i plopped my blueberries in the ground with no specialness. so far so good. planted it at the beginning of 1 season and had it for 1 more year. not a lot of berries but it's a young plant
    i think it will be a year or two before i get significant berry harvests on all my berries. i want a couple of marionberry vines too and plant near my water spout (they are from the PNW)

    i plan on having my berries on the chainlink fence to discourage fence testing and jumping by the foster dogs. however, my lab just barrels thru the roses on the other side of my yard. i'm always pulling thorns out of her.

    i also have 2 arkansas black apple trees. though i think only 1 will make it thru the winter. i don't know if it will recover from the shock it suffered when we planted it (dad and i).
    i want to plant a few more apple trees in back and 1 or two small cherries in front of the house.
    also kinda want a mulberry plant

    Mom is up to three mulberry trees. We have mulberry pancakes and mulberry pie around the 4th of July. Mulberries freeze well. Some people complain that they are messy - I always had purple feet when I was a barefoot child.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    what about grapes, does anyone have a grape vine? I also would really love to have one of those.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    hesn92 wrote: »
    what about grapes, does anyone have a grape vine? I also would really love to have one of those.

    I had one when we first bought the house (18+ yrs ago) but it got mold every year so I finally pulled it out. Never did get grapes good enough to eat off of it.

    Based on the effort the wineries put into grapes, I think they are pretty finicky.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    hesn92 wrote: »
    Here are my garden beds. my husband build them and the trelises. The one closest to the camera is for green beans and the one on the other is for cucmbers

    I am a total amateur by the way, no idea what I'm doing. My plan of action every year is throw some stuff in and hopefully it makes me food lol

    zoslhtmm6i11.jpg

    Great trellises!

    A tip on tomato growing - you can use the small cages for determinate / bush/ patio tomatoes, but a healthy indeterminate tomato in good soil needs a huge cage or support.

    I use the small tomato cages for bell peppers.

    https://www.tomatofest.com/tomato_questions_s/128.htm
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    hesn92 wrote: »
    Here are my garden beds. my husband build them and the trelises. The one closest to the camera is for green beans and the one on the other is for cucmbers

    I am a total amateur by the way, no idea what I'm doing. My plan of action every year is throw some stuff in and hopefully it makes me food lol

    zoslhtmm6i11.jpg

    You've got a funny looking weed there.

    :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    hesn92 wrote: »
    what about grapes, does anyone have a grape vine? I also would really love to have one of those.

    Concord grapes do great here in New England. They even grow wild in the woods. I love walking in the early fall and discovering a patch of grapes by the smell.

    These have thick skins and seeds so are not as popular, but you can use a foley mill to get rid of the skin and seeds if you are using them in a recipe, or just spit them out if not.