What are you growing this year?

[SPierce]

I probably don't have enough proper room, but I'm going for it anyway Its a lot of stuff, but not a lot of plants

brussels sprouts
Lemon cucumbers
Pumpkin
Gourds (2 kinds)
Zucchini & Butternut squash
tomatoes (got sunny boy and mortgage lifter)
lettuce
onion
corn
radishes
watermelon
french beans
lima beans
peppers (bananas and bell)
potatoes

and, if i have room, some everbearing strawberries

and flower wise, got a mix of small sunflower seeds, and some bachelors buttons

[btrowe1]

I grew some pumpkins and watermelons one year, had this beautiful looking melon and let it go all year, picked a real hot day in late august to cut it open had all the kids around and when I cut into it it turned out to be a pumpkin on the inside. . What a let down for all the kids..Since then I only grow one or the other, not sure how it happened but it was intresting.. Was told some time later that the pumpkin and melon are kind of the same family and that when pollenated the dominat strain took control. I'll never forget all the unhappy faces on the kids.

[!potatoes!]

I grew some pumpkins and watermelons one year, had this beautiful looking melon and let it go all year, picked a real hot day in late august to cut it open had all the kids around and when I cut into it it turned out to be a pumpkin on the inside. . What a let down for all the kids..Since then I only grow one or the other, not sure how it happened but it was intresting.. Was told some time later that the pumpkin and melon are kind of the same family and that when pollenated the dominat strain took control. I'll never forget all the unhappy faces on the kids.

considering how distantly related they are, i'd be willing to bet you've already gotten the one like that that you're going to see in your lifetime. that's a wiiiiide cross. not impossible, but probably not worth skipping growing one or the other over.

[jal_ut]

I think you got bad seed. Melons don't cross with pumpkins. Even if they did, you would not know it until next year if you saved the seed and planted it. Corn is the only plant I know where the pollen affects the nature of this years crop.

Where did you get the seed?

[HannahGrace]

I've got 3 different types of pepper (jalapeno, sweet pepper and mini bell peppers). Cherry, Roma and regular tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, green beans, sunflowers, lettuce, spinach, radishes, carrots, peas, beets, broccoli, okra, marigolds, lemon balm, thyme, lemon thyme, rosemary, cilantro, sage, lavender, dill, yarrow, stevia, spearmint, pennyroyal and majoram... and I think that's all in the main garden. I'll have some different flowers (I just got some ranunculus the other day) but I'm not positive what all I'll have.

[greenstubbs]

I'm doing my usual this year.
Beets
Carrots
Onions
Rad's
Pole Beans
Kohli's
Acorn Squash
Unknown Squash-unlabeled bag that I did and forgot what it was???
Patty Pan Squash
Spinach
Chard
Honeydew's
Banana Pep's
Bell Pep's
A couple different Mater's
And tring something new and different- Russet and Red Spud's
Spices are
Rosemary- I have to butcher that as it's getting outta control, I'll either have tons or just trash it??
Mint
Sage
Chive
I'm worried about my Oregano and Thyme as I cut them back and now look dead.
I forgot my chocker, don't know weather to keep it or not as it's not choking yet when it should be full of them. Plants healthy and big and that's it.
I'm also kicking around the idea of next year growing just Good Ol' Illini Yellow Sweet Corn as out here on the left coast what they call a sweet corn is white and nobody has yellow and it's just NOT sweet.! They just don't know and are clueless as to what us Midwesterns call corn! If they only knew? I've got a year before I have to make that command decision.

[southerncomfort]

Now:

Cabbage
Red Cabbage
Chinese Cabbage
Romaine Lettuce
Collards
Georgia Sweet Onions
Red Sweet Onions
Carrots
Red Potatoes
Strawberries planted last Fall
Asparagus planted last Spring

Spring:

Yellow Crookneck Squash
Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans
Early Girl Tomatoes (seedlings now)
Roma Tomatoes (seedlings now)
Big Boy Tomatoes (seedlings now)
Cherry Tomatoes (seedlings now)
Bell Pepper (seedlings now)
Sweet Banana Pepper (seedlings now)
Egg Plant (seedlings now)
Okra
Cucumbers
Zipper Cream Peas
Big Boy Peas
Watermelon

[klevelyn]

I grew Brussels sprouts a couple of years ago and they didn't make good shoots. I am trying again this year. I have started my seeds this week and hope to plant them in April with some cover to protect them.
I will plant again in the fall around Aug. to see if they do better at the end of the season.
I love this vegetable but haven't had luck in my part of the country.

[jal_ut]

I have never had good luck growing them either. Tried a few times. I really don't think we have long enough season in Utah. Then I tried eating some at a cafe and decided they were not worth the bother.

Plant cabbage instead. Much better flavor. Much bigger heads. Ten times the yield. Yes, it will make it in Utah.

[Yellowsnow]

Gonna have a good variety this year. Adding some new stuff as well.

Tomatoes: Mortgage Lifter, Brandeywine Pink, Amish Paste, Dutchman, small yellow pear

Squash: Waltham Butternut, Early Prolific Straightneck, Black Beauty Zucchini, Pattypan

Spinach: Bloomsdale Long Standing

Lettuce: Black Seeded SImpson, Buttercrunch

Cabbage: Danish Ballhead

Peppers: Emerald Giant bell, Large Red Cayenne, Jalapeno, Banana

Cukes

Carrots: Chantenay

Brussels Sprouts: Long Island Improved

Broccoli: Atlantic

Corn: Golden Bantam Improved

Potato: kennebeck

Also gonna try Parsnips and Rutabaga this year. I have been growing Roma tomatoes for years, but enjoyed teh Amish Paste last year. I still may plant a couple Roma this year just in case.

[klevelyn]

Kennebeck potatoes did really well for me last season. When do you grow your Brussels sprouts in PA? fall or spring?

[nosta]

Peas,radish,spinach going right now.

Squash, zukes, cukes, okra, tomatoes, bell pepper, cayenne, habs, tabasco, thai hots, jalapeno, serrano, poblano, cantaloupe, eggplant, bush blue lake beans, and maybe corn.

[Duets]

I'm growing....8 tomato plants (cherry, patio, beefmaster, heirloom) , pole beans, bush beans, cucumbers, radishes, strawberries, onions, garlic, zuchinni squash, green peppers, garlic chive, potatoes, eggplants, lemons.

....... stevia, mint- (citrus, chocolate, peppermint), basil, Italian basal, 2 different kinds of parsley, lavender, marigolds, petunias.

[PunkRotten]

** Spring **


Tomatoes

Cherokee Purple
Box Car Willie
Green Zebra
Micro-Tom
Tiny Tim
Red Robin


Peppers

Serrano
Sweet Chocolate bell
Lemon Drop
Pepperoncini
Hot Cherry
Aji Dulce
Bulgarian Carrot



Herbs

Dill, Mammoth
Basil, Purple ruffles
Basil, Lemon
Basil, Genovese
Parsely, Italian plain-leaf
Cilantro, slow -bolt
Yarrow
Chamomile
Anise Hyssop


Veggies


Bean, Royal Burgundy (bush)
Bean, Blue Lake (bush)
Bean, Mellow Yellow (bush)
Cucumber, Mini White
Cucumber, Double Yield or boston pickling
Lettuce, Deer Tongue


Fruit

Cape Gooseberry
Sugar Baby Watermelon
Minnesota Midget Melon


Flowers


Marigold, Tangerine gem/Lemon gem
Sunflower, Teddy bear
Sunflower, Velvet queen
Nasturtium, Black velvet
Nasturtium, Moonlight
Nasturtium, Empress of India
Impatiens










*****Fall*****






Veggies


lacinato Kale
Carrot, little finger
Carrot, Romeo
Carrot, Scarlet nantes
Lettuce, Ashley
Lettuce, Rouge d'Hiver (romaine)
Lettuce, Rougette de Montpellier
Bean, Kentucky Wonder (pole)
Bean, Rattlesnake (pole)
Beet, Golden
Beet, Cylindria
Radish, Icicle
Radish, Sparkler
Radish, Crimson Giant
Radish, Watermelon
Endive, Broad-leaved Batavian



Herbs

Cilantro
Parsley
Dill
Basil

[DoubleDogFarm]

I'm concentrating more on beans, corn, squash, potatoes and eggs. My 10 new Ancona ducklings should arrive about mid month. Pictured, are 20lbs of Yukon Gold potatoes, cut and ready for planting.


Eric

[SLC]

I'm only planting the vegetables I like!

I haven't started my garden yet, but I hope to by May 1-15, which is the general planting season for CT. I did just start a few indoors a few days ago, but I'm still waiting for them to sprout!

Not sure what is gonna happen since it's sort of my first time, and there's only a few plants each but here's what I'm gonna try:

Corn (only about 9-12 plants)
Green Beans (about 20 plants)
Peas (about 20 plants)
Potatoes (about 10)
Onions (white and red (about 20 each)
Roma Tomato (only 3-4 plants to make pasta sauce with)
Broccoli (only about 3-4 plants)
Red, Green, Yellow and Orange Peppers (only about 3-4 plants each)
Jalapeno Pepper (only one plant, strictly to make salsa with)
Celery (only 2 plants, strictly to make potato/macaroni salad with)
Lettuce (amount will determine how much room I have)
Cilantro (only one plant, strictly for the salsa)
Basil (only one plant, strictly to put in the pasta sauce)

That's my plan anyway. It might be less plants depending on how much room I have. I attempted a garden last year, but it was a disaster (see my old posts if they are still around). Hopefully, I have a better year!

[jnunez918]

My final list...hopefully

Peppers:
Bells-Gree, yellow, orange, chocolate, purple, lilac, red
Hot-banana, Anaheim, jalapeño, Tabasco, cow horn

Tomatoes: Roma, Cherokee purple, yellow and red cherry, patio, pink girl and yello boy, tomatillos

Cukes: market more and lemon

Beans: many varieties both bush and pole

Zukes: couple varieties

Squash: straightneck, white scallop,

Eggplant: gretel, fairy tale, Turkish orange, black beauty, round mauve, striped, rosa bianca

Carrots: Nantes, short and sweet, Parisian

Potatoes: purple majesty, Yukon, rose Finn apple fingerling, purple Peruvian fingerling

Herbs: many different varieties of each...basil, thyme, oregano, sage, dill, mint

Fruit: Meyer lemon, key lime, orange, kumquat, loquat, strawberries, blueberries


Omg I hope that's it!!!
Good luck everyone

[brandon558]

well now working two gardens at last minute...we will be busy.

little garden...

10 big beef tomatoes
row of okra
row of green beans
2 rows of limas
half row of peas
8 head lettuce
50 onions
8 peppers
10 cukes
9 broccoli


big garden

50 big beefs
48 cukes burpless
24 watermelons
4 muskmelons
2 hills of pumpkins
row of beans,butter beans, peas
row of okra and some cabbage

just baout got it all planted this week.

[applestar]

I was reviewing what I have in the garden so far and what I plan to plant in the near future and remembered this thread

We just picked our first two strawberries yesterday and expect to pick a few more tomorrow. It's just the earliest variety of the season and there will be more to come including wild strawberries through May and into June. The rhubarb needs to elongate a little more before they can be picked for the leaf stems, but asparagus has been steadily producing.

Recent salads have included thinnings (I.e. micro green and baby greens) of arugula, beets, carrots, turnips, Swiss chard, spinach, lettuce, Aurora orach, Malabar spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, and kohlrabi. Blossoms of kale, winter mustard, beets, Brussels sprouts, Daikon, and peas. (pea shoots are nearly ready to harvest here and there) Radishes are coming in. Green onions, onion greens, garlic greens, and Chinese chives.

I also harvest edible weeds from my chemical-free garden -- lambs quarters, wood sorrel, sheep sorrel, baby dandelion leaves, dandelion flowers, violet flowers.

Dwarf apple, peach and nectarine trees and espaliered apple and cherry trees all have tiny green fruits on them, the plum trees too. So do blueberry bushes and need to be netted soon. Raspberries and blackberries are starting to show signs of flower buds.

A dozen heirloom tomato plants I started from seeds are already in the ground, some of them starting to flower, and another dozen+ are hardened off and ready to plant. Hot and bell peppers plants also started from seeds are ready to move out of the garage to harden off. Okra starts have been outside and just needs a little more time to adjust to full sun.

Potatoes were planted in stages, some of them already up and ready to hill. Other root crops include parsnips and rutabagas.

Sweet potato slips are rooted and grown and ready to plant soon, and I'll be sowing corn and more okra as well as bush and pole beans, runner beans, southern peas, summer squash, winter squash, and watermelons very soon.

There are cabbages, kohlrabi, broccoli and cauliflower growing protected from the cabbage white butterflies under screened tunnels, along with some seed started onions, cilantro, and beets. Early experimental Brussels sprouts are under there too and will be joined by more starts a little later on.

Onions line the edges of many vegetable beds. With the snap peas starting to flower, it won't be long before we start to harvest the pea pods and the shelled green peas will be maturing a little later. And fava beans and chickpeas are growing well too.

Now have I left anything out? Oh yes, I have been growing rice for several years now, just for fun. This year, with some luck, I'll grow black rice or maybe Korean sweet rice.

I like growing tea herbs and will have my usual blend of peppermint, spearmint, applemint, lemon balm, lemon verbena, lemongrass, anise hyssop, chervil, lavender, bee balm, pineapple sage, etc. I have my stevia plant back outside again, the large container of ginger have re-sprouted and are growing strong, waiting to go outside, and this year, I'll be growing roselle hibiscus for hibiscus tea. I also have my culinary herbs of course and have already harvested first cuttings of oregano and chervil as well as several cuttings of Chinese garlic chives and Japanese parsley.

I'm sure I still left some things out. But I imagine if you got this far, you've heard enough.

Cheers

[rainbowgardener]

What a wonderful garden, applestar!

@ brandon, sounds like you will have lots of wonderful veggies and I'm sure I envy you the amount of space you have to plant all that. But I think you could be taking better advantage of the lovely long season you have there in NC. To me it sound odd to be planting all that at once.

Of your list:

10 big beef tomatoes
row of okra
row of green beans
2 rows of limas
half row of peas
8 head lettuce
50 onions
8 peppers
10 cukes
9 broccoli


big garden

50 big beefs
48 cukes burpless
24 watermelons
4 muskmelons
2 hills of pumpkins
row of beans,butter beans, peas
row of okra and some cabbage

Peas, lettuce, onions, broccoli, cabbage are cold weather crops. If you are planting seed, it can be planted as soon as the ground can be worked. If planting transplants, they still can be in the ground at least a month BEFORE the average last frost date; they are very frost tolerant. Your cold weather crops will do better for you, planted earlier. They tend to fizzle/ bolt once it gets hot.

The cold weather stuff can also be planted for a fall garden and most of my fall garden over wintered and started growing again in late winter. That's because we had a milder winter than usual, but you always have milder winters.

I planted lettuce, spinach, chard, onions, chives (seeds) in mid-Feb this year, but that was due to our early warm up. Usually I would plant them mid-march. And I'm north of you. The onions often do better fall planted and allowed to over winter.

I've been eating my fall planted lettuce, spinach, broccoli and overwintered chard and parsley continuously since beginning of March. Now that a lot of that is mostly done, I have spring planted baby greens.

[rainbowgardener]

So what am I growing: (these pictures were taken a week ago)

front lawn bed:



has fall planted garlic, broccoli, spinach, a bit of lettuce and onions. Barely visible there's a tomato plant at each end, one squash plant in the middle. It's looking a little busy, because it is now mulched with the spent lilac blooms. Once the fall planted spinach is finally done, I will plant beans there.

tomato bed:



is wrapped in deer netting. Has 5 tomato plants, 5 broccoli plants, some garlic, onions, marigolds, a few carrots (for some reason they didn't germinate well this year). At the far end of the bed is some of last year's parsley about to bolt. Not visible but this is the bed that also has volunteers: 2 walnut trees, a squash, a sunflower, a couple lettuce.

pepper bed:



has 5 pepper plants and a bunch of basil, a couple of wild geraniums that I haven't had the heart to pull yet, garlic, marigold, fennel, in the bottom left corner more parsley, in the center, one celery plant.

container of potatoes:


I will be starting another one as soon as I get it together to cut the trash can down for it.

There's also a bed that I didn't get a picture of that has spring planted chard, spinach, lettuce, onions, with a little overwintered chard, a savory plant.

Then there's a bed of asparagus, raspberry, strawberries. There's my herb garden with oregano, sage, lavender, comfrey, lemon balm, mint, tarragon and volunteer raspberries. There's a ton of containers on the deck with blueberries, basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, mint, and tons of flowers and vines. There's my community garden bed a few blocks away that has broccoli, celery, chard, tomatoes, asparagus. And of course tons of flowers, with herbs like lavender and anise hyssop tucked amongst them.

Some flower pictures:









butterfly garden


not looking very colorful yet, because it's mostly summer bloomers, just getting started



Here's looking down into my garden from the deck


You can see I am constantly trying to carve a little veggie space out from the trees. I will fell a few more trees this year to keep it a little more open for the veggies... It's why I put the new bed in the middle of the front lawn, where the best sun is. The back half of the lot is my wooded hillside, woodland native shade plants garden.

I'm sure there's things I've left out and I will continue planting and tucking things in here and there.

[PunkRotten]

Nice garden RB.

[jal_ut]

applestar, that is quite a garden you have going there. You are so far ahead of me its funny. I will be planting corn, beans, squash about the 5th of May. I won't dare plant out my tomatoes until mid May (risky even then). Any way, the onions, spinach and lettuce are looking good. I think the bugs are beating the broccoli and cabbage. I will have some radish to eat very soon.

rainbowgardener, thanks for sharing your photos. Very impressive garden.

[rainbowgardener]

Thanks, James, from you that's high praise. I know it must look a little silly to people who have fields and mountains, but I think I'm making pretty good use of what I've got which is a little city lot with lots of trees.

This year for the first time with the new front lawn bed, the new community garden bed, and the fall /winter planting, I feel like I'm really growing a significant part of what we eat....

[jal_ut]

rainbowgardener:

I feel like I'm really growing a significant part of what we eat....

It is really quite impressive how much food can be grown in a small space, and it tastes so much better than supermarket produce.

I grow much more than we use at home. I am retired now and garden for the fun of it. Family and friends use some. I do sell at market and what doesn't sell goes to the food bank. Yes, my gardening style is different from you who garden in raised beds, but the principles are the same.

Enjoy your beautiful gardens.

[mattie g]

Tomatoes:
Brandywine (2)
Mortgage Lifter (2)
Valencia (2)
San Marzano (2)
Cherokee Purple (2)

Peppers:
Jalapeno (2)
Serrano (2)
Red Bell (2)
Green Bell (2)
Anaheim - I f I can find them at the local nursery, I'm going to grab some and find somewhere to plant them!

Garlic (planted in fall):
German Porcelain (~6)
Chesnok Red (~6)
Silver Rose (~6)

Onions:
White (11)
Green (~8)
Shallots (7)

Herbs:
Basil (2)
Parsley (1)
Cilantro (1)
Thyme (1 - overwintered in the ground)

Cucumbers:
Just plants some seeds of a pickling variety and a Muncher - will probably end up with 3-4 plants

Cabbage (1)

Wow...just typing that list, I didn't realize how much I actually have in the ground/containers. I don't really have all that much room in my garden, but I'm certainly making the most of it!!

[rainbowgardener]

"It is really quite impressive how much food can be grown in a small space, and it tastes so much better than supermarket produce. " Jal

Tastes so much better AND is healthier with more nutrients and fewer poisons, weird chemicals etc AND is better for the planet, didn't burn fossil fuels being trucked 2000 miles to my table ...

triple win!

[applestar]

applestar, that is quite a garden you have going there. You are so far ahead of me its funny. I will be planting corn, beans, squash about the 5th of May. I won't dare plant out my tomatoes until mid May (risky even then). Any way, the onions, spinach and lettuce are looking good. I think the bugs are beating the broccoli and cabbage. I will have some radish to eat very soon.

Thank you, James

I was thinking about the reversed order of planting the corns, beans, and squash vs. tomatoes between our gardens. I think the difference is (1) space/scale of our gardens and (2) that little bit of extra early spring growing season (and later fall season)

(1) The number of my tomato plants are still not too many to give individualized care and coddling. Plus I have different beds all around the house instead of one big plot, so I can take advantage of microclimates and plant in small groupings as the weather warms up.

(2) Because I'm squeezing every little bit of space out of my small property, I can't bear to sow the seeds early, then watch the lovely spring days go by over apparently empty garden beds while they take those extra days to germinate in the cooler/colder soil. So instead, I try to grow some cool weather crops BEFORE direct seeding the warm weather crops. Once the weather warms up, they can't wait to jump out of the ground.

I sowed my first group of corn today.

@Rainbowgardener -- LOVE LOVE your garden! Everything looks wonderful.