What is everyone growing?

[gardengalrn]

I'm getting pretty excited to start my new garden, even with snow on the ground at this point. Although I love tomatoes and am obsessed by them for some reason, I also grow many other vegetables. Now that space is not a concern (did I say that??) it is mainly the time/effort factor as to how big I can go. I will still plant intensively but things like my tomatoes will get more space and hopefully be a little healthier for it.

I've got my onions ordered from Dixondale, to be delivered at the appropriate time. Strawberry and raspberry plants as well, can't remember where I ordered them from right this minute. I had very grand plans for starting an orchard but have put that on hold until next year because I have too many "new" things brewing for this spring (garden, CHICKENS). I've also got sweet potato slips ordered.

Early spring garden will include cabbage (will be making kraut this year), broccoli, lettuce, collards, peas, potatoes, brussel sprouts, turnip, beets. Later, both bush and pole beans, peppers, corn, squash (summer and winter), trying a few pumpkin and melon (never had the space to try), carrots and a few more things I can't recall at the moment. Lots of herbs and I hope to preserve what I can't use fresh. Dill preserves well, I've found, so I usually just scatter seed all around and they reseed readily.

I'm trying to be reasonable about when I start stuff and hope I can stick to it. I've researched the last frost date for here and knowing all things are possible, I'm thinking to set out the summer plants in early/mid May. I will start a few like Stupice and Kimberly early in buckets as that has worked out well. Oh, and I did plant a garlic bed in the fall so I hope that comes up with no problem. It's been pretty darn cold here though!!!

[Raymondo]

The excitement of a new space, with extra space! I moved not long before Xmas so I share your enthusiasm. Here it's time to start planting autumn/winter crops and even some spring ones.
In at the moment or soon to be sowed: spinach, peas, beets, arugula (you can never have too much!), collards, kale, broccoli, corn salad, miners lettuce, erba stella. No carrots this year as it's the first year on horrible clay. Next year the soil should be much better!
Of course, I've still got lots of tomatoes and other summer veggies in.

[FlipTX]

Besides my tomatoes (of course), I'll have:

- Early Butternut
- Waltham Butternut
- Amaranth (haven't decided which, but one of these)
- Zipper Cream cowpeas
- MN 157 cowpeas*
- Pole beans: Genuine Cornfield* for the less-sunny areas of my garden, Rattlesnake and Fortex* for the sunnier spots.
- Runner bean: Insuk's Wang Kong
- Bush beans: Jumbo*, Dragon Tongue, and Gold Mine*

* Repeats in my garden from last year.

I've currently still got Oreilles du Diable lettuce, Tuscan Black kale, Red Russian Kale, Spigariello, Aguadulce and Broad Windsor favas, and Kilima leeks growing in the garden now.

[shelleybean]

I still have garlic, shallots and onions in the garden that will be ready in June or July.

For spring, I have butter and leaf lettuce, beets, spinach, cabbage, radishes, potatoes, shelling, snap and snow peas.

Summer it's tomatoes (of course), peppers, eggplant, sweet potatoes, okra, field peas, snap and lima beans, squash, cucumbers, pumpkins and melons. With the perennial herbs, we'll have basil, parsley, and dill.

In the fall, savoy cabbage, collards, turnips, kale, carrots and more leaf lettuce. I'll put more garlic and shallots in too.

I started seeds for peppers and eggplant yesterday and started digging out some beds so I've already started getting ready! Can't wait to eat something from 2008! I'll give my veggies from last fall a few more weeks before I have to take them out for new spring stuff.

[Worth1]

I just planted three types of radishes and some Romain lettuce.

[epiphanista]

Besides my tomato seedlings, I have seedlings for Bulgarian Carrot pepper (yum!), garlic chives (waaaay too many), and breadseed poppy, at the moment.

~Thalia

[Ruth_10]

We have a fair amount of space (wish we had more time!) to grow lots of things to eat. I love growing stuff and fortunately both my DH and I love vegetables, too. Here's what we have on the plate for this growing season:

Spring
Peas
Sugar Ann, Sugar Snap, and Caselode
Brassicas
Broccoli (various), cauliflower, cabbage (savoy), Green Lance
Lettuce
Anuenue, Adriana, Forellenschluss
Beets
Detroit, Red Ace

Summer crops
Corn
Spring Treat, Seneca Dancer, Luscious (short, medium and late varieties. My first time for these particular varieties.)
Melon
Ambrosia, Eden's Gem for muskmelons
Ali Baba, Orangeglo, and probably Blacktail Mtn. for watermelon
Okra
Burgundy, Cajun Delight, maybe Evertender as well
Peanuts
Black, Virginia
Cucurbits
Raven and Dark Green zucchini
Butternut or Buttercup (this will probably end up being a trap crop)
Kakai pumpkin
Homemade Pickles cucumber
Peppers
Chiles: Sahuaro, Big Jim, Trinidad Perfume, Aji Colorado, Aji Amarillo, Criolla Sella, Jalapeno, Hungarian Wax
Sweet: Lipstick, Yankee Bell, Red Knight
Beans
Fortex, Tendergreen, Dragon Tongue, Uncle Steve's, Blue Lake, Vermont Cranberry
Herbs
Dill, rosemary, oregano, sage, thyme, basil, parsley

And tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes.

Fall
More broccoli, carrots (Mokum, Nelson, Napoli), Brussel Sprouts, cabbage, kohlrabi
.

That's most of it. For the heck of it, I'm going to grow a couple plants of "Egyptian Green Cotton" from Sandhill. Should be decorative if nothing else.

I would like to grow potatoes, but two things concern me: our clay soil (it's getting better each year with amendments, but it's still, well, clay) and storage. When we lived in Michigan our root cellar was getting cool about at the time we harvested and we could store potatoes all winter. Here in Missouri we don't have a root cellar and our basement doesn't cool down until long after harvest time. But maybe someday.

[Volvo]

Yep i also need to move house lol..Buy a lowset,Biiiiiiiiiiiiiigg back yard so can plnt whatever takes my fancy without running out of room both in the vegypatch and the fruit tree department"..
At present growning Beans, shallots,my Horta, parsely,mint,Rocket, and if this rain eases and lets the soil dry out a tad i may even get to prepare a little part of the patch for Mid March planting of Tomato's(Fingers crossed)..
At present there's that much moisture in the soil even the lawn looks sick!!, and fiorecast sez more on the way..
Mindya we do need it for the Dams so shouldnt complain..
Cheers

[gardengalrn]

Ruth, when I first started growing potatoes I also had very clay soil (in the first few years in KY) red as could be. Of course with amendments the soil got better each year but I did concentrate amendments (compost, sand) in the rows I wanted to grow potatoes and onions in. Seemed to help in a big way and didn't cost a fortune in material or effort. I never did store potatoes, just ate them as "new" out of the garden.

[pooklette]

It's almost easier to list which veggies I'm not growing this year, rather than which ones I am. Since I always have more luck with tomatoes and beans than anything else, it remains to be seen if any of these other fruits/veggies actually survive to maturity.

I'm growing: Tomatoes (of course), peppers, potatoes, beans, peas, lentils, lettuce, spinach, radishes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, turnips, beets, kale, kohlrabi, cauliflower, onions, carrots, corn, winter squash and melons. There will also be some basil, oregano, dill, and cilantro.

I'm hoping to add sweet potatoes, strawberries and blueberries to that list too but we'll see. I've never had luck with strawberries but I'm tempted to try them again anyway...sooner or later I've got to get it right.

I'm not sure I'm ready to tackle blueberries just yet either. In a perfect world, we'll be hunting for a larger home within the next 2-3 years. If by some miracle the bushes survive my clumsy efforts this year, we might not get a chance to enjoy their fruity goodness anyway.

[gardengalrn]

Pooklette, what do you grow for lentils? They are something new and interesting to me. I would be curious how you harvest them as well. I've had good luck with strawberries and have ordered quite a few for spring planting. Blueberries are a little pickier and require several different varieties suited to your climate for good berry set/pollination. I grew up on blueberry land in Maine but the wild-type are different than what I have attempted to grow thus far.

[pooklette]

I am trying Petite Castillo and Black Beluga lentils from Victory Seed Co. this year. I've never grown lentils before but Victory says they seeds should be sown around the same time as garden peas, and they're grown and harvested quite a bit like dry beans. Sounds do-able to me.

I'll have to post on their progress this summer, assuming they survive despite my best efforts...

[Tormato]

pooklette,

Blueberries should produce one to two years after transplanting. And, they transplant easily. So, if you can, take them with you when you move.

Gary

[jenn_sc]

We moved last summer and now I also have as much space for a garden as I want. The only thing holding me back in any way is having time and energy to grow everything I'd like! This is the first year, so I'm trying to show a little restraint However, this will definitely be my most ambitious garden to date!

So far:

Tomatoes: (of course) 14 varieties, at least 3 plants of each

Cukes: A pickling type as well as gherkins, at least a dozen (I'm dreaming of making pickles for the first time this year)

Peppers: Jalapeno, Ancho/Poblano, Cayenne

Melons: One watermelon, maybe Moon and Stars, and one other melon that is still to be decided.

Herbs: Basil, Dill, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, maybe others.

Flowers: "Mammoth" sunflowers (for seed production...I want to do some bird feeding)

Annuals for cutting as well as to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Extra herbs that are butterfly host plants mixed into the flower beds.

Edible flowers, nasturtiums in particular.

Carrots (early...plan to get them started in the next week or two)

Radishes (another early spring favorite!)

I think that's about it! For this year, anyway!

Jennifer

[Ruth_10]

I just might have to do what you do, Lori, and grow potatoes as "new potatoes" rather than for a storage crop. We have been amending our soil since we moved here in 2003 and it's getting better and better each year. We have neighbors with horses who are happy to have us haul it away and we are happy to have it. They have an indoor riding arena with a sand floor. They were going to replace it last year with new sand and let us have some (or all) of the old sand, but they decided to hold off because of the expense. If and when we get the sand, it will be interesting to experiment with it in a few areas of the garden. I am aware that getting the right mix can be tricky.

Any recommendations for blueberry varieties at my latitute? I'm at about 38.5 deg. north, which puts us in an in-between area. I grew some in Michigan and really enjoyed those that the birds missed.