impatiently waiting for spring

[Sally PB]

I'm going whole hog on tomatoes next year. I have 5 new varieties to try, including two that have really short seasons. I'm scaling way back on melons to make room.

Going to try some potatoes from seed (true potato seed). I had one variety that made three seed balls. Just for fun. Gonna plant about 40 hills total of three different kinds of regular seed potatoes.

I put some multiplier onions called "potato onions" in a raised bed this fall. I already have Egyptian Walking Onions; the potato onions are supposed to grow bigger bulb.

And garlic, hot peppers, strawberries, asparagus, butternut squash, beans, mangels, and blueberries. And probably try some new things too.

This just makes me more impatient for spring. I realized I miss playing in the dirt. I want to go dig. I want to pull weeds. I want to talk to the plants. And winter is 2 days old. Sigh.

 

[Acre4Me]

@kelzey - So, what garden zone and how long is your garden season? I'm not familiar with your climate at all.


Beans....so reliable. Bush type or pole type. Fresh eating or for dried. Bush produce sooner, but pole tend to produce more. Check packets bc some types have fairly long seasons.

Beets - grow well in colder temps, but less reliable in my experience...we are still trying out types.

Carrots - they seem to take FOREVER to grow, but are awesome companion plants. So, I plant them among my beans and my tomatoes and then completely ignore them until way later and then pick one or two to see how they are doing. Of course, you will need to sow thinly or thin them out as they grow, otherwise, you wont get very nice carrots.

Turnips - these have been a surprise crop. We like them cooked and raw. Tend to have a fairly short season. Many varieties to choose from - some have pretty short seasons and some are twice as long, so read seed descriptions. We much prefer turnips over radishes.

squash - usually produce quickly. Summer (like zucchini) or winter types (like butternut). Winter types do have a longer season, but start indoors and transplant for either.


What we have NOT had much success with:

Peas: at this point we have tried many types - shelling types and edible pods, tall ones (climbers) and short ones. We plant early or plant a bit later. Planted in Spring or late spring or even in late summer for cooler fall temps and none have really ever produced enough to justify the space they take up.

radish: mixed germination. tend to split. Some taste very bitter, some are too hot, some take way longer than the packet says. But, can be useful - have read that white icicle radish are beneficial to plant with cucumbers.

cucumbers: Have tried many varieties. We have a terrible time with cucumber beetles, and some varieties of cucumbers are HIGHLY susceptible to the beetles (they pass along certain viruses to the plants). Some just take forever to grow and produce. Some look promising, then succumb to wilt (thanks to the beetles). The beetles are hard to control without a lot of effort and chemicals it seems. We will continue to try some, but I think I'll be looking for some hybrid types that can withstand wilt and the issues. So, overall, a fresh cuke off the vine is great, but they seem to take up a lot of space for what we get, so we are still hunting for a good-for-us variety.

 

[kelzey]

I'm going whole hog on tomatoes next year. I have 5 new varieties to try, including two that have really short seasons. I'm scaling way back on melons to make room.

Going to try some potatoes from seed (true potato seed). I had one variety that made three seed balls. Just for fun. Gonna plant about 40 hills total of three different kinds of regular seed potatoes.

I put some multiplier onions called "potato onions" in a raised bed this fall. I already have Egyptian Walking Onions; the potato onions are supposed to grow bigger bulb.

And garlic, hot peppers, strawberries, asparagus, butternut squash, beans, mangels, and blueberries. And probably try some new things too.

This just makes me more impatient for spring. I realized I miss playing in the dirt. I want to go dig. I want to pull weeds. I want to talk to the plants. And winter is 2 days old. Sigh.

i only just seen this, oops! but i also am going to be trying to grow a few varieties of tomatoes, 5/6 as well. what varieties do you have picked out?

i also have a small strawberry patch that i put together this year, my uncle gave me a bunch of runners from his plants. we have lots and lots of wild blueberries bushes surrounding our house, along with some wild strawberries and raspberries too and a couple other berries that i don’t know the names of.

i tried growing potatoes this year but they didn’t work out! i’m not quite sure what i did wrong. i completely relate with you on how you miss digging in the dirt! i wanna get my hands dirty, i’m so extremely excited for spring.. i have many plans! over double what i grew last year. i thought i was weird for talking to plants! i could stand there and have conversations with them, between them and the chickens, my neighbors must think i’m absolutely bonkers

 

[kelzey]

@kelzey - So, what garden zone and how long is your garden season? I'm not familiar with your climate at all.


Beans....so reliable. Bush type or pole type. Fresh eating or for dried. Bush produce sooner, but pole tend to produce more. Check packets bc some types have fairly long seasons.

Beets - grow well in colder temps, but less reliable in my experience...we are still trying out types.

Carrots - they seem to take FOREVER to grow, but are awesome companion plants. So, I plant them among my beans and my tomatoes and then completely ignore them until way later and then pick one or two to see how they are doing. Of course, you will need to sow thinly or thin them out as they grow, otherwise, you wont get very nice carrots.

Turnips - these have been a surprise crop. We like them cooked and raw. Tend to have a fairly short season. Many varieties to choose from - some have pretty short seasons and some are twice as long, so read seed descriptions. We much prefer turnips over radishes.

squash - usually produce quickly. Summer (like zucchini) or winter types (like butternut). Winter types do have a longer season, but start indoors and transplant for either.


What we have NOT had much success with:

Peas: at this point we have tried many types - shelling types and edible pods, tall ones (climbers) and short ones. We plant early or plant a bit later. Planted in Spring or late spring or even in late summer for cooler fall temps and none have really ever produced enough to justify the space they take up.

radish: mixed germination. tend to split. Some taste very bitter, some are too hot, some take way longer than the packet says. But, can be useful - have read that white icicle radish are beneficial to plant with cucumbers.

cucumbers: Have tried many varieties. We have a terrible time with cucumber beetles, and some varieties of cucumbers are HIGHLY susceptible to the beetles (they pass along certain viruses to the plants). Some just take forever to grow and produce. Some look promising, then succumb to wilt (thanks to the beetles). The beetles are hard to control without a lot of effort and chemicals it seems. We will continue to try some, but I think I'll be looking for some hybrid types that can withstand wilt and the issues. So, overall, a fresh cuke off the vine is great, but they seem to take up a lot of space for what we get, so we are still hunting for a good-for-us variety.

i’m in zone 5a! we don’t have an incredibly long growing season, and it doesn’t get too hot here which im thankful for (my girls probably are too)

out of that list i grew beans, carrots, peas and radishes this year, and if i’m being completely honest- peas were one of my favourites. they did really well here! grew really fast and produced nice pods, so next year i have two types picked out to grow, but i can’t remember the names right now. i attempted to grow beets but they didn’t turn out, but i’ll definitely be trying them again next year. i also have a zucchini variety picked out to try! it’s black beauty i believe.

i love the idea of planting certainly things together! i have a bunch of carrot seeds so i’ll definitely be trying that with them. this year i did that with my green onion bulbs- i honestly had them planted everywhere, mainly under my sunflowers. i doing that they really liked the shade that they got from them! green onion is one of my favourites to grow also. it’s extremely easy, especially from bulb.

i probably have too many ideas.. i have nearly 30 things that i want to grow, including types of flowers. my mom thinks i’m crazy! but honestly it just makes me happy. there’s nothing better than growing your own food, or growing things and sharing with family (and your chickens)

thank you for your input! i really enjoyed reading all that, all this garden talk is making me anxious for spring which is way too far away.

 

[Acre4Me]

We are zone 6a. Peas may like your climate better, and maybe we haven’t grown the best type. We will keep trying!

potatoes- usually pretty easy. Plant snd cover with dirt, can keep mounding for awhile. Keep them watered -especially when they are beninning to bud and throughout flower stage. After that, they begin to die back. Once they have totally died back you can harvest. You can harvest before that for a meal here and there. But if planning to store, let the plant die back, leave in ground another week or two and then harvest snd let cure in the air cleaned off for a week or so.
This toughens the skin for better storage.

It’s always fun to try new things. You are early in your garden adventure!

 

[kelzey]

We are zone 6a. Peas may like your climate better, and maybe we haven’t grown the best type. We will keep trying!

potatoes- usually pretty easy. Plant snd cover with dirt, can keep mounding for awhile. Keep them watered -especially when they are beninning to bud and throughout flower stage. After that, they begin to die back. Once they have totally died back you can harvest. You can harvest before that for a meal here and there. But if planning to store, let the plant die back, leave in ground another week or two and then harvest snd let cure in the air cleaned off for a week or so.
This toughens the skin for better storage.

It’s always fun to try new things. You are early in your garden adventure!

thank you for the advice! i’ll definitely try that, i love potatoes so i’ll definitely try again. and yes! this year was my first. i think i’m most excited to try growing zucchini, honestly. i love how the plant looks.

this is a picture i took of my cat discovering her obsession with radish greens.

 

[Sally PB]

But, can be useful - have read that white icicle radish are beneficial to plant with cucumbers.

I have done the same thing with my butternut squash, with good success. Also, and I didn't know this, the entire radish plant is edible. So I sampled the leaves. Uh, ok. The seed pods were pretty good though! I even saw a recipe for them pickled, and the poster said she has never had anyone not like them or be able to guess what they were!

@kelzey, here's what I'm planting for tomatoes next year, and why I chose them.

Amish Paste, seed saved from my own plants. I had some whoppers that filled up my palm and were the first ones ripe, so I saved the seed. Amish Paste is a paste tomato, which usually are small, but I've had some good sized ones, which helps a lot when you're canning! They are indeterminate (produce till frost). They take a while, 85-90 days.

The rest of my choices I got from tomatofest.com. I've never ordered from them before, or grew these kinds before, so this is an experiment. They're all heirloom, which means I can save the seed. I rarely buy hybrids. Tomatofest.com shipped my order very quickly, and gave me a bonus packet of seeds too.

Sophie's Choice: Determinate (produce one big crop, ripening all at once; helpful for canning). 8-10 oz, and short season, at 54 days.

Manitoba: Determinate, smaller, 6 oz fruits, and early, at 58 days.

Bush Beefsteak: Determinate, 8-10 oz, 62 days. Compact plant.

Ace 55: (used to be a hybrid, but has been de-hybridized to breed true) Large fruits, determinate, 75 days.

Backa: BIG, 12-16 oz fruits, determinate, 80 days.

I also plant a couple of cherry tomatoes for fresh eating, mostly while I'm in the garden.

Dang, now I really can't wait for spring. The sun is peeking out. We haven't even had an inch of snow on the ground yet, and I'm so over winter already.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

We finalized our list yesterday. It now looks like this;

Celine Bush Bean
Dragon Langerie Bush bean
KY wonder bean
Cascadia dwarf snap peas
Nufar Basil
Tango Celery
Paste Tomatoes (plum regal)
Cherry Tomatoes (Matts Wild)
Potatoes (purple viking and huckleberry gold)
Winter Squash (brulee butternut, red kuri)
Kale red russian
Zucchini (costata romanesc)
Bennings green tint summer squash
Giant Winter Spinach
Evergreen bunching green onion
Optima Lettuce
Winter Density Lettuce
Who Gets Kissed Sweetcorn
Golden Acre Cabbage
Goodman Cauliflower
Red Cored Chantenay Carrot
Shishito pepper
Early jalapeno
Ring o Fire Cayenne
Purple Beauty bell pepper
Magnum orange habanero

Various herbs and flowers

 

[kelzey]

We finalized our list yesterday. It now looks like this;

Celine Bush Bean
Dragon Langerie Bush bean
KY wonder bean
Cascadia dwarf snap peas
Nufar Basil
Tango Celery
Paste Tomatoes (plum regal)
Cherry Tomatoes (Matts Wild)
Potatoes (purple viking and huckleberry gold)
Winter Squash (brulee butternut, red kuri)
Kale red russian
Zucchini (costata romanesc)
Bennings green tint summer squash
Giant Winter Spinach
Evergreen bunching green onion
Optima Lettuce
Winter Density Lettuce
Who Gets Kissed Sweetcorn
Golden Acre Cabbage
Goodman Cauliflower
Red Cored Chantenay Carrot
Shishito pepper
Early jalapeno
Ring o Fire Cayenne
Purple Beauty bell pepper
Magnum orange habanero

Various herbs and flowers

i’ve only heard of one of those! that’s such a neat arrange of varieties. i also ordered some matt’s wild cherry tomatoes- i love the size of them. i’m a sucker for pretty looking veggies so the other variety of cherry tomatoes that i ordered are pink bumblebee i think.

i’d love to get into a variety of different coloured carrots, i think they are just so pretty and different- along with other colors of other veggies in general. but that’s all for another year, i already have too much on my plate!

thank you for sharing your list- i’m most likely going to go look up all of those, so i can admire from a distance

 

[Sally PB]

82 days until the equinox
138 until May1, which is when I seriously get into the garden. Too early to put out the 'maters, but spinach and greens and peas go in.

I will be taking lots of notes on how these tomatoes do. That's one thing that helps me A LOT: a garden journal. I think I'll remember next year what happened this year... but I don't.