Planning My Garden

[DCMomOf3]

I am planning out what to plant for my garden and i would like to try something new. I have great luck with beans, peas, cucumbers, carrots and pumpkin/squash. I had my first good year with bell peppers last year. My potatoes were ok.

What do you plant, or would want to?

[SunflowerMama]

I'm planning mine right now actually! This will be my first garden experience and I'm so excited. I'm just using a small raised square shaped garden bed. I'm thinking about peas, beans, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes and zucchini squash. I just don't know about space and if that would be too much for a smaller space. I LOVE bell peppers and so do my kids but don't know how successful I'd be at those.

I'm also planning on a little flowerbed too in another part of the yard so it's going to be a fun, and hopefully colorful Spring and Summer for the kiddos!!

[Blackcat31]

I do peppers (Bell, banana, jalepeno) tomatoes (beef steak and cherry), peas, green beans, onions, cucumbers, pumpkins, cauliflower and broccoli and radishes.

I used to do corn and carrots but don't seem to have a lot of luck with them, they seem to be a fav or rabbits and deer. I also used to do potatoes (russet and reds) but I recently discovered how yummy sweet potatoes (orange and jersey sweet) are and will never eat another starchy potato again!

I don't always have a lot of time to devote to a garden due to the lake being so inviting but I still try to do the basics. I have downsized my garden to be about half of what it was when my own kids were around to help, but now I am finding that I really enjoy perennial flowers....Hardly no work involved!!

[DCMomOf3]

now I am finding that I really enjoy perennial flowers....Hardly no work involved!!

90% of my flowers are perennial.

[ammama]

I have raised beds, and do cherry tomatoes (which is the kids favorite because they can pick them right off the plant and pop them in their mouth), carrots, zucchini (Take up ALOT of room, as do all squash so be careful if you have a small space. Also, i'm pretty sure there needs to be at least 2 zucchini plants, or they won't cross polinate and you'll get no fruit), string beans and peas along my fence, strawberries, raspberries along another fence, lettuce, spinach and swiss chard. I also have a perrenial herb garden with cilantro, mint, basil, sage, catnip and sunflowers going crazy.

I tried bell peppers last year, but got nothing at all They need a warmer climate than Alberta provides. I tried corn one year too, but didn't get much. I would love to do potatoes but I have kind of run out of room. If my strawberries don't come back (tough winter), I might plant my potatoes there.

I LOVE my garden The kids really love it to. I can't wait for spring!!

[Blackcat31]

90% of my flowers are perennial.

I am kinda new to them and am in a cold zone so what ones do you recommend? It seems all the ones I really love aren't meant for my area...

Right now I have; Phlox, Peonies, Black Eyed Susans, Clematis, Daisy's, Day Lilly's, Hens & Chicks, and Sedum.

I would love to have more flowering bush type ones too since we are currently in the process of landscaping our yard (over the last two years). I bought 3 lilacs from a local gardening place about 5 years ago and every year the bushes get bigger and bigger but never once have they bloomed...????? :confused:

[Crystal]

Here's a great little resource for planning your garden with children:

http://caheadstart.org/HeadStartGardenGuide07.pdf

[DCMomOf3]

I am kinda new to them and am in a cold zone so what ones do you recommend? It seems all the ones I really love aren't meant for my area...

Right now I have; Phlox, Peonies, Black Eyed Susans, Clematis, Daisy's, Day Lilly's, Hens & Chicks, and Sedum.

I would love to have more flowering bush type ones too since we are currently in the process of landscaping our yard (over the last two years). I bought 3 lilacs from a local gardening place about 5 years ago and every year the bushes get bigger and bigger but never once have they bloomed...????? :confused:

Lilacs take a few years to bloom.

i have a few different lillies, sedum, Gallardia, daisies, chinese lanterns (they spread like crazy), hostas, lavender, mini roses, mums. my favorite is Red Prince Weigela.

I see Hydrangeas around but I don't have any.

[DCMomOf3]

I bought 3 lilacs from a local gardening place about 5 years ago and every year the bushes get bigger and bigger but never once have they bloomed...????? :confused:

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf85671124.tip.html

[Missani]

Broccoli, strawberries, raspberries, lettuce, cabbage, and onions have all turned out really well for us.

We have also tried carrots without much luck. We have a rough time with peppers, too. The watermelon we did last year worked out okay, but I don't think we have perfected it yet.

I'm ready to plant, too, and will start planting indoors the end of this week or next week. Then we have a little greenhouse outside that we will move to when the plants are too big (end of April-middle of May). Then I will plant them in the garden at the end of May or beginning of June. I love gardening!

[dEHmom]

I'm already itching to plant, and there is still 3 feet of snow.

Check out this site for companion planting.

http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/companion-planting.html

I'm hoping to try watermelons again this year, dogs got them last year.

[Bizzymom1111]

Broccoli, strawberries, raspberries, lettuce, cabbage, and onions have all turned out really well for us.

We have also tried carrots without much luck. We have a rough time with peppers, too. The watermelon we did last year worked out okay, but I don't think we have perfected it yet.

I'm ready to plant, too, and will start planting indoors the end of this week or next week. Then we have a little greenhouse outside that we will move to when the plants are too big (end of April-middle of May). Then I will plant them in the garden at the end of May or beginning of June. I love gardening!

I'm in Minnesota too, and I just planted a bunch of seeds last weekend!! I love gardening too! I plant broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, cucumber, squash, carrots, tomatoes, strawberries and an herb garden
of basil( lots of basil) cilantro, parsley, Rosemary, lavender, and chives.

We also have lots of perennials in our yard! (my hubby owns a landscaping business!!) we have Lilacs, a few different kinds of spirea, astilbe, coreopsis, azalea, rodedendren, phlox, creeping thyme, sage, elderberries, snowberries, viburnum, and actually much more, I just didn't realize how long this was getting!! Our garden is our haven! My hubby and I wanted a beautiful space that we can relax in after both of our long days working. Gardening is one thing we really enjoy and cherish!

[dEHmom]

it is funny that sage keeps coming up...they just did a big thing on the news about salvia being banned/illegal where we live because kids are getting high on it!

[Cat Herder]

We decided to do more of an orchard instead of a garden. Lot's of tree's and vines with shrubs planted in between.

We have 2 variety's of cherries (bing, black), blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, sunflowers, 2 varieties of plums (tree and shrub), 3 variety's of apples (red delicious, crabapple, golden) and three varieties of grapes (white, red, and muscadine). (also antique climbing roses, jasmin and honey****le to bring in the pollinators)

[dEHmom]

this is my third year with raspberries and strawberries, unfortunately, we have dogs, and even with a fenced off garden and a gigantic backyard, dogs still manage to eat my canes! and dig up my strawberries.

This year the grapes should fruit, and the strawberries and raspberries should be big and full (I did not cut them down last fall, and don't intend to this year. Will do either in fall or next spring.

I want to grow a gigantic pumpkin. I think it would be fun. But doubt it'll happen.

My cukes and peas were really the only things I did well with last year.

I wonder, since all of ya'll seem to be frequent backyard farmers.....

We live in zone 2b/3 (so it's cold, last frost is usually beginning of June?). Last year I started plantings indoors in april/may and found that by the time I built my garden (End of June, early july) and planted my plants it took them forever to get big enough, and then we got hit with frost and it killed my plants before the actual harvest.

Would I be safe to start my seedlings in say a week in peat pots, and then upsize them to larger ones if needed before actually putting in the garden? Then I would be disturbing the roots or anything. I just found that they were so tiny come actual planting time, that they didn't do as well.