What to plant this year...question for everyone
 

So I've got a question for all of you...I meant to ask Daox this question when we were on our cruise last week but since I BARELY SAW HIM CAUSE HE WAS HIDING FROM ME...he can answer now.

What are you going to plant this year, and why are you choosing those types of vegetables/fruits. Also, when are you going to start the seeding process?

I missed out and started too late last year so I wasn't able to grow green peppers and some other stuff. I'm also trying to figure out what I want to grow as opposed to buying in the store. All ideas are welcome.

Haha, I dunno, you should have asked Chrissy. Thats her department.

Well then ask Chrissy to post. GEEEEEEZ.

She did... once. :)

I'll bug her for you though.

I plan to plant salad greens, spinach, kale, arugula, more kale, carrots and some onions, but Kale is going to be a big one as it will last well in to the winter and is good in so many ways.

My plan to keep weeds down is to put some news paper down with grass clippings on top then cut holes for each plant, my mom does this only she puts the news papers around each plant... this way should be less work, it keeps weeds down and lets water soak in, in the fall you just till it all in to the soil.

That's a cool idea. I may have to try that in certain areas.

I'm gonna start my new thread soon, but I just picked up my new seeds for this year.

I'll keep everything from last year:
Green Peppers (From Seeds this time)
Lettuce (Iceburg and Romaine)
Celery
Broccoli
Watermelon (maybe)

New:
Carrots
Cucumber
Basil
Parsley (Or Oregano - Can't remember)

Unfortunately I don't have much more garden space for it all. My wife is giving up one of her flower gardens in my back yard for me. I'm scaling back the Green Peppers, so that's some space. I think next year I'm getting rid of my pool, so I'll have that entire area if I really want

That's a great and simple type of sheet mulching. If your soil is active you may not even need to till it, as the worms, etc. will have worked it in. Adding coffee grounds can help break down the newspaper if the grass clippings dry out or don't decompose quickly.

We're almost done planning our garden for this season. :o

FWIW,
Tim

Well, the pool is old, the liner is shot, the filter is on it's last legs (actually, there's winter damage that i may or may not be able to fix) so it either needs to be replaced, or just removed. If it gets removed, that opens up a huge area for planting.

Sure Chrissy...blame the vacation...the beautiful AWESOME vacation...see if I invite you again.

Next time it will be just me and Daox...alone on a beach...

...umm...anyway...

I think I may follow Ryland and plant some Kale too. I didn't know that it was one of the healthiest vegetables. I'll probably be something like this (insane I'm stealing some of your ideas that you did last year):

Green Peppers (maybe)
Lettuce (Iceburg and Romaine)
Celery
Broccoli
Watermelon (I gotta try this)
Carrots
Cucumber (only one plant tho...we did 2 last year and 3 before and it was just WAY too much)
Basil
Radishes
Spinach
Beans
Peas (regular ones this time...not sugarsnap)
Tomatoes (I think 5 or 6 plants this year instead of 10...WAY too much unless you have time to do a lot of canning or sauce making)
Corn
Onions
Beets

A few tips that I have for everyone in case you don't know them:
- You can start planting lettuce, kale, broccoli, carrots, onions and peas in early spring. These plants still thrive when it's cold out.
- Stagger your lettuce, kale and peas by 2+ weeks. Do a small row, then wait 2+ weeks and do another small row etc... Any sooner and the plants will catch up in growth. This way you can harvest at different times.
- When you harvest lettuce, kale and peas, cut them at the base and leave the root...it will regrow if there is still time in the season and you will get a second harvest of these vegetables.
- If you plant a row of basil in between your carrots, you will sweeten the carrots...I tried this last year and it worked.

I think that's all I got for now.