What to plant this year...question for everyone - Page 4

basjoos · 01-28-11, 10:03 AM

Pale, build some cold frames and in your climate you'll be able to greatly increase the variety and productivity of the veggies you can keep harvesting all winter long. Here, despite winter lows down to 10F, I'm currently harvesting broccoli, kolhrabi, radish, lettuce, arugula, collards, kale, kumatsuma, and mustard out of the cold frames. Kale, cabbage, collards, spinach, corn salad, and french sorrel from the outdoor beds. Potatoes, carrots, bunching onions, wild garlic, parsnips, radishes and sunchokes as storage root crops in the outdoor beds. The cold frames are also keeping the globe artichoke and satsuma plants undamaged by frost so they can go on to produce in the upcoming growing season.

Its still too early for me to plant peas or other seeds in the ground outdoors. Peas will go in the ground in mid Feb, although the cold hardier Fava beans will go in the ground early Feb. Peas are cold hardy to 22F and favas to 14F, although the flowers and fruit of both can't take frost, so you have to time their planting so they start blooming at about the date of your last frost.

cholcombe · 01-31-11, 01:34 PM

This year I plan on planting the following veggies:

Tomatoes - German pink, yellow pear and powers yellow. The powers yellow I'm replanting because they were very productive. The yellow pear and german pink I'm trying because they are supposed to be crack resistant. I lost a bunch of tomatoes to cracks and blossom end rot.

Sweet potato - Planting it because it was super easy and I got back a massive return last year. I started the potato from a store bought one in a glass jar of water. Planted it out in May and let it go nuts.

Yard beans - Very easy, extremely productive. I planted 4 seeds, got 4 plants and probably 10lbs of beans. I stopped eating them because it was just way too many. I'm sure they will come back next year because i'm always lazy about cleaning up my garden. I like to 'chop and drop' and let things compost in place. Makes planting easier the next year because things come back on their own. If I don't want them I cut them down with pruning shears and plant something else.

Ying Yang bush beans - Little bush beans that I can plant around various other things to fix nitrogen and generate some beans.

PA Dutch Crookneck Butternut Squash - Planting it because it's resistant to squash borer which I had a lot of last year.

Cilantro

Basil

Swiss Chard - Planting more of these because they are cold hardy and also didn't mind the summer heat. Perfect spinach replacement. My spinach experiment was a disaster. Couldn't get them to grow inside and they bolted first thing after I put them in the ground.

Sage

Cayenne Peppers - Saved my seeds from last year. The pepper plant produced peppers down to about 40 degree's. I saved the seeds because it was very cold hardy and the peppers were really spicy.

Bell Peppers

Snow Peas

Yellow Parma onions - New this year. Don't know how well they'll turn out.

Carrots

Sylvetta Arugula - Also new. Not sure how they'll work.

Deer Tongue Lettuce - Also new.

Kale over wintered from last year. Very productive and easy to care for. I'm going to let 2 or 3 go to seed this year and collect it.

Straight Eight Cucumbers

Borage

Skirret - A perennial carrot. Should prove interesting. It grows 4-5ft tall from what I read.

and finally Patience Doc - A perennial spinach type leaf.

I've been trying to find as many perennials as possible because gardening is a lot of work with annuals.

cholcombe · 01-31-11, 01:41 PM

I forgot to add that I'm planting white clover between most of these plants to provide nitrogen and ground cover.

01-28-11, 10:03 AM	#31
basjoos Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 75 Thanks: 0 Thanked 10 Times in 7 Posts	Pale, build some cold frames and in your climate you'll be able to greatly increase the variety and productivity of the veggies you can keep harvesting all winter long. Here, despite winter lows down to 10F, I'm currently harvesting broccoli, kolhrabi, radish, lettuce, arugula, collards, kale, kumatsuma, and mustard out of the cold frames. Kale, cabbage, collards, spinach, corn salad, and french sorrel from the outdoor beds. Potatoes, carrots, bunching onions, wild garlic, parsnips, radishes and sunchokes as storage root crops in the outdoor beds. The cold frames are also keeping the globe artichoke and satsuma plants undamaged by frost so they can go on to produce in the upcoming growing season. Its still too early for me to plant peas or other seeds in the ground outdoors. Peas will go in the ground in mid Feb, although the cold hardier Fava beans will go in the ground early Feb. Peas are cold hardy to 22F and favas to 14F, although the flowers and fruit of both can't take frost, so you have to time their planting so they start blooming at about the date of your last frost. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by basjoos; 01-28-11 at 10:09 AM..

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01-31-11, 01:34 PM	#32
cholcombe Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 56 Thanks: 13 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	This year I plan on planting the following veggies: Tomatoes - German pink, yellow pear and powers yellow. The powers yellow I'm replanting because they were very productive. The yellow pear and german pink I'm trying because they are supposed to be crack resistant. I lost a bunch of tomatoes to cracks and blossom end rot. Sweet potato - Planting it because it was super easy and I got back a massive return last year. I started the potato from a store bought one in a glass jar of water. Planted it out in May and let it go nuts. Yard beans - Very easy, extremely productive. I planted 4 seeds, got 4 plants and probably 10lbs of beans. I stopped eating them because it was just way too many. I'm sure they will come back next year because i'm always lazy about cleaning up my garden. I like to 'chop and drop' and let things compost in place. Makes planting easier the next year because things come back on their own. If I don't want them I cut them down with pruning shears and plant something else. Ying Yang bush beans - Little bush beans that I can plant around various other things to fix nitrogen and generate some beans. PA Dutch Crookneck Butternut Squash - Planting it because it's resistant to squash borer which I had a lot of last year. Cilantro Basil Swiss Chard - Planting more of these because they are cold hardy and also didn't mind the summer heat. Perfect spinach replacement. My spinach experiment was a disaster. Couldn't get them to grow inside and they bolted first thing after I put them in the ground. Sage Cayenne Peppers - Saved my seeds from last year. The pepper plant produced peppers down to about 40 degree's. I saved the seeds because it was very cold hardy and the peppers were really spicy. Bell Peppers Snow Peas Yellow Parma onions - New this year. Don't know how well they'll turn out. Carrots Sylvetta Arugula - Also new. Not sure how they'll work. Deer Tongue Lettuce - Also new. Kale over wintered from last year. Very productive and easy to care for. I'm going to let 2 or 3 go to seed this year and collect it. Straight Eight Cucumbers Borage Skirret - A perennial carrot. Should prove interesting. It grows 4-5ft tall from what I read. and finally Patience Doc - A perennial spinach type leaf. I've been trying to find as many perennials as possible because gardening is a lot of work with annuals.

01-31-11, 01:41 PM	#33
cholcombe Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 56 Thanks: 13 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I forgot to add that I'm planting white clover between most of these plants to provide nitrogen and ground cover.