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Just uncovered our little veg patch. We didn’t grow anything last year as we dug in a load of horse manure and covered it with old carpet to let it go ‘fallow’ for a year.
What would you be planting?
Asparagus - the greatest of all the vegetables.
In the year that everyone started gardening again due to C-19, I let my garden go to lawn. I decided that buying vegetables was cheaper and a lot less work. Lot's of farm stands around here, many with the honor system, take the veggies and drop money in the coffee can. I do grow my own strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, and want to plant some fruit trees, but I'll probably never get to it.
I plan to grow some herbs in 12" pots protected from the resident gang of deer.
Veg, I'll buy from a certified organic farm. They have the carrot and potato varieties that I eat far too much of, as it is.
Quite frankly, I'm too stiff to do much of what I'd describe as "gardening."
The only reason that my front yard looks good is because the deer won't eat roses, lilacs, peonies and Gaillardia flowers.
In the back, the deer won't jump the fence so I have goose berry, black currant, bush cherry, Saskatoon berry, Lonicera berry, 2 apple trees and grape vines all over the place.
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Originally posted by EdthebanjoAsparagus - the greatest of all the vegetables.
I love fresh picked asparagus, fresh from the garden. I used to put it in a bowl, add a little water, salt and butter and microwave it just a minute or two. Always cooked it just right and it tasted so good.
I use to tend to mother's asparagus and from mid February through late April, we'd have fresh asparagus every day. However, that's about all we'd get, as it would get too hot and the asparagus would get woody and grow beautiful fern which I'd then have to either water and take care of or just cut down. I kind of miss that asparagus patch.
As I remember, it takes several years for the asparagus to get to the point where you can actually cut it and eat it.
Jonty, your pic inspired me to go take a pic of our little garden patch..... trust me it's there, all right [the back half... about 10 yd. X 10 yd., from the apple tree on the left to the shop is garden... this side of the tree is lawn].
Having said that, IF I had your plot, I'd be planting A) tomatoes and B) cucumbers. Most vegetables are great straight from the garden but tomatoes and/or cucumbers [preferably w/ salt.... for heart health, you know] tops my list.
Need more details, Jonty. As in: how many square feet of space is that (it doesn't look like that much). What's the growing season there, and how much warmth and sun do get? And what does your family especially love to eat?
If you're past chance of frost I WOULD plant some peas reasonably soon; that's an early season crop and they're done in time to grow a root veg like rutabaga (neeps). I'd grow some early season cabbage. Maybe some lettuces. Some tomatoes, and maybe some chiles if you get enough heat and sun. And some beans. I'd stay away from sprawling plants like squashes and cucumbers.
By the way, have you heard of straw bale gardening? It's a decent way to add space to your garden without building more frame and digging. Good sized bales of straw - straw, not hay, because straw at least theoretically doesn't have much in the way of seed. You prep the bales with blood meal, organic fertilizer and a lot of water until they essentially start to compost from within. I can put two tomato or pepper plants in each one, carefully staked up (the bales shrink as they rot from within). The mix is so high in nutrients that you can get superb yields from them. And next year, you use what's left of the bales as compost for your dirt garden!
Quite a few sites devoted to the topic online if you search for them.
Edthebanjo has a nice thought with the asparagus, but I personally can't justify allocating as much garden space as they require to a crop that's both a perennial and one-and-done for the rest of the season, thus ruling out succession planting. I don't grow strawberries for the same reason...
Peppers fer poppers...
No lettuce....
Deer git'em all...
Cuecumbers...
Garlic might be nice..
What veg do your family like to eat? In a raised bed I’d put in a couple of rows of broad beans, beetroot, spinach, spring onions and garlic Tomato plants could go in the raised bed or in gro-bags. If you have space to create another bed 2 or 3 courgette plants, runner beans and potatoes would give you a good range and a heavy crop. If you end up with a glut of courgettes as I did last year you can make them into a preserve; they make a delicious courgette and apple chutney. I’m still eating my way through last autumns jars. You could also plant a pumpkin or two as they’re fun to grow too.
Edited by - m06 on 02/27/2021 14:53:23
Asparagus requires sandy soil and takes at least two years to produce. Tomato plants do well, along with various types of lettuce, basil, green and yellow beans, and zucchini. I had what my parents called a kitchen garden for years. Peas are good too!
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Originally posted by Texasbanjoquote:
Originally posted by EdthebanjoAsparagus - the greatest of all the vegetables.
I love fresh picked asparagus, fresh from the garden. I used to put it in a bowl, add a little water, salt and butter and microwave it just a minute or two. Always cooked it just right and it tasted so good.
I use to tend to mother's asparagus and from mid February through late April, we'd have fresh asparagus every day. However, that's about all we'd get, as it would get too hot and the asparagus would get woody and grow beautiful fern which I'd then have to either water and take care of or just cut down. I kind of miss that asparagus patch.
As I remember, it takes several years for the asparagus to get to the point where you can actually cut it and eat it.
Oh that's interesting. I should say, I know nothing about growing vegetables... I only know what I like to eat. For me, that's asparagus cooked in butter and loads of garlic. Lovely!
Gourds of various types. Complete useless, but I have an affection towards them. I find them so odd...
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Originally posted by OwenJonty, your pic inspired me to go take a pic of our little garden patch..... trust me it's there, all right [the back half... about 10 yd. X 10 yd., from the apple tree on the left to the shop is garden... this side of the tree is lawn].
Having said that, IF I had your plot, I'd be planting A) tomatoes and B) cucumbers. Most vegetables are great straight from the garden but tomatoes and/or cucumbers [preferably w/ salt.... for heart health, you know] tops my list.
That's a mighty impressive vegetable patch Owen. I now feel somewhat embarrassed by mine ??
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Originally posted by EdthebanjoAsparagus - the greatest of all the vegetables.
Ed, I'd love a separate asparagus patch but for me, it's a chunk of space for not a brilliant return. so we stick to buying them
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Originally posted by eagleislandNeed more details, Jonty. As in: how many square feet of space is that (it doesn't look like that much). What's the growing season there, and how much warmth and sun do get? And what does your family especially love to eat?
Skip, it's only wee, maybe 325-350 square feet. The plan was to start with one and build others alongside as and when. House renovations took over last year so we covered it up to save extra work. I like the sound of the bales - I'll read up on that. We get fairly late frosts here and are exposed to some strong winds but do get plenty of sunshine too.
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Originally posted by figmo59No lettuce....
Deer git'em all...
Unfortunately not a problem I have here Al, otherwise I would be planting lettuce and then anything else that goes well with venison 
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Originally posted by m06What veg do your family like to eat? In a raised bed I’d put in a couple of rows of broad beans, beetroot, spinach, spring onions and garlic Tomato plants could go in the raised bed or in gro-bags. If you have space to create another bed 2 or 3 courgette plants, runner beans and potatoes would give you a good range and a heavy crop. If you end up with a glut of courgettes as I did last year you can make them into a preserve; they make a delicious courgette and apple chutney. I’m still eating my way through last autumns jars. You could also plant a pumpkin or two as they’re fun to grow too.
Mike, you've pretty much listed what my wife and I were discussing yesterday when we were talking planting. I'm going to put a small 2mx4m poly tunnel next to it for the salad stuff - our greenhouse is out of action as its being dismantled and stored as part of some garden refurbishment we have planned. I think that the words glut and courgettes seem to go together very frequently- the chutney sounds good.
im no gardener by a long shot but it's fun to have a dabble.
If you can find the seed, might I suggest yellow pattypan squashes as opposed to courgettes? They have good productivity but are much better mannered (as in, a somewhat less rangy plant, and you don't leave the house in the morning thinking "that one will be ready to pick in a day or two" and returning that afternoon to a green zeppelin). Better flavor too, IMO, slightly sweeter, less watery and with a nutty quality. I haven't planted courgettes since I discovered them by accident.
We have 2 raised beds about that size. I go with the square foot garden idea. We do blocks & not so much rows of veggies. Something you can't go wrong with is onion sets. We used to use dutch sets but don't see them too much anymore. Plant a square of them evenly spaced & tuck a few in here & there where there's room all summer. You can always use green onions or let them grow full size.
Do a few blocks of carrots & beets, Try a few different varieties of each & try to remember what did best for next year. We draw a little map to make it easier. Plant a few blocks or rows along the edges of radishes early in the spring.
Plant taller stuff in the middle of your bed where it's harder to reach.
Potatoes. squash & asparagus are all good but you wouldn't get much of either in that one plot if you planted all 3.
We always plant some shelling peas to eat right out in the garden. Make a trellis with sticks or poles & string on the north side of your bed so as not to shade the other stuff.
We have a small 3'x4' patch of strawberries in the middle of one of ours to graze on while we're out there.
We've had great success growing 5 or 6 different kinds of tomatoes in big pots. You can turn & move them around in the sun.
Like somebody mentioned above you can always buy what you can't grow at home cheap & local when it's in season.
It would be great for your kids too! My Grandma teaching me to plant green onions & radishes when I was a boy is what set me on my gardening journey. I was running the Roto tiller when I was big enough to wrassle it!
I grow French breakfast radishes. They're bigger & do well here.
I live in zone 6,we do Ok with tomatoes, squash, peppers, cucumbers, parsley, and basil. The squirrels and rabbits eat well.
Edited by - RonR on 02/28/2021 08:48:21
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Originally posted by eagleislandIf you can find the seed, might I suggest yellow pattypan squashes as opposed to courgettes? They have good productivity but are much better mannered (as in, a somewhat less rangy plant, and you don't leave the house in the morning thinking "that one will be ready to pick in a day or two" and returning that afternoon to a green zeppelin). Better flavor too, IMO, slightly sweeter, less watery and with a nutty quality. I haven't planted courgettes since I discovered them by accident.
Your description 'green zeppelin' made me smile (with recognition!). 
quote:
Originally posted by eagleislandIf you can find the seed, might I suggest yellow pattypan squashes as opposed to courgettes? They have good productivity but are much better mannered (as in, a somewhat less rangy plant, and you don't leave the house in the morning thinking "that one will be ready to pick in a day or two" and returning that afternoon to a green zeppelin). Better flavor too, IMO, slightly sweeter, less watery and with a nutty quality. I haven't planted courgettes since I discovered them by accident.
We grew those last time we grew stuff. We ate a LOT of squashes, and our friends ate a lot of squashes too !
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