Vegetable Gardens

Froggie,

That's pretty cute!!!

EJ

I'm trying to get rid of my contractors (enclosed porch, balcony and deck) so I can get landscapers in and they're going to "build" me a little (about a 3 x 8 strip) raised veggie bed in the front yard. I'm so excited but am so afraid by the time the contractors get finished and the landscapers in here, it might be too late to plant some things. I did buy a neat hanging tomato "tree" for my balcony: http://www.gardeners.com/Tomato-Tree/default/36-419.prd so I'll at least have 3 tomato plants :-)

Perna,

How cool you are going to have a raised planting area.

The contractors who came to stay -- Huh -- LOL?

Hugs,

EJ

We signed the contract March 1, 2006, you do the math :-) We're not talking about anything that should take more than about 3-6 weeks. But they didn't get permits and some "kind" neighbor reported us and that pissed off the County so they nitpicked and the contractor's permit person got seriously ill so things languished there. We never know when they'll show up, it's an "old" guy (good ole boy :-) and his son and son-in-law and they're subcontractors of the guys we signed with, etc. Too, we had a few odds and ends jobs we paid these guys (we really like them personally :-) to do, new doors that weren't in the larger contract so that's delaying things a bit, making their 2-3 hours of work 1-2 days a week (not counting January or February when it was too cold or any of the other excuses) last longer. Then there's the constructing on the neighbor's property (joining together the drainage so it used the neighbor's existing stuff so they didn't have to build it themselves) we didn't like for some reason so they had to redo right, LOL.

my perennials:
- sage, rosemary, parsley and chives
- rhubarb
- artichoke (although it looks like it might not have made it)
- rainbow chard
- strawberries
- radicchio
- raspberries
- blueberries
- currants

My annuals for this year:
- tomatoes
- basil
- catnip
- green beans
- potatoes (but we usually just dig them out of the finished compost pile - we never plant them intentionally)

Haven't decided if we're doing any others yet. Interesting to see what you all plant. I don't fight slugs or use chemicals so I generally observe what did well the previous years and watch my neighbor's gardens. I only plant what the slugs ignore.

I tried beets and carrots last year. The carrots ended up worm-y and the beets never produced any beets - just foliage. I suppose I could research it, but I'm more interested in things that thrive versus those I have to baby. I have a small yard but my garden takes up almost every available inch.

I have 3 raised vegetable beds but haven't been doing a lot with them the last 3 years. Some flowers have even crept in. These are some vegies I like to grow:

Beans (green, yellow, and red pole beans, never bush)
Zucchini
Yellow summer squash
Cucumbers (green long and yellow round)
Peas (sometimes, they tend to get moldy in my climate)
Pumpkins (my kids love these!)
Gourds
Tomatoes (always! cherry and regular. Some favorite varieties: Early Girl and Oregon Spring)
Carrots (I had to stop growing these for a few years because they were getting wormy)
Strawberries
Apples (we have one tree, Spartan Semi-Dwarf)
Cherries (pie)
Blackberries (wild, darn those things, they spread everywhere)
Basil
Lettuce (sometimes; slugs get it)

I recently moved and now have two great areas to plant a veggie garden...

The onion (vidali), cherry tomatoes, cantelope, tomato seeds have popped thru the soil and r smilen, anxious to be planted outdoors in several weeks . The Jalapeno peppers and yellow peppers r taking their time and no signs of growth yet...

Cucumbers, green beans, pumpkin, gords will plant seeds soon. and ummm lets see what have i missed.. ooo i want to plant spaghetti squash and butternut squash too..

First time in many years I could plant a veggie garden.. Cant wait to pick tomatoes from the vines..