Anyone planting a garden this year? This will be my 3rd or 4th year to have a garden. I'm getting better at it and it gets bigger every year. I love having fresh veggies at my disposal!
This year I will be planting tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, squash, pole beans, and strawberries.
I want to try about 7 different kids of tomatoes, but I think I only have room for 4 so I need to narrow down my list! LOL!
I will be planting regular green peppers, jalopenos, Anaheim peppers (long skinny green peppers), and another one that starts with a C but I can''t remember the name of (it's a hot one). Ally and I saw a purple pepper that I might try. Looks just like a green pepper, but it's a deep violet color. Heck, I gotta do it just to see what they are like!
Cucumbers - pickling cukes, burpless and regular
Squash - yellow and zuchini squash
Pole beans - this is a new thing for me, as I've never grown them before (I add something new every year it seems). I want the Snap Beans (Sugar Snap, I think some call them) and some regular old peas, just have to see what I can find.
Strawberries - we already have one plnat that I got last year as an experiment for Ally. This thing refuses to doe even after I left it out all winter long! In fact, we have already gotten a few berries off it this year! So I am planning on getting 6-7 more strawberry plants. You don't get much fruit at all the first year. But with that many plantsa, by next year I should be getting enough that I can freeze alot of them for later in the season when they are hideously exp[ensive at the grocery store.
I have thought about trying onions and potatoes, too. They both seem very easy to grow. The potatoes need a very deep planter (alot of people use garbage cans of a stack of tires filled with potting soil) and I'm not sure I have the room for it. We'll see. The onions I am just worried we won't use that many, although I could always dice them and freeze to use in soups and stuff. (I find they get a little soft after being frozen, but are still great in dishes where they are going to be cooked anyway. Just not good to eat plain.)
So, think I am being too ambitious? This will be my biggest gardening attempt yet. But I am finding that I actually look forward to it every spring! I'm not an outdoors kinda gal, but I do like this. Plus it saves TONS at the grocery store. It costs more upfront (for the plants, potting soil and plant food), but saves in the long run. Heck, I just used up the last of my frozen green peppers in December!
I got 2 gardening books while I was at HD. One is specific for Texas vegetable gardens (which I need because most things are general and it gets so hot here that alot of plants have problems). The other is a general vegetable gardening by Miracle Grow. It have lots of general info about plant care, plant disease, companion planting, etc. Now I just need a really good book on container gardening. There is one I want and it costs over $50, but everyone on my list agrees that it is THE book to get on container gardening if you are going to buy one. Just need to get down to Barnes and Nobles and pick it up.
Either later this week or next week, I will be picking up the veggies to plant. Until then,m I will be reading my books to see if I can get any more great ideas!
This year I will be planting tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, squash, pole beans, and strawberries.
I want to try about 7 different kids of tomatoes, but I think I only have room for 4 so I need to narrow down my list! LOL!
I will be planting regular green peppers, jalopenos, Anaheim peppers (long skinny green peppers), and another one that starts with a C but I can''t remember the name of (it's a hot one). Ally and I saw a purple pepper that I might try. Looks just like a green pepper, but it's a deep violet color. Heck, I gotta do it just to see what they are like!
Cucumbers - pickling cukes, burpless and regular
Squash - yellow and zuchini squash
Pole beans - this is a new thing for me, as I've never grown them before (I add something new every year it seems). I want the Snap Beans (Sugar Snap, I think some call them) and some regular old peas, just have to see what I can find.
Strawberries - we already have one plnat that I got last year as an experiment for Ally. This thing refuses to doe even after I left it out all winter long! In fact, we have already gotten a few berries off it this year! So I am planning on getting 6-7 more strawberry plants. You don't get much fruit at all the first year. But with that many plantsa, by next year I should be getting enough that I can freeze alot of them for later in the season when they are hideously exp[ensive at the grocery store.
I have thought about trying onions and potatoes, too. They both seem very easy to grow. The potatoes need a very deep planter (alot of people use garbage cans of a stack of tires filled with potting soil) and I'm not sure I have the room for it. We'll see. The onions I am just worried we won't use that many, although I could always dice them and freeze to use in soups and stuff. (I find they get a little soft after being frozen, but are still great in dishes where they are going to be cooked anyway. Just not good to eat plain.)
So, think I am being too ambitious? This will be my biggest gardening attempt yet. But I am finding that I actually look forward to it every spring! I'm not an outdoors kinda gal, but I do like this. Plus it saves TONS at the grocery store. It costs more upfront (for the plants, potting soil and plant food), but saves in the long run. Heck, I just used up the last of my frozen green peppers in December!
I got 2 gardening books while I was at HD. One is specific for Texas vegetable gardens (which I need because most things are general and it gets so hot here that alot of plants have problems). The other is a general vegetable gardening by Miracle Grow. It have lots of general info about plant care, plant disease, companion planting, etc. Now I just need a really good book on container gardening. There is one I want and it costs over $50, but everyone on my list agrees that it is THE book to get on container gardening if you are going to buy one. Just need to get down to Barnes and Nobles and pick it up.
Either later this week or next week, I will be picking up the veggies to plant. Until then,m I will be reading my books to see if I can get any more great ideas!
