Had a garden last year

[RawMagnolia]

I had my first garden last year... and man did the tomatoes get out of control LOL. This year we are going to try again, once winter goes away.

We'll be planting:
Cherry tomatoes
Peppers (couple different kinds)
Cucumber
Beans (maybe)
Onions (green)

Any other suggestions??

Also, last year I grew the cucumbers b/c I wanted to be able to eat the skin. The cucumbers you get in the store feel all waxy... and I'm not sure that's good for us, so I always cut it away. But the cucumbers that we grew always seemed to have grubs (or something) on them... and I was so grossed out that I couldn't eat the skin.

This year I'm going to try to "hang" the cucumbers. Any other suggestions? What about those store bought ones, is it o'kay to eat the skin??

Thanks!
Sandra

[michigan roman]

wbr , i suggest spinach and looseleaf lettuce . raw spinach is my favorite , calcium , vita a , plus mild taste . and the loose leaf lettuce grows fast and is another mild green . oh and also radishes if you like them, spritz up a salad and grow faster than anything else ive seen in 10 years of gardening so are fun to watch . and on beans theres this one called dragon tongue thats very juicy , its my best bean to eat raw . its long , flat , yellow with purple streaks . oh ya theres brocoli , it takes alot of space per plant though , like 2 and a half foot square , for each head you get . also if you like basil must grow , its easy and when you pick it the scent is great , . and also theres new zeland spinach which is different than regular spinach . regular spinach takes say 2 months to mature then is only good to eat for maybe 2 weeks , so you grow it in waves instead of one big crop you start smaller ones every 2 -3 weeks til hot july and august . then late august start planting again for fall crop , thats here in michigan=zone 5 . on the newzeland you plant it in early spring and it takes a long time for seeds to sprout , like 3 to 4 weeks so youll think there not going . then theyll go and form a bed , put them like every 8" when thinning , and this bed shall be good to eat til frost kills it, it keeps growing back . and its also perenial so shall come back for years . my neighboor a gardener of over 40 years and myself both call this our favorite plant , its nearly like spinach but a bit more maybe acidic , but still very mild/bland . and then theres snow peas , must grow upward though in my opinion or shall get a tangled mess so have to trellis up but only 3 feet . a very tender mild great raw food ,dwarf grey sugar seems to be a decent variety . and on the spinach and looseleaf lettuce i suggest going to pine tree seed co in maine , there email is www.superseeds.com and getting their one ounce spinach mix for $2.25 which is 2000 seeds , and their 1 oz looseleaf lettuce mix for $3.75 , it contains green and reddish looseleafs all of the mild variety . their shippings $2.75 . another great seed co is www.territorialseed.com . and if you want to grow medicinal or culinary herbs theres a must see company ,www.Richters.com in ontario canada that sells around 1000 herb seeds from all over earth . and finally if you want to see alot of bean seeds theres , www.vermontbean.com . none of these companys treats their seed by the way . just remembered = if go to pine tree the dragon tongue bean is also called dragon langerie . happy mulching :)

[michigan roman]

wbr , i forgot about the grubs on cukes . people put cayene pepper or garlic in water and spray on plants to keep bugs of , though i havent really read up on cuke pest cuz dont like cukes so not sure if this works on them .

[Raene]

How about sweet potatoes? I've heard they're easy to grow.

[danened]

I started my first garden last year... this year I will plant romaine, chard, kale, bell peppers, green beans, tomatoes, garlic, cucumbers, zucchini, spinach, broccoli and some herbs--parsley, basil and stevia. I started growing stevia last year and my 3 yr old "helped" water it a little too much and only 2 small plants made it . I will try it again this year if I can find the seeds. I want to dry it to use as a sweetener. I think I have some seeds for other stuff but can't remember what right now. I love growing my own food... it just feels safer and satisfying! :)

[rawpriestess]

Hi, I don't know about the cucumbers you purchases specifically, but we grow most of our own foods, and our cucumbers, will get waxy if they are left around awhile, like over a week before we eat them, apples to this too.

So, when they get waxy, it means they are old, now the grocery store may wax them too, I don't know, but the organic ones, aren't like that when they are fresh, also you can look at the stem, when they are fresh, it is moist and soft, and even crispy, when it is squishy, or really brittle and dry, the cucumbers are older, much like pumpkins or any other squash, or melon, which cucumbers are--a melon

Ours do not get any kind of bugs, my hubby places quartz crystals under each plant, and in the four directions of North, South, East and West in the edge of our gardens, so far no pests, except last year we did have a few slugs, but they went away with copper tape, and lots of hand picking. ick.

We didn't wish to harm or kill them, we just wanted them to stop eating our basil.

[pinkyarrow77]

The standard size cucs in the stores are definitely waxed or as they say, its vegetable oil. I don't think veggie oil can stick that well through washing. The small cucs aren't waxed and I doubt the english cucs in plastic are waxed.

Nancy

[danened]

RP ---
Where did you get copper tape? I knew that copper would keep the slugs away and I wanted to find some for this year since they ate a bunch of my stuff last year. All I seem to find is cooper flashing or piping and its expensive.

I put in some new strawberries at the end of the season and have some asparagus ready to go in as soon as the temps rise a bit!

Thanks a bunch!

[mbf]

WannaBRaw, love how you said "when winter goes away" ! I just can't wait for it to " Go Away" I dislike the cold more and more each year.

My family has been eagerly planning our garden to. We had a wonderfull and very succesfull garden 2 years ago, last year we moved it closer to the house to make pest ( groundhogs,rabbits and deer) control and watering easier and it was a flop ! So back to the old spot this year !

Sorry I can't offer any planting and growing advice, out tomatoes,Zucs peppers and cucs grew like crazy. All we did was water. We had very few bug problems. The garden was in full sun, dry soil so don't know if that helped deter the bugs. I grow my herbs in partial sun/shade and do get slugs and beetles there ? I keep my basil in pots on my deck and no bugs.

oh, I'm so excited just typing about it !

MBF

[rawpriestess]

Hi,

It was SweetGoddess's suggestion to get the copper tape, and it worked beautifully.


We got it at the nursery. It was about 2inches wide, and about 20 feet long or so?

and you just lay it down on the ground or around a pot and it keeps the slugs away, but doesn't hurt them, we didn't want to kill them, we just didn't want them eating our basil, they didn't bother anything else.

and they have never been a challenge until last year. so don't know why.

[juliebove]

I always grow radishes and peas. Did carrots last year, but they take a long time here so it's better for me to buy them. I also did a mesclun mix. That worked fine in the beginning, but soon I had waaaay more of the stuff than I could possibly eat. Then our weather got too hot and it just bolted. I pulled it up and replanted, but it bolted again. I'm not going to plant that next year. I also tried a variety of herbs with varying degrees of sucess. I had them in a little greenhouse. I started them in the house and moved them out there too soon. They froze. I replanted and things were going along fine until we had some unseasonably hot weather. I didn't know to open the flaps on the greenhouse and I cooked the poor things. This year I think the only herbs I'll grow are parsley, cilantro, chives and Japanese bunching onions. I still have some of those growing nicely as well as a few white onions. I thought I had pulled up all of the onions after the second planting but I must have missed a few. What I do with the white onions is use a pair of scissors to cut off the tops. I usually leave 2 or 3 green shoots on there and they'll continue to grow. I'll then pull them up around the end of July, eat the bulbs and replant. I'm using Earthboxes. I had no trouble at all with bugs. But I did get a slug or two in the box with the radishes.

[danened]

Raw Priestess:

Thanks for the info... I had read about the copper in several gardening books and was looking in hardware stores for it. Apparently the slugs have a chemical type reaction to the copper and it keeps them away. I had a terrible time with them last year. I had a raised bed that the previous owner had constructed out of concrete. Well,,, the slugs would just hole up in the nooks and crannies of the concrete wall during the day and come out at night and get my strawberries and especially my dill. Here in WA we have some huge slugs and I do mean HUGE. I have measured some at well more than 6-9 inches long. My boys and I were on a mission and would go out in the evening and early in the morning to collect them.

I will be glad to find a deterant...

[BDraw]

A garden gotta have: Lincoln peas. They are so sweet. You eat them before you get them in the bucket to bring in the house. So plant lots! Also the Sugar Sweet Peas, you can eat the pod and all. Another one that never gets in the house. Just remember to plant early, they are a cool weater crop.

And what about getting some berry plants started. Strawberries are wonderful fresh out of the garden, only it will spoil you, you won't buy them in the stores anymore! And blackberries or raspberries, etc.

Oh, gotta also do fresh corn. It is so good fresh off the cob.

Okay, I can't stand it anymore, need to go check out my seed catelogs and start ordering!!!! Sadly, I can't plant for another 2-3 months. But I can dream!

[RowanC]

Parsley, Cilantro, Nasturiums, Marigolds are all things I'd put in a garden. I use a boatload of parsley... and it's easy to grow.