denlem

Hopefully this is a topic some of us have in common!

Garden season is approaching, or already here for some of us. How big is your garden? What are you planting this year? Tips? Tricks? Need advice? Had advice to give? Go!

For me, this is my second year with a real garden. I spent several years just growing some tomatoes and cukes in buckets. The ground here is horrible so digging a garden is impossible. Weeds and rocks are about all that grow in the back yard.

So what was done last year is a raised garden was built. It's 12'x12' and about 16 inches deep. Put 3 yards of dirt in it last year but it still needs a lot more. I didn't like the dirt quality, so this year I put in 9 bags garden soil from Home Depot and tilled that in. I'll do that for a few years to help improve what is in there now. A crap load of manure was added too.

So I have cherry tomatoes and regular tomatoes started, along with green peppers, red peppers, jalapenos, and banana peppers. I want to try onions so I have some bulbs ready to go, and cukes i'll start from seed directly in the garden.

Mustang Freak

Great thread and good luck with your garden! I rototilled it, now I'm going to put down some lime and 10-10-5 fertilizer. Then rototill again and then plant corn, tomatoes, cukes, spinach and peas. I started a strawberry patch last year and they came in very nicely. I have tons of flowers so I'm excited about the harvest hopefully to come! I want to plant some red and black raspberry bushes too!

Scothew

Ive done a small garden before, mainly tomatoes, peppers, cukes, squash.
Im going to do some sort of raised bed i think this year mainly for tomatoes, peppers, and hopefully do some herbs of various sorts since i do alot of cooking with them.

tukatz

My wife just completed the training to become a Master Gardener and is working on the 60 hours of continuing education and volunteer time she has to put in the first year to become certified. She really wanted to put in a vegetable garden this year, but just doesn't have the time. It will have to be tomatoes and strawberries and herbs again. The place is way too big for two people, but it helps keep us young.

The house sits well back from the road and we have a lot of lawn to maintain. Much of the garden is pretty mature at this point with rhododendrons and azaleas, some decorative trees, and a variety of flowering plants.



There are quite a few irises along the north fence line and they are just opening now. We have tulips under the large oak tree and hosta that comes up as the tulips are fading.



There is a cutting garden along the south fence and it supplies flowers for her arrangements.



The back yard is relatively small. There is a patio where we can sit and admire the flowers and watch the birds. We have an herb garden along the right side of the photo and rosemary plants in several places. We just planted the basil plants in pots outside the kitchen door. Cooking with fresh herbs is wonderful. During the summer we enjoy hanging out laundry on the clothes lines just visible at the far side of the yard. The planter area beyond them has rose bushes that are just getting ready to pop.

denlem

Everything has been in for a couple of weeks now. Onions are coming up, tomatoes and peppers look kinda sickly but they are still alive! Almost 5 inches of rain yesterday and they all held up well.

Only real problem so far this year are the cucumbers. I planted directly instead of starting them in a pot first. I probably put in a couple dozen seeds and only 3 of them have come up so far. A friend of mine has had a problem with cukes as well this year. I've started some inside this weekend just to be safe. Don't want to be without this year!

How is everyone elses luck getting things started?

Mustang Freak

My cukes, tomatoes, corn and strawberries are doing great so far!?! I'm going to plant a few more rows of corn in a couple weeks.

denlem

I tried strawberries a few years ago. Epic fail.

Mustang Freak

There are soo many different kinds it could have just been the wrong variety. I'm not an expert on strawberries but the place I buy them from has the correct variety for our location. :-)