advice for new gardener on which plants to plant

[KLSpoultry]

i am wanting to do a HUGE garden this year after my giant failure last season (go figure.. )

i'm wanting to plant mostly veggies, strawberries, raspberries and also apple trees.

i have grown many plants before and I had a green apple tree in my back yard growing up that I took care of and harvested for many years. The problem is, i've never bought or grown my own apple trees and i've never even heard of self-pollinators or needing a pollinator for a tree.

here are my questions:

what sort of pollinator tree do i need for honey crisp apple trees?

do i need to plant certain veggies together? do certain veggies need special food or maintenance? can i grow berries in the same garden as veggies?

i plan on starting seeds indoors and transferring outdoors when they're large enough, when do you start growing inside?

what do you grow your seeds in, when they are started inside?

i'm hoping to grow apples, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes (several kinds), cucumber, peppers (spicy and sweet), bush beans, carrots, garlic, greens, lettuce, herbs, seasonings and onions.

 

[patandchickens]

what sort of pollinator tree do i need for honey crisp apple trees?

Almost anything non-triploid and early to midseason blooming. (Sez google and the pollination charts available online)

Make sure you understand what kind of soil, drainage, exposure, etc apple trees want, though... it is a larger financial investment than, like, a tomato plant, and a LOT larger investment of time and work, so you wanna give it as good a chance as possible.

do i need to plant certain veggies together?

No. Some do very slightly better or worse in certain combinations, but I'd suggest not worrying about that right now.

do certain veggies need special food or maintenance?

Some prefer more or less of this or that nutrients, some need more-reliable or greater amounts of water than others, etc. But again, I would not worry about this at this point in life. Just get SOMEthing growing first, then you can worry about optimization

can i grow berries in the same garden as veggies?

Best not to try. The berries are perennials, the veggies are annuals. You don't want to be messin' with berries' root systems all the time when digging around your veggies. You don't want raspberry suckers in your tomato patch. Etc etc. Best to have totally separate plots. Same goes for perennial veggies such as asparagus, and for rhubarb.

i plan on starting seeds indoors and transferring outdoors when they're large enough, when do you start growing inside?

You'll want to get a book. There are lots of them around, many roughly equally good. They will tell you how many weeks before your last frost (you need to know your approx last frost date) to start seeds indoors. Some things don't do well that way and will have to be direct-sown outdoors, and again, books will tell you when.

what do you grow your seeds in, when they are started inside?

I use those little plastic cell-paks, but you can use any small container provided it has sufficient soil depth and some kind of drainage holes at the bottom.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[dbjay417]

I failed last season too. I live in the tropic though so i have a good jump on this season already.

last season i was a total newb and I over estimated my ability, under estimated the needs of my plants, and over stretched myself by biting off more than i could chew at once. I've bitten off more than i can chew again this year, but now i have a better idea of what I'm capable of and what my plants need. I'm just vibing better with the land this year. As existential as that sounds, for me thats what it comes down to.

 

[sred98]

Actually, there is a really great book called "Carrots Love Tomatoes" by Louise Riotte that tells about companion planting. Certain plants do affect other plants they are planted by, both for the bad, and the good. I learned a lot by reading that book. I use it every year, and I am going to have to get a new copy soon! Some plants have growth inhibitors in them that only affect certain plants. While others have chemicals in them that repel diseases or insects for other plants. It is really interesting!

Certain plants need to be direct sown. You need to do some research on that. The book I suggested tells the best way to sow the most common veggies, fruits, and herbs.

Since you are just starting out, start small! Don't get overwhelmed! Raspberries and apples take a long time to get established. Maybe get one or two, and focus on your veggies. The easiest and most versatile things to grow are tomatoes and peppers. They will grow under almost any conditions. They like a really moist area. Most of your herbs want hot, dry ground.

Strawberries are great for edging a garden (flower or herb!) Try them there!

Shelly

 

[KLSpoultry]

thanks everyone, i will get a book as soon as possible. i'm so glad you all gave me such great advice!!

how do i find out which sort of trees are non triploid and early to midseason bloomers? i was hoping to plant a cherry tree to accompany the apple, will that work?

 

[sred98]

I just googled "Honey crisp apple pollinator" and these are a few of the responses I got...

Early October
Belman
G. Sentinel
Honeycrisp
King Edward
Liberty
King
NY 75414
Corail
Releika
Brown Snout
Rubinette
Spartan

These are examples of apples that bloom and ripen about the same time. Of course, these are all dependent on weather conditions, etc. and it might not work every year. I would pick 2 others out of this list and that way you would probably have a back-up, in case one dropped its blossoms before it could pollinate.

These are all considered "Mid to Late Season" Here is the website I got the info off of. http://www.raintreenursery.com/pollination_apples.htm

HTH!

Shelly

 

[patandchickens]

Honeycrisp blooms early to midseason (some sources just say midseason). Thus you need an early to midseason blooming pollinator. When a tree RIPENS doesn't have all that much to do with when it BLOOMS, so make sure to be looking at the right piece of information.

Pollinator charts, and often variety descriptions, will often mention which varieties are triploid, which are the ones that won't work as pollinators for you no matter *what* their bloom time. Triploid varieties include, from memory, Mutsu(Crispin), Gravenstein, and half a dozen or so other fairly common ones.

Whether a cherry tree will do well for you just depends on your soil. They are a little pickier than apples about needing GOOD soil with GOOD drainage (not dry, just never waterlogged). If you plant a sweet cherry it will need a pollinator (unless you buy one with a pollinator branch grafted on); sour cherries are self-fertile.

If you have much fireblight in your region, you might think carefully before planting a cherry, as most are kind of magnets for fireblight and can encourage it to jump to the apple (I don't know how susceptible/resistant Honeycrisp is, and I don't have time to google it at the moment) (oh ok, I googled it , it seems to be 'moderately' resistant). That is not to say you can't grow apples and cherries together, or apples and pears either for that matter, just that if you are in a fireblight-riddled area you should do it in full awareness.

Have fun,

Pat

 

[homesteadmom]

Can I suggest that you not go huge? If you are new to gardening it can be overwhelming to start with a huge one & if it fails then you can be so discouraged you don't want to try again. Which would be a huge shame. I have been gardening for over 20yrs in the desert(Not an easy task). Go to a local nursery & see if you can find a planting chart, they will tell you what can be planted by what date to grow best for each month.
This yr is the first yr I have started my plants all inside & I am using yogurt & mushrm containers to start them in with great success! I will be transplanting them in about a week if the weather turns great again.